Patents by Inventor William B. Rees

William B. Rees has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Publication number: 20080280645
    Abstract: An integrated device provides functionality of both a PDA and cellular telephone. Features include a power button offering control of both the computing and telephony functions of the device; a lid that turns the device on and off and controls additional telephony functions; a jog rocker that activates the device and is used to select from a variety of menu options; application buttons that offer direct access to applications stored on the device, and which can be configured to operate in conjunction with secondary keys to offer added functionality; a keyboard that enables data input into the device; an automatic word completion function that verifies and corrects a user's typing in real time; and a simplified keyboard navigation system that allows the navigation of menus using keyboard shortcuts.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 23, 2008
    Publication date: November 13, 2008
    Applicant: Palm, Inc.
    Inventors: Jeffrey C. Hawkins, Thomas B. Bridgwater, Robert Y. Haitani, William B. Rees
  • Publication number: 20080261652
    Abstract: An integrated device provides functionality of both a PDA and cellular telephone. Features include a power button offering control of both the computing and telephony functions of the device; a lid that turns the device on and off and controls additional telephony functions; a jog rocker that activates the device and is used to select from a variety of menu options; application buttons that offer direct access to applications stored on the device, and which can be configured to operate in conjunction with secondary keys to offer added functionality; a keyboard that enables data input into the device; an automatic word completion function that verifies and corrects a user's typing in real time; and a simplified keyboard navigation system that allows the navigation of menus using keyboard shortcuts.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 27, 2008
    Publication date: October 23, 2008
    Applicant: Palm, Inc.
    Inventors: Jeffrey C. Hawkins, Thomas B. Bridgwater, Robert Y. Haitani, William B. Rees
  • Patent number: 7395089
    Abstract: An integrated device provides functionality of both a PDA and cellular telephone. Features include a power button offering control of both the computing and telephony functions of the device; a lid that turns the device on and off and controls additional telephony functions; a jog rocker that activates the device and is used to select from a variety of menu options; application buttons that offer direct access to applications stored on the device, and which can be configured to operate in conjunction with secondary keys to offer added functionality; a keyboard that enables data input into the device; an automatic word completion function that verifies and corrects a user's typing in real time; and a simplified keyboard navigation system that allows the navigation of menus using keyboard shortcuts.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 12, 2001
    Date of Patent: July 1, 2008
    Assignee: Palm, Inc
    Inventors: Jeffrey C Hawkins, Thomas B Bridgwater, Robert Y Haitani, William B Rees
  • Publication number: 20080133697
    Abstract: A device simplifies uploading of images from a device to a network site (e.g. a website). The device or a remote server stores public upload information for one or more websites. The images are then formatted in accordance with the public upload data and/or personal configurations. The formatting may be directed, at least in part, to changing a format in which non-standard data is stored in an image file to be uploaded, such as location information. Information from an uploaded image file may be displayed directly, may be used in a mash-up, or may have some other use.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 22, 2007
    Publication date: June 5, 2008
    Inventors: William Kam Stewart, Matthew W. Crowley, Jeff Finkelstein, Robert Y. Haitani, William B. Rees
  • Patent number: 7356361
    Abstract: A hand-held device that provides communication services and symbol processing is described. The device includes a case having a front side comprising a display and a lid having a transparent portion through which the display can be seen in a lid-closed state. In one version, the hand-held device comprises a QWERTY keyboard including an arrangement of digits as in a touch-tone telephone keypad arrangement. In another version, the display includes a handwriting area for data entry using a stylus or other screen data entry device. In a closed position, the lid extends over the display and the keyboard, leaving another user input device physically accessible to touch for receiving input wherein the device performs processing responsive to receiving input from the physically accessible user input device in the lid closed state.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 13, 2001
    Date of Patent: April 8, 2008
    Assignee: Palm, Inc.
    Inventors: Jeffrey C Hawkins, Peter N Skillman, William B Rees, Robert Y Haitani, Michael A Yurochko, Edward T Colligan
  • Patent number: 6975304
    Abstract: Described herein is a computer-implemented system and method for processing one or more alternate symbols associated or linked to a base symbol. A base symbol is a symbol to which at least one alternate symbol is linked. A base symbol commonly appears on a key of a keyboard or a display or a keyboard, or is a handwritten symbol recognized by handwriting entry software. Examples of alternate symbols are accented characters and punctuation marks that do not appear on a keyboard or are not commonly recognized by a handwriting entry program, and short symbol sequences. An example of a common short symbol sequence is an emoticon used in e-mail messages to convey tone or feelings. An example of a computer device that may embody the system or method is a hand-held computing device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 14, 2001
    Date of Patent: December 13, 2005
    Assignee: Handspring, Inc.
    Inventors: Jeffrey C. Hawkins, William B. Rees, Debbie O. Chyi, Robert Y. Haitani
  • Patent number: 6957397
    Abstract: A technique to navigate through one or more menus of a handheld computer is disclosed. In one embodiment, the technique uses a handheld device having a first button to cause a cursor to navigate through a plurality of menu items and to highlight a desired menu item. The device also has a second button to cause the cursor to navigate through a plurality of menus when the cursor is highlighting one of the menus or a first menu item, and to cause the cursor to highlight a previous menu item when the cursor is highlighting a menu item other than the first menu item.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 12, 2001
    Date of Patent: October 18, 2005
    Assignee: Palm, Inc.
    Inventors: Jeffrey C. Hawkins, Robert Y. Haitani, Debbie O. Chyi, William B. Rees, Vitaly Kruglikov
  • Patent number: 6950988
    Abstract: On a device having keys with multiple values, a user may perform either an iterative directory filtering operation or a direct-dial operation, without specifying which of the operations is intended. The invention thereby allows the user to perform any of a number of different operations to specify a number to be dialed or to identify a directory record, without requiring the user to specify a mode. The invention determines which of the operations the user intends by analyzing the entered keystrokes, and activates the appropriate feedback and functionality for the determined operation. The invention further performs iterative directory filtering on multiple fields concurrently, including derived fields and combination fields.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 12, 2001
    Date of Patent: September 27, 2005
    Assignee: Handspring, Inc.
    Inventors: Jeffrey C. Hawkins, Thomas B. Bridgwater, Robert Y. Haitani, Srikiran Prasad, William B. Rees
  • Publication number: 20040221243
    Abstract: A handheld device comprising a display screen, a processor, and an input device is provided. The processor is configured to present a graphical user interface comprising a radial menu including a plurality of first level menu items in a circumferential arrangement. The input device is configured to send a user input to the processor for navigating the radial menu. The graphical user interface is configured such that selecting one of the plurality of first level menu items causes a plurality of second level menu items associated with the one first level menu item to replace the first level menu items in the circumferential arrangement. The handheld device can further comprise an actuator for producing a tactile feedback, the processor being further configured to signal the actuator to produce the tactile feedback as the radial menu is navigated.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 16, 2004
    Publication date: November 4, 2004
    Inventors: Timothy D. Twerdahl, Roger S. Flores, William B. Rees