Mobile terminal and system providing multilingual support

• US 20060155527A1
• Filed: 01/10/2006
• Published: 07/13/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 01/11/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Inventors: Choi, Won-Su
• Application Number:
  US11/328,166
• Publication Number:
  US 20060155527A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 704/2
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/454 Multi-language systems; Localisation; Internationalisation
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72406 by software upgrading or downloading
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/14 including a card reading device
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/58 including a multilanguage function

Abstract

A mobile terminal and system providing multilingual support, are discussed. According to an embodiment, the system includes a server configured to store fonts of different languages of countries, a mobile terminal configured to download a multilingual software module from the server through a wireless network, and/or to receive a multilingual software module stored in an external storage media, and the external storage media configured to be received by the mobile terminal.

Claims

1. A system providing multilingual support, comprising:

a server configured to store fonts of different languages of countries;

a mobile terminal configured to download a multilingual software module from the server through a wireless network, and/or to receive a multilingual software module stored in an external storage media; and

the external storage media configured to be received by the mobile terminal.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the server manages the stored fonts by employing periodic updates and error corrections, and transmits a software module of a corresponding language to the mobile terminal requesting a specific language through the wireless network.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the server is a commercial server or a multilingual module management server.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the mobile terminal reads fonts and string data by interworking between an internal software of the mobile terminal and a multilingual software module received from the internal software, the server, or the external storage media, and switches a user interface language displayed on a display unit to the corresponding language if a user sets a language switchover by a menu operation.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the received multilingual software module includes:

a string table including a menu text list of function items written in a specific language and a string text list of message items;

font data corresponding to the specific language; and

an editor program for editing text in the specific language.

6. The system of claim 4, wherein the internal software of the mobile terminal includes a menu text index table hard-coded into an operating software of the mobile terminal and for accessing data from the received multilingual software module.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the menu index table includes:

a menu text pointer for accessing a menu text list of the received multilingual software module;

a string text pointer for accessing the string text list; and

an editor program pointer for accessing the editor program.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the external storage media is a memory card or a memory stick, which stores at least one multilingual software module in its internal storage space.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the external storage media is an SC (Secure Digital) or CF (Compact Flash) card.

10. A mobile terminal providing multilingual support, the mobile terminal including internal software structure comprising:

a multilingual software module separated from an operating software of the mobile terminal and containing data with respect to a specific language; and

a menu text index table hard-coded into the operating software of the mobile terminal and for reading data from the multilingual software module.

11. The mobile terminal of claim 10, wherein the multilingual software module includes:

a string table including a menu text list of function items written in the specific language and a string text list of message items;

font data corresponding to the specific language; and

an editor program for editing a document in the specific language.

12. The mobile terminal of claim 11, wherein the menu text list contains menu items including a first menu item for allowing a user to set a menu or keys of the mobile terminal, a second menu item for providing a search function, and a third menu item for storing telephone numbers and e-mail addresses.

13. The mobile terminal of claim 11, wherein the string text list contains items of user notification messages including a first message for notifying a user of an incoming phone call, a second message for notifying the user of an outgoing phone call, and a third message for notifying the user that the user is not in a registered service area of the mobile terminal

14. The mobile terminal of claim 11, wherein the font data includes data including character fonts and font combinations of the specific language, and character spacing.

15. The mobile terminal of claim 11, wherein the editor program is configured to allow a user to edit documents when writing a message, and to prevent a font break or an error occurrence when the user displays a received message in the specific language on a screen of the mobile terminal.

16. The mobile terminal of claim 10, wherein the menu text index table includes:

a menu text pointer for accessing a menu text list of the multilingual software module;

a string text pointer for accessing a string text list of the multilingual software module; and

an editor program pointer for accessing an editor program.

17. The mobile terminal of claim 10, wherein the multilingual software module stored in the mobile terminal is downloaded from a server via network.

18. The mobile terminal of claim 10, wherein the multilingual software module stored in the mobile terminal is loaded from an external storage media.

19. A method of switching a language used in a mobile terminal which includes font data of a first language, the method comprising:

obtaining font data of a second language in the mobile terminal by either downloading the second language font data from a server or inserting an external storage medium containing the second language font data in the mobile terminal; and

configuring the mobile terminal to apply the obtained second language font data, so that the second language is used in the mobile terminal.

20. The mobile terminal of claim 19, further comprising:

replacing the second language font data with font data of another language in the mobile terminal, without altering an operating software (OS) of the mobile terminal.