KR101504206B1 - A portable terminal and its keypad display method - Google Patents

Abstract

Disclosed is a portable terminal including a terminal body having a display unit and a keypad including a plurality of keys that are displayed in one area of the display unit and are input by a touch method. The keypad may be limited to one of a plurality of subgroups consisting only of a part of the entire keys, and the selected subgroup of subgroups is configured to be magnified and displayed on the display part.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention [0001] The present invention relates to a portable terminal and a method of displaying the keypad,

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a portable terminal having a keypad for inputting in a touch manner.

A portable terminal is a portable device that is portable and has one or more functions such as voice and video call function, information input / output function, and data storing function.

As the functions are diversified, the mobile terminal has complicated functions such as photographing and photographing of movies, playing music or moving picture files, receiving games, broadcasting, etc. These devices are integrally mounted and are equipped with a multimedia player .

In order to implement complex functions in multimedia devices, various new attempts have been made in terms of hardware or software. For example, a user interface environment is provided for a user to easily and conveniently search for or select a function.

The push-type keypad of the conventional type has an excellent advantage in terms of use but it has a problem that it is difficult to engrave the input contents which may be different according to the mode as well as the aesthetics because it creates a complicated appearance.

In the case of a portable terminal having a touch-type input device, an advantage of improving the appearance can be expected. However, as the size of the portable terminal is reduced, the key is also miniaturized, so that there is a high possibility that an error that an unwanted key is input is generated.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and it is an object of the present invention to minimize a false input by enlarging a keypad input by a touch method.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a convenient user interface environment by selecting a part of a keypad to be enlarged by a simple operation.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a portable terminal including: a terminal body having a display unit; And a keypad which is displayed in one area of the display unit and is composed of a plurality of keys input by a touch method. The keypad may be limited to one of a plurality of subgroups consisting only of a part of the entire keys, and the selected subgroup of subgroups is configured to be magnified and displayed on the display part.

As an example related to the present invention, the portable terminal may be provided with a sensing unit for sensing whether a specific subgroup is selected among the subgroups.

As an example related to the present invention, the sensing unit may include a tilt sensing sensor that senses a tilt so that a subgroup on the tilted side of the terminal body is selected according to the tilt of the terminal body. In this case, the keypad may be configured to be selected in different subgroups according to the tilt angle of the terminal body. If an opposite tilt to the tilt occurs, the entire keys of the keypad can be configured to be displayed.

As an example related to the present invention, the sensing unit may include a proximity sensor that senses whether or not a finger is accessed so that a subgroup including the position when the finger approaches a specific position on the keypad is selected. In this case, when a finger approaches a specific position, a subgroup may be formed around the key at that position. When the finger is moved away from the display portion beyond the reference value with the finger being approached, the keypad can be configured to display the entire keys.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the sensing unit may include a touch sensor that senses a direction of a continuous touch such that a subgroup in a direction of a touch is selected when a continuous touch occurs on the keypad. When a subgroup is selected and any consecutive touches to the keypad occur in the magnified state, the keypad may be configured to display the entire keys.

As one example related to the present invention, the subgroup may be configured to be enlarged and displayed in the size of the keypad.

As an example related to the present invention, the keys of the keypad may be a QWERTY keyboard.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of displaying a keypad, the method comprising: displaying a keypad including a plurality of keys, Detecting whether there is a selection for one subgroup of a plurality of subgroups comprising only a portion of all of the keys; And displaying the selected sub-group among the sub-groups on the display unit in an enlarged manner.

In the portable terminal related to the present invention configured as described above, since the subgroup having the key to be input is displayed in an enlarged scale when the keypad displayed on the display unit is input, an error such as an input of an unwanted key can be significantly reduced have.

According to the portable terminal of the present invention, since the sub group can be selected and used by a simple operation of the user, it is convenient in terms of a user interface

Hereinafter, a portable terminal related to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The suffix "module" and " part "for components used in the following description are given merely for convenience of description, and do not give special significance or role in themselves. Accordingly, it should be noted that "module" and "part" may be used interchangeably.

The portable terminal can be implemented in various forms. For example, the terminal described in this specification may include a mobile terminal such as a mobile phone, a smart phone, a notebook computer, a digital broadcasting terminal, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistants), a PMP (Portable Multimedia Player) And fixed terminals such as a digital TV, a desktop computer, and the like. In the following description, it is assumed that the terminal is a portable terminal. However, it will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that the configuration according to the following description may be applied to a fixed terminal, except for a component specially configured for this purpose.

