KR20140134454A - Protective case having function of operating portable terminal - Google Patents

Abstract

Provided is a protection case for a mobile terminal including mobile terminal operating functions. The protection case includes: a body in close contact with the mobile terminal to protect the mobile terminal; a communication module formed on a side of the body and exchanges wired or wireless communication data with the mobile terminal; a projector formed on the other side of the body to be connected to the communication module, and receives the communication data to project the control screen of the mobile terminal to the outside; and a sensing unit which detects a touch motion touching the projected control screen, and generates a touch signal to be transmitted to the communication module.

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a protection case having a portable terminal operating function,

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention [0001] The present invention relates to a portable terminal protection case, and more particularly, to a portable terminal protection case having a portable terminal operation function that provides a convenient use environment for a user in connection with the portable terminal.

A portable terminal is a miniaturized terminal device which can be connected to a server or a central communication network to transmit / receive various data or process received data. The mobile terminal has a function of adding a communication function to a small computer such as a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) from a simple form such as a conventional cell phone (cell phone) to a smart phone It has been developed in various ways.

The protector case of the portable terminal is used to protect the portable terminal from an external impact. The portable terminal protection case may be formed in various forms according to the shape and the type of the portable terminal, and may be made of, for example, soft plastic or other elastic material to effectively alleviate the external impact.

Meanwhile, recently, a protective case for a mobile terminal is additionally provided with various other types of functions in addition to basic protection functions for mitigating external shocks to protect the terminal. When appropriate functionality is added, this can increase the utilization of the terminal and the case and increase the usability of the user. For example, Korean Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 10-2010-0116084 discloses a mobile phone case having a character pad to allow a character to be input more accurately to a touch screen of a mobile phone.

However, the conventional additional functions merely supplement the input means as described above, for example, or merely add other simple mounting functions, which is merely to indirectly support the portable terminal when using the portable terminal. Therefore, it is difficult to meet the demands of users who want to create a more convenient use environment.

Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2010-0116084 (2010.10.29), Drawing 1

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a portable terminal protection case equipped with a portable terminal operation function that provides a convenient use environment for a user in cooperation with the portable terminal.

The technical problem of the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned problems, and other technical problems which are not mentioned can be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description.

The protection case of the portable terminal having the function of controlling the portable terminal according to the present invention comprises: a body which is closely attached to the portable terminal and protects the portable terminal; A communication module formed on one side of the body for exchanging communication data composed of at least one of wired data and wireless data; A projector formed on the other side of the body and connected to the communication module, the projector receiving the communication data and projecting an operation screen of the portable terminal outside the body; And a sensing unit for sensing a touch motion of touching the projected operation screen, generating a touch signal, and transmitting the generated touch signal to the communication module.

Wherein the portable terminal includes at least one of a connection port for wired data communication and a short-range wireless interface for wireless data communication, the communication module includes a connection terminal connected to the connection port and a short- Modules. ≪ RTI ID = 0.0 >

The short-range wireless interface may be a Bluetooth interface that performs wireless communication using a Bluetooth scheme, and the short-range communication module may be a Bluetooth module that paired with the wireless terminal to communicate with the wireless terminal.

The sensing unit may include a vision camera unit for photographing the projected operation screen, and an image analysis unit for analyzing the image photographed by the vision camera unit to discriminate the touch motion.

The vision camera unit may include a depth camera capable of determining a distance and a position of a subject.

 The sensing unit may further include an infrared sensor for sensing the position and movement of the object.

The body includes a fixing part fixed to the surface of the portable terminal and fixed to the surface of the portable terminal, an adjusting part whose position relative to the fixing part is adjusted, and a fixing part connecting the fixing part and the adjusting part, And a refraction unit, wherein the projector and the sensing unit may be formed in the regulating unit.

The refraction unit is slidably inserted into a receiving portion formed on the inner side of the fixing portion, and the regulating portion and the fixing portion are in close contact with each other when the refraction unit is inserted into the receiving portion.

The projector and the sensing unit may be located on a contact surface where the adjusting unit is in close contact with the fixing unit.

The portable terminal protection case having the function of operating the portable terminal according to the present invention can easily operate the portable terminal in association with the portable terminal through the operation function of the protection case without directly touching the portable terminal. The user can obtain a useful effect that can be optimized according to the situation and provide a convenient use environment without having to rely solely on the operation screen of the portable terminal by using it, thereby maximizing the utilization of the terminal and the protection case.

