EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Hereinafter, the portable terminal which concerns on this invention is demonstrated in detail with reference to drawings.
1 is a front perspective view of an example of a mobile terminal 100 according to the present invention.
The portable terminal of the present invention includes a first body 110 and a second body 120 configured to slide in at least one direction on the first body 110. Hereinafter, a description will be given based on a slide type terminal, but the present invention is not limited thereto. The present invention is applicable to various types of terminals such as a bar type, a folder type, a swing type, a swivel type, and the like.
A state in which the first body 110 is disposed to overlap the second body 120 may be referred to as a closed configuration, and as shown in the drawing, the first body 110 may be referred to as the second body 120. The exposed state of at least a portion of the N may be referred to as an open configuration.
The portable terminal operates mainly in the standby mode in the closed state, but the standby mode may be released by the user's operation. In addition, the portable terminal operates mainly in a call mode or the like in an open state, but may be switched to a standby mode by a user's operation or a lapse of a predetermined time.
The first body 110 is formed by a casing (111, case, housing, cover, etc.) forming the appearance. Various electronic components are embedded in a space formed inside the casing 111. The detailed structure of the casing 111 will be described in detail below.
The first body 110 may include a display unit 113, a first sound output unit 114, a first image input unit 115, a first manipulation unit 116, and the like.
The display unit 113 includes a liquid crystal display (LCD) module, an organic light emitting diodes (OLED) module, and the like, which visually express information, and the display unit 113 further includes a touch screen. The input of information may also be enabled.
The first sound output unit 114 may be implemented in the form of a receiver or a speaker, and the first image input unit 115 may be in the form of a camera module for capturing an image or a video for a user. Can be implemented.
The first manipulation unit 116 receives a command for controlling the operation of the portable terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.
The second body 120 may also be formed by the casings 121 and 122 forming the exterior, and the casings 121 and 122 may be formed by the front casing 121 and the rear casing 122. The casings 121 and 122 may be formed by injecting synthetic resin, or may be formed to have a metal material such as stainless steel (STS) or titanium (Ti).
The main printed circuit board is mainly mounted inside the second body 120, and a wireless communication module 191 (see FIG. 8) may be mounted therein. The second body 120 may be referred to as a 'main body' in that a wireless communication function of the portable terminal is implemented by electronic components disposed inside the second body 120. In this case, the first body 110 slidably connected to the second body 120 may be referred to as a 'slider'.
The second manipulator 123 may be disposed on the second body 120, specifically, the front face of the front casing 121. The third manipulation unit 124, the sound input unit 125, and the interface 126 may be disposed in at least one of the front casing 121 and the rear casing 122.
The first to third manipulation units 116, 123, and 124 may be collectively referred to as manipulating portions, and may be employed in any manner as long as the user is tactile in a tactile manner.
For example, the operation unit may be implemented as a dome switch or a touch screen that can receive a command or information by a user's push or touch operation, a touch pad, a wheel that rotates keys, a jog method, or a method such as a joystick. It can also be implemented as.
In the functional aspect, the first operation unit 116 is for inputting a command such as start, end, scroll, etc., and the second operation unit 123 is for inputting numbers, letters, symbols, and the like. In addition, the third manipulation unit 124 may operate as a hot-key that performs a special function such as activation of the first image input unit 115.
According to the present exemplary embodiment, the second manipulation unit 123 may have a form of a keypad, and the second body 120 equipped with the keypad may be referred to as a 'keypad body'.
The sound input unit 125 may be implemented in the form of, for example, a microphone to receive a user's voice, other sounds, and the like.
The interface 126 serves as a passage for allowing a portable terminal related to the present invention to exchange data with an external device. For example, the interface 126 may be wired or wirelessly, and a connection terminal for connecting to an earphone, a port for short-range communication (for example, an infrared port (IrDA port), a Bluetooth port, a wireless LAN port ( wireless LAN port), or at least one of power supply terminals for supplying power to the mobile terminal.
The interface 126 may be a card socket for receiving an external card such as a subscriber identification module (SIM) or a user identity module (UIM), a memory card for storing information.
2 is a rear perspective view of the portable terminal of FIG. 1.
Referring to FIG. 2, a second image input unit 128 may be additionally mounted on the rear casing 122 of the second body 120. The second image input unit 128 may be a camera having a photographing direction substantially opposite to that of the first image input unit 115 (see FIG. 1) and having different pixels from the first image input unit 115.
For example, the first image input unit 115 has a low pixel so that it is easy to take a picture of a user and transmit it to a counterpart in a video call, and the second image input unit 128 immediately photographs a general subject. It is preferable to have a high pixel because it is not transmitted in many cases.
