Method and apparatus using multiple sensors in a device with a display

• US 8,120,625 B2
• Filed: 11/14/2002
• Issued: 02/21/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 07/17/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Hinckley, Kenneth P.
• Primary Examiner(s): Xiao, Ke
• Application Number:
  US10/294,286
• Publication Number:
  US 20030085870A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,386 Days
• Field of Search: 715/792, 715/797, 715/803, 345/659
• US Class Current: 345/659
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1626 with a single-body enclosure integrating a flat display, e.g. Personal Digital Assistants [PDAs]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1684 Constructional details or arrangements related to integrated I/O peripherals not covered by groups G06F1/1635 - G06F1/1675
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/169 the I/O peripheral being an integrated pointing device, e.g. trackball in the palm rest area, mini-joystick integrated between keyboard keys, touch pads or touch stripes G06F1/1643 takes precedence; constructional details of pointing devices G06F3/033
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3203 Power management, i.e. event-based initiation of a power-saving mode
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3231 Monitoring the presence, absence or movement of users
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2200/1614 Image rotation following screen orientation, e.g. switching from landscape to portrait mode
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2200/1637 Sensing arrangement for detection of housing movement or orientation, e.g. for controlling scrolling or cursor movement on the display of an handheld computer
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72454 according to context-related or environment-related conditions
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/12 including a sensor for measuring a physical value, e.g. temperature or motion telephones including GPS signal receivers H04M2250/10
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 10/00 Energy efficient computing, e.g. low power processors, power management or thermal management

Abstract

In a device having a display, a change in focus for an application is used with a requested usage of a context attribute to change the amount of information regarding the context attribute that is sent to another application. A method of changing the orientation of images on a device'"'"'s display detects movement followed by an end of movement of the device. The orientation of the device is then determined and is used to set the orientation of images on the display. A method of setting the orientation of a display also includes storing information regarding an item displayed in a first orientation before changing the orientation. When the orientation is returned to the first orientation, the stored information is retrieved and is used to display the item in the first orientation. The stored information can include whether the item is to appear in the particular orientation.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

defining at least three orientation regions, each orientation region comprising a plurality of combinations of left/right tilt angle and front/back tilt angle and each orientation region being associated with an orientation of a mobile device;

storing information regarding at least three work spaces, each work space being specific to a separate orientation of a mobile device as determined by examining a combination of left/right tilt angle determined from a sensor signal produced by an accelerometer in the mobile device and front/back tilt angle determined from a sensor signal produced by the accelerometer in the mobile device to determine which orientation region the combination is found in and each work space having different windows open in the work space than are open in the other work spaces such that a window open in one work space that is not open in the other work spaces is only displayed when the mobile device is in the orientation that the one work space is specific to, the information for a work space comprising for each window open in the work space, the position and size of the window;

determining that the mobile device is in a first orientation by examining the combination of a left/right tilt angle determined from a sensor signal produced by an accelerometer in the mobile device and a front/back tilt angle determined from a sensor signal produced by the accelerometer in the mobile device to determine that the combination is in the orientation region associated with the first orientation;

retrieving the stored information for the work space specific to the first orientation and displaying windows that are open in the work space associated with the first orientation in an orientation that matches the first orientation;

determining that the orientation of the mobile device has changed from the first orientation to a second orientation by examining the combination of a left/right tilt angle determined from a sensor signal produced by the accelerometer in the mobile device and a front/back tilt angle determined from a sensor signal produced by the accelerometer in the mobile device to determine that the combination is in the orientation region associated with the second orientation;

retrieving the stored information for the work space specific to the second orientation and displaying windows that are open in the work space associated with the second orientation in an orientation that matches the second orientation;

determining that the orientation of the mobile device has changed from the second orientation to a third orientation by examining the combination of a left/right tilt angle determined from a sensor signal produced by the accelerometer in the mobile device and a front/back tilt angle determined from a sensor signal produced by the accelerometer in the mobile device to determine that the combination is in the orientation region associated with the third orientation;

retrieving the stored information for the work space specific to the third orientation and displaying the windows that are open in the work space associated with the third orientation in an orientation that matches the third orientation.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein displaying windows that are open in the work space specific to the first orientation comprises using the stored position of a first window to set the position of the first window in the first orientation.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein displaying windows that are open in the work space specific to the first orientation comprises using the stored size of the first window to set the size of the first window in the first orientation of displayed images.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein storing information regarding at least three work spaces comprises storing information for the work space specific to the first orientation that indicates that a window for a first application is open with a first document displayed in the window and storing information for the work space specific to the second orientation that indicates that a second window for the first application is open with a second document displayed in the window.

9. The method of claim 1 further comprising defining a flat area comprising a plurality of combinations of left/right tilt angle and front/back tilt angle and corresponding to the mobile device being laid flat.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein transitions between orientation regions occur when the left/right tilt angle equals the front/back tilt angle and the left/right tilt angle and the front/back tilt angle are both different than zero.

11. The method of claim 1 further comprising defining a first deadband zone separating a first orientation region and a second orientation region where the left/right tilt angle equals the front/back tilt angle and a second deadband zone separating the second orientation region and a third orientation region where the left/right tilt angle equals the front/back tilt angle wherein the first deadband zone is separate from the second deadband zone.

5. A mobile computing device comprising:

a memory storing window locations for four separate work spaces, each work space having a different collection of open windows and each work space specific to a different one of four orientations of the mobile device as determined from a left/right tilt angle and a front/back tilt angle of the mobile device;

a processor determining that the mobile device has changed orientation to a new orientation that is one of the four orientations by examining the left/right tilt angle determined from a sensor signal produced by a tilt sensor in the mobile device and the front/back tilt angle determined from a sensor signal produced by the tilt sensor in the mobile device;

the processor retrieving information about the windows open in the work space associated with the new orientation based on the change in orientation; and

a display, displaying the windows open in the work space based on the retrieved information.

6. The mobile device of claim 5 wherein the four orientations comprise portrait, upside-down portrait, left landscape and right landscape.

7. The mobile device of claim 5 wherein a first workspace comprises a first window for a first application, the first window displaying a first document and wherein a second workspace comprises a second window for the first application, the second window displaying a second document but not the first document.

8. The mobile device of claim 5 wherein each work space has a different background image.