Multi-display device and method for controlling the same

1. A multi-display device comprising:

a transparent first touch panel;

a second touch panel of which at least a part is capable of being overlapped with the first touch panel; and

an operation controller to operate the first and second touch panels, to sense a touch input that occurs on at least one of the first and second touch panels, to determine and to execute a linked function corresponding to the touch input and an overlapped state of the first and second touch panels, and to display the execution of the linked function on at least one of the first and second touch panels,

wherein, if the touch input occurs in an area in which the first and second touch panels overlap when the first touch panel and the second touch panel display a first application and a second application, respectively, the operation controller executes the linked function, the linked function being linked with a first function of the first application displayed on the first touch panel and a second function of the second application displayed on the second touch panel, and

wherein the operation controller registers an overlay execution command list by matching objects of the first application with objects of the second application, identifies first and second objects positioned at a touch point in the overlapped state, and recognizes and executes an overlay execution command matched with the first and second objects from the overlay execution command list.

2. The multi-display device of claim 1 , wherein, if a first touch occurs in an area in which the first and second touch panels overlap, the operation controller selectively activates the first or second function according to a type of the first touch.

3. The multi-display device of claim 1 , wherein, if a first touch occurs on the first touch panel, the operation controller activates the first function in response to the first touch and activates the second function in response to a second touch.

4. The multi-display device of claim 1 , wherein, if a first touch occurs on the first touch panel, the operation controller activates the first function in response to the first touch, and if a second touch occurs while the first touch is maintained and the second touch is then removed, the operation controller activates the second function.

5. The multi-display device of claim 2 , wherein, if the first touch occurs on the first touch panel, the operation controller activates the first function if a touch pressure of the first touch is smaller than a reference value, and the operation controller activates the second function if the touch pressure of the first touch is equal to or greater than the reference value.

6. The multi-display device of claim 2 , wherein the operation controller displays an object representing a selected function by changing at least one of transparency, color, size, and link effect of the object representing the first and second functions in an area where the first and second touch panels overlap.

7. The multi-display device of claim 1 , wherein the operation controller determines whether to execute the first or second function according to at least one of a touch time, a number of touches, addition and removal of a touch of a multi-touch, a touch pressure, gravity, and acceleration.

8. The multi-display device of claim 1 , wherein the operation controller executes the linked function linked with overlapped objects according to a movement to overlap an object representing the first or second function with an object representing the other of the first and second functions.

9. The multi-display device of claim 1 , wherein, if the first touch panel executing the first application and the second touch panel executing the second application are moved to an overlapped state from a non-overlapped state, the operation controller executes the linked function that combines at least a part of the first application and a part of the second application according to the overlapped state.

10. The multi-display device of claim 9 , wherein, if the first and second touch panels overlap, after activating the second function of the second application that is capable of being linked to the linked function corresponding to the touch input and the overlapped state of the first and second touch panels from among functions of the second application, the operation controller executes the linked function corresponding to the touch input and the overlapped state of the first and second touch panels in response to the touch input.

11. The multi-display device of claim 9 , wherein the operation controller executes the linked function corresponding to the touch input and the overlapped state of the first and second touch panels if both the first and second touch panels are touched while in the non-overlapped state.

12. A method for controlling a multi-display device comprising a transparent first touch panel and a second touch panel capable of being overlapped with the first touch panel, the method comprising:

executing a first application of a first touch panel and a second application of a second touch panel;

sensing a touch input that occurs on at least one of the first and second touch panels;

determining a linked function corresponding to the touch input and an overlapped state of the first and second touch panels, the determining comprising identifying first and second objects positioned at a touch point in the overlapped state, wherein an overlay execution command list has been registered by matching objects of the first application with objects of the second application, and recognizing and executing an overlay execution command matched with the first and second objects from the overlay execution command list;

executing the linked function; and

displaying the execution of the linked function on at least one of the first and second touch panels,

wherein, if the touch input occurs in an area where the first and second touch panels overlap when the first touch panel and the second touch panel display the first application and the second application, respectively, the linked function corresponds to a function linked with a first function of the first application displayed on the first touch panel and a second function of the second application displayed on the second touch panel.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein, in the determining, if a first touch occurs in an area in which the first and second touch panels overlap, the first and second functions are selectively activated according to a type of the first touch.

14. The method of claim 12 , wherein, in the determining, if a first touch occurs in an area in which the first and second touch panels overlap, activating the first function of the first touch panel in response to the first touch and activating the second function of the second touch panel in response to a second touch occurring and being released while the first touch is maintained.

15. The method of claim 12 , wherein, in the determining, if a first touch occurs in an area in which the first and second touch panels overlap, activating the first function of the first touch panel if a touch pressure of the first touch is smaller than a reference value and activating the second function of the second touch panel if the touch pressure of the first touch is greater than or equal to the reference value.

16. The method of claim 12 , further comprising:

changing at least one of transparency, color, size, and link effect of an object for executing the first and second functions of the first and second touch panels in an area where the first and second touch panels overlap in response to the determining.

17. A method for controlling a multi-display device comprising a transparent first touch panel and a second touch panel capable of being overlapped with the first touch panel, the method comprising:

executing a first application of a first touch panel and a second application of a second touch panel;

sensing a change of an overlapped state of the first and second touch panels, the sensing comprising identifying first and second objects positioned at a touch point in the overlapped state, wherein an overlay execution command list has been registered by matching objects of the first application with objects of the second application, and recognizing and executing an overlay execution command matched with the first and second objects from the overlay execution command list;

executing a first linked function according to the sensed change of the overlapped state, the first linked function being configured to combine at least a part of the first application displayed on the first touch panel and a part of the second application displayed on the second touch panel; and

displaying the execution of the first linked function on at least one of the first and second touch panels.

18. The method of claim 17 , further comprising:

sensing a touch input that occurs in an area where the first and second touch panels overlap; and

executing a second linked function according to the touch input, the second linked function being linked with a first object of the first application and a second object of the second application.

19. A method for controlling a multi-display device comprising a transparent first touch panel and a second touch panel capable of being overlapped with the first touch panel, the method comprising:

executing a first application of a first touch panel and a second application of a second touch panel;

sensing a touch input that occurs on at least one of the first and second touch panels when the first touch panel and the second touch panel display the first application and the second application, respectively;

determining a first or second object corresponding to the sensed touch input and a partially overlapped state of the first and second touch panels, wherein, if the touch input occurs on a surface of the first touch panel and the touch input occurs in an area where the first and second touch panels partially overlap, the first object displayed on the first touch panel or the second object displayed on the second touch panel is determined according to the touch input, the second object being determined based on the touch input and the partially overlapped state of the first and second touch panels, and the second object being overlapped with the first object according to the partially overlapped state of the first and second touch panels;

determining a linked function corresponding to the touch input and an overlapped state of the first and second touch panels, the linked function being configured to combine at least a part of the first application displayed on the first touch panel and a part of the second application displayed on the second touch pane, the determining comprising identifying the first and second objects positioned at a touch point in the overlapped state, wherein an overlay execution command list has been registered by matching objects of the first application with objects of the second application, and recognizing and executing an overlay execution command matched with the first and second objects from the overlay execution command list; and

displaying the execution of the linked function on at least one of the first and second touch panels.

20. The method of claim 19 , further comprising:

recognizing a coordinate value of the second object corresponding to the touch input occurred on the surface of the first touch panel according to the determined overlapped state when the first and second touch panels partially overlap.