Abstract:
There is provided a game pad connectable to a personal portable terminal. Each of a left handle and a right handle has a plurality of key buttons in the game pad. A mounting portion is formed between the handles and holds the personal portable terminal. A guide rib is formed along the upper ends of both sidewalls of the mounting portion, for guiding both ends of the personal portable terminal. A connector is formed on an end portion of the mounting portion to be electrically connected to an interface connector of the personal portable terminal and selectively detachable from the personal portable terminal.

Description:
PRIORITY 
     This application claims priority to two applications, the one entitled “Game Pad Connected To Personal Digital Assistant” filed in the Korean Industrial Property Office on Apr. 18, 2001 and assigned Serial No. 2001-11031, and the other entitled “Game Pad Connectable To Personal Portable Terminal” filed in the Korean Industrial Property Office on Jun. 7, 2001 and assigned Serial No. 2001-31774, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates generally to an electronic game device, and in particular, to a game pad connectable to a personal portable terminal such as a mobile phone and a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) for playing a game. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     As personal portable terminals like mobile phones and PDAs have increasingly been popular, diverse functions and designs are embodied in the personal portable terminals. They become smaller, more lightweight, and more diverse in function. 
     In order to satisfy the customers&#39; diverse demands, the personal portable terminals must be less bulky and operate given functions (e.g., games, stock quotes, and digital camera). 
     Along with the trends, data communication is added to the personal portable terminals. Furthermore, with the introduction of advanced additional functions like PC (Personal Computer) synchronization and GPS (Global Positioning System), the personal portable terminals become composite terminals. 
     A wide LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) module is provided on the frontal surface of a body in a personal portable terminal to help data communication. As a result, conventional key buttons are replaced with scroll keys and the LCD module is reconfigured to operate in a touch screen way. Therefore, a user enters data by touching the LCD module directly. 
     This personal portable terminal is very inconvenient to manipulate for a game. The inconvenience is worse when key buttons are scaled down and operate on a scroll basis. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     An object of the present invention is, therefore, to provide a game pad with a plurality of key buttons, connectable to a personal portable terminal, which is easy to manipulate for an electronic game. 
     Another object of the present invention is to provide a detachable game pad which is easily removable from a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) for portability. 
     A further object of the present invention is to provide a game pad for increasing interest in using a personal portable terminal and playing an electronic game. 
     The foregoing and other objects can be achieved by providing a game pad connectable to a personal portable terminal. According to one aspect of the present invention, each of a left handle and a right handle has a plurality of key buttons in the game pad. A mounting portion is formed between the handles and holds the personal portable terminal. A guide rib is formed along the upper ends of both sidewalls of the mounting portion, for guiding both ends of the personal portable terminal. A connector is formed on an end portion of the mounting portion to be electrically connected to an interface connector of the personal portable terminal and selectively detachable from the personal portable terminal. 
     According to another aspect of the present invention, an interface interfaces the game pad to the personal portable terminal in the game pad. A keypad has a plurality of keys, for generating key data to a pressed key. A vibrator has a vibration motor, for generating vibrations upon receipt of a first operation control signal. A voice processor has a sound source chip and generates effect sounds upon receipt of a second operation control signal. A controller controls the operations of the function blocks of the game pad, feeds the key data received from the keypad to the personal portable terminal via the interface, and outputs the operation control signals to the vibrator and the voice processor according to a sound signal and a vibration signal received from the personal portable terminal via the interface. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which. 
     FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a PDA and a game pad according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a partial perspective view illustrating an important portion of the game pad according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the PDA and the game pad in combination according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIG. 4 is a schematic view illustrating the interior of the game pad according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention; and 
     FIG. 5 is a block diagram of the PDA and the game pad according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described hereinbelow with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description, well-known functions or constrictions are not described in detail since they would obscure the invention in unnecessary detail. 
     FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a PDA and a game pad, FIG. 2 is a partial perspective view illustrating an important portion of the game pad, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the PDA and the game pad in combination according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. A PDA  30  and a game pad  10  removable from the PDA  30  are shown. 
     Referring to FIGS. 1,  2 , and  3 , the PDA  30  has a wide LCD  31  on its upper surface, for displaying input data and Tirelessly transmitted/received data. A plurality of buttons  32  are protruded at one side of the LCD  31 , for entering data. An interface connector  33  is provided at one end of the PDA  30  to exchange data with an external device. 
     The game pad to, from which the PDA  30  can be detached, includes handles  11  with a plurality of key buttons  12  at both sides, a mounting portion  13  between the two handles  11 , for mounting the PDA  30  thereon, and a connector  17  to be electrically connected to the interface connector  33  of the PDA  30 . The connector  17  can be connected to a PC. 
     A guide rib  14  is protruded from the upper ends of both sidewalls of the mounting portion  13  to guide both ends of the PDA  30 . When the PDA  30  is mounted on the mounting portion  13 , the both ends of the PDA  30  slide along the guide rib  14 . If the PDA  30  is completely mounted in an arrow direction in FIG. 2, the interface connector  33  of the PDA  30  is electrically connected to the connector  17  of the game pad  10  so that the PDA  30  can be operated by means of the buttons  12  on the handles  11 . 
