Multi-display control

• US 10,705,674 B2
• Filed: 08/13/2018
• Issued: 07/07/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 10/01/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Z124 LLC (Flexis)
• Original Assignee: Z124 LLC (Flexis)
• Inventors: Gimpl, Martin, de Paz, Alexander, Sirpal, Sanjiv
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Kevin M
• Application Number:
  US16/101,793
• Publication Number:
  US 20180348995A1
• Time in Patent Office: 694 Days
• 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 1/1641 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 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 3/0412 Digitisers structurally integrated in a display
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0416 Control or interface arrangements specially adapted for digitisers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0481 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 3/04817 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 3/04842 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

Abstract

A dual-screen user device and methods for controlling data displayed thereby are disclosed. Specifically, the data displayed by the multiple screens of the dual-screen user device is conditioned upon the type of user gesture or combination of user gestures detected. The display controls described herein can correlate user inputs received in a gesture capture region to one or more display actions, which may include maximization, minimization, or reformatting instructions.

Claims

1. A method of controlling data displayed by a dual-display portion device, the method comprising:

receiving a first user input gesture of a first gesture type, the first gesture type corresponding to an instruction to maximize a display of a first application displayed on a first display portion of the dual-display portion device;

determining, based on the first user input gesture and maximization rules associated with the first gesture type, a first display configuration for the first application;

based on the first display configuration for the first application, causing data from the first application to be simultaneously displayed on both the first display portion and a second display portion of the dual-display portion device in accordance with the first display configuration;

receiving a second user input gesture of a second gesture type corresponding to an instruction to minimize the first application displayed on the first and second display portions of the dual-display portion device; and

determining, based on the second user input gesture and minimization rules associated with the second gesture type, a second display configuration for the first application; and

based on the second display configuration for the first application, reformatting the first application to be displayed on the first display portion as prior to receiving the first user input.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising, prior to receiving the second user input gesture:

receiving a third user input gesture of a third gesture type, the third gesture type different from the first gesture type and second gesture type and corresponding to an instruction to maximize a display of the first application displayed on the first display portion of the dual-display portion device;

determining, based on the third user input gesture and maximization rules associated with the third gesture type, a third display configuration for the first application, wherein the third display configuration is different from the first display configuration and the second display configuration; and

based on the third display configuration for the first application, causing data from the first application to be simultaneously displayed on both the first display and second display portions of the dual-display portion device in accordance with the third display configuration.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the maximization rules for the first application define that the first application is to be displayed on all of the first display portion as well as all of the second display portion when maximized and when the dual-display portion device is in an open landscape state.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the first display configuration causes the first application to be maximized in a dual-landscape output configuration such that a first set of data from the first application is displayed on the first display portion and a second set of data from the first application is displayed on the second display portion.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the third display configuration causes the first application to be maximized in a landscape max output configuration such that a first set of data from the first application is displayed simultaneously on both the first display portion and the second display portion.

6. The method of claim 5, the method further comprising:

generating a transition area that progressively fills the second display portion with data from the first application; and

causing the transition area to replace a desktop display that was previously presented on the second display portion.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the desktop display that was previously presented on the second display portion corresponds to one of a plurality of desktop displays in a desktop display stack and wherein another desktop display in the desktop display stack is assigned to the first display portion and is covered by the first application.

8. A device comprising:

one or more screens;

a processor coupled with the one or more screens; and

a memory coupled with and readable by the processor and storing therein a set of instructions which, when executed by the processor, causes the processor to control data displayed on the one or more screens by;

receiving a first user input gesture of a first gesture type, the first gesture type corresponding to an instruction to maximize a display of a first application displayed on a first display portion of the dual-display portion device;

determining, based on the first user input gesture and maximization rules associated with the first gesture type, a first display configuration for the first application;

based on the first display configuration for the first application, causing data from the first application to be simultaneously displayed on both the first display portion and a second display portion of the dual-display device in accordance with the first display configuration;

receiving a second user input gesture of a second gesture type corresponding to an instruction to minimize the first application displayed on the first and second display portions of the dual-display portion device; and

determining, based on the second user input gesture and minimization rules associated with the second gesture type, a second display configuration for the first application; and

based on the second display configuration for the first application, reformatting the first application to be displayed on the first display portion as prior to receiving the first user input.