1 is a perspective view of a portable terminal protection case having a portable terminal operation function according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating the operation of the regulator of the protective case body of FIG. 1. FIG.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a relationship between main components of the protective case of FIG. 1. FIG.
4 is an operational view of the protective case of Fig.
FIGS. 5 to 9 are views showing details of an operation screen touch process and a touch motion detection process.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The advantages and features of the present invention and methods of achieving them will become apparent with reference to the embodiments described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The present invention may, however, 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, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. Is provided to fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art, and the present invention is only defined by the claims. Like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout the specification.

Hereinafter, a portable terminal protection case having a portable terminal operation function according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 to 9. FIG.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a portable terminal protection case having a portable terminal operation function according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating an operation of the control unit of the protection case body of FIG.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a portable terminal protection case 1 having a portable terminal operation function according to an embodiment of the present invention is mounted on a portable terminal A (see FIG. 4) A communication module 110 formed on one side of the body 10 for exchanging communication data composed of at least one of wireless data and wireless data, A projector 210 connected to the communication module 110 for receiving the communication data and projecting an operation screen of the portable terminal A to the outside of the body 10 and a touch motion for touching the projected operation screen And a sensing unit 220 for generating a touch signal and transmitting the touch signal to the communication module 110.

That is, the portable terminal protection case 1 equipped with the portable terminal operation function not only protects the portable terminal A by being in close contact with the portable terminal A, but also communicates with the portable terminal A through the communication module 110 Data can be exchanged and the operation screen of the portable terminal A can be projected to the outside using the projector 210 and the sensing unit 220 and the user can easily sense the touch of the operation screen.

Accordingly, the user can easily operate the portable terminal A without touching the portable terminal A by securing the operation function associated with the portable terminal A, and can easily operate the portable terminal A, It is possible to maximize the utilization of the terminal and the protection case. Hereinafter, each component of the portable terminal protection case 1 having the portable terminal operation function having these features will be described in more detail.

The body 10 is in close contact with a portable terminal (see FIG. 4A) to protect the portable terminal A, and may be formed in the shape of a case or a housing having a housing space formed therein as shown in FIG. However, the shape of the body 10 is not limited thereto. The body 10 may be deformed into various unformed shapes as long as the body 10 is in close contact with the portable terminal A and can protect the portable terminal A. [ The body 10 is preferably made of soft plastic, synthetic rubber, or other elastic material.

The body 10 includes a fixing part 100 having a receiving space and an adjusting part 200 whose position relative to the fixing part 100 is adjusted as shown in FIG. And a refraction unit 300 connecting the first and second light sources 200 and 200 to each other. At this time, the fixing unit 100 receives the portable terminal A through the accommodation space and is fixed in close contact with the surface of the portable terminal A. The adjusting unit 200 is fixed to the fixing unit 300 via the refraction unit 300 100 and can be moved at various angles.

The refracting unit 300 may be bent at various angles corresponding to the position of the adjusting unit 200 while connecting the fixing unit 100 and the adjusting unit 200. The refracting unit 300 may include the projector 210 and the sensing unit 200 220 may be formed in the regulating unit 200.

Accordingly, the operation screen projected from the projector 210 can be created at various points around the user according to the position of the controller 200, and the user can touch the portable terminal A conveniently in an optimal use environment It can be manipulated. The touch process of the operation screen and the sensing process of the touch motion will be described later in more detail.

The fixing part 100 is preferably formed to have a size corresponding to that of the portable terminal A in order to adhere to the surface of the portable terminal A. [ On the other hand, the size and shape of the regulating unit 200 are not particularly limited. That is, the adjusting unit 200 may be formed to have a relatively small size so that the user can easily adjust the size of the adjusting unit 200. When the fixing unit 200 is in close contact with one side of the fixing unit 100 as shown in FIG. 1, As shown in FIG. Thus, the body 10 can be formed to have a good appearance.

The refraction unit 300 may be, for example, a conventional gooseneck device capable of flexing freely at various angles while maintaining a constant elasticity. The refraction unit 300 may be slidably inserted into the accommodating portion 100a formed inside the fixing portion 100, Therefore, sliding movement along the accommodating portion 100a is possible. When the refraction unit 300 is slid and inserted completely as shown in FIG. 1, the regulating unit 200 and the fixing unit 100 may be in close contact with each other.

However, the refraction unit 300 is not limited thereto. If necessary, the refraction unit 300 may be formed by a multi-joint linkage or the like, and may be formed in a variety of different ways. The refraction unit 300 may be formed in various ways without limitation as long as the fixation unit 100 and the adjustment unit 200 are connected to each other and can be easily refracted corresponding to the movement of the adjustment unit 200.

