KR20120002072A - Key pad apparatus of mobile phone - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A detachable keypad apparatus of a portable terminal is provided to minimize the occurrence of typographical by connecting a data port with a portable terminal. CONSTITUTION: A main body(2) includes a connection unit which is connected with the data port of a portable terminal. A keypad unit(3) is included at the upper side or the bottom side of the main body. The key pad unit is regularly arranged at plural input buttons. A mouse unit(4) is arranged at the one side of the key pad unit. The mouse unit includes a mouse ball and click buttons.

Description

KEY PAD APPARATUS OF MOBILE PHONE}

The present invention relates to a long, removable keypad device, more specifically, can be easily carried while carrying a portable terminal can be connected to a portable terminal if necessary, and equipped with a variety of multimedia functions to meet the user's preferences It relates to a terminal of the terminal, removable keypad device.

Recently, due to the development of information and communication, various portable terminals using a wireless communication network, for example, portable terminals including mobile phones have been released. It is spreading rapidly. In addition, wireless Internet services are provided through a portable terminal, and text messages and electronic mails, etc., are also shared through the portable terminal.

Here, the portable terminal has no problem in receiving data due to the constraint of maintaining a slimmer appearance due to its characteristics, but has a problem that is difficult to transmit sufficient text information to the counterpart. That is, since the portable terminal has a small size that can be held by hand, the character input unit provided in the portable terminal can also input basic contents (numbers, Korean characters, vowels and English characters) with a minimum size or quantity of keypads. Alphabet, etc.), it is possible to input only very simple sentences and characters, so that the range of information content to be conveyed is very narrow and the input method is also difficult to use, such as having to repeatedly press a keyboard. There is a problem such as occurrence of deprivation. This problem also occurs in a portable terminal having an extended keypad unit coupled to the terminal body in a flip or slide type, as well as a separate keypad unit in a slide or hinge manner. Thus, the keypad unit is coupled to the terminal body in a slide or hinge manner. In this case, the size of the keypad, that is, the size of the keyboard can be enlarged, but the volume of the terminal itself increases, which causes inconvenience in carrying. In addition, the portable terminal having an expandable keypad part is provided with a mouse ball and a click button to move the cursor separately from the keypad part, and thus has a considerable difficulty for a user to manipulate it.

Recently, a portable terminal having a touch screen that provides quick access between applications and data or between applications and applications without a navigation of a menu layer has been proposed. As described above, the portable terminal having the touch screen is provided with a text input unit in the form of a light transmissive touch pad.

However, a portable terminal having a touch screen is difficult to use, such as having to repeatedly press a keyboard, such as a character input unit in the form of a touch pad, and the touch of the keyboard is not properly made. The problem still exists.

Therefore, the existing portable terminal has a very limited search and information sharing and provision of information required by the user. For active use of the wireless Internet service using the portable terminal, a portable keyboard capable of quickly and accurately inputting a message may be used. The appearance is inevitable.

Accordingly, the present invention was made to solve the general problems of the existing portable terminal,

The problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a portable, removable keypad device of a portable terminal that can be easily carried while carrying, if necessary, to connect to the portable terminal and input the desired characters.

Another problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a long-term, removable keypad device of a portable terminal that can be equipped with a variety of multimedia functions to meet the user's preferences.

As a specific means of the present invention for solving the above problems;

A main body having a connection portion for circuitally connecting the data port of the portable terminal;

A keypad unit provided on any one of an upper surface and a lower surface of the main body and having a plurality of input buttons arranged in a predetermined rule; And

A mouse unit provided at one side of the keypad unit and configured of click buttons and a mouse ball; Equipped with a long, removable keypad device of a portable terminal comprising a.

In a preferred embodiment, the connection portion may be configured as a connector coupled to the data port of the portable terminal.

According to a preferred embodiment, the keypad unit may include a screen magnification button and a screen reduction button for performing a screen magnification and screen reduction function of the portable terminal.

In a preferred embodiment, the main body may include a wireless communication unit, a sensing unit, an output unit, a memory unit, an interface unit, a control unit, and a power supply unit.

According to a preferred embodiment, the wireless communication unit may include a broadcast receiving module, a wireless internet module, a short range communication module, and a location information module.

In a preferred embodiment, the output unit may be composed of a display and a sound output module.

