KR101649646B1 - Portable terminal - Google Patents

Abstract

[0001] The present invention relates to an input device for a mobile terminal, and more particularly, to a rotary wheel unit including a rotatable wheel for executing an input according to a rotation direction or a rotation angle. And an input unit disposed in a center space of the wheel and configured to be input independently of the rotary wheel unit, wherein the input unit is disposed dispersed around a center space of the wheel, A plurality of first sensing areas independently formed to detect a touch; A second sensing area disposed at the center of the plurality of first sensing areas and configured to be able to sense a touch independently of the first sensing area; And a display unit for outputting a cover that can be input through the plurality of first sensing areas and the second sensing area below the plurality of first sensing areas and the second sensing area.

Description

[0001] PORTABLE TERMINAL [0002]

The present invention relates to an input device of a mobile terminal.

The mobile terminal is a portable electronic device having one or more functions that can be carried by a user and can be used by a user to input and output information, enable voice or video communication with the other party, or store data.

As the functions are diversified, the mobile terminal may be equipped with functions such as photographing and photographing of a moving picture, reproduction of music or video file, game, reception of broadcast, and the like. Such functions may be implemented in a multimedia device by being embedded in a mobile terminal.

For the implementation of various functions and the operation of the parts, the mobile terminal requires sufficient support in terms of hardware or software. For example, research has been conducted to develop a user interface environment in which a user can easily and conveniently use a mobile terminal in terms of usage.

In the case of a conventional keypad mounted on a mobile terminal for inputting, there is an inconvenience in that a plurality of keys must be repeatedly pressed or touched to retrieve a large amount of contents.

For this purpose, a wheel device (or a jog dial), which is designed to quickly search for or access desired information through a rotation operation, is applied to a mobile terminal, thereby increasing the user's convenience.

In addition to the search function by rotation, a dome switch is also mounted on the wheel device so that the scroll device can be pushed down. However, it is difficult to clearly distinguish between the turning operation of the wheel and the pushing operation of the dome switch, and there is a possibility that malfunction may occur.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an input device that can be operated by a mechanism different from the input by rotation of a wheel in a mobile terminal having a wheel device.

Another object of the present invention is to minimize the influence of rotation of the wheel by such an input device.

In order to solve the above problems, a rotary wheel unit comprising a rotatable wheel so as to be able to execute an input in accordance with a rotation direction or a rotation angle; And an input unit disposed in a center space of the wheel and configured to be input independently of the rotary wheel unit, wherein the input unit is disposed dispersed around a center space of the wheel, A plurality of first sensing areas independently formed to detect a touch; A second sensing area disposed at the center of the plurality of first sensing areas and configured to be able to sense a touch independently of the first sensing area; And a display unit for outputting a mark that can be input through the plurality of first sensing areas and the second sensing area below the plurality of first sensing areas and the second sensing area.

The plurality of first sensing areas may be formed at positions of upper, lower, left, and right edges of the center space of the wheel.

The plurality of first sensing areas may be disposed adjacent to an inner edge of the wheel.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the input unit may include: a first conductive film having a first electrode pattern and a second electrode pattern each having an area corresponding to the first sensing area and the second sensing area; And a second conductive film on which a common electrode pattern is formed so that the first electrode pattern and the second electrode pattern can be in common contact with each other.

As an example related to the present invention, the input unit includes: a window disposed on a surface of a central region of the wheel; And a first sensing area and a second sensing area corresponding to the first sensing area and the second sensing area to detect a change in capacitance of a human body applied to the first sensing area and the second sensing area, And a conductive film having a second electrostatic pattern formed thereon.

As an example related to the present invention, the input unit includes: a window disposed on a surface of a central region of the wheel; And a pressure monitoring unit disposed at an edge of the window so as to correspond to the first sensing area and the second sensing area and configured to detect a pressure applied to the window.

According to the mobile terminal of the present invention, the input operation corresponding to the rotational position of the wheel can be performed independently of the rotational operation of the wheel. Therefore, the risk of malfunction can be reduced and the reliability is improved, compared with the conventional example in which a means such as a dome switch is provided directly below the wheel.

Since the input unit disposed at the center of the wheel is operated by a touch, it is possible to provide a variety of visual markings that can be input by a combination with a display unit located at a lower portion, thereby improving convenience.

