User interface for a secondary display module of a mobile electronic device

• US 20050064911A1
• Filed: 06/17/2004
• Published: 03/24/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 09/18/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Vulcan Portals Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Vulcan Portals Incorporated
• Inventors: Chen, Chao-Chi, Perrin, Stephen L., O'Connell, Craig W., Armstrong, Anne Aileen, Kee, Martin J.
• Granted Patent: US 7,925,298 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/566
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1616 with folding flat displays, e.g. laptop computers or notebooks having a clamshell configuration, with body parts pivoting to an open position around an axis parallel to the plane they define in closed position
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1626 with a single-body enclosure integrating a flat display, e.g. Personal Digital Assistants [PDAs]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1632 External expansion units, e.g. docking stations
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1647 including at least an additional display G06F1/1692 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3203 Power management, i.e. event-based initiation of a power-saving mode
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3293 by switching to a less power-consuming processor, e.g. sub-CPU
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2200/1614 Image rotation following screen orientation, e.g. switching from landscape to portrait mode
• 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: H04M 1/0214 Foldable telephones, i.e. with body parts pivoting to an open position around an axis parallel to the plane they define in closed position combined with translation movement H04M1/0235
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/0256 wherein the modules are operable in the detached state, e.g. one module for the user interface and one module for the transceiver
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72403 with means for local support of applications that increase the functionality
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72412 using two-way short-range wireless interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/7243 with interactive means for internal management of messages
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72469 for operating the device by selecting functions from two or more displayed items, e.g. menus or icons
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/02 including a Bluetooth interface
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/06 including a wireless LAN interface
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/16 including more than one display unit
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0264 by selectively disabling software applications
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 10/00 Energy efficient computing, e.g. low power processors, power management or thermal management
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

A user interface (UI) for use with a secondary display module of a mobile electronic device. The UI allows the user to access application data without activating the operating system (OS) of the main portion of the mobile electronic device. The UI can allow the user to access application data by activating the OS and an associated low-power application without launching the application. The UI also provides a simple mechanism to disable wireless components of the mobile electronic device while allowing the user to use other non-wireless components. The secondary display module can be detached from a main portion of the mobile electronic device, with the UI being automatically activated. The UI can be automatically activated (or deactivated) in response to deactivation (or activation) of the UI of the main display of the mobile electronic device.

Claims

1. A user interface (UI) for depiction by a display of a secondary display module of a mobile electronic device, the mobile electronic device having a main display and a processor unit external to the secondary display module, the processor unit having an operating system (OS), the UI comprising:

a plurality of buttons graphically depicted by the display, the plurality of buttons corresponding to a plurality of applications that can be selectively started on the mobile electronic device, wherein activation of a button of the plurality of buttons selectively allows a user to access data of the application corresponding to the activated button without activating the OS of the processor unit.

2. The UI of claim 1 wherein activation of a button of the plurality of buttons selectively activates the processor unit'"'"'s OS and a low-power application associated with the application corresponding to the activated button without launching that corresponding application.

3. The UI of claim 1 wherein the plurality of buttons includes a button corresponding to an application to disable all wireless communication components included in the mobile electronic device in response to activation by a user.

4. The UI of claim 3 wherein other components of the mobile electronic device are selectively operating while the wireless communication components of the mobile electronic device are disabled.

5. The UI of claim 1 wherein the UI is automatically activated in response to the secondary display module being detached from the mobile electronic device.

6. The UI of claim 1 wherein orientation of the UI can be selectively changed.

7. The UI of claim 6 wherein orientation of the UI automatically changes in response to a change in physical orientation of the secondary display module.

8. The UI of claim 6 wherein orientation of the UI automatically changes in response to the secondary display module being detached from the mobile electronic device.

9. The UI of claim 1 wherein the UI of the secondary display module when activated is automatically deactivated in response to the main display of the mobile electronic device being activated.

10. The UI of claim 1 wherein the UI of the secondary display module when deactivated is automatically activated in response to the main display of the mobile electronic device being deactivated.

11. A method to be performed by a secondary display module of a mobile electronic device, the mobile electronic device having a main display and a processor unit external to the secondary display unit, the processor unit having an operating system (OS), the method comprising:

depicting a UI having a plurality of buttons on a display of the secondary display module, wherein the plurality of buttons correspond to a plurality of applications that can be selectively started on the mobile electronic device; and

accessing data associated with an application residing on the mobile electronic device and external to the secondary display module in response to activation of a button of the plurality of buttons without activating the OS of the processor unit.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein activation of a button of the plurality of buttons selectively activates the OS and a low-power application associated with the application corresponding to the activated button, wherein the low-power application is activated without launching its corresponding application.

13. The method of claim 11 wherein the plurality of buttons includes a button corresponding to an application to disable all wireless communication components included in the mobile electronic device in response to activation by a user.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein other components of the mobile electronic device are selectively operating while the wireless communication components of the mobile electronic device are disabled.

15. The method of claim 11 further comprising automatically activating the UI in response to the secondary display module being detached from the mobile electronic device.

16. The method of claim 11 further comprising changing an orientation of the UI within the secondary display module.

17. The method of claim 16 further comprising automatically changing an orientation of the UI in response to a change in orientation of the secondary display module.

