Handheld wireless communication device
View Patent ↗A handheld wireless communication device cradleable in one hand by an operator during text entry. A display, key field and trackball are all located on a front face of the device. Alphanumeric input keys include several alphabetic keys with letters arranged in a traditional (QWERTY), but non-ITU Standard E.161 telephone letter layout. A microprocessor is provided that receives operator commands from the keys and the trackball navigation tool and which affects corresponding changes to the display based on user input. The keys of the key field are arranged in rows and columns and at least one of the rows and columns is arranged with a long axis thereof radially oriented relative to the trackball navigation tool.
1. A handheld wireless communication device configured to send and receive text messages, said device comprising:
a hand cradleable body configured to be held in one hand by an operator of said device during text entry;
a display located on a front face of said body and upon which information is displayed to the operator during text entry;
a key field located on the front face of said elongate body, said key field being composed of a plurality of keys selected from a plurality of alphanumeric input keys and at least one menu key;
a navigation tool located on the front face of said body;
said alphanumeric input keys comprising a plurality of alphabetic keys having letters associated therewith and said letters, in a top row of said alphabetic keys, comprising in consecutive order the letters Q, W, E, R and T;
a microprocessor configured to receive operator commands from said alphanumeric input keys, said menu keys and said navigation tool and to affect corresponding changes to the display; and
a plurality of keys of said key field are substantially arranged in rows and columns, a top key in a column adjacent to the navigation tool has a shaped edge conformance fitting to a shaped boundary about the navigation tool and each key in that column is offset below the other keys in each associated row, with each key in the column adjacent to the navigation tool has substantially the same shape which is a different shape compared to the shape of keys in the other columns.
2. The handheld wireless communication device as recited in claim 1 , wherein at least two of said rows and columns are arranged with respective long axes thereof substantially radially oriented relative to said navigation tool.
3. The handheld wireless communication device as recited in claim 1 , wherein at least two of said rows and columns are arranged with respective long axes thereof substantially radially oriented relative to said navigation tool and said long axes are perpendicularly oriented to one another.
4. The handheld wireless communication device as recited in claim 1 , wherein said letters associated with said alphabetic keys are arranged in a QWERTY layout.
5. The handheld wireless communication device as recited in claim 1 , wherein said letters associated with said alphabetic keys are arranged in a reduced-QWERTY layout.
6. The handheld wireless communication device as recited in claim 1 , wherein said body is configured to be held in the hand of the operator with a long axis of said device substantially horizontally oriented during text entry.
7. The handheld wireless communication device as recited in claim 1 , wherein said body is configured to be held in the hand of the operator with a long axis of said device substantially vertically oriented during text entry.
8. The handheld wireless communication device as recited in claim 7 , wherein said display is located in an upper portion of the front face of said body during text entry, said key field is located in a lower portion of the front face of said body during text entry and said navigation tool is located substantially between said key field and said display.
9. The handheld wireless communication device as recited in claim 1 , wherein said navigation tool is at least partially surrounded by said key field.
10. The handheld wireless communication device as recited in claim 1 , wherein a majority of said navigation tool is surrounded by said key field.
11. The handheld wireless communication device as recited in claim 1 , further comprising:
said handheld wireless communication device being configured to send and receive voice communications;
wherein at least one key of said key field is positioned adjacent to said navigation tool and said at least one key has a shaped edge conformance fitting to a shaped boundary about said navigation tool; and
two call keys oppositely and laterally flank said navigation tool, one of said two call keys being a call initiation key and the other being a call termination key.
12. The handheld wireless communication device as recited in claim 11 , wherein said at least one key of said key field that is positioned adjacent to said navigation tool is a menu key that upon actuation displays an available action menu on said display.
13. The handheld wireless communication device as recited in claim 1 , wherein said hand cradleable body is elongate.
14. The handheld wireless communication device as recited in claim 13 , wherein said hand cradleable body has a length greater than a width thereof and said display, said key field and said navigational tool are located in series along said length of said elongate body.
15. The handheld wireless communication device as recited in claim 1 , wherein the top key in the column adjacent to the navigation tool has a top edge conforming to the shaped boundary about the navigation tool.
16. A handheld wireless communication device configured to send and receive text messages, said device comprising:
a hand cradleable body configured to be held in one hand by an operator of said device during text entry;
a display located on a front face of said body and upon which information is displayed to the operator during text entry;
a key field located on the front face of said elongate body, said key field being composed of a plurality of keys selected from a plurality of alphanumeric input keys and at least one menu key;
a navigation tool located on the front face of said body;
said alphanumeric input keys comprising a plurality of alphabetic keys having letters associated therewith and said letters being arranged in a traditional, non-ITU Standard E. 161 layout;
a microprocessor configured to receive operator commands from said alphanumeric input keys, said menu keys and said navigation tool and to affect corresponding changes to the display; and
a plurality of keys of said key field are substantially arranged in rows and columns, a top key in a column adjacent to the navigation tool has a shaped edge conformance fitting to a shaped boundary about the navigation tool and each key in that column is offset below the other keys in each associated row, with each key in the column adjacent to the navigation tool has substantially the same shape which is a different shape compared to the shape of keys in the other columns.
17. The handheld wireless communication device as recited in claim 16 , wherein at least two of said rows and columns are arranged with respective long axes thereof substantially radially oriented relative to said navigation tool.
18. The handheld wireless communication device as recited in claim 16 , wherein at least two of said rows and columns are arranged with respective long axes thereof substantially radially oriented relative to said navigation tool and said long axes are perpendicularly oriented to one another.
19. The handheld wireless communication device as recited in claim 16 , wherein said body is configured to be held in the hand of the operator with a long axis of said device substantially horizontally oriented during text entry.
20. The handheld wireless communication device as recited in claim 16 , wherein said body is configured to be held in the hand of the operator with a long axis of said device substantially vertically oriented during text entry.
21. The handheld wireless communication device as recited in claim 16 , wherein a majority of said navigation tool is surrounded by said key field.
22. The handheld wireless communication device as recited in claim 16 , further comprising:
said handheld wireless communication device being configured to send and receive voice communications;
wherein at least one key of said key field is positioned adjacent to said navigation tool and said at least one key has a shaped edge conformance fitting to a shaped boundary about said navigation tool; and
two call keys oppositely and laterally flank said navigation tool, one of said two call keys being a call initiation key and the other being a call termination key.
23. The handheld wireless communication device as recited in claim 19 , wherein said at least one key of said key field that is positioned adjacent to said navigation tool is a menu key that upon actuation displays an available action menu on said display.
24. The handheld wireless communication device as recited in claim 16 , wherein said hand cradleable body is elongate.
25. The handheld wireless communication device as recited in claim 24 , wherein said hand cradleable body has a length greater than a width thereof and said display, said key field and said navigational tool are located in series along said length of said elongate body.
26. The handheld wireless communication device as recited in claim 16 , wherein the top key in the column adjacent to the navigation tool has a top edge conforming to the shaped boundary about the navigation tool.