KR20130139592A - Mobile terminal - Google Patents

Abstract

A mobile terminal comprises: a case having a penetrating window on the front; window glass which is attached to the penetrating window, and includes a bezel unit made of opaque material blocking light and a transparent unit through which light penetrates; a thin liquid crystal module which covers the transparent unit by being attached to the back of the window glass, and through which light penetrates selectively by changing the arrangement of the liquid crystals depending on whether power is supplied; and a control unit which adjusts the transparency of the thin liquid crystals by applying or blocking power to the thin liquid crystal module. The mobile terminal can selectively open and close the transparent unit formed in the window bezel, thereby improving the unity of design on the front of the mobile terminal.

Description

[0001] MOBILE TERMINAL [0002]

The present invention relates to a mobile terminal that is selectively openable only when necessary for the transparent portion of the window bezel.

The terminal can move And can be divided into a mobile / portable terminal and a stationary terminal depending on whether the mobile terminal is a mobile terminal or a mobile terminal. The mobile terminal can be divided into a handheld terminal and a vehicle mount terminal according to whether the user can directly carry the mobile terminal.

Such a terminal has various functions, for example, in the form of a multimedia device having multiple functions such as photographing and photographing of a moving picture, reproduction of a music or video file, reception of a game and broadcasting, etc. .

In order to support and enhance the functionality of such terminals, it may be considered to improve the structural and / or software parts of the terminal.

In front of the mobile terminal, a button for a user input or a camera or an audio output module is disposed on the upper and lower portions of the display unit. Recently, the window bezel is composed of a glass and the opening is formed only in the part where the light must pass, and the other part is covered with an opaque material.

An object of the present invention is to provide a mobile terminal that can be selectively opened only when the transparent portion of the window bezel is required for the uniform design of the front surface.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory and are not restrictive of the invention, unless further departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. It will be possible.

The present invention for the above purposes, the case; A window glass coupled to the case and including a central display area, an opaque bezel portion covering the periphery of the display area, and a partially transparent portion formed on the bezel portion; A thin film liquid crystal module coupled to a rear surface of the transparent part and selectively transmitting light according to the arrangement of the liquid crystal; And a control unit for selectively or transparently adjusting the thin film liquid crystal by applying power to the thin film liquid crystal module or blocking the power supply.

The transparent unit is a user input unit for receiving a command when a user touches, and further comprises a light source for emitting light in a state capable of receiving a user's command on the back of the transparent unit, the control unit is to emit light from the light source The thin film liquid crystal module may be transparently controlled, and the thin film liquid crystal may be opaquely controlled unless light is emitted from the light source.

The thin film liquid crystal is opaque when power is applied, and transmits light when power is not applied. When the power is cut off from the light source, power is applied to the thin film liquid crystal module, and when power is applied to the light source, the thin film liquid crystal module is applied. Power applied to may be cut off.

The controller may apply power to the light source of the user input unit used for the specific operation when the mobile terminal performs a specific operation, and transparently control the liquid crystal.

The transparent part may further include a pattern layer partially transparent to at least one of a shape, letters, numbers, and symbols, or at least one of a shape, letters, numbers, and symbols on a rear surface of the thin film liquid crystal module.

The thin film liquid crystal module may further include a camera positioned on a rear surface of the transparent part, and when the camera is operated.

The thin film liquid crystal is opaque when power is applied, and is transparent when the power is cut off. The control unit applies power to the thin film liquid crystal when the camera is not operated, and when the camera is operated, the thin film liquid crystal is applied to the thin film liquid crystal. Power can be cut off.

The effect of the mobile terminal according to the present invention will be described below. According to at least one of the embodiments of the present invention, it is possible to selectively open and close the transparent portion formed on the window bezel can give a uniform sense of design on the front.

It is controlled to emit only when the light of the user input unit is necessary so that it does not disturb the viewing of the image output from the display unit.

