KR20120029447A - Input system for a handheld electronic device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: An input system for a portable terminal is provided to easily input a character by taking notes in a wide character input unit without using an additional device. CONSTITUTION: Ultrasonic sensors(4,5) detect input of a user. An ultrasonic receiving circuit receives a signal which is sensed from the ultrasonic sensor and converts the signal into a digital sensor. A controller calculates an input coordinate through the signal. A memory stores a coordinate value which is calculated from the controller. A receiving infrared sensor(3) is connected to the controller. A touch input unit is located on the surface of a display unit. A pen(1) includes an infrared sensor and a pressure sensor for measuring pressure of the pen.

Description

Input system for a mobile terminal {Input system for a handheld electronic device}

The present invention relates to an input system for a portable terminal. More specifically, the mobile terminal not only can input information by touching the touch input unit on the display unit of the portable terminal, but also can input characters by writing using a finger or a pen to a character input unit located outside the portable terminal. It is related to a dragon input system.

Touch screen is a new input method that can replace an input method such as a mouse or a keyboard, and a new input method that can directly input information on the screen using a hand or a pen. The touch screen is evaluated as the most ideal input method under the GUI (Graphical User Interface) environment because the user can directly perform a desired task while watching the screen, and anyone can easily operate it.The terminal of a mobile phone, PDA, bank or government office It is widely used in various fields, such as medical equipment and tourist information display devices.

Such a touch screen may input characters by directly writing using a finger or a pen on the touch screen. When the size of the touch screen is large, there is no inconvenience in such an input method, but a mobile terminal such as a mobile phone or a PDA having a very small touch screen has a problem in that text input is very inconvenient.

In order to solve this problem, Korean Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2002-0073028 calculates the distance of a transmitting device that generates sound waves according to the arrival time of a sound wave to a receiver, and tracks the positional movement of the transmitting device through the information. Disclosed is an input device using position recognition of a pen that enables transmission, storage and editing.

Referring to FIG. 1, the related art is constructed by using a pen 1, a panel 2, an IR sensor 3, an ultrasonic sensor 4 and 5, a control panel 6, a display device 7, and the like. . The pen 1 includes an ultrasonic signal generating means, an IR signal generating means, and the like. The panel 2 is made of paper, pads, wooden boards, or the like. The control panel 6 is composed of a function key and a spelling key containing a command required for an input device. When an ultrasonic signal is generated and the pen 1 is moved on the panel 2, the coordinates are tracked to execute a corresponding command or input. Ultrasonic sensors 4 and 5 detect ultrasonic signals sent from the pen 1, IR sensors 3 detect IR signals, and the display device 7 displays the current system status and the user's work. .

When the conventional invention is applied to and used in a portable terminal, there are the following problems. Since a separate component called a control panel is required, the portable terminal corresponding to the display device and the control panel must be connected by wire or wirelessly. In addition, a separate power supply is required for the control panel. In addition, the driver software for separately recognizing the information of the control panel may be embedded in the portable terminal and driven to display the input data of the control panel. However, existing image data displayed on the control panel cannot be displayed due to the slow processing speed. In addition, the data according to the change of the position of the pen is not directly input to the mobile terminal, but is generated after the image data is generated through the control panel and input to the mobile terminal. Can't. Therefore, when used simultaneously with the input means of the portable terminal may be inconvenient. To solve this problem, data before image generation should be transmitted to the mobile terminal at high speed, and drive and application software should be installed and driven. Therefore, there is a problem in that application and drive software and a high speed transmission device must be installed in a portable terminal.

The present invention is to solve the above problems, using a touch screen ultrasonic sensor of the portable terminal for a portable terminal capable of input by movement of the hand or pen in the character input unit located outside the portable terminal as well as the touch screen. It is an object to provide an input system.

According to the present invention, there is provided an input system for a portable terminal having a display unit for displaying an image, the portable terminal comprising: an ultrasonic sensor for detecting a user input; An ultrasonic receiver circuit for receiving the signal detected by the ultrasonic sensor and converting the signal into a digital signal; A controller for calculating input coordinates using the signal received by the ultrasonic receiving circuit; A memory for storing coordinate values calculated by the controller; And a touch input unit positioned on a surface of the display unit, and a character input unit positioned outside the portable terminal.