18. The method of claim 16 further comprising automatically changing an orientation of the UI in response to the secondary display module being detached from the mobile electronic device.

19. The method of claim 11 further comprising automatically deactivating the UI of the secondary display module in response to the main display of the mobile electronic device being activated.

20. The method of claim 11 further comprising automatically activating the UI of the secondary display module in response to the main display of the mobile electronic device being deactivated.

21. A computer readable medium having instructions to be performed by a secondary display module of a mobile electronic device, the mobile electronic device having a main display and a processor unit external to the secondary display module, the processor unit having an operating system (OS), wherein the instructions when performed by the secondary display module cause the secondary display module to perform operations comprising:

depicting a UI having a plurality of buttons on a display of the secondary display module, wherein the plurality of buttons correspond to a plurality of applications that can be selectively started on the mobile electronic device; and

accessing data associated with an application residing on the mobile electronic device and external to the secondary display module in response to activation of a button of the plurality of buttons without activating the OS of the processor unit.

22. The computer readable medium of claim 21 wherein activation of a button of the plurality of buttons selectively activates the OS and a low-power application associated with the application corresponding to the activated button, the low-power application being activated without launching its corresponding application.

23. The computer readable medium of claim 21 wherein the plurality of buttons includes a button corresponding to an application to disable all wireless communication components included in the mobile electronic device in response to activation by a user.

24. The computer readable medium of claim 23 wherein other components of the mobile electronic device are selectively operating while the wireless communication components of the mobile electronic device are disabled.

25. The computer readable medium of claim 21 wherein the operations further comprise automatically activating the UI in response to the secondary display module being detached from the mobile electronic device.

26. The computer readable medium of claim 21 wherein the operations further comprise selectively changing an orientation of the UI within the secondary display module.

27. The computer readable medium of claim 26 wherein the operations further comprise automatically changing an orientation of the UI in response to a change in orientation of the secondary display module.

28. The computer readable medium of claim 26 wherein the operations further comprise automatically changing an orientation of the UI in response to the secondary display module being detached from the mobile electronic device.

29. The computer readable medium of claim 21 wherein the operations further comprise automatically deactivating the UI of the secondary display module in response to the main display of the mobile electronic device being activated.

30. The computer readable medium of claim 21 wherein the operations further comprise automatically activating the UI of the secondary display module in response to the main display of the mobile electronic device being deactivated.

31. A system comprising:

a mobile electronic device having a secondary display module, a main display and a processor unit external to the secondary display module, the processor unit having an operating system (OS), wherein the secondary display module further comprises,

means for displaying a plurality of buttons that correspond to a plurality of applications that can be selectively started on the mobile electronic device, and

means for accessing data associated with an application residing on the mobile electronic device without activating the OS of the processor unit in response to activation of a button of the plurality of buttons.

33. The system of claim 31 wherein the means for displaying includes a button corresponding to an application for disabling all wireless communication components included in the mobile electronic device in response to activation by a user.

34. The system of claim 33 wherein other components of the mobile electronic device are selectively operating while the wireless communication components of the mobile electronic device are disabled.

35. The system of claim 31 further comprising means for automatically activating the means for displaying in response to the secondary display module being detached from the mobile electronic device.

36. The system of claim 31 further comprising means for selectively changing an orientation of the means for displaying within the secondary display module.

37. The system of claim 36 wherein the means for selectively changing an orientation automatically changes the orientation of the means for displaying in response to the secondary display module being detached from the mobile electronic device.

38. The system of claim 31 further comprising means for automatically deactivating the means for displaying in response to the main display of the mobile electronic device being activated.

39. The system of claim 31 further comprising means for automatically activating the means for displaying in response to the main display of the mobile electronic device being deactivated.

32. The system of claim 315 wherein the means for accessing data selectively activates the OS and a low-power application associated with the application corresponding to the activated button, wherein the low-power application is activated without launching its corresponding application.

40. A mobile electronic device comprising:

a first portion having a main display;

a second portion, articulably attached to the first portion, having a main processor unit to execute an operating system (OS), wherein the first and second portions can be relatively positioned so that the second portion covers the main display; and

a secondary display module, coupled to the second portion, having a second display to graphically depict a UI, wherein the UI includes a plurality of buttons corresponding to a plurality of applications that can be selectively started on the second portion, wherein activation of a button of the plurality of buttons selectively allows a user to access data of the application corresponding to the activated button without activating the OS.

41. The mobile electronic device of claim 40 wherein activation of a button of the plurality of buttons selectively activates the OS and a low-power application associated with the application corresponding to the activated button without launching that corresponding application.

42. The mobile electronic device of claim 40 wherein the plurality of buttons includes a button corresponding to an application to disable all wireless communication components included in the mobile electronic device in response to activation by a user.

43. The mobile electronic device of claim 40 wherein the UI is automatically activated in response to the secondary display module being detached from the second portion.

44. The mobile electronic device of claim 43 wherein orientation of the UI automatically changes in response to the secondary display module being detached from the mobile electronic device.

45. The mobile electronic device of claim 40 wherein the UI of the secondary display module is automatically deactivated in response to the main display being activated.

46. The mobile electronic device of claim 40 wherein the UI of the secondary display module is automatically activated in response to the main display being deactivated.