Abstract:
A mobile communication terminal device includes a display unit, a sensing unit, a carrier disposed on the display unit and covering the sensing unit, a data processing unit connected with both the sensing unit and the display unit, and a handheld housing for accommodating the aforementioned units therein while exposing the carrier therefrom, wherein the carrier is adapted to carry and convey an external force to the sensing unit such that the data processing unit is enabled to receive and then calculate the magnitude of the external force sensed by the sensing unit and thereby provide an external force sensing function to the device.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0002]    The present invention relates generally to mobile communication terminal devices, and more particularly, to a mobile communication terminal device with a weighing function. 
         [0003]    2. Description of Related Art 
         [0004]    In logistics operations, the identification code of an item to be transported is read through a smart handheld computer such that logistics personnel can obtain related information of the item, such as the item number, name, delivery address and amount, based on the identification code of the item. Further, a weighing scale or the like is required to measure the weight of the item so as to calculate the delivery fee for the item based on the weight of the item. However, it will be a big burden for the logistics personnel to take with them multiple kinds of devices or tools. The devices or tools also increase the cost. 
         [0005]    Further, weighing demands may occur in offices if something needs to be mailed. In addition, weighing demands may occur during meals since some persons practice healthy eating. However, when these persons eat out, it is very inconvenient for them to take with them a weighing tool, thus causing difficulties in controlling calorie intake. Therefore, how to provide a product with a weighing function so as to meet people&#39;s demands for weighing in work and life has become urgent. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0006]    In view of the above drawbacks of the prior art, the present invention provides a mobile communication terminal device with a weighing function. 
         [0007]    In order to achieve the above and other objects, the present invention provides a mobile communication terminal device, which comprises: a display unit, a sensing unit; a carrier disposed on the display unit and covering the sensing unit for carrying and conveying an external force to the sensing unit; a data processing unit connected to the sensing unit and the display unit for receiving and calculating the magnitude of the external force sensed by the sensing unit; and a handheld housing for accommodating and securing the display unit, the sensing unit, the carrier and the data processing unit while exposing the carrier therefrom. 
         [0008]    In an embodiment, the carrier can be a transparent substrate or a touch panel. 
         [0009]    Therefore, the present invention not only eliminates the need of additional measuring tools but also increases the functionality and convenience of the mobile communication terminal device. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
         [0010]      FIG. 1A  is a perspective view of a mobile communication terminal device according to a first embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0011]      FIG. 1B  is a basic structural block diagram of the mobile communication terminal device of  FIG. 1A ; 
           [0012]      FIG. 1C  is a partial structural cross-sectional view of the mobile communication terminal device of  FIG. 1A ; 
           [0013]      FIG. 2  is a partial structural cross-sectional view of a mobile communication terminal device according to a second embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0014]      FIG. 3  is a partial structural cross-sectional view of a mobile communication terminal device according to a third embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0015]      FIG. 4  is a partial structural cross-sectional view of a mobile communication terminal device according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention; and 
           [0016]      FIG. 5  is a partial structural cross-sectional view showing weighing of an object by the mobile communication terminal device of  FIG. 1C . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0017]    The following embodiments are provided to illustrate the disclosure of the present invention, these and other advantages and effects can be apparent to those in the art after reading this specification. The present invention can be implemented or applied by other different embodiments, and details in the specification can be modified and varied without departing from the spirit of the present invention based on different viewpoints and applications. 
         [0018]      FIG. 1A  is a perspective view of a mobile communication terminal device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.  FIG. 1B  is a basic structural block diagram of the mobile communication terminal device of  FIG. 1A .  FIG. 1C  is a partial structural cross-sectional view of the mobile communication terminal device of  FIG. 1A . Referring to  FIGS. 1A to 1C , the mobile communication terminal device  100  with a function of sensing an external force comprises: a display unit  101 , a sensing unit  104 , a carrier  105 , a data processing unit  106  and a handheld housing  100   a.  The mobile communication terminal device  100  may be, but not limited to, a mobile phone, a smart phone, a smart type handheld computer, a satellite positioning device, or a personal digital assistant. It should be noted that for expository purpose, only major elements related to the present invention are shown in the drawings. Other detailed elements such as connecting ports, microphones or speakers are not shown in the drawings. 
