KR20060118270A - Portable terminal and its operation method - Google Patents

Abstract

A portable terminal and an operating method thereof are provided to search items in response to the search items on a screen more intuitionally. When a menu is displayed on a screen(S101), a control member confirms whether there is the input of a touch pad for searching the menu(S102). If there is the input of a touch pad, the control member confirms whether the input is the horizontal touch pad input or the vertical touch pad input(S103,S105). If there is no input of a touch pad, the control member confirms whether there is the input of a tact button(S109). If the horizontal touch pad input is sensed, the control member moves a cursor toward the horizontal direction and instructs another menu item(S104).

Description

Portable terminal and its operation method

1 is a perspective view of a conventional MP3 player.

2 is a block diagram of a portable terminal according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a detailed configuration diagram of a touch pad according to the present invention.

Figure 4 is a front view showing an example of the touch pad operation of the mobile terminal according to the present invention.

5 is a view showing a vertical operation example of the touch pad of FIG. 4 according to the present invention;

6 is a view showing an example of the horizontal operation of the touch pad of Figure 4 according to the present invention.

7 is a view showing another configuration of the touch pad according to the embodiment of the present invention.

8 is a flowchart illustrating a method of operating a portable terminal according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

9 is a flowchart illustrating a menu operating method of a mobile terminal according to another embodiment of the present invention.

<Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

100 ... Default 101 ... Media File Storage

102 ... control section 103 ... decoder

104 ... D / A converter 105 ... Audio output

106 Speaker 107 Earphone Jack

108 Memory ... 109 Power Supply

110 ... Display section 120 ... Key input section

130 ... Operation button 140,150 ... Touch pad

141,151 ... Horizontal Touchpad 142,152 ... Vertical Touchpad

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a mobile terminal and a method of operating the multimedia player, in particular, having an input means having an intuition for a search operation, which makes the search more convenient according to the arrangement direction of one or more search items.

Recent portable electronic devices (e.g. MP3, mobile phones, PMP, PDA, etc.) are miniaturized due to the development of memory technology, equipped with a large memory, which can freely store and delete audio and video files, In addition, the functions of various applications have been improved, enabling playback of almost all kinds of audio and video files. In addition, in order to meet the user's needs of portable electronic devices, not only other additional functions (common functions such as cameras, phones, and MP3s) but also external design and user interfaces are important.

1 is a conventional general portable audio player. Such an audio reproducing apparatus is an MP3 player, and has a built-in memory means, so that it is possible to reproduce desired sound data for a long time without degrading sound quality even without inserting a conventional sound storage medium.

Referring to FIG. 1, a perspective view of a portable audio player, the audio player 1 includes a display unit 20 at the top of the front to display various functions, playback information, and the like, and a plurality of key input units 15 at the bottom thereof. ) Is provided.

The key input unit 15 has a play button 10, a button 11 for adjusting the playback and seek speeds faster or slower, a stop button 12, a pause button 13, a volume switch 14, And a hold switch 9, a menu button, a recording button, and the like. Here, the play button 10 includes a power on / off function and a play function according to the time pressed.

In addition, the earphone 50 is attached / detached on the portable audio player, and an audio signal is output through the left and right earphones 51 and 52 of the earphone 50 mounted on the device.

The menu operation method of the portable audio player as described above uses a method of searching for an item of a menu by a general button operation method. This takes a lot of time to retrieve many menu items and save files, and slows down the system. In addition, the user is inconvenient to search for files with a large hard disk type.

That is, since a real user moves a single item by pressing a button once, when a hard disk capacity, for example, 5G capacity, is searched for the 10000th song, an operation can be performed only by pressing 10000.

The first object of the present invention is to provide an intuitive input means corresponding to the arrangement direction of a search item, and to use the portable terminal and an operation method thereof to intuitively search each item according to the arrangement direction of the search item. In providing.

A second object of the present invention is to provide a mobile terminal and a method of operating the same, in which the touch pads are arranged horizontally and vertically for searching the search items arranged horizontally and vertically.

It is a third object of the present invention to provide a portable terminal and a method of operating the same, wherein the horizontal and vertical touch pads can be installed in an integrated or separated shape.

