Method of starting applications installed on a mobile operating system in a multi-window mode and device using the same

• US 9,684,428 B2
• Filed: 10/23/2013
• Issued: 06/20/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 06/07/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Insyde Software Corp
• Original Assignee: Insyde Software Corp
• Inventors: Wu, Tsung-En
• Primary Examiner(s): Kumar, Anil N
• Application Number:
  US14/061,044
• Publication Number:
  US 20140365933A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,336 Days
• Field of Search: 715798
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04817 using icons graphical or visual programming using iconic symbols G06F8/34
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0486 Drag-and-drop
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/445 Program loading or initiating bootstrapping G06F9/4401; security arrangements for program loading or initiating G06F21/57
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/451 Execution arrangements for user interfaces

Abstract

A method and a device of starting applications installed on a mobile operating system (OS) is performed by a mobile device for the mobile OS to flag any application installed on the mobile OS as a windowed application and display the application under a multi-window mode when the application is started. When multiple applications are simultaneously started, the mobile OS sequentially determines if each application is a windowed application. If positive, the application is displayed under the multi-window mode, and the size and location of the displayed window frame with the application running thereon are adjustable, rendering higher operational efficiency and convenience of software applications installed on a mobile OS.

Claims

1. A method of starting applications installed on a mobile operating system (OS) under a multi-window mode, the method performed by the mobile OS and comprising steps of:

providing a system screen;

displaying in a default menu at least two applications for users to select;

displaying in a windowed application menu at least two windowed applications for users to select;

receiving an execution command from the default menu or the windowed application menu that initiates execution of a selected application of the at least two applications;

determining if the selected application is a flagged windowed application, and if the selected application is being selected from the windowed application menu;

running the selected application under a multi-window mode, if the selected application is a flagged windowed application and if the selected application is being selected from the windowed application menu;

adding the selected application, selected from the default menu, to a windowed application menu and flagging the selected application as the flagged windowed application, if the selected application is a multi-window enabled application;

adding the selected application, selected from the default menu, to the windowed application menu, if code of the selected application is directly flagged as a multi-window enabled application;

running the selected application under a full-screen mode, if the selected application is being selected from the default application menu or if the selected application is not a flagged windowed application; and

adding the flagged windowed application, after selection, to the windowed application menu including only multi-window enabled applications,

wherein the default menu and the windowed application menu are distinct and displayed on a system screen,

wherein the windowed application menu is displayed on the system screen in response to selection of a start button of the system screen,

wherein the default application menu is displayed on the system screen in response to selection of a recent application listing button of the systems screen, and

wherein the start button and the recent application listing button are displayed on a status bar of the system screen.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the step of running the selected application further has steps of:

determining if a windowed flag of the selected application is set;

configuring a size and a location of a window frame with the selected application running thereon and displaying the selected application under the multi-window mode when the windowed flag is set; and

displaying the selected application under a full-screen mode when the windowed flag is not set.

3. The method as claimed in claim 2, wherein the step of displaying the selected application under the multi-window mode further has steps of:

providing the window frame on the system screen with the selected application running on the window frame;

receiving a clicking signal;

determining if the clicking signal occurs on a position within the window frame having the selected application; and

if the position within the window frame corresponds to a non-selected application, executing the non-selected application.

4. The method as claimed in claim 2, wherein the step of displaying the selected application under the multi-window mode further has steps of:

displaying sequentially as overlapping layers at least two window frames respectively having the at least two windowed applications on the system screen;

sequentially picking one of the at least two window frames;

determining if the picked window frame is hidden;

drawing the window frame on the system screen when the picked window frame is not hidden, and if the picked window is hidden, determining if any of the at least two window frames has not been drawn yet; and

returning to the step of sequentially picking one of the at least two window frames if any of the at least two window frames has not been drawn yet.

5. The method as claimed in claim 3, wherein the step of providing the window frame on the system screen with the selected application running on the window frame further has steps of:

providing a title bar on the window frame of the selected application with multiple command icons on the title bar, wherein the command icons include a minimize button, a maximize button, a close button, and a roll-up button.

6. The method as claimed in claim 5, further comprising a window moving process, the window moving process having steps of:

accepting a signal indicating that the title bar of one of the at least two window frames with a selected application running thereon has been continuously selected for a period of time and the selected window frame is being dragged;

generating a new position of the selected window frame after the selected window frame is dragged and dropped;

determining if the windowed flag of the selected application is set; and

modifying a current position of the selected window frame to the new position and redrawing the selected window frame according to the current position when the windowed flag of the selected application is set.

7. The method as claimed in claim 5, further comprising a window minimizing process launched by clicking the minimize button of the selected application, and the window minimizing process having steps of:

accepting a signal indicating that the minimizing button is clicked;

setting a minimization flag of the selected application running on the window frame; and

rolling down the window frame with the minimization flag to be located beneath the system screen.

