Controlling access to features of a mobile communication terminal

• US 9,032,332 B2
• Filed: 01/23/2009
• Issued: 05/12/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 02/29/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Inventors: Chae, Jae Young, Kim, Tae Hun, Lee, Sang Woon, Kim, Young Sook
• Primary Examiner(s): Bashore, William
• Assistant Examiner(s): DUONG, HIEN LUONGVAN
• Application Number:
  US12/358,579
• Publication Number:
  US 20090222766A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,300 Days
• Field of Search: 715/835
• US Class Current: 715/835
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2109 Game systems
• 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 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/27453 Directories allowing storage of additional subscriber data, e.g. metadata
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/27475 using interactive graphical means or pictorial representations
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/7243 with interactive means for internal management of messages
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72469 for operating the device by selecting functions from two or more displayed items, e.g. menus or icons

Abstract

A mobile terminal comprising a display unit; and a controller configured to selectively display one or more menu icons associated with an object displayed on the display unit, in response to the object being selected, wherein the one or more menu icons have a functional or informational association with the selected object, such that further selection of the menu icons provides additional information about the selected object or establishment of a dynamic relationship between the selected object and the one or more menu icons results in performance of an operation related to the selected object.

Claims

1. A mobile phone, comprising:

a touchscreen; and

a controller configured to;

control the touchscreen to display an object concurrently with a first folder icon on a standby screen of the touchscreen when the mobile phone is in a standby mode, wherein the object is displayed in a region outside the first folder icon on the touchscreen;

move the displayed object to the first folder icon on the touchscreen when the displayed object is touched and dragged to the first folder icon;

prevent the displayed object from being associated with the first folder icon such that the displayed object remains displayed in the region outside the first folder icon on the touchscreen when a number of other objects currently associated with the first folder icon is a maximum number; and

associate the displayed object with the first folder icon such that the displayed object is no longer displayed in the region outside the first folder icon on the touchscreen when the number of the other objects currently associated with the first folder icon is less than the maximum number,

wherein the maximum number is preset such that the maximum number of the other objects currently associated with the first folder icon are concurrently viewable on the touchscreen when the first folder icon is selected.

2. The mobile phone of claim 1, wherein:

the controller is further configured to control the touchscreen to selectively display one or more menu icons in response to selection of the displayed object;

the one or more menu icons have a functional association or informational association with the selected displayed object; and

selection of one of the one or more menu icons provides additional information about the selected displayed object or establishes a dynamic relationship between the selected displayed object and the one or more menu icons in order to perform an operation related to the selected displayed object.

3. The mobile phone of claim 2, wherein the controller is further configured to:

control the touchscreen to display the displayed object as a graphical representation of the displayed object; and

receive the selection of the displayed object via a user interaction with the graphical representation of the displayed object on the touchscreen.

4. The mobile phone of claim 3, wherein the controller is further configured to execute a menu function corresponding to a selected one of the one or more menu icons.

5. The mobile phone of claim 4, wherein establishing the dynamic relationship between the selected displayed object and the one or more menu icons is based on receipt of a drag and drop input of the selected displayed object onto the one of the one or more menu icons.

6. The mobile phone of claim 3, wherein:

the controller is further configured to display a second folder icon concurrently with the first folder icon on the touchscreen and an indication that the displayed object is associated with the first folder icon or the second folder icon.

7. The mobile phone of claim 6, wherein the controller is further configured to apply a lock function to one of the first folder icon or the second folder icon.

8. The mobile phone of claim 6, wherein the controller is further configured to generate a subfolder and to place objects belonging to a specific one of the first folder icon or the second folder icon into the subfolder when the objects belonging to the specific one of the first folder icon or the second folder icon are displayed on the touchscreen.

9. The mobile phone of claim 8, wherein the controller is further configured to apply a lock function to the subfolder.

10. The mobile phone of claim 6, wherein the controller is further configured to associate an object associated with a phonebook of the mobile phone with the first folder icon or the second folder icon.

11. The mobile phone of claim 2, wherein the controller is further configured to receive a selection of which of the one or more menu icons is to be displayed in advance of the selection of the displayed object.

12. The mobile phone of claim 2, wherein:

the selected displayed object is associated with a contact; and

interaction with the selected displayed object provides access to at least a name, a phone number, an e-mail address or a homepage address of the contact.

13. The mobile phone of claim 12, wherein the controller is further configured to control the touchscreen to display, on the selected displayed object, at least the name of the contact, the phone number of the contact, the e-mail address of the contact, the homepage address of the contact, or an image linked with the selected displayed object.

14. The mobile phone of claim 13, wherein the controller is further configured to indicate that there is no linked image when no image is linked with the selected displayed object.

15. The mobile phone of claim 13, wherein the controller is further configured to control the touchscreen to display a preset replacement image on the selected displayed object when no image is linked with the selected displayed object.

16. The mobile phone of claim 13, wherein the controller is further configured to control the touchscreen to sequentially display at least two images that are linked with the selected displayed object.

17. The mobile phone of claim 13, wherein the image linked with the selected displayed object includes at least a still picture, a moving picture, or a flash picture.

18. The mobile phone of claim 13, wherein the controller is further configured to provide a lock function to prevent access to information associated with the selected displayed object when the selected displayed object is in a locked state.

19. The mobile phone of claim 18, wherein the controller is further configured to control the touchscreen to display an identifier in association with the selected displayed object to indicate that the selected displayed object is in the locked state.

20. The mobile phone of claim 2, wherein the controller is further configured to receive input to lock the selected displayed object.

21. The mobile phone of claim 2, wherein the controller is further configured to control the touchscreen to display one of the one or more menu icons associated with the selected displayed object and with an event to be visually discriminated from a remainder of displayed menu icons when the event occurs.

22. The mobile phone of claim 1, wherein the controller is further configured to control the touch screen to visually inform that the displayed object is prevented from being associated with the first folder icon.

23. The mobile phone of claim 1, wherein the controller is further configured to resize the displayed object when the displayed object is correctly moved to the first folder icon.

24. The mobile phone of claim 23, wherein the controller is further configured to reduce a size of the displayed object when the displayed object is correctly moved to the first folder icon.

25. A method of controlling a mobile phone, the method comprising:

controlling a touchscreen of the mobile phone, via a controller of the mobile phone, to display an object concurrently with a first folder icon on a standby screen of the touchscreen when the mobile phone is in a standby mode, wherein the object is displayed in a region outside the first folder icon on the touchscreen,

controlling the touchscreen, via the controller, to move the displayed object to the first folder icon on the touchscreen when the displayed object is touched and dragged to the first folder icon;

preventing the displayed object, via the controller, from being associated with the first folder icon such that the displayed object remains displayed in the region outside the first folder icon on the touchscreen when a number of other objects currently associated with the first folder icon is a maximum number; and

associating the displayed object, via the controller, with the first folder icon such that the displayed object is no longer displayed in the region outside the first folder icon on the touchscreen when the number of the other objects currently associated with the first folder icon is less than the maximum number,

wherein the maximum number is preset such that the maximum number of the other objects currently associated with the first folder icon are concurrently viewable on the touchscreen when the first folder icon is selected.