The input system for a portable terminal according to the present invention has the effect of easily inputting a character by writing in a wider text input unit than a touch input unit of a portable terminal without using an additional device.

1 is a block diagram of a conventional input system for a mobile terminal
2 is a block diagram of an input system for a portable terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention;
3 is a block diagram schematically illustrating an internal configuration of the mobile terminal illustrated in FIG. 2.
4 is a block diagram schematically showing the inside of the fan shown in FIG.
5 is a view for explaining a method of using the input system for a mobile terminal shown in FIG.
6 is a block diagram schematically showing an internal configuration of a portable terminal according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, It is provided to let you know. Like reference numerals in the drawings refer to like elements.

2 is a block diagram of an input system for a portable terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 3 is a block diagram schematically showing the internal configuration of the portable terminal shown in Figure 2, Figure 4 is shown in Figure 2 Is a block diagram schematically showing the inside of an integrated fan. Referring to FIG. 2, an input system for a portable terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a portable terminal 100 and a pen 200.

Referring to FIG. 3, the mobile terminal 100 receives a signal detected by the display unit 10 for displaying images and text, an ultrasonic sensor 20 for detecting a user input, and the ultrasonic sensor 20. Ultrasonic receiving circuit 30 for converting into a digital signal, the controller 40 for calculating the input coordinates using the signal received by the ultrasonic receiving circuit 30, the memory for storing the coordinate values calculated by the controller 40 And 50.

The display unit 10 is for outputting characters, pictures, videos, etc., and includes a liquid crystal display panel assembly having a liquid crystal display panel for displaying images and characters, a liquid crystal display panel driver for driving the same, and a liquid crystal display panel. And a backlight unit assembly having a backlight unit for supplying light and a backlight unit driver for driving the backlight unit.

The ultrasonic sensor 20 is for detecting a user's input and is provided on each side of the display unit 10. The ultrasonic sensor 20 transmits a pulse and measures the time until returning, and measures the distance of an object. In this invention, the object used as a measurement object is a pen or a finger, for example.

The portable terminal 100 is provided with an input button 60. The input button 60 is for determining whether to operate an impulse transmission circuit (not shown) according to whether the pen 200 is used. When the pen 200 is not used, an impulse transmission circuit connected to the ultrasonic sensor 20 is operated to alternately generate ultrasonic waves from the ultrasonic sensors 20 installed at both sides. The ultrasonic sensor 20 receives ultrasonic waves in which the generated ultrasonic waves are reflected from an object such as a finger and return. That is, each ultrasonic sensor 20 performs both transmission and reception. In the case of using the pen 200 having the ultrasonic transmitter, the impulse transmission circuit connected to the ultrasonic sensor 20 is not operated, and the ultrasonic sensor 20 only receives the ultrasonic wave transmitted from the pen 200. The infrared sensor 80 receives infrared rays including an input information signal generated from the infrared sensor 150 of the pen 200.

A feature of the present invention is that the region where the ultrasonic wave is emitted is not limited to the display unit 10 of the mobile terminal 100. In the present embodiment, the ultrasonic waves transmitted from the ultrasonic sensor 20 are radiated not only to the touch input unit 10 which is the display unit 10 of the portable terminal 100 but also to the character input unit 70 which is the lower region of the portable terminal. In general, the display portion 10 of the mobile terminal 100 has a narrow area. Since the resolution of the display unit 10 of the portable terminal 100 is high, it is easy to recognize a character, a figure, or the like displayed on the display unit 10 even if the area of the display unit 10 is narrow. However, writing by using a finger or a pen on the narrow display unit 10 is not easy. In the present invention, the touch input unit 10 is used for indicating a character or a specific area displayed on the display unit 10, and the character input unit 70 is used for inputting a character through writing.