The flash 129 and the mirror 130 are further disposed adjacent to the second image input unit 128. The flash 129 shines light toward the subject when the subject is photographed by the second image input unit 128. The mirror 130 allows the user to see his / her face when the user wants to photograph himself (self-photographing) using the second image input unit 128.
The second sound output unit 131 may be further disposed in the rear casing 122. The second sound output unit 131 may implement a stereo function together with the first sound output unit 114 (refer to FIG. 1), and may be used for a call in the speakerphone mode.
In addition, an antenna 132 for receiving a broadcast signal may be disposed on one side of the rear casing 122 in addition to an antenna for a call. The antenna 132 may be installed to be pulled out of the second body 120.
The power supply unit 127 (see FIG. 8) for supplying power to the portable terminal is mounted on the rear casing 122 side of the second body 120. The power supply unit 127 may be detachably coupled for charging, for example, as a rechargeable battery. According to this embodiment, the rear casing 122 is detachably mounted with a battery cover 127a covering the battery.
A portion of the slide module 133 that slidably couples the first body 110 and the second body 120 is disposed on the rear surface of the casing 111 of the first body 110. The other part of the slide module 133 may be disposed on the front case 121 side of the second body 120 and may not be exposed to the outside as shown in the drawing.
In the above description, the second image input unit 128 and the like have been described as being disposed in the second body 120. However, the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, at least one or more of the components 128 to 132 described as disposed in the rear casing 122, such as the second image input unit 128, may be mounted on the rear surface of the first body 110. FIG. . If so, there is an advantage that the configuration (s) disposed on the rear side of the first body 110 in the closed state is protected by the second body 120. In addition, even if the second image input unit 128 is not separately provided, the first image input unit 115 may be rotatably configured to allow shooting up to the shooting direction of the second image input unit 128.
3 is an exploded perspective view of a portable terminal related to an embodiment of the present invention.
The slide module 133 is disposed between the casing 111 of the first body 110 and the front casing 121 of the second body 120. The slide module 133 includes a fixing plate 133a fixed to the casing 111 of the first body 110 and a moving plate 133b fixed to the front casing 121 of the second body 120. . The fixed plate 133a and the moving plate 133b are coupled to be movable relative to each other.
The display mounting unit 141 is formed on the casing 111 of the first body 110, and the display module 113a is mounted on the display mounting unit 141. The window attaching surface S1 is formed on the front surface of the casing 111, and the window 142 is attached to the window attaching surface S1.
The display mounting portion 141 is formed to be recessed from the window attachment surface S1, and the display mounting portion 141 includes a support surface S2 at a position recessed from the window attachment surface S1.
The display module 151a is mounted on the display mounting unit 141 in a direction from the front of the casing 111 toward the casing 111. The display module 113a is supported by the support surface S2 of the display mounting unit 141. The display module 113a may be fixed to the display mounting unit 141 by the locking unit 170 described below.
The window 142 is attached to the window attachment surface S1 to cover the display module 113a. The window 142 includes a light transmissive region 143 so that the output information of the display unit 151 can be seen, and the light transmissive region 143 has an area corresponding to the output area of the display module 113a. The remaining portion except for the light transmissive region 143 is opaque so that the outer region of the display module 151a is not visible from the outside.
An audio output hole 144 for outputting sound and a mounting hole 146 for mounting the second manipulation unit 116 may be formed in the opaque area of the window 142.
As such, the present invention implements the first body 110 on which the display module 113a is mounted as a single casing 111, and the display module 115a is assembled at the front of the casing 111. Such a structure can minimize the bezel portion of the casing 111, that is, the width W of the edge portion of the outer edge of the display module 113a.
According to the structure of a general terminal, the casing on which the display module is mounted is formed by the front casing and the rear casing, like the second body 120. According to this structure, the display module 113a is assembled at the back of the front casing, and the rear casing is fastened to the front casing. The front casing and the rear casing are fastened by fastening structures such as bolts, and fastening holes for fastening the bolts are generally formed at edge portions of the front casing (particularly, left and right portions of the display module). Accordingly, the edge portion of the front casing in which the fastening holes are formed should have a width greater than or equal to a certain width to secure rigidity.
According to the present invention, since the first body 110 is implemented as a single casing 111, the fastening structure as described above is not required, and thus the width W of the bezel portion of the casing 111 can be minimized. As the width W of the bezel portion is reduced, the screen of the display unit 151 may be enlarged, and the size of the terminal may be reduced.
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the first body along the IV-IV line of FIG. 3, and FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the first body along the V-V line of FIG.
4 and 5, the casing 111 may include a support member 150 and an outer member 160.
The support member 150 forms the display unit mounting portion 141 described above. Support member 150 is formed of a metal material to ensure the rigidity of the casing 111, in particular the rigidity of the bezel portion. Support member 150 will be preferably formed of stainless steel (STS) excellent in rigidity.
