KR101774317B1 - Mobile terminal and method for controlling thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a camera module, a control method, an image processing method, an image processing method, and a computer program for controlling the camera module, Wherein the control unit controls to change the camera mode when the input external gesture operation is a predefined gesture operation with respect to the camera mode, and a control method thereof.

Description

[0001] MOBILE TERMINAL AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING THEREOF [0002]

The present invention relates to a mobile terminal and a control method thereof that are controlled according to a gesture operation.

The terminal can move And can be divided into a mobile / portable terminal and a stationary terminal depending on whether the mobile terminal is a mobile terminal or a mobile terminal. The mobile terminal can be divided into a handheld terminal and a vehicle mount terminal according to whether the user can directly carry the mobile terminal.

Such a terminal has various functions, for example, in the form of a multimedia device having multiple functions such as photographing and photographing of a moving picture, reproduction of a music or video file, reception of a game and broadcasting, etc. .

In order to support and enhance the functionality of such terminals, it may be considered to improve the structural and / or software parts of the terminal.

Recently, an attempt has been made to apply gesture technology through a terminal.

Gesture technology is a technology that detects and recognizes hand and body gestures. Gesture technology can be applied to various technologies such as structural analysis technology, neural network technology, and optical flow technology. When such a gesture technique is used, there is a possibility that various gestures of an actual person can be recognized as commands in a device such as a terminal and can be controlled.

Accordingly, there has been an attempt to utilize the gesture technology by using the camera function of the mobile terminal in accordance with the recent development of the gesture technology and the development of the camera function.

The present invention provides a mobile terminal for controlling a mobile terminal according to a prescribed gesture operation of a user and specifically dividing the mobile terminal into at least one camera mode and controlling the camera function corresponding to each of the camera modes and a control method thereof.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory and are not restrictive of the invention, unless further departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. It will be possible.

In order to achieve the above object, a mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a controller for determining a current camera mode, a camera module for receiving an external gesture operation at a level corresponding to the determined camera mode, And a power supply unit for supplying power to the camera module at a corresponding level, wherein the control unit controls the camera mode to be changed when the input external gesture operation is a predefined gesture operation with respect to the camera mode Terminal.

Wherein the camera mode includes a first mode indicating a full on state of the camera module, a second mode indicating a partially on state of the camera module, and a second mode indicating an off state of the camera module 3 < / RTI > mode.

The mobile terminal may further include a user input unit for inputting a user operation, and the control unit may control the camera mode to be changed when the user operation is defined by a user operation through the user input unit.

The control unit may perform an operation of at least one application and may control to change the camera mode according to the degree of performance of the at least one application.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for controlling a mobile terminal, the method including: determining a camera mode of a mobile terminal; inputting an external gesture operation through a camera module; Determining whether the camera mode is a predefined gesture operation and changing the camera mode if the predefined gesture operation is performed in accordance with the determination result, The external gesture operation can be input.

According to at least one embodiment of the present invention configured as described above, there is an effect that the power of the mobile terminal can be efficiently reduced by controlling the mobile terminal according to the camera mode corresponding to the gesture operation of the user .

In addition, since the present invention can control the camera of the mobile terminal by utilizing various gesture operations of the user, there is an effect that the user can more easily control the mobile terminal

The effects obtained by the present invention are not limited to the above-mentioned effects, and other effects not mentioned can be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description will be.

1 is a block diagram of a mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2A is a front perspective view of a mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2B is a rear perspective view of a mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG.
FIGS. 3A and 3B are front views of a mobile terminal for explaining one operation state of the mobile terminal according to the present invention; FIG.
4 is a flowchart showing a flow of a control method of a mobile terminal according to the present invention.
FIG. 5A is a conceptual representation of a camera mode in relation to the present invention, and FIG. 5B is a view showing an operation of displaying each camera mode. FIG.
6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a gesture operation for changing from an upper camera mode to a lower camera mode in accordance with the present invention;
7 illustrates an example of a gesture operation for changing from an upper camera mode to a lower camera mode in accordance with the present invention;
8 is a diagram illustrating an example of an application operation for changing from an upper camera mode to a lower camera mode in accordance with the present invention;
9 illustrates an example of a gesture operation for changing from a lower camera mode to a higher camera mode in accordance with the present invention;
10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a state operation for changing from a lower camera mode to a higher camera mode in accordance with the present invention.
11 illustrates an example of an application operation for changing from a lower camera mode to a higher camera mode in connection with the present invention.

Hereinafter, a mobile terminal related to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The suffix "module" and " part "for the components used in the following description are given or mixed in consideration of ease of specification, and do not have their own meaning or role.

The mobile terminal described in this specification may include a mobile phone, a smart phone, a laptop computer, a digital broadcasting terminal, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistants), a PMP (Portable Multimedia Player), and navigation. However, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the configuration according to the embodiments described herein may be applied to a fixed terminal such as a digital TV, a desktop computer, and the like, unless the configuration is applicable only to a mobile terminal.

