MOBILE TERMINAL

• US 20090122026A1
• Filed: 06/27/2008
• Published: 05/14/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 11/09/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Inventors: OH, Han-Gyu
• Granted Patent: US 9,462,097 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/174
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1613 for portable computers cooling arrangements therefor G06F1/203; constructional details or arrangements for pocket calculators, electronic agendas or books G06F15/0216; constructional details of portable telephone sets: with several bodies H04M1/0202
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1624 with sliding enclosures, e.g. sliding keyboard or display
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1643 the display being associated to a digitizer, e.g. laptops that can be used as penpads details related to the relative motion of the display enclosure with respect to the body enclosure, e.g. to move between laptop and tablet PC configuration G06F1/1615
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1662 Details related to the integrated keyboard
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1677 for detecting open or closed state or particular intermediate positions assumed by movable parts of the enclosure, e.g. detection of display lid position with respect to main body in a laptop, detection of opening of the cover of battery compartment
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/169 the I/O peripheral being an integrated pointing device, e.g. trackball in the palm rest area, mini-joystick integrated between keyboard keys, touch pads or touch stripes G06F1/1643 takes precedence; constructional details of pointing devices G06F3/033
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04102 Flexible digitiser, i.e. constructional details for allowing the whole digitising part of a device to be flexed or rolled like a sheet of paper
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04107 Shielding in digitiser, i.e. guard or shielding arrangements, mostly for capacitive touchscreens, e.g. driven shields, driven grounds
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/041 Digitisers, e.g. for touch screens or touch pads, characterised by the transducing means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0445 using two or more layers of sensing electrodes, e.g. using two layers of electrodes separated by a dielectric layer
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04886 by partitioning the display area of the touch-screen or the surface of the digitising tablet into independently controllable areas, e.g. virtual keyboards or menus
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/0235 Slidable or telescopic telephones, i.e. with a relative translation movement of the body parts; Telephones using a combination of translation and other relative motions of the body parts
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/0266 for a display module assembly
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/23 Construction or mounting of dials or of equivalent devices; Means for facilitating the use thereof by improving visibility H04M1/22
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/233 including a pointing device, e.g. roller key, track ball, rocker switch or joystick constructional details of pointing devices per se G06F3/033
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/18 including more than one keyboard unit
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/22 including a touch pad, a touch sensor or a touch detector digitizers for touch screens G06F3/041

Abstract

A mobile terminal having an input device that performs inputting in a tactile manner is disclosed. A touch screen of a first region and touch buttons of a second region are implemented by a single touch sheet without having ouch sensing units. Thus, manufacturing, assembling and handling can be facilitated.

Claims

1. A mobile terminal comprising:

a terminal body having a first and a second region; and

a touch sheet that senses a touch applied to the first and second regions,

wherein the touch sheet comprises a touch screen pattern portion that includes multiple conductive lines to sense a touch applied to the first region and a touch button pattern portion disposed to have a certain area on the second region.

2. The mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein the touch sheet is integrally formed.

3. The mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein a display module that outputs visual information and a circuit board are configured at an inner side of the touch sheet, and the display module is disposed at the first region and the circuit board is disposed at the second region.

4. The mobile terminal of claim 1, further comprising a window that integrally covers the touch sheet, the window is disposed at an outer side of the touch sheet.

5. The mobile terminal of claim 4, wherein the touch sheet comprises at least one transmissive insulation layer including the touch screen pattern part and the touch button pattern part.

6. The mobile terminal of claim 5, wherein the touch screen pattern portion and the touch button pattern portion respectively comprise data lines to transmit signals, and the data lines of the touch screen pattern portion are aligned along the edges of the transmissive insulation layer and are congregated with data lines of the touch button pattern portion so as to be connected with an FPCB (Flexible Printed Circuit Board).

7. The mobile terminal of claim 6, wherein a conductive shielding line for shielding the data lines of the touch screen pattern portion is configured at edges of the first region of the touch sheet, and positioned on the opposite surface of the insulation layer on which the data lines of the touch screen pattern portion are disposed.

8. The mobile terminal of claim 6, wherein the shielding line is configured to partition the first and second regions.

9. The mobile terminal of claim 5, wherein the transmissive insulation layer is made of a flexible resin material, and the touch screen pattern portion and the touch button pattern portion are made of ITO(Indium Tin Oxide) on the transmissive insulation layer through sputtering.

10. The mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein multiple touch button pattern portion are formed.

11. The mobile terminal of claim 10, wherein at least one through hole is formed between the touch button pattern portion.

12. The mobile terminal of claim 11, wherein a first push button that receives user inputs in a push manner is mounted through the through hole.

14. The mobile terminal of claim 10, wherein the terminal body has a lower end portion with a round shape, and two or three second push buttons that receive user inputs in the push manner are disposed at the lower end portion thereof.

15. The mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein the terminal body comprises a first terminal body and a second terminal body that is connected to be slidably movable with respect to the first terminal body, and the first and second regions and the touch sheet are formed on the first terminal body.

16. The mobile terminal of claim 15, wherein the second terminal body comprises a keypad for inputting numbers or characters.

17. The mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein an illumination unit for illuminating the first region is provided at an upper portion of the circuit board.

18. The mobile terminal of claim 17, wherein the illumination unit is formed of an EL sheet that performs surface illumination.

13. The mobile terminal of claim 13, wherein the unit patterns are disposed around the first push button and are allow the user to move a cursor or a pointer in a certain direction.

19. A touch sensitive member comprising:

an integrated sheet having a planar surface divided into a first section and a second section respectively used to receive different types of user touch inputs;

an array of touch sensors at the first section that senses user touch inputs using a first pattern of touch sensitive elements; and

a plurality of touch activated regions at the second section that senses user touch inputs using a second pattern of touch sensitive elements.

20. The touch sensitive member of claim 19, wherein the touch sensitive elements detect user touch inputs based on changes in at least one of capacitance, resistance, pressed duration, and pressure.

21. The touch sensitive member of claim 20, further comprising:

a data line structure formed along the edges of the integrated sheet to provide electrical connections for the touch sensors, and allow the touch sensors and the touch activated regions to be electrically connected with a circuit board at an end portion of the integrated sheet.

22. The touch sensitive member of claim 21, wherein the second section comprises:

at least one opening formed adjacent to the touch activated regions to accommodate push buttons that are implemented together with the integrated sheet.

23. The touch sensitive member of claim 22, wherein the integrated sheet comprises:

a plurality of transmissive insulation layers stacked together with the touch sensors and touch activated regions located at certain portions therebetween.

24. The touch sensitive member of claim 23, wherein the integrated sheet further comprises:

a conductive layer formed at a bottom of the lowermost transmissive layer that minimizes electrical field interference from other electrical components located under the integrated sheet.

25. The touch sensitive member of claim 24, wherein the transmissive insulation layers are attached together using an adhesive means.

26. The touch sensitive member of claim 25, wherein the elements are implemented in a mobile terminal.

27. A user interface comprising:

a touch sensitive screen with a planar surface to receive user inputs and to display information; and

at least one mechanical button implemented at a non-edge portion in the planar surface of the touch sensitive screen,

wherein the touch sensitive screen has a first section with a first pattern of touch sensors and a second section with a second pattern of touch sensors.

28. The user interface of claim 27, wherein the touch sensitive screen comprises:

a touch matrix at the first section to form the first pattern of touch sensors; and

a plurality of touch activated regions at the second section around the mechanical button to form the second pattern of touch sensors.

29. The user interface of claim 28, wherein the touch matrix and the touch activated regions detect user touch inputs according to changes in at least one of capacitance, resistance, pressed duration, and pressure.