KR101604714B1 - Portable terminal - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a light-transmissive base which forms an outer appearance of a terminal and is arranged so that one surface faces the outside of the terminal, a recess portion formed at least partially on the other surface of the base, A color layer formed on at least one of the other surface of the base and the recessed portion so as to form a pattern together, and a base color layer formed on one of the one surface and the other surface of the base, Terminal.

Description

[0001] PORTABLE TERMINAL [0002]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a mobile terminal having characters, numbers, symbols, and logos on its outer surface.

A portable terminal is a portable electronic apparatus which is portable and has one or more functions of voice and video call function, information input / output function, and data storing function.

As the functions of the portable terminal are diversified, the portable terminal is implemented in the form of a multimedia device having complicated functions such as photographing and photographing of a moving picture, reproduction of music or video file, reception of a game, and reception of a broadcast.

Various new attempts have been made in terms of hardware or software to implement the complex functions of such multimedia devices. For example, a user interface environment is provided for a user to easily and conveniently search for or select a function.

In addition, portable terminals are regarded as personal items for expressing their individuality, and various design forms are required. The letters, numbers, symbols, and logos formed on the outer surface of the portable terminal are one of those requiring such a design form.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a portable terminal having characters, numbers, symbols, and logos of other types than the conventional ones.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a mobile terminal in which letters, numbers, symbols, and logos are formed in three dimensions.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a portable terminal including a base, a recess, a color layer, and a base color layer. The base forms an outer appearance of the terminal, and is disposed so that one surface faces the outside of the terminal, and is made of a light transmitting material. The recessed portion is formed to be recessed at least partially on the other surface of the base. The color layer is formed on at least one of the other surface of the base and the recessed portion to form a pattern together with the recessed portion. The base color layer is formed on one side or the other side of the base, and is made of a color different from that of the color layer.

According to an aspect of the present invention, a portable terminal includes a light source that is disposed to be covered by another surface of a base to backlight a pattern. The base color layer may form an opaque region in the base.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a base color layer is formed on one side of the base, and defines a blank area where a base color layer is formed at a position corresponding to the pattern. The blank region may be formed to have the same pattern as the pattern.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a color layer is formed on the other side of the base, and the recessed portion is formed so as to define the color layer. The base color layer may be formed to cover the color layer.

A portable terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a base, a recess portion, a color layer, and a base color layer and a light source. The base forms an outer appearance of the terminal, and one side is disposed to face the outside of the terminal, and is made of a light transmitting material. The recess portion is at least partially recessed on one surface of the base, and the center portion is formed more convex than the edge. The color layer is formed on the other side of the base so as to form a pattern together with the recessed portion. The base color layer is formed on the other side of the base and is made of a different color than the color layer. The light source is arranged to be covered by the other side of the base to backlight the pattern. The recessed portion may be formed in a circular shape, and the color layer may be disposed inside the circular shape.

The portable terminal according to the present invention configured as described above implements a three-dimensionally formed pattern through the recess portion.

The present invention implements a keypad in which letters, numbers, symbols and the like different from the conventional ones are formed through the recess portion and the light source.

Hereinafter, a portable terminal according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the present specification, the same or similar reference numerals are given to different embodiments in the same or similar configurations. As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

1 is a perspective view of a portable terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The portable terminal of the present invention includes a first body 110 and a second body 120 that is slidable along at least one direction on the first body 110. However, the present invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments and can be applied to various types of portable terminals such as a bar type, a folder type, a swing type, and a swivel type.

The first body 110 may be referred to as a closed configuration in which the first body 110 and the second body 120 are overlapped with each other and the first body 110 may be referred to as a second body 120 ) May be referred to as an open configuration.

The portable terminal operates mainly in the standby mode in the closed state, but the standby mode is also released by the operation of the user. In addition, the portable terminal operates mainly in a communication mode in an open state, but may be switched to a standby mode by a user's operation or a predetermined period of time.

A casing (a casing, a housing, a cover, etc.) constituting an outer appearance of the first body 110 is formed by a front case 111 and a rear case 112.

