JP2006067532A - Mobile terminal device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a mobile terminal device which a user can operate, while viewing one common display section even if two cases are opened or closed, and in which operability can be improved even in a closed state. <P>SOLUTION: A display section 12 is configured to take the closed state of exposing the display section externally and covering a key-operating section 16 with a first case 14 and an open state of moving the first case and a second case 18 relative to each other and exposing both the display section and the key-operating section to the outside, a touch panel operating section 36 is disposed on the front side or the rear side of the display section of the first case so as to operate by pressing the display section, the touch panel operating section is controlled so as to inhibit its operation in the open state and is controlled to operate in the closed state, and an icon display is displayed on the display section so as to be press enabled. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a mobile terminal device such as a mobile phone.

  Mobile terminal devices such as mobile phones are required to be strictly downsized, and in recent years, the folding type has become mainstream. In a foldable portable terminal device, the two cases are connected to each other through a hinge so that they can be opened and used when making calls or creating e-mails. When carrying without carrying, it can be reduced in size by closing the two housings in a closed state.

  However, with the increasing number of functions of mobile terminal devices, in response to the need to perform operations such as address book search and mail browsing while looking at the display section even in the closed state, the horizontal rotation type, that is, the first A portable terminal device has been born, in which the casing and the second casing are arranged so as to be overlapped and connected so as to be relatively rotatable about an axis substantially perpendicular to the overlapping surface.

  By adopting such a structure, the horizontal rotation type portable terminal device can visually recognize one common display portion even when the two housings are in the open state or the closed state. However, a simple operation of the portable terminal device can be performed using the sub-operation unit.

However, as the functions of mobile terminal devices become more complex, the operation becomes complicated. To enable various operations even when the two housings are closed, the main operations such as numeric keys and other function keys are available. There are some which have some sub operation parts besides a part. As such a sub-operation unit, for example, there are a side controller 201 and a side key 203 (see FIGS. 2 and 3 of Patent Document 1) that the portable terminal device of Patent Document 1 has.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-180080

  However, since the sub-operation unit alone can perform only a simple operation compared to the main operation unit, the operability of the portable terminal device is reduced when the two housings are closed compared to when the two cases are open. There was a problem. In addition, in order to perform complicated operations with the sub-operation unit, a large number of sub-operation units are required. However, if the number of sub-operation units increases, the user cannot understand the correspondence between the sub-operation units and functions. There has been a problem that the operability of the portable terminal device is lowered.

    Accordingly, in view of the above problems, the present invention allows the user to operate while visually recognizing one common display portion even when the two housings are in the open state or the closed state, and also in the closed state. It is an object of the present invention to provide a portable terminal device capable of improving the performance.

In order to solve the above problems, a mobile terminal device according to the present invention according to claim 1
A first housing having a display portion exposed to the outside and a second housing having a key operation portion provided with a plurality of operation keys are coupled,
A closed state in which the first casing and the second casing overlap each other, the display unit is exposed to the outside, and the key operation unit is covered by the first casing;
The first housing and the second housing are configured to move relative to each other so that both the display unit and the key operation unit are exposed to the outside.
A touch panel operating unit that is disposed on the front or back surface of the display unit of the first housing and is operated by pressing the display unit from above is provided;
When in the open state, the touch panel operation unit is controlled to be prohibited from operating, and a guide display corresponding to at least one operation key of the key operation units is displayed on the display unit,
When in the closed state, the touch panel operation unit is controlled to be operable, and the icon display corresponding to the guide display corresponds to the touch panel operation unit of the display unit that can be pressed from above the display unit. It is characterized in that it is displayed at the position to be.

Moreover, in order to solve the said subject, the portable terminal device of this invention which concerns on Claim 2 is provided.
A first housing having a display portion exposed to the outside and a second housing having a key operation portion provided with a plurality of operation keys are coupled,
A closed state in which the first casing and the second casing overlap each other, the display unit is exposed to the outside, and the key operation unit is covered by the first casing;
The first housing and the second housing are configured to move relative to each other so that both the display unit and the key operation unit are exposed to the outside.
A touch panel operating unit that is disposed on the front or back surface of the display unit of the first housing and is operated by pressing the display unit from above is provided;
When in the open state, the touch panel operation unit is controlled to be prohibited from operating, and at least one operation key of the key operation unit functions as a shortcut key for activating a predetermined function. ,
When in the closed state, the touch panel operating unit is controlled to be operable, and the icon display corresponding to the shortcut key corresponds to the touch panel operating unit of the display unit that can be pressed from above the display unit. It is characterized in that it is displayed at the position to be.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the mobile terminal device of the present invention according to the first or second aspect, the first casing and the second casing have an axis substantially perpendicular to the overlapping surface of each other. It is connected to the center so as to be relatively rotatable.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the portable terminal device of the present invention according to the first or second aspect, the first casing and the second casing are relatively parallel to each other in a direction parallel to the overlapping surface. It is connected so that movement is possible.

