JP3607649B2 - Portable terminal device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a portable terminal device, and more particularly to a portable terminal device having a key arrangement suitable for key input using a thumb.
[0002]
[Prior art]
The spread of portable terminal devices, especially mobile phones, is remarkable and has become indispensable for daily life. At present, mobile phones have been added to value, and those having functions of Internet connection and transmission / reception of e-mail have appeared. In such usage forms other than telephone calls, particularly when creating an e-mail, character input is the main component, and more key inputs are required compared to normal telephone number input for inputting numbers.
[0003]
FIG. 4 shows the configuration of the front panel of a conventional mobile phone. This cellular phone is foldable and comprises a liquid crystal display unit 11 and a key input unit 12. The key input unit 12 includes a direction key 13, a mail key 14, a telephone directory call key 15, a call key 16, a call end key 17, And a numeric keypad 18 consisting of 0-9, *, #. In e-mail input, character input is performed using the numeric keypad 18 in particular. In addition to the method of using both hands to support the phone main body with one hand and pressing the numeric keypad 18 with the other hand, the mail input method can be used only with one thumb, supporting the phone main body with a palm, and using only the thumb. The method of pressing the numeric keypad 18 has recently been used.
[0004]
Although the method using both hands has the advantage that the key can be pressed without difficulty, there is an inconvenience that it is not possible to easily enter an e-mail when carrying baggage. On the other hand, the one-handed method has the advantage of being able to easily enter e-mails even if you have baggage, but it is a burden on the thumb, especially for key inputs such as 9, 0, #, etc. that are close to the base of the thumb It takes. In order to make these keys easy to press, it is necessary to place them some distance from the base of the thumb. However, if the key input unit is arranged away from the side surface of the telephone main body for this purpose, the size of the entire telephone becomes large, which is contrary to portability.
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a portable terminal device that can perform key input comfortably during one-handed input using a thumb.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, the portable terminal device of the present invention corresponds to a plurality of input keys arranged in a right-up or left-up direction when viewed from the front, and a right-up or left-up of the input key arrangement. And a retractable protrusion disposed on either the side surface adjacent to the lower left corner of the terminal device body or the side surface adjacent to the lower right corner .
[0007]
In the portable terminal device of the present invention, by providing a right-up key arrangement for a right-handed person and a left-up key arrangement for a left-handed person, it is possible to perform key input with a thumb without difficulty. Become. In addition, when you hold it with one hand, place a protrusion on the side opposite to the side where the base of the thumb of the hand is located. It can be made easier. Further, when the projection is unnecessary, the projection can be stored, and the projection does not hinder the carrying.
[0008]
In the portable terminal device according to a preferred aspect of the present invention, the input keys are arranged substantially along an arc having a center near the lower right or lower left corner of the terminal device body.
In this case, by arranging the base of the thumb in the vicinity of the corner portion, it is possible to input without forcibly bending and extending the thumb even during continuous key input.
[0009]
If the top of each input key is formed in a substantially rectangular shape, the sides of the rectangular top may be oriented in the arrangement direction, or the sides of the rectangular top may be arranged parallel to the sides of the terminal device body. May be.
[0010]
Furthermore, the display angle of each input key may be aligned with the arrangement direction or may be aligned with the side of the terminal device body. Any of them can be adopted in consideration of the posture of the key input person.
[0012]
Furthermore, it is also a preferable aspect that another input key arranged along the side of the terminal device main body is provided.
In the portable terminal device of the present invention, it is not necessary to arrange all the keys downward or to the left, and in combination with keys having a different arrangement in consideration of the role or frequency of use of the keys, An easy-to-use portable terminal device can be provided.
[0013]
The mobile terminal device of the present invention is particularly preferably configured as a mobile phone. In this case, a mobile phone particularly suitable for mail input can be provided.
[0014]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, with reference to the drawings, the present invention will be described in more detail based on exemplary embodiments of the present invention. In this embodiment, a foldable mobile phone will be described as an example, but the present invention is not particularly limited thereto.
FIG. 1 shows a mobile phone 10 which is a portable terminal device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2B is a front view of the mobile phone 10, and FIG. The mobile phone 10 includes a liquid crystal display unit 11 and a key input unit 12. The key input unit 12 includes a direction key 13, a mail key 14, a telephone directory call key 15, a call key 16, an end key 17, and a numeric keypad 18 including numbers 0 to 9 and symbols * and #. In the example of FIG. 1, assuming that the mobile phone 10 is held with the right hand, the numeric keys 18 are arranged substantially along an arc centered around the lower right corner. The top of each key is formed in a rectangular shape, and the side of the rectangular shape follows the key arrangement and is inclined from the main body of the mobile phone 10. The key display attached to the top of the key is aligned with the key arrangement direction. On the other hand, the keys 13 to 17 other than the numeric keypad 18 are arranged in parallel with the side of the main body of the mobile phone 10. Further, as shown in FIG. 1A, a protrusion 19 is provided on the left side surface of the key input unit 12.
