KR100706980B1 - Mobile Communication Terminal with Expandable and Compressible Content Menu Positioned in Sub-Screen and Method Thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a mobile communication terminal and a method thereof having a content menu positioned on a sub screen and capable of expansion and contraction.

The present invention provides a mobile communication terminal for displaying a function selection menu of a content on a search screen of a content. When a content menu switch icon is selected on a content search screen, a menu structure of the content located on a sub screen is expanded or reduced. A program memory for storing a content menu switching program having a function of being displayed; A control unit controlling a function of executing the content menu switching program when a key input signal for selecting the content menu switching icon is input on the content search screen; A memory configured to store control data necessary for controlling the controller and to store information on an expansion or reduction mode of a current content menu; A display unit for displaying the contents, the contents menu, and the contents menu switching icon to a user of the mobile communication terminal under the control of the controller; A key input unit generating a key input signal for selecting the content menu switch icon and outputting the generated key input signal to the controller; And a transmitting / receiving unit which is responsible for transmitting and receiving data of the contents between the mobile communication terminal and the mobile communication network under the control of the control unit. Provides a mobile communication terminal.

According to the present invention, in the content channel screen displaying the content received from the content server, by expanding or reducing the menu of the content channel according to the user's key input, the user can conveniently check and select the menu of the content channel It is effective.

Content, information channel, content channel menu, expand / collapse content menu, mobile communication terminal

Description

Mobile communication terminal with expandable and compressible content menu positioned in sub-screen and method thereof}

1 is a screen showing an example for showing the expansion and contraction function of the content menu located on the sub-screen of the mobile communication terminal according to the present invention;

2 is a flowchart illustrating a process of expanding and contracting a content menu located on a sub screen of a mobile communication terminal according to the present invention;

3 is a block diagram schematically illustrating an internal configuration of a mobile communication terminal having a content menu that is located on a sub screen and that can be expanded and contracted according to an embodiment of the present invention;

4 is a diagram schematically illustrating a mobile communication system for broadcasting a standby mode based information channel to which a method of expanding and contracting a content menu located on a sub screen of a mobile communication terminal according to the present invention is applied.

<Description of Symbols for Main Parts of Drawings>

100: main menu icon 102: first menu

104: second menu 106: third menu

108: other information display window 300: mobile communication terminal

302: key input unit 304: display unit

306: program storage unit 308: memory

312 Transmitter / Receiver

The present invention relates to a mobile communication terminal and a method thereof having a content menu positioned on a sub screen and capable of expansion and contraction. More specifically, in the content channel screen displaying the content received from the content server, the menu of the content channel located at the bottom of the content channel screen can be converted into a plurality of menu configurations or converted into ones according to the user's key input. The present invention relates to a mobile communication terminal having a content menu that is located on a sub-screen that can be reduced in a menu configuration and that can be expanded and collapsed.

The screen configuration method of contents used in the conventional mobile communication terminal is simply a mixture of content icon arrangement and background animation. In order to select various function menus when searching for specific content, the user must enter the main menu and search or set various functions. do. In addition, after setting a function in the main menu, it is configured to select a specific content icon and use a specific content, which is inconvenient when using a content service.

In particular, in the case of using the content information provided in real time, it is more cumbersome to continuously repeat the operation of selecting the function setting on the main menu and entering the content service screen again.

In order to solve this problem, the present invention, in the content channel screen displaying the content received from the content server, the function menu of the content channel located on the lower portion of the content channel screen in accordance with the user's key input to switch several menus An object of the present invention is to provide a mobile communication terminal and a method thereof, which are located on a sub-screen that can be expanded into a configuration or reduced to a menu configuration, and which have a content menu that can be expanded and reduced.

According to a first object of the present invention for achieving the above object, in a mobile communication terminal for displaying a function selection menu of the content on the content search screen, the content located on the sub screen when the content menu switch icon is selected on the content search screen; A program memory for storing a content menu switching program having a function of expanding or reducing a menu structure of the menu to be displayed on a display unit; A control unit controlling a function of executing a content menu switching program when a key input signal for selecting a content menu switching icon is input on a content search screen; A memory configured to store control data required for control of the controller and to store information on an expansion or reduction mode of the current content menu; A display unit for displaying a content, a content menu, and a content menu switch icon to a user of the mobile communication terminal under the control of the controller; A key input unit generating a key input signal for selecting a content menu switch icon and outputting the same to a controller; And a transmitter / receiver configured to transmit and receive data of content between the mobile communication terminal and the mobile communication network under the control of the controller, and having a content menu that can be expanded and reduced. To provide.