1 is a block diagram of a mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The mobile terminal 100 includes a wireless communication unit 110, an audio / video input unit 120, a user input unit 130, a sensing unit 140, an output unit 150, a memory 160, A controller 170, a controller 180, a power supply 190, and the like. The components shown in FIG. 1 are not essential, and a mobile terminal having more or fewer components may be implemented.

Hereinafter, the components will be described in order.

The wireless communication unit 110 may include one or more modules for enabling wireless communication between the mobile terminal 100 and the wireless communication system or between the mobile terminal 100 and the network in which the mobile terminal 100 is located. For example, the wireless communication unit 110 may include a broadcast receiving module 111, a mobile communication module 112, a wireless Internet module 113, a short range communication module 114, and a location information 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 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.

The broadcast-related information may refer to a broadcast channel, a broadcast program, or information related to a broadcast service provider. The broadcast-related information may also be provided through a mobile communication network. In this case, it may be received by the mobile communication module 112.

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

For example, the broadcast receiving module 111 may be a Digital Multimedia Broadcasting-Terrestrial (DMB-T), a Digital Multimedia Broadcasting-Satellite (DMB-S), a Media Forward Link Only And a Digital Broadcasting System (ISDB-T) (Integrated Services Digital Broadcast-Terrestrial). Of course, the broadcast receiving module 111 may be adapted to other broadcasting systems 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 memory 160.

The mobile communication module 112 transmits and receives radio signals to at least one of a base station, an external terminal, and a server on a mobile communication network. The wireless signal may include various types of data depending on a voice call signal, a video call signal or a text / multimedia message transmission / reception.

The wireless Internet module 113 is a module for wireless Internet access, and may be built in or externally attached to the mobile terminal 100. WLAN (Wi-Fi), Wibro (Wireless broadband), Wimax (World Interoperability for Microwave Access), HSDPA (High Speed Downlink Packet Access) and the like can be used as wireless Internet technologies.

The short-range communication module 114 refers to 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 a short range communication technology.

The position information module 115 is a module for obtaining the position of the mobile terminal, and a representative example thereof is a Global Position System (GPS) module.

Referring to FIG. 1, an A / V (Audio / Video) input unit 120 is for inputting an audio signal or a video signal, and may include a camera 121 and a microphone 122. The camera 121 processes image frames such as still images or moving images obtained by the image sensor in the video communication mode or the photographing mode. The processed image frame can be displayed on the display unit 151. [

The image frame processed by the camera 121 may be stored in the memory 160 or transmitted to the outside through the wireless communication unit 110. [ Two or more cameras 121 may be provided depending on the use environment.

The microphone 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. Various noise reduction algorithms may be implemented in the microphone 122 to remove noise generated in receiving an external sound signal.

The user input unit 130 generates input data for a user to control the operation of the terminal. The user input unit 130 may include a key pad dome switch, a touch pad (static / static), a jog wheel, a jog switch, and the like.

The sensing unit 140 senses the current state of the mobile terminal 100 such as the open / close state of the mobile terminal 100, the position of the mobile terminal 100, the presence or absence of user contact, the orientation of the mobile terminal, And generates a sensing signal for controlling the operation of the mobile terminal 100. For example, when the mobile terminal 100 is in the form of a slide phone, it is possible to sense whether the slide phone is opened or closed. It is also possible to sense whether the power supply unit 190 is powered on, whether the interface unit 170 is connected to an external device, and the like. Meanwhile, the sensing unit 140 may include a proximity sensor 141.

The output unit 150 is for generating an output relating to visual, auditory or tactile sense and includes a display unit 151, an acoustic output module 152, an alarm unit 153, a haptic module 154, 155, and the like.

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

The display unit 151 may be a liquid crystal display (LCD), a thin film transistor-liquid crystal display (TFT LCD), an organic light-emitting diode (OLED), a flexible display display, and a 3D display.

Some of these displays may be transparent or light transmissive so that they can be seen through. This can be referred to as a transparent display, and a typical example of the transparent display is TOLED (Transparent OLED) and the like. The rear structure of the display unit 151 may also be of a light transmission type. With this structure, the user can see an object located behind the terminal body through the area occupied by the display unit 151 of the terminal body.

There may be two or more display units 151 according to the embodiment of the mobile terminal 100. For example, in the mobile terminal 100, a plurality of display portions may be spaced apart from one another or may be disposed integrally with each other, or may be disposed on different surfaces.

(Hereinafter, referred to as a 'touch screen') in which a display unit 151 and a sensor for sensing a touch operation (hereinafter, referred to as 'touch sensor') form a mutual layer structure, It can also be used as an input device. The touch sensor may have the form of, for example, a touch film, a touch sheet, a touch pad, or the like.