In a preferred embodiment, the interface unit is provided on the side of the main body, wired / wireless headset port, wired / wireless data port, memory card port, audio I / O (Input / Output) port, video I / It can be configured to include O (Input / Output) port and earphone port.

In a preferred embodiment, the power supply unit may include a battery cell embedded in the main body to supply power to a battery of the portable terminal, and an external charger port provided in the interface unit to supply external power to the battery cell. have.

As described above, the long-term, removable keypad device of the portable terminal according to the present invention is to give a sufficient width to the keypad portion provided in the main body so that the user can easily enter characters, etc., the main body is easy to carry and portable By connecting to the data port of the terminal to input the desired character, it is possible to facilitate the user's convenience, there is an advantage that can minimize the occurrence of errors, omissions. In addition, in the present invention, a wireless communication unit, sensing unit, output unit, memory unit, interface unit, control unit, and power supply unit may be provided in the main body to perform various multimedia functions and charge a battery of the portable terminal. It can perform a function to satisfy the user's preferences.

1 is a perspective view for explaining a long, removable keypad device of a portable terminal according to the present invention.
2 is a block diagram of a removable keypad device of a portable terminal according to the present invention.
3 is a block diagram for explaining a power supply unit in a removable keypad device of a portable terminal according to the present invention.
Figure 4a is a perspective view showing a state in which the keypad device of the present invention is connected to the bottom of the mobile phone terminal which is an example of a portable terminal.
Figure 4b is a perspective view showing a state in which the keypad device of the present invention is connected to the bottom of the mobile phone terminal which is an example of a portable terminal.
Figure 5a is a perspective view showing a state in which the keypad device of the present invention is connected to the side of the mobile phone terminal which is an example of a portable terminal.
Figure 5b is a perspective view showing a state in which the keypad device of the present invention is connected to the side of the mobile phone terminal which is an example of a portable terminal.

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

1 and 2, the keypad device 1 according to the present invention includes a main body 2 having a connecting portion 23, a keypad portion 3 and a mouse portion 4 included in the main body 2. It is configured to include.

Preferably, the main body 2 has the same width as the portable terminal or a smaller area than the portable terminal. The main body 2 includes a case (casing, housing, cover, etc.) forming an appearance, preferably the front case.

21 and the rear case 22 may be divided. Various electronic components are built in the space formed between the front case 21 and the rear case 22. At least one intermediate case may be further disposed between the front case 21 and the rear case 22. The cases may be formed by injecting synthetic resin or may be formed of a metal material, for example, a metal material such as stainless steel (STS) or titanium (Ti).

Here, the front case 21 is provided with the keypad portion 3 and the mouse portion 4, and the front case 3 and the rear case 4 is coupled to the outside of the main body 2 is configured Is provided with a connecting portion 21, the main body 2 has a wireless communication unit 7, a sensing unit 8, an output unit 6, a memory unit 9, an interface unit 5, The control unit 10 and the power supply unit 11 are further provided.

The connecting portion 23 is composed of a connector (male connector) coupled to the data port of the portable terminal to be described later.

The keypad part 3 is provided on any one of the upper surface or the lower surface of the main body 2 (that is, either the front case or the rear case), and preferably the upper surface (front case). The keypad portion 3 occupies most of the upper surface of the main body 2, and a plurality of input buttons 31 are arranged in a predetermined rule. The input form of the input button 31 may be applied to a general computer keyboard form or an arrangement adopted by each communication company, and includes a key pad dome switch and a touch pad (static pressure / capacitance). And the like. In particular, in the present invention, the screen enlargement / reduction button is provided on the keypad 3 so as to enlarge / reduce the screen of the connected portable terminal as necessary. According to this configuration, the keypad portion 3 is provided in the area occupying most of the upper surface of the main body 2 can ensure a sufficient size and spacing of the input button 31 can be conveniently used by the user It is.

The mouse part 4 is provided on one side of the keypad part 3, preferably on the keypad part 3. The mouse portion 4 comprises click buttons 41, that is, click buttons 41 composed of an execution button provided on the left side and a menu button provided on the right side, and a mouse provided between the click buttons 41. Ball 42, the mouse ball 42 for controlling the movement of the cursor. According to such a configuration, the mouse unit 4 is provided in the main body 2 integrally with the keypad unit 3 so as to move a cursor or click a menu button or an execution button on a connected portable terminal screen. This can be conveniently done by the user.

