Side sliding type mobile terminal

• US 7,610,069 B2
• Filed: 09/15/2005
• Issued: 10/27/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 12/22/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Inventors: Kim, Sang-Wook, Kwak, Woo-Young
• Primary Examiner(s): Anderson; Matthew D
• Assistant Examiner(s): FLEMING-HALL, ERICA L
• Application Number:
  US11/228,740
• Publication Number:
  US 20060135229A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,503 Days
• Field of Search: 361680-681, 455/566, 455/575.4
• US Class Current: 455/575.4
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1624 with sliding enclosures, e.g. sliding keyboard or display
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1671 Special purpose buttons or auxiliary keyboards, e.g. retractable mini keypads, keypads or buttons that remain accessible at closed laptop G06F1/1666 takes precedence
• 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 2200/1614 Image rotation following screen orientation, e.g. switching from landscape to portrait mode
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/0237 Sliding mechanism with one degree of freedom
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/0245 using open/close detection
• 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

Abstract

A mobile terminal comprises a body comprising a keypad and a slider slidingly coupled to the body. The slider is configured to slide transversely with respect to the body and may comprise a display unit to display image information. The mobile terminal may further comprise a processor coupled to the slider to detect when the slider is slid from a first position to a second position and when the slider is slid from a second position to a first position. The image information may be rotated 90 degrees from a transverse orientation to a longitudinal orientation when the processor detects that the slider has been slid from the first position to the second position. Conversely, the image information may be rotated 90 degrees from a longitudinal orientation to a transverse orientation when the processor detects that the slider has been slid from the second position to the first position.

Claims

1. A mobile terminal, comprising:

a body having a length different from a width and comprising a keypad having keys on a top surface of the body;

a slider comprising a top surface and a bottom surface, the top surface of the slider comprising a display unit configured to display image information, at least one of a key for entering numeric characters or a key for operating the mobile terminal, and a speaker and a microphone for audible communication; and

a transverse sliding unit coupled to the body and the slider, and configured to enable the slider to slide transversely with respect to the body, wherein the transverse sliding unit comprises a rail body and a rail guide, wherein the rail body is mounted to the bottom surface of the slider and comprises a rail groove, and the rail guide is mounted to the top surface of the body above the keypad, the rail guide positioned away from top and bottom edges of the body, and wherein the rail body is slidably coupled to the rail guide via the rail groove.

2. The mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein the keys of the keypad are arranged longitudinally with respect to the body.

3. The mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein the keypad is covered by the slider when the slider is slid into a first position and wherein the keypad is exposed when the slider is slid into a second position.

4. The mobile terminal of claim 3, wherein the body further comprises a mounting region for mounting the rail guide and about a half of the top surface of the body is the mounting region.

5. The mobile terminal of claim 3, further comprising:

a processor coupled to the slider, configured to detect when the slider is slid from the first position to the second position and when the slider is slid from the second position to the first position.

6. The mobile terminal of claim 5, wherein the image information is rotated 90 degrees from a transverse orientation to a longitudinal orientation when the processor detects that the slider has been slid from the first position to the second position.

7. The mobile terminal of claim 5, wherein the image information is rotated 90 degrees from a longitudinal orientation to a transverse orientation when the processor detects that the slider has been slid from the second position to the first position.

8. The mobile terminal of claim 4, wherein the mounting region and the rail guide are covered by the slider when the slider is in the first position and the second position.

9. The mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein the slider has the same width and length as the body.

10. The mobile terminal of claim 2, wherein the keypad has a QWERTY key layout.

11. The mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein the transverse sliding unit further comprises a detachment unit configured to enable the rail guide to be detached from the rail body at a set position of the rail body.

12. The mobile terminal of claim 11, wherein the detachment unit comprises:

detachment grooves in the rail body; and

an elastic detachment protrusion in the rail guide configured to couple with the detachment grooves.

13. The mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein the rail body further comprises a base portion constructed with a rectangular shape and a predetermined thickness and wherein the rail groove is formed longitudinally on a surface of the base portion.

14. The mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein the rail guide comprises:

a rail portion slidably coupled to the rail groove of the rail body; and

stopping portions extending from both sides of the rail portion.

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

a buffering member comprising a low friction strip, the buffering member coupled to the slider or the body and configured to reduce friction when the slider is moved with respect to the body.

16. The mobile terminal of claim 15, wherein the low friction strip is constructed from a synthetic material that reduces friction between the body and the slider when the slider slides into the first or second position.

17. The mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein the rail body is fixedly coupled to the bottom surface of the slider by a fastener.

18. The mobile terminal of claim 17, wherein the fastener comprises a screw.

19. The mobile terminal of claim 4, wherein the rail guide is fixedly coupled to the mounting region of the body by a fastener.

20. The mobile terminal of claim 19, wherein the fastener comprises a screw.

21. The mobile terminal of claim 3, wherein the rail body is partially exposed when the slider is slid into the second position.

22. The mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein the rail body is longer than the rail guide.

23. The mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein the top surface of the body and the bottom surface of the slider have the same size and shape.

24. The mobile terminal of claim 3, wherein voice based communication is performed in the first position and text based communication is performed in the second position.

25. The mobile terminal of claim 3, wherein the key for entering the numeric characters receives a telephone number input by a user in the first position.

26. The mobile terminal of claim 25, wherein a call is executed in the first position after receiving the telephone number via the key for entering the numeric characters.

27. The mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein the slider has the same length as the body.

28. The mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein the slider has the same width as the body.

29. The mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein the numeric characters comprise telephone numbers.

30. The mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein the rail body is protruded on the bottom surface of the slider and the rail guide is protruded on the top surface of the body.