A fourth object of the present invention is to provide a portable terminal and a method of operating the touch pad, which can be installed at a predetermined position of the main body of the portable terminal or in an earphone.

A portable terminal according to the present invention for achieving the above object,

In a mobile terminal,

Operation buttons for controlling various operations of the terminal and controlling reproduction of files;

And a touch pad for moving the cursor in the same direction according to the arrangement direction of the search items through a touch input input from a user for searching for items displayed on the terminal screen.

Preferably, the touch pad is characterized in that it comprises a horizontal touch pad and a vertical touch pad.

Preferably, the horizontal touch pad and the vertical touch pad is characterized in that installed in the "T" shape.

The horizontal touch pad may be installed in a horizontal direction, the vertical touch pad may be installed in a vertical direction, and the horizontal and vertical touch pads may be separated from each other.

Preferably, the touch pad may further include a tact button.

In addition, the portable terminal according to the present invention includes: key input means including an operation button for inputting various keys and a touch pad for searching for search items arranged in a vertical or horizontal direction through a user's touch input;

A storage unit in which the media file is stored;

File conversion and output means for converting and outputting the multimedia file for reproduction;

A screen display unit displaying one or more search items arranged in a horizontal or vertical direction;

Receives a key signal from the operation button of the key input means to control a corresponding function, detects a touch point and a touch movement direction by using a touch signal input from the touch pad, and then moves a cursor displayed on the screen display unit. It characterized in that it comprises a control unit for letting.

Preferably, the touch pad is characterized in that the plurality is installed to be perpendicular to each other.

Preferably, the plurality of orthogonal touch pads are installed in directions corresponding to the horizontal menu items and the vertical menu items displayed on the screen display unit, respectively.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of operating a mobile terminal, the method comprising: displaying one or more search items on a screen;

Detecting a touch point and a touch direction of a touch pad provided on a terminal for searching for the displayed search item;

And moving a cursor indicating a search item in the same direction according to the detected touch point and the touch direction.

Preferably, when a touch input in the horizontal direction is generated on the touch pad installed in the horizontal direction in the touch pad, the cursor is moved in the horizontal direction, and when the touch input in the vertical direction is generated using the touch pad installed in the vertical direction, the cursor is moved. It characterized in that to move in the vertical direction.

Preferably, after moving the cursor of the touch pad, if the tact button provided on the touch pad is selected, the search item indicated by the cursor further comprises the step of proceeding to the next mode.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings as follows.

2 is a block diagram of a portable terminal according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 2, a media file storage unit 101 storing multimedia files (MP3, MPEG, etc.), a control unit 102 for controlling the entire apparatus, a decoder 103 for decoding the digital audio signal, and A D / A converter 104 for converting the decoded audio signal into an analog signal, an audio output unit 105 for amplifying and outputting the converted analog signal, a speaker 106, and earphones Earphone jack 107 for the memory, a memory 108 for storing the programs necessary for the operation of the device, the power supply unit 109, the screen display unit 110, operation buttons 130 for various key input and menu search / And a key input unit 120 including a touch pad 140 for selection.

The touch pad 140 includes a horizontal touch pad 142 provided with a touch sensor array 141 of a predetermined length in a horizontal direction and a vertical touch pad 144 provided with a touch sensor array 143 of a predetermined length in a vertical direction. It is a configuration to include. In addition, a tact button is installed at the end of the horizontal touch pad 142 or the vertical touch pad 144.

When items such as a menu or a file list are arranged horizontally and vertically using the touch pad 140, the touch pad 140 can be intuitively searched and selected for any one item. will be.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, a portable terminal and an operation method thereof according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention configured as described above are as follows.

Referring to FIG. 2, the media file storage unit 101 stores multimedia files such as an audio file and a video file, and the controller 102 controls menu search, file playback, and the like by a key signal input by a user. Various control will be performed. The memory 108 stores various programs required for system operation.

