KR101467799B1 - Mobile terminal and Method for controlling an external device in the same - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention displays widget icons for controlling the operation of external devices connected to a local communication and controls the operation of the external devices using the widget icons on the idle screen, A terminal capable of utilizing the functions of external devices, and a method of controlling the external device.

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a mobile terminal and method for controlling the same,

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a terminal, and more particularly, to a terminal capable of controlling an operation of an external device using a terminal and a method of controlling the external device.

A terminal such as a personal computer, a notebook computer, a mobile phone, or the like can be configured to perform various functions. Examples of such various functions include a data and voice communication function, a function of photographing a video or a moving image through a camera, a voice storage function, a music file playback function through a speaker system, and an image or video display function. Some terminals include additional functions to execute games, and some other terminals are also implemented as multimedia devices.

Moreover, recent terminals can receive a broadcast or multicast signal to view a video or television program.

In general, The mobile terminal can be divided into a mobile terminal and a stationary terminal depending on whether the mobile terminal is directly portable or not, and the mobile terminal can be divided into a mobile terminal (or a mobile terminal) terminal.

Efforts are continuing to support and enhance the functions of terminals. The foregoing efforts include not only changes and improvements in structural components that form the terminal, but also improvements in software or hardware.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a terminal capable of integrally controlling operations of external devices connected to a local area communication on a standby screen, and an external device control method thereof.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of controlling an external device of a terminal, the method comprising: acquiring device information of at least one external device using local communication; Searching for external devices capable of supporting functions in the terminal among the external devices using the obtained device information; Displaying icons for controlling operations of the searched external devices; And controlling an operation of the external device by connecting a local communication with an external device corresponding to the selected icon when at least one of the icons is selected.

At this time, the icons may be widget icons for controlling the searched external devices on the idle screen.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of controlling an external device of a terminal, the method comprising the steps of: displaying a list of the searched external devices; and displaying at least one external device on the list, Icons for controlling the operation of external devices can be displayed.

In addition, the displaying of the icons may be performed such that any one of the display color, the display size, and the display shape may be displayed differently from each other.

The displaying of the icons may include classifying functions of the searched external devices by type; Grouping the icons of the external devices providing the same kind of functions among functions of the classified external devices into the same category and displaying them; And displaying icons corresponding to external devices supporting various functions among the functions of the classified external devices in different categories.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of controlling an external device of a terminal, the method comprising: displaying the selected icon on the local communication connection success message when the local communication connection with the external device corresponding to the selected icon is successful; And displaying the selected icon on the local communication connection failure message when the local communication connection with the external device corresponding to the selected icon is unsuccessful.

In addition, the controlling step may include: displaying a window for controlling an operation of an external device corresponding to the selected icon on the selected icon; And controlling the operation of the external device using the control window.

The method may further include storing the received data in an icon corresponding to the external device when the data is received from the external device.

The method may further include stopping the display of the icon corresponding to the external device when the short-distance communication connection with the external device under operation control is released, have.

The method further includes the step of displaying the disconnection fact on an icon corresponding to the external device when the short-distance communication connection with the external device under operation control is released. .

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of controlling an external device of a terminal, the method comprising: displaying a window for selecting whether to switch a screen displaying the icons to the event screen when an event occurs during controlling an operation of the external device; And switching the screen displaying the icons to the event screen when the event screen switching is selected in the selection window.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for controlling an external device of a terminal, the method comprising: displaying an identifier for notifying the occurrence of the event on a screen displaying the icons when an event occurs while controlling the operation of the external device; And switching the screen displaying the icons to the event screen when the identifier is selected.

Also, a terminal according to the present invention includes: a communication unit for a short-range communication connection with at least one external device; A display module for displaying icons for controlling operations of external devices capable of supporting functions in the terminal among the external devices; And a controller for controlling operations of the external device corresponding to the selected icon through the communication unit when at least one of the icons is selected.

A terminal and an external device control method thereof according to the present invention are characterized by displaying widget icons for controlling operation of external devices usable in a terminal in a short distance communication on a standby screen, The user can more conveniently use the functions of the external apparatuses.

Hereinafter, a mobile terminal related to the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the drawings.

The suffix "module" and " part "for components used in the following description are given merely for convenience of description, and do not give special significance or role in themselves. Accordingly, it should be noted that the above-mentioned "module" and "part"

The terminal according to the present invention can be implemented in various forms. For example, the terminal described herein can be implemented in a mobile terminal such as a mobile phone, a smart phone, a digital broadcasting terminal, a PDA (personal digital assistant), a portable multimedia player (PMP) have.

In addition, the external device according to the present invention can include all devices capable of short range communication with a mobile terminal such as a headset, a microphone, a speaker, an audio, a video, a notebook, a PC, a PDA, a PMP,

1 is a block diagram of a mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The mobile terminal 100 includes a communication unit 110, an audio / video input unit 120, an input unit 130, a sensing unit 140, an output unit 150, a memory 160, 170, a control unit 180, a power supply unit 190, and the like. The components shown in FIG. 1 are not essential, and a mobile terminal having more or fewer components may be implemented.

Hereinafter, the components will be described in order.

The wireless communication unit 110 may communicate with the external device 200 between the mobile terminal 100 and the wireless communication system or between the mobile terminal 100 and the network where the mobile terminal 100 is located or between the mobile terminal 100 and the external device 200 Lt; RTI ID = 0.0 > and / or < / RTI >

For example, the wireless communication unit 110 may include a broadcast receiving module 111, a mobile communication module 112, a wireless Internet module 113, a short range communication module 114, and a location information module 115 .

The broadcast receiving module 111 receives broadcast signals and / or broadcast-related information from an external broadcast management server through a broadcast channel.