According to a second object of the present invention, a method of displaying a function menu of content on a sub screen when searching for content received from a mobile communication terminal, comprising: (a) receiving the received content and a content menu switching icon to the mobile communication terminal; Displaying on a display unit included; (b) inputting a key input signal for selecting a content menu switch icon; determining whether the current content menu is in an expanded or reduced mode; And (d) expanding or contracting the configuration of the content menu to display the content menu on the sub screen.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. First of all, in adding reference numerals to the components of each drawing, it should be noted that the same reference numerals are used as much as possible even if displayed on different drawings. In addition, in describing the present invention, when it is determined that the detailed description of the related well-known configuration or function may obscure the gist of the present invention, the detailed description thereof will be omitted.

First, a part of displaying a main content on a screen of a mobile communication terminal is called a main screen, and a screen located in a portion other than the main screen (for example, a lower part) is defined as a sub screen.

1 is a screen illustrating an example for showing an expansion and contraction function of a content menu located on a sub screen of a mobile communication terminal according to the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1A, the content main menu icon 100 is configured on the sub screen in the reduced form screen of the content menu, and when the content main menu icon 100 is selected, the screen changes to the expanded form screen of the content menu as shown in FIG. 1B. do. In FIG. 1B, when the content menu configuration is expanded on the sub screen, the content main menu icon 100 and the content sub menu, the first menu 102, the second menu 104, and the third menu 106, are simultaneously displayed. It can be seen that it is configured and displayed.

In addition, if the content main menu icon 100 is selected again in FIG. 1B, the screen returns to the reduced form screen of the content menu as shown in FIG. 1A.

On the other hand, in the case of a reduced form screen of the content menu as shown in Figure 1A, it may be configured to include other information display window 108 that informs the date and time.

Here, the number of extended menus (first to third menus) can be added or subtracted according to the menu configuration information received from the content service server providing the content, and the total number of extended menus is displayed on the sub screen of the mobile communication terminal. If it is difficult to do it may be provided in a scroll form.

2 is a flowchart illustrating a process of expanding and contracting a content menu located on a sub screen of a mobile communication terminal according to the present invention.

When the mobile communication terminal enters the mode for searching for content, the display unit displays a content menu switch icon for reducing or expanding the content menu (S200).

If the user selects the content menu switch icon (S202), it is searched whether the display form of the current content menu is in a reduced form or an expanded form (S204).

When the display form of the current content menu is searched for and the display form of the current content menu is in the reduced menu mode (S206), the display form of the content menu is expanded to display an additional menu on the sub screen (S208). If the display form of the current content menu is in the expanded menu mode instead of the reduced menu mode, only the main menu icon is displayed on the sub screen by reducing the display form of the content menu (S208).

3 is a block diagram schematically illustrating an internal configuration of a mobile communication terminal having a content menu that is located on a sub screen and that can be expanded and collapsed according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The mobile communication terminal 300 according to the present invention includes a configuration including a key input unit 302, a display unit 304, a program storage unit 306, a memory 308, a control unit 310, a transmitter / receiver unit 312, and the like. Have

Mobile communication terminal 300 according to an embodiment of the present invention is a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), cellular phone, PCS (Personal Communication Service) phone, GSM (Global System for Mobile) phone, W-CDMA (Wideband CDMA) phone, CDMA-2000 phone, Mobile Broadband System (MBS) phone and the like. Here, MBS phone refers to a mobile phone to be used in the fourth generation system currently being discussed. In addition, in order for the mobile communication terminal 300 to access the wireless Internet through the wireless Internet network and receive the multimedia data, a browser (browser) capable of transmitting and receiving data with the wireless Internet using a predetermined protocol should be installed. Such a browser may be a wireless application protocol (WAP) browser, a mobile explorer (ME) browser, an I-mode, a binary runtime environment for wireless (BREW), etc., but is not limited thereto.

The key input unit 302 is provided with a plurality of key buttons for inputting numbers such as telephone numbers. Such key buttons typically include 12 numeric keys (0 to 9, *, #), a plurality of function keys, a plurality of cursor movement keys, a direction key, and the like. In addition, the user can select the content menu switch icon according to an embodiment of the present invention to enlarge or reduce the content menu configuration.

