Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02751925 2015-10-14
METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CONTROLLING A DISPLAY
FIELD
[0001] The specification relates generally to mobile electronic devices,
and
specifically to a method and apparatus for controlling the display of a mobile
electronic device.
BACKGROUND
[0002] Personal computers and similar electronic devices have long had
the
ability to "multitask" ¨ to execute multiple separate applications, each
providing
different functionality, simultaneously. Such devices can also have large
displays
capable of readily presenting several applications at once. Mobile electronic
devices such as smart phones and cellular phones are limited not only in terms
of
display area, but also in terms of computational resources. Thus, multitasking
on
such mobile devices remains inefficient and inconvenient.
SUMMARY
[0003] According to an aspect of the specification, a method of
controlling a
display of a mobile electronic device is provided, comprising providing a
first
interface on the display, the first interface comprising a representation of a
first
application at a default zoom level; receiving a command to launch a second
application; and, responsive to receiving the launch command, providing an
updated interface on the display, the updated interface comprising updated
representations of the first application and the second application; wherein
the
updated representation of the first application is inactive and occupies a
first
portion of the area of the display, and the updated representation of the
second
application is active and occupies a second portion of the display area, the
second portion being larger than the first portion receiving a switch command;
in
response to the switch command, providing a further interface on the display,
the
further interface comprising further representations of the first and second
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applications; wherein the further representation of the first application is
active
and occupies the second portion, and wherein the further representation of the
second application is inactive and occupies the first portion.
[0004] According to another aspect of the specification, a mobile
electronic
device is provided, comprising a display; a memory for maintaining a first
application and a second application; and a processor interconnected with the
display and the memory, the processor configured to perform the above method.
[0006] According to a further aspect of the specification, a non-
transitory
computer readable storage medium having computer-readable instructions
embodied therein for execution by a processor is provided. The computer-
readable instructions implement the above method.
BRIEF DESCRIPTIONS OF THE DRAWINGS
[0006] Embodiments are described with reference to the following
figures, in
which:
[0007] Figure 1 depicts a mobile electronic device, according to a non-
limiting
embodiment;
[0008] Figure 2 depicts certain internal components of the mobile
electronic
device of Figure 1, according to a non-limiting embodiment;
[0009] Figure 3 depicts a method of controlling the display of the mobile
electronic device of Figure 1, according to a non-limiting embodiment;
[0010] Figure 4 depicts the mobile electronic device of Figure 1 during
a
performance of the method of Figure 3, according to a non-limiting embodiment;
[0011] Figure 5 depicts a method of receiving a launch command, according
to a non-limiting embodiment;
[0012] Figure 6 depicts the mobile electronic device of Figure 1 during
a
performance of the method of Figure 5, according to a non-limiting embodiment;
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[0013] Figure 7
depicts the mobile electronic device of Figure 1 during a
performance of the method of Figure 3, according to a non-limiting embodiment;
and
[0014] Figure 8
depicts the mobile electronic device of Figure 1 during a
performance of the method of Figure 3, according to a non-limiting embodiment.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS
[0015] Figure 1
depicts a mobile electronic .device 100, which in the present
embodiment is based on the computing environment and functionality of a hand-
held wireless communication device. It will be understood, however, that
mobile
electronic device 100 is not limited to a hand-held wireless communication
device. Other mobile electronic devices are also contemplated, such as
cellular
telephones, smart telephones, Personal Digital Assistants ("PDAs"), media or
MP3 players, laptop computers and the like.
[0016] Mobile electronic
device 100 includes a housing 104 which supports
the various other components of mobile electronic device 100. Housing 104 can
be constructed of any suitable material, or combination of materials,
including
without limitation plastics (e.g, Polycarbonate/Acrylonitrile Butadiene
Styrene
("PC/ABS")) and metals (e.g. aluminum).
[0017] Mobile electronic
device 100 can also include one or more output
devices, including without limitation a display 108,a speaker 112 and a Light
Emitting Diode ("LED") indicator 116. Mobile electronic device 100
additionally
includes one or more input devices, including without limitation a microphone
120, a keypad 124 (which, in some non-limiting embodiments, can include a
QWERTY keyboard and one or more additional function keys) and a trackball
128. It will now be apparent that in some embodiments (not shown), other
combinations of input and output devices can be provided. In some non-limiting
embodiments, trackball 128 can be replaced with a touchpad (not shown). In
further non-limiting embodiments, one or both of keypad 124 and trackball 128
can be omitted, and a touch screen input device can be integrated with display
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108. In still other embodiments, the touch screen input device can be provided
in
addition to keypad 124 and trackball 128. Further combinations and variations
will occur to those skilled in the art.