The ultrasonic receiving circuit 30 is for converting an analog signal applied to the ultrasonic sensor 20 into a digital signal required by the controller 40, and converts an analog signal with respect to a user's input measured by the ultrasonic sensor 20 into a digital signal. Is converted to and applied to the controller 40.

The controller 40 is for calculating coordinates based on the digital signal applied from the ultrasonic receiving circuit 30.

The memory 50 stores coordinate values calculated by the controller 40. It is also for storing the data necessary when the controller 40 calculates the coordinates. In the memory 50, coordinate values corresponding to the digital signal changed by the ultrasonic receiving circuit 30 may be stored in a table in advance. The controller 40 may calculate the coordinate value by comparing the applied digital signal with the value stored in the table.

When the coordinate value is calculated by the controller 40, the coordinate value is transmitted to a driver that can move the mouse pointer displayed on the display unit 10, and the mouse pointer of the display unit 10 moves according to a user's input signal.

In addition, an infrared sensor 80 for receiving sensitivity data from the pen 200 and an infrared receiver circuit 90 for receiving a signal from the infrared sensor 80 are included. The signal received by the infrared receiver circuit 90 is transmitted to the controller 40. The controller 40 determines the reference time signal using the received sensitivity data.

Referring to FIG. 4, the pen 200 includes an ultrasonic sensor 110 positioned at the bottom of the pen 200, an impulse circuit 120, and a microcomputer 130 for generating ultrasonic waves at the ultrasonic sensor 110. . It also includes a battery 140 for supplying power. The microcomputer 130 transmits a signal to the impulse circuit 120 at a constant sample frequency, and the impulse circuit 120 applies an impulse signal to the ultrasonic sensor 110 to generate ultrasonic waves.

In the case of using the pen 200, ultrasonic waves are transmitted from the ultrasonic sensor 110 of the pen 200, and ultrasonic waves are received from the ultrasonic sensors 20 installed on the left and right sides of the mobile terminal 100 to receive a signal controller ( Controller 40 calculates the coordinates of pen 200.

In addition, the pen 200 includes an infrared sensor 150. Sensitivity data of the pen 200 is transmitted to the infrared sensor 80 of the mobile terminal 100 at the same sample frequency through the infrared sensor 150.

In addition, the pen 200 includes a pressure sensor 160 connected to the pen nib. The pressure sensor 160 senses the pressure transmitted to the pen nib. Data output from the pressure sensor 160 is transmitted to the mobile terminal 100 through the infrared sensor 150 of the pen 200. The thickness of the text input through writing can be adjusted according to the pressure transmitted to the pressure sensor 160, and it is also possible to determine whether the pen 200 is used.

The operation of the above-described input system for a mobile terminal will be described below. First, the case where the pen 200 is not used will be described. Ultrasonic pulses are transmitted from the first ultrasonic sensor 21 and the second ultrasonic sensor 22 of the portable terminal 100. The transmitted ultrasonic pulses reach the touch input unit 10 and the character input unit 70. When a user moves a finger on the touch input unit 10 or the character input unit 70, ultrasonic pulses are reflected by the finger and incident on the first and second ultrasonic sensors 21 and 22. The incident ultrasonic pulses are converted into electrical signals and applied to the ultrasonic receiving circuit 30. The ultrasonic receiving circuit 30 converts an applied electrical signal, that is, an analog signal, into a digital signal corresponding thereto and applies it to the controller 40. The controller 40 compares the applied digital signal with the coordinate values stored in the memory 50 to determine a coordinate value corresponding to the digital signal, and transmits the coordinate value to the driver. In response to the input coordinate value, the driver causes the display unit 10 to perform an operation such as movement of a mouse pointer in the same manner as a manipulation using an input tool such as a mouse.

When the pen 200 is used, ultrasonic pulses are transmitted from the ultrasonic sensor 110 installed in the pen 200, pulses are incident from the first and second ultrasonic sensors 21 and 22 of the mobile terminal 100, and the pen is penned. There is a difference in whether or not the pen is used in the pressure sensor 160 of 200 and the pressure information is transmitted to the portable terminal 100 through the infrared sensor 150.

