Techniques for programmable button on bezel of mobile terminal

A terminal and a method for a programmable button on a bezel of the terminal are provided. For a mobile terminal comprising a touch sensor, a first display and at least one second display disposed at the bezel, the bezel at least partially surrounding the first display, the method includes mapping an object displayed on the first display to a button on the at least one second display, displaying the button on the at least one second display, and when the displayed button is actuated, performing an action corresponding to the object.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

Aspects of the present invention relate to techniques for a mobile terminal. More particularly, aspects of the present invention relate to techniques for a programmable button on a bezel of the mobile terminal

2. Description of the Related Art

Mobile terminals may be constructed to perform various functions. Examples of various functions include establishing data/voice communication, capturing a photo or a motion picture by using a camera, storing a voice signal, reproducing a music file by using a speaker system, displaying an image or video, and so on.

Some mobile terminals may further include a function of playing games and some mobile terminals may be embodied as multimedia devices. Furthermore, mobile terminals that have recently been developed are capable of receiving a broadcast or multicast signal to allow a user to view video or a television program.

As the number of functions and capabilities of mobile terminals increases, there is an increasing desire to increase the size of a display screen of the mobile terminals. However, the increase of the size of the display screen is limited by the need for user input. For example, mobile terminals may use a key pad to enable user input. In order to address the need for increased screen sizes while retaining the ability for user input, touch screens have been employed in mobile terminals.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An aspect of the present invention is to address at least the above-mentioned problems and/or disadvantages and to provide at least the advantages described below. Accordingly, an aspect of the present invention is to provide techniques for a programmable button on a bezel of a mobile terminal.

In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, a method for a programmable button on a bezel of a mobile terminal, the mobile terminal comprising a touch sensor, a first display and at least one second display disposed at the bezel, the bezel at least partially surrounding the first display, is provided. The method includes mapping an object displayed on the first display to a button on the at least one second display, displaying the button on the at least one second display, and when the displayed button is actuated, performing an action corresponding to the object.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a mobile terminal is provided. The terminal includes a touch sensor for detecting a touch, a first display for displaying an object, at least one second display disposed at a bezel, the bezel at least partially surrounding the first display, and at least one controller for controlling the touch sensor, the first display and the at least one second display, for mapping the object displayed on the first display to a button on the at least one second display, for controlling to display the button on the at least one second display, and for, when the displayed button is actuated, performing an action corresponding to the object.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

First, the terms used in the present disclosure will be briefly described below before exemplary embodiments of the present invention are described in greater detail.

Most of the terms used herein are general terms that have been widely used in the technical art to which the present disclosure pertains. However, some of the terms used herein may have been created to reflect the intentions of technicians in this art, precedents, or new technologies. Also, some of the terms used herein may have been arbitrarily chosen. In this case, these terms are defined in detail below. Accordingly, the specific terms used herein should be understood based on the unique meanings thereof and the whole context of the present disclosure.

In the present disclosure, it should be understood that the terms, such as ‘include’ or ‘have,’ etc., are intended to indicate the existence of the features, numbers, steps, actions, components, parts, or combinations thereof disclosed in the present disclosure, and are not intended to preclude the possibility that one or more other features, numbers, steps, actions, components, parts, or combinations thereof may exist or may be added. Also, the terms, such as ‘unit’ or ‘module’, etc., should be understood as a unit that processes at least one function or operation and that may be embodied in a hardware manner, or a combination of the hardware manner and a software manner.

As used herein, the terms “first”, “second”, and the like are used to differentiate between objects having the same terminology and are in no way intended to represent a chronological order, unless where explicitly stated otherwise. Also, a “set” is defined as a non-empty set including at least one element.

Throughout the present disclosure, the term ‘object’ means anything that a user can select in a User Interface (UI) and/or a Graphical User Interface (GUI). For convenience in explanation, the UI and/or GUI will collectively be referred to as the GUI. Examples of an object may include an icon, a link, a picture, a text, an index item, and so on. The term ‘page’ means a space containing content, information, or an object. For example, a page may be a web page, a list of contents, a list of thumbnails, a tray of photographs, a tray of icons, and so on.

