Handheld information device and control method thereof

• US 20080051970A1
• Filed: 03/15/2007
• Published: 02/28/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 08/22/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Oh, Ui-taek, Kim, Jeong-seok
• Granted Patent: US 7,957,883 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/93
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/14 Digital output to display device ; Cooperation and interconnection of the display device with other functional units
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/10 Mixing of images, i.e. displayed pixel being the result of an operation, e.g. adding, on the corresponding input pixels

Abstract

A handheld information device, including: a display part to display one or more control menus; and a controller to calculate a velocity of a vehicle, and to control the display part to display an enlarged control menu relatively increased in size than a predetermined control menu on the display part if the calculated velocity is faster than a predetermined reference velocity.

Claims

1. An information device used in a vehicle, the information device comprising:

a display part to display one or more control menus in a first display mode or a second display mode; and

a controller to calculate a velocity of the vehicle, and to control the display part to display the one or more control menus in the second display mode if the calculated velocity is greater than a predetermined reference velocity,

wherein the one or more control menus displayed in the first display mode have a first size and the one or more control menus displayed in the second display mode have a second size larger than the first size.

2. The information device as claimed in claim 1, wherein:

the display part comprises a touch screen provided on a display surface of the display part, and

if a touch area of a desired control menu is touched, the controller performs a function corresponding to the desired control menu.

3. The information device as claimed in claim 1, wherein if the calculated velocity is less than the predetermined reference velocity, the controller controls the display part to display the one or more control menus in the first display mode.

4. The information device as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a menu information generating part to generate at least one of the control menus to be displayed in the first display mode and to generate at least one of the control menus to be displayed in the second display mode.

5. The information device as claimed in claim 3, further comprising:

a video processing part to generate video data from an inputted video signal; and

a video combining part to combine the generated video data and the one or more control menus such that the display part displays the video data and the one or more control menus.

6. The information device as claimed in claim 5, wherein the video processing part generates the video data to have a first video size when the one or more control menus are displayed in the first display mode or to have a second video size, smaller than the first video size, when the one or more control menus are displayed in the second display mode.

7. The information device as claimed in claim 6, wherein the video processing part generates the video data to have the second video size by performing, on the video data having the first video size, a scaling from wide video data to normal video data.

8. The information device as claimed in claim 6, wherein the video processing part generates the video data to have the first video size by performing, on the video data having the second video size, a scaling from normal video data to wide video data.

9. The information device as claimed in claim 5, wherein the video combining part combines the generated video data and the one or more control menus displayed in the second display mode by changing display positions of the generated video data and/or the one or more control menus on the display part.

10. The information device as claimed in claim 5, wherein the one or more control menus displayed in the second display mode are displayed more transparently than the one or more control menus displayed in the first display mode.

11. The information device as claimed in claim 5, further comprising a tuner to tune a broadcast channel,

wherein the display part displays a channel menu, of the one or more control menus, such that if a display area of the channel menu is selected, the controller controls the tuner to tune another broadcast channel.

12. The information device as claimed in claim 5, further comprising an audio processing part to generate audio data from an inputted audio signal,

wherein the display part displays an audio menu, of the one or more control menus, such that if a display area of the audio menu is selected, the controller controls the audio processing part to change an output volume of the generated audio data.

13. The information device as claimed in claim 5, wherein the controller controls the display part to only display control menus, of the one or more control menus, most related to the generated video data while in the second display mode.

14. The information device as claimed in claim 5, wherein the controller controls the display part to only display control menus, of the one or more control menus, selected by a user while in the second display mode.

15. An information device used in a vehicle, the information device comprising:

a display part to display video data;

a video processing part to generate the video data from an inputted video signal; and

a controller to calculate a velocity of the vehicle, and to divide the display part into a plurality of sections if the calculated velocity is greater than a predetermined reference velocity such that at least one section of the plurality of sections is a control menu area.

16. The information device as claimed in claim 15, further comprising a tuner to tune a broadcast channel,

wherein the control menu area comprises a channel button section, and the controller controls the tuner to tune another broadcast channel if the channel button section is selected.

17. The information device as claimed in claim 16, wherein the channel button section comprises a channel-up button area and a channel-down button area, such that the controller controls the tuner to tune a higher broadcast channel when the channel-up button area is selected and the controller controls the tuner to tune a lower broadcast channel when the channel-down button area is selected.

18. The information device as claimed in claim 17, wherein the channel-up button area is located above the channel-down button area.

19. The information device as claimed in claim 15, further comprising an audio processing part to generate audio data from an inputted audio signal,

wherein the control menu area comprises a volume button section on the control button area of the selected section, and the controller controls the audio processing part to change an output volume of the generated audio data if the volume button section is selected.

