Mobile terminal and control method thereof

• US 9,411,493 B2
• Filed: 07/14/2011
• Issued: 08/09/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 12/15/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Inventors: Hyun, Juha
• Primary Examiner(s): Belousov, Andrey
• Assistant Examiner(s): Wong, William
• Application Number:
  US13/183,187
• Publication Number:
  US 20120159364A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,853 Days
• Field of Search: 715/766, 715790-797, 715/782, 345/173
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04804 Transparency, e.g. transparent or translucent windows
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04808 Several contacts: gestures triggering a specific function, e.g. scrolling, zooming, right-click, when the user establishes several contacts with the surface simultaneously; e.g. using several fingers or a combination of fingers and pen
• 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 3/04815 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: 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 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures

Abstract

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a mobile terminal includes a touch screen configured to display a user interface of a multi-layered structure, the user interface including at least one layer stack having a plurality of layers, a command input unit configured to receive a command from a user, and a controller configured to display a first layer of a first plurality of layers in the first layer stack on a first zone of the touch screen, display the first plurality of layers in a spread mode in response to a first command to enter the spread mode, and in the spread mode, change a location of the first layer on the touch screen to a second zone of the touch screen and display the first plurality layers of the first layer stack except for the first layer on a third zone of the touch screen.

Claims

1. A mobile terminal comprising:

a touch screen configured to display at least one layer of a stack, the stack comprising at least a first webpage layer, a second webpage layer and a third webpage layer; and

a controller configured to;

display the first webpage layer on the touch screen, wherein the first webpage layer is displayed as a highest layer of the stack without displaying the second webpage layer and the third webpage layer, and without displaying a touch zone for adding an additional webpage layer;

in response to a first touch drag input reaching a predetermined distance in a downward direction on the first webpage layer, move the first webpage layer in the downward direction to display the second webpage layer and the third webpage layer, such that the first webpage layer, the second webpage layer and the third webpage layer are concurrently displayed together with the touch zone which is located above a displayed portion of the third webpage layer on the touch screen, wherein the third webpage layer is partially covered by the second webpage layer and the second webpage layer is partially covered by the first webpage layer, and wherein the displayed portion of the third webpage layer is located above a displayed portion of the second webpage layer on the touch screen, and the displayed portion of the second webpage layer is located above a displayed portion of the first webpage layer on the touch screen; and

in response to a second touch drag input in the downward direction on the third webpage layer, cause the first webpage layer to disappear from the touch screen,

wherein the additional webpage layer is added in addition to the first webpage layer, the second webpage layer and the third webpage layer in response to a touch input on the touch zone.

2. The mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein the controller is further configured to display the first webpage layer, the second webpage layer, and the third webpage layer in a tilted form.

3. The mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein the first webpage layer has a specific area including a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) box, and wherein the first touch drag input starts from the specific area including the URL box.

4. The mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein the controller is further configured to display a first icon on the first webpage layer for deleting the first webpage layer, a second icon on the second webpage layer for deleting the second webpage layer, and a third icon on the third webpage layer for deleting the third webpage layer.

5. The mobile terminal of claim 4, wherein each of the first icon, the second icon and the third icon is respectively displayed at an upper right corner of each of the first webpage layer, the second webpage layer, and the third webpage layer.

6. The mobile terminal of claim 4, wherein in response to touching the first icon and the second icon, the first webpage layer and the second webpage layer disappear such that the third webpage layer remains displayed together with the third icon.

7. The mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein in response to a touch input on the second webpage layer, the second webpage layer is displayed as an entire screen.

8. The mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein the first webpage layer is stacked over the second webpage layer, and the second webpage layer is stacked over the third webpage layer.

9. The mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein a first distance by which the first webpage layer is moved is longer than a second distance by which the second webpage layer is moved.

10. The mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein the controller is further configured to display a plurality of webpage layers including the first webpage layer and the second webpage layer on the touch screen, and

wherein a spaced distance between the first webpage layer and the second webpage layer depends on a number of the plurality of webpage layers.

11. The mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein the controller is further configured to:

in response to the first touch drag input in the downward direction, enter a spread mode to concurrently display the first webpage layer, the second webpage layer and the third webpage layer.

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

displaying a first webpage layer of a stack on a touch screen of the mobile terminal, wherein the stack comprises at least the first webpage layer, a second webpage layer and a third webpage layer, and wherein the first webpage layer is displayed as a highest layer of the stack without displaying the second webpage layer and the third webpage layer, and without displaying a touch zone for adding an additional webpage layer;

in response to a first touch drag input reaching a predetermined distance in a downward direction on the first webpage layer, moving the first webpage layer in the downward direction to display the second webpage layer and the third webpage layer, such that the first webpage layer, the second webpage layer and the third webpage layer are concurrently displayed together with the touch zone which is located above a displayed portion of the third webpage layer on the touch screen, wherein the third webpage layer is partially covered by the second webpage layer and the second webpage layer is partially covered by the first webpage layer, and wherein the displayed portion of the third webpage layer is located above a displayed portion of the second webpage layer on the touch screen, and the displayed portion of the second webpage layer is located above a displayed portion of the first webpage layer on the touch screen; and

in response to a second touch drag input in the downward direction on the third webpage layer, controlling the first webpage layer to disappear from the touch screen,

wherein an additional webpage layer is added in addition to the first webpage layer, the second webpage layer and the third webpage layer in response to a touch input on the touch zone.