Ergonomic thumb-actuable keyboard for a hand-grippable device

DETAILED DESCRIPTION AND BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Turning attention now to the drawings and referring first to FIG.
1, there is indicated generally at 20 a hand-held device, namely, a portable telephone, which incorporates my invention.
The device 20 includes a keyboard 22 for transmitting information supplied by a human operator (user) to a suitable electronic system (not shown) such as the internal components within device 20, which are in turn coupled via a broadcast or wire connection to external devices (not shown).
The coupling arrangement between keyboard 22 and a suitable electronic system is very well know to those skilled in the art and forms no part of the present invention.
Hence, it is omitted from the drawings and from any further discussion.
The portable telephonic device 20 has an exterior housing 24 which is shaped or contoured to include at least a portion which is easily and securely held in the hand 26 of a user.
In particular, the housing 24 includes a grippable portion 30 which is a part of the housing and is capable of being held in one hand with the user's fingers 32 partially wrapped around the grippable portion.
Keyboard 22 is provided on what may be thought of as the back side of the telephone, i.
e.
, the side opposite to that which is held adjacent the user's mouth and ear when the telephone is used for conversational communication.
FIG.
2 illustrates in perspective the front side of portable telephone 20 and shows the user's hand gripping the grippable portion 30 in a manner typically used when speaking into the telephone.
The telephone includes an earpiece 38 for holding adjacent the user's ear and a mouthpiece 40 for holding adjacent the mouth when the phone is in use, as is very well known.
Grippable portion 30 of the housing 24 is preferably sized to allow the user's fingers to partially encircle the grippable portion and press it into the palm of hand 26.
In particular, the size and shape of the grippable portion of the telephone should permit the user to grip and hold the device in the palm of the hand without use of the thumb 42