Various electronic components are installed in the space formed by the front case 111 and the rear case 112. At least one intermediate case may be additionally disposed between the front case 111 and the rear case 112. The cases may be formed by injection molding of a synthetic resin or may be formed of a metal material such as stainless steel (STS) or titanium (Ti).

The display unit 113, the sound output unit 114, the first image input unit 115, or the first operation unit 116 may be disposed in the first body 110, specifically, the front case 111. [

The display unit 113 includes an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) module, an OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) module, and a TOLED (Transparent OLED) module for visually expressing information.

The display unit 113 may further include a touch screen to enable information input by a user's touch. In addition, the display unit 113 may be configured to generate various tactile effects that a user can feel at the time of touch. This can be realized by a haptic module interlocked with the display unit 113. [ A typical example of a haptic effect generated by a haptic module is vibration. The haptic module may be variously arranged according to the configuration of the portable terminal as well as the display unit 113. [

The sound output unit 114 may be implemented in the form of a receiver or a speaker.

The first image input unit 115 may be implemented as a camera module for capturing an image or a moving image of a user.

The first operation unit 116 receives a command for controlling the operation of the portable terminal according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

The front case 121 and the rear case 122 may form the case of the second body 120, as in the case of the first body 110. [ The front cases 111 and 121 and the rear cases 112 and 122 may be referred to as portable terminal cases.

The second operation unit 123 may be disposed on the front surface of the second body 120, specifically, the front case 121.

The third operation unit 124, the first sound input unit 125, or the interface 126 may be disposed in at least one of the front case 121 and the rear case 122. [

The first to third operating portions 116, 123, and 124 may be collectively referred to as a manipulating portion and may be employed in any manner as long as the user operates in a tactile manner.

For example, the operation unit may be implemented as a dome switch or a touch screen or a touch pad capable of receiving commands or information by a push or touch operation of a user, or may be a wheel, a jog type, a joystick, Or the like.

In terms of functions, the first operation unit 116 is for inputting commands such as start, end, and scrolling, and the second operation unit 123 is for inputting numbers, characters, symbols, and the like. Also, the third operation unit 124 may operate as a hot-key for performing a special function such as activation of the first image input unit 115 or the like.

The first sound input unit 125 may be implemented in the form of a microphone, for example, to receive a user's voice, other sounds, and the like.

The interface 126 allows the portable terminal related to the present invention to exchange data with an external device. For example, the interface 126 may be a wired or wireless connection terminal for connecting to an earphone, a port for short range communication (for example, an IrDA port, a Bluetooth port, a wireless LAN port a wireless Lan port), or power supply terminals for supplying power to the portable terminal.

The interface 126 may be a card socket that accepts an external card such as a subscriber identification module (SIM) or a user identity module (UIM), a memory card for information storage, and the like.

A second sound output unit 127 may be additionally disposed in the front case 121.

The second sound output unit 127 may implement a stereo function together with the first sound output unit 114 and may be used for a call in a speakerphone mode.

2 is a rear perspective view of the portable terminal of FIG.

Referring to FIG. 2, a second image input unit 128 may be additionally mounted on the rear surface of the rear case 122 of the second body 120. The second image input unit 128 may have a photographing direction substantially opposite to that of the first image input unit 115 (see FIG. 1), and may be a camera having different pixels from the first image input unit.

For example, the first image input unit 115 has low pixels so that the face of the user can be photographed and transmitted to the other party in case of a video call or the like, and the second image input unit 128 photographs a general object, It is preferable to have a high pixel because it is often not transmitted.

A flash 129 and a mirror 130 are further disposed adjacent to the second image input unit 128. The flash 129 illuminates the subject when the subject is photographed by the second image input unit 128. The mirror unit 130 allows the user to illuminate the user's own face or the like when the user intends to take a picture of himself / herself (self-photographing) using the second image input unit 128.

At least one of the front case 121 and the rear case 122 may be provided with a broadcast signal receiving antenna 131 in addition to an antenna for communication. The antenna 131 may be installed to be detachable from the second body 120.

A part of the slide module 133 which slidably couples the first body 110 and the second body 120 is disposed on the rear case 112 side of the first body 110.

The other part of the slide module 133 may be disposed on the front case 121 side of the second body 120 and may not be exposed to the outside as in this figure.

