Orientation-based touchscreen display

• US 8,325,151 B1
• Filed: 09/30/2011
• Issued: 12/04/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 09/20/2010
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Chan, Michael, Pelly, Nicholas J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Xiao, Ke
• Application Number:
  US13/249,236
• Time in Patent Office: 431 Days
• Field of Search: 345/173, 715/740
• US Class Current: 345/173
• 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 3/0487 using specific features provided by the input device, e.g. functions controlled by the rotation of a mouse with dual sensing arrangements, or of the nature of the input device, e.g. tap gestures based on pressure sensed by a digitiser
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures

Abstract

A touchscreen device may display various graphical user interfaces (GUIs) based on a physical orientation of the touchscreen device and a context of an application executed by an external device, to control the external device. In one example, a touchscreen device includes a touchscreen, an orientation sensor to determine a physical orientation for the touchscreen device, a context determination unit to determine a context for an application, a computer-readable medium configured to store configuration data associating combinations of contexts for applications and orientations in which the touchscreen device can be physically positioned with respective GUIs, a control unit that receives the orientation in which the touchscreen device is physically positioned and the context, selects the GUI associated with the determined orientation and the context, and causes the touchscreen to display the selected GUI, and an external device interface configured to send input received via the touchscreen to an external device.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

determining a physical orientation of a touchscreen device;

determining a context for an application executed by an external device to which the touchscreen device is communicatively coupled, wherein the application is executed over an operating system for the external device, and wherein the context corresponds to information that is generated based on a user'"'"'s interaction with the application;

when the touchscreen device is physically oriented in a first orientation and when the context comprises a first context for the application, displaying, by the touchscreen device, a first graphical user interface configured to receive a first type of user input and upon receiving user input of the first type, providing the received user input of the first type to the external device; and

when the touchscreen device is physically oriented in a second, different orientation and when the context comprises a second context for the application, displaying, by the touchscreen device, a second, different graphical user interface configured to receive a second, different type of user input and upon receiving user input of the second type, providing the received user input of the second type to the external device.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising maintaining, by the touchscreen device, configuration data that associates the first graphical user interface with the combination of the first orientation and the first context and that associates the second graphical user interface with the combination of the second orientation and the second context.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein displaying the first graphical user interface comprises:

querying the configuration data with a value representative of the first orientation and a value representative of the first context; and

responsive to the query, receiving an indication that the first graphical user interface is associated with the first orientation.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein displaying the second graphical user interface comprises:

querying the configuration data with a value representative of the second orientation and a value representative of the second context; and

responsive to the query, receiving an indication that the second graphical user interface is associated with the second orientation.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

after displaying the first graphical user interface, determining whether the touchscreen device has been physically oriented in the second orientation and whether the context for the application has changed to the second context; and

in response to a determination that the touchscreen device has been physically oriented in the second orientation and that the context has changed to the second context, displaying the second graphical user interface.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

after displaying the second graphical user interface, determining whether the touchscreen device has been physically oriented in the first orientation and whether the context for the application has changed to the first context; and

in response to a determination that the touchscreen device has been physically oriented in the first orientation and that the context has changed to the first context, displaying the first graphical user interface.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the first orientation comprises a portrait orientation, wherein the first orientation comprises a wildcard orientation, and wherein the first graphical user interface comprises a trackpad graphical user interface.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the second orientation comprises a landscape orientation, wherein the second context comprises selection of a text field, and wherein the second graphical user interface comprises a keyboard graphical user interface.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising synchronizing the touchscreen device with the external device to communicatively couple the touchscreen device to the external device in accordance with a wireless communication protocol.

