U.S. patent application number 13/298303 was filed with the patent office on 2012-03-15 for mobile electronic device, controlling method thereof and non-transitory recording medium thereof.
This patent application is currently assigned to HTC CORPORATION. Invention is credited to Drew Bamford, Sih-Jie Gu, Chin-Ying Hsieh.
Application Number | 20120062494 13/298303 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 41201538 |
Filed Date | 2012-03-15 |
United States Patent
Application |
20120062494 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Hsieh; Chin-Ying ; et
al. |
March 15, 2012 |
MOBILE ELECTRONIC DEVICE, CONTROLLING METHOD THEREOF AND
NON-TRANSITORY RECORDING MEDIUM THEREOF
Abstract
A mobile electronic device, a controlling method and a
non-transitory recording medium thereof are provided. In the
method, an input signal is received through a touch screen of the
mobile electronic device while the mobile electronic device is in a
first state. Then, a movement track of the input signal is obtained
if a starting point of the input signal is located in a status bar
display area of the touch screen, and a displacement in a specific
direction of the input signal is calculated. Finally, an
information frame is dragged out and displayed, and the mobile
electronic device is switched to a second state if the displacement
in the specific direction reaches a predetermined value. Thereby,
an intuitional way for showing information while the mobile
electronic device is in the second state is provided, and
accordingly, the convenience in operating the mobile electronic
device is improved.
Inventors: |
Hsieh; Chin-Ying; (Taoyuan
County, TW) ; Gu; Sih-Jie; (Taoyuan County, TW)
; Bamford; Drew; (Taoyuan County, TW) |
Assignee: |
HTC CORPORATION
Taoyuan County
TW
|
Family ID: |
41201538 |
Appl. No.: |
13/298303 |
Filed: |
November 17, 2011 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
12272811 |
Nov 18, 2008 |
8072435 |
|
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13298303 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
345/173 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06F 3/0488 20130101;
H04M 1/67 20130101; H04M 2250/22 20130101; H04M 1/72448
20210101 |
Class at
Publication: |
345/173 |
International
Class: |
G06F 3/041 20060101
G06F003/041 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Apr 16, 2008 |
TW |
97113776 |
Claims
1. A controlling method for a mobile electronic device having a
touch screen, wherein the touch screen comprises a status bar
display area and an operation area, the method comprising:
receiving an input signal through the touch screen when the mobile
electronic device is in a first state; determining whether a
starting point of the input signal is located in the status bar
display area; obtaining a movement track of the input signal if the
starting point is located in the status bar display area;
calculating a displacement in a specific direction of the input
signal; and switching the mobile electronic device to a second
state when the displacement in the specific direction reaches a
predetermined value.
2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of switching
the mobile electronic device to the second state when the
displacement in the specific direction reaches the predetermined
value comprises: dragging an information frame from an edge of the
touch screen closest to the starting point along the specific
direction to display the information frame on the touch screen.
3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the information frame
includes at least one type of information of a battery capacity, a
signal strength, a date/time, a missed call, an unread e-mail, an
unread short message, an unread voice mail, and a ring mode.
4. The method according to claim 2, wherein the information frame
is a full screen frame completely covering the touch screen.
5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the specific direction
is vertical direction or horizontal direction.
6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the status bar display
area is fixed to an upper position of the touch screen, and
information displayed in the status bar display area includes at
least one or a combination of a battery capacity, a signal
strength, a date/time, and a ring mode.
7. A mobile electronic device, comprising: a touch screen,
comprising a status bar display area and an operation area; an
input signal movement detecting module, coupled to the touch
screen, for determining whether a starting point of an input signal
received by the touch screen while the mobile electronic device is
in a first state is located in the status bar display area,
obtaining a movement track of the input signal if the starting
point is located in the status bar display area, and calculating a
displacement in a specific direction of the input signal; and a
processor module, coupled to the touch screen and the input signal
movement detecting module, for switching the mobile electronic
device to a second state when the displacement in the specific
direction reaches a predetermined value.
8. The mobile electronic device according to claim 7, wherein the
processor module is used for dragging an information frame from an
edge of the touch screen closest to the starting point along the
specific direction to display the information frame on the touch
screen.
