WO2013081324A1

WO2013081324A1 - Mobile device comprising touch screen and input method for same

Info

Publication number: WO2013081324A1
Application number: PCT/KR2012/009775
Authority: WO
Inventors: 오대주
Original assignee: Oh Dae-Ju
Priority date: 2011-12-02
Filing date: 2012-11-19
Publication date: 2013-06-06
Also published as: KR101145537B1

Abstract

The present invention relates to a mobile device which comprises a touch screen at a front portion, and an input method for the same. According to the mobile device and the input method of the present invention, keypads are located at both ends of the rear portion, and auxiliary keypads are located at both ends of the front portion where thumbs are placed when the mobile device is gripped with two hands, so that an input operation may be performed by controlling the auxiliary keypad with the thumb and controlling the keypads at both ends of the rear portion with the other fingers while the mobile device is gripped with the two hands.

Description

Mobile device with touch screen and input method thereof

The present invention relates to a mobile device having a touch screen at a front side and an input method thereof, and in particular, a keypad is disposed at both ends of a rear side, and an auxiliary keypad is disposed at a portion where a thumb is placed at a grip at both ends of the front side. The present invention relates to a mobile device and an input method capable of performing an input operation by operating an auxiliary keypad with a thumb and operating keypads at both ends of the rear surface with the remaining fingers while the mobile device is gripped with both hands.

With the launch of the iPad at Apple in 2010, the tablet PC market is growing rapidly. Tablet PCs are still difficult to use for tasks that require high performance compared to laptops.However, tablet PCs become more powerful and can be used anywhere, anytime using the wireless network such as 3G network of mobile carrier and Wi-Fi. The sales volume is gradually increasing and gradually absorbing into the notebook market. In particular, commercially available tablet PCs have a full touch screen on the front, which attracts users with a simple design without a mechanical input device and intuitive touch screen.

However, since tablet PCs are largely overlapped with smartphones in terms of their purpose and performance, except for the screen size, if the tablet PCs do not respond appropriately, the tablet PC market may stop growing and slow down in the future. The first thing to consider in order to continue and grow the current growth beyond this situation is to increase the use of business beyond the entertainment and daily leisure of tablet PCs. In order to improve business use, the efficiency of document writing is increased, and the efficiency of document writing can be solved through the convenience of key input. The convenience of key input should be compatible with existing PCs.

The key input of the conventional tablet PC is performed by pressing the keypad displayed on the touch screen. The key input efficiency is very inferior to a notebook or a PC because the tablet PC is held by one hand and the keypad is pressed by the other hand. In addition, the tablet PC is put on both knees and input with both hands, but this input method is difficult to maintain posture when typing and the tablet PC is not fixed, so there is inconvenience in key input. As a result, many companies are releasing USB keyboards or external keyboards with a cradle function as input devices for tablet PCs for convenient key input.

However, the Tablet PC is a product that emphasizes portability, and it is inconvenient for the user to have an external input device for the convenience of key input. The problem is that it is very cumbersome to do.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a touch screen that can maximize the efficiency of key input when creating a document using a mobile device employing a full touch screen on the front It is to provide a mobile device and its input method provided.

To this end, the mobile device according to the present invention is a mobile device having a touch screen on the front side, the keypad is disposed on both ends of the rear portion of the mobile device, a plurality of parts in the thumb is placed on both ends of the front portion when the grip An auxiliary keypad configured with a function button is disposed, and the input keypad is operated by operating the auxiliary keypad with a thumb while the mobile device is gripped with both hands and the keypads at both ends of the rear panel with the remaining fingers.

In addition, the input method of the mobile device according to the present invention is an input method of a mobile device having a touch screen on the front surface, the step of displaying a virtual keypad on both ends of the front touch screen when the mobile device enters the input mode; When the user's finger touches the text input keypad disposed at both ends of the rear part of the mobile device, or when the text input keypad at both ends of the mobile device is partially pressed by the user's finger, the corresponding part of the virtual keypad is displayed differently or correspondingly. Displaying an indicator on a portion, displaying a corresponding letter on the touch screen when a character input keypad disposed at both ends of the rear part is completely pressed by a user's finger, and a thumb when griping at both ends of the front part; The secondary keypad placed on this When pressed by the user's thumb is characterized in that it comprises a step of executing the corresponding function.

In the present invention, the keypad is disposed at both ends of the rear part of the mobile device having a touch screen at the front part, and the auxiliary keypad is disposed at the part where the thumb is placed at both ends of the front part, so that the mobile device is gripped with both hands. When a user writes a document using a device equipped with a touch screen on the front side such as a tablet PC, the user can propose a subsidiary keypad with a thumb and a keypad on both sides with the other finger. It has the effect of entering characters very quickly and accurately.