The support member 150 may include a plate portion 151 and a bezel portion 152.
The plate portion 151 is formed flat to form the support surface S2. The bezel part 152 is bent around the plate part 151 and defines the side surface of the display module 113a. In other words, the bezel part 152 forms an edge portion of the casing 111, that is, an outer region of the display module 113a arrangement space.
The outer member 160 is formed at the outer side of the support member 150 and forms the appearance of the casing 111. That is, the outer member 160 forms an area exposed to the outside of the first body. The outer member 160 may be formed of a synthetic resin or a metal material.
When the outer member 160 is formed of a synthetic resin material, the outer member 160 may be integrally formed with the support member 150 by insert injection molding. In this case, the support member 150 and the outer member 160 may be formed. ) Implements the casing 111 without a separate fastening structure or attachment structure.
Since the support member 150 has a metal material, sufficient rigidity can be secured even if the thickness of the plate portion 151 is reduced and the width of the bezel portion 152 is reduced. Therefore, the width of the bezel portion of the casing 111 can be secured. (W) can be further reduced, and the thickness of the casing 111 can also be reduced.
6 is a view showing a manufacturing process of the casing.
The support member 150 is formed by pressing a region corresponding to the display mounting portion 141 of the metal plate. Accordingly, the shapes of the plate part 151 and the bezel part 152 are implemented.
The sound output hole 153 and the key mounting hole 154 and the like are formed in the upper and lower portions of the support member 150 by punching or cutting.
Then, the outer member 160 is formed on the outer side of the supporting member 150 by insert injection molding which inserts the supporting member 150 into the injection mold. A liquid synthetic resin is injected into the injection mold to form the outer member 160.
According to the insert injection, the metal support member 150 is fusion-bonded with the outer member 160 of the synthetic resin material. Accordingly, the support member 150 and the outer member 160 having different materials form an integrated structure in which the bonding force is strengthened, and the overall thickness of the casing 111 can be minimized.
4 and 5, the fixing plate 133a of the slide module 133 is fixed to the rear surface of the plate unit 151. The fixing plate 133a may be fixed to the plate portion 151 by a fastening structure such as a bolt.
The inner side surface of the bezel portion 152 surrounds the side surface of the display module 113a, and the outer side surface of the bezel portion 152 is covered by the outer member 160.
An end portion of the bezel part 152 is bent to form a part of the window attachment surface S1, and the rest of the bezel part 152 is covered by the outer member 160. That is, the outer member 160 defines the window attachment surface S1. The window 142 may be attached to the window attaching surface S1 by an adhesive film 148 or an adhesive.
However, the outer member 160 may be implemented to cover the entire end of the bezel part 152, and in this form, the outer member 160 may form a window attachment surface S1 (see FIG. 3). .
The speaker module 144a and the dome switch 165 are disposed behind the support member 150. The speaker module 144a and the dome switch 165 are positioned above and below the support member 150, respectively. In other words, the speaker module 144a is located behind the sound output hole 153 of the support member 150, and the dome switch 165 is located behind the key mounting hole 154 of the support member 150. The speaker module 144a and the dome switch 165 may be mounted on the printed circuit boards 163 and 164, respectively, and they are positioned on substantially the same plane as the display mounting portion 141.
Covers 161 and 162 covering the printed circuit boards 163 and 164 are coupled to the rear of the support member 150. The covers 161 and 162 may be coupled to the support member 150 by a fastening structure such as a bolt. Since the fastening structures of the covers 161 and 162 and the support member 150 are positioned above and below the support member 150, the widths W of the left and right bezel portions of the display unit 151 are not affected.
7 is a cross-sectional view of the first body showing the locking structure of the display module and the support member.
As illustrated in FIG. 7, a locking unit 170 may be additionally provided between the display module 113a and the support member 150 to lock the display module 113a to the support member 150. In detail, the locking unit 170 may be provided between the inner wall of the bezel part 152 and the side surface of the display module 113a.
The locking unit 170 may include a locking hole 171 formed at a side surface of the display module 113a and a locking hook 172 or locking protrusion formed on an inner wall of the bezel part 152. When the display module 113 is mounted on the display mounting unit 141, the locking hook 172 is caught by the locking hole 171. Here, the hook hook 172 may have a bent shape after a portion of the bezel part 152 of the metal is cut.
The structure of the locking unit 170 is not limited to the structure disclosed in the present embodiment, and may be variously modified as a structure that can be coupled to each other.
Although the concept of the present invention has been described based on the application of the slider of the slide type terminal, the present invention is not limited thereto, and may be applied to all of the casing structures in which the display module is mounted.
8 is a block diagram of a mobile terminal according to the present invention.