In the above description, the second image input unit 128 and the like are disposed in the second body 120, but the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, at least one of the configurations 128 to 131 described as being arranged in the rear case 122, such as the second image input unit 128, is connected to the first body 110, mainly the rear case 112 It is also possible to mount it. In such a case, there is an advantage that the configuration (s) arranged in the rear case 112 in the closed state is protected by the second body 120. Further, the first image input unit 115 may be rotatably formed so that the second image input unit 128 can be photographed up to the second image input unit 128, even if the second image input unit 128 is not separately provided.

And a power supply unit 132 (see FIG. 9) for supplying power to the portable terminal is mounted on the rear case 122 side.

FIG. 3 is a partially exploded view of the portable terminal of FIG. 1, and FIGS. 4A to 4C are enlarged views of A, B, and C of FIG.

Referring to these drawings, a window 140, a keypad 150, and a battery cover 160 form part of the external appearance of the terminal.

A window 140 is coupled to one surface of the front case 111 of the first body 110 to cover the display module 113a.

The window 140 is made of a material through which light can be transmitted, for example, a light transmitting synthetic resin, a tempered glass, or the like. However, the window 140 may include a portion that can not transmit light. Such a portion is a material that can not transmit light or is a surface-treated region such that light can not be transmitted. The surface treated region may form an opaque region 141.

The window 140 may include a transparent region 142 having an area corresponding to the display module 113a. The transparent region 142 may be defined by being surrounded by the opaque region 141.

A window hole 113b is formed in the front case 111 so as to correspond to the window 140. [ In the rear case 112, the display module 113a is disposed to correspond to the window hole 113b. This is to allow the time information output from the display module 113a to be recognized from the outside. The window 140 and the display module 113a can be classified into the display portion 113 (see Fig. 1).

In the window 140, letters, numbers, symbols, and logos may be formed. Referring to these drawings, a character "CYON" is formed in the window 140. [ The characters consist of a recess 145 and a pattern 145 formed by the color layer 144.

Referring to these figures, a keypad 150 is mounted on one surface of the front case 121 of the second body 120. A keypad mounting hole 123a is formed in the front case 121 so that the keypad 150 can be exposed.

A switch assembly 123b is disposed in the rear case 122 of the second body 120. [ The switch assembly 123b may be mounted on a circuit board. The keypad 150, the keypad mounting hole 123a, and the switch assembly 123b may be classified as the second operating portion 123 (see FIG. 1).

The keypad 150 is made of a material that can transmit light, for example, a light transmitting synthetic resin, a tempered glass, or the like. The keypad 150 may form a surface-treated opaque region 151 so that light can not be transmitted.

Numerals, letters, symbols, and the like are formed on the keypad 150. The numbers, letters, symbols and the like are formed by a recess 155 and a pattern 155 formed by the color layer 154.

A light source 123c is disposed adjacent to the switch assembly 123b. The light source 123c is arranged to be covered by the keypad 150 to backlight the pattern 155. [ The light source 123c may be, for example, a light emitting diode (LED).

The power supply unit 132 included in the second body 120 may be detachably coupled to the portable terminal for charging, for example, as a rechargeable battery. The battery mounted on the portable terminal can be covered by the battery cover 160. Referring to these figures, a battery cover 160 is mounted on the rear case 122.

The battery cover 160 is made of a material through which light can be transmitted, for example, a light transmitting synthetic resin, a tempered glass, or the like. The battery cover 160 may form a surface-treated opaque region 161 so that light can not be transmitted.

The battery cover 160 may be formed with letters, numbers, symbols, and logos. Referring to these drawings, a logo is formed on the battery cover 160. The logo consists of a recess 165 and a pattern 165 formed by the color layer 164. Numerals, symbols, logos, and the like, which are different from conventional patterns, may be formed through the pattern 165.

Hereinafter, patterns 145, 155, and 165 formed on the window 140, the keypad 150, and the battery cover 160 will be described with reference to FIGS. 5A through 5C. 5A is a cross-sectional view of the window 140 taken along the lines Va-Va in FIG. 3, FIG. 5B is a cross-sectional view of the keypad 150 taken along the lines Vb-Vb in FIG. 3, 3 is a cross-sectional view of the battery cover 160 taken along line Vc-Vc.

