Mobile terminal and control method thereof

• US 8,780,054 B2
• Filed: 09/25/2009
• Issued: 07/15/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 09/26/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Inventors: Kim, Kyung Jin, Kim, Ji Hyun, Park, Yong Man, Park, Sae Kyu, Hwang, Jung Ah, Chun, Jee Young, Park, Min Su, Jo, Hang Ah
• Primary Examiner(s): Tzeng, Fred
• Application Number:
  US12/566,733
• Publication Number:
  US 20100079395A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,754 Days
• Field of Search: 345/173, 345/156, 340/5.54, 340/573.4
• US Class Current: 345/173
• 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 1/1684 Constructional details or arrangements related to integrated I/O peripherals not covered by groups G06F1/1635 - G06F1/1675
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/011 Emotion or mood input determined on the basis of sensed human body parameters such as pulse, heart rate or beat, temperature of skin, facial expressions, iris, voice pitch, brain activity patterns
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0414 using force sensing means to determine a position
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/00 Control arrangements or circuits for visual indicators common to cathode-ray tube indicators and other visual indicators image data processing or generation, in general G06T

Abstract

A control method of a mobile terminal is disclosed. The control method of a mobile terminal includes: acquiring a pressure signal through a pressure sensing module for sensing a change in pressure applied to at least one part of the body in at least two degrees; and generating an event for changing a display state of a display unit through a control signal to be matched to the pressure signal. Emotional quality can be improved by changing a display state of a display unit in response to a change in pressure applied to the body.

Claims

1. A control method of a mobile terminal comprising:

acquiring a pressure signal through a pressure sensing module configured to sense a change in pressure applied to at least one part of a body of a mobile terminal;

changing a display state of a screen displayed on a display unit through a control signal to be matched to the pressure signal, wherein the contents of the screen are not changed based on the control signal; and

restoring the original display state of the screen when the pressure sensed by the pressure sensing module is released,

wherein the display unit is located on a front surface of the body and the pressure sensing module is configured to be a plurality of pressure sensing elements provided consecutively along a lateral surface of the body.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the change of the display state of the screen is started from an area adjacent to a position where the pressure signal is generated and at least one of an area of the screen where the display state is changed or the degree of the change of display state of the screen is changed based on the intensity of the pressure sensed by the pressure sensing module.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein changing the display state of the screen displayed on the display unit comprises changing the color displayed on some area of the screen in response to the control signal.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein changing the color displayed on some area of the screen comprises changing at least one of a type of the color and an increase or decrease of the some area.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein changing the display state of the screen displayed on the display unit comprises changing the brightness of the screen in response to the control signal.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein changing the display state of the screen displayed on the display unit comprises distorting the screen displayed on the display unit in response to the control signal.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the degree of distortion of the screen is in inverse proportion to the distance to the position where the pressure signal is generated.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the pressure signal contains change information of the position to which the pressure is applied, and

the method further comprises scrolling through the screen displayed on the display unit in response to the control signal.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the change information contains information of at least one of the pressure movement speed and the pressure movement direction, and at least one of the scroll speed and the scroll direction is determined in response to the change information.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the scrolling operation enables the scroll speed to be increased in proportion to the distance between a reference position where the scrolling is not performed and the position where the pressure signal is generated.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein the scrolling operation enables the scroll speed to be increased in proportion to the intensity of pressure.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising lighting illuminators adjacent to the position where the pressure signal is generated.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the pressure sensing module is configured to sense the pressure by substantially linearly dividing the pressure.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein acquiring the pressure signal through the pressure sensing module comprises:

receiving pressure applied by a user to the at least one part of the body of the mobile terminal;

determining, from among at least two degrees of received pressure, a degree to which the received pressure is applied to the at least one part of the body of the mobile terminal; and

generating, based on the determined degree to which the pressure is applied, the pressure signal such that the pressure signal differentiates between the at least two degrees of received pressure.

15. A mobile terminal comprising:

a body;

a display unit located on a front surface of the body;

a pressure sensing module configured to (i) be provided on a lateral surface of the body and (ii) sense a change in pressure applied to at least one part of the pressure sensing module to generate a pressure signal, wherein the pressure sensing module is a plurality of pressure sensing elements provided consecutively along the lateral surface of the body;

a control unit configured to;

generate a control signal to be matched to each function of the mobile terminal in response to the pressure signal;

change a display state of a screen displayed on the display unit though the control signal, wherein the contents of the screen are not changed based on the control signal; and

restore the original display state of the screen when the pressure sensed by the pressure sensing module is released.

16. The mobile terminal of claim 15, wherein the matched control signal is configured to be matched according to different pressure signal patterns for different individual pressures.

17. The mobile terminal of claim 15, wherein the change of the display state of the screen is started from an area adjacent to a position where the pressure signal is generated and at least one of an area of the screen where the display state is changed or the degree of the change of display state of the screen is changed based on the intensity of the pressure sensed by the pressure sensing module.

18. The mobile terminal of claim 15, further comprising a reaction module configured to be provided at least one of the edges constituting the front, lateral, and rear surfaces of the body and the edge constituting the front surface.

19. The mobile terminal of claim 15, further comprising a reaction module comprising a light emitting module including at least one illuminator that flickers in response to the control signal.

20. The mobile terminal of claim 19, wherein the control signal is configured to enable the illuminator positioned adjacent to the pressure sensing module where the pressure signal is generated to be lighted.

21. The mobile terminal of claim 19, wherein at least one of the illuminators are configured to be lighted to indicate a part to which pressure has to be applied.

22. The mobile terminal of claim 15, further comprising a protection cover enclosing the pressure sensing module, and formed of a material that is deformable within a given range so as to transmit the pressure to the pressure sensing module.

23. The mobile terminal of claim 15, wherein the pressure sensing module is configured to sense the pressure by substantially linearly dividing the pressure.

24. The mobile terminal of claim 15, wherein the pressure sensing module is configured to sense the change in pressure applied to the at least one part of the body of the mobile terminal by:

receiving pressure applied by a user to the at least one part of the body of the mobile terminal;

determining, from among at least two degrees of received pressure, a degree to which the received pressure is applied to the at least one part of the body of the mobile terminal; and

generating, based on the determined degree to which the pressure is applied, the pressure signal such that the pressure signal differentiates between the at least two degrees of received pressure.