Throughout the present disclosure, the term ‘gesture’ means, for example, a movement of a hand of a user to control a mobile terminal Examples of a gesture described herein include tapping, touching and holding, double-tapping, dragging, panning, flicking, dragging and dropping, and so on.

The term ‘tapping’ may be understood as a user touching a screen with a finger or a stylus at very high speeds. In other words, the term ‘tapping’ means a case where a time period between when touch-in is done and when touch-out is done is very short. Touch-in means a user touching a screen with a finger or a stylus and touch-out means taking the finger or the stylus off from the screen.

The term ‘touching and holding’ means a user touching a screen with a finger or a stylus and maintaining the touching for a threshold period of time or longer. That is, the term ‘touching and holding’ means a case where a time period between when touch-in is done and when touch-out is done is equal to or greater than the threshold period of time. If a touch input is maintained for a threshold period of time or longer, a video or audio feedback signal may be provided to the user so that the user may determine whether the touch input is a tapping operation or a touch-and-hold operation.

The term ‘double-tapping’ means a user touching a screen twice at high speeds by using a finger or a stylus.

The term ‘dragging’ means a user touching a point on a screen with a finger or a stylus and moving the finger or the stylus to another point on the screen while maintaining the touching. Dragging may be done to move an object or perform panning.

The term ‘panning’ means performing dragging without selecting an object. Since no object is selected while panning is done, panning is performed to move a page within a screen or move an object group within a page, rather than to move an object within a page.

The term ‘flicking’ means a user performing dragging at high speeds by using a finger or a stylus. Dragging (or panning) and flicking may be differentiated from each other, based on whether a moving speed of the finger or the stylus is equal to or greater than a threshold speed.

The term ‘dragging and dropping’ means a user dragging an object to a desired location on a screen by using a finger or a stylus and then taking the finger or the stylus off from the screen so as to drop the object at a location corresponding to where the finger or stylus is taken off the screen.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawings so that those of ordinary skill in the art can easily accomplish embodiments of the present invention. The present invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the exemplary embodiments set forth herein. In the following description, well-known functions or constructions are not described in detail if it is determined that they would obscure the invention due to unnecessary detail. Throughout the drawings, whenever the same element reappears in a subsequent drawing, it is denoted by the same reference numeral.

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention described below relate to techniques for a mobile terminal. More particularly, exemplary embodiments of the present invention relate to relate to techniques for a programmable button on a bezel of the mobile terminal.

An example of the mobile terminal for the technique for a programmable button on a bezel thereof is described below with reference toFIG. 1.

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

The mobile terminal100may be embodied in any of various shapes. Examples of the mobile terminal100may include a mobile phone, a smartphone, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a notebook computer, a digital broadcasting terminal, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a Portable Multimedia Player (PMP), a navigation device, a monitor, a TeleVision (TV), a digital Consumer Electronics (CE) device, a Digital TeleVision (DTV), an Internet Protocol TV (IPTV), a refrigerator with a display device, an air conditioner with a display device, a printer with a display device, and so on.

Referring toFIG. 1, the mobile terminal100may include a sensing unit110, a memory120, a first display unit130, a second display unit140, a communication unit150, a button mapping unit160, and a controller170, but the present invention is not limited thereto. The mobile terminal100may further include other elements or may include less than all of the elements illustrated inFIG. 1. In addition, one or more of the elements illustrated inFIG. 1may be combined into a single element, and any of the elements illustrated inFIG. 1may be separated into a plurality of elements. Furthermore, the mobile terminal100may include more than one of any of the elements illustrated inFIG. 1. The elements of the mobile terminal100illustrated inFIG. 1will now be described.