8. The method as claimed in claim 5, further comprising a window maximizing process launched by clicking the maximize button, the window maximizing process having steps of:

accepting a signal indicating that the maximize button is clicked;

setting a maximization flag of the selected application running on the window frame, and changing the maximize button to a restore button;

determining if the maximization flag of the selected application is set; and

when the maximization flag is set, storing an original size and an original location of the window frame, setting a current size and a current location of the window frame to a size supported by a maximum resolution of a display on which the window frame is displayed, and redrawing the system screen.

9. The method as claimed in claim 5, further comprising a window closing process launched by clicking the close button, the window closing process having steps of:

accepting a signal indicating that the close button is clicked; and

closing the selected application.

10. The method as claimed in claim 5, further comprising a window size changing process, the window size changing process having steps of:

accepting a signal indicating that a window frame with an application running thereon has been continuously selected for a period of time;

updating a position of the window frame after the selected window frame is dragged and dropped to a new position;

determining a direction and a distance from an original position of the selected window frame to the new position, and calculating a size of the window frame after the dragging and dropping according to the direction and the distance;

determining if a windowed flag of the application, identifying the application as a flagged windowed application, is set; and

setting the size of the window frame with the calculated size of the window frame after the dragging and dropping, and redrawing the window frame when the windowed flag of the application is set.

11. The method as claimed in claim 8, further comprising a window restoring process launched by clicking the restore button, the window restoring process having steps of:

accepting a signal indicating that the restore button is clicked;

toggling the restore button to display the maximize button and removing the maximization flag of the windowed application running on the window frame selected in the window maximizing process;

determining if the maximization flag of the selected windowed application is set; and

setting the size and the location of the window frame with the stored original size and the stored original location of the window frame and redrawing the window frame when the maximization flag of the selected windowed application is set.

12. The method as claimed in claim 8, further comprising a window-on-top process launched by clicking the roll-up button, the window-on-top process having steps of:

accepting a signal indicating that the roll-up button is clicked;

determining if the windowed frame with the clicked roll-up button and the selected application running thereon stays on top of a list of sequence; and

putting all the window frames with the application running thereon on top of the list of sequence and performing a default drawing process of the mobile OS if the window frames with the application running thereon are not on top of the list of sequence.

19. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the system screen provides no applications to be selected by the users, and wherein the default menu and windowed application menu overlay the system screen.

13. A mobile device, comprising:

a storage device serving to store multiple applications;

a touch panel having;

a touch pad serving to receive a signal for launching a selected one of the applications; and

a display serving to display a system screen; and

a processor electrically connected to the touch pad, the display and the storage device, managed by a mobile OS, the processor receiving the signal from the touch panel for launching the selected application, displaying in a default application menu at least two applications for users to select, displaying in a windowed application menu at least two windowed applications for users to select,

flagging the selected application, selected from the default application menu, as a windowed application if the selected application is a multi-window enabled application,

if the selected application is a multi-window enabled application, the processor adds the selected application to a windowed application list stored on the storage device;

if the selected application includes code identifying the selected application as a multi-window enabled application, the processor adds the selected application to the windowed application menu;

displaying the selected application under a full-screen mode upon receiving the signal for launching the selected application from the default application menu, and

displaying the selected application under a multi-window mode upon receiving the signal for launching the selected application from the windowed application menu, wherein a size and a location of the displayed windowed application are adjustable, and wherein, after selection, the processor adds the flagged windowed application to the windowed application menu, the windowed application menu including only multi-window enabled applications,

wherein the default menu and the windowed application menu are distinct and displayed on a system screen,

wherein the windowed application menu is displayed on the system screen in response to selection of a start button of the system screen,

wherein the default application menu is displayed on the system screen in response to selection of a recent application listing button of the systems screen, and

wherein the start button and the recent application listing button are displayed on a status bar of the system screen.

14. The mobile device as claimed in claim 13, wherein the touch panel receives the signal for launching the selected application and transmits the signal to the processor for the processor to select the application from the multiple applications already installed on the mobile OS.

15. The mobile device as claimed in claim 13, wherein the storage device stores at least one windowed application.

16. The mobile device as claimed in claim 13, further comprising a starting button, wherein the starting button is a physical button mounted on the touch panel, and the starting button is electrically connected to the processor which receives a selection signal and the signal for launching the selected application.

17. The mobile device as claimed in claim 13, further comprising a signal input port electrically connected to the processor and a pointing device, wherein the pointing device receives a selection signal and the signal for launching the selected application.

18. The mobile device as claimed in claim 13, wherein the default application menu includes both multi-windowed enabled applications and single-window applications.