Mobile terminal and method of controlling the mobile terminal

• US 8,914,064 B2
• Filed: 02/06/2013
• Issued: 12/16/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 02/07/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Inventors: Oh, Seokhwan, Tahk, Uisoo, Cho, Youngmin, Yoon, Donghan
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Duc M
• Application Number:
  US13/760,828
• Publication Number:
  US 20130203462A1
• Time in Patent Office: 678 Days
• Field of Search: 455/566, 455/569.1, 455/350, 455/556.1
• US Class Current: 455/556.1
• 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 1/1686 the I/O peripheral being an integrated camera
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1694 the I/O peripheral being a single or a set of motion sensors for pointer control or gesture input obtained by sensing movements of the portable computer
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2200/1614 Image rotation following screen orientation, e.g. switching from landscape to portrait mode
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/017 Gesture based interaction, e.g. based on a set of recognized hand gestures interaction based on gestures traced on a digitiser G06F3/04883
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0346 with detection of the device orientation or free movement in a 3D space, e.g. 3D mice, 6-DOF [six degrees of freedom] pointers using gyroscopes, accelerometers or tilt-sensors
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04845 for image manipulation, e.g. dragging, rotation, expansion or change of colour
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 3/60 Rotation of whole images or parts thereof
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/0492 Change of orientation of the displayed image, e.g. upside-down, mirrored
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2354/00 Aspects of interface with display user
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/20 for presentation of an assembly of a number of characters, e.g. a page, by composing the assembly by combination of individual elements arranged in a matrix no fixed position being assigned to or needed to be assigned to the individual characters or partial characters
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/0241 using relative motion of the body parts to change the operational status of the telephone set, e.g. switching on/off, answering incoming call
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/0264 for a camera module assembly
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/0266 for a display module assembly
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/12 including a sensor for measuring a physical value, e.g. temperature or motion
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/52 including functional features of a camera
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2007/145 Handheld terminals

Abstract

A mobile terminal including a main body; a display unit arranged on a front side of the main body, and configured to display a video communication screen in a first direction when a video communication event occurs; a camera arranged in a lower end portion of the front side and configured to capture an image during the video communication event; a sensing unit installed in the main body, and configured to detect a motion of the main body in response to the video communication event; and a controller configured to switch a displaying direction of the video communication screen from the first direction to a second direction based on the detected motion of the main body.

Claims

1. A mobile terminal comprising:

a main body;

a display unit arranged on a front side of the main body, and configured to display a video communication screen in a first direction when a video communication event occurs;

a camera arranged in a lower end portion of the front side and configured to capture an image during the video communication event;

a sensing unit installed in the main body, and configured to detect a motion of the main body in response to the video communication event; and

a controller configured to;

switch a displaying direction of the video communication screen from the first direction to a second direction based on the detected motion of the main body, and

output alert information indicating a request for a rotation of the main body in response to the video communication event.

2. The mobile terminal according to claim 1, wherein the motion of the main body is defined as a rotation of the main body with respect to a predetermined imaginary reference axis, and

wherein the controller is further configured to calculate an angle between the main body and the reference axis when the sensing unit detects the motion of the main body.

3. The mobile terminal according to claim 2, wherein when the calculated angle is 90 degrees or 180 degrees, the controller is further configured to switch the displaying direction of the screen from the first direction to the second direction such that the captured image is rotated by 90 degrees or by 180 degrees with respect to the reference axis to correspond to the calculated angle.

4. The mobile terminal according to claim 2, wherein the controller is further configured to switch the displaying direction of the video communication screen from the first direction to the second direction when the detected motion of the main body meets a reference condition, and

wherein the motion of the main body meets the reference condition when the motion of the main body is from a first position corresponding to the predetermined imaginary reference axis to a second position inclined at a predetermined angle with respect to the first position.

5. The mobile terminal according to claim 4, wherein the controller is further configured to transmit a substitute image instead of the captured image to a counterpart terminal in the video communication event, when the main body is moved from the second position to the first position.

6. The mobile terminal according to claim 5, wherein the controller is further configured display a plurality of substitute images on the display unit when the main body is moved from the second position to the first position, and transmit a user-selected substitute image to the counterpart terminal.

7. The mobile terminal according to claim 5, wherein the controller is further configured to display the captured image instead of the substitute image when the main body is switched from the first position back to the second position.

8. The mobile terminal according to claim 4, wherein the controller is further configured to switch video communication in the video communication event to audio communication when the main body is moved from the second position to the first position.

9. The mobile terminal according to claim 1, wherein the alert information is output as at least one of a sound, a vibration, and a pop-up window.

10. The mobile terminal according to claim 1, wherein the controller is further configured to control the sensing unit to detect the motion of the main body after the alert information is output.

11. The mobile terminal according to claim 1, wherein the controller is further configured to switch the video communication screen back to the first direction, when the video communication event is terminated.

12. The mobile terminal according to claim 1, wherein the video communication event is one of a video communication receiving event and a video communication transmitting event, and

wherein the controller is further configured to start a video communication mode based on an input communication connection control command when the motion of the main body is moved to meet a reference condition based on an occurrence of the video communication receiving event, and start an audio communication mode based on the communication connection control command when the motion of the main body does not meet the reference condition.

13. The mobile terminal according to claim 1, wherein the controller is further configured to display a pop-up window for selecting an audio communication mode or a video communication mode on the display unit in response to the occurrence of the video communication receiving event, and control the sensing unit to detect the motion of the main body based on the selection of the video communication mode by a user.