  According to such a portable terminal device, the user can operate while visually recognizing one common display section even when the two housings are in the open state or the closed state, and the operability can be improved even in the closed state. Can be improved.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings.
1 to 14 are diagrams which are referred to for describing an embodiment of a portable terminal device according to the present invention.

  A mobile phone 10 (mobile terminal device) shown in FIG. 1 includes a first housing 14 having a display unit 12 and a second housing 18 having a main operation unit 16 (key operation unit). As shown in FIG. 2, the first and second housings 14 and 18 have shaft members 20 that extend in a substantially vertical direction with respect to each other's overlapping surface when the outer shapes are aligned. Around the axis, they are connected so as to be rotatable relative to each other. That is, the mobile phone 10 relates to a horizontal rotation type mobile terminal device.

  The display unit 12 of the mobile phone 10 is generally composed of an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), but in part, a touch panel operation unit 36 (see FIGS. 4 and 5) is disposed and incorporated inside the LCD. It is.

  That is, at the lower position of the display unit 12 shown in FIG. 11, as shown in FIG. 5, the touch panel pad 41 is disposed on the back side of the display unit 12. A touch panel switch 43 is provided between the touch panel pad 41 and the circuit board 45 below the touch panel pad 41.

  As shown in FIG. 11, icon displays G <b> 1 to G <b> 5 are displayed at positions corresponding to the touch panel pad 41 on the surface of the lower portion of the display unit 12 in the drawing. Therefore, when any one of the icon displays G1 to G5 on the display unit 12 is pressed, the touch panel pad 41 is pressed and the touch panel switch 43 is turned ON, and the signal generated at this time is sent to the control unit 34. .

  In the mobile phone 10, the first housing 14 has other components such as the speaker 15 in addition to the display unit 12, and the second housing 18 has other components such as the microphone 17 in addition to the main operation unit 16. Have.

  FIG. 1 shows the cellular phone 10 in an open state, in which the first and second housings 14 and 18 in a state of being completely overlapped with each other shown in FIG. It has been rotated and opened. Incidentally, FIG. 3 shows an intermediate state between the open state shown in FIG. 1 and the closed state shown in FIG. 2 of the mobile phone 10.

  When the mobile phone 10 is in an open state, the display unit 12 functions only as an LCD. When the mobile phone 10 is in a closed state, an icon display for a touch panel appears on a part of the display unit 12, By depressing the icon display, the touch panel switch 43 is turned on to operate a predetermined function.

  FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration of the mobile phone 10. The display unit 12, the main operation unit 16, the speaker 15, and the microphone 17 are connected to the control unit 34 in a controllable manner, and the storage unit 32, the wireless unit 38, and the touch panel operation unit 36 are also the control unit. 34 is controllably connected.

  A method of using such a mobile phone 10 will be described below based on the flowchart shown in FIG.

  When the cellular phone 10 is in the open state (YES in step S1 in FIG. 6), as shown in FIGS. 1 and 7, the main operation unit 16 such as the numeric keypad and the function key 22 is exposed to the outside and the display unit 12 The touch panel operation unit 36, which is arranged on the inner side of the LCD and includes the touch panel pad 41 and the touch panel switch 43, is controlled so that its operation is prohibited (step S2, FIG. 6, touch panel operation disabled). This is because it is not necessary to operate the touch panel operation unit 36 because all the operation keys of the main operation unit 16 are usable.

  In this case, a pictographic display such as “menu” and “edit” corresponding to each operation key of the main operation unit 16 appears on the lower part of the screen on the display unit 12, so that the user presses the operation key of the main operation unit 16. By using these, operations related to “menu”, “edit” and the like can be performed (step S3 in FIG. 6).

