JP2008061185A - Slidable mobile terminal - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a slidable mobile terminal which improves operability in a contracted state, reduces power consumption, further, is hardly scratched on a display and improves the visibility of information to be displayed. <P>SOLUTION: The present invention relates to a slidable mobile terminal in which two cases are linked to be extended and contracted by sliding, the cases are linked so that a case comprising a key operating section 23 becomes front and a case comprising a large-sized liquid crystal display section 31 and a small-sized liquid crystal display section 41 becomes rear, and the small-sized liquid crystal display section 41 is disposed near a terminal of the case. In the contracted state, the large-sized liquid crystal display section 31 is concealed in the back of the case comprising the key operating section 23, and only the small-sized liquid crystal display section 41 is exposed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a slide-type portable terminal in which a casing having a display unit and a casing having an operation unit are slidably connected, and particularly, excellent operability in a shortened state and low power consumption. The present invention relates to a sliding portable terminal.

  In recent years, various types of mobile phones such as a straight type and a folding type are on the market. Among them, there is a so-called “sliding type” in which a casing having a display unit and a casing having an operation unit are slidably coupled.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a conventional sliding portable terminal includes a single display unit 11 that is always exposed to the outside. In the state where the terminal is contracted, the key operation unit 21 is exposed, but the key operation unit 22 is not exposed to the outside. That is, in the conventional sliding mobile terminal, only a part of the key operation unit is exposed in the shortened state.

  In such a configuration, since the display unit is always exposed, the display unit is easily damaged. In addition, since the display unit is unique, it is necessary to drive the entire display unit only to check the time and the presence / absence of an incoming call, and the battery consumption becomes severe.

  Furthermore, since the key operation unit 22 is not exposed in the shortened state, the operability is inferior compared to the extended state in which all the keys are exposed.

  Prior art related to a slide-type mobile terminal includes a “slide telescopic mobile phone” disclosed in Patent Document 1, a “mobile phone” disclosed in Patent Document 2, and a “portable communication device” disclosed in Patent Document 3. There is.

  In the inventions disclosed in Patent Literature 1 and Patent Literature 2, since the key operation unit is always exposed, the operability is not inferior even in the shortened state.

The invention disclosed in Patent Document 3 includes two large and small displays, which are driven independently to reduce power consumption.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-309631 JP 2001-24762 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-110670

However, in the inventions disclosed in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2, a part of the display unit is hidden in a shortened state, but a part of the display part remains exposed. Therefore, since the portion that is always exposed is easily damaged, the same color appears differently in the portion that is hidden in the shortened state and the portion that is exposed over time.
Moreover, since the entire display unit is driven even if it is hidden behind the housing, the power consumption is not different from the extended state.

In addition, since the invention disclosed in Patent Document 3 has a configuration in which both large and small displays are always exposed, the display unit is likely to be scratched similarly to a conventional sliding mobile terminal.
Moreover, since the small display is positioned so as to be positioned closer to the center of the terminal than the large display when the terminal is extended, the small display is easily concealed by the user's hand during operation, and the visibility of information is improved. Not expensive.
In addition, information is simply displayed on a small display, and there is no disclosure regarding the operation of the terminal using this.

  As described above, the conventional sliding portable terminal has a problem that the display is easily damaged and the visibility of information displayed on the sub display is inferior.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and is a sliding mobile terminal that is excellent in operability in a shortened state, consumes little power, is less likely to damage the display, and has high visibility of displayed information. The purpose is to provide.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is a sliding mobile terminal in which two casings are connected so as to be extendable and contractable by sliding, and the casing provided with an operation unit is provided in front, a large display unit, and a small display. The small display unit is arranged in the vicinity of the end of the case, and in the shortened state, the large display unit is the back of the case with the operation unit. It is intended to provide a sliding portable terminal characterized in that only a small display part is exposed.

  In the present invention, it is preferable to display the remaining battery level on the small display unit. Further, it is preferable to display the time on a small display unit.

  In any of the above-described configurations of the present invention, it is preferable to provide a wireless communication function and display a radio wave condition on the small display unit. More preferably, the presence or absence of mail is displayed. In any case, it is more preferable to acquire the latest version of information that can be updated regularly or irregularly using RSS (Rich Site Summary) and display the acquired information on a smaller display unit.