On the other hand, the interface part 5 is arrange | positioned at the side surface of the said main body 2, for example, the front case which comprises a main body, and the output part 6 is arrange | positioned at the rear case which comprises the main body 2, for example. In addition, the main body 2 is provided with a wireless communication unit 7, a sensing unit 8, a memory unit 9, a control unit 10, and a power supply unit 11.

The interface unit 5 serves as a passage with all external devices connected to the keypad device 1 of the present invention. The interface unit 5 receives power from the power supply unit 11 to transmit data inside the keypad device 1 to an external device, receives data from an external device, or receives power from the keypad device 1. It performs the function of transmitting to each internal component. For example, wired / wireless headset port, external charger

Port (used in conjunction with the power supply described below), wired / wireless data port, memory card port, audio I / O (Input / Output) port, video I / O (Input / Output) port, earphone Ports and the like may be included in the interface unit 5.

The output unit 6 performs a function of generating an output related to sight or hearing, and is composed of a display 61 and a sound output module 62. The display 61 includes a liquid crystal display, a thin film transistor-liquid crystal display, an organic light-emitting diode, a flexible display, and a three-dimensional display (3D). display). The sound output module 62 outputs audio data received from the wireless communication unit 7 or stored in the memory unit 9, and may include a receiver, a speaker, a buzzer, and the like. .

Meanwhile, the wireless communication unit 7 embedded in the main body 2 includes a keypad device 1 and a portable terminal or a keypad device 1 and a wireless communication system or a network in which the keypad device 1 and the keypad device 1 are located. It may include one or more modules that enable wireless communication therebetween. For example, the wireless communication unit 7 may include a broadcast receiving module 71, a wireless internet module 72, a short range communication module 73, a location information module 74, and the like.

Here, the broadcast receiving module 71 receives a broadcast signal and / or broadcast related information from an external broadcast management server through a broadcast channel. In this case, the broadcast channel may include a satellite channel and a terrestrial channel. The broadcast management server may mean a server that generates and transmits a broadcast signal and / or broadcast related information or a server that receives a previously generated broadcast signal and / or broadcast related information and transmits the same to a terminal. The broadcast signal may include not only a TV broadcast signal, a radio broadcast signal, and a data broadcast signal, but also a broadcast signal having a data broadcast signal combined with a TV broadcast signal or a radio broadcast signal. The broadcast related information may mean information related to a broadcast channel, a broadcast program, or a broadcast service provider. The broadcast related information may exist in various forms. For example, it may exist in the form of Electronic Program Guide (EPG) of Digital Multimedia Broadcasting (DMB) or Electronic Service Guide (ESG) of Digital Video Broadcast-Handheld (DVB-H). The broadcast receiving module receives a broadcast signal using various broadcasting systems, such as Digital Multimedia Broadcasting-Terrestrial (DMB-T), Digital Multimedia Broadcasting-Satellite (DMB-S), MediaForward Link Only (MediaFLO), and DVB-H ( Digital broadcast signals may be received using digital broadcast systems such as Digital Video Broadcast-Handheld (ISDB-T) and Integrated Services Digital Broadcast-Terrestrial (ISDB-T). Of course, the broadcast receiving module 71 may be configured to be suitable for not only the above-described digital broadcast system but also other broadcast systems for providing broadcast signals.

The wireless internet module 72 refers to a module for wireless internet access. The wireless internet module 72 may be embedded or external to the keypad device 1. Wireless Internet technologies include Wireless LAN (Wi-Fi), Wibro (Wireless)

broadband), world interoperability for microwave access (Wimax), high speed downlink packet access (HSDPA), and the like may be used.

The short range communication module 73 refers to a module for short range communication. As a short range communication technology, Bluetooth, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), Infrared Data Association (IrDA), UltraWideband (UWB), and ZigBee may be used.

The location information module 74 is a module for checking or obtaining the location of the mobile terminal. A representative example of the location information module is a GPS (Global Position System) module. According to the current technology, the GPS module 115 calculates information about a distance of one point (object) away from three or more satellites, and information on a time at which the distance information is measured, and then calculates the calculated distance information. By applying the trigonometric method to, three-dimensional position information according to latitude, longitude, and altitude of one point (object) in one time can be calculated. Furthermore, a method of calculating position and time information using three satellites and correcting the error of the calculated position and time information using another satellite is also used.

