The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Dec. 11, 2001
Filed:
Sep. 25, 1998
Gary L. Burrell, Olathe, KS (US);
Garmin Corporation, , TW;
Abstract
A portable electronic device is provided which includes a housing having a front face, a base, and a back wall joined in a polyhedron configuration. The front face includes an input area having keys for data entry and a display area having a screen to illustrate information to the user. The front face, back wall, and base are joined in the polyhedron configuration, such that the front face is presented to the user at an angle to horizontal when the base is mounted upon a horizontal or vertical surface. The front face, back wall, and base are joined at rounded edges to afford a smooth contour which is easily and comfortably grasped within the hand of the user. The portable electronic device further includes a sensor to determine whether the housing is aligned upon a horizontal or vertical axis. This sensor delivers its output to a display control which realigns information displayed upon the view screen to shift the displayed information between vertical and horizontal configurations. The input keys within the input area include indicia identifying the function of each key, wherein the indicia are aligned at an angle with respect to the longitudinal axis of the housing. Such angular alignment of the indicia enable the indicia to be easily viewed when the housing is held within the hand of a user at a vertical alignment or mounted upon a console in a horizontal alignment.