The touch sensor may be configured to convert a change in a pressure applied to a specific portion of the display unit 151 or a capacitance generated in a specific portion of the display unit 151 into an electrical input signal. The touch sensor can be configured to detect not only the position and area to be touched but also the pressure at the time of touch.

If there is a touch input to the touch sensor, the corresponding signal (s) is sent to the touch controller. The touch controller processes the signal (s) and transmits the corresponding data to the controller 180. Thus, the control unit 180 can know which area of the display unit 151 is touched or the like.

The proximity sensor 141 may be disposed in an inner region of the mobile terminal or in the vicinity of the touch screen, which is enclosed by the touch screen. The proximity sensor refers to a sensor that detects the presence or absence of an object approaching a predetermined detection surface or a nearby object without mechanical contact using the force of an electromagnetic field or infrared rays. The proximity sensor has a longer life span than the contact sensor and its utilization is also high.

Examples of the proximity sensor include a transmission type photoelectric sensor, a direct reflection type photoelectric sensor, a mirror reflection type photoelectric sensor, a high frequency oscillation type proximity sensor, a capacitive proximity sensor, a magnetic proximity sensor, and an infrared proximity sensor. And to detect the proximity of the pointer by the change of the electric field along the proximity of the pointer when the touch screen is electrostatic. In this case, the touch screen (touch sensor) may be classified as a proximity sensor.

Hereinafter, for convenience of explanation, the act of recognizing that the pointer is positioned on the touch screen while the pointer is not in contact with the touch screen is referred to as "proximity touch & The act of actually touching the pointer on the screen is called "contact touch. &Quot; The position where the pointer is proximately touched on the touch screen means a position where the pointer is vertically corresponding to the touch screen when the pointer is touched.

The proximity sensor detects a proximity touch and a proximity touch pattern (e.g., a proximity touch distance, a proximity touch direction, a proximity touch speed, a proximity touch time, a proximity touch position, a proximity touch movement state, and the like). Information corresponding to the detected proximity touch operation and the proximity touch pattern may be output on the touch screen.

The audio output module 152 may output audio data received from the wireless communication unit 110 or stored in the memory 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 also outputs sound signals related to functions (e.g., call signal reception sound, message reception sound, etc.) performed in the mobile terminal 100. [ The audio output module 152 may include a receiver, a speaker, a buzzer, and the like.

The alarm unit 153 outputs a signal for notifying the occurrence of an event of the mobile terminal 100. Examples of events that occur in the mobile terminal include call signal reception, message reception, key signal input, touch input, and the like. The alarm unit 153 may output a signal for notifying the occurrence of an event in a form other than the video signal or the audio signal, for example, vibration. The video signal or the audio signal may be output through the display unit 151 or the audio output module 152 so that they may be classified as a part of the alarm unit 153.

The haptic module 154 generates various tactile effects that the user can feel. A typical example of the haptic effect generated by the haptic module 154 is vibration. The intensity and pattern of the vibration generated by the haptic module 154 are controllable. For example, different vibrations may be synthesized and output or sequentially output.

In addition to the vibration, the haptic module 154 may include a pin arrangement vertically moving with respect to the contact skin surface, a spraying force or a suction force of the air through the injection port or the suction port, a touch on the skin surface, contact with an electrode, And various tactile effects such as an effect of reproducing a cold sensation using an endothermic or exothermic element can be generated.

The haptic module 154 can be implemented not only to transmit the tactile effect through the direct contact but also to allow the user to feel the tactile effect through the muscular sensation of the finger or arm. The haptic module 154 may include two or more haptic modules 154 according to the configuration of the portable terminal 100.

The projector module 155 is a component for performing an image project function using the mobile terminal 100 and is similar to the image displayed on the display unit 151 in accordance with a control signal of the controller 180 Or at least partly display another image on an external screen or wall.

Specifically, the projector module 155 includes a light source (not shown) that generates light (for example, laser light) for outputting an image to the outside, a light source And a lens (not shown) for enlarging and outputting the image at a predetermined focal distance to the outside. Further, the projector module 155 may include a device (not shown) capable of mechanically moving the lens or the entire module to adjust the image projection direction.

The projector module 155 can be divided into a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) module, an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) module and a DLP (Digital Light Processing) module according to the type of the display means. In particular, the DLP module may be advantageous for miniaturization of the projector module 151 by enlarging and projecting an image generated by reflecting light generated from a light source on a DMD (Digital Micromirror Device) chip.

Preferably, the projector module 155 may be provided longitudinally on the side, front or back side of the mobile terminal 100. It goes without saying that the projector module 155 may be provided at any position of the mobile terminal 100 as occasion demands.

The memory unit 160 may store a program for processing and controlling the control unit 180 and temporarily store the input / output data (e.g., telephone directory, message, audio, For example. The memory unit 160 may also store the frequency of use of each of the data (for example, each telephone number, each message, and frequency of use for each multimedia). In addition, the memory unit 160 may store data on vibration and sound of various patterns output when the touch is input on the touch screen.

