TRANSFERRING OBJECTS BETWEEN APPLICATION WINDOWS DISPLAYED ON MOBILE TERMINAL

• US 20120289290A1
• Filed: 05/14/2012
• Published: 11/15/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 05/12/2011
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: KT Corporation
• Original Assignee: KT Corporation
• Inventors: CHAE, Haeng-Suk, CHOI, Kyoung-Tae
• Application Number:
  US13/470,485
• Publication Number:
  US 20120289290A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/566
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04803 Split screen, i.e. subdividing the display area or the window area into separate subareas
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/54 Interprogram communication

Abstract

Provided are a mobile terminal and a method for transferring objects from a source application window to a destination application window, which are simultaneously displayed on a display unit of a mobile terminal. The method may include displaying the first application window and the second application window simultaneously on the display unit in response to a multi_screen mode initiation input, and transferring at least one of a portion of and an entire object in one of the first application window and the second application window to another application window in response to an object transferring mode initiation input.

Claims

1. A method for transferring objects from a first application window to a second application window displayed on a display unit of a mobile terminal, the method comprising:

displaying the first application window and the second application window simultaneously on the display unit in response to a multi_screen mode initiation input; and

transferring at least one of a portion of and an entire object in one of the first application window and the second application window to another application window in response to an object transferring mode initiation input.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the transferring at least one of a portion of and an entire object includes:

receiving an input from a user;

determining whether the received input is the object transferring mode initiation input;

performing an object transferring mode in response to the object transferring mode initiation input;

otherwise, performing an operation associated with the received input.

3. The method of claim 2, comprising determining that the received input is the object transferring mode initiation input when the received input is an input for selecting the at least one of the portion of and the entire object included in one of the first application window and the second application window.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the input for selecting the at least one of the portion of and the entire object is at least one of a single tap input, a double tap input, a long press input, a tap and drag input, a drag and drop input, and a copy and paste input, which are made on the object included in the one of the first application window and the second application window.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein the performing an object transferring mode includes:

determining a target object for transfer;

determining a destination application window; and

transferring the determined target object to the determined destination application window.

6. The method of claim 5, comprising identifying the at least one of the portion of and the entire object selected by the object transferring mode initiation input as the target object and the one of the first application window and the second application window that includes the target object as the source application window.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the destination application window is previously defined by at least one of a user, an application associated with the source application window, and an operating system of the mobile terminal.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein when the object transferring mode initiation input is a copy and paste input, including:

determining the target object associated with the copy and paste input; and

determining the previously defined application window as the destination application window.

9. The method of claim 5, wherein the determining a destination application window includes:

receiving an input after the determining a target object; and

determining the destination application window based on the received input.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the received input is at least one of a single tap input, a double tap input, and a long press input, which are made on the destination application window, and a drag and drop input for dragging the selected object to the destination application window and dropping the selected object at the destination application window.

11. The method of claim 5, wherein after the determining a target object, the performing an object transferring mode includes:

determining user editing of the determined target object;

providing an editing tool associated with the target object for determined user editing; and

updating the edited target object as the target object for transfer.

12. The method of claim 5, wherein the transferring the at least one of the portion of and the entire object includes:

replicating the target object;

displaying the replicated target object within the destination application window; and

processing the replicated target object through the destination application window in response to input associated with the replicated target object.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the transferring the at least one of the portion of and the entire object includes:

storing the replicated target object in a clipboard.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the displaying the first application window and the second application window simultaneously on the display unit in response to a multi_screen mode initiation input includes:

displaying the first application window on an entire display area of the display unit;

receiving the multi_screen mode initiation input from a user;

dividing a display area of the display unit into at least two display areas including a first display area and a second display area in response to the multi_screen mode initiation input; and

displaying the first application window and the second application window on the first display area and the second display area, respectively.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the receiving a multi_screen mode initiation input includes:

receiving an input from the user;

determining whether the received input is at least one of a predetermined key button designated to initiate a multi_screen mode, a predetermined icon designated to initiate the multi_screen mode, a pinch input made by an associated pinching motion exceeding a shrinking threshold, and a spread input made by an associated spreading motion exceeding an expanding threshold;

initiating the multi_screen mode when the received input is made through the at least one of the predetermined key button, the predetermined icon, the pinch input, and the spread input; and

otherwise, performing an operation associated with the received input.

16. A mobile terminal comprising:

a display unit configured to sense a touch input made on a surface thereof, to determine coordinate values of the sensed touch input at a given interval, to display an application window on an entire display area in a single_screen mode, to display at least two application windows separately on divided display areas in a multi_screen mode, and to display objects being transferred from one application window to the other in an object transferring mode;

a touch input processor configured to receive the coordinate value from the display unit and to determine whether the sensed touch input is at least one of a multi_screen mode initiation input, a single_screen mode initiation input, and an object transferring mode initiation input based on the received coordinate values of the touch input; and

a controller configured to initiate at least one of a multi_screen mode, a single_screen mode, and an object transferring mode based on the determination result of the touch input processor.

17. The mobile terminal of claim 16, wherein the touch input processor is configured to:

determine, based on the received coordinate value, whether the sensed touch input is at least one of a single tap input, a double tap input, a long press input, a tap and drag input, a drag and drop input, and a copy and paste input, which initiate the object transferring mode;

when the sensed touch input is the at least one of a single tap input, a double tap input, a long press input, a tap and drag input, a drag and drop input, and a copy and paste input, communicate to the controller of the initiation of the object transferring mode.

18. The mobile terminal of claim 16, wherein the touch input processor is configured to:

determine whether the sensed touch input is at least one of a predetermined icon, a closing request, a pinch input, and a spread input based on the received coordinate values of the sensed touch input;

when the sensed touch input is the predetermined icon, determine that the sensed touch input is at least one of the multi_screen mode initiation input and the single_screen mode initiation input when the predetermined icon is associated with initiation of one of the multi_screen mode initiation input and the single_screen mode initiation input;

when the sensed touch input is the closing request, determine that the sensed touch input is the single_screen mode initiation input;

when the sensed touch input is the pinch input, determine that the pinch input is at least one of the multi_screen mode initiation input and the single_screen mode initiation input when pinching motion of the pinch input exceeds a range of shrinking an application window; and

when the sensed touch input is the spread input, determine that the spread input is at least one of the multi_screen mode initiation input and the single_screen mode initiation input when spreading motion of the spread input exceeds a range of expanding an application window.

19. The mobile terminal of claim 17, wherein the controller is configured to:

when the touch input processor communicates the initiation of the object transferring mode,

determine a target object based on the sensed touch input;

determine a destination application window based on the sensed touch input;

replicate the target object;

control the display unit to display the replicated target object within the destination application window; and

enable an application associated with the destination application window in response to input from a user.

20. The mobile terminal of claim 18, wherein when the touch input is the multi_screen mode initiation input based on the determination result of the touch input processor, the controller is configured to:

divide a display area of the display unit into at least two display areas including a first display area and a second display area;

activate a second application previously defined by one of a user and a manufacturer of the mobile terminal;

reconfigure a first application window corresponding to the first display area, display the reconfigured first application window on the first display area; and

display a second application window associated with the second application on the second display area, wherein the first application window is an application window previously displayed on an entire display area of the display unit, and

when the touch input is the single_screen mode initiation input based on the determination result of the touch input processor, close one, associated with the single_screen mode initiation input, of the first application window and the second application window, and display the other one of the first application window and the second application window on the entire display area of the display unit.