The sensing unit110senses a current state of the mobile terminal100, e.g., the location of the mobile terminal100, whether a user touches the mobile terminal100or not, the orientation of the mobile terminal100, and acceleration/deceleration of the mobile terminal100, and then generates a sensing signal for controlling an operation of the mobile terminal100.

The sensing unit110may include or function as a user input unit for generating input data to control an operation of the mobile terminal100. In this case, the sensing unit110may include a keypad, a dome switch, a touch pad, e.g., a constant pressure type/capacitive type touch pad, a jog wheel, a jog switch, HardWare (H/W) buttons, and so on. In particular, if the touch pad forms a layered structure together with the first display unit130and/or second display unit140, then the touch pad may be referred to as a touch screen.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the sensing unit110may include any of various sensors to sense a touch on or near the touch screen, i.e., a real-touch or a proximity-touch. A tactile sensor is a type of sensor that senses a touch on or near a touch screen. The tactile sensor may sense a touch on a screen to a same degree or more precisely than the degree to which a human being can sense the touch. The tactile sensor is capable of sensing various information, e.g., the toughness of a contact surface, the hardness of an object to be touched, and the temperature of a point to be touched.

A proximity sensor is another example of a sensor that senses a touch near a touch screen.

The proximity sensor is a sensor that senses the presence of an object, which is accessing or is located near a predetermined detection surface, without any physical contact and by using the force of an electromagnetic field or infrared rays. Thus, the proximity sensor has a very long lifetime and may be used for various purposes, compared to the tactile sensor.

Examples of the proximity sensor include a transmissive photoelectric sensor, a direct reflective photoelectric sensor, a mirror reflective photoelectric sensor, a high-frequency oscillation proximity sensor, an electrostatic capacitive proximity sensor, a magnetic proximity sensor, an infrared proximity sensor, and so on.

Thus, the sensing unit110may sense a gesture or a pattern input by a user. For example, the unit110may sense a user's gesture, e.g., dragging, flicking, tapping, touching and holding, double-tapping, panning, or sweeping. In this case, the sensing unit110may sense, for example, a direction, speed, and movement length of a gesture.

The memory120may store an operating system, applications and other software be executed by the controller170, data generated during the operation of the operating system and/or programs, input/output data, and so on. Also, the memory120may include bezel button mapping information.

The memory120may include at least one storage medium from among a flash memory type storage medium, a hard disk type storage medium, a multimedia card micro type storage medium, a card type memory, e.g., a Secure Digital (SD) memory or an eXtreme Digital (XD) memory, 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-Only Memory (PROM), a magnetic disc, and an optical disc memory. Also, the mobile terminal100may perform web storage in the Internet, in addition to or as the memory120.

The first display unit130outputs and displays information processed by the mobile terminal100. For example, the first display unit130may display a GUI environment. The GUI environment may correspond to an Operating System (OS) of the mobile terminal100or an application executing within the OS of the mobile terminal100. The first display unit130may serve as a primary display of the mobile terminal100. Also, more than one first display unit130may be used according to an implementation of the mobile terminal100.

The second display unit140outputs and displays information processed by the mobile terminal100. The second display unit140may serve as a secondary display of the mobile terminal100. For example, the second display unit140may be disposed at a bezel of the first display unit130. The second display unit140may display indicators, buttons, and/or objects associated with, and/or as a supplement to, the GUI environment displayed on first display130. The term “button” refers to an item displayed on the second display unit140that, when actuated by a user of the mobile terminal100, causes an action corresponding to a mapped object to be performed. The object is mapped when a user performs a gesture to map an object displayed on the first display unit130to be mapped to a button. Alternatively, the object may be pre-mapped to an object. When displayed on the second display unit140, a button may be displayed as the object, or an image and/or character corresponding to the object. When an object is mapped to a button, the object may no longer be displayed on the first display unit130.

The second display unit140may display a plurality of buttons. The plurality of buttons may be the same size or different sizes. Also, the plurality of buttons may be disposed a preset locations in the second display unit140or at any location set by the user. In addition, a plurality of second display units140may be used that are each associated with the first display unit130. When a plurality of second display units140are employed, each of the plurality of second display units140may display one or more buttons.

