Patent Publication Number: US-2005124398-A1

Title: Slide type portable communication terminal and method for slide-moving a slide type portable communication terminal having a body unit and a display unit slidably mounted at a front surface of the body unit

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
      Pursuant to 35 U.S.C. § 119(a), this application claims the benefit of earlier filing date and right of priority to Korean Application No. 10-2003-89109, filed on Dec. 9, 2003, the contents of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.  
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      1. Field of the Invention  
      The present invention relates to a slide type portable communication terminal, and more particularly, to a slide type portable communication terminal capable of automatically controlling a position of a display unit according to a general mode and a camera activation mode.  
      2. Description of the Related Art  
      Generally, portable communication terminals may be described as either a flip-type, wherein a flip cover is rotatably mounted at a body for opening and closing an input button region, or a folder type comprising a body having input buttons and a folder rotatably mounted at the body, wherein the folder may house a viewable display.  
      Accordingly, as the need for communication terminals having large display units for displaying various information grows, a slide type portable communication terminal having a a large display at a front surface of a body unit capable of being opened and closed by a slide method is being developed.  
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view showing a slide type portable communication terminal in accordance with the related art. The related art slide type portable communication terminal  10  comprises a body unit  20  having adjustment buttons  21  at a front surface of the body unit, a display unit  30  slidably mounted at the front surface of the body unit  20  and having a display  31  for displaying information, and a sliding unit ( 40 ,  50 ) installed between the body unit  20  and the display unit  30 , for slidably opening and closing the display unit  30 .  
      The sliding unit comprises guide grooves  40  formed at both sides of the front surface of the body unit  20  in a longitudinal direction and guide rails  50  formed at both sides of a rear surface of the display unit  30 . The guide rails are inserted into the guide grooves in order to be moved in the longitudinal direction.  
      Accordingly, the related art slide type portable communication terminal allows a user to open and close the terminal by pushing the display unit  30  in an upper or lower direction of the body unit  20  using the guide groove  40  and the guide rail  50  inserted therein. However, a problem exists because the display unit has to be manually pushed upwardly or downwardly in order to use the terminal. Thus, the user is inconvenienced.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      The present invention is directed to a to a slide type portable communication terminal capable of automatically slide-moving a display unit on a body unit upwardly or downwardly according to a user&#39;s desired mode such as a general mode or a camera activation mode.  
      Additional features and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objectives and other advantages of the invention will be realized and attained by the structure particularly pointed out in the written description and claims hereof as well as the appended drawings.  
      To achieve these and other advantages and in accordance with the purpose of the present invention, as embodied and broadly described, there is provided a slide type portable communication terminal comprising a body unit, a display unit slidably mounted at a front surface of the body unit, a guide unit operating with the display unit and body unit for guiding slide-movement of the display unit, a driving unit for moving the display unit, and a switching unit for sensing motion of the display unit and controlling the driving unit to move the display unit, wherein upon the switching unit sensing the display unit being manually moved in a desired direction, the switching unit controls the driving unit to automatically drive the display unit in the desired direction.  
      When the display unit is manually pushed in an upper direction with respect to the body unit, the driving unit automatically drives the display unit in the upper direction to expose a lower portion of the body unit. When the display unit is manually pushed in a lower direction with respect to the body unit, the driving unit automatically drives the display unit in the lower direction to expose an upper portion of the body unit.  
      In an exemplary embodiment, the switching unit senses motion of the display unit by sensing movement of at least one magnet formed on the display unit by a magnet detecting unit formed on the body unit. The switching unit controls the driving unit to automatically stop movement of the display unit by detecting a position of at least one magnet formed on the display unit by a magnet detecting unit formed on the body unit.  
      The guide unit comprises at least one guide groove formed at a rear surface of the display unit in a longitudinal direction and at least one guide hook formed at a front surface of the body unit, wherein the at least one guide hook is fittedly coupled to the at least one guide groove. The driving unit comprises a driving motor mounted at the body unit for generating a rotational force, a pinion gear coupled to the driving motor, and a rack gear formed at a rear surface of the display unit in a longitudinal direction and engaged with the pinion gear. A hole is formed at a side of the front surface of the body unit, wherein a portion of the pinion gear protrudes out of the hole.  
      The switching unit comprises a plurality of magnets formed at a rear surface of the display unit, wherein the magnets are spaced apart from each other in a longitudinal direction, a magnet detecting unit formed inside the body unit for detecting a position of each magnet, and a control unit for selectively driving the driving unit according to a detection signal of the magnet detecting unit. A plurality of magnet mounting grooves are formed at the rear surface of the display unit for respectively mounting the plurality of magnets.  
