Mobile terminal and control method thereof

• US 9,606,721 B2
• Filed: 07/15/2014
• Issued: 03/28/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 07/22/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Inventors: Park, Yonghahk, Kim, Younghan, Park, Mihyun, Lim, Gukchan, Kim, Seonghyok
• Primary Examiner(s): Weng, Peiyong
• Application Number:
  US14/332,058
• Publication Number:
  US 20150026647A1
• Time in Patent Office: 987 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/163 Wearable computers, e.g. on a belt
• 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 1/3231 Monitoring the presence, absence or movement of users
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3246 by software initiated power-off
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/016 Input arrangements with force or tactile feedback as computer generated output to the user
• 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 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 10/00 Energy efficient computing, e.g. low power processors, power management or thermal management

Abstract

A mobile terminal is provided a mobile terminal and a control method thereof according to exemplary embodiments. The mobile terminal includes a main body that is configured to be wearable on a specific portion of a user'"'"'s body, a sensing unit that is configured to sense whether or not the main body has been worn, and also sense a user gesture for deciding the worn position of the main body, and a controller that is configured to decide the worn position of the main body according to the sensed user gesture, and setting a user input for generating a first control command in a different manner based on the decided worn position. With the configuration, the main body may sense the worn position by itself so as to provide a user interface, which is more intuitive and convenient for the user, according to the sensed worn position.

Claims

1. A wearable mobile terminal comprising:

a main body configured and sized to be worn on a part of a user'"'"'s body;

a display comprising a touchscreen and configured to display information and to receive a touch input;

a sensor configured to sense wearing of the main body on the part of the user'"'"'s body; and

a controller configured to;

recognize a user input for recognizing a worn position of the main body when the main body is worn on the part of the user'"'"'s body, the user input sensed by the sensor;

cause output of information for notifying the recognized worn position in response to the user input, the recognized worn position being a first worn position or a second worn position;

cause the display to display icons for generating a control command on a first area of the touchscreen, the first area corresponding to the first worn position; and

cause the display to display the icons on a second area of the touchscreen, the second area corresponding to the second worn position, when the recognized worn position of the main body is changed from the first worn position to the second worn position.

2. The terminal of claim 1, further comprising an output unit configured to output a message, wherein:

the sensor comprises a gyro sensor; and

the controller is further configured to;

cause the output unit to output a request message for requesting the user input when the main body is worn on the user'"'"'s body; and

determine that the main body is worn on a specific part of the user'"'"'s body by analyzing a sensor value generated by the gesture when the user input is received.

3. The terminal of claim 1, wherein the controller is further configured to determine the worn position based on a specific pattern of the user input generated during a preset period of time when the main body is worn on the user'"'"'s body.

4. The terminal of claim 1, wherein the controller is further configured to determine that the main body is worn on the part of the user'"'"'s body based on whether a connector coupled to the main body is in contact with the user'"'"'s body and a biological signal of the user'"'"'s body sensed by the sensor.

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

cause the display to display a menu for allowing selection of a first mode or a second mode, each of the first and second modes determining the worn position differently;

cause the display to display a list in the first mode, the list including parts of the body with which the main body can be in contact and to receive the user input for selecting one of the parts included in the displayed list; and

determine the worn position in the second mode based on the user input corresponding to a gesture generated by the user without displaying the list.

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

cause the display to display information on a first region of the touchscreen and to display keys for controlling the information on a second region of the touchscreen; and

arrange the first region and the second region of the touchscreen based on the recognized worn position such that the first region and the second region are arranged differently on the touchscreen when the worn position of the main body is changed from the first won position to the second worn position.

7. The terminal of claim 6, wherein the second region is arranged at a right side of the touchscreen and the first region is arranged at a left side of the second region when the main body is located at a left wrist of the user.

8. The terminal of claim 6, wherein the second region is arranged at a left side of the touchscreen and the first region is arranged at a right side of the second region when the main body is located at a right wrist of the user.

9. The terminal of claim 1, wherein the controller is further configured to cause the display to:

change a lock screen according to the recognized worn position of the main body; and

display an idle screen according to the recognized worn position of the main body in response to an input for releasing the terminal from the locked state.

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

activate a first function corresponding to a first input when the recognized worn position of the main body is a first part of the user'"'"'s body; and

deactivate the first function corresponding to the first input when the recognized worn position is changed from the first part to a second part of the user'"'"'s body.

11. The terminal of claim 1, further comprising an output unit configured to output the information as at least visual or audible information, wherein the controller is further configured to cause the output unit to:

output event information related to occurrence of an event based on the recognized worn position; and

output an alarm for notifying occurrence of the event in a different manner based on the recognized worn position.

12. The terminal of claim 1, wherein the controller is further configured to cause the display to display a user interface that is different from a user interface including the icons when the main body is removed from the part of the user'"'"'s body.