KR101360212B1 - Portable terminal - Google Patents

Abstract

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a portable terminal having a multi-key having three pressing areas arranged in a row and a pressing type input device composed of switches receiving input signals by pressing operation on each pressing area.

Description

[0001] PORTABLE TERMINAL [0002]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a portable terminal that receives a signal for controlling an electronic device, inputting information, and the like by pressing.

A portable terminal is a portable electronic apparatus which is portable and has one or more functions of voice and video call function, information input / output function, and data storing function.

As the functions of the portable terminal are diversified, the portable terminal is implemented in the form of a multimedia device having complicated functions such as photographing and photographing of a moving picture, reproduction of music or video file, reception of a game, and reception of a broadcast.

In order to implement complex functions in multimedia devices, various new attempts have been made in terms of hardware or software.

For example, a user interface environment for searching for and selecting a function easily and conveniently has been researched.

In the input device or the operation unit for inputting a signal by a user's operation, research has been attempted to reduce the area occupied by the portable terminal with ease of use.

One object of the present invention is to provide a portable terminal having a different type of push type input device.

Another object of the present invention is to reduce the space occupied by the input device.

Still another object of the present invention is to miniaturize or slim the portable terminal according to the reduction of the arrangement space of the input device.

A push type signal input device according to an embodiment of the present invention for realizing the above object includes a multikey and switches.

The multi-key has three pressing areas forming a row and is arranged to be pressed on the body. The multikey is either a rigid member or a combination of members that are integrally displaced during a push operation, such as one member. The switches receive three signals by three pressing regions, and three switches may be formed corresponding to the pressing regions.

When the center pressing area has a larger area than the surrounding pressing areas, the center pressing area can be prevented from being pressed while the surrounding pressing areas are pressed.

When two or more of the pressing areas are pressed at the same time, the pressing area in the center may be treated as being pressed. Furthermore, if the pressing protrusion corresponding to the center pressing area is formed to protrude more than the pressing protrusions corresponding to the surrounding pressing areas, crosstalk of the signal input as the plurality of switches are pressed can be prevented.

A portable terminal according to another embodiment of the present invention includes at least one body and an operation unit. The manipulation unit receives a signal for controlling the body by a user's manipulation and may be arranged to form a QWERTY arrangement. The multikeys and switches can be configured similarly to the previous embodiment.

In the case where the multi-group is provided in plural, the multi-keys may be alternately arranged with single keys which are formed to be operated by pressing a switch. In addition, other pressing areas and a signal of a different type from that of pressing the single key may be input when the pressing area of the multi key is pressed.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, a pressing method input device may be configured to divide three pressing areas separately by integrating the pressing areas for inputting three signals into one multikey. Compared to the case of creating a single key, the space for key placement can be reduced by eliminating the space between single keys that are not useful. In addition, since the three pressing areas are arranged in a row, three signals can be input and the user's convenience in recognition and manipulation of the pressing area is improved.

In addition, the portable terminal according to another embodiment of the present invention is provided with the above input device, so that the overall size of the terminal can be miniaturized or slimmed.

Furthermore, when two or more pressing areas are pressed, a specific signal corresponding to the case where the central pressing area is pressed is input. In the case of inputting the specific signal, the entire multi-key serves as one single key. Therefore, the user's key manipulation for inputting the specific signal is particularly easy.

Hereinafter, a portable terminal having a push-type input device related to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

1 is a perspective view of a portable terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The portable terminal of the present invention includes a first body 10 and a second body 20 that is slidable along at least one direction on the first body 10. The state in which the first body 10 is disposed in a state of being overlapped with the second body 20 may be referred to as a closed configuration and the first body 10 may be referred to as a second body 20 ) May be referred to as an open configuration.

The portable terminal operates mainly in the standby mode in the closed state, but the standby mode is also released by the operation of the user. The portable terminal operates mainly in a communication mode in an open state, but is also switched to a standby mode by a user's operation or a predetermined period of time.

