KR101303155B1 - Mobile terminal - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a portable terminal, comprising: a terminal body; And a keypad mounted on the terminal body to input information, the keypad comprising: a cover having at least one light transmissive area formed thereon; A touch sensing unit positioned under the cover and configured to sense a touch applied to the cover; A plurality of light emitting parts disposed below the touch sensing part; And an individual lighting unit which blinks one or two or more of the light emitting units according to a touch applied to the cover to provide an identification signal. Accordingly, the user can provide a variety of identification information through the plurality of light emitting units and individual lighting units for controlling the plurality of light emitting units, thereby enhancing convenience. It is easy to achieve a slimming of the mobile terminal as a whole by preventing a gap from occurring.

Cellphone, mobile phone, terminal, lighting, keypad

Description

Mobile terminal {MOBILE TERMINAL}

1 is a cross-sectional view showing a keypad device of a mobile terminal according to the prior art;

2 is a perspective view of a mobile terminal according to one embodiment of the present invention;

3 is an exploded perspective view illustrating an exploded keypad of the mobile terminal of FIG. 2;

4 is a rear view of the touch sensing unit of FIG. 3;

5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A of the mobile terminal of FIG. 2;

6A to 6D are conceptual views illustrating embodiments of providing an identification signal to a user by key lighting according to an embodiment of the present invention;

7 is a perspective view illustrating a slide type portable terminal provided with a keypad as another embodiment according to the present invention;

8a and 8b is an operational state diagram showing the keypad of FIG.

9 is a control block diagram of a keypad as an embodiment according to the present invention;

10 is a perspective view of a portable terminal in which a light emitting unit is disposed around a display, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Description of the Related Art [0002]

100,200,400: Mobile terminal 101A, 406: Cover

102,202,402: Display 110,210: Keypad

120,420: diffusion member 130,430: touch sensing unit

131, 431: light emitting unit 132, 432: optical guide

140,440: support plate

The present invention relates to a mobile terminal, and more particularly, to a mobile terminal that more actively utilizes illumination for illuminating a key.

Portable terminals, including mobile phones, PDAs, and the like, are portable electronic devices that allow wireless transmission / reception or information to be viewed or processed on the go.

Such portable terminals require an interface environment that can be easily and conveniently used by a user in using such functions with sufficient mechanical support to make it convenient to implement various functions in a small and limited device.

The portable terminal is provided with a keypad device operable for operation or input of a mounted function. Generally, a portable device such as a light emitting diode (LED) is used to clearly display a key of a key to be used or operated in a dark place. use.

An example of such a conventional technique will be described with reference to FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 1, the keypad device 1 is provided with a plurality of keys 5. Each key 5 is provided with a dome switch 4 mounted on the substrate 3 and a key button 6 for operating the dome switch 4.

The key button 6 is supported by the terminal mechanism 2 so as not to be detached from the outside, and the pressing protrusions 7 are formed on the lower surface thereof so as to press the dome switch 4.

A constant space (gap) is formed between the key button 6 and the substrate 3, and a light emitting diode (LED) 8 is mounted in the space.

By this configuration, the user inputs by operating the corresponding dome switch 4 by pressing each key button (6). In addition, the light generated from the light emitting diode 8 illuminates all the key buttons 6 so as to inform the user of the corresponding position of each key 5 and the cover of the key button 6 so that the key 5 may be dark. ) Can be identified.

However, this conventional keypad device 1 has the disadvantage that the light emitting diode 8 is only for the back lighting of the key 6 and its utility is low.

The present invention has been made in view of the above, and an object of the present invention is to provide a portable terminal capable of giving a meaningful signal to a user in addition to the illumination of a simple key.

The present invention to achieve the above object, the terminal body; And a keypad mounted on the terminal body to input information, the keypad comprising: a cover having at least one light transmissive area formed thereon; A touch sensing unit positioned under the cover and configured to sense a touch applied to the cover; A plurality of light emitting parts disposed below the touch sensing part; And an individual lighting unit which blinks one or two or more light emitting units of the light emitting units according to a touch applied to the cover to provide an identification signal.