At this time, the controller 210 and the sensing unit 220 are positioned on the close contact surface where the adjustment unit 200 is in close contact with the fixing unit 100, and can be completely caught when the adjustment unit 200 is closely contacted. That is, the projector 210 and the sensing unit 220, in particular, the vision camera unit 221 and the infrared sensor 222 are controlled by the control unit 200 and the refraction unit 300, As shown in FIG. 1, it can be completely housed in the close contact surface between the fixing part 100 and the regulating part 200. The projector 210, the vision camera unit 221, the infrared sensor 222, and the like are all optical devices sensitive to the penetration of foreign matter such as external impact or dust, and can be more effectively protected in this way.

The communication module 110 may be formed on one side of the body 10, for example, the fixing portion 100. The communication module 110 is for exchanging communication data with the portable terminal A. The communication module 110 includes a connection terminal 112 connected to a connection port for wired data communication (see Ab in Fig. 4) of the portable terminal A, Module 111. In one embodiment, The short range communication module 111 can communicate with the portable terminal A in a wireless manner via the short range wireless interface Aa for wireless data communication of the portable terminal A. [

That is, the portable terminal A may include at least one of a connection port Ab and a short range wireless interface Aa, and the communication module 110 may include a connection terminal 112 connected to the connection port Ab, And a short range communication module 111 communicating with the portable terminal A via the short range wireless interface Aa. Through this, the communication module 110 can easily exchange the communication data composed of at least one of the wireless terminal and the wired data.

 Thus, the operation information of the portable terminal A, the operation screen conversion information and the like are immediately transmitted to the portable terminal protection case 1 equipped with the portable terminal operation function, and the touch signal of the projected operation screen is transmitted to the portable terminal A, So that mutual convenient operation can be performed.

The short range wireless interface Aa is a Bluetooth interface for performing wireless communication using a Bluetooth method and the short range communication module 111 is a Bluetooth module for pairing and communicating with the portable terminal A through the Bluetooth interface .

In this case, the Bluetooth system is a type of short-range wireless communication system using a frequency of the Industrial, Scientific & Medical (ISM) band as a communication frequency. One of the communication bodies and the other is a master, Refers to a communication method in which wireless data is exchanged through a pairing process of maintaining the relationship of a slave (slave). The short-range communication module 111 is paired with the portable terminal A through the short-range wireless interface Aa and can exchange communication data with ease.

 Meanwhile, the body 10 may include a controller 120 connected to the communication module 110 and a power source 130 for supplying power. The control unit 120 analyzes the communication data received by the communication module 110, and can transmit the corresponding control signal, thereby driving the projector 210. In addition, the controller 120 may transmit the touch motion sensed by the sensing unit 220 to the communication module 110 in the form of a digitized electrical signal. The control unit 120 may be a miniature computation device in the form of a chip such as an MCU (Micro Controller Unit).

The power supply unit 130 is connected to the control unit 120 and supplies driving power for driving the communication module 110, the projector 210, the sensing unit 220, and the like. The power supply unit 130 may be formed of a rechargeable battery that can be charged or discharged, or a general battery that can be replaced after consumption, but is not limited thereto. The power supply unit 130 can be implemented in various ways as long as it can easily supply driving power.

Hereinafter, the relationship among components of the communication module 110, the control unit 120, the projector 210, the sensing unit 220, and the power supply unit 130 will be described in more detail.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a relationship between main components of the protective case of FIG. 1. FIG.

3, the communication module 110 may exchange communication data with the portable terminal A using at least one of the short-range communication module 111 and the connection terminal 112. Such communication data may be at least one of wired data transmitted between the connection terminal 112 and the connection port Ab and wireless data transmitted between the short distance communication module 111 and the short range wireless interface Aa, The portable terminal A and the communication module 110 can easily communicate with each other in wired and wireless manner through exchange of communication data.

The data exchanged through the communication module 110 is transmitted to the control unit 120. The control unit 120 analyzes the transmitted communication data and performs a process of converting the communication data and outputs a corresponding control signal. The control signal is transmitted to the projector 210 to drive the projector 210.

The projector 210 may include an image display device, a display device, or the like, and may be configured to display the reproduced image in an enlarged state through an objective lens or the like. However, the configuration of the projector 210 need not be so limited. The projector 210 can be modified in any number of ways as long as it can easily project an operation screen. When a control signal is transmitted from the control unit 120, the projector 210 projects the corresponding operation screen to the outside, and this image is appropriately sized according to the positional relationship, such as the direction in which the screen is projected, It can change.

