US Patent No: 6,452,588

Number of patents in Portfolio can not be more than 2000

Hand-held e-mail device

2 Status Updates

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Importance

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Abstract

A hand-held electronic device with a keyboard optimized for use with the thumbs is disclosed. In order to operate within the limited space available on a hand-held electronic device, the present invention optimizes the placement and shape of the keys, preferably using keys that are oval or oblong in shape, and that are placed at angles designed to facilitate thumb-typing. The angles at which keys on either side of the keyboard are placed is complimentary.

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First Claim

Related Publications

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Patent Owner(s)

Patent OwnerAddressTotal Patents
RESEARCH IN MOTION LIMITEDWATERLOO, ON4657

International Classification(s)

  • [Classification Symbol]
  • [Patents Count]

Inventor(s)

Inventor Name Address # of filed Patents Total Citations
Griffin, Jason T Kitchener, CA 412 5148
Holmes, John A Waterloo, CA 45 1538
Lazaridis, Mihal Waterloo, CA 402 5411
Little, Herb A Waterloo, CA 38 1228
Major, Harry R Waterloo, CA 60 888

Cited Art

Patent Info (Count) # Cites Year
 
HASBRO, INC. (5)
5,672,108 Electronic game with separate emitter 110 1996
5,893,798 Hand-held electronic game devices 119 1997
D397369 Cabinet housing for a hand-held electronic game 76 1997
D397728 Electronic game housing 72 1997
D399537 Electronic game housing 72 1997
 
HEWLETT-PACKARD DEVELOPMENT COMPANY, L.P. (3)
5,974,238 Automatic data synchronization between a handheld and a host computer using pseudo cache including tags and logical data elements 394 1996
5,995,026 Programmable multiple output force-sensing keyboard 116 1997
6,047,047 Telecommunication configurations for transceiving E-mail and methods of using same 84 1998
 
INTEL CORPORATION (3)
6,023,779 Electronic, acoustical tone generating communications system and method 106 1996
6,006,351 Electronic communications system and method 78 1998
6,243,789 Method and apparatus for executing a program stored in nonvolatile memory 78 1998
 
MOTOROLA, INC. (3)
D278341 Portable terminal or similar article 86 1983
D383756 Selective call receiver 86 1996
D386497 Selective call transceiver 109 1996
 
XEROX CORPORATION (2)
6,094,197 Graphical keyboard 212 1995
5,982,520 Personal storage device for application and data transfer 164 1996
 
BEN FRANKLIN PATENT HOLDING LLC (1)
5,611,031 Graphical user interface for modifying object characteristics using coupon objects 114 1994
 
CASIO COMPUTER CO., LTD. (1)
5,606,712 Information managing apparatus capable of utilizing related information in different function modes 101 1995
 
CITICORP CREDIT SERVICES, INC. (1)
D293241 Pocket terminal 83 1985
 
Curtis Manufacturing Company, Inc. (1)
5,217,295 Light apparatus and method for illuminating a compact computer video screen 113 1992
 
FIPA FROHWITTER INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AG (1)
5,436,954 Foldable radio telephone set with rotary selector integral with foldable hinge element 246 1993
 
FUJITSU LIMITED (1)
6,103,979 Keyboard having plurality of keys therein, each key establishing different electric contacts 82 1997
 
GEC PLESSEY TELECOMMUNICATIONS LIMITED (1)
D313413 Cordless handset telephone 110 1989
 
INTERMEC TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION (1)
5,410,141 Hand-held data capture system with interchangable modules 483 1992
 
LENOVO (SINGAPORE) PTE LTD. (1)
6,297,795 Small information processing apparatus 220 1998
 
LG ELECTRONICS INC. (1)
5,825,353 Control of miniature personal digital assistant using menu and thumbwheel 256 1995
 
LUCENT TECHNOLOGIES INC. (1)
6,014,429 Two-way wireless messaging system with transaction server 256 1996
 
MICROSOFT CORPORATION (1)
5,963,197 3-D cursor positioning device 138 1997
 
MOBILEMEDIA IDEAS LLC (1)
5,737,394 Portable telephone apparatus having a plurality of selectable functions activated by the use of dedicated and/or soft keys 149 1996
 
NINTENDO CO., LTD. (1)
5,184,830 Compact hand-held video game system 355 1992
 
NOKIA MOBILE PHONES LTD. (1)
6,052,070 Method for forming a character string, an electronic communication device and a charging unit for charging the electronic communication device 110 1997
 
QUALCOMM INCORPORATED (1)
6,212,412 System and method for character case control in a wireless communication device 89 1998
 