The display unit 304 generally displays an overall operating state of the mobile communication terminal 300 including a state of use of a battery, a reception strength of radio waves, and a date and time. In addition, the content channel and the content menu of the expansion / contraction form according to an embodiment of the present invention is displayed.

The program storage unit 306 stores the protocol software for implementing a function of the terminal itself and processing a message transmitted and received with the network, and also stores a content menu switching program according to an embodiment of the present invention. When the content menu switch icon is selected on the content search screen, the content menu switch program performs a function of expanding or contracting the content menu structure of the sub screen to be displayed on the display unit 304. In addition, the content menu switching program may display the content menu in a scroll form when it is difficult to display all of the menus on the sub screen of the mobile communication terminal due to the large number of menus to be expanded.

The memory 308 stores an operation program and a system program of the controller 310, and the operation program and the system program are normally stored in a ROM area and can be erased as necessary. In addition, according to an embodiment of the present invention performs a function for storing information about the display form of the current content menu. The memory 308 is a concept including a RAM, a non-volatile memory, and the like.

Meanwhile, the mobile communication terminal includes a data storage unit, a mode state storage unit, and a subscriber identity storage unit (SIM) (not shown), and the data storage unit typically includes a data buffer when executing an operation program of the mobile communication terminal. Buffer), and temporarily stores the data input by the key input unit or data such as text or image received from the mobile communication terminal from the outside.

The mode state storage unit stores the current operation mode of the mobile communication terminal selected by the key input unit as status flags (0, 1, 2, ...), and the control unit determines whether the mobile communication terminal is the receiving mode or the calling mode. The mode state storage unit is updated by allocating a unique state flag for each mode to distinguish the storage mode, the call mode, and the like. In particular, the content search mode and the content menu expansion / collapse mode according to an embodiment of the present invention are stored as status flags.

Subscriber terminal registration information is stored in the subscriber information storage unit. Here, the subscriber station registration information is a unique number assigned to each subscriber station in the mobile communication network, and the subscriber information storage unit is inserted in the form of a card. Since this is a general content well known in the field of mobile communication networks, a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The controller 310 controls the overall operation of the mobile communication terminal 300 based on the state flag stored in the mode state storage unit, and includes an arithmetic logic operator, a register, a program counter, a command decoder, a control circuit, and the like. It is. The controller 310 automatically retrieves and decodes the instructions stored in the main memory, executes the decoded instructions, and automatically performs a function of storing the execution result in the main memory again, and simultaneously exchanges data with the input / output devices. Perform. In particular, when a key input signal for selecting a content menu switch icon is input when searching for content according to an embodiment of the present invention, the controller 310 executes commands for driving the content channel switch program and updates the mode of the mode state storage unit. do.

The transmitter / receiver 312 performs a function of amplifying and modulating a voice signal and an electric signal under the control of the controller 310 to transmit / receive data through an antenna, and in particular, an information content service server and content through a wireless Internet. Send / receive information data. The digital signal processor 314, the baseband converter 316, the speaker 318, the microphone 320, the RF signal processor 322, the antenna 324, and the like.

The digital signal processor 314 performs a data processing function of encoding or decoding data transmitted and received with the baseband converter 316, and performs an equalization function to remove noise of a multipath. Digital signal processing processor. In addition, the digital signal processor 314 receives the received message data RX DATA from the baseband converter 316.

The baseband converter 316 converts signals transmitted and received between the RF signal processor 322 and the digital signal processor 314, the speaker 318, and the microphone 320 into baseband signals, and converts the digital-to-analog converter and It performs functions such as analog-to-digital conversion.

In addition, the baseband converter 316 converts the transmission message data TX DATA input from the controller 310 into a transmission message signal TXIQ and outputs it to the RF signal processor 322 or the RF signal processor 322. The received message signal RXIQ received from the digital signal is converted into the received message data RX DATA and output to the digital signal processor 314. The baseband converter 316 automatically controls the gain for the power of the RF signal processor 322 (AGC).

 The speaker 318 outputs an audio signal output from the baseband converter 316 as an audible sound, and the microphone 320 converts a user's voice input into an electrical signal.

The RF signal processor 322 converts the transmission message signal TXIQ into a radio frequency (RF) signal and outputs it to the antenna 324, or converts an RF signal applied from the antenna 324 into a reception message signal RXIQ. Output to the baseband converter 316. The antenna 324 transmits an RF signal to the air or transmits an RF signal received from the air to the RF signal processor 322.