When an audio file (eg, MP3) is selected by the user, the selected audio file is decoded by the decoder 103, and the decoded audio signal is converted into an analog signal by the D / A converter 104. The signal converted into analog by the D / A converter 104 is amplified by the audio output unit 105 and then output through the earphone connected to the speaker 106 or the earphone jack 107. If the video file is decoded through a video decoder (not shown) and then played on the screen display unit, the codec type may vary depending on what kind of media file or disk medium the terminal plays.

In response to the key input signal input by the user, the display 110 displays a list of a menu or a file, an operation state of the device, and the like. The display unit 110 is implemented as a display element such as an LCD.

The key input unit 120 includes an operation button 130 and a touch pad 140 required for controlling the operation of the device. The operation button 130 includes a menu key, a recording key, a quick search and a slow search key, a volume key, Hold keys and the like. The touch pad 140 is provided in a predetermined shape, for example, a "T" or "+" or "L" or "ㅗ" shape, and has pads installed in horizontal and vertical directions.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, when the touch pad 140 has a “T” shape, the touch pad 140 is installed in a vertical direction on the center of the horizontal touch pad 141 and the horizontal touch pad 141 installed in the horizontal direction. The touch pad 142 will be included.

In addition, tact buttons 145, 146, and 147 are installed at ends of the horizontal touch pad 141 and the vertical touch pad 142. Here, the tact button may be installed at both ends of the horizontal touch pad and / or one end of the vertical touch pad 142. Alternatively, only one tact button may be installed on a particular pad stage.

The horizontal touch pad 141 and the vertical touch pad 142 are installed to have predetermined lengths Lh and Lv and a predetermined width, and include touch sensor arrays 143 and 144 in the pads, respectively. When a user touches the horizontal touch pad 141 and the vertical touch pad 142, the contact point (position) is detected. Such a contact point and the contact points can be used to detect the direction of movement of the user's contact surface. That is, the controller 102 may move the cursor in the moving direction by detecting the position and the moving direction of the contact point using the respective contact points input from the touch pad 140.

In addition, the touch pad 140 includes the electronic touch sensor arrays 143 and 144 in contact with the substrate PCB arranged in the horizontal and vertical directions in the form of a matrix, respectively, and detected by voltage fluctuations for the part where the user contacts. Done. The controller 102 may recognize which point of the touch pad 140 is touched by receiving the voltage sensing result input from the touch pad 140, and may recognize in which direction the touch point proceeds. do.

Since the menu or file items of the terminal are arranged in a horizontal or vertical direction so that a menu search can be intuitively performed using the touch pad 140, the touch pad 140 can be used in a horizontal or vertical direction. Search is possible.

For example, when the menu items are displayed with respect to the operation of the touch pad 140, when a certain point of the horizontal touch pad 141 installed in the horizontal direction is selected, the cursor is moved to the menu item corresponding to the selected part. . Alternatively, when the horizontal touch pad 141 moves while touching the left touch point from the left point, the menu search is possible since the cursor moves from the left menu item to the right menu item. In addition, the user may intuitively select which menu from among menu items, using the touch pad, to search for a menu by moving a cursor corresponding to a partial point selection or a moving direction.

The touch pad 140 may be installed in a predetermined portion or earphone of the main body of the portable terminal, and the menu may be intuitively searched in the horizontal and vertical directions while viewing the screen.

On the other hand, the terminal may further include a hold switch or a program for preventing unnecessary pressing of the touch pad 140.

A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 to 6 as follows.

Referring to FIG. 4, a screen display unit 110 and a key input unit are formed at the upper front of the terminal 100. The selected menu item (Music) 111 is displayed on the screen display unit 110, and detailed file lists (Max 5, ...) 112 for the selected menu item are displayed. On one side, a menu bar 113 is displayed. For example, a list of Music menu items would cause the cursor to point to Max 5.

The key input unit includes a menu key 131 and a recording key 132, pause and play keys 133, backward and forward search keys 134 and 135, and a “T” shaped touch pad on the center of the keys. 140 will be included. The terminal 100 may include other functions or other kinds of keys in other aspects.

The menu key 131 is a key for a menu entry and exit function, the recording key 132 is a key for recording an external voice, and the pause and play key 133 is a key for toggling playback and pause. , The back search key and the forward search key 134 and 135 are functions for searching forward or backward through the content currently played during playback, or move to another list item.

