Telecommunications – Transmitter and receiver at same station – Radiotelephone equipment detail
Reexamination Certificate
1998-06-04
2001-12-11
Bost, Dwayne (Department: 2681)
Telecommunications
Transmitter and receiver at same station
Radiotelephone equipment detail
C455S550100, C455S575100, C455S090300, C455S567000, C200S314000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06330461
ABSTRACT:
The present invention relates generally to mobile telephone apparatuses, and more particularly to mobile telephones provided with improved status indicators and control buttons.
BACKGROUND
For subscribers or users in radio networks, such as cellular networks or mobile telephone systems, satellite networks or local area networks, etc., the most important part is the mobile station. In order to meet the requirements from the subscribers, the mobile station has to be small and compact enabling the user to carry and store the unit virtually anywhere.
For example, for usage in mobile telephone systems there are many different types of mobile telephones on the market, both with and without a foldable housing and with and without a movable antenna. Generally, a mobile telephone has a housing provided with an earpiece, a microphone, a display, and a keypad on the front and an antenna arranged on the top. The keypad has numbered buttons for dialing as well as buttons for different kinds of functions such as on/off, send, volume control, and buttons for answering SMS (Short Message Services, transmission of short text messages for presentation on the display), etc.
Further, mobile telephones are provided with indicators for different kinds of status information, such as a low battery indicator and an indicator showing whether the phone has established contact or not with a base station. The latter indicator is required on mobile telephones connected to most common mobile telephone systems based on the cellular architecture.
Cellular architecture or cellular network is a technique that involves subdivison of a service area into a number of small cells to facilitate frequency reuse and an increased number of subscribers in the future. The mobile telephone interface to the cellular network is a base station, usually located in the center of a cell. In order to establish or maintain a call between two subscribers in a cellular network, the mobile telephone has to be in contact with the base station. As each cell has a limited area, the mobile telephone has to be in contact with different base stations if it is moved out from one cell area to another. It is important for the subscriber to know if the mobile telephone has established contact with any base station, when he intends to establish a call. This information may be presented on the display or a specific indicator on the phone.
EP-A-661 823 describes a portable communication apparatus including an upper casing
1
a
and a lower casing
1
b
which are rotatably connected to each other. When the apparatus is folded, so that the upper casing
1
a
overlays the front surface of the casing
1
b,
minimum necessary keys on the lower casing remain exposed to the outside. The power key
9
is provided on the top of the upper casing
1
a
to prevent the user from operating the power key
9
by accident when the apparatus is folded.
JP-A-7-203526 shows a portable phone with a “singing stop key” SW
2
provided at the top of the unfolded telephone. The position of the key, which stops the incoming call alarm, is different from the position of the other keys for enabling it to be operated even when a call comes in while the telephone is in a pocket or a bag.
Other well-known mobile telephones are provided with usually one status indicator on the top of its housing.
However, the above-mentioned prior art mobile radio stations and mobile telephones often have either an indicator or a button provided on the top of the telephone housing to enable certain functions and information to the subscriber even when the telephone (if it is foldable) is folded or when the telephone is in a passive state, often situated in a pocket or a bag. Since the top area of the housing gets smaller and smaller as the mobile telephones become smaller and smaller, the area on which externally arranged indicators and buttons can be provided is limited. Consequently, only a few indicators and buttons with just a few functions are available on top of the casing of currently produced mobile telephones.
SUMMARY
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a mobile telephone apparatus or mobile radio station with improved status indicators and control buttons arranged on the outside of the housing. Thus, important information and suitable functions, necessary for fast access, should be available on an easily accessible and centered location on the phone.
A mobile telephone is provided with status indicators and control buttons preferably on top of its housing. According to the present invention, at least one set of an indicator and a button is merged into a combined status indicating control button arrangement.
Simultaneously, the button arrangement can show whether the phone has established contact or not to a base station (indicator function) as well as being a button for regulation of e.g. strength of display light. A common indicator and button may also be a low battery indicator as well as a button for answering incoming SMSs and calls, or for diverting a call, or for regulating the speaker volume, or for on/off function, or for regulating the strength of the ring-signal (such as between a high and a low level, respectively). Further, it is an advantage of the button arrangement according to the present invention that it is visible in the dark.
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Bost Dwayne
Burns Doane Swecker & Mathis L.L.P.
Gary Erika A.
Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ)
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