[0018] Referring now to Figure 2, certain internal components of mobile
electronic device 100 are shown. Mobile electronic device 100 includes a
processor 132 interconnected with a computer readable storage (i.e. non-
transitory) medium in the form of a memory 136. Memory 136 can be any
suitable combination of volatile (e.g. Random Access Memory ("RAM")) and non-
volatile (e.g. read only memory ("ROM"), Electrically Erasable Programmable
Read Only Memory ("EEPROM"), flash memory, magnetic computer storage
device, or optical disc) memory. Mobile electronic device 100 also includes a
communications interface 140 interconnected with processor 132.
Communications interface 140 allows mobile electronic device 100 to
communicate with other computing devices via a link 144 and a network 148.
Network 148 can include any suitable combination of wired and/or wireless
networks, including but not limited to a Wide Area Network ("WAN") such as the
Internet, a Local Area Network ("LAN"), cell phone networks, WiFi networks,
WiMax networks and the like. Link 144 is compatible with network 148. In
particular, link 144 can be a wireless link based on Global System for Mobile
communications ("GSM"), General Packet Radio Service ("GPRS"), Enhanced
Data rates for GSM Evolution ("EDGE"), and the third-generation mobile
communication system (3G), Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers
("IEEE") 802.11 (WiFi) or other wireless protocols. It will be understood that
link
144 can also include any base stations and backhaul links necessary to connect
mobile electronic device 100 to network 148. It will be understood that
communications interface 140 can therefore be selected for compatibility with
link
144 as well as with network 148.
[0019] The above-mentioned input and output devices can also be seen in
Figure 2. Display 108 includes display circuitry 152 controllable by processor
132. It will now be apparent that display 108 can include a flat panel display
(e.g.
Liquid Crystal Display (LCD), plasma, and the like), a Cathode Ray Tube (CRT),
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and the like. Circuitry 152 can thus include any suitable combination of
display
buffers, transistors, electron beam controllers, LCD cells, plasma cells,
phosphors, and the like.
[0020] The various components of mobile electronic device 100 are
interconnected, for example via a communication bus. Mobile electronic device
100 can be powered by a battery (not shown), though it will be understood that
in
some non-limiting embodiments, mobile electronic device 100 can be supplied,
in
addition to or instead of the battery, with electricity by a wired connection
to a
wall outlet or other power source.
[0021] Mobile electronic device can maintain, in memory 136, a plurality of
applications. Each application can comprise computer-readable instructions for
execution by processor 132. Processor 132 can thus be configured to carry out
various functions via execution of the applications. Among the functions
carried
out by processor 132 is the controlling of display 108 to generate
representations
of the applications, as will be discussed below in greater detail.
[0022] It will now be apparent that processor 132 can "multitask". That
is,
processor 132 can execute more than one application simultaneously. As will
now be appreciated by those skilled in the art, processor 132 can be
configured
to manage the sharing and scheduling of its computing resources among multiple
applications by execution of an operating system ("OS") (not shown). The
operating system also comprises computer-readable instructions executable by
processor 132. In some exemplary embodiments, as depicted in Figure 2,
memory 136 can store an address book application 200, a map application 204,
a web browser application 208 and a messaging application 212. It will be
appreciated that a wide variety of other applications are also possible in
addition
to, or instead of, the above-mentioned applications.
[0023] Referring now to Figure 3, a method 300 of controlling a display
of a
mobile electronic device is depicted. Method 300 will be described in
connection
with its performance on mobile electronic device, though it will be
appreciated
that method 300 can also be performed on other suitable devices.
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[0024] Performance of method 300 begins at block 305, at which a first
Interface is provided on display 108. More specifically, processor 132 can be
configured by execution of (for example) address book application 200 to
control
circuitry 152 of display 108 to generate a representation of address book
application 200 on display 108. The performance of block 305, as will now be
apparent to those skilled in the art, can be initiated in a variety of ways.
For
example, block 305 can be performed in response to the selection of an address
book icon presented on display 108 in a home interface.
[0026] Referring to Figure 4, the above-described exemplary performance
of
block 305 is depicted. Figure 4 depicts a first interface on display 108. The
first
interface comprises a representation 400 of address book application 200. In
particular, representation 400 shows a contact record within address book
application 200 for an individual named "Jane Doe". The contact record shown
in
representation 400 includes, among other elements, address information 404, as
will be discussed below. Representation 400 is displayed at a default zoom
level
(that is, at 100% zoom). It will now be appreciated that zoom levels can be
set on
a per-application basis in mobile electronic device 104.
[0026] It will now be apparent to those skilled in the art that the
first interface
provided at block 305 of method 300 can occupy the entire, or substantially
the
entire, area of display 108. It will also be apparent, however, that this is
not a
necessity. Additional elements unrelated to address book application 200 can
also be provided in the first interface in other embodiments (now shown). Such
elements can include, without limitation, any suitable combination of a clock,
a
signal strength indicator and a battery level indicator.