In one embodiment, the light emitting units may be mounted on a lower surface of the touch sensing unit, and the touch sensing unit may be provided with an optical guide corresponding to the light emitting unit.

In an embodiment according to the present invention, the light guide may be formed in the shape of a through hole for each of the light emitting parts, and each of the light emitting parts may be arranged to accommodate at least a part of each of the through holes.

In an embodiment according to the present invention, a lower side of the touch sensing unit may further include a support plate on which an accommodation hole is formed to partially accommodate the light emitting units.

As an embodiment according to the present invention, a diffusion member may be further provided between the cover and the touch sensing unit so that light passing through the light guide is diffused to enter the cover.

As an embodiment according to the present invention, the diffusion member may be formed in a double-sided tape type to adhere the cover and the touch sensing unit.

As an embodiment according to the present invention, a letter, a number, or a symbol for recognizing an input key may be further formed between the cover and the diffusion member.

As an embodiment according to the present invention, the letters, numbers or symbols may be formed on a light-transmissive resin sheet by printing treatment.

As an embodiment according to the present invention, the letters, numbers or symbols may be formed by engraving or embossing on the lower surface or the upper surface of the cover.

In one embodiment, the individual lighting unit may include: a touch signal receiving unit receiving a signal of the touch sensing unit and importing a corresponding position and a recognition value; A flashing pattern search unit for importing a flashing pattern of the light emitting unit corresponding to the signal imported by the touch signal receiving unit; And a flashing signal controller for applying a flashing signal of the light emitting units corresponding to the blinking pattern among the light emitting units.

In an embodiment according to the present invention, the identification signal may be generated by any one or a combination of positions, flashing times or brightness of the selected light emitting units.

In an embodiment according to the present invention, each of the light emitting units is formed in a form capable of realizing multiple colors, and the identification signal is generated by a color of the selected light emitting unit or a combination of the color of the light emitting unit and the position, flashing time or brightness. Can be.

In an embodiment according to the present invention, the light emitting unit may be a light emitting diode (LED).

As an embodiment according to the present invention, the touch sensing unit may be formed in the form of a substrate.

In an embodiment according to the present invention, the light emitting parts may be arranged in an M × N (M, N is two or more natural numbers) matrix form.

In an embodiment according to the present invention, the identification signal may be formed to be changed according to the usage mode (MODE) of the portable terminal.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the portable terminal may further include a microphone capable of receiving a voice signal, and the individual lighting unit may flicker the light emitting units selected according to the voice signal received by the microphone.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the portable terminal further includes an optical sensor or a camera capable of receiving an optical signal, wherein the individual lighting unit flashes the light emitting units selected according to the optical signal received by the optical sensor or the camera. Can be.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the portable terminal may further include a wireless communication module capable of receiving a radio signal, and the individual lighting unit may flicker the light emitting units selected according to the radio signal received by the wireless communication module. .

The present invention also provides a terminal body with a display; And an input device disposed around the display, the input device comprising: a cover in which at least one light transmissive area is formed; A touch sensing unit positioned under the cover and configured to sense a touch applied to the cover; A plurality of light emitting parts disposed below the touch sensing part; And a separate lighting unit which blinks one or two or more of the light emitting units according to a touch applied to the cover to provide an identification signal.

In an embodiment according to the present invention, the light emitting parts may be disposed along an edge of the display.

Hereinafter, a keypad and a portable terminal having the same according to the present invention will be described in detail according to an embodiment shown in the accompanying drawings.

2 is a perspective view of a portable terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 2, the mobile terminal 100 includes a terminal body 101, and a keypad 110 is disposed on a lower front side of the terminal body 101. The display 102 is installed above the keypad 110 to show the visual information more intensively. The display 102 visually shows the number, letters or movement of the cursor or pointer entered through the keypad 110. However, the keypad 110 and the display 102 do not need to be disposed in close proximity to each other, and may be disposed on different surfaces according to the shape and structure of the portable terminal.