      In an exemplary embodiment, the magnet detecting unit comprises a first magnet sensor formed at an inner side of the body unit and a second magnet sensor formed at an inner side of the body unit, wherein the first magnet sensor and the second magnet sensor are spaced apart from each other in a longitudinal direction. A direction the control unit automatically drives the driving unit is dependent upon the sequence in which the first and second magnet sensors of the body unit lose sense of one of the plurality of magnets formed on the display unit.  
      In one aspect, the plurality of magnets comprises a first magnet, a second magnet, and a third magnet. As the display unit moves toward an upper direction with respect to the body unit, the control unit controls the driving unit to stop movement of the display unit upon detection of the first magnet by the magnet detecting unit. As the display unit moves toward a lower direction with respect to the body unit, the control unit controls the driving unit to stop movement of the display unit upon detection of the third magnet by the magnet detecting unit. As the display unit is moved so as to completely cover the body unit, the control controls the driving unit to stop movement of the display unit upon detection of the second magnet by the magnet detecting unit.  
      In accordance with another embodiment of the invention, a method for automatically slide-moving a slide type portable communication terminal having a body unit and a display unit slidably mounted at a front surface of the body unit, comprises manually pushing the display unit in a desired direction, sensing movement of the display unit being moved in the desired direction, automatically driving the display unit in the desired direction upon sensing movement of the display unit, and stopping automatic movement of the display unit.  
      Sensing movement of the display unit comprises detecting movement of at least one magnet formed on a surface of the display unit by a magnet detecting unit formed on the body unit. The magnet detecting unit comprises a first magnet sensor formed at an inner side of the body unit and a second magnet sensor formed at an inner side of the body unit, wherein the first magnet sensor and the second magnet sensor are spaced apart from each other in a longitudinal direction.  
      Driving the display unit comprises driving a driving motor mounted at the body unit to generate a rotational force, rotating a pinion gear coupled to the driving motor, and engaging a rack gear formed at a rear surface of the display unit with the rotating pinion gear to move the display unit in a longitudinal direction.  
      Stopping automatic movement of the display unit comprises sensing a position of at least one magnet formed on a surface of the display unit by a magnet detecting unit formed on the body unit and controlling a driving motor to stop movement of the display unit.  
      It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description of the present invention are exemplary and explanatory and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
      The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the invention.  
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a slide type portable communication terminal in accordance with the related art.  
       FIG. 2  is a perspective view of a slide type portable communication terminal with a display unit covering a body unit in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.  
       FIG. 3  is a perspective view of a slide type portable communication terminal with a display unit opened towards an upper direction of the body unit in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.  
       FIG. 4  is a perspective view of a slide type portable communication terminal with a display unit opened towards a lower direction of the body unit in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.  
       FIG. 5  is a disassembled perspective view of a slide type portable communication terminal in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.  
       FIG. 6  is a longitudinal section view of a guide unit of a slide type portable communication terminal in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.  
       FIG. 7  is an operational state side view of a slide type portable communication terminal in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.  
       FIG. 8  is an operational state side view of a slide type portable communication terminal in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.  
       FIG. 9  is an operational state side view of a slide type portable communication terminal in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
      Referring to  FIGS. 2-6 , a slide type portable communication terminal  100  comprises a body unit  110 , a display unit  120  slidably mounted at a front surface of the body unit  110 , a guide unit  130  operating with the body unit  110  and the display unit  120  for guiding slide-movement of the display unit  120 , and a display unit slide moving unit for selectively slide-moving the display unit  120  in a longitudinal direction of the body unit  110 .  
      A first button unit  111  is formed at a lower side of the front surface of the body unit  110 , and a camera module  112  is formed at an upper side of the front surface of the body unit  110 . A voice transmission portion  121  and a second button unit  122  are formed at a lower side of a front surface of the display unit  120 . A display window  123  is formed at a middle portion of the front surface of the display unit  120 . Preferably, the display window  123  is a liquid crystal display (LCD) window. A voice reception portion  124  is formed at an upper portion of the front surface of the display unit  120 .  
      The guide unit  130  comprises at least one guide groove  131  formed at a rear surface of the display unit  120  in a longitudinal direction and at least one guide hook  132  formed at a front surface of the body unit  110 , wherein the guide hook  132  is fittedly coupled to the guide groove  131 . As shown in  FIG. 6 , the guide hook  132  is protruded at the front surface of the body unit  110 , wherein the end of the guide hook  132  diverges to its sides thus increasing the guide hook&#39;s elastic strength. When the guide hook  132  is fitted into the guide groove  131 , the guide hook  132  is caught by an inner side surface of the guide groove  131  thereby preventing detachment of the guide hook  132  from the guide groove.  