The broadcast channel may include a satellite channel and a terrestrial channel. The broadcast management server may refer to a server for generating and transmitting broadcast signals and / or broadcast related information, or a server for receiving broadcast signals and / or broadcast related information generated by the broadcast management server and transmitting the generated broadcast signals and / or broadcast related information. The broadcast signal may include a TV broadcast signal, a radio broadcast signal, a data broadcast signal, and a broadcast signal in which a data broadcast signal is combined with a TV broadcast signal or a radio broadcast signal.

The broadcast-related information may refer to a broadcast channel, a broadcast program, or information related to a broadcast service provider. The broadcast-related information may also be provided through a mobile communication network. In this case, it may be received by the mobile communication module 112.

The broadcast-related information may exist in various forms. For example, an EPG (Electronic Program Guide) of DMB (Digital Multimedia Broadcasting) or an ESG (Electronic Service Guide) of Digital Video Broadcast-Handheld (DVB-H).

For example, the broadcast receiving module 111 may be a Digital Multimedia Broadcasting-Terrestrial (DMB-T), a Digital Multimedia Broadcasting-Satellite (DMB-S), a Media Forward Link Only And a Digital Broadcasting System (ISDB-T) (Integrated Services Digital Broadcast-Terrestrial). Of course, the broadcast receiving module 111 may be adapted to other broadcasting systems as well as the digital broadcasting system described above.

The broadcast signal and / or broadcast related information received through the broadcast receiving module 111 may be stored in the memory 160.

The mobile communication module 112 transmits and receives radio signals to at least one of a base station, an external terminal, and a server on a mobile communication network. The wireless signal may include various types of data according to a voice call signal, a video communication call signal, or a text / multimedia message transmission / reception.

The wireless Internet module 113 is a module for wireless Internet access, and may be built in or externally attached to the terminal 100. WLAN (Wi-Fi), Wibro (Wireless broadband), Wimax (World Interoperability for Microwave Access), HSDPA (High Speed Downlink Packet Access) and the like can be used as wireless Internet technologies.

The short-range communication module 114 refers to a module for short-range communication. Bluetooth, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), infrared data association (IrDA), Ultra Wideband (UWB), ZigBee, and the like can be used as a short range communication technology.

The short range communication module 114 is connected to the external device 200 according to the present invention in a short distance communication and receives information of the short range communication device provided in the external device 200 from the external device 200, 160, or receives data from the external device 200. [ Also, the short-range communication module 114 transmits the control signal generated by the controller 180 to the external device 200.

The position information module 115 is a module for obtaining the position of the terminal 100, and a representative example thereof is a Global Position System (GPS) module.

Referring to FIG. 1, an A / V (Audio / Video) input unit 120 is for inputting an audio signal or a video signal, and may include a camera 121 and a microphone 122. The camera 121 processes 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 can be displayed on the display unit 151. [

The image frame processed by the camera 121 may be stored in the memory 160 or transmitted to the outside through the wireless communication unit 110. [ Two or more cameras 121 may be provided depending on the use environment.

The microphone 122 receives an external sound signal through a microphone in a communication mode, a recording mode, a voice recognition mode, or the like, and processes it as electrical voice data. The processed voice data can be converted into a form that can be transmitted to the mobile communication base station through the mobile communication module 112 when the voice data is in the call mode, and output. Various noise reduction algorithms may be implemented in the microphone 122 to remove noise generated in receiving an external sound signal.

The user input unit 130 generates input data for a user to control the operation of the terminal. The user input unit 130 may include a key pad dome switch, a touch pad (static / static), a jog wheel, a jog switch, and the like.

The sensing unit 140 senses the current state of the terminal 100 such as the open / close state of the terminal 100, the position of the terminal 100, the presence of the user, the orientation of the terminal, And generates a sensing signal for controlling the operation of the sensor. For example, when the terminal 100 is in the form of a slide phone, it is possible to sense whether the slide phone is opened or closed. It is also possible to sense whether the power supply unit 190 is powered on, whether the interface unit 170 is connected to an external device, and the like.

The output unit 150 includes a display unit 151, an audio output module 152, an alarm output module 153, and a haptic module 154. The display unit 151, the audio output module 152, And the like.

The display module 151 displays (outputs) information to be processed by the terminal 100. For example, when the terminal is in the call mode, a UI (User Interface) or GUI (Graphic User Interface) associated with the call is displayed. When the terminal 100 is in the video communication mode or the photographing mode, the photographed and / or received video or UI and GUI are displayed.

The display module 151 may be a liquid crystal display (LCD), a thin film transistor-liquid crystal display (TFT LCD), an organic light-emitting diode (OLED), a flexible display display, and a 3D display.

Some of these displays may be transparent or light transmissive so that they can be seen through. This can be referred to as a transparent display, and a typical example of the transparent display is TOLED (Transparent OLED) and the like. The rear structure of the display module 151 may also be of a light transmission type. With this structure, the user can see an object located behind the terminal body through the area occupied by the display module 151 of the terminal body.

There may be two or more display modules 151 according to the embodiment of the terminal 100. For example, in the terminal 100, a plurality of display modules may be disposed on one surface or may be disposed integrally with each other, or may be disposed on different surfaces.

(Hereinafter, referred to as a 'touch screen') in which the display module 151 and the sensor for sensing the touch operation (hereinafter, referred to as 'touch sensor') have a mutual layer structure, It can also be used as an input device. The touch sensor may have the form of, for example, a touch film, a touch sheet, a touch pad, or the like.

The touch sensor may be configured to convert a change in a pressure applied to a specific portion of the display module 151 or a capacitance generated in a specific portion of the display module 151 into an electrical input signal. The touch sensor can be configured to detect not only the position and area to be touched but also the pressure at the time of touch.

If there is a touch input to the touch sensor, the corresponding signal (s) is sent to the touch controller. The touch controller processes the signal (s) and transmits the corresponding data to the controller 180. Thus, the control unit 180 can know which area of the display module 151 is touched or the like.

