KR20150024078A

KR20150024078A - Method for processing multiple applications and apparatus thereof

Info

Publication number: KR20150024078A
Application number: KR20130101066A
Authority: KR
Inventors: 황대식; 정혜순; 김정섭; 이철환
Original assignee: 삼성전자주식회사
Priority date: 2013-08-26
Filing date: 2013-08-26
Publication date: 2015-03-06

Abstract

A method for executing multiple applications includes: checking whether a first application and a second application support a multi-window mode when the first application calls the second application upon execution of the first application; and executing the first and second applications in separate multi-window environments, respectively, when the first and second applications support the multi-window mode. Various embodiments may also be possible. Therefore, the convenience of multitasking may be improved.

Description

[0001] METHOD FOR PROCESSING MULTIPLE APPLICATIONS AND APPARATUS THEREOF [0002]

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for executing a plurality of applications that can be applied to an electronic apparatus having a display device.

Various portable electronic devices such as a smart phone and a mobile phone, a portable multimedia player (PMP), a PDA, an MP3 player, a tablet, a personal navigation device and a portable game device, User Interface).

For example, as shown in Fig. 1 (a), in a state in which the first application is being executed in the electronic device, the content included in the execution screen (i.e., The second application is implemented in such a manner that it is executed in the full screen mode and shows the associated execution screen, as shown in FIG. 1 (b). Alternatively, the execution screen of the second application may be displayed in a pop-up window overlaid on the execution screen of the first application, and the associated content may be displayed.

As described above, when the application is executed in the electronic device having the limited screen configuration, each of the plurality of applications is performed on the entire screen or using a pop-up window overlaid on the previous execution application, The flow of the simultaneous operation with the user is cut off, and the user's operation is inconvenient.

Therefore, the present invention proposes a method and apparatus for executing a plurality of applications that are more convenient to use in order to solve the aforementioned problems.

Particularly, in an embodiment of the present invention, a plurality of applications are executed in an electronic device supporting a multi-window environment, and a screen is constructed and executed in consideration of continuity with a job that was being executed previously, Thereby improving convenience.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a method for executing a plurality of applications, comprising: Confirming whether the first application and the second application support the multi-window mode when the first application calls the second application when the first application is executed; And executing the first application and the second application in a separate multi-window environment when the first application and the second application support the multi-window mode.

The calling of the second application in the first application may be to call the application to be associated with the second application according to the selection of the pre-designated content in the first application execution screen .

Whether the first application and the second application support the multi-window mode can be determined by determining whether the application can be executed with only a part of the entire screen.

Executing the first application and the second application in a separate multiwindow environment may include the steps of reducing and adjusting the first window area in which the first application is executed and causing the second application to execute Lt; RTI ID = 0.0 > window. &Lt; / RTI >

Executing the first application and the second application in a separate multiwindow environment may include generating a second window in which the second application is executed in a window region other than the first window in which the first application is executed .

The execution of the first application and the second application in a separate multi-window environment may include generating a second window in which the second application is executed in an area not covering the first window in which the first application is executed Lt; / RTI >

According to another example of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for executing a plurality of applications, the apparatus comprising: An input and screen output unit for receiving a user's input operation for executing an application and displaying an application execution status; A storage unit for storing a plurality of applications; Wherein the control unit controls execution of a plurality of applications stored in the storage unit according to the input information through the input and screen output unit and determines and executes a second application to be executed according to an attribute of the content selected by the user when the first application is executed And a controller configured to confirm whether the first application and the second application support multi-window mode and to perform a screen configuration function to configure a screen.

According to embodiments of the present invention, a screen display method for executing a plurality of applications that are more convenient to use is provided. In particular, when a plurality of applications are executed in an electronic device supporting a multi-window environment, It is possible to configure and execute a screen in consideration of continuity to improve the convenience of simultaneous operation.

Figure 1 is an illustration of display screens when executing a plurality of applications that may be generally considered.
2 is an overall block diagram of an electronic apparatus for performing a plurality of application execution operations according to an embodiment of the present invention
3 is a flowchart of a plurality of application execution operations according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 4 is an illustration of display screens when executing a plurality of applications in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
5 is an illustration of display screens when executing a plurality of applications according to another embodiment of the present invention.
6 is an exemplary diagram of display screens when executing a plurality of applications according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. It will be appreciated that those skilled in the art will readily observe that certain changes in form and detail may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims. To those of ordinary skill in the art.

In the following description, terms including ordinal numbers such as first, second, and so on can be used to describe various elements, but the elements are not limited by the terms. The terms are used only for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another.

