KR101042818B1 - Sliding keypad apparatus for mobile phone - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a sliding keypad for sliding movement in a main body of a portable terminal, guide means provided in the main body to guide the sliding keypad so as to be slidably moved, mounted at a predetermined position in the main body, and sliding movement of the sliding keypad. It is characterized in that it consists of a keypad switching unit for electrically connected to switch to use a variety of key input functions, thereby improving the keypad function of the terminal, and performs various additional functions, There is an advantage that the terminal can be miniaturized by reducing the number of keys provided on the keypad.

Sliding keypad, guide means, keypad switching unit, first, second printing surface.

Description

SLIDING KEYPAD APPARATUS FOR MOBILE PHONE}

1 is a perspective view of a folder of a clamshell terminal opened in a conventional portable terminal,

2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A 'of FIG.

3 is an exploded perspective view of a sliding keypad device of a mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 4 is a perspective view showing a coupling state of the sliding keypad device of the portable terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention,

5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line B-B 'of FIG.

6 is a plan view illustrating a state in which a sensor unit and a contact terminal unit are connected during the configuration of a sliding keypad device of a mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention;

7 is a plan view illustrating a state in which a sensor unit and a contact terminal unit are separated from each other in a configuration of a sliding keypad device of a mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention;

The present invention relates to a keypad device of a mobile terminal, and more particularly, to a sliding keypad device of a mobile terminal comprising a sliding keypad electrically connected according to a sliding movement and used for various key input functions.

Typically, a bar-type wireless terminal means that a single housing is configured as a bar-type, and a flip-type wireless terminal means that a flip or cover is rotatably configured by a hinge device in a bar-type housing, and a folder-type By wireless terminal it is meant that the folder is configured in a folding manner by rotatably connected by a hinge to a single bar-shaped housing. The above-mentioned conventional portable terminals essentially have an antenna device, a data input / output device, and a data transmission / reception device. Of course, the data input device is commonly used as a keypad for inputting data mainly by a finger pressing operation, a touch pad or a touch screen is also used.

In addition, the data display function according to the data output device is commonly used LCD (LCD).

In addition, recent portable communication devices have various additional functions such as phone book, message management, multimedia function, and game mode function in addition to the basic call mode function. Therefore, the input method for using this is becoming more complicated.

Even if a mobile device does not support complex multimedia functions, it is essential to have keys such as call, end, menu, and message.

This can be a barrier to the trend of smaller and smaller communication devices. If the size of the keypad is smaller to fit the size, the design is limited because there are more than 20 keys in terms of inconvenience and design.

As described above, the keypad used for data input basically consists of an arrangement of a plurality of keys. These keys are composed of call start button Send (SND) key, Cancel key, Correction key (CLR), Numeric Key, Letter Key, End (END) Key, Function Key, Power (PWR) Key and Internet Access Key. .

In addition, the keys are usually arranged in place in the number of 15 to 20 on the upper surface of the housing of the portable terminal. Of course, the keys are exposed from the upper surface so that the user inputs the desired data by pressing a finger.

In addition, recently, due to the function of the camera lens module, Bluetooth, WLAN, MP3, shortcut keys are added to the trend that more buttons are added.

Looking at the structure of a portable terminal having the key, as follows. As shown in Fig. 1 and Fig. 2, the conventional foldable cellular phone is divided into a main body 1 and a folder 2. The main body 1 is equipped with a key button 1a having a four-way adjustment key and various function keys, a numeric key 1b, and a microphone 1c. The folder 2 is provided with a liquid crystal display 2a and a speaker 2b. A hinge device 3 is provided between the main body 1 and the folder 2 so as to be rotatable upward from the main body 1. An antenna 4 is provided on the top of the body 1.

The switch device of the portable terminal uses a plurality of dome switches to obtain a feeling of operation, and the dome switch 6 is a printed circuit having a circuit in the main body 1 by the above key operation. It is provided in the board | substrate (PCB) 5, and the said dome switch 6 is connected with the contact 5a of the printed circuit board (PCB) 5, and generate | occur | produces a signal.

