MOBILE TERMINAL

• US 20140253477A1
• Filed: 08/30/2013
• Published: 09/11/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 03/06/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Inventors: SHIM, Hongjo, KIM, Seonghyok, EUM, Hyejin, KWAK, Haengchul
• Granted Patent: US 9,262,006 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/173
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1626 with a single-body enclosure integrating a flat display, e.g. Personal Digital Assistants [PDAs]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1652 the display being flexible, e.g. mimicking a sheet of paper, or rollable
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1684 Constructional details or arrangements related to integrated I/O peripherals not covered by groups G06F1/1635 - G06F1/1675
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1692 the I/O peripheral being a secondary touch screen used as control interface, e.g. virtual buttons or sliders
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/0339 Touch strips, e.g. orthogonal touch strips to control cursor movement or scrolling; single touch strip to adjust parameter or to implement a row of soft keys
• 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 3/03547 Touch pads, in which fingers can move on a surface
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0412 Digitisers structurally integrated in a display
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0416 Control or interface arrangements specially adapted for digitisers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0485 Scrolling or panning
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0487 using specific features provided by the input device, e.g. functions controlled by the rotation of a mouse with dual sensing arrangements, or of the nature of the input device, e.g. tap gestures based on pressure sensed by a digitiser
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text
• 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

Abstract

A mobile terminal which includes a terminal body; a display mounted to the terminal body; a window disposed to cover the display and including central and edge regions wherein the central region is formed of a transmissive material and configured to align with the display, and the edge region is formed of an opaque material and configured to surround the central region. The mobile terminal further includes a first touch sensor disposed to span at least the central region and configured to detect a touch input to the central region; and a second touch sensor disposed to span at least part of the edge region and configured to detect a touch input to the at least part of the edge region, wherein the second touch sensor is configured to have a higher touch sensitivity than the first in order to detect a touch input to the opaque edge region.

Claims

1. A mobile terminal, comprising:

a terminal body;

a display mounted to the terminal body and configured to output visual information;

a window disposed to cover the display and comprising a central region and an edge region, wherein;

the central region is formed of a transmissive material and configured to align with the display, and

the edge region is formed of an opaque material and configured to surround the central region;

a first touch sensor disposed to span at least the central region and configured to detect a touch input to the central region; and

a second touch sensor disposed to span at least part of the edge region and configured to detect a touch input to the at least part of the edge region, wherein the second touch sensor is configured to have a higher touch sensitivity than the first touch sensor in order to detect a touch input to the opaque edge region.

2. The mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein:

the first touch sensor overlaps at least portion of the second touch sensor at a position corresponding to the edge region, and

the second touch sensor is disposed between the window and the first touch sensor.

3. The mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein the second touch sensor comprises:

a primary touch sensing portion disposed at one end of the mobile terminal and extending along a width of the window; and

a secondary touch sensing portion disposed at a first side of the window and extending from the first touch sensing portion along a length of the window.

4. The mobile terminal of claim 3 further comprising a memory, wherein:

the primary touch sensing portion is configured to detect touch inputs while the display reproduces moving images; and

the memory is configured to store the detected touch inputs with the moving images according to the time the touch inputs were detected with respect to the reproduced moving images.

5. The mobile terminal of claim 3, wherein the secondary touch sensing portion is configured to detect at least one continuous touch input in a lengthwise direction of the terminal body.

6. The mobile terminal of claim 5, further comprising a controller configured to control the display to change the visual information output in response to detection of the at least one continuous touch input.

7. The mobile terminal of claim 5, further comprising a memory configured to store at least a portion of the visual information output on the display in response to detection of the at least one continuous touch input.

8. The mobile terminal of claim 3, wherein the second touch sensor further comprises a tertiary touch sensing portion disposed at a second side of the window that is opposite the first side and extending from the first touch sensing portion along the length of the window.

9. The mobile terminal of claim 8, further comprising a controller configured to convert the display to an activated state in response to touch inputs detected by the secondary touch sensing portion and the tertiary touch sensing portion while the display is in a deactivated state.

10. The mobile terminal of claim 8, further comprising a controller configured to change the visual information output on the display in response to consecutive proximity touch inputs detected by the secondary touch sensing portion and the tertiary touch sensing portion.

11. The mobile terminal of claim 1, further comprising:

a touch input unit detachably mounted to the terminal body and configured to apply touch inputs detected by the first touch sensor or the second touch sensor; and

a controller configured to deactivate the second touch sensor while a touch input is being detected by the first touch sensor.

12. The mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein:

the display comprises a planar portion and a curved portion, the curved portion disposed at a first lateral edge of the terminal body and continuously extending from the planar portion;

the display is further configured to output different visual information to the planar portion and the curved portion; and

the second touch sensor comprises a curved surface touch sensing portion disposed at the first lateral edge of the terminal body and extending along a length of the window;

wherein the curved surface touch sensing portion is configured to detect touch inputs to the window corresponding to at least part of the curved portion of the display.

13. The mobile terminal of claim 12, further comprising a controller configured to control the display to change the visual information output to at least the planar portion or the curved portion in response to at least one continuous touch input in a lengthwise direction of the terminal body detected by the curved surface touch sensing portion.

14. The mobile terminal of claim 12, further comprising a controller configured to convert the display to an activated state in response to a multi-touch input detected by the curved surface touch sensing portion while the display is in a deactivated state.

15. The mobile terminal of claim 12, further comprising a memory configured to store visual information output on at least the planar portion or the curved portion in response to at least one continuous touch input in a lengthwise direction of the terminal body detected by the curved surface touch sensing portion.

16. A method for controlling a mobile terminal, the method comprising:

displaying content on a first display portion of a window;

detecting at least one touch input to an opaque touch portion of the window that surrounds the first display portion; and

storing a data item in response to detecting the at least one touch input.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein:

the displayed content comprises a video file;

the stored data item comprises an image of the detected at least one touch input; and

the image is stored with the video file according to a time the at least one touch input was detected with respect to the video file being displayed.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein:

the at least one touch input comprises a continuous dragging touch input for a user defined distance in a lengthwise direction of the mobile terminal; and

the stored data item comprises a screenshot of at least a portion of the displayed content;

wherein boundaries of the screenshot are defined by a width of the displayed content and a height corresponding to the user defined distance.

19. A method for controlling a mobile terminal comprising:

displaying primary content on a first display area of a window;

displaying secondary content on a second display area of a window;

detecting at least one touch input to an opaque touch portion of the window that surrounds both the first and second display areas; and

changing at least the primary content or the secondary content in response to detecting the at least one touch input;

wherein a surface of the second display area extends continuously from a surface of the first display area and a curved edge defines a border between the second display area and the first display area.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein:

the at least one touch input comprises a continuous dragging touch input in a lengthwise direction of the second display area;

only the secondary content is changed in response to detecting the at least one touch input; and

changing the secondary content comprises scrolling the secondary content along the length of the second display area.