9. The mobile electronic device according to claim 8, wherein the
information frame includes at least one type of information of a
battery capacity, a signal strength, a date/time, a missed call, an
unread e-mail, an unread short message, an unread voice mail, and a
ring mode.
10. The mobile electronic device according to claim 8, wherein the
information frame is a full screen frame completely covering the
touch screen.
11. The mobile electronic device according to claim 7, wherein the
specific direction is vertical direction or horizontal
direction.
12. The mobile electronic device according to claim 7, wherein the
status bar display area is fixed to an upper position of the touch
screen, and information displayed in the status bar display area
comprises at least one of a battery capacity, a signal strength, a
date/time, and a ring mode.
13. A non-transitory recording medium, for recording a computer
program, wherein the computer program comprises a plurality of
program codes, and the computer program is loaded into a mobile
electronic device to allow the mobile electronic device to execute
a controlling method for the mobile electronic device, the method
comprising: receiving an input signal through a touch screen of the
mobile electronic device when the mobile electronic device is in a
first state, wherein the touch screen comprises a status bar
display area and an operation area; determining whether a starting
point of the input signal is located in the status bar display
area; obtaining a movement track of the input signal if the
starting point is located in the status bar display area;
calculating a displacement in a specific direction of the input
signal; and switching the mobile electronic device to a second
state when the displacement in the specific direction reaches a
predetermined value.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This is a continuation application of and claims the
priority benefit of U.S. application Ser. No. 12/272,811, filed on
Nov. 18, 2008, now allowed, which claims the priority benefit of
Taiwan application serial no. 97113776, filed on Apr. 16, 2008. The
entirety of each of the above-mentioned patent applications is
hereby incorporated by reference herein and made a part of this
specification.
BACKGROUND
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The present invention generally relates to a mobile
electronic device having a touch screen, and more particularly, to
a method for controlling the mobile electronic device and a
non-transitory recording medium thereof.
[0004] 2. Description of Related Art
[0005] Along with the development of technologies, consumers'
requirement cannot be met by simply integrating multiple functions
into one electronic device. The operation of a fully functional
electronic device has to be very convenient in order to meet the
increasing demand of today's consumers. For example, hardware
keypad is usually used as the input interface for mobile phones in
early stage. However, touch screen has gradually replaced hardware
keypad as the input interface of mobile phones for it is more
convenient, intuitional, durable, and inexpensive.
[0006] During the operation, the mobile phone having a touch screen
may be set to different state (e.g. the operational state or the
screen lock state, etc.) to facilitate the desired result.
Accordingly, a convenient mechanism for switching to different
state has to be provided. Furthermore, since a great number of
phone features are available in today's mobile phones and numerous
applications are designed to be installed therein, users are able
to obtain various information through the mobile phones. However,
when a user wants to get several kind of information, the user has
to launch the corresponding applications one after another to
browse the related information via the user interfaces of each
application. The launching of multiple applications will use up a
lot of operation time, which will give users a negative
impression.
SUMMARY
[0007] The present invention provides a controlling method for a
mobile electronic device having a touch screen, wherein the touch
screen includes a status bar display area and an operation area. In
the present method, an input signal is received through the touch
screen while the mobile electronic device is in a first state.
Then, whether a starting point of the input signal is located in
the status bar display area is determined. A movement track of the
input signal is obtained if the starting point is located in the
status bar display area, and a displacement in a specific direction
of the input signal is calculated. Finally, the mobile electronic
device is switched to a second state when the displacement in the
specific direction reaches a predetermined value.
[0008] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the
step of switching the mobile electronic device to the second state
when the displacement in the specific direction reaches the
predetermined value includes dragging an information frame from an
edge of the touch screen closest to the starting point along the
specific direction to display the information frame on the touch
screen.
[0009] According to an embodiment of the present invention, wherein
the information frame includes at least one type of information of
a battery capacity, a signal strength, a date/time, a missed call,
an unread e-mail, an unread short message, an unread voice mail,
and a ring mode.
[0010] According to an embodiment of the present invention, wherein
the information frame is a full screen frame completely covering
the touch screen.
[0011] According to an embodiment of the present invention, wherein
the specific direction is vertical direction or horizontal
direction.