The keypad 110 may give a signal that can be recognized by the user by illumination at a position or area that may be changed. For example, according to FIG. 2, a key light B having a firefly shape is implemented at one side of the keypad 110. An implementation form of the keypad 110 will be described later.

Receivers or speakers 103 and microphones 104 connected to an internal wireless communication module (not shown) may be installed at the top and bottom of the mobile terminal 100 to allow a call while moving. In addition, one side of the portable terminal 100 may be provided with an optical sensor 105 that can recognize the light from the outside. In the form of the development of the keypad 110 according to the present invention, the microphone 104 or the optical sensor 105 such that the keypad 110 in response to an external voice signal or an optical signal in addition to the operation for input to the user to the optical It is also possible to give the identification signal by the form.

As an embodiment according to the present invention, the structure of the keypad is shown in Figs. 3 is an exploded perspective view illustrating an exploded view of the keypad of the portable terminal of FIG. 2, FIG. 4 is a rear view of the touch sensing unit of FIG. 3, and FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A of the portable terminal of FIG. 2.

According to these drawings, the keypad 110 includes a cover 101A having at least one light transmissive area, a touch sensing unit 130 and a touch positioned under the cover 101A to sense a touch applied to the cover 101A. The light emitting units 131 are disposed under the sensing unit 130.

The cover 101A forms a shape of the portable terminal 100 together with the lower cover 101A, and the light transmissive region passes through the light generated from the lower light emitting unit 131 so that the user can recognize the cover 101A. It is. The cover 101A may be formed of a transparent or translucent resin, glass, or ceramic material that can maintain durability by repetitive touch. In addition, the display 102 may be integrally formed with a window forming the external appearance of the display 102.

The touch sensing unit 130 may sense a touch applied to the cover 101A to perform an input action.

The touch sensing unit 130 according to the present exemplary embodiment has a form suitable for detecting and operating a change in capacitance of the touched portion applied to the cover 101A. Furthermore, the touch sensing unit 130 may be implemented to operate by sensing a change in pressure.

The touch sensing unit 130 includes a plurality of touch regions 135 geometrically partitioned. The touch signal sensed in any one touch region 135 may be recognized as the same signal. The spacing between the touch regions 135 may be adjusted.

The light emitting units 131 may be mounted on the bottom surface of the touch sensing unit 130. In this way, the touch sensing unit 130 may be modularized together with the light emitting units 131 to be controlled through one connection device 133. This can reduce parts and reduce the overall volume. The connection device 133 may be formed in the form of a flexible PCB (FPCB).

The light emitting units 131 may form a constant array, and an example of a 3 × 5 matrix form is illustrated in FIG. 3. Furthermore, the light emitters 131 may be arranged in an M × N (M, N is two or more natural numbers) matrix form. However, the number and arrangement of the light emitting units 131 may be adjusted to form a geometric shape such as a triangle, a round shape, a cross shape, or a ring shape as a whole.

Light guides 132 corresponding to the light emitters 131 are provided at respective portions where the light emitters 131 are disposed. Referring to FIG. 5, the light guide 132 is formed in the shape of a through hole for each light emitting part 131, and the light emitting part 131 may be disposed to accommodate at least a part of each light emitting part. However, the light guide 132 may be formed in a form filled in the through hole by a filler made of a light-transmissive material.

As shown in FIG. 5, the light emitters 131 may be mounted in a reverse shape in which a part of the light emitters 131 is located at the lower portion of the touch sensing unit 130. The light emitting unit 131 may be suitably used as a light emitting diode that consumes low power.

The touch sensing unit 130 is supported by the support plate 140 disposed below. An accommodation hole 141 may be formed on an upper surface of the support plate 140 to partially accommodate each of the light emitting units 131 mounted below the touch sensing unit 130 (see FIG. 3).

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, the light passing through the light guide 132 is diffused between the cover 101A and the touch sensing unit 130 so that the diffusion member 120 can enter the cover 101A. Is provided. The diffusion member 120 may have a form in which particles or patterns causing light diffusion effect are added to a sheet-shaped base material. Preferably, the diffusion member 120 may be formed of a double-sided tape for adhering the cover 101A to the touch sensing unit 130.

