KR100837298B1 - Multitasking terminal and application switching method - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a multitasking terminal and an application switching method capable of outputting an operation screen of an application to provide information on a plurality of running applications. According to the present invention, an event handler for intercepting a message of an operating system and detecting an event related to execution of an application and switching between applications; A screen capture unit which captures an operation screen of an application according to the detected event; A switcher which outputs the captured operation screen and provides information on the running application; The application activator for activating the application corresponding to the captured operation screen according to the operation of the switcher can be presented, so that it is possible to finish the temporary work while running and using another application without completing one task It is effective to check the operation screen of the application by executing the multi menu and to continuously process unfinished work.

Multitasking, Multi Menu

Description

How to switch between multitasking terminals and applications {MULTITASKING TERMINAL AND APPLICATION SWITCHING METHOD}

1 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of a multitasking terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a functional diagram showing a detailed configuration of the multitasking terminal of FIG.

3 is an operational flowchart of an application switching method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

4 is an operational flow diagram of the application switcher of FIG.

** Description of the symbols for the main parts of the drawings **

100: operating system 110: application activator

200: application switcher 210: event handler

220: screen capture part 230: switcher

The present invention relates to a multitasking terminal and an application switching method, and more particularly, to a multitasking terminal and an application switching method capable of providing information on a plurality of running applications by outputting an operation screen of an application.

Multitasking terminals run two or more applications simultaneously. The multitasking terminal is equipped with an operating system that supports multitasking. The operating system includes resource sharing features for multitasking, such as task schedulers and semaphores. Since the multitasking terminal executes several applications, a multi-menu for selecting one of the running applications is required. Multimenus usually display an icon for the application.

When an icon is selected in the multi menu, an application corresponding to the icon is activated. However, when several applications of the same type are executed, the same kind of icons are registered in the multi-menu so that different task characteristics between the registered applications do not appear.

In addition, there is a problem in that a worst case occurs in which a plurality of applications are sequentially selected and executed in order to execute one application that is desired to be executed among duplicated applications.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, a multi-tasking terminal that can directly select the application that you want to run again among the applications executed by outputting the operation screen of the application to the multi-menu to recognize the operation result And an application switching method.

The present invention for achieving the above object is an event handler for intercepting the message of the operating system for detecting an event related to the execution of the application and switching between applications; A screen capture unit which captures an operation screen of an application according to the detected event; A switcher which outputs the captured operation screen and provides information on the running application; And an application activator for activating an application corresponding to the captured operation screen according to the operation of the switcher.

An application switching method according to the present invention comprises: an event sensing step of detecting an event related to execution of an application and switching between applications in a multitasking terminal; A screen capture step of capturing an operation screen of an application according to the detected event; A multi-menu execution step of outputting the captured operation screen in response to a request for executing the multi-menu to provide information on the running application; And an application activation step of activating an application corresponding to the selected operation screen among the captured operation screens.

A multitasking terminal according to the present invention comprises: an operating system for multitasking a plurality of applications; An event handler for detecting an event related to execution of an application and switching between applications by intercepting a message of the operating system, a screen capture unit for capturing an operation screen of an application according to the detected event, and capturing when executing a multi-menu And a switcher configured to output an operation screen to provide information on the running application, and an application activator configured to activate an application corresponding to the captured operation screen according to the operation of the switcher.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In describing the embodiments, descriptions of technical contents which are well known in the technical field to which the present invention belongs and are not directly related to the present invention will be omitted. This is to more clearly communicate without obscure the subject matter of the present invention by omitting unnecessary description.

It is attached to explain an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 1 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of a multitasking terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 2 is a function showing a detailed configuration of the multitasking terminal of FIG. 3 is an operation flowchart of an application switching method according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is an operation flowchart of the application switcher of FIG. 3.

Referring to FIG. 1, when describing a multitasking terminal according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the operating system 100 allocates process occupancy and memory usage required to execute a plurality of applications 300, and among the resources allocated from the applications. Reclaim unused resources and allocate them to other applications. The operating system 100 allocates available resources to applications placed in an activated state or a background state according to an operating state or resource use priority, and schedules and operates a plurality of applications 300. The operating system 100 transmits a message informing the event generated by the key press, the folder opening, the message reception, the call request, etc. to the application 300.

The application 300 is placed in the active state or the background state according to the priority given by the user operation. In the activated state, the application 300 uses the terminal screen as the output screen, and in the background state, the application 300 does not use the terminal screen as the output screen. The application 300 has different operation screens according to a given function.