[0012] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the
status bar display area is fixed to an upper position of the touch
screen, and information displayed in the status bar display area
includes at least a battery capacity, a signal strength, a
date/time, or a ring mode.
[0013] The present invention provides a non-transitory recording
medium for recording a computer program, wherein the computer
program includes a plurality of program codes, and the computer
program can be loaded into a mobile electronic device to allow the
mobile electronic device to execute the foregoing controlling
method.
[0014] The present invention provides a mobile electronic device
including a touch screen, an input signal movement detecting
module, and a processor module. The touch screen includes a status
bar display area and an operation area. The input signal movement
detecting module is connected to the touch screen and is used for
determining whether a starting point of an input signal received by
the touch screen while the mobile electronic device is in a first
state is located in the status bar display area, obtaining a
movement track of the input signal if the starting point is located
in the status bar display area, and calculating a displacement in a
specific direction of the input signal. The processor module is
connected to the touch screen and the input signal movement
detecting module and is used for switching the mobile electronic
device to a second state when the displacement in the specific
direction reaches a predetermined value.
[0015] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the
processor module drags out an information frame from an edge of the
touch screen closest to the starting point along the specific
direction to display the information frame on the touch screen. In
which, the information frame includes at least one type of
information of a battery capacity, a signal strength, a date/time,
a missed call, an unread e-mail, an unread short message, an unread
voice mail, and a ring mode. In some embodiments, the information
frame is a full screen frame completely covering the touch
screen.
[0016] According to an embodiment of the present invention, wherein
the specific direction is vertical direction or horizontal
direction.
[0017] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the
status bar display area is fixed to an upper position of the touch
screen, and information displayed in the status bar display area
includes at least a battery capacity, a signal strength, a
date/time, and a ring mode, etc.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0018] The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further
understanding of the invention, and are incorporated in and
constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate
embodiments of the invention and, together with the description,
serve to explain the principles of the invention.
[0019] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a mobile electronic device
according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[0020] FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a method for entering a screen lock
state according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[0021] FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a mobile electronic device
according to another embodiment of the present invention.
[0022] FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a method for entering a screen lock
state according to another embodiment of the present invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS
[0023] Reference will now be made in detail to the present
preferred embodiments of the invention, examples of which are
illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the
same reference numbers are used in the drawings and the description
to refer to the same or like parts.
[0024] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a mobile electronic device
according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to
FIG. 1, the mobile electronic device 100 includes a touch panel
110, an input signal movement detecting module 120, and a processor
module 130. The mobile electronic device 100 may be a cell phone, a
personal digital assistant (PDA), or a smartphone; however, the
present invention is not limited thereto.
[0025] The touch panel 110 is used for detecting a touch operation
of a user and receiving a corresponding input signal. In the
present embodiment, the touch panel 110 includes a display area 111
and a non-display area 113. The display area 111 is used for
displaying an operation frame (for example, a user interface of an
application program) of the mobile electronic device 100. However,
both the display area 111 and the non-display area 113 can receive
an input signal generated by the touch operation of the user.
[0026] The input signal movement detecting module 120 is connected
to the touch panel 110 and is used for determining whether a
starting point of the input signal is located in the non-display
area 113, obtaining a movement track of the input signal if the
starting point is located in the non-display area 113, and
calculating a vertical displacement of the input signal when the
movement track contains a specific direction.
[0027] The processor module 130 is connected to both the touch
panel 110 and the input signal movement detecting module 120 and is
used for switching the mobile electronic device 100 to a screen
lock state when the vertical displacement of the input signal
reaches a predetermined value.
[0028] In other words, through the operation of the input signal
movement detecting module 120 and the processor module 130, a user
needs only to touch the non-display area 113 on the touch panel 110
and move his finger (or any other input tool, such as a stylus)
along the specific direction, and the mobile electronic device 100
is then switched from, for example, an operational state, to the
screen lock state once the vertical displacement reaches the
predetermined value.
[0029] The detailed steps for the mobile electronic device 100 to
enter the screen lock state will be further described with
reference to the following embodiment. FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a
method for entering the screen lock state according to an
embodiment of the present invention. Referring to both FIG. 1 and
FIG. 2, first, in step 210, the touch panel 110 receives an input
signal generated by a touch operation of a user.