Accordingly, as the light emitting part 131 approaches the cover 101A, the diffusion member 120 improves a phenomenon in which only a specific part is too bright and other parts are relatively dark, so that the appearance of bright spots is improved, and the light is evenly distributed so that the overall softness is achieved. Lighting effect can be realized.

In addition, the diffusion member 120 may be formed to have an area covering at least the touch sensing unit 130, in which case the touch sensing unit 130 or the light emitting unit 131 may not be visible from the outside. .

Letters, numbers, or symbols may be engraved between the cover 101A and the diffusion member 120 to identify an input key through the cover 101A. Such a method of writing letters, numbers, or symbols may be disposed between the cover 101A and the diffusion member 120 and printed on the transparent resin sheet, or may be printed on the transparent resin sheet, or the bottom surface of the cover 101A or the like. It is also possible to etch or shape the upper surface in an intaglio or embossed form. In addition, the diffusion member 120 itself can be identified by the shape of the diffusion member 120 by being formed in the form of letters, numbers or symbols.

As such, the keypad 110 has an individual lighting unit which provides an identification signal to the user by blinking one or more light emitting units from the plurality of light emitting units 131 arranged while inputting by touch. The individual lighting unit is indicated by 301 in the control block diagram of FIG.

As shown in FIG. 9, the light emitting part 331 has the same number as the key 311, apart from the arrangement of the plurality of keys 311 at any position of the cover 101A (keys 1 to k). (Light emitting part 1 to light emitting part k) or a larger number (light emitting part 1 to light emitting part L).

The individual lighting unit 301 corresponds to a signal received by the touch signal receiving unit 307 and a touch signal receiving unit 307 that receives a signal from the touch sensing unit 130 and retrieves a corresponding position and recognition value. The flashing pattern search unit 308, which recalls the flashing pattern of the light emitting unit 331, and the flashing signal control unit 309, which applies a flashing signal of the light emitting units 331 corresponding to the flashing pattern of the light emitting units 331, Include.

The touch signal receiving unit 309 is connected to each key 311, and when there is a touch on an arbitrary key 311, the touch signal receiving unit 309 applies the signal to the blinking pattern search unit 308.

The blinking pattern to be loaded by the blinking pattern search unit 308 may be preset or may be generated or changed by a user.

The blinking pattern may be generated by any one or a combination of positions, blinking times, or brightnesses of the selected light emitting units 331. In other words, whether or not the light emitting part at which position is to be blinked, at what intensity, or at what time is illuminated (in this case, lighting effects such as flickering, gradually brightening or darkening, etc. can be expected) can be tailored to a specific concept. Can be set.

Each light emitting unit 331 may be formed in a form that can implement a multi-color, in this case, the identification signal provided to the user is the color of the selected light emitting unit 331 or the color, position, and blinking of the light emitting unit 331 It can be implemented by a combination of time or brightness.

In addition, the flashing pattern is a call when the mobile terminal 100, a music playback function when playing music, when equipped with a camera when shooting, when playing a video when playing video, when watching a broadcast receiving function, etc. It is also possible to be set to be changed according to the use mode (MODE) of. In this case, the blinking pattern may be set to illuminate and guide keys that can be used in the corresponding mode. In other words, it activates an operable key.

In one embodiment according to the present invention, the flashing pattern search unit 308 is a voice signal input to the microphone 304 in addition to the touch signal receiving unit 307, an optical signal input to the optical sensor or the camera 305, or telephone The light emitting units may be blinked by a flashing pattern preset or set by a user according to a radio signal received by a wireless communication module responsible for receiving a message or receiving a message.

6A through 6D are conceptual diagrams showing examples of providing an identification signal to a user by key lighting according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 6A, the keypad 110 may be set to show a state of the portable terminal 100 to the user by illuminating a specific portion. For example, the light B of a specific part indicates that the portable terminal 100 is turned on and the display 102 is turned off.

