KR20060109578A - Mobile terminal and method for converting its qwerty keypad character input mode - Google Patents

Abstract

A mobile terminal and its method for changing a qwerty keypad character input mode are provided to structurally add a qwerty keypad and to maintain a compact structure of a mobile terminal. An LCD(30) displays screen data according to an operation of a mobile terminal. When the LCD(30) is slid by a user, a display direction of the screen is changed. A qwerty keypad(20) is positioned below the LCD(30). When the LCD(30) is slidably moved, the qwerty keypad(20) is exposed to allow a user to input characters or/and numbers.

Description

Portable terminal and QWERTY keypad character input mode switching method {MOBILE TERMINAL AND METHOD FOR CONVERTING ITS QWERTY KEYPAD CHARACTER INPUT MODE}

1 is an exemplary view showing a keypad key arrangement structure of a typical portable terminal.

Figure 2 is an exemplary view showing the structure of a QWERTY keypad applied to the present invention.

Figure 3 is an exemplary view for explaining the structure of a portable terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.

4 is an exemplary view showing that the screen data of the LCD is switched according to an embodiment of the present invention.

5 is a flowchart illustrating a method of switching between a portable terminal and a qwerty keypad character input mode according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

*** Explanation of symbols for main parts of drawing ***

10: keypad 20: QWERTY keypad

30: LCD

The present invention relates to a portable terminal, and more particularly, to a portable terminal having a keypad for facilitating text input so that text can be input within a shorter time period, and a method for switching a QWERTY keypad text input mode thereof. will be.

In general, a home telephone or a portable terminal, ie, a mobile phone, a portable computer, and a PDA, inputs a desired number using a numeric keypad arranged with a minimum number of keys. This is a general numeric keypad in which 10 keys are arranged in order from 0 to 9, and a total of 12 keypads are installed with # and *, which are keys used as two separate function keys, arranged on both sides of 0.

1 is an exemplary view showing a keypad key arrangement structure of a general portable terminal.

Referring to FIG. 1, the number keys are sequentially arranged from left to right and top to bottom from '0' to '9'. In addition, numbers and letters (Korean, alphabet) are assigned to the numeric keys. The keypad 10 has a structure in which one or more characters correspond to one numeric key. The keypad 10 has a different key arrangement for each terminal manufacturer.

For example, the number key '1' is assigned the consonants 'ㄱ, ㅋ' and the letters 'Q, Z', and the number key '2' is assigned the vowel 'ㅣ, ㅡ' and the letters 'A, B, C'. 'Is assigned, and the numeric key' 3 'may be assigned the vowel' ㅏ, ㅏ 'and the letters' D, E, F'.

Therefore, in order to input the consonant 'ㅋ' and the letter 'C' during character input, the numeral key '1' is continuously input two times in the Korean input mode, and then the character key '2' is switched by switching to the alphabet input mode. You must enter it three times in a row.

However, in the structure of a keypad of a conventional portable terminal, a plurality of letters and alphabets are assigned to one numeric key, and thus there is a problem that a user cannot input a character to be input in a short time.

Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and is provided with a keypad for facilitating character input so that a character can be input in a shorter time and the QWERTY keypad character input mode. The purpose is to provide a conversion method.

The present invention for achieving the above object, in the portable terminal having a keypad that can be selectively exposed to the outside by the user,

An LCD for displaying screen data according to an operation of the portable terminal and changing the display direction of the screen when the screen is slid by the user;

Located at the bottom of the LCD, it is characterized by consisting of a QWERTY keypad exposed to the outside so that letters or / and numbers can be input when sliding the LCD.

In addition, in order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a portable terminal having an LCD for displaying screen data, a QWERTY keypad for easy input of characters, and a keypad having a general key arrangement structure other than the QWERTY keypad.

Operating in a standby state or a call state waiting for key input and an incoming call;

Determining whether to execute a QWERTY keypad character input mode in a general portable terminal state such as the standby state or a call state;

As a result of the determination, when the execution of the QWERTY keypad character input mode is requested, the display direction of the LCD displaying the screen data is changed and a character is input using the QWERTY keypad.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

It should be noted that in the following description, only parts necessary for understanding the operation and operation according to the present invention will be described, and descriptions of other parts will be omitted so as not to distract from the gist of the present invention.

In the following description specific details of a portable terminal with a qwerty keypad of the present invention are shown to provide a more general understanding of the present invention. It will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that the present invention may be readily practiced without these specific details and also by their modifications.

First, briefly described the gist of the present invention.

With the recent rapid development of communication devices, portable terminals have become a necessity for everyone. In particular, in recent years, thanks to the development of communication technology for increasing data processing in portable mobile phones for existing calling purposes, more data is transmitted and processed through portable terminals. In response to such environmental changes, user requirements for a keypad for efficiently inputting characters are increasing. The present invention relates to an input device of a portable terminal according to the requirements of the user layer, and uses a QWERTY keypad 20 as shown in FIG. 2 to effectively design a keypad structure and satisfy a user's requirement through function implementation.