[0027] Returning to Figure 3, method 300 proceeds to block 310. At block 310
processor 132 can be configured to receive input data representing a launch
command for a second application. As will now be apparent to those skilled in
the
art, such a launch command can be received by various mechanisms. In the
present exemplary performance of method 300, performance of block 310 is as
depicted in Figure 5.
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[0028] Figure 5 depicts a method 500 of receiving an application launch
command as part of the performance of block 310 of method 300. Beginning at
block 505, processor 132 can be configured to receive a selection of an
element
of representation 400 of address book application 200. Responsive to that
selection, method 500 advances to block 510, at which menu options relating to
the selected element are overlaid on the first interface on display 108.
[0029] Figure 6 depicts the performance of blocks 505 and 510. In
particular,
in Figure 6 address information 404 has been selected (as indicated by the
bold
outline around address information 404) at block 505. Input data indicating
such
a selection can be received by processor 132, for example, from trackball 128.
It
will now be apparent that trackball 128 can be used to scroll through the
elements of the first interface and to select (e.g. via a depression of
trackball 128)
a highlighted element. Selections can be made in various other ways as well.
For
example, in some embodiments a touch screen can be used to detect contact on
address information 404. As a result of the performance of block 510 following
the selection of address information 404, menu options 600 have been provided
on display 108 over representation 400. Menu options 600 are relevant to
address information 404, and include a "show on map" option.
[0030] Returning to Figure 5, method 500 proceeds to block 515, at which
input data indicative of a selection of a menu option is received at processor
132.
In the present exemplary performance of method 500, input data is received at
processor 132 indicating that the "show on map" option seen in Figure 6 has
been selected. The selected option is associated with a second application ¨
in
the present exemplary performance, with map application 204. The receipt of a
selection of the "show on map" menu option at block 515 is thus equivalent to
receiving a launch command for map application 204.
[0031] Returning to Figure 3, having received a launch command for a
second
application (e.g. map application 204), processor 132 can be configured, at
block
315, to provide an updated interface on display 108. That is, processor 132
can
be configured to control circuitry 152 to generate the updated interface on
display
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108. The updated interface includes updated representations of the first
application (in this exemplary performance, address book application 200) and
of
the second application (in this exemplary performance, map application 204).
Such an updated interface is shown in Figure 7.
[0032] The updated interface shown in Figure 7 includes an updated
representation 700 of address book application 200, and an updated
representation 704 of map application 204. Updated representation 700 of
address book application 200 is in a read-only, or inactive, state (also
referred to
as a non-editable state) ¨ that is, the elements (such as address information
404)
of updated representation 700 cannot be selected or otherwise interacted with
by
way of input received from any of the input devices of mobile electronic
device
104. Updated representation 704 of map application 204 is in an active state
(i.e.
editable or read/write state). Thus, elements of updated representation 704
can
be selected and altered via receipt of input data from, for example, trackball
128.
For instance, the map indicating (by way of identifier 708) the location
specified
by address information 404 can be moved and zoomed in or out by receipt of
input data at processor 132, which can cause processor 132 to control display
108 to alter the appearance of representation 704.
(0033] It will now be apparent to those skilled in the art that the
inactive
representation 700 can occupy a first portion of the area of display 108,
while the
active representation 704 can occupy a second portion of the area of display
108.
In the present exemplary embodiment, representation 700 occupies
approximately 25% of the display area, while representation 704 occupies
approximately 75% of the display area. The active and inactive representations
can occupy different portions of the display area than 75% and 25%
respectively.
For example, in some embodiments the active representation can occupy 85%
and the inactive representation can occupy 15%. Other variations are also
contemplated, and will now occur to those skilled in the art. While in the
embodiment illustrated in Figure 7, updated representations 700 and 704
together occupy the entire area of display 108, in some embodiments (not
shown), the sum of the display area occupied by updated representations 700
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and 704 together can be less than 100%. In general, the first portion occupied
by
the inactive representation is smaller than the second portion occupied by the
active representation.
[0034] It will also be apparent from Figure 7 that updated
representation 700
can be presented at a greater zoom level than representation 400 of address
book application 200. In this exemplary embodiment, the zoom level of updated
representation 700 can be approximately 150%, though it will be appreciated
that
any zoom level greater than that of representation 400 can be used. Processor
132 can be configured to provide such a zoom level increase by, for example,
obtaining address information 404 from memory 136 and increasing the font size
of address information 404 prior to transmitting address information 404 to
circuitry 152 of display 108 for generating updated representation 700.