Effects obtained in the present invention are not limited to the above-mentioned effects, and other effects not mentioned above may be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description. There will be.

1 is a block diagram of a mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a front perspective view of a mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is an exploded perspective view of a mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a user input unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.
5 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a camera module according to another embodiment of the present invention.
6 and 7 are views for explaining the principle of the thin film liquid crystal module used in the present invention.

Hereinafter, a mobile terminal related to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The suffix "module" and " part "for the components used in the following description are given or mixed in consideration of ease of specification, and do not have their own meaning or role.

The mobile terminal described in this specification may include a mobile phone, a smart phone, a laptop computer, a digital broadcasting terminal, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistants), a PMP (Portable Multimedia Player), and navigation.

However, it will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that the configuration according to the embodiments described herein may also be applied to fixed terminals such as digital TVs, desktop computers, etc., except when applicable only to mobile terminals.

1 is a block diagram of a mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention. The mobile terminal 100 includes a wireless communication unit 110, an audio / video input unit 120, a user input unit 130, a sensing unit 140, an output unit 150, a memory 160, A controller 170, a controller 180, a power supply 190, and the like. The components shown in FIG. 1 are not essential, and a mobile terminal having more or fewer components may be implemented.

Hereinafter, the components will be described in order.

The wireless communication unit 110 may include one or more modules for enabling wireless communication between the mobile terminal 100 and the wireless communication system or between the mobile terminal 100 and the network in which the mobile terminal 100 is located. For example, the wireless communication unit 110 may include a broadcast receiving module 111, a mobile communication module 112, a wireless Internet module 113, a short range communication module 114, and a location information module 115 .

The broadcast receiving module 111 receives a broadcast signal and / or broadcast related information from an external broadcast management server through a broadcast channel. The broadcast channel may include a satellite channel and a terrestrial channel. Two or more broadcast receiving modules may be provided to the mobile terminal 100 for simultaneous broadcast reception or broadcast channel switching for at least two broadcast channels.

The broadcast management server may refer to a server for generating and transmitting broadcast signals and / or broadcast related information, or a server for receiving broadcast signals and / or broadcast related information generated by the broadcast management server and transmitting the generated broadcast signals and / or broadcast related information. The broadcast signal may include a TV broadcast signal, a radio broadcast signal, a data broadcast signal, and a broadcast signal in which a data broadcast signal is combined with a TV broadcast signal or a radio broadcast signal.

The broadcast-related information means information related to a broadcast channel, a broadcast program, or a broadcast service provider. The broadcast related information may also be provided through a mobile communication network. In this case, it may be received by the mobile communication module 112.

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).

For example, the broadcast receiving module 111 may be a Digital Multimedia Broadcasting-Terrestrial (DMB-T), a Digital Multimedia Broadcasting-Satellite (DMB-S), a Media Forward Link Only (Mobile Broadcasting Business Management System), ISDB-T (Integrated Services Digital Broadcasting (ISDB-T)), Digital Multimedia Broadcasting (MBMS) Digital Broadcast-Terrestrial) or the like. Of course, the broadcast receiving module 111 may be adapted to other broadcasting systems as well as the digital broadcasting system described above.

The broadcast signal and / or broadcast related information received through the broadcast receiving module 111 may be stored in the memory 160.

The mobile communication module 112 may be coupled to a base station, an external terminal, or a server on a mobile communication network, such as, but not limited to, Gobal System for Mobile communications (GSM), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Wideband CDMA Transmits and receives wireless signals with one. The wireless signal may include various types of data depending on a voice call signal, a video call signal or a text / multimedia message transmission / reception.

The wireless Internet module 113 is a module for wireless Internet access, and may be built in or externally attached to the mobile terminal 100. Wireless Internet technologies include WLAN (Wi-Fi), Wibro (Wireless broadband), Wimax (World Interoperability for Microwave Access), HSDPA (High Speed Downlink Packet Access), GSM, CDMA, WCDMA, LTE Evolution (but not limited to) may be used.

