KR20010110487A - Accelerometer and selection key(s) used as input devices for mobile radiotelephone - Google Patents

Abstract

The mobile communication terminal (MCT) is configured to include a data processor and a user interface coupled to the data processor. The user interface includes a visual display sub-system and a manual display control sub-system, the manual display control sub-system including at least one device for detecting rotation of the mobile communication terminal (MCT) about a predetermined axis. . In a presently preferred embodiment, at least one device is an accelerometer having a sensitive axis (SA), which can sense acceleration around the sensing axis. The accelerometer changes the appearance of at least one of the information displayed by the visual display subsystem in response to the sensed rotation. In addition, the accelerometer may scroll through the information displayed as direction and speed as a function of the sensed rotation.

Description

Accelerometer and selection key (s) used as input devices for mobile radiotelephone}

The user interface of a mobile communication terminal (MCT) is an important aspect of the device. The user interface allows the operator of the mobile communication terminal (MCT) to make or receive calls, as well as to access, store, read and modify information stored in the mobile communication terminal (MCT). For example, a mobile communication terminal (MCT) can provide an operator with access to various applications that the mobile communication terminal (MCT) can execute (e.g., short message service applications). A plurality of predefined menus can be stored. In addition, the mobile communication terminal (MCT) may store a phone book including a phone number and name, as well as other access information about the other party to which the user calls. Therefore, it can be appreciated that it is desirable to facilitate the ability of a user to interact with a mobile communication terminal (MCT).

Many conventional mobile communication terminals (MCTs) are provided with a plurality of keys or buttons that are manually activated to allow a user to interact with the mobile communication terminal (MCT). For example, there may be one or more keys that, when pressed, allow the user to scroll through a menu list or phone book list. The other key can then be activated to select a particular menu item or phone book list. Further keys may be provided and used to enter alphanumeric characters (alphabet and numbers) and other characters.

While these procedures may be better suited for the various uses of a mobile terminal (MCT), in some usage environments it is desirable to provide different and easier techniques for entering information and accessing stored functions and information of the mobile terminal (MCT). It may be desirable.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates generally to mobile communication terminals, such as handheld wireless telephones, including cellular telephones and personal communicators, and more particularly to user interface methods and apparatus for mobile communication terminals.

The above described features and other features of the present invention will become more apparent upon reading the following detailed description of the invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The drawings are as follows:

1 is a simplified block diagram of a mobile communication terminal (MCT) incorporating at least one accelerometer in accordance with an aspect of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a top view of the mobile communication terminal MCT of FIG. 1 and shows the directions of the first and second sensing axes of the accelerometer.

3A, 3B and 3C are side views of the mobile communication terminal MCT shown in FIG. 2 and aligned along a first neutral plane (FIG. 3A), a first sensing axis deviating from the first neutral plane. 3 shows a mobile communication terminal (FIG. 3B) rotated in a positive direction around it and a mobile communication terminal (FIG. 3C) rotated in a negative direction about a first sensing axis out of the first neutral plane.

FIG. 4 is an end view of the mobile communication terminal MCT of FIG. 2, showing the mobile communication terminal MCT rotated in a positive direction about the second sensing axis out of the second neutral plane.

A first object and advantage of the present invention is an extended user interface of a mobile communication terminal (MCT) that allows a user to enter information and access stored functions by changing the orientation of the mobile communication terminal (MCT) in a three-dimensional space. To provide.

A further object and advantage of the invention is a mobile communication incorporating at least one accelerometer or equivalent device that provides input to a user interface in response to a change in the orientation of a mobile communication terminal (MCT) in a three-dimensional space. It provides a terminal (MCT).

It is another object and advantage of the present invention to incorporate at least one accelerometer or equivalent device for causing the mobile communication terminal (MCT) to perform scrolling in response to a change in the direction of the mobile communication terminal (MCT) in a three-dimensional space. It is to provide a mobile communication terminal (MCT).

It is a further object and advantage of the present invention that at least one accelerometer or equivalent device causes the mobile communication terminal (MCT) to input alphabets and other characters in response to a change in the direction of the mobile communication terminal (MCT) in a three-dimensional space. It is to provide a mobile communication terminal (MCT) that incorporates.

The above and other problems are overcome by the methods and apparatuses according to the embodiment of the present invention and the objects of the present invention are realized.

