MOBILE TERMINAL AND OPERATING METHOD OF THE MOBILE TERMINAL

• US 20100201643A1
• Filed: 01/19/2010
• Published: 08/12/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 02/06/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Inventors: THO, Gi Hoon, Baek, Myung Cheol
• Granted Patent: US 8,363,022 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/173
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04104 Multi-touch detection in digitiser, i.e. details about the simultaneous detection of a plurality of touching locations, e.g. multiple fingers or pen and finger
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04105 Pressure sensors for measuring the pressure or force exerted on the touch surface without providing the touch position
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04106 Multi-sensing digitiser, i.e. digitiser using at least two different sensing technologies simultaneously or alternatively, e.g. for detecting pen and finger, for saving power or for improving position detection
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0414 using force sensing means to determine a position
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/044 by capacitive means
• 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 mobile terminal and an operating method of the mobile terminal are provided. The mobile terminal includes a transparent conductive layer configured to have a plurality of cells whose charge quantity varies in response to a touch signal, the cells being electrically isolated from one another; a plurality of pressure sensors configured to be laid over the transparent conductive layer, the pressure sensors calculating a pressure level of the touch signal and identifying a point of detection of the calculated pressure level; and a controller configured to determine whether there are two or more cells in the transparent conductive layer where a charge quantity variation is detected, wherein, if there are two or more cells in the transparent conductive layer where a charge quantity variation is detected, the controller identifies the positions of the corresponding cells and performs operations corresponding to the identified cell positions. Therefore, it is possible to effectively detect even a multi-touch input using the pressure sensors.

Claims

1. A mobile terminal comprising:

a transparent conductive layer configured to have a plurality of cells whose charge quantity varies in response to a touch signal, the cells being electrically isolated from one another;

a plurality of pressure sensors configured to be laid over the transparent conductive layer, the pressure sensors calculating a pressure level of the touch signal and identifying a point of detection of the calculated pressure level; and

a controller configured to determine whether there are two or more cells in the transparent conductive layer where a charge quantity variation is detected, wherein, if there are two or more cells in the transparent conductive layer where a charge quantity variation is detected, the controller identifies the positions of the corresponding cells and performs operations corresponding to the identified cell positions.

2. The mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein, if there is only one cell in the transparent conductive layer where a charge quantity variation is detected, the controller performs an operation corresponding to the identified point of detection of the calculated pressure level.

3. The mobile terminal of claim 2, wherein the operation corresponding to the identified point of detection of the calculated pressure level varies according to the calculated pressure level.

4. The mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein the transparent conductive layer is formed of indium-tin-oxide (ITO).

5. The mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein the cells have a larger size than the detection range of the pressure sensors.

6. The mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein the cells are electrically isolated from one another by etching.

7. An operating method of a mobile terminal, the operating method comprising:

providing a transparent conductive layer configured to have a plurality of cells whose charge quantity varies in response to a touch signal and a plurality of pressure sensors configured to be laid over the transparent conductive layer, the cells being electrically isolated from one another, and the pressure sensors calculating a pressure level of a touch signal and identifying a point of detection of the calculated pressure level;

if an input touch signal is received, identifying one or more cells in the transparent conductive layer where a charge quantity variation is detected; and

if there are two or more cells in the transparent conductive layer where a charge quantity variation is detected, performing operations corresponding to the identified cell positions.

8. The operating method of claim 7, further comprising, if there is only one cell in the transparent conductive layer where a charge quantity variation is detected, performing an operation corresponding to the identified point of detection of the calculated pressure level.

9. The operating method of claim 8, wherein the operation corresponding to the identified point of detection of the calculated pressure level varies according to the calculated pressure level.

10. The operating method of claim 7, wherein the transparent conductive layer is formed of ITO.

11. An operating method of a mobile terminal, the operating method comprising:

providing a display module including a transparent conductive layer configured to have a plurality of cells whose charge quantity varies in response to a touch signal and a plurality of pressure sensors configured to be laid over the transparent conductive layer, the cells being electrically isolated from one another, and the pressure sensors calculating a pressure level of a touch signal and identifying a point of detection of the calculated pressure level;

if an input touch signal is received through the transparent conductive layer, determining the position of the input touch signal based on at least one of the position of at least one cell in the transparent conductive layer where a charge quantity variation is detected, and a point of detection of the pressure level of the input touch signal identified by the pressure sensors; and

performing an operation corresponding to the determined touch signal position.

12. The operating method of claim 11, wherein the pressure sensors are arranged along the edges of the bottom of the transparent conductive layer.