METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CONTROLLING DISPLAY OF WINDOWS

• US 20090031243A1
• Filed: 07/23/2008
• Published: 01/29/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 07/24/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: NTT Docomo Incorporated (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation)
• Original Assignee: NTT Docomo Incorporated (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation)
• Inventors: Onda, Yasushi, Kano, Izua, Yamada, Eiju, Yamada, Kazuhiro, Murakami, Keiichi, Kamiya, Dai
• Application Number:
  US12/178,319
• Publication Number:
  US 20090031243A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/781
• 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 3/0483 Interaction with page-structured environments, e.g. book metaphor

Abstract

In a mobile phone 1, in a state in which multiple windows are being displayed in a display 107, when an operation to change the size of any of the windows is performed, whether it is possible to display each window in the display 107 without overlapping after the change is determined. When it is not possible to display each window in the display 107 without overlapping, the mobile phone 1 minimizes, of the windows other than the window whose size was changed, the window with the largest number of size changes. Thus, when the number of windows is large, a window with low priority to the user is minimized.

Claims

1. An information processing apparatus comprising:

a first memory that stores at least one application program;

an operating unit operated by a user;

a changing unit that changes the size of a window of an application program according to an instruction input from the operating unit, the window being displayed on a display screen;

a second memory that stores the number of times the changing unit performs changes in a size of a window;

an execution unit that executes application programs stored in the first memory in response to an instruction input from the operating unit; and

a display controller that causes a window of an application program executed by the execution unit to be displayed on the display screen, wherein, in a case where two or more windows are being displayed on the display screen when the execution unit initiates execution of an application program, and the two or more windows being displayed and the window of the application program to be executed cannot be displayed within a display region of the display screen without overlapping, the display controller reads, from the second memory, the number of times changes are performed in the size of windows being displayed, and minimizes a window whose number of size changes is the largest, and displays the minimized window on the display screen.

2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when a plurality of windows cannot be displayed without overlapping within the display region after the window with the largest number of size changes is minimized, the display controller repeatedly minimizes the window whose number of size changes is the largest, wherein each time a window is minimized, the display controller determines whether it is possible to display windows that have been minimized, windows that have not been minimized, and a window of an application program to be executed by the execution unit within the display region without overlapping, and when determined the display is possible, the display controller displays the windows that have been minimized, the windows that have not been minimized, and the window of the application program to be executed by the execution unit on the display screen.

5. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display controller displays each window such that a plurality of windows displayed on the display screen do not overlap.

3. An information processing apparatus comprising:

a first memory that stores at least one application program;

an operating unit operated by a user;

a second memory that stores the number of times the changing unit performs changes in a size of a window;

a changing unit that changes the size of a window of an application program according to an instruction input from the operating unit, the window being displayed on a display screen;

an execution unit that executes application programs stored in the second memory in response to an instruction input from the operating unit; and

a display controller that causes a window of an application program executed by the execution unit to be displayed on the display screen, wherein, in a case where two or more windows are being displayed on the display screen when the changing unit changes the size of a window displayed on the display screen, and the two or more windows being displayed and the window whose size has been changed cannot be displayed within a display region of the display screen without overlapping, the display controller reads, from the second memory, the number of size changes of windows whose size has not been changed, the windows being displayed in the display, and minimizes a window whose number of size changes is the largest, and displays the minimized window on the display screen.

4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein when a plurality of windows cannot be displayed without overlapping within the display region after the window with the largest number of size changes is minimized, the display controller repeatedly minimizes the window whose number of size changes is largest, wherein each time a window is minimized, the display controller determines whether it is possible to display windows that have been minimized, windows that have not been minimized, and a window whose size has been changed within the display region without overlapping, and when determined the display is possible, the display controller displays the windows that have been minimized, the windows that have not been minimized, and the window whose size has been changed by the changing unit on the display screen.

6. The information processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the display controller displays each window such that a plurality of windows displayed on the display screen do not overlap.

7. A computer readable storing medium that stores a computer program for controlling display of windows of application programs, the program causing a computer to execute:

changing a size of a window of an application program according to an instruction input from an operating unit, the window being displayed on a display screen;

storing the number of times the changing unit performs changes in a size of a window in a memory;

executing an application program in response to an instruction input from the operating unit; and

in a case where two or more windows are being displayed on the display screen when execution of an application program is initiated, and the two or more windows being displayed and the window of the application program to be executed cannot be displayed within a display region of the display screen without overlapping, reading, from the memory, the number of times changes are performed in the size of windows being displayed, and minimizing a window whose number of size changes is the largest, and displaying the minimized window on the display screen.

8. A computer readable storing medium that stores a computer program for controlling display of windows of application programs, the program causing a computer to execute:

changing a size of a window of an application program according to an instruction input from an operating unit, the window being displayed on a display screen;

storing the number of times the changing unit performs changes in a size of a window in a memory;

executing an application program in response to an instruction input from the operating unit; and

in a case where two or more windows are being displayed on the display screen when a window whose display on the display screen is changed in size, and the two or more windows being displayed and the window whose size has been changed cannot be displayed within a display region of the display screen without overlapping, reading, from the memory, the number of times changes are performed in the size of windows whose size are not being changed, the windows being displayed on the display screen, and minimizing a window whose number of size changes is the largest, and displaying the minimized window on the display screen.