1 is a block diagram of a portable terminal according to the present invention.

The portable 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 unit 160, A controller 170, a controller 180, a power supply 190, and the like. 1 shows a mobile terminal having various components. However, not all illustrated components are required. A mobile terminal may be implemented by more components than the illustrated components, or a mobile terminal may be implemented by fewer components.

The components will be discussed in turn.

The wireless communication unit 110 may include one or more components for wireless communication between the wireless terminal 100 and another wireless communication system or wireless communication between the wireless terminal 100 and the network in which the wireless 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 broadcast signals 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. 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 server and transmitting the generated broadcast signals and / or broadcast- related information. The broadcast-related information may mean information related to a broadcast channel, a broadcast program, or a broadcast service provider. 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 may also be provided through a mobile communication network, in which case it may be received by the mobile communication module 112.

Broadcast-related information can exist in various forms. For example, an EPG (Electronic Program Guide) of DMB (Digital Multimedia Broadcasting) or an ESG (Electronic Service Guide) of Digital Video Broadcast-Handheld (DVB-H).

The broadcast receiving module 111 receives broadcast signals using various broadcasting systems. In particular, the broadcast receiving module 111 may be a Digital Multimedia Broadcasting-Terrestrial (DMB-T), a Digital Multimedia Broadcasting-Satellite (DMB-S) ), Digital Video Broadcast-Handheld (DVB-H), Integrated Services Digital Broadcast-Terrestrial (ISDB-T), and the like. Of course, the broadcast receiving module 111 is configured to be suitable for all the broadcasting systems that provide broadcast signals 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 unit 160.

In addition, the mobile communication module 112 transmits and receives radio signals to at least one of a base station, an external terminal, and a server on a mobile communication network. Here, 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 the wireless Internet module 113 can be built in or externally. WLAN (Wi-Fi), Wibro (Wireless broadband), Wimax (World Interoperability for Microwave Access), HSDPA (High Speed Downlink Packet Access) and the like can be used as wireless Internet technologies.

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 the short distance communication technology.

The location information module 115 is a module for confirming or obtaining the location of the mobile terminal. A typical example of the location information module 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 a trigonometric method to the calculated information to calculate three-dimensional current position information according to latitude, longitude, Can be accurately calculated. At present, a method of calculating position and time information using three satellites and correcting an error of position and time information calculated 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.

An audio / video (A / V) 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 an image frame such as a still image or a moving image obtained by the image sensor in the video communication mode or the photographing mode. Then, 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. [ The camera 121 may be equipped with two or more cameras according to the configuration of the terminal.

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. The microphone 122 may be implemented with various noise reduction algorithms for eliminating noise generated in the process of 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 key pad dome switch, a touch pad (static / static), a jog wheel, a jog switch, and the like. Particularly, when the touch pad has a mutual layer structure with the display unit 151 described later, it can be called a touch screen.

The sensing unit 140 senses the current state of the portable terminal 100 such as the open / close state of the portable terminal 100, the position of the portable terminal 100, the presence of the user, the orientation of the mobile terminal, And generates a sensing signal for controlling the operation of the portable terminal 100. For example, when the portable terminal 100 is in the form of a slide phone, it is possible to sense whether the slide phone is opened or closed. Also, it is responsible for a sensing function related to whether or not the power supply unit 190 is powered on, whether the interface unit 170 is connected to an external device, and the like. Meanwhile, the sensing unit 140 may include a proximity sensor 141. This will be discussed later in connection with touch screens.

The interface unit 170 serves as an interface with all the external devices connected to the portable terminal 100. 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, Video input / output (I / O) ports, earphone ports, and the like. Here, the identification module is a chip that stores various information for authenticating the usage right of the mobile terminal 100, and includes a user identification module (UIM), a subscriber identity module (SIM) ), A Universal Subscriber Identity Module (" USIM "), and the like. In addition, an apparatus having an identification module (hereinafter referred to as 'identification device') can be manufactured in a smart card format. Accordingly, the identification device can be connected to the terminal 100 through the port. The interface unit 170 receives data from an external device or receives power from the external device, transfers the data to each component in the portable terminal 100, or transmits data in the portable terminal 100 to an external device.