1 is a block diagram of a mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a mobile terminal according to the present invention,
FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing the disassembled state of the mobile terminal to which the input device related to the present invention and the first example is applied.
Fig. 4 is a sectional view of the first touch sensing sensor constituting the input device of Fig. 3
FIG. 5 is a schematic plan layout diagram of a first electrode pattern constituting the first touch sensing sensor of FIG.
6 is a schematic plan view of a common electrode pattern corresponding to the first electrode pattern and the second electrode pattern of FIG. 5
Fig. 7 is an operational state diagram of the input device to which the first touch detection sensor of Fig. 4 is applied
FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view showing the disassembled state of the mobile terminal to which the input device related to the present invention and the second example is applied,
9 is a plan view of the second touch sensing sensor constituting the touch unit of FIG.
Fig. 10 is an operational state diagram of the input device to which the second touch detection sensor of Fig. 9 is applied
11 is a partial cross-sectional perspective view of a partial section of a mobile terminal to which an input device related to the present invention and a third example is applied.
Fig. 12 is a schematic sectional view of a pressure sensor constituting the touch unit of Fig. 11
Fig. 13 is a plan view showing the arrangement state of the pressure sensor of Fig.
Fig. 14 is an operational state diagram of the input device to which the pressure sensor of Fig. 13 is applied

Hereinafter, a mobile terminal related to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the present specification, the same or similar reference numerals are given to different embodiments in the same or similar configurations. As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

The mobile terminal described in this specification may include a mobile phone, a smart phone, a laptop computer, a digital broadcasting terminal, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistants), a PMP (Portable Multimedia Player), navigation and the like. However, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the configuration according to the embodiments described herein may be applied to a fixed terminal such as a digital TV, a desktop computer, and the like, unless the configuration is applicable only to a mobile terminal.

1 is a block diagram of a mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.

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

Hereinafter, the components will be described in order.

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

The broadcast receiving module 111 receives 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 management server and transmitting the generated broadcast signals and / or broadcast related information. The broadcast signal may include a TV broadcast signal, a radio broadcast signal, a data broadcast signal, and a broadcast signal in which a data broadcast signal is combined with a TV broadcast signal or a radio broadcast signal.

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

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

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

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

The mobile communication module 112 transmits and receives radio signals to at least one of a base station, an external terminal, and a server on a mobile communication network. The wireless signal may include various types of data depending on a voice call signal, a video call signal or a text / multimedia message transmission / reception.

The wireless Internet module 113 is a module for wireless Internet access, and may be built in or externally attached to the mobile terminal 100. 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 a short range communication technology.

The position information module 115 is a module for obtaining the position of the mobile terminal, and a representative example thereof is a Global Position System (GPS) module.

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

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

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

The user input unit 130 generates input data for a user to control the operation of the terminal. The user input unit 130 may include a key pad dome switch, a touch pad (static / static), a jog wheel, a jog switch, and the like.

The sensing unit 140 senses the current state of the mobile terminal 100 such as the open / close state of the mobile terminal 100, the position of the mobile terminal 100, the presence or absence of user contact, the orientation of the mobile terminal, And generates a sensing signal for controlling the operation of the mobile terminal 100. For example, when the mobile terminal 100 is in the form of a slide phone, it is possible to sense whether the slide phone is opened or closed. It is also possible to sense whether 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.

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

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

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

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

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

When the display unit 151 and the sensor (which may be referred to as 'touch sensor') for sensing the touch operation have a mutual layer structure (which may be referred to as a 'touch screen'), It can also be used as an input device. The touch sensor may have the form of, for example, a touch film, a touch sheet, a touch pad, or the like.

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

If there is a touch input to the touch sensor, the corresponding signal (s) is sent to the touch controller. The touch controller processes the signal (s) and transmits the corresponding data to the controller 180. Thus, the control unit 180 can know which area of the display unit 151 is touched or the like.

Referring to FIG. 1, a proximity sensor 141 may be disposed in an inner region of the mobile terminal or in the vicinity of the touch screen, which is surrounded by the touch screen. The proximity sensor refers to a sensor that detects the presence or absence of an object approaching a predetermined detection surface or a nearby object without mechanical contact using the force of an electromagnetic field or infrared rays. The proximity sensor has a longer life span than the contact sensor and its utilization is also high.

Examples of the proximity sensor include a transmission 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. And to detect the proximity of the pointer by the change of the electric field along the proximity of the pointer when the touch screen is electrostatic. In this case, the touch screen (touch sensor) may be classified as a proximity sensor.