The wireless Internet module 113, which performs wireless Internet access through the mobile communication network, is connected to the mobile communication module 110 through the mobile communication network, for example, from the viewpoint that the wireless Internet access by Wibro, HSDPA, GSM, CDMA, WCDMA, LTE, (112). ≪ / RTI >

The short-range communication module 114 refers to a module for short-range communication. Bluetooth, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), infrared data association (IrDA), Ultra Wideband (UWB), ZigBee, and the like can be used as a short range communication technology.

The position information module 115 is a module for obtaining the position of the mobile terminal, and a representative example thereof is a Global Position System (GPS) module. According to the current technology, the GPS module 115 calculates distance information and accurate time information from three or more satellites, and then applies trigonometry to the calculated information to obtain a three-dimensional string of latitude, longitude, The location information can be accurately calculated. At present, a method of calculating position and time information using three satellites and correcting an error of the calculated position and time information using another satellite is widely used. In addition, the GPS module 115 can calculate speed information by continuously calculating the current position in real time.

Referring to FIG. 1, an A / V (Audio / Video) input unit 120 is for inputting an audio signal or a video signal, and may include a camera 121 and a microphone 122. The camera 121 processes image frames such as still images or moving images obtained by the image sensor in the video call mode or the photographing mode. The processed image frame can be displayed on the display unit 151. [

The image frame processed by the camera 121 may be stored in the memory 160 or transmitted to the outside through the wireless communication unit 110. [ Two or more cameras 121 may be provided depending on the use environment.

The microphone 122 receives an external sound signal through a microphone in a communication mode, a recording mode, a voice recognition mode, or the like, and processes it as electrical voice data. The processed voice data can be converted into a form that can be transmitted to the mobile communication base station through the mobile communication module 112 when the voice data is in the call mode, and output. Various noise reduction algorithms may be implemented in the microphone 122 to remove noise generated in receiving an external sound signal.

The user input unit 130 generates input data for a user to control the operation of the terminal. The user input unit 130 may include a button 136 located on the front, rear, or side of the mobile terminal 100, and a touch sensor (static / static) 137. Although not shown, ), A dome switch, a jog wheel, a jog switch, and the like.

The sensing unit 140 senses the current state of the mobile terminal 100 such as the open / close state of the mobile terminal 100, the position of the mobile terminal 100, the presence or absence of user contact, the orientation of the mobile terminal, And generates a sensing signal for controlling the operation of the mobile terminal 100. For example, when the mobile terminal 100 is in the form of a slide phone, it may sense whether the slide phone is opened or closed. In addition, whether the power supply unit 190 is supplied with power, whether the interface unit 170 is coupled to the external device may be sensed. Meanwhile, the sensing unit 140 may include a proximity sensor 141. (The proximity sensor will be described later).

The output unit 150 is for generating output related to the visual, auditory or tactile sense and includes a display unit 151, an audio output module 152, an alarm unit 153, and a haptic module 154 .

The display unit 151 displays (outputs) information processed by the mobile terminal 100. For example, when the mobile terminal is in the call mode, a UI (User Interface) or a GUI (Graphic User Interface) associated with a call is displayed. When the mobile terminal 100 is in the video communication mode or the photographing mode, the photographed and / or received video or UI and GUI are displayed.

The display unit 151 may be a liquid crystal display (LCD), a thin film transistor-liquid crystal display (TFT LCD), an organic light-emitting diode (OLED), a flexible display display, and a 3D display.

Some of these displays may be transparent or light transmissive so that they can be seen through. This can be referred to as a transparent display, and a typical example of the transparent display is TOLED (Transparent OLED) and the like. The rear structure of the display unit 151 may also be of a light transmission type. With this structure, the user can see an object located behind the terminal body through the area occupied by the display unit 151 of the terminal body.