The sensing unit 220 photographs the operation screen projected through the vision camera unit 221 and at the same time discriminates the touch motion of the user who touches a specific area of the operation screen and generates a corresponding touch signal. The touch signal is transmitted to the portable terminal A via the control unit 120 and the communication module 110 and can operate the portable terminal A in the same manner as when the portable terminal A is directly touched. The sensing unit 220 includes a vision camera unit 221 that photographs an operation screen projected from the projector 210, an image analysis unit 223 that analyzes the images photographed by the vision camera unit 221, And an infrared sensor 222 for sensing the position and movement of the object.

For example, the infrared sensor 222 may include a light emitting unit that emits infrared light toward a subject and a light receiving unit that receives light reflected from the subject. The infrared sensor 222 forms infrared light in a wide area around the sensor, It may be formed to detect motion. That is, the sensing unit 220 can discriminate the touch motion of the user more precisely by complementarily using the image sensing and analysis process using the vision camera unit 221 and the motion sensing process using the infrared sensor .

In this case, the vision camera unit 221 may include a depth camera capable of discriminating not only the position of the subject but also the distance. For example, the depth camera calculates a time difference (Time Of Flight) or the like when an image change of the same object imaged on a camera lens disposed at a different position from each other, or ultrasound or infrared light is reflected from the subject, It may be to discriminate. The sensing unit 220 can easily measure the distance to the projected operation screen and the distance to the point where the user's touch motion occurs through the vision camera unit 221 including the depth camera.

Also, if necessary, it is possible to easily measure the distance to the projected operation screen or the distance to the point where the user touches by utilizing the infrared sensor 222 as a proximity sensor.

The image analyzer 223 is connected to the vision camera unit 221 and the infrared sensor 222 to analyze the photographed image data and discriminates the touch motion on the operation screen projected by the user's touch. If the touch motion is determined, the image analyzer 223 generates a corresponding touch signal and transmits the touch signal to the communication module 110. The image analyzing unit 223 may be, for example, an arithmetic circuit having data processing and processing capability, and in particular, a processor including an enhanced graphics processing capability. The image analyzing unit 223 may be inserted inside the adjusting unit 200 (see FIG. 1 and FIG. 2) to be easily connected to the vision camera unit 221, the infrared sensor 222, and the projector 210.

All of these processes are performed based on the power provided by the power supply unit 130. The power source unit 130 may be a removable or rechargeable battery as described above, or may be configured to directly supply external power through a transformer, an adapter, or the like. When an adapter or the like is included in the power supply unit 130, a terminal to which a power cable is coupled may be additionally formed on one side of the body (see 10 in FIG. 1).

The above-described touch motion can be extracted from the image data photographed by the vision camera unit 221, and can be discriminated through processing operations such as correction and conversion of image data. Hereinafter, the operation process, the touch process, and the touch motion detection process of the protective case will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 4 is an operation diagram of the protective case of FIG. 1, and FIGS. 5 to 9 are views showing details of a touch screen operation process and a touch motion detection process.

4, a portable terminal protection case 1 having a portable terminal operation function according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention includes a body 10 having a fixing part 100, a refraction unit 300, (200) so that the regulating part (200) can freely move around the fixing part (100). The projector 210 can be oriented in a specific direction and the operation screen B 'projected from the projector 210 can be generated at an appropriate position.

At this time, the projected operation screen B 'is the same screen as the operation screen B displayed on the portable terminal A, and its size may be enlarged. The sensing unit 220 including the vision camera unit 221 and the infrared sensor 222 determines the touch motion on the projected operation screen B 'and generates a touch signal to transmit to the communication module 110.

Meanwhile, the portable terminal A may be wirelessly connected to the communication module 110 through a connection process such as a pairing, or may be connected to the communication module 110 through a connection terminal 112 by wire. The connection port Ab of the portable terminal A is coupled to the connection terminal 112 when the portable terminal A is inserted into the body 10, The short range communication module 111 may be paired with the portable terminal A via the short range wireless interface Aa as described above.

In this state, the user can easily operate the portable terminal A by touching the projected operation screen B '. The projected operation screen B 'is enlarged as compared with the operation screen B of the portable terminal A, and for example, a user with poor eyesight can easily use the projected operation screen B'. In addition, the user can freely create an operation screen B 'projected at an easy-to-use point, thereby creating a convenient use environment and thereby maximizing utilization of the terminal and the protection case.

 5 to 9, the process of discriminating or sensing touch motions may be performed as follows. First, as shown in Fig. 5, the vision camera section (see 221 in Fig. 4) photographs the projected operation screen B '. At this time, the same menus (B1, B2, B3) as the operation screen of the portable terminal (see FIG. 4A) (see FIG. 4B) can be displayed on the projected operation screen B '.

