SWITCHING DISPLAY MODES BASED ON CONNECTION STATE

• US 20120050183A1
• Filed: 11/10/2010
• Published: 03/01/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 08/27/2010
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Lee, Reena Singhal
• Application Number:
  US12/943,444
• Publication Number:
  US 20120050183A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/173
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0416 Control or interface arrangements specially adapted for digitisers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1423 controlling a plurality of local displays, e.g. CRT and flat panel display
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/14 Solving problems related to the presentation of information to be displayed
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2380/14 Electronic books and readers
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/003 Details of a display terminal, the details relating to the control arrangement of the display terminal and to the interfaces thereto specific for a CRT G09G1/165; for a flat panel G09G3/2092

Abstract

Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, for switching display modes based on connections between devices. In one aspect, it is determined that an external display has been connected to or disconnected from a mobile device. Based on the determining, an application executing on the mobile device is switched between a first display mode and a second display mode. In the first display mode, a single user interface is displayed on the touch screen of the mobile device. In the second display mode, a first user interface is displayed on the external display and a second user interface, for receiving user inputs, is displayed on the touch screen of the mobile device.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

determining that an external display has been connected to or disconnected from a mobile device; and

based on determining that the external display has been connected to or disconnected from the mobile device, switching an application executing on the mobile device between a first display mode in which the application generates a single user interface for display on a touch screen of the mobile device, and a second display mode in which the application generates a first user interface for display on the external display and a different, second user interface for display on, and for receiving user inputs through, the touch screen of the mobile device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein:

determining that an external display has been connected to or disconnected from a mobile device further comprises determining that the external display has been connected to the mobile device, and

switching an application further comprises switching the application from the first display mode to the second display mode.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein:

determining that the external display has been connected to or disconnected from the mobile device further comprises determining that the external display has been disconnected from the mobile device, and

switching an application further comprises switching the application from the second display mode to the first display mode.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

displaying, on the touch screen of the mobile device in the first display mode, a visual element and a first set of controls for receiving user inputs to control the visual element;

displaying, on the external display in the second display mode, the visual element; and

displaying, on the touch screen of the mobile device in the second display mode, a second set of controls for receiving the user inputs to control the visual element.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the second set of controls includes controls that are not included in the first set of controls.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the second set of controls includes all controls of the first set of controls and additional controls.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

in the first display mode, displaying a control in a first size; and

in the second display mode, displaying the control in a second size that is larger than the first size.

8. A computer-readable storage medium storing computer software instructions executable by one or more data processing apparatus to perform operations comprising:

determining that an external display has been connected to or disconnected from a mobile device; and

based on determining that the external display has been connected to or disconnected from the mobile device, switching an application executing on the mobile device between a first display mode in which the application generates a single user interface for display on a touch screen of the mobile device, and a second display mode in which the application generates a first user interface for display on the external display and a different, second user interface for display on, and for receiving user inputs, through the touch screen of the mobile device.

9. The medium of claim 8, wherein:

determining that an external display has been connected to or disconnected from a mobile device further comprises determining that the external display has been connected to the mobile device, and

switching an application further comprises switching the application from the first display mode to the second display mode.

10. The medium of claim 8, wherein determining that the external display has been connected to or disconnected from the mobile device further comprises determining that the external display has been disconnected from the mobile device, and

switching an application further comprises switching the application from the second display mode to the first display mode.

11. The medium of claim 8, the operations further comprising:

displaying, on the touch screen of the mobile device in the first display mode, a visual element and a first set of controls for receiving user inputs to control the visual element;

displaying, on the external display in the second display mode, the visual element; and

displaying, on the touch screen of the mobile device in the second display mode, a second set of controls for receiving the user inputs to control the visual element.

12. The medium of claim 11, wherein the second set of controls includes controls that are not included in the first set of controls.

13. The medium of claim 11, wherein the second set of controls includes all controls of the first set of controls and additional controls.

14. The medium of claim 8, the operations further comprising:

in the first display mode, displaying a control in a first size; and

in the second display mode, displaying the control in a second size that is larger than the first size.

15. A system comprising:

one or more computers; and

a computer-readable storage medium storing computer software instructions executable by the one or more computers to perform operations comprising;

determining that an external display has been connected to or disconnected from a mobile device; and

based on determining that the external display has been connected to or disconnected from the mobile device, switching an application executing on the mobile device between a first display mode in which the application generates a single user interface for display on a touch screen of the mobile device, and a second display mode in which the application generates a first user interface for display on the external display and a different, second user interface for display on, and for receiving user inputs, through the touch screen of the mobile device.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein:

determining that an external display has been connected to or disconnected from a mobile device further comprises determining that the external display has been connected to the mobile device, and

switching an application further comprises switching the application from the first display mode to the second display mode.

17. The system of claim 15, wherein determining that the external display has been connected to or disconnected from the mobile device further comprises determining that the external display has been disconnected from the mobile device, and

switching an application further comprises switching the application from the second display mode to the first display mode.

18. The system of claim 15, the operations further comprising:

displaying, on the touch screen of the mobile device in the first display mode, a visual element and a first set of controls for receiving user inputs to control the visual element;

displaying, on the external display in the second display mode, the visual element; and

displaying, on the touch screen of the mobile device in the second display mode, a second set of controls for receiving the user inputs to control the visual element.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the second set of controls includes controls that are not included in the first set of controls.

20. The system of claim 18, wherein the second set of controls includes all controls of the first set of controls and additional controls.