There may be two or more display units 151 according to the embodiment of the mobile terminal 100. For example, in the mobile terminal 100, a plurality of display portions may be spaced apart from one another, or may be disposed integrally with one another, and may be disposed on different surfaces, respectively.

In the case where the display unit 151 and the touch sensor 137 have a mutual layer structure or are integrally formed (hereinafter referred to as a 'touch screen'), the display unit 151 may be used as an input device . The touch sensor 137 may be stacked on the display unit 151 to form a layer structure when the touch sensor 137 has a form of a touch film, a touch sheet, a touch pad, or the like. And may be integrally formed.

The touch sensor 137 may be configured to convert a change in a pressure applied to a specific part of the display part 151 or a capacitance generated in a specific part of the display part 151 into an electrical input signal. The touch sensor 137 can be configured to detect not only the position and area to be touched but also the pressure at the time of touch.

If there is a touch input to the touch sensor 137, the corresponding signal (s) is sent to the touch controller (not shown). The touch controller processes the signal (s) and transmits the corresponding data to the controller 180. As a result, the controller 180 can know which area of the display unit 151 is touched.

The proximity sensor 141 may be disposed in an inner region of the mobile terminal or in the vicinity of the touch screen, which is enclosed by the touch screen. The proximity sensor refers to a sensor that detects the presence or absence of an object approaching a predetermined detection surface or a nearby object without mechanical contact using the force of an electromagnetic field or infrared rays. The proximity sensor has a longer life span than the contact sensor and its utilization is also high.

Examples of the proximity sensor include a transmission photoelectric sensor, a direct reflection photoelectric sensor, a mirror reflection photoelectric sensor, a high frequency oscillation proximity sensor, a capacitive proximity sensor, a magnetic proximity sensor, and an infrared proximity sensor. And to detect the proximity of the pointer by the change of the electric field along the proximity of the pointer when the touch screen is electrostatic. In this case, the touch screen (touch sensor) may be classified as a proximity sensor.

Hereinafter, for convenience of explanation, the act of recognizing that the pointer is positioned on the touch screen while the pointer is not in contact with the touch screen is referred to as "proximity touch" The act of actually contacting the pointer on the touch screen may be referred to as "contact touch. &Quot; The location where the pointer is proximately touched on the touch screen may refer to a position where the pointer corresponds vertically to the touch screen when the pointer is touched.

The proximity sensor detects a proximity touch and a proximity touch pattern (e.g., a proximity touch distance, a proximity touch direction, a proximity touch speed, a proximity touch time, a proximity touch position, a proximity touch movement state, and the like). Information corresponding to the detected proximity touch operation and the proximity touch pattern may be output on the touch screen.

The sound output module 152 may output audio data received from the wireless communication unit 110 or stored in the memory 160 in a call signal reception, a call mode or a recording mode, a voice recognition mode, a broadcast reception mode, and the like. The sound output module 152 also outputs sound signals related to functions (e.g., call signal reception sound, message reception sound, etc.) performed in the mobile terminal 100. [ The audio output module 152 may include a receiver, a speaker, a buzzer, and the like.

The alarm unit 153 outputs a signal for notifying the occurrence of an event of the mobile terminal 100. Examples of events that occur in the mobile terminal include call signal reception, message reception, key signal input, touch input, and the like. The alarm unit 153 may output a signal for notifying the occurrence of an event in a form other than the video signal or the audio signal, for example, vibration. In this case, the display unit 151 and the audio output module 152 may be a type of the alarm unit 153. The display unit 151 and the audio output module 152 may be connected to the display unit 151 or the audio output module 152, .

The haptic module 154 generates various tactile effects that the user can feel. A typical example of the haptic effect generated by the haptic module 154 is vibration. The intensity and pattern of vibration generated by the haptic module 154 can be controlled. For example, different vibrations may be synthesized and output or sequentially output.