  For example, when the menu key 22b of the main operation unit 16 is pressed, a window with a menu list displayed at the center of the screen of the display unit 12 appears as shown in FIG.

  On the other hand, any of the operation keys in the main operation unit 16 is assigned a role as a shortcut key for activating a predetermined function. For this reason, for example, by pressing the function key 22a as a shortcut key, for example, a shortcut screen for “mail reply” as shown in FIG. Then, by pressing the function key 22a again, for example, a shortcut screen for “phone book registration” as shown in FIG.

  6 is NO, that is, when the mobile phone 10 is not in the open state, for example, from the open state as shown in FIG. 1 to the intermediate state as shown in FIG. When the closed state shown in FIG. 6 is reached (step S4 in FIG. 6), the main operation unit 16 such as the numeric keypad and the function key 22 is covered with the first housing 14 and cannot be used. Since the control unit 34 is controlled so that the touch panel operation unit 36 disposed in the can be operated (step S5 in FIG. 6), the touch panel operation unit 36 can be operated.

  That is, as shown in FIG. 11, icons such as “reply”, “phone book registration”, “menu”, upward and downward triangle marks appear at the bottom of the screen of the display unit 12. An operation as a touch panel can be performed by pressing any one of the icon displays.

  From this state, when the “menu” (MENU) icon display G1 on the display unit 12 is pressed (step S6 in FIG. 6), a menu list is displayed at the center of the screen of the display unit 12 as shown in FIG. A window appears.

  Next, when the “reply” icon display G2 on the display unit 12 is pressed, a shortcut screen for “mail reply” as shown in FIG. 13 appears. Further, when the “phone book registration” icon display G3 is pressed instead of the “reply” icon display G2, a shortcut screen for “phone book registration” as shown in FIG. 14 appears.

  When the screen of FIG. 12 is displayed and there is no desired menu in the menu list, the menu list is displayed by pressing the icon display G4 or G5 of the upward or downward triangle mark shown in FIG. A desired menu can be searched by scrolling upward or downward.

  In this way, the mobile phone 10 can perform various operations by operating the touch panel operation unit 36, but there are also operations that are impossible with the touch panel operation unit alone, in that case (YES in step S7 in FIG. 6). The mobile phone 10 can be opened (step S8 in FIG. 6), and various operations can be performed using the various operation keys of the main operation unit 16 (step S3 in FIG. 6).

According to such a mobile phone 10, the following operational effects are obtained. That is, when the mobile phone 10 is closed while the mobile phone 10 is in the open state, an icon display similar to the guide display assigned to a predetermined key of the key operation unit 16 in the open state is displayed on the touch panel operation unit 36. Since it is displayed so that the pressing operation is possible, the user can continue working without hesitation in the operation. Similarly, the icon display corresponding to the shortcut function assigned to the predetermined key of the key operation unit 16 in the open state is displayed so that the touch panel operation unit 36 can be pressed, so that the user can work without hesitation in the operation. Can continue.
Even if this is a case where the cellular phone 10 is in an open state while working in a closed state, it is clear that the same action and effect can be achieved because the transition is made in the reverse order.

  As described above, according to the mobile phone 10, even if the mobile phone 10 is switched to one of the open state and the closed state during the operation, the user can visually recognize one common display unit 12. However, the operation can be continued without losing operation.

  Since the touch panel operation unit 36 can be operated even when the mobile phone 10 is in the closed state, various operation information for operating the mobile phone 10 can be provided to the user, and even when the mobile phone 10 is in the closed state. The operability of the mobile phone 10 can be improved.

  In the above-described embodiment, “reply”, “phone book registration”, and “menu” have been described as the icon display for the touch panel when the mobile phone 10 is in the closed state. Needless to say, the display may be displayed on the display unit 12.

  In the above embodiment, the shortcut screen that appears on the display unit 12 in the open state may correspond to all the operation keys of the main operation unit 16, but only functions that cannot be selected from the “selection menu”. You may make it respond | correspond to the operation key of the main operation part 16. FIG. As a result, when shortcut icons are collectively displayed on the display unit 12, it is possible to prevent all the shortcut icons from being collectively displayed in the display area of the display unit 12.