The memory 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 (Random Access Memory), SRAM (Static Random Access Memory), ROM (Read Only Memory), EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory), PROM A disk, and / or an optical disk. The mobile terminal 100 may operate in association with a web storage that performs a storage function of the memory 160 on the Internet.

The interface unit 170 serves as a path for communication with all external devices connected to the mobile terminal 100. The interface unit 170 receives data from an external device or supplies power to each component in the mobile terminal 100 or transmits data to the external device. For example, a wired / wireless headset port, an external charger port, a wired / wireless data port, a memory card port, a port for connecting a device having an identification module, an audio I / O port, A video input / output (I / O) port, an earphone port, and the like may be included in the interface unit 170.

The identification module is a chip for storing various information for authenticating the use right of the mobile terminal 100 and includes a user identification module (UIM), a subscriber identity module (SIM), a general user authentication module A Universal Subscriber Identity Module (USIM), and the like. Devices with identification modules (hereinafter referred to as "identification devices") can be manufactured in a smart card format. Accordingly, the identification device can be connected to the terminal 100 through the port.

When the mobile terminal 100 is connected to an external cradle, the interface unit may be a path through which power from the cradle is supplied to the mobile terminal 100, or various command signals input by the user to the cradle may be transmitted It can be a passage to be transmitted to the terminal. The various command signals or the power source input from the cradle may be operated as a signal for recognizing that the mobile terminal is correctly mounted on the cradle.

The controller 180 typically controls the overall operation of the mobile terminal. For example, voice communication, data communication, video communication, and the like. The control unit 180 may include a multimedia module 181 for multimedia playback. The multimedia module 181 may be implemented in the control unit 180 or may be implemented separately from the control unit 180. [

The controller 180 may perform a pattern recognition process for recognizing handwriting input or drawing input performed on the touch screen as characters and images, respectively.

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

The various embodiments described herein may be embodied in a recording medium readable by a computer or similar device using, for example, software, hardware, or a combination thereof.

According to a hardware implementation, the embodiments described herein may be implemented as application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), digital signal processing devices (DSPDs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), field programmable gate arrays May be implemented using at least one of a processor, controllers, micro-controllers, microprocessors, and other electronic units for performing other functions. In some cases, The embodiments described may be implemented by the control unit 180 itself.

According to a software implementation, embodiments such as the procedures and functions described herein may be implemented with separate software modules. Each of the software modules may perform one or more of the functions and operations described herein. Software code can be implemented in a software application written in a suitable programming language. The software code is stored in the memory 160 and can be executed by the control unit 180. [

2A is a perspective view of an example of a mobile terminal or a mobile terminal according to the present invention.

The disclosed mobile terminal 100 has a bar-shaped terminal body. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and can be applied to various structures such as a slide type, a folder type, a swing type, and a swivel type in which two or more bodies are relatively movably coupled.

The body includes a case (a casing, a housing, a cover, and the like) which forms an appearance. In this embodiment, the case may be divided into a front case 101 and a rear case 102. [ A variety of electronic components are embedded in the space formed between the front case 101 and the rear case 102. At least one intermediate case may be additionally disposed between the front case 101 and the rear case 102. [

The cases may be formed by injection molding a synthetic resin, or may be formed to have a metal material such as stainless steel (STS) or titanium (Ti) or the like.

The display unit 151, the sound output unit 152, the camera 121, the user input units 130/131 and 132, the microphone 122, the interface 170, and the like may be disposed in the front body 101 have.

The display unit 151 occupies most of the main surface of the front case 101. A sound output unit 151 and a camera 121 are disposed in an area adjacent to one end of both ends of the display unit 151 and a user input unit 131 and a microphone 122 are disposed in an area adjacent to the other end. The user input unit 132 and the interface 170 may be disposed on the side surfaces of the front case 101 and the rear case 102. [

The user input unit 130 is operated to receive a command for controlling the operation of the portable terminal 100 and may include a plurality of operation units 131 and 132. The operation units 131 and 132 may be collectively referred to as a manipulating portion and may be employed in any manner as long as the user operates in a tactile manner.

The contents inputted by the first or second operation unit 131 or 132 may be variously set. For example, the first operation unit 131 receives commands such as start, end, scroll, and the like, and the second operation unit 132 controls the size of the sound output from the sound output unit 152 or the size of the sound output from the display unit 151 To the touch recognition mode of the touch screen.

FIG. 2B is a rear perspective view of the portable terminal shown in FIG. 2A.

Referring to FIG. 2B, a camera 121 'may be further mounted on the rear surface of the terminal body, that is, the rear case 102. The camera 121 'may have a photographing direction substantially opposite to the camera 121 (see FIG. 2A), and may be a camera having different pixels from the camera 121.