As shown in FIG. 2, the dome switch 6 is provided on the PCB 5 so as to detect a contact signal according to a user's pressing operation.

On the dome switch 6, a key button 1a and a numeric key 1d are provided.

However, in the case of the conventional clamshell, slide, and rotary type portable terminals, there is not enough space, so it is difficult to mount all 20 or more buttons on the front of the main body. For this reason, there is a problem in that the keypad is restricted by the size of the liquid crystal display or the size of the entire terminal increases, which acts as a deterrent to miniaturization.

Accordingly, the present invention is to solve the above conventional problems, the object of the present invention is to improve the keypad function of the terminal by configuring a sliding keypad that is electrically connected according to the sliding movement and used for various key input functions. The present invention provides a sliding keypad device for a portable terminal.

Another object of the present invention is to configure a sliding keypad that can be switched to use a variety of key input functions in accordance with the electrical connection, thereby performing the keypad function of the terminal and various additional functions, the number of keys provided on the keypad of the terminal It is to provide a sliding keypad device of a portable terminal to reduce the size of the terminal.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a portable terminal having a keypad,

A sliding keypad slidingly moving in the main body;

Guide means provided on the main body to guide the sliding keypad to be slidable; And

It is mounted to a predetermined position in the main body, characterized in that consisting of a keypad switching device unit for switching to use a variety of key input functions depending on whether the electrical connection according to the sliding movement of the sliding keypad.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings will be described in detail a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

3 and 4, the sliding keypad device 10 of the portable terminal is composed of a sliding keypad 20, a guide means 30, and a keypad switching unit 40, the sliding keypad 20 is It is provided to be slidably movable in the main body 1 of the terminal, and the guide means 30 is provided in the main body 1 to guide the sliding keypad 20 to be slidably movable, and the keypad is switched. The device 40 is provided at a predetermined position of the main body 1 so that the apparatus 40 can be switched to use various key input functions according to whether the sliding keypad 20 is electrically connected according to the sliding movement of the sliding keypad 20.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 3, the main body 1 is provided with the sliding keypad 20 and a moving space 50 is formed to be slidably movable.

As shown in FIG. 6, an upper surface of the sliding keypad 20 is formed of an array of a plurality of keys 22. At least one printing surface 22 is provided on an upper surface of the keys 21, and the printing surface. 22 is composed of first and second printing surfaces 22a and 22b, and the first printing surface 22a is printed with various letters, numbers, and symbols, and the second printing surface 22b is Characters that indicate special keys are printed.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, the guide means 30 includes a guide member 31 and a guide rail 32, and the guide member 31 is slidably coupled to the guide rail 32. Protrudingly formed on both sides of the sliding keypad 20, the guide rail 32 is formed on both sides in the main body 1 to guide the guide member 31 to be slidably movable.

As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the keypad changer unit 40 includes a sensor unit 41, a contact terminal unit 42, and a keypad control unit 43, and the sensor unit 41 includes the contact unit. It is provided at a predetermined position of the main body 1 so as to be electrically connected to the magnetic portion 42, the contact terminal portion 42 is electrically connected to the sensor portion 41 in accordance with the sliding movement of the sliding keypad 20. It is provided at a predetermined position of the sliding keypad 20, the keypad controller 43 is a variety of keys as the contact terminal 42 and the sensor 41 of the sliding keypad 20 is electrically connected to each other Control to switch to the function of the input.

As shown in FIG. 6, when the contact terminal 42 of the sliding keypad 20 is connected to the sensor unit 41, the keypad controller 43 functions as various characters, numbers, and symbols of the keypad 20. To use it,

As shown in FIG. 7, when the sliding keypad 20 is slid and the connection of the sensor 41 is separated, the sliding keypad 20 can be switched to be used as a special key of the keypad 20.

Referring to Figures 3 to 7 attached to the operation of the sliding keypad device of a mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention having the configuration as described above in detail as follows.

