KR20060089568A - Mobile communication terminal with keys increased - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a key expansion type mobile communication terminal, and an object thereof is to provide a communication terminal capable of expanding a key input unit within a predetermined space irrespective of an image display unit.

To this end, the key extension mobile communication terminal of the present invention, the key input unit and the image display unit is provided on the bed-shaped main body portion, the fixed keypad is formed on the front lower portion of the main body portion to form part of the key input portion, the main body portion A folder hinge formed near the side end and a folding keyboard rotatably installed by the folder hinge to enable expansion of the key input unit have an advantage of having a variety of key input functions while forming a compact and compact structure.

Key input unit, keyboard, image display unit, LCD, main unit, swing hinge, folder hinge

Description

Key expansion mobile terminal {MOBILE COMMUNICATION TERMINAL WITH KEYS INCREASED}

1 is a plan view showing a key expansion type mobile communication terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a cross-sectional view of a key extension mobile communication terminal taken along the line I-I of FIG.

3 is a plan view illustrating the key expansion type mobile communication terminal illustrated in FIG. 1 with the key input unit extended and the LCD panel of the image display unit rotated in a horizontal direction;

4 is a cross-sectional view of a key extension mobile communication terminal taken along II-II of FIG.

<Code Description of Main Parts of Drawing>

2: main body 3: key input

4: Image display part 5: Folder hinge

6: swing hinge 32: fixed keypad

34: Foldable keyboard 36: Secondary keypad

42: LCD panel 342: first variable keypad

344: second variable keypad

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a mobile communication terminal having a key input unit and an image display unit. More specifically, the number of keys increases with the expansion of the key input unit, and thus, it is particularly useful for PDA phones and the like which require a large number of keys. It relates to a key expansion type mobile communication terminal that can be applied.

As is widely known, a mobile communication terminal is a device that allows an individual to carry and carry information such as a voice call, a video call, a text message, and the Internet with a counterpart.

Such a mobile terminal has an advantage of allowing a user to make a telephone or internet communication regardless of time and place, and to allow the user to conveniently use various internal contents.

In particular, in recent years, the use of PDA phones, in which a function of a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) is added to the basic functions of the existing mobile communication terminal, is increasing. Mobile communication terminals such as PDA phones have great strengths in collecting, storing, and utilizing various kinds of information in addition to the existing communication functions.

In the use of the mobile communication terminal as described above, in order to efficiently collect, store, and utilize information, a larger number of keys are required than in the present. Accordingly, the key input unit is expanded in a predetermined space of the terminal, Attempts to increase the number of are present in the art.

As an example, Korean Patent No. 403370 discloses a technique for extending the number of keys by connecting a key top housing integrated with a keypad and an LCD to a hinge means connecting the main body housing and the cover housing.

However, such a conventional technology has a problem in that its practicality is inferior because a plurality of LCDs are required, and the LCD of the key top housing is limited in size by various keys provided therewith.

In addition, although many proposals have been made in the past for increasing the number of keys in a mobile communication terminal, especially a PDA phone, the number of keys and the position of the keys are limited by the size and position of an image display unit such as an LCD. Fell significantly.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a key input portion and an image display portion on a bed-shaped main body portion so that the key input portion can be unfolded by a folder hinge at the main body side end, so that the key can be opened within a predetermined space regardless of the image display portion. It is to provide a mobile communication terminal capable of expanding the input unit.

In addition, another object of the present invention is to provide a mobile communication terminal formed by the folder hinge of the main body side end is possible to expand the key input unit while the keypad portion of the expanded key input unit can have a larger number of keys. To provide.

In addition, another object of the present invention is to provide a mobile communication terminal, which is more convenient for a terminal user by allowing the position of the LCD panel of the image display unit to be changed without shrinking the key input unit.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention, the key input unit and the image display unit is provided on the bed-shaped main body portion, the fixed keypad is formed on the lower front of the main body portion to form part of the key input portion, the side end of the main body portion It includes a folder hinge formed in the vicinity, foldable keyboard installed rotatably by the folder hinge, to enable the expansion of the key input unit.