9. The device of claim 8, wherein the instructions further cause the processor to, prior to receiving the second user input gesture:

receive a third user input gesture of a third gesture type, the third gesture type different from the first gesture type and second gesture type and corresponding to an instruction to maximize a display of the first application displayed on the first display portion of the dual-display portion device;

determine, based on the third user input gesture and maximization rules associated with the third gesture type, a third display configuration for the first application, wherein the third display configuration is different from the first display configuration and the second display configuration; and

based on the third display configuration for the first application, cause data from the first application to be simultaneously displayed on both the first display and second display portions of the dual-display portion device in accordance with the third display configuration.

10. The device of claim 9, wherein the maximization rules for the first application define that the first application is to be displayed on all of the first display portion as well as all of the second display portion when maximized and when the dual-display portion device is in an open landscape state.

11. The device of claim 10, wherein the first display configuration causes the first application to be maximized in a dual-landscape output configuration such that a first set of data from the first application is displayed on the first display portion and a second set of data from the first application is displayed on the second display portion.

12. The device of claim 11, wherein the third display configuration causes the first application to be maximized in a landscape max output configuration such that a first set of data from the first application is displayed simultaneously on both the first display and the second display portions.

13. The device of claim 12, wherein the instructions further cause the processor to:

generate a transition area that progressively fills the second display portion with data from the first application; and

cause the transition area to replace a desktop display that was previously presented on the second display portion.

14. The device of claim 13, wherein the desktop display that was previously presented on the second display portion corresponds to one of a plurality of desktop displays in a desktop display stack and wherein another desktop display in the desktop display stack is assigned to the first display portion and is covered by the first application.

15. A non-transitory, computer-readable medium comprising a set of instructions stored therein which, when executed by a processor, causes the processor to control data displayed on one or more screens of a dual-display portion device by:

receiving a first user input gesture of a first gesture type, the first gesture type corresponding to an instruction to maximize a display of a first application displayed on a first display portion of the dual-display portion device;

determining, based on the first user input gesture and maximization rules associated with the first gesture type, a first display configuration for the first application;

based on the first display configuration for the first application, causing data from the first application to be simultaneously displayed on both the first display portion and a second display portions of the dual-display portion device in accordance with the first display configuration;

receiving a second user input gesture of a second gesture type corresponding to an instruction to minimize the first application displayed on the first and second display portions of the dual-display portion device; and

determining, based on the second user input gesture and minimization rules associated with the second gesture type, a second display configuration for the first application; and

based on the second display configuration for the first application, reformatting the first application to be displayed on the first display portion as prior to receiving the first user input.

16. The non-transitory, computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the instructions further cause the processor to, prior to receiving the second user input gesture:

receive a third user input gesture of a third gesture type, the third gesture type different from the first gesture type and second gesture type and corresponding to an instruction to maximize a display of the first application displayed on the first display portion of the dual-display portion device;

determine, based on the third user input gesture and maximization rules associated with the third gesture type, a third display configuration for the first application, wherein the third display configuration is different from the first display configuration and the second display configuration; and

based on the third display configuration for the first application, cause data from the first application to be simultaneously displayed on both the first display and a second display portions of the dual-display portion device in accordance with the third display configuration.

17. The non-transitory, computer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein the maximization rules for the first application define that the first application is to be displayed on all of the first display portion as well as all of the second display portion when maximized and when the dual-display portion device is in an open landscape state.

18. The non-transitory, computer-readable medium of claim 17, wherein the first display configuration causes the first application to be maximized in a dual-landscape output configuration such that a first set of data from the first application is displayed on the first display portion and a second set of data from the first application is displayed on the second display portion.

19. The non-transitory, computer-readable medium of claim 18, wherein the third display configuration causes the first application to be maximized in a landscape max output configuration such that a first set of data from the first application is displayed simultaneously on both the first display and the second display portions.

20. The non-transitory, computer-readable medium of claim 19, wherein the instructions further cause the processor to:

generate a transition area that progressively fills the second display portion with data from the first application; and

cause the transition area to replace a desktop display that was previously presented on the second display portion, wherein the desktop display that was previously presented on the second display portion corresponds to one of a plurality of desktop displays in a desktop display stack and wherein another desktop display in the desktop display stack is assigned to the first display portion and is covered by the first application.