The interface unit 170 may be a path through which power from the cradle is supplied to the mobile terminal 100 when the mobile terminal 100 is connected to an external cradle or various command signals input from the cradle by the user It can be a passage to be transmitted to the mobile terminal. The various command signals or power input from the cradle may be operated as a signal for recognizing that the mobile terminal is correctly mounted on the cradle.

The output unit 150 is for outputting an audio signal, a video signal, or an alarm signal, and may include a display unit 151, an audio output module 152, and an alarm output module 153 have.

The display unit 151 displays and outputs the information processed by the portable terminal 100. For example, when the mobile terminal is in the call mode, a user interface (UI) or a graphical user interface (GUI) associated with a call is displayed. And displays the captured or / and received image or UI and GUI.

Meanwhile, as described above, when the display unit 151 and the touch pad have a mutual layer structure to constitute a touch screen, the display module 151 can be used as an input device in addition to the output device. The display unit 151 may be a liquid crystal display, a thin film transistor-liquid crystal display, an organic light-emitting diode, a flexible display, a three-dimensional display 3D display). Some of these displays can be configured to be transparent so that they can be viewed from outside. This can be referred to as a transparent display. A typical example of the transparent display is a transparent LCD or the like. In addition, there may be two or more display units 151 according to the embodiment of the portable terminal 100. The touch screen can be configured to detect not only the touch input position and area but also the touch input pressure.

On the other hand, the proximity sensor 141 may be disposed inside or near 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. Therefore, the proximity sensor has a considerably longer life than the contact-type sensor and its utilization is also quite high. Examples of proximity sensors include a transmission type photoelectric sensor, a direct reflection type photoelectric sensor, a mirror reflection type photoelectric sensor, a high frequency oscillation type proximity sensor, a capacitive proximity sensor, a magnetic proximity sensor, and an infrared proximity sensor.

In the high frequency oscillation type proximity sensor, when the sensing object approaches the vicinity of the sensor sensing surface in the state of oscillating the high frequency of the stationary wave in the oscillation circuit, the oscillation amplitude of the oscillation circuit is attenuated or stopped, Is detected. Therefore, even if any non-metallic substance comes between the high frequency oscillation proximity sensor and the sensing object, the proximity switch can detect the sensing object to be detected without interference of the object.

Even if the proximity sensor is not mounted, it may be configured to detect the proximity of the pointer by the change of the electric field along the proximity of the pointer if the touch screen is electrostatic.

Thus, in the case where the pointer is not actually touched but located close to the touch screen, the position of the pointer and the distance between the pointer and the touch screen can be detected. Hereinafter, for the sake of convenience of explanation, the act of causing the pointer to be located on the touch screen and recognizing that the pointer is located on the touch screen is referred to as "proximity touch" Quot; contact touch ". Further, the position where the proximity touch is performed with the pointer on the touch screen means a position where the pointer corresponds vertically to the touch screen when the pointer is proximity-touched.

The proximity sensor detects proximity touch and proximity touch patterns (e.g., proximity touch distance, proximity touch direction, proximity touch speed, proximity touch time, proximity touch location, proximity touch movement state, etc.) Information corresponding to the touch operation and the proximity touch pattern can be output on the touch screen.

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

The alarm unit 153 outputs a signal for notifying the occurrence of an event of the portable 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 an audio signal or a video signal. For example, it is possible to output a signal in a vibration mode. When the call signal is received or a message is received, the alarm unit 153 can output a vibration to notify it. Alternatively, when the key signal is input, the alarm unit 153 can output the vibration by the feedback to the key signal input. The user can recognize the occurrence of an event through the vibration output as described above. Of course, a signal for notifying the occurrence of an event may also be output through the display unit 151 or the audio output module 152.

The memory unit 160 may store a program for processing and control of the controller 180 and may include a function for temporarily storing input / output data (e.g., a phone book, a message, a still image, . ≪ / RTI > In addition, the memory unit 160 may store data related to vibration and sound of various patterns output upon touch input on the touch screen.

The memory unit 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 random access memory (SRAM), a read only memory (ROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM) , An optical disc, and the like. In addition, the portable terminal 100 may operate a web storage that performs a storage function of the memory unit 160 on the Internet.

