METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PROVIDING FLOATING USER INTERFACE

• US 20130254714A1
• Filed: 03/22/2013
• Published: 09/26/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 03/23/2012
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: PARK, Jung-Hoon, SHIN, Hang-Sik, AHN, Sung-Joo, YOO, Hyun-Guk
• Application Number:
  US13/849,226
• Publication Number:
  US 20130254714A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/810
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures

Abstract

An apparatus and method of providing a floating user interface is provided. A floating user interface including menus for executable terminal functions is activated and a terminal function is executed through the floating user interface, thus enabling a user to conveniently perform terminal functions through the floating user interface under any environment of the terminal.

Claims

1. An apparatus for providing a floating user interface, the apparatus comprising:

a user input means;

a display unit for displaying a floating user interface including menus for terminal functions; and

a controller for displaying the floating user interface upon request by the user input means, and performing a terminal function that corresponds to a menu included in the floating user interface when there is a request to execute the menu.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the user input means includes a touch input means and a pointing input means.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the controller displays the floating user interface on a top layer of the display unit.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the controller further displays an identifier to run and display the floating user interface in the display unit.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the floating user interface includes at least one of menu item with which to configure a plurality of menus to be included in the floating user interface, menu items to set up user actions to record user inputs for performing terminal functions, and menu items for screen control.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the controller configures and displays a screen for selecting a number and types of menus to be included in the floating user interface if menu items with which to configure the menus included in the floating user interface are selected by the user input means.

7. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the controller, upon selection of a menu item to set up a user action to record user inputs to perform the terminal functions with the user input means, displays a screen for selecting an input method to execute the user action, and upon selection of an input method with the user input means, records and then stores at least one user input entered to perform the terminal function according to the selected input method.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the input method includes one of user'"'"'s voice input, gesture input, and text input.

9. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the controller performs the terminal function according to at least one user input recorded to perform the terminal function in the selected input method.

10. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the controller, upon selection of a menu item for the screen control with the user input means, displays a screen control icon to perform the screen control, and performs the screen control by using the displayed screen control icon.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the screen control icon includes a screen scroll control area in which to detect an input of a request to scroll a screen displayed in the display unit and a screen size control area in which to detect an input of a request to increase or reduce the screen.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the controller, upon request for scrolling of a screen displayed in the display unit, performs scrolling the screen, and wherein upon request for expansion or reduction of the screen, performs expanding or reducing the screen.

13. A method of providing a floating user interface, the method comprising:

displaying a floating user interface including menus for terminal functions if a request for displaying the floating user interface is made by a user input means; and

performing a terminal function that corresponds to a menu included in the floating user interface that is requested to be executed.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the user input means includes a touch input means and a pointing input means.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein displaying a floating user interface comprises displaying the floating user interface on a top layer of a screen.

16. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

displaying an identifier to run and display the floating user interface in the screen.

17. The method of claim 13, wherein the floating user interface includes at least one of menu item with which to configure a plurality of menus to be included in the floating user interface, menu items to set up user actions to record user inputs for performing terminal functions, and menu items for screen control.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

configuring and displaying a screen for selecting a number and types of menus to be included in the floating user interface if menu items with which to configure the menus included in the floating user interface are selected by the user input means.

19. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

upon selection of a menu item to set up a user action to record user inputs to perform the terminal functions with the user input means, displaying a screen for selecting an input method to execute the user action; and

upon selection of an input method with the user input means, recording and then storing at least one user input entered to perform the terminal function according to the selected input method.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the input method includes one of user'"'"'s voice input, gesture input, and text input.

21. The method of claim 19, further comprising:

performing the terminal function according to at least one user input recorded to perform the terminal function in the selected input method.

22. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

upon selection of a menu item for the screen control with the user input means, displaying a screen control icon to perform the screen control; and

performing the screen control by using the displayed screen control icon.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the screen control icon includes a screen scroll control area in which to detect an input of a request for screen scroll and a screen size control area in which to detect an input of a request for screen expansion or reduction.

24. The method of claim 23, further comprising:

upon request for screen scroll, performing scrolling the screen.

25. The method of claim 23, further comprising:

upon request for expansion or reduction of the screen, performing expanding or reducing the screen.