Communication terminal

• US 7,930,003 B2
• Filed: 10/26/2006
• Issued: 04/19/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 10/26/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Inventors: Park, Su Bum, Lee, Kwang Joon
• Primary Examiner(s): Ly; Nghi H
• Assistant Examiner(s): SCHWARTZ, JOSHUA L
• Application Number:
  US11/553,409
• Publication Number:
  US 20070212925A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,636 Days
• Field of Search: 455/575, 455/550.1
• US Class Current: 455/575.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/0233 Including a rotatable display body part
• 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 1/0245 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
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/67 by electronic means
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/18 including more than one keyboard unit

Abstract

Disclosed herein is a communication terminal which has an adequate structure for keys so as to sufficiently fulfill various communication services, to thereby make the communication terminal compact, and can control operation of the keys so as to minimize a data input error of the keys. The communication terminal includes a first housing, a second housing which is oppositely coupled to the first housing, and a control unit which interrupts operation of a data input part provided at either the first housing or the second housing according to movement of the second housing with respect to the first housing.

Claims

1. A communication terminal comprising:

a first housing including an upper stepped surface, a lower stepped surface and a slanted surface formed between the upper stepped surface and the lower stepped surface, wherein the upper and lower stepped surfaces are parallel to each other;

a first data input part provided on the slanted surface of the first housing;

a second data input part provided on the upper stepped surface of the first housing;

a second housing which is oppositely coupled to the first housing for surface to surface contact, the second housing provided to selectively cover up the first data input part by rotation; and

a control unit which disables operation of the first data input part and second data input part according to rotation of the second housing with respect to the first housing during a predetermined time from when the movement of the second housing is detected, wherein data input processes of the first data input part and of the second data input part are not performed when the operation of the first data input part and second data input part are disabled during the predetermined time,

wherein operation of the second data input part is enabled both prior to beginning and after finishing the predetermined time,

wherein the first housing and the second housing are rotatably connected by the same plane.

2. The communication terminal according to claim 1, wherein the second housing swings while opposing a portion of the first housing.

3. The communication terminal according to claim 2, wherein the control unit interrupts the operation of the first data input part during a time to when the second housing swings to a predetermined angle from when the movement of the second housing is detected.

4. The communication terminal according to claim 1, wherein the first data input part includes at least one key.

5. The communication terminal according to claim 1, wherein the first housing comprises a main body housing and the second housing comprises an upper housing.

6. The communication terminal according to claim 1,

wherein the control unit determines whether the second housing swings or not and controls input operation of the first data input part, and

wherein if determining that the second housing swings, the control unit disables the input operation of the first data input part.

7. The communication terminal according to claim 1, wherein the control unit interrupts the operation of the second data input part according to movement of the second housing with respect to the first housing during the predetermined time from when the movement of the second housing is detected.

8. The communication terminal according to claim 1, wherein the second housing includes at least one output part which is positioned at an opposite surface of the second housing to a surface facing the lower stepped surface.

9. The communication terminal according to claim 8, wherein the output part includes a display device.

10. The communication terminal according to claim 1, wherein

a third data input part is provided at the lower stepped surface.

11. The communication terminal according to claim 10, wherein the third data input part is shielded or exposed according to the swinging of the second housing.

12. The communication terminal according to claim 10, wherein the control unit interrupts the operation of the third data input part according to movement of the second housing with respect to the first housing during the predetermined time from when the movement of the second housing is detected.

13. The communication terminal according to claim 10, wherein the first data input part and the third data input part are formed at one key pad.