In the non-ignoble name of "greater ergonomic comfort," BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion has filed a U.S. patent application for a rotatable keyboard.

Unlike some more complicated RIM patents that require an engineering degree to understand, this one's fairly simple.

The Abstract for 20070008292, Mobile Device For Rotatable Keyboard, explains what's being proposed:

"A mobile device is provided having a rotatable keyboard. The keyboard is attached to the mobile device and is rotatable in a single plane with respect to the device's housing between a first and second position," the Abstract says. :A plurality of keys are provided having first indicia in a first orientation relating to key functions in the first position and second indicia in a second orientation relating to key functions in the second position.

"The indicia are properly oriented with respect to the user in the first and second positions to display a telephone keypad and an alternate keyboard," RIM says. "The arrangement provides greater ergonomic comfort to a user when entering text. The mobile device can assign functions to each key based on a determined keyboard position and can include a weighted end piece to protect the rotatable keyboard from potential damage due to impact."

Sounds good to me. Looks good to me as well.

But how 'bout you? Would you want a rotatable keyboard?

Technology described in a new BlackBerry Patent application would enable two or more BlackBerry batteries to be recharged simultaneously.

Patent Application 20070001644, "Methods and Apparatus For Simultaneously Charging Multiple Rechargable Batteries," contains an Abstract that says:

"A charger has two or more separate charging ports to which two or more rechargeable batteries can be coupled, respectively. Current from a single current source is allocated to the two or more separate charging ports so that the two or more rechargeable batteries will be fully charged at substantially the same time."

OK so that's cool. But why is this necessary? This Patent app's literature explains clearly.

Technology in a newly published BlackBerry Patent application specifies a mechanism for a BlackBerry microphone fastened to the device, but with more distance than between current microphone-speaker arrangements.

Part of the phraseology describing this need is found in Paragraph 3 of the Patent's Background section.

"In a typical telephone, a handset is provided which is a shaped form having two transducers, e.g. a microphone and a speaker, positioned in a well-spaced relationship," the application says. "Meanwhile, portable communication devices, such as cellular phones, have smaller and smaller form factors. Locating transducers in a cellular phone is a difficult task, because there are space restrictions on potential locations for the transducers and in certain confined spaces, the location of a transducer, such as a microphone, must be sufficiently isolated from signal interference generated from other devices within the phone. "

Therefore, U.S. Patent Application 20060293091, Microphone Coupler for a Communications Device, describes- in infinite detail I might add- a way for this isolation to happen in a way that promotes signal interference.

This Patent's Abstract somewhat describes what is being proposed here.

A newly published BlackBerry patent app would offer automated message signature text capability to individual messages based on the attributes and characteristics of that message.

U.S. Patent Application 20060288219, "Automation selection and inclusion of a message signature," is defined by its Patent Abstract.

The Abstract describes:

"A system and method for the creation and automated selection and inclusion an automated signature text with an electronic message, wherein the automated selection of the automated signature text is dependent on attributes of the message, the designated recipients, or attributes of the designated recipients as compared to the sender's attributes, such as the encoding type and/or transport method selected for the electronic message or the location of the recipient without the need for multiple user profiles or manual editing by the sender."

Reading the Abstract a little further , we learn that "at least one of a plurality of automated signature texts is associated with at least one encoding type of a plurality of encoding types, at least one message transport type, or with at least one predeterined recipient attribute or the outcome of a comparison of the recipient attribute with the sender's attributes."

Then we are told that the appropriate automated signature text is inserted prior to encoding of the message for transport.

The best way to describe this to you further, readers, is to show you a series of drawings from the application that includes UI screens that illustrate this process. In the succession of screens, you can detect the flowchart of this application as it is applied.

A new BlackBerry patent application includes a "pointing device" that would safeguard against a user accidentally turning his Blackberry on when it is in sleep mode.

Patent application 20060284840, "Portable electronic device including pointer and related methods," is defined by an Abstract that describes:

"A portable electronic device includes a portable housing, and a battery and pointing device carried by the portable housing. The portable electronic device further includes electronic circuitry carried by the portable housing and connected to the battery and the pointing device."

And as to the pointing device's role in all this?

"The electronic circuitry may switch from a sleep mode to an active mode based upon operation of the pointing device in a non-random pattern," notes the Abstract, and "not switch from the sleep mode to the active mode based upon operation of the pointing device in a random pattern."

Now let us learn more about how this will work.

Following a few suggestions I have been trying the new Google Patent Search Service to look for patents applied for or granted to BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion.