Meanwhile, the sensing unit provides a sensing function related to the connection state of the keypad device 1 and the portable terminal, that is, whether the external unit is coupled to the interface unit 5 when the portable terminal is electrically connected to the portable terminal or other devices are connected. It is responsible for generating a sensing signal for controlling the operation of the keypad device (1).

The memory unit 9 may store a program for the operation of the controller 10, and may temporarily store input / output data. The memory unit 9 may include a flash memory type, a hard disk type, a multimedia card micro type, a card type memory (for example, SD or XD memory, etc.). ), Random Access Memory (RAM), Static Random Access Memory (SRAM), Read-Only Memory (ROM), Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM), Programmable Read-Only Memory (PROM) It may include a storage medium of at least one type of a magnetic disk, an optical disk.

The control unit 10 controls the overall operation of the keypad device (1). For example, related control and processing are performed for the operation of the keypad portion 3 and the mouse portion 4. In addition, the control unit 10 is provided with a multimedia module 101 for playing multimedia such as audio data (sound source files (MP3)) or video files stored in the memory unit in the form of a file.

The power supply unit 11 receives an internal power source or an external power source under the control of the control unit 10 to supply power for operation of each component. In addition, the power supply unit 11 performs a function of charging the battery of the portable terminal. Referring to Figure 3, in the present invention in order to implement this in the configuration of the power supply 11, the front cover and the rear case of the main body consisting of the rear case, for example, the opening cover on the side opposite to the position of the interface unit (in the drawing And a space in which the battery cell 111 can be mounted in the interior (inside of the main body) of the opening cover, which is a battery cell capable of charging and discharging. (111), the overall process of supplying the power of the battery cell 111 to the portable terminal is controlled by the controller (10). At this time, in order to supply the power of the keypad device power supply unit 11 of the present invention to the battery of the portable terminal, it is preferable to generate a signal to determine the power supply by setting any one of the input buttons of the keypad unit (3). Do. In addition, the power supply unit 11 includes an external charger port 112 provided in the interface unit 5, which has a structure that is electrically connected to the battery cell 111. The external charger port 112 is preferably composed of a USB input terminal that is connected to the USB terminal of the computer by a cable to receive power or transmit data. According to such a configuration, the power supply unit 11 performs a function of supplying power for driving each component of the keypad device 1 together with a function of selectively charging a battery of a portable terminal connected by a connection unit. The battery cell 111 of the power supply unit 11 is connected to an external power source through the external charger port 112 and recharged.

Various embodiments described herein may be implemented 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 include application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), digital signal processing devices (DSPDs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), and the like. It may be implemented using at least one of processors, controllers, micro-controllers, microprocessors, and electrical units for performing the functions. It may be implemented by the controller 10.

In a software implementation, embodiments such as procedures or functions may be implemented with separate software modules that allow at least one function or operation to be performed. The software code may be implemented by a software application written in a suitable programming language. In addition, the software code may be stored in the memory unit 9 and executed by the controller 180.

Therefore, the operation state of the keypad device of the present invention having the configuration as described above will be described.

The keypad device 1 of the present invention can be used for the accumulation of data through a memory unit or a remote media function such as playing a sound source file or playing a video file while the user normally carries it, and connects to the portable terminal if necessary. You can enter the character you want.

4A and 4B, the keypad device 1 of the present invention uses the connector 231 of the connection unit 23 as a data port 20a of the mobile phone terminal 20, which is an example of a portable terminal, for example, an input / output connector I. / O Connector) is used to connect to the data port 20a of the portable terminal 20. Such a data port 20a may have a different configuration position according to a mobile phone terminal. In the case of the mobile phone terminal 20 of FIGS. 3A and 3B, a state provided in the lower portion is illustrated.

In this case, the sensing unit 8 senses a connection state, and the control unit 10 controls and performs an input signal generated from the keypad unit 3. The keypad unit 1 of the present invention includes a keypad unit 3. ) Is provided in an area occupying most of the upper surface (or lower surface) of the main body 2, so that the input button 31 can secure a sufficient size, as well as a sufficient space between the input buttons 31. There is an advantage that can be used conveniently by the user. Accordingly, the user can input a desired character into the portable terminal through the keypad unit 3 of the keypad device 1 of the present invention in a state of minimizing the occurrence of false or missing persons. In addition, by using a function assigned to the input button 31, for example, a screen enlargement and screen reduction function, the screen of the current mobile phone terminal can be enlarged or reduced.