Moreover, in the said embodiment, although demonstrated in the example which has arrange | positioned the touchscreen action | operation part 36 (touchscreen pad 41 and touchscreen switch 43) inside the display part 12, it is not limited to this, A film-like touchscreen device is displayed. The present invention can be applied even if it is configured to be disposed outside the portion 12.
Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the touchscreen action | operation part 36 is arrange | positioned at a part of the display part 12, it is not limited to this, You may arrange | position the touchscreen action | operation part 36 over the display part 12 whole.

  In the above-described embodiment, the horizontal rotation type mobile phone 10 has been described. However, the first casing and the second casing can be relatively moved in a linear direction substantially parallel to the overlapping surface of each other. The present invention can also be applied to a connected mobile terminal device such as a so-called slider type mobile phone.

1 is a front view showing a mobile phone 10 in an open state according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a front view showing a mobile phone 10 in a closed state according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a front view showing an intermediate state between the open state shown in FIG. 1 and the closed state shown in FIG. 2 of the mobile phone 10. 3 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration of the mobile phone 10. FIG. FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view taken along line AA of the mobile phone 10 illustrated in FIG. 2. 4 is a flowchart showing a procedure of a method for using the mobile phone 10. FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged view showing an example of a screen of display unit 12 of mobile phone 10 in the open state shown in FIG. 1. 6 is a partially enlarged view showing another screen of the display unit 12. FIG. 6 is a partially enlarged view showing another screen of the display unit 12. FIG. 6 is a partially enlarged view showing another screen of the display unit 12. FIG. FIG. 3 is an enlarged front view showing an example of a screen of the display unit 12 of the mobile phone 10 in a closed state shown in FIG. 2. 6 is a partially enlarged view showing another screen of the display unit 12. FIG. 6 is a partially enlarged view showing another screen of the display unit 12. FIG. 6 is a partially enlarged view showing another screen of the display unit 12. FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Mobile telephone 12 Display part 14 1st housing | casing 15 Speaker 16 Main operation part 17 Microphone 18 2nd housing | casing 20 Axis member 22,22a Function key 22b Menu key 32 Memory | storage part 34 Control part 36 Touch panel action | operation part 38 Radio | wireless part 41 Touch panel Pad 43 Touch panel switch 45 Circuit board

Claims (4)

A first housing having a display portion exposed to the outside and a second housing having a key operation portion provided with a plurality of operation keys are coupled,
A closed state in which the first casing and the second casing overlap each other, the display unit is exposed to the outside, and the key operation unit is covered by the first casing;
The first housing and the second housing are configured to move relative to each other so that both the display unit and the key operation unit are exposed to the outside.
A touch panel operating unit that is disposed on the front or back surface of the display unit of the first housing and is operated by pressing the display unit from above is provided;
When in the open state, the touch panel operation unit is controlled to be prohibited from operating, and a guide display corresponding to at least one operation key of the key operation units is displayed on the display unit,
When in the closed state, the touch panel operation unit is controlled to be operable, and the icon display corresponding to the guide display corresponds to the touch panel operation unit of the display unit that can be pressed from above the display unit. A portable terminal device that is displayed at a position to be displayed. A first housing having a display portion exposed to the outside and a second housing having a key operation portion provided with a plurality of operation keys are coupled,
A closed state in which the first casing and the second casing overlap each other, the display unit is exposed to the outside, and the key operation unit is covered by the first casing;
The first housing and the second housing are configured to move relative to each other so that both the display unit and the key operation unit are exposed to the outside.
A touch panel operating unit that is disposed on the front or back surface of the display unit of the first housing and is operated by pressing the display unit from above is provided;
When in the open state, the touch panel operation unit is controlled to be prohibited from operating, and at least one operation key of the key operation unit functions as a shortcut key for activating a predetermined function. ,
When in the closed state, the touch panel operating unit is controlled to be operable, and the icon display corresponding to the shortcut key corresponds to the touch panel operating unit of the display unit that can be pressed from above the display unit. A portable terminal device that is displayed at a position to be displayed. The first housing and the second housing are connected to each other so as to be relatively rotatable about an axis substantially perpendicular to the overlapping surface of each other. The portable terminal device described. 3. The mobile terminal according to claim 1, wherein the first housing and the second housing are coupled so as to be relatively movable in a linear direction substantially parallel to the overlapping surface of each other. apparatus.

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