CN110427130B

CN110427130B - Display apparatus and method of controlling the same

Info

Publication number: CN110427130B
Application number: CN201910525895.3A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 金永振; 金刚兑; 朴大旭; 金泰秀; 崔祯桓; 金圣熙
Original assignee: Samsung Electronics Co Ltd
Current assignee: Samsung Electronics Co Ltd
Priority date: 2012-12-06
Filing date: 2013-12-06
Publication date: 2023-07-21
Anticipated expiration: 2033-12-06
Also published as: CN110413191A; CN104956301A; BR112015012539A8; AU2013356799B2; CN104956301B; CN110413191B; CN110427130A; CN107967087A; BR112015012539B1; AU2013356799A1; CN107967087B; BR112015012539A2

Abstract

A display device having a touch screen running at least one application and a method for controlling the display device are provided. The method comprises the following steps: receiving an application running command for running at least one application; determining at least one of a size and a position of a window running the at least one application according to a position of an application running command input; and displaying the window according to at least one of a size and a position of the window.

Description

Display apparatus and method of controlling the same

The present application is a divisional application of the inventive patent application of which the application date is 2013, 12, 6, 201380071613.8 and the invention name is "display device and method of controlling the display device".

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to a display device and a method for controlling the same. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a display device displaying a window running an application and a method for controlling the display device.

Background

The desktop computer is equipped with at least one display device (e.g., a monitor). Similarly, mobile devices (e.g., mobile phones, smart phones, tablet Personal Computers (PCs), etc.) having touch screens are also equipped with display devices.

The user may divide a screen of the display device according to a task environment using a desktop computer (e.g., the screen is divided horizontally or vertically and a plurality of windows are invoked in the divided screen). When running a web browser, the user can scroll up or down through the page up button or page down button in the keyboard. If the user uses a mouse instead of a keyboard, the user may scroll up or down the web page by selecting a scroll bar in one side of the web page using a mouse cursor. The user may also move to the top of the web page by selecting a top button displayed as text or icons in the bottom of the web page.

Mobile devices have small screen sizes compared to desktop computers and are limited in terms of input to the screen. Therefore, it is difficult to divide the screen in the mobile device.

A variety of applications may be running in a mobile device. The applications include basic applications installed by the manufacturer during the manufacturing process and additional applications downloaded from application sales sites. Additional applications may be developed by the average user and registered with the application sales website. Thus, anyone can freely sell applications he or she developed to a mobile user through an application sales website. Currently, tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of free or paid applications are available for mobile devices, depending on the product.

Disclosure of Invention

Technical problem

While mobile devices are provided with many applications that stimulate user interest and meet user needs, mobile devices have limitations in display size and User Interface (UI) due to their portable size. As a result, users find it inconvenient to run multiple applications in their mobile devices. For example, when a user runs an application in a mobile device, the application is displayed throughout the entirety of the display area. If the user runs another application during the running of the current application, the user needs to end the ongoing application first and then select the run key to run the desired application. For example, the user needs to finish a useless (rating) process of repeatedly running and terminating each application in order to run a plurality of applications. However, a method of simultaneously running a plurality of applications in a mobile device has yet to be specified.

As described above, while mobile devices are provided with many applications that stimulate user interest and meet user demands, mobile devices have limitations in display size and UI due to their portable size. As a result, users find it inconvenient to run multiple applications in their mobile devices.

Accordingly, there is a need to develop methods for displaying multiple windows on a single display. In addition, a method of easily calling a plurality of windows and facilitating arrangement of windows after window calling is required.

More specifically, when a plurality of overlapping windows are displayed, a structure for switching the currently displayed window to another low priority window needs to be specified.

The above information is presented as background information only to aid in the understanding of the present disclosure. It is not determined or claimed whether any of the above information can be used as prior art with respect to the present disclosure.

Technical proposal

Aspects of the present disclosure will address at least the above problems and/or disadvantages and provide at least the advantages described below. Accordingly, an aspect of the present disclosure is to provide a display device that runs a plurality of windows in a plurality of sizes on a single display and facilitates switching from one window to another lower-layer window, and a method for controlling the same.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, a method for controlling a display device having a touch screen running at least one application is provided. The method comprises the following steps: receiving an application running command for running at least one application; determining at least one of a size and a position of a window running the at least one application according to a position of an application running command input; and displaying the window according to at least one of a size and a position of the window.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a display apparatus is provided. The display device includes a touch screen configured to receive an application running command for running at least one application and a controller configured to: determining at least one of a size and a position of a window running the at least one application according to a position of an application running command input; and controlling the display of the window on the touch screen according to at least one of the size and the position of the window.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a method for running an application in a display device including a touch screen is provided. The method comprises the following steps: displaying a running window of the application in each of a plurality of areas of the touch screen; displaying buttons on at least one boundary separating the plurality of regions; receiving an input selecting a button; and displaying a list of at least one application running in a specific area among the plurality of areas in the specific area according to the received input.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a method for running an application in a display device including a touch screen is provided. The method comprises the following steps: displaying a running window of the application in each of a plurality of areas of the touch screen; displaying buttons on at least one boundary separating the plurality of regions; displaying a list of at least one application running icon in a partial area of the touch screen; receiving a drag input from the list to drag the application run icon; determining an area for running a new application according to the end position of the drag input and the position of the button; and displaying a running window of the application corresponding to the application running icon in the determined area.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a display apparatus is provided. The display device includes: a touch screen configured to display a running window of an application in each of a plurality of areas; displaying buttons on at least one boundary separating the plurality of regions, and receiving input selecting a button; and a controller configured to display a list of at least one application running in a specific area among the plurality of areas in the specific area according to the received input.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a display apparatus is provided. The display device includes a touch screen and a controller, the touch screen configured to: displaying a running window of the application in each of the plurality of areas; displaying buttons on at least one boundary separating the plurality of regions; displaying a list of at least one application running icon in a partial area of the touch screen; and receiving a drag input to drag an application run icon from the list; the controller is configured to: determining an area for running the new application based on the end position of the drag input and the position of the button; and controlling the touch screen to display a running window of the application corresponding to the application running icon in the determined area.

Other aspects, advantages, and salient features of the disclosure will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description, which, taken in conjunction with the annexed drawings, discloses various embodiments of the disclosure.

Drawings

The foregoing and other aspects, features, and advantages of certain embodiments of the disclosure will become more apparent from the following description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a display device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e, 2f, 2g, 2h, 2i, 2j, and 2k illustrate window operation methods according to embodiments of the present disclosure;

3a, 3b, 3c, 3d, 3e, 3f, 3g, 3h, and 3i illustrate action stacks managed in a display device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 4a is a flowchart illustrating a method for controlling a display device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4b is a flowchart illustrating a method for controlling a display device according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 5 illustrates a display order (Z-order) of windows according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

6a, 6b, 6c, and 6d illustrate an application running method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a method for controlling a display device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

8a, 8b, 8c, 8d, 8e, 8f, 8g, 8h, 8i, 8j, 8k, 8l, and 8m illustrate a method for displaying a plurality of windows according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 9a, 9b, 9c, 9d, 9e, 9f, 9g, and 9h illustrate a layout according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 10a, 10b, 10c, and 10d illustrate screens of a display device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 11a, 11b, and 11c illustrate screens of a display device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 12a, 12b, and 12c illustrate screens of a display device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 13a, 13b, and 13c illustrate screens of a display device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 14a, 14b, and 14c illustrate screens of a display device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 15a, 15b, and 15c illustrate screens of a display device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 16a, 16b, 16c, and 16d illustrate screens of a display device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 17 illustrates a screen of a display device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIGS. 18a and 18b illustrate a 9-region split mode according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 19 is a flowchart illustrating a method for controlling a display device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 20 is a flowchart illustrating a method for controlling a display device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 21a, 21b and 21c illustrate screens of a display device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 22 illustrates an action stack according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 23a and 23b illustrate screens of a display device describing a Z-order change according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 24 illustrates an action stack according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 25a and 25b illustrate screens of a display device describing a Z-order change command according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 26 illustrates an action stack according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 27a and 27b illustrate screens of a display device describing a Z-order change command according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 28 illustrates an action stack according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 29a and 29b illustrate screens of a display device describing a Z-order change command according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 30 illustrates an action stack according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 31a and 31b illustrate screens of a display device describing a Z-order change command according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 32 illustrates an action stack according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 33a and 33b illustrate screens of a display device describing a Z-order change command according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 34 illustrates an action stack according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 35 is a flowchart illustrating a method for controlling a display device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 36a, 36b, and 36c illustrate screens of a display device describing a Z-order change command according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

37a, 37b and 37c illustrate action stacks according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 38a, 38b, and 38c illustrate screens of a display device describing a Z-order change command according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

39a, 39b, and 39c illustrate action stacks according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

40a, 40b, 40c, 40d, 40e, 40f, 40g, 40h, 40i, 40j, and 40k illustrate a method for displaying an application running window according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

41a, 41b, 41c, 41d, 41e, and 41f illustrate action stacks according to various embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 42 is a flow chart illustrating a method for running an application in a display device according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIGS. 43a and 43b illustrate a method for controlling a display area of an application running window using a center button according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 44a, 44b, 44c, 44d, 44e, 44f, 44g, 44h, 44i, 44j, 44k, 44l, 44m, 44n, 44o, 44p, 44q, 44r, 44s, 44t, 44u, 44v, and 44w illustrate a method for running multiple applications according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

45a, 45b, 45c, 45d, 45e, 45f, 45g, 45h, 45i, and 45j illustrate action stacks according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 46 is a flowchart illustrating a method for providing a user interface in a display device on which an application is running, according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 47 is a flowchart illustrating a method for running an application in a display device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 48 is a block diagram of a display device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; and

fig. 49a, 49b, 49c, and 49d are diagrams illustrating a method for displaying buttons according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Like reference numerals will be understood to refer to like parts, assemblies and structures throughout the drawings.

Detailed Description

The following description with reference to the accompanying drawings is provided to assist in a comprehensive understanding of various embodiments of the disclosure as defined by the claims and their equivalents. The following description includes various specific details to aid in understanding, but these specific details should be considered exemplary only. Accordingly, one of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that various changes and modifications of the embodiments described herein can be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the present disclosure. In addition, descriptions of well-known functions and constructions may be omitted for clarity and conciseness.

The terms and words used in the following description and claims are not limited to the literature meanings, and the inventors use these data and words only to achieve a clear and consistent understanding of the present disclosure. Thus, it should be apparent to those skilled in the art that the following descriptions of the various embodiments of the present disclosure are provided for illustration only and not for the purpose of limiting the disclosure as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

It will be understood that the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Thus, for example, reference to "a component surface" includes one or more such surfaces.

With respect to the term "substantially", it is meant that the recited characteristic, parameter or value need not be exactly achieved, but rather deviations or variations may occur including, for example, tolerances, measurement errors, measurement accuracy limits and other factors known to those skilled in the art, without in any way excluding the effect of the characteristic desired to be provided.

While ordinal numbers such as first, second, etc., may be used to describe a plurality of components, these components are not limited by this term. The term is used to distinguish one component from another. For example, a first component may be termed a second component, or vice versa, within the scope and spirit of the present disclosure. The term "and/or" is meant to include a combination of multiple described associated items or one of the items.

Technical terms used herein are provided to describe various embodiments and are not intended to limit the present disclosure. As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. In this specification, the terms "comprises" or "comprising" are not to be construed as necessarily including all of the features, numbers, steps, operations, components, parts or combinations thereof described in the specification. Rather, it should be understood that the possibility exists of omitting or adding one or more features, numbers, steps, operations, components, portions or combinations thereof.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. Furthermore, terms defined in the general dictionary will be understood to have the same meaning as the context of the prior art. Unless explicitly defined herein, terms will not be construed in an idealized or overly formal sense.

Fig. 1 is a block diagram of a display device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to fig. 1, the display device 100 may be connected to an external device (not shown) through the mobile communication module 120, the sub communication module 130, or the connector 165. The term "external device" encompasses a variety of devices such as another device (not shown), a mobile phone (not shown), a smart phone (not shown), a tablet Personal Computer (PC) (not shown), a server (not shown), and so forth.

The display device 100 includes a touch screen 190 and a touch screen controller 195. The display device 100 further includes a controller 110, a mobile communication module 120, a sub-communication module 130, a multimedia module 140, a camera module 150, a Global Positioning System (GPS) module 155, an input/output (I/O) module 160, a sensor module 170, a memory (storage) 175, and a power supply 180. The sub-communication module 130 includes at least one of a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) module 131 and a short range communication module 132. The multimedia module 140 includes at least one of a broadcast communication module 141, an audio playing module 142, and a video playing module 143. The camera module 150 includes at least one of the first camera 151 and the second camera 152, and the I/O module 160 includes at least one of a button 161, a microphone 162, a speaker 163, a vibration motor 164, a connector 165, and a keypad 166.