The application switcher 200 captures an operation screen according to the execution or switching of the application 300 and displays a capture screen corresponding to the running application when executing the multi-menu. The multi-menu includes an enlarged area for enlarging and displaying a capture screen of a focused application and a navigation area for displaying a plurality of capture screens of a plurality of applications. The application switcher 200 moves the focus pointing to the capture screen of the navigation area according to the pressing of the direction key. The application switcher 200 enlarges and displays the capture screen on which the focus is located in the enlarged area, and enlarges and displays the operation screen of the application corresponding to the capture screen in real time.

Next, a multitasking terminal according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the following embodiments. From the following description of the multitasking terminal, the configuration of the above-described multitasking terminal will also be clear.

FIG. 2 is a functional diagram illustrating a detailed configuration of the multitasking terminal of FIG. 1.

One application built into the multitasking terminal runs. One application occupies the terminal screen. When the execution of another application is requested, the application switcher 200 captures a terminal screen and stores the terminal screen of one application. The operating system 100 multitasks a number of applications 400 that activate or operate in the background.

The application switcher 200 includes an event handler 210 for detecting an event related to application execution; A screen capture unit 220 for capturing an operation screen of the application 400 according to the event detected by the event processor 210; It consists of; switcher 230 for outputting a multi-menu using the captured operation screen.

The event handler 210 intercepts messages from the operating system and detects events related to the execution of the application 400 and the switching between the applications 400. The event processor 210 inquires of the operating system 100 to recognize the number of running applications 400. When the execution event of the application 400 is detected when the number of running applications 400 is one or more, the event processor 210 instructs the screen capturer 220 to capture the operation screen of the activated application.

The event processor 210 includes a message forwarder for filtering a message of the operating system 100 by an application being executed and delivering the message to the corresponding application. The message forwarder is included in the operating system but is configured in the event handler 210 to support the event detection operation of the event handler 210.

When it is determined that one application enters a background state from an activated state while two or more applications are executed, the event processor 210 instructs the screen capture unit 220 to capture an operation screen of the active application.

When the screen capturer 220 receives the capture instruction from the event processor 210, the screen capturer 220 captures an operation screen of the activated application and informs the operating system 100 that the capture is completed. The operating system 100 executes the activated application in the background and executes a new application requested to be executed or activates an application in the background state.

When the menu key is long pressed or the multi menu key is pressed, the switcher 230 executes a multi menu. The multi-menu outputs an operation screen captured by the screen capturing unit 220 to provide information on the running application. The multi-menu includes an enlarged area for enlarging and displaying a captured screen of a focused application and a navigation area for displaying a plurality of small capture screens of a plurality of applications 400. The switcher 230 moves the focus of the navigation area as the direction key is pressed. The focus points to the application to be activated among the plurality of applications.

The switcher 230 instructs the screen capture unit 220 to capture the operation screen of the focused application. The screen capture unit 220 captures an operation screen of an application focused by the switcher 230 in real time. The switcher 230 displays the real-time captured screen in the enlarged area, and resizes the image of the real-time captured screen in the navigation area.

When the execution of the application corresponding to the focused capture screen is selected, the switcher 230 instructs the application activator of the operating system to execute the focused application. When the application activator 110 receives the execution instruction of the application from the switcher 230, the application activator 110 notifies the event handler 210 of the application switcher 200. The event processor 210 instructs the screen capture unit 220 to capture an operation screen of the currently activated application. The screen capture unit 220 completes the capture of the operation screen and notifies the application activator 110 that the capture is completed. When the application activator 110 receives a message indicating that the operation screen of the activated application is captured from the screen capturer 220, the application activator 110 activates the application instructed to be executed by the switcher 230.

The device configuration is also implemented by a processor capable of executing a program that performs a series of procedures over time. The processor executes a work procedure that programs the operation of a module composed of devices. The processor sequentially executes the programs stored in the program memory in accordance with the scheduled task schedule or branches to the program corresponding to the generated event. The processor performs the functions and operations of the device corresponding to the task currently executed among the programmed tasks. The processor operates in different method configurations depending on the task being executed and is represented by the method module according to the operation. The operation of this method module will be described sequentially according to time flow and events.

3 is a flowchart illustrating an application switching method according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

As the menu key is pressed, the menu tree is activated and one application is selected from the applications registered in the menu tree.

The operating system 100 transmits a message indicating the execution of the application to the application switcher 200 (S101). The application switcher 200 queries the operating system 100 for the number of running applications. If the number of applications is one or more, the application switcher 200 captures the operation screen of the activated application (S102, S103) and informs the operating system 100 of the completion of the capture of the operation screen. The operating system 100 executes a new application.