Referring to FIG. 1, a proximity sensor 141 may be disposed in an inner region of the mobile terminal 100 or in the vicinity of the touch screen, which is surrounded by the touch screen.

The proximity sensor 141 refers to a sensor that detects the presence of an object approaching a predetermined detection surface or an object existing in the vicinity of the detection surface without mechanical contact using an electromagnetic force or an infrared ray. The proximity sensor has a longer life span than the contact sensor and its utilization is also high.

Examples of the proximity sensor include a transmission type photoelectric sensor, a direct reflection type photoelectric sensor, a mirror reflection type photoelectric sensor, a high frequency oscillation type proximity sensor, a capacitive proximity sensor, a magnetic proximity sensor, and an infrared proximity sensor.

And to detect the proximity of the pointer by the change of the electric field along the proximity of the pointer when the touch screen is electrostatic. In this case, the touch screen (touch sensor) may be classified as a proximity sensor.

Hereinafter, for convenience of explanation, the act of recognizing that the pointer is positioned on the touch screen while the pointer is not in contact with the touch screen is referred to as "proximity touch & The act of actually touching the pointer on the screen is called "contact touch. &Quot; The position where the pointer is proximately touched on the touch screen means a position where the pointer is vertically corresponding to the touch screen when the pointer is touched.

The proximity sensor detects a proximity touch and a proximity touch pattern (e.g., a proximity touch distance, a proximity touch direction, a proximity touch speed, a proximity touch time, a proximity touch position, a proximity touch movement state, and the like). Information corresponding to the detected proximity touch operation and the proximity touch pattern may be output on the touch screen.

The audio output module 152 may output audio data received from the wireless communication unit 110 or stored in the memory 160 in a call signal reception mode, a call mode or a recording mode, a voice recognition mode, a broadcast reception mode, The sound output module 152 also outputs sound signals related to functions (e.g., call signal reception sound, message reception sound, etc.) performed in the terminal 100. [ The audio output module 152 may include a receiver, a speaker, a buzzer, and the like.

The alarm output module 153 outputs a signal for notifying the occurrence of an event of the terminal 100. Examples of events that occur in the terminal 100 include call signal reception, message reception, key signal input, touch input, and the like.

The alarm output module 153 may output a signal for informing occurrence of an event in a form other than a video signal or an audio signal, for example, vibration. The video signal or audio signal may also be output through the display module 151 or the audio output module 152 so that they may be classified as part of the alarm output module 153.

The haptic module 154 generates various tactile effects that the user can feel. A typical example of the haptic effect generated by the haptic module 154 is vibration. The intensity and pattern of the vibration generated by the tactile module 154 can be controlled. For example, different vibrations may be synthesized and output or sequentially output.

In addition to the vibration, the haptic module 154 may include a pin arrangement vertically moving with respect to the contact skin surface, a spraying force or suction force of the air through the injection port or the suction port, a touch on the skin surface, contact with an electrode, And various tactile effects such as an effect of reproducing a cold sensation using an endothermic or exothermic element can be generated.

The haptic module 154 can be implemented not only to transmit the tactile effect through the direct contact but also to allow the user to feel the tactile effect through the muscular sensation of the finger or arm. The haptic module 154 may include two or more haptic modules 154 depending on the configuration of the mobile terminal 100.

The memory 160 may store a program for the operation of the controller 180 and temporarily store input / output data (e.g., a phone book, a message, a still image, a moving picture, etc.). The memory 160 may store data on vibration and sound of various patterns outputted when a touch is input on the touch screen.

The memory 160 may be a flash memory type, a hard disk type, a multimedia card micro type, a card type memory (for example, SD or XD memory, etc.) ), A random access memory (RAM), a static random access memory (SRAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a programmable read- A magnetic disk, an optical disk, a memory, a magnetic disk, or an optical disk. The terminal 100 may operate in association with a web storage that performs a storage function of the memory 160 on the Internet.

Meanwhile, the interface unit 170 serves as a path for communication with all external devices connected to the mobile terminal 100. The interface unit 170 receives data from an external device or supplies power to each component in the mobile terminal 100 or transmits data to the external device.

For example, a wired / wireless headset port, an external charger port, a wired / wireless data port, a memory card port, a port for connecting a device having an identification module, an audio I / O port, A video input / output (I / O) port, an earphone port, and the like may be included in the interface unit 170.

The identification module is a chip for storing various information for authenticating the use right of the mobile terminal 100 and includes a user identification module (UIM), a subscriber identity module (SIM) (Universal Subscriber Identity Module, USIM), and the like. An apparatus having the above-described identification module (hereinafter referred to as 'identification device') can be manufactured in a smart card format. Therefore, the identification device can be connected to the mobile terminal 100 through the port.

When the mobile terminal 100 is connected to an external cradle, the interface unit may be a path through which power from the cradle is supplied to the mobile terminal 100, or various command signals input by the user to the cradle may be transmitted And may be a passage to be transmitted to the terminal 100. The various command signals or the power source inputted from the cradle may be operated as a signal for recognizing that the mobile terminal 100 is correctly mounted on the cradle.

The controller 180 typically controls the overall operation of the mobile terminal 100. For example, voice communication, data communication, video communication, and the like. The control unit 180 may include a multimedia module 181 for multimedia playback. The multimedia module 181 may be implemented in the control unit 180 or separately from the control unit 180.

The controller 180 may perform a pattern recognition process for recognizing handwriting input or drawing input performed on the touch screen as characters and images, respectively.

The power supply unit 190 receives external power and internal power under the control of the controller 180 and supplies power necessary for operation of the respective components.

The various embodiments described herein may be embodied in a recording medium readable by a computer or similar device using, for example, software, hardware, or a combination thereof.