On the other hand, the expansion / contraction switching method of the content menu located on the sub-screen of the mobile communication terminal according to the present invention is also applied to search for the channel of the content transmitted by the standby mode-based information channel broadcasting system, standby mode-based information The channel broadcasting system will be described below.

4 is a diagram briefly illustrating a mobile communication system for broadcast mode based information channel broadcasting.

The mobile communication system for the broadcast mode-based information channel broadcasting includes a mobile communication terminal 400, a wireless access network 410, a mobile communication switching center 416, an SMS center 418, a network interworking device 420, and a WAP gateway 422. , The Internet 424, the information channel broadcast server 426, the application server 428, and the like.

The mobile communication terminal 400 is connected to the mobile communication network through the wireless access network 410 not only provides a voice call function to perform a normal voice call by wireless communication with different mobile communication terminals, but also provided with a web browser, etc. A communication terminal capable of accessing the Internet 424 through a wireless data service.

In addition, the mobile communication terminal 400 includes a communication terminal that can be equipped with a separate smart card, a variety of application services provided by the mobile carrier, for example, services such as mobile finance, games, securities, news, chat (hereinafter, Means a communication terminal capable of being provided with " content ". The mobile communication terminal 400 requests a content summary information including summary information such as a channel and a title for broadcasting content from the information channel broadcasting server 426 and detailed information code values for requesting detailed information including more details of the corresponding content. The SMS receives and stores an SMS having an identification code value separate from a general short message service (SMS). In addition, the content summary information is displayed by a user's key input of the mobile communication terminal 400. When the user selects a specific content, the user accesses the application server 428 through the wireless Internet with the detailed information code value, and the detailed information code value. The detailed information of the corresponding content is taken and displayed on the display unit.

The wireless access network 410 is composed of a base station 412 and a base station controller 414. A base station transceiver system (BTS) 414 wirelessly matches the mobile communication terminal 400 to provide a mobile communication service to a mobile subscriber. Perform the function to provide.

A base station controller (BSC) 414 connects a voice call and a line data call between the base station 412 and the mobile switching center 416, performs a vocoding function on the voice call, and operates the base station. It performs the function of maintenance and repair.

A mobile switching center (MSC) 416 is a system that performs a switching function in a CDMA-2000 network, and performs a function of connecting a mobile subscriber in a network with a subscriber of another network. In addition, it is connected to various additional systems to provide additional services, and processes the location registration, authentication and encryption functions in conjunction with a home location register (not shown).

The SMS center 418 is connected to the mobile switching center 416 and has a function of delivering a short message to mobile subscribers. The SMS center 418 allows a user to send and receive numbers and letters bidirectionally between various text delivery systems (PC communication system, Internet server system, mobile communication terminal, etc.) and subscribers using a mobile communication network. In addition, the content summary information and the detailed information code value to be transmitted to the mobile communication terminal 400 in the form of an SMS having an identification code value separate from the general short message.

An inter-working function (IWF) 420 provides an interface for exchanging data between a wireless communication system and a wired communication system and converts protocols, signals, and data into a form suitable for each network. In general, the network interworking device 420 connects a wired communication network and a wireless communication network so that the mobile communication switching center 416, the information channel broadcasting server 426, and the application server 428 can interoperate with each other.

The WAP gateway 422 performs a process such as communication code conversion or protocol conversion between the mobile communication terminal 400, the information channel broadcasting server 426, and the application server 428 to quickly retrieve and display information on the wired Internet. To interconnect the mobile communication terminal 400 with the information channel broadcasting server 426 and the application server 428.

The Internet 424 is a communication network that provides a connection path for the mobile communication terminal 400 to access a web server via a mobile communication switching center 416 to transmit and receive data.

The information channel broadcasting server 426 adjusts the push time chart of the contents as if the schedule of the information channel broadcasting is adjusted by a TV program, and provides an application service to the mobile terminal 400 through the mobile communication network according to the broadcasting schedule in real time. The application server 428 is controlled to be provided.

That is, the information channel broadcasting server 426 is interworked with the application server 428 and the Internet 424, and broadcasts the content summary information in real time to the mobile communication terminal 400 in an SMS form according to a broadcasting schedule, and the mobile communication terminal. When requesting the detailed information at 400, it is characterized in that the detailed content is provided to the mobile communication terminal 400 in conjunction with the application server 428.