For example, the camera 121 may have a low pixel so that the face of the user can be photographed and transmitted to the other party in case of a video call or the like, and the camera 121 ' It is preferable to have a large number of pixels. The cameras 121 and 121 'may be installed in the terminal body so as to be rotatable or pop-upable.

A flash 123 and a mirror 124 are additionally disposed adjacent to the camera 121 '. The flash 123 illuminates the subject when the subject is photographed by the camera 121 '. The mirror 124 allows the user to illuminate the user's own face or the like when the user intends to shoot himself / herself (self-photographing) using the camera 121 '.

An acoustic output 152 'may be additionally disposed on the rear surface of the terminal body. The sound output unit 152 'may implement the stereo function together with the sound output unit 152 (see FIG. 2A), and may be used for the implementation of the speakerphone mode during a call.

In addition to the antenna for talking and the like, a broadcast signal receiving antenna 116 may be further disposed on the side of the terminal body. The antenna 116, which forms part of the broadcast receiving module 111 (see FIG. 1), can be installed to be able to be drawn out from the terminal body.

A power supply unit 190 for supplying power to the portable terminal 100 is mounted on the terminal body. The power supply unit 190 may be built in the terminal body or may be detachable from the outside of the terminal body.

The rear case 102 may further include a touch pad 135 for sensing a touch. The touch pad 135 may also be of a light transmission type like the display unit 151. [ In this case, if the display unit 151 is configured to output time information on both sides, the time information can be recognized through the touch pad 135 as well. The information output on both sides may be all controlled by the touch pad 135. [ Alternatively, a display may be additionally mounted on the touch pad 135, and a touch screen may be disposed on the rear case 102 as well.

Hereinafter, a related operation of the display unit 151 and the touch pad 135 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3A and 3B.

3A and 3B are front views of a portable terminal for explaining an operation state of the portable terminal according to the present invention.

Various types of time information can be displayed on the display unit 151. [ These pieces of information can be displayed in the form of letters, numbers, symbols, graphics, or icons.

At least one of the letters, numbers, symbols, graphics, or icons may be displayed in a predetermined arrangement for inputting such information, thereby being implemented as a keypad. Such a keypad may be referred to as a so-called " virtual keypad ".

3A illustrates inputting a touch applied to a virtual keypad through a front surface of a terminal body.

The display unit 151 may operate as an entire area or may be divided into a plurality of areas and operated. In the latter case, the plurality of areas can be configured to operate in association with each other.

For example, an output window 151a and an input window 151b are displayed on the upper and lower portions of the display unit 151, respectively. The output window 151a and the input window 151b are areas allocated for outputting or inputting information, respectively. In the input window 151b, a virtual keypad 151c is displayed in which a number for inputting a telephone number or the like is displayed. When the virtual keypad 151c is touched, numbers and the like corresponding to the touched virtual keypad are displayed on the output window 151a. When the first operation unit 131 is operated, call connection to the telephone number displayed on the output window 151a is attempted.

3B shows a touch input to the virtual keypad through the rear surface of the terminal body. FIG. 3A shows a case where the terminal body is vertically arranged, and FIG. 3B shows a case where the terminal body is arranged horizontally. The display unit 151 may be configured to convert the output screen according to the arrangement direction of the terminal body.

3B shows that the text input mode is activated in the portable terminal. The display unit 151 displays an output window 151a 'and an input window 151b'. The input window 151b 'may have a plurality of virtual keypads 151c' displayed with at least one of characters, symbols, and numbers. The virtual keypads 151c 'may be arranged in the form of a QWERTY key.

When the virtual keypads 151c 'are touched through the touch pad 135 (see FIG. 2B), characters, numbers, symbols corresponding to the touched virtual keypad are displayed on the output window 151a'. As described above, the touch input through the touch pad 135 is advantageous in that the virtual keypad 151c 'can be prevented from being covered by the finger when the user touches the touch input through the display unit 151. [ In the case where the display unit 151 and the touch pad 135 are formed to be transparent, the fingers located on the rear side of the terminal body can be visually confirmed, thereby enabling a more accurate touch input.

The display unit 151 or the touch pad 135 may be configured to receive a touch input by scrolling, as well as the input method described in the above embodiments. The user can move a cursor or a pointer located on an object displayed on the display unit 151, for example, an icon or the like, by scrolling the display unit 151 or the touch pad 135. [ Further, when the finger is moved on the display portion 151 or the touch pad 135, the path along which the finger moves may be visually displayed on the display portion 151. [ This will be useful for editing the image displayed on the display unit 151. [

One function of the terminal may be executed in response to a case where the display unit 151 (touch screen) and the touch pad 135 are touched together within a predetermined time range. In the case of being touched together, there may be a case where the user clamps the terminal body using the thumb and index finger. The one function may be activation or deactivation of the display unit 151 or the touch pad 135, for example.

For convenience of explanation, it is assumed that the mobile terminal referred to below includes at least one of the components shown in FIG.

