KR101356511B1 - Mobile terminal and method for connecting extenal device thereto - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a portable terminal and a method for connecting the external device to allow the external device to be connected to the portable terminal in consideration of the user's convenience. According to the present invention, since the use of the operation unit of the external device according to the function being executed in the portable terminal is displayed on the display based on the database, the user can easily grasp how to operate the external device.

Description

Mobile terminal and external device connection method {MOBILE TERMINAL AND METHOD FOR CONNECTING EXTENAL DEVICE THERETO}

The present invention relates to a portable terminal and a method for connecting the external device to allow the external device to be connected to the portable terminal in consideration of the user's convenience.

A portable terminal is a portable device that is portable and has one or more functions such as voice and video calling, information input and output, and data storage.

2. Description of the Related Art Recently, mobile terminals have various functions. For example, they have complicated functions such as photographing, video shooting, playback of multimedia contents such as music and video files, player).

Various external devices may be connected to the portable terminal to further facilitate the convenience of use thereof. An example is a Bluetooth type headset.

When the headset is connected to the portable terminal, a music file played on the portable terminal can be heard through the headset, and a telephone call can be made through the headset when a call comes from the other party while listening to the music file. .

In recent years, more external devices that can be connected to portable terminals have been introduced, and the operation thereof has become more complicated. However, there is a problem that the user needs to know all the operation methods for each model of the external device requires a lot of effort and time.

The present invention is to provide a portable terminal and a method for connecting the external device to easily understand the operation method of the external device connected to the portable terminal.

The present invention to solve the above problems provides a portable terminal that can be connected to the following external devices. The portable terminal includes a display unit, a storage unit, a connection unit, and a control unit. The storage unit may store an external device information database. The connection unit allows the portable terminal to be connected to the external device. The controller controls the display information to be displayed on the display unit in response to a function being executed in the portable terminal.

In particular, the controller may control to display different uses of the operation unit on the display based on the database according to a function being executed in the mobile terminal.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides an external device connection step in which a portable terminal is connected to an external device for executing a specific function, and an operation information display step of displaying external device operation information displayed on the external device related to the specific function. It provides a method for connecting an external device of a mobile terminal including a.

The effects of the portable terminal and the external device connection method according to the present invention will be described as follows.

First, a button of an operation unit of an external device may be used to input different commands depending on what function the mobile terminal is performing. However, it is not easy for a terminal user to know all of which buttons the operation unit of the external device can be used for which purpose the mobile terminal performs during a function. This is because, for example, the external device may have different commands assigned to one button for each manufacturer. However, according to the present invention, since the use of the operation unit of the external device according to the function being executed in the portable terminal is displayed on the display based on the database, the user can easily grasp how to operate the external device. .

Second, whenever a new external device connected to the portable terminal is released, the information may be updated to the portable terminal. The update has the advantage that the terminal user can be made automatically by OTA or FOTA communication even if not intended separately. In addition, there is an advantage that the terminal user can know the operation method for almost all external devices that can be mounted in the portable terminal.

The present invention can be applied to various types of terminals such as a mobile phone, a smart phone, a broadcast receiving terminal, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), and a PMP (Portable Multimedia Player). Hereinafter, for simplicity of explanation, the present invention will be described by taking a mobile communication terminal as an example, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

Hereinafter, a portable terminal according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

First, referring to FIG. 1, a mobile terminal related to the present invention will be described in terms of components according to functions. 1 is a block diagram of an example of a portable terminal according to the present invention.

The portable terminal 100 includes a wireless communication unit 110, an A / V input unit 120, an operation unit 130, a sensing unit 140, an output unit 150, a storage unit 160, An interface unit 170, a control unit 180, a power supply unit 190, and the like. It should be noted that the above components may be omitted individually as needed when implemented in a practical application, two or more components may be merged into one component, or one component may be subdivided into two or more components do.

Hereinafter, the components will be described in order.

The wireless communication unit 110 may include a broadcast receiving module 111, a mobile communication module 112, a wireless Internet module 113, a short distance communication module 114, and a GPS module 115.

The broadcast receiving module 111 receives broadcast signals and / or broadcast-related information from an external broadcast management server through a broadcast channel. The broadcast channel may include a satellite channel and a terrestrial channel. The broadcast management server may refer to a server for generating and transmitting broadcast signals and / or broadcast related information, or a server for receiving broadcast signals and / or broadcast related information generated by the broadcast management server and transmitting the generated broadcast signals and / or broadcast related information. The broadcast-related information may refer to a broadcast channel, a broadcast program, or information related to a broadcast service provider. The broadcast signal may include a TV broadcast signal, a radio broadcast signal, a data broadcast signal, and a broadcast signal in which a data broadcast signal is combined with a TV broadcast signal or a radio broadcast signal.

Meanwhile, the broadcast related information may be provided through a mobile communication network, and in this case, it may be received by the mobile communication module 112.

The broadcast-related information may exist in various forms. For example, it may exist in the form of Electronic Program Guide (EPG) of Digital Multimedia Broadcasting (DMB) or Electronic Service Guide (ESG) of Digital Video Broadcast-Handheld (DVB-H).

The broadcast receiving module 111 receives broadcasting signals using various broadcasting systems. In particular, the broadcasting receiving module 111 may be a Digital Multimedia Broadcasting-Terrestrial (DMB-T), a Digital Multimedia Broadcasting-Satellite (DMB-S) Only Digital Broadcast-Handheld (DVB-H), Integrated Services Digital Broadcast-Terrestrial (ISDB-T), and the like. Of course, the broadcast receiving module 111 is configured to be suitable for all broadcasting systems that provide broadcasting signals as well as the digital broadcasting system described above.

The broadcast signal and / or broadcast related information received through the broadcast receiving module 111 may be stored in the storage unit 160.

In addition, the mobile communication module 112 transmits and receives a radio signal to at least one of a base station, an external terminal, and a server on a mobile communication network. Here, the wireless signal may include various types of data according to transmission and reception of a voice call signal, a video call call signal, or a short / multimedia / email message.

Meanwhile, the mobile communication module 112 may receive information about an external device that may be connected to the portable terminal from an external server (see 200 in FIG. 4) through the mobile communication network.

The external server (see 200 in FIG. 4) may transmit the information to the mobile terminal whenever the new external device that can be connected to the mobile terminal is released or the function of the external device is upgraded. ) Or FOTA (Firmware Over The Air). Then, the mobile communication module 112 receives the information so that the external device information database (described below) of the storage unit 160 can be updated.

The wireless Internet module 113 is a module for wireless Internet access, and the wireless Internet module 113 can be built in or externally. An e-mail message can also be sent and received through the wireless Internet module.

The wireless internet module 113 may be configured to receive information about an external device provided by the external server.

The short-range communication module 114 is a module for short-range communication. Bluetooth, radio frequency identification (RFID), infrared data association (IrDA), ultra wideband (UWB), ZigBee, and the like can be used as the short distance communication technology.

The mobile terminal 100 may be connected to various external devices through the short range communication module 114. The representative example may be a Bluetooth headset.

In addition, the Global Positioning System (GPS) module 115 receives position information from a plurality of satellites.

The A / V (Audio / Video) input unit 120 is for inputting an audio signal or a video signal, and may include a camera module 121 and a microphone module 122. The camera module 121 processes an image frame such as a still image or a moving image obtained by the image sensor in the video communication mode or the photographing mode. Then, the processed image frame can be displayed on the display module 151.

The image frame processed by the camera module 121 may be stored in the storage unit 160 or may be transmitted to the outside through the wireless communication unit 110. The camera module 121 may include two or more cameras according to the configuration of the terminal.

The microphone module 122 receives an external sound signal through a microphone in a communication mode, a recording mode, a voice recognition mode, or the like, and processes it as electrical voice data. The processed voice data can be converted into a form that can be transmitted to the mobile communication base station through the mobile communication module 112 when the voice data is in the call mode, and output. The microphone module 122 may be implemented with various noise reduction algorithms for eliminating noise generated in the process of receiving an external sound signal.

The operation unit 130 generates key input data input by the user for controlling the operation of the terminal. The operation unit 130 may include a key pad, a dome switch, a touch pad (static pressure / capacitance), a jog wheel, a jog switch, and the like. Particularly, when the touch pad has a mutual layer structure with the display module 151 described later, it can function as a touch screen.

The sensing unit 140 controls the operation of the mobile terminal 100 by detecting a current state of the mobile terminal 100 such as an open / closed state of the mobile terminal 100, a location of the mobile terminal 100, a presence or absence of a user contact. To generate a sensing signal. For example, when the portable terminal 100 is in the form of a slide phone, it is possible to sense whether the slide phone is opened or closed. In addition, a sensing function related to whether or not the power supply unit 190 is powered on, whether the interface unit 170 is coupled to an external device, and the like is provided.

The interface unit 170 serves as an interface with all the external devices connected to the portable terminal 100. For example, it may be a wired / wireless headset, an external charger, a wired / wireless data port, a card socket (e.g. a memory card, a SIM / UIM card), an audio I / I / O (Input / Output) terminal, earphone terminal, and USB (universal serial bus) connection terminal. The interface unit 170 receives various signals (including audio and video signals) from an external device or receives power from the external device and transmits the received signals to various components in the portable terminal 100, (Audio and video signals) to be transmitted to an external device.

The portable terminal 100 may also be connected to any external device through the USB connection terminal of the interface unit 170. Hereinafter, components (eg, short-range communication module, USB connection terminal, etc.) in the mobile terminal 100 that can be connected to an external device will be collectively referred to as "external device connection unit".

The output unit 150 is for outputting an audio signal, a video signal, or an alarm signal. The output unit 150 may include a display module 151, an audio output module 152, an alarm output module 153, and the like.

The display module 151 displays and outputs information processed in the portable terminal 100. For example, when the portable terminal is in the call mode, a UI (User Interface) or GUI (Graphic User Interface) associated with a call is displayed. When the portable terminal 100 is in the video communication mode or the photographing mode, the captured image and / or the received image or UI and GUI are displayed.

Meanwhile, when the display module 151 and the touch pad have a mutual layer structure as a touch screen, the display module 151 may be used as an input device in addition to the output device. The display module 151 may be a liquid crystal display, a thin film transistor-liquid crystal display, an organic light-emitting diode, a flexible display, a three- (3D display). In addition, two or more display modules 151 may exist according to the implementation form of the mobile terminal 100. For example, the external display module (not shown) and the internal display module (not shown) may be simultaneously provided in the portable terminal 100.

The audio output module 152 outputs audio data received from the wireless communication unit 110 or stored in the storage unit 160 in a call signal reception mode, a call mode or a recording mode, a voice recognition mode, a broadcast reception mode, The sound output module 152 outputs sound signals related to functions (e.g., call signal reception sound, message reception sound, etc.) performed in the portable terminal 100. The sound output module 152 may include a speaker, a buzzer, and the like.

The alarm output module 153 outputs a signal for notifying the occurrence of an event of the portable terminal 100. Examples of events generated in the portable terminal 100 include a call signal reception, a message reception, and a key signal input. The alarm output module 153 may output a signal for notifying the occurrence of an event in a form other than an audio signal or a video signal. For example, it is possible to output a signal in a vibration mode. When a call signal is received or a message is received, the alarm output module 153 may output a vibration to notify this. Alternatively, when the key signal is input, the alarm output module 153 can output the vibration as the feedback to the key signal input. The user can recognize the occurrence of an event through the vibration output as described above. Of course, the audio and video signals for event occurrence notification can also be output through the display module 151 and the audio output module 152.

The storage unit 160 may store a program for processing and controlling the control unit 180 and may store a function for storing input / output data (e.g., a phone book, a message, a still image, . ≪ / RTI >

In particular, the storage unit 160 includes an external device information database in which information about external devices that can be connected to the mobile terminal 100 is databased. The external device information database may be provided in advance at the time of release of the mobile terminal 100, and may be configured to be updated at any time through the mobile communication module 113 and / or the wireless Internet module 114.

The storage unit 160 may be a flash memory type, a hard disk type, a multimedia card micro type, a card type memory (for example, SD or XD memory) , A RAM, and a ROM. Also, the portable terminal 100 may operate a web storage that performs a storage function of the storage unit 150 on the Internet.

The controller 180 typically controls the overall operation of the portable terminal. For example, perform related control and processing for voice calls, message transmission, reception, data communication, video calls, and the like. Also, the controller 180 may include a multimedia playback module 181 for multimedia playback. The multimedia playback module 181 may be configured in the controller 180 in hardware or software, or may be configured as a separate component from the controller 180.

The power supply unit 190 receives external power and internal power under the control of the controller 180 and supplies power required for operation of the respective components.

In the above, the portable terminal related to the present invention has been described in terms of components according to functions. Hereinafter, the portable terminal related to the present invention will be further described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3 in terms of components according to the external form. Hereinafter, a slider-type portable terminal will be described as an example of various types of portable terminals such as a folder type, a bar type, a swing type, a slider type, etc. for simplicity of explanation. Therefore, the present invention is not limited to the slider type portable terminal, but can be applied to all types of portable terminals including the aforementioned type.

2 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 100A and a second body 100B configured to be slidable along at least one direction on the first body 100A.

The state where the first body 100A is disposed in a state of being overlapped with the second body 100B may be referred to as a closed configuration and the first body 100A may be referred to as a second body 100B ) May be referred to as an open configuration.

The portable terminal 100 operates mainly in the standby mode in the closed state, but the standby mode is also released by the operation of the user. Also, the mobile terminal 100 operates mainly in a call mode in an open state, but is also switched to a standby mode after an operation of a user or a predetermined time elapses.

The casing (casing, housing, cover, etc.) constituting the outer appearance of the first body 100A is formed by the first front case 100A-1 and the first rear case 100A-2. Various electronic components are embedded in the space formed by the first front case 100A-1 and the first rear case 100A-2. At least one intermediate case may be additionally disposed between the first front case 100A-1 and the first rear case 100A-2.

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 module 151, the first sound output module 152-1, the first camera module 121-1, or the first operation unit (not shown) is connected to the first body 100A, specifically, the first front case 100A- 130-1 may be disposed.

Since the display module 151 has already been described with reference to FIG. 1, a detailed description will be omitted for the sake of simplicity.

The first sound output module 152-1 may be implemented in the form of a receiver or a speaker.

The first camera module 121-1 may be adapted to capture an image or a moving image of a user or the like.

The first operation unit 130-1 receives a command for controlling various operations of the present invention.

Like the first body 100A, the case constituting the outer appearance of the second body 100B is formed by the second front case 100B-1 and the second rear case 100B-2.

The second operation unit 130-2 may be disposed on the front face of the second body 100B, specifically, the second front case 100B-1.

The third operating unit 130-3, the microphone module 122, and the interface unit 170 may be disposed on at least one of the second front case 100B-1 and the second rear case 100B-2.

The first to third operating portions 130-1, 130-2, and 130-3 may be collectively referred to as a manipulating portion 130 in FIG. 1. The operating portions 130-1, 130-2, and 130-3 may be referred to as a tactile any manner can be employed.

For example, the operation unit 130 may be embodied as a dome switch or a touch pad capable of receiving a command or information by a user's push or touch operation, or may be a wheel, a jog type, a joystick, Or the like.

In the functional aspect, the first operation unit 130-1 is mainly used for inputting commands such as start, end, and scroll, and the second operation unit 130-2 is used for inputting numbers, letters, symbols, It is mainly used for. Also, the third operating unit 130-3 can operate as a hot-key for activating a special function in the portable terminal in the form of a side key.

The microphone module 122 may be implemented in a form suitable for receiving a user's voice, other sounds, and the like.

The interface unit 170 is a channel through which the portable terminal 100 related to the present invention can exchange data with an external device. Since the interface unit 170 has already been described with reference to FIG. 1, a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

A power supply unit 190 for supplying power to the portable terminal 100 is mounted on the second rear case 100B-2.

The power supply unit 190 may be detachably coupled to a rechargeable battery, for example, for charging.

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

Referring to FIG. 3, a second camera module 121-2 may be further mounted on the rear surface of the second rear case 100B-2 of the second body 100B. The second camera module 121-2 has a photographing direction substantially opposite to that of the first camera module 121-1 (see Fig. 2), and may have different pixels from the first camera module 121-1 (see Fig. 2).

For example, the first camera module 121-1 has low pixels so that it is easy to capture a face of a user in the case of a video call or the like and transmit the face to the other party, and the second camera module 121-2 has a general object It is often desirable to have a high pixel.

A flash 121-3 and a mirror 121-4 may be additionally disposed adjacent to the second camera module 121-2. The flash 121-3 shines light toward the subject when the subject is photographed by the second camera module 121-2. The mirror 121-4 enables the user to illuminate the user's own face or the like when the user intends to take a picture of himself / herself (self-photographing) using the second camera module 121-2.

The second sound output module 152-2 may be additionally disposed in the second rear case 100B-2.

The second sound output module 152-2 may implement a stereo function together with the first sound output unit 152-1 (see FIG. 2), and may be used for a call in the speakerphone mode.

On one side of the second rear case 100B-2, a broadcast signal reception antenna 111-1 may be arranged in addition to an antenna for communication.

The antenna 111-1 may be installed to be able to be drawn out from the second body 100B.

A part of the slide module 100C that slidably connects the first body 100A and the second body 100B is disposed on the first rear case 100A-2 side of the first body 100A.

The other part of the slide module 100C may be disposed on the second front case 100B-1 side of the second body 100B and may not be exposed to the outside as in this figure.

In the above description, the second camera module 121-2 and the like are disposed on the second body 100B, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

For example, at least two of the configurations 111-1, 121-2 to 121-3, and 152-2 described as being arranged in the second rear case 100B-2, such as the second camera module 121-2, It is also possible that at least one is mounted on the first body 100A, mainly the first rear case 100A-2. In such a case, there is an advantage that the configuration (s) arranged in the first rear case 100A-2 in the closed state is protected by the second body 100B. Furthermore, even if the second camera module 121-2 is not separately provided, the first camera module 121-1 is formed to be rotatable so that shooting can be performed up to the shooting direction of the second camera module 121-2. May be

In the above, the portable terminal related to the present invention has been examined from the viewpoint of the components according to function and appearance. Hereinafter, an embodiment related to an external device connection method that can be implemented in the portable terminal configured as described above will be described with reference to FIGS. 4, 5, and 6A to 6C.

4 is a state diagram illustrating a connection between a mobile terminal and an external device according to the present invention. FIG. 5 is an exemplary flowchart of an embodiment related to a method in which the mobile terminal of FIG. 4 is connected to an external device. FIGS. 6A to 6C are FIGS. A display screen state diagram of a mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In the following embodiment, for simplicity of explanation, it is assumed that the external device is a Bluetooth type headset and the portable terminal receives information about the external device from the external server through a mobile communication network.

As shown in FIG. 4, the portable terminal 100 communicates with the external server 200 through the mobile communication network 300. As described above, the mobile terminal 100 and the external server 200 may communicate in an OTA or FOTA manner.

The external server 200 may provide various types of information about an external device that may be connected to the mobile terminal 100, for example, model information of an external device that may be connected to the mobile terminal 100 and operation information according to each model. Holds.

The mobile terminal 100 transmits the version of the external device information database currently stored to the external server 300 [S10].

Then, the external server 300 checks whether the received version is the latest version, that is, the version that needs to be updated [S15].

If it is determined that the received version is not the latest version, the external server 300 transmits the information about the latest version of the external device to the mobile terminal 100 [S20, S25].

Then, the portable terminal 100 updates the external device information database to the latest version according to the received information about the external device [S30].

In such a situation, assume that the Bluetooth type headset 400 is connected to the mobile terminal 100 [S35]. Hereinafter, it is assumed that the headset 400 includes three operation buttons, that is, buttons A 410, buttons B 420, and buttons C 430, as shown in FIG. 4. That is, the three operation buttons become the operation unit of the headset 400.

Then, the mobile terminal 100 receives and grasps the model information from the headset 400 [S40]. For example, a Bluetooth type external device has a Bluetooth device address which is a unique address. Therefore, the mobile terminal 100 may determine the model by receiving the Bluetooth device address of the headset 400.

Then, the mobile terminal 100, as shown in Figures 6a to 6c, displays the operation information of the headset according to the function currently executed in the mobile terminal 100. The use of the operation unit of the headset varies depending on the function currently being executed in the mobile terminal 100. Specific examples thereof are as follows.

First, suppose that the mobile terminal is in a standby state (ie, idle state). In this case, the mobile terminal 100 displays a display screen as shown in FIG. 6A. That is, the mobile terminal 100 provides operation information indicating that "call connection" is assigned to the button A, "volume down" to the button B, and "volume up" to the button C through the display screen of FIG. 6A. Display [S50].

Next, suppose that the portable terminal is playing a music file such as MP3. In this case, the mobile terminal 100 displays a display screen as shown in FIG. 6B. That is, the mobile terminal 100 displays operation information indicating that "play / stop" is assigned to the button A, "previous song" to the button B, and a next song function is assigned to the button C through the display screen of FIG. 6B. [S55, S60].

Next, suppose a call is made to the mobile terminal. In this case, the mobile terminal 100 displays a display screen as shown in FIG. 6C. That is, the mobile terminal 100 displays operation information indicating that the "receive call" function is assigned to the one click of the button A and the "call rejection" function is assigned to the double click of the button A on the display screen of FIG. 6C [ S55, S60].

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. Accordingly, the above detailed description should not be construed as limiting in all aspects and should be considered as illustrative. The scope of the invention should be determined by reasonable interpretation of the appended claims, and all changes within the equivalent scope of the invention are included in the scope of the invention.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a portable terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG.

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

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

4 is a state diagram illustrating a connection between a mobile terminal and an external device according to the present invention.

5 is an exemplary flowchart of an embodiment related to a method in which the portable terminal of FIG. 4 is connected to an external device.

6A through 6C are state diagrams of display screens of the mobile terminal according to the embodiment of FIG. 5.

Claims (8)

A portable terminal to which an external device can be connected, A display unit; A storage unit which stores an external device information database; An external device connection unit for connecting with the external device; And And a control unit which is associated with a function during execution in the portable terminal to control operation information of the external device to be displayed on the display unit. The external device includes an operation unit, The use of the operation unit of the external device, the portable terminal, characterized in that different from each other depending on the function being executed in the portable terminal. The method of claim 1, The external device connection unit is a portable terminal, characterized in that the short-range communication unit. The method of claim 2, The short range communication unit is a portable terminal, characterized in that connected to the external device via Bluetooth. delete The method of claim 1, And the control unit controls to display different uses of the operation unit on the display based on the database according to a function being executed in the mobile terminal. The method of claim 1, The portable terminal further includes a mobile communication unit, The controller is characterized in that the database is updated from an external server through the mobile communication unit. The method of claim 6, And the database is updated from the external server through over the air (OTA) or firmware over the air (FOTA). As a method of connecting an external device of a mobile terminal, Connecting the portable terminal to the external device to execute a specific function; Executing the specific function; And Displaying operation information of the external device associated with the specific function being executed; The external device includes an operation unit, The use of the operation unit of the external device, the method of connecting an external device of the portable terminal, characterized in that different from each other depending on the specific function being executed in the portable terminal.

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