[0015]
In the present embodiment, the numeric keypad 18 is arranged in an arc shape so that the key can be pressed without applying an excessive force to the thumb. The key close to the base of the thumb is moved upward as compared with the conventional one, and the arc is gently drawn in accordance with the movement of the thumb so as to be arranged in a left-down direction. The display attached to the top of the key is aligned with the direction of the key arrangement so that the arrangement of the numbers can be easily understood. This display may be aligned with the orientation of the main body of the mobile phone 10 regardless of the key direction.
[0016]
Among the keys other than the numeric keypad 18, especially the direction key 13 is mainly intended to move the cursor, and therefore is arranged in accordance with the direction of the cursor displayed on the liquid crystal display unit 11. Other keys that are difficult to press when inputting a thumb or keys that are not pressed frequently are matched to the orientation of the main body as shown in the figure. In this way, it is not necessary that all the keys have the same arrangement, and a configuration in which some of the keys are different from the arrangement of the numeric keys 18 can be used in accordance with the usage frequency and purpose of the keys.
[0017]
As shown in FIG. 3, the protrusion 19 is used by placing a finger other than the thumb, for example, the middle finger. In this case, it becomes easy to hold the mobile phone 10. It should be noted that whether or not to provide this protrusion is determined by the shape of the mobile phone 10. Further, by making the protruding portion 19 retractable, the protruding portion 19 does not become an obstacle when being carried.
[0018]
FIG. 2A shows a mobile phone 10 which is a portable terminal device according to the second embodiment of the present invention. The difference from the first embodiment is that the arrangement of the numeric keys 18 is not circular but is linearly upward. In this case, substantially the same effect as the first embodiment can be obtained. In FIG. 2B, the directions of the sides of the rectangular key tops in FIG. 2A are not parallel to the key arrangement direction, but are parallel to the sides of the main body of the mobile phone 10. Also in the arrangement of the first embodiment, as in FIG. 2B, the direction of the sides of the rectangular key tops is not the same as the key arrangement direction, but is parallel to the sides of the mobile phone body. You can also.
[0019]
As mentioned above, about each above-mentioned embodiment example, assuming a right-handed person, it showed and demonstrated an example with a right hand, but in the case of a left-handed person, when using the left hand, the left and right are reversed, It is only necessary to read ascending to the left, ascending to the left, near the bottom right corner near the bottom left corner, near the bottom left corner near the bottom right corner, and the left side as the right side.
[0020]
The present invention has been described above based on the preferred embodiment. However, the portable terminal device of the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made from the configuration of the above embodiment. And the portable terminal device which gave the change is also contained in the scope of the present invention. For example, the shape of the top of each key is not limited to a rectangular shape, and may be a circle or an ellipse. The portable terminal device is not limited to a mobile phone.
[0021]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, the portable terminal device according to the present invention has an advantage that key input with the thumb is facilitated by increasing the key arrangement to the right or the left.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIGS. 1A and 1B are a front view and a side view of a mobile phone according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a front view of a mobile phone according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a usage pattern of the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a front view of a conventional mobile phone.
[Explanation of symbols]
10: mobile phone 11: liquid crystal display unit 12: key input unit 13: direction key 14: mail key 15: phonebook call key 16: call key 17: call end key 18: numeric keypad 19: protrusion

Claims (8)

Corresponding to a plurality of input keys arranged in a right-up or left-up direction when viewed from the front, and a right-up or left-up of the input key arrangement, a side surface or a lower right side adjacent to the lower left corner of the terminal device body A portable terminal device comprising a protrusion that can be accommodated on any one of side surfaces adjacent to a corner portion. 2. The portable terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the input keys are arranged substantially along an arc having a center near the lower right or lower left corner portion of the terminal device body. Top of each input key is formed in a rectangular shape,該矩shape the top of the sides, characterized in that along the arrangement direction, the portable terminal device according to claim 1 or 2. Top of each input key is formed in a rectangular shape,該矩shape the top of the sides, characterized in that extending parallel to the sides of the terminal apparatus main body, the portable terminal device according to claim 1 or 2. The portable terminal device according to claim 1, wherein an angle of display of each input key is aligned with the arrangement direction. The portable terminal device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the display angle of each input key matches the side of the terminal device body. Further characterized in that it comprises another input keys are arranged along the sides of the terminal equipment main body, the portable terminal device according to any one of claims 1-6. Characterized in that it is constructed as a mobile phone, a portable terminal device according to any one of claims 1-7.

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