4 is a flowchart showing a flow of a control method of a mobile terminal according to the present invention.

The control unit 180 determines the current camera mode of the mobile terminal 100 (S410). The camera module 121 receives the external gesture operation at a level corresponding to the camera mode (S420). The control unit 180 determines whether the inputted external gesture operation is a predefined gesture operation (S430). If it is determined that the gesture operation is a predefined gesture operation, the controller 180 changes the camera mode (S440).

As used herein, the term 'camera mode' refers to a state of controlling the functions of the camera module 121 associated with the mobile terminal 100. The camera module 121 of the mobile terminal 100 according to the present invention can control the functions and power that can be used depending on the state of the camera mode.

5A is a conceptual representation of a camera mode in relation to the present invention.

In the present invention, the camera mode may be configured in three modes. The mobile terminal 100 according to the present invention can set the mode according to three or more different kinds or configurations according to the setting, but for convenience of explanation, the mobile terminal 100 will be described as a three-camera mode.

The camera mode may consist of an ACTIVE mode 501, an IDLE mode 502, and a SLEEP mode 503. The state of the camera module 121 can be determined according to the corresponding camera mode.

When the camera mode of the mobile terminal 100 is the ACTIVE mode 501, the camera function is normally fully on. Accordingly, all external images can be correctly recognized through the camera module 121. [ In the ACTIVE mode 501, the image recognized through the camera module 121 can be input with the highest resolution and accuracy to be set. In addition, when the camera mode is the ACTIVE mode 501, the power supply unit 190 can normally supply power to the camera module 121.

When the camera mode of the mobile terminal 100 is the IDLE mode 502, the camera function is partially turned on. The ACTIVE mode 501 and the IDLE mode 502 can be mutually changed, and the IDLE mode 502 and the SLEEP mode 503 can be mutually changed. In the case of the IDLE mode 502, since the camera module 121 partially operates the camera function as compared with the ACTIVE mode 501, the external image can be partially recognized. For example, the range of the external image recognized by the camera module 121 may be reduced, and the resolution and accuracy of the recognized external image may be lower than the ACTIVE mode. Also, in the IDLE mode 502, the power supply unit 190 may partially supply the power to the camera module 121 in a corresponding manner. At the same time, in the IDLE mode, the display unit 151 may be partially reduced.

When the camera mode of the mobile terminal 100 is the SLEEP mode 503, the camera function is turned off. If it is recognized as the SLEEP mode 503, the camera function is turned off, and the power supply unit 190 may not provide power to the camera module 121. [ Therefore, the camera module 121 is normally in a state in which it can not receive an external image. Alternatively, the camera module 121 may not be able to receive all external images, but may be set to be off so that the camera function can be received at a minimum level of user gesture input.

Referring to FIG. 5A, the ACTIVE mode 501, the IDLE mode 502, and the SLEEP mode 503 may change the camera mode from each other. The change of the camera mode can be changed into various elements. For example, it may be changed according to a prescribed gesture operation in changing the camera mode, may be changed according to the lapse of a prescribed time, or may be changed by a menu selection of the user.

FIG. 5B is a view showing an operation of displaying each camera mode.

In FIG. 5B, (a) shows that the camera mode is the ACTIVE mode, and the area 510 of the external image is widely located on the display unit 151. FIG. 5B shows that the camera mode is the IDLE mode and that the area 510 of the external image is partially located on the display unit 151. In FIG. 5B, the camera mode is the SLEEP mode And there is no region of the external image.

Referring to FIG. 5B, an example in which the camera mode is implemented on the display unit 151, the manner in which the camera mode is implemented is not necessarily limited to this.

The mobile terminal 100 of the present invention can change the camera mode according to the gesture operation among the external images. The gesture operation means various hand or body movements of the user, and the mobile terminal 100 can recognize the gesture operation in a specific sense among the gesture operations as an instruction.

The gesture operation can be recognized through the camera module 121 or through the infrared module. Alternatively, it may be recognized as a specific gesture operation through the voice input through the microphone 122. [

In the case of a gesture operation, various actions may exist. For example, there are various operations such as clapping, moving the palm to one side, and changing the hand shape. The mobile terminal 100 may store a specific operation of the gesture operation in the memory 160 in advance. Accordingly, rather than reacting to all the gesture motions, the controller 180 responds to the gesture motions pre-stored in the memory 160. [

6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a gesture operation for changing from an upper camera mode to a lower camera mode in accordance with the present invention.

Here, the upper camera mode or lower camera mode means relative. For example, the upper camera mode among the ACTIVE mode and the IDLE mode is the ACTIVE mode, and the lower camera mode corresponds to the IDLE mode. Among the IDLE mode and the SLEEP mode, the upper camera mode is the IDLE mode, and the lower camera mode is the SLEEP mode.

There are various control operations for changing from the upper camera mode to the lower camera mode, and Fig. 6 illustrates the gesture operation during such operation.

