Techniques for programmable button on bezel of mobile terminal

• US 8,994,678 B2
• Filed: 07/18/2012
• Issued: 03/31/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 07/18/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Sawhney, Parvinder, King, Peter, Ham, Hyoung Wook
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, JENNIFER T
• Application Number:
  US13/552,336
• Publication Number:
  US 20140022182A1
• Time in Patent Office: 986 Days
• Field of Search: 345/1, 345173-178, 345/156, 345/157, 345/169, 178 1801- 1806, 175/769, 715/769
• US Class Current: 345/173
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1647 including at least an additional display G06F1/1692 takes precedence
• 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

Abstract

A terminal and a method for a programmable button on a bezel of the terminal are provided. For a mobile terminal comprising a touch sensor, a first display and at least one second display disposed at the bezel, the bezel at least partially surrounding the first display, the method includes mapping an object displayed on the first display to a button on the at least one second display, displaying the button on the at least one second display, and when the displayed button is actuated, performing an action corresponding to the object.

Claims

1. A method for a programmable button on a bezel of a mobile terminal, the mobile terminal comprising a touch sensor, a first display and at least one second display disposed at the bezel, the bezel at least partially surrounding the first display, the method comprising:

mapping an object displayed on the first display to a display portion of the at least one second display, which is represented as a button on the at least one second display;

storing the mapping of the object to the display portion of the at least one second display;

displaying a second object as the button on the display portion of the at least one second display, the displayed second object corresponding to the object displayed on the first display; and

when the displayed button is actuated, performing an action corresponding to the object.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the mapping of the object displayed on the first display to the display portion of the at least one second display comprises:

detecting a dragging of the object displayed on the first display to the at least one second display;

detecting a dropping of the dragged object to the display portion of the at least one second display; and

mapping the object to the display portion of the at least one second display.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the object is displayed on the first display as it is dragging on the first display.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the detecting of the dropping of the dragged object to the display portion of the at least one second display comprises:

detecting a closest one of a plurality of fixed locations corresponding to button locations as a location for the display portion to which the object is dropped.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the displayed button is actuated when one of a tapping, a touching and holding, and a double-tapping is detected at a location corresponding to the displayed button.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the mobile terminal comprises at least one of a mobile phone, a smartphone, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a notebook computer, a digital broadcasting terminal, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a Portable Multimedia Player (PMP), a navigation device, a monitor, a TeleVision (TV), a digital Consumer Electronics (CE) device, a Digital TeleVision (DTV), an Internet Protocol TV (IPTV), a refrigerator with a display device, an air conditioner with a display device, and a printer with a display device.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the at least one second display is configured to display a plurality of buttons.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the at least one second display is configured to display one button.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein, once the object is mapped to the display portion of the at least one second display, the object is not displayed on the first display.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the first display displays a Graphical User Interface (GUI) environment and the at least one second display only displays one or more buttons.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the touch sensor, the first display and the at least one second display form a touch screen.

12. A mobile terminal, the terminal comprising:

a touch sensor configured to detect a touch;

a first display configured to display an object;

at least one second display disposed at a bezel, the bezel at least partially surrounding the first display;

at least one controller configured to control the touch sensor, the first display and the at least one second display, to map the object displayed on the first display to a display portion of the at least one second display, which is represented as a button on the at least one second display, to control to display a second object as the button on the display portion of the at least one second display, the displayed second object corresponding to the object displayed on the first display, and to, when the displayed button is actuated, perform an action corresponding to the object; and

a memory configured to store the mapping of the object displayed on the first display to the display portion of the at least one second display.

13. The terminal of claim 12, wherein the at least one controller is further configured to detect a dragging of the object displayed on the first display to the at least one second display, to detect a dropping of the dragged object to the display portion of the at least one second display, and to map the object to the display portion of the at least one second display.

14. The terminal of claim 13, wherein the at least one controller is further configured to control to display the object on the first display as it is dragging on the first display.

15. The terminal of claim 13, wherein the least one controller is further configured to detect a closest one of a plurality of fixed locations corresponding to button locations as a location for the display portion to which the object is dropped.

16. The terminal of claim 12, wherein the displayed button is actuated when one of a tapping, a touching and holding, and a double-tapping is detected at a location corresponding to the displayed button.

17. The terminal of claim 12, wherein the terminal comprises at least one of a mobile phone, a smartphone, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a notebook computer, a digital broadcasting terminal, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a Portable Multimedia Player (PMP), a navigation device, a monitor, a TeleVision (TV), a digital Consumer Electronics (CE) device, a Digital TeleVision (DTV), an Internet Protocol TV (IPTV), a refrigerator with a display device, an air conditioner with a display device, and a printer with a display device.

18. The terminal of claim 12, wherein each of the at least one second display is configured to display a plurality of buttons.

19. The terminal of claim 12, wherein each of the at least one second display is configured to display one button.

20. The terminal of claim 12, wherein, once the object is mapped to the display portion of the at least one second display, the object is not displayed on the first display.

21. The terminal of claim 12, wherein the first display displays a Graphical User Interface (GUI) environment and the at least one second display only displays one or more buttons.

22. The terminal of claim 12, wherein the touch sensor, the first display and the at least one second display form a touch screen.

23. The terminal of claim 12, further comprising:

a bottom second display disposed at a bottom portion of the bezel;

a left second display disposed at a left portion of the bezel; and

a right second display disposed at a right portion of the bezel.