While there is some interesting stuff, I have to tell you that most of what's currently in the database is old, cannot efficiently searched for by date range, and does not include newer applied-for patents that indicate future devices, features and modifications in forthcoming generations of BlackBerrhy handhelds.

Still there are a few gems, such as the Mobile Device with a Rotatable Keyboard.

Citing the need to preserve battery structural integrity by guarding against user attempts to jam a non-compliant battery into a BlackBerry device, a just-published BlackBerry patent app calls for a type of a streamlined battery pack to ensure that the user is inserting a compatible device into their BB.

In the case of this SLIM LINE BATTERY PACK (all-caps are RIM's) invention, the Abstract tells us how the device will look and feel. But to really understand how the functionality I referenced is being advanced, you'll want to read on after the jump.

But let us not get ahead of ourselves here. Let's start with the Abstract:

"A battery pack is configured to reduce weight, enhance battery identification, ensure proper placement of a lid retaining the battery, and facilitate battery pack removal. The battery pack has one or more cells that lack an outer coverage except for a polymer sheathing," the Abstract notes.

"The battery pack includes a mating notch on a terminal plate and may include a fingernail notch and/or one or more guide rails," we're told. "The fingernail notch may be a single depression formed to allow a fingernail to slip onto the battery pack, may be a single depression and a ledge that are side-by-side, or may be formed of multiple ledges and/or depressions. There may be a single guide rail or multiple guide rails. Each guide rail preferably has a hollow interior section that is crossed by one or more ribs or segments.

A BlackBerry Patent application filed with the Canadian Intellectual Patent Office points to a new method for a BlackBerry to work within a a Virtual Private Network.

That's not all, but we're talking working within a VPN for secure exchange of real-time data.

You're looking at what I consider the Patent app's key image above.

"But what do all these numbers mean," you ask.

This is one of these cases where the Abstract does a fine job explaining what's goin' on. And what all those numbers and arrows mean.

A BlackBerry Patent Application just published this morning would allow for "date separators" to be strategically positioned in BlackBerry email and other message lists presented on Blackberry devices.

While date separator technology already is in use on these devices, the rendered drawings appear to represent a more robust way of making these distinctions.

Specifically U.S. Patent app 20060277504, Displaying Messages on Handheld Devices, contains an Abstract that defines the scop of this invention in the following manner:

"A method of displaying messages on handheld devices. The device displays messages in a scrollable viewport of vertically arranged fields," the Abstract explains. "Date separators inserted into the vertically arranged list of messages to enable the user to associate the messages with a date."

Now, readers, here's the difference between what's being described and what's available now.

"The date separators have 'sticky' operation, meaning that the device ensures a date separator always appears within the viewport, even when the viewport has been scrolled to the middle of a long list of messages all associated with the same dat," the Abstract points out.."The device may ensure that the top field of the viewport always contains a date separator associated with the message immediately below.

When you see some pictures and read the accompanying background data from the Patent app, you may get a clearer picture of what is being proposed here.

A very reliable insider source (who is not the guy whose initials are the same as the group who wrote some of those great songs on "Saturday Night Fever") has sent us verified information Regarding the T-Mobile 8800 BlackBerry:

Here's what we know:

There 2 versions of the 8800.

The first one will be launched without a camera approximately the middle-end of Jan 2007.

Perhaps the best way for me to explain this patent is to describe a scenario where the functionality could be of use.

If you are familiar with your BlackBerry Calendar, you know that it has a "recurring event" function. An example of a "recurring event" could be a sales manager's conference every Thursday at 11 a.m. in Meeting Room B.

Because some BlackBerry users don't want "recurring events" to appear on enterprise Calendars indefinitely, these enterprise users often set an expiration date. Then, if the event is still an ongoing proposition after the expiration date, the event must be propogated through the enterprise via BES. This can be a problem if some of the participants are outside the organization- such as customers or stakeholders not tied in to the BlackBerry Enterprise Server in use at this company.

What this patent does is allow recurring event calendar updates to be sent wirelessly. Now you know why this new patent application is entitled, "System and method for preventing the lapse of a recurring event using electronic calendar system."

OK, now for the Abstract, which specifies:

"A system and method for preventing the lapse of a recurring event includes an electronic calendar program having the capability of establishing a recurring event with a predetermined end date. A processor is operative for notifying an organizer of the event at a predetermined time of the end date for the recurring event and permitting the organizer to modify the end date of the recurring event if the event is to continue," the Abstract says.