The controller 110 may include a Central Processing Unit (CPU) 111, a Read Only Memory (ROM) 112 storing a control program for controlling the display device 100, and a Random Access Memory (RAM) 113 serving as a storage space for operations performed by the display device 100. The CPU 111 may include one or more cores. The CPU 111, ROM 112, and RAM 113 may be connected to each other through an internal bus.

The controller 110 may control the mobile communication module 120, the sub-communication module 130, the multimedia module 140, the camera module 150, the GPS module 155, the I/O module 160, the sensor module 170, the memory 175, the power supply 180, the touch screen 190, and the touch screen controller 195.

The mobile communication module 120 connects the display device 100 to an external device through one or more antennas (not shown) by mobile communication under the control of the controller 110. The mobile communication module 120 transmits or receives a wireless signal to or from a mobile phone (not shown), a smart phone (not shown), a tablet PC (not shown), or another device (not shown) having a phone number input to the display device 100 for a voice call, a video call, a Short Message Service (SMS), or a Multimedia Message Service (MMS).

The sub communication module 130 may include at least one of a WLAN module 131 and a short range communication module 132.

The WLAN module 131 may be connected to the internet under the control of the controller 110 at a location where a wireless AP (not shown) is installed. The WLAN module 131 supports WLAN standards, institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11x. The short-range communication module 132 may implement short-range wireless communication between the display device 100 and an imaging device (not shown) under the control of the controller 110. The short-range communication may be in accordance with bluetooth, infrared data association (IrDA), zigbee, and the like.

The display device 100 may include at least one of a mobile communication module 120, a WLAN module 131, and a short-range communication module 132 according to its capabilities. For example, the display device 100 may include a combination of the mobile communication module 120, the WLAN module 131, and the short-range communication module 132 according to its capabilities.

The multimedia module 140 may include a broadcast communication module 141, an audio playing module 142, or a video playing module 143. The broadcast communication module 141 may receive a broadcast signal (e.g., a television broadcast signal, a radio broadcast signal, or a data broadcast signal) and additional broadcast information (e.g., an Electronic Program Guide (EPG) or an Electronic Service Guide (ESG)) from a broadcasting station through a broadcast communication antenna (not shown) under the control of the controller 110. The audio playing module 142 may open a stored or received digital audio file (e.g., a file having an extension such as mp3, wma, ogg, or wav) under the control of the control unit 110. The video playing module 143 may open a stored or received digital video file (e.g., a file having an extension such as mpeg, mpg, mp, avi, mov, or mkv) under the control of the control unit 110. The video playback module 143 may also open digital audio files.

The multimedia module 140 may include an audio playing module 142 and a video playing module 143 without the broadcast communication module 141. Alternatively, the audio playing module 142 or the video playing module 143 of the multimedia module 140 may be incorporated into the controller 110.

The camera module 150 may include at least one of a first camera 151 and a second camera 152 capturing still images or videos under the control of the control unit 110. The first camera 151 or the second camera 152 may include an auxiliary light source (e.g., a flash (not shown)) that provides light intensity for capturing an image. The first camera may be disposed on a front surface of the display device 100, and the second camera may be disposed on a rear surface of the display device 100. Alternatively, the first camera 151 and the second camera 152 may be arranged close to each other (e.g., a distance between the first camera 151 and the second camera 152 may be between 1cm and 8 cm) so as to capture a three-dimensional still image or video.

The GPS module 155 may receive signal waves from a plurality of GPS satellites (not shown) in earth orbit and calculate the position of the display device 100 based on time of arrival (ToAs) of satellite signals from the GPS satellites to the display device 100.

The I/O module 160 may include at least one of a plurality of buttons 161, a microphone 162, a speaker 163, a vibration motor 164, a connector 165, and a keypad 166.

The buttons 161 may be formed at a front surface, a side surface, or a rear surface of the housing of the display device 100, and may include a power on/lock button (not shown), a volume button (not shown), a menu button, a home button, a back button, and a search button.

The microphone 162 receives voice or sound and converts the received voice or sound into an electrical signal under the control of the controller 110.

The speaker 163 may output sounds corresponding to various signals (e.g., wireless signals, broadcast signals, digital audio files, digital video files, photo taking, etc.) received from the mobile communication module 120, the sub-communication module 130, the multimedia module 140, and the camera module 150 to the outside of the display device 100. The speaker 163 may output sounds corresponding to functions (e.g., button operation sounds, ring back tones for calls, etc.) performed by the display device 100. One or more speakers 163 may be disposed at a suitable location or locations of the housing of the display device 100.

The vibration motor 164 may convert the electrical signal into mechanical vibration under the control of the controller 110. For example, when the display apparatus 100 receives an incoming voice call from another mobile apparatus (not shown) in a vibration mode, the vibration motor 164 operates. One or more vibration motors 164 may be mounted inside the housing of the display device 100. The vibration motor 164 may operate in response to a user touch on the touch screen 190 and a continuous motion of the touch on the touch screen 190.

The connector 165 may be used as an interface to connect the display device 100 to an external device (not shown) or a power source (not shown). The connector 165 may transmit data stored in the memory 175 to an external device via a cable connected to the connector 165 under the control of the controller 110, or may receive data from an external device via a cable. The display device 100 may receive power from a power source or charge a battery (not shown) via a cable connected to the connector 165.

Keypad 166 may receive key inputs from a user to control display device 100. Keypad 166 includes a physical keypad (not shown) formed in display device 100 or a virtual keypad (not shown) displayed on display 190. The physical keypad may not be provided according to the capabilities or configuration of the display device 100.

The sensor module 170 includes at least one sensor (not shown) for detecting a state of the display device 100. The sensor module 170 may include a proximity sensor that detects whether a user is near the display device 100, an illuminance sensor that detects an amount of ambient light surrounding the display device 100, or a motion sensor that detects motion (e.g., rotational acceleration, vibration, etc.) of the display device 100. The at least one sensor may detect a state of the display device 100, generate a signal corresponding to the detected state, and transmit the generated signal to the controller 110. The sensors may be added to the sensor module 170 or removed from the sensor module 170 depending on the capabilities of the device 100.

The memory 175 may store input and output signals or data according to operations of the mobile communication 120, the sub-communication module 130, the multimedia module 140, the camera module 150, the GPS module 155, the I/O module 160, the sensor module 170, and the touch screen 190 under the control of the control unit 110. The memory 175 may store programs and applications for controlling the display device 100 or the controller 110.

The term "memory" encompasses memory 175 installed into the display device 100, ROM 112 and RAM 113 within the controller 110, or a memory card (not shown) (e.g., a Secure Digital (SD) card or memory stick). The memory 110 may include a nonvolatile memory, a volatile memory, a Hard Disk Drive (HDD), or a Solid State Drive (SSD).

The power supply 180 may supply power to one or more batteries (not shown) housed in the housing of the display device 100 under the control of the controller 110. One or more batteries provide power to the display device 100. Further, the power supply unit 180 may supply power received from an external power source (not shown) to the display device 100 via a cable connected to the connector 165.

The touch screen 190 may provide a user with a User Interface (UI) corresponding to various services (e.g., call, data transmission, broadcasting, photography, etc.). The touch screen 190 may send an analog signal corresponding to at least one touch on the UI to the touch screen controller 195. The touch screen 190 may receive at least one touch input through a body part (e.g., a finger) of a user or a touch input device (e.g., a stylus). Touch screen 190 may also receive touch input signals corresponding to successive actions of one of the one or more touches. The touch screen 190 may send analog signals corresponding to the input touches to the touch screen controller 195.

As used in this description, "touch" may include a touchless touch (i.e., the detectable gap between the touch screen 190 and a portion of the user or touch input device is 1mm or less) and need not be limited to contact between the touch screen 190 and a body portion of the user or touch input tool. The gap detectable by the touch screen 190 may vary depending on the capabilities or configuration of the display device 100.

For example, the touch screen 190 may be implemented as a resistive type, a capacitive type, an infrared type, or an acoustic wave type.

The touch screen controller 195 converts analog signals received from the touch screen 190 into digital signals (e.g., X and Y coordinates). The controller 110 may control the touch screen 190 using digital signals received from the touch screen controller 195. For example, the controller 110 may control selection or operation of a shortcut icon (not shown) displayed on the touch screen 190 in response to a touch. The touch screen controller 195 may be incorporated into the controller 110.

Fig. 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e, 2f, 2g, 2h, 2i, 2j, and 2k illustrate a window operation method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Those skilled in the art will readily understand that the display device 200 may be any one of the display device 100 shown in fig. 1, a standard TV (television), an internet TV, a medical data display device, and the like. Thus, any device may be used as the display device as long as it is equipped with means for displaying the presented image.

Referring to fig. 2a, a display device 200 may define a plurality of window display areas 201, 202, 203, and 204 on a touch screen. For example, a controller (not shown) may configure the first window display area 201, the second window display area 202, the third window display area 203, and the fourth window display area 204. The controller may set a first boundary line 211 between the first window display area 201 and the second window display area 202, a second boundary line 212 between the third window display area 203 and the fourth window display area 204, a third boundary line 213 between the first window display area 201 and the third window display area 203, and a fourth boundary line 214 between the second window display area 202 and the fourth window display area 204. The first boundary line 211 and the second boundary line 212 may be connected as a single line, and the third boundary line 213 and the fourth boundary line 214 may be connected as a single line. The controller configures the first to fourth window display areas 201, 202, 203, and 204 so that they do not overlap each other. Referring to fig. 2a, for example, the controller defines a first window display area 201 at an upper left corner, a second window display area 202 at an upper right corner, a third window display area 203 at a lower left corner, and a fourth window display area 204 at a lower right corner. The controller divides the screen into left and right halves by first and second boundary lines 211 and 212, and into upper and lower halves by third and fourth boundary lines 213 and 214.

The controller displays the center button 220 at the crossing points where the first boundary line 211 and the second boundary line 212 cross the third boundary line 213 and the fourth boundary line 214. The center button 220 may be a function key that changes the size of the application display area or changes the display device 200 to a window repositioning mode.

The controller controls the display of windows in each of the window display areas 201, 202, 203, and 204 to run applications in the windows. For example, as shown in fig. 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e, 2f, 2g, 2h, 2i, 2j, and 2k, the controller controls the display of windows in each of the window display areas 201, 202, 203, and 204.

The window may include a running screen of a particular application and a title of the running application. Objects related to an application may be displayed on a running screen of the application. The objects may take a variety of forms, such as text, graphics, icons, buttons, check boxes, photographs, videos, web pages, maps, and so forth. When a user touches an object, a function or event corresponding to the touched object may be run in the application. The objects may be referred to as views according to an Operating System (OS). The title bar may include at least one control key to control the display of the window. For example, the at least one control may include a window minimize button, a window maximize button, and a window close button.

An application is a program independently written by the manufacturer of the display device 200 or an application developer. Thus, the running of one application does not require the ready running of another application. Even when one application ends, the other application can continue to run.

The applications are configured independently compared to a combined function application (or dual application) designed by adding some functions (e.g., remarking functions, messaging/receiving functions, etc.) available to other applications to one application (e.g., a video application). Unlike existing applications, a combined function application is a single application configured to include multiple functions. Thus, the combined function application provides only limited functionality like existing applications, and the user will additionally purchase such new combined function applications.

Referring to fig. 2b, the controller controls the display of the first window 230 to run a start application in the first window display area 201: application L. As shown in fig. 2b, the application is launched: the application L displays available application icons 231, 232, 233, 234, 235, 236, 237 and 238. Upon receiving an application run command by touch on one of the application icons 231, 232, 233, 234, 235, 236, 237 and 238, the application is launched: the application L displays an application corresponding to the touch icon in one of the first to fourth display areas 201, 202, 203 and 204.

Fig. 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d, 3e, 3f, 3g, 3h, and 3i illustrate action stacks managed in a display device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to fig. 3a, a controller generates and manages a launch application in an action stack in response to the execution of the launch application.

Referring to fig. 2c and 2d, the user 1 may touch the icon 232 representing the application B. When the icon 232 representing the application B is touched, the controller controls the display of the second window 240 in which the application B is running in the second window display area 202. The controller may display windows in the first to fourth window display areas 201, 202, 203, and 204 in order. For example, the controller may control the display of the new window in the clockwise order of the second window display area 202, the third window display area 203, and the fourth window display area 204. The clockwise window display order is one example of controlling the display of the new window, and thus, the controller may control the display of the new window in a counterclockwise order. The order in which new windows are displayed in window display areas 201, 202, 203, and 204 may be changed.

Fig. 3b shows an action stack corresponding to the window shown in fig. 2 d. The controller generates an application B stack 302 in the action stack in response to the execution of application B. The controller places the last running application B stack 302 on top of the start application stack 301. This may imply that application B's Z-order (which may also be described as order, level, or priority) is higher than the launching application: the Z-order of L is applied.

Referring to fig. 2e, the user 1 may touch the icon 233 corresponding to the application C.