Hereinafter, for convenience of explanation, the act of recognizing that the pointer is positioned on the touch screen while the pointer is not in contact with the touch screen is referred to as "proximity touch" The act of actually touching the pointer on the screen is called "contact touch. &Quot; The position where the pointer is proximately touched on the touch screen means a position where the pointer is vertically corresponding to the touch screen when the pointer is touched.

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

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

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

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

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

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

The memory 160 may store a program for the operation of the controller 180 and temporarily store input / output data (e.g., a phone book, a message, a still image, a moving picture, etc.). The memory 160 may store data on vibration and sound of various patterns outputted when a touch is input on the touch screen.

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

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

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

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

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

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

The power supply unit 190 receives 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 a processor, controllers, micro-controllers, microprocessors, and other electronic units for performing other functions. In some cases, The embodiments described may be implemented by the control unit 180 itself.

2 is a perspective view of a mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The disclosed mobile terminal 100 has a terminal body 101 in the form of a bar. However, the input device related to the present invention is not limited thereto, and can be applied to various structures such as a slide type, a folder type, a swing type, and a swivel type in which two or more bodies are relatively movably coupled.

The terminal body 101 includes a case (a casing, a housing, a cover, and the like) which forms an appearance. In this embodiment, the case may be divided into a front case 102 and a rear case 104. [ A variety of electronic components are embedded in the space formed between the front case 102 and the rear case 104. At least one intermediate case may be additionally provided between the front case 102 and the rear case 104.

The cases may be formed by injection molding a synthetic resin, or may be formed to have a metal material such as stainless steel (STS) or titanium (Ti) or the like.

Referring to FIG. 2, a display unit 151 and an input device 200 are mounted on a front surface of the terminal body 101.

An acoustic output unit 152 may be provided on the upper portion of the terminal body 101 to output acoustic information such as a system sound or a voice signal.

The display unit 151 is configured to output time information according to various modes of the mobile terminal 100. That is, it can show the contents input through the input device 200, visually show the use state of the terminal 100, or can be a state of multimedia to be reproduced, or a viewfinder of the camera device.

The input device 200 is capable of inputting characters or numbers, or searching or inputting control commands. The input device 200 includes a rotary wheel unit 210 and a touch unit 220, which will be described later in detail.

Keypad means for inputting information in a pushing manner or a touching manner may further be disposed around the input device 200. [

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the mobile terminal of FIG. 2; FIG. 3, the input device 200 may include a cover 104 that forms a partial appearance of the mobile terminal 100 and protects the display unit 151. [ The cover 104 is formed to have a size that covers the front surface of the mobile terminal 100, thereby forming a simple appearance of the mobile terminal 100.

The cover 104 is provided with an installation hole 104a for installing the input device 200 related to the present invention and a key cover for guiding the operation position of another type of input device around the installation hole 104a. Can be formed.

The input device 100 installed in the installation hole 104a is provided with a rotary wheel unit 210 and a touch unit 220. [ The rotary wheel unit 210 includes a wheel 211 having two opposite directions of movement from the reference state and performs an input operation corresponding to the rotation direction or the rotation angle of the wheel 211. [ The touch unit 220 is installed in a central region of the wheel 211 in a state in which it is independent of the rotation of the wheel 211.

The wheel 211 may be formed as a ring that is mechanically rotatable or fixed to sense a finger being rotated in a contact state. Wheel 211 may be called a name such as "scroll", "dial", "joystick", or "mouse" To facilitate the rotation of the wheel 211, a groove or a highly frictional soft member (e.g., rubber) may be attached to the surface of the wheel 211.

The rotary wheel unit 210 can perform various input operations according to the mode of the mobile terminal 100. [ For example, in the case of outputting a selectable list or menu through the display unit 151, the cursor or the pointer can be moved in that direction by rotating the wheel 211 in the forward direction or the reverse direction. In addition, the wheel 211 may adjust the audio or video related functions or the control panel such as the volume or brightness of the screen through rotation.

A touch unit 220 is provided in the center region 211a of the wheel 211. [ 2, the touch unit 220 includes a plurality of first sensing areas 221 dispersed around the center space 211a of the wheel 211, a plurality of first sensing areas 221 And a second sensing area 222 disposed in the middle of the first sensing area 221. Each of the first sensing areas 221 can independently sense a touch with respect to the first sensing area 221 and the second sensing area 222 can also touch the first sensing area 221 independently As shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 3, the touch unit 220 includes a first touch sensing sensor 230, a transparent substrate 240, and a display unit 250. In this embodiment, the first touch sensing sensor 230 operates according to the so-called static pressure method, and senses the touch by the pressure applied to the first touch sensing sensor 230.

