JP4485103B2 - Mobile terminal device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To conveniently perform depression operation of an operation key in a portable terminal device provided with various operation keys. SOLUTION: This portable terminal device 1 is provided with a displaying part 5 that is subjected to depression operation and an operation switch 17 that is switched in connection with depression operation of the displaying part 5. The displaying part 5 is provided with a display part body 14 and a protection panel 15 arranged so as to cover a display surface side of the displaying part main body 14 and also having translucency to be able to introduce light emission display light of the display part body 14, and the operation switch 17 is switched in connection with depression operation of the protection panel 15.

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a mobile terminal device such as a mobile phone, and more particularly to a mobile terminal device provided with various operation keys.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Among mobile terminal devices, for example, a mobile phone is configured to include various operation keys for inputting and outputting information and a display unit for displaying an operation state of the operation keys and the like. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a conventional mobile phone, and the mobile phone 51 shown in this figure is configured in a so-called straight type. The front surface 53 of the casing 52 of the cellular phone 51 includes various operation keys 56 such as a numeric keypad 54 and a cross key 55, a display unit 57, a speaker 58 and a microphone 59 for making a call. Yes. Further, the cross key 55 has an annular operation portion 60 and is provided with four operated portions 61 that are annularly arranged on the operation portion 60 at equal intervals.
[0003]
The mobile phone 51 makes a call by pressing the call key based on the incoming call display when an incoming call is received. When the call is ended, the call is ended by pressing the end call key. When making a call by itself, the telephone number is directly input by the ten key 54 of the operation key 56. Alternatively, a plurality of telephone numbers stored in advance in the built-in memory of the mobile phone 51 may be displayed on the display unit 57 and selected from the plurality of telephone numbers with the cross key 55 to make a call.
[0004]
In addition to the above-described use, the cross key 55 displays a plurality of functions built in the mobile phone 51 on the display unit 57, and among the plurality of functions, a function desired by the user is displayed. In addition to selecting and moving the cursor to the target function displayed on the display unit 57, it is used to move the cursor when inputting mail text. The cross key 55 is illuminated by illumination so that it can be operated even in a dark place.
Moreover, the light emission display light of the display unit 57 is emitted during use so that the information displayed on the display unit 57 can be confirmed even in a dark place.
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
By the way, in this cellular phone 51, the cross key 55 is used as described above, but since the four operated parts 61 are provided in the operation part 60 of the cross key 55 formed in a small size, There is a problem that the operation area is narrow, an operation error may occur, and the operation is difficult.
[0006]
Further, in a dark place, power is consumed by the light emission display light of the display unit 57, and additional power is required to illuminate the cross key 55, resulting in an increase in power consumption. Furthermore, in addition to the light emitting display light for illuminating the display unit 57, illumination for illuminating the cross key 55 is required separately, which increases the number of product parts and increases the cost of the product. .
[0007]
The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and is a portable terminal device equipped with various operation keys that simplifies the configuration, reduces power consumption, and can be easily operated. The object is to provide a terminal device .
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above problems, the present invention proposes the following means.
The portable terminal device according to the present invention includes a housing in which an opening is formed, a display main body located inside the opening in the housing, and the opening in the housing with the display main body interposed therebetween. A plurality of operation switches located on the outer side of the display unit, a central portion disposed in the opening facing the display unit main body, and extending from the central portion to the space between the operation switches and the housing in the housing. And a protective panel having an outer edge portion.
[0009]
Also, a plurality of pressing operation areas are formed on the surface of the protection panel, and a plurality of the operations corresponding to the plurality of pressing operation areas below the protection panel are switched in conjunction with the pressing operations in the pressing operation areas. A switch is provided.
[0010]
Thereby, since there are a plurality of pressing operation areas on the surface of the protection panel, a plurality of switching operations can be performed.
[0011]
Further, the display unit main body is characterized in that a pressing sign for confirming the position of the pressing operation area is displayed.
[0014]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
1 to 3 show an embodiment according to the present invention. In FIG. 1, a mobile phone (mobile terminal device) 1 according to this embodiment includes an operation unit 4 having various operation keys 4a such as a numeric keypad, a call key, and an end key on a front surface 3 of a housing 2, and a display unit 5. And a speaker 6 and a microphone 7 for making a phone call. The housing 2 includes a front panel 8 and a rear panel 9. A pressing mark 10 is provided around the display unit 5 of the front panel 8.
[0015]
As shown in FIG. 2, the various operation keys 4 a are used for switching various signals by being pressed with a user's finger, and are arranged on the support member 11 in the lower half of the housing 2. It is installed. The support member 11 is fixed on the circuit board 12. Further, these various operation keys 4a are respectively inserted into holes 13 formed in the lower half portion of the front panel 8.
[0016]
The display unit 5 includes a display unit main body 14 formed of a liquid crystal display unit and a protective panel 15 that covers the display unit main body 14. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the display unit main body 14 is fixed on the circuit board 12 supported by the support member 16. The display unit main body 14 has a certain thickness, has a display function of characters, symbols, and the like and has an illumination function, and is formed in a rectangular shape in plan view as a whole.
[0017]
As shown in FIG. 2, an operation switch 17 is disposed on the circuit board 12 around the display unit main body 14 so as to be positioned at the center of each side. The operation switch 17 is electrically connected to a circuit provided on the circuit board 12. The protection panel 15 includes a rectangular thick portion 18 and a rectangular thin portion 19 projecting outward from the thick portion 18. A rectangular opening 20 is formed in the front panel 8, and the thick portion 18 of the protective panel 15 is configured to be located in the opening 20.