In addition, the multi-window mode according to the embodiments of the present invention means a mode in which a display screen is divided into a plurality of areas and the execution of different applications in each of the plurality of areas can be displayed. In the embodiments of the present invention, a plurality of regions divided in the multi-window mode can be described as multi-windows, and one window can be displayed as a divided region and the execution of the corresponding application in an individual frame.

Using a multi-window function in an electronic device, a user can perform two independent tasks simultaneously by dividing a screen region in one electronic device, and can greatly improve the efficiency of performing a single operation . The present disclosure provides a more convenient window configuration and application driving method when a plurality of applications are executed using such a multi-window function.

2 is an overall block diagram of an electronic device that performs a plurality of application execution operations according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the example of FIG. 2, an electronic device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown as an example A mobile communication terminal. 2, an electronic device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a control unit 10, a wireless communication unit 11, an audio processing unit 12, a key input unit 13, a touch screen 14, And a storage unit 16.

The touch screen 14 serving as an input and a screen output unit includes a display panel 140 for performing display functions for various output information including an application execution state and the like in the electronic device 1, And an input sensing panel 142 for performing various input functions according to the input signal. The display panel 140 may be a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) or a PMOLED or AMOLED screen as an OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode). The display panel 140 may be structurally integrated with the input sensing panel 142. The display panel 140 may display various screens according to various operating states of the electronic device 1, a menu state, an application execution, a service, and the like.

The input sensing panel 142 receives various inputs such as a user's single or multi-touch input, drag input, handwriting input, and drawing input using various objects such as a finger, an electronic pen 15 (e.g., a stylus pen, a digitizer pen) Or at least one panel that can detect the signal. For example, the input detection panel 142 may be implemented using a single panel capable of detecting both finger input and electronic pen input, or may be implemented using a hand detection panel capable of detecting a finger input and a pen detection It can also be implemented using two panels like a panel.

The hand sensing panel is implemented by, for example, a capacitive touch panel, and senses the touch input of the user and outputs a touch event value corresponding to the sensed touch signal. At this time, information corresponding to the sensed touch signal can be displayed on the display panel 140. The pen sensing panel senses the proximity input or contact input of the electronic pen 15 according to the operation of the electronic pen 15 and outputs a proximity event or an electronic pen contact event of the sensed electronic pen 15. At this time, the electronic pen 15 may have an input button (operated by the user's finger) for generating an additional input signal. The pen sensing panel can be realized by the EMR method and can detect the operation of the input button, the touch or the proximity input according to the operation of the input button of the electronic pen 15 or the change of the intensity of the electromagnetic field by proximity or touch . The pen sensing panel may be provided at a lower portion of the display panel 140 with a predetermined area, for example, an area covering the display area of the display panel 140.

The wireless communication unit 11 is a configuration that can be included when the electronic device 1 supports a wireless communication function. In particular, when the electronic device 1 supports a mobile communication function, the wireless communication unit 11 may be configured as a mobile communication module. More specifically, it may include an antenna, an RF unit, and a modem to perform radio signal transmission and reception operations for a mobile communication function. The RF unit includes an RF transmitter for up-converting and amplifying the frequency of the transmitted signal, and an RF receiver for low-noise amplifying the received signal and down-converting the frequency. The modem includes a transmitter for encoding and modulating a signal to be transmitted and a receiver for demodulating and decoding a signal received by the RF unit.

The key input unit 13 has a key for a plurality of operation operations mechanically provided to the outer housing of the electronic apparatus 1 and receives a user's operation. The key may be a side key or a separate touch pad. The key input unit 13 may include a button key for performing turn-on or turn-off of the electronic device 1, a home key for supporting return to the basic screen supported by the electronic device 1, have.

The audio processing unit 12 may include at least one of a speaker for outputting an audio signal of the electronic device 1 and a microphone for collecting an audio signal. The audio processing unit 12 includes a speaker, a microphone and a speaker and a voice codec for processing an audio signal inputted and outputted through a microphone. When performing a telephone call according to the mobile communication function, Outputs an audible sound to the user, and outputs sounds corresponding to processing sounds corresponding to various operations, various digital audio contents, moving picture contents, and the like.