In this case, the light (B) has a brighter or darker effect periodically, as if breathing, the user can expect a more intimate emotion providing effect. In addition, the light (B) indicating the standby state can reduce the unnecessary driving time of the display 102 can also reduce the power consumption.

6B visually shows that when a user touches a specific position of the keypad 110 by using a finger, the light emitting portions far away from the specific positions from the light emitting portions at the specific position sequentially flash to realize a wavy shape. It is seen.

6C shows that the keypad 110 illuminates only the available keys in a particular mode of use. In other words, the illuminated C1 to C4 are assigned as keys (direction navigation keys) for moving the pointer up, down, left, and right, and C5 is assigned to the confirmation key. C1 to C5 may be set differently in overall position and spacing.

Effects of the touch of C1 to C5 can be implemented in various forms. For example, when any one of C1 to C5 is touched, the key may be recognized by the user in a form different from other keys (change of color, flicker, brighter, etc.).

FIG. 6D shows that the corresponding light emitters are sequentially flashed when the user's touch is moved in a specific direction. In this case, the trace effect can be obtained by gradually turning off the flashing D1 to D5.

In particular, the movement of the touch with such a direction can maximize the lighting effect by linking with a scroll function that can quickly move the cursor or pointer.

7 is a perspective view illustrating a slide type portable terminal provided with a keypad according to another embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 8A and 8B are diagrams illustrating an operation state of the keypad of FIG. 7.

As shown in these figures, the keypad 210 has a first body 260, which is provided with a conventional keypad 261, and a second body 270 that is slidably connected to the first body 260. Applied to the portable terminal 200 having a.

The keypad 210 is provided with keys marked with a specific mark 211. Each cover 211 may be implemented by a printing method as described above or a positive or negative method. Each key is provided with corresponding light emitting units. The detailed description of the arrangement of the light emitting unit and the individual lighting unit for its operation is similar to that described above, and thus the detailed description thereof is omitted.

The keypad 210 may be set to at least partially implement the embodiment described above.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 8A, in the standby state, all the keys E1 are set to be turned on, and when there is a touch on a specific key as shown in FIG. 8B, only the keys E2 are illuminated and reacted. Can be.

In addition, the light emitting unit may be disposed inside a portion without the cover 211, and in this case, the light emitting unit may be set to play a role different from that of the key.

10 is a perspective view of a portable terminal in which a light emitting unit is disposed around a display, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 10, the portable terminal 400 includes a terminal body 402 having a display 402 on the front side, and an input device 410 having an individual lighting function described above is provided around the display 402. It is installed.

The light emitters 431 are arranged in a line or a plurality of lines along the edge of the display 402.

The input device 410 has a transmissive cover 406 positioned outside the display 402 to protect the display 402. The cover 406 is seated by the terminal body 401 and the support plate 440.

The diffusion member 420 and the touch sensing unit 430 may be sequentially positioned below the cover 406, and a plurality of light emitting units 431 may be mounted below the touch sensing unit 430.

The light emitting unit 431 is disposed to accommodate at least a part of the light guide 432 formed in the touch sensing unit 430.

By such a configuration, the light emitting unit 431 is provided by the individual lighting unit described above to provide a user with a signal such as an illumination position, color, and time (blinking) in response to a touch or in response to another input signal. You can create an environment.

 As described above, according to the keypad of the present invention and a portable terminal having the same, a user can provide various identification information through a plurality of light emitting units and individual lighting units controlling the plurality of light emitting units, thereby increasing convenience. have.

In addition, according to the present invention, since the light emitting unit is located under the touch pad, a gap between the touch pad and the cover is prevented from occurring, thereby making it easy to slim the portable terminal as a whole.

As described above with reference to the drawings illustrating a keypad and a portable terminal having the same according to the present invention, the present invention is not limited by the embodiments and drawings disclosed herein, the scope of the technical idea of the present invention Various modifications can be made by those skilled in the art.