Here, it is preferable that first and second variable keypads are formed on the front and rear surfaces of the foldable keyboard, respectively, which enables the number of keys to be increased in the foldable keyboard, while the user can change the first and second variable keypads. Allows you to select and use according to the terminal usage.

In addition, the foldable keyboard is disposed side by side of the fixed keypad, preferably folded or unfolded with respect to the fixed keypad, which can minimize the size increase of the terminal according to the expansion of the key input unit.

In particular, the above-described image display unit according to the present invention includes an LCD panel disposed in the vertical direction side by side on the main body portion, it is preferable that the LCD panel is connected to the swing hinge formed on the front of the main body portion, which is a terminal user Rotate the LCD panel horizontally to make it easier to use the terminal for various purposes.

Furthermore, it is preferable that an auxiliary keypad is formed below the rear surface of the LCD panel arranged in the vertical direction at the front of the main body, so that the auxiliary keypad can be exposed as the LCD panel is rotated. In particular, it is preferred that the auxiliary keypad and the foldable keyboard have at least partly the same functioning keys as the auxiliary keypad, which can replace the function of the keypad placed in the unused position when the foldable keyboard is unfolded.

Hereinafter, a mobile communication terminal (hereinafter referred to as a PDA phone) according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a plan view showing a PDA phone according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line I-I of FIG. 3 is a plan view showing the PDA phone shown in FIG. 1 with the key input unit extended and the LCD panel of the image display unit rotated in the horizontal direction, and FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along II-II of FIG.

As shown in Fig. 1, the PDA 1 phone of this embodiment includes a key input section 3 consisting of a plurality of keypads and an image display section 4 having an LCD panel 42. The key input section 3 And the image display section 4 are arranged up and down on the bed-shaped main body section 2 (see FIGS. 2 to 4). In addition, the PDA phone 1 of the present embodiment includes a folder hinge 5 for expansion of the key input unit 3 and a swing hinge 6 for rotation of the LCD 42 panel.

2 to 4, the key input unit 3 of the present embodiment includes a fixed keypad 32 and a folding keyboard 34. At this time, the fixed keypad 32 is integrally provided at the front lower part of the main body 2, and the folding keyboard 34 is connected to the folder hinge 5 formed near the side edge of the main body 2.

In particular, since the foldable keyboard 34 is arranged side by side on the left side of the fixed keypad 32, the folding keyboard 34 is folded over or unfolded from the fixed keypad 32 according to the rotation by the folder hinge 5. Can be. At this time, the foldable keyboard 34 is electrically connected to the fixed keypad 32 by a flexible circuit board, that is, an FPCB cable (Flexible-Printed-Circuit-Board cable) 7.

In addition, the foldable keyboard 34 has first and second variable keypads 342 and 344 on the front and back surfaces, respectively. 1 and 2, when the foldable keyboard 34 is folded over the fixed keypad 32, the first variable keypad 342 is exposed to the outside and becomes usable. As shown in Figs. 3 and 4, when the foldable keyboard 34 is unfolded relative to the fixed keypad 32, the second variable keypad 344 is exposed to the outside and ready for use.

In particular, in the positions shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 where the second variable keypad 344 is used, the fixed keypad 32 and the second variable keypad 344 are unfolded in the form of a keyboard of a desktop computer or a notebook computer. It provides an environment that allows users to easily perform high-key tasks such as writing documents and games. At this time, each of the fixed keypad 32 and the second variable keypad 344 is preferably provided with keys (K3, K4) to enable a variety of key input.

On the other hand, the PDA phone 1 of the present embodiment includes an LCD panel 42 rotatable with respect to the body portion 2 by a swing hinge 6, in which the LCD panel 42 is a body portion. The position is varied from (a) longitudinally oriented side by side (shown in FIG. 1) on (2) to a laterally oriented position (shown in FIG. 3) perpendicular to the body portion 2.