According to a hardware implementation, the embodiments described herein may be implemented as application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), digital signal processing devices (DSPDs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), field programmable gate arrays May be implemented using at least one of processors, controllers, micro-controllers, microprocessors, and other electronic units for performing other functions. In some cases, May be implemented by the control unit 180.

According to a software implementation, embodiments such as procedures or functions may be implemented with separate software modules that perform at least one function or operation. The software code may be implemented by a software application written in a suitable programming language. The software codes are stored in the memory 160 and can be executed by the control unit 180. [

2A is a perspective view of an example of a terminal related to the present invention as viewed from the front.

The disclosed terminal 100 includes a bar-shaped terminal body. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and can be applied to various structures such as a slide type, a folder type, a swing type, and a swivel type in which two or more bodies are relatively movably coupled.

The body includes a case (a casing, a housing, a cover, and the like) which forms an appearance. In this embodiment, the case may be divided into a front case 101 and a rear case 102. [ A variety of electronic components are embedded in the space formed between the front case 101 and the rear case 102. At least one intermediate case may be additionally disposed between the front case 101 and the rear case 102. [

The cases may be formed by injection molding a synthetic resin, or may be formed to have a metal material such as stainless steel (STS) or titanium (Ti) or the like.

The display unit 151, the sound output unit 152, the camera 121, the user input units 130/131 and 132, the microphone 122, the interface 170, and the like may be disposed in the front body 101 have.

The display unit 151 occupies most of the main surface of the front case 101. A sound output unit 151 and a camera 121 are disposed in an area adjacent to one end of both ends of the display unit 151 and a user input unit 131 and a microphone 122 are disposed in an area adjacent to the other end. The user input unit 132 and the interface 170 may be disposed on the side surfaces of the front case 101 and the rear case 102. [

The user input unit 130 is operated to receive a command for controlling the operation of the terminal 100 and may include a plurality of operation units 131 and 132. The operation units 131 and 132 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.

The contents inputted by the first or second operation unit 131 or 132 may be variously set. For example, the first operation unit 131 receives commands such as start, end, scroll, and the like, and the second operation unit 132 controls the size of the sound output from the sound output unit 152 or the size of the sound output from the display unit 151 To the touch recognition mode of the touch screen.

2B is a rear perspective view of the terminal shown in FIG. 2A.

Referring to FIG. 2B, a camera 121 'may be further mounted on the rear surface of the terminal body, that is, the rear case 102. The camera 121 'may have a photographing direction substantially opposite to the camera 121 (see FIG. 2A), and may be a camera having different pixels from the camera 121.

For example, the camera 121 may have a low pixel 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 camera 121 ' It is preferable to have a large number of pixels. The cameras 121 and 121 'may be installed in the terminal body so as to be rotatable or pop-upable.

A flash 123 and a mirror 124 are additionally disposed adjacent to the camera 121 '. The flash 123 illuminates the subject when the subject is photographed by the camera 121 '. The mirror 124 allows the user to illuminate the user's own face or the like when the user intends to shoot himself / herself (self-photographing) using the camera 121 '.

An acoustic output 152 'may be additionally disposed on the rear surface of the terminal body. The sound output unit 152 'may implement the stereo function together with the sound output unit 152 (see FIG. 2A), and may be used for the implementation of the speakerphone mode during a call.

In addition to the antenna for a call or the like, a broadcast signal reception antenna 124 may be additionally disposed on the side of the terminal body. The antenna 124 constituting a part of the broadcast receiving module 111 (see FIG. 1) may be installed to be able to be drawn out from the terminal body.

A power supply unit 190 for supplying power to the terminal 100 is mounted on the terminal body. The power supply unit 190 may be built in the terminal body or may be detachable from the outside of the terminal body.

The rear case 102 may further include a touch pad 135 for sensing a touch. The touch pad 135 may also be of a light transmission type like the display unit 151. [ In this case, if the display unit 151 is configured to output time information on both sides, the time information can be recognized through the touch pad 135 as well. The information output on both sides may be all controlled by the touch pad 135. [ Alternatively, a display may be additionally mounted on the touch pad 135, and the touch screen may be disposed on the rear case 102 as well.

The touch pad 135 operates in correlation with the display portion 151 of the front case 101. The touch pad 135 may be disposed parallel to the rear of the display unit 151. The touch pad 135 may have a size equal to or smaller than that of the display unit 151.

Hereinafter, a related operation of the display unit 151 and the touch pad 135 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3A and 3B.

3A and 3B are front views of a portable terminal for explaining an operation state of a terminal related to the present invention.

Various types of time information can be displayed on the display unit 151. [ These pieces of information can be displayed in the form of letters, numbers, symbols, graphics, or icons.

At least one of the letters, numbers, symbols, graphics, or icons may be displayed in a predetermined arrangement for inputting such information, thereby being implemented as a keypad. Such a keypad may be called a so-called " soft key ".

FIG. 3A shows a touch input to a soft key through a front surface of a terminal body.

The display unit 151 may operate as an entire area or may be divided into a plurality of areas and operated. In the latter case, the plurality of areas can be configured to operate in association with each other.

For example, an output window 151a and an input window 151b are displayed on the upper and lower portions of the display unit 151, respectively. In the input window 151b, a soft key 151c in which a number for inputting a telephone number or the like is displayed is output. When the soft key 151c is touched, a number corresponding to the touched soft key is displayed on the output window 151a. When the first operation unit 131 is operated, call connection to the telephone number displayed on the output window 151a is attempted.

FIG. 3B shows the input of a touch applied to the soft key through the rear surface of the terminal body. FIG. 3A shows a case where the terminal body is vertically arranged, and FIG. 3B shows a case where the terminal body is arranged horizontally. The display unit 151 may be configured to convert the output screen according to the arrangement direction of the terminal body.

