Gravity drop rules and keyboard display on a multiple screen device

• US 8,698,751 B2
• Filed: 09/28/2011
• Issued: 04/15/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 10/01/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Z124 LLC (Flexis)
• Original Assignee: Z124 LLC (Flexis)
• Inventors: Sirpal, Sanjiv, Gimpl, Martin
• Primary Examiner(s): Cheng, Joe H
• Application Number:
  US13/247,827
• Publication Number:
  US 20120081293A1
• Time in Patent Office: 930 Days
• Field of Search: 345 11- 13, 345/156, 345/158, 345/168, 345/169, 345/173, 345/659, 715/761, 715/778, 715/788, 715/790, 715/864
• US Class Current: 345/169
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/16 Constructional details or arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1616 with folding flat displays, e.g. laptop computers or notebooks having a clamshell configuration, with body parts pivoting to an open position around an axis parallel to the plane they define in closed position
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1632 External expansion units, e.g. docking stations
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1641 the display being formed by a plurality of foldable display components G06F1/1647 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1647 including at least an additional display G06F1/1692 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1677 for detecting open or closed state or particular intermediate positions assumed by movable parts of the enclosure, e.g. detection of display lid position with respect to main body in a laptop, detection of opening of the cover of battery compartment
• 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: 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: G06F 2203/04803 Split screen, i.e. subdividing the display area or the window area into separate subareas
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/017 Gesture based interaction, e.g. based on a set of recognized hand gestures interaction based on gestures traced on a digitiser G06F3/04883
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0346 with detection of the device orientation or free movement in a 3D space, e.g. 3D mice, 6-DOF [six degrees of freedom] pointers using gyroscopes, accelerometers or tilt-sensors
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/041 Digitisers, e.g. for touch screens or touch pads, characterised by the transducing means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0412 Digitisers structurally integrated in a display
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0416 Control or interface arrangements specially adapted for digitisers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/044 by capacitive means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/048 Interaction techniques based on graphical user interfaces [GUI]
• 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 3/04812 Interaction techniques based on cursor appearance or behaviour, e.g. being affected by the presence of displayed objects
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04817 using icons graphical or visual programming using iconic symbols G06F8/34
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 : Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0483 : Interaction with page-structured environments, e.g. book metaphor
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0484 : for the control of specific functions or operations, e.g. selecting or manipulating an object, an image or a displayed text element, setting a parameter value or selecting a range
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 : Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04845 : for image manipulation, e.g. dragging, rotation, expansion or change of colour
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04847 : Interaction techniques to control parameter settings, e.g. interaction with sliders or dials
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0486 : Drag-and-drop
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 : using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 : for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text
• 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: G06F 3/1423 : controlling a plurality of local displays, e.g. CRT and flat panel display
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1446 : display composed of modules, e.g. video walls
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 3/02 : Affine transformations for image registration G06T3/147; for image mosaicing G06T3/4038
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 3/40 : Scaling of whole images or parts thereof, e.g. expanding or contracting
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2356/00 : Detection of the display position w.r.t. other display screens
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/14 : Display of multiple viewports
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1827 : Network arrangements for conference optimisation or adaptation

Abstract

Methods and devices for presenting or dismissing a virtual keyboard are provided. More particularly, in connection with a multiple screen device, a virtual keyboard can be presented in a first mode using portions of both of the screens. In a second mode, the virtual keyboard can be presented using all of one of the screens, or can be dismissed. Movement between the different modes can be effected by rotating the device between a dual portrait orientation, corresponding to the first mode, and a dual landscape orientation, corresponding to the second mode. More particularly, depending on whether the device is rotated away from or towards information having focus, the display of the virtual keyboard is continued or discontinued.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

providing a device having first and second screens;

positioning the device in a first device orientation;

presenting a virtual keyboard, wherein a first portion of the virtual keyboard is presented using a first portion of the first screen, wherein a second portion of the virtual keyboard is presented using a first portion of the second screen, wherein first information is presented using a second portion of the first screen, and wherein second information is presented using a second portion of the second screen;

receiving input from a user, the input including rotating the device to a second device orientation;

determining that a focus of the user is on the first information presented by the first screen;

determining a direction of the rotation of the device; and

the method further including at least one of;

in response to determining that the direction of rotation of the device is towards the first screen;

discontinuing presenting the virtual keyboard;

discontinuing presenting the first information; and

expanding the presentation of the second information, wherein, after expanding the presentation of the second information the first and second screens at least partially display at least one of the second information, or information related to the second information; and

in response to determining that the direction of rotation of the device is away from the first screen;

continuing to present the virtual keyboard;

discontinuing presenting the second information; and

continuing to present the first information.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein in the first device orientation the first and second screens are in a portrait mode, and wherein in the second device orientation the first and second touch screens are in a landscape mode.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein in the direction of rotation of the device away from the first screen is towards the second screen.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

receiving a user input to dismissing the keyboard;

after dismissing the keyboard, presenting using the second screen at least one of an expansion of the second information or information related to the second information.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

applying gravity drop rules to determine the information presented using the second screen after dismissing the keyboard.