     FIG. 4 is a schematic view illustrating the interior structure of the game pad  10  according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 4, a PCB (Printed Circuit Board)  20  can be installed in the game pad  10  to be electrically connected to the connector  7 . At least one vibrator  15  is provided inside the handles  11  of the game pad  10  so that it selectively vibrates when a user manipulates the PDA  30 . At least one sound source reproducer  16  is built inside the handles  11  so that the user enjoys sounds when he manipulates the PDA  30  through the game pad  10 . A predetermined speaker or sound source chip can be used as the sound source reproducer  16 . The sound source reproducer  16  and the vibrator  15  can be mounted on the PCB  20 . A flexible printed circuit (FPC) may be used instead of the PCB  20 . 
     According to a feature of the present invention, the game pad provides vibrations and sound effects according to games, which other auxiliary game devices like a joystick cannot afford. This will be described in detail referring to FIG.  5 . 
     FIG. 5 is a block diagram of the PDA and the game pad according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
     As to the PDA  30 , components are connected to one another in buses of the PDA  30 . Among them, a CPU (Central Processing Unit)  320  is a main controller that provides overall control to the PDA  30  The CPU  320  also controls image display on an LCD  330 . 
     A memory  360  includes a ROM (Read Only memory)  362 , a RAM (Random Access Memory)  364 , and a flash memory  366 . The ROM  362  stores a code group for controlling hardware operation permanently. The RAM  364  is a writable volatile memory and used mainly as a working place for the CPU  320 . The flash memory  366  is an erasable non-volatile memory used to maintain important data of the PDA  30 , for example. 
     A voice CODEC  310  is an exclusive circuit for compressing/decompressing voice data. For example, voice data like sounds generated during playing a game is decompressed by the voice CODEC  310  and output through a speaker  312 . 
     An interface  340  interfaces the PDA  30  with external devices (e.g., a PC or the game pad  10 ) and may include a serial port, a UART (Universal Asynchronous Receiver-Transmitter) port, and a USB (Universal Serial Bus) port. 
     The PDA  30  has a battery  370  as a main power source. The battery  370  is a secondary battery such as a lithium-ion battery. A DC-DC converter  372  converts the level of a voltage at the output port of the battery  370 . A backup battery  374  can be additionally provided. 
     Besides the above-described components, the PDA  30  can have blocks for a PHS (Personal Handyphone System) function, which is known to those skilled in this field and beyond the scope of the present invention. Thus, its description is omitted here. 
     As to the game pad  10 , an interface  140  interfaces the game pad  10  with external devices (e.g., a PC or the PDA  30 ) and includes a serial port, a USB port, and a Bluetooth module. 
     A keypad  150  includes a plurality of buttons and directional keys. When the user presses a key, the keypad  150  generates corresponding key data and feeds it to an MPU (Main Processing Unit)  110   
     The MPU  110  is a controller that provides overall control to the game pad  10 . The MPU  110  provides key data received from the keypad  150  to an external device, for example, the PDA  30  through the interface  140 . 
     The PDA  30  has a battery  370  as a main power source. The battery  370  is a secondary battery such as a lithium-ion battery. A DC-DC converter  372  converts the level of a voltage at the output port of the battery  370 . A backup battery  374  can be additionally provided. 
     According to the present invention, the game pad  10  has a vibrator  130  and a voice processor  160 . The vibrator  130  has a vibration motor and drives the vibrator to vibrate the game pad  10  under the control of the MPU  110 . The voice processor  160  includes a sound source chip (e.g., YMU759 of Yamaha)  162 , a speaker  164 , and an earphone connection jack  166  and generates effect sounds through the speaker  164  or an earphone (not shown) connected to the earphone connection jack  166  under the control of the MPU  110 . That is, the MPU  110  controls the operation of the voice processor  16  or the vibrator  130  according to a sound signal or a vibration signal received from the PDA  30  through the interface  140  during playing a game. 
     To do so, events at which sound signals and vibration are to be generated are defined in each game program. The PDA  30  transmits the sound signals and vibration signals to the game pad  10  during playing a game. 
     Thus, the user can enjoy vibrations and effect sounds via the speaker  164  or the earphone. 
     The game pad  10  can have a memory unit  120  for storing the operation program of the MPU  110  and downloaded game programs. The game pad  10  is connected to a PC, a PDA, or a mobile phone via the interface  140 , downloads game programs, and stores them in the memory unit  120 . It is preferable to store the operation program of the MPU  110  in the flash memory. The operation program is constructed in a library format so that it is easily amended and upgraded. 
     The game pad  10  may have a power supply  170  like a battery. The power supply  170  is comprised of a chargeable battery. 
     As described above, when the game pad in accordance with the present invention is connected to a personal portable terminal, it is easy to use because it has a plurality of key buttons. Also, the game pad is portable since it is detachable from the terminal. Furthermore, the game pad increases the interest in playing an electronic game using a personal portable terminal through vibrations and effect sounds. 
     While the invention has been shown and described with reference to a certain preferred embodiment thereof, it is a mere exemplary application. For example, the game pad of the present invention is applicable to an IMT-2000 terminal or a mobile phone as well as a PDA. A specific key (or specific keys in combination) in the keypad of the game pad can be preset to generate a command requesting 90- or 180-degree rotation of a game display on the LCD of a personal portable terminal connected to the game pad. According to the type of a personal portable terminal, the position of a connector is determined and the fame pad is connected to the personal portable terminal in a corresponding position, to thereby allow a user to view a display appropriately. Therefore, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.