Interactive display with tactile feedback

Abstract

An electronic device including a housing having a first surface and a second surface, and an interactive display having a keyboard-enabled mode and a keyboard-disabled mode. The interactive display includes a first image display device disposed at the first surface that displays image data, and a physical keypad disposed at the second surface that provides tactile feedback to a user only when the interactive display is in the keyboard-enabled mode, the physical keypad being substantially smooth when the interactive display is in the keyboard-disabled mode.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An electronic device comprising:
 a first display disposed at a first surface of the electronic device and which is an interactive display having an interactive mode and a non-interactive mode, the interactive display comprising a first image display device, wherein the first image display device displays a first user-interactive imaged keypad comprising first imaged keys in at least a portion of the first image display device when the interactive display is in the interactive mode and that displays other image data in the at least a portion of the first image display device when the interactive display is in the non-interactive mode;   a physical keypad disposed over the first display, the physical keypad comprising structural features that correspond with the first imaged keys;   a second display disposed at a second surface of the electronic device, the second display comprising a second image display device configured to display a plurality of second imaged keys and other image data;   a sensor that detects user interaction with the physical keypad; and   an image generator that displays within the second image display device an imaged representation of the user interaction with the physical keypad.   
     
     
         2 . The electronic device of  claim 1 , wherein the image display device is selected from one of the following types of image display devices: liquid crystal displays, digital light processor displays, plasma displays and light emitting diode displays. 
     
     
         3 . The electronic device of  claim 1 , further comprising a touchscreen panel, and the physical keypad is disposed over the touchscreen panel. 
     
     
         4 . The electronic device of  claim 3 , wherein the physical keypad is integral to the touchscreen panel. 
     
     
         5 . The electronic device of  claim 3 , wherein the physical keypad is separate from the touchscreen panel. 
     
     
         6 . The electronic device of  claim 1 , wherein the electronic device is selected from one of the following types of electronic devices: cell phones, personal digital assistants, automatic teller machines, data input devices, portable devices, hand-held devices, non-portable devices, and computers. 
     
     
         7 . The electronic device of  claim 1 , wherein the sensor comprises one or more of the following sensor types: a motion sensor, a thermal sensor and a pressure sensor. 
     
     
         8 . The electronic device of  claim 1 , wherein the imaged representation of the user interaction comprises an imaged depiction of the user's finger or thumb interacting with the imaged keypad. 
     
     
         9 . The electronic device of  claim 1 , wherein shapes of the first imaged keys are reconfigurable. 
     
     
         10 . The electronic device of  claim 1 , wherein the other types of image data comprise a selectable menu. 
     
     
         11 . The electronic device of  claim 1 , wherein the structural features are bumps, ridges, or indented regions.