The control unit 180 typically controls the overall operation of the mobile terminal. For example, voice communication, data communication, video communication, and the like. In addition, 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 control unit 180 can perform a pattern recognition process for recognizing the handwriting input or drawing input performed on the touch screen as characters and images, respectively.

The power supply unit 190 receives external power and internal power under the control of the controller 180 and supplies power necessary for operation of the respective components.

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 may be implemented as application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), digital signal processing devices (DSPDs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), field programmable gate arrays May be implemented using at least one of processors, controllers, micro-controllers, microprocessors, and electrical units for performing functions. In some cases, such implementation Examples may be implemented by the control unit 180. According to a software implementation, embodiments such as procedures or functions may be implemented with separate software modules that perform at least one function or operation. May be implemented by a software application written in a suitable programming language. It is stored in the memory 160, and executed by a controller 180.

Hereinafter, a communication system capable of operating a terminal according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

The communication system may use different air interfaces and / or physical layers. For example, wireless interfaces that can be used by communication systems include, but are not limited to, Frequency Division Multiple Access ('FDMA'), Time Division Multiple Access ('TDMA'), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Universal Mobile Telecommunications Systems (UMTS) (especially Long Term Evolution (LTE)), Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) . Hereinafter, for the sake of convenience of description, the description will be limited to CDMA. However, the present invention is applicable to all communication systems including CDMA wireless communication systems.

2, the CDMA wireless communication system includes a plurality of terminals 100, a plurality of base stations (BSs) 270, and base station controllers (BSCs) 275 , And a mobile switching center ('MSC') 280. MSC 280 is configured to be coupled to a Public Switched Telephone Network (" PSTN ") 290, and is also configured to be coupled to BSCs 275. BSCs 275 may be coupled in pairs with BS 270 through a backhaul line. The backhaul line may be provided according to at least one of E1 / T1, ATM, IP, PPP, Frame Relay, HDSL, ADSL or xDSL. Thus, a plurality of BSCs 275 may be included in the system shown in FIG.

Each BS 270 may comprise at least one sector, and each sector may comprise an omnidirectional antenna or an antenna pointing to a particular direction of radial from BS 270. [ In addition, each sector may include two or more antennas of various types. Each BS 270 may be configured to support a plurality of frequency assignments and each of the plurality of frequency assignments has a specific spectrum (e.g., 1.25 MHz, 5 MHz, etc.).

The intersection of sector and frequency assignment may be referred to as a CDMA channel. BS 270 may be referred to as a Base Station Transceiver Subsystem (BTSs). In this case, the word "base station" may be referred to as a combination of one BSC 275 and at least one BS 270. [ The base station may also indicate a "cell site ". Alternatively, each of the plurality of sectors for a particular BS 270 may be referred to as a plurality of cell sites.

2, a broadcasting transmitter (BT) 295 transmits a broadcasting signal to the terminals 100 operating in the system. The broadcast module 111 shown in FIG. 1 is provided in the terminal 100 to receive a broadcast signal transmitted by the BT 295.

In addition, FIG. 2 illustrates several Global Positioning System ('GPS') satellites 300. The satellites 300 help locate the terminal of at least one of the plurality of terminals 100. Although two satellites are shown in FIG. 2, useful location information may be obtained by two or more satellites. The GPS module 115 shown in FIG. 1 cooperates with satellites 300 to obtain desired location information. Here, you can track your location using all of the technologies that can track your location, as well as your GPS tracking technology. Also, at least one of the GPS satellites 300 may optionally or additionally be responsible for satellite DMB transmission.

Among the typical operations of a wireless communication system, the BS 270 receives a reverse link signal from the various terminals 100. At this time, the terminals 100 are in the process of connecting a call, transmitting or receiving a message, or performing another communication operation. Each of the reverse link signals received by the particular base station 270 is processed by the particular base station 270. The data resulting from the processing is transmitted to the connected BSC 275. The BSC 275 provides call resource allocation and mobility management functions, including the organization of soft handoffs between the base stations 270. BSC 275 also transmits the received data to MSC 280 and MSC 280 provides additional transmission services for connection with PSTN 290. [ Similarly, the PSTN 290 connects to the MSC 280, the MSC 280 connects to the BSCs 275, and the BSCs 275 communicate with the BSs 270 ).