In addition to the vibration, the haptic module 154 may include a pin arrangement vertically moving with respect to the contact skin surface, a spraying force or suction force of the air through the injection port or the suction port, a touch on the skin surface, contact with an electrode, And various tactile effects such as an effect of reproducing a cold sensation using an endothermic or exothermic element can be generated.

The haptic module 154 can be implemented not only to transmit the tactile effect through the direct contact but also to allow the user to feel the tactile effect through the muscular sensation of the finger or arm. At least two haptic modules 154 may be provided according to the configuration of the mobile terminal 100.

The memory unit 160 may store a program for processing and controlling the control unit 180 and temporarily store the input / output data (e.g., telephone directory, message, audio, For example. The memory unit 160 may store the frequency of use of each of the data (for example, each telephone number, each message, and frequency of use for each multimedia).

In addition, the memory unit 160 may store data on vibration and sound of various patterns output when the touch is input on the touch screen.

The memory 160 may be a flash memory type, a hard disk type, a multimedia card micro type, a card type memory (for example, SD or XD memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), SRAM (Static Random Access Memory), ROM (Read Only Memory), EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory), PROM A disk, and / or an optical disk. The mobile terminal 100 may operate in association with a web storage that performs a storage function of the memory 160 on the Internet.

The interface unit 170 serves as a path for communication with all external devices connected to the mobile terminal 100. The interface unit 170 receives data from an external device or supplies power to each component in the mobile terminal 100 or transmits data to the external device. For example, a wired / wireless headset port, an external charger port, a wired / wireless data port, a memory card port, a port for connecting a device having an identification module, an audio I / O port, A video input / output (I / O) port, an earphone port, and the like may be included in the interface unit 170.

The identification module is a chip for storing various information for authenticating the use right of the mobile terminal 100 and includes a user identification module (UIM), a subscriber identity module (SIM), a general user authentication module A Universal Subscriber Identity Module (USIM), and the like. Devices with identification modules (hereinafter referred to as "identification devices") can be manufactured in a smart card format. Accordingly, the identification device can be connected to the terminal 100 through the port.

When the mobile terminal 100 is connected to an external cradle, the interface unit may be a path through which power from the cradle is supplied to the mobile terminal 100, or various command signals input by the user to the cradle may be transmitted It can be a passage to be transmitted to the terminal. The various command signals or the power source input from the cradle may be operated as a signal for recognizing that the mobile terminal is correctly mounted on the cradle.

The controller 180 typically controls the overall operation of the mobile terminal. For example, voice communication, data communication, video communication, and the like. The control unit 180 may include a multimedia module 181 for multimedia playback. The multimedia module 181 may be implemented in the control unit 180 or may be implemented separately from the control unit 180. [

The controller 180 may perform a pattern recognition process for recognizing handwriting input or drawing input performed on the touch screen as characters and images, respectively.

The power supply unit 190 receives an external power source and an internal power source under the control of the controller 180 to supply power for operation of each component. The power supply unit 190 may include, for example, a battery, a connection port, a power supply control unit, and a charge monitoring unit.

The battery may be an internal battery configured to be chargeable, and may be detachably coupled to the terminal body for charging or the like. The connection port may be configured as an example of an interface 170 through which an external charger for supplying power for charging the battery is electrically connected.

The various embodiments described herein may be embodied 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 other functions. The described embodiments may be implemented by the controller 180 itself.

According to the software implementation, embodiments such as the procedures and functions described herein may be implemented as separate software modules. Each of the software modules may perform one or more of the functions and operations described herein. Software code can be implemented in a software application written in a suitable programming language. The software code is stored in the memory 160 and can be executed by the control unit 180. [

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a mobile terminal or a portable terminal according to the present invention, as viewed from the front.

The disclosed mobile terminal 100 includes a bar-shaped terminal body. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and can be applied to various structures such as a slide type, a folder type, a swing type, and a swivel type in which two or more bodies are relatively movably coupled.