It is preferable that the gesture operation which is changed from the active operation to the inactive operation is set to the prescribed gesture operation as it is changed from the upper camera mode to the lower camera mode.

With reference to FIG. 6 (a), the prescribed gesture operation is a gesture operation when the mobile terminal 100 does not have any operation but appears before the camera module 121. In this case, the controller 180 recognizes it as a prescribed gesture operation, and when it is in the ACTIVE mode, it can change to the IDLE mode or the SLEEP mode.

With reference to FIG. 6 (b), the prescribed gesture operation is a gesture operation in which the palm is changed from the unfolded state to the fisted state. Referring to Fig. 6 (c), an example in which the operation of lowering the hand downward is set as the gesture operation. 6 (d) shows a gesture operation in which the palm of the handset 100 is raised sideways in front of the camera module 121. 6 (e) shows a gesture operation in which the bottoms of both hands are made into an X shape. Such a gesture operation can be variously determined according to a user's setting or a manufacturer's setting.

The control unit 180 can recognize the state of the current camera mode, change the mode to the IDLE mode or the SLEEP mode when the prescribed gesture operation is input, and change to the SLEEP mode if the mode is the IDLE mode .

When the mode is the ACTIVE mode, it can be changed to one of the IDLE mode and the SLEEP mode, which can be determined according to the intensity of the gesture operation, the kind of the prescribed gesture operation, the time and the like.

7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a gesture operation for changing from an upper camera mode to a lower camera mode in accordance with the present invention.

In addition to the gesture operation, various modes of changing the camera mode can be applied to the present invention. 7 (a), when the specific button 710 of the mobile terminal 100 is pressed, the control unit 180 can recognize the camera mode change command. In this case, it is possible to change from the upper camera mode to the lower camera mode.

Also, the mobile terminal 100 may decide to change the camera mode according to the passage of time. If a certain time has elapsed without a specific command or specific input from the user, the control unit 180 may set the camera mode change to that. Therefore, in the case of the ACTIVE mode, if there is no gesture operation or another command after a predetermined time (for example, 5 seconds) has elapsed, the step of the camera mode can be changed as shown in FIG. 7B.

Depending on the setting of the user, for example, the ACTIVE mode may be changed directly to the SLEEP mode after a predetermined time has elapsed.

8 is a diagram showing an example of an application operation for changing from an upper camera mode to a lower camera mode in accordance with the present invention.

The mobile terminal 100 can drive various applications. Some of these applications use camera functions, and others do not. In this case, the camera mode may be changed depending on whether the application is running or not. For example, in a music playback application that does not use the camera function, it may not be necessary that the camera mode is the ACTIVE mode. Therefore, a change of the camera mode may be implemented depending on whether a specific application is driven or not.

Referring to FIG. 8 (a), a specific icon 802 among a plurality of icons 801 to 806 listed in the display unit 151 is selected. Referring to FIG. 8 (b), an operation in which the music playback application is performed with the application corresponding to the specific icon 802 is shown on the display unit 151. [

The controller 180 determines that the current mode is the ACTIVE mode, and changes the camera mode to the IDLE mode together with the music playback application. Referring to FIG. 8 (c), the display unit 151 can confirm that the camera mode is changed through a notification window 830 informing the change of the camera mode.

FIGS. 9 to 11 are diagrams illustrating operations for changing from a lower camera mode to a higher camera mode, unlike FIGS. 6 to 8. FIG.

9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a gesture operation for changing from a lower camera mode to a higher camera mode in accordance with the present invention.

In FIG. 6, the gesture operation for changing from the upper camera mode to the lower camera mode is described. In FIG. 9, the gesture operation for changing from the lower camera mode to the upper camera mode is illustrated.

Referring to FIG. 9 (a), a gesture operation in which a user's hand movement is present and disappears is shown. If there is such a disappearing gesture operation, the control unit 180 determines the current camera mode and can change to the lower camera mode of the camera mode.

Referring to FIG. 9 (b), the hand motion of the user indicates the gesture operation of grasping and unfolding the fist. This hand operation generally refers to an operation that is changed from a small one to a large one, and thus can be set to an operation of changing from the lower camera mode to the upper camera mode.

Referring to FIG. 9C, it is possible to set a predetermined gesture operation in which the user's hand movement moves from below to above, which also changes from the lower camera mode to the upper camera mode. In the case of Fig. 9 (d), the user makes an "O" shape by hand motion. When the gesture operation is input through the camera module 121, the controller 180 can determine that the gesture operation is a prescribed operation.

The gesture operation associated with the description related to FIG. 9 is exemplary. Thus, in addition to these illustrated gesture actions, various gesture actions may be set to gesture action of camera mode change.

On the other hand, in the SLEEP mode, the camera module 121 may be turned off and the gesture operation may not be recognized. In this case, the gesture operation may be recognized through an infrared module or a microphone.

10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a state operation for changing from a lower camera mode to a higher camera mode in accordance with the present invention.

