New Samsung gaming phone patent

PORTABLE TERMINAL HAVING GAME FUNCTION

Abstract
Provided is a portable terminal having a game function. The terminal includes a main body housing having a first keypad and a second keypad; a folding housing having a third keypad, a hinge device for rotatably coupling the folding housing to the main body housing about a first hinge axis; an opening unit provided between the main housing and the folding housing along the first hinge axis; and a swing housing positioned on the folding housing, swinging about a second hinge axis from the folding housing to a position longitudinally parallel with the main body housing and the folding housing, opening the first keypad and the opening unit before swinging to expose the first keypad, and closing the first keypad and the opening unit after swinging to hide the first keypad. Thus, a user interface environment can be improved in a game mode and in a phone mode.


Description
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PRIORITY

[0001]This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. .sctn. 119 to a Provisional Patent Application filed in the United States Patent and Trademark Office on Aug. 8, 2006 and assigned Ser. No. 60/836,540, and to two Korean Patent Applications filed in the Korean Intellectual Property Office on Aug. 28, 2006 and Jul. 31, 2007 and respectively assigned Serial Nos. 10-2006-0081709 and 10-2007-0076990, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002]1. Field of the Invention

[0003]The present invention generally relates to a portable terminal such as a cellular phone, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a Hand Held Phone (HHP), a TV phone that allows convenient watching of Digital Multimedia Broadcasting (DMB) moving pictures or TV programs, a game phone, a notebook, a palm PC, or a web pad, and in particular, to a portable terminal having a game function, in which, with a folding-type portable terminal having a swing-type display device, a wide landscape mode is provided through the display device, key manipulation with both hands is convenient, and stereo sound is conveniently provided, whereby the portable terminal is convenient in a game mode as well as in a phone mode.

[0004]2. Description of the Related Art

[0005]In terms of portability, portable terminals tend to be compact, slim, and light and have emphasized multimedia capability for a wide variety of service functions, e.g., entertainment contents including a game or entertainment function.

[0006]Conventional portable terminals may be classified into various types according to their appearance in consideration of portability and convenience in use, such as a bar type and a folder type. The folder-type portable terminal is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,865,406 granted to the assignee of the present application.

[0007]Additionally, the portable terminals may be further classified as a swing type and a sliding type based upon the way of opening and closing the terminals.

[0008]The sliding-type portable terminal is disclosed in detail in U.S. Pat. No. 6,822,871.

[0009]The swing-type portable terminal is disclosed in detail in U.S. Pat. No. 7,158,371.

[0010]However, among the conventional portable terminals, the conventional folder-type portable terminal may be sufficient in a data input operation and a displayed data check operation in a phone mode like voice communication or text message transmission. However, in multimedia environments, the promptness or accuracy of a data input operation such as key pressing is degraded in a game mode and a wide screen cannot be provided in a display unit.

[0011]The promptness and accuracy of key manipulation are more important in the game mode than in any other modes, and in particular, key manipulation using both hands instead of one hand is crucial for improving promptness and accuracy.

[0012]Inconvenience also arises in a TV mode or a Digital Multimedia Broadcasting (DMB) mode for watching of various moving pictures. In other words, there is a limitation in increasing the entire size of the display device and it is difficult to provide the display device in a landscape mode

[0013]Although the foregoing problems can be solved by increasing the size of the portable terminal, mounting a wide display unit in the portable terminal, and disposing more keys in the portable terminal, the solution goes against miniaturization and causes inconvenience in carrying the portable terminal.

[0014]A portable terminal that is easy to use in a game mode as well as in a phone mode is disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/946,838 which is assigned to the assignee of the present application.

[0015]However, the portable terminal disclosed in the U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/946,838 causes difficult assembly due to its complex structure and is difficult to carry due to its large size.

[0016]Therefore, there is a need for a portable terminal that is convenient in a game mode as well as in a phone mode. Furthermore, an improved interface environment providing a wide display device for game virtuality in the game mode, a both-hand key manipulation system, and a stereo sound system is required.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0017]It is, therefore, an aspect of the present invention to provide a portable terminal having a game function, in which, in terms of a user key manipulation interface environment with respect to the portable terminal, keys associated with a phone mode are rendered convenient for a user to manipulate and keys that are not associated with the phone mode are hidden in the phone mode, and keys associated with a game mode are rendered convenient for a user to manipulate and keys that are not associated with the game mode are hidden or non-available in the game mode, thereby providing the user interface environment having optimal key manipulation.

[0018]It is another aspect of the present invention to provide a portable terminal having a game function, which allows a user to enjoy a game with game virtuality in a game mode as well as in a phone mode by providing a display device having a wide landscape view, a key manipulation system that allows data input with both hands, and stereo sound using two-speaker devices.

