Hinged Mobile Device Sliding Screen Keyboard

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Solution Overview

Problem

Ergonomic comfort and fast, accurate text entry remain challenges in designing effective interfaces for handheld mobile devices with multiple display screens and user inputs, as existing solutions often compromise on compactness and functionality.

Innovation Solution

A handheld mobile device with a top and bottom body portion connected by a hinge, allowing movement between closed and open positions, featuring a first screen on the top body and a secondary screen on the bottom that slides to reveal a keyboard in the open position, enabling ergonomic text entry and multitasking across multiple applications.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of operation

If a mobile device incorporates multiple display screens and keyboards to improve text entry capability and functionality, then the device size increases, but portability and compactness deteriorate

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvetext entry capabilityVSAvoiddevice size
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSVolume of moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The device is divided into two main body portions (first and second) connected by a hinge, with each portion containing separate display screens and input interfaces. This segmentation allows the device to be folded into a compact form while maintaining multiple screens and keyboards for enhanced text entry capability.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The second keyboard is disposed within the second body portion in a nested arrangement, and the hinge mechanism allows one body portion to fold over the other, creating a compact nested configuration when closed, reducing overall device volume while preserving all input interfaces.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #7Nested doll (Nesting)

2Adaptability or versatility

If a mobile device provides multiple display screens and input interfaces to enhance functionality, then the device structure becomes more complex, but manufacturing difficulty increases

Engineering Contradiction:
ImprovefunctionalityVSAvoidmanufacturing difficulty
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSEase of manufacture

Solution Approach 1:

Each body portion is designed to serve multiple functions: displaying information on screens, providing physical keyboards for text input, and acting as structural components of the folding mechanism. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate dedicated components, simplifying manufacturing despite enhanced versatility.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Solution Approach 2:

The hinge mechanism combines the functions of mechanical connection, structural support, and motion control for both body portions. Additionally, the display screens and keyboards are integrated into the body portions rather than being separate attachable components, reducing assembly complexity while maintaining high adaptability.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #5Merging (Combining)

3Ease of operation

If a mobile device uses a fixed layout of screens and keyboards to simplify design, then ergonomic comfort deteriorates, but design simplicity is maintained

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveergonomic comfortVSAvoiddesign complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The hinge mechanism enables dynamic reconfiguration of the device, allowing the body portions to be positioned at various angles relative to each other. This dynamic adjustment capability allows users to optimize the device orientation for different tasks and ergonomic preferences, enhancing comfort while managing design complexity through a well-engineered hinge system.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

Data Source

PatentEP2161906B1Hand held mobile communication device
Publication Date: 2011.11.09 BLACKBERRY LTD
  • EP2161906B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP2161906B1 patent drawingFigure 2~3
  • EP2161906B1 patent drawingFigure 4~5B

AI summary

A hand held mobile device capable of executing a software application, comprising: a top body portion (202); a bottom body portion (203); a hinge portion (205) connecting the top and bottom body portions and permitting movement of the top and bottom body portions between closed and open positions. A first screen (220) is provided on the top body portion (202) and accessible in the open position, and a second screen (210) is slidable on the bottom body portion (203) to reveal a keyboard (146) when the top and bottom body portions are in the open position and the second screen is in an extended position. Preferably, at least one of the screens (210) and (220) functions as a touch screen based on at least one of function of the software application and whether the second screen (210) is extended to reveal the keyboard (144).