The translucent substrate 240 may be formed of translucent plastic, tempered glass, or the like so as to support the first touch sensing sensor 230 while allowing the image output by the lower display unit 250 to be visible.

The display unit 250 may include a display device 251 such as a plurality of LEDs, an LCD, an OLED, or an e-paper. The content output by the display unit 250 may be a cover indicating a content that can be input by the first sensing area 221 and the second sensing area 222, or an arbitrary image, graphic, character / number, or the like.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the first touch sensor constituting the input device of FIG. 3, FIG. 5 is a schematic plan layout of the first electrode pattern of the first touch sensor of FIG. 4, FIG. 7 is an operational state diagram of an input device to which the first touch sensing sensor of FIG. 4 is applied. FIG. 7 is a schematic plan view of a common electrode pattern corresponding to the first electrode pattern and the second electrode pattern of FIG.

Referring to FIG. 4, the first touch sensing sensor 230 includes a first conductive film 232 and a second conductive film 236 spaced apart by a spacer 239. The first conductive film 232 and the second conductive film 236 have the first and second electrode patterns 233A and 233B and the common electrode pattern 237. When the second conductive film 236 is pressurized The ground common electrode pattern 237 contacts the first and second electrode patterns 233A and 233B to generate a signal. The first and second electrode patterns 233A and 233B and the common electrode pattern 237 may be a light transmissive conductive film such as an indium tin oxide (ITO) film, a carbon nanotube (CNT) film, or the like. Meanwhile, the first and second electrode patterns 233A and 233B may be formed directly on the transparent substrate 240 so that the first conductive film 232 may be omitted.

Referring to FIG. 5, the first electrode pattern 233A and the second electrode pattern 233B are arranged in areas and numbers corresponding to the first sensing area 221 and the second sensing area 222, respectively. The first electrode patterns 233A and the second electrode patterns 233B are connected to the terminals 234 by connection lines connecting the first electrode patterns 233A and the second electrode patterns 233B. Although the first and second electrode patterns 233A and 233B are circular in shape, they may be arranged in a polygonal shape, and the first and second electrode patterns 233A and 233B may be circular, elliptical or polygonal have.

Referring to FIG. 6, the common electrode pattern 237 is formed as one connected conductor so that the first electrode pattern 233A and the second electrode pattern 233B can be in common contact with each other. Accordingly, when any one of the separated first electrode patterns 233A or the second electrode pattern 233B is touched, the electrode pattern is brought into contact with the common electrode pattern 237 by the applied pressure, Signal. Since the first electrode pattern 233A and the second electrode pattern 233B are spaced apart from each other, it is possible to generate an independent input signal even if one common electrode pattern 237 is used. In this case, it is possible to simultaneously input two or more different electrode patterns.

In FIG. 7, four first sensing areas 221 are provided, and one second sensing area 222 is disposed at the center of the first sensing areas 221. Signals 252 and 253 output through the display unit 250 are disposed in the first sensing area 221 and the second sensing area 222, respectively. Accordingly, it is possible to search or input through the rotation of the wheel 211, or to search or input through the first sensing area 221 by touching. As a use example, it is possible to search a large number of items at a high speed by rotating the wheel 211, and to search one unit by detailed items by touching the first sensing area 221 It is possible. The plurality of first sensing areas 221 are disposed adjacent to the inner edge of the wheel 211 so that the touch input can be easily performed while the wheel 211 is rotated. The combination of the wheel 211 and the first sensing area 221 can be compared with the conventional example in which the dome switch is installed in the wheel itself. The touch on the first sensing area 221 is not influenced by the rotation operation of the wheel 211, so that the erroneous input due to the rotation of the wheel 211 is not originally generated.

FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view showing an exploded view of a mobile terminal to which an input device related to the present invention and a second example is applied, FIG. 9 is a plan view of a second touch sensing sensor constituting the touch unit of FIG. 8, 10 is an operational state diagram of an input device to which the second touch sensing sensor of FIG. 9 is applied.

In this example, the rotary wheel unit 310 constituting the input device 300 is similar to the first example described above, but the touch unit 320 is operated by the so-called 'static electricity method'.

In more detail, the touch unit 320 includes a window 340, a second touch sensing sensor 330, and a display unit 350 from above.

