Telecommunications – Transmitter and receiver at same station – Radiotelephone equipment detail
Reexamination Certificate
2000-04-21
2003-11-04
Urban, Edward F. (Department: 2685)
Telecommunications
Transmitter and receiver at same station
Radiotelephone equipment detail
C455S090300, C455S550100
Reexamination Certificate
active
06643529
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a portable radio device having a slidable cover, in particular, it relates to that allowing the call in the state the cover is closed.
In conventional portable radio devices, a structure for covering a key operation part using a foldable structure or a rotatable lid has been adopted for providing a small size during carriage and protection of the key operation part. Furthermore, recently, a structure for covering the key operation part by a slidable cover has also been put into the practical use.
As shown in
FIG. 9
, a conventional portable radio device having a slidable cover comprises a housing
1
having a key operation part
2
including a transmission starting key
21
and ten keys
2
b
, and a cover slidable with respect to the housing
1
according to a rail part
7
so that the cover can be moved in the state the key operation part
2
is covered or the state it is exposed. Moreover, a transmitter
3
is provided in the cover
4
.
The portable radio device can be carried with a small size with the key operation part protected by closing the cover
4
. In starting a transmission, by opening the cover
4
for exposing the key operation part
2
, the key operation can be enabled so as to provide the transmission state. At the time, since the transmitter
3
is stored in the cover
4
, it can be disposed at the mouth of the user, following the cover
4
.
However, according to the conventional configuration, since the key operation part
2
is covered by the cover during carriage, the key operation cannot be enabled immediately. And thus a problem is involved in that the transmission cannot be started without the operation of opening the cover
4
particularly in the case of receiving a call.
Moreover, since the transmitter
3
stored in the cover and the device main body should be energized, a problem arises in that the configuration is complicated and the risk of malfunction and breakage is high.
Furthermore, despite the recent trend toward a smaller size in the portable radio devices, the number of the keys is hardly reduced, and thus the size and the interval of the keys tend to be smaller. As a result, the key operation becomes difficult.
Moreover, recently, in most cases, phone numbers to be called are stored in the memory of a portable radio device so that the number to be called is retrieved from the phone list in the memory for making a call by just pressing the call button, and thus the frequency of using the ten keys for dialing is reduced. However, there are many keys in the key operation part, and as mentioned above, since the size and the interval of the keys are smaller, the risk of making a key operation mistake is high, and thus the merit of making a transmission just by operating a smaller number of keys has not been fully utilized so far.
In order to solve the conventional problems, an object of the invention is to provide a portable radio device allowing the key operation or a transmission with the cover on, with little possibility of breakage or malfunction.
Moreover, another object is to provide a portable radio device with an improved operativity by reducing the number of keys in appearance by covering the ten keys not frequently used so as to reduce the change of operation mistake.
Furthermore, still another object is to provide a portable radio device with a small size without sacrificing the operativity.
Accordingly, in a portable radio device according to the invention, a cover for covering a key operation part comprises key pressing parts at a position corresponding to at least one key in the key operation part.
Moreover, a housing comprises a transmitter part, and the cover for covering the key operation part comprises a transmitting opening at a position corresponding to the transmitting part.
Furthermore, the cover and the housing comprise rails with the cover slidably with respect to the housing in the state the rails are engaged, and a lock mechanism for fixing the cover to the housing at least in the state the key operation part is covered by the cover and the state the key operation part is exposed.
Therefore, the keys can be operated with the cover closed by pressing the key pressing part so as to start a call. By having the key pressing part provided in the cover corresponding only to a limited number of keys, such as the transmission starting key, the number of the keys in appearance can be reduced so that the operativity can be improved.
Moreover, the transmission can be conveyed from the transmitting part with the cover closed.
Furthermore, since the cover can be locked with the cover closed, or the cover can be locked in the state the cover is opened by sliding so as to expose the key operation part, the operativity can be improved.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to the present invention, a portable radio device comprising: a housing having a key operation part; a cover for covering the key operation part; and at least a key pressing part formed integrally with the cover, wherein the cover is slidable between first end where the key operation part is covered and second end where a part of the key operation part is exposed, wherein the key pressing part is at a position corresponding at least a key of the key operation part when the cover is disposed the first end or the second end.
Since a first aspect of the invention is a portable radio device comprising a housing having a key operation part, and a slidable cover for covering the key operation part, wherein the cover comprises key pressing parts formed integrally with the cover at a position corresponding to at least one key in the key operation part in the state the key operation part is covered, the key operation can be executed with the cover closed.
Since the cover comprises key pressing parts formed integrally with the cover at a position corresponding to at least one key in the key operation part in the state the key operation part is exposed in a second aspect of the invention, the cover needs not be opened until all the keys in the key operation part are exposed, and thus a small size of the device can be achieved.
Since the key pressing parts are disposed at a position corresponding to other keys in the state the key operation part is covered by the cover in a third aspect of the invention, different keys can be operated by the same key pressing parts in the state the cover is closed and the cover is opened.
Since the keys in the key operation parts to be operated by the key pressing part include a transmission starting key in a fourth aspect of the invention, a call can be started with the cover closed.
Since the key pressing parts are formed integrally with the cover by a two-color molding method using a resin comprising the cover and an elastomer resin comprising the key pressing parts in a fifth aspect of the invention, the number of the components can be reduced according to the integration so as to facilitate the assembly, and further, the risk of breakage can be reduced as well.
Since the housing comprises a press preventing projecting part at a position of at least one of the key pressing parts not corresponding to a key in the case there are key pressing parts corresponding to a key of the key operation part only in the either state the key operation part is covered by the cover or the key operation part is exposed in a sixth aspect of the invention, the risk of excessive deformation of the cover due to press of the key pressing parts can be avoided.
According to the present invention, a portable radio device comprising: a housing having a key operation part; a cover for covering the key operation part; transmitter part on the housing; and a transmitting opening provided on the cover, wherein the cover is slidable between first end where the key operation part is covered and second end where a part of the key operation part is exposed, wherein the transmitting opening is a position corresponding the transmitter part when the cover is located at the first end or the second end.
Since a seventh aspec
Inoue Yukinari
Konishi Kazuhiro
Ohira Akinori
Yamamoto Koichi
Pearne & Gordon LLP
Trinh Sonny
Urban Edward F.
LandOfFree
Portable radio device does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Portable radio device, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Portable radio device will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-3113685