Light assisted keyboard for mobile communication device

Abstract

A mobile communication device having a keyboard with a set of keys representing alpha-numeric characters, the keyboard comprising a light source, located within said mobile communication device; for providing a light; a set of sensors, associated with said keys, for sensing an amount of said light in a vicinity of each of said set of sensors, to determine which of said set of keys has been selected; and a transparent flat cover, overlying said set of sensors, displaying said set of alpha-numeric characters, for associating said set of alpha-numeric characters with said set of sensors.

1 . A method for a handheld electronic device including a keyboard have a plurality of keys, the method comprising:
 transmitting a light through at least one light pipe housing a plurality of sensors, each of the plurality of sensors in a one-to-one relationship with a corresponding key on the keyboard;   determining a key selection by comparing a measured amount of light surrounding one of the plurality of sensors with a threshold value;   transmitting a signal when one of the plurality of sensors has determined that the measured amount of light exceeds the threshold value; and   storing the key selection in a memory of the device.   
   
   
       2 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising:
 modulating said light before determining the key selection.   
   
   
       3 . The method of  claim 2  wherein determining the key selection comprises:
 filtering said modulated light from ambient light surrounding each of said plurality of sensors;   measuring said amount of filtered light sensed by each of said plurality of sensors; and   comparing said measured value with the threshold value.   
   
   
       4 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising:
 interrupting applications executing on the device by entering an interrupt table before storing the key selection.   
   
   
       5 . The method of  claim 4  further comprising:
 exiting said interrupt table.   
   
   
       6 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising:
 providing a tactile response to a user when one of the keys is selected.   
   
   
       7 . A method for a handheld electronic device including a keyboard having a plurality of keys, the method comprising:
 scanning a plurality of sensors via a scanning module, each of the plurality of sensors in a one-to-one relationship with a corresponding key on the keyboard;   determining if one of the plurality of sensors has sensed the presence of an object;   if the object has been sensed, determining the corresponding key that has been pressed, and storing the key that was pressed in a memory of the device; otherwisecontinue scanning.   
   
   
       8 . The method of  claim 7  further comprising:
 transmitting a light through at least one light pipe housing the plurality of sensors.   
   
   
       9 . The method of  claim 8  further comprising:
 determining that one of the plurality of sensors has sensed the object by comparing a measured amount of light surrounding one of the plurality of sensors with a threshold value; and   transmitting a signal when one of the plurality of sensors has determined that the measured amount of light passes the threshold value.   
   
   
       10 . The method of  claim 8  further comprising:
 modulating said light before determining if one of the sensors has sensed the presence of the object.   
   
   
       11 . The method of  claim 10  wherein determining if one of the sensors has sensed the presence of an object comprises:
 filtering said modulated light from ambient light surrounding each of said plurality of sensors;   measuring said amount of filtered light sensed by each of said plurality of sensors; and   comparing said measured amount with a threshold value.   
   
   
       12 . The method of  claim 7  further comprising:
 interrupting applications executing on the device by entering an interrupt table before storing the key in the memory.   
   
   
       13 . The method of  claim 12  further comprising:
 exiting said interrupt table.   
   
   
       14 . The method of  claim 7  further comprising:
 providing a tactile response to a user when one of the keys is selected.