The QWERTY keypad 20 has a shape similar to a computer keyboard, and has appeared in accordance with a smart phone configured as a portable terminal in a conventional PDA function. Keypads are arranged according to certain rules and are designed to input data by sending a corresponding signal when a key is pressed.

Now, the structure of the portable terminal of the present invention and the operation of the portable terminal will be described in detail.

3 is an exemplary view for explaining the structure of a portable terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3, first, FIG. 3A illustrates a portable terminal when used for general telephone use, and FIG. 3B illustrates a portable terminal when the QWERTY keypad text input mode is executed. It is a figure for following.

3 (a) shows a state of the portable terminal in the mode of the portable terminal excluding the QWERTY keypad character input mode, and it can be seen that the keypad 10 and the LCD 30 are exposed to the outside. At this time, it has the same configuration as the existing portable terminal, and operates the keypad 10 to execute the mode of the portable terminal.

However, if the QWERTY keypad 20 located on the lower side is exposed to the outside by sliding the LCD 30 to execute the QWERTY keypad character input mode according to the embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. The LCD 30 switches screen data from a vertical screen to a horizontal screen. At this time, the control unit (not shown) when the LCD 30 is slid to a predetermined predetermined position, the magnetic sensor detects this, and senses that the user is asking for the QWERTY keypad character input mode. Then, an interrupt signal is generated and the LCD is switched from the vertical screen to the horizontal screen to display screen data as shown in FIG. 4. At this time, the QWERTY keypad 20 enters a key input standby state, and the external keypad 10 may be limited in function according to a user's setting state. That is, in the QWERTY keypad character input mode, a number and a specific function can be selected through the numeric keys or the function keys of the keypad 10, and characters can be input through the QWERTY keypad 20 at the same time. By changing the key input setting state of the character input mode, it is possible to limit the character input through the keypad 10 and input characters using only the qwerty keypad 20.

5 is a flowchart illustrating a method of switching between a portable terminal and a qwerty keypad character input mode according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 5, in step 501, the portable terminal is in a standby state or a call state waiting for a key input and an incoming call.

In step 503, the portable terminal determines whether the QWERTY keypad character input mode is required to be executed. That is, it is determined whether the LCD 30 has been slid to a predetermined position to execute the QWERTY keypad character input mode. At this time, the controller checks whether the QWERTY keypad character input mode is executed or not through a sensor that detects the sliding state of the LCD. In this case, the sensor is, for example, a magnetic sensor.

As a result of the determination, when the quart keypad character input mode is requested, the portable terminal converts the screen data displayed through the vertical screen of the LCD 30 to the horizontal screen in step 505. At the same time, in step 507, the portable terminal enters a character input standby state so that characters can be input by the qwerty keypad 20.

In operation 509, the user inputs text using the qwerty keypad 20.

Meanwhile, in the detailed description of the present invention, specific embodiments have been described, but various modifications are possible without departing from the scope of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of the present invention should not be limited to the described embodiments, but should be defined not only by the scope of the following claims, but also by the equivalents of the claims.

As described in detail above, the present invention is provided with a qwerty keypad for facilitating character input, thereby enabling the user to input characters in a faster time, thereby increasing convenience for the user. .

In addition, by adding the QWERTY keypad structurally, and maintaining the compact structure of the portable terminal, there is an effect that the user is easy to carry.

In addition, by switching from a vertical screen to a horizontal screen to secure a wider field of view when entering characters through the QWERTY keypad, there is an effect that can effectively enter characters through the QWERTY keypad.

Claims (6)

In a portable terminal having a keypad that can be selectively exposed to the outside by a user, An LCD for displaying screen data according to an operation of the portable terminal and changing the display direction of the screen when the screen is slid by the user; Located at the bottom of the LCD, the portable terminal, characterized in that configured as a QWERTY keypad exposed to the outside so that letters or / and numbers can be input when sliding the LCD. The method of claim 1, wherein the keypad, A portable terminal, characterized in that when the QWERTY keypad is operated, only a numeric key or a function key is input separately from the QWERTY keypad. The method of claim 2, wherein the QWERTY keypad, A portable terminal comprising a key array in which one letter such as alphabet and Korean is assigned to one key. A portable terminal having an LCD for displaying screen data and a QWERTY keypad for easy text input and a keypad having a general key arrangement structure other than the QWERTY keypad, Operating in a standby state or a call state waiting for key input and an incoming call; Determining whether to execute a QWERTY keypad character input mode in a general portable terminal state such as the standby state or a call state; As a result of the determination, when the execution of the QWERTY keypad character input mode is requested, the display direction of the LCD displaying the screen data is changed, and the QWERTY keypad character of the portable terminal is configured to receive a character using the QWERTY keypad. How to switch input mode. The method of claim 4, wherein the QWERTY keypad text entry mode, QWERTY keypad character input mode of the portable terminal, characterized in that executed when the LCD is sliding so that the QWERTY keypad located below the LCD is exposed to the outside. The method of claim 4, further comprising receiving a character through a QWERTY keypad and receiving only a numeric key or a function key through an external keypad.

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