Motorola Corporation

Keith E Kinerk

Daniel Wong

Michael L Charlier

Joseph P Magliocco

Hoang K Quan

David A Pena

A wireless communication handset () having a movable housing portion () coupled to a housing portion () that rotates relative to the housing portion. The movable housing portion may be a ring that rotates from one positionto another positionrelative to the housing. Rotation of the ring to a first position activates a first function. Indiciadisposed on the ring indicates the desired mode. Rotation of the ring to a second position activates a second mode corresponding to a second indicia on the ring. The ring is interchangeable with other rings (FIG.through FIG.) having different indicia corresponding to different modes or functions. The software that corresponds to the different modes may be stored in a memoryof the device or downloaded to the device upon coupling the ring thereto.

Movable user interface

A rotating user interface for a portable electronic device (FIG.through FIG.) includes a circular portion that rotates relative to a housing portion. Rotation of the rotating user interface controls motion on a display such as a steering wheel for a gaming mode of the device. A moveable user interface includes a plurality of keys () arranged and constructed to be configured in one of a first configuration (FIG.) and a second configuration (FIG.); and a controllercoupled to the plurality of keys, operable to detect when the plurality of keys are in the first configuration or second configuration and correspondingly to control the device to perform a first function or second function corresponding to the detected configuration.

Rotating user interface

A proportional force input apparatus for an electronic device includes a mechanism operable by a user of the electronic device, such as a stylus inserted into a spring-loaded socket of the device. The mechanism provides a tactile feedback to the user proportional to a force applied by the user. A variable strength sensor detects the force applied by the user to the mechanism and converts this to an electrical signal proportional to the force applied by the user. A processor operates to input the electric signal from the variable strength sensor and provide force information to an application running on the electronic device. Optionally, a second sensor can detect rotation of the stylus. As a result, a stylus can be used to provide vector information to an application such as a game.

Proportional force input apparatus for an electronic device

An apparatus and method for electronic device control. The apparatus can include a first housing including a first housing face, a display coupled to the first housing face, a second housing pivotably attached to the first housing the second housing including a second housing face, the second housing face being configured to cover at least a portion of the first housing face. The apparatus can also include a housing orientation detection module coupled to the second housing, the housing orientation detection module configured to detect a position of the second housing relative to the first housing. The apparatus can additionally include a controller configured to display motion on the display based on the position detected by the housing orientation detection module. The second housing can be pivotably attached to the first housing along at least two axes of rotation.

Apparatus and method for electronic device control

A rotating user interface for a portable electronic device (FIG., through FIG.et sequence) includes a circular portion that rotates relative to a housing portion. Rotation of the rotating user interface controls motion on a display such as a steering wheel for a gaming mode of the device. A moveable user interface includes a plurality of keys () arranged and constructed to be configured in one of a first configuration (FIG.) and a second configuration (FIG.); and a controller, coupled to the plurality of keys, operable to detect when the plurality of keys are in the first configuration or second configuration and correspondingly to control the device to perform a first function or second function corresponding to the detected configuration.

A fuzzy inference engine (10) performs fuzzy logic operations with a high degree of accuracy in a minimal amount of time. The fuzzy inference engine (10) includes a fuzzification module (12) which decodes an input signal to access a memory location (18, 20). When accessed, the memory location provides a unary value to a rule evaluation module (26). The rule evaluation module (26) subsequently processes the unary value to indicate a relative strength of a fuzzy inference rule. Because the fuzzy logic operations use unary numbers, rather than more traditional binary numbers, the only time required to perform fuzzy logic operations is equal to only a time required for the signal to propagate through the logic gates (28, 30, 32, 34, 36, and 38) forming rule evaluation module (26).

Data processor for executing a fuzzy logic operation and method therefor

A data processor (50) includes a hardware keyscan circuit (54) to interface to an external keypad matrix (80). In one embodiment, the data processor (50) has a first register (62) for driving data to rows of the keypad matrix (80), and a second register (63) for inputting signals from columns of the keypad matrix (80). A set of weak pullup elements (71) connected to the columns is always conductive. A set of strong pullup elements (75) connected to the columns is conductive only after the hardware keyscan circuit (54) detects that a key (89) is depressed and disables the driving of the rows. Thus, pullup time and power consumption are minimized. The hardware keyscan circuit (54) also includes a data direction register (61) which has a shift control input terminal so that in response to a local state machine (64), the data direction register (61) acts as a shift register to sense the row with the depressed key (89), without intervention from a central processing unit (51).

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Fontana, WI, United States of America

Keith E Kinerk