Hereinafter, a mode of a portable terminal and a display module mounted therein will be described.

3 is a front perspective view of a portable terminal according to the present invention. Referring to FIG. 3, the portable terminal includes a 'bar' type terminal body 101. However, the present invention is not limited to the bar type mobile terminal disclosed in FIG. 3, but may be applied to any type of mobile phone, such as a 'folder' type in which two terminal bodies are foldably connected or a ' It can be applied to a portable terminal.

The casing (casing, housing, cover, etc.) constituting the outer appearance of the terminal body 101 is formed by the front case 102 and the rear case 103. Various electronic components are embedded in the space formed by the front case 102 and the rear case 103. [ At least one intermediate case may be additionally disposed between the front case 102 and the rear case 103. [ The cases may be formed by injection molding of a synthetic resin, or may be made of a metal material, for example, a material such as stainless steel (STS) or titanium (Ti), or a ceramic.

The front case 102 may include a first operation unit 131, a display unit 151, a first sound output unit 152, a first image input unit 121, an acoustic input unit 122, and the like.

The first operation unit 131 receives a command for controlling the operation of the portable terminal related to the present invention.

The display unit 151 includes a liquid crystal display (LCD) module, an OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) module, and a TOLED (Transparent OLED) for visually expressing information. Also, the display unit 151 includes touch sensing means to receive information or control commands by the user's touch. The touch sensing means may include a transparent electrode film disposed inside the window, and a resistance film method or an electrostatic method may be applied.

The first sound output unit 152 may be implemented in the form of a receiver or a speaker.

The first image input unit 121 may be implemented in the form of a camera module for capturing an image or a moving image of a user.

The sound input unit 122 may be implemented in the form of a microphone, for example, to receive a user's voice, other sounds, and the like.

A power supply unit 190, a broadcast signal receiving antenna 116, a second operating unit 132, an interface unit 170, and the like may be disposed on the rear case 103 mounted on the rear side of the portable terminal.

The power supply unit 190 is mounted on the rear case 103 for supplying power to the portable terminal. The power supply unit 190 may be detachably coupled, for example, for charging, as a rechargeable battery. The power supply unit 190 may be disposed so as not to be seen from the outside by the cover 104. [

On one side of the rear case 103, a broadcast signal receiving antenna 116 may be disposed in addition to an antenna for communication. The antenna 116 can be installed to be able to be drawn out to the rear case 103.

The second operating portion 132 may be installed on a side surface of the terminal body 101. The second operating portion 132 together with the first operating portion 131 may be collectively referred to as a manipulating portion and may be employed in any manner as long as the user operates in a tactile manner. For example, the operation unit may be implemented by a dome switch or a touch screen, a touch pad, or a wheel, a jog type, a joystick, or the like, As shown in FIG.

In a functional aspect, the first operation unit 131 is for inputting information such as numbers, letters, symbols, or a menu such as start, end, etc., and the second operation unit 132 is for inputting, Or as a hot-key for performing a special function such as activation of the input unit 121 and the like.

The interface unit 170 is a path for allowing the portable terminal to exchange data with an external device. For example, the interface unit 170 may be a wired or wireless connection terminal for connecting to an earphone, a port for short-range communication (for example, an IrDA port, a Bluetooth port, a wireless LAN port a wireless Lan port), or power supply terminals for supplying power to the portable terminal. The interface unit 170 may be a card socket that accommodates an external card such as a SIM (subscriber identification module) or a UIM (user identity module), a memory card for information storage, and the like.

4 is a rear perspective view of the portable terminal of FIG.

Referring to FIG. 4, a second sound output unit 154 and a second image input unit 125 may be further disposed in the rear case 103.

The second sound output unit 154 may implement a stereo function together with the first sound output unit 152 (see FIG. 3), and may be used for talking in the speakerphone mode.

The second image input unit 125 may have a photographing direction substantially opposite to that of the first image input unit 121 (see FIG. 3), and may be a camera having different pixels from the first image input unit 121. For example, the first image input unit 121 has low pixels so that it is easy to capture a face of a user in the case of a video call or the like and transmit the face of the user to the other party. The second image input unit 125 photographs a general object It is preferable to have a high pixel because it is often not transmitted.