The storage unit 16 stores various programs and data necessary for the operation of the electronic device 1. [ For example, the storage unit 16 may comprise program memory and data memories for storing various applications and multimedia contents, data related to operation processing, and the like. A program for controlling the general operation of the electronic apparatus is stored in the program memory. The storage unit 16 further stores an operation program and related applications related to screen display for executing a plurality of applications according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The control unit 10 collectively controls the respective functional units to control the overall operation of the electronic device 1. The control unit 10 controls the overall operation of the electronic device 1 according to a user input inputted through the touch screen 14 or the key input unit 13, And the operation of the electronic device 1 including the execution of a plurality of applications stored in the electronic device 1. In addition, according to some embodiments of the present invention, the control unit 10 may be configured to perform a plurality of operations related to screen display for executing a plurality of applications, And executes a screen configuration function for confirming whether the first application and the second application support the multi-window mode and configuring a screen accordingly. Particularly, according to some embodiments of the present invention, when the first application calls the second application in the execution of the first application and the first application and the second application both support the multi-window mode And controls the operation of automatically executing the first application and the second application in a separate multi-window environment. The detailed operation of the control unit 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the embodiments of the present invention to be described later.

The electronic device 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention can be implemented with the components as described above. In addition, the electronic device 1 may include a rechargeable battery or the like, (Not shown) provided to the mobile communication terminal, and functional units applied to current mobile communication terminals such as a GPS unit, a motion sensor, a vibration motor, a camera module, and the like are basically provided or further added.

In addition, although the electronic device shown in FIG. 1 discloses a structure corresponding to, for example, a smart phone or a mobile phone, the electronic device to which the embodiments of the present invention can be applied is a PMP, a PDA, an MP3 player, A tablet PC, a personal navigation device, a portable game machine, and the like. In this case, the wireless communication unit 11 shown in FIG. 1 may not be provided.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a plurality of application execution operations according to an embodiment of the present invention, and may be performed under the control of the control unit 10 of the electronic device 1 shown in FIG. Referring to FIG. 3, first, in step 300, a first application such as SMS is executed in response to a user's execution operation or the like. In step 302, corresponding content in the first application execution screen is selected through proximity of the user's finger or electronic pen, touch input, or the like. In step 304, it is determined in step 304 whether an application to be associated with the selected content is designated. If an application to be related to the selected content is designated, the process proceeds to step 306. For example, the content may be a 'URL Link' included in the SMS, and the application to be performed may be a browser to be executed by URL selection.

In step 306, it is determined whether the second application to be associated with the selected content supports the multi-window mode. If the second application does not support the multi-window mode, the process proceeds to step 308, The process proceeds to step 310. Whether or not the corresponding application supports the multi-window mode may be possible by confirming an attribute value indicating whether the multi-window mode can be set in advance for each application. Alternatively, the determination as to whether the corresponding application supports the multi-window mode can be made by determining whether or not the application can be executed by only a part of the entire screen, not limited to the execution of the application in the entire area of the window.

In step 308, the second application is executed in the entire window size in association with the content. In step 310, if the first application does not support the multi-window mode, it is checked whether the first application supports the multi-window mode. In step 308, the second application is executed in the full window size. 1 If the application supports the multi-window mode, the process proceeds to step 312.

In operation 312, a first window region corresponding to an execution screen of the first application is divided to generate a second window. In operation 314, a second application is executed through the second window region in association with the selected content.

3, when a specific content is selected during the execution of the first application, when there is a second application to be performed in association with the selected content, the first application And whether or not the second application supports the multi-window mode function, the second application is operated in the second window, and the operation corresponding to the content selection is performed. Particularly, in this case, in the above embodiment, the operation of generating the second window area in the divided area in the first window area is performed.

FIG. 4 is an exemplary view of display screens when executing a plurality of applications according to an embodiment of the present invention, and may be an example screen corresponding to the operation of FIG. 3. For example, FIG. 4A shows an example of a screen for selecting and executing a URL Link included in a received SMS during execution of an SMS application. At this time, when the browser, which is the second application to be executed by the URL selection, supports the multi-window mode, the first window size of the SMS application currently running in the full window mode is reduced, The browser can be executed through the reduced space to access the selected URL.

In the above description, the SMS application and the browser application have been described as an example in performing the operation of performing the second application according to the selection of the content in the first application, but there are various other examples as well. For example, it is possible to select contents (Image file, Doc file, etc.) in 'File Explorer' and execute it on a divided window of 'Image viewer' and 'Document Viewer'. As such, operations in accordance with embodiments of the present invention may be supported at runtime for various applications.

Meanwhile, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 3 or FIG. 4, when a second application is executed through a second window, for example, a first window region in which a first application is executed is divided to generate a second window Various other embodiments may be used.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating display screens when a plurality of applications are executed according to another embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 5, when a first application is being executed in a state where a screen is currently configured in a multi-window, The operation screens according to the example are shown as an example. 5A is a diagram showing a state in which a plurality of applications are executed in a plurality of window areas in a multi-window in the form of a screen division, An example of a screen for selecting a content (for example, URL Link) included in the execution screen is shown. In this case, as shown in FIG. 5 (b), another window area in which the second application related to the content is already screen divided may be implemented as a second window area and executed through the second window area.