A casing (a casing, a housing, a cover, etc.) constituting an outer appearance of the first body 10 is formed by a front case 11 and a rear case 12. Various electronic components are embedded in the space formed by the front case 11 and the rear case 12. [ At least one intermediate case may be additionally disposed between the front case 11 and the rear case 12. [ The cases may be formed by injecting a synthetic resin or may be formed of a metal material, for example, a metal material such as stainless steel (STS) or titanium (Ti).

The display section 13, the sound output section 14, the first image input section 15, the first operation section 16, and the sound input section 17 are arranged in the first body 10, specifically the front case 11 .

The display unit 13 includes a liquid crystal display (LCD) module, an OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) module, and the like that visually express information. The display unit 13 may further include a touch screen to enable information input by a user's touch.

The sound output unit 14 may be implemented in the form of a receiver or a speaker. The first image input unit 15 may be implemented as a camera module for capturing an image or a moving image of a user. The first operating unit 16 receives a command for controlling the operation of the portable terminal according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. The sound input unit 17 may be implemented in the form of a microphone, for example, in order to receive voice, sound, etc. of the user.

The front case 21 and the rear case 22 can form the case of the second body 20 as in the case of the first body 10.

The second operation unit 23 may be disposed on the front surface of the second body 20, specifically, the front case 21. [ At least one of the front case 21 and the rear case 22 may be provided with a third operating portion 24 and an interface 26. [

The first to third operating portions 16, 23, 24 may be collectively referred to as a manipulating portion and may be employed in any manner as long as the user operates in a tactile manner.

For example, the operation unit may be implemented as a dome switch or a touch screen or a touch pad capable of receiving commands or information by a push or touch operation of a user, or may be a wheel, a jog type, a joystick, Or the like.

In terms of functions, the first operation unit 16 is for inputting commands such as start, end, scrolling and the like, and the second operation unit 23 may be for inputting numbers, letters, symbols, and the like. The third operation unit 24 may operate as a hot-key for performing a special function such as activation of the first image input unit 15. [

In this embodiment, at least one of the operating portions 16, 23, and 24, for example, the second operating portion 23, may be implemented as a push-type input device operated by the user's pressing operation. Furthermore, the second operating portion 23 may be formed to have a QWERTY arrangement. Such a second operation unit 23 will be described in more detail below with reference to FIG. 3 and the like.

Referring back to FIG. 1, the interface 26 serves as a passage for allowing a portable terminal related to the present invention to exchange data with an external device. For example, the interface 26 may be a wired or wireless connection terminal for connecting to an earphone, a port for short range communication (for example, an IrDA port, a Bluetooth port, a wireless LAN port a wireless Lan port), or power supply terminals for supplying power to the portable terminal. The interface 26 may be a card socket that accepts an external card such as a subscriber identification module (SIM) or a user identity module (UIM), a memory card for information storage, and the like.

A power supply unit 27 for supplying power to the portable terminal is mounted on the rear case 22 side. The power supply unit 27 may be detachably coupled to a rechargeable battery for charging or the like.

2 is a rear perspective view of the portable terminal of FIG.

Referring to FIG. 2, a second image input unit 28 may be additionally mounted on the rear surface of the rear case 22 of the second body 20. The second image input unit 28 may have a photographing direction substantially opposite to that of the first image input unit 15 (see FIG. 1), and may be a camera having different pixels from the first image input unit 15.

For example, the first image input unit 15 has a low pixel so that it is easy to capture a user's face and transmit it to the counterpart in a video call, and the second image input unit 28 immediately photographs a general subject. In many cases, they do not transmit, so they may have high pixels.

A flash 29 and a mirror 30 are further disposed adjacent to the second image input unit 28. The flash 29 shines light toward the subject when the subject is photographed by the second image input unit 28. The mirror unit 30 enables the user to illuminate the user's own face or the like when the user intends to photograph the user himself / herself (self-photographing) using the second image input unit 28.

The lower cover 22 may further be provided with a second sound output section 31. [ The second sound output unit 31 may implement a stereo function together with the first sound output unit 14 (see FIG. 1), and may be used for talking in a speakerphone mode.

