Smartpad split screen with keyboard

• US 9,218,021 B2
• Filed: 09/28/2011
• Issued: 12/22/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 10/01/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Z124 LLC (Flexis)
• Original Assignee: Z124 LLC (Flexis)
• Inventors: Sirpal, Sanjiv, de Paz, Alexander
• Primary Examiner(s): To, Jennifer
• Assistant Examiner(s): FILOSI, TERRI L
• Application Number:
  US13/247,621
• Publication Number:
  US 20120084698A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,546 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-display device is adapted to be dockable or otherwise associatable with an additional device. In accordance with one exemplary embodiment, the multi-display device is dockable with a smartpad. The exemplary smartpad can include a screen, a touch sensitive display, a configurable area, a gesture capture region(s) and a camera. The smartpad can also include a port adapted to receive the device. The exemplary smartpad is able to cooperate with the device such that information displayable on the device is also displayable on the smartpad. Furthermore, any one or more of the functions on the device are extendable to the smartpad, with the smartpad capable of acting as an input/output interface or extension of the smartpad. Therefore, for example, information from one or more of the displays on the multi-screen device is displayable on the smartpad.

Claims

1. A smartpad comprising:

a screen comprising a gesture capture area;

a connection configured to communicate with a docked multi-screen device, wherein the docked multi-screen device includes a device orientation sensor that determines both the docked multi-screen device orientation and the smartpad orientation, the device orientation sensor outputting a signal to the smartpad via the connection, the docked multi-screen device configured to display content in at least a portrait display mode and a landscape display mode; and

a display, the display configured to display content from the docked multi-screen device in at least a portrait display mode and a landscape orientation mode, the content including a virtual keyboard, wherein an application on the docked multi-screen device is displayed with the virtual keyboard on the display;

wherein the received signal from the docked multi-screen device is used to determine the display mode of each of the smartpad and the docked multi-screen device;

wherein the determined display mode of the smartpad is compared with the determined display mode of the docked multi-screen device;

wherein if the determined display mode of the docked multi-screen device is not the same as the determined display mode of the smartpad, the content from the docked multi-screen device is automatically reoriented to display on the smartpad in the display mode of the smartpad;

wherein one or more of;

the display is capable of being logically divided into at least two portions, the application is a dual screen application, and the virtual keyboard has a landscape mode and a portrait mode;

wherein the at least two portions are different sizes and relate to two different applications.

2. The smartpad of claim 1, wherein the display is a touch screen display.

3. The smartpad of claim 1, wherein the device orientation sensor is an accelerometer.

4. The smartpad of claim 1, wherein a first of the logical portions displays a first window from the multi-screen device and a second of the logical portions displays a second window from the multi-screen device.

5. The smartpad of claim 1, wherein the smartpad further supports a multi-application mode, the multi-application mode emulating the docked multi-screen device in mini-tablet form.

6. The smartpad of claim 1, wherein an application on the docked multi-screen device is displayed with a virtual keyboard.

7. A method comprising:

providing a smartpad comprising a screen with a gesture capture area, a connection configured to communicate with a docked multi-screen device, and a display configured to display content in at least a portrait display mode and a landscape display mode from the docked multi-screen device, wherein the docked multi-screen device comprises a device orientation sensor that determines both the device orientation and the smartpad orientation, the device orientation sensor outputting a signal to the smartpad via the connection;

the docked multi-screen device configured to display content in at least a portrait display mode and a landscape display mode;

receiving the signal from the docked multi-screen device;

determining the display mode of the smartpad;

determining the display mode of the docked multi-screen device;

comparing the determined display mode of the smartpad with the determined display mode of the docked multi-screen device;

automatically re-orienting the content from the docked multi-screen device to display on the smartpad in the determined display mode of the smartpad if the comparison provides that the determined display mode of the docked multi-screen device is not the same as the determined display mode of the smartpad;

wherein one or more of;

the display is capable of being logically divided into at least two portions, the application is a dual screen application, and the virtual keyboard has a landscape mode and a portrait mode;

wherein the at least two portions are different sizes and relate to two different applications.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the display is a touch screen display.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the device orientation sensor is an accelerometer.

10. The method of claim 7, wherein a first of the logical portions displays a first window from the multi-screen device and a second of the logical portions displays a second window from the multi-screen device.

11. The method of claim 7, wherein the smartpad is configured to display a keyboard.

12. The method of claim 7, further comprising resizing the application.

13. The method of claim 7, further comprising redrawing the application.

14. The method of claim 7, wherein the smartpad further supports a multi-application mode, the multi-application mode emulating the docked multi-screen device in mini-tablet form.

15. The method of claim 7, further comprising a non-transitory computer-readable information storage media having stored thereon instructions, that when executed by a processor, perform the steps of claim 7.

16. The method of claim 7, further comprising receiving a gesture requesting viewing of a new application, and, in response thereto, scrolling through one or more available windows corresponding to available applications.