         [0019]    The handheld housing  100   a  accommodates and secures the display unit  101 , the sensing unit  104 , the carrier  105  and the data processing unit  106  while exposing the carrier  105  therefrom. 
         [0020]    The display unit  101  can be such as an LCD (liquid crystal display), an LED (light emitting diode) display or the like. In the present embodiment, the display unit  101  comprises a display panel  101   a  and a frame  101   b  disposed around the periphery of the display panel  101   a.    
         [0021]    The sensing unit  104  is used to sense the external force. In the present embodiment, the sensing unit  104  comprises a plurality of pressure sensors spacingly disposed adjacent to the periphery of the display unit  101 , wherein each of the pressure sensors may be made of a piezoelectric material, a piezoelectric actuator or a load cell. It should be noted that the number, shape or disposing method of the pressure sensors of the sensing units  104  are not limited to the present embodiment. In another embodiment, the sensing unit  104  can be a ring-shaped pressure sensor disposed on the frame  101   b  of the display unit  101 . The frame  101   b  of the display unit  101  can be made of a rigid material, for example, a metal frame or a plastic frame, so as for the sensing unit  104  to be disposed thereon. In another embodiment, the display unit  101  only comprises the display panel  101   a.  That is, there is no frame  101   b  disposed around the periphery of the display panel  101   a.  In such a case, the sensing unit  104  is disposed adjacent to the periphery of the display unit  101  (the periphery of the viewable area of the display panel  101   a ). 
         [0022]    The carrier  105  is disposed on the display unit  101  and covers the sensing unit  104 . The carrier  105  is used for carrying and conveying the external force to the sensing unit  104 . The external force may, for example, come from an object  210  to be weighed. The carrier  105  of the present embodiment can be a transparent substrate, such as a glass substrate, an acrylic substrate or a plastic substrate. In the present embodiment, the carrier  105  can not only weigh the object  210  but also protect the display unit  101 . According to the design requirement of the display panel, the area of the carrier  105  can be greater than or equal to the display area (viewable area) of the display panel  101   a.  Therefore, the carrier  105  disposed on the display unit  101  and covering the sensing unit  104  carries the external force, for example, the object  210  to be weighed, while the design of the display area of the mobile communication terminal device  100  is not changed. 
         [0023]    In addition, the carrier  105  can be made of a rigid material so as to fully convey the external force applied by the object  210  to the sensing unit  104 . The sensing unit  104  further senses the external force applied on the carrier  105  so as to generate a pressure signal, wherein the pressure signal can be such as a voltage signal or a current signal. In practice, the requirement of the rigidity of the carrier  105  depends on the pressure sensing scope of the sensing unit  104 . For example, if the weighing scope of the sensing unit  104  falls in the tolerable stress condition of the carrier  105 , the rigidity of the material does not need to be considered, otherwise, if the weighing scope of the sensing unit  104  falls beyond the tolerable stress condition of the carrier  105 , the thickness and material rigidity should be considered. In other words, design requirements are varied according to the weighing scope and size of the display panel. 
         [0024]    The data processing unit  106  is connected to the sensing unit  104  and the display unit  101  so as to receive the external force sensed by the sensing unit  104 , thereby calculating the weight of the object  210  according to the external force. It should be noted that the resource of the external force is not limited to the object weight. In another embodiment, the external force may be an impact force of a baseball hitting the carrier  105 . In other words, the external force can be any force coming from the outside of the mobile communication terminal device. 
         [0025]    In an embodiment, the data processing unit  106  comprises an ADC (analog-to-digital converter) and a processor. In particular, the ADC converts the pressure signal from the sensing unit  104  to a digital signal, the processor calculates the weight of the object  210  according to the digital signal and the disposing position of the sensing unit  104 , and further the display unit  101  controlled by the processor displays the calculated weight for users. In another embodiment, the data processing unit  106  can be a microprocessor with an analog-to-digital converting function, which converts the pressure signal from the sensing unit  104  to a digital signal, calculates the weight of the object  210  according to the digital signal and the disposing position of the sensing unit  104 , and further enables the display unit  101  to display the weight of the object  210  for users. 
         [0026]    Further, the calculated result can be audio outputted. In particular, the mobile communication terminal device  100  further comprises an audio device (not shown) for voice broadcasting the calculated weight, wherein the data processing unit  106  generates an audio signal corresponding to the calculated weight of the object so as to enable the audio device to broadcast voice according to the audio signal. 