Referring to FIG. 5, a method of utilizing the input system for a mobile terminal according to the present embodiment will be described in detail. After downloading the document form from the Internet or a computer to the portable terminal, the program is executed to display the document form on the display unit 10 of the portable terminal. In the document form displayed on the display unit 10, a blank area requiring character input is indicated using the pen 200. Next, the desired handwritten character is recorded in the character input unit 70 using the pen 200. At this time, the position coordinate which changes according to the movement of the pen 200 is stored in the memory 50. The stored positional coordinates are stored in the blank form of the document form in a handwritten form by the program being executed and displayed on the display unit 10.

If you want to edit the picture in the form of a cursive, the picture in the form of the handwritten, instructed by using the pen 200, and then recorded again in the character input unit 70 using the pen 200. If the user wants to convert the document into an easy-to-edit electronic document, an optical character reader (OCR) program capable of recognizing the handwriting is used to recognize and convert the picture in the handwritten form into a text. If the OCR program does not recognize 100% of the cursive handwriting, the input handwriting may be converted after inputting the unrecognized handwriting or inputted by selecting a desired character from the touch keyboard displayed on the display unit 10.

6 is a block diagram schematically illustrating an internal configuration of a portable terminal according to a second embodiment of the present invention. In the present embodiment, the contents overlapping with the above-described embodiment of the contents to be described later in the document will be omitted or briefly described.

Referring to FIG. 6, the second embodiment also includes a mobile terminal 300 and a pen 200 as in the above-described first embodiment. In addition, the portable terminal 300, like the first embodiment, displays a display 10 for displaying images and text, an ultrasonic sensor 20 for detecting a user input, and a signal detected by the ultrasonic sensor 20. Ultrasonic receiving circuit 30 for receiving and converting into a digital signal, the controller 40 for calculating the input coordinates using the signal received by the ultrasonic receiving circuit 30, and stores the coordinate values calculated by the controller 40 Memory 50 is included. This embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that it further includes a microphone 210 for recording voice, a codec 220, a vocoder 230 and a speaker 240 for voice output.

The microphone 210 serves to receive a voice signal. The voice signal input through the microphone 210 is applied to the codec 220, and the codec 220 pulses the voice signal into PCM and transmits the voice signal to digital voice data to the vocoder 230. The vocoder 230 compresses the digital voice data received from the codec 220 and sends it to the controller 40. The controller 40 stores the compressed digital voice data in the memory 50. In the case of outputting the compressed digital voice data, the compressed digital voice data stored in the memory 50 is sent to the vocoder 230 through the controller 40, and the vocoder 230 restores the compressed digital voice data. To the codec 220. The codec 220 receives the restored voice, converts the converted voice into an analog voice signal, and outputs the same through the speaker 240.

When the voice is recorded at the same time as the input of the text, the digital voice data of the recorded voice is stored in the memory 50 in association with the coordinate value data of the text when the text is input by the controller 40. Therefore, by displaying the handwritten input using a program executed in the terminal on the display unit 10 and instructing the handwritten display displayed on the display unit 10 using the pen 200, it is possible to reproduce the recorded voice at the moment of input of the handwritten object. It is possible.

The utilization method of the above-mentioned embodiment is demonstrated. As an example, a method of recording a voice at the same time as taking a note will be described.

First, a program capable of text recording and voice recording is executed. Next, by instructing the start button shown on the display unit 10, text recording and voice recording are started. Next, the desired handwritten character is recorded in the character input unit 70 using the pen 200. At this time, the position coordinate which changes according to the movement of the pen 200 is stored in the memory 50. At the same time, the voice is also stored in the memory 50 as digital voice data. The position coordinates stored in the memory 50 are displayed on the display unit 10 in the form of a cursive form by a running program so that the user can check the characters input by the user. When the text recording and the voice recording are completed, the end button of the display unit 10 is instructed to complete the text recording and the voice recording and generate a file including the text and the voice data.

If you want to check and edit the recorded text and recorded voice, run the program and open the pre-created file. There is a part that wants to check the voice while checking the recorded character, and selects the character and instructs the pen 200 to play the voice.

