Granted Patent B2

US 7,570,978 · App. 11/291,937 · Granted Aug 4, 2009

Abstract

Claims (35)

1. A mobile communication device, comprising:

a first body part;

a second body part;

a slider mechanism configured to slidably attach said second body part to said first body part, said second body part movable at least from a first position to a second position with respect to said first body part by means of said slider mechanism; and

a mechanical lock, including at least one lever acting as a stop, and configured to lock said second body part in said first position by positioning said lever perpendicular to said slider mechanism to prevent said second body part from moving along said slider mechanism, said mechanical lock comprising a user-operable mechanical switch coupled to said lever and positioned to cause said lever to either block or liberate said slider mechanism by moving said lever, while remaining perpendicular to said slider mechanism, in a perpendicular direction away from said slider mechanism, when said second body part and said user-operable mechanical switch are moved in said longitudinal direction.

2. The mobile communication device as recited in claim 1 wherein said mobile communication device is selected from the group consisting of:

a mobile telephone,

a PDA, and

an MDA.

3. The mobile communication device as recited in claim 1 wherein said lock further comprises a spring mechanism coupled to said lever.

4. The mobile communication device as recited in claim 1 wherein said user-operable mechanical switch is a micro-slider switch.

5. The mobile communication device as recited in claim 1 wherein said user-operable mechanical switch is configured to be operated with a given minimum force configured to prevent unintentional operation.

6. The mobile communication device as recited in claim 1 wherein said user-operable mechanical switch comprises at least two operating elements configured to alternative operation with a right hand or a left hand of a user.

7. The mobile communication device as recited in claim 6 wherein said at least two operating elements are located on opposite sides of said device.

8. The mobile communication device as recited in claim 1 wherein said lever is moved by manually moving said user-operable mechanical switch.

9. A method of automatically unlocking a mobile communication device having a first body part, a second body part, and a slider mechanism configured to slidably attach said second body part to said first body part, said method comprising:

detecting an incoming call; and

automatically moving a lever in a longitudinal direction parallel to said slider mechanism and in a perpendicular direction away from said slider mechanism in response to said detected incoming call to allow movement of said second body part from a first position to a second position with respect to said first body part by means of said slider mechanism, wherein said lever is perpendicularly positioned with respect to said slider mechanism to lock said second body part in said first position, and said lever remaining perpendicular to said slider mechanism during said automatically moving.

10. The method as recited in claim 9 wherein said mobile communication device is provided with a user-activatable function configured to disable at least part of said keys of said keypad, said method further comprising automatically interrupting disablement of said keypad in response to detecting said incoming call.

11. A mobile communication device, comprising:

a first body part;

a second body part;

a slider mechanism configured to slidably attach said second body part to said first body part, said second body part movable at least from a first position to a second position with respect to said first body part by means of said slider mechanism;

a lever positioned to lock said second body part in said first position to prevent said second body part from moving along said slider mechanism;

an electric motor coupled to said first body part or said second body part and configured to move said lever in a perpendicular direction from said slider mechanism to allow movement of said second body part along said slider mechanism;

a controller configured to control said electric motor; and

a keypad configured to receive an input via a user of said mobile communication device and direct said motor through said controller to move said lever based on said input.

12. The mobile communication device as recited in claim 11 wherein said controller is configured to:

detect an incoming call; and

automatically move said lock in response to detecting said incoming call.

13. The mobile communication device as recited in claim 11 wherein said controller is configured to disable at least part of said keys of said keypad.

14. The mobile communication device as recited in claim 13 wherein said controller is configured to:

detect an incoming call; and

automatically interrupt disablement of said keypad in response to detecting said incoming call.

15. The mobile communication device as recited in claim 11 further comprising a second lever wherein said slider mechanism includes first and second slider rails, said motor positioned to move both of said levers to prevent said second body part from moving along said first and second slider rails.

Assignments (9)