MOBILE TERMINAL AND CONTROLLING METHOD THEREOF

• US 20150022469A1
• Filed: 07/01/2014
• Published: 01/22/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 07/17/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Inventors: MHUN, Yunjueng, SON, Jiyen, EIM, Sanghyun, KIM, Namki, LEE, Choonjae, KIM, Hyoungkeun
• Granted Patent: US 10,162,449 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/173
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0416 Control or interface arrangements specially adapted for digitisers
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/22 Illumination; Arrangements for improving the visibility of characters on dials
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72448 with means for adapting the functionality of the device according to specific conditions
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72454 according to context-related or environment-related conditions
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 19/048 Arrangements providing optical indication of the incoming call, e.g. flasher circuits
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/12 including a sensor for measuring a physical value, e.g. temperature or motion telephones including GPS signal receivers H04M2250/10

Abstract

A mobile terminal and controlling method thereof are provided, in which a face-down mode may be supported. The mobile terminal may include a first sensing device that detects a face-down mode of the mobile terminal, a second sensing device that detects a user designated direction in which the vicinity of the mobile terminal, a touchscreen, and a controller controlling a prescribed portion of the touchscreen corresponding to the detected user designated direction so that the touchscreen emits light in response to a preset event occurring in the face-down mode.

Claims

1. A mobile terminal, comprising:

a main body having a touchscreen provided on a front face thereof;

a first sensing device configured to detect a face-down mode of the mobile terminal;

a second sensing device configured to detect a designated direction with respect to the mobile terminal; and

a controller configured to control a prescribed portion of the touchscreen, the prescribed portion of the touchscreen corresponding to the detected designated direction, to emit light in response to at least one preset event occurring while the mobile terminal is in the face-down mode.

2. The mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein the first sensing device is configured to detect a horizontal state of the mobile terminal, and the controller is configured to operate the mobile terminal in the face-down mode when the horizontal state of the mobile terminal is maintained for greater than or equal to a preset time.

3. The mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to control the prescribed portion of the touchscreen to emit light in response to changes in the designated direction.

4. The mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein the second sensing device is configured to recognize a sound at or near the mobile terminal and to detect the designated direction based on the recognized sound.

5. The mobile terminal of claim 4, wherein the sound recognized by the second sensing device comprises a sound that is previously set by a user.

6. The mobile terminal of claim 4, wherein the controller is configured to control at least one of a light emission color, a light emission region or a light emission size of the light emitted by the prescribed portion of the touchscreen, and to adjust at least one of the light emission color, the light emission region or the light emission size of the light emitted by the prescribed portion of the touchscreen in response to at least one of a location, a distance, a duration time or a magnitude of the sound recognized by the second sensing device.

7. The mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein the second sensing device is configured to recognize a sound generated at an outer surface of the mobile terminal, and to detect the designated direction based on the recognized sound.

8. The mobile terminal of claim 7, wherein the controller is configured to control at least one of a light emission color, a light emission region or a light emission size of the prescribed portion of the touchscreen, and is configured to adjust at least one of the light emission color, the light emission region or the light emission size of light emitted by the prescribed portion of the touchscreen in response to at least one of a detected contact region or a duration time of the sound generated at the outer surface of the mobile terminal.

9. The mobile terminal of claim 7, wherein, when the at least one preset event comprises activation of an alarm operation of the mobile terminal by an alarm program, wherein the controller is configured to detect a region from which the recognized sound is generated and a duration time of the sound, and to enable a snooze function of the mobile terminal and change a snooze time of the alarm program in response to the sound detected region or the sound duration time, and wherein the controller is further configured to change a brightness or a light emission size of light emitted by the prescribed portion of the touchscreen in response to the changed snooze time.

10. The mobile terminal of claim 1, further comprising a wireless communication device, wherein the at least one preset event comprises receiving a prescribed signal through the wireless communication device, and wherein the controller is configured to control at least one of a light emission color, a light emission region or a light emission size of light emitted by the prescribed portion of the touchscreen, and to adjust at least one of the light emission color, the light emission region or the light emission size of the light emitted by the prescribed portion of the touchscreen when transmitting side information provided in the prescribed signal is included in a preset list.

11. The mobile terminal of claim 10, wherein the controller is configured to adjust the at least one of the light emission color, the light emission region or the light emission size of the light emitted by the prescribed portion of the touchscreen again when the transmitting side information of the prescribed signal is included in the preset list and a count of signals received having the same transmitting side information is greater than one.

12. The mobile terminal of claim 10, wherein, when the prescribed signal comprises data transmitted by a transmitting side included in the preset list, the controller is configured to control the prescribed portion of the touchscreen to change the at least one of the light emission color, the light emission region or the light emission size of the light emitted by the prescribed portion of the touchscreen based on a transmission amount of the data.

13. The mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein, when the at least one preset event comprises incompletion of at least one task, the controller is configured to control the prescribed portion of the touchscreen to emit light in a preset manner in accordance with a type of the task.

14. The mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein, when the at least one preset event comprises activation of a program for playing content, the controller is configured to change at least one of a light emission color, a light emission region or a light emission size of light emitted by the prescribed portion of the touchscreen to correspond to a play time of the content.

15. The mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to control the prescribed portion of the touchscreen to emit light in at least one of a specific color, brightness, light emission region or light emission size in response to occurrence of a first preset event, and to change the at least one of the specific color, brightness, light emission region or light emission size in response to occurrence of a second preset event.

16. The mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein, when the at least one preset event comprises activation of a recording program, the controller is configured to control the prescribed portion of the touchscreen to change at least one of a color, a brightness or a pattern of light emitted by the prescribed portion of the touchscreen depending on whether the recording program is in a recording progressive status or a recording complete status.

17. A method of controlling a touchscreen of a mobile terminal, comprising:

detecting a face-down mode of the mobile terminal;

setting a designated direction with respect to the mobile terminal; and

controlling a prescribed portion of the touchscreen corresponding to the set designated direction to emit light, comprising;

detecting occurrence of at least one preset event while in the face-down mode of the mobile terminal; and

generating an indicator of the occurrence of the at least one preset event while in the face-down mode, comprising emitting light in the set designated direction in response to the detection of the occurrence of the at least one preset event.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein emitting light in the set designated direction comprises:

emitting light in one of a first color, a first emission region, or a first emission size to indicate a first occurrence of a first preset event;

changing the at least one of the first color, the first emission region or the first emission size of the light emitted by the prescribed portion of the touchscreen to indicate subsequent occurrences of the first preset event;

emitting light in one of a second color, a second emission region, or a second emission size to indicate a first occurrence of a second preset event, either simultaneously with or separate from emitting light in the one of the first color, the first emission region or the first emission size indicating occurrence of the first preset event.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein setting a designated direction comprises:

recognizing, by a sensing device of the mobile terminal, a sound generated near the mobile terminal and setting the designated direction to correspond to the recognized sound;

or

recognizing, by the sensing device of the mobile terminal, a touch applied at an outer surface of the mobile terminal, and setting the designated direction to correspond to the recognized touch.

20. The method of claim 17, wherein detecting a face-down mode of the mobile terminal comprises:

detecting, by a sensing device of the mobile terminal, a horizontal state of the mobile terminal;

determining, by a controller of the mobile terminal, that the mobile terminal is in the face-down mode when an amount of time in the horizontal state is greater than a preset time; and

operating the mobile terminal in the face-down state until the sensing device detects a change in orientation of the mobile terminal from the horizontal state.