Referring to these figures, the window 140, the keypad 150 and the battery cover 160 are connected to the base 146, 156, 166, the recesses 143, 153, 163 and the color layers 144, 154, 164).

The bases 146, 156, and 166 form an outer appearance of the terminal, and are disposed on one side facing the outside of the terminal, and are formed of a light-transmitting material. The light-transmitting material may be, for example, tempered glass, transparent synthetic resin, or the like

The recess portions 143, 153, and 163 are formed to be recessed at least partially on the other surfaces of the bases 146, 156, and 166.

The recess portions 143, 153, and 163 have steps relative to the other surfaces of the bases 146, 156, and 166. The step may be realized by a shape of a back injection mold such as a synthetic resin which is formed by a cutting process and is easy to perform injection molding, if the light-transmitting material is tempered glass which is difficult to injection mold. For example, in the window 140 and the keypad 150, the recess portions 143 and 153 are formed by NC (Numerical Control) processing. In the battery cover 160, the recess portion 163 is formed by a protruding shape protruding from one side of the mold in the injection mold.

The color layers 144, 154, and 164 are formed on the other surfaces of the bases 146, 156, and 166 and the recessed portions 143 and 153, respectively, to form the patterns 145, 155, and 165 together with the recessed portions 143, 153, , 163).

The color layers 144, 154, and 164 are formed by coloring dyes and the like on the bases 146, 156, and 166 using, for example, digital printing, vapor deposition,

The window 140, the keypad 150, and the battery cover 160 may include base color layers 147, 157, and 167, respectively.

The base color layers 147, 157 and 167 are formed on one side or the other side of the bases 146, 156 and 166 and have different colors from the color layers 144, 154 and 164. The base color layers 147, 157, and 167 are formed by coloring dyes and the like on the bases 146, 156, and 166 using spraying, coating, transfer,

5A and 5B, the recess portions 143 and 153 are formed so that at least one side thereof is parallel to the other side of the bases 146 and 156. [ The color layers 144 and 154 are formed on one side of the parallel recess portions 143 and 153. Base color layers 147 and 157 are formed on the other side of the bases 146 and 156 and form opaque areas 141 and 151 on one side of the bases 146 and 156.

The color layers 144 and 154 and the base color layers 147 and 157 are formed at different distances with respect to one surface of the bases 146 and 156 by the stepped portions of the recess portions 143 and 153. Accordingly, stereoscopic characters, numbers, symbols, and logos are implemented in the window 140 and the keypad 150 while forming the outer surface of the terminal smoothly.

Referring to FIG. 5B, the pattern 155 formed on the keypad may be backlighted. For this purpose, the light source 123c (see FIG. 3) may be disposed to be covered by the other surface of the base 156. FIG.

Referring to FIG. 5C, one surface of the base 166 is disposed facing the outside of the terminal, and the recessed portion 163 is formed so that at least one surface thereof is parallel to the other surface of the base 166. A color layer 164 is formed on one side of the parallel recess portion 163.

A base color layer 167 is formed on one side of the base 166. On the one surface of the base 166, a blank region 162 in which the base color layer 167 is not formed is formed. The base color layer 167 is formed to define the void region 162 at a position corresponding to the pattern 165.

The blank region 162 may be formed by removing the base color layer 167 formed on the other side of the base 166 by, for example, laser cutting. The blank region 162 may be formed in the same pattern as the pattern 165. [ Through this, a different type of logo can be realized.

6A and 6B are a perspective view and a cross-sectional view respectively showing another embodiment of the keypad of FIG.

Referring to these figures, a color layer 254 is formed on the other side of the base 256, and the recess portion 253 is formed to define the color layer 254. The recess portion 253 is formed along the periphery of the color layer 254 so that the color layer 254 is disposed at the center of the pattern 255. [

A base color layer 257 made of a color different from the color layer 254 is formed on one side of the base 256 so as to cover the color layer 254.

Hereinafter, a method of manufacturing the keypad 250 will be described.

First, a color layer 254 is formed on one side of the light transmitting base 256. Next, a base color layer 257 is formed so as to cover the color layer 258. The color layer 254 and the base color layer 257 may be formed through printing of a dye or the like.

