Ergonomic thumb support device for a hand-held device

Abstract

In one aspect, the present invention is directed to a thumb support device for use with a hand-held device that is held using a single hand and that included a thumb control. The hand-held device may have an input/output device on it, such as a display screen or a microphone. The hand-held device is configured in such a way that, for the user to use the input/output device, the user holds the hand-held device in at least approximately a palm-up orientation. For example, the hand-held device may include a display screen on its front face and may be held by the user with their hand in a palm-up orientation to position the display screen for viewing. As another example, the hand-held device may include a microphone on its top and may be held proximate the user's mouth in use, with the user's palm facing generally medially. The thumb support device supports the user's thumb while the user operates the thumb control. The thumb support device may be provided separately from the hand-held device. For example, the thumb support device may be provided as a retrofit kit for mounting onto a new or pre-existing hand-held device. Alternatively the thumb support device could be incorporated directly into the hand-held device. In another aspect, the present invention is directed to a hand-held device that includes the thumb support device. The thumb support device may be retractable. Optionally, the thumb support device includes a biasing member to urge the thumb support member towards a selected position.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.