When the menu key is pressed long (S104), the application switcher 200 activates the multimenu (S105). The multi-menu displays the captured action screen corresponding to the running application. The application switcher 200 moves the focus according to the pressing of the direction key (S106) and outputs the operation screen of the focused application to the multi-menu in real time (S107). If the focused application is selected, the operating system activates the focused application (S108).

4 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the application switcher of FIG. 3.

The operating system multitasks the multimedia player, the calendar, and the address book (S201). The application switcher outputs operation screens of three applications. The application switcher determines in which application the focus is located (S203), and displays an operation screen of the application differently depending on the presence or absence of the focus. The application switcher outputs the operation screen of the focused application in real time (S205), and outputs the last captured operation screen for the unfocused application (S207). As the focus moves between the action screens of the three applications, the action screen is constantly updated.

If the confirmation key is pressed while focusing on one application, the application switcher instructs the operating system to activate the focused application. The operating system instructs the application switcher to capture an operation screen of the activated application, and activates the focused application upon receiving the capture completion from the application switcher.

Although the present invention has been described in more detail with reference to examples, the present invention is not necessarily limited to these examples, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Therefore, the embodiments disclosed in the present invention are not intended to limit the technical idea of the present invention but to describe the present invention, and the scope of the technical idea of the present invention is not limited by these embodiments. The protection scope of the present invention should be interpreted by the following claims, and all technical ideas within the equivalent scope should be interpreted as being included in the scope of the present invention.

As described above, according to the present invention, since the operation screen of the application is output to the multi-menu, the operation result can be recognized to directly select an application to be executed again, so that another application can be executed without completing one operation. In order to complete the temporary work, the user can execute the multi-menu to check the operation screen of the application and process the unfinished work continuously.

In addition, when a plurality of applications of the same type are executed and used, the operation screen is displayed differently in the multi-menu, so that the user can select an application to view and work on the operation screen.

Claims (13)

An event handler which intercepts a message of an operating system and detects an event related to execution of an application and switching between applications; When one application is activated and another application is selected and executed, the detection includes a last screen capture that captures the action screen of the activated application and a real time screen capture that captures the action screen of the application focused by the switcher. A screen capture unit configured to capture an operation screen of the application according to the event; A switcher which outputs the captured operation screen and provides information on the running application; And an application activator for activating an application corresponding to the captured operation screen according to the operation of the switcher. The method of claim 1, wherein the event handler A multitasking terminal comprising a message forwarder for bypassing messages of the operating system to deliver to the application. delete The method of claim 1, wherein the switcher And a screen indicator configured to display the operation screen of the focused application in real time and to display the last operation screen of the unfocused application. The method of claim 1, wherein the application activator Action in the screen capture unit The multitasking terminal is configured to activate the application focused by the switcher when the capture operation for the screen is completed. An event detecting step of detecting an event related to execution of an application and switching between applications in the multitasking terminal; A screen capture step of capturing an operation screen of an application according to the detected event; A multi-menu execution step of outputting the captured operation screen in response to a request for executing the multi-menu to provide information on the running application; And an application activation step of activating an application corresponding to the selected operation screen among the captured operation screens. The screen capturing step may include: a final screen capturing step of capturing an operation screen of the activated application when another application is selected while one application is activated; And a real-time screen capture step of capturing an operation screen of an application focused in a multi-menu execution step. delete The method of claim 6, wherein the multi-menu execution step, And a screen display step of displaying the operation screen of the focused application in real time and displaying the last operation screen of the non-focused application. The method of claim 6, wherein the execution request of the multi menu is performed. An application switching method configured to occur when the menu key is pressed for a long time or when the multimenu key is pressed. An operating system for multitasking multiple applications; An event handler which intercepts a message of the operating system and detects an event related to execution of an application and switching between applications; A screen capture unit which captures an operation screen of an application according to the detected event; A switcher for outputting the captured operation screen to provide information on the running application when the multi-menu is executed; And an application activator for activating an application corresponding to the captured operation screen according to the operation of the switcher. The screen capture unit may include a last screen capture to capture an operation screen of the activated application when another application is selected and executed while one application is activated; A real time screen capture for real time capturing an operation screen of an application focused by the switcher; And an image storage unit for resizing and storing the captured screen image. The method of claim 10, wherein the event handler Multitasking terminal comprising a message forwarder for filtering the message of the operating system by the running application and forwarding to the application. delete The switcher of claim 10, wherein the switcher is And a screen indicator configured to display an operation screen captured in real time of the focused application with reference to an image of the image storage unit and to display a last operation screen of an unfocused application.

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