Finally, a recess 253 is formed on one surface of the light-permeable base 256 through cutting or the like. Cutting is done so that the uncut portion ultimately forms the color layer 257.

One side of the base 256 is disposed facing the outside of the terminal. Whereby the user can recognize the pattern 255 in which the recess portion 253 and the color layer 254 are combined.

7A and 7B are a perspective view and a cross-sectional view, respectively, showing another embodiment of the keypad of FIG.

The light-transmissive base 356 is disposed such that one side where the recess portion 353 is provided faces the outside of the terminal. A color layer 354 is formed on the other side of the base 356. The color layer 354 forms a pattern 355 together with the recess portion 353 and the pattern 355 is composed of letters, numbers, symbols, logos and the like.

The recessed portion 353 is at least partially recessed and formed so that its central portion is convex than the edge. The recess 353 may have a dome-shaped cross-section through a cutting process on the base 356.

The pattern 355 formed on the keypad can be backlighted. For this, the light source 123c (see FIG. 3) may be arranged to be covered by the other surface of the base 356. FIG.

 The recessed portion 353 forms a circular shape. A color layer 354 may be disposed within the circular shape. As a result, a three-dimensional effect can be added to the color layer 354 and a new pattern 355 can be formed.

8 is a block diagram of a portable terminal according to the present invention.

8, a portable terminal according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention includes a wireless communication module 171, operation units 116, 123 and 124, image input units 115 and 128, an acoustic input unit 125, a display unit 113, A sensing unit 176, an interface 126, a broadcast receiving module 175, a memory 174, a power supply unit 132, and a control unit 170.

The control unit 170 typically controls the overall operation of the portable terminal. For example, voice communication, data communication, video communication, and the like.

In addition to the normal function control, the control unit 170 further controls the operation of the portable terminal related to the present invention.

The wireless communication module 171 transmits / receives wireless signals to / from the mobile communication base station through an antenna. A transmission unit 172 for transmitting and receiving voice data, character data, image data, and control data under the control of the control unit 170 and for modulating and transmitting a signal to be transmitted for this purpose; 173).

The operation units 116, 123, and 124 are configured as shown in FIG. 1, and provide the control unit 170 with key input data that the user inputs for controlling the operation of the terminal. The operation units 116, 123, and 124 include a dome switch, a touch pad (static / static), a jog wheel, a jog switch, and the like.

The image input units 115 and 128 process image frames such as still images or moving images obtained by the image sensor in the video communication mode or the photographing mode. The processed image frame is converted into image data that can be displayed on the display unit 113 and output to the display unit 113.

The image frames processed by the image input units 115 and 128 are stored in the memory 174 under control of the control unit 170 or transmitted to the outside through the wireless transmission / reception unit 171.

The sound input unit 125 receives an external sound signal by a microphone in a communication mode, a recording mode, a voice recognition mode, and the like, and processes it as electrical voice data. The processed voice data is converted into a form that can be transmitted to the mobile communication base station via the wireless communication module 171 in the communication mode, and is output to the wireless communication module. In the case of the recording mode, the processed voice data is output to be stored in the memory 174.

The sound input unit 125 may be implemented with various noise reduction algorithms for eliminating noise generated in the process of receiving an external sound signal.

The display unit 113 displays and outputs information processed in the portable terminal. For example, when the portable terminal is in the call mode, the control unit 170 displays a UI (User Interface) or GUI (Graphic User Interface) related to the call. When the portable terminal is in the video communication mode or the photographing mode, the control unit 170 displays and displays the photographed image, the UI, and the GUI. When the display unit 113 includes a touch screen, the display unit 113 is used as an input device in addition to the output device.

The sound output units 114 and 127 receive sound data received from the wireless communication module 171 under the control of the controller 170 in the call signal reception mode, the communication mode or the recording mode, the voice recognition mode, And outputs the converted sound data to the outside.

Also, the sound output units 114 and 127 output sound signals related to functions (e.g., call signal reception sound, message reception sound, etc.) performed in the portable terminal. The sound output units 114 and 127 include a speaker, a receiver, a buzzer, and the like.

