Gesture based application management
View Patent ↗Methods and apparatus for controlling one or more displays using an application manager. The application manager may be displayed in response to a received gesture input. The application manager may provide information regarding applications or screens executing in one or more physical displays on the device. Furthermore, the application manager may be manipulated to change various aspects regarding the applications or screens executing in the one or more displays. This manipulation may include changing the actively displayed screen for a display, movement of screens between displays, or other manipulation of the arrangement or status of the screens.
1. A method for controlling a handheld computing device, comprising:
providing a first display and a second display associated with the handheld computing device, the first display shown on a first touch screen and the second display shown on a second touch screen;
logically associating, by a processor, two or more applications with the first display, wherein at least one application is actively displayed and at least one application is not actively displayed on the first display;
logically associating, by the processor, two or more applications with the second display, wherein at least one application is actively displayed and at least one application is not actively displayed on the second display;
establishing, by the processor, a first application stack corresponding to the one or more applications logically associated with the first display, wherein the first application stack is a first logical representation of the two or more applications associated with the first display;
establishing, by the processor, a second application stack corresponding to any applications logically associated with the second display, wherein the second application stack is a second logical representation of the two or more applications associated with the second display, the first and the second application stacks respectively maintaining relative positions of the two or more applications with each display,
wherein, the first and second application stacks being respective logical arrangements within an operating system of the device of the one or more actively and inactively displayed applications for the device, wherein an application model manager converts the logical window stack maintained in a task manager module to a linear organization that a user perceives;
receiving, by the processor, a gesture input at a gesture sensor of the handheld computing device; and
displaying, by the processor, an application manager in response to the receiving, wherein the application manager provides a graphical representation of the first application stack and the second application stack in a portion of, but not the entirety of, the first display and in a portion of, but not the entirety of, the second display.
2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the first display is operable to display only one application at a time, and wherein the second display is operable to display only one application at a time.
3. The method according to claim 2 , wherein the application manager includes two or more icons representing the two or more applications associated with the first display in a first portion of the application manager and two or more icons representing the two or more applications associated with the second display in a second portion of the application manager.
4. The method according to claim 2 , wherein the first portion of the application manager is displayed in said first display and said second portion of the application manager is displayed in said second display.
5. The method according to claim 4 , wherein the icons are arranged according to the relative position of the two or more applications in the first application stack and the relative position of applications in the second application stack.
6. The method according to claim 5 , wherein said icons comprise screen shot representations of a corresponding application.
7. The method according to claim 6 , further comprising:
selecting an application from one of the first application stack and the second application stack in the application manager; and
modifying a corresponding one of the first display and the second display to render the selected application on the corresponding one of the first and the second display.
8. The method according to claim 7 , wherein the logical association of the two or more applications is controllable by user interaction with the application manager.
9. The method according to claim 8 , further comprising:
selecting an application comprising an actively displayed application of one of the first and second display;
dragging the application to the other of the first and second display; and
changing the other of the first and second display such that the application is the actively displayed application on the other of the first and second display.
10. The method according to claim 9 , further comprising: moving an application from one of the first and second application stacks to another of the first and second application stacks by dragging an icon representative of the application from the first portion of the application manager displayed on the first display to the second portion of the application manager displayed on the second display.
11. The method according to claim 9 , further comprising:
dragging an application from the first portion of the application manager to the second display; and
modifying the second display to render the application.
12. The method according to claim 9 , further comprising: closing any one of the two or more applications by selecting a corresponding close icon from the application manager.
13. The method according to claim 8 , wherein the interaction with the application manager includes manipulation of the icons representing the two or more applications.
14. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the gesture input is a spread gesture.
15. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the first display comprises a first portion of a unitary display and the second display comprises a second portion of a unitary display.
16. A handheld computing device, comprising:
a processor;
a first display operable to display a first screen, the first display being in operative communication with the processor, wherein one or more applications are logically associated with the first screen in a first application stack, and wherein the first application stack is a first logical representation of the one or more applications associated with the first screen;
a second display operable to display a second screen, the second display being in operative communication with the processor, wherein one or more applications are logically associated with the second screen in a second application stack, and wherein the second application stack is a second logical representation of the one or more applications associated with the second screen, the first and the second application stacks respectively maintaining relative positions of the one or more applications with each screen, wherein the first screen and the second screen are separate touch screens and wherein the first and second application stacks being respective logical arrangements within an operating system of the device of the one or more actively and inactively displayed applications for the device, wherein an application model manager converts the logical window stack maintained in a task manager module to a linear organization that a user perceives; and
at least one gesture sensor operable to receive a gesture input; and
wherein the processor is operative to control at least one of the first display and the second display such that an application manager is displayed on a portion of both the first display and the second display in response to receipt of the gesture input, wherein the application manager displays a graphical representation of the first and second application stacks, and wherein the processor renders the application manager in a portion of, but not the entirety of, the first display and in a portion of, but not the entirety of, the second display.
17. The device as recited in claim 16 , wherein the handheld computing device comprises a smart phone.
18. The device as recited in claim 17 , wherein the first display and second display are positionable with respect to each other between an open and closed position.
19. The device as recited in claim 18 , wherein, when in the open position, the first display and the second display are visible from the vantage point of a user.
20. The device as recited in claim 19 , wherein, when in the closed position, only one of the first display and the second display are visible from the vantage point of a user.