Mobile terminal and method of controlling applications of the same

• US 9,378,588 B2
• Filed: 04/15/2010
• Issued: 06/28/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 12/07/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Inventors: Song, Yoo Mee, Cho, Hye Youn, Byun, I Su, Yun, Yee Rang, Suh, Woo Jin, Yeo, Byung Sang, Lee, Sang Hyuck, Cho, Seong Yoon
• Primary Examiner(s): Ng, Amy
• Assistant Examiner(s): Wong, William
• Application Number:
  US12/761,137
• Publication Number:
  US 20110134110A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,266 Days
• Field of Search: 715/778, 715/783, 715/766, 715794-796, 715/782
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04802 3D-info-object: information is displayed on the internal or external surface of a three dimensional manipulable object, e.g. on the faces of a cube that can be rotated by the user
• 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 3/04815 Interaction with a metaphor-based environment or interaction object displayed as three-dimensional, e.g. changing the user viewpoint with respect to the environment or object
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 19/00 Manipulating 3D models or images for computer graphics
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2200/24 involving graphical user interfaces [GUIs]
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2370/24 Keyboard-Video-Mouse [KVM] switch

Abstract

A mobile terminal and method of controlling applications of the same are disclosed, by which each operation of all applications currently executed in a multitasking mode can be effectively controlled within one picture. The present invention includes executing a plurality of applications, displaying an execution picture of a first application among a plurality of the executed applications on a screen, and displaying a 3D polyhedron displaying a control window of at least one of a plurality of the applications except the first application on a corresponding facet of the 3D polyhedron on a screen in the course of displaying the execution picture of the first application.

Claims

1. A mobile terminal, comprising:

a display unit configured to display an execution screen of a first application among a plurality of executed applications; and

a processor configured to;

control the display unit to display a plurality of execution items and a 3D polyhedron display item on a background screen when the background screen is displayed instead of the execution screen of the first application, the plurality of execution items indicating each of the plurality of executed applications;

control the display unit to display the execution screen of the first application including a 3D polyhedron instead of the background screen when the 3D polyhedron display item is selected, the 3D polyhedron displaying a plurality of control windows corresponding to the plurality of executed applications except the first application on each facet of facets of the 3D polyhedron;

partition a display region of the display unit into a first region and a second region when one of the facets of the 3D polyhedron is selected and a screen partition command is received;

control the display unit to display the execution screen of the first application in the first region; and

control the display unit to display an execution screen of a second application corresponding to a control window displayed on the selected one of the facets and the 3D polyhedron in the second region.

2. The mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein the processor executes the first application as a foreground and also executes the plurality of executed applications except the first application as a background.

3. The mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein the processor performs at least one of shift, enlargement, reduction and rotation of the 3D polyhedron according to an externally inputted input signal.

4. An application controlling method of a mobile terminal, the method comprising:

executing a plurality of applications;

displaying, on a display of the mobile terminal, an execution screen of a first application among the plurality of executed applications;

displaying, on a background screen of the display, a plurality of execution items and a 3D polyhedron display item when the background screen is displayed instead of the execution screen of the first application, the plurality of execution items indicating each of the plurality of the executed applications;

displaying, on the display, the execution screen of the first application including a 3D polyhedron instead of the background screen when the 3D polyhedron display item is selected, the 3D polyhedron displaying a plurality of control windows corresponding to the plurality of executed applications except the first application on each facet of facets of the 3D polyhedron;

partitioning a display region of the display into a first region and a second region when one of the facets of the 3D polyhedron is selected and a screen partition command is received;

displaying, in the first region, the execution screen of the first application; and

displaying, in the second region, an execution screen of a second application corresponding to a control window displayed on the selected one of the facets and the 3D polyhedron.