3B shows that the text input mode is activated in the terminal. The display unit 151 displays an output window 135a and an input window 135b. In the input window 135b, a plurality of soft keys 135c may be arranged in which at least one of letters, symbols, and numbers are displayed. The soft keys 135c may be arranged in the form of a QWERTY key.

When the soft keys 135c are touched through the touch pad 135, characters, numbers, symbols, etc. corresponding to the touched soft keys are displayed on the output window 135a. As described above, the touch input through the touch pad 135 is advantageous in that it is possible to prevent the soft key 135c from being covered by the finger when touching, compared with the touch input through the display unit 151. [ In the case where the display unit 151 and the touch pad 135 are formed to be transparent, the fingers located on the rear side of the terminal body can be visually confirmed, thereby enabling a more accurate touch input.

The display unit 151 or the touch pad 135 may be configured to receive a touch input by scrolling, as well as the input method described in the above embodiments. The user can move a cursor or a pointer located on an object displayed on the display unit 151, for example, an icon or the like, by scrolling the display unit 151 or the touch pad 135. [ Further, when the finger is moved on the display portion 151 or the touch pad 135, the path along which the finger moves may be visually displayed on the display portion 151. [ This will be useful for editing the image displayed on the display unit 151. [

One function of the terminal may be executed in response to a case where the display unit 151 (touch screen) and the touch pad 135 are touched together within a predetermined time range. In the case of being touched together, there may be a case where the user clamps the terminal body using the thumb and index finger. The one function may be, for example, activation or deactivation of the display unit 151 or the touch pad 135, and the like.

The proximity sensor 141 described with reference to Fig. 1 will be described in more detail with reference to Fig.

4 is a conceptual diagram for explaining the proximity depth of the proximity sensor.

As shown in FIG. 4, when a pointer such as a user's finger, a pen, or the like approaches the touch screen, the proximity sensor 141 disposed in or near the touch screen senses the proximity sensor and outputs a proximity signal.

The proximity sensor 141 may be configured to output different proximity signals according to the distance between the proximity-touched pointer and the touch screen (hereinafter referred to as "proximity depth").

In FIG. 4, for example, a cross-section of a touch screen having proximity sensors capable of sensing three proximity depths is illustrated. Of course, proximity sensors that detect less than three or more than four proximity depths are also possible.

Specifically, when the pointer is completely in contact with the touch screen (d ₀ ), it is recognized as a contact touch. If the pointer is located on the touch screen at a distance less than the distance d ₁ , it is recognized as a proximity touch of the first proximity depth. If the pointer is located on the touch screen at a distance of d ₁ or more and less than distance d ₂ , it is recognized as a proximity touch of the second proximity depth. If the pointer is located on the touch screen at a distance of d ₂ or more and less than d ₃ distance, it is recognized as a proximity touch of the third proximity depth. If the pointer is positioned apart from the touch screen by a distance d ₃ or more, it is recognized that the proximity touch is released.

Accordingly, the controller 180 can recognize the proximity touch as various input signals according to the proximity depth and proximity position of the pointer, and perform various operation control according to the various input signals.

5 is a conceptual diagram for explaining a control method for a touch operation in a form in which a pair of display units 155 and 156 are overlapped.

The terminal shown in this figure is a folder type terminal connected to a main body so that a folder portion is foldable. The first display unit 155 mounted on the folder unit may be of a light transmitting type or a transparent type such as TOLED or the second display unit 156 mounted on the main body may be a form that does not transmit light like an LCD. The first and second display units 155 and 156 may be configured as a touch screen capable of touch input, respectively.

For example, when a touch (a contact touch or a proximity-touch) to the first display unit or the TOLED 155 is detected, the control unit 180 determines whether the touch At least one of the images displayed in the TOLED 155 may be selected or run.

Hereinafter, with respect to the manner in which the information displayed on the other display unit or the LCD 156 is controlled when touching the TOLED 155 exposed to the outside in an overlapped form, a touch, a long touch, a long touch and drag ), And so on.

In the overlapped state (the mobile terminal is in a closed state), the TOLED 155 is arranged to overlap the lower side of the LCD 156. In this state, if a touch such as a long touch (for example, a touch that lasts for 2 seconds to 3 seconds) is detected in a manner different from the touch for controlling the image displayed on the TOLED 155 in advance, ) Causes at least one image of the image list displayed on the LCD 156 to be selected according to the sensed touch input. The result according to the execution of the selected image is displayed on the TOLED 155.

The long touch may also be used to selectively move a desired one of the entities displayed on the LCD 156 to the TOLED 155 (without performing any action thereto). That is, when a user selects one area of the TOLED 155 corresponding to a specific entity of the LCD 156 In the case of a long touch, the control unit 180 moves the corresponding object to the TOLED 155 to be displayed. The entity displayed on the TOLED 155 may also be displayed on the LCD 156 by a predetermined touch input to the TOLED 155, for example, flicking, swirling, and the like. In this figure, the menu No. 2 displayed on the LCD 156 is displayed on the TOLED 155.

If another input, for example, a drag, is detected in addition to the long touch, the control unit 180 is a function related to the image selected by the long touch. For example, a preview screen for the image is displayed on the TOLED 155, As shown in FIG. In this drawing, a case where a preview (male photograph) is performed on the menu No. 2 (image file) is illustrated.

The control unit 180 displays a selection cursor (or a selection bar) of the LCD 156 in the state that the preview screen is being output, while dragging toward another image is further performed on the TOLED 155 while maintaining the long touch And displays the image selected by the selection cursor on a preview screen (female photograph). Thereafter, when the touch (long touch and drag) ends, the controller 180 displays the first image selected by the long touch.

When the slide (the operation of the proximity touch corresponding to the drag) is detected together with the long proximity touch (the proximity touch continuing for at least 2 seconds to 3 seconds) to the TOLED 155 .

When a touch operation other than those described above is detected, the controller 180 can operate in the same manner as a general touch control method.

