Mobile terminal and screen partitioning method thereof

• US 9,128,606 B2
• Filed: 02/27/2012
• Issued: 09/08/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 06/27/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Inventors: Won, Yoonchan, Woo, Heekyung, Kim, Youngwoo, Jeong, Byoungzoo
• Primary Examiner(s): Sams, Michelle L
• Application Number:
  US13/406,294
• Publication Number:
  US 20120327106A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,289 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/2145 the surface being also a display device, e.g. touch screens
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/26 having at least one additional display device, e.g. on the game controller or outside a game booth
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/843 involving concurrently two or more players on the same game device, e.g. requiring the use of a plurality of controllers or of a specific view of game data for each player
• 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: G06T 2219/024 Multi-user, collaborative environment
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/0492 Change of orientation of the displayed image, e.g. upside-down, mirrored
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/14 Display of multiple viewports

Abstract

A mobile terminal and controlling method thereof are disclosed, by which various and convenient functions are provided through screen partition in consideration of a plurality of users. The present invention includes a touchscreen recognizing a touch input and a controller setting a reference line on the touchscreen to correspond to a 1^st pattern touch input, the controller partitioning the touchscreen into a 1^st region and a 2^nd region in accordance with the set reference line, the controller controlling an image displayed on the 1^st region to be displayed on the 2^nd region in a manner of being reversed.

Claims

1. A mobile terminal comprising:

a touchscreen configured to receive a touch input, and to display an execution screen of an application; and

a controller configured to set a reference indicator on the touchscreen based on a first user input, partition the touchscreen into a 1^st region and a 2^nd region in accordance with the set reference indicator, and control an image displayed on the 1^st region to be displayed on the 2^nd region in a manner of being reversed,

wherein the image displayed on the 1^st region corresponds to either a first partial image of the execution screen or a second partial image of the execution screen,

wherein the first partial image and the second image are partitioned from the execution screen in accordance with the set reference indicator,

wherein, when a second user input is inputted, the controller is further configured to;

display an icon on the touchscreen; and

recognize a touch input only in one of the 1^st and the 2^nd regions, at which the icon is situated, and

wherein the icon is moved across a line partitioning the 1^st region and the 2^nd region.

2. The mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein the reversion includes at least one of a 180-degree rotation, side-to-side symmetry and top-to-bottom symmetry.

3. The mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein the reference indicator is realized as a reference line.

4. The mobile terminal of claim 3, wherein the first user input is a 1^st pattern touch input and comprises a touch &

drag input inputted from a first predetermined position on the touchscreen to a second predetermined position, wherein the controller is adapted to set the reference indicator or reference line along a trace of the touch &

drag input.

5. The mobile terminal of claim 4, wherein only if a contact size of touch &

drag input is equal to or greater than a preset value, the controller is adapted to control the reference line to be set.

6. The mobile terminal of claim 4, wherein when the touch &

drag input starts, the controller is adapted to provide a prescribed visual effect along the trace of the touch &

drag input.

7. The mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein if a second user input is recognized, the controller is adapted to determine whether to recognize a touch input via the 1^st or 2^nd region.

8. The mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein the controller is adapted to display a 1^st icon associated to the 1^st region and a 2^nd icon associated to the 2^nd region on the touch screen and wherein the controller is adapted to control the touch input to be recognized via the region corresponding to either the 1^st icon or the 2^nd icon selected via the touch input only.

9. The mobile terminal of claim 8, wherein when both of the 1^st icon and the 2^nd icon are selected together and if an image displayed on a corresponding region is changed in accordance with the touch input via one of the two regions, the controller is adapted to control the changed image to be applied to both of the regions.

10. The mobile terminal of claim 8, wherein if the touch input of a 3^rd pattern is recognized by being applied to one of the two icons, the controller is adapted to display a popup window including a list of recognizable commands on the touchscreen and wherein if at least one recognizable command is selected from the popup window, the controller is adapted to recognize the selected command only via the region corresponding to the 3^rd pattern touch input recognized icon.

11. The mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein when an image displayed on the 1^st region is changed according to an user input, the controller is adapted to control an image displayed on the 2^nd region to be changed correspondingly.

12. The mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein when an image displayed on one of the region is changed in accordance with a user input, the controller is adapted to control the changed image to be applied to both of the regions of the touchscreen.

13. The mobile terminal of claim 1, further comprising an orientation sensor, wherein the controller is adapted to partition the touchscreen into a 1^st region and a 2^nd region only, if the orientation sensor provides a horizontal alignment signal.

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

recognizing a first user input;

displaying an execution screen of an application on a touch screen;

setting a reference indicator on the touchscreen based on the first user input;

partitioning the touchscreen into a 1^st region and a 2^nd region in accordance with the set reference indicator; and

controlling an image displayed on the 1^st region to be displayed on the 2^nd region in a manner of being reversed,

wherein the image displayed on the 1^st region corresponds to either a first partial image of the execution screen or a second partial image of the execution screen,

wherein the first partial image and the second image are partitioned from the execution screen in accordance with the set reference indicator,

wherein, when a second user input is inputted, the method further comprises;

displaying an icon on the touchscreen; and

recognizing a touch input only in one of the 1^st and the 2^nd regions, at which the icon is situated, and

wherein the icon is moved across a line partitioning the 1^st region and the 2^nd region.