 The distance to the generated point can be determined through the depth camera or the infrared sensor ring described above. 6, the entire image is grasped as one plane, and the projected operation screen B 'is divided into a plurality of cells D by a grid C divided at appropriate intervals, . Each of the cells D may be set in advance to correspond to the sizes of the menus B1, B2 and B3 and the sizes of the grid C and the cell D may be different values depending on the determined distance Can be applied. The sizes of the grid C and the cell D can be set to appropriate sizes, for example, by a calibration process corresponding to the distance value.

In this state, the user touches one of the menus B1, B2, and B3 as shown in FIG. The projected operation screen B 'may be enlarged, and accordingly, the menus B1, B2, and B3 may also be displayed in an enlarged state. Therefore, the user can easily select the desired menu B3.

The menu B3 is selected and the image analysis unit 223 of FIG. 3 recognizes the cell D containing the menu B3 as shown in FIG. 8, detects the touch motion, . At this time, the indicating information (for example, the user's hand) indicating the specific menu B3 can be transformed so that only the outline thereof is displayed inside the cell as shown in the figure, and the image analyzing unit 223 (For example, the fingertip portion of the hand shown) through the processing and analysis of such image information. The image analyzer 223 can easily discriminate the touch motion through a motion recognition technique, a correction technique of image information through shadow contrast, and the like.

If the touch motion is determined through this process, the image analyzer 223 transmits a touch signal to the portable terminal through the communication module 110. [ Thus, the portable terminal recognizes the touch signal and changes its operating state, and the changed screen is immediately displayed on the operation screen B 'again projected. Such a feedback operation allows the portable terminal to be easily operated.

On the other hand, each cell D may be represented by a set of relatively small sub-cells D 'as shown in FIG. The above-described touch motion can be achieved by activating one or more of these sub-cells D '. By using these sub-cells D ', it is possible to easily touch a smaller menu or a dial.

Through such a process, the portable terminal can be easily operated, and the user can maximize the utilization of the terminal and the protection case by creating a convenient use environment optimized for the user.

While the present invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be practical exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but, on the contrary, You will understand. It is therefore to be understood that the above-described embodiments are illustrative in all aspects and not restrictive.

1: Portable terminal protection case equipped with a portable terminal operation function
10: Body 100:
100a: receiving portion 110: communication module
111: Local area communication module 112: Connection terminal
120: control unit 130:
200: regulator 210: projector
220: sensing unit 221: vision camera unit
222: Infrared sensor 223: Image analysis unit
300: refraction unit
A: mobile terminal Aa: short range wireless interface
Ab: Connection port B, B ': Operation screen
B1, B2, B3: Menu C: Grid
D: cell D ': sub cell

Claims (9)

A body attached to the portable terminal to protect the portable terminal;
A communication module formed on one side of the body for exchanging communication data composed of at least one of wired data and wireless data;
A communication module formed on the other side of the body,
A projector receiving the communication data and projecting an operation screen of the portable terminal out of the body; And
And a sensing unit for sensing a touch motion of touching the projected operation screen and generating a touch signal and transmitting the generated touch signal to the communication module. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the portable terminal includes at least one of a connection port for wired data communication and a short-range wireless interface for wireless data communication,
Wherein the communication module includes at least one of a connection terminal connected to the connection port and a short-range communication module communicating with the mobile terminal through the short-range wireless interface. 3. The method of claim 2,
Wherein the short range wireless interface is a Bluetooth interface for wirelessly communicating with a Bluetooth system and the short range communication module is a Bluetooth module for paired communication with the mobile terminal through the Bluetooth interface, Terminal protection case. The method according to claim 1,
The sensing unit includes a vision camera unit for photographing the operation screen projected,
And an image analyzer for analyzing the image captured by the vision camera and determining the touch motion. 5. The method of claim 4,
Wherein the vision camera unit includes a depth camera capable of determining a distance and a position of a subject. 5. The method of claim 4,
Wherein the sensing unit further includes an infrared sensor for sensing a position and a movement of an object. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the body is fixedly attached to the surface of the portable terminal,
An adjustment portion whose position relative to the fixed portion is adjusted, and
And a refraction unit that connects between the fixing unit and the adjustment unit and is refracted corresponding to the position of the adjustment unit,
The projector, and the sensing unit are formed in the controller. 8. The method of claim 7,
Wherein the refraction unit is slidably inserted into a receiving portion formed inside the fixing portion,
Wherein the regulating unit and the fixing unit are in close contact with each other when the refraction unit is inserted into the accommodating unit. 9. The method of claim 8,
Wherein the projector and the sensing unit have a function of operating the portable terminal, the control unit being located on a close contact surface where the control unit is in close contact with the fixing unit.

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