Claims (21)

Terminal body; And A keypad mounted on the terminal body to input information, wherein the keypad includes: A cover in which at least one translucent region is formed; A touch sensing unit positioned under the cover and configured to sense a touch applied to the cover; A plurality of light emitting parts disposed below the touch sensing part; And Including a separate lighting unit to provide an identification signal by flashing one or two or more of the light emitting portion in accordance with the touch applied to the cover, The light emitting units are mounted on the lower surface of the touch sensing unit, The touch sensing unit is provided with a light guide corresponding to the light emitting unit. delete The method of claim 1, The light guide is formed in the shape of a through hole for each light emitting portion, And each of the light emitting parts is arranged to accommodate at least a part of each of the through holes. The method of claim 3, And a support plate having a receiving hole formed on the upper surface of the lower portion of the touch sensing unit to partially accommodate the light emitting units. The method of claim 3, And a diffusion member between the cover and the touch sensing unit so that light passing through the light guide is diffused to enter the cover. The method of claim 5, The diffusion member is a portable terminal, characterized in that formed in a double-sided tape to adhere the cover and the touch sensing unit. The method of claim 5, A portable terminal, characterized in that letters, numbers or symbols are further formed between the cover and the diffusion member to recognize the input key. The method of claim 7, wherein The letter, number or symbol is a portable terminal, characterized in that formed on the light-transmissive resin sheet. The method of claim 7, wherein The letter, number or symbol is embossed or embossed on the lower surface or the upper surface of the cover, characterized in that the portable terminal. According to claim 1, The individual lighting unit, A touch signal receiving unit receiving the signal of the touch sensing unit and importing a corresponding position and a recognition value; A flashing pattern search unit for importing a flashing pattern of the light emitting unit corresponding to the signal imported by the touch signal receiving unit; And And a flashing signal controller configured to apply a flashing signal of the light emitting units corresponding to the blinking pattern among the light emitting units. The method of claim 1, The identification signal is a portable terminal, characterized in that generated by any one or a combination of the position, the flashing time or the brightness of the one or more light emitting units. The method of claim 10, Each of the light emitting parts is formed in a shape that can implement a multicolor, And the identification signal is generated by a color of the one or more light emitting units or a combination of the color of the light emitting unit and the position, flashing time or brightness. The method of claim 1, The light emitting unit is a portable terminal, characterized in that the light emitting diode (LED). The method of claim 1, The touch sensing unit is a portable terminal, characterized in that formed in the form of a substrate. The method of claim 1, The light emitting unit is a mobile terminal, characterized in that arranged in the form of M × N (M, N is two or more natural numbers) matrix. The method of claim 1, The identification signal is a portable terminal, characterized in that it is formed to be changed according to the mode of use (MODE) of the portable terminal. 17. The method of claim 16, The terminal body further includes a microphone for receiving a voice signal, The individual lighting unit flashes the light emitting units selected according to the voice signal received by the microphone. 18. The method of claim 17, The terminal body further includes an optical sensor or a camera capable of receiving an optical signal, The individual lighting unit is characterized in that for flashing the light emitting unit selected according to the optical signal received by the optical sensor or the camera. 19. The method of claim 18, The terminal body further includes a wireless communication module that can receive a radio signal, The individual lighting unit is characterized in that for flashing the light emitting unit selected according to the radio signal received by the wireless communication module. A terminal body provided with a display; And An input device disposed around the display, the input device comprising: A cover in which at least one translucent region is formed; A touch sensing unit positioned under the cover and configured to sense a touch applied to the cover; A plurality of light emitting parts disposed below the touch sensing part; And Including a separate lighting unit to provide an identification signal by flashing one or two or more of the light emitting portion in accordance with the touch applied to the cover, The light emitting units are mounted on the lower surface of the touch sensing unit, The touch sensing unit is provided with a light guide corresponding to the light emitting unit. A terminal body provided with a display; And An input device disposed around the display, the input device comprising: A cover in which at least one translucent region is formed; A touch sensing unit positioned under the cover and configured to sense a touch applied to the cover; A plurality of light emitting parts disposed below the touch sensing part; And Including a separate lighting unit to provide an identification signal by flashing one or two or more of the light emitting portion in accordance with the touch applied to the cover, The light emitting units are disposed along the edge of the display.

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