At one side of the lower cover 22, an antenna 32 for reception of a broadcast signal may be arranged in addition to an antenna for communication. The antenna 32 may be installed to be detachable from the second body 20.

A portion of the slide module 33 that slidably couples the first body 10 and the second body 20 is disposed on the rear case 12 side of the first body 10. [ The other part of the slide module 33 is disposed on the side of the front case 21 of the second body 20 and may be in a form that is not exposed to the outside as in this figure.

In the above description, the second image input unit 28 and the like are disposed in the second body 20, but the present invention is not limited thereto. At least one of the configurations 28 to 32 described as being arranged in the lower cover 22, such as the second image input unit 28, may be mounted on the first body 10, mainly the lower cover 12, It is also possible to mount it. In such a case, there is an advantage that the configuration (s) arranged in the lower cover 12 in the closed state are protected by the second body 20. Further, the first image input unit 15 may be rotatably formed so that the second image input unit 28 can be photographed up to the second image input unit 28 even if the second image input unit 28 is not separately provided.

3 is an enlarged plan view of only the second body 20 of FIG. 1, and FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line IV-IV of FIG. 3.

Referring to FIG. 3, the second manipulation unit 23 capable of pressing the QWERTY array may include a multi key 2310 and a single key 2330.

Multikey 2310 has three pressing regions 2311 through 2313. The pressing regions 2311 to 2313 may be arranged in a row, and the one or more multikeys 2310 may be arranged in a row with one or more single keys 2330. In addition, the plurality of multi-keys 2310 and single-keys 2330 may be alternately arranged to achieve balance.

The pressing regions 2311 to 2313 may be divided into peripheral pressing regions 2311 and 2312 positioned at the periphery, and a central pressing region 2313 positioned between the peripheral pressing regions 2311 and 2312. The information displayed on the peripheral pressing areas 2311 and 2312 and the center pressing area 2313 (contents of signals to be input to the terminal by pressing operations on each of the pressing areas 2311 to 2313) may be different forms. have. As illustrated, alphabets may be displayed in the peripheral pressing regions 2311 and 2312, and numbers may be displayed in the central pressing regions 2313.

Unlike the multi key 2310, the single key 2330 has only one pressing area. In other words, one single key receives only one signal at any point. The information displayed on the single key 2330 may be in the same form as the information displayed on the peripheral pressing areas 2311 and 2312 of the multi key 2310, for example, an alphabet.

Referring to FIG. 4, the pressing areas 2311 to 2313 may form convex or concave and convexities at least one of them to facilitate visual division of a user.

In the key hole formed in the front case 21, the multi key 2310 is arranged to be pressed. Multikey 2310 is a rigid single member or tightly coupled assembly that is integrally displaced with respect to the pressing operation. The pressing protrusions 2314 to 2316 protrude from the lower side of the multi key 2310 to correspond to the pressing regions 2311 to 2313, respectively.

Below the multi-key 2310, a printed circuit board 40 disposed in an internal space between the front case 21 and the rear case 22 (see FIG. 1) is disposed. The printed circuit board 40 may be referred to as the controller 40 because it functionally controls various operations of the terminal.

Three switches 401 to 403 corresponding to the pressing protrusions 2314 to 2316 may be disposed on the upper side of the printed circuit board 40. The switches 401 to 403 are pressed by the multi-key 2310, specifically, the push protrusions 2314 to 2316 to receive a specific signal, and have a shape such as a dome switch. Can be.

In the multi-key 2310, a space for separating each of the pressing areas 2311 to 2313 (space such as a space S formed between the multi-key 2310 and the single key 2330) (see FIG. 3)} Therefore, compared to arranging three single keys 2330 to input three signals, the overall size of the second manipulation unit 23 can be reduced.

The portable terminal according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention is not limited to the slide type illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, but may be applied to various structures such as a bar type, a folder type, a swing type, and the like.

5 is a block diagram of a portable terminal according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 5, the portable terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention outputs a wireless communication unit 41 for performing wireless communication with an external device, an input unit 42 for inputting data or control information, and audio or video information. An output unit 43, a memory 44 for storing information related to various programs or data, a broadcast receiving unit 45 for receiving a broadcast signal, and a control unit 40 for controlling each component. .