The mobile communication terminal (MCT) is configured to include a data processor and a user interface coupled to the data processor. The user interface includes a visual display sub-system and a manual display control sub-system, the manual display control sub-system including at least one device for detecting rotation of the mobile communication terminal (MCT) about a predetermined axis. . In a presently preferred embodiment, at least one device is an accelerometer having a sensitive axis (SA), which can sense acceleration around the sensing axis. In a preferred embodiment, this acceleration is due to gravity. The data processor changes at least one appearance of the information displayed by the visual display sub-system in response to the sensed rotation in response to the output of the accelerometer.

For example, the data processor may scroll through the displayed information as a direction and speed as a function of sensed rotation in response to the output of the accelerometer.

Moreover, the user interface may include at least one manually operated switch, wherein the data processor terminates the change in the appearance of the displayed information in response to the output of the switch.

In another embodiment, the data processor moves the cursor through the displayed items of information in a direction and speed that is a function of the sensed rotation in response to the output of the accelerometer. Select the item.

According to an exemplary method of the present invention, there is provided a method comprising: (a) establishing a two-way wireless communication link with a global data communication network; (b) downloading at least one page of information and presenting the at least one page of information to a visual display to a user; (c) rotating the mobile communication terminal (MCT) about a predetermined axis; (d) detecting the rotation; (e) scrolling through the same page or successive pages in the direction and speed as a function of the sensed rotation, and (f) terminating the scrolling step upon detecting an input signal generated by the user. A process for operating a mobile communication terminal (MCT) is provided.

1 is a simplified block diagram of a mobile communication terminal 10 incorporating at least one accelerometer 28 in accordance with an aspect of the present invention. The mobile communication terminal 10 includes a data processor such as a microprocessor control unit (MCU) coupled to a visual display 14 such as an LCD and receives input from the keypad 16. It is assumed that the keypad 16 includes at least one select key SK, which will be described in detail below. Other keys may include such as alphanumeric keys, soft keys, power on / off keys, etc., which are typical for devices of this type. Combining MCU 12, display 14 and keypad 16 provides a user interface (UI) of MCT 10. The memory MEM 12A not only stores an operating program for the MCU 12 but also stores data and constants different from data input by the user. For example, the memory 12A may store telephone book data representing a plurality of names and telephone numbers input in the past by the user.

The MCT 10 may also include a device 18 of type Digital Signal Processor (DSP) that implements the desired baseband and audio functions. The radio frequency (RF) transceiver 20 is connected to the DSP 18 in both directions, and also to at least one antenna 22. Using the transceiver 20 and the antenna 22, the MCT 10 may establish a bidirectional communication link with the remote transceivers and access a voice and data communication network. Speaker 24 (or earphone) and microphone 26 are typically coupled to DSP 18 to allow a user to make or receive voice calls.

In accordance with the teachings of the present invention, the MCT 10 also includes at least one accelerometer (ACC) 28 having a sensing axis SA1, which may sense acceleration around the sensing axis. In a preferred embodiment, these accelerations are due to gravity. As described later herein, the second accelerometer 30 further has a sensing axis SA2 that is aligned differently (eg, orthogonally) relative to the sensing axis SA1 of the first accelerometer 28. May be provided. In this way, the MCT 10 may sense acceleration around each sensing axis.

FIG. 2 is a top view of the MCT 10 and shows the viewing directions of FIGS. 3 and 4 as well as the exemplary directions of the two sensing axes.

3A, 3B, and 3C are side views of the MCT 10 shown in FIG. 2, in which the MCT 10 aligned along the first neutral plane NP1 deviates from the first neutral plane and out of the first sensing plane. It is shown rotated in a positive direction around (FIG. 3B) and rotated in a negative direction around the first sensing axis out of the first neutral plane (FIG. 3C). 4 is an end view of the MCT 10 and shows the MCT 10 rotated in a positive direction about the second sensing axis out of the second neutral plane NP2.