[0030] Then, in step 220, the input signal movement detecting
module 120 determines whether a starting point of the input signal
is located in the non-display area 113. If the starting point of
the input signal is located in the non-display area 113, then in
step 230, a movement track of the input signal is obtained. Next,
in step 240, whether the movement track contains a specific
direction is determined. If the movement track contains the
specific direction, then in step 250, a displacement (e.g. a
vertical displacement) of the input signal is calculated.
[0031] For the convenience of description, it is assumed
hereinafter that the specific direction is a downward direction. In
an embodiment of the present invention, when the user touches the
non-display area 113 and slides his finger (or any other input
tool) vertically downwards, the input signal movement detecting
module 120 starts to calculate the vertical displacement of the
input signal. In another embodiment of the present invention, when
the user touches the non-display area 113 and slides his finger
towards left bottom or right bottom of the touch panel, the input
signal movement detecting module 120 also calculates the vertical
displacement of the input signal since the corresponding movement
track contains the downward direction.
[0032] Finally, in step 260, the processor module 130 switches the
mobile electronic device 100 to the screen lock state when the
vertical displacement of the input signal reaches a predetermined
value. As described in foregoing embodiment, the specific direction
is a downward direction. Accordingly, the processor module 130
switches the mobile electronic device 100 to the screen lock state
when the vertical component of the vertical displacement reaches
the predetermined value.
[0033] When the processor module 130 switches the mobile electronic
device 100 to the screen lock state, first, the processor module
130 drags and displays a screen lock frame in the display area 111
from an edge of the display area 111 closest to the starting point
of the input signal along the movement track of the input signal.
Then, the processor module 130 turns off the function of the mobile
electronic device 100 for receiving operations. In an embodiment of
the present invention, the processor module 130 only turns off the
main functions (for examples, functions for making phone calls,
playing video/audio files, and capturing images) of the mobile
electronic device 100. In other words, the user can still use some
functions of the mobile electronic device 100 through the screen
lock frame after the mobile electronic device 100 enters the screen
lock state.
[0034] It has to be noted herein that the screen lock frame
displayed by the processor module 130 is a full screen frame which
completely covers the display area 111. Information displayed in
the screen lock frame includes a battery capacity, a signal
strength, a date/time, a missed call, an unread e-mail, an unread
short message, an unread voice mail, and a ring mode, etc, wherein
the missed call may correspond to a voice call or a video call, and
the unread e-mail may be an unread text e-mail or multimedia
e-mail. Thus, the user can still browse related information of the
mobile electronic device 100 through the screen lock frame after
the mobile electronic device 100 enters the screen lock state.
[0035] Foregoing method for entering the screen lock state may be
executed in any mobile electronic device having a processor. In
other words, foregoing embodiment can be designed as a computer
program having a plurality of program codes, and the computer
program is recorded in a computer-readable recording medium (for
example, a CD, a floppy disk, or a removable hard disk, etc). After
the computer program is loaded into a mobile electronic device, the
method described in foregoing embodiment for entering the screen
lock state can then be executed by the mobile electronic
device.
[0036] As described above, when a user uses a mobile electronic
device disposed with a touch panel, the mobile electronic device
which is originally in, for example, an operational state, is
switched to a screen lock state through a sliding operation
containing a specific direction and having a vertical displacement
of a predetermined value.
[0037] The present invention is further described in the following
embodiment with a mobile electronic device having a touch screen as
an example. FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the mobile electronic
device according to another embodiment of the present invention.
Referring to FIG. 3, the mobile electronic device 300 in the
present embodiment may be a cell phone, a PDA, or a smartphone;
however, the present invention is not limited thereto. The mobile
electronic device 300 includes a touch screen 310, an input signal
movement detecting module 320, and a processor module 330.
[0038] The touch screen 310 can be used for displaying frames and
receiving touch operations of a user. Accordingly, the touch screen
310 serves as an input/output interface of the mobile electronic
device 300. In the present embodiment, the touch screen 310
includes a status bar display area 311 and an operation area 313.
As shown in FIG. 3, the status bar display area 311 is fixed to an
upper position of the touch screen 310 and is used for displaying
information such as a battery capacity, a signal strength, a
date/time, an unread voice mail, and a ring mode. The operation
area 313 located below the status bar display area 311 is used for
displaying a user interface of different application program and
receiving an operation corresponding to the user interface when the
mobile electronic device 300 is in an operational state.