  In any of the above-described configurations of the present invention, it is preferable to include means for switching display / non-display of information on the small display unit. Further, it is preferable to display a menu screen on the small display unit and execute a function selected using the operation unit on the menu screen. The small display unit preferably consumes less power than the large image display unit. In addition, the large display unit is preferably a color display image display unit, and the small display unit is preferably a monochrome image display unit. .

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a slide-type mobile terminal that is excellent in operability in a shortened state, consumes less power, is not easily damaged, and has high visibility of displayed information.

[Summary of the Invention]
The sliding portable terminal according to the present invention includes a large-sized liquid crystal display unit that is not exposed to the outside in the shortened state and a small-sized liquid crystal display unit that is exposed to the outside even in the shortened state. Even in the shortened state, all key operation parts are exposed to the outside. As a result, it is possible to suppress scratches when the large-sized liquid crystal display unit is not used. In addition, power consumption can be reduced by displaying items that the user wants to use easily such as time and incoming call history on a small-sized liquid crystal display unit.

  The liquid crystal display unit with a small size is always exposed, but by installing it at a position different from that of the conventional slide type terminal, the chance of contact with other objects causing scratches is reduced.

  Since the operation unit is always exposed to the outside, the operability is not impaired even if the terminal is in a shortened state. Therefore, various functions can be realized using a small-sized liquid crystal display unit.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described.

FIG. 2 shows the configuration of the mobile terminal according to the present embodiment. (A) shows an expanded state, and (b) shows a shortened state. This portable terminal has a large liquid crystal display unit 31, a small liquid crystal display unit 41, and a key operation unit 23.
As shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the housing on the side where the large liquid crystal display unit 31 and the small liquid crystal display unit 41 are mounted is the lower side of the housing on the side where the key operation unit 23 is mounted. It arrange | positions so that it may become. The large liquid crystal display unit 31 is hidden behind the upper housing when the terminal is shortened as shown in FIG. The small liquid crystal display device 41 and the key operation unit 23 remain exposed even when the terminal is in a shortened state.

  If the expressive power and feasible functions (image display, etc.) of the small liquid crystal display unit 41 may be suppressed as compared with the large liquid crystal display unit 31, the liquid crystal display should be a monochrome liquid crystal instead of a color liquid crystal in consideration of battery consumption. Is also possible. As a result, the cost of the device can be reduced.

As shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, by providing the convex portion 42 so as to surround the small-sized liquid crystal display unit 41, the small-sized liquid crystal display unit 41 is less likely to come into contact with foreign matter and is not easily damaged. Become. The convex part 42 may not completely surround the small liquid crystal display part 41 or may be provided intermittently. For example, the convex portions 42 may be provided only on both sides of the small liquid crystal display portion 41, or the convex portions 42 may be individually provided in the vicinity of the four corners of the small liquid crystal display portion 41.
Conversely, the portion of the small liquid crystal display unit 41 may be concave. That is, the same effect can be obtained if the peripheral portion of the small liquid crystal display unit 41 protrudes relative to the small liquid crystal display unit 41.

  As a control system (CPU, ROM, etc.) and a communication system (antenna, radio circuit, etc.), the same configuration as that of a known mobile phone terminal can be applied, and thus description thereof is omitted.

  FIG. 6 shows an example of information display on the small liquid crystal display unit 41. In a state where the mobile terminal is shortened, the user can check the time, remaining battery power, presence / absence of a new mail, its title, radio wave status, etc. without extending the terminal (FIG. 6A). Thereby, since it is not necessary to display information on the large-sized liquid crystal display unit 31, the amount of electricity used for displaying information can be smaller than that of a conventional portable terminal. Further, there is no need to put the mobile terminal in an expanded state for displaying information.