A flash 127 and a mirror 126 are further disposed adjacent to the second image input unit 125. [ The flash 127 illuminates the subject when the subject is photographed by the second image input unit 125. The mirror unit 126 allows the user to illuminate the user's own face or the like when the user intends to photograph the user himself / herself (self-photographing) using the second image input unit 125. [

In the above description, the first operating portion 131 and the like are described as being attached to the front case 102 and the second operating portion 132 and the like are attached to the rear case 103, but the present invention is not limited to such a position. For example, the second operating portion 132 may be disposed in the front case 102 adjacent to the first operating portion 131. [ Further, the first image input unit 121 may be rotatably formed so that the second image input unit 125 can be photographed even if the second image input unit 125 is not separately provided.

5 is a front view of a portable terminal showing a state where a keypad is displayed on a display according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The portable terminal 100 may include a plurality of modes, and one of them may be a mode capable of editing characters, numbers, etc. as shown in FIG.

In the editing mode, the display unit 151 may include a plurality of display areas 151a, 151b, and 151c. 3, an icon or graphic for displaying status information of the portable terminal may be included in the upper display area 151a, and a keypad 400 including a plurality of keys may be disposed in the lower display area 151c, In the display area 151b, a window for displaying the content being edited to display the content input by the keypad 400 is displayed. However, the number of display areas may be larger or smaller than the number of display areas, and the size and position may be set differently from each other.

The keypad 400 has a plurality of keys 401 which can input characters by a touch. 5 illustrates a keypad 400 made up of alphabetic characters called so-called 'QWERTY' keyboards. However, the present invention can be applied to a keyboard in any language.

The keypad 400 may be limited to a plurality of subgroups comprising only a portion of the entire keys 401. These subgroups are one unit to be enlarged as will be explained later. The subgroup may have different keys or different numbers depending on the setting. In FIG. 5, the first subgroup 410 on the right side and the second subgroup 420 on the left side are illustrated. The sizes of the first subgroup 410 and the second subgroup 420 may be set such that there are duplicate keys. Referring to FIG. 5, several keys (T, Y, G, H, V, B, and SPACE) are commonly included in the first subgroup 410 and the second subgroup 420.

6A is an operational state view showing a state of a keypad when the portable terminal is tilted to the right in the state of FIG. 5 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

Subgroups can be selected for enlargement. 6A, when the mobile terminal 100 is tilted to the right by a predetermined angle or more, the sensing unit 450 inside the portable terminal 100 senses the selection of the first subgroup 410 Is completed. The selected first subgroup 410 is enlarged and displayed by the size of the original keypad 400 and the touch input area of the touch sensing means in the portable terminal 100 is aligned with the enlarged first subgroup 410 .

FIG. 6B is an operational state view showing the state of the keypad when the portable terminal is tilted to the right in the state of FIG. 5. FIG.

6A, when the portable terminal 100 is tilted to a leftward angle by more than a predetermined angle, the sensing unit 450 inside the portable terminal 100 senses the selection of the second sub-group 420 Is completed. The selected second sub-group 420 is enlarged and displayed through the display unit 151. The touch input area of the touch sensing unit in the portable terminal 100 is divided into a second sub- It is adjusted to size and position.

As described above, in the keypad 400, the subgroups to be enlarged according to the direction in which the portable terminal 100 is tilted are selected, and the selected subgroups are displayed on the display unit 151 in an enlarged manner. In FIG. 6A, the first subgroup is selected in the tilted direction as it is tilted to the right. In FIG. 6B, the second subgroup is selected as it is tilted to the left. In contrast, The second sub-group 420, which is opposite to the tilted direction, may be selected as it tilts to the right.

6C is an operational state diagram showing the output state of the keypad when the mobile terminal 100 is tilted in the opposite direction in the state of FIG. 6A.

When the specific subgroup of keypad 400 is displayed in an enlarged state and tilted in a direction opposite to the tilted direction for enlargement, the keypad 400 returns to the state in which the entire keys are displayed. That is, as shown in FIG. 6C, when tilted in the opposite direction in the state of FIG. 3 indicated by the chain line, the keypad 400 outputs all the keys in a state that all the keys are displayed.

The mobile terminal 100 is tilted over a certain angle so that a specific subgroup is selected or the entire keys of the keypad 400 are displayed. Such a critical angle may be, for example, 10 degrees, 15 degrees, and so on.

