Method for Allocating/Arranging Keys on Touch-Screen, and Mobile Terminal for Use of the Same

• US 20070109276A1
• Filed: 11/17/2006
• Published: 05/17/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 11/17/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Inventors: Lee, Sang, Park, Yeon, Kim, Tae, Cheon, Jee
• Granted Patent: US 8,059,100 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• 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

Abstract

A method for allocating/arranging keys on a touch-screen and a mobile terminal for the same are disclosed. The method for allocating at least one key on a touch-screen includes establishing a plurality of sensing zones on the touch-screen, wherein sizes of the plurality of sensing zones change in sequential order according to a key-arrangement direction, and allocating the at least one key to at least one of the plurality of sensing zones.

Claims

1. A method for allocating at least one key on a touch-screen, comprising:

establishing a plurality of sensing zones on the touch-screen, wherein sizes of the plurality of sensing zones change in sequential order according to a key-arrangement direction; and

allocating the at least one key to at least one of the plurality of sensing zones.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

establishing a sensing-zone mode for determining the sizes of individual sensing zones according to the key-arrangement direction.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the sensing zones include varying sizes of sensing zones capable of sequentially increasing in either a horizontal key-arrangement direction or a vertical key-arrangement direction according to the established sensing-zone mode.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

generating a key designation signal; and

allocating a specific key to a specific sensing zone according to the generated key designation signal.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

measuring a use frequency each of keys; and

allocating a specific key having the highest use frequency to the largest sensing zone from among the sensing zones.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

detecting a rotation degree and a rotation direction of the touch-screen; and

changing the key-arrangement direction of the sensing zones according to the detected rotation degree and the rotation direction, and maintaining keys allocated to the sensing zones.

7. A method for arranging keys on a touch-screen, comprising:

establishing an arrangement structure for arranging a plurality of keys on the touch-screen;

arranging the keys on the touch-screen according to the established arrangement structure; and

displaying the arranged keys.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the arrangement structure is at least one of a matrix-type arrangement (□

), a two-side-type arrangement (∥

) a three-side-type arrangement (∪

, ∩

), a circular-type arrangement (◯

), and a square-type arrangement (□

).

9. The method of claim 7, wherein each of the keys changes at least one of size and shape.

10. The method of claim 7, wherein a key arrangement according to the arrangement structure can be changed or established by a user.

11. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

storing information indicating a key arrangement according to the arrangement structure; and

transmitting the stored key-arrangement information to another terminal over a network.

12. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

receiving information indicating a key arrangement from another terminal over a network; and

arranging the keys according to the received key-arrangement information.

13. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

displaying the keys arranged according to a predetermined arrangement structure on a predetermined zone; and

moving at least one of the keys displayed on the predetermined zone, and allocating the moved at least one of the keys to at least one of the keys arranged according to the established arrangement structure.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the predetermined zone is displayed to be distinguished from a display zone of the keys arranged according to the established arrangement structure.

15. A mobile terminal comprising:

a storage unit for storing data associated with sensing zones;

a controller for allocating at least one key to at least one sensing zone from a plurality of sensing zones, wherein the sensing zones, having varying sizes, sequentially change according to a key-arrangement direction; and

a touch-screen for displaying the at least one key allocated to the at least one sensing zone.

16. The mobile terminal of claim 15, further comprising:

a sensing-zone mode setup unit for establishing a sensing-zone mode for determining sizes of individual sensing zones according to the key-arrangement direction.

17. The mobile terminal of claim 16, wherein the sensing-zone mode setup unit sequentially increases the sizes of the sensing zones in a horizontal key-arrangement direction or a vertical key-arrangement direction.

18. The mobile terminal of claim 15, further comprising:

a key designation unit for generating a key designation signal,

whereby the controller allocates a specific key to a specific sensing zone according to the generated key designation signal.

19. The mobile terminal of claim 15, further comprising:

a frequency measurement unit for measuring a use frequency each of keys,

whereby the controller allocates a specific key having the highest use frequency to the largest sensing zone from among the sensing zones.

20. The mobile terminal of claim 15, further comprising:

a rotation detection unit for detecting a rotation degree and a rotation direction of the touch-screen,

whereby the controller changes the key-arrangement direction of the sensing zones according to the detected rotation degree and the rotation direction, and maintains keys allocated to the sensing zones.

21. A mobile terminal comprising:

a touch-screen;

a storage unit for storing a plurality of arrangement structures for arranging a plurality of keys on the touch-screen; and

a controller for establishing a arrangement structure from the stored arrangement structures, and controlling the touch-screen to display the keys arranged according to the established arrangement structure.

22. The mobile terminal of claim 21, further comprising:

a radio frequency (RF) unit for transmitting information associated with the established arrangement structure to another terminal over a network, or receiving arrangement-structure information from another terminal over the network.

23. The mobile terminal of claim 21, wherein the touch-screen displays the keys arranged according to the predetermined arrangement structure on a predetermined zone, and the controller moves at least one of the keys displayed on the predetermined zone and allocates the moved at least one of the keys to at least one of the keys arranged according to the established arrangement structure.

24. The mobile terminal of claim 23, wherein the controller controls the touch-screen to display the predetermined zone to be distinguished from a display zone of the keys arranged according to the established arrangement structure.

25. The mobile terminal of claim 23, wherein the mobile terminal includes at least two touch-screens, whereby the controller displays the keys arranged according to the predetermined arrangement structure on a first touch-screen, and displays the keys arranged according to the established arrangement structure on a second touch-screen.