Dual-screen view in response to rotation

• US 9,146,585 B2
• Filed: 09/28/2011
• Issued: 09/29/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 10/01/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Z124 LLC (Flexis)
• Original Assignee: Z124 LLC (Flexis)
• Inventors: Schrock, Rodney Wayne, Gimpl, Martin, Sirpal, Sanjiv, Visosky, John Steven
• Primary Examiner(s): McDowell, Jr., Maurice L
• Application Number:
  US13/247,787
• Publication Number:
  US 20120081400A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,462 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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

A multi-screen user device and methods for controlling data displayed thereby are disclosed. Specifically, a gesture sequence is disclosed which enables a user to toggle or shift through applications that are displayed by the multi-screen user device. The gesture sequence may correspond to various rotation or partial rotations of the multi-screen user device.

Claims

1. A method of controlling data displayed by a multi-screen device, comprising:

providing first, second, and third applications as part of a simplified, ordered set of applications configured in an application stack, wherein applications in the application stack correspond to applications that have been opened by a user;

determining that the multi-screen device has been rotated a first time from an open portrait state to an open landscape state, wherein data from the first application is displayed on a first screen prior to the rotation of the device, wherein data from the second application is displayed on a second screen prior to the rotation of the device;

displaying the second application after rotation of the device, wherein the data from the first application is not displayed while the device is in the open landscape state;

determining that the device has been rotated a second time after the first time from the open landscape state to the open portrait state; and

in response to determining that the device has been rotated the second time, automatically causing the data from the second application as organized in the application stack to be displayed on the first screen and data from the third application as organized in the application stack to be displayed on the second screen, wherein the data from the first application is not displayed after the rotations of the device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first screen of the device is positioned above the second screen of the device in the open landscape state.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the rotation of the device is determined, at least in part, based on data received from an accelerometer.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the data from the second application is automatically displayed on both the first and second screens while the device is in the open landscape state.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein data from the second application is displayed in a landscape max output configuration.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the third application is different from the first application.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the first application is an active application when the device has been rotated the first time and an inactive application when the device has been rotated the second time.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the second application is an active application when the device has been rotated the first time and when the device has been rotated the second time.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the third application is an inactive application when the device has been rotated the first time and an active application when the device has been rotated the second time.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the application stack comprises the first, second, and third application in sequential order.

11. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon instructions that cause a computing system to execute a method, the instructions comprising:

instructions to provide first, second, and third applications as part of a simplified, ordered set of applications configured in an application stack, wherein applications in the application stack correspond to applications that have been opened by a user;

instructions configured to determine that a multi-screen device has been rotated a first time from an open portrait state to an open landscape state, wherein data from the first application is displayed on a first screen prior to the rotation of the device, wherein data from the second application is displayed on a second screen prior to the rotation of the device;

instructions to display the second application after rotation of the device, wherein the data from the first application is not displayed while the device is in the open landscape state;

instructions configured to determine that the device has been rotated a second time after the first time from the open landscape state to the open portrait state; and

instructions configured to automatically cause the data from the second application as organized in the application stack to be displayed on the first screen and data from the third application as organized in the application stack to be displayed on the second screen in response to determining that the device has been rotated the second time, wherein the data from the first application is not displayed after the rotations of the device.

12. The computer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein the first screen of the device is positioned above the second screen of the device in the open landscape state.

13. The computer-readable medium of claim 12, wherein the rotation of the device is determined, at least in part, based on data received from an accelerometer.

14. The computer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein the data from the second application is automatically displayed on both the first and second screens while the device is in the open landscape state and wherein data from the second application is displayed in a landscape max output configuration.

15. A multi-screen user device, comprising:

a first screen including a first display area;

a second screen including a second display area;

a sensor configured to produce an electrical signal indicative of a rotation of the user device; and

a computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon that include;

a first set of instructions to provide first, second, and third applications as part of a simplified, ordered set of applications configured in an application stack, wherein applications in the application stack correspond to applications that have been opened by a user;

a second set of instructions configured to determine that a multi-screen device has been rotated a first time from an open portrait state to an open landscape state, wherein data from the first application is displayed on the first screen prior to the rotation of the device, wherein data from the second application is displayed on the second screen prior to the rotation of the device;

a third set of instructions to display the second application after rotation of the device, wherein the data from the first application is not displayed while the device is in the open landscape state;

a fourth set of instructions configured to determine that the device has been rotated a second time after the first time from the open landscape state to the open portrait state; and

a fifth set of instructions configured to automatically cause the data from the second application as organized in the application stack to be displayed on the first screen and data from the third application as organized in the application stack to be displayed on the second screen in response to determining that the device has been rotated the second time, wherein the data from the first application is not displayed after the rotations of the device.

16. The device of claim 15, wherein the first screen of the device is positioned above the second screen of the device in the open landscape state.

17. The device of claim 16, wherein the sensor comprises at least one accelerometer.

18. The device of claim 15, wherein the data from the third application is not displayed prior to the rotation of the device.