Mobile apparatus displaying a 3D image comprising a plurality of layers and display method thereof

• US 9,330,489 B2
• Filed: 05/24/2011
• Issued: 05/03/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 01/27/2011
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Lee, Yeon-hee, Shim, Jung-hyun, Lee, Yong-yeon, Koo, Ja-ok
• Primary Examiner(s): Yang, Ryan R
• Application Number:
  US13/114,484
• Publication Number:
  US 20120194507A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,806 Days
• Field of Search: 345/629
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1694 the I/O peripheral being a single or a set of motion sensors for pointer control or gesture input obtained by sensing movements of the portable computer
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2200/1637 Sensing arrangement for detection of housing movement or orientation, e.g. for controlling scrolling or cursor movement on the display of an handheld computer
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04815 Interaction with a metaphor-based environment or interaction object displayed as three-dimensional, e.g. changing the user viewpoint with respect to the environment or object
• 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: G06T 15/20 Perspective computation
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/003 to produce spatial visual effects

Abstract

A mobile apparatus is provided including a display unit which displays layers in different depth degrees from each other and displays a plurality of layers which are arranged in a depth direction of a screen in 3D images, including a sensing unit to sense movement of the mobile apparatus, and a control unit which controls a plurality of layers according to movement direction and movement distance, when movement of the mobile apparatus moving toward a depth direction of a screen is sensed.

Claims

1. A mobile apparatus, comprising:

a display unit which displays a 3D image comprising a plurality of layers having different depths from each other and arranged sequentially in a depth direction to a screen, each of the plurality of layers including at least one content icon;

a sensing unit which senses a movement of the mobile apparatus parallel to the depth direction to the screen; and

a control unit which activates one layer among the plurality of layers, changes the activated layer to another layer according to a direction and distance of the sensed movement when the movement of the mobile apparatus parallel to the depth direction to the screen is sensed and displays a new activated layer,

wherein the display unit displays an indicator which includes a plurality of images corresponding to the number of the plurality of layers and indicates currently-activated layers using the plurality of images, and

wherein while an upper layer is activated from among the plurality of layers, the control unit controls the display unit to display at least one content icon included in the upper layer and at least one content icon included in a lower layer of the upper layer, and in response to a movement of the mobile apparatus to activate the lower layer being detected, removes at least one content icon included in the upper layer and displays a content icon of the lower layer.

2. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the control unit controls the display unit to change a first layer, among the plurality of layers, into a high layer of the first layer and activate the high layer if the mobile apparatus moves in a forward direction of the screen, and change the first layer, among the plurality of layers, into a low layer of the first layer and activate the low layer if the mobile apparatus moves in a backward direction of the screen.

3. The apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein, the control unit controls the display unit to display a predetermined number of low layers in a deactivated and overlapped state on a lower portion of the first layer, if the first layer is in an activated state.

4. The apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein the control unit controls the display unit to display the first layer as protruding toward the forward direction and disappearing and the low layer as protruding toward the forward direction and activated, if the mobile apparatus moves toward the backward direction, when the first layer, which is one of the plurality of layers, is activated.

5. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the display unit is a touch screen and the control unit controls the display unit to change the display of at least one of the currently activated layers into at least one another layer in the plurality of layers and activate the display of the at least one another layer according to the direction and distance of the movement if the movement is sensed when at least one of the content icons on the currently activated layers is touched, and the control unit controls the display unit to display the at least one touched content icon by moving the at least one touched content icon to the changed layer, if the at least one touched content icon is released.

6. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the control unit controls the navigation of information on a text message receiver according to a sensed movement if movement of the mobile apparatus moving along an X-axis which is parallel to the screen is sensed, while a text message application is executing, scrolls text messages according to a sensed movement if movement of the mobile apparatus which moves toward a Y-axis which is parallel to the screen and perpendicular to the X-axis, and

controls the navigation of receiving/transmitting records of a text message according to sensed movement if movement along a Z-axis which is perpendicular to a surface which is made of the X-axis and the Y-axis.

7. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the indicator further includes a plurality of cells whose numbers equally correspond to numbers of the plurality of the layers, wherein the plurality of cells have different sizes from each other and are arranged by being overlapped with each other on a same center, wherein if a highest layer is activated among the plurality of layers, colors of all cells are displayed, and a color gets eliminated from a most outer cell if activation gets carried out toward a low layer.

8. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the plurality of images included in the indicator have numbers that equally correspond to the numbers of the plurality of layers, the plurality of images have different sizes and colors from each other and are overlapped in an same order to the plurality of images, and if a layer is activated, an image which corresponds to the activated layer is displayed on a highest portion.

9. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the plurality of images included in the indicator have numbers that equally correspond to the numbers of the plurality of layers, wherein the plurality of images are arranged on the screen in a same order to an order of layers, and wherein among the plurality of images, display state of at least one image corresponding to a currently activated layer is changed to be differentiated from the remaining images.

10. The apparatus as claimed in claim 9, wherein if an image is selected among the plurality of the images on the indicator, the control unit controls the display unit to change the selected image into a layer which corresponds to the selected image.

11. A method of displaying a 3D image in a mobile apparatus, comprising:

displaying the 3D image comprising a plurality of layers which have different depths from each other and are arranged sequentially in a depth direction to a screen, each of the plurality of layers including at least one content icon;

sensing movement of the mobile apparatus parallel to the depth direction to the screen;

changing an activated layer among the plurality of layers according to direction and distance of the sensed movement when the movement of the mobile apparatus parallel to the depth direction to the screen is sensed;

displaying an indicator which includes a plurality of images corresponding to the number of the plurality of layers and indicates currently-activated layers using the plurality of images;

displaying, while an upper layer is activated from among the plurality of layers, at least one content icon included in the upper layer and at least one content icon included in a lower layer of the upper layer; and

removing, in response to a movement of the mobile apparatus to activate the lower layer being detected, at least one content icon included in the upper layer and displaying a content icon of the lower layer.

12. The method as claimed in claim 11, wherein if a first layer which is one of the plurality of layers is activated, and the mobile apparatus moves in a forward direction of the screen, the first layer is changed into the high layer of the first layer and the high layer is activated and if the mobile apparatus moves in a backward direction of the screen, the first layer is changed into the low layer of the first layer and the low layer is activated.

13. The method as claimed in claim 12, wherein changing the layer displays a predetermined number of low layers in a deactivated and overlapped state on a lower portion of the first layer, if the first layer is in an activated state.

14. The method as claimed in claim 12, wherein if the mobile apparatus moves toward the backward direction when a first layer which is one of the plurality of layers is activated, changing displays the first layer as protruding toward the forward direction and disappearing, and displays the low layer as protruding toward the forward direction and activated.

15. The method as claimed in claim 11, wherein if the movement is sensed when at least one of the content icons on at least one of the currently activated layers is touched, the at least one currently activated layer is changed into at least one another layer of the plurality of layers and the at least one another layer is activated, according to direction and distance of the sensed movement and if the touched content icon is released, the at least one touched content icon is moved and displayed on the changed layer.

16. The method as claimed in claim 11, further comprising:

displaying a text message screen when a text message application is executing;

navigating information on a text message receiver which is made on the text message screen according to sensed movement if movement of the mobile apparatus which moves along an X-axis which is parallel to the screen is sensed;

scrolling the text message which is made on the text message screen according to sensed movement, if movement of the mobile apparatus which moves along a Y-axis which is parallel to the screen and perpendicular to the X-axis is sensed; and

navigating text message receiving/transmitting records according to sensed movement, if movement of the mobile apparatus which moves along a Z-axis which is perpendicular to a surface which is made of the X-axis and the Y-axis, is sensed.

17. The method as claimed in claim 11, wherein the indicator further includes a plurality of cells, numbers of which equally correspond to the numbers of the plurality of the layers, wherein the plurality of cells have different sizes from each other and are arranged as overlapping on a same center, wherein if a highest layer among the plurality of layers is activated, colors of all cells are displayed in each of the plurality of cells, and if activation gets carried out toward a low layer, colors are eliminated from a most outer cell.

18. The method as claimed in claim 11, wherein the plurality of images included in the indicator have numbers that equally correspond to the numbers of the plurality of layers, the plurality of images have different sizes and different colors from each other and are displayed overlapping in an same order to an order of layers, and if one layer is activated, an image which corresponds to the activated layer may be displayed on a highest position.

19. The method as claimed in claim 11, wherein the plurality of images included in the indicator have numbers that equally correspond to the numbers of the plurality of layers, and the plurality of images are arranged in an same order to an order of layers on the screen, and wherein among the plurality of images, display state of at least one image corresponding to a currently activated layer is changed in order to be differentiated from remaining images.

20. The method as claimed in claim 19, further comprising:

changing into a layer which corresponds to a selected image if one image among the plurality of images is selected.