         [0027]    The mobile communication terminal device of the present invention further comprises a switching unit (not shown) for turning on or turning off the weighing function. The switching unit can be a button disposed on the mobile communication terminal device  100  or an application program installed in the mobile communication terminal device  100 . Users can press the button or choose to execute the application program so as to turn on or turn off the weighing function. 
         [0028]      FIG. 2  is a partial structural cross-sectional view of a mobile communication terminal device according to a second embodiment of the present invention. The difference of the present embodiment from the first embodiment of  FIG. 1C  is the carrier  205  of the present embodiment is a touch panel instead of the transparent substrate. The carrier  205  of the mobile communication terminal device  200  of the present embodiment is disposed on the display unit  201  and covers the sensing unit  204 . The carrier  205  is such as a capacitor touch panel, a resistor touch panel or a multi-touch panel. 
         [0029]    The carrier  205  of the present embodiment comprises an enhanced substrate  205   a  and a touch substrate  205   b,  wherein the enhanced substrate  205   a  is made of a transparent material with high rigidity and disposed between the sensing unit  204  and the touch substrate  205   b.    
         [0030]      FIG. 3  is a partial structural cross-sectional view of a mobile communication terminal device according to a third embodiment of the present invention. The Difference of the present embodiment from the first embodiment of  FIG. 1C  is the pressure sensors of the mobile communication terminal device  300  of the present embodiment are spacingly disposed adjacent to a support portion  300   b  on the periphery of the display unit  301 . The support portion  300   b  is a positioning frame or a positioning rib inside the handheld housing  300   a  for laterally positioning the display unit  301 . Since the pressure sensors of the sensing unit  304  are disposed on the support portion  300   b  instead of on the display panel  301   a  of the display unit  301 , the external force can be prevented from being transmitted to the display panel  301   a  of the display unit  301 , thereby effectively preventing damage of the display panel  301   a  that otherwise may occur due to the external force applied on the display panel  301   a.    
         [0031]      FIG. 4  is a partial structural cross-sectional view of a mobile communication terminal device according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. The difference of the present embodiment from the third embodiment of  FIG. 3  is the carrier  405  of the present embodiment is a touch panel instead of the transparent substrate. The carrier  405  of the mobile communication terminal device of the present embodiment is disposed on the display unit  401  and covers the sensing unit  404 . The carrier  405  of the present embodiment comprises an enhanced substrate  405   a  and a touch substrate  405   b,  wherein the enhanced substrate  405   b  is made of a transparent material with high rigidity and disposed between the sensing unit  404  and the touch substrate  405   b.    
         [0032]      FIG. 5  shows a partial structural cross-sectional view showing weighing of the object by the mobile communication terminal device of  FIG. 1C . In the present embodiment, a height element  500  can be selectively disposed on the carrier  105 . The height element  500  has a height greater than the height difference between the carrier  105  and the surface of the handheld housing  100   a  so as to carry an object  211  that has a cross-sectional area greater than the carrying area of the carrier  105  or an object without a fixed shape, thus preventing the object  211  from contacting the area outside the carrier  105  that may otherwise adversely affect the accuracy of the measuring result. 
         [0033]    It should be noted that the shape of the height element  500  is not limited to  FIG. 5 . The height element  500  can be such as a cylinder body, a tube body, a plate body or a cap. The height element  500  can be applied to the mobile communication terminal devices of  FIG. 1C  to  FIG. 4 . In addition, the height element  500  should be weighed first and its weight should be detracted from the measured weight, which can alternatively be implemented through built-in software. Therefore, the application of the height element  500  allows more kinds or dimensions of objects to be weighed while the original weighing function is not affected. 
         [0034]    Therefore, the present invention integrates a weighing function into a mobile communication terminal device, which increases the functionality of the mobile communication terminal device and facilitates users to readily achieve the purpose of weighing. As such, the functionality and application of the mobile communication terminal device are enhanced. 
         [0035]    The above-described descriptions of the detailed embodiments are only to illustrate the preferred implementation according to the present invention, and it is not to limit the scope of the present invention. Accordingly, all modifications and variations completed by those with ordinary skill in the art should fall within the scope of present invention defined by the appended claims.