20. The information device as claimed in claim 19, wherein the volume button section comprises a volume-up button area and a volume-down button area, such that the controller controls the audio processing part to increase the output volume when the volume-up button area is selected and the controller controls the audio processing part to decrease the output volume when the volume-down button area is selected.

21. The information device as claimed in claim 20, wherein the volume-up button area is located in a first area of the control menu area and the volume-down button area is located in a second area, left of the first area, of the control menu area.

22. The information device as claimed in claim 15, wherein:

the display part comprises a touch screen provided on a display surface of the display part; and

if a touch area of the control menu area is touched, the controller performs a function corresponding to the control menu area.

23. The information device as claimed in claim 15, wherein the control menu area comprises one or more control menus such that if an area corresponding to a first control menu is selected, the controller performs a function corresponding to the first control menu.

24. The information device as claimed in claim 23, wherein the one or more control menus are most related, from a plurality of control menus, to the generated video data.

25. The information device as claimed in claim 23, wherein the one or more control menus are selected to be provided by a user from a plurality of control menus.

26. A control method of an information device used in a vehicle, the control method comprising:

calculating a velocity of the vehicle;

displaying one or more control menus in a first display mode if the calculated velocity is less than a predetermined reference velocity;

displaying the one or more control menus in a second display mode if the calculated velocity is greater than a predetermined reference velocity; and

performing a function corresponding to a desired control menu if a display area of the desired control menu is selected,

wherein the one or more control menus displayed in the first display mode have a first size and the one or more control menus displayed in the second mode have a second size larger than the first size.

27. The control method as claimed in claim 26, wherein:

the display area is a touch screen; and

the performing of the function corresponding to the desired control menu comprises performing the function if the display area of the desired control menu is touched.

28. The control method as claimed in claim 26, further comprising:

generating video data from an inputted video signal; and

combining the generated video data at the one or more control menus and display the combined video data and the one or more control menus.

29. The control method as claimed in claim 28, wherein the combining of the generated video data and the one or more control menus comprises:

generating the video data to have a first video size when the one or more control menus are displayed in the first display mode; and

generating the video data to have a second video size, smaller than the first video size, when the one or more control menus are displayed in the second display mode.

30. The control method as claimed in claim 29, wherein the generating of the video data to have the second video size comprises:

performing, on the video data having the first video size, a scaling from wide video data to normal video data.

31. The control method as claimed in claim 29, wherein the generating of the video data to have the first video size comprises:

performing, on the video data having the second video size, a scaling from normal video data to wide video data.

32. The control method as claimed in claim 28, wherein the combining of the generated video data and the one or more control menus comprises:

changing display positions of the generated video data and/or the one or more control menus.

33. The control method as claimed in claim 26, wherein one or more control menus displayed in the first display mode have a first transparency and the one or more control menus displayed in the second mode have a second transparency greater than the first transparency.

34. The control method as claimed in claim 28, wherein the displaying of the control menus in the second display mode comprises:

display only control methods, of the one or more control methods, most related to the generated video data.

35. A control method of an information device used in a vehicle, the control method comprising:

calculating a velocity of the vehicle;

dividing a display part of the information device into a plurality of sections if the calculated velocity is greater than a predetermined reference velocity such that at least one section of the plurality of sections is a control menu area; and

performing a function corresponding to the control menu area if the control menu area is selected.

36. The control method as claimed in claim 35, wherein:

the display area is a touch screen; and

the performing of the function corresponding to the control menu area comprises performing the function if the control menu area is touched.

37. The control method as claimed in claim 35, further comprising:

tuning a broadcast channel, wherein;

the control menu area comprises a channel button section, and

the performing of the function comprises tuning another broadcast channel if the channel button section is selected.

38. The control method as claimed in claim 37, wherein:

the channel button section comprises a channel-up button area and a channel-down button area, and

the performing of the function comprises tuning a higher broadcast channel when the channel-up button area is selected and tuning a lower broadcast channel when the channel-down button area is selected.

39. The control method as claimed in claim 38, wherein the channel-up button area is located above the channel-down button area.

40. The control method as claimed in claim 35, further comprising:

generating audio data from an inputted audio signal, wherein;

the control menu area comprises a volume button section, and

the performing of the function comprises changing an output volume of the generated audio data if the volume button section is selected.

41. The control method as claimed in claim 40, wherein:

the volume button section comprises a volume-up button area and a volume-down area button, and

the performing of the function comprises increasing the output volume when the volume-up button area is selected and decreasing the output volume when the volume-down button area is selected.

42. The control method as claimed in claim 41, wherein the volume-up button area is located in a first area of the control menu area and the volume-down button area is located in a second area, left of the first area, of the control menu area.

43. The control method as claimed in claim 35, wherein:

the control menu area comprises one or more control menus, and

the performing of the function corresponding to the control menu area comprises performing a function corresponding to a first control menu if the first control menu is selected.