Further,
updated representation 700 is centered on address information 404, whose
selection lead to the launching of map application 204. In the present
exemplary
embodiment, address information 404 is in fact the only element of address
book
application 200 presented in updated representation 700. Processor 132 can be
configured to generate updated representation 700 by implementing any suitable
combination of the above-mentioned features (zoom, centering and omission of
other, non-selected elements).
[0035] Returning to Figure 3, following the performance of block 315,
method
300 proceeds to block 320. At block 320, processor 132 can be configured to
receive a command to "switch" the first and second applications. In some
embodiments, the switch command can be received from keypad 124. For
example, the combined depression of a pair of keys such as an "Alt" key and a
"back" key can result in input data indicating a switch command being received
at
processor 132. Other mechanisms for receiving a switch command will also
occur to those skilled in the art. For example, mobile electronic device can
include an additional input device in the form of a switch button (not shown).
In
other exemplary embodiments, the switch command can be received
automatically in response to selection of a menu option on display 108 by
trackball 128. For example, selection of a menu option in map application 204
for
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adding a mapped address to the contacts maintained by address book
application 200 can trigger a switch command in addition to the necessary
command or commands required to add the address to contacts. ft is
contemplated that the conditions which lead to receipt of a switch command at
block 320 can be configurable by way of settings maintained by mobile
electronic
device 104. In some embodiments, for example, the combination of keys (such
as "Alt" and "back" as mentioned above) can be specified in such configurable
settings. In other exemplary embodiments, notification profiles which govern
ring
tones, volume and the like can also include switch command settings. In still
other exemplary embodiments, switch command behaviour can be set based on
the application or applications being executed by processor 132. Thus, for
example, execution of web browser application 208 can provide for the receipt
of
a switch command when a particular key of keypad 124 is depressed, while
execution of messaging application 212 can provide for the receipt of a switch
command when a particular menu option is selected. It is also contemplated
that
various combinations of the above-mentioned embodiments can be implemented.
[0036] Having received the switch command at block 320, processor 132
can
be configured to perform block 325. At block 325, processor 132 can be
configured to control display 108 to generate a further interface including
further
representations of address book application 200 and map application 204. In
general, the switch command is a command to generate a new interface in which
the application currently occupying the smaller, inactive portion of display
108 is
made to occupy the larger, active portion and vice versa. Thus, referring to
Figure 8, a further interface as generated at block 325 is shown, including a
further representation 800 of address book application 200 and a further
representation 804 of map application 204. As can be seen in Figure 8, further
representation 800 occupies the second larger portion of display 108. Address
book application 200 is thus the active, or editable, application in this
interface,
while map application 204, represented in the first smaller portion of display
108,
is the inactive or read-only application. The positions of address book
application
200 and map application 204 have therefore been switched in the further
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interface. It will be noted that further representation 804 is generated at
the same
zoom level as in Figure 7. As mentioned earlier, the change in zoom level is
not a
necessity when transitioning an application from active to inactive status on
display 108.
[0037] As indicated in Figure 3, the performance of block 325 can be repeated
as desired. In particular, following performance of block 325, processor 132
can
be configured to determine if a further switch command has been received. When
the determination at block 330 is negative, method 300 can terminate. When the
determination is positive, method 300 can return to block 325 and provide
another updated interface as described earlier. At any time during the
performance of method 300, processor 132 can also be configured to receive
input data representing an exit command. When such an exit command is
received, (for example, from keypad 124) processor 132 can be configured to
cease execution of the application represented in the second (i.e. larger,
active)
portion of display 108 and automatically updated the interface on display 108
to
include only a representation of the previously inactive application.
00383 It will be appreciated that the above methods and their variants
can be
performed on the above-described apparatus or on other suitable apparatus.
While exemplary address book and map applications are discussed herein,
methods 300 and 500 can also be performed in connection with any other
suitable applications. For example, in some embodiments web browser
application 208 and messaging application 212 can be executed as part of the
performance of the methods. In such embodiments, a word displayed as part of a
representation of messaging application 212 (e.g. a word appearing in an email
message) can be selected, and web browser application 208 can be launched in
order to retrieve a definition for the selected word. Still other combinations
of
applications will occur to those skilled in the art.
[0039] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that in some
embodiments, the
functionality of one or more of applications 200, 204, 208, 212 may be
implemented using pre-programmed hardware or firmware elements (e.g.,
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application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), electrically erasable
programmable read-only memories (EEPROMs), etc.), or other related
components.
[0040]
Persons skilled in the art will appreciate that there are yet more
alternative implementations and modifications possible for implementing the
embodiments, and that the above implementations and examples are only
illustrations of one or more embodiments. The scope, therefore, is only to be
limited by the claims appended hereto.
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