RPX CORPORATION (1)
5,457,454 Input device utilizing virtual keyboard 121 1993
 
SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD. (1)
5,920,308 Keyboard with a wireless remote control receiver and a method of redefining a key function for remote control 78 1996
 
SILVER STATE INTELLECTUAL TECHNOLOGIES, INC. (1)
6,148,261 Personal communication system to send and receive voice data positioning information 311 1997
 
SONY CORPORATION (1)
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Star Paging (Communications Equipment) Manufacturing Ltd. (1)
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SYMBOL TECHNOLOGIES, INC. (1)
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TEGIC COMMUNICATIONS, INC. (1)
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TELEFONAKTIEBOLAGET LM ERICSSON (PUBL) (1)
6,102,594 Keyboard for touch typing using only one hand 84 1999
 
WATERCORE LIMITED (1)
D403362 Key-chain electronic game 71 1997
 
Other [Check patent profile for assignment information] (5)
5,367,298 Data input terminal 133 1991
5,426,449 Pyramid shaped ergonomic keyboard 118 1993
5,500,643 One-hand prehensile keyboard 118 1993
6,107,997 Touch-sensitive keyboard/mouse and computing device using the same 154 1996
6,157,323 Button-key/cylindrical-key alphabetizer 101 1999

Patent Citation Ranking

Forward Cites

Patent Info (Count) # Cites Year
 
RESEARCH IN MOTION LIMITED (80)
6,873,317 Hand-held electronic device with a keyboard optimized for use with the thumbs 41 2000
7,705,828 Dual-mode mobile communication device 4 2001
6,842,169 Hand-held electronic device with multiple input mode thumbwheel 11 2001
7,158,120 Hand-held electronic device 3 2002
6,919,879 Hand-held electronic device with a keyboard optimized for use with the thumbs 48 2002
6,867,763 Hand-held electronic device with a keyboard optimized for use with the thumbs 56 2002
7,227,536 Hand-held electronic device with a keyboard optimized for use with the thumbs 13 2003
7,109,973 Mobile device with rotatable keyboard 6 2003
D497907 Keyboard for use with a handheld electronic device 53 2003
7,083,342 Keyboard arrangement 34 2004
8,239,858 Method and system for selecting a program for download 0 2004
7,113,111 Keyboard arrangement for handheld electronic devices 16 2004
7,056,043 Keyboard for a mobile device 10 2004
D517037 Handheld communication device 29 2004
D517056 Handheld communication device 15 2004
D516547 Handheld communication device 22 2004
7,019,622 Handheld electronic device including vibrator having different vibration intensities and method for vibrating a handheld electronic device 20 2004
7,561,685 Handheld electronic device with keyboard 5 2004
8,031,178 Keyboard with chassis structure 0 2004
7,502,462 Keyboard for a mobile device 7 2004
7,439,959 Key arrangement for a keyboard 6 2004
8,239,375 Method of searching for personal information management (PIM) information and handheld electronic device employing the same 0 2004
7,218,926 Method, wireless handheld electronic device and system of remotely controlling e-mail settings from the device 5 2004
D525222 Handheld communication device 28 2004
D525223 Handheld communication device 39 2004
D516548 Handheld communication device 15 2004
D514541 Handheld communication device 19 2004
7,319,461 Hand-held electronic device with multiple input mode thumbwheel 5 2004
7,724,239 Handheld electronic device, cursor positioning sub-system and method employing cursor scaling control 1 2005
7,153,049 Mobile device 6 2005
7,312,410 Reduced qwerty keyboard system that provides better accuracy and associated method 14 2005
D525619 Keyboard for a handheld communication device 2 2005
D524302 Keyboard for a handheld communication device 3 2005
D523006 Keyboard for a handheld communication device 9 2005
D530712 Keyboard for a handheld communication device 7 2005
D525243 Speaker port for a handheld communication device 3 2005
D524303 Keyboard for a handheld communication device 4 2005
D522484 Housing for a handheld communication device 26 2005
D522485 Handheld communication device 22 2005
D524803 Keyboard for a handheld communication device 22 2005
D521973 Housing for a handheld communication device 3 2005
D521989 Speaker port for a handheld communication device 0 2005
D521485 Handheld communication device 23 2005
D521506 Keyboard for a handheld communication device 12 2005
D528098 Housing for a handheld communication device 6 2005
D525244 Speaker port for a handheld communication device 3 2005
D523423 Keyboard for a handheld communication device 61 2005
D523007 Keyboard for a handheld communication device 4 2005
D522486 Handheld communication device 37 2005
7,819,598 Keyboard arrangement 1 2005
7,962,857 Automatic language selection for improving text accuracy 4 2005
D588119 Keyboard for a handheld mobile communication device 64 2006
7,505,798 Angular keyboard for a handheld mobile communication device 3 2006
7,938,589 Keyboard arrangement 0 2006
7,456,822 Handheld electronic device having facilitated input and associated method 0 2006
7,311,454 Mobile device 0 2006
7,669,144 Method and arrangment for a primary actions menu including one menu item for applications on a handheld electronic device 1 2006
8,463,315 Handheld wireless communication device 0 2007
8,271,036 Handheld wireless communication device 0 2007
8,219,158 Handheld wireless communication device 0 2007
8,064,946 Handheld wireless communication device 0 2007
7,986,301 Handheld wireless communication device 0 2007
7,653,402 Coordinated changing of email settings on wireless electronic devices and wireless networks 0 2007
7,629,964 Hand-held electronic device with a keyboard optimized for use with the thumbs 3 2007
8,072,355 Reduced QWERTY keyboard system that provides better accuracy and associated method 1 2007
8,063,879 Method and handheld electronic device including first input component and second touch sensitive input component 1 2007
8,259,074 Key arrangement for a keyboard 0 2008
7,598,946 Handheld electronic device having facilitated input and associated method 0 2008
8,175,664 Angular keyboard for a handheld mobile communication device 0 2009
7,880,725 Handheld electronic device having facilitated input and associated method 0 2009
8,416,195 Hand-held electronic device with a keyboard optimized for use with the thumbs 0 2009
7,952,571 Hand-held electronic device with multiple input mode thumbwheel 0 2009
8,423,011 Wireless handheld device, system, and method of detecting and storing email settings 0 2009
8,411,035 Handheld electronic device, cursor positioning sub-system and method employing cursor scaling control 0 2010
8,419,303 Keyboard with overlaid numeric phone keypad 0 2010
7,969,420 Handheld electronic device having facilitated input and associated method 0 2010
8,144,135 Hand-held electronic device with multiple input mode thumbwheel 0 2011
8,464,149 Hand-held electronic device with autopunctuation 0 2011
8,289,277 Method and handheld electronic device including first input component and second touch sensitive input component 0 2011
8,350,729 Reduced QWERTY keyboard system that provides better accuracy and associated method 0 2011
 
