APPARATUS FOR PROVIDING MULTIPLE SCREENS AND METHOD OF DYNAMICALLY CONFIGURING MULTIPLE SCREENS

• US 20080094513A1
• Filed: 12/17/2007
• Published: 04/24/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 08/05/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Jung, Un-gyo, Lee, Jong-ho, Lee, Kwang-kee, Adams, Glenn, Byun, Sung-wook
• Application Number:
  US11/957,654
• Publication Number:
  US 20080094513A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/565
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4316 for displaying supplemental content in a region of the screen, e.g. an advertisement in a separate window
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4431 characterized by the use of Application Program Interface [API] libraries
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4622 Retrieving content or additional data from different sources, e.g. from a broadcast channel and the Internet web site content organization and management for information retrieval from the Internet G06F16/958; transmission by internet of broadcast information H04H60/82; stock exchange data over packet-switching network H04L12/1804; push services including data channel over packet-switching network H04L12/1859
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47 End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/44504 Circuit details of the additional information generator, e.g. details of the character or graphics signal generator, overlay mixing circuits
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/45 Picture in picture , e.g. displaying simultaneously another television channel in a region of the screen

Abstract

An apparatus for providing multiple screens and a method of dynamically configuring multiple screens are provided. The method of dynamically configuring multiple screens includes generating a plurality of logical screens; associating a service context with a first logical screen selected from the generated logical screens; and moving the service context from the first logical screen to a second logical screen selected from the generated logical screens.

Claims

1. A method of dynamically configuring multiple screens, the method comprising:

generating a plurality of logical screens;

associating a service context with a first logical screen selected from the plurality of logical screens; and

moving the service context from the first logical screen to a second logical screen selected from the plurality of logical screens.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising announcing occurrence of an event in which a logical screen associated with the service context has been changed.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the moving of the service context comprises:

removing the service context from the first logical screen; and

adding the service context removed from the first logical screen to the second logical screen.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

announcing an occurrence of an event in which the service context has been removed from the first logical screen; and

announcing an occurrence of an event in which the service context has been added to the second logical screen,

wherein the announcing of the occurrence of the event in which the service context has been removed from the first logical screen is performed after the removing of the service context and before the adding of the service context, and the announcing of the occurrence of the event in which the service context has been added to the second logical screen is performed after the adding of the service context.

5. The method of claim 3, further comprising suspending a service indicated by the service context before the removing of the service context.

6. The method of claim 3, further comprising, before the adding of the service context, if the service indicated by the service context comprises an application and the second logical screen is a picture-in-picture (PIP) screen:

determining whether the application can be executed on the PIP screen; and

interrupting the application if it is determined that the application cannot be executed on the PIP screen.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the interrupting of the service comprises suspending the application.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the interrupting of the service comprises terminating the application.

9. The method of claim 3, wherein the adding of the service context comprises re-executing the application if the service context comprises a suspended application and the second logical screen is not a picture-in-picture (PIP) screen.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the service context comprises information regarding a service, which comprises at least one of video information, audio information and data information, and information regarding a source which provides the service.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

generating a display screen; and

mapping the second logical screen to the display screen.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising outputting the display screen, to which the second logical screen is mapped, to at least one of a physical display device, a storage medium, and an external device.

13. An apparatus for providing multiple screens, the apparatus comprising:

an interface module which receives a service moving request from a user or an application; and

a service processing module which generates a plurality of logical screens and moves a service context associated with a first logical screen, which is selected from the plurality of logical screens, to a second logical screen, which is selected from the plurality of logical screens, in response to the service moving request.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the service processing module announces an occurrence of an event in which a logical screen associated with the service context has been changed.

15. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the service processing module removes the service context from the first logical screen and then adds the service context to the second logical screen.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the service processing module announces an occurrence of an event in which the service context has been removed from the first logical screen after removing the service context from the first logical screen and before adding the service context to the second logical screen and announces an occurrence of an event in which the service context has been added to the second logical screen after adding the service context to the second logical screen.

17. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein a service indicated by the service context is suspended until the service context is added to the second logical screen.

18. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein, if the service indicated by the service context comprises an application, the second logical screen is a picture-in-picture (PIP) screen, and the application cannot be executed on the PIP screen, the service processing module interrupts the application.

19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the service processing module interrupts the application by temporally suspending the application or completely terminating the application.

20. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein, if the service context comprises a suspended application and the second logical screen is not a picture-in-picture (PIP) screen, the application is re-executed on the second logical screen.

21. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the service context comprises information regarding a service, which comprises at least one of video information, audio information and data information, and information regarding a source which provides the service.

22. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the service processing module generates a display screen and maps the second logical screen to the generated display screen.

23. The apparatus of claim 22, further comprising an output module which outputs the display screen, to which the second logical screen is mapped, to at least one of a physical display device, a storage medium, and an external device.