DISPLAY MODE SWITCHING DEVICE AND METHOD FOR MOBILE TERMINAL

• US 20090289958A1
• Filed: 05/26/2009
• Published: 11/26/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 05/23/2008
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: KIM, Tae Kyung, KIM, Byoung Ju, UM, Tae Won
• Application Number:
  US12/472,085
• Publication Number:
  US 20090289958A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/649
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/22 including a touch pad, a touch sensor or a touch detector

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 method for switching a display mode of a portable electronic device, the method comprising:

activating a text input function;

determining a posture of the portable electric device;

selecting a first mode or a second mode according to the posture of the portable electronic device; and

displaying a first key map when the first mode is selected.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

displaying a second key map when the second mode is selected.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

monitoring a change in the posture of the portable electronic device;

switching to the second key map in response to the change in the posture of the portable electronic device if the first key map was displayed; and

switching to the first key map in response to the change in the posture of the portable electronic device if the second key map was displayed.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the posture of the portable electronic device is determined by sensing an orientation of the portable electronic device.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein the change in the posture of the portable electronic device is monitored by sensing an orientation of the portable electronic device.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the posture of the portable electronic device is determined by sensing an area of an external surface of the portable electronic device contacted by a user as the user holds the portable electronic device.

7. The method of claim 3, wherein the change in the posture of the portable electronic device is monitored by sensing an area of an external surface of the portable electronic device contacted by a user as the user holds the portable electronic device.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the posture of the portable electronic device is determined by sensing a sliding movement of a first portion of the portable electronic device relative to a second portion of the portable electronic device.

9. The method of claim 3, wherein the change in the posture of the portable electronic device is monitored by sensing a sliding movement of a first portion of the portable electronic device relative to a second portion of the portable electronic device.

10. The method of claim 3, wherein the first key map is displayed in the first mode and configured with a first number of keys, and

wherein the second key map is displayed in the second mode and configured with a second number of keys, the first number of keys being smaller than the second number of keys.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the number of keys per line in the first key map is smaller than the number of keys per line in the second map.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the first key map is displayed in a portrait mode, the first key map being a 3×

4 key map.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the second key map is displayed in a landscape mode, the second key map being a qwerty key map or 5×

4 key map.

14. A display mode switching device of a portable electronic device, comprising:

a mode detector to detect a posture of the portable electronic device;

a control unit configured to select a first or a second mode according to the posture of the portable electronic device; and

a display unit displaying a first key map when the first mode is selected and a second key map when the second mode is selected.

15. The display mode switching device of claim 14, wherein the control unit changes the selected mode when the posture of the portable electronic device changes,

wherein the control unit selects the second mode in response to the change in the posture of the portable electronic device if the first mode was selected, and

wherein the control unit selects the first mode is response to the change in the posture of the portable electronic device if the second mode was selected

16. The display mode switching device of claim 14, wherein the mode detector comprises at least a unit to sense an orientation of portable electronic device, a unit to sense an area of an external surface of the portable electronic device contacted by a user as the user holds the portable electronic device, and a unit to sense movement of a first portion of the portable electronic device relative to a second portion of the portable electronic device.

17. The display mode switching device of claim 14, wherein the display unit displays the first key map in the first mode with a first number of keys, and

wherein the display unit displays the second key map in the second mode with a second number of keys, the number of keys per line in the first key map being smaller than the number of keys per line in the second map.

18. The display mode switching device of claim 15, wherein the first key map is a 3×

4 key map, the first key map being displayed in the portrait mode.

19. The display mode switching device of claim 15, wherein the second key map is a qwerty key map or 5×

4 key map, the second key map being displayed in the landscape mode.

20. The display mode switch device of claim 14, wherein the control unit comprises:

a resizing controller to adjust a display screen in the display unit according to the selected mode; and

a key map manager to load the first key map and/or the second key map according to the selected mode.