      A display unit slide moving unit comprises a driving unit  210  for linearly moving the display unit  120  and a switching unit for detecting motion of the display unit  120  and thereby controlling the driving unit  210  to move the display unit  120  to a user&#39;s desired position. As shown in  FIG. 5 , the driving unit  210  comprises a driving motor  211  mounted at the body unit  110  for generating a rotational force, a pinion gear  212  coupled to the driving motor  211 , and a rack gear  213  formed at a rear surface of the display unit  120  in a longitudinal direction and engaged with the pinion gear  212 . A hole  110   a  is formed at a side of the front surface of the body unit  110 , wherein a portion of the pinion gear  212  protrudes out of the hole  110   a . This allows the pinion gear  212  to smoothly engage with the rack gear  213 .  
      The switching unit comprises a first magnet  221 , a second magnet  222  and a third magnet  223  formed at the rear surface of the display unit  120 . The magnets are spaced apart by a certain interval in a longitudinal direction. The switching unit further comprises a magnet detecting unit  224  formed inside the body unit  110  for detecting a position of each magnet and a control unit  225  for selectively driving the driving motor  211  according to a detection signal of the magnet detecting unit  224 . The first, second, and third magnets  221 ,  222 , and  223  are respectively mounted at first, second, and third magnet mounting grooves  221   a ,  222   a , and  223   a  formed at the rear surface of the display unit  120 .  
      The magnet detecting unit  224  comprises a first magnet sensor  224   a  formed at an inner side of the body unit  110  and a second magnet sensor  224   b  also formed at an inner side of the body unit  110 . The first magnet sensor and the second magnet sensor are spaced apart from each other by a certain interval in a longitudinal direction.  
      In accordance with one embodiment of the invention, operation of the slide type portable communication terminal will now be explained. Preferably, the display unit  120  of the slide type portable communication terminal  100  may placed in three positions on the body unit  110 . For example, the display unit  120  may completely close (cover) the body unit  110 . Furthermore, the display unit  120  may be positioned at an end of the body unit  110  in an upper direction. Alternatively, the display unit  120  may be positioned at an end of the body unit  110  in a lower direction.  
      When the display unit  120  is completely pushed towards the upper direction with respect to the body unit  110 , a general mode may be performed. When the display unit  120  is completely pushed towards the lower direction with respect to the body unit  110 , a camera activation mode may be performed.  
      Referring to  FIG. 7 , the display unit  120  may completely close or cover the body unit  110 , in which the first magnet sensor  224   a  and the second magnet sensor  224   b  detect only the second magnet  222 . When a user wants to perform the general mode, the user pushes the display unit  120  towards the upper direction of the body unit  110  to thereby move the display unit  120  upwardly along the guide unit  130 .  
      As shown in  FIG. 8 , once the display unit  120  is upwardly moved, the second magnet  222  becomes spaced apart from the first magnet sensor  224   a  and the second magnet sensor  224   b . Accordingly, the first magnet sensor  224   a  and the second magnet sensor  224   b  sequentially lose sense of the second magnet  222 . Specifically, as the display unit  120  is upwardly moved, the first magnet sensor  224   a  initially loses sense of the second magnet  222  before the second magnet sensor  224   b  loses sense of the second magnet  222  as well. Due to this sequence, the control unit  225 , as shown in  FIG. 5 , drives the driving motor  211  in a forward direction in the direction of arrow  211   a . Consequently, the driving motor  211  rotates the pinion gear  212  in a forward direction to thereby move the rack gear  213  engaged thereto and thus move the display unit  120  in the upper direction of the body unit  110 .  
      As the display unit  120  is moved towards the upper direction of the body unit  110 , the first magnet  221  nears the first magnet sensor  224   a  and the second magnet sensor  224   b . Upon detection of the first magnet  221  by the magnet sensors, the control unit  225  stops driving the driving motor  211  to thereby stop movement of the display unit  120 . When the display unit  120  is completely moved in the upper direction of the body unit  110 , the first button unit  111 , as shown in  FIG. 3 , becomes exposed allowing the user to manipulate the buttons and perform the general mode.  
      After finishing the general mode, the user may push the display unit  120  downwardly to move it toward the lower direction of the body unit  110  along the guide unit  130 . As the display unit moves downwardly, the first magnet  221  becomes spaced apart from the second magnet sensor  224   b  and the first magnet sensor  224   a . Accordingly, the second magnet sensor  224   b  and the first magnet sensor  224   a  sequentially lose sense of the first magnet  221 . Specifically, as the display unit  120  is downwardly moved, the second magnet sensor  224   b  initially loses sense of the first magnet  221  before the first magnet sensor  224   a  loses sense of the first magnet  221  as well. Due to this sequence, the control unit  225 , as shown in  FIG. 5 , drives the driving motor  211  in a reverse direction or a direction opposite to the arrow  211   a . Consequently, the driving motor rotates the pinion gear  212  in a reverse direction to thereby move the rack gear  213  engaged thereto and thus move the display unit  120  downwardly to a position at the front surface of the body unit  110 , as shown in  FIG. 7 .  