The sensing unit 176 senses the current state of the portable terminal such as the opening / closing state of the portable terminal, the position of the portable terminal, whether or not the user touches the portable terminal, and generates a sensing signal for controlling the operation of the portable terminal. For example, if the portable terminal is in the form of a slide phone, it senses whether the slide phone is opened or closed, and outputs the sensing result to the controller 170 so that the operation of the terminal is controlled. And a sensing function related to whether or not the power supply unit 132 is powered on, whether the interface 126 is coupled to an external device, and the like.

The interface 126 may be any type of interface card such as a wired / wireless headset, an external charger, a wired / wireless data port, a card socket (e.g. a memory card, a SIM / UIM card) It serves as an interface with the device. The interface 126 receives data from an external device or receives power from the external device, transfers the data to each component in the portable terminal, or transmits data in the portable terminal to an external device.

The memory 174 may store a program for processing and controlling the controller 170 and may have a function for temporarily storing input / output data (e.g., a phone book, a message, a still image, .

A program for controlling the operation of the portable terminal related to the present invention is stored in the memory 174

Such memory 174 includes the concept of a generally known hard disk, card type memory (e.g., SD or XD memory), flash memory, RAM, ROM, and the like.

The broadcast receiving module 175 receives broadcast signals transmitted through satellite or terrestrial waves and converts the received broadcast signals into broadcast data formats that can be output to the sound output units 114 and 127 and the display unit 113 and outputs them to the control unit 170 . In addition, the broadcast receiving module 175 receives additional data (e.g., EPG (Electric Program Guide), channel list, etc.) related to broadcasting. The broadcast data and the additional data converted by the broadcast receiving module 175 may be stored in the memory 174. [

The power supply unit 132 receives external power and internal power under the control of the controller 170 and supplies power required for operation of the respective components.

The above-described portable terminal is not limited to the configuration and method of the embodiments described above, but all or some of the embodiments may be selectively combined so that various modifications may be made to the embodiments.

1 is a perspective view of a mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention;

2 is a rear perspective view of the portable terminal of FIG. 1;

3 is a partial exploded view of the portable terminal of FIG. 1;

Figs. 4A to 4C are enlarged views for A, B and C in Fig. 3; Fig.

Figure 5A is a cross-sectional view of a window taken along line (Va-Va) of Figure 3;

Figure 5b is a cross-sectional view of the keypad taken along line (Vb-Vb) of Figure 3;

Fig. 5c is a cross-sectional view of the battery cover taken along line Vc-Vc of Fig. 3; Fig.

6A and 6B are a perspective view and a cross-sectional view respectively showing another embodiment of the keypad of FIG. 3;

7A and 7B are a perspective view and a cross-sectional view, respectively, showing another embodiment of the keypad of FIG. 3;

8 is a block diagram of a mobile terminal according to the present invention;

Claims (9)

A base of a light-transmitting material which forms an outer appearance of the terminal and whose one surface faces the outside of the terminal; A recess portion formed at least partially on one surface and the other surface of the base so as to be recessed; A color layer formed on the recessed portion formed on the other surface of the base so as to form a pattern together with the recessed portion; And And a base color layer formed on the other surface of the base except for the recessed portion, the base color layer having a different color from the color layer, so that a color different from the color layer is viewed through the base, Wherein the color layer and the base color layer are formed at different distances from one side of the base due to a difference in level of the recess portion. The method according to claim 1, And a light source disposed to be covered by the other surface of the base to backlight the pattern. The method according to claim 1, Wherein the base color layer forms an opaque region in the base. The method according to claim 1, Wherein the base color layer defines a blank region where the base color layer is not formed at a position corresponding to the pattern. 5. The method of claim 4, Wherein the blank region is formed to have the same pattern as the pattern. The method according to claim 1, Wherein the recess portion is formed to define the color layer. delete The method according to claim 1, Further comprising a light source disposed to be covered by the other surface of the base to backlight the pattern, Wherein the recess portion is at least partially recessed on one side of the base, and the center portion of the recess is convexly formed. 9. The method of claim 8, Wherein the recess portion is formed in a circular shape, Wherein the color layer is disposed inside the circular shape.

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