Mobile terminal and keypad displaying method thereof

• US 8,170,620 B2
• Filed: 04/30/2009
• Issued: 05/01/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 07/02/2008
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Inventors: Kim, Han-Su
• Primary Examiner(s): Hu, Jinsong
• Assistant Examiner(s): MORALES, FERNANDEZ
• Application Number:
  US12/433,091
• Publication Number:
  US 20100004029A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,097 Days
• Field of Search: 455/550.1, 455/566, 455/556.1, 455/556.2, 345/358, 345168-179
• US Class Current: 455/566
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1624 with sliding enclosures, e.g. sliding keyboard or display
• 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 1/1643 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 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 including a display configured to display a first keypad in a first display portion and to display information input using the first keypad in a second display portion, a sensing unit configured to detect a touch and drag action on the first keypad displayed in the first display portion, and a controller configured to change the first keypad displayed in the first display portion to a second keypad that is different from the first keypad when the detected touch and drag action is determined to be more than a predetermined distance.

Claims

1. A mobile terminal comprising:

a display unit;

a sensing unit; and

a controller configured to;

display a first keypad in a first display portion of the display unit and information entered using the first keypad in a second display portion of the display unit;

display keypad indicators indicating at least one second keypad that is different from the first keypad when a touch input applied on the first display portion and sensed by the sensing unit lasts longer than a preset time; and

change the first keypad displayed in the first display portion to the at least one second keypad when the touch input is dragged toward a keypad indicator corresponding to the second keypad for more than a predetermined distance,

wherein the first keypad includes a plurality of first inputtable keys, and the second keypad includes a plurality of second inputtable keys,

wherein the information is entered and displayed on the second display portion when the touch input applied on the first display portion lasts less than the preset time,

wherein the sensing unit is further configured to detect a touch input applied on a portion of the information displayed in the second display portion, and the controller is further configured to automatically change the first keypad into the second keypad based on a type of the portion of the information without further input, and

wherein when the type of the portion of the information is a character, the second keypad is a character keypad, and when the type of the portion of the information is a number, the second keypad is a number keypad, and when the type of the portion of the information is a symbol, the second keypad is a symbol keypad.

2. The mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein the touch input is a contact input, a tactile touch input, or a proximity touch input on the first keypad.

3. The mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein the first keypad includes language characters in a first language and the at least one second keypad includes language characters in a second language different from the first language, numbers, or symbols.

4. The mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein the controller is further configured to:

display a multi-key configured to generate an option menu in response to a touch input applied on the multi-key; and

display in the second display portion a plurality of keys associated with a menu item selected from the option menu.

5. A method of controlling a mobile terminal, the method comprising:

displaying a first keypad in a first display portion on a display unit of the mobile terminal and information entered using the first keypad in a second display portion of the display unit;

displaying keypad indicators indicating at least one second keypad that is different from the first keypad when a touch input applied on the first display portion and sensed by a sensing unit of the mobile terminal lasts longer than a preset time; and

changing the first keypad displayed in the first display portion to the at least one second keypad when the touch input is dragged toward a keypad indicator corresponding to the second keypad for more than a predetermined distance,

wherein the first keypad includes a plurality of first inputtable keys, and the second keypad includes a plurality of second inputtable keys,

wherein the information is entered and displayed on the second display portion when the touch input applied on the first display portion lasts less than the preset time,

wherein when the sensing unit detects a touch input applied on a portion of the information displayed in the second display portion, the changing step automatically changes the first keypad into the second keypad based on a type of the portion of the information without further input, and

wherein when the type of the portion of the information is a character, the second keypad is a character keypad, and when the type of the portion of the information is a number, the second keypad is a number keypad, and when the type of the portion of the information is a symbol, the second keypad is a symbol keypad.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the touch input is a contact input, a tactile touch input, or a proximity touch input on the first keypad.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the first keypad includes language characters in a first language and the at least one second keypad includes language characters in a second language different from the first language, numbers, or symbols.

8. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

detecting a touch input applied on a portion of the information displayed in the second display portion; and

changing the first keypad into the second keypad based on a type of the portion of the information.

9. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

displaying a multi-key configured to generate an option menu in response to a touch input applied on the multi-key; and

displaying in the second display portion a plurality of keys associated with a menu item selected from the option menu.