Abstract:
Undesired key depression of a mobile device is prevented using a predetermined key activation pattern. This pattern includes successively pressing one or more keys of the mobile device a predetermined number of times. When this occurs, the mobile device converts from a key depression preventing mode to a half-operation mode. During this latter mode, functions corresponding to key inputs are automatically performed, provided they are input within a prescribed period of time. Otherwise, the mobile device converts back to the key depression preventing mode. As a result, undesired operation and power consumption of the mobile device is prevented.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0002]     The present invention generally relates to electronic devices, and more particularly to preventing undesired external key depression of a mobile device.  
         [0003]     2. Description of the Related Art  
         [0004]     Mobile devices such as mobile phones, smart phones, CD players, cassette players, MP-3 players, personal digital assistants (PDAs) and the like are now in widespread use. In fact, many people always carry two or more of these for personal and/or business use.  
         [0005]      FIG. 1  is a view showing external keys of mobile devices for performing various operations. In order to prevent undesired key depression in carrying the mobile device, a locking key having a hold function may be attached thereto by hardware. Or, in case of a slide-type mobile phone which has been recently commercialized, a locking state is released only when a specific key is pressed for prescribed time, and then a key input for performing an operation is received.  
         [0006]     In a mobile device which uses a locking key, if a user mistakenly fails to activate the locking key external operation keys may be inadvertently pressed and thus the battery may be completely consumed. In addition, releasing and re-activating a locking key repeatedly whenever a mobile device is used is an annoyance to the user.  
         [0007]     To prevent undesired external key depression in a related-art device, a key may be pressed for a prescribed time. However, when a user carries the device in his or her pocket or bag, the key maybe inadvertently pressed for a time longer than the prescribed time in many cases. For this reason, the related-art method is not good for preventing undesired external key depression.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0008]     An object of the present invention is to solve one or more problems of the related-art and/or to achieve at least one of the following advantages.  
         [0009]     Another object of the present invention is to provide a method for preventing undesired key depression which prevents undesired external key depression of a mobile device using a double-click technique.  
         [0010]     To achieve these and other objects and advantages, the present invention provides in accordance with one embodiment a method for preventing undesired key depression including a depression preventing mode in which an operation is controlled so as not to be performed even though an exposed operation key is pressed; a half-operation mode in which an operation is performed upon receiving an external key input, and the mode is switched back to the depression preventing mode if there is no key input within a prescribed time; and a full-operation mode in which an operation is performed without any restriction.  
         [0011]     In accordance with another embodiment, the present invention, provides a method for preventing undesired external key depression including the steps of: determining whether a depression preventing mode has been set if a key is inputted; performing an operation corresponding to a pertinent key if the depression preventing mode has not been set, or determining whether a key input is a double click if the depression preventing mode has been set; and switching the mode to a half-operation mode if the key input is a double click, and performing an operation corresponding to a pertinent key if a key is inputted.  
         [0012]     Preferably, by displaying a specific indication on a display unit of the mobile device, a user can be notified whether the device is currently in the depression preventing mode or in a state that the depression preventing mode has been released. The specific indication includes colors, icons having specific figures, pictures, letter, numerals, symbols or the like.  
         [0013]     The foregoing and other objects, features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the present invention when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0014]      FIG. 1  is a view showing exposed external keys in mobile devices which are generally used.  
         [0015]      FIG. 2  is a view showing a method for preventing undesired key depression in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0016]      FIG. 3  is a view showing one embodiment of a mode-state displaying method implemented in a device according to the present invention.  
         [0017]      FIG. 4  is a flow chart showing steps included in an implementing process of a method for preventing undesired key depression in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0018]      FIG. 2  is a diagram showing a method for preventing undesired key depression in a mobile device in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. The method is implemented by switching between or among a plurality of operating modes, including a depression preventing mode  10 , a half-operation mode  20 , and a full-operation mode  30 . In the depression preventing mode  10 , an operation key exposed outside the mobile device is controlled so as not to be operated even though it is pressed. In the half-operation mode  20 , an operation is performed when an external key is pressed, and the mode is switched to the depression preventing mode if there is no key input within a prescribed time. In the full-operation mode  30 , an operation is directly performed without any restriction when an external key is pressed. Each mode of operation will now be described in greater detail.  
         [0019]     The depression preventing mode may be implemented in various ways depending on the type of mobile device. For example, for a slide-type mobile phone the depression preventing mode may refer to a state where the slide of the phone is closed. For a PDA or other mobile device, the depression preventing mode may refer to a normal carrying state.  
         [0020]     In the depression preventing mode, simply pressing a key will not cause an operation to be performed. Rather, the operation will be performed only when a key input is received after a specific key is pressed in a predetermined pattern, e.g., after the key is double-clicked. The specific key may be a specially dedicated function key or may be the same key corresponding to the operation the user wishes to perform. If the specific key is a specially dedicated function key, then receiving a key input (e.g., from another key) after the function key is double-clicked will automatically cause the corresponding operation to be performed. If the specific key is the same key, then a corresponding operation may be performed on the second click, or the key may have to be pressed for a third time after being double click in order for the corresponding operation to be performed.  
