Electronic device and keyboard module thereof

This Application claims priority of Taiwan Patent Application No. 97126932, filed on Jul. 16, 2008, the entirety of which is incorporated by reference herein.

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an electronic device, and in particular relates to an electronic device provided with QWERTY keys and multimedia keys.

2. Description of the Related Art

Nowadays, large and small electronic devices such as personal computers, MP3 players, digital cameras, mobile phones and personal digital assistants (PDAs), have become a necessity for life in developed countries. As such, key pads or keyboards thereof have been developed to control a variety of interfaces applicable to today's electronic devices. Thus, users can conveniently control the electronic devices by key pads or keyboards thereof, offering a multitude of functionalities.

For conventional electronic devices, monitor modules and keyboard modules are generally combined by a slidably pivotal axis or rotatably pivotal axis. To attain a light, thin and small-sized electronic device, all modules of the electronic device are generally designed separately, thus reducing available space of the keyboard module on the electronic device. Accordingly, operation of the electronic device is made more difficult and inconvenient (e.g. locating multimedia function key(s)), following more complicated and non-ergonomic key arrangements of the conventional key pad or keyboard.

The present invention provides an electronic device including a keyboard module and a display module. The keyboard module comprises a first key area, a second key area, and a joining area disposed between the first key area and the second key area. The display module comprises a connecting surface detachably disposed on the joining area and electrically connected to the keyboard module, wherein the display module is stood on the keyboard module in a first direction in a first operation mode and a second direction opposite to the first direction in a second operation mode.

The prevent invention further provides a keyboard module adapted for combining to a display module provided with a connecting surface. The keyboard module comprises a first key area, a second key area and a joining area disposed between the first key area and the second key area. The connecting surface of the display module is detachably disposed on the joining area and electrically connected to the keyboard module, wherein the display module is stood the keyboard module in a first direction in a first operation mode and a second direction opposite to the first direction in a second operation mode.

A detailed description is given in the following embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The following description is of the best-contemplated mode of carrying out the invention. This description is made for the purpose of illustrating the general principles of the invention and should not be taken in a limiting sense. The scope of the invention is best determined by reference to the appended claims.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, an electronic device 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention operable between a first operation mode (as shown in FIG. 1) and a second operation mode (as shown in FIG. 2) comprises a display module 1 and a keyboard module 2. The display module 1 has a display surface 11, a second connector 12, a plurality of second fixed structures 13 and a connecting surface 14. The keyboard module 2 comprises a plurality of QWERTY keys 211 and a plurality of multimedia keys 221.

When the electronic device 10 is operated in the first operation mode in FIG. 1, a user can see the display surface 11 of the display module 1 and operate the plurality of QWERTY keys 211 of the keyboard module 2, while the plurality of multimedia keys 221 of the keyboard module 2 are hidden behind and by the display module 1.

When the electronic device 10 is turned to the second operation mode, as shown in FIG. 2, i.e., when the display module 1 separated from the keyboard module 2 by the user is rotated 180 degrees to be installed on the keyboard module 2, the user can see the display surface 11 of the display module 1 and simultaneously operate the plurality of multimedia keys 221 of the keyboard module 2, while the plurality of QWERTY keys 211 are still hidden behind and by the display module 1.

In this embodiment, the electronic device 10 can be a mobile phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), an ultra mobile personal computer (UMPC) or other portable electronic devices. A detailed description of the structure of the electronic device 10 is given as follow.

In FIGS. 3 and 4, the keyboard module 2 comprises a first key area 21, a plurality of QWERTY keys 211 disposed in the first key area 21, a second key area 22, a plurality of multimedia keys 221 disposed on the second key area 22, a joining area 23 disposed between the first key area 21 and the second key area 22, a first connector 24 disposed at a central part of the joining area 23, and a first fixed structure 25 disposed around both sides of the first connector 24.

The connecting surface 14 of the display module 1 is detachably disposed on the joining area 23 and electrically connected to the keyboard module 2. The display surface 11 of the display module 1 is stood on the keyboard module 2 to face a first direction I (shown in FIG. 1) in the first operation mode and a second direction II (shown in FIG. 2) opposite to the first direction I in the second operation mode. In this embodiment, the second connector 12 is disposed on the connecting surface 14, and the plurality of second fixed structures 13 are disposed around both sides of the second connector 12.

When the display module 1 is stood on the joining area 23 of the keyboard module 2, the first connector 24 is electrically connected to the second connector 12 and the first fixed structure 25 is coupled to the plurality of second fixed structures 13, thereby fixing the display module 1 on the joining area 23 of the keyboard module 2.

In this embodiment, the first fixed structure 25 of the keyboard module 2 and the plurality of second fixed structures 13 of the display module 1 can be magnetic elements. In other embodiments, the first fixed structure 25 of the keyboard module 2 and the plurality of second fixed structures 13 of the display module 1 can be hooks, latches or other fastening elements for fixing the display module 1 to the joining area 23 of the keyboard module 2.

In addition, referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, two detecting terminals 17 and 27 are respectively provided by the first connector 24 of the keyboard module 2 and the second connector 12 of the display module 1. When the first connector 24 of the keyboard module 2 and the second connector 12 of the display module 1 are different connections (e.g., in the first operation mode or in the second operation mode, the detecting terminals are therefore located at different positions (e.g., located at the leftmost or rightmost side of the inner of the first connector 24 and the second connector 12), thereby determining the electronic device 10 being situated in the first operation mode or the second mode. In other embodiments, without the installation of the first connector 24 and the second connector 12, the display module 1 and the keyboard module 2 can still be electrically connected to each other by wireless means (e.g., Bluetooth).

In summary, based on the electronic device 10 of the embodiment, it is noted that the keyboard module 2 is an assembly of the first key area 21, the second key area 22 and the joining area 23, the display module 1 and the keyboard module 2 may be separated, the QWERTY keys 211 and the multimedia keys 221 can be simultaneously or selectively operated according to user requirements, and the functions of the electronic device 10 can be executed by the more simplified key design, to facilitate operation of the electronic device 10.

While the invention has been described by way of example and in terms of the preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments. To the contrary, it is intended to cover various modifications and similar arrangements (as would be apparent to those skilled in the art). Therefore, the scope of the appended claims should be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similar arrangements.