Mobile terminal and screen display method thereof

• US 8,217,904 B2
• Filed: 11/15/2007
• Issued: 07/10/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 11/16/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Inventors: Kim, Jin Woong
• Primary Examiner(s): Liang, Regina
• Application Number:
  US11/940,989
• Publication Number:
  US 20080119237A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,699 Days
• Field of Search: 345/156, 345/158, 345173-179, 379/354, 379/356.01, 379/357.01, 379/93.17, 379/93.19, 455/566, 715/700, 715/780, 715/788, 715/800, 178/18.01, 178/18.03
• US Class Current: 345/173
• 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: G06F 2203/04803 Split screen, i.e. subdividing the display area or the window area into separate subareas
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04808 Several contacts: gestures triggering a specific function, e.g. scrolling, zooming, right-click, when the user establishes several contacts with the surface simultaneously; e.g. using several fingers or a combination of fingers and pen
• 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 3/0486 Drag-and-drop
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/0235 Slidable or telescopic telephones, i.e. with a relative translation movement of the body parts; Telephones using a combination of translation and other relative motions of the body parts
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72427 for supporting games or graphical animations
• 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: H04M 2250/22 including a touch pad, a touch sensor or a touch detector digitizers for touch screens G06F3/041
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/52 including functional features of a camera constructional features concerning the integration of cameras in portable phones H04M1/0264

Abstract

A mobile terminal and a screen display method of the mobile terminal are disclosed. The mobile terminal includes: a display that comprises a user interface display region and an information display region; and a controller that changes positions of display regions and displaying the changed positions on the display according to a user selection.

Claims

1. A mobile communication terminal comprising:

a display screen having at least one user interface display region configured to display a graphical user interface and an information display region configured to display graphical information;

a touch sensor configured to detect touch events occurring on the display screen; and

a processor configured to;

process a first touch event detected by the touch sensor that occurs at the at least one user interface display region;

control the display screen to display the graphical user interface in the at least one user interface display region when the first touch event is detected, wherein the graphical user interface is displayed on two opposing locations along a boundary of the display screen and comprises a plurality of graphical control keys each defined to perform a particular function;

process a second touch event detected by the touch sensor that occurs at a graphical control key of the plurality of graphical control keys of the displayed graphical user interface; and

perform the particular function corresponding to the graphical control key on which the second touch event was detected.

2. The mobile communication terminal of claim 1, wherein one of the two opposing locations is along a left boundary of the display screen and the other of the two opposing locations is along a right boundary of the display screen.

3. The mobile communication terminal of claim 1, wherein one of the two opposing locations is along a top boundary of the display screen and the other of the two opposing locations is along a bottom boundary of the display screen.

4. A mobile communication terminal comprising:

a display screen having at least one user interface display region configured to display a graphical user interface and an information display region configured to display graphical information;

a touch sensor configured to detect touch events occurring on the display screen; and

a processor configured to;

process a first touch event detected by the touch sensor that occurs at the at least one user interface display region of the display screen;

control the display screen to display the graphical user interface only on a corresponding user interface display region of the at least one user interface display region on which the first touch event was detected, wherein the corresponding user interface display region is located along a left or right boundary of the display screen;

detect a dragging operation on the display screen at a boundary between the information display region and the at least one user interface display region;

control the display screen to adjust a size of the corresponding user interface display region according to the detected dragging operation; and

control the display screen to remove the displayed graphical user interface from the corresponding user interface display region if a second touch event is not detected for a predetermined time period.

5. The mobile communication terminal of claim 4, wherein:

the displayed graphical user interface comprises a plurality of graphical control keys each defined to perform a particular function; and

the processor is further configured to process the second touch event detected by the touch sensor that occurs at a graphical control key of the plurality of graphical control keys of the displayed graphical user interface.

6. The mobile communication terminal of claim 5, the processor is further configured to perform the particular function corresponding to the graphical control key on which the second touch event was detected.

7. The mobile communication terminal of claim 4, wherein the processor is further configured to control the display screen to display the graphical user interface at the entire corresponding user interface display region.

8. The mobile communication terminal of claim 4, wherein the graphical user interface comprises at least one graphical icon.

9. The mobile communication terminal of claim 4, wherein the processor is further configured to:

detect user activation of a particular key; and

control the display screen to display the graphical user interface within the corresponding user interface display region.

10. The mobile communication terminal of claim 4, wherein the processor is further configured to control the display screen to display visual indicators of antenna reception signal strength, local time, and battery power status.

11. The mobile communication terminal of claim 4, wherein an expanded overlap portion of the corresponding user interface display region and the information display region is displayed transparently or semi-transparently.

12. A screen display method of a mobile terminal, the method comprising:

detecting a first touch event occurring at at least one user interface display region of a display of the mobile terminal, wherein the display has an information display region configured to display graphical information and the at least one user interface display region configured to display a graphical user interface;

displaying the graphical user interface only on a corresponding user interface display region of the at least one user interface display region on which the first touch event was detected, wherein the corresponding user interface display region is located along a left or right boundary of the display screen;

detecting a dragging operation at a boundary between the information display region and the at least one user interface display region;

adjusting a size of the corresponding user interface display region according to the detected dragging operation; and

removing the displayed graphical user interface from the corresponding user interface display region if a second touch event is not detected for a predetermined time period.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the graphical user interface comprises a plurality of graphical control keys each defined to perform a particular function and further comprising detecting the second touch event occurring a graphical control key of the plurality of graphical control keys of the displayed graphical user interface.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising performing the particular function corresponding to the graphical control key on which the second touch event was detected.

15. The method of claim 12, further comprising displaying the graphical user interface at the entire corresponding user interface display region.

16. The method of claim 12, wherein the graphical user interface comprises at least one graphical icon.

17. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

detecting user activation of a particular key; and

displaying the graphical user interface within the corresponding at least one user interface display region.

18. The method of claim 12, further comprising displaying visual indicators of antenna reception signal strength, local time, and battery power status.

19. The method of claim 12, wherein an expanded overlap portion of the corresponding user interface display region and the information display region is displayed transparently or semi-transparently.