If the first display unit130and/or second display unit140, and the touch pad, form a layered structure together to manufacture a touch screen as described above, the first display unit130and/or second display unit140may be used as not only an output device but also an input device, such as a user input unit which is included in the sensing unit110. The first display unit130and/or second display unit140may include at least one from among a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD), a Thin Film Transistor-LCD (TFT-LCD), an Organic Light-Emitting Diode (OLED), a flexible display, a 3-Dimensional (3D) display, an E-Ink display, and so on. The first display unit130and second display unit140may be implemented with the same or different types of displays. The touch screen may be constructed to sense a location of a touch input, a touched area, and a touched pressure. Also, the touch screen may be constructed to sense not only a real-touch but also a proximity touch.

In the present disclosure, the term ‘real-touch’ means a case where a pointer actually touches a screen, and the term ‘proximity-touch’ means a case where a pointer does not actually touch a screen but approaches the screen within a predetermined distance from the screen. In the present disclosure, the term ‘pointer’ means a tool for touching a particular location on or near a screen. Examples of the pointer include a stylus pen and a finger of a user.

The communication unit150may include at least one element for the mobile terminal100to communicate with an external device. For example, the communication unit150may include a broadcast receiving module, a mobile telecommunication module, a wireless internet module, a wired internet module, a short-range wireless communication module, a location information module, and so on.

The broadcast receiving module receives a broadcast signal and/or information related to a broadcast from an external broadcasting management server (not shown) via a broadcast channel. The broadcast channel may be a satellite channel, a terrestrial broadcast channel, or the like.

The mobile telecommunication module exchanges a radio signal with at least one from among a base station, an external terminal, and a server via a mobile telecommunication network. Examples of the radio signal may include a voice call signal, a video communication call signal, and various types of data needed to exchange a message/multimedia message.

The wireless internet module is a module for accessing the Internet in a wireless manner. The wireless internet module may be installed inside or outside the communication unit150. The wired internet module is a module for accessing the Internet in a wired manner.

The short-range wireless communication module is a module for establishing a short-range wireless communication. Examples of short-range wireless communication technology may include Bluetooth, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), Infrared Data Association (IrDA), Ultra WideBand (UWB), ZigBee, and Wi-Fi Direct (WFD), and Near Field Communication (NFC).

The location information module is a module for detecting the location of the mobile terminal100or obtaining location information of the mobile terminal100. A Global Position System (GPS) module is an example of the location information module. The GPS module receives location information of the mobile terminal100from a plurality of satellites. Here, the location information may include coordinate information represented with a latitude and longitude.

The button mapping unit160may perform some or all of the operations described herein for performing a technique for a programmable button on a bezel of a mobile terminal. Alternatively, the button mapping unit160may be omitted. In this case, the operations described herein for performing a technique for a programmable button on a bezel of a mobile terminal may be performed by one or more of the other elements of the mobile terminal100.

The controller170controls overall operations of the mobile terminal100. For example, the controller170performs controlling and processing related to button mapping, voice telecommunication, data communication, video telecommunication, and the like. In other words, the controller170may control operations of the sensing unit110, the memory120, the first display unit130, the second display unit140, the communication unit150, and the button mapping unit160.

The controller170may include a multimedia module (not shown) for reproducing multimedia content. The multimedia module may be included inside or outside the controller170.

An example of a technique for a programmable button on a bezel of a mobile terminal is described below with reference toFIG. 2.

FIG. 2is a conceptual diagram illustrating a technique for a programmable button on a bezel of a mobile terminal according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Referring toFIG. 2, a mobile terminal100is shown being implemented as a tablet computer for convenience in explanation. However, the present invention is not limited to the mobile terminal100being implemented as a tablet computer. That is, the mobile terminal100may be implanted as any other device configured to support the technique described herein for a programmable button on a bezel of the device.

