MOBILE TERMINAL AND METHOD OF CONTROLLING A GROUP OPERATION THEREIN

• US 20110320977A1
• Filed: 05/20/2011
• Published: 12/29/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 06/24/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Inventors: BAHN, Youngmi, SONG, Hyekyoung
• Granted Patent: US 9,357,055 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/810
• 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 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/451 Execution arrangements for user interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72469 for operating the device by selecting functions from two or more displayed items, e.g. menus or icons
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72472 wherein the items are sorted according to specific criteria, e.g. frequency of use
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/10 including a GPS signal receiver
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/22 including a touch pad, a touch sensor or a touch detector digitizers for touch screens G06F3/041

Abstract

A mobile terminal and method of controlling a group operation therein are disclosed, by which tasks can be controlled with ease in a manner of designating one or more tasks to a task group in case of performing the one or more tasks simultaneously. The present invention includes a memory storing a task group including one or more tasks and a controller executing the one or more tasks belonging to the task group by a task group operation. And, the one or more tasks belonging to the task group are set to be correlated to each other. Moreover, if the one or more tasks belonging to the task group are executed by the task group operation, the controller simultaneously controls the one or more tasks by a single control operation.

Claims

1. A mobile terminal comprising:

a memory storing at least one task group including one or more tasks; and

a controller executing the one or more tasks belonging to the at least one task group by performing a task group operation,

wherein the one or more tasks belonging to the at least one task group are correlated such that the controller simultaneously controls the one or more tasks by a single control operation in response to a single input.

2. The mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein the task group operation comprises at least a simultaneous background operation, a simultaneous foreground operation, a simultaneous storage operation or a simultaneous termination operation.

3. The mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein the controller determines whether to execute a second task belonging to the at least one task group while a first task belonging to the at least one task group is executed.

4. The mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein the controller provides a switching option for switching from a first task belonging to the at least one task group to a second task belonging to the at least one task group while the first task is executed.

5. The mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein the controller excludes at least one specific task of the one or more tasks belonging to the at least one task group from the task group operation when the at least one specific task is selected for exclusion such that the at least one specific task included in the task group is executed independently of the task group operation.

6. The mobile terminal of claim 1, further comprising a display displaying a list of the at least one task group to which a specific task being executed belongs.

7. The mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein the controller assigns the one or more tasks to the at least one task group according to preset criteria including at least a type of function of the one or more tasks, a use pattern of the one or more tasks, a place where the one or more tasks are used, or priority of the one or more tasks.

8. The mobile terminal of claim 1, further comprising a user input unit receiving a selection of a task to be included in the at least one task group, wherein the selected task is added to the at least one task group.

9. The mobile terminal of claim 8, wherein the user input unit further receives a selection of a directory including at least one task such that the at least one task included in the selected directory is added to the at least one task group.

10. The mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein the memory stores a plurality of task groups and at least two of the plurality of the task groups are combinable into a single specific task group such that the controller simultaneously controls all tasks belonging to the single specific task group by the single control operation when the at least two of the plurality of the task groups are combined into the single specific task group.

11. The mobile terminal of claim 1, further comprising a touchscreen displaying the at least one task group.

12. The mobile terminal of claim 11, wherein the one or more tasks belonging to the at least one task group and a group icon corresponding to the at least one task group are displayed on the touchscreen.

13. The mobile terminal of claim 12, wherein:

the memory stores a first task group and a second task group; and

the controller controls the first task group displayed on the touchscreen to be switched with the second task group upon receiving a touch input on a group icon corresponding to the first task group such that the second task group is displayed on the touchscreen in response to the touch input.

14. The mobile terminal of claim 11, wherein the controller controls the touchscreen to be partitioned into two or more display screens according to a number of the one or more tasks belonging to the at least one task group such that the touchscreen displays each of the one or more tasks being executed by the task group operation on a corresponding one of the two or more display screens.

15. The mobile terminal of claim 11, wherein the touchscreen displays an indicator indicating a number of the one or more tasks belonging to the at least one task group that are executed by performing the task group operation.

16. A method of controlling a group operation in a mobile terminal, the method comprising:

assigning one or more tasks to a task group;

storing the task group including the one or more tasks; and

executing the one or more tasks belonging to the task group by performing a task group operation,

wherein the one or more tasks belonging to the task group are correlated such that the one or more tasks are controlled simultaneously by a single control operation when executed by performing the task group operation.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the task group operation comprises at least a simultaneous background operation, a simultaneous foreground operation, a simultaneous storage operation or a simultaneous termination operation.

18. The method of claim 16, further comprising simultaneously terminating the execution of the one or more tasks belonging to the task group in response to a single input generating a signal for termination of the one or more tasks belonging to the task group.

19. The method of claim 16, further comprising displaying the one or more tasks belonging to the task group and a group icon corresponding to the task group on a display of the mobile terminal.

20. The method of claim 16, further comprising displaying an indicator indicating a number of the one or more tasks belonging to the task group that are executed by performing the task group operation.