PALM, INC. (48)
7,636,079 Application access and activation system and method 1 2000
7,395,089 Integrated personal digital assistant device 6 2001
7,356,361 Hand-held device 6 2001
7,231,208 User interface-technique for managing an active call 35 2001
7,692,667 Handheld computer having moveable segments that are interactive with an integrated display 8 2001
7,665,043 Menu navigation and operation feature for a handheld computer 0 2001
D519502 Handheld device 37 2003
7,295,852 Automated telephone conferencing method and system 22 2003
7,992,096 Data browsing method and system for user interface 2 2003
7,802,206 Dynamic sizing user interface method and system for data display 6 2003
7,835,504 Telephone number parsing and linking 2 2003
7,620,407 Handheld threading 6 2004
7,164,088 Method and apparatus to improve tactile feel for keyboards and button assemblies 11 2004
7,231,229 Communication device interface 75 2004
D518825 Keyboard for handheld device 12 2004
D515093 Keyboard for handheld device 5 2004
D518820 Handheld device 29 2004
D518821 Handheld device 12 2004
7,681,146 Multi-context iterative directory filter 0 2005
7,623,118 Actuation mechanism for use with keyboards on mobile computing devices 4 2005
7,525,534 Small form-factor keypad for mobile computing devices 10 2005
7,511,700 Device and technique for assigning different inputs to keys on a keypad 18 2005
7,725,127 Hand-held device 1 2005
7,394,030 Small form-factor keyboard using keys with offset peaks and pitch variations 1 2005
7,577,920 Navigating through menus of a handheld computer 0 2005
7,294,802 Lighting and usability features for key structures and keypads on computing devices 5 2005
7,275,836 Lighting and usability features for key structures and keypads on computing devices 2 2005
D585890 Portion of a handheld device 0 2006
7,620,431 Methods and apparatus for controlling applications of a mobile device by using a pivoting input switch 1 2006
7,375,297 Method and apparatus to improve tactile feel for keyboards and button assemblies 0 2006
8,073,431 Temporary messaging address system and method 0 2007
7,812,817 System and method for managing wireless communications utilizing a mobile device 1 2007
7,738,912 Mobile computing device interface 13 2007
7,917,097 Methods and apparatus for controlling a mobile device by using a pivoting input switch 0 2007
7,525,053 Enhanced key structure with combined keycap for a mobile computing device 2 2007
7,708,416 Lighting and usability features for key structures and keypads on computing devices 1 2007
8,126,519 Housing for mobile computing device having construction to slide and pivot into multiple positions 0 2007
7,865,180 Automated telephone conferencing method and system 2 2007
8,233,948 Slider assembly for a housing of a mobile computing device 1 2007
8,150,482 Mobile computing device with moveable housing segments 2 2008
8,200,298 Keypad housing configuration for a mobile computing device 2 2008
7,741,570 Small form-factor keyboard using keys with offset peaks and pitch variations 1 2008
8,373,663 Small form-factor keypad for mobile computing devices 0 2009
8,259,075 Secondary key group layout for keyboard 0 2009
8,433,314 Integrated personal digital assistant device 0 2009
8,433,294 Messaging server to redirect an instant message to a mobile device 0 2010
8,350,728 Keyboard with integrated and numeric keypad 0 2010
7,916,123 User interface technique for managing an active call 0 2010
 