In addition, the keypad device 1 of the present invention is provided with a mouse portion 4 integrally with the keypad portion 3 on the main body 2, so that the mouse portion 4 at the same time as the character input through the keypad portion 3; Mouse ball 42 and click button 41 of the screen movement and execution signal generation can be conveniently performed in real time.

In addition, the keypad device 1 of the present invention can charge the necessary power to the battery of the mobile phone terminal 20 connected by using the above-described power supply 11, can be used for a long time regardless of the battery capacity of the portable terminal There are advantages to it.

In addition, the keypad device of the present invention may be connected to various devices through an interface unit to store data or execute stored data. In other words, the keypad device may store data in the memory unit 9 while the interface unit 5 is connected to an external device, and thus executes the data stored in the memory unit 9, for example, executes a sound source file to play music. Listen to, and can execute the video file, such as watching the video implemented through the display 61, can perform a variety of functions in addition to the functions of the keypad unit 3 and the mouse unit (4) will be.

5A and 5B, the keypad device of the present invention includes a data port 20a of a portable terminal 20, for example, a data port 20a of a portable terminal such as an I / O connector located at a side portion thereof. In the state, the coupling state with the mobile phone terminal 20 through the connection 23 is shown. At this time, when the keypad device 1 of the present invention is connected to the data port 20a located at the side of the mobile phone terminal 20, although not shown in the drawing, the size of the main body 2 can be enlarged to a size corresponding to the mobile phone terminal. Can be. According to this configuration, as the keypad device 1 of the present invention is given a size corresponding to the mobile phone terminal 20, the width of the configuration of the keypad unit 3, the size of the input button 31 and the width between the input buttons accordingly. The user can easily secure the input, and there is an advantage of minimizing the occurrence of false and deprived.

On the other hand, the above-described embodiments are only given specific examples to enable those skilled in the art to easily understand and implement the present invention, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. Therefore, it should be noted that various modifications or changes can be made to the above-described embodiments. The scope of the invention is defined in principle by the claims that follow.

1: Keypad Device 2: Main Body
3: keypad portion 4: mouse portion
5 interface 6 output unit
7: wireless communication unit 8: sensing unit
9 memory unit 10 control unit
11: power supply unit 20: portable terminal (mobile phone terminal)
21: Front Case 22: Rear Case
23 connection part 231 connector
31: input button 41: click button
42: mouse ball 61: display
62: sound output module 71: broadcast receiving module
72: wireless internet module 73: short-range communication module
74: location information module 101: multimedia module
111: battery cell 112: external charger port

Claims (8)

A main body having a connection portion for circuitally connecting the data port of the portable terminal;
A keypad unit provided on any one of an upper surface and a lower surface of the main body and having a plurality of input buttons arranged in a predetermined rule; And
A mouse unit provided at one side of the keypad unit and configured of click buttons and a mouse ball; Long, removable keypad device of a portable terminal comprising a.
The method of claim 1,
The connection part of the portable terminal, removable keypad device characterized in that consisting of a connector coupled to the data port of the portable terminal.
The method of claim 1,
The keypad unit is a long, removable keypad device of a portable terminal, characterized in that the screen enlargement button and the screen reduction button to perform the screen enlargement and screen reduction function of the portable terminal.
The method of claim 1,
The main body includes a wireless communication unit, a sensing unit, an output unit, a memory unit, an interface unit, a control unit, and a power supply unit.
The method of claim 4, wherein
The wireless communication unit of the portable terminal, removable keypad device comprising a broadcast receiving module, a wireless internet module, a short-range communication module and a location information module.
The method of claim 4, wherein
The output unit is a long-term, removable keypad device of a portable terminal, characterized in that consisting of a display and a sound output module.
The method of claim 4, wherein
The interface unit is provided on the side of the main body, wired / wireless headset port, wired / wireless data port, memory card port, audio I / O (Input / Output) port, video I / O (Input / Output) ) Port, removable keypad device of a portable terminal, characterized in that comprises a port, earphone port.
The method of claim 4, wherein
The power supply unit includes a battery cell built in the main body to supply power to the battery of the portable terminal, and an external charger port provided in the interface unit for supplying external power to the battery cell. Cabinet, removable keypad.

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