The application server 428 is interworked with the information channel broadcasting server 426 and the mobile communication network. The mobile communication terminal 400 is a wireless Internet service, for example, stock information such as mobile finance, apartment quotes, stock quotes, and current stock prices. Means a server that provides various news services. Here, the application server 428 enables the user to easily receive the application service in real time using the broadcast schedule of the information channel broadcast server 426. In addition, the application server 428 may be configured independently as in FIG. 4, but may be included in the information channel broadcasting server 426.

That is, the method of expanding / reducing the content menu located on the sub-screen of the mobile communication terminal according to the present invention extends the content menu in the process of searching for content transmitted by the idle mode based information channel broadcasting system. Or to switch to shrinking.

The above description is merely illustrative of the technical idea of the present invention, and those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains may make various modifications and changes without departing from the essential characteristics of the present invention. Therefore, the embodiments disclosed in the present invention are not intended to limit the technical idea of the present invention but to describe the present invention, and the scope of the technical idea of the present invention is not limited by these embodiments. The protection scope of the present invention should be interpreted by the following claims, and all technical ideas within the equivalent scope should be interpreted as being included in the scope of the present invention.

As described above, according to the present invention, in the content channel screen displaying the content received from the content server, the function menu of the content channel located at the lower portion of the content channel screen is switched in accordance with the user's key input. By expanding to a configuration or reducing to a menu configuration, the user can conveniently check and select various menus of a content channel.

Claims (7)

A mobile communication terminal for displaying a function selection menu of content on a search screen of the content, A program memory for storing a content menu switching program having a function of displaying a corresponding content menu in an expanded mode or a reduced mode on a sub screen according to a selection of a content menu switching icon on a content search screen; A control unit controlling a function of executing the content menu switching program when a key input signal for selecting the content menu switching icon is input on the content search screen; A memory configured to store control data necessary for controlling the controller and to store information about whether the configuration of the content menu displayed on the sub screen is the extended mode or the reduced mode; A display unit for displaying the contents, the contents menu, and the contents menu switching icon to a user of the mobile communication terminal under the control of the controller; A key input unit generating a key input signal for selecting the content menu switch icon and outputting the generated key input signal to the controller; And A transmitter / receiver responsible for transmitting and receiving data of the content between the mobile communication terminal and the mobile communication network under the control of the controller; A mobile communication terminal having a content menu positioned on a sub screen, the content menu of which can be expanded and reduced. The method of claim 1, In the extended mode, the content menu switching program causes the content menu switching icon and one or more content menus to be displayed on the sub screen, and the content menu switching icon to be displayed on the sub screen in the reduction mode. A mobile communication terminal having a content menu positioned on a sub screen, the expansion and contraction of which is possible. The method of claim 2, The content menu switching program is configured to display the content menu on the display unit to select the content menu in a scroll form when the menu configuration of the content is expanded by configuring two or more content menus on the sub screen. A mobile communication terminal having a content menu positioned on a sub screen, the expansion and contraction of which is possible. The method of claim 2, The content menu switching program is configured to display the date or time included in the sub screen when the menu configuration of the content is reduced by configuring one content menu on the sub screen. And a content menu capable of expanding and contracting. A method of displaying a function menu of a content on a sub screen when searching for content received from a mobile communication terminal, (a) displaying the received content and content menu switch icon on a display unit included in the mobile communication terminal; (b) inputting a key input signal for selecting the content menu switch icon; determining whether the configuration of the content menu displayed on the sub-screen is an extended mode or a reduced mode in which the number of configurations of the content menu is increased or decreased; And (d) displaying the configuration of the content menu on the sub screen in the extended mode or the reduced mode; And expanding and contracting the content menu located on the sub screen of the mobile communication terminal. The method of claim 5, wherein in step (d), When the configuration of the menu of the content is expanded by configuring two or more of the content menus on the sub screen, the content menu is displayed on the display unit to select the content menu in a scroll form. A method of expanding and contracting a content menu located on a sub screen of a terminal. The method of claim 5, wherein in step (d), When the menu configuration of the content is reduced by configuring one of the content menus on the sub screen, the content menu located on the sub screen of the mobile communication terminal includes displaying the date or time in the sub screen. How to expand and collapse.

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