ELECTRONIC DEVICE

• US 20150113473A1
• Filed: 01/06/2015
• Published: 04/23/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 10/04/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Display Company Limited (Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Corporation of America (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: FUJITA, Hiroshi, ISOBE, Takashi, OTSUKA, Yu, AIHARA, Kazuhiro, HISATAKE, Goro
• Granted Patent: US 9,971,473 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/781
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/163 Wearable computers, e.g. on a belt
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1643 the display being associated to a digitizer, e.g. laptops that can be used as penpads details related to the relative motion of the display enclosure with respect to the body enclosure, e.g. to move between laptop and tablet PC configuration G06F1/1615
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0416 Control or interface arrangements specially adapted for digitisers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/048 Interaction techniques based on graphical user interfaces [GUI]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04817 using icons graphical or visual programming using iconic symbols G06F8/34
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04845 for image manipulation, e.g. dragging, rotation, expansion or change of colour
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0485 Scrolling or panning
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text
• 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

An electronic device that increases both visibility and selectability of executable programs. The electronic device includes a touch panel display having an elongated shape, a memory storing programs, and a processor controlling program execution and the display. The touch panel includes a first display region and a second display region contiguous with and narrower than the first display region. The display displays an execution image of a first program in the first display region and an icon image of a second program in the second display region in a smaller display area than the execution image. When the processor detects contact at the icon image and detects that the contact moves towards the first display region, the processor causes the display to display an execution image of the second program in the first display region.

Claims

1. An electronic device, comprising:

a display having a touch panel and an elongated shape, the display including a first display region and a second display region, the second display region being contiguous with the first display region in a longitudinal direction of the elongated shape, and the second display region having the same width as the first display region in a lateral direction of the elongated shape;

a memory storing a plurality of programs; and

a processor that controls execution of each of the plurality of programs stored in the memory, and controls the display, wherein

the display displays in the first display region a first display image generated by execution of a first program among the plurality of programs, and the display displays in the second display region a first icon image indicating a second program other than the first program among the plurality of programs, and

when the processor detects a contact at the first icon image in the second display region and detects that the contact at the first icon image moves in a direction towards the first display region, the processor causes the display to display in the first display region a second display image generated by execution of the second program.

2. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein

when the processor causes the display to display the second display image in the first display region, the processor causes the display to display in the second display region a second icon image indicating the first program.

3. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein

the display displays a predefined number of icon images in the second display region, each icon image indicating one of the plurality of programs, and

when the processor causes the display to display the second display image in the first display region, the processor causes the display to display a third icon image indicating a third program in the second display region, the third icon image being displayed subsequent to other displayed icon images within the predefined number of icon images, in accordance with a display order of the plurality of programs.

4. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein

when the processor detects that the contact at the first icon image moves in the direction towards the first display region, the processor causes the first icon image to be moved towards the first display region, and when the first icon image is moved into the first display region, the processor causes the display to display in the first display region, along with the first icon image, the first display image shrunk in the longitudinal direction of the elongated shape according to an extent that the first icon image is moved into the first display region.

5. The electronic device of claim 4, wherein

when the first icon image is moved into the first display region, the processor causes the display to display a second icon image indicating the first program in the second display region according to the extent that the first icon image is moved into the first display region.

6. The electronic device of claim 4, wherein

when the first icon image is moved into the first display region, the processor causes the display to display a second icon image that indicates the first program in the second display region while causing the display to display in the first display region, along with the first icon image, the first display image shrunk in the longitudinal direction of the elongated shape according to the extent that the first icon image is moved into the first display region.

7. The electronic device of claim 4, wherein

the display displays a predefined number of icon images in the second display region, each icon image indicating one of the plurality of programs, and

when the first icon image is moved into the first display region, the processor causes the display to display a third icon image indicating a third program in the second display region according to the extent that the first icon image is moved into the first display region, the third icon image being displayed subsequent to other displayed icon images within the predefined number of icon images, in accordance with a display order of the plurality of programs.

8. The electronic device of claim 4, wherein

the display displays a predefined number of icon images in the second display region, each icon image indicating one of the plurality of programs, and

when the first icon image is moved into the first display region, the processor causes the display to display a third icon image indicating a third program in the second display region, the third icon image being displayed subsequent to other displayed icon images within the predefined number of icon images in accordance with a display order of the plurality of programs, while causing the display to display in the first display region, along with the first icon image, the first display image shrunk in the longitudinal direction of the elongated shape according to the extent that the first icon image is moved into the first display region.

9. The electronic device of claim 4, wherein

the first display image includes an image identical to the second icon image, and

the image identical to the second icon image is not shrunk in the first display image.

10. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein

the first display image includes an image identical to the second icon image, and

when the processor detects a contact at the first display image in the first display region and detects that the contact at the first display image moves in the lateral direction of the elongated shape, the processor causes a portion of the first display image excluding the image identical to the second icon image to move in the lateral direction of the elongated shape without changing a display position corresponding to the image identical to the second icon image.

11. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein

the display displays a plurality of icon images including the first icon image along the longitudinal direction of the elongated shape in the second display region, each icon image indicating one program from among the plurality of programs excluding the first program, and

when the processor causes the display to display the second display image in the first display region, the processor causes a plurality of icon images excluding the first icon image, each indicating one program from among a plurality of programs excluding the first program, to be moved towards the first display region and displayed in the second display region, filling a display region in which the first icon image was displayed.

12. The electronic device of claim 11, wherein

when the processor causes the display to display the second display image in the first display region, the processor causes the display to display a second icon image indicating the first program in an empty display region in the second display region, the empty display region being generated in the second display region when the plurality of icon images are moved towards the first display region.

13. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein

when the processor detects that a contact at the second display image moves from the first display region to the second display region, the processor causes the display to display in the first display region the first display image generated by execution of the first program.

14. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein

when the second display image is displayed in the first display region, an icon image that is being displayed in the second display region and that indicates a corresponding program being executed is displayed in a different display format than an icon image indicating a program that is not being executed.

15. The electronic device of claim 14, wherein

the different display format is that the icon image indicating the corresponding program that is being executed flashes.

16. The electronic device of claim 14, wherein

the different display format is that the icon image indicating the corresponding program that is being executed is moved within the second display region.

17. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein

the processor causes the display to display in the first display region status information regarding the electronic device.

18. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein

luminance of the first display region is greater than luminance of the second display region.

19. An electronic device, comprising:

a display having a touch panel and an elongated shape, the display including a first display region and a second display region, the second display region being contiguous with the first display region in a longitudinal direction of the elongated shape and having the same width as the first display region in a lateral direction of the elongated shape;

a memory storing a plurality of programs; and

a processor that controls execution of each of the plurality of programs stored in the memory, and controls the display, wherein

the display displays in the first display region a first display image generated by execution of a first program among the plurality of programs, and the display displays in the second display region a first icon image indicating a second program other than the first program among the plurality of programs, and

in a case that the processor detects a contact at the first icon image in the second display region and detects that the contact at the first icon image moves into the first display region, the processor causes the display to display in the first display region a second display image generated by execution of the second program.

20. The electronic device of claim 19, wherein

when the processor causes the display to display the second display image in the first display region, the processor causes the display to display in the second display region a second icon image indicating the first program.

21. The electronic device of claim 19, wherein

the display displays a predefined number of icon images in the second display region, each icon image indicating one of the plurality of programs, and

when the processor causes the display to display the second display image in the first display region, the processor causes the display to display a third icon image indicating a third program in the second display region, the third icon image being displayed subsequent to other displayed icon images within the predefined number of icon images, in accordance with a display order of the plurality of programs.

22. The electronic device of claim 19, wherein

luminance of the first display region is greater than luminance of the second display region.

23. An electronic device, comprising:

a display having a touch panel and an elongated shape, the display including a first display region and a second display region, the second display region being contiguous with the first display region in a longitudinal direction of the elongated shape and having the same width as the first display region in a lateral direction of the elongated shape;

a memory storing a plurality of programs; and

a processor that controls execution of each of the plurality of programs stored in the memory, and controls the display, wherein

the display displays in the first display region a first display image generated by execution of a first program among the plurality of programs, and the display displays in the second display region a first icon image indicating a second program other than the first program among the plurality of programs, and

when the processor detects a contact at the first icon image in the second display region, the processor causes the display to switch display of the first display image to display of a second display image generated by execution of the second program in the first display region.

24. The electronic device of claim 23, wherein

when the processor causes the display to display the second display image in the first display region, the processor causes the display to display a second icon image indicating the first program in the second display region where the first icon image had been displayed.

25. The electronic device of claim 23, wherein

the display displays a predefined number of icon images in the second display region, each icon image indicating one of the plurality of programs, and

when the processor causes the display to display the second display image in the first display region, the processor causes displayed icon images other than the first icon image to move towards an area in which the first icon image had been displayed, and causes the display to display a third icon image indicating a third program in an open region of the second display region, the third icon image being displayed subsequent to other displayed icon images within the predefined number of icon images, in accordance with a display order of the plurality of programs.