Mobile terminal and method of controlling the operation of the mobile terminal based on movement of a main body

• US 8,869,071 B2
• Filed: 03/29/2010
• Issued: 10/21/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 10/09/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Inventors: Cho, Hye Youn, Kwon, Yea Eun, Lee, Dong Seok
• Primary Examiner(s): Ulrich, Nicholas
• Assistant Examiner(s): Zhang, Shangao
• Application Number:
  US12/749,427
• Publication Number:
  US 20110086673A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,667 Days
• Field of Search: 715/810, 715/830, 715/863, 715/864, 715/784, 715/716, 715/858, 245/157, 245/158, 245/649, 345/157, 345/158, 345/649
• US Class Current: 715/863
• 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 1/72469 for operating the device by selecting functions from two or more displayed items, e.g. menus or icons
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/22 including a touch pad, a touch sensor or a touch detector

Abstract

A mobile terminal and a method of controlling the operation of the mobile terminal are provided. The method includes displaying a first list including one or more items on a display module provided in a main body of the mobile terminal; determining whether the main body has been rotated so as to turn the display module upside down; and if it is determined that the mobile terminal has been rotated so as to turn the display module upside down, displaying a second list, instead of the first list, on the display module. Therefore, it is possible to control various operations performed by the mobile terminal in accordance with the movement of the main body of the mobile terminal.

Claims

1. A method of controlling operation of a mobile terminal, the method comprising:

displaying a first list including one or more items on a display module of a main body of the mobile terminal;

determining whether the main body has been rotated by a predetermined degree such that the display module is turned upside down; and

no longer displaying the first list on the display module if it is determined that the mobile terminal has been rotated by the predetermined degree and displaying a second list on the display module, the second list related to the first list and determined in advance according to a user selection command,

wherein the second list is a list including a number of secret items registered by a user, a list obtained by rearranging the one or more items previously displayed in the first list such that the one or more items are displayed in inverse order of an order of the one or more items in the previously displayed first list or a list obtained by rearranging the one or more items in the previously displayed first list according to a current position of a scrollbar.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the predetermined degree is 180 degrees.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising detecting a movement of the main body based on a variation in a sensing signal output by a motion sensor.

4. A mobile terminal comprising:

a display module in a main body of the mobile terminal, the display module configured to display information;

a motion sensor configured to sense a motion of the main body; and

a controller configured to;

control the display module to display a first list including one or more items;

determine whether the mobile terminal has been rotated by a predetermined degree such that the display module is turned upside down, the determination based on a sensing signal output by the motion sensor; and

control the display module to no longer display the first list if it is determined that the mobile terminal has been rotated by the predetermined degree and control the display module to display a second list, the second list related to the first list and determined in advance according to a user selection command,

wherein the second list is a list including a number of secret items registered in advance by a user, a list obtained by rearranging the one or more items previously displayed in the first list such that the one or more items are displayed in inverse order of an order of the one or more items in the previously displayed first list or a list obtained by rearranging the items in the previously displayed first list according to a current position of a scrollbar.

5. A method of controlling the operation of a mobile terminal, the method comprising:

playing a first file that belongs to a playlist and displaying a first screen related to playing the first file on a display module of a main body of the mobile terminal;

determining whether the main body has been rotated by a predetermined degree such that the display module is turned upside down; and

no longer playing the first file and no longer displaying the first screen if it is determined that the mobile terminal has been rotated by the predetermined degree and playing a second file that belongs to the playlist and displaying a second screen related to playing the second file on the display module, the second file last in the playlist,

wherein the second screen comprises a plurality of icons each representing one of a plurality of multimedia files in the playlist, the plurality of icons displayed on the second screen as falling in a downward direction from a top of the second screen in reverse order of an order of the plurality of multimedia files in the playlist.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the second file is next to the first file in the playlist.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the predetermined degree is 180 degrees.

8. A mobile terminal comprising:

a display module in a main body of the mobile terminal, the display module configured to display information;

a motion sensor configured to sense a motion of the main body; and

a controller configured to;

play a first file that belongs to a playlist and control the display module to display a first screen related to playing the first file;

determine whether the main body has been rotated by a predetermined degree such that the display module is turned upside down; and

no longer play the first file and control the display module to no longer display the first screen if it is determined that the mobile terminal has been rotated by the predetermined degree and play a second file that belongs to the playlist and control the display module to display a second screen related to playing the second file, the second file last in the playlist,

wherein the second screen comprises a plurality of icons each representing one of a plurality of multimedia files in the playlist, the plurality of icons displayed on the second screen as falling in a downward direction from a top of the second screen in reverse order of an order of the plurality of multimedia files in the playlist.

9. A method of controlling the operation of a mobile terminal, the method comprising:

accessing a first website and displaying a first webpage screen provided by the first website on a display module in a main body of the mobile terminal;

determining whether the main body has been rotated by a predetermined degree such that the display module is turned upside down;

accessing a second website different from the first website and displaying a second webpage screen provided by the second website on the display module if it is determined that the mobile terminal has been rotated by the predetermined degree, the second website set in advance by a user; and

automatically inputting a keyword previously input via the first webpage screen into the second webpage screen upon determining the rotation of the mobile terminal.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the second website uses a different search engine from the first website.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising conducting a search at the second website using the keyword input via the first webpage screen.

12. A mobile terminal comprising:

a wireless communication unit configured to provide an interface for access to a wireless Internet;

a display module configured to display a first webpage screen provided by a first website;

a motion sensor configured to sense a motion of a main body of the mobile terminal; and

a controller configured to;

determine whether the main body has been rotated by a predetermined degree such that the display module is turned upside down;

access a second website using a different search engine from the first website and display a second webpage screen provided by the second website if it is determined that the mobile terminal has been rotated by the predetermined degree, the second website set in advance by a user, and

automatically input a keyword previously input via the first webpage screen into the second webpage screen upon determining the rotation of the mobile terminal.