In this case, when the user moves the touch point using the touch pad 140, the touch pad 140 detects a point where the user touches, and the control unit moves in the direction and the last contact point of the detected point (position). Corresponding to the point, the cursor is moved to an arbitrary position to point to a specific file item.

Here, in recognizing the touch point of the touch pad 140, the horizontal and vertical ratios of the screen on which the menu items are displayed are regarded as "1", respectively, and the respective length ratios of the horizontal and vertical touch pads 141 and 142 are determined. When regarded as 1, when touching a specific point on the touch pad 140, the cursor can be moved to a specific menu item by a ratio corresponding to the touched point. As another embodiment, specific menu items may be selected in a ratio of the length of the touch pad to the entire file list of the menu items. In other words, when there are 1000 file lists, touching the center of the vertical touch pad may allow the 500th file list to be selected and displayed on the screen.

In addition, since the touch point can be sensed through the touch pad 140, the touch point 140 can detect the temporal change by using the point where the user presses as a starting point, and can recognize in which direction and to what point. . Accordingly, the cursor on the screen is moved by the same direction and the same time according to the moving direction and the moving time of the touch pad. In this manner, the menu item and the file lists below the menu item can be searched using the horizontal touch pad 141 and the vertical touch pad 142.

5 is a view illustrating an operation example of the vertical touch pad 142 according to the present invention. When the file lists 112 are arranged in the vertical direction on the screen, when the user touch point is moved to a predetermined point in the vertical direction (up or down) on the vertical touch pad 142 of the touch pad 140, the cursor Moves in the vertical direction (up or down) at the point currently indicated to indicate the final file list 113. Here, the direction of cursor movement is determined according to which position, for example, the bottom or the top, of the starting point of the vertical touch pad 142.

6 is a view showing an operation example of the horizontal touch pad 141 according to the present invention. 6 is a screen in which an audio menu item is selected and a selected audio file is played. When the list of menu items is arranged in the horizontal direction as shown on the screen, when the user's touch point is moved by a predetermined point in the horizontal direction (left or right) on the horizontal touch pad 142 of the touch pad 140, Thus, the menu items are instructed by moving a predetermined point in the horizontal direction (left or right) at the point indicated by the cursor. Here, the direction of cursor movement is determined depending on whether the search start point of the horizontal touch pad 142 starts from an arbitrary point, for example, the left end or the right end. Reference numeral 115 denotes a reproduction screen indicating a music reproduction state.

7 is a diagram illustrating another configuration of the touch pad of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 7, the touch pad 170 is divided into a horizontal touch pad 151 and a vertical touch pad 152. That is, the horizontal touch pad 151 and the vertical touch pad 152 may be separately installed. Even if it is installed in this way it will operate in the same manner as the "T" shaped touch pad 150. When the horizontal touch pad 151 and the vertical touch pad 152 are separated as described above, a problem or spatial problem due to the touch pad installation may be solved. In addition, the horizontal and vertical touch pads 151 and 152 do not have to be positioned on the center of the key input unit. For example, separate arrangements are possible in the form of "a symmetrical shape" and "b symmetrical shape".

7 is a diagram illustrating a method of operating a portable terminal according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 7, when a menu is displayed on the screen (S101), it is checked whether there is an input of a touch pad for searching for a menu (S102). As a result of the check, if the input is a touch pad for searching a menu, it is checked whether the input is a horizontal touch pad or a vertical touch pad (S103, S105), and if it is not an input of the touch pad for searching for a menu, it is checked whether an input of a tact button is performed. (S109).

When the input of the horizontal touch pad is detected, the cursor is moved in the horizontal direction to indicate another menu item (S104). When the vertical touch pad is detected, the cursor is moved in the vertical direction to indicate another menu item (S105). ). You can repeat this procedure to use the cursor on the menu or files you want.

When the cursor selects an item and presses a tact button provided on the touch pad or a play key of a key input unit, the selected file performs the following operation (S107 and S109).

When the tact button 109 is selected, an operation of an item indicated by the current cursor is performed (S110), and when the tact button 109 is not performed, another function is performed (S111).

