Rotation gravity drop

• US 9,001,158 B2
• Filed: 08/31/2011
• Issued: 04/07/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 10/01/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Z124 LLC (Flexis)
• Original Assignee: Z124 LLC (Flexis)
• Inventors: de Paz, Alexander
• Primary Examiner(s): Johnson, M Good
• Application Number:
  US13/222,902
• Publication Number:
  US 20120081397A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,315 Days
• Field of Search: 345/1.3
• US Class Current: 345/659
• 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 multi-screen user device and methods for controlling data displayed thereby are disclosed. Specifically, the data displayed by the multiple screens of the multi-screen user device is conditioned upon the relative position of the multiple screens. A gravity-drop display feature is also disclosed in which data from a first application on a first screen is automatically displayed on a second screen when the device is rotated.

Claims

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

determining, based on a detected rotation, that the dual-screen device has been rotated from a first open state to a second, different open state;

determining a relative position of a first touch screen that originally displayed data from a first application when the dual-screen device was in the first open state and a second touch screen that was not displaying data from the first application when the dual-screen device was in the first open state;

controlling data displayed on the second screen in the second open state based on the determined relative position of the first screen and second screen, wherein the determined relative position for the first open state is where the first screen is in a portrait state and in a same plane beside the second screen, and the determined relative position for the second, different open state is where the second screen is in a landscape state and in the same plane and below the first screen, or wherein the determined relative position for the first open state is where the first screen is in a landscape state and in a same plane above the second screen, and the determined relative position for the second, different open state is where the second screen is in a portrait state and in the same plane and beside the first screen;

determining whether the data from the first application on the first screen was previously extended in the second open state to display on both the first screen and the second screen; and

determining whether the first application is a single screen application or a multi-screen application, and, only when the application is a multi-screen application, the data from the first application on the first screen is extended in the second open state to display on both the first screen and the second screen.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first open state corresponds to an open portrait state and wherein the second open state corresponds to an open landscape state in which the first screen is positioned above the second screen.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the rotation of the device is determined, at least in part, based on data received from an accelerometer.

4. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

automatically determining whether the first application is the single-screen application or the multi-screen application; and

wherein controlling the data displayed on the second screen in the open landscape state is also based on whether the first application is a single-screen application or a multi-screen application.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the first application is a multi-screen application, the method further comprising:

automatically causing data from the first application to be displayed on the second screen in the open landscape state.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein data from the first application is displayed on both the first and second screens in the open landscape state in at least one of a dual-landscape output configuration and a landscape max output configuration.

7. The method of claim 4, wherein the first application is a single-screen application and wherein data from a second application is displayed on the second screen.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the first state corresponds to an open landscape state and wherein the second state corresponds to an open portrait state.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein data from the first application is displayed on both the first and second screens in the first state, wherein data from the first application is automatically re-formatted to be displayed only on the first screen in the second state, and wherein data from a second application is automatically displayed on the second screen simultaneous with data from the first application being displayed on the first screen in the second state.

10. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon instructions that cause a computing system to execute a method, the instructions comprising:

instructions configured to determine, based on a detected rotation, that the dual-screen device has been rotated from a first open state to a second different open state;

instructions configured to determine a relative position of a first screen that originally displayed data from a first application when the dual-screen device was in the first open state and a second screen that was not displaying data from the first application when the dual-screen device was in the first open state;

instructions configured to control data displayed on the second screen in the second open state based on the determined relative position of the first screen and second screen, wherein the determined relative position for the first open state is where the first screen is in a portrait state and in a same plane beside the second screen, and the determined relative position for the second, different open state is where the second screen is in a landscape state and in the same plane and below the first screen, or wherein the determined relative position for the first open state is where the first screen is in a landscape state and in a same plane above the second screen, and the determined relative position for the second, different open state is where the second screen is in a portrait state and in the same plane and beside the first screen;

instructions configured to determine whether the data from the first application on the first screen was previously extended in the second open state to display on both the first screen and the second screen; and

instructions configured to determine whether the first application is a single screen application or a multi-screen application, and, only when the application is a multi-screen application, the data from the first application on the first screen is extended in the second open state to display on both the first screen and the second screen.

11. The computer-readable medium of claim 10, wherein the first screen corresponds to a primary screen and wherein the second screen corresponds to a secondary screen.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the first open state corresponds to an open portrait state and wherein the second open state corresponds to an open landscape state in which the first screen is positioned above the second screen.

13. The computer-readable medium of claim 12, wherein the first application is automatically maximized to extend across the first and second screens after the device enters the second state.

14. The computer-readable medium of claim 13, wherein the data from the first application is automatically displayed on both the first and second screens in at least one of a dual landscape output configuration and a landscape max output configuration and wherein maximization display rules are referenced to determine whether the first application is displayed in the landscape dual output configuration or the landscape max output configuration.

15. The computer-readable medium of claim 12, wherein data from the first application is only displayed on the first screen in the first state and wherein data from the first application is automatically displayed on both the first and second screens when the device enters the second state.

16. A dual-screen user device, comprising:

a first screen including a first display area;

a second screen including a second display area;

a hinge configured to connect the first screen with the second screen;

a sensor configured to produce an electrical signal indicative of a relative position of the first screen and the second screen; and

a computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon that include;

a first set of instructions configured to determine, based on a detected rotation, that the dual-screen device has been rotated from a first open state to a second different open state;

a second set of instructions configured to determine a relative position of a first screen that originally displayed data from a first application when the dual-screen device was in the first open state and a second screen that was not displaying data from the first application when the dual-screen device was in the first open state;

a third set of instructions configured to control data displayed on the second screen in the second open state based on the determined relative position of the first screen and second screen, wherein the determined relative position for the first open state is where the first screen is in a portrait state and in a same plane beside the second screen, and the determined relative position for the second, different open state is where the second screen is in a landscape state and in the same plane and below the first screen, or wherein the determined relative position for the first open state is where the first screen is in a landscape state and in a same plane above the second screen, and the determined relative position for the second, different open state is where the second screen is in a portrait state and in the same plane and beside the first screen;

a fourth set of instructions configured to determine whether the data from the first application on the first screen was previously extended in the second open state to display on both the first screen and the second screen; and

a fifth set of instructions configured to determine whether the first application is a single screen application or a multi-screen application, and, only when the application is a multi-screen application, the data from the first application on the first screen is extended in the second open state to display on both the first screen and the second screen.

17. The device of claim 16, wherein the first application is a multi-screen application and wherein the third set of instructions configured to automatically control data displayed on the first and second displays is further configured to automatically maximize the first application in response to receiving an indication that the device has been rotated to the second open state.

18. The device of claim 17, wherein the first open state corresponds to an open portrait state and wherein the second open state corresponds to an open landscape state.

19. The device of claim 17, wherein the data from the first application is automatically displayed on both the first and second displays in a landscape max output configuration.

20. The device of claim 17, wherein the data from the first application is automatically displayed on both the first and second displays in a landscape dual output configuration.