In addition, the virtual keypad corresponding to the keypads on both ends of the rear part is displayed on the touch screen of the mobile device, and when the finger touches the keypads on both ends of the rear part or the keypads of both rear parts are pressed by the finger, the corresponding part of the virtual keypad is displayed differently. The indicator is displayed on the part, so that the user can easily know which character key is currently placed on his or her finger so that users who are not familiar with the arrangement of the buttons on the keypads on both sides of the rear panel can enter letters conveniently and accurately. have.

In addition, the user can arbitrarily change the arrangement of the buttons of the virtual keypad displayed on the touch screen of the mobile device, there is an effect that the character input can be more efficiently through the optimum arrangement configuration familiar to the user.

In addition, by forming a functional button constituting the front auxiliary keypad in a triangle and staggered form, the area occupied by the front auxiliary keypad can be reduced.

In addition, a virtual property conversion key is provided on the touch screen so that the function buttons constituting the front secondary keypad can perform functions other than the basic property. There is an effect that can be input accurately and quickly through the finger.

1 is a plan view of a tablet PC according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a rear view of a tablet PC according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 3 is an exemplary key input of a tablet PC according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 4 is an internal configuration of a tablet PC according to an embodiment of the present invention.

5 is a flowchart illustrating internal processing of key input of a tablet PC according to an embodiment of the present invention.

6 is a view showing the structure of a front auxiliary keypad according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The construction of the present invention and the effects thereof will be clearly understood through the following detailed description. Prior to the detailed description of the present invention, the same components will be denoted by the same reference numerals as much as possible even if shown on different drawings, and the detailed description will be omitted when it is determined that the subject matter of the present invention may obscure the gist of the present invention. do.

1 shows a top view of a mobile device according to an embodiment of the invention, and FIG. 2 shows a back view of the mobile device. An embodiment of the present invention will be described with a tablet PC employing a full touch screen on the front side as a mobile device. These tablet PCs include Apple's iPad, Samsung's Galaxy Tab and Slate, HP's Slate, and RIM's BlackBerry Playbook.

As shown in FIG. 1, the tablet PC includes a touch screen 10 at a front surface thereof. The auxiliary keypad 20 is arrange | positioned at the front end of a tablet PC. The position at which the auxiliary keypad 20 is disposed at both ends of the front portion is a portion where the thumbs of both hands are placed when the tablet PC is held by both hands. The user can press the auxiliary keypad using his thumb while holding the tablet PC with both hands.

The auxiliary keypad 20 may include function buttons employed in a general keyboard such as ESC, space, Korean / English, Chinese characters, Shift, Ctrl, Alt, Caps Lock, and Enter. The button of the auxiliary keypad 20 shown in FIG. 1 shows one arrangement example and may be configured differently in consideration of user convenience. Each button of the auxiliary keypad 20 may be installed in a form protruding from the front surface, or may be installed in a form recessed on the front surface to increase portability and prevent unexpected button presses.

6 illustrates the structure of the auxiliary keypad 20 disposed at both ends of the front surface in detail.

Referring to FIG. 6, in order to reduce the area of the auxiliary keypad 20 occupying both ends of the front part, a function button is formed in an isosceles triangle and the function buttons 23 in an isosceles triangle are alternately arranged. The vertex of the isosceles triangle is rounded to give it a more aesthetic sense. In the embodiment of the present invention, the function button is an isosceles triangle shape, but an equilateral triangle is also possible and a trapezoidal shape is possible. An isosceles triangle or equilateral triangle or trapezoidal shape can reduce the area of the auxiliary keypad 20 when compared with the rectangle.

In the center of the function button 23, a letter or a sign indicating a basic property is indicated, and on both ends of the function button 23, a letter, a number or a sign indicating other properties is indicated. In FIG. 6, letters, numbers, or signs indicating other attributes are marked at both ends of the function button 23, and only one end of the function button 23 may be shown.

In addition, the virtual property conversion key 21 is displayed in the touch screen 10 in the area where the thumb line is moved from the auxiliary keypad 20. The virtual property conversion key 21 converts the property of the function button 23 constituting the auxiliary keypad 20. The function button 23 may perform a function of the basic property displayed at the center, and when the virtual property conversion key 21 is pressed by the thumb, may perform the function of other properties displayed at both ends. In the embodiment of the present invention, the key for converting the attribute of the function button 23 is displayed on the touch screen, but is not limited thereto, and may be provided as a physical key. In this case, the physical attribute conversion key should be distinguished from the function button in form and color.