In order to select a specific subgroup, a sensing unit 450 is provided in the portable terminal 100 to sense an action taken by a user. 6A to 6C illustrate that the specific subgroups 410 and 420 are selected by the tilting operation of the portable terminal 100. [ For this, the sensing unit 450 may include an acceleration sensor or a geomagnetic sensor. The acceleration sensor or the geomagnetic sensor senses whether there is a change in the posture necessary to be selected as a specific subgroup of the terminal body 101. [

FIG. 7A is an operational state diagram showing a state of a keypad when the portable terminal is tilted at a first angle in the state of FIG. 5, and FIG. 7B is an operational state view of the portable terminal in the state of FIG. And shows the state of the keypad when tilted at an angle.

The subgroup to be enlarged can be set differently according to the tilt angle of the terminal body 101. [ For this purpose, the subgroup may be displayed on the keypad 400 as being moved.

As shown in FIG. 7A, when the portable terminal 100 is tilted to the right to the first angle? 1, a third subgroup 430 including 'E, R, T, Y, U, Is selected and the third subgroup 430 is enlarged to the size of the keypad 400 and displayed.

If the mobile terminal 100 is tilted to the right at a second angle? 2 larger than the first angle? 1 as shown in FIG. 7B, 'T, Y, U, I, O, P Quot; is selected and the fourth subgroup 440 is enlarged to be displayed on the keypad 400 and displayed.

This feature can be applied to the case of tilting the portable terminal 100 to the left to the first angle and to tilt to the second angle. Furthermore, the selection of the subgroups can be made more or less than the doubling of the tilt angle, which can be different.

FIGS. 8A and 8B are operational diagrams showing a display state of a keypad when a finger is approached to a specific position of the keypad according to a third embodiment of the present invention. FIG.

When the portable terminal 100 approaches a specific position of the keypad 400 by touching a part or tool of the human body detectable by the portable terminal such as a finger to select a specific subgroup of the keypad 400, May be selected.

That is, when the finger is brought close to the right side of the keypad 400 as shown in FIG. 8A, the first subgroup 410 corresponding to the adjacent position is selected and enlarged by the original size of the keypad 400. For this, the sensing unit 450 may include a proximity sensor that senses whether or not the finger is approachable so that a subgroup including the position of the finger when the finger approaches the specific position on the keypad 400 is selected. The proximity sensor may be integrated with the touch sensing means for sensing the touch of the keypad 400.

8B shows that the second sub-group 420 is selected by enlarging the finger by the original size of the keypad 400 by bringing the finger close to the left side of the keypad 400. As shown in FIG.

Conversely, unlike FIG. 8A or FIG. 8B, when the finger is moved away from the display beyond the reference value g, the keypad 400 can be configured to display the entire keys.

9A and 9B are operational state diagrams showing a fourth embodiment related to the present invention.

The portable terminal 100 may be configured such that when there is a continuous touch in a specific direction on the keypad 400, the subgroup in that direction is enlarged and displayed. For this, the sensing unit 450 may include a touch sensor that senses the direction of the touch of the touch on the keypad 400.

As shown in FIG. 9A, when the finger is continuously touched from the left portion to the right portion of the keypad, the first sub-group 410 on the right side of the keypad 400 is selected and enlarged to the original size of the keypad 400. Conversely, if the finger is continuously touched from the right portion to the left portion of the keypad as shown in FIG. 9B, the second sub-group 420 on the left side of the keypad 400 is selected and enlarged to the original size of the keypad 400. However, the first sub-group 410 and the second sub-group 420, which are selected when continuous touching of the finger occurs, may be set to be opposite to each other. In this case, the first subgroup 410 or the second subgroup 420 to be enlarged may be displayed as if they are sequentially moved from left to right or from right to left in an enlarged state.

The display method of the keypad of the portable terminal described above may be configured as follows. That is, a method of displaying a keypad includes: displaying a keypad including a plurality of keys capable of touch input in one area of a display; and displaying the keypad on one of a plurality of subgroups (II) detecting whether a selection has been made for the selected subgroup, and displaying (III) enlarging and displaying the selected subgroup among the subgroups on the display. Each of the steps may include the method described above with reference to FIGS. 5 to 9B.

The above-described portable terminal may be configured such that all or some of the embodiments may be selectively combined so that various modifications may be made without limiting the structure and method of the illustrated embodiments.