The control method for the touch operation in the overlapped form can be applied to a terminal having a single display. In addition, the present invention can be applied to a terminal different from a folder type having a dual display.

FIGS. 6A and 6B are views referred to the description of the proximity touch recognition area and the tactile effect generating area.

6A shows objects such as icons and menu items in a circular form for convenience of explanation. The area of the object displayed on the display unit 151 can be divided into a first area A in the center and a second area B surrounding the center area as shown in FIG. 6A. The first region A and the second region B can be configured to generate tactile effects having different intensities or patterns. For example, when the second region B is touched, a first vibration is output, and when the first region A is touched, a second vibration larger than the first vibration is output.

In the case where the proximity touch recognition area and the haptic area are simultaneously set in the area where the object is displayed, the haptic area where the tactile effect is generated and the proximity touch area where the proximity signal is detected Can be set differently. That is, the haptic area may be set narrower than the proximity touch recognition area, or the haptic area may be set wider than the proximity touch recognition area. For example, in (a) of FIG. 6A, the area including the first area A and the second area B may be a proximity touch recognition area, and the first area A may be set as a haptic area.

(N > 4) as shown in Fig. 6 (a), as shown in Fig. 6 (b) It is also possible to divide into two regions. Each divided region can be configured to generate a tactile effect with different intensities or patterns. Even when the area in which one object is displayed is divided into three or more areas, the haptic area and the proximity touch recognition area can be set differently according to the use environment.

The size of the proximity touch recognition area may be changed depending on the proximity depth to the display unit 151. [ That is, as shown in (a) of FIG. 6, the corresponding proximity touch recognition area may be gradually reduced to 'C', 'B', and 'A' according to the proximity depth to the display unit 151, Or the contiguous touch recognition area corresponding to the proximity depth to the display unit 151 may be gradually increased. In this case as well, the haptic area can be set to a constant size regardless of the proximity depth to the display unit 151, such as the 'H' area shown in FIG. 6B (b).

 In the case of dividing the area in which the object is displayed for the setting of the haptic area or the proximity touch recognition area, in addition to the concentric segmentation as shown in Fig. 6A, segmentation in the horizontal direction or vertical direction, radial segmentation, And various methods such as partitioning can be used.

Hereinafter, embodiments related to the chat control process in the terminal 100 configured as above will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. It goes without saying that the embodiments described below can be used alone or in combination with each other.

The following embodiments can be more easily implemented when the display module 151 is configured as a touch screen.

7 is an explanatory view showing an embodiment between a mobile terminal and external devices according to the present invention.

8 is a flowchart illustrating an external device control process of the mobile terminal according to the present invention.

Referring to FIGS. 7 and 8, the mobile terminal 100 according to the present invention is connected to the external devices 200 in a short distance via the local area communication module 114.

That is, the control unit 180 acquires the device information of the external devices 200 from the external devices 200 through the local communication module 114 (S111), and transmits the device information to the mobile terminal 100) are searched for external devices capable of supporting the function [S112]. That is, the control unit 180 receives the device information of the external devices 200 from the external devices 200 through the local area communication module 114, Devices.

Next, the control unit 180 displays icons for controlling the operation of the searched external devices 200 on the idle screen (S113).

At this time, the icons are widget icons for controlling the operation of the searched external devices 200 on the idle screen, and may be displayed in the form of text, image, and animation.

In addition, the display color, the display size, and the display shape of the icons may be displayed differently from each other so that the user can easily identify the icons for controlling the operation of the external devices 200. [

Hereinafter, the search and icon display process in steps S111 to S113 will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an icon display process for searching for external devices and controlling the operation of the external devices according to the present invention.

9A, when the controller 180 detects three external devices 200 available in the mobile terminal 100 (11a, 12a, 13a) in step S112, And displays the list 10 of the searched external devices 11a, 12a, 13a.

When the external devices 11a, 12a and 13a for controlling the operation are selected on the list 10 as shown in FIG. 9 (b), the controller 180 selects the external devices 11a 12b, and 13b for controlling the operation of the display devices 12a, 12a, and 13a.

In step S112, the controller 180 searches the external devices (11a, 12a, 13a) when three (11a, 12a, 13a) external devices 200 available in the mobile terminal 100 are searched, Icons 11b, 12b, and 13b for controlling the operation of the searched external devices 11a, 12a, and 13a may be displayed without displaying the list 10 of the external devices 11a, 12a, and 13a.

9 (c), the controller 180 classifies the functions of the external devices 11a, 12a, and 13a searched in step S112, classifies the functions of the external devices 11a Icons 11b and 13b of the external devices 11a and 13a providing the same kind of function ("sound output") of the functions of the icons 12a, 13a are grouped and displayed in the same category 14, The icon 12b corresponding to the external device 12a supporting the different functions among the functions of the external devices 11a, 12a and 13a can be respectively displayed in the other category 15. [

If at least one icon 11b is selected on the icons 11b, 12b and 13b, the control unit 180 controls the short-range communication module 114 to select the icon 11b corresponding to the selected icon 11b And short-range communication is established with the external device 11a (S115).

Hereinafter, the icon selection and the short-range communication connection process in steps S114 and S115 will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of a screen for explaining an icon selection process according to the present invention and a short-range communication connection process with an external device corresponding to the selected icon.

10 (a), at least one icon 11b of the displayed icons 11b, 12b, and 13b is selected through the input unit 130 or the touch screen 151 , It controls the short distance communication module 114 to attempt a short distance communication connection with the external device 11a corresponding to the selected icon 11b.

10 (b), the control unit 180 transmits the icon 11b corresponding to the external device 11a to the local area communication link 11a through the icon 11b corresponding to the external device 11a, An identifier 31 indicating the success can be displayed.