6 is a view illustrating an example of display screens when executing a plurality of applications according to another embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 6, another embodiment of the present invention, which can be applied to an electronic device such as a tablet or the like having a relatively large display screen size As an example. 6A shows an example of a screen for selecting a content (for example, URL Link) contained in an execution screen of a first application (e.g., an SMS application) being executed in the first window area . At this time, in a case where the size of the display screen is sufficiently large in the electronic device, the second window in which the second application is executed in the form of an independent pop-up window, as shown in Fig. 6 (b) Lt; RTI ID = 0.0 > non-invasive < / RTI >

While the present invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be practical exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but, on the contrary, And can be carried out without leaving.

For example, in the above description, the present invention is applied to an electronic apparatus having a relatively large display screen size. However, the present invention can be applied to a notebook, Likewise, it may be applicable to any electronic device that runs multiple applications through a display screen.

In the above description of the embodiments, the first and second windows are created for execution of two applications, such as the first and second applications, in an execution operation of a plurality of applications. It goes without saying that the present invention is also applicable to a case where three or more applications are simultaneously executed through three or more windows.

Thus, it is intended that the present invention cover the modifications and variations of this invention provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents. It should be.

It will also be appreciated that embodiments of the present invention may be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software. Such arbitrary software may be stored in a memory such as, for example, a volatile or non-volatile storage device such as a storage device such as ROM or the like, or a memory such as a RAM, a memory chip, a device or an integrated circuit, , Or a storage medium readable by a machine (e.g., a computer), such as a CD, a DVD, a magnetic disk, or a magnetic tape, as well as being optically or magnetically recordable. It will be appreciated that the memory that may be included in the electronic device is an example of a machine-readable storage medium suitable for storing programs or programs containing instructions embodying the embodiments of the present invention. Accordingly, the invention includes a program comprising code for implementing the apparatus or method as claimed in any of the claims, and a machine-readable storage medium storing such a program. In addition, such a program may be electronically transported through any medium such as a communication signal transmitted via a wired or wireless connection, and the present invention appropriately includes the same.

Claims

In a plurality of application execution methods,
Confirming whether the first application and the second application support the multi-window mode when the first application calls the second application when the first application is executed;
And executing the first application and the second application in a separate multi-window environment when the first application and the second application support the multi-window mode.

The method of claim 1, wherein calling the second application in the first application comprises:
Wherein the application to be associated with the first application execution screen calls the application to be associated with the second application according to a selection of a predetermined content.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein determining whether the first application and the second application support multi-
And determining whether or not the application can be executed only in a partial area of the entire screen.

The method of claim 1, wherein the first application and the second application are executed in separate multi-
Wherein the first window area in which the first application is executed is reduced, and a second window in which the second application is executed is created in the generated blank area.

The method of claim 1, wherein the first application and the second application are executed in separate multi-
Wherein the second application is executed in a window region other than the first window in which the first application is executed.

The method of claim 1, wherein the first application and the second application are executed in separate multi-
Wherein the second window is created in a region where the first application is executed and the first window is not selected.

An apparatus for executing a plurality of applications,
An input and screen output unit for receiving a user's input operation for executing an application and displaying an application execution status;
A storage unit for storing a plurality of applications;
Wherein the control unit controls execution of a plurality of applications stored in the storage unit according to the input information through the input and screen output unit and determines and executes a second application to be executed according to an attribute of the content selected by the user when the first application is executed And a controller for checking whether the first application and the second application support the multi-window mode and performing a screen configuration function for constructing a screen.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the input and screen output units are implemented as touch screens.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein checking whether the first application and the second application support multi-window mode
Wherein the determination unit determines whether the application can be executed only in a partial area of the entire screen.

The method according to claim 7, wherein the screen configuration function for checking whether the first application and the second application support the multi-window mode and configuring a screen according to the multi-
Wherein the first application and the second application are executed in separate multi-window environments.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the first application and the second application are executed in separate multi-
And a second window in which the second application is executed is created in a blank area generated by the first window area in which the first application is executed.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the first application and the second application are executed in separate multi-
Wherein the second window is created in a window region other than a first window in which the first application is executed, in which the second application is executed.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the first application and the second application are executed in separate multi-
Wherein the second window is created in a region in which the first application is executed and the first window is not selected.