The body of the mobile terminal 100 includes a casing 101, 102, In this embodiment, the case may be divided into a front case 101 and a rear case 102. [ A variety of electronic components are embedded in the space formed between the front case 101 and the rear case 102.

A component such as a USIM card and a memory card, such as an auxiliary storage medium 165, which may be detached, may include an opening in the case so as to be inserted into the case from the outside. Slots may be formed on the side of the case so that the auxiliary storage medium 165 may be inserted from the side of the mobile terminal 100 and card slots 166 and 167 may be formed on the surface of the rear case 102 It is possible.

The cases 101, 102, and 103 may be formed by injection molding synthetic resin or may be formed of a metal material such as stainless steel (STS) or titanium (Ti).

The display unit 151, the sound output unit 152, the camera 121, the user input units 130/131 and 132, the microphone 122, and the interface 170 may be disposed in the terminal cases 101 and 102.

The display unit 151 occupies most of the main surface of the front case 101. A sound output unit 152 and a camera 121 are disposed in an area adjacent to one end of both ends of the display unit 151 and a user input unit 131 and a microphone 122 are disposed in an area adjacent to the other end. The user input unit 132 and the interface 170 may be disposed on the side surfaces of the front case 101 and the rear case 102. [

The user input unit 130 is operated to receive a command for controlling the operation of the mobile terminal 100 and may include a plurality of operation units 131, 132, and 133. The operation units 131, 132, and 133 may be collectively referred to as a manipulating portion.

The contents inputted by the first or second operation unit 131 or 132 may be variously set. For example, the first operation unit 131 receives a command such as start, end, scroll, and the like, and the second operation unit 132 inputs a command such as adjustment of the sound output from the sound output unit 152 And the third operation unit 133 can receive commands such as activation / deactivation of the touch recognition mode of the display unit 151 and the like.

The operation units 131, 132 and 133 may have a button system recognized when a user applies pressure and a touch sensor 137 may be provided to the operation units 131, 132 and 133 in addition to the display unit 151 So that the user's command can be received only by the user's touch.

As described above, the front panel includes a display unit, a user input unit 131, a camera, a sound output unit, and the like. As the touch panel becomes wider and the size of the front display portion increases, the window glass 105 having the opaque window bezel 210 having the transparent portion 211 formed partially only in the portion where the light is to be transmitted, including the display portion, occupies the front surface. do.

A transparent part 211 is formed at a position required for the bezel part 210 and a device for performing a function is provided on the back side. However, the transparent portion 211 (for example, the user input unit 131, the camera 121, etc.), which is a transparent portion other than the area for the display portion, hinders the uniform shape of the front surface. Therefore, it is necessary to minimize the additional transparent portion 211 formed in the bezel portion 210.

In particular, in the case of a configuration that operates only when using a specific function, the transparent portion 211 is preferably opened selectively. For example, the camera 121 needs a through window for the camera 121 only when the user shoots, and the user button does not need the user input unit 131 separately, such as watching a video, but rather the user input unit 131. Light emitted from the display may interfere with viewing the image output from the display.

The present invention is characterized in that the thin film liquid crystal module 200 is used so that light can pass through the transparent part 211 only when the user uses the corresponding function in the camera 121 or the user input part 131. Hereinafter, the structure of the thin film liquid crystal module 200 according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 to 7.

4 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a user input unit 131 according to an embodiment of the present invention. A window glass 105, a bezel part 210, a thin film liquid crystal module 200, a light source 1310, a power connection part 205, and the like are disclosed.

The window glass 105 is divided into a central display area, an opaque bezel portion covering the perimeter of the display area, and a transparent portion partially transparent to the bezel portion. This may be formed by printing an opaque bezel part 210 on one surface of the window glass 105. That is, the printed area becomes the bezel part 210, and the unprinted center part includes the display area and the transparent part 211 not partially printed on the bezel part 210.