1 is a block diagram of a mobile terminal according to the present invention;

2 is a conceptual diagram of a communication system in which a terminal related to the present invention can operate.

3 is a front perspective view of a portable terminal according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a rear perspective view of the portable terminal of FIG.

5 is a front view of a portable terminal showing a state where a keypad is displayed on a display,

6A is a diagram illustrating an operation state diagram showing a state of a keypad when the portable terminal is tilted to the right in the state of FIG. 5 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

6B is an operation state diagram showing the state of the keypad when the portable terminal is tilted to the right in the state of FIG.

 6C is an operating state diagram showing the output state of the keypad when the portable terminal is tilted in the opposite direction in the state of FIG.

Fig. 7A is a second embodiment related to the present invention. Fig. 7A is an operating state diagram showing the state of the keypad when the portable terminal is tilted to the first angle in the state of Fig. 5

7B is an operation state diagram showing the state of the keypad when the portable terminal is tilted to the second angle in the state of FIG.

FIGS. 8A and 8B illustrate operation states of the keypad according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

Figs. 9A and 9B are diagrams showing an operation state diagram showing a fourth embodiment related to the present invention

Claims (21)

Terminal body; A memory for storing a plurality of subgroups constituted by a part of a virtual keypad receiving a character input in a touch manner; A display unit for outputting the virtual keypad; A sensing unit sensing a control command applied to the terminal body in a predetermined direction; And And a control unit for selecting one of the plurality of subgroups based on the control command and controlling the display unit to switch the virtual keypad into the one subgroup, Wherein, And controlling the display unit to restore the one subgroup to the virtual keypad when a control command applied in a direction opposite to the one direction is sensed by the sensing unit in a state in which the one subgroup is output Wherein the portable terminal is a portable terminal. delete The method according to claim 1, The control command is sensed by an input for tilting the terminal body, Wherein the sensing unit includes a tilt sensing sensor for sensing a tilt of the terminal body. The method of claim 3, Wherein the control unit selects different subgroups according to the inclination angle of the terminal body. delete The method according to claim 1, Wherein the sensing unit includes a proximity sensor that senses whether or not a finger is approached to the display unit, Wherein the one subgroup is selected as a subgroup including the specific one of the plurality of subgroups when the control command is sensed by an input approaching a specific location of the display unit. delete 7. The apparatus of claim 6, And controls the display unit to restore the virtual keypad when it is detected by the sensing unit that the finger is moving away from the display unit by a predetermined distance or more. The method according to claim 1, Wherein the control command includes a continuous touch input applied on the display unit, Wherein the sensing unit comprises a touch sensor for sensing the continuous touch input. delete The method according to claim 1, And the one sub-group is enlarged and displayed in the size of the virtual keypad. The method according to claim 1, Wherein the keys of the virtual keypad are QWERTY keyboards. Storing a plurality of subgroups constituting a part of a virtual keypad receiving a character input in a touch manner; Outputting the virtual keypad to a display unit; Sensing a control command applied to the terminal body in a predetermined direction; Selecting one subgroup of the plurality of subgroups based on the control command and switching the virtual keypad to the one subgroup; And And restoring the one subgroup to the virtual keypad when a control command is received in a direction opposite to the one direction while the one subgroup is being output, . 14. The method of claim 13, Wherein when the control command is sensed by an input for tilting the terminal body, the one subgroup is selected as a subgroup in which the terminal is tilted on the virtual keypad among the plurality of subgroups A method of displaying a keypad of a terminal. 15. The method of claim 14, Wherein a different subgroup is selected according to a tilt angle of the terminal body. delete 14. The method of claim 13, When the control command is sensed by a finger approaching the display unit, the one subgroup is selected as a subgroup including a position at which the finger of the plurality of subgroups approaches the display unit And displaying the keypad on the portable terminal. 18. The method of claim 17, Wherein the one sub-group is enlarged around a position where the finger approaches the keypad. 18. The method of claim 17, Wherein the virtual keypad is restored when it is detected that the finger is moved a predetermined distance or more away from the display unit. 14. The method of claim 13, When the control command is sensed by a touch input continuously applied on the display unit, the one subgroup is divided into subgroups located in the direction in which the continuous touch input is applied on the virtual keypad among the plurality of subgroups, Wherein the keypad is displayed on the display unit. delete

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