"The electronic calendar program and processor is operative in a mobile wireless communications device that includes a housing and radio frequency (RF) transceiver contained within the housing such that notifications of the new end date can be transmitted to and received by attendees of the event, including any changed meeting information."

How to stylishly yet functionally integrate a phone dialpad into a BlackBerry QWERTY keypad- well, that's a challenge that is part of the job description for several designers at RIM.

When we look at the huge amount of patent art attached to a just-published BlackBerry patent application entitled "Keyboard Arrangement," we can get a glimpse of where these integrated keyboard design inspirations are headed.

First, here's the Abstract for this patent app (20060263137).

"A physical keyboard for a handheld mobile communication device having a plurality of keys with corresponding indicia including keys simultaneously presenting associated alphabetic indicia and associated numeric indicia," the Abstract states.

"The alphabetic indicia correspond to letters A-Z that are arranged in a QWERTY pattern and the numeric indicia correspond to at least numerals 1-9 that are arranged in an ITU Standard E.161 phone keypad pattern," the Anstract adds. "At least some of the numerals and at least some of the letters are presented on the same keys thereby establishing an overlaid relationship. The keys that present alphabetic indicia number fewer than 26.

I know we don't derive a lot of specifics from the art included on the patent cover age. But not to scratch our heads. Figure 11A is one of the more vividly displayed and described examples of what the designers at RIM may have in mind. Let's take a peek.

Sometimes patents that describe what sounds like very simple and iterative functionalities offer the most complex explanations.

Take for example a newly published BlackBerry patent application entitled "System and method of automatically determining whether or not to include message text of an original electronic message in a reply electronic message."

This refers to how much- if at all- of the original message will appear below your reply.

Now, BlackBerry says they have devised alorithms and related methodology that is supposed to determine this automatically. Fortunately, you are able to override these settings.

I could really dig myself a deep hole here by going into the intricate details. I'll leave that to this Patent Application's literature, which I link to in the Read link below this post.

But let me at least give you the Abstract for the flavor of what this patent app stipulates:

"A system and method for automatically determining whether or not original message text should be included in a reply electronic message is provided," the Abstract says. " In one broad aspect, the original message text is included in the reply electronic message as a function of the original message. In a first example, the original message text is included as a function of a domain name of an originating address. In a second example, the original message text is included as a function of maintained information used for determining if original message text should be included in reply electronic messages. In a third example, the original message text is included as a function of an indicative encoding inside the original electronic message. In a fourth example, the original message text is included as a function of maintained information used for detecting address aliases.

"In another broad aspect, " explains the Anstract, "the original electronic message is encoded with an indicative encoding as to whether or not a reply electronic message should include the original message text."

A new BlackBerry patent application points to a BlackBerry dual-mode keypad that could switch between QWERTY text-entry mode and a telephone dialpad.

This would make going back and forth between text-entry and phone mode that much easier.

The underlying technology is described in the Abstract for this patent application, which is 20060252454, Dual-Mode keypad for a mobile device.

Let's go over the Abstract, and then get an even more complete idea of what is being proposed here.

The abstract points us to systems and methods provided "for implementing a dual-mode keypad for a mobile device. The mobile device may operate in a telephony mode and a text-entry mode. The dual-mode keypad may include a plurality of dual-mode keys that each include an associated telephony character and at least one associated text-entry character."

"The dual-mode keys may include one or more toggle keys, with each toggle key having a plurality of associated text-entry characters and one associated telephony character.," the Abstract explains further. "When the mobile device is in text-entry mode, the dual-mode keys may be used to input the associated text-entry characters, with the toggle keys each being operable to input a first text-entry character when a first portion of the toggle key is pressed and to input a second text-entry character when a second portion of the toggle key is pressed.

Oh, and what about telephony mode?

"When the mobile device is in telephony mode, the dual-mode keys may be used to input the associated telephony characters," we learn, "with the toggle keys each being operable to input one of the associated telephony characters when any portion of the toggle key is pressed."

Those of you who want to know more, well, as David Lee Roth used to sing, "might as well jump."

We all remember when NTP sued RIM and settled for big mullah. And now recently they've sued Palm. Well, now NTP's getting a taste of its own medicine - as we have already reported they're being sued for patent infringement by Oren Tavory, a 43 year old engineer who says he did much of the work that the NTP patents are based on.

I don't agree with many of the trivial software patents being thrown around these days, but this one brought a smile to my face when I read it.