3 and 4, when the user uses the keypad 20 of the terminal as a game or other mode function, the sliding keypad 20 is slidably moved from the bottom to the top.

In this case, as shown in FIG. 3, since the moving space 50 is formed in the main body 1 of the terminal so as to slide the sliding keypad 20, the sliding keypad 20 is located within the moving space 50. Go sliding.

5 and 7, guide members 31 protrude from both sides of the sliding keypad 20, and guide rails 32 are formed on the main body 1 to be coupled to the guide members 31. Therefore, the guide member 31 of the sliding keypad 20 is guided by the guide rail 32 to slide.

In this case, as shown in FIG. 7, the sensor unit 41 provided on the lower surface of the main body 1 and the contact terminal unit 42 provided on the sliding keypad 20 are separated from each other, and the sensor unit 41 is connected to the sensor unit 41. The keypad 20 is connected to the control unit 43 so that the keypad 20 can be used as a special key 22.

In this state, the user uses the keys 22 of the keypad 20 as basic special keys such as menus, confirmations, calls, and terminations, and navigation keys for messages and phonebooks, and also uses a game or screen scroll key. It is also used as a direction key.

Here, as shown in FIG. 6, when the user uses the keypad 20 as a function of letters, numbers, and symbols, when the sliding keypad 20 is slid back again, the contact terminal 42 of the sliding keypad 20 is moved. The keypad controller 43, which is electrically connected to the sensor unit 41 and at the same time connected to the sensor unit 41, converts the sliding keypad 20 into a function of letters, numbers, and symbols.

As described above, by configuring a keypad device for switching to various key input functions according to sliding movement, the keypad function of the terminal can be improved, and the number of keys of the terminal can be reduced, thereby miniaturizing the terminal.

The sliding keypad device of the portable terminal of the present invention described above is not limited to the above-described embodiments and drawings, and various substitutions, modifications, and changes can be made without departing from the technical spirit of the present invention. It will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art.

For example, the present invention need not be limited to a foldable terminal, and can be applied to all portable terminals.

According to the sliding keypad device of the mobile terminal according to the present invention as described above,

By constructing a sliding keypad that is electrically connected according to the sliding movement and used for various key input functions, the keypad function of the terminal can be improved, various additional functions can be performed, and the number of keys provided on the keypad of the terminal can be reduced. The terminal can be miniaturized.

Claims (6)

In a portable terminal having a keypad, A sliding keypad slidingly moving in the main body; Guide means provided on the main body to guide the sliding keypad to be slidable; And And a keypad switching device unit mounted at a predetermined position in the main body and configured to switch to be used as various key input functions according to whether electrical connection is caused by sliding movement of the sliding keypad. The sliding keypad device of claim 1, wherein a movement space is further provided on the main body so that the sliding keypad is slidably movable. The method of claim 1, wherein the upper surface of the sliding keypad is made up of a plurality of keys, the top surface of the keys are provided with at least one printed surface, The printing surface is composed of a first printing surface for printing various letters, numbers, and symbols, And a second printing surface for printing a character of a special key at a position adjacent to the first printing surface. According to claim 1, wherein the guide means, the guide member protruding on both sides of the sliding keypad and Sliding keypad device of the portable terminal, characterized in that the guide rail is formed on both sides in the main body to guide the sliding movement of the guide member. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the keypad changer unit comprises: a sensor unit provided at a predetermined position in the main body; A contact terminal part provided at a predetermined position of the sliding keypad and electrically connected to the sensor part according to a sliding movement; Sliding keypad device of a mobile terminal comprising a keypad control unit for controlling the switch between the contact terminal unit and the sensor unit of the sliding keypad to switch to a function of various key input. The method of claim 5, wherein the keypad control unit is switched to use the function of the various letters, numbers and symbols of the keypad, when the contact terminal of the sliding keypad is connected to the sensor unit, And sliding the sliding keypad to separate the connection with the sensor unit, thereby switching the keypad to be used as a special key.

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