[0019]It is further another aspect of the present invention to provide a portable terminal having a game function, in which a hinge device serves as a stopper and a support for a display device in order to provide stability to the swing of the display device.

[0020]It is yet another aspect of the present invention to provide a portable terminal having a game function, which is easy to carry through a structure that is advantageous to miniaturization although having a wide display device and at least three keypads.

[0021]According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a portable terminal having a game function. The portable terminal includes a main body housing having a first keypad and a second keypad adjacent to the first keypad; a folding housing having a third keypad; a hinge device for coupling the folding housing to the main body housing with respect to a first hinge axis of the hinge device; an opening unit provided between the main housing and the folding housing along the first hinge axis; and a swing housing positioned on the folding housing, swinging from the folding housing with respect to a second hinge axis of the hinge device in order to be positioned longitudinally parallel with the main body housing and the folding housing, opening the first keypad and the opening means prior to the swinging so that the first keypad can be manipulated, and closing the first keypad and the opening unit after the swinging so that the first keypad cannot be manipulated.

[0022]The swing housing overlaps the first keypad after swinging.

[0023]The hinge device serves as a stopper for restricting the swinging of the swing housing, and a supporter for the swing housing after swinging.

[0024]The first keypad is available in a phone mode by being opened and is not available in a game mode by being closed by swing housing.

[0025]An inner face of the folding housing includes a closed area hidden before and after the swinging of swing housing.

[0026]The swing housing closes the first keypad, the opening unit, and the closed area by being positioned on them after the swinging.

[0027]The portable terminal further includes a first speaker device positioned on a top face of the swing housing and a second speaker device mounted in a corner portion of an inner face of the folding housing, wherein after swinging, the first speaker device and the second speaker device are positioned in opposition to each other to provide stereo sound.

[0028]The swing housing includes a main display device.

[0029]The second hinge axis is positioned within the closed area and is oriented perpendicular to the first hinge axis while being spaced apart from the first hinge axis.

[0030]The opening unit exists because a length of a longitudinal direction along which the hinge device extends is less than a length of a latitudinal direction of the main body housing, and a length of a longitudinal direction along which the hinge device extends is greater than a length of a longitudinal direction along which the opening unit extends.

[0031]An area occupied by the first keypad is less than 1/4 of the entire area of the top face of the main body housing.

[0032]According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a portable terminal having a game function. The portable terminal includes a first keypad and a second keypad integrally connected to the first keypad, a third keypad rotatably connected to the first keypad and the second keypad, a hinge device for rotatably coupling the third keypad, an opening unit provided between the first keypad and the third keypad and between the second keypad and the third keypad in adjacent to the hinge device, and a display device swinging from the third keypad in order to position longitudinally parallel with the first keypad, the second keypad, and the third keypad, opening the first keypad and the opening unit before the swinging so that the first keypad can be manipulated, and closing the first keypad and the opening unit after the swinging so that the first keypad cannot be manipulated.

[0033]The display device closes the third keypad and opens the first keypad before swinging and closes the first keypad and opens the third keypad after swinging.

[0034]The second keypad includes a first four-way key and a second four-way key, and the third keypad includes a third four-way key.

[0035]The first keypad includes keys associated with a phone mode, the second keypad includes keys associated with the phone mode and a game mode, and the third keypad includes keys associated with the game mode.

[0036]According to further another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a portable terminal having a game function. The portable terminal includes a main body housing including a first keypad and a second keypad, a folding housing including a third keypad, a hinge device for coupling the folding housing to the main body housing, an opening unit provided between the main body housing and the folding housing in a direction of a hinge axis of the hinge device, a display device, a swing housing swinging while being mounted in the folding housing in order to be positioned longitudinally parallel with the main body housing and the folding housing, opening the first keypad and the opening unit before the swinging so that the first keypad can be manipulated, and closing the first keypad and the opening unit after the swinging so that the first keypad cannot be manipulated, and a camera lens module provided coaxially in the hinge device so that it can photograph a subject irrespective of whether or not the folding housing rotates.

[0037]The camera lens module is rotatable.

[0038]Openings are formed in a bottom face of the main body housing and in a predetermined position of an outer face of the folding housing, respectively, in such a way to face the camera lens module, thereby maximizing the amount of rotation of a lens of the camera lens module.

[0039]The first keypad includes a camera manipulation key.

[0040]A length in a longitudinal direction along which the hinge device extends together with the camera lens module is less than a length of a latitudinal direction of the main body housing, and a length of a longitudinal direction along which the hinge device extends together with the camera lens module is greater than a length of a longitudinal direction along which the opening unit extends.

[0041]An area occupied by the first keypad is less than 1/4 of the entire area of the top face of the main body housing.