MOBILE TERMINAL AND CONTROLLING METHOD THEREOF

• US 20110244924A1
• Filed: 03/16/2011
• Published: 10/06/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 04/06/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Inventors: Jun, Jae Woong, JUNG, Jong Cheol, Kim, Hong Joo
• Granted Patent: US 8,893,056 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/566
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0354 with detection of 2D relative movements between the device, or an operating part thereof, and a plane or surface, e.g. 2D mice, trackballs, pens or pucks
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/03545 Pens or stylus
• 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 3/0484 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 3/04845 for image manipulation, e.g. dragging, rotation, expansion or change of colour
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0485 Scrolling or panning
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04855 Interaction with scrollbars
• 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 9/451 Execution arrangements for user interfaces

Abstract

A mobile terminal and controlling method thereof are disclosed, by which a selection and/or execution of an application can be designated using a list of applications currently executed in a multitasking environment. The present invention includes a display unit, a user input unit configured to receive an input of a command from a user, and a controller, when a plurality of applications are being executed, if there is a first input via the user input unit, controlling a list of a plurality of the currently executed applications to be displayed on a first region, the controller, if one of at least one or more applications running in the background in the list is selected by a second input via the user input unit, controlling the selected application to be displayed on a second region of the display unit by having a prescribed visual effect applied thereto.

Claims

1. A mobile terminal comprising:

a display unit displaying at least one executed application;

a user input unit configured to receive a user input; and

a controller configured to control display of the at least one executed application,

wherein the user input unit receives a first input for selecting a first region on a screen of the display unit while the first application being executed in foreground is displayed on the display unit, and the controller displays a menu list on the first region in response to the first input, and

wherein the user input unit receives a second input for selecting a second application from the menu list, and the controller displays the second application being executed in background on the first region or a second region on the screen of the display unit in response to the second input, the second region being different from the first region.

2. The mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein the display unit and the user input unit are integrated forming a touchscreen.

3. The mobile terminal of claim 2, wherein the menu list comprises a list of the at least one executed application including the second application being executed in the background, and the controller displays the second application on the second region in response to the second input, a prescribed visual effect applied to the second region to indicate the background execution of the second application, and wherein the second region corresponds to a region on which the second application was displayed initially until the second application was executed in the background.

4. The mobile terminal of claim 3, wherein the touchscreen receives a touch input via the second region or receives a drag touch input which starts from a region corresponding to the second application displayed in the menu list and ends at the second region, and the controller removes the prescribed visual effect from the second region in response to the touch input to indicate that the second application displayed on the second region is executed in the foreground.

5. The mobile terminal of claim 3, wherein the touchscreen receives a touch input via a region corresponding to the second application in the menu list after receiving the second input, the touch screen further receives a third input designating a third region after receiving the touch input, the first, second, and third regions being different from each other, and the controller displays the second application on the designated third region in response to the third input.

6. The mobile terminal of claim 5, wherein the controller stops displaying the first and second regions on the display unit upon receiving the third input, activating the second application in the third region.

7. The mobile terminal of claim 3, wherein the touch screen receives a drag input after receiving the second input, the drag input starting from a region corresponding to the second application in the menu list and ending at a region on the touch screen that is not the first and second regions, and the controller activates and displays the selected second application on the entire touch screen in response to the drag input.

8. The mobile terminal of claim 3, wherein the at least one executed application is displayed as an icon in the menu list.

9. The mobile terminal of claim 8, wherein the menu list further includes at least text corresponding to the at least one executed application or a diagram representing a status of each of the at least one executed application.

10. The mobile terminal of claim 9, wherein the status includes an activated state, a background state and an idle state.

11. The mobile terminal of claim 3, wherein the prescribed visual effect applied to the second region comprises either a flickering effect or a semitransparent effect.

12. The mobile terminal of claim 3, wherein the first input comprises one selected from the group consisting of manipulation of a key button, a drag input having a preset trace and received via the touchscreen, a long touch input received via the touchscreen, a repeated touch input consecutively received via the touchscreen within a prescribed duration, and a multi-touch input simultaneously received at two points on the touchscreen, and wherein the second input comprises a touch input received via a region corresponding to the second application in the menu list.

13. The mobile terminal of claim 12, wherein the key button comprises at least a hardware key button provided to the user input unit or a virtual key button displayed on the touchscreen.

14. The mobile terminal of claim 12, wherein the two points of the multi-touch input defines the first region such that the controller recognizes a rectangle having a diagonal line, of which two end points are two touch release points of the multi-touch input as the first region.

15. The mobile terminal of claim 13, wherein the menu list further includes a shortcut for a main menu, and the controller displays the main menu on the first region in response to an input for selecting the shortcut, the menu list replaced by the main menu in the first region.

16. The mobile terminal of claim 15, wherein the controller activates the second application in the first region when the second application is selected from the main menu.

17. The mobile terminal of claim 15, wherein the shortcut is selected via a flicking touch input received via the first region on the touch screen in a specific direction or via selection of an icon corresponding to the shortcut for the main menu.

18. The mobile terminal of claim 2, further comprising a memory storing a specific pattern related to a touch input, wherein the touchscreen receives the touch input before receiving the first input for selecting the first region, the touch input received in the specific pattern, and the controller prepares to receive the first input in response to the touch input, the specific pattern comprising a trace corresponding to a character or a symbol representing the menu list.

19. A mobile terminal comprising:

a display unit displaying a first application being executed and an event indicator, the display unit comprising a touchscreen;

a user input unit comprising the touch screen and configured to receive a user input; and

a controller configured to display the event indicator on a first region of the touch screen upon detecting a specific event, the event indicator including at least a type or content of the specific event, wherein the controller is further configured to display a second application related to the specific event on a second region of the touchscreen when the user input unit receives an input for selecting the second region.

20. The mobile terminal of claim 19, wherein the touch screen receives a touch input via the first region when the event indicator is displayed, the display unit stops displaying the event indicator in response to the touch input, and the controller is further configured to prepare to receive the input for selecting the second region via the touch screen in response to the touch input.