Mobile terminal and method of generating key signal therein

• US 8,581,854 B2
• Filed: 06/02/2008
• Issued: 11/12/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 06/07/2007
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Inventors: Kim, Young Hwan, Yang, Seung Woo
• Primary Examiner(s): MANDEVILLE, JASON M
• Application Number:
  US12/131,729
• Publication Number:
  US 20080305836A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,989 Days
• Field of Search: 345173-175, 715/700, 715/864
• US Class Current: 345/173
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/22 including a touch pad, a touch sensor or a touch detector

Abstract

A mobile terminal and method of generating a key signal therein are disclosed, by which the key signal can be generated in a manner of adjusting touch sensitivity. The present invention includes a touchpad for a key signal input, a controller generating a key signal corresponding to a touched position if the touchpad is touched by a user and a strength of the touch is equal to or greater than a reference value, and a sensitivity adjusting unit adjusting the reference value.

Claims

1. A mobile terminal, comprising:

a display including a touchpad;

a memory configured to store a phonebook including a plurality of images;

a sensitivity adjusting unit configured to adjust a threshold value; and

a controller operatively connected to the display and configured to;

control the display to display a keypad which is divided into a plurality of key icons,

wherein each of the plurality of key icons displays an image stored in the phonebook,

generate a key signal corresponding to a key icon among the plurality of key icons when the key icon is touched and a strength of the touch is equal to or greater than the threshold value,

enlarge a size of the displayed images when the sensitivity adjusting unit increases the threshold value, and

reduce the size of the displayed images when the sensitivity adjusting unit decreases the threshold value.

2. The mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein the sensitivity adjusting unit is configured to adjust the threshold value in response to a user input.

3. The mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to initiate a call to a phone number stored in the phonebook matching an image of the displayed images upon recognizing a touch to the displayed image.

4. The mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to vary a number of the displayed images stored in the phonebook when the threshold value is adjusted.

5. The mobile terminal of claim 4, wherein the controller is configured to increase the number of displayed images stored in the phonebook when the threshold value is decreased and to decrease the number when the threshold value is increased.

6. The mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to generate the key signal by subdividing an area of the touchpad corresponding to a specific key signal when the threshold value is adjusted by the sensitivity adjusting unit.

7. A method of generating key signals in a mobile terminal having a touchpad, the method comprising:

storing a phonebook including a plurality of images in a memory;

adjusting a threshold value in a sensitivity adjusting unit;

displaying a keypad which is divided into a plurality of key icons,

wherein each of the plurality of key icons displays an image stored in the phonebook;

generating a key signal corresponding to a key icon of the plurality of key icons when the key icon is touched and a strength of the touch is equal to or greater than the threshold value;

enlarging a size of the displayed images when the sensitivity adjusting unit increases the threshold value; and

reducing the size of the displayed images when the sensitivity adjusting unit decreases the threshold value.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the step of adjusting the threshold value comprises:

adjusting the threshold value in response to a user input.

9. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

initiating a call to a phone number stored in the phonebook matching an images of the displayed images upon recognizing a touch to the displayed image.

10. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

varying a number of the displayed images stored in the phonebook when the threshold value is adjusted.

11. The method of claim 10, the step of varying the number of the displayed images stored in the phonebook comprising:

increasing the number when the threshold value is decreased; and

decreasing the number when the threshold value is increased.

12. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

generating the key signal by subdividing an area of the touchpad corresponding to a specific key signal when the threshold value is adjusted.