It is also possible to provide a simple menu screen for the small liquid crystal display unit 41 so that various functions can be activated even when the terminal is shortened (FIG. 6B).
Specifically, the user can browse the mail content or create the mail text as shown in FIG. 6C by performing the activation operation with the mail transmission / reception function selected. Also, music playback information can be displayed as shown in FIG. 6D by performing a startup operation with the music data playback function selected. Furthermore, by performing the activation operation with the schedule management function selected, the schedule can be confirmed as shown in FIG. Furthermore, the schedule can be edited by designating the date on the schedule screen (FIG. 6 (f)).

  When the portable terminal is in the extended state, the small liquid crystal display unit 41 displays the clock, the remaining battery level, the radio wave status, etc. so that the user can check the information, and this information is displayed on the large liquid crystal display unit 31. There is no need to display duplicates. Therefore, only the various application operation screens and the information confirmation screen can be displayed on the large-sized liquid crystal display unit 31, and the visibility for the user is improved.

  In addition, by using RSS (Rich Site Summary) or the like, as shown in FIG. 7, by constantly displaying information such as news on the small liquid crystal display unit 41, the large liquid crystal display unit 41 can be displayed in any manner. Even when information is displayed, the user can always check the latest information on the small liquid crystal display unit 41. This improves the convenience for the user.

  However, since driving both the small liquid crystal display unit 41 and the large liquid crystal display unit 31 at the same time leads to an increase in power consumption, display / non-display of information on the small liquid crystal display unit 41 is selected by a user operation. Preferably it is possible.

Thus, the sliding portable terminal according to the present embodiment can be carried or used without damaging the large liquid crystal display unit in the shortened state.
Further, by having both the large liquid crystal display unit and the small liquid crystal display unit, information that can be displayed on the small liquid crystal display unit such as time can be confirmed even in a shortened state.
Furthermore, since the small liquid crystal display unit can be used in a shortened state, the use frequency of the large liquid crystal display unit is reduced, and power consumption can be reduced.

In addition, the said embodiment is an example of suitable implementation of this invention, and this invention is not limited to this.
For example, in the above embodiment, the display unit is an LCD, but a display device using an organic EL may be used.
Thus, the present invention can be variously modified.

It is a figure which shows the structure of the mobile telephone terminal concerning suitable embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the expansion | extension state / shortening state of the mobile telephone terminal concerning suitable embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the expansion | extension state of the mobile telephone terminal concerning suitable embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the shortened state of the mobile telephone terminal concerning suitable embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the mobile telephone terminal of the structure which formed the convex part around the small liquid crystal display part. It is a figure which shows the example of a display of the information in a small-sized liquid crystal display part. It is a figure which shows the state which displayed on the small-sized liquid crystal display part the information which can change every moment.

Explanation of symbols

11 Display unit 21, 33 Key operation unit 31 Large liquid crystal display unit 41 Small liquid crystal display unit 42 Convex portion

Claims (10)

A sliding mobile terminal in which two housings are connected to be extendable and contractable by sliding,
The casing with the operation unit is connected to the front, the casing with the large display unit and the small display unit is connected to the rear,
The small display unit is disposed in the vicinity of the end of the housing,
In the shortened state, the large display unit is concealed on the rear surface of the casing including the operation unit, and only the small display unit is exposed.   The sliding portable terminal according to claim 1, wherein the remaining battery level is displayed on the small display unit.   3. The sliding mobile terminal according to claim 1, wherein the time is displayed on the small display unit.   The sliding portable terminal according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a wireless communication function and displaying a radio wave condition on the small display unit.   5. The sliding portable terminal according to claim 4, further comprising an e-mail transmission / reception function, wherein the presence / absence of a new mail is displayed on the small display unit.   6. The latest version of information that can be updated regularly or irregularly is obtained using RSS (Rich Site Summary), and the obtained information is displayed on the small display unit. Sliding mobile terminal.   The sliding portable terminal according to any one of claims 1 to 7, further comprising means for switching display / non-display of information on the small display unit.   The sliding portable terminal according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein a menu screen is displayed on the small display unit, and a function selected using the operation unit is executed on the menu screen.   The sliding portable terminal according to claim 1, wherein the small display unit consumes less power than the large image display unit.   The sliding portable terminal according to claim 9, wherein the large display unit is a color display image display unit, and the small display unit is a monochrome image display unit.

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