[0039] The input signal movement detecting module 320 is connected
to the touch screen 310 and is used for determining whether a
starting point of an input signal generated by a touch operation of
the user is located in the status bar display area 311 when the
touch screen 310 receives the input signal. The input signal
movement detecting module 320 obtains a movement track of the input
signal if the starting point is located in the status bar display
area 311 and calculates a vertical displacement of the input signal
when the movement track contains a specific direction.
[0040] The processor module 330 is connected to both the touch
screen 310 and the input signal movement detecting module 320 and
is used for automatically switching the mobile electronic device
300 to the screen lock state when the vertical displacement of the
input signal reaches a predetermined value. The detailed steps for
the mobile electronic device 300 to enter the screen lock state
will be described below with reference to FIG. 4.
[0041] First, in step 410, the touch screen 310 receives an input
signal generated by a touch operation of a user. Then, in step 420,
the input signal movement detecting module 320 determines whether a
starting point of the input signal is located in the status bar
display area 311. If the starting point is located in the status
bar display area 311, the input signal movement detecting module
320 obtains a movement track of the input signal (step 430),
determines whether the movement track contains a specific direction
(for example, a downward direction) (step 440), and calculates a
vertical displacement of the input signal if the movement track
contains the specific direction (step 450).
[0042] Finally, in step 460, the processor module 330 switches the
mobile electronic device 300 to the screen lock state when the
vertical displacement of the input signal reaches a predetermined
value. In the present embodiment, the specific direction is a
downward direction, and accordingly the processor module 330
switches the mobile electronic device 300 to the screen lock state
when the vertical component corresponding to the input signal
reaches the predetermined value. Meanwhile, the processor module
330 drags and displays a screen lock frame from an edge of the
touch screen 310 closest to the starting point of the input signal
along the movement track and turns off the function of the mobile
electronic device 300 for receiving operations. In an embodiment of
the present invention, the processor module 330 does not turn off
all the functions of the mobile electronic device 300 but only some
of the main functions so that the user can still operate the other
functions through the screen lock frame.
[0043] It can be understood from foregoing description that when
the user touches the status bar display area 311 and slides his
finger (or any other input tool) towards the bottom, lower left, or
lower right of the touch screen 310, the mobile electronic device
300 is switched to the screen lock state once the vertical
component corresponding to the vertical displacement reaches the
predetermined value. After the mobile electronic device 300 enters
the screen lock state, the user can see a screen lock frame which
completely covers the touch screen 310. Namely, the screen lock
frame is a full screen frame covering both the status bar display
area 311 and the operation area 313. Since information such as a
battery capacity, a signal strength, a date/time, a missed call
(including voice call or video call), an unread e-mail (including
text e-mail and multimedia e-mail), an unread short message, an
unread voice mail, or a ring mode is displayed in the screen lock
frame, the user can still obtain related information of the mobile
electronic device 300 through the screen lock frame therefore won't
mistake the screen lock state as a system shutdown.
[0044] The method illustrated in FIG. 4 for entering the screen
lock state can be executed in any mobile electronic device having a
processor. Foregoing embodiment can be designed as a computer
program including a plurality of program codes, and the computer
program is recorded in a computer-readable recording medium (for
example, a CD, a floppy disk, or a removable disk). The computer
program can be loaded into the mobile electronic device to allow
the mobile electronic device to execute foregoing method for
entering the screen lock state.
[0045] In overview, the present invention provides a mobile
electronic device, a method for entering a screen lock state and a
recording medium thereof, wherein whether the mobile electronic
device is switched to the screen lock state is determined according
to a starting position of a touch operation of a user on a touch
screen or a touch panel, the movement direction, and the value of
the displacement. In the present invention, the screen lock
function is turned on through touching and sliding operation
instead of the conventional method of clicking on an icon, so that
the operation of the mobile electronic device is diversified and is
made more convenient.
[0046] It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various
modifications and variations can be made to the structure of the
present invention without departing from the scope or spirit of the
invention. In view of the foregoing, it is intended that the
present invention cover modifications and variations of this
invention provided they fall within the scope of the following
claims and their equivalents.
* * * * *