         [0021]     When the specific key is double-clicked, the depression preventing mode is switched to the half-operation mode. Then, when an external key is pressed in the half-operation mode, a corresponding operation is directly performed. While the double-clicking pattern is preferable for effecting this mode conversion, other key patterns may be used to switch the operating mode if desired. For example, the mode conversion may be performed when a specific key is pressed a predetermined number of times greater than two, or when a specific combination of keys are pressed.  
         [0022]     After mode conversion has taken place, the half-operation mode will automatically switch back to the depression preventing mode  10  if a key input is not received within a prescribed time. Thus, in at least one-embodiment the depression preventing mode operates as the default mode when the mobile device has its slide closed, when a locking key is set, or when the mobile device is carried or otherwise operating in a monitoring or passive state.  
         [0023]     Full-operation mode refers to a case where, for example, a slide of a slide-type mobile phone is opened, or where a locking key for a PDA or another mobile device has been released. In full-operation mode, depression of an external key is directly connected to performance of an operation.  
         [0024]     A user can be notified of a current mode state through a display unit of a mobile device, such as an LCD. As one example, shown in  FIG. 3 , a depression preventing mode is displayed as ‘X’ at a predetermined location of a screen, and a state where the depression preventing mode has been released is displayed as ‘O’. Through this technique, a user is easily notified of a current state of the device. While this technique is preferable, those skilled in the art can appreciate that another method of notifying a user of the operational state of the device may be used.  
         [0025]     For example, the mode state does not have to be displayed at the same position and in the same shape as shown in  FIG. 3 . Additionally, or alternatively, the mode state may be indicated by display of a specific color or color pattern, e.g., a state where the mobile device is operating in the depression preventing mode may correspond to the display of red text and/or graphics and a state where the depression preventing mode has been released may correspond to the display of blue text and/or graphics. As a further alternative, the mode state may be displayed as an icon of a specific shape, a picture (such as a figure made by drawing a slant line on a letter), a letter, a numeral, or other graphical and/or text-based information recognizable on a display.  
         [0026]     If desired, the present invention may includes a variety of methods for notifying a user of whether the device is currently operating in a depression preventing mode or in a state that the depression preventing mode has been released, by displaying a specific indication on a display unit of the device.  
         [0027]     A key pressing preventing method in accordance with the present invention includes determining whether a depression preventing mode has been set when a key is input for performing an operation corresponding to a pertinent key when the depression preventing mode has not been set or determining whether the key input is a double click when the depression preventing mode has been set and switching the mode to a half-operation mode when the key input is a double click and performing an operation corresponding to the pertinent key when a key is inputted within a prescribed time.  
         [0028]      FIG. 4  is a flow chart showing steps included in a key pressing preventing method in accordance with the present invention. When an external key is pressed on purpose or by mistake (S 10 ), a check is performed (e.g., by a mobile device processor) to determine whether the device is currently operating in a depression preventing mode (S 20 ). The results of the check determine whether a corresponding operation is to be performed, i.e., an operation is performed depending on a current mode state of the device. An operation corresponding to a key input is directly performed if the device is not currently in the depression preventing mode (S 30 ).  
         [0029]     If the device is currently in the depression preventing mode, this mode may be switched to half-operation mode based on whether a specific key pattern has been input, e.g., whether a specific key has been double-clicked (S 40 ). As previously discussed, this specific key may be a special function key or a key corresponding to an operation to be performed. If the key has been double clicked, the depression preventing mode is switched to the half-operation mode (S 50 ). Then, it is determined whether another key input is received (S 60 ). The half-operation mode is automatically switched back to the depression preventing mode if another key input is not received within a prescribed time.  
         [0030]     If another key input is received before the prescribed time elapses, a corresponding operation is performed (S 70 ). If another key is not input received, it is determined whether the prescribed time has been elapsed (S 80 ). If the prescribed time has elapsed, the device is switched back to the depression preventing mode (S 90 ).  
         [0031]     The method for preventing undesired key depression in accordance with the present invention can therefore remarkably reduce probability of unintentionally pressing an external key, by using a double click instead of a method of pressing key for a prescribed time.  
         [0032]     Further, the method for preventing undesired key depression in accordance with the present invention can provide a user with convenience, since in a half-operation mode external keys are easily pressed to perform operations and the mode is automatically switched to a depression preventing mode when a preset time elapses so that a user easily carries the mobile device. The present invention can also be implemented by only changing software of an existing method without requiring any hardware changes or modifications. Thus, the invention can be easily applied and implemented.  
         [0033]     As the present invention may be embodied in several forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof, it should also be understood that the above-described embodiments are not limited by any of the details of the foregoing description, unless otherwise specified, but rather should be construed broadly within its spirit and scope as defined in the appended claims, and therefore all changes and modifications that fall within the metes and bounds of the claims, or equivalence of such metes and bounds are therefore intended to be embraced by the appended claims.