Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a portable computing device having a removable user input.

Background

A typical personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end user, with no intervening computer operator. This is in contrast to the batch processing or time-sharing models which allowed large expensive mainframe systems to be used by many people, usually at the same time, or large data processing systems which required a full-time staff to operate efficiently.

A personal computer may be a desktop computer, a laptop, a tablet PC or a handheld PC (also called palmtop). The most common microprocessors in personal computers are x86-compatible CPUs. Software applications for personal computers include word processing, spreadsheets, databases, Web browsers and e-mail clients, games, and myriad personal productivity and special-purpose software. Modern personal computers often have high-speed or dial-up connections to the Internet, allowing access to the World Wide Web and a wide range of other resources.

A drawn back of the existing computing devices is that the keyboard is integrally mounted on the device which cause some inconvenience to the user who need to be mobile but have to carry the whole computing device along with him.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a portable computing device having a removable user input, so that the user only have to carry the user input without the need to carry the whole computing device along with him.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein, by way of illustration and example, an embodiment of the present invention is disclosed. Summary of the invention

In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a computing device comprising: a cover moveably mounted on a base unit, the base unit including one or more user inputs mounted thereon, the user input including a removable keyboard, the keyboard is operationally connected to the computing device if removed.

Brief description of the drawings

By way of example / illustration only, an embodiment of the invention is described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:-

Figure 1 shows the front view and the back view of the portable computing device 100 in one embodiment of the invention.

Figure 2 shows the removable keyboard, if removed, is operationally connected to the computing device as long as the keyboard is within 10m from the computing device.

Figure 3 shows the front view and the back view of the portable computing device 100 in another embodiment of the invention.

Figure 4 shows the front view and the back view of the portable computing device 100 in a further embodiment of the invention.

Detailed Description

Figure 1 shows the front view and the back view of a portable computing device 100 in a preferred embodiment of the invention.

As shown, the computing device 100 comprises a cover 104 moveably mounted on a base unit 102. In the preferred embodiment, the cover 104 houses a display 112. Those skilled in the art will recognise that the base unit 102 may house a number of conventional portable computer components such as a micro processor, the requisite circuit boards, communication module, memory, controller, data storage components, connectors, battery, Bluetooth chipset, power supply and other components (none of which is shown). The computing device 100 may be operated under an operating system software which can be customized depending on applications.

It will be understood that the battery may not be necessary where the computing device is intended for home entertainment without a portability requirement and a wall outlet power source will be sufficient to operate the computing device without the battery. It will also be understood that the computing device will not function if the computing device does not have both of the power supply and the battery.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the micro processor may be based on Intel's or AMD's or other equivalent single core or dual core chipset portfolio or other minimum range of computing processor. The memory may be in the form of 2GB and higher to facilitate more efficient computing. The communication module may be in the form of Ethernet Local Area Network (LAN) 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet and Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) 802.11 a/b/g. The connectors may be in the form of Audio/Video (A/V) Inputs/Outputs (I/O) connectors, which includes Universal Serial Bus (USB) 2.0 (x4), Composite audio/video, High Definition Media Interface (HDMI), Local Area Network (LAN), RJ11, RJ45, headphone & microphone industry standard jacks. The connectors may also perform other functions, such as connecting to an external portable hard disk drive to allow consumers to record and to store digital media content. The power supply may be in the form of 3.5A, 17-19 Volt via a standard 3-pin AC plug. The battery may be in the form of a rechargeable battery powered wireless keyboard using Bluetooth Class II, or Radio Frequency (RF) 2.4Ghz connectivity. The Bluetooth chipset is in the form of minimum class 2 Bluetooth chipset. Other components may include a card reader and a USB slots that caters to multiple consumer standard card storage formats and digital thumb drives for ease of digital media content mobility and portability. Other component may further include a consumer controlled time scheduled recorder function for recording free to air and cable TV programs.

To switch on the computing device, an external apparatus, such as an infra red (IR) remote control on/off apparatus may be used.

As shown in Figure 1 , the base unit 102 includes one or more user inputs mounted thereon. The user input includes a removable keyboard 106. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the removable keyboard 106 is a conventional laptop- style keyboard unit having a plurality of standard size data input keys. It will be understood that the removable keyboard 106, if removed as shown in Figure 2, is operationally connected to the computing device 100 as long as the keyboard 106 is within 10m from the computing device 100. In other words, the user can operate the computing device 100 from a distance simply by having the removable keyboard 106 along with him. As shown in Figure 2, the latching mechanism is very similar to the battery pack used in any laptop. It will have to hinge into the compartment at location A, swing the other end into the compartment at location B and being latched on by some mechanical spring loaded lock.

It is submitted that communication module housed within the base unit 102 can provide communication link with a LCD or LED or HD or Plasma or other types of external display screen so as to provide a wide screen "cinema like" multimedia entertainment experience to the user. An example of a display screen is a large 16:9 widescreen High Definition (HD) display. The keyboard 106 can be used to control digital media computing and high definition audio/video media recording, editing and playback from a comfortable and relaxed living room setting environment.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the user input may further include a conventional touch sensitive pad 114. The touch sensitive pad 114 is sometimes commonly known as touch screen mouse pad.

As shown in Figure 1 , the computing device 100 may further include a light emitting element 110 secured on the base unit 102 in the preferred embodiment of the invention. The light emitting element 110 may be in the form of a detachable or built- in projector using an efficient lamp or LED lighting technology with efficient heat dissipation. As will be appreciated by a person skilled in the art, the detachable or built-in projector with LED lighting allows data content playback to be displayed at a bigger image than the intended size. In addition, the projector may also be used for multimedia presentation and for home theatre for watching videos.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the computing device 100 may further include at least one sound emitting element 108. The sound emitting element 108 may be in the form of stereo speaker mounted on two opposite sides of the base unit 102 and may be positioned and controlled by the user to an adjustable angle to suit individual preference as shown in Figure 1.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the cover 104 is pivotally secured to one side of the base unit 102. It is contemplated that both the base unit 102 and cover 104 may have eco-friendly compact design that uses less plastic material and have an innovative metal chassis design that aids heat dispersion, which operates on less external cable interconnects and consumes less power. The eco-friendly design may refer to design having less usage of industry standard input/output interconnectors while achieving similar product performance. It may also refer to design having efficient use of internal component packaging to evacuate or ventilate heated air due to heat transfer from the projector's light source. It can also further refer design having strategic location of heat sink which allows efficient "surface area versus volume ratio" performance which in turn reduces heat sink metal usage. The metal casing having ElectroMagnetic Compatibility (EMC), ElectroMagnetic Interference (EMI) and shielding design must meet FCC requirements.

Figure 3 and Figure 4 shows other embodiments of the invention. In particularly, Figure 3 shows the stereo speakers concealed as a result of being mounted within the base unit 102 of the computing device 300. Figure 4 shows the stereo speakers 408 mounted on another two opposing sides of the base unit 102 of the computing device 400.

It is submitted that the commercial applicability of the present invention includes home personal computing and home theatre entertainment.

While the invention has been particularly shown and described with respect to a preferred embodiment thereof, it will be understood by those in the art that various changes in form and details can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.