[0018]
In the vicinity of the four sides of the lower surface of the protection panel 15, columnar pressing operation portions 21 are provided. The thick portion 18, the thin portion 19 and the pressing operation portion 21 are integrally formed of a synthetic resin material having translucency.
[0019]
As shown in FIG. 3, the pressing operation unit 21 is in contact with the upper surface of the operation switch 17. On the surface of the protective panel 15, as shown in FIG. 1, almost the center of the four sides is a pressing operation area 22 to be pressed, and the position of the pressing operation area 22 is confirmed by the pressing sign 10. It has come to be. As shown in FIG. 3, when the pressing operation region 22 is pressed, the protection panel 15 is displaced, and the operation switch 17 is switched through the pressing operation unit 21.
In this case, a gap 23 is formed between the protection panel 15 and the front panel 8 so that the operation switch 17 can be operated.
[0020]
In the mobile phone 1 configured as described above, for example, in order to perform a call by receiving an incoming signal, a call key is pressed to enter a call state. On the other hand, in order to end the call, the call state is ended by pressing the end call key. Further, when making a call by itself, by pressing the pressing operation area 22, a target telephone number is selected from a plurality of telephone numbers stored in the mobile phone 1, and a call key is pressed, To start.
[0021]
Further, the four pressing operation areas 22 shown in FIG. 1 are operated, for example, when various modes are converted by moving the cursor displayed on the display unit 5. In order to move the cursor displayed on the display unit 5 downward, it is only necessary to press the lower pressing operation region 22 a among the four pressing operation regions 22. By moving the cursor displayed on the display unit 5 in this way, it is possible to change modes such as searching for a telephone number stored in advance in the mobile phone 1, selecting a function in the menu format of the mobile phone 1, and inputting a mail text. Data can be easily switched in each mode.
[0022]
Further, when the various operation keys 4 a or the pressing operation area 22 are pressed, the display unit main body 14 emits light, and the pressing operation area 22 is illuminated by the light emission display light of the display unit main body 14. As described above, the cellular phone 1 is used.
[0023]
As described above, according to the cellular phone 1, since the protection panel 15 is used instead of a conventional cross key, each pressing operation area 22 can be sufficiently secured, and the pressing operation areas 22 are adjacent to each other. Thus, it is possible to prevent problems such as interference with other pressing operation areas 22 and the like, and it is possible to prevent operation errors in pressing operations. In addition, since the pressing operation areas 22 are separated from each other with sufficient dimensions, the target pressing operation area 22 can be reliably pressed without error without paying particular attention to the adjacent pressing operation areas 22. This is advantageous in that it can be easily operated. Furthermore, when the pressing operation of the pressing operation region 22 is performed, the operation switch 17 is operated via the protective panel 15, and thus the display unit main body 14 is not touched directly, and the display unit main body 14 is damaged. Etc. can be prevented.
[0024]
Further, the number of parts of the mobile phone 1 can be reduced, the cost of the product can be reduced, and it is not necessary to provide a cross key that has been conventionally used. It becomes possible to secure with a margin, and the space factor can be improved.
Furthermore, since the light emission display light of the display unit main body 14 also illuminates the pressing operation area 22 on the surface of the protective panel 15, it is not necessary to separately prepare illumination for the pressing operation area 22, and power consumption can be reduced. it can.
[0025]
In the above embodiment, the pressing sign 10 is arranged around the display unit 5, but it may be arranged on the protective panel 15 or directly displayed on the display unit main body 14.
Further, although the operation switch 17 and the pressing operation unit 21 corresponding to the operation switch 17 are positioned only at the center of each side around the display unit main body 14, the operation switch 17 is operated near the rectangular corner of the display unit main body 14. A switch may be arranged and a pressing operation unit corresponding to the switch may be provided.
Further, although the operation switch 17 has a function of only cursor movement, it may have other functions such as character input and a call key.
[0026]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, the pressing operation can be easily performed. In addition, the cost of the product can be reduced.
[0028]
In addition, it is possible to perform a switching operation of a plurality of operation switches, to prevent interference between the respective pressing operation areas, and to prevent an operation error of the pressing operation.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an external appearance of a mobile terminal device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is an exploded perspective view showing a state in which a front panel and a rear panel are separated from each other in the mobile terminal device of FIG. 1. FIG.
3 is a cross-sectional view showing an arrangement of a display unit main body and a protection panel in the mobile terminal device of FIG.
FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing an example of a conventional portable terminal device.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 Mobile phone (mobile terminal device)
5 Display unit 14 Display unit body 15 Protection panel 17 Operation switches 22, 22a Press operation area

Claims (3)

A housing in which an opening is formed;
A display unit body located inside the opening in the housing;
A plurality of operation switches located outside the opening with the display unit body in the housing;
A protective panel having a central portion facing the display unit main body and disposed in the opening, and an outer edge extending from the central portion to the operation switch and the housing in the housing;
A portable terminal device comprising: A plurality of pressing operation areas are formed on the surface of the protection panel, and the operation switches that correspond to the plurality of pressing operation areas and are switched in conjunction with the pressing operations of the respective pressing operation areas are disposed below the protection panel. The mobile terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the mobile terminal device is a mobile terminal device . The portable terminal device according to claim 2, wherein a pressing sign for confirming a position of the pressing operation area is displayed on the display unit main body.

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