A user input unit 131 for disposing a specific command by a user is disposed on a front portion other than the display area, and is positioned on the bezel portion 210 in the front design of one window glass 105. In this case, the light is emitted from the user input unit 131 by using the light source 1310 and the transparent unit 211 so that the user can recognize the user input unit 131.

The user input unit uses figures, letters, numbers, symbols, etc. to display the functions of the user input unit so that the user can identify them. The transparent part 211 may itself be in the shape of the figure, letters, numbers, and symbols, and as shown in FIG. 4, a large transparent part 211 is formed on the bezel part 210 and a figure is formed below the figure. Also, a separate pattern layer 215 having openings corresponding to letters, numbers, and symbols may be further used.

The transparent part 211 needs to be opened only when the user input part 131 is used, and it is usually covered with the same color as the bezel part 210 in terms of the uniform design of the front and does not interfere with the viewing of the screen. It is preferable in that it does not.

To this end, in the present invention, the thin film liquid crystal module 200 is disposed on the rear surface of the window glass 105. The thin film liquid crystal module 200 changes transparent or opaque depending on whether power is applied. 6 and 7 illustrate a specific shape of the thin film liquid crystal module 200, in which a polarizing substrate 201 is disposed above and below the liquid crystal 202.

The upper and lower polarizing substrates 201 are formed with transparent electrodes. When power is applied, the power flows to the transparent electrodes, and the liquid crystal 202 is changed depending on the power applied to the upper and lower polarizing substrates 201. In addition, the upper and lower polarizing substrate 201 is provided with a polarizing film that transmits only the light vibrating in a specific direction.

The thin film liquid crystal module 200 may be classified into a TN method and a VA method according to whether the thin film liquid crystal module 200 becomes transparent when power is applied.

The TN method means a thin film liquid crystal module that becomes opaque when a voltage is applied, and the VA method is a thin film liquid crystal module that becomes opaque when no voltage is applied. It is preferable to use the VA method when the holding time is long in the opaque state, and the TN method may be advantageous when the holding time is long in the transparent state.

6 and 7 illustrate a TN thin film liquid crystal module for convenience of description. In the TN type thin film liquid crystal module, upper and lower polarizers are vertical. Generally, when power is not applied to the thin film liquid crystal module, the direction of vibration of light passing through the lower polarizer 201 is changed while the array of liquid crystals is laid in the lateral direction.

That is, even though the lower polarizing substrate 201 is converted into light vibrating in a specific direction, the vibration direction is changed while passing through the liquid crystal layer, so that light may pass through the upper polarizing substrate 201. (See FIG. 6)

On the contrary, when power is applied as shown in FIG. 7, the liquid crystals are arranged vertically, and the light passing through the lower polarizer 201 reaches the upper polarizer 201 without changing the vibration direction. The upper polarizing substrate 201 transmits only light in a direction perpendicular to the lower polarizing substrate 201. In this case, incident light does not transmit and thus becomes opaque.

If the VA method is used, the array of the polarizing substrates 201 is made horizontal, thereby making it transparent when the power is applied as opposed to the TN method and being opaque when the power is not applied.

The user input unit 131 illustrated in FIG. 4 may turn on only the light source 1310 of the user input unit 131 necessary for performing a specific operation, or in some cases, turn off the light source 1310 of all the user input units 131. have. That is, when the light source 1310 is turned on, the thin film liquid crystal module should be transparent since the light source 1310 must be transmitted through the window glass 105 to the user.

When the thin film liquid crystal module is a TN method, when power is applied to the light source 1310, the liquid crystal is arranged in a state as shown in FIG. 6 by cutting off the power applied to the thin film liquid crystal module. When the thin film liquid crystal module is a VA method, when power is applied to the light source 1310, the thin film liquid crystal module is transparently changed by applying power to the thin film liquid crystal module.

