Mobile terminal apparatus and method of starting application

• US 8,552,996 B2
• Filed: 02/18/2010
• Issued: 10/08/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 03/27/2009
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.), Sony Mobile Communications AB (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Morita, Hiroshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Lao, Lun-Yi
• Assistant Examiner(s): SHAH, PRIYANK J
• Application Number:
  US12/707,891
• Publication Number:
  US 20100245272A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,328 Days
• Field of Search: 345/173, 345/156, 345/174, 382185-189, 382181-182, 715/780, 715/863, 178 1801- 1907, 455/566
• US Class Current: 345/173
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72403 with means for local support of applications that increase the functionality
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/22 including a touch pad, a touch sensor or a touch detector digitizers for touch screens G06F3/041

Abstract

A mobile terminal apparatus includes a display section, a touch panel section detecting a touch on a display area of the display section, a pattern detection section detecting a pattern input into a specific area of the touch panel section, and a storage section. The storage section stores a relationship between the pattern input into the touch panel section and an application to be started correspondingly to the pattern in an application table. A control section determines an application corresponding to the pattern detected by the pattern detection section on the basis of the application table stored in the storage section and starting the determined application.

Claims

1. A mobile terminal apparatus comprising:

a display section;

a touch panel section detecting a touch on a display area of the display section;

a pattern detection section detecting a pattern input into a specific area of the touch panel section;

a storage section storing a relationship between the pattern input into the touch panel section and an application to be started correspondingly to the pattern in an application table; and

a control section determining an application corresponding to the pattern detected by the pattern detection section on the basis of the application table stored in the storage section and starting the determined application, wherein the control section, when the application corresponding to the pattern detected by the pattern detection section is started, removes the specific area from display, and reinserts the specific area to be displayed in response to an actuation of a key displayed on the display section even if the application is running, said control section terminating all previously invoked applications in response to a predetermined pattern detected by the pattern detection section.

2. The mobile terminal apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the application table allows setting a pattern corresponding to each application to any single pattern.

3. The mobile terminal apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the display section displays an icon for performing pattern detection by the pattern detection section, and

if an operation specifying the icon is performed on the touch panel section, the specific area for detecting a pattern by the pattern detection section is displayed on the display section.

4. The mobile terminal apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising, if the icon is being displayed on the display section, an operation section having a key switch allowing appearance of the specific area on the display section in order for the pattern detection section to perform pattern detection.

5. A method of starting an application, the method comprising the steps of:

detecting a pattern input into a specific area of a touch panel;

storing a relationship between the pattern input into the touch panel and an application to be started correspondingly to the pattern in an application table; and

determining an application corresponding to the pattern detected by the touch panel on the basis of the application table and starting the determined application, wherein

the control section, when the application corresponding to the pattern detected by the pattern detection section is started, removes the specific area from display, and reinserts the specific area to be displayed in response to an actuation of a key displayed on the display section even if the application is running, said control section terminating all previously invoked applications in response to a predetermined pattern detected by the pattern detection section.