Electronic device and method of controlling the same

• US 10,261,591 B2
• Filed: 08/11/2014
• Issued: 04/16/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 12/13/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Inventors: Choi, Hyeonchang, Lee, Jaesuk
• Primary Examiner(s): Leggett, Andrea C
• Application Number:
  US14/784,991
• Publication Number:
  US 20160370864A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,709 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04803 Split screen, i.e. subdividing the display area or the window area into separate subareas
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04804 Transparency, e.g. transparent or translucent windows
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/017 Gesture based interaction, e.g. based on a set of recognized hand gestures interaction based on gestures traced on a digitiser G06F3/04883
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0481 based on specific properties of the displayed interaction object or a metaphor-based environment, e.g. interaction with desktop elements like windows or icons, or assisted by a cursor's changing behaviour or appearance
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04847 Interaction techniques to control parameter settings, e.g. interaction with sliders or dials
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0486 Drag-and-drop
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures

Abstract

The present invention relates to an electronic device and a method of controlling the same. The present invention provides an electronic device and a method of controlling the same to efficiently perform multitasking through multiple windows by displaying a floating window having predetermined transparency such that the floating window overlaps with at least part of the multiple windows while the multiple windows are displayed.

Claims

1. An electronic device, comprising:

a touchscreen; and

a controller configured to;

display multiple windows adjacent to each other, respectively displaying execution screens of different applications on the touchscreen, wherein the respective multiple windows have sizes such that the multiple windows occupy an entire area of the touchscreen when the multiple windows are arranged on the touchscreen, and

display a floating window movable over the entire area of the touchscreen upon reception of a predetermined touch input such that at least part of the floating window overlaps with at least one of the multiple windows,

wherein the controller controls a transparency of the floating window such that the multiple windows are available to be displayed through the floating window, and

wherein the size and transparency of the floating window is adaptively changed according to a type of an application displayed on a window to which the floating window is moved.

2. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein at least one of the different applications includes at least one of a messenger application and a notepad application.

3. The electronic device of claim 2, wherein the messenger application includes at least one of e-mail, instant messenger (IM), short message service (SMS), multimedia messaging service (MMS) and social network service (SNS) messenger applications.

4. The electronic device of claim 2, wherein the predetermined touch input includes touch input applied to a text input field,

wherein the controller displays a keypad in the form of the floating window on the touchscreen in response to the touch input.

5. The electronic device of claim 4, wherein the controller displays the floating window at a position where a region for displaying input text in the multiple windows is not covered with the floating window.

6. The electronic device of claim 4, wherein the controller adjusts the size of the floating window and displays the floating window such that a region for displaying input text in the multiple windows is not covered with the floating window.

7. The electronic device of claim 4, wherein the controller controls the keypad to be included in one of the multiple windows and displays the window including the keypad in the entire area of the touchscreen upon reception of predetermined touch input applied to the floating window.

8. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the controller displays, through the floating window, an application executed according to multitasking other than applications executed through the multiple windows.

9. The electronic device of claim 8, wherein, when the controller receives an input for displaying a second floating window on the touchscreen while the multiple windows and a first floating window are displayed on the touchscreen, the controller controls display of the second floating window in consideration of the multiple windows and at least one of the position, size and transparency of the first floating window.

10. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein, when the controller receives an input for moving the floating window to one side of the touchscreen, the controller hides the floating window by reducing the size of the floating window to display the floating window as a predetermined indicator at one side of the touchscreen.

11. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein, when the controller receives an input for selecting the floating window, the controller displays a bar for controlling the transparency of the floating window on the touchscreen and controls the transparency of the floating window through an input applied to the bar.

12. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein, when the controller receives zoom-in input applied to the floating window while a first multi-window, a second multi-window and the floating window are displayed on the touchscreen, the controller changes the size of the floating window such that the floating window covers at least one of the first multi-window and the second multi-window while changing the transparency of the floating window.

13. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein, when applications executed according to multitasking other than applications executed through the multiple windows are present, the controller displays a button through which the other applications are displayed on one of the multiple windows, on the multiple windows.

14. The electronic device of claim 13, wherein the controller displays the other applications on the corresponding multi-window at a predetermined interval when touch input applied to the button is maintained for a predetermined time.

15. The electronic device of claim 13, wherein the controller displays the execution screen of an application related to at least one of applications respectively executed through the multiple windows on the corresponding multi-window upon reception of touch input applied to the button.

16. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the controller displays, on the touchscreen, at least one application candidate group displayable on the touchscreen through the floating window.

17. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the user controls the movement of the floating window on the touchscreen based on the predetermined touch input.

18. A method of controlling an electronic device, comprising:

displaying multiple windows adjacent to each other, respectively displaying execution screens of different applications on a touchscreen, wherein the respective multiple windows have sizes such that the multiple windows occupy an entire area of the touchscreen when the multiple windows are arranged on the touchscreen; and

displaying a floating window movable over the entire area of the touchscreen such that at least part of the floating window and at least one of the multiple windows overlap upon reception of predetermined touch input,

wherein the transparency of the floating window is controlled such that the multiple windows are projected through the floating window, and

wherein the size and transparency of the floating window is adaptively changed according to a type of an application displayed on a window to which the floating window is moved.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the predetermined touch input includes touch input applied to a text input field,

wherein the displaying of the floating window comprises displaying the floating window at a position where a region for displaying input text in the multiple windows is not covered with the floating window.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein the predetermined touch input includes touch input applied to a text input field,

wherein the displaying of the floating window comprises adjusting the size of the floating window and displaying the floating window such that a region for displaying input text in the multiple windows is not covered with the floating window.