10. A touchscreen device comprising:

a touchscreen;

an orientation sensing unit configured to determine a physical orientation of the touchscreen device;

a context determination unit configured to determine a context of an application executed by an external device to which the touchscreen device is communicatively coupled, wherein the application is executed over an operating system for the external device, and wherein the context corresponds to information that is generated based on a user'"'"'s interaction with the application;

a computer-readable medium configured to store configuration data that associates a number of orientations in which the touchscreen device can be physically oriented and contexts for one or more applications executed by the external device with respective graphical user interfaces;

a control unit configured to receive from the orientation sensing unit the determined orientation of the touchscreen device and to receive the context for the application executed by the external device;

means for selecting the graphical user interface that is associated with the determined orientation and the context for the application, wherein the control unit is configured to cause the touchscreen to display the selected graphical user interface associated with the determined orientation and the context for the application; and

an external device interface configured to send input received via the selected graphical user interface displayed on the touchscreen to the external device.

11. The touchscreen device of claim 10, wherein the means for selecting the graphical user interface comprises the control unit.

12. The touchscreen device of claim 11, wherein the orientation sensing unit is configured to determine whether the orientation in which the touchscreen device is physically oriented has changed, and in response to a determination that the orientation in which the touchscreen device has changed to a new orientation, to send an interrupt to the control unit indicative of the new orientation.

13. The touchscreen device of claim 12, wherein the control unit is configured to receive the interrupt, receive a new context for the application from the context determination unit, select the graphical user interface that is associated with the new orientation and the new context, and cause the touchscreen to display the graphical user interface that is associated with the new orientation and the new context.

14. The touchscreen device of claim 11, wherein a first entry of the configuration data associates a combination of a landscape orientation and a context comprising a selection of a text field with a keyboard graphical user interface and wherein a second entry of the configuration data associates a portrait orientation with a trackpad graphical user interface and a wildcard value for the context.

15. The touchscreen device of claim 14,

wherein the control unit is configured to cause the touchscreen device to display the keyboard graphical user interface when the orientation sensing unit determines that the physical orientation of the touchscreen device comprises the landscape orientation and when the context determination unit determines that the context for the application comprises a selection of a text field, and

wherein the control unit is configured to cause the touchscreen device to display the trackpad graphical user interface when the orientation sensing unit determines that the physical orientation of the touchscreen device comprises the portrait orientation.

16. A computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions that, when executed, cause a processor of a touchscreen device to:

determine a physical orientation for the touchscreen device;

determine a context for an application executed by an external device to which the touchscreen device is communicatively coupled, wherein the application is executed over an operating system for the external device, and wherein the context corresponds to information that is generated based on a user'"'"'s interaction with the application;

when the touchscreen device is physically oriented in a first orientation and when the context comprises a first context for the application, cause a touchscreen of the touchscreen device to display a first graphical user interface configured to receive a first type of user input and upon receiving user input of the first type, the instructions cause the processor to provide the received user input of the first type to the external device; and

when the touchscreen device is physically oriented in a second, different orientation and when the context comprises a second context for the application, cause the touchscreen to display a second, different graphical user interface configured to receive a second, different type of user input and upon receiving user input of the second type, the instructions cause the processor to provide the received user input of the second type to the external device.

17. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 16, further comprising instructions to maintain configuration data that associates the first graphical user interface with the combination of the first orientation and the first context and that associates the second graphical user interface with the combination of the second orientation and the second context.

18. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 17, wherein a first entry of the configuration data associates a landscape orientation and a context comprising a selection of a text field with a keyboard graphical user interface and wherein a second entry of the configuration data associates a portrait orientation with a trackpad graphical user interface and a wildcard value for the context.

19. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 16, further comprising instructions to, after causing the touchscreen to display the first graphical user interface, determine whether the mobile device has been physically oriented in the second orientation and whether the context for the application has changed to the second context, and in response to a determination that the mobile device has been physically oriented in the second orientation and that the context has changed to the second context, to cause the touchscreen to display the second graphical user interface.

20. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 16, further comprising instructions to, after causing the touchscreen to display the second graphical user interface, determine whether the mobile device has been physically oriented in the first orientation and whether the context for the application has changed to the first context, and in response to a determination that the mobile device has been physically oriented in the first orientation and that the context has changed to the first context, to cause the touchscreen to display the first graphical user interface.