System and method for rotating a user interface for a mobile device

• US 8,326,370 B2
• Filed: 09/23/2010
• Issued: 12/04/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 09/23/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Malikie Innovations Limited (Key Patent Innovations Limited)
• Original Assignee: Blackberry Limited
• Inventors: DeLuca, Michael Joseph
• Primary Examiner(s): Mizrahi, Diane
• Application Number:
  US12/888,915
• Publication Number:
  US 20120077480A1
• Time in Patent Office: 803 Days
• Field of Search: 455/569.1, 455/575.1, 455/418, 379/443, 381/334
• US Class Current: 455/569.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1688 the I/O peripheral being integrated loudspeakers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1694 the I/O peripheral being a single or a set of motion sensors for pointer control or gesture input obtained by sensing movements of the portable computer
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/0202 Portable telephone sets, e.g. cordless phones, mobile phones or bar type handsets constructional features of telephone transmitters or receivers, e.g. of speakers or microphones H04M1/03
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/03 Constructional features of telephone transmitters or receivers, e.g. telephone hand-sets
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/724 User interfaces specially adapted for cordless or mobile telephones
• 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

Abstract

A system and method for determining the orientation of a mobile device for displaying a graphical user interface and for activating an audio user interface in response to an incoming call or outgoing call. For the graphical user interface, depending on the detected orientation of the mobile device, the graphical user interface can be displayed in a first vertical orientation, a second vertical orientation, a first horizontal orientation, and a second horizontal orientation. For the audio user interface, depending on the detected orientation of the mobile device, a speaker and a microphone can be activated based on the detected vertical orientation so that the activated speaker is near the top of the mobile device and the activated microphone is near the bottom of mobile device.

Claims

1. A mobile device having first and second opposing sides, the mobile device comprising:

a first speaker positioned at about the first side;

a second speaker positioned at about the second side;

a first microphone positioned at about the first side;

a second microphone positioned at about the second side;

an orientation component configured to determine an orientation of the mobile device, the orientation component including an accelerometer for determining a first orientation corresponding to the first side being oriented higher than the second side; and

a processor configured to activate either said first speaker and said second microphone or said second speaker and said first microphone in response to the orientation of the mobile device, the processor activating said first speaker and said second microphone in response to the first orientation determination.

2. The mobile device of claim 1 wherein the processor is further configured to maintain the deactivation of the second speaker and the first microphone in the event the orientation component detects the first side is higher than the second side.

3. The mobile device of claim 1 wherein the processor is further configured to maintain the deactivation of the first speaker and the second microphone in the event the orientation component detects the second side is higher than the first side.

4. The mobile device of claim 1 wherein the orientation component is one of a gyroscope and a mercury switch.

5. The mobile device of claim 1 further comprising third and fourth opposing sides, the orientation component being further configured to detect which one of the third and fourth opposing sides is higher than the other sides and the processor being configured to display call information in accordance with the detection of the higher side.

6. A mobile device having first and second opposing sides, the mobile device comprising:

a first speaker positioned at about the first side;

a second speaker positioned at about the second side;

a first microphone positioned at about the first side;

a second microphone positioned at about the second side;

an orientation component configured to determine an orientation of the mobile device; and

a processor configured to activate either said first speaker and said second microphone or said second speaker and said first microphone in response to the orientation of the mobile device,

said orientation component determines the orientation of the mobile device by causing said processor to activate both said first and second microphones, said orientation device further processes audio signals from both said first and second microphones and determines a first orientation of the mobile device in response to the second microphone receiving an audio signal greater than the first microphone, and said processor activates the first speaker and second microphone and deactivates the first microphone in response to the first orientation determination.

7. The mobile device according to claim 6 wherein said orientation component further causes said processor to activate both first and second speakers while determining the orientation of the mobile device, and said processor further deactivates the second speaker in response to the first orientation determination.

8. A mobile device having first and second opposing sides, the mobile device comprising:

a first speaker positioned at about the first side;

a second speaker positioned at about the second side;

a first microphone positioned at about the first side;

a second microphone positioned at about the second side;

an orientation component configured to determine an orientation of the mobile device; and

a processor configured to activate either said first speaker and said second microphone or said second speaker and said first microphone in response to the orientation of the mobile device, the first speaker and the first microphone being a first transducer and the second speaker and the second microphone being a second transducer, in the event the orientation component detects that the first side is higher than the second side, the processor activates the first transducer to function as a speaker and causes the second transducer to function as a microphone.

9. A mobile device having first and second opposing sides, the mobile device comprising:

a first speaker positioned at about the first side;

a second speaker positioned at about the second side;

a first microphone positioned at about the first side;

a second microphone positioned at about the second side;

an orientation component configured to determine an orientation of the mobile device; and

a processor configured to activate either said first speaker and said second microphone or said second speaker and said first microphone in response to the orientation of the mobile device, the first speaker and the first microphone being a first transducer and the second speaker and the second microphone being a second transducer, in the event the orientation component detects that the second side is higher than the first side, the microprocessor activates the second transducer to function as a speaker and causes the first transducer to function as a microphone.

10. A computer program product for a mobile device having first and second opposing sides, the computer program product comprising:

at least one computer readable medium; and

at least one program module, stored on the at least one medium, and operative, upon execution by at least one processor for;

receiving an orientation signal from an orientation component, wherein the orientation signal indicates the orientation of the mobile device; and

activating either a first speaker and a second microphone or a second speaker and first microphone in response to the orientation of the mobile device, activating said first speaker further comprising maintaining the deactivation of said second speaker and activating said second microphone further comprises maintaining the deactivation of said first microphone.

11. The computer program product of claim 10 wherein the first speaker and the first microphone is a first transducer and the second speaker and the second microphone is a second transducer wherein in the event the orientation component detects the second side is higher than the first side, the microprocessor activates the second transducer to function as a speaker and activates the first transducer to function as a microphone.

12. The computer program product of claim 10 wherein the orientation component is an accelerometer.

13. The computer program product of claim 10 wherein the orientation component is one of a gyroscope and a mercury switch.

14. A computer program product for a mobile device with first and second opposing sides, the computer program product comprising:

at least one computer readable medium; and

at least one program module, stored on the at least one medium, and operative, upon execution by at least one processor for;

receiving an orientation signal from an orientation component, wherein the orientation signal indicates the orientation of the mobile device; and

activating either a first speaker and a second microphone or a second speaker and first microphone in response to the orientation of the mobile device, activating said second speaker further comprises maintaining the deactivation of said first speaker positioned and wherein activating said first microphone further comprises maintaining the deactivation of said second microphone.