The present invention provides a fully functional keyboard in a form factor no larger than that of a
small cell phone. The keyboard achieves this
small form factor by utilizing an entirely unique
keyboard layout in which the keys in the top and bottom letter rows are reduced in the North-South axis, (the
transverse axis i.e. the axis at right angles to the letter rows) whilst all the keys in the middle letter row, (the “Home” row) are maintained as full-size, (18 mm×18 mm with 1 mm spacing) in both the North-South and East-West axis. (the longitudinal axis i.e. the axis parallel to the letter rows) The size is further reduced by folding the keyboard. This is achieved by having the keyboard divided into four sections, hingedly connected along three fold lines, whereby the keys are
cut at the fold lines to permit folding of the keyboard into a “W” shape. The size is further reduced by constructing each section of the keyboard in an extremely thin form-factor. (0.125″ or 3.2 mm) Finally, all this is achieved without adding an outside shell or frame. A stand is constructed in the form factor of two and / or three credit cards, which can be unfolded in various manners into various stands, all of which can support a PDA or
cell phone with the screen placed at an angle of 45 degrees to the vertical and in such a manner that the PDA or
cell phone can receive the keystroke signals transmitted from the IR
transmitter in the keyboard.