Mobile telephone devices

Abstract

An electronic device such as a mobile telephone device incorporates a flexible keyboard within its casing, said keyboard incorporating a plurality of switches or sensors distributed over said keyboard area which detect finger pressure, or which alternatively detect the presence of a finger adjacent to said switch means, where said keyboard can be rolled-up around a central roller located within the housing of said electronic device when not in use, and can at least partially extracted from within said electronic device when required, and laid flat for use as a keyboard. The mobile telephone may also incorporates facilities to modulate properties of light and/or sound which are emitted by facilities incorporated within said phone to announce or signal to a user an incoming call, where the particular properties of said light and/or sound emitted are determined by a pre-programmed relationship to properties of ambient sound and/or ambient light detected by sensors incorporated within said phone.

1 . A flexible keyboard which is accommodated within the casing or housing of a portable electronic device such as a mobile phone, or other mobile wireless communication devices, personal organizers, and the like;
 where said keyboard incorporates a plurality of switches or sensors distributed over said keyboard area which detect finger pressure, or which alternatively detect the presence of a finger adjacent to said switch means;   where said keyboard can be rolled-up or scrolled-up around a central roller located within the housing of said electronic device when not in use, and can be unrolled or un-scrolled, and at least partially extracted from within said electronic device when required, and laid flat for use as a keyboard.   
   
   
       2 . The flexible keyboard of  claim 1 , where said keyboard is not incorporated within an electronic device when not in use, but is instead attachable to, and detachable from, such a portable electronic device, and where said keyboard can be scrolled up around a central roller, and un-scrolled when required for use. 
   
   
       3 . The flexible keyboard of  claim 1 , where said keyboard is not incorporated within an electronic device when not in use;
 where said keyboard can be scrolled up around a central roller, and un-scrolled when required for use; and where said keyboard communicates with said portable electronic device by means of a wireless radio, optical or electromagnetic communications link between said keyboard and said portable electronic device.   
   
   
       4 . The flexible keyboard of  claim 1 , where said keyboard is not incorporated within an electronic device when not in use;
 where said keyboard can be scrolled up around a central roller, and un-scrolled when required for use; and where capacitive sensing is used as a switch means to detect the presence of a finger on one or more keys of said keyboard.   
   
   
       5 . A mobile or cellular phone which incorporates facilities to modulate properties of light and/or sound which are emitted by facilities incorporated within said phone to announce or signal to a user an incoming call;
 where the particular properties of said light and/or sound emitted by said phone for said purpose is determined by a pre-programmed relationship to properties of ambient sound and/or ambient light detected by sensors incorporated within said phone.   
   
   
       6 . The mobile phone of  claim 5 , where any of the following properties of sound—amplitude, pitch, frequency or sequence of pitches or frequencies or tones—generated by facilities incorporated within said phone are modulated based upon a pre-determined relationship between properties of ambient sound detected by a microphone incorporated within said phone and properties of sound generated by facilities incorporated within said phone. 
   
   
       7 . The mobile phone of  claim 5 , where the brightness or amplitude of light emitted by light-generating facilities incorporated within said phone is modulated in a pre-determined relationship to properties of light detected by light-sensing sensors incorporated within said phone. 
   
   
       8 . The mobile phone of  claim 5 , where in addition, the time at which said incoming call takes place is added to the factors determining the particular properties of light and/or sound which are generated. 
   
   
       9 . The mobile phone of  claim 5 , where in addition, information relating to properties of sound which is generated by sound-generating facilities incorporated within said phone and is monitored by a microphone incorporated within said phone is used as the basis upon which properties light or sound generated by facilities incorporated within said sound are modulated, calibrated or determined.