Mobile terminal

• US 9,378,635 B2
• Filed: 07/17/2013
• Issued: 06/28/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 07/17/2012
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Inventors: Kwon, Hyuntaek
• Primary Examiner(s): Perungavoor, Sath V
• Assistant Examiner(s): Le, Peter D
• Application Number:
  US13/944,533
• Publication Number:
  US 20140022369A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,077 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/02 Alarms for ensuring the safety of persons
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72403 with means for local support of applications that increase the functionality
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72418 for supporting emergency services
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/22 including a touch pad, a touch sensor or a touch detector digitizers for touch screens G06F3/041
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/52 including functional features of a camera constructional features concerning the integration of cameras in portable phones H04M1/0264

Abstract

A mobile terminal is disclosed. The mobile terminal may display, on a display unit, a captured front side image together with an execution screen of an application in execution, may analyze the captured front side image, and if a front side dangerous situation is sensed, may change a display state of the display unit to thereby send a warning message to the user.

Claims

1. A mobile terminal comprising:

a sensor sensing a user'"'"'s movement;

an output unit including a display unit, wherein the display unit is configured to display an execution screen of an application in execution;

a rear camera, wherein the rear camera is located on the opposite side of the display unit; and

a controller configured to;

determine whether the user is on the go via the sensor,

cause the display unit to display an image captured via the rear camera when the user is on the go, wherein the image is displayed with the execution screen of the application,

determine whether a dangerous situation is included in the captured image,

determine a degree of danger of the sensed dangerous situation, and

change a display state of the display unit when the dangerous situation is included in the captured image,

wherein if the degree of danger of the dangerous situation is higher than a predetermined level, the controller is configured to temporarily stop the application in execution, and if the degree of danger of the dangerous situation is lower than the predetermined level, the controller is configured to resume the execution of the application in execution.

2. The mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein the sensor is configured to further sense a standing angle of the mobile terminal with respect to a ground, and wherein the controller is configured to output a guiding message through the output unit if the sensed standing angle is smaller than a threshold angle, wherein the guiding message instructs the standing angle to be increased.

3. The mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein the sensor is configured to further sense a standing angle of the mobile terminal with respect to a ground, and wherein if the sensed standing angle is smaller than a threshold angle, the controller is configured to control the display unit so that the execution screen of the application is rotated frontward around a virtual horizontal axis of a lower end portion of the display unit.

4. The mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein the sensor is configured to further sense a standing angle of the mobile terminal with respect to a ground, and wherein if the sensed standing angle is smaller than a threshold angle, the controller is configured to refer to a captured front side image stored in a memory to sense a front side dangerous situation.

5. The mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein the sensor is configured to further sense a standing angle of the mobile terminal with respect to a ground, and wherein if the sensed standing angle is smaller than a threshold angle, the controller is configured to refer to map data previously stored in a memory to sense a dangerous situation.

6. The mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein when the dangerous situation is sensed, the controller is configured to send a warning message to the user by changing a display state of the captured image.

7. The mobile terminal of claim 6, wherein the controller is configured to display the captured image, with the captured image overlapping the execution screen of the application in execution, and wherein if the dangerous situation is sensed, the controller is configured to increase a degree of transparency of the execution screen of the application in execution and to decrease a degree of transparency of the captured image.

8. The mobile terminal of claim 6, wherein the controller is configured to change a display state of a screen of the display unit in consideration of the degree of danger of the sensed dangerous situation.

9. The mobile terminal of claim 8, wherein the controller is configured to change a degree of transparency of the captured image or to change the type of at least one of the separate alert sound and the separate alert image depending on the degree of danger of the sensed dangerous situation.

10. The mobile terminal of claim 6, wherein when the dangerous situation is sensed, the controller is configured to control the rear camera and the display unit so that the dangerous situation is greatly displayed in the captured image.

11. The mobile terminal of claim 6, wherein if the dangerous situation is sensed, the controller is configured to control the rear camera so that the sensed dangerous situation is focused.

12. The mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein if the dangerous situation is sensed, the controller is configured to output at least one of a separate alert sound and a separate alert image through the output unit.

13. The mobile terminal of claim 1, further comprising a front camera configured to capture the user'"'"'s image while the user is walking, wherein the controller is configured to analyze the captured user'"'"'s image and to control a sensing sensitivity of the dangerous situation based on the user'"'"'s eyeing position.

14. A mobile phone comprising:

a sensor sensing a user'"'"'s movement;

an output unit including a display unit configured to display an execution screen of an application in execution;

an input unit including a rear camera, wherein the rear camera is located on the opposite side of the display unit; and

a controller configured to;

determine whether the user is on the go via the sensor,

cause the rear camera to capture an image when the user is on the go,

determine whether a dangerous situation is included in the captured image,

determine a degree of danger of the dangerous situation, and

control at least one of an execution state of the application in execution, an activation state of the input unit, and an activation state of the output unit if the degree of danger of the dangerous situation is higher than a predetermined level,

wherein if the degree of danger of the dangerous situation is higher than the predetermined level, the controller is configured to temporarily stop the application in execution, and if the degree of danger of the dangerous situation is lower than the predetermined level, the controller is configured to resume the execution of the application in execution.

15. The mobile phone of claim 14, wherein if the degree of danger of the dangerous situation is higher than the predetermined level, the controller is configured to inactivate an input function through the input unit, and if the degree of danger of the dangerous situation is lower than the predetermined level, the controller is configured to reactivate the data input function through the input unit.

16. The mobile phone of claim 14, wherein if the degree of danger of the dangerous situation is higher than the predetermined level, the controller is configured to inactivate at least one of an image output function and a sound output function of the output unit, and if the degree of danger of the dangerous situation is lower than the predetermined level, the controller is configured to reactivate the inactivated at least one output function.

17. The mobile phone of claim 14, wherein the controller is configured to further display the captured image on the display unit, wherein if the degree of danger of the dangerous situation is higher than a predetermined level, the controller is configured to change a display state of the display unit to send a warning message to the user, and wherein what is changed of the display state of the display unit is determined depending on the degree of danger of the dangerous situation.

18. The mobile phone of claim 14, wherein the sensor is configured to further sense a standing angle of the mobile phone with respect to a ground, and wherein the controller is configured to output a guiding message through the output unit if the sensed standing angle is smaller than a threshold angle, wherein the guiding message instructs the standing angle to be increased.

19. The mobile phone of claim 14, wherein the sensor is configured to further sense a standing angle of the mobile phone with respect to a ground, and wherein if the sensed standing angle is smaller than a threshold angle, the controller is configured to control the display unit so that the execution screen of the application is rotated frontward around a virtual horizontal axis of a lower end portion of the display unit.

20. The mobile phone of claim 14, wherein the sensor is configured to further sense a standing angle of the mobile phone with respect to a ground, and wherein if the sensed standing angle is smaller than a threshold angle, the controller is configured to refer to a captured front side image stored in a memory or map data previously stored in the memory to sense a front side dangerous situation.