The first neutral plane NP1 is determined such that the first accelerometer 28 does not experience acceleration due to gravity, ideally providing no output to the MCU 12 or providing an output representing zero acceleration. In practice, the first neutral plane (and thus the direction of the first accelerometer in the case of the MCT 10) is determined such that the MCT 10 is located in an easy direction with respect to the local normal. For example, assuming that the MCT 10 is designed to be held in hand during use, the first neutral plane may be rotated by 45 degrees with respect to the vertical direction LN. Subsequently, when the MCT 10 is rotated in the positive direction or the negative direction about the first sensing axis SA1, the accelerometer 28 detects the acceleration due to the force of gravity and generates an output. The intensity of this rotation is indicated by the angle A in FIGS. 3B and 3C, which proportionally increases or decreases the output signal of the accelerometer 28, and the direction of rotation can be indicated by the sign of the output signal. Alternatively, the output of accelerometer 28 may have a value X when positioned in the neutral plane, and subsequent rotations towards or out of the neutral plane may cause an increase or decrease in the corresponding value X. Can cause.

The same applies to the rotation shown in FIG. 4, where the rotational intensity (expressed in degrees B) around the second sensing axis SA2 towards or out of the second neutral plane NP2 in FIG. Generate a proportional output signal from the second accelerometer 30.

Further, according to the teachings of the present invention, MCU 12 of FIG. 1 interprets the output of accelerometer 28 (including if accelerometer 30 is provided) as an input user interface signal and displays the same technique as display 14. Adopt to control the scrolling direction of the information displayed on In a preferred but non-limiting embodiment, the scroll speed is equally controlled. This scrolling can be used to display the names of various applications in succession such as "Phonebook", later "Message", later "Setting", later "Security Options" and the like. Since the intensity of the angle A is made large (with a positive or negative sign), the scroll speed can be caused to increase in a proportional manner.

During the scrolling, if the Select Key SK is pressed, the MCU 12 interprets this signal to terminate the scrolling operation regardless of the current direction of the MCT 10. That is, the output signal of the accelerometer 28 may be simply ignored or the energy supply to the accelerometer 28 may be stopped to save power. If the selection key is released, the scrolling operation can be resumed.

Although described as described above in terms of scrolling in the desired application (e.g., phonebook), the scrolling function for selecting a phonebook application and then scrolling through the list of stored names and numbers until the desired list is found This can be used again. When the selection key is pressed again, this is interpreted to indicate that the list of currently displayed telephone numbers is selected and automatically dials the telephone number stored in the currently displayed telephone directory list. Therefore, the teachings of the present invention can be used to select the preferred MCT 10 application and to scroll through the selected application.

In other embodiments, the present invention can also be used to scroll through other types of information displayed. For example, assume that MCT 10 is used to log on to a global data communication network such as the Internet. The accelerator 28 can then be used to scroll through the World Wide Web (WWW) page displayed by the user, stop at the desired page, and scroll through the desired page displayed.

The second (optional) accelerometer 30 alternatively moves from left to right through a row of alphanumeric characters (e.g., "AaBaCaDa ...") indicated by an indicator, such as cursor 14A (see Figure 2). It can be adopted to move from right to left. For example, the direction shown in FIG. 4 may be the case where the cursor 14A moves at a speed that is a function of the intensity of the angle B in a manner from left to right. When the end of the current line is reached, the cursor 14A can move on to the next line. When the cursor 14A is positioned on the desired character, the operation of pressing the select key is interpreted as a signal to select the indicated character so that the character is input in the same way as by pressing the corresponding key on the keypad 16. The text can be entered into a background application (eg, a message writing application or a phonebook application). When used in this type of alphanumeric character input mode, the output of the first accelerometer 28 may be adapted to move the cursor 14A from row to row. In this way, simple manipulation of the MCT 10 in three-dimensional space is sufficient to move the cursor 14A on the display 14.

Note that the selection key SK need not be a separate and dedicated keypad key, but may be an existing key (e.g. soft key) whose function is redefined when operating the accelerometers 28 and / or 30. shall.

Those skilled in the art should understand that the teachings of the present invention may provide a user interface that is simple and not confusing, and that the required number of scroll arrow keys and such keys is reduced or not needed at all.

In addition, the MCT 10 has the ability to scroll through conventional keypad keys and displayed information and enter information in a conventional manner, for use when the user does not want to use the accelerometers 28 and / or 30. It should also be understood that it may include.

