APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR DISPLAYING VARIABLE-SIZED, GROUPED DISPLAY INFORMATION ON TOUCH SCREEN

• US 20080082920A1
• Filed: 06/15/2007
• Published: 04/03/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 09/28/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: EOM, Ju-il
• Granted Patent: US 8,321,809 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/702
• 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

Abstract

A method and apparatus for displaying grouped display information by variable sizevariable-sized, grouped display information on a touch screen are provided. The apparatus includes an input unit that receives input from a user on a touch screen on which several pieces of display information are grouped and displayed in a predetermined number of groups, a determination unit that determines which group was input by calculating a location on the touch screen with respect to the user'"'"'s input, and a display unit that displays the several pieces of display information in groups, and changes a size of the group region input as a result of the determination and the size of the other groups corresponding to the input group region size.

Claims

1. An apparatus for displaying variable-sized, grouped display information on a touch screen, the apparatus comprising:

an input unit that receives an input from a user on a touch screen on which several pieces of display information are grouped and displayed in a plurality of groups;

a determination unit that determines which of the plurality of groups was input by calculating a location on the touch screen corresponding to the user input; and

a display unit that displays the several pieces of display information in groups, and changes a size of a region of the group which was input while a size of a region of at least one other of the plurality of groups changes corresponding to the size of the region of the group which was input.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the touch screen is divided into a plurality of lattices, and the grouped display information is respectively displayed in one or more of the plurality of lattices.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the touch screen is divided at regular intervals.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the display unit displays the size of the input group region larger, and the region of the at least one other of the plurality of groups smaller.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the display unit does not change the size of each group region when the size of the input group region is maximum.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the display unit changes the size of the display information included in each group region when the size of each group region is changed.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the display unit changes the number of pieces of information included in each group region when the size of each group region is changed.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein each group region is divided into an execution area which controls execution and a group-size-modification area which comprises the rest of the group region, and wherein the apparatus executes the function corresponding to the execution control if the determination unit determines that the location on the touch screen corresponding to the user input corresponds to the execution area, and the size of the input group region is changed if the determination unit determines that the location on the touch screen corresponding to the user input corresponds to the group-size-modification area.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein each group region has an execution area which controls execution and a group-size-modification area at a certain position in the group region for modifying sizes of the group regions, the function corresponding to the execution area is executed if the determination unit determines that the location on the touch screen corresponding to the user input corresponds to the execution area, and the size of the input group region is changed if the determination unit determines that the location on the touch screen corresponding to the user input corresponds to the group-size-modification area.

10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein each group region has an execution area which controls execution, the function corresponding to the execution area is executed if the determination unit determines that the location on the touch screen corresponding to the user input corresponds to the execution area, and the size of the input group region is changed if the determination unit determines that the user input comprises selecting a certain group region and dragging it.

11. A method of displaying variable-sized, grouped display information on a touch screen, the method comprising:

grouping several pieces of display information and dividing them into a plurality of group regions on the touch screen;

receiving an input corresponding to one group region selected among the plurality of group regions on the touch screen; and

changing a size of the one group region while a size of at least one other of the plurality of group regions changes corresponding to the changing of the size of the one group region.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the touch screen is divided into a plurality of lattices, and the grouped display information is respectively displayed on one or more of the plurality of lattices.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the touch screen is divided at regular intervals.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein changing the size comprises the display unit displaying the size of the input group region larger and the at least one other of the plurality of groups smaller.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the display unit does not change the size of each group when the size of the input group region is maximum during the changing.

16. The method of claim 11, wherein the display unit changes the size of the display information included in each group region when the size of each group region is changed.

17. The method of claim 11, wherein the display unit changes the number of pieces of information included in each group region when the size of each group region is changed.

18. A method of displaying variable-sized, grouped display information on touch screen, the method comprising:

grouping several pieces of display information and dividing them into a plurality of group regions on a touch screen;

receiving information on at least one of execution control or a change of a group region size of at least one of the plurality of group regions; and

performing a function corresponding to the execution control if the receiving information comprises receiving information on the execution control, or changing the group region size of the at least one of the plurality of group regions if the receiving information comprises receiving information on the change of the group region size.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein each group region is divided into an execution area for controlling execution and a group-size-modification area comprising the rest of the group region, and wherein the method further comprises executing the function corresponding to the execution control if information is received on the execution area and changing the group region size of the at least one of the group regions if information is received on the group-size-modification area.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein each group region is divided into an execution area for controlling execution and a group-size-modification area at a certain position in the group region, and wherein the method further comprises the function corresponding to the execution area if information is received on the execution control and changing the group region size of the at least one of the plurality of group regions if information is received on the group-size-modification area.

21. The method of claim 18, wherein an execution area for controlling the execution is formed on each group region, wherein the function corresponding to the execution control is executed if information is received on the execution area, and wherein the size of the at least one of the plurality of group regions is changed if the information received comprises the user selecting a certain group region and dragging it along the touch screen.

22. The method of claim 18, wherein the touch screen is divided into a plurality of lattices, and the grouped display information is respectively displayed in one or more of the plurality of lattices.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the touch screen is divided at regular intervals.

24. The method of claim 18, wherein if the receiving information comprises receiving information on the change of the group region size of at least one of the plurality of group regions, the size of the at least one of the group regions is displayed larger and sizes of the other group regions are displayed smaller.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein the size of each group region is not changed when the size of the group region on which information is received is maximum.

26. The method of claim 18, wherein the size of display information included in each group is changed when the size of each group region is changed.

27. The method of claim 18, wherein the number of pieces of display information included in each group is changed when the size of each group is changed.