The mobile terminal100includes the first display130and a bezel180surrounding the first display130. A GUI environment is displayed on the first display130. The bezel180includes a bottom second display140B, a left second display140L, and a right second display140R. Here, the first display130, the bottom second display140B, the left second display140L, and the right second display140R may be part of a single touch screen. Alternatively, each of the first display130, the bottom second display140B, the left second display140L, and the right second display140R may be part of separate touch screens. In yet another alterative, each of the bottom second display140B, the left second display140L, and the right second display140R may be associated with an input other than a touch screen, such as one or more keys.

In the present exemplary embodiment, each of the bottom second display140B, the left second display140L, and the right second display140R may be populated with a plurality of buttons of preset sizes at preset locations. As described above, a button may cause an action to be performed when the button is actuated by the user. Alternatively, a button may serve as a visual indicator that indicates a state of an application, or the mobile terminal100, to the user.

The buttons may be associated with the GUI environment and/or the operation of the mobile terminal100. For example, the buttons may correspond to functions or data of an application running on the mobile terminal100. Likewise, the buttons may correspond to functions or data of the mobile terminal100.

As can be seen inFIG. 2, various buttons are mapped to each of the bottom second display140B, the left second display140L, and the right second display140R. Also,FIG. 2shows the mapping of object200displayed in the first display130to a button202on the bottom second display140B. The mapping may be preset or may be user configurable. When the mapping is user configurable, the mapping is performed when a user performs a gesture, such as a dragging of the object200to, and then the dropping the object200at, the location of the button202. Here is assumed that the button202is vacant. The movement of the object200may be shown on the first display130. Once the user drops the object200at the location of the button202, the button202is mapped to the object200and the button202is thereafter displayed in the corresponding location in the bottom second display140B. The button mapping may be stored in a memory120. Also, once the button202is mapped to the object200, the object200may no longer be displayed in the first display130. When the user drops the object200in the bottom second display140B, the closest preset location for a button to where the user drops the object200may be determined to be the location for the button202.

When the user drops the object200, when the button202is already mapped to another object, one of a plurality of different actions may be taken. In one case, the closest available button location may be used. In another case, the object already mapped to the button202may be unmapped and then the object200may be mapped to the button202. In this case, the unmapped object may be displayed by the first display130. In yet another case, the object already mapped to the button202may be remapped to another button displayed by the bottom second display140B. In still another case, the button202may correspond to a folder. In this case, the button202becomes a button for a folder that includes the object that was already mapped to the button202and the object200. Here, when the button202corresponds to a folder and the button202is actuated by the user, the buttons of the folder may be displayed on at least one of the first display130, the bottom second display140B, the left second display140L, and the right second display140R.

Once the object is mapped to the second display140, the object, or a representation thereof, is displayed on the second display140at the mapped location. The display of the buttons may remain the same regardless of what is being displayed on the first display130, regardless of what is being executed by the mobile terminal100, or regardless of the state of the mobile terminal100. Alternatively, the display of the buttons may change dependent upon at least one of what is being displayed on the first display130, what is being executed by the mobile terminal100, or the state of the mobile terminal100.

While the object200is displayed on the second display140as button202, the user may perform a gesture to select the button202. For example, the user may perform one of a tapping, a touching and holding, a double-tapping, or the like to select the button. Upon the button being selected by the user, an action corresponding to the object200mapped to button202may be performed.

An exemplary implementation of the mobile terminal for the technique for a programmable button on a bezel is described below with reference toFIG. 3.

FIG. 3is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a mobile terminal according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

InFIG. 3, the mobile terminal100is shown as being implemented with the sensing unit110, the first display130, and the second display140forming a single touch screen. However, the present invention is not limited to the sensing unit110, the first display130, and the second display140forming a single touch screen.