9 is a flowchart illustrating a method of operating a mobile terminal according to another embodiment of the present invention. This is a diagram for illustrating cursor movement control in the controller.

Referring to FIG. 9, when a menu is displayed (S120) and a touch input by a touch pad is generated from a user (S121), it is checked whether a touch start position of the touch pad is detected (S122). As a result of the check, when the touch start position of the touch pad is sensed, it is determined whether the movement in the horizontal direction or the vertical direction with respect to the continuous movement position by the touch input (S123, S127).

The horizontal direction moves the cursor of the menu item in the horizontal direction (S124), and the vertical direction moves the cursor of the menu item in the vertical direction (S128). If there is no movement in the horizontal and vertical directions, the cursor is moved to the position of the menu item corresponding to the start position (point) of the touch input (S129). Repeat this procedure to move the cursor.

Subsequently, it is checked whether the tact button is input (S129), and when the tact button is input, the menu item where the cursor is located is selected to perform the following operation (S126). In addition, if the start position is not detected from the touch pad in step S122, it is checked whether the tact button is input (S130), and as a result, if the tact button input is performed (S126).

By providing a touch pad which is an intuitive key input means in the menu arrangement direction as described above, not only a large file list can be searched easily, but also the operation of the searched item can be controlled in the next mode.

So far, the present invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiments, and those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains to the detailed description of the present invention and other forms of embodiments within the essential technical scope of the present invention. Could be implemented. Here, the essential technical scope of the present invention is shown in the claims, and all differences within the equivalent range will be construed as being included in the present invention.

As described above, according to the portable terminal and its operation method according to the present invention, by providing a touch pad on the portable terminal, there is an effect that it is easy to search menus or files.

In addition, all items can be intuitively searched using the touch pad in the horizontal or vertical direction, which is the arrangement direction of the menu, which enables the search within a shorter time.

In addition, by having a button for controlling the progress to the next mode as well as the search function on the touch pad, it is possible to solve the space and cost problems caused by the installation of other buttons.

Claims (12)

In a mobile terminal, Operation buttons for controlling various operations of the terminal and controlling reproduction of files; And a touch pad for moving the cursor in the same direction according to the arrangement direction of the search items through a touch input input from a user to search for items displayed on the terminal screen. The method of claim 1, The touch pad includes a horizontal touch pad and a vertical touch pad. The method of claim 2, The horizontal touch pad and the vertical touch pad is a mobile terminal, characterized in that installed in the "T" shape. The method of claim 2, The horizontal touch pad is installed in the horizontal direction, The vertical touch pad is installed in the vertical direction, And the horizontal and vertical touch pads are separated from each other. The method of claim 1, One end of the touch pad further comprises a tact button. Key input means including an operation button for inputting various keys and a touch pad for searching for a search item through a user's touch input; A screen display unit displaying one or more search items arranged in a vertical or horizontal direction; Receives a key signal from the operation button of the key input means to control a corresponding function, detects a touch point and a touch movement direction by using a touch signal input from the touch pad, and then moves the cursor displayed on the screen display unit to the same. A portable terminal comprising a control unit for moving in the direction. The method of claim 6, The touch pad is a portable terminal, characterized in that a plurality is installed perpendicular to each other. The method of claim 7, wherein The plurality of touch pads orthogonal to each other are installed in directions corresponding to the horizontal and vertical menu items displayed on the screen display, respectively. The method according to claim 6, One end of the touch pad further comprises a tact button. Displaying one or more search items on the terminal screen; Detecting a touch point and a touch direction of a touch pad provided on a terminal for searching for the displayed search item; And moving a cursor indicating a search item in the same direction according to the detected touch point and touch direction. The method of claim 10, When a touch input in the horizontal direction is generated on the touch pad installed in the horizontal direction in the touch pad, the cursor is moved in the horizontal direction. When the touch input in the vertical direction is generated using the touch pad installed in the vertical direction, the cursor is moved in the vertical direction. Mobile terminal operating method characterized in that for moving to. The method of claim 10, And moving a search item indicated by the cursor to a next mode after selecting a tact button provided on the touch pad after moving the cursor of the touch pad.

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