Fig. 3c shows an action stack corresponding to the window shown in fig. 2 e. Because, as shown in fig. 2e, user 1 is to launch an application: application L inputs application run commands, so it is noted from fig. 3c that the Z-order of launching application L is higher than the Z-order of application B.

Referring to fig. 2f, when the icon 233 representing the application C is touched, the controller controls the display of the third window 250 in which the application C is running in the fourth window display area 204.

Fig. 3d shows an action stack corresponding to the window shown in fig. 2 f. The controller generates an application C stack 303 in the action stack in response to the running of application C. The controller places the last running application C stack 303 on top of the start application stack 301. This may imply that application C has a higher Z-order than the starting application: the Z-order of L is applied.

Referring to fig. 2g, user 1 may touch an icon 234 representing application D.

Fig. 3e shows an action stack corresponding to the window shown in fig. 2 g. Because, as shown in fig. 2g, user 1 is to launch an application: application L inputs an application run command, so it is noted from fig. 3e that the application is started: the Z-order of application L is higher than the Z-order of application C.

Referring to fig. 2h, when the icon 234 representing the application D is touched, the controller controls the display of the fourth window 260 in the third window display area 203 in which the application D is run.

Fig. 3f shows an action stack corresponding to the window shown in fig. 2 h. The controller generates an application D stack 304 in the action stack in response to the running of application D. The controller places the last running application D stack 304 on top of the launch application stack 301. This may imply that the Z-order of application D is higher than the Z-order of the launch application, application L.

Referring to fig. 2i, the user 1 may operate the application B.

Fig. 3g shows an action stack corresponding to the window shown in fig. 2 i. The controller places the application B stack 302 at the top of the action stack in response to user input to application B.

Referring to fig. 2j, user 1 may touch icon 235 representing application E.

Fig. 3h shows an action stack corresponding to fig. 2 j. Because, as shown in fig. 2j, user 1 is to launch an application: application L inputs application run commands, so it is noted from fig. 3h that the Z-order of application L is higher than the Z-order of application D, starting the application.

When the icon 235 representing the application E is touched, referring to fig. 2k, the controller controls the display of the fifth window 270 in the fourth window display area 204 in which the application E is running. In the absence of an empty window display area, the controller may refer to the action stack shown in fig. 3 h. The controller may determine the application with the lowest Z-order in the action stack. For example, the controller may determine that the Z-order of application C is lowest in the action stack of fig. 3 h. The controller controls the display of a fifth window 270 running application E in the fourth window display area 204 instead of the window of application C having the lowest Z-order.

Fig. 3i shows an action stack corresponding to the window shown in fig. 2 k. The controller generates an application E stack 305 in the action stack in response to the execution of application E. The controller places the last running application E stack 305 on top of the launch application stack 301. This may imply that the Z-order of application E is higher than the Z-order of the launch application, application L.

Fig. 4a is a flowchart illustrating a method for controlling a display device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to fig. 4a, in operation S401, a display device may run a plurality of applications. For example, the display device may run the application in response to an application run command triggered by a user touch on an icon representing the application. The display device, in particular, a window manager of the display device, may generate a window in which the application is run.

The display device may determine a layout for arranging the windows. The layout defines a window display area in which the windows may be arranged. For example, two modes may be used for layout, namely split mode and free mode.

In split mode, the screen is divided in such a way that: a plurality of windows are displayed without overlapping. For example, if the display device displays the first window and the second window, the display may divide a screen such as a touch screen in a set layout, and define the divided screen portions as window display areas. The display device may display windows in each window display area. Because each window display area is a screen segment (segment), the display device can display a plurality of windows without overlapping.

The display device may allocate a plurality of windows to one window display area in the split mode. For example, the display device may assign a first window and a second window to the first window display area. In this case, the display device may compare the Z-order (order in stack, level, position) of the first window and the second window. The display device may display the first window in the first window display area if the Z-order of the first window is higher than the Z-order of the second window. In this case, although the display device manages the second window to be arranged in the first window display area, the display device does not display the second window in the first window display area.

On the other hand, in the free mode, a plurality of windows may be displayed overlapping according to their display priority. For example, if the display area of the first window overlaps the display area of the second window, the display device may compare the Z-order of the first window and the second window. The Z-order of the windows may refer to the display order of the windows. For example, if the Z-order of the first window is higher than the Z-order of the second window, the display device may control the first window to be displayed in the overlapping portion instead of the second window.

In the split mode, various layouts are available, such as 2 up/down region split layouts, 2 left/right region split layouts, 3 region split layouts, 4 region split layouts, and the like. In operation S405, the display device may determine whether the layout of the window is in the split mode or the free mode. If the layout is in split mode, the display device may further determine whether the layout is a 2 up/down region split layout, a 2 left/right region split layout, a 3 region split layout, or a 4 region split layout.

Once the pattern of the layout is determined in operation S405, the display device may determine the window position in the layout in operation S407. In the case of the 2 up/down region layout, the display apparatus may determine to arrange the first window and the third window in the upper window display region and to arrange the second window in the lower window display region. Alternatively, in the free mode, the display device may determine a coordinate area for the first window and a coordinate area for the second window.

The display apparatus may determine a Z-order of the plurality of applications in operation S409 and may display a plurality of windows based on the Z-order of the applications in operation S411. For example, in the case of the 2 up/down region split mode, the display device may compare the Z-order of the first window and the third window. Further, the display device may control display of windows having a relatively high Z-order in the respective window display areas. In the free mode, the display device may compare the Z-order of the first window and the second window and may control the window having the display of the relatively higher Z-order in the overlap region.

Fig. 4b is a flowchart illustrating a method for controlling a display device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to fig. 4b, in operation S401, the display device may run a plurality of applications. For example, an application run command may be triggered by a drag gesture that drags an icon representing an application to a point at which a window for the application will be displayed. Drag gesture input is one example of an application launch command, and thus, an application may be launched in a variety of ways. Those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that the present disclosure is not limited to a particular application-specific method of operation.

In operation S421, the display device may determine whether the current layout is in the free mode. In the case of the free mode layout, the display apparatus may determine a Z-order of each of the windows in which the plurality of applications run in operation S423. In operation S425, the display device may display the windows according to the Z-order of the windows.

In the case of the split mode layout in operation S421, the display device may arrange a window in the window display area in operation S431. Further, in operation S433, the display device may determine a Z-order of windows in each window display area. For example, the display device may determine the Z-order of the windows as shown in table 1.

TABLE 1

Window	Window display area (Page)	Z order
			A	1	1
B	2	5
			C	3	6
D	2	2
			E	1	3
F	4	4

As described above, the display device may control display of window a having a relatively high Z order in the first window display area instead of window E. The display device may control display of window D having a relatively high Z-order in the second window display area instead of window B. Further, the display device may display the window C in the third window display area and the window F in the fourth window display area. For example, in operation S435, the display device may display a window having the highest Z-order among windows allocated to the window display areas in each window display area.

Fig. 5 shows a display order (Z-order) of windows according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to fig. 5, the Z-order of the screen may be divided into N layers, and the nth layer may be a further upper layer placed on the (N-1) th layer. A window may exist in each layer and an application may run in the window. For example, when a first application is running, the first application runs in a window of a first layer. The second application runs in a window of the second layer when the second application is run, and the third application runs in a window of the third layer when the third application is run. Thus, the first layer, the second layer, and the third layer are created hierarchically. The last created layer may be the top of the layer stack and thus may be displayed at the top of the screen. For example, a plurality of windows (a) to (d) may be displayed overlapping on the main screen. For example, the first window (a) is displayed overlapping the second window (b), the third window (c), and the fourth window (d), the second window (b) is displayed overlapping the third window (c) and the fourth window (d), and the third window (c) is displayed overlapping the fourth window (d). For example, when a plurality of windows (a) to (d) are displayed in an overlapping manner, the order in which the windows (a) to (d) are displayed is the Z-order of the windows (a) to (d). The Z-order may be an order in which windows are displayed along the Z-axis. The layer view (e) may be a Z-order screen that hierarchically displays windows. The Z-order may be referred to as a display order.

Fig. 6a, 6b, 6c, and 6d illustrate an application running method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. More specifically, fig. 6a, 6b, 6c and 6d illustrate a method for running an application in a free mode layout.

Referring to fig. 6a, 6b, 6c, and 6d, the display device 600 displays a window display area 620. The display device 600 displays the tray 610 containing the available application icons 611, 612, 613, 614, 615, 616, and 617 to the left of the window display area 620. The user 10 may operate the display device 600 to run the first application A1. For example, in FIG. 6b, the user 10 may make a drag gesture 625 that drags the icon 611 representing the first application A1 to a first point in the window display area 620. The display device 600 may display a first window 630 at a first point in the window display area 620 in response to the drag gesture 625 to run the first application A1 in the first window 630. The first window 630 may be displayed in a default size and shape or in a size and shape set by the user 10 before termination.

The user 10 may operate the display apparatus 600 to additionally run the third application A3. For example, as shown in fig. 6c, the user 10 may make a drag gesture 635 that drags the icon 613 representing the third application A3 to a second point in the window display area 620. The display device 600 may display a third window 640 at a second point in the window display area 620 in response to the entered run command (i.e., drag gesture 635) to run a third application A3 in the third window 640. The third window 640 may be displayed in a default size and shape or in a size and shape set by the user 10 before terminating. Because the third window 640 is the last window to which the user 10 has applied gesture input, the controller (not shown) may assign a higher task priority to the third application A3 than the first application A1. Thus, the controller may control the third application A3 to be displayed on top of the first application A1.

Fig. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a method for controlling a display device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to fig. 7, in operation S701, the display device may display at least one icon representing an application. For example, the display device may display a tray containing at least one icon in a portion of the touch screen.

In operation S703, when the user drags the icon to the first point where the window is to be arranged, the display device may receive a drag gesture input. The display device may identify a drag gesture from the icon to the first point as a command to run an application corresponding to the icon. More specifically, in operation S705, the display device may determine a position of a first point at which the drag gesture has ended on the layout. For example, if the split mode has been set for the layout, the display device may determine on the layout a window region to which the first point corresponds.

In operation S707, the display apparatus may determine at least one of a size and a position of the window according to a position of the first point on the layout. In operation S709, the display device may display the window according to the determined size and/or position.

Fig. 8a, 8b, 8c, 8d, 8e, 8f, 8g, 8h, 8i, 8j, 8k, 8l, and 8m illustrate a method for displaying a plurality of windows according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to fig. 8a, 8b, 8c, 8d, 8e, 8f, 8g, 8h, 8i, 8j, 8k, 8l, and 8m, the display device 800 displays a menu screen 817. Menu screen 817 may be a run screen for starting the program and may include icons representing applications. In addition, menu screen 817 may include information about the current time and may further include a widget. The display device 800 displays a tray 810 containing available icons 811, 812, 813, 814, 815 and 816 to the left of the touch screen.

As shown in fig. 8b, the user 10 may operate the display device 800 to run the first application a. For example, as shown in fig. 8c, the user 10 may touch an icon 811 representing the first application a and drag the touch icon 811 to the menu screen 817. A controller (not shown) may control the display of the icon 811 at the drag point. The controller may further control the display of a ghost view (ghostview) 818 at the drag point. Ghost view 818 refers to a preview of the size and shape of the window in which first application a will run so that user 10 can select the window position. Because no window has been displayed, the controller may display the ghost view 818 in full screen. As described below, the controller may control the display of the full screen ghost view in the absence of any window already being displayed on the touch screen. If a single window has been displayed on the touch screen, the controller may display the ghost view in a size and shape corresponding to half of the touch screen. If two windows are already displayed on the touch screen, the controller may display the ghost view in a size and shape corresponding to half of one of the two windows on the touch screen. If three windows have been displayed on the touch screen, the controller may display the ghost view in a size and shape corresponding to half of the largest one of the three windows.

The controller may recognize the drag gesture as a command to run a new application. The controller may generate a first window 819 for running the first application a. As shown in fig. 8d, the controller may control the display of the first window 819 in a full screen.

The user 10 may operate the display device 800 to additionally run the second application B. For example, as shown in fig. 8e, the user may touch an icon 812 representing the second application B, and drag the touch icon 812 toward the lower half of the first window 819 as shown in fig. 8 f. The controller may control the display of the icon 812 at the dragged point. Further, the controller may control the display of the ghost view 823 at the drag point. As described previously, because a single window 819 is already displayed on the touch screen, the controller may control the ghost view 823 to be displayed in a size and shape corresponding to half of the touch screen. Although not shown, if the user 10 drags the touched icon 812 toward the upper half of the touch screen, the controller controls the display of the ghost view 823 at the upper half of the touch screen. Displaying the ghost view in the lower half of the touch screen is only one example of displaying the ghost view, and thus, the controller may divide the touch screen into a left half and a right half and may control the ghost view to be displayed in one of the left half and the right half of the touch screen.