When the user presses the virtual property conversion key 21 with a thumb, a character table 22 indicating the property of the function button 23 of the auxiliary keypad 20 may be displayed on a portion of the touch screen 10. In the character table 22, special characters (!, @, #, &,%) Are displayed in the same order as the arrangement of the sub keypad 20. FIG. If the virtual attribute conversion key 21 is pressed again, the character table 22 displays the numbers (1, 2, 3, 4, 5). If the secondary keypad 20 is a basic attribute, the character table 22 may not be displayed and only the other attributes may be displayed. However, the character table 22 is not limited to both the basic attribute and the other attributes. It may be displayed. The character table 22 may be displayed in a vertical form or in a horizontal form. The user may view the text table 22 and press the function button of the auxiliary keypad 20 to perform an input. However, the user may touch the text table 22 itself to perform the input.

As shown in FIG. 2, the tablet PC is provided with keypads 30 at both ends of the rear portion. The position at which the keypad 30 is disposed at both ends of the rear portion is a portion where the four fingers of both hands except for the thumb touch when the tablet PC is held by both hands. In particular, since the battery 32 may be mounted on the rear part of the tablet PC or other components may be installed, the position where the keypad 30 is disposed at both ends of the tablet PC does not interfere with the existing battery 32 or other components. Where is preferred. The user can press the button of the keypad 30 using the four fingers of both hands while the tablet PC is gripped with both hands.

The keypad 30 is composed of Korean and English buttons for text input, and the arrangement of the buttons may be in various forms in consideration of user convenience. The keypad 30 is composed of buttons for character input, such as Korean and English buttons, but is not limited thereto. A part of the auxiliary keypad 20 may be included in the keypad 30. Each button of the keypad 30 may be installed in a form protruding from the rear surface, or may be installed in a form recessed on the rear surface to increase portability and prevent unexpected button presses.

Since the keypad 30 is not visible to the user when the user holds the tablet PC with both hands, the user's grip position is difficult to maintain and an input error may occur. Accordingly, by adding different three-dimensional patterns to each button surface of the keypad 30 can guide the user to press the button of the keypad 30 while maintaining the grip position.

3 illustrates key input of a tablet PC according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 3, when the tablet PC is in the input mode, the virtual keypad 31 corresponding to the keypad 30 at both ends of the rear part is displayed on the touch screen 10. The virtual keypad 31 is the same as the button arrangement of the keypad 30 at both ends of the rear portion. The virtual keypad 31 may be displayed in a portion corresponding to a position where the keypad 30 at both ends of the rear portion is disposed, but may also be displayed in other portions that do not correspond.

The user manipulates the auxiliary keypad 20 with his thumb while holding the tablet PC with both hands, and performs the input operation by manipulating the keypad 30 at both ends of the rear part with the remaining four fingers while watching the virtual keypad 31.

Each button of the keypad 30 may be provided with a touch sensor or a half press detection sensor. In this case, when a user touches a finger on a button of the keypad 30 or presses a part of the button of the keypad 30 (for example, when the button is pressed halfway or slightly pressed), the front touch screen 10 The corresponding button of the virtual keypad 31 of) may be displayed differently or an indicator such as an arrow or a pointer may be displayed on the corresponding button. The user can easily check which button position of the keypad 30 is shown by seeing that the corresponding button of the virtual keypad 31 is displayed differently or an indicator such as an arrow or a pointer is displayed on the corresponding button.

4 briefly illustrates an internal configuration of a tablet PC according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 4, the tablet PC includes a touch screen 10 installed at the front part, a front auxiliary keypad 20 installed at both ends of the front part, a rear keypad 30 installed at both ends of the rear part, and a rear keypad 30. The touch sensor 40 installed in each button, a control unit 50 for receiving and processing each key input to display on the touch screen 10, a memory 60 for storing various applications and software related to key input.

The controller 50 receives a key input signal from the front auxiliary keypad 20 to perform a corresponding function, and receives a key input signal from the rear keypad 30 to display the corresponding character on the touch screen 10.

In addition, the controller 50 displays the virtual keypad 31 stored in the memory 60 on the touch screen 10, and when the sensing signal is received from the touch sensor 40, the sensing signal is located at any position of the rear keypad 30. After confirming whether the signal is generated from the corresponding portion of the virtual keypad 31 is displayed differently or an indicator is displayed on the portion.