The wireless communication unit 41 performs wireless communication with an external terminal or server through a wireless communication network under the control of the control unit 40. Wireless communication may include voice, image, and data communication. The wireless communication unit 41 includes a transmitter and a receiver for transmitting and receiving wireless signals for wireless communication.

The input unit 42 includes an operation unit 16, 23, 24, an image input unit 15, 28, a sound input unit 17, a sensing unit, or the like.

The operation units 16, 23, and 24 generate signals according to the user's operation and apply the signals to the control unit 40. 4, the operation method of the 2nd operation part 23 is demonstrated.

Referring to FIG. 4, when the user manipulates the peripheral pressing areas 2311 and 2312 of the pressing areas 2311 to 2313, respectively, the multi key 2310 rotates counterclockwise or clockwise. By the rotation, the push protrusion 2314 or 2315 presses the switch 401 or 403 to receive two signals. In this embodiment, the signals are applied to the controller 40 as a signal (X or C).

When the user presses the center pressing area 2313, all of the pressing protrusions 2314 to 2316 press the switches 401 to 403. This is because the multi-key 2310 is integrally translated without rotation because the center portion is pressed as a rigid member. When all of the switches 401 to 403 are pressed within a predetermined time, the controller 40 may process a signal (7 in the present embodiment) in the case where only the central switch 403 is pressed.

In this case, the user needs to press the center portion of the multi-key 2310 in order to input the information or signal displayed in the center pressing area 2313 and does not need to be careful that the peripheral pressing areas 2311 and 2312 are pressed. In other words, even when the two switches 401 and 403 are operated by pressing between the peripheral pressing area 2311 and the central pressing area 2313 on one side, it corresponds to the case where only the central switch 403 is operated. This is because the controller 40 can process the received information. This allows the user to operate the entire multikey 2310 as one single key 2330 even when the size of the multikey 2310 is small, when the user presses the information displayed on the center pressing area 2313. Provide convenience.

Unlike the above, two switches 401 and 402 may be employed without the central switch 403. In this case, only when two switches 401 and 402 operate within a predetermined time, the control unit 40 processes a third signal different from a signal when the switches 401 and 402 operate independently.

6 is a cross-sectional view taken in the same manner as FIG. 4 to describe an input device according to another embodiment of the present invention. The same and similar reference numerals are given to the same and similar components as in FIG.

Referring to this figure, the pressing protrusions 2314 'to 2316' formed on the multi-key 2310 'do not have the same length as in the previous embodiment. In detail, the pressing protrusion 2316 ′ corresponding to the center pressing area 2313 protrudes longer from the multi key 2310 ′ than the other pressing protrusions 2314 ′ and 2315 ′. If the surrounding push projections 2314 ′ and 2315 ′ protrude to the first line L1, the center push projections 2316 ′ protrude to the second line L2 closer to the circuit board 40 than that. .

By this configuration, when the user pushes the center pressing area 2313, only the center switch 403 receives a signal. In addition, when the peripheral pressing area 2311 or 2312 is pressed, the multi-key 2310 'is rotated in the direction in which the key is pressed, so that the switch 403 or 402 corresponding to the center switch 403 is not operated. ) Is pressed to receive a signal. As a result, there is an advantage that it is not necessary to adopt a configuration for adjusting the signal when the two or more switches 401 to 403 simultaneously operate as described above.

7 is a plan view of a multi-key 2310 "in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to this figure, the center pressing area 2313 ′ may have a larger area than the peripheral pressing areas 2311 ′ and 2312 ′. As a result, as illustrated in this figure, the information 7 displayed in the center pressing area 2313 'is compared to the information X and C displayed in the peripheral pressing areas 2311' and 2312 '. It can be displayed large.

