Display mode switching device and method for mobile terminal

• US 10,635,304 B2
• Filed: 11/19/2015
• Issued: 04/28/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 05/23/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Kim, Byoung Ju, Kim, Tae Kyung, Um, Tae Won
• Primary Examiner(s): Wang, Jin Cheng
• Application Number:
  US14/946,331
• Publication Number:
  US 20160077736A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,622 Days
• Field of Search: 345156, 345168, 345649
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2200/1614 Image rotation following screen orientation, e.g. switching from landscape to portrait mode
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/02 Input arrangements using manually operated switches, e.g. using keyboards or dials
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04886 by partitioning the display area of the touch-screen or the surface of the digitising tablet into independently controllable areas, e.g. virtual keyboards or menus
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/0492 Change of orientation of the displayed image, e.g. upside-down, mirrored
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/145 related to small screens
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/00 Control arrangements or circuits for visual indicators common to cathode-ray tube indicators and other visual indicators image data processing or generation, in general G06T
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/38 with means for controlling the display position
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/0202 Portable telephone sets, e.g. cordless phones, mobile phones or bar type handsets constructional features of telephone transmitters or receivers, e.g. of speakers or microphones H04M1/03
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/0233 Including a rotatable display body part
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/0245 using open/close detection
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/12 including a sensor for measuring a physical value, e.g. temperature or motion telephones including GPS signal receivers H04M2250/10
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/22 including a touch pad, a touch sensor or a touch detector digitizers for touch screens G06F3/041

Abstract

The present application relates to a display mode switching device and method for a portable electronic device. In particular, the present application relates to a portable electronic device that can switch display modes of an integrated display and input device to facilitate composition of a text message by switching between a portrait mode and a landscape mode. A portable electronic device may use a display mode switching method in which a posture of the portable electronic device can be checked, and a display mode can be selected based on the posture. A portrait-mode text messaging composition window with a portrait-mode key map and a landscape-mode text messaging composition window with a landscape-mode key map can be displayed in the selected display mode.

Claims

1. A display method of an electronic device, the method comprising:

detecting an orientation of the electronic device;

displaying, on a single display screen of the electronic device during a text input mode,

an input region configured to display a plurality of virtual keys according to one of a first key map corresponding to a first orientation of the electronic device and a second key map corresponding to a second orientation of the electronic device, in response to the detected orientation of the electronic device, and

an output region configured to display characters input via the virtual keys;

changing, in response to the orientation of the electronic device switching from the first orientation to the second orientation, an arrangement of the plurality of virtual keys according to the second key map including a left-side group of virtual keys and a right-side group of virtual keys that are respectively arranged at left and right sides of the single display screen; and

changing, in response to the orientation of the electronic device switching from the second orientation to the first orientation, the arrangement of the plurality of virtual keys according to the first key map,

wherein the first orientation of the electronic device corresponds to a portrait orientation, and the second orientation of the electronic device corresponds to a landscape orientation,

wherein the first key map is a 3×

4 key map having more than one virtual key that each corresponds to a plurality of inputtable characters other than numbers, and

wherein the second key map is at least one of a 5×

4 key map or a qwerty key map.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein a key size of each key included in the first key map is larger than a key size of each corresponding key included in the second key map.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein each virtual key of the plurality of virtual keys includes at least one character.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein a font size of the at least one character included in each virtual key of the plurality of virtual keys is different depending on the detected orientation of the electronic device.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

adjusting a number of characters per line displayed in the output region according to the detected orientation of the electronic device.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the output region is displayed across an entire first width of the single display screen when the detected orientation of the electronic device is the first orientation, and the output region is displayed across an entire second width of the single display screen when the detected orientation of the electronic device is the second orientation.

7. An electronic device, comprising:

a display;

an orientation detector configured to detect an orientation of the electronic device; and

a processor configured to;

control the display to display, on a single display screen during a text input mode,

an input region configured to display a plurality of virtual keys according to one of a first key map corresponding to a first orientation of the electronic device and a second key map corresponding to a second orientation of the electronic device, in response to a detected orientation of the electronic device, and

an output region configured to display characters input via the virtual keys,

change, in response to the orientation of the electronic device switching from the first orientation to the second orientation, an arrangement of the plurality of virtual keys according to the second key map including a left-side group of virtual keys and a right-side group of virtual keys that are respectively arranged at left and right sides of the single display screen, and

change, in response to the orientation of the electronic device switching from the second orientation to the first orientation, the arrangement of the plurality of virtual keys according to the first key map,

wherein the first orientation of the electronic device corresponds to a portrait orientation, and the second orientation of the electronic device corresponds to a landscape orientation,

wherein the first key map is a 3×

4 key map having more than one virtual key that each corresponds to a plurality of inputtable characters other than numbers, and

wherein the second key map is at least one of a 5×

4 key map or a qwerty key map.

8. The electronic device of claim 7, wherein a key size of each key included in the first key map is larger than a key size of each corresponding key included in the second key map.

9. The electronic device of claim 7, wherein each virtual key of the plurality of virtual keys includes at least one character.

10. The electronic device of claim 9, wherein a font size of the at least one character included in each virtual key of the plurality of virtual keys is different depending on the detected orientation of the electronic device.

11. The electronic device of claim 7, wherein the processor is further configured to control the display to adjust a number of characters per line displayed in the output region according to the detected orientation of the electronic device.

12. The electronic device of claim 7, wherein the output region is displayed across an entire first width of the single display screen when the detected orientation of the electronic device is the first orientation, and the output region is displayed across an entire second width of the single display screen when the detected orientation of the electronic device is the second orientation.