The user operation for changing from the lower camera mode to the upper camera mode such as the SLEEP mode may be variously performed in addition to the gesture operation.

10A, when receiving an input for pressing a specific button 1010 of the mobile terminal 100, the controller 180 recognizes the input as a wakeup command, and when it is in the SLEEP mode, the IDLE mode or ACTIVE Mode can be changed.

10B is a diagram showing another user operation for changing from the lower camera mode to the upper camera mode. In FIG. 10B, when the camera module 121 exists in the lower camera mode, when the user touches the display unit 151 having a touch screen function, the user may recognize the user operation as a camera mode change .

11 is a diagram showing an example of an application operation for changing from a lower camera mode to a higher camera mode in accordance with the present invention.

The mobile terminal 100 of the present invention can control the change of the camera mode depending on whether the application is performed or not. If another application is executed, the camera mode may be changed to the SLEEP mode so that the camera function is not required, and the camera mode may be changed to the IDLE mode if the application is terminated.

11 (a), the display unit 151 displays the playback operation of the music playback application as the execution operation of the specific application. The control unit 180 can set the camera mode of the camera module 121 to the SLEEP mode 1101 because the function of the camera module 121 is not required.

Referring to Fig. 11 (b), there is shown a case where the reproduction operation of the music reproduction application is terminated. 11 (c), an operation of changing the camera mode from the SLEEP mode to the IDLE mode with the termination of the reproduction operation of the music reproduction application is shown.

In Fig. 11, the case where the specific application is terminated and the mode is changed to the upper camera mode is described. On the contrary, the specific application may be terminated and the upper camera mode may be changed to the lower camera mode.

The present invention is an invention capable of controlling various functions of the mobile terminal 100 through a user's operation and may include various components capable of recognizing a user's operation.

For example, in addition to the camera module 121, a motion sensor may be included. In this case, a more precise motion of the user may be grasped and the gesture operation of the user may be further subdivided and accepted as an input. In addition, the mobile terminal 100 may further include a grip sensor to receive a grip operation of the user's mobile terminal as an input. When there is such a motion sensor or a grip sensor, there may be a sensor microprocessor that manages various inputs inputted from the sensors, and may transmit the input to the controller 180 more precisely through the microprocessor .

Further, according to an embodiment of the present invention, the above-described method can be implemented as a code that can be read by a processor on a medium on which the program is recorded. Examples of the medium that can be read by the processor include ROM, RAM, CD-ROM, magnetic tape, floppy disk, optical data storage, etc., and may be implemented in the form of a carrier wave (e.g., transmission over the Internet) .

The mobile terminal described above can be applied to not only the configuration and method of the embodiments described above but also all or some of the embodiments may be selectively combined so that various modifications may be made to the embodiments It is possible.

100 mobile terminal 121 camera module
151 display unit 160 memory
180 control unit 190 power supply unit

Claims (5)

A controller for determining a current camera mode;
A camera module receiving an external gesture operation at a level corresponding to the determined camera mode; And
And a power supply unit for supplying power to the camera module at a level corresponding to the determined camera mode,
Wherein,
Control to change the camera mode when the input external gesture operation is a predefined gesture operation with respect to the camera mode,
The change of the camera mode according to the input of the external gesture operation is recognized by the camera module and corresponds to the change of the size or resolution of the external image displayed on the display unit only when the camera function is being executed in the foreground type ,
The change of the camera mode according to the input of the external gesture operation is displayed in a predetermined area of the display unit of the mobile terminal only when the camera function is being executed as the background type, and when the first indicator, which indicates the current camera mode, To the second indicator corresponding to the second indicator. The method according to claim 1,
In the camera mode,
A first mode indicating a full on state of the camera module, a second mode indicating a partially on state of the camera module, and a third mode indicating an off state of the camera module Corresponding to one,
Mobile terminal. The method according to claim 1,
And a user input unit for inputting a user operation,
Wherein the control unit controls to change the camera mode when the user operation through the user input unit is a prescribed user operation,
Mobile terminal. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein,
Perform operations of at least one application,
And controlling the camera mode to be changed according to the degree of performance of the at least one application.
Mobile terminal. Determining a camera mode of the mobile terminal;
Receiving an external gesture operation through a camera module;
Determining if the external gesture operation is a predefined gesture operation for the camera mode; And
And changing the camera mode in case of the predefined gesture operation according to the determination result,
The method of claim 1,
And receiving the external gesture operation at a level corresponding to the determined camera mode,
The step of changing the camera mode comprises:
Only when the camera function is being executed in the foreground type, the size or resolution of the external image recognized by the camera module and displayed on the display unit is changed,
And changing the first indicator displayed in the predetermined area of the display unit of the mobile terminal and indicating the current camera mode to the second indicator corresponding to the changed camera mode only when the camera function is being executed as the background type To the mobile terminal.

Images