In FIG. 4, the touch sensor 40 is illustrated, but is not limited thereto. For example, a half-press detection device may be used instead of the touch sensor 40. In this case, when the user presses the button of the rear keypad 30 halfway, the half-press detection device generates a detection signal and transmits it to the controller 50. When the control unit 50 receives the detection signal from the half-press detection device, the controller 50 checks a position of the rear keypad 30 at which position the signal is generated, and then displays the corresponding part of the virtual keypad 31 differently or an indicator is displayed on the corresponding part. Can be displayed.

When a specific letter is not marked on the button of the rear keypad 30, the user may arbitrarily define a button of the rear keypad 30. That is, the controller 50 executes key input related software stored in the memory 60 and displays a screen for setting a button arrangement configuration of the virtual keypad 31 on the touch screen 10. The user can arbitrarily set the buttons of the rear keypad 30 by changing the button arrangement configuration of the virtual keypad 31 at his convenience through the button arrangement configuration setting screen of the virtual keypad 31.

5 is a flowchart illustrating an internal processing of a key input of a tablet PC according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in Fig. 5, the user first changes the tablet PC to the input mode for document preparation. When the tablet PC enters the input mode, the controller 50 displays the virtual keypad 31 on both ends of the touch screen 10 at the front side (S10). The position of the virtual keypad 31 preferably corresponds to the position of the rear keypad 30, but may not correspond to the position of the rear keypad 30. In addition, the virtual keypad 31 may be displayed on both sides of the lower end of the touch screen 10 as shown in FIG. 3 when considering a character display portion (input window) in which an input character is displayed.

While holding the tablet PC with both hands, the user performs the input operation while manipulating the front auxiliary keypad 20 with his thumb while manipulating the rear keypad 30 with the remaining four fingers.

The controller 50 determines whether a user's finger contact is sensed by the keypads 30 at both ends of the rear portion (S20). If a finger contact is detected, the controller 50 displays a corresponding portion of the virtual keypad 31 of the touch screen differently (S30). That is, the controller 50 may display the corresponding button in a different color or display an indicator on the corresponding button.

Next, the controller 50 determines whether the buttons of the keypad 30 at both ends of the rear portion are pressed (S40). If the keypad 30 is pressed, the controller 50 displays the corresponding character on the character display portion (input window) of the touch screen 10 (S50).

The above description is merely illustrative of the present invention, and various modifications may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the technical spirit of the present invention. That is, in the embodiment of the present invention has been described on the assumption that the user is holding the tablet PC vertically, the same applies to the case of holding the tablet PC horizontally. In this case, the front auxiliary keypad 20 installed at both ends of the front part is installed at both ends of the horizontal direction instead of the vertical direction, and the rear keypad 30 installed at both ends of the rear part also has the front auxiliary keypad 20 installed at the horizontal direction. It may be installed at both ends in the horizontal direction of the rear portion to correspond to.

Therefore, the embodiments disclosed in the specification of the present invention are not intended to limit the present invention. The scope of the present invention should be construed by the claims below, and all techniques within the scope equivalent thereto will be construed as being included in the scope of the present invention.

* Explanation of Codes *

10: touch screen 20: front auxiliary keypad

21: Virtual Property Conversion Key 22: Character Map

23: Function button 30: Rear keypad

31: virtual keypad 32: battery

40: touch sensor 50: controller

60: memory

The present invention is applicable to all types of mobile devices having a touch screen on the front side.

Claims

In a mobile device having a touch screen on the front,

Keypads are disposed at both ends of the rear portion of the mobile device,

An auxiliary keypad composed of a plurality of function buttons is disposed at a part where the thumb is placed at both ends of the front part,

And operating the auxiliary keypad with a thumb in a state where the mobile device is gripped with both hands, and operating the keypads at both ends of the rear part with the remaining fingers.
The method of claim 1,

The virtual keypad corresponding to the keypad of both ends of the rear portion is displayed on the touch screen,

The mobile device, characterized in that the corresponding part of the virtual keypad is displayed differently or the indicator is displayed on the corresponding part when a finger touches the keypads at both ends of the rear part or when the keypads at both ends of the rear part are pressed by a finger.
The method of claim 1,

And the plurality of function buttons are arranged in a triangle shape.
The method according to claim 1 or 3,

In the center of the plurality of function buttons, letters, numbers or signs indicating basic properties are indicated, and letters, numbers or signs indicating other properties are displayed at both ends or one end of the function buttons. The virtual property conversion key is displayed in the area of influence, and when the virtual property conversion key is pressed by a thumb, a character table indicating a property of a current function button is displayed on a specific portion of the touch screen.