The window 340 is formed of translucent plastic or glass and is formed in a shape that can be disposed on the surface of the central region 311a of the wheel 311. [

The second touch sensing sensor 330 includes a conductive film 331 formed with a first electrostatic pattern 333A and a second electrostatic pattern 333B. The conductive film 331 is disposed under the window 340 and senses a change in the capacitance of the human being touched. The first electrostatic pattern 333A and the second electrostatic pattern 333B are formed in a first sensing area 221 and a second sensing area 222 so as to sense a change in capacitance of a human body applied to the first sensing area 221 and the second sensing area 222 221 and the second sensing area 222, respectively.

Thus, when any one of the first electrostatic patterns 333A separated or the second electrostatic pattern 333B is touched, a change in the electrostatic capacitance of the electrostatic pattern (change over the reference value) . Since the first electrostatic pattern 333A and the second electrostatic pattern 333B are spaced apart from each other, it is possible to generate an independent input signal. In this case, it is possible to simultaneously input two or more different electrode patterns.

11 is a partial cross-sectional perspective view showing a partial cross-section of a mobile terminal to which an input device related to the present invention and a third example is applied, FIG. 12 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a pressure sensor constituting the touch unit of FIG. 11 is a plan view showing the arrangement of the pressure sensors of Fig. 11, and Fig. 14 is an operational state diagram of an input device to which the pressure sensor of Fig. 13 is applied.

In this example, the rotary wheel unit 410 constituting the input device 400 is similar to the first example or the second example described above, but the touch unit 420 is operated by the so-called pressure sensor method.

More specifically, the touch unit 420 includes a window 440, a pressure sensor 430, and a display unit 450 from above.

The window 440 is formed of translucent plastic or glass and is formed in a shape that can be disposed on the surface of the central region 411a of the wheel 411. [

The pressure sensor 430 is disposed between the window 440 and the intermediate case 106 at the edge of the window 440 so as to correspond to the first sensing area described in the first and second examples, As shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 12, each pressure sensor 430 includes a first electrode 431 and a second electrode 432 spaced apart from each other with a compressible dielectric layer 433 interposed therebetween, and detects a change in permittivity due to compression It is possible to do.

As shown in Fig. 13, the pressure sensor 430 is arranged in the form of a strip-shaped array, unlike the squares in the first or second example. Accordingly, the pressure sensor 430 corresponding to the pressure applied to the window 440 is operated to sense the touch. In this case, when a pressure corresponding to the second sensing area described in the first and second examples is generated, the input may be set to be performed by on / off operation of the pressure sensor 430 of two or more.

The mobile terminal described above can be applied to not only the configuration and method of the embodiments described above but also all or some of the embodiments may be selectively combined so that various modifications may be made to the embodiments It is possible.

Claims (6)

A rotary wheel unit including a rotatable wheel capable of performing an input in accordance with a rotation direction or a rotation angle; And
And a touch unit disposed in a center space of the wheel and configured to be input independently of the rotary wheel unit,
The touch unit includes:
A plurality of first sensing areas dispersed around the center space of the wheel, the first sensing areas independently sensing a touch for each area;
A second sensing area disposed at the center of the plurality of first sensing areas and configured to be able to sense a touch independently of the first sensing area; And
A display unit for outputting a cover that can be input through the plurality of first sensing areas and the second sensing area under the plurality of first sensing areas and second sensing areas;
A first conductive film having a first electrode pattern and a second electrode pattern corresponding to the first sensing region and the second sensing region, respectively; And
And a second conductive film on which a common electrode pattern is formed so that the first electrode pattern and the second electrode pattern can be in common contact,
Wherein the first electrode pattern and the second electrode pattern are spaced apart from each other such that different input signals are generated based on the first electrode pattern or the second electrode pattern which is in contact with the common electrode pattern Mobile terminal. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the plurality of first sensing areas are formed at upper, lower, left, and right edges of the center space of the wheel, respectively. 3. The method of claim 2,
Wherein the plurality of first sensing areas are disposed adjacent to an inner edge of the wheel. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the first electrode pattern and the second electrode pattern have areas corresponding to the first sensing area and the second sensing area, respectively. The touch panel according to claim 1,
A window disposed on a surface of the central region of the wheel; And
A first electrostatic pattern and a second electrostatic pattern corresponding to the first sensing area and the second sensing area to detect a change in capacitance of a human body applied to the first sensing area and the second sensing area, And a conductive film on which a second electrostatic pattern is formed. The touch panel according to claim 1,
A window disposed on a surface of the central region of the wheel; And
And a pressure monitoring unit disposed at an edge of the window so as to correspond to the first sensing area and the second sensing area and configured to detect a pressure applied to the window.

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