PORTABLE ELECTRONIC DEVICE INCLUDING TOUCHSCREEN AND METHOD OF CONTROLLING THE PORTABLE ELECTRONIC DEVICE

• US 20100053089A1
• Filed: 08/27/2008
• Published: 03/04/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 08/27/2008
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Blackberry Limited
• Original Assignee: Blackberry Limited
• Inventors: LHOTAK, Jennifer, KWOK, Jordanna, BELLS, Matthew
• Application Number:
  US12/198,978
• Publication Number:
  US 20100053089A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/173
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2200/1614 Image rotation following screen orientation, e.g. switching from landscape to portrait mode
• 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 of controlling a portable electronic device having a touchscreen display includes determining a first orientation of the portable electronic device, rendering a first virtual keyboard and a first data display area on the touchscreen display based on the first orientation of the portable electronic device, automatically detecting a change from the first orientation to a second orientation of the portable electronic device, and automatically reconfiguring the touchscreen display by rendering a second virtual keyboard, a second data display area, and data previously displayed in the first data display area in the second data display area on the touchscreen display based on the second orientation of the portable electronic device.

Claims

1. A method of controlling a portable electronic device comprising a touchscreen display, the method comprising:

determining a first orientation of the portable electronic device;

rendering a first virtual keyboard and a first data display area on the touchscreen display based on the first orientation of the portable electronic device;

automatically detecting a change from the first orientation to a second orientation of the portable electronic device; and

automatically reconfiguring the touchscreen display by rendering a second virtual keyboard, a second data display area, and data previously displayed in the first data display area in the second data display area on the touchscreen display based on the second orientation of the portable electronic device.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein said data previously displayed in the first data display area includes data displayed in a data entry field in the first data display area and said data is rendered in the second data display area in a corresponding second data entry field.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein determining a first orientation of the portable electronic device comprises determining one of a landscape orientation and a portrait orientation and wherein rendering the first virtual keyboard and a first data display area comprises rendering in a corresponding one of a landscape mode and a portrait mode.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein detecting the change comprises determining the second orientation, and wherein determining the second orientation comprises determining the other of the landscape orientation and the portrait orientation and automatically rendering the second virtual keyboard and the second data display area along with data previously displayed comprises rendering in an other of the landscape mode and the portrait mode.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein rendering in the landscape mode comprises rendering a full keyboard having a respective virtual button for each alphabetical letter.

6. The method according to claim 4, wherein rendering in the landscape mode comprises rendering a full QWERTY keyboard

7. The method according to claim 5, wherein rendering in the portrait mode comprises rendering a reduced keyboard.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein detecting a change comprises determining the second orientation and comparing the second orientation to the first orientation to determine the change from the first orientation to the second orientation.

9. A portable electronic device comprising:

a housing;

a touch-sensitive input and display device connected to the housing and exposed for user-interaction therewith; and

functional components in the housing comprising an accelerometer, a memory device, and a processor operably connected to the touch-sensitive input and display device, the accelerometer, and the memory device for executing a program stored in the memory to cause the portable electronic device to determine a first orientation of the portable electronic device, render a first virtual keyboard and a first data display area on the touchscreen display based on the first orientation of the portable electronic device, automatically detect a change from the first orientation to a second orientation of the portable electronic device, and automatically reconfigure the touchscreen display by rendering a second virtual keyboard, a second data display area, and data previously displayed in the first data display area in the second data display area on the touchscreen display based on the second orientation of the portable electronic device.

10. A computer-readable medium having computer-readable code embodied therein for execution by a processor in a portable electronic device comprising a touchscreen display, for determining a first orientation of the portable electronic device, rendering a first virtual keyboard and a first data display area on the touchscreen display based on the first orientation of the portable electronic device, automatically detecting a change from the first orientation to a second orientation of the portable electronic device, and automatically reconfiguring the touchscreen display by rendering a second virtual keyboard, a second data display area, and data previously displayed in the first data display area in the second data display area on the touchscreen display based on the second orientation of the portable electronic device.