The horizontal orientation of the LCD panel 42 as described above is such that when the user uses the keys K3 and K4 provided on the fixed keypad 32 and the second variable keypad 344, the LCD panel 42 is in the user's field of view. By placing it widely, it helps the user to make more difficult tasks such as a game more comfortable. At this time, although not shown, the LCD panel 42 and the main body 2 are also electrically connected by an ordinary FPCB cable.

Furthermore, the PDA phone 1 of this embodiment further includes an auxiliary keypad 36 as shown in FIG. The auxiliary keypad 36 is provided in the middle of the front surface of the main body 2 at the lower side of the LCD panel 42 (refer to FIG. 1) placed in the vertical direction, and the external keypad 36 is rotated in the horizontal direction. Is exposed.

 According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the auxiliary keypad 36 is at least partially provided with keys K2 which function like the keys K1 of the first variable keypad 342 described above. This allows another keypad to at least partially take over the function of the former keypad when one keypad is in an unusable position.

For example, the first variable keypad 342 (see FIG. 1) of the present embodiment is not available at the positions shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, while the above-described auxiliary keypad 36 is the first variable keypad 342. Will be an exposed location to perform the function of. In the present embodiment, as the keys K1 and K2 having the same function, a normal navigation key is provided on the auxiliary keypad 36 and the first variable keypad 342, respectively. It can be used.

In the description of the above embodiments, a PDA phone has been described as an example, but this is for explaining one embodiment of the present invention, and other various kinds of mobile communication terminals are also within the scope of the present invention.

In addition, while the present invention has been described with reference to specific embodiments, various modifications, changes, or modifications may be made in the art within the spirit of the present invention and the appended claims, and thus, the foregoing descriptions and The drawings are to be construed as illustrating the invention rather than limiting the technical spirit of the invention.

As described above, the key expansion type mobile communication terminal of the present invention can expand the key input unit within a predetermined space irrespective of the number and size of the image display unit, thereby providing various key input functions while forming a compact and compact structure. There is an advantage to have.

In addition, the key expansion type mobile communication terminal of the present invention has a position where the key input unit is expanded and a position where the key input unit is not expanded, in which the position of the LCD panel of the image display unit may be changed to provide an optimal environment for the user. This allows the user to use various functions more conveniently.

In addition, the key expansion type mobile communication terminal of the present invention has an advantage that it can perform almost all the same functions at different positions of the converted key input unit by the additional auxiliary keypad exposed by the rotation of the LCD panel. .

Claims (7)

A mobile communication terminal in which a key input unit and an image display unit are provided on a bed main body. A fixed keypad formed under the front surface of the main body to form part of the key input unit; A folding hinge formed near a side end of the main body; A folding keyboard rotatably installed by the folder hinge to enable expansion of the key input unit; Key extended mobile communication terminal comprising a. The key extension type mobile communication terminal according to claim 1, wherein first and second variable keypads are formed on the front and rear surfaces of the foldable keyboard, respectively. The key expansion type mobile communication terminal according to claim 1, wherein the foldable keyboard is arranged side by side of the fixed keypad and folded or unfolded with respect to the fixed keypad. The display panel of claim 1, wherein the image display part comprises an LCD panel arranged in a vertical direction side by side on the main body part, wherein the LCD panel is connected to a swing hinge formed at an upper portion of the front part of the main body part at a predetermined angle. Key extended mobile communication terminal, characterized in that rotatable. The key extension type according to claim 4, wherein an auxiliary keypad is formed on a front surface of the main body portion below the rear surface of the LCD panel arranged in a vertical direction, and the auxiliary keypad is selectively exposed as the LCD panel is rotated. Mobile terminal. The key extension type mobile communication terminal according to claim 4, wherein the LCD panel is arranged in a horizontal direction with a rotation angle of 90 degrees with respect to the main body. 6. The key extension type mobile communication terminal according to claim 5, wherein the auxiliary keypad and the foldable keyboard are provided at least partially with keys having the same function.

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