Apparatus and method for controlling terminal to expand available display region to a virtual display space

• US 9,635,170 B2
• Filed: 03/26/2010
• Issued: 04/25/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 03/26/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University (Stanford Management Co.)
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University (Stanford Management Co.)
• Inventors: Sukumaran, Abhay, Park, Joon Ah, Murray, Katherine, Bang, Won-Chul, Nass, Clifford, Park, Sung Ho
• Primary Examiner(s): Lubit, Ryan A
• Application Number:
  US13/260,474
• Publication Number:
  US 20120113030A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,587 Days
• Field of Search: 345173-178, 178 1801- 2004
• 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: H04M 1/72469 for operating the device by selecting functions from two or more displayed items, e.g. menus or icons
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/22 including a touch pad, a touch sensor or a touch detector digitizers for touch screens G06F3/041

Abstract

An apparatus and method for controlling a terminal is provided. A terminal control apparatus may set a virtual display space in an outer circumferential portion of the terminal and map at least one file to the virtual display space. Through this, a display region of the terminal may be expanded to an outer circumferential region of the terminal.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

a touch display including an outer circumferential portion at physical edges of the touch display;

a memory having computer readable instructions stored thereon; and

at least one processor configured to execute the computer readable instructions to,

set a boundary space at the outer circumferential portion of the physical edges of the touch display;

define a virtual display space as one or more virtual areas external to the touch display and the boundary space at the outer circumferential portion of the physical edges of the touch display;

detect a touch input signal via the touch display;

execute a first file processing operation to map at least one file to the virtual display space based on a first weight applied to a number of times that each of the at least one file has been executed and a second weight applied to a point in time when each of the at least one file was most recently executed when the touch input signal is detected in a direction from the boundary space toward the virtual display space and no files are mapped to the virtual display space;

execute a second file processing operation to execute each of the at least one files mapped to the virtual display space when a number of files mapped to the virtual display space is less than or equal to a specified number of files greater than zero and the touch input signal is detected in a direction from the touch display through the boundary space toward the virtual display space; and

execute a third the processing operation to control the touch display to display file information associated with each of the at least one mapped files in the virtual display space when the number of files mapped to the virtual display space is greater than the specified number of files and the touch input signal is detected in a direction from the touch display through the boundary space toward the virtual display space.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to display the at least one file on the touch display when the touch input signal is detected in a direction corresponding to a movement from the virtual display space to the touch display.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the virtual display space is further defined as one or more areas which are external to an upper side surface, a lower side surface, a left side surface, and/or a right side surface of the touch display.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to control the at least one mapped file to not be displayed on the touch display after the first file processing operation has been executed.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to recognize the touch input signal that results in the execution of the first file processing operation as including a selection touch input that selects the at least one file which is displayed on the touch display.

10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is configured to control the terminal to perform a function corresponding to the touch input signal regardless of the virtual display space when the touch input signal is detected in the boundary space without movement in the direction from the boundary space toward the virtual display space and when the touch input signal is detected outside the boundary space in the touch display.

6. A method of controlling a terminal, the terminal including a touch display having an outer circumferential portion at physical edges of the touch display, the method comprising:

setting a boundary space at the outer circumferential portion of the physical edges of the touch display;

defining a virtual display space as one or more virtual areas external to the touch display and the boundary space at the outer circumferential portion of the physical edges of the touch display;

detecting a touch input signal via the touch display;

executing a first file processing operation to map at least one file to the virtual display space based on a first weight applied to a number of times that each of the at least one file has been executed and a second weight applied to a point in time when each of the at least one file was most recently executed when the touch input signal is detected in a direction from the boundary space toward the virtual display space and no files are mapped to the virtual display space;

executing a second file processing operation to execute each of the at least one files mapped to the virtual display space when a number of files mapped to the virtual display space is less than or equal to a specified number of files greater than zero and the touch input signal is detected in a direction from the touch display through the boundary space toward the virtual display space; and

executing a third file processing operation to control the touch display to display file information associated with each of the at least one mapped files in the virtual display space when the number of files mapped to the virtual display space is greater than the specified number of files and the touch input signal is detected in a direction from the touch display through the boundary space toward the virtual display space.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the at least one file is displayed on the touch display when the touch input signal is detected in a direction corresponding to a movement from the virtual display space to the touch display.

8. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

controlling the at least one mapped file to not be displayed on the touch display after the first file processing operation has been executed.

9. At least one non-transitory computer-readable recording medium storing computer readable instructions that control at least one processor to implement the method of claim 6.

11. A system comprising:

a mobile terminal including,

a touch display including an outer circumferential portion at physical edges of the touch display;

a memory having computer readable instructions stored thereon; and

at least one processor configured to execute the computer readable instructions to,

set a boundary space at the outer circumferential portion of the physical edges of the touch display;

define a virtual display space as one or more virtual areas external to the touch display and the boundary space at the outer circumferential portion of the physical edges of the touch display;

detect a touch input signal via the touch display;

execute a first file processing operation to map at least one file to the virtual display space based on a first weight applied to a number of times that each of the at least one file has been executed and a second weight applied to a point in time when each of the at least one file was most recently executed when the touch input signal is detected in a direction from the boundary space toward the virtual display space and no files are mapped to the virtual display space;

execute a second file processing operation to execute each of the at least one files mapped to the virtual display space when a number of files mapped to the virtual display space is less than or equal to a specified number of files greater than zero and the touch input signal is detected in a direction from the touch display through the boundary space toward the virtual display space; and

execute a third file processing operation to control the touch display to display file information associated with each of the at least one mapped files in the virtual display space when the number of files mapped to the virtual display space is greater than the specified number of files and the touch input signal is detected in a direction from the touch display through the boundary space toward the virtual display space.

12. A non-transitory computer readable medium having computer readable instructions stored thereon, which when executed by at least one processor, causes the at least one processor to:

set a boundary space at an outer circumferential portion of physical edges of a touch display of a terminal;

define a virtual display space as one or more virtual areas external to the touch display and the boundary space at the outer circumferential portion of the physical edges of the touch display;

detect a touch input signal via the touch display;

execute a first file processing operation to map at least one file to the virtual display space based on a first weight applied to a number of times that each of the at least one file has been executed and a second weight applied to a point in time when each of the at least one file was most recently executed when the touch input signal is detected in a direction from the boundary space toward the virtual display space and no files are mapped to the virtual display space;

execute a second file processing operation to execute each of the at least one files mapped to the virtual display space when a number of files mapped to the virtual display space is less than or equal to a specified number of files greater than zero and the touch input signal is detected in a direction from the touch display through the boundary space toward the virtual display space; and

execute a third file processing operation to control the touch display to display file information associated with each of the at least one mapped files in the virtual display space when the number of files mapped to the virtual display space is greater than the specified number of files and the touch input signal is detected in a direction from the touch display through the boundary space toward the virtual display space.