If the user ends the drag in the lower half of the touch screen as shown in fig. 8f, the controller determines that a new application run command has been received. As shown in fig. 8g, consistent with the ghost view 823 shown in fig. 8f, the controller controls the second window 830 to be displayed in the lower half of the touch screen. Further, the controller reduces the size and shape of the first window 819 to the first window 820 so that the first window 820 may be displayed in the upper half of the touch screen. The controller generates and displays a center button 825 at the boundary between the first window 820 and the second window 830.

The user 10 may operate the display device 800 to additionally run the third application C. For example, as shown in fig. 8h, the user may touch an icon 813 representing the third application C, and drag the touch icon 813 toward the right of the first window 820 as shown in fig. 8 i. The controller may control the icon 813 to be displayed at the dragged point. Further, the controller may control the ghost view 827 to be displayed at the dragged point. As previously described, because the two windows 820 and 830 are already displayed on the touch screen, the controller may control the display of the ghost view 827 in a size and shape corresponding to half of the first window 820. Although not shown, if the user 10 drags the touched icon 813 toward the left portion of the first window 820, the controller controls the ghost view 827 to be displayed in the left half of the first screen 820. Displaying the ghost view 827 in the right half of the first window 820 is only one example of displaying the ghost view, and thus, the controller may divide the first window 820 into an upper half and a lower half and may control the ghost view 827 to be displayed in one of the upper half and the lower half of the first screen 820. Displaying the ghost view 827 in half of the first window 820 is another example of displaying the ghost view. The controller may determine the size and shape of the ghost view 827 relative to the center button 825 and display the ghost view 827 accordingly.

If the user ends the drag in the right portion of the first window 820 as shown in fig. 8i, the controller determines that a new application run command has been received. As shown in fig. 8j, the controller controls the third window 840 to be displayed in the right half of the first screen 820, consistent with the ghost view 827 shown in fig. 8 i. Alternatively, the controller may control the third window 840 to be displayed in correspondence with the position of the center button 825. Thus, as more applications are selected for execution, portions of the screen may be gradually subdivided to assign a respective portion of the screen to each of the executed applications.

In addition, the controller reduces the size and shape of the first window 820 in correspondence with the creation of the third window 840. For example, the controller may control the first window 820 to be displayed in an area other than the display area of the third window 840.

The user 10 may operate the display device 800 to additionally run the fourth application D. For example, as shown in fig. 8k, the user may touch an icon 814 representing the fourth application D, and drag the touch icon 814 toward the right of the second window 830 as shown in fig. 8 l. The controller may control the icon 814 to be displayed at the dragged point. Further, the controller may control the ghost view 831 to be displayed at the dragged point. As previously described, because the three windows 820, 830, and 840 are already displayed on the touch screen, the controller may control the display of the ghost view 831 in a size and shape corresponding to half of the second window 830. Although not shown, if the user 10 drags the touched icon 814 toward the left portion of the second window 830, the controller controls the display of the ghost view 831 in the left half of the second screen 830. Displaying the ghost view 831 in the right half of the second window is only one example of displaying the ghost view, and thus, the controller may divide the second window 830 into an upper half and a lower half and may control the ghost view 831 to be displayed in one of the upper half and the lower half of the second screen 830. Displaying the ghost view 831 in half of the second window 830 is another example of displaying a ghost view. The controller may determine the size and shape of the ghost view 831 relative to the center button 825 and display the ghost view 831 accordingly.

If the user ends the drag in the right portion of the second window 830 as shown in fig. 8l, the controller determines that a new application run command has been received. As shown in fig. 8j, consistent with the ghost view 831 shown in fig. 8l, the controller controls the display of a fourth window 850 in the right half of the second screen 830. Alternatively, the controller may control the fourth window 850 to be displayed in correspondence with the position of the center button 825.

In addition, the controller reduces the size and shape of the second window 830 in correspondence with the creation of the fourth window 850.

As described above, the display device may control the display of a window in the window display area where the drag gesture ends. In fig. 8a, 8b, 8c, 8d, 8e, 8f, 8g, 8h, 8i, 8j, 8k, 8l and 8m, windows are displayed in the same size at different positions. With reference to fig. 9a, 9b, 9c, 9d, 9e, 9f, 9g, 9h, 10a, 10b, 10c, 10d, 11a, 11b, 11c, 12a, 12b, 12c, 13a, 13b, 13c, 14a, 14b, 14c, 15a, 15b, 15c, 16a, 16b, 16c, 16d and 17, various embodiments of configuring windows at different locations with different sizes will be described below.

Fig. 9a, 9b, 9c, 9d, 9e, 9f, 9g, and 9h illustrate layouts according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

Fig. 9a shows a full screen curtain for the case where the split mode is not set. In fig. 9a, the display device defines a first window display area 901 throughout the entire screen.

Fig. 9b shows an input area 902 corresponding to the first window display area 901.

Fig. 9c shows a screen layout in the 2 up/down region split mode. In fig. 9c, the display device may divide the screen into an upper region and a lower region and define a first window display region 911 and a second window display region 912 in the upper region and the lower region, respectively.

Fig. 9d shows the input area in the 2 up/down area splitting mode. The first input region 913 may correspond to the first window display region 911 and the third input region 915 may correspond to the second window display region 912. The second input region 914 may correspond to a boundary between the first window display region 911 and the second window display region 912. For example, when the user makes a drag gesture that drags an icon to the first input region 913, the display device may display a window in the first window display region 911 shown in fig. 9 c. For example, when the user drags an icon to the third input area 915, the display device may display a window in the second window display area 912 shown in fig. 9 c. For example, when the user drags an icon to the second input area 912, the display device may display a window throughout all of the first window display area 911 and the second window display area 912 shown in fig. 9 c.

Fig. 9e shows a screen layout in the 2 left/right region split mode. In fig. 9e, the display device may divide the screen into left and right regions and define a first window display region 921 and a second window display region 922 in the left and right regions, respectively.

Fig. 9f shows the input area in 2 left/right area splitting mode. The first input area 923 may correspond to the first window display area 921 and the third input area 925 may correspond to the second window display area 922. The second input area 924 may correspond to a boundary between the first window display area 921 and the second window display area 922. For example, when the user makes a drag gesture that drags an icon to the first input area 923, the display device may display a window in the first window display area 921 shown in fig. 9 e. For example, when the user drags an icon to the third input area 925, the display device may display a window in the second window display area 922 shown in fig. 9 e. For example, when the user drags an icon to the second input area 924, the display device may display a window throughout all of the first window display area 921 and the second window display area 922 shown in fig. 9 e.

Fig. 9g illustrates a layout in a 4-region split mode according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, and fig. 9h illustrates an input region defined according to the layout of the 4-region split mode illustrated in fig. 9 g.

Referring to fig. 9g and 9h, the display device defines first to fourth window display areas 931, 932, 933 and 934. Accordingly, the user can operate the display device to run a window in any one of the first to fourth window display areas 941, 942, 943, and 944. For example, when the user drags an icon representing an application to the third input area 932, the display device may display a window in the second window display area 932 in an aligned manner. If the user completes the drag gesture at the boundary between the first display area 931 and the second display area 932, the display device may display a window throughout all of the first window display area 931 and the second window display area 932. For example, the display device may define a first input region 941 corresponding to the first window display region 931 and a second input region 942 corresponding to the second window display region 932. The display device may further define a fifth input region 945 at a boundary between the first window display region 931 and the second window display region 932. Similarly, the display device may define a third input area 943 and a fourth input area 944 that correspond to the third window display area 933 and the fourth window display area 934, respectively. The display device may further define a sixth input area 946 at a boundary between the first window display area and the third window display area 933, a seventh input area 947 at a boundary between the second window display area 932 and the fourth window display area 934, and an eighth input area 948 at a boundary between the third window display area 933 and the fourth window display area 934. The display device may further define a ninth input area 949 at the intersection point where the first to fourth window display areas 931, 932, 933 and 934 meet. When the drag gesture ends in the specific input region, the display device determines a window display area for displaying the window based on the mapping relationship shown in table 2.

TABLE 2

As described above, the display device may define an input area for determining an application display area in which the drag gesture ends. More specifically, the display device may define an input region corresponding to a boundary between the plurality of window display regions or an input region corresponding to an intersection at which the plurality of window display regions meet. When the drag gesture ends in an input region corresponding to a boundary between window display regions, the display device may display windows throughout all of the window display regions. When the drag gesture ends in an input region corresponding to an intersection where multiple window display regions meet, the display device may display a window throughout all of the window display regions. The display device may display windows at different locations in different sizes. The above-described configuration of displaying windows at different positions with different sizes is described in more detail with reference to fig. 10a, 10b, 10c, 10d, 11a, 11b, 11c, 12a, 12b, 12c, 13a, 13b, 13c, 14a, 14b, 14c, 15a, 15b, 15c, 16a, 16b, 16c, 16d, and 17. More specifically, fig. 10a, 10b, 10c, 10d, 11a, 11b, 11c, 12a, 12b, 12c, 13a, 13b, 13c, 14a, 14b, 14c, 15a, 15b, 15c, 16a, 16b, 16c, 16d, and 17 show a layout in the 4-region split mode. Accordingly, fig. 9g and 9h will also be described with reference to the following.

Fig. 10a, 10b, 10c, and 10d illustrate screens of a display device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to fig. 10a, 10b, 10c, and 10d, the controller controls the display window display area 1000 and the tray 1010 accommodating available icons 1011, 1012, 1013, 1014, 1015, 1016, and 1017 representing applications. The controller may always display the tray 1010. Alternatively, the controller may display the tray 1010 only when receiving the tray call command. The tray call command may be generated in response to an edge flick received from the left side of the touch screen. Those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that the present disclosure is not limited to the type of input that triggers the pallet call command. It is assumed that the display device is displaying a first window running application a in window display area 1000.

Referring to fig. 10b, the user 10 may make a drag gesture 1021 that drags an icon 1016 representing an application F toward a first point 1027 in the lower half of the window display area 1000. In fig. 10c, the controller may determine a window display area. In the case of a 4-region layout, the controller may determine the input region in which the drag gesture 1021 ends. For example, if the first point 1027 is located in the eighth input area 948 of fig. 9h, the controller may determine to display the F window 1024 throughout all of the third window display area 933 and the fourth window display area 934 as shown in table 2. Thereafter, the controller may display the ghost view 1023 in the determined area.

The user 10 can determine whether the window is to be displayed at the desired location by viewing the ghost view 1023. The user 10 may release the drag gesture 1021 and the F-window 1024 may be displayed throughout the third and fourth window display areas 933, 934 as shown in fig. 10 d. Because the F window 1024 is displayed, the controller can reduce the size of the a window 1000 to half and display the contracted a window 1000. The controller may scale down the a window 1000 at the same horizontal to vertical ratio or at a new horizontal to vertical ratio.

Fig. 11a, 11b, and 11c illustrate screens of a display device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. More specifically, fig. 11a, 11b and 11c illustrate subsequent operations for the operations of fig. 10a, 10b, 10c and 10 d.

Referring to fig. 11a, the display device displays an a window 1000 and an F window 1024 in the upper and lower halves of the screen, respectively, in a split mode. The user 10 may operate the display device 800 to additionally run the application E. The user 10 may make a drag gesture 1032 by dragging the icon 1015 representing the application E to the second point 1033.

Referring to fig. 11b and 11c, the controller may determine an input area corresponding to the second point 1033. If the controller determines that the second point 1033 corresponds to the eighth input area 948 shown in fig. 9h, the controller may determine to display the E-window 1034 throughout all of the third window display area 933 and the fourth window display area 934, as shown in table 2. Accordingly, the controller may display the determined window display area as the ghost view 1031.

The user 10 can determine whether the window is to be displayed at a desired location by viewing the ghost view 1031. The user 10 may release the drag gesture 1032. The E-window 1034 may be displayed throughout the entirety of the third window display region 933 and the fourth window display region 934.

Fig. 12a, 12b, and 12c illustrate screens of a display device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. More specifically, fig. 12a, 12b and 12c illustrate subsequent operations for the operations of fig. 11a, 11b and 11 c.

Referring to fig. 12a, the display device displays an a window 1000 and an E window 1034 in the upper and lower halves of the screen, respectively, in a split mode. The user 10 may operate the display device to additionally run the application G. The user 10 may make a drag gesture 1041 that drags the icon 1017 representing the application G toward the third point 1042.

Referring to fig. 12b and 12c, the controller may determine an input area corresponding to the third point 1042. If the controller determines that the third point 1042 corresponds to the ninth input region 949 shown in fig. 9h, the controller may determine to display the G window 1044 throughout all of the first through fourth window display regions 931 through 934, as shown in table 2. Accordingly, the controller may display the determined window display area as the ghost view 1043.

The user 10 can determine whether the window is to be displayed at a desired position by viewing the ghost view 1043. The user 10 may release the drag gesture 1042. The G window 1044 may be displayed full screen as shown in fig. 12 c.

Fig. 13a, 13b and 13c illustrate screens of a display device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. More specifically, fig. 13a, 13b and 13c illustrate subsequent operations for the operations of fig. 12a, 12b and 12 c.

Referring to fig. 13a, 13b and 13c, the display device is displaying a G window 1044. The user 10 may make a drag gesture 1051 that drags the icon 1012 representing application B to the fourth point 1052 in the lower half of the G window 1044 in fig. 13B. When the controller determines that the fourth point 1052 corresponds to the eighth input region 948 shown in fig. 9h, the controller may determine to display the E-window 1054 throughout the entirety of the third window display region 933 and the fourth window display region 934, as shown in table 2. Thus, the controller may display the determined window display area as the ghost view 1053.

The user 10 can determine whether the window is to be displayed at the desired location by viewing the ghost view 1053. The user 10 may release the drag gesture 1052. The B window 1054 may be displayed throughout the entirety of the third window display region 933 and the fourth window display region 934 as shown in fig. 13 c. Because the B window 1054 is displayed, the controller may zoom out the G window 1044 to half of the screen and display the zoomed out G window 1044 in the upper half of the screen.

Fig. 14a, 14b, and 14c illustrate screens of a display device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. More specifically, fig. 14a, 14b and 14c illustrate subsequent operations for the operations of fig. 13a, 13b and 13 c.

Referring to fig. 14a, the display device displays the G window 1044 and the B window 1054 in the upper and lower halves of the screen, respectively, in a split mode. The user 10 may operate the display device to additionally run the application G. The user 10 may make a drag gesture 1061 that drags the icon 1013 representing the application B toward the fifth point 1062.

Referring to fig. 14b and 14c, the controller may determine an input area corresponding to the fifth point 1062. If the controller determines that the fifth point 1062 corresponds to the second input area 942 shown in fig. 9h, the controller may determine to display the C-window 1064 in the second window display area 932, as shown in table 2. Thus, the controller may display the determined window display area as a ghost view 1063.

The user 10 can determine whether the window is to be displayed at the desired location by viewing the ghost view 1063. The user 10 may release the drag gesture 1061. The C window 1064 may be displayed in the second window display area 932, as shown in fig. 14C.

Fig. 15a, 15b, and 15c illustrate screens of a display device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. More specifically, fig. 15a, 15b and 15c illustrate subsequent operations for the operations of fig. 14a, 14b and 14 c.

Referring to fig. 15a, the display device displays the G window 1044, the B window 1054, and the C window 1064 in a 3-region split mode. The user 10 may operate the display device to additionally run the application D. The user 10 may make a drag gesture 1071 that drags the icon 1014 representing the application D toward the sixth point 1072.

Referring to fig. 15b and 15c, the controller may determine an input area corresponding to the sixth point 1072. If the controller determines that the sixth point 1072 corresponds to the fourth input area 944 shown in fig. 9h, the controller may determine to display the D-window 1074 in the fourth window display area 934 as shown in table 2. Thus, the controller may display the determined window display area as the ghost view 1073.

The user 10 can determine whether the window is to be displayed at the desired location by viewing the ghost view 1073. The user 10 may release the drag gesture 1071. The D-window 1074 may be displayed in the fourth window display area 934 as shown in fig. 15 c.

Fig. 16a, 16b, 16c, and 16d illustrate screens of a display device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 16a shows a screen of a display device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. More specifically, fig. 16a shows subsequent operations for the operations of fig. 15a, 15b, and 15 c.

Referring to fig. 16a, the display device displays the G window 1044, the B window 1054, the C window 1064, and the D window 1074 in a 4-region split mode. The user 10 may operate the display device to additionally run the application H. The user 10 may make a drag gesture that drags the icon 1018 representing the application H toward the seventh point 1081.

Referring to fig. 16a, the controller may determine an input area corresponding to the seventh point 1081. If the controller determines that the seventh point 1081 corresponds to the fifth input region 945 shown in fig. 9H, the controller may determine to display an H window 1083 in both the first and second window display regions 931 and 932, as shown in table 2. Thus, the controller may display the determined window display area as a ghost view 1082. Icons 1015, 1016, 1017, 1018, 1019, 1020, and 1021 representing applications E through K may be arranged in the tray 1010. For example, the user 10 may input an upward drag gesture across the tray 1010 such that hidden icons 1018, 1019, 1020, and 1021 representing applications H through K may be exposed in the tray 1010.

The user 10 can determine whether the window is to be displayed at the desired location by viewing the ghost view 1082. The user 10 may release the drag gesture. The H window 1083 may be displayed in the first window display region 931 and the second window display region 932 as shown in fig. 16 a.

Fig. 16b shows a screen of a display device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. More specifically, fig. 16b shows subsequent operations to those of fig. 15a, 15b, and 15 c.

Referring to fig. 16B, the display device displays the G window 1044, the B window 1054, the C window 1064, and the D window 1074 in a 4-region split mode. The user 10 may operate the display device to additionally run the application H. The user 10 may make a drag gesture by dragging the icon 1018 representing the application H to the eighth point 1084.

Referring to fig. 16b, the controller may determine an input area corresponding to the eighth point 1084. If the controller determines that the eighth point 1084 corresponds to the sixth input region 946 as shown in fig. 9H, the controller may determine to display the H window 1086 in the first and third window display regions 931 and 933 as shown in table 2. Thus, the controller may display the determined window display area as a ghost view 1085.

The user 10 can determine whether the window is to be displayed at the desired location by viewing the ghost view 1085. The user 10 may release the drag gesture. The H window 1086 may be displayed in the first window display region 931 and the third window display region 933 as illustrated in fig. 16 b.

Fig. 16c illustrates a screen of a display device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. More specifically, fig. 16c shows subsequent operations to those of fig. 15a, 15b, and 15 c.

Referring to fig. 16C, the display device displays the G window 1044, the B window 1054, the C window 1064, and the D window 1074 in a 4-region split mode. The user 10 may operate the display device to additionally run the application H. The user 10 may make a drag gesture that drags the icon 1018 representing the application H to the ninth point 1087.

Referring to fig. 16c, the controller may determine an input area corresponding to the ninth point 1087. If the controller determines that the ninth point 1087 corresponds to the eighth input region 948 shown in fig. 9H, the controller may determine to display an H window 1089 in both the third and fourth window display regions 933 and 934, as shown in table 2. Thus, the controller may display the determined window display area as a ghost view 1088.

The user 10 can determine whether the window is to be displayed at the desired location by viewing the ghost view 1088. The user 10 may release the drag gesture. The H window 1089 may be displayed in the third window display region 933 and the fourth window display region 934, as shown in fig. 16 c.

Fig. 16d illustrates a screen of a display device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. More specifically, fig. 16d shows subsequent operations to those of fig. 15a, 15b, and 15 c.

Referring to fig. 16D, the display device displays the G window 1044, the B window 1054, the C window 1064, and the D window 1074 in the 4-region split mode. The user 10 may operate the display device to additionally run the application H. The user 10 may make a drag gesture that drags the icon 1018 representing the application H toward the tenth point 1090.

Referring to fig. 16d, the controller may determine an input area corresponding to the tenth point 1090. If the controller determines that the tenth point 1090 corresponds to the seventh input zone 947 shown in fig. 9H, the controller may determine that the H window 1092 is displayed in the second window display area 932 and the fourth window display area 934, as shown in table 2. Accordingly, the controller may display the determined window display area as the ghost view 1091.

The user 10 can determine whether the window is to be displayed at the desired location by viewing the ghost view 1091. The user 10 may release the drag gesture. The H-window 1092 may be displayed in the second window display area 932 and the fourth window display area 934, as shown in fig. 16 d.

Fig. 17 illustrates a screen of a display device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. More specifically, fig. 17 shows subsequent operations for the operations of fig. 15a, 15b, and 15 c.

Referring to fig. 17, the display apparatus displays the G window 1044, the B window 1054, the C window 1064, and the D window 1074 in the 4-region split mode. The user 10 may operate the display device to additionally run the application H. The user 10 may make a drag gesture that drags the icon 1018 representing the application H toward the eleventh point 1093.

Referring to fig. 17, the controller may determine an input area corresponding to the eleventh point 1093. If the controller determines that the eleventh point 1093 corresponds to the ninth input zone 949 shown in fig. 9H, the controller may determine that the H window 1095 is displayed in the third window display area 932 and the fourth window display area 934, as shown in table 2. Accordingly, the controller may display the determined window display area as a ghost view 1094.

The user 10 may determine whether the window is to be displayed at the desired location by viewing the ghost view 1094. The user 10 may release the drag gesture. The H window 1095 may be displayed full screen.

As described above, the display device may provide windows at different sizes at different locations depending on the end point of the drag gesture. Although 4 region splitting modes have been described above, the above description may be extended to 9 region splitting modes and so on.

Fig. 18a and 18b illustrate a 9-region split mode according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to fig. 18a and 18b, the display device may define 9 a split window display area. Further, the display device may define input regions A, C, E, K, M, O, U, W and Y corresponding to respective window display regions, input regions B, D, F, H, J, L, N, P, R, T, V and X corresponding to boundaries between window display regions, and input regions G, I, Q and S corresponding to intersections where window display regions meet. When the end point of the drag gesture is located in the input region corresponding to the boundary between the display regions, the display device may display the window throughout the entirety of the window display region. When the end point of the drag gesture is located in the input region corresponding to the intersection at which the window display regions meet, the display device may display the window throughout the entirety of the window display region. In this way, the display device may display windows at different positions and sizes depending on the end point of the drag gesture.

Fig. 19 is a flowchart illustrating a method for controlling a display device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to fig. 19, in operation S1901, the display device may display at least one icon representing an application. In operation S1903, the display device may receive a drag gesture that drags an icon to a first point. In operation S1905, the display device may determine a position of an end of the drag gesture on the layout.

In operation S1907, the display device may determine whether the drag gesture ends at a boundary between window display regions. If the drag gesture ends at the boundary between the window display regions, the display device may display the window throughout the entirety of the window display regions in operation S1909.

In operation S1911, the display device may determine whether the drag gesture ends at an intersection where the window display regions meet. If the drag gesture ends at the intersection where the window display regions meet, the display device may display the window throughout the entirety of the window display regions in operation S1913.

In operation S1915, the display device may determine whether the drag gesture ends in the window display area. If the drag gesture ends in the window display area, the display device may display a window in the window display area in operation S1917.

Fig. 20 is a flowchart illustrating a method for controlling a display device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to fig. 20, in operation S2001, the controller may set a layout in a split mode. In operation S2003, the controller may define a plurality of window display regions according to the split mode. Further, the controller may allocate a plurality of windows to the window display region in operation S2005. More specifically, the controller may allocate a plurality of windows to one window display area.

In operation S2007, the controller may control a window having the highest Z-order among the windows allocated to the window display regions to be displayed in each window display region. For example, if a plurality of windows are allocated to the first window display region, the controller may control to display a window having the highest Z-order among the allocated windows.

In operation S2009, the controller may determine whether a Z-order change command has been received through the touch screen. The Z-order change command is a command requesting a change of the Z-order of the window. For example, the Z-order change command may be triggered by a flick gesture on the touch screen. When receiving the Z-order change command in operation S2009, the controller may change at least one Z-order and display a window based on the changed Z-order in operation S2011.

Fig. 21a, 21b and 21c illustrate screens of a display device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to fig. 21a, the display device 2100 displays a first window 2101 in a first region for running application a, a second window 2102 in a second region for running application B, a third window 2103 in a third region for running application C, and a fourth window 2104 in a fourth region for running application D. The display device 2100 further displays a center button 2110.

Fig. 22 illustrates an action stack according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to fig. 22, a controller (not shown) may manage the action stack on the left. The controller may manage the Z-order of the windows in the order of applications C, F, G, A, D, B, J, K, H, M, L and I. The controller assigns windows for applications C, F and G to the third region, assigns windows for applications A, J and L to the first region, assigns windows for applications D, H and M to the fourth region, and assigns windows for applications B, K and I to the second region.

The controller detects applications that are assumed to be running in the first region and compares the Z-order of the detected applications. The controller may determine that application a has the highest Z-order in the first zone. Thus, the controller controls the first window 2101 in which the application a is running to be displayed in the first region. The controller detects applications that are assumed to run in the second region and compares the Z-order of the detected applications. The controller may determine that application B has the highest Z-order in the second region. Thus, the controller controls the second window 2102 in which the application B is running to be displayed in the second area. The controller detects applications that are assumed to be running in the third region and compares the Z-order of the detected applications. The controller may determine that the application C has the highest Z-order in the third region. Thus, the controller controls the third window 2103 in which the application B is running to be displayed in the third region. The controller detects applications that are assumed to be running in the fourth area and compares the Z-order of the detected applications. The controller may determine that the application D has the highest Z-order in the fourth region. Thus, the controller controls the fourth window 2104 in which the application B is running to be displayed in the fourth region.

With continued reference to fig. 21a, user 1 may input a Z-order change command to the third region. For example, user 1 may make a flick right gesture 2120 across a third region. The controller may recognize this right flick gesture 2120 as a Z-order change command. The flick right gesture 2120 may be set to a command to assign the highest Z-order to the application with the lowest Z-order in the window display area. The Z-order change is reflected in the action stack to the right as shown in fig. 22. Note from the action stack to the right shown in fig. 22 that application G is at the top of the action stack. The flick gesture 2120 to the right is an example of assigning a Z-order in the window display area, and thus, one skilled in the art will readily understand that a Z-order change command may be defined by a gesture made in a direction other than the right. For example, the Z-order change command may be defined by a variety of gestures, such as a flick gesture to the left, a flick gesture downward, a flick gesture upward, and so on. Moreover, many other gestures besides flick gestures, including tilting, dragging, panning, etc. may be defined as Z-order change commands, which should not be construed as limiting the present disclosure. Herein, the rightward direction may be referred to as a first direction, and the first direction is not limited to the rightward direction.

Referring to fig. 21b and 21c, the controller may control the fifth window 2113 to be displayed in the third area so as to run the application G. When receiving the Z-order change command through the right flick gesture across the third region, the controller may determine that the application F has the lowest Z-order in the third region, as shown in fig. 21 c. The controller may control the sixth window 2123 to be displayed in the third region in order to run the application F.

Fig. 23a and 23b illustrate screens of a display device describing a Z-order change according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Fig. 24 illustrates an action stack according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Fig. 23a may be substantially the same as fig. 21c, and the action stack to the left shown in fig. 24 may describe the Z-order of the window shown in fig. 23 a.

Referring to fig. 23a, user 1 may input a Z-order change command to a first region by making a flick gesture 2121 to the right across the first region. The controller (not shown) may determine that the application L has the lowest Z-order in the first zone. The controller may assign the highest Z-order to the application L as shown in the action stack to the right as shown in fig. 24.

Referring to fig. 23b, the controller may control a seventh window 2131 to be displayed in the first area in order to run the application L.

Fig. 25a and 25b illustrate screens of a display device describing a Z-order change according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Fig. 26 illustrates an action stack according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to fig. 25a and 25b, the user may input a Z-order change command to the second region by making a flick gesture 2130 to the left across the second region. A controller (not shown) may recognize a flick gesture to the left as a Z-order change command. A flick gesture to the left may be set as a command to assign the lowest Z-order to the application with the highest Z-order in the window display area. The left direction may be referred to as a second direction.

Thus, the controller may assign the lowest Z-order to the application with the highest Z-order in the second region, as shown in the action stack to the right as shown in fig. 26. Because application B is assigned the lowest Z-order, the controller may control the assignment of the highest Z-order to application K in the second region.

Accordingly, the controller may display an eighth window 2142 in the second area for running the application K, as shown in fig. 25 b. The resulting action stack change is shown in fig. 26.

As described previously, the controller may recognize a flick gesture to the left as a command for assigning the highest Z-order to an application having the lowest Z-order in the window display area. Further, the controller may identify the right flick gesture as a command to assign a lowest Z-order to an application having a second highest Z-order in the window display area. Thus, the user can easily switch to the screen of the application having the lowest or highest Z-order.

Fig. 27a and 27b illustrate screens of a display device describing a Z-order change command according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Fig. 28 illustrates an action stack according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to fig. 27a and 27B, the display device 2100 displays a first window 2101 in a first region to run an application a, a second window 2102 in a second region to run an application B, a third window 2103 in a third region to run an application C, and a fourth window 2104 in a fourth region to run an application D. The display device 2100 may manage an action stack as shown in fig. 28. The user 1 may input a Z-order change command to the third area. For example, when the third region is touched as indicated by reference numeral 2701, user 1 may make a tilt right gesture 2700. The controller may recognize the touch and right tilt gesture as a Z-order change command.

The controller may change the Z-order in the action stack shown in fig. 28 based on the Z-order change command, which has been described earlier with reference to fig. 22, and thus will not be described excessively. The controller may control the fifth window 2113 to be displayed in the third area so as to run the application G, as shown in fig. 27 b.

Fig. 29a and 29b illustrate screens of a display device describing a Z-order change command according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to fig. 29a and 29B, the display device 2100 displays a first window 2101 in a first region to run an application a, a second window 2102 in a second region to run an application B, a third window 2103 in a third region to run an application C, and a fourth window 2104 in a fourth region to run an application D. The display device 2100 may manage an action stack as shown in fig. 30. The user 1 can input a Z-order change command to the second area. For example, when the second region is touched as indicated by reference numeral 2901, user 1 may make a tilt gesture 2900 to the left. The controller may recognize the touch and tilt gesture to the left as a Z-order change command.

The controller may change the Z-order in the action stack shown in fig. 30 based on the Z-order change command, which has been described earlier with reference to fig. 26, and thus will not be described excessively. The controller may control the eighth window 2142 to be displayed in the second area in order to run the application K, as shown in fig. 29 b.

Fig. 31a and 31b illustrate screens of a display device describing a Z-order change command according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Fig. 32 illustrates an action stack according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to fig. 31a, 31B and 32, the display device 2100 displays a first window 2101 in a first region to run application a, a second window 2102 in a second region to run application B, a third window 2103 in a third region to run application C, and a fourth window 2104 in a fourth region to run application D. The display device 2100 may manage action stacks as shown in fig. 32. The user 1 may input a Z-order change command to the third area. For example, user 1 may touch point 3100 in the third region and make a flick gesture 3101 to the right edge in the third region. The controller may recognize a flick gesture to the right edge as a Z-order change command.

The controller may change the Z-order in the action stack shown in fig. 32 based on the Z-order change command, which has been described earlier with reference to fig. 22, and thus will not be described excessively. The controller may control the fifth window 2113 to be displayed in the third area so as to run the application G, as shown in fig. 31 b.

Fig. 33a and 33b illustrate screens of a display device describing a Z-order change command according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Fig. 34 illustrates an action stack according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to fig. 33a, 33B and 34, the display device 2100 displays a first window 2101 in a first region to run application a, a second window 2102 in a second region to run application B, a third window 2103 in a third region to run application C, and a fourth window 2104 in a fourth region to run application D. The display device 2100 may manage an action stack as shown in fig. 34.

The user 1 can input a Z-order change command to the second area. For example, user 1 may touch point 3300 in the second region and make a flick gesture 3301 to the left edge in the second region. The controller may recognize a flick gesture to the left edge as a Z-order change command.

The controller may change the Z-order in the action stack shown in fig. 34 based on the Z-order change command, which has been described earlier with reference to fig. 26, and thus will not be described excessively. The controller may control the eighth window 2142 to be displayed in the second area in order to run the application K, as shown in fig. 33 b.

The method of changing the Z-order in split mode has been described so far. Now, a description will be given of a method of changing the Z-order in the free mode.

Fig. 35 is a flowchart illustrating a method for controlling a display device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to fig. 35, the controller may set a layout in the free mode in operation S3501. The controller may receive the application execution command, and thus, may generate a plurality of windows for executing a plurality of applications in operation S3503. The controller may determine a Z-order of each of the plurality of windows in operation S3505 and may display windows based on their Z-order in operation S3507.

In operation S3509, the controller may determine whether the Z-order change command has been received. When receiving the Z-order change command, the controller may control the overlapping windows to be displayed according to the changed Z-order in operation S3511.

Fig. 36a, 36b, and 36c illustrate screens of display devices describing Z-order change commands and fig. 37a, 37b, and 37c illustrate action stacks according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

Referring to fig. 36a, 36b, 36c, 37a, 37b, and 37c, the controller may manage the action stack shown in fig. 37 a. For example, the controller may assign a lowest Z-order to window A running application A, an intermediate Z-order to window B running application B, and a highest Z-order to window C running application C. Thus, the controller can display windows in the order of windows C3631 and 3632, windows B3621 and 3622, and windows a 3611 and 3612, as shown in fig. 36 a.

User 1 may input a Z-order change command. When the title bar 3631 is touched in the window C as indicated by reference numeral 3641, a Z-order change command may be triggered by a pinch-out (pin-out) gesture 3642 to the left. A pinch may be a gesture that spreads out two touch points. In this case, the Z-order of windows C3631 and 3632 may be reset to the lowest Z-order. As a result, the controller assigns an intermediate Z-order to window a, a highest Z-order to window B, and a lowest Z-order to window C. For example, the controller may assign the lowest Z-order to window C while increasing the Z-order of the other windows by 1. Thus, the controller can control the windows to be displayed in the order of windows B3621 and 3622, windows a 3611 and 3612, and windows C3631 and 3632. Pinch is a Z-order change command, and thus, it is readily understood by those skilled in the art that the Z-order change command may be triggered by a variety of gestures including flick, drag, edge flick, touch and tilt, and pan.

User 1 may input a Z-order change command. When the application run screen 3622 is touched in window B as indicated by reference numeral 3651, the Z-order change command may be triggered by a pinch gesture 3652 to the left. In this case, the Z-order of windows B3621 and 3622 may be reset to the lowest Z-order. As a result, the controller assigns the highest Z-order to window a, the lowest Z-order to window B running application B, and the intermediate Z-order to window C running application C. For example, the controller may assign the lowest Z-order to window B while increasing the Z-order of the other windows by 1. Thus, the controller can control the windows to be displayed in the order of windows a 3611 and 3612, windows C3631 and 3632, and windows B3621 and 3622.

Fig. 38a, 38b, and 38c illustrate screens of display devices describing Z-order change commands according to embodiments of the present disclosure and fig. 39a, 39b, and 39c illustrate action stacks according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

Referring to fig. 38a, 38b, 38c, 39a, 39b, and 39c, the controller may manage the action stack shown in fig. 39 a. For example, the controller may assign a lowest Z-order to window A running application A, an intermediate Z-order to window B running application B, and a highest Z-order to window C running application C. Thus, the controller can display windows in the order of windows C3631 and 3632, windows B3621 and 3622, and windows a 3611 and 3612, as shown in fig. 38 a.

User 1 may input a Z-order change command. When the title bar 3631 is touched in the window C as indicated by reference numeral 3841, the Z-order change command may be triggered by a pinch-in gesture 3842 from the left. Pinch may be a gesture that narrows the distance between two touch points. In this case, the Z-order of windows a 3631 and 3632 having the lowest Z-order may be reset to the highest Z-order while lowering the Z-order of the other windows by 1. Thus, the controller can assign the highest Z-order to window A, the lowest Z-order to window B running application B, and the intermediate Z-order to window C running application C, as shown in FIG. 39B.

As shown in fig. 38B, the controller may control the windows to be displayed in the order of windows a3611 and 3612, windows C3631 and 3632, and windows B3621 and 3622. User 1 may input a Z-order change command. When the title bar 3631 is touched in window C as indicated by reference numeral 3851, the Z-order change command may be triggered by a pinch gesture 3852 from the left. In this case, the Z-order of windows B3621 and 3622 having the lowest Z-order may be reset to the highest Z-order while reducing the Z-order of the other windows by 1. As a result, the controller may assign an intermediate Z-order to window a running application a, a highest Z-order to window B running application B, and a lowest Z-order to window C running application C, as shown in fig. 39C.

Thus, the controller can control the windows to be displayed in the order of windows B3621 and 3622, windows a3611 and 3612, and windows C3631 and 3632.

As described above, when receiving a Z-order change command through a pinch gesture, the controller may assign the lowest Z-order to the window having the highest Z-order. Conversely, when a Z-order change command is received via a pinch gesture, the controller may assign the highest Z-order to the window having the lowest Z-order. Because the user can change the Z-order of the windows by simple manipulation, the desired window appears at the top of the screen. Therefore, user convenience can be improved.

Fig. 40a, 40b, 40c, 40d, 40e, 40f, 40g, 40h, 40i, 40j, and 40k illustrate a method for displaying an application running window according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to fig. 40a, 40b, 40c, 40d, 40e, 40f, 40g, 40h, 40i, 40j, and 40k, the display device 4200 may define a plurality of regions 4201, 4202, 4203, and 4204 on the touch screen. For convenience in describing fig. 40a and subsequent figures, the plurality of regions 4201, 4202, 4203, and 4204 are referred to as first region 4201, second region 4202, third region 4203, and fourth region 4204 (region 1, region 2, region 3, and region 4), respectively. Both the first region 4201 and the third region 4203 form a fifth region (region 5, not shown) and both the second region 4202 and the fourth region 4204 form a sixth region (region 6, not shown). Both the first region 4201 and the second region 4202 form a seventh region (region 7, not shown) and both the third region 4203 and the fourth region 4204 form an eighth region (region 8, not shown). The first to fourth regions 4201, 4202, 4203, and 4204 form a region F. The first boundary 4211 may be disposed between the first region 4201 and the second region 4202, the second boundary 4212 may be disposed between the third region 4203 and the fourth region 4204, the third boundary 4213 may be disposed between the first region 4201 and the third region 4203, and the fourth boundary 4214 may be disposed between the second region 4202 and the fourth region 4204. The first and second boundaries 4211, 4212 may form a single line, and the third and fourth boundaries 4213, 4214 may form a single line. The first to fourth borders 4211 to 4214 are not necessarily explicitly displayed. Instead, the first to fourth borders 4211 to 4214 may be dotted lines. A controller (not shown) may configure the first to fourth regions 4201, 4202, 4203, and 4204 in such a way that the first to fourth regions 4201, 4202, 4203, and 4204 do not overlap. For example, as shown in fig. 40a, the controller may configure the first region 4201 in the upper left corner, the second region 4202 in the upper right corner, the third region 4203 in the lower left corner, and the fourth region 4204 in the lower right corner. The controller may divide the screen into left and right parts by the first and second boundaries 4211 and 4212, and divide the screen into upper and lower parts by the third and fourth boundaries 4213 and 4214.

The touch screen may display the center button 4220 at the intersection point where the first to fourth borders 4211 to 4214 meet. The center button 4220 may be a function key to change the size of an area in which an application running window is displayed or to set an operation mode of controlling the running window.

The controller may control the touch screen in such a way that: an application running window is displayed in each of the plurality of areas. For example, the controller may control the touch screen such that windows of running applications are displayed, i.e., application running windows are displayed in each of the regions 4201, 4202, 4203, and 4204, as shown in fig. 40b, 40c, 40d, 40e, 40f, 40g, 40h, 40i, 40j, and 4204.

Objects related to an application may be displayed on a running screen of the application. The objects may take a variety of forms, such as text, graphics, icons, buttons, check boxes, photographs, videos, web pages, maps, and so forth. When a user touches an object, a function or event corresponding to the touched object may run in the application. The object may be referred to as a view according to the OS. For example, at least one of a capture button that captures the running window to control the display of the running window, a minimize button that minimizes the size of the running window, a maximize button that maximizes the size of the running window, and an exit button that ends the running window may be displayed.

Referring to fig. 40b, the controller may control icons 4231, 4232, 4233, 4234, 4235, 4236, and 4237 representing executable applications to be displayed on the touch screen. Display device 4200 may run application a. As shown in fig. 40b, in response to the running of application a, the controller may control the touch screen to display a running window 4230 of application a in the first region 4201. Further, the controller may control icons 4231, 4232, 4233, 4234, 4235, 4236, and 4237 representing executable applications to be displayed at specific positions of the touch screen. When receiving a touch input to one of the icons 4231, 4232, 4233, 4234, 4235, 4236, and 4237, that is, when receiving an input selecting an icon representing an application to be executed, the display device 4200 may display a running window of the application corresponding to the selected icon in one of the first to fourth regions 4201, 4202, 4203, and 4204.

The controller may display an indicator 4221 indicating the active area on the displayed center button 4220. The active region may be a region in which a last running application or a last application selected by a user is displayed. The user-operated application may be considered to be a user-selected application.

The indicator 4221 may be implemented in a variety of ways to indicate the location of the active area. For example, at least a portion of the application run window displayed in the active area may be displayed in an area overlapping between the application run window of the active area and the center button 4220. Alternatively, an arrow indicating the direction of the active area may be displayed on the center button 4220.

The active region may be determined based on the action stack. The last running application or the last user selected application may be located at the top of the action stack. The display device 4200 may determine an area in which a running window of an application at the top of the action stack is displayed as an active area. The active region may be referred to as a focal region. For example, in fig. 40b, indicator 4221 may indicate first region 4201.

Fig. 41a, 41b, 41c, 41d, 41e, and 41f illustrate action stacks according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.

Referring to fig. 41a, an action stack managed by a display device 4200 is shown. The controller may generate and manage actions 4301 for application a in the action stack in response to the execution of application a.

Referring to fig. 40c, user 1 may touch an icon 4232 representing application B. When the icon 4232 representing the application B is touched, the controller controls the running window 4240 of the application B to be displayed in the second region 4202, as shown in fig. 40 d. The controller may determine an area in which the operating windows are displayed according to a particular order. For example, the controller may control the display of new operating windows in the order of the second region 4202, the third region 4203, and the fourth region 4204. The above-described order of display of the operation windows is merely one example, and thus the order in which new operation windows are displayed in the regions 4201, 4202, 4203, and 4204 may be changed according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.

Because the running window 4240 of application B is displayed in the second region 4202, the indicator 4221 may indicate the second region 4202 in fig. 40 d.

Referring to fig. 41b, an action stack corresponding to fig. 40d is shown. The controller generates an action 4301 for application B in an action stack in response to the execution of application B. The controller may place the last running application B's action 4302 on top of the application a's action 4301.

Referring to fig. 40e, the user 1 may touch an icon 4233 corresponding to the application C. When the icon 4233 representing the application C is touched, the controller controls the running window 4250 of the application C to be displayed in the fourth region 4204, as shown in fig. 40 f. Along with the display of the running window 4250 of application C in the fourth region 4204, the indicator 4221 may indicate the fourth region 4204.

Fig. 41c shows an action stack corresponding to fig. 40 f. The controller generates an action 4303 for application C in the action stack in response to the execution of application C. The controller places the last running application C's action 4303 at the top of the action stack.

Referring to fig. 40g, user 1 may touch icon 4234 representing application D. When the icon 4234 representing the application D is touched, the controller controls the running window 4260 of the application D to be displayed in the third region 4203, as shown in fig. 40 h. Because the running window 4260 of the application D is displayed in the third region 4203, the indicator 4221 on the center button 4220 may indicate the third region 4203.

Fig. 41d shows an action stack corresponding to fig. 40 h. The controller generates an action 4304 for application D in an action stack in response to the execution of application D. The controller places the last running application D's action 4304 on top of the action stack.

Referring to fig. 40i, the user 1 may operate the application B. Fig. 41e shows an action stack corresponding to fig. 40 i. The controller moves the action 4302 of application B to the top of the action stack in response to user input to the run window 4240 of application B.

When user input is received for the run window 4240 of application B, the controller may determine the second region 4202 as an active region, as shown in fig. 40 i. Thus, an indicator 4221 on the center button 4220 may indicate the second region 4202.

Referring to fig. 40j, user 1 may touch an icon 4235 representing application E. When the icon 4235 representing the application E is touched, the controller controls the running window 4270 of the application E to be displayed in the fourth region 4204 on the touch screen, as shown in fig. 40 k. In the absence of empty regions, the controller may refer to the action stack shown in fig. 41 e. The controller may select the lowest application action from the action stack and may display application E in fourth area 4204 instead of running window 4270 corresponding to application C.

Fig. 41f shows an action stack corresponding to fig. 40 k. The controller generates an action 4305 for application E in an action stack in response to execution of application E. The controller places the last running application E's action 4305 on top of the action stack.

Fig. 42 is a flowchart illustrating a method for running an application in a display device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to fig. 42, the display device may run a plurality of applications in operation S4410. For example, the display device may run the application in response to receipt of user input on an icon representing the application.

In operation S4420, the display apparatus may determine a layout for arranging a running window of an application. The layout defines the area in which the running window may be arranged. For example, various layouts are available, including 2 upper/lower region split layouts, 2 left/right region split layouts, 3 region split layouts, 4 region split layouts, and the like.

In operation S4430, the display apparatus may determine a window position in the layout. In the case where the 2 left/right region split layouts of the fifth region and the sixth region are defined, the display device may allocate the running windows of the web browser and phonebook application to the fifth region and allocate the running windows of the video play application to the sixth region.

In operation S4440, the display apparatus may display a plurality of operation windows according to a priority level of an application. For example, if the running windows of the web browser and the phonebook application are allocated to the fifth region, the running window of the application having the higher priority between the web browser and the phonebook application may be displayed in the fifth region.

Fig. 43a and 43b illustrate a method for controlling a display area of an application running window using a center button according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to fig. 43a, the display device 4500 may define a first region 4501, a second region 4502, a third region 4503, a fourth region 4504, a first boundary 4505, a second boundary 4507, a third boundary 4506, and a fourth boundary 4508, which should not be construed as limiting the present disclosure. Accordingly, the display device 4500 may define areas and boundaries in a variety of ways.

The display device 4500 may display the center button 4220 on at least one boundary. For example, if first, second, third, and fourth boundaries 4505, 4507, 4506, and 4508 are defined, display device 4500 may display center button 4220 at the intersection where first, second, third, and fourth boundaries 4505, 4507, 4506, and 4508 meet, as shown in fig. 43 a. In another example, if the display device 4500 defines fifth and sixth areas (not shown) and first and second boundaries 4505 and 4507, the display device 4500 may display a center button 4220 on the first boundary 4505 or the second boundary 4507.

Referring to fig. 43b, if the user 10 touches the center button 4220 and drags the touched center button 4220, the display device 4500 may move the center button 4220 to the dragged position. As the center button 4220 moves, the display device 4500 may change the size and position of the area in which the application running window and the border are displayed.

Fig. 44a, 44b, 44c, 44d, 44e, 44f, 44g, 44h, 44i, 44j, 44k, 44l, 44m, 44n, 44o, 44p, 44q, 44r, 44s, 44t, 44u, 44v, and 44w illustrate a method for running multiple applications according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to fig. 44a, 44b, 44c, 44d, 44e, 44f, 44g, 44h, 44i, 44j, 44k, 44l, 44m, 44n, 44o, 44p, 44q, 44r, 44s, 44t, 44u, 44v and 44w, the display device 4600 may display a list 4610 of at least one application while the application a is running. The application list 4610 lists the applications that are available for running. For example, icons 4611, 4612, 4613, 4614, 4615, 4616, and 4617 representing executable applications may be listed in the application list 4610.

Fig. 45a, 45b, 45c, 45d, 45e, 45f, 45g, 45h, 45i, and 45j illustrate an action stack according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to fig. 45a, an action stack corresponding to fig. 44a is shown. Because the running window of the application a is displayed in the area F occupying the entire screen, a controller (not shown) generates an action for the application a as shown in fig. 45 a.

The user 10 may operate the display device 4600 to additionally run the application B. For example, as shown in fig. 45B, the user 10 may touch an icon 4612 representing the second application B, and drag the touched icon 4612 to the sixth area 4623 as shown in fig. 45 c.

If the drag input ends in the sixth section 4623, the display device 4600 runs application B corresponding to the selected icon 4612. Further, when the application B is displayed in the sixth area 4623, the display device 4600 moves the application a displayed in the area F to the fifth area 4619.

Finally, the running window 4620 of application a is displayed in the fifth section 4619, while the running window 4630 of application B is displayed in the sixth section 4623.

The display device 4600 may display a center button 4622 on a boundary between the fifth region 4619 and the sixth region 4623. The display device 4600 may also display an indicator 4631 on the center button 4622 indicating the running window 4630 of the last running application B. The indicator 4621 may be an area in which a running window of an application placed on top of the action stack is displayed.

Fig. 45b shows an action stack corresponding to fig. 44 d. The action of the application a displayed in the area F is changed so that the application a can be displayed in the fifth area 4619. Because application B is running, an action for application B is generated and application B is disposed in sixth section 4623. The action of application B is placed on top of the action stack.

Referring to fig. 44e, the user 10 may move the center button 4622 displayed. As shown in fig. 43a and 43b, the size of the area in which the running window of the application is displayed may be changed along with the movement of the center button 4622.

Subsequently, as shown in fig. 44f, the user 10 may touch the icon 4613 representing the application C, and drag the touched icon 4613 toward the fourth area 4627 as shown in fig. 44 g. The fourth section 4627 may be sized based on the position of the center button 4622. When the drag of the icon 4613 representing application C ends in the fourth area 4627, the display device 4600 may run application C. As shown in fig. 44h, the display device 4600 may display a running window 4640 of application C in a fourth area 4627. The display device 4600 may display an indicator 4621 on the center button 4622, the indicator 4621 indicating an active area of the running window 4640 of the display application C.

Fig. 45c shows an action stack corresponding to fig. 44 h. A controller (not shown) generates actions for application C in response to the execution of application C. Application C is arranged in the fourth region 4627. Because the area displaying the running window 4630 of the application B is split, the application B is allocated to the second area in fig. 44 e.

Referring to fig. 44i, the user 10 can control the size of the area where the running windows 4620 to 4640 of the application are displayed by applying an input of the movement center button 4622.

As shown in fig. 44j, the user 10 may touch the icon 4614 representing the application D, and drag the touched icon 4614 toward the third area 4631 as shown in fig. 44 k.

If the drag of the touched icon 4614 representing application D ends in the third region 4631, the display device 4600 may run application D. As shown in fig. 44l, the display device 4600 may display a running window 4650 of the application D in the third area 4631. The display device 4600 may display an indicator 4621 on the button 4622, the indicator 4621 indicating an active area of the running window 4650 displaying the application D.

Fig. 45d shows an action stack corresponding to fig. 44 l. The controller generates an action for application D in response to the running of application D. Application D is assigned to the third section 4631. Because the area displaying the running window 4620 of the application a is split, the application a is assigned to the first area in fig. 44 i.

The user 10 may touch the icon 4615 representing the application E and drag the touched icon 4615 to the boundary area 4659, as shown in fig. 44 m. The display device 4600 defines a boundary region 4659 to include a boundary 4685.

If the drag of the touched icon 4615 representing application E ends in the boundary area 4659, the display device 4600 may run application E. The display device 4600 may arrange the running window 4660 of the application E in a seventh region including a first region and a second region adjacent to the boundary 4685 included in the boundary region 4659, as shown in fig. 44 n. The display device 4600 may display an indicator 4621 on the button 4622, the indicator 4621 indicating an active area of the running window 4660 displaying the application E.

Fig. 45e shows an action stack corresponding to fig. 44 n. The controller generates actions for application E in response to the execution of application E. The application E is allocated to the seventh area, and the applications a and B displayed in the first area and the second area included in the seventh area are placed in the seventh area.

The user 10 may touch the icon 4616 representing the application F and drag the touched icon 4616 to the second area 4661 as shown in fig. 44 o.

If the drag of the touched icon 4616 representing application F ends in the second area 4661, the display device 4600 may run application F. As shown in fig. 44p, the display device 4600 may display a running window 4670 of the application F in the second area 4661.

Referring to fig. 45F, the controller may generate an action for the application F arranged in the second area. As the seventh area is split, the application a, the application B, and the application E displayed in the seventh area may be arranged in the first area.

The touch screen may receive input from the user 10 selecting the running window 4660 of application E, as shown in fig. 44 p.

Referring to fig. 45g, in response to selection of the application E's running window 4660, the controller may move the action of application E to the top of the action stack. The display device 4600 may display an indicator 4621 on the button 4622 indicating the location of the running window 4660.

Referring to fig. 44q, the display device 4600 may receive input from the user 10 selecting the running window 4660 of the application E. For example, user 10 may touch button 4622. In response to receiving an input selecting button 4622, display device 4600 may display a list of applications 4611, 4612, and 4615 displayed in the first area active at the moment. For example, the display device 4600 may display icons representing an application a, an application B, and an application E allocated to a first area in the first area with reference to the action stack shown in fig. 45 g.

In response to receiving an input of the selection button 4622, the display device 4600 may further display icons 4691, 4692, and 4693 representing operations related to a running window of the application displayed in the first area.

When an input of an icon 4611 representing an application among icons displayed in the first area is received, the display device 4600 may display a running window 4620 of the application a in the first area, as shown in fig. 44 s.

Fig. 45h shows an action stack corresponding to fig. 44 s. In response to receiving input selecting icon 4611 representing application a, the controller may move the action of application a to the top of the action stack.

Referring to fig. 44t, when an input selecting the center button 4622 is received, a list of applications 4611, 4612, and 4615 allocated to the first area as an active area may be displayed. Further, a drag input may be received from the user 10 to drag the icon 4612 representing application B to the area of the running window 4640 displaying application C. With the drag input completed, the display device 4600 may display the running window 4630 of application B in a fourth area, as shown in fig. 44 u. The display device 4600 may display an indicator 4621 on the button 4622 indicating the location of the running window 4630 of application B.

Fig. 45i shows an action stack corresponding to fig. 44 u. Because the run window 4630 of application B is displayed in the fourth area, the controller updates the area to which application B is allocated to the fourth area and moves the action of application B to the top of the action stack.

Referring to fig. 44v, when an input selecting the center button 4622 is received, icons 4691, 4692, and 4693 representing operations related to a running window of an application displayed in a first area as an active area may be further displayed. As far as the running window of the application is concerned, the operations related to the running window of the application may perform a variety of additional functions. For example, icons representing operations related to an application runtime window may include at least one of an exit button 4691 to end the runtime window, a maximize button 4692 to display the runtime window full screen, and a capture button 4693 to capture the runtime window, which are not to be construed as limiting the present disclosure. When an input selecting the exit button 4691 is received from the user 10, the controller may end the running window of the application a, as shown in (b) of fig. 44 v.

Fig. 45j shows an action stack corresponding to fig. 44 v. When the running window of application a is terminated, the actions of application a may be removed from the action stack.

Referring to fig. 44w, when receiving an input of selecting the maximize button 46921 from the user 10, the display device 4600 may display the running window 4660 of the application a displayed in the active area in full screen on the touch screen.

When an input selecting the capture button 4693 is received from the user 10, the display device 4600 may capture the active running window 4660.

Fig. 46 is a flowchart illustrating a method for providing a user interface on which an application is run in a display device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to fig. 46, in operation S4810, the display device may display a running window of an application in a plurality of areas defined on a touch screen. In operation S4820, the display apparatus may further display a button on at least one boundary between the plurality of regions.

The display device may display an indicator on the button to indicate the active area. The active region may refer to a last region selected from a plurality of regions. Furthermore, an active region means a region in which the running window is in a state controllable by user input.

In operation S4830, the display device may receive an input of a selection button. When an input of a selection button is received, the display device may display a list of applications in a specific area in operation S4840. Herein, the specific region may be an active region.

The application list may list at least one icon representing at least one application. When an input selecting at least one of the applications included in the application list is received, the display device may display a running window of the selected application in a specific area. When a drag input to drag an icon included in the application list is received, the display device may display a running window of the application corresponding to the dragged icon in the dragged region.

The display device may further display an icon of an operation related to a running window of the application displayed in the specific area. The icon representing an operation related to the running window of the application may include at least one of a capture button to capture the running window to control display of the running window, a minimize button to minimize the size of the running window, a maximize button to maximize the size of the running window, and an exit button to end the running window.

Fig. 47 is a flowchart illustrating a method for running an application in a display device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to fig. 47, in operation S4910, the display device may display a running window of an application in a plurality of areas defined on the touch screen. In operation S4920, the display apparatus may further display buttons on at least one boundary between the plurality of regions.

In operation S4930, the display device may display a list of at least one application running icon in a partial region of the touch screen.

In operation S4940, the display device may determine an area in which a new application is run based on the position to which the application run icon is dragged and the position of the button. The running area of the new application is an area in which a running window of the additionally running application will be displayed.

If the dragged position falls within a boundary region including at least one boundary, the running region of the new application may be determined to include a region adjacent to the at least one boundary.

Subsequently, in operation S4950, the display apparatus may display a running window of the application in the determined region.

Fig. 48 is a block diagram of a display device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to fig. 48, the display device 5000 may include: a touch screen 5010 configured to display a running window of an application in a plurality of areas, display buttons on at least one boundary between the plurality of areas, and receive an input selecting the buttons; and a controller 5020 configured to control the touch screen 5010 to display a list of at least one application running in a specific area selected from among a plurality of areas in the specific area based on the received input.

The specific region includes an active region controllable by user input. The active region may be a last region selected from among a plurality of regions.

Further, the controller 5020 can control the touch screen 5010 to display an indicator indicating an active region on a button.

Referring to fig. 49a, the display device 5100 may display a button 5122 on a boundary separating an area in which running windows of a plurality of applications are displayed. Further, the display device 5100 may define an arrangement line 5120 according to a layout of the application run window. The alignment line 5120 can include a dashed line and a contour of a touch screen.

The display device 5100 may further define an arrangement region 5110. An alignment line 5120 may be included in the alignment region 5110.

As shown in fig. 49a, the arrangement line 5120 and the arrangement region 5110 may be determined according to the number and positions of the running windows of the application displayed on the touch screen. For example, if the layout is 2 upper/lower region split layouts, 2 left/right region split layouts, 3 region split layouts, or 4 region split layouts, the arrangement line 5120 and the arrangement region 5110 may be defined according to the layout.

Referring to fig. 49b, when an input to move the button 5122 to the arrangement region 5110 on the touch screen is received, the display device 5100 may move the button 5122 to a portion of the arrangement line 5120 closest to the last position of the button 5122.

The display device 5100 may determine an area in which a running window of an application is displayed based on a position of the button 5122 on the arrangement line 5120. Thus, the display device 5100 may arrange display areas of application running windows.

Referring to fig. 49c, the display device 5100 may define an arrangement point 5130 at a specific location of the arrangement line 5120. When an input is received for the button 5122 (e.g., two consecutive touches on the button 5122), the display device 5100 may move the button 5122 to the alignment point 5130.

Referring to fig. 49d, if the button 5122 is moved in the manner shown in fig. 49a, 49b, and 49c, the movement may be activated according to the function shown in fig. 49 d. For example, when the center button 5122 moves to the alignment line 5120 or the alignment point 5130, the button 5122 may pass through the alignment line 5120 or the alignment point 5130 and return to the alignment line 5120 or the alignment point 5130.

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a display device that can be easily switched from one window to another low priority window after running multiple windows on a single display, and a method for controlling the display device. Thus, a user can use multiple applications in multiple windows simultaneously. Further, if a plurality of windows are displayed in an overlapping manner, the currently displayed window is easily switched to another low priority window. Accordingly, in an environment in which a plurality of windows are displayed on a screen, a user can run a window of a desired size at a desired position with improved convenience.

It will be understood that various embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination thereof. The software may be stored in a volatile or nonvolatile memory device such as ROM regardless of whether the data is erasable or rewritable, in a memory such as RAM, in a memory chip, device, integrated circuit, storage medium such as a Compact Disc (CD), digital Versatile Disc (DVD) from which the data can be optically or magnetically recorded and which can be read by a machine (e.g., a computer), in a magnetic disk, magnetic tape, etc. Further, the embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in a computer or portable terminal having a controller and a memory such as one adapted to store a program or programs including commands for implementing the embodiments of the present disclosure. Accordingly, the present disclosure includes a storage medium having a program for implementing a code of an apparatus or method defined by claims and a storage program readable by a machine. The program may be transferred electrically by way of media such as communication signals transmitted via a wired or wireless connection, wherein the media and equivalents thereof are encompassed in the present disclosure.

The device may receive the program from the program providing device through a wired or wireless connection and store the program. The program providing device may include a program including a command for implementing an embodiment of the present disclosure, a memory for storing information used for the embodiment of the present disclosure, a communication module for communicating with the mobile device through a wired or wireless connection, and a controller for transmitting the program to the mobile device automatically or upon request.

Although the present disclosure has been particularly shown and described with reference to particular exemplary embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. An electronic device, comprising:

a touch screen display; and

at least one processor configured to:

controlling the touch screen display in a split mode;

running the first application, controlling the touch screen display to display a running screen of the first application,

after the first application is run, detecting by the touch screen display a first user input for running a second application,

in response to detecting the first user input, controlling the touch screen display to display a running screen of the second application in a display area of the first application on the touch screen display,

while the running screen of the second application is displayed on the touch screen display, detecting, by the touch screen display, a second user input, wherein the second user input starts from a point on at least one edge of the touch screen display corresponding to a display area displaying the first application, and

in response to detecting the second user input, controlling the touch screen display to display a running screen of the first application, wherein the running screen of the second application is replaced by the running screen of the first application according to the second user input.

2. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the second user input comprises a drag gesture or a flick gesture.

3. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the second user input comprises a right hand gesture or a left hand gesture.

4. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the second user input comprises a command to change a z-order, the z-order being a display order of the window.

5. The electronic device according to claim 1,

wherein the first application is running at a first time and the second application is running at a second time, an

Wherein the first time is earlier than the second time.

6. The electronic device according to claim 1,

wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:

detecting, by the touch screen display, a third user input on a running screen of the second application, and

in response to detecting the third user input, a function of the second application is executed.

7. A method for controlling an electronic device, comprising:

controlling a touch screen display of the electronic device in a split mode;

running the first application and displaying a running screen of the first application on the touch screen display;

detecting, by the touch screen display, a first user input for running a second application after the first application is run;

In response to detecting the first user input, displaying a running screen of the second application in a display area of the first application on the touch screen display;

detecting, by the touch screen display, a second user input while the running screen of the second application is displayed on the touch screen display, wherein the second user input begins at a point on at least one edge of the touch screen display corresponding to a display area displaying the first application; and

in response to detecting the second user input, a running screen of the first application is displayed, wherein the running screen of the second application is replaced by the running screen of the first application according to the second user input.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the second user input comprises a drag gesture or a flick gesture.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the second user input comprises a right hand gesture or a left hand gesture.

10. The method of claim 7, wherein the second user input includes a command to change a z-order, the z-order being a display order of the window.

11. The method according to claim 7,

wherein the first application is running at a first time and the second application is running at a second time, and

Wherein the first time is earlier than the second time.

12. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

detecting, by the touch screen display, a third user input on a running screen of the second application; and