Referring to FIG. 8, a mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention may include a wireless communication module 191, an operation unit 116, 123, 124, an image input unit 115, 128, an audio input unit 125, a display unit 113, and an audio output unit. It includes the 114 and 131, the sensing unit 196, the interface 126, the broadcast receiving module 195, the memory 194, the power supply unit 127, and the controller 190.
The controller 190 typically controls the overall operation of the mobile terminal. For example, perform related control and processing for voice calls, data communications, video calls, and the like.
The wireless communication module 191 transmits / receives a radio signal with a mobile communication base station through an antenna. For example, under the control of the controller 190, the transmitter 192 is responsible for transmitting and receiving voice data, text data, video data, and control data, and modulates and transmits a signal to be transmitted, and a receiver for demodulating the received signal. 193).
The operation units 116, 123, and 124 are configured as shown in FIG. 1 to provide the controller 190 with key input data input by the user for controlling the operation of the terminal. The operation units 116, 123, and 124 include a dome switch, a touch pad (static pressure / capacitance), a jog wheel, a jog switch, and the like.
The image input units 115 and 128 process image frames such as still images or moving images obtained by an image sensor in a video call mode or a photographing mode. The processed image frame is converted into image data displayable on the display unit 113 and output to the display unit 113.
The image frames processed by the image input units 115 and 128 may be stored in the memory 194 or transmitted to the outside through the wireless communication module 191 under the control of the controller 190.
The sound input unit 125 receives an external sound signal by a microphone in a call mode, a recording mode, a voice recognition mode, etc., and processes the external sound signal into electrical voice data. In the case of the call mode, the processed voice data is converted into a form transmittable to the mobile communication base station through the wireless communication module 191 and output to the wireless communication module. In the recording mode, the processed voice data is output to be stored in the memory 194.
The sound input unit 125 may implement various noise removing algorithms for removing noise generated in the process of receiving an external sound signal.
The display 113 displays and outputs information processed by the portable terminal. For example, when the mobile terminal is in a call mode, the control unit 190 displays and outputs a user interface (UI) or a graphic user interface (GUI) related to the call. When the mobile terminal is in a video call mode or a photographing mode, the mobile terminal displays and outputs the captured image, UI, or GUI under the control of the controller 190. When the display unit 113 includes a touch screen, the display unit 113 is used as an input device in addition to the output device.
The sound output units 114 and 131 are provided to the sound data or the memory 194 received from the wireless communication module 191 under the control of the controller 190 in a call signal reception, a call mode or a recording mode, a voice recognition mode, and a broadcast reception mode. The stored sound data is converted and output to the outside.
In addition, the sound output units 114 and 131 output sound signals related to a function (for example, a call signal reception sound and a message reception sound) performed in the portable terminal. The sound output units 114 and 131 may include a speaker, a receiver, a buzzer, and the like.
The sensing unit 196 generates a sensing signal for controlling the operation of the portable terminal by detecting the current state of the portable terminal such as the open / closed state of the portable terminal, the position of the portable terminal, the presence or absence of a user contact. For example, when the portable terminal is in the form of a slide phone, whether the slide phone is opened or closed is sensed and the sensing result is output to the controller 190 to control the operation of the terminal. In addition, it is responsible for sensing functions related to whether the power supply unit 127 is supplied with power, whether the interface 126 is coupled to an external device, and the like.
The interface 126 may be connected to a mobile terminal using a wired / wireless headset, an external charger, a wired / wireless data port, a card socket (eg, a memory card, a SIM / UIM card), or the like. It serves as an interface with the device. The interface 126 receives data from an external device or receives power and transfers the data to each component inside the mobile terminal or transmits data within the mobile terminal to the external device.
The memory 194 may store a program for processing and controlling the controller 190 and may provide a function for temporarily storing input / output data (for example, a phone book, a message, a still image, a video, etc.). It can also be done.
The memory 194 also stores a program for controlling the operation of the portable terminal according to the present invention.
This memory 194 includes generally known concepts such as hard disks, card type memory (eg SD or XD memory, etc.), flash memory, RAM, ROM, and the like.
The broadcast receiving module 195 receives a broadcast signal transmitted through a satellite or a terrestrial wave, converts the broadcast signal into a broadcast data format that can be output to the sound output units 114 and 131 and the display unit 113, and outputs the broadcast signal to the controller 190. In addition, the broadcast receiving module 195 receives additional data related to the broadcast (for example, an EPG (electric program guide), a channel list, etc.). The broadcast data and additional data converted by the broadcast receiving module 195 may be stored in the memory 194.
The power supply unit 127 receives an external power source and an internal power source under the control of the controller 190 to supply power required for the operation of each component.
The portable terminal is not limited to the configuration and method of the embodiments described above, but the embodiments may be configured by selectively combining all or some of the embodiments so that various modifications can be made.
