US 5,850,358 A · Portable work station and data collection terminal including switchable multi purpose touch screen display

Abstract

A portable data collection terminal has an elongate housing with a hand grip conforming rear surface. A front surface features a numerical keyboard adjacent a lower end of the housing and an LCD screen adjacent the keyboard toward an upper end of the housing. The display screen is of elongate rectangular shape, its length extending longitudinally of the housing of the data terminal. The active area of the display screen is covered by a touch sensitive overlay screen which is configured in one mode of operation of the data terminal into an alphabetical keyboard. The orientation of the display is switchable between orientations in which the line direction of the displayed data extends across or longitudinally of the data terminal. The keys of the numerical keyboard are identified by indicia disposed on a template. The orientation of the template may be sensed to switch the orientation of the displayed data and touch sensitive key identifiers to correspond to the orientation of the indicia on the template. As a further embodiment an electromagnetic activation by a pen may be used to enter data into a data terminal. Power saving shutdown extends the battery life of the data terminal. A shutdown mode permits resumption of operations by depression of a key.

Claims20

Dependent claims

A portable data collection terminal comprising:

a housing having a frontal side including a display screen and a keyboard wherein the display screen includes a screen area and a graphic data input mechanism disposed coincident with the screen area;
and
a power management circuit mechanism including a non-volatile memory and a shadowing circuit configured to operably provide
(a) shadowing of input and output device states of the terminal, and
(b) storing microprocessor register states, including input and output device states, to the non-volatile memory as the terminal is being shut down.

2 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application

08/831,035Filed 1 Apr 1997 · continuation

Priority

3 May 1989

Granted

15 Dec 1998

Term ends

Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification44 codes

B60R 16/0231
For transmission of signals between vehicle parts or subsystems: circuits relating to the driving or the functioning of the vehicle
G06F 1/1626
For portable computers: with a single-body enclosure integrating a flat display, e.g. Personal Digital Assistants [PDAs]
G06F 1/1632
For portable computers: external expansion units, e.g. docking stations
G06F 1/1656
Constructional details or arrangements of portable computers not specific to the type of enclosures covered by groups G06F1/1615 - G06F1/1626:…

Family

Serial347,602Parent of this continuation · filed 3 May 1989

Serial728,667Parent of this continuation-in-part · filed 11 Jul 1991

Serial948,034Parent of this continuation-in-part · filed 12 Sep 1992

Serial23,840Parent of this continuation-in-part · filed 26 Feb 1993

Serial48,873Parent of this continuation-in-part · filed 16 Apr 1993

Serial226,516Parent of this continuation · filed 12 Apr 1994

Serial573,974Parent of this continuation · filed 18 Dec 1995

US 5,617,343 AParent of this continuation

US 5,488,575 AParent of this continuation

US 5,850,358 AThis patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.

Portable work station and data collection terminal including switchable multi purpose touch screen display

Life of this patent

Portable work station and data collection terminal including switchable multi purpose touch screen display

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims20