KR101483170B1 - Mobile Terminal comprising Simple English Keypad - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a mobile terminal, and according to an embodiment of the present invention, provided is a mobile terminal comprising a display device; a keypad which is displayed on the display device; a control unit which controls the display device according to an input signal inputted to the keypad. The keypad comprises a consonant block including one to three alphabet consonants; a vowel block including one to three alphabet vowels; a first direction key block for moving toward a first direction; and a second direction block for moving toward a second direction which is different from the first direction.

Description

Technical Field [0001] The present invention relates to a mobile terminal including a simple English input keypad,

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention [0001] The present invention relates to a mobile terminal, and more particularly, to a mobile terminal including a simple English input keypad for quickly and easily inputting alphabetic characters.

In general, mobile terminals such as smart phones have various language input methods.

A terminal such as a computer or a notebook has a separate input device such as a keyboard. At this time, the keyboard has a plurality of key blocks each assigned one character (alphabet and capital letter) or a symbol, and the keyboard has a QWERTY key input pattern.

However, terminals such as feature phones, smart phones, and PDAs typically have a structure in which a keypad is provided on a display, and a plurality of characters or symbols are assigned to one key block because there is a limitation in the display area allocated by the keypad. Further, even when a separate keypad separate from the display is provided, considerable restrictions are imposed on the area of the mobile terminal.

Various methods have been proposed in order to facilitate the inputting of characters in a keypad having a relatively small number of key blocks.

In general, by allocating a small size of a key block, it may be provided in the same structure as a conventional QWERTY keyboard, or may be provided in a structure in which a plurality of characters or symbols are assigned to one key block.

In particular, in the case of alphabetic characters, since a plurality of alphabets are assigned to key blocks in accordance with the alphabetical order, a problem arises in that the number of strings is unnecessarily increased when alphabetic characters are input.

Further, since the consonant and vowel are not distinguished in the conventional alphabet keypad, the input time and the number of letters are increased when the alphabet letter is input, and a plurality of alphabets are assigned to the key block in a state in which the appearance frequency of the alphabet used in the English sentence is not taken into consideration. There is an inconvenience that a desired alphabet must be found by selecting the key block plural times.

The present invention provides a mobile terminal capable of quickly and easily inputting alphabetic characters.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a mobile terminal capable of increasing input efficiency by allocating a plurality of alphabets of one key block in consideration of occurrence frequencies of alphabets used in English sentences.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a mobile terminal capable of reducing input time and number of strokes by separating a consonant block, a vowel block and a direction key block.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a mobile terminal which is easy to switch between upper and lower case alphabets and can easily input numbers and special symbols together with alphabets.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a display device including: a display; and a keypad to be displayed on the display; And a controller for controlling the display according to an input signal input to the keypad.

The keypad includes a consonant block including first to third alphabet consonants, a vowel block including first to third alphabet vowels, and a first direction key block for moving in a first direction. And a second direction key block for moving the first direction key in a second direction different from the first direction.

In addition, when the consonant block or the vowel block is selected, the controller may display a second alphabet consonant or a second alphabet bar located at the center of the alphabet of the selected consonant block or vowel block on the display.

When the first direction key block is selected, the controller displays a first alphabet consonant or a first alphabet consonant of a consonant block or a vowel block previously selected on the display, and when the second direction key block is selected, Or a third alphabetical consonant or a third alphabet bar of the vowel block on the display.

The consonant block, the vowel block, and the first direction key block may be provided to have the same area on the keypad.

The first direction key block and the second direction key block may be provided to have the same area on the keypad.

Also, the vowel block may be positioned between the first direction key block and the consonant block.

Also, " a ", "e ", and" i "alphabet collection may be sequentially assigned to the vowel block.

Also, the vowel block may be assigned a sequence of letters "u "," o ", and "y"

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a display apparatus including: a display; and a keypad for being displayed on the display; And a controller for controlling the display according to an input signal input to the keypad.

The keypad may include a plurality of consonant blocks each assigned first to third alphabet consonants, a plurality of vowel blocks to which first to third alphabet vowels are respectively allocated, and a first direction key block; And a second direction key block for moving the first direction key block in a second direction different from the first direction, wherein the plurality of consonant blocks, the plurality of vowel blocks, and the first direction key block and the second direction key block are arranged in a matrix form.

Further, a plurality of consonant blocks may be respectively disposed in the first column of the keypad, a plurality of vowel blocks may be respectively disposed in the second column of the keypad, and first and second direction key blocks may be respectively disposed in the third column of the keypad have.

In addition, the keypad may include a symbol block to which three special symbols are allocated, and the symbol block and the first direction key block may be provided to have the same area on the keypad, respectively.

Also, the symbol block may be disposed in the third column of the keypad.

In addition, when the symbol block is selected, the control unit may display a symbol positioned at the center among the symbols of the selected symbol block on the display.

The symbol block includes "! &Quot;,". " And "?" Symbols can be assigned in turn.

Alternatively, ". &Quot;," ", and ", "symbols may be sequentially assigned to the symbol block.

As described above, the mobile terminal according to one embodiment of the present invention has the following effects.

By assigning a plurality of alphabets of one key block in consideration of the appearance frequencies of alphabets used in English sentences, alphabetic characters can be inputted quickly and easily.

Also, by separating the consonant block, the vowel block, and the direction key block, input time and number of strokes can be reduced, thereby improving input efficiency.

Also, it is easy to switch between upper and lower case letters, and alphanumeric and special symbols can be entered easily.

Also, by reducing the total number of key blocks, the size of the key block is relatively increased, and alphabetic characters can be input more efficiently even in a limited display area.

1 is a block diagram of a mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a front view of a mobile terminal according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a front view for explaining an operation state of a mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a front view of a mobile terminal according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
5 and 6 are front views of a mobile terminal according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
7 is a front view of a mobile terminal according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, a mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In addition, the same or corresponding components are denoted by the same reference numerals regardless of the reference numerals, and redundant description thereof will be omitted. For convenience of explanation, the size and shape of each constituent member shown may be exaggerated or reduced have.

On the other hand, terms including an ordinal number such as a first or a second may be used to describe various elements, but the constituent elements are not limited by the terms, and the terms may refer to a constituent element from another constituent element It is used only for the purpose of discrimination.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a front view of a mobile terminal according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

In this document, the term mobile terminal 10 refers to a mobile phone (feature phone), a smart phone, a notebook computer, a broadcast receiving terminal, a digital TV, a smart TV, a PDA, a PMP, Is used as a concept including both.

That is, the term 'mobile terminal 10' can be used to mean a digital device having an input unit 12 and a display 20.

In one embodiment, the mobile terminal 10 may include a wireless communication unit 16, an input unit 12, a display 20, and a battery 17.

The input unit 12 may include at least one of a mechanical button unit 13 and a touch sensor 14 for sensing a user's touch input. The button unit 13 includes a dome switch And the touch sensor 14 may be configured to be pressed or electrostatically operated according to a method of sensing a touch input of a user, and the display 20 may be a touch screen.

The mobile terminal 10 may include a proximity sensor 15 for recognizing a proximity touch of a user and the mobile terminal 10 may include a control unit 11 for controlling the above- can do.

2, the mobile terminal 10 includes a display 20 and a housing 30 and a keypad 100 provided with the display 20.

The keypad 100 is displayed on the display 20, and the keypad 100 is configured to be capable of touch input or proximity touch input. The display 20 may be divided into a keypad 100 and a display area 21 for accepting a user's touch input or proximity touch input. Reference numeral 31 denotes a bezel region. In one embodiment, the bezel region 31 may be provided with the button portion 13 described above.

The controller 11 controls the display 20 according to an input signal input to the keypad 100. In one embodiment, when the user selects (touch input or proximity touch input) a specific key block of the keypad 100, the control unit 11 controls the character (alphabet), number and / Or special symbols may be displayed on the display 20.

Meanwhile, the keypad 100 may include a consonant block (e.g., 101) including first through third alphabet consonants (which may include semi-consonants) and first through third alphabet bars A first direction key block 121 for moving in a first direction and a second direction key block 121 for moving in a second direction different from the first direction, (Not shown).

The first alphabet bar represents a vowel located on the left side of FIG. 2 in the corresponding vowel block, the second alphabet bar represents a vowel located in the center of the corresponding vowel block, and the third alphabet bar represents a vowel located on the right side of the corresponding vowel block Represents a vowel located.

2, the second alphabet consonant represents a consonant located at the center of the corresponding consonant block, and the third alphabet consonant represents a consonant located at the center of the corresponding consonant block in the corresponding vowel block, It represents the consonant located on the right.

3 is a front view for explaining one operation state of the mobile terminal 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

When the consonant block 101 or the vowel block 111 or 112 is selected, the control unit 11 outputs a second alphabet consonant or a second alphabet bar located at the center of the alphabet of the selected consonant block or vowel block to the display 20, and more specifically, it can be displayed on the display area 21 of the display 20.

When the first direction key block 121 is selected, the controller 11 displays a first alphabet consonant or a first alphabet bar of a consonant block or a vowel block previously selected on the display, and the second direction key block 122) is selected, a third alphabet consonant or a third alphabet bar of a previously selected consonant block or vowel block can be displayed on the display.

At least three vowels of "a", "e", "i", "u", "o" and "y" may be sequentially assigned to the vowel block. Preferably, one of the vowel blocks may be assigned a set of " a ", "e ", and" i " have. This takes into account the frequency of occurrence of alphabets used in English sentences, particularly the relative frequency of vowels.

2 is referred to as a first vowel block 111, and a vowel block located in the second row and second column of Fig. 2 is referred to as a second vowel block 112 do. In this case, the first vowel block 111 may be assigned a set of "a", "e", and "i" Can be allocated in this order. Of course, the positions of the first vowel block 111 and the second vowel block 112 may be reversed.

In addition, the keypad 100 may include a plurality of consonant blocks, a plurality of vowel blocks, a first direction key block, and a second direction key block in a matrix form.

In one embodiment, referring to FIG. 2, the keypad 100 may be configured in a matrix of four rows and three columns.

At this time, a plurality of consonant blocks 101 to 104 are respectively disposed in the first column of the keypad 100, a plurality of vowel blocks 111 and 112 are respectively disposed in the second column of the keypad 100, And the second direction key blocks 121 and 122 may be disposed in the third column of the keypad 100, respectively. In the third column of the keypad 100, a composite block 123 and a symbol block 124 to be described later may be disposed.

Specifically, a first consonant block 101 is provided in the first row and a consonant alphabet "b", "c", and "d" are sequentially assigned to the first consonant block 101 . Further, a second consonant block 102 is provided in the first row of the second row, and alphabetic consonants of "f", "g", and "h" are sequentially assigned to the second consonant block 102.

 A third consonant block 103 is provided in the first row of the third row and alphabetic consonants of "j "," l ", and "k" A fourth consonant block 104 is provided in the fourth row first column and alphabetic consonants of "m", "n", and "p" are sequentially assigned to the fourth consonant block 403.

Further, a fifth consonant block 113 is provided in the third row and a second column, and alphabetic consonants r, s, and t are sequentially assigned to the fifth consonant block 113, A sixth consonant block 114 is provided in the fourth row and the second column and alphabetic consonants of "x", "q", and "z" are sequentially assigned to the sixth consonant block 114.

On the other hand, as described above, when the user selects a specific vowel block or consonant block, the controller 11 displays a second alphabet bar or a second alphabet consonant of the corresponding vowel block or consonant block on the display 20 do.

Therefore, it is important to select alphabet consonants and alphabet sets assigned to the center positions of each consonant block and each vowel block. In the present invention, the alphabet consonants assigned to the center position and the alphabet collection can be assigned according to the occurrence frequency of the alphabet used in the English sentence.

That is, by assigning "c", "e", "o", "l", "s", and "n" to the middle positions of consonant blocks or vowel blocks,

Also, a composite block 123 may be provided in the third row and the third column.

At least three of consonants, special symbols, and predetermined commands may be sequentially assigned to the complex block 123. For example, "v "," _ ", and "w" may be assigned to composite block 123, respectively. That is, two consonants may be assigned to both sides (left and right) in the compound block 123, and a command (or special symbol) may be assigned to the center (center). In one embodiment, the "_" command may be a space bar having the function of an offset. Of course, the above "_" may be a special symbol.

In one embodiment, when the user touches the "_" for a first predetermined time (which may correspond to a normal touch input time), the control unit 11 may operate with a command having a space bar function , The controller 11 may display the corresponding special symbol on the display 20 when the user touches the second predetermined time (determined to be longer than the first predetermined time).

Of course, the opposite is also possible. That is, when the user touches the "_" for a first predetermined time, which is the normal touch input time, the controller 11 can display the corresponding special symbol on the display 20, Quot; is touched for a second predetermined time longer than the normal touch input time, the controller 11 may operate as a command having a space bar function.

A plurality of special symbols (also referred to as 'symbols') may be sequentially assigned to the symbol block 124, and specifically, the keypad 100 ) Includes a symbol block 123 to which three special symbols are assigned, and the symbol block 123 contains "!", "." And "?" Special symbols can be assigned in order. For convenience of explanation, symbols assigned respectively from left to right may be referred to as first to third symbols.

When the user selects the symbol block 124, the controller 11 may display the second one of the special symbols on the display 20. In other words, symbols having a high frequency of use are also preferably allocated to the center in the symbol block 124.

It is preferable that the first and second vowel blocks 111 and 112 are provided on the center side of the keypad 100. [ In one embodiment, the vowel block may be positioned between the predetermined direction key block (the first direction key block or the second direction key block) and the predetermined consonant block.

The first vowel block 111 may be positioned between the first consonant block 101 and the first direction key block 121 and the second vowel block 112 may be positioned between the first consonant block 101 and the first direction key block 121, Block 102 and the second direction-key block 122. The second direction-

3 (a), when the first vowel block 111 is selected, the control unit 11 selects the second vowel bar "e" located at the center of the alphabet of the selected vowel block 111 And can be displayed on the display 20.

3 (b), when the first direction key block 121 is selected, the control unit 11 displays the first alphabet bar "a" of the selected vowel block on the display 20 .

3 (c), when the second direction key block 122 is selected, the control unit 11 displays a third alphabet bar "i" of a previously selected vowel block on the display 20 Can be displayed.

That is, one vowel block, for example a user, can select a specific vowel of the corresponding key block 111 through a maximum of two touches.

Similarly, when the symbol block 124 is selected, the control unit 11 may display a second symbol located on the center of the symbols of the selected symbol block on the display 20.

Also, the controller 11 can display the first symbol "!" Of the previously selected symbol block on the display 20 when the first direction key block 121 is selected. That is, the controller 11 may switch the second symbol displayed on the display 20 to the first symbol "!" When the first direction key block 121 is selected.

Alternatively, the controller 11 may switch the second symbol displayed on the display 20 to the third symbol "?" When the second direction key block 122 is selected.

When the composite block 123 is selected, the control unit 11 outputs a character or an instruction (or a symbol) assigned to the second (center) of the characters and the instruction allocated to the compound block 123 to the display 20 Or execute the corresponding command. At this time, the controller 11 may perform an offset function when the command, for example, "_" of the complex block 124 is selected.

The consonant block, the vowel block, and the first direction key block may be provided to have the same area on the keypad 100, and the first direction key block 121 and the second direction key block 122, And may be provided on the keypad 100 so as to have the same area.

The plurality of consonant blocks may be provided to have the same area on the keypad 100, and the plurality of vowel blocks may be provided to have the same area on the keypad 100, respectively.

The composite block 123 and the symbol block 123 may be provided to have the same area on the keypad 100, respectively.

In one embodiment, each of the consonant blocks 101 to 104, 113 and 114 and each of the vowel blocks 111 and 112, the composite block 123 and the symbol block 124 are formed to have the same area on the keypad 100 Respectively.

4 is a front view of a mobile terminal according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 2, each of the consonant blocks and the alphabets assigned to the respective vowel blocks are all displayed in lower case. Referring to FIG. 4, Are displayed.

As described above, the conversion of the upper and lower case letters can be performed through the first direction key block 121 or the second direction key block 122. For convenience of explanation, the first direction key block 121 will be described as an example.

In one embodiment, the controller 11 may switch the alphabet of the keypad 100 to uppercase or lowercase when the user touches the first direction key block 121 twice.

 Alternatively, when the user touches the first direction key block 121 for a first predetermined time, the control unit 11 may display a second alphabet bar or consonant displayed on the display 20 as a first The control unit 11 may switch the alphabet of the alphabet or the alphabet of the keypad 100 when the user touches the first direction key block 121 for a second predetermined time period (determined longer than the first predetermined time) Can be converted to uppercase or lowercase.

Alternatively, the keypad 100 may be provided with a separate first switching key block (not shown) for switching uppercase / lowercase letters.

5 and 6 are front views of a mobile terminal according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

In the mobile terminal according to the second embodiment, alphabets, special symbols or commands respectively assigned to the respective vowel blocks, the consonant blocks, the symbol blocks and the complex blocks are the same as those of the first embodiment.

However, in the second embodiment, numerals or special symbols are additionally assigned to each vowel block, each consonant block, symbol block, and complex block, and additional numerals or special symbols may be located at the periphery of the block have.

Specifically, the first consonant block 201 is assigned a number 1, the first vowel block 211 is assigned a number 2, and the first direction key block 221 is assigned a number 3. [ The number 4 is further allocated to the second consonant block 202, the number 5 is further allocated to the second vowel block 212, and the number 6 is further allocated to the second direction block 222 have. The third consonant block 203 may be assigned the number 7, the fifth consonant block 213 may be assigned the number 8, and the composite block 223 may be assigned the number 9. A special symbol "*" is assigned to the fourth consonant block 204, a numeral 0 is assigned to the sixth consonant block, and a special symbol "#" may be assigned to the symbol block 224.

Here is how the user selects additional assigned numbers or special symbols. For example, when the user touches the first consonant block 201 for a first predetermined time, the control unit 11 may display the second alphabet consonant "c" on the display 20, When the user touches the first consonant block 201 for a second predetermined time (determined to be longer than the first predetermined time), the controller 11 displays the further assigned number 1 on the display 20 .

Alternatively, a separate second switching key block (not shown) may be provided on the keypad 200 to select additional numbers and special symbols.

That is, when the user touches the second conversion key block to select a number and a special symbol assigned by the user, if the user touches the first consonant block 201 for a first predetermined time, 20). ≪ / RTI >

Referring to FIG. 5, each of the consonant blocks and the alphabets assigned to the respective vowel blocks are all displayed in lower case. Referring to FIG. 6, And the conversion between uppercase and lowercase is the same as that described in the first embodiment.

7 is a front view of a mobile terminal according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

In the third embodiment, similarly to the second embodiment, the first consonant block 301 is additionally assigned the number 1, the first vowel block 311 is assigned the number 2, and the first direction key block 321) may be assigned the number 3. In addition, the number 4 is additionally assigned to the second consonant block 302, the number 5 is further allocated to the second vowel block 312, and the number 6 is further allocated to the second direction key block 322 have. A number 7 is further allocated to the third consonant block 303, a number 8 is assigned to the fifth consonant block 313, and a numeral 9 is allocated to the complex block 323. A special symbol "*" is assigned to the fourth consonant block 304, a numeral 0 is assigned to the sixth consonant block, and a special symbol "#"

However, in the third embodiment, symbols assigned to the symbol block 324 are different from those of the first embodiment and the second embodiment.

That is, in the symbol block 324, important symbols frequently used in writing a sentence can be allocated in various combinations. Referring to FIG. 7, ". &Quot;," ", and ", "symbols may be sequentially assigned to the symbol block 324.

The foregoing description of the preferred embodiments of the present invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention, And additions should be considered as falling within the scope of the following claims.

10: mobile terminal 20: display
12: Input section 13: Button section
14: touch sensor 100: keypad

Claims (21)

A display; and a keypad to be displayed on the display; And a controller for controlling the display according to an input signal input to the keypad, wherein the keypad comprises a consonant block, a vowel block, a first direction key block and a second direction key block,
Wherein the consonant block includes first through third alphabet consonants, the vowel block includes first through third alphabet bars,
The second alphabet consonant is located at the center of the alphabet of the consonant block, the first alphabet consonant is located to the left of the second alphabet consonant, the third alphabet consonant is located to the right of the second alphabet consonant,
The second alphabet bar is located at the center of the alphabet of the vowel block, the first alphabet bar is located to the left of the second alphabet bar, the third alphabet bar is located to the right of the second alphabet bar,
Wherein the controller displays on the display a second alphabet consonant or a second alphabet bar located at the center of the alphabet of the selected consonant block or vowel block when the consonant block or the vowel block is selected,
Wherein the controller displays a first alphabetical consonant or a first alphabetical consonant of a consonant block or a vowel block previously selected when the first directional key block is selected on the display, And displays a third alphabetical consonant or a third alphabet bar of the block on the display. delete delete The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the consonant block, the vowel block, and the first direction key block are provided to have the same area on the keypad. The method according to claim 1 or 4,
Wherein the first direction key block and the second direction key block are provided to have the same area on the keypad. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the vowel block is located between the first direction key block and the consonant block. delete delete A display; and a keypad to be displayed on the display; And a controller for controlling the display according to an input signal input to the keypad, wherein the keypad comprises a consonant block, a vowel block, a first direction key block and a second direction key block,
Wherein the consonant block includes first through third alphabet consonants, the vowel block includes first through third alphabet bars,
A plurality of consonant blocks, a plurality of vowel blocks, a first direction key block and a second direction key block are respectively arranged in a matrix form,
The second alphabet consonant is located at the center of the alphabet of the consonant block, the first alphabet consonant is located to the left of the second alphabet consonant, the third alphabet consonant is located to the right of the second alphabet consonant,
The second alphabet bar is located at the center of the alphabet of the vowel block, the first alphabet bar is located to the left of the second alphabet bar, the third alphabet bar is located to the right of the second alphabet bar,
Wherein the controller displays on the display a second alphabet consonant or a second alphabet bar located at the center of the alphabet of the selected consonant block or vowel block when the consonant block or the vowel block is selected,
Wherein the controller displays a first alphabetical consonant or a first alphabetical consonant of a consonant block or a vowel block previously selected when the first directional key block is selected on the display, Displaying a third alphabetical consonant or a third alphabet collection of blocks on the display,
A plurality of consonant blocks are respectively disposed in a first column of the keypad, a plurality of vowel blocks are respectively disposed in a second column of the keypad, first and second direction key blocks are respectively disposed in a third column of the keypad,
Wherein the consonant block, the vowel block, and the first direction key block are each provided to have the same area on the keypad, and the first direction key block and the second direction key block are provided to have the same area on the keypad, respectively terminal. delete delete delete delete delete 10. The keypad of claim 9,
A symbol block to which three special symbols are assigned,
Wherein the symbol block and the first direction key block are provided to have the same area on the keypad. 16. The method of claim 15,
And the symbol block is disposed in a third column of the keypad. 16. The method of claim 15,
Wherein the control unit displays a symbol positioned at the center among the symbols of the selected symbol block on the display when the symbol block is selected. delete delete delete delete

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