10 (c), when the short-range communication connection with the external device 11a fails, the controller 180 transmits the short-range communication connection to the icon 11b corresponding to the external device 11a, An identifier 32 indicating the failure can be displayed.

That is, the user can know whether or not the local communication connection success with the external device 11a which he / she desires to control the operation by checking the identifiers 31 and 32, It is possible to try a short-range communication connection.

When the controller 180 is connected to the external device 11a corresponding to the selected icon 11b in a short distance communication, the controller 180 displays a window 40 for controlling the operation of the external device 11a on the icon 11b (S116).

The control unit 180 controls the operation of the external device 11a corresponding to the selected command when the command for controlling the operation of the external device 11a is selected in the control window 40 (S117).

Hereinafter, the operation control process of the external device 11a in steps S116 and S117 will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an operation control process of an external device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

11 (a), when the controller 180 is connected to the external device 11a corresponding to the selected icon 11b in a short distance communication, the controller 180 displays a window for controlling the operation of the external device 11a 40 on the icon 11b.

In this case, the control window 40 may have a different configuration depending on the functions supported by the mobile terminal 100 by the external device 11a. The external device 11a shown in FIG. 11 (a) Is a "headset" 11a that is connected to the interface unit 170 of the mobile terminal 100 and reproduces the sound data of the mobile terminal 100. Therefore, the control of driving the "headset" A second window 42 for adjusting the sound volume of the "headset" 11a, a third window 42 for reproducing sound data selected by the user in the mobile terminal 100, And a fourth window 44 for stopping the reproduction of the sound data when the sound data is reproduced. Of course, the configuration of the control window 40 is not limited thereto.

When the third window 43 is selected in the control window 40 as described above, the controller 180 controls the short distance communication module 114 as shown in FIG. 11 (b) And transmits the preset sound data to the "headset" 11a so that the "headset" 11a can reproduce the sound data.

If data is received from the external device 11a while the operation of the external device 11a is being controlled using the control window 40 as described above, Similarly, the number of data received by the external device 11a may be displayed on the icon 11b corresponding to the external device 11a.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a process of notifying the number of received data from an external device in a mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.

12, when three pieces of data are received from the external device 11a while the operation of the external device 11a is being controlled using the control window 40, the controller 180 controls the external device 11a The number of data reception 50 of the external device 11a may be displayed on the icon 11b corresponding to the icon 11b.

In addition, when the short-range communication connection with the external device 11a is released through the control window 40, the controller 180 displays an icon corresponding to the external device 11a 11b to indicate that the local communication is disconnected.

FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a process of notifying the local communication disconnection disconnection to an icon corresponding to the external device when a local communication connection with an external device according to the present invention is released.

13 (a), when the local area communication connection with the external device 11a is released through the control window 40, the controller 180 controls the external device 11a Or the icon 11b is displayed so as to be distinguished from the other icons 11a and 11c to notify the user of the fact that the external device 11a is disconnected from the local communication have.

That is, in FIG. 13A, the icon 11b is displayed transparently, thereby informing the user of the fact that the external device 11a is disconnected from the local area communication.

13 (b), when the local area communication connection with the external device 11a is released through the control window 40, the controller 180 controls the external device 11a The user can notify the user of the fact that the local device is disconnected from the external device 11a by displaying an identifier 60 indicating the local communication disconnection on the icon 11b corresponding to the local device 11a.

Meanwhile, when the control unit 180 controls the operation of the external devices 11a, 12a, and 13a using the icons 11b, 12b, and 13b as described above, when a specific event is generated [S118] A window for selecting whether or not to switch the display screen of the icons 11b, 12b, and 13b to the generated event screen is displayed (S119). When the event screen switching is selected in the selection window [S120] (11b, 12b, 13b) to the generated event screen (S121).

At this time, the event may be an event such as call reception, message reception, and alarm output.

Hereinafter, the process of switching the icon display screen to the generated event screen at the time of the occurrence of the event of steps S118 to S121 will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

FIG. 14 is a diagram for explaining a process of switching an icon display screen to the generated event screen when an event occurs according to the present invention.

14 (a), the controller 180 displays icons 11b, 12b, and 13b for controlling the operation of the external devices 11a, 12a, and 13a, When an event 70 in which a call is received from an external terminal through the mobile communication module 111 is generated, the display screen of the icons 11b, 12b, and 13b is displayed as shown in FIG. 14 (b) A window 71 for selecting whether to switch to the screen of the generated event 70 is displayed.

The control unit 180 displays the display screen of the icons 11b, 12b, and 13b as shown in (d) of FIG. 14 when "Yes" is selected in the selection window 71 And switches to the generated event 70 screen.

14 (c), when the event 70 in which the call has been received is generated, the control unit 180 displays the event (s) on the display screen of the icons 11b, 12b, and 13b 70) can be displayed.

When the user selects the identifier 72, the controller 180 displays the display screen of the icons 11b, 12b, and 13b on the generated event 70 (FIG. 14 ) Screen.

As described above, according to the present invention, widgets icons for controlling the operation of external devices usable in the mobile terminal are displayed on the idle screen using the short-range communication and the operation of the external devices is controlled using the widget icons on the idle screen .

 As described above, the present invention can provide more functions to a user in cooperation with an external service server, as shown in FIG. 15 below.

15 is a signal processing diagram illustrating an information providing process in a system including a mobile terminal, an external apparatus, and an external service server according to the present invention.

15, when the controller 180 of the mobile terminal 100 receives data from the external device 200 (S301) while performing the processes of FIGS. 8 to 14 described above with the external device 200 [S302], the communication unit 110 is controlled to transmit data received from the external device 200 and an icon corresponding to the external device to the external service server 300 (S303).

At this time, the external device 200 may be a status measuring system of the human body, and the external service server 300 may check the state of the human body measured by the external device 200, And may be a server for providing medical information.