If there is a character that cannot be recorded while listening to the reproduced voice, the user selects a position to which the character is to be added and then records it again in the character input unit 70 using the pen 200. If there is an incorrectly recorded portion, it may be corrected by selecting the character and then writing it back to the character input unit 70 using the pen 200.

If the user wants to convert the document into an easy-to-edit form, an optical character reader (OCR) program capable of recognizing the handwriting is used to recognize and convert the picture in the handwritten form into a character.

The mobile terminal 100 according to the present invention can be utilized for teaching paper correction. The learner downloads the workbook directly from the Internet or through a computer, and then instructs the blank area in which the text input of the workbook is required using the pen 200. Next, the desired handwritten character is recorded in the character input unit 70 using the pen 200. At this time, the part to be asked may be asked through voice recording.

In the step of correcting instruction, the handwriting character and voice are recorded using the input system for the mobile terminal, and the learner creates an acute learning file and provides the learner with detailed descriptions of the parts that are difficult to record by voice to enhance the learner's understanding. . In addition, the additive learning file may be delivered to the learner using a storage means.

In addition, the mobile terminal 100 according to the present invention can be used in connection with a computer. After the drive and application software for the portable terminal 100 are installed in the computer, the portable terminal 100 is connected to the computer. In addition, the pen 200 may be used to write a desired handwritten character in the character input unit 70 to edit a document.

Although described above with reference to the drawings and embodiments, those skilled in the art can be variously modified and changed within the scope of the invention without departing from the spirit of the invention described in the claims below. I can understand.

For example, after executing a program capable of text recording and voice recording, the start button displayed on the display unit 10 is indicated to start text recording and voice recording, but the input button 170 installed in the pen 200 is described. It is also possible to start text recording and voice recording by pressing).

100: mobile terminal 200: pen
10: display unit 20: ultrasonic sensor
30: ultrasonic receiving circuit 40: controller
50: Memory 60: Enter Button
70: character input unit 80: infrared sensor
90: infrared receiver circuit 110: ultrasonic sensor
120: impulse circuit 130: micom
140: battery 150: infrared sensor
160: pressure sensor 170: input button
210: microphone 220: codec
230: Vocoder 240: Speaker

Claims (2)

An input system for a portable terminal provided with a display unit for displaying an image,
The portable terminal includes an ultrasonic sensor for detecting a user input; An ultrasonic receiver circuit for receiving the signal detected by the ultrasonic sensor and converting the signal into a digital signal; A controller for calculating input coordinates using the signal received by the ultrasonic receiving circuit; A memory for storing coordinate values calculated by the controller; A receiving infrared sensor connected with the controller; And a touch input unit located on the surface of the display unit.
A transmission ultrasonic sensor for transmitting ultrasonic waves to the ultrasonic sensor of the portable terminal; A transmission infrared sensor for transmitting infrared rays to the reception infrared sensor of the portable terminal; Pen nibs; And a pressure sensor capable of measuring the pressure applied to the pen nib, wherein the pressure information applied to the pen nib measured by the pressure sensor is periodically transmitted to the receiving infrared sensor of the portable terminal through the transmitting infrared sensor. Pen to pass by,
A character input unit located outside the portable terminal,
The controller processes the pressure information received by the receiving infrared sensor as a reference signal, and processes input coordinates by using the reference signal and a signal according to a user input from the display unit or text input unit converted by the ultrasonic receiving circuit. And checking the thickness of a character input by the pen and whether or not the pen is used through the pressure information. The method of claim 1,
The mobile terminal,
A microphone capable of inputting voice; A vocoder or codec which converts the input voice signal into a digital signal and sends the same to the controller; And a speaker for restoring and outputting the digital signal to a voice signal.
The controller stores a digital signal of a voice input to a microphone at the same time as a character is input to the character input unit in association with a coordinate value of the character in the memory.
And designating a character of the touch input unit of the portable terminal with the pen, a digital signal of a voice stored in the memory is reproduced through the speaker in association with a coordinate value of the character.

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