      As the display unit  120  is moved towards the front surface of the body unit  110 , the second magnet  222  nears the first magnet sensor  224   a  and the second magnet sensor  224   b . Upon detection of the second magnet  222  by the magnet sensors, the control unit  225  stops driving the driving motor  211  to thereby stop movement of the display unit  120 . Accordingly, the display unit  120  completely closes (covers) the front surface of the body unit  110 .  
      When the front surface of the body unit  110  is completely covered by the display unit  120 , the user may push the display unit  120  towards the lower direction of the body unit  110  along the guide unit  130  in order to use a camera activation mode. Referring to  FIG. 9 , as the display unit  120  is moved downwardly, the second magnet  222  becomes spaced apart from the second magnet sensor  224   b  and the first magnet sensor  224   a . Contrary to the aforementioned general mode, the second magnet sensor  224   b  and first magnet sensor  224   a  sequentially lose sense of the second magnet  222 . Specifically, as the display unit  120  is downwardly moved, the second magnet sensor  224   b  initially loses sense of the second magnet  222  before the first magnet sensor  224   a  loses sense of the second magnet  222  as well.  
      Due to this sequence, the control unit  225 , as shown in  FIG. 5 , drives the driving motor  211  in a reverse direction or a direction opposite to the arrow  211   a  to thereby rotate the pinion gear  212  in a reverse direction. Accordingly, the rack gear  213  engaged to the pinion gear  212  moves the display unit  120  toward the lower direction of the body unit  110 .  
      As the display unit  120  moves toward the lower direction of the body unit  110 , the third magnet  223  nears the second magnet sensor  224   b  and the first magnet sensor  224   a . Upon detection of the third magnet  223  by the magnet sensors, the control unit  225  stops driving the driving motor  211  to thereby stop movement of the display unit  120 . When the display unit  120  is completely moved in the lower direction of the body unit  110 , the camera module (assembly)  112  becomes exposed allowing the user to perform the camera activation mode.  
      After finishing the camera activation mode, the user may push the display unit  120  toward the upper direction of the body unit  110  along the guide unit  130 . As the display unit moves upwardly, the third magnet  223  becomes spaced apart from the first magnet sensor  224   a  and the second magnet sensor  224   b . Accordingly, the first magnet sensor  224   a  and the second magnet sensor  224   b  sequentially lose sense of the third magnet  223 . Specifically, as the display unit  120  is upwardly moved, the first magnet sensor  224   a  initially loses sense of the third magnet  223  before the second magnet sensor  224   b  loses sense of the third magnet  223  as well. Due to this sequence, the control unit  225 , as shown in  FIG. 5 , drives the driving motor  211  in a forward direction in the direction of arrow  211   a.  Consequently, the driving motor rotates the pinion gear  212  in a forward direction to thereby move the rack gear  213  engaged thereto and thus move the display unit  120  upwardly to a position at the front surface of the body unit  110 .  
      As the display unit  120  moves toward the front surface of the body unit  110 , the second magnet  222  nears the first magnet sensor  224   a  and the second magnet sensor  224   b . Upon detection of the second magnet  222  by the magnet sensors, the control unit  225  stops driving the driving motor  211 . By stopping the driving motor  211 , the display unit  120  maintains a state of covering the front surface of the body unit  110 .  
      The slide type portable communication terminal according to one embodiment of the invention is operated as follows. When the user pushes the display unit  120  either towards the upper direction of the body unit  110  to use a general mode or towards the lower direction of the body unit  110  to use a camera activation mode, the display unit  120  is automatically slide-moved according to a detection signal of the first, second, and third magnets  221 ,  222 , and  223  sensed by the first magnet sensor  224   a  and the second magnet sensor  224   b  to thereby open the body unit  110 .  
      When the display unit  120  is moved in a direction to cover the body unit  110  during either a general mode or camera activation mode, the first magnet sensor  224   a  and the second magnet sensor  224   b  detect the second magnet  222  as the second magnet nears the magnet sensors. Upon detection of the second magnet  222 , the control unit  225  stops driving the driving motor  211  to stop movement of the display unit  120  and position the display unit  120  at the front surface of the body unit  110 .  
      Therefore, it is apparent that in the slide type portable communication terminal of the present invention, a user is greatly convenienced by being able to automatically slide-move the display unit into his/her desired mode.  
      It is noteworthy, that although magnetic sensors are used to describe the present invention, other sensors, such as a mechanical or pressure switch, may be used.  
      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.