Hereinafter, it will be assumed that the external device 200 is a human body measurement system and the external service server 300 is a medical information providing server.

Of course, the types of the external device 200 and the external service server 300 according to the present invention are not limited to those described above. That is, the external device 200 includes all the devices that are connected to the mobile terminal in short-distance communication and provide their data to the mobile terminal 100, and the external service server 300 transmits the data to the mobile terminal 100 through the mobile terminal 100 All of which receive data of the external device 200, analyze the received data, and provide detailed information of the analyzed data to the mobile terminal 100.

The external service server 300 analyzes the human condition measurement data of the external device 200 received from the mobile terminal 100 and transmits detailed information of the analyzed human condition measurement data to the external device 200. [ To the mobile terminal 100 (S304).

At this time, the detailed information may be information including the normal state of the human body, the presence or absence of disease, and the improvement of the human body state measurement data.

Meanwhile, the control unit 180 of the mobile terminal 100 receives and displays an icon including detailed information of the human body measurement data from the external service server 300 (S306).

When the icon is selected, the controller 180 displays detailed information of the human body measurement data included in the icon on the screen (S307).

As described above, the user may receive a medical examination for the human body state measured by himself / herself using the external service server.

According to an embodiment of the present invention as described above, the above-described method can be implemented as a computer-readable code on a medium on which a program is recorded. The computer readable medium includes all kinds of recording devices in which data that can be read by a computer system is stored. Examples of the computer-readable medium include ROM, RAM, CD-ROM, magnetic tape, floppy disk, optical data storage, and the like, and also implemented in the form of a carrier wave (for example, transmission over the Internet) . In addition, the computer may include a control unit 180 of the terminal.

The above-described terminal according to the present invention is not limited in the configuration and method of the above-described embodiments, but the embodiments may be modified so that all or some of the embodiments are selectively combined .

1 is a block diagram of a mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2A is a perspective view of an example of a terminal related to the present invention as viewed from the front.

2B is a rear perspective view of the terminal shown in FIG. 2A.

3A and 3B are front views of a terminal for explaining one operation state of a terminal related to the present invention.

4 is a conceptual diagram for explaining the proximity depth of the proximity sensor.

5 is a conceptual diagram for explaining a control method for a touch operation in a form in which a pair of display units 155 and 156 are overlapped.

FIGS. 6A and 6B are views referred to the description of the proximity touch recognition area and the tactile effect generating area.

7 is an explanatory view showing an embodiment between a mobile terminal and external devices according to the present invention.

8 is a flowchart illustrating an external device control process of the mobile terminal according to the present invention.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an icon display process for searching for external devices and controlling the operation of the external devices according to the present invention.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of a screen for explaining an icon selection process according to the present invention and a short-range communication connection process with an external device corresponding to the selected icon.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an operation control process of an external device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a process of notifying the number of received data from an external device in a mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a process of notifying the local communication disconnection disconnection to an icon corresponding to the external device when a local communication connection with an external device according to the present invention is released.

FIG. 14 is a diagram for explaining a process of switching an icon display screen to the generated event screen when an event occurs according to the present invention.

15 is a signal processing diagram illustrating an information providing process in a system including a mobile terminal, an external apparatus, and an external service server according to the present invention.

Claims (14)

Obtaining device information of external devices using short-range communication; Searching for external devices capable of supporting functions in the terminal among the external devices using the acquired device information; Displaying icons for controlling operations of the searched external devices; And And controlling the operation of the external device by connecting a short distance communication with an external device corresponding to the selected icon when at least one of the icons is selected, The displaying of the icons may include grouping the functions of the searched external devices according to categories and displaying icons of external devices providing functions of the same kind among functions of the classified external devices by grouping them in the same category, Wherein icons of the external devices providing the different functions among the functions of the devices are displayed in different categories, respectively. The method according to claim 1, Wherein the icons are widget icons for controlling operations of the searched external devices on a standby screen. The method according to claim 1, And displaying a list of the searched external devices, Wherein the displaying of icons comprises displaying icons for controlling operations of the selected external devices when at least one external device is selected from the list. The method according to claim 1, Wherein the displaying of icons comprises displaying one of the display color, the display size and the display shape so that they are distinguished from each other. delete The method according to claim 1, And displaying the selected icon in the selected icon when the local communication connection is successfully established with the external device corresponding to the selected icon. The method according to claim 1, And displaying the selected icon in the selected icon when the local communication connection with the external device corresponding to the selected icon is unsuccessful. 2. The method according to claim 1, Displaying a window for controlling an operation of an external device corresponding to the selected icon on the selected icon; And And controlling the operation of the external device using the control window. The method according to claim 1, And if the data is received from the external device, storing the received data in an icon corresponding to the external device. The method according to claim 1, And stopping the display of the icon corresponding to the external device when the short-range communication connection with the external device under operation control is canceled. The method according to claim 1, And displaying the disconnected fact on an icon corresponding to the external device when the short-range communication is disconnected from the external device under operation control. The method according to claim 1, Displaying a window for selecting whether to switch the screen displaying the icons to the event screen when an event occurs while controlling the operation of the external device; And switching the screen displaying the icons to the event screen when the event screen switching is selected in the selection window. The method according to claim 1, Displaying an identifier for notifying the occurrence of the event on a screen where the icons are displayed when an event occurs while controlling the operation of the external device; And And switching the screen displaying the icons to the event screen when the identifier is selected. A communication unit for acquiring device information of external devices through communication based on the acquired device information and searching for external devices capable of supporting functions among the external devices using the acquired device information; A display module for displaying icons for controlling operations of the searched external devices; And Wherein icons of external devices providing functions of the same kind among the functions of the classified external devices are grouped in the same category and displayed, and the types of functions among the functions of the classified external devices And a control unit for controlling the operation of the external device corresponding to the selected icon through the communication unit when at least one of the icons is selected.

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