Next, FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a camera 121 according to another embodiment of the present invention, which includes a window glass 105, a bezel part 210, a thin film liquid crystal module 200, and a camera 121.

The bezel part 210 including the transparent part 211 printed on the window glass 105, the thin film liquid crystal module 200 covering the transparent part 211 and the transparent part 211 are disposed inside the case. do. In the above-described embodiment of FIG. 4, the individual components have been described, and only the operation of the camera 121 and the state change of the thin film liquid crystal module 200 will be described.

When the camera 121 operates, the camera 121 receives light through the transparent part 211 to photograph. When the camera 121 is operated, the thin film liquid crystal module 200 may be made transparent, and the thin film liquid crystal module 200 may be opaque so that the transparent portion 211 is not visible.

That is, when the thin film liquid crystal module 200 of the TN method is used, the power applied to the thin film liquid crystal module 200 is cut off when the camera 121 is operated. In operation, power is applied to the thin film liquid crystal module 200 to make it transparent.

The color of the thin film liquid crystal module 200 may be varied, and the color of the thin film liquid crystal module 200 may be matched to the color of the bezel part 210. In addition to the black color of the bezel part 210, the present invention can be applied to mobile terminals having various colors such as white or pink.

In addition, the transparent part 211 including the thin film liquid crystal module 200 may be located at the rear of the mobile terminal 100 as well as the window glass 105 located at the front.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof.

Accordingly, the above detailed description should not be construed as limiting in all aspects and should be considered as illustrative. The scope of the invention should be determined by reasonable interpretation of the appended claims, and all changes within the equivalent scope of the invention are included in the scope of the invention.

100: mobile terminal 110: wireless communication unit
120: A / V input / output unit 130: user input unit
140: sensing unit 150: output unit
160: memory 170: interface section
180: control unit 190: power supply unit
105: window glass 121: camera
1310: light source 210: window bezel
211: transparent portion 200: thin film liquid crystal module
201: polarizing substrate 202: liquid crystal

Claims (8)

case;
A window glass coupled to the case and including a central display area, an opaque bezel portion covering the periphery of the display area, and a partially transparent portion formed on the bezel portion;
A thin film liquid crystal module coupled to a rear surface of the transparent part and selectively transmitting light according to the arrangement of the liquid crystal;
And a control unit for selectively or transparently adjusting the thin film liquid crystal by applying or blocking power to the thin film liquid crystal module. The method of claim 1,
The transparent unit is a user input unit for receiving a command when the user touches,
Further comprising a light source for emitting light in a state that can receive a user's command on the back of the transparent portion,
The control unit transparently controls the thin film liquid crystal module when the light is emitted from the light source, and if the light is not emitted from the light source, the mobile terminal, characterized in that for controlling the opaque. 3. The method of claim 2,
The thin film liquid crystal is opaque when power is applied, and transmits light when power is not applied.
When power is cut off from the light source, power is applied to the thin film liquid crystal module,
The mobile terminal, characterized in that the power applied to the thin film liquid crystal module is cut off when power is applied to the light source. The method of claim 3,
The control unit,
When performing a specific operation of the mobile terminal,
And applying power to the light source of the user input unit used for the specific operation, and controlling the liquid crystal to be transparent. 3. The method of claim 2,
The transparent unit is a mobile terminal, characterized in that at least one of the shape, letters, numbers, symbols. 3. The method of claim 2,
And a pattern layer partially transparent to a rear surface of the thin film liquid crystal module in the shape of at least one of figures, letters, numbers, and symbols. The method of claim 1,
Further comprising a camera located on the back of the transparent portion,
And the thin film liquid crystal module becomes transparent when the camera operates. The method of claim 7, wherein
The thin film liquid crystal is opaque when power is applied, characterized in that the power is transparent when the power is cut off,
The control unit,
Apply power to the thin film liquid crystal when the camera is not operating,
And the camera cuts off power to the thin film liquid crystal when the camera operates.

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