According to this arrangement, when the user presses the peripheral pressing areas 2311 'and 2312', the user pushes the pusher by biasing both ends of the multi-key 2310 "and presses the center pressing area 2313 '. It is possible to perform the pressing operation with less consideration for the peripheral pressing areas 2311 'and 2312', and in the case of pressing and operating the peripheral pressing areas 2311 'and 2312'. In other words, it is possible to reduce the case of the pressing operation to the area 2313 ', that is, the difference in the width of the pressing areas 2311' to 2313 'may cause a difference in visual perception and behavior of the user.

Referring back to FIG. 5, the image input units 15 and 28 capture still images or moving images in a video call mode or a photographing mode, and the captured image data is applied to the controller 40. The sound input unit 17 receives an external sound in a call mode, a recording mode, a voice recognition mode, or the like, generates a signal corresponding thereto, and applies the signal to the controller 40. The sensing unit detects a current state of the terminal, such as an open / closed state of the terminal, a terminal position, or whether a human body is in contact with the terminal, and applies the detection result to the controller 40.

The output unit 43 includes a display unit 13, sound output units 14 and 31, a vibration unit, a light generation unit, and the like. The display unit 13 displays an image output when various state information and functions of the terminal are controlled by the control unit 40. The sound output units 14 and 31 output sound signals received from the outside under the control of the controller 40 or sound signals related to various functions performed in the terminal. The vibrator serves to vibrate the terminal by the control of the control unit 40, and the light generating unit emits light under the control of the control unit 40 and is used for lighting or as an indicator.

The memory 44 may store a program for controlling the function of each component or a user interface (UI) program for receiving a broadcast and accessing the Internet, or input / output data. This memory 44 includes a hard disk, card type memory (e.g., SD or XD memory, etc.), flash memory, RAM, ROM, and the like.

The broadcast receiver 45 receives a broadcast signal transmitted through satellite or terrestrial wave under the control of the controller 40. In addition, the broadcast receiver 45 may receive additional information related to the broadcast (for example, an electronic service guide (ESG), a channel list, a time table, etc.) or URL information. The interface 26 transmits a signal transmitted from an external device to the terminal under control of the controller 40 or transmits a signal output from the terminal to the external device. The power supply unit 27 supplies power required for the operation of each component.

The above-described portable terminal is not limited to the configuration and method of the embodiments described above, but all or some of the embodiments may be selectively combined so that various modifications may be made to the embodiments.

1 is a perspective view of a portable terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention,

FIG. 2 is a rear perspective view of the portable terminal of FIG. 1,

3 is an enlarged plan view of only the second body of FIG. 1;

4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line IV-IV of FIG. 3,

5 is a block diagram of a mobile terminal according to the present invention;

6 is a cross-sectional view taken in the same manner as FIG. 4 to describe an input device according to another embodiment of the present invention.

7 is a plan view of a multi-key according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Claims (7)

At least one body; And a manipulation unit arranged to form a qwerty arrangement on the body, and receiving a signal applied to the body. The operation unit, At least one multikey mounted to the body to be integrally displaced during the pressing operation and having a plurality of pressing regions arranged in a row; And Disposed on the body to be adjacent to the multikey, and including switches for receiving a signal in response to a pressing operation of each pressing area of the multikey; A signal of a first type is input during a pressing operation on a pressing area in the center of the plurality of pressing areas, And a second type of signal is input when a pressing operation is performed on any one of the peripheral pressing areas of the central pressing area among the plurality of pressing areas. The method of claim 1, The multi-key is provided with a plurality, the portable terminal, characterized in that arranged alternately with a single key formed to be operable to press one switch. 3. The method of claim 2, And the second type of signal is input when the single key is pressed.  The method of claim 1, The central pressing area has a larger area than the peripheral pressing areas. The method of claim 1, And the switches comprise a plurality of switches corresponding to each of the plurality of pressing regions. The method of claim 5, A plurality of pressing protrusions protruding from the bottom of the multi-key to correspond to the switches and the pressing areas to press each of the switches, And a pressing protrusion corresponding to a pressing area located at the center thereof is formed to protrude longer than other pressing protrusions. The method of claim 5, And when at least two of the switches have been pressed within the set time, a signal set for the case where the pressing area located at the center is pressed is input.

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