Apparatus and method for displaying symbols on a terminal input area

• US 8,842,075 B2
• Filed: 04/15/2008
• Issued: 09/23/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 04/17/2007
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Inventors: Jung, Jang Jae
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Kevin M
• Assistant Examiner(s): ALMEIDA, CORY A
• Application Number:
  US12/103,230
• Publication Number:
  US 20080259047A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,352 Days
• Field of Search: 345168-179, 200/310, 200/600, 341/22
• US Class Current: 345/173
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/22 Illumination; Arrangements for improving the visibility of characters on dials
• 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 1/26 Devices for calling a subscriber H04M1/66 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/22 including a touch pad, a touch sensor or a touch detector digitizers for touch screens G06F3/041

Abstract

A terminal has an input area that supports touch input, and a controller for responding to the touch input area. The controller also displays selected symbols in the touch input area responsive to an operational mode of the terminal. When the terminal is in a call mode, a command or data associated with one of the symbols displayed for the call mode may be entered by touching the symbol, touching and dragging the symbol from its original location, or touching and dragging the symbol to a central area.

Claims

1. A terminal, comprising:

a touch sensitive input area comprising a surface and a film covering the surface, wherein the film is transparent or semi-transparent and comprises a first pattern including a first plurality of symbols and a first plurality of dividing lines printed on the film, and wherein the surface comprises a second pattern including a second plurality of symbols and a second plurality of dividing lines printed on the surface, the second pattern having a different shape than the first pattern;

a light emitting module comprising a backlight and a plurality of light emitting devices (LEDs) that are configured to be selectively turned on and off according to an operating mode of the terminal; and

a controller configured to;

control the backlight to be turned off and the plurality of LEDs to be turned on such that the first pattern becomes visible when the terminal is in a first operating mode;

perform a specific function corresponding to at least one of the first plurality of symbols in response to a first touch input received on the touch sensitive input area during the first operating mode;

control the backlight to be turned on and the plurality of LEDs to be turned off such that the second pattern becomes visible when the terminal is in a second operating mode; and

perform a specific function corresponding to at least one of the second plurality of symbols in response to a second touch input received on the touch sensitive input area during the second operating mode, wherein the backlight and the plurality of LEDs are off in an idle state prior to entering the first operating mode or the second operating mode such that none of the first pattern and the second pattern is visible during the idle state.

2. The terminal of claim 1, wherein:

the first operating mode is a call mode; and

the first plurality of symbols is arranged in a circular central area and a dial-shaped peripheral area surrounding the central area.

3. The terminal of claim 2, wherein the first touch input is a touch and drag input of a symbol of the first plurality of symbols from a first position of the touch sensitive input area to a second position of the touch sensitive input area.

4. The terminal of claim 2, wherein the first touch input is a touch and drag input of a symbol of the first plurality of symbols from the peripheral area into the circular central area.

5. The terminal of claim 1, wherein an area of the film on which each of the first plurality of symbols is printed is unrelated to an area of the surface on which each of the second plurality of symbols is printed.

6. The terminal of claim 1, wherein:

the first pattern is an annular shape having a circular central area and a dial-shaped peripheral area surrounding the circular central area; and

the second pattern is an annular shape and the second plurality of dividing lines are radial dividing lines.

7. A method for operating a terminal, the method comprising:

controlling, via a controller of the terminal, a light emitting module comprising a backlight and a plurality of light emitting devices (LEDs) to selectively turn on and off the backlight and the plurality of LEDs according to an operating mode of the terminal;

controlling, via the controller, the plurality of LEDs to illuminate a touch sensitive input area such that a first pattern becomes visible on a film of the touch sensitive input area when the terminal enters a first operating mode, the first pattern comprising a first plurality of symbols and a first plurality of dividing lines printed on the film;

performing a specific function corresponding to at least one of the first plurality of symbols in response to a first touch input received on the touch sensitive input area during the first operating mode;

controlling, via the controller, the backlight to illuminate the touch sensitive input area such that a second pattern becomes visible on a surface of the touch sensitive input area when the terminal enters a second operating mode, the second pattern comprising a second plurality of symbols and a second plurality of dividing lines printed on the surface; and

performing a specific function corresponding to at least one of the second plurality of symbols in response to a second touch input received on the touch sensitive input area during the second operating mode,

wherein the backlight and the plurality of LEDs are off in an idle state prior to entering the first operating mode or the second operating mode such that none of the first pattern and the second pattern is visible during the idle state,

wherein the touch sensitive input area comprises the surface and the film,

wherein the film covers the surface,

wherein the film is transparent or semi-transparent, and

wherein the first plurality of symbols is related to the first operating mode and the second plurality of symbols is related to the second operating mode.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein:

the first operating mode is a call mode; and

the first plurality of symbols is arranged in a circular central area and a dial-shaped peripheral area surrounding the central area.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the first plurality of symbols comprise consecutive numbers.

10. The method of claim 8, further comprising switching between the first operating mode and the second operating mode in response to input received via the circular central area.

11. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

performing a function in response to input received via the circular central area,

wherein the function comprises initiating a voice call, executing an application, or inputting a symbol.

12. The method of claim 8, wherein

the first input comprises a dragging of a touched symbol from the dial-shaped peripheral area.

13. The method of claim 7, wherein the first touch input comprises a touch to the at least one of the first plurality of symbols.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the first touch input further comprises a dragging of the at least one of the first plurality of symbols from a first position of the touch sensitive input area to a second position of the touch sensitive input area.

15. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

selectively illuminating individual LEDs of the plurality of LEDs,

wherein symbols of the plurality of symbols of the first pattern that are illuminated is based on the selective illumination of the individual LEDs such that the illuminated symbols become visible.