SILVERBROOK RESEARCH PTY LTD (11)
7,845,869 Computer keyboard with internal printer 1 2007
7,950,777 Ejection nozzle assembly 2 2010
8,061,812 Ejection nozzle arrangement having dynamic and static structures 0 2010
8,025,366 Inkjet printhead with nozzle layer defining etchant holes 0 2011
8,029,101 Ink ejection mechanism with thermal actuator coil 2 2011
8,083,326 Nozzle arrangement with an actuator having iris vanes 0 2011
8,029,102 Printhead having relatively dimensioned ejection ports and arms 0 2011
8,020,970 Printhead nozzle arrangements with magnetic paddle actuators 2 2011
8,113,629 Inkjet printhead integrated circuit incorporating fulcrum assisted ink ejection actuator 0 2011
8,075,104 Printhead nozzle having heater of higher resistance than contacts 0 2011
8,123,336 Printhead micro-electromechanical nozzle arrangement with motion-transmitting structure 0 2011
 
VULCAN PORTALS, INC. (5)
7,376,913 Navigation and selection control for a hand-held portable computer 6 2003
6,977,811 Keyboard with mouse for a hand-held portable computer 5 2003
7,500,127 Method and apparatus for operating an electronic device in a low power mode 7 2004
7,426,647 Low power media player for an electronic device 4 2004
8,046,617 Method and apparatus for operating an electronic device in a low power mode with a low power mode application based on determined operating parameters 0 2008
 
HEWLETT-PACKARD DEVELOPMENT COMPANY, L.P. (4)
7,555,727 Integrated handheld computing and telephony system and services 62 2005
7,503,016 Configuration mechanism for organization of addressing elements 2 2005
8,064,886 Control mechanisms for mobile devices 1 2006
8,332,553 Method and apparatus for accessing a contacts database and telephone services 0 2010
 
PETER L. ZIMMERMAN - C/O SILVERMAN & KUDISCH, P.C. (4)
D488155 Wireless handheld communication device with function keys 3 2002
D487085 Wireless handheld communication device with keyboard 4 2002
D485838 Wireless handheld communication device 10 2002
D485266 Wireless handheld communication device with joystick manipulator 8 2002
 
SIERRA WIRELESS, INC. (4)
D509493 Wireless mobile telephone 20 2003
D496642 Electronic communication device 56 2003
D496655 Keyboard of an electronic communication device 43 2003
D511334 Electronic communication device 14 2004
 
L-3 COMMUNICATIONS CORPORATION (3)
D563401 Handheld electronic communications device 1 2007
D563402 Handheld electronic communications device 4 2007
D595706 Handheld electronic communications device 1 2008
 
BRITISH TELECOMMUNICATIONS PUBLIC LIMITED COMPANY (2)
7,426,471 Communications network 12 1999
7,319,673 Communications network 19 1999
 
PANDUIT CORP. (2)
D619638 Hand-held printer 2 2009
D619648 Keyboard for a hand-held printer 0 2009
 
HANDSPRING, INC. (1)
D514571 Keyboard for handheld device 7 2004
 
INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION (1)
7,171,487 Method and system for application specific packet forwarding 2 2001
 
KYOCERA CORPORATION (1)
D496654 Wireless communication device 14 2003
 
MATTEL, INC. (1)
7,798,885 Instant message toy phone 0 2005
 
NETGEAR, INC. (1)
7,102,620 Mobile electronic device 20 2002

Maintenance Fees

Fee Large entity fee small entity fee micro entity fee due date
11.5 Year Payment $7400.00 $3700.00 $1850.00 Mar 17, 2014
Fee Large entity fee small entity fee micro entity fee
Surcharge - 11.5 year - Late payment within 6 months $160.00 $80.00 $40.00
Surcharge after expiration - Late payment is unavoidable $700.00 $350.00 $175.00
Surcharge after expiration - Late payment is unintentional $1,640.00 $820.00 $410.00