6. The method of claim 3, wherein in the first device orientation the first screen is to the left of the second screen.

7. The method of claim 3, wherein in the first device orientation the first screen is to the right of the second screen.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein in the first device orientation the first information is presented in a window occupying all or substantially all of the second portion of the first screen and the second information is presented in a window occupying all or substantially all of the second portion of the second screen.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the first and second screens are touch sensitive screens, wherein in the first device orientation the presentation of the virtual keyboard is modified as compared to the presentation of the virtual keyboard in the second device orientation, and wherein the modification includes aligning keys included in the virtual keyboard to accommodate a gap between a first group of the keys included in the virtual keyboard that are presented by the first touch screen and a second group of keys included in the virtual keyboard that are presented by the second touch screen.

10. A device, comprising:

a first screen, the first screen including a touch sensitive display area;

3

a second screen, the second screen including a touch sensitive display area;

memory;

a processor;

application programming stored in the memory and executed by the processor, wherein the application programming is operable to;

in a first device orientation, display a virtual keyboard using a first portion of the touch sensitive display area of the first screen and using a first portion of the touch sensitive display area of the second screen, and display a first information using a second portion of the first screen and a second information using a second portion of the second screen;

identify one of the first and second screens as having a focus of a user;

detect a rotation of the device from the first device orientation to a second device orientation; and

in response to detecting a rotation of the device from the first device orientation to the second device orientation; and

determining whether the direction of rotation is towards the one of the first and second screens identified as having the focus of the user, identifying that the first screen has the focus of the user, and performing one of;

in response to determining that the direction of rotation is not towards the first screen identified as having the focus of the user, continuing the display of the virtual keyboard, discontinuing presenting the second information, and continuing to present the first information;

in response to determining that the direction of rotation is towards the first screen identified as having the focus of the user, discontinuing the display of the virtual keyboard, discontinuing presenting the first information, and expanding the presentation of the second information, wherein after expanding the presentation of the second information the first and second screens at least partially display at least one of the second information or information related to the second information.

11. The device of claim 10, further comprising:

in the second device orientation, displaying the virtual keyboard using the second screen;

receiving a user input to discontinue the display of the virtual keyboard;

in response to the user input to discontinue the display of the virtual keyboard, displaying using the second screen information related to information displayed by the first screen.

12. The device of claim 10, wherein the application programming is further operable to display first information on the first and second screens.

13. The device of claim 10, further comprising:

an accelerometer, wherein the accelerometer is operative to provide an indication of an orientation of the first and second screens and a direction of rotation to the application programming.

14. A non-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereon computer-executable instructions, the computer executable instructions causing a processor to execute a method for providing a virtual keyboard, the computer-executable instructions comprising:

instructions to display a first portion of a virtual keyboard using a first portion of a first screen of a multiple screen device, to display first information using a second portion of the first screen, to display a second portion of the virtual keyboard using a first portion of a second screen of the multiple screen device, and to display second information using a second portion of the second screen while the multiple screen device is in a first device orientation;

instructions to determine the focus of a user of the multiple screen device, wherein the focus is on one of the first information and the second information;

instructions to determine whether a direction of rotation of the multiple screen device from the first device orientation to the second device orientation is towards the screen containing the first information or the second information;

instructions, in response to determining that the direction of rotation of the multiple screen device is towards the screen containing the second information, and where the focus of the user is on the first information, to;

display the first information on a top one of the first and second screens; and

display the virtual keyboard on a bottom one of the first and second screens; and

instructions, in response to determining that the direction of rotation of the multiple screen device is towards the screen containing the second information, and where the focus of the user is on the second information, to;

discontinue the display of the virtual keyboard; and

display the first information and an extension of the first information on the first and second screens.

15. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 14, further comprising:

instructions to discontinue the display of the virtual keyboard in response to input from the user;

instructions to display on the bottom one of the first and second screens an extension of the first information.

16. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 14, further comprising:

instructions to determine a focus of the user from a user selection of one of the first and second information.

17. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 14, wherein a first page of the first information is displayed by the first screen and a second page of the first information is displayed by the second screen.