It should also be understood that the angle of the first neutral plane NP1 with respect to the vertical direction LN need not be fixed. That is, by providing a measurement application and process to the MCT 10, the user selects and executes the measurement application through these, and the MCT 10 is detected by the first sensing axis SA1 (or the second sensing). It is within the scope of the teachings of the present invention to locate at a desired angle around axis SA2) and to be able to send a signal to MCU 12 by pressing SK or another key. In response, MCU 12 reads the current output of associated accelerometer 28 or 30 and stores this value in memory 12A as a “zero” value, which is the desired neutral plane and vertical. The angle relationship between directions is shown. Then, continuing to rotate the MCT 10 is referred to about this zero value.

Although the foregoing has described the use of accelerometers 28 and 30 to sense the rotation of the MCT 10 as well as the direction of the MCT 10 in three-dimensional space, the teachings of the present invention are directed to using an accelerometer. It is not limited to. In general, a device or devices capable of sensing the movement or rotation of the MCT 10 about any reference axis or plane may be employed.

Furthermore, MCU 12 may be used to not energize one or both accelerometers 28 and 30 to reduce power consumption when it is not necessary to use a detector. For example, when scrolling through an application program or data file using accelerometer 28, accelerometer 30 may be powered off or may operate in a reduced power consumption mode. Then, if an application program requiring a key input is selected, energy supply to the accelerometer 28 may be stopped, or operated in a reduced power consumption mode, and energy may be supplied to the accelerometer 30.

Therefore, although the present invention has been specifically shown and described with respect to the preferred embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that changes in form and details may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

The present invention can be applied to a user interface method and apparatus of a mobile communication terminal such as a mobile phone.

Claims (13)

In the method for operating a user interface of a mobile communication terminal (MCT), Rotating the mobile communication terminal about a predetermined axis; Detecting the rotation; And Changing the operator's visual display in response to the sensed rotation. A method for operating a user interface of a mobile communication terminal (MCT), Rotating the mobile communication terminal about a predetermined axis; Sensing the direction and intensity of the rotation; And Changing the operator's visual display in response to the sensed direction and intensity. A method for operating a user interface of a mobile communication terminal (MCT), Rotating the mobile communication terminal about a predetermined axis; Detecting the rotation; Scrolling through the displayed information in a direction and speed as a function of the sensed rotation; And Terminating the scrolling step upon detecting an input signal generated by a user. A method for operating a user interface of a mobile communication terminal (MCT), Rotating the mobile communication terminal about a predetermined axis; Detecting the rotation; And Operating a visual display to move the cursor in a direction that is a function of the sensed rotation. A method for operating a user interface of a mobile communication terminal (MCT), Rotating the mobile communication terminal about a predetermined axis; Detecting the rotation; Operating a visual display to move the cursor through the items of displayed information in a direction and speed as a function of the sensed rotation; And Selecting an item of information corresponding to the current position of the cursor upon sensing an input signal generated by the user. In a mobile communication terminal (MCT), Data processor; And A user interface coupled to the data processor, the user interface including a visual display sub-system and a manual display control sub-system, The passive display control sub-system comprises at least one device for detecting rotation about an axis of the mobile communication terminal (MCT), And said data processor changes at least one appearance of information displayed by said visual display subsystem in response to said sensed rotation in response to an output of said at least one device. The method of claim 6, And the data processor scrolls through information displayed in a direction and speed that is a function of the rotation sensed in response to the output of the at least one device. The method of claim 6, The user interface further includes at least one manual operation switch, And the data processor terminates changing the appearance of the displayed information in response to an output of the switch. The method of claim 6, And said data processor moves a cursor through items of information indicated in direction and speed as a function of said rotation detected in response to said output of said at least one device. The method of claim 9, The user interface further includes at least one manual operation switch, And the data processor selects an item of information corresponding to the current position of the cursor in response to the output of the switch. The method of claim 6, And the data processor measures a neutral plane of the at least one device in response to an input from a user, and stores data indicative of the neutral plane in a memory. The method of claim 6, And the data processor is operable to set the device to a reduced power consumption mode of operation. In a method for operating a mobile communication terminal (MCT), Establishing a two-way wireless communication link with a global data communication network; Downloading at least one page of information and presenting the at least one page of information to a visual display to a user; Rotating the mobile communication terminal (MCT) about a predetermined axis; Detecting the rotation; Scrolling through the same page or consecutive pages in a direction and speed as a function of the sensed rotation; And Terminating the scrolling step upon detecting an input signal generated by the user.