Referring toFIG. 3, the sensing unit110(not shown inFIG. 3) may include a touch panel112and a touch screen controller114. The first display130(not shown inFIG. 3) may include a first display panel132and a first display controller134. The second display140(not shown inFIG. 3) may include a second display panel142and a second display controller144. The controller170may execute software stored in the memory120. The software executed by the controller170may include a touch screen driver software171, a first display driver software173, a second display driver software174, and a GUI Framework177.

An operation of mapping a button on a bezel is described below with reference toFIG. 3. When a user desires to map an object to a location on the bezel, the user may perform a dragging and dropping operation. In particular, when the user touches the touch panel112at a location corresponding to an object displayed on the first display panel132(1), the touch panel112sends a corresponding electrical signal to the touch screen controller114(2). As the user holds and moves the touch, the touch panel112senses the user's movement on the touch panel112and continues to send a corresponding electrical signal to the touch screen controller114. Once the user releases the touch (8), the touch panel112discontinues sending an electrical signal to the touch screen controller114(9).

Based on the electrical signals received from the touch panel112, the touch screen controller114determines the initial touch location, location as the touch is moving, and the touch release location. The touch screen controller114sends information regarding the initial touch location (3), movement (3), and touch release location (10) to the controller170for processing by the touch screen driver software171.

The touch screen driver software171, based on the information regarding the initial touch location, movement, and touch release location, determines that a touch occurred at the location of the object, that the object was dragged according the movement, and that the object was dropped at a location corresponding to the touch release location. The touch screen driver software171informs (4and11) the GUI Framework177of the drag and drop of the object while the drag and drop is occurring. Meanwhile, the GUI Framework177instructs (5) the first display driver software173to control (6) the first display panel controller134to display (7) the object at a location on the first display panel132corresponding to the detected location of the touch. Thus, movement of the object corresponding to the movement of the touch is displayed.

Once the touch corresponds to a location on the second display panel142, the GUI Framework177instructs (12) the second display driver software174to control (13) the second display controller144to display (14) the object at a location on the second display panel142corresponding to the detected location of the touch. When the drop occurs at a location on the second display panel142, the GUI Framework177stores a mapping of the object to the corresponding location in the second display panel142in memory120, and instructs (12) the second display driver software174to continue to control (13) the second display controller144to display (14) a button corresponding to the object at the location on the second display panel142corresponding to the detected location of the drop.

An operation of actuating a button on a bezel is described below with reference toFIG. 3. When a user desires to actuate a button on the second display panel142, the user may perform one of a tapping, a touching and holding, a double-tapping, or the like to select a button. In particular, when the user touches (A) the touch panel112at a location corresponding to the button on the second display panel142, the touch panel112sends a corresponding electrical signal (B) to the touch screen controller114.

Based on the electrical signal received from the touch panel112, the touch screen controller114determines the touch location. The touch screen controller114sends information (C) regarding the touch location to the controller170for processing by the touch screen driver software171.

The touch screen driver software171, based on the information regarding the touch location, determines that a touch occurs at the location of the button. The touch screen driver software171informs (D) the GUI Framework177of the actuation of the button. Thereafter, the GUI Framework177performs an action corresponding to object mapped to the button.

A method for mapping a button on a bezel of a mobile terminal is described below with reference toFIG. 4.

FIG. 4is a flowchart illustrating a method for mapping a button on a bezel of a mobile terminal according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Referring toFIG. 4, in step402, a dragging of an object displayed on the first display to the at least one second display is detected. In step404, a dropping of the dragged object to the button on the at least one second display is detected. In step406, the object is mapped to the button on the at least one second display. In step408, the mapping is stored in memory. In step410, the button is displayed on the at least one second display.

A method for operating button on a bezel of a mobile terminal is described below with reference toFIG. 5.

FIG. 5is a flowchart illustrating a method for operating button on a bezel of a mobile terminal according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Referring toFIG. 5, in step502, a mapped button is displayed. In step504, an actuation of the displayed button is detected. In step506, an action corresponding to an object to which the button is mapped is performed.