IP Library › Granted Patent US 11,835,986
Granted Patent B2
US 11,835,986 · App. 18/097,851 · Granted Dec 5, 2023

Electronic device for displaying execution screen of application, and operation method thereof

Inventor: Sangheon Kim (Suwon-si, KR)
Assignee: SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.
G06F3/04886G06F1/1641G06F1/1643G06F1/1652G06F1/1681G06F3/04842G06F2203/04803
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 11,835,986
App. No.
18/097,851
Granted
Dec 5, 2023
Kind
B2
Abstract

A foldable electronic device includes a first and a second housing having corresponding portions coupled to a hinge, a flexible display disposed on the first and second housings, and at least one processor configured to: based on an execution command of a first application and an angle between the first and second housings corresponding to a first angle range, display an execution screen of the first application comprising at least one first object, based on the angle between the first and second housings corresponding to a second angle range, display at least one second object, receive an input on a first touch area among at least one touch area, and based on the angle between the first and second housings corresponding to the first angle range, display an execution screen of a second application corresponding to the first touch area.

Claims (72)

1. A foldable electronic device comprising:

a hinge;

a first housing having a first portion coupled to the hinge;

a second housing having a second portion coupled to the hinge;

a flexible display disposed in the first housing and the second housing; and

at least one processor configured to:

based on identifying an execution command of a first application in a state in which an angle between the first housing and the second housing corresponds to a first angle range, display, on the flexible display, an execution screen of the first application comprising at least one first object associated with at least one application being executed,

based on the angle between the first housing and the second housing corresponding to a second angle range, display, in a first area of the flexible display, at least one second object associated with the at least one application being executed, the at least one second object being different from the at least one first object,

configure at least one touch area for selecting the at least one second object in a second area of the flexible display, the second area being different from the first area,

receive an input on a first touch area among the at least one touch area, and

based on the angle between the first housing and the second housing corresponding to the first angle range, display, on the flexible display, an execution screen of a second application corresponding to the first touch area.

2. The foldable electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the at least one first object comprises at least one of at least one icon or at least one thumbnail associated with the at least one application.

3. The foldable electronic device of claim 2 , wherein the at least one touch area comprises a second touch area corresponding to a first thumbnail and the first touch area corresponds to a first icon associated with the second application, and

wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:

select the second application based on receiving the input on the first touch area or the second touch area, and

based on the angle between the first housing and the second housing corresponding to the first angle range, execute the selected second application in a foreground mode, and display the execution screen of the second application being executed in the foreground mode.

4. The foldable electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:

obtain information related to the second application based on the receiving of the input on the first touch area, and

display the information in at least a portion of the second area.

5. The foldable electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:

identify a color associated with the at least one second object, and

display the color on the at least one touch area corresponding to the at least one second object.

6. The foldable electronic device of claim 5 , wherein the at least one touch area is spaced apart from an outer enclosure portion of the display.

7. The foldable electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:

adjust a size of the at least one second object based on the angle between the first housing and the second housing being changed from the first angle range to the second angle range while the at least one second object is displayed.

8. The foldable electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:

identify a position associated with a user, wherein the position associated with the user comprises at least one of a position of a touch by the user or a position of a line of sight of the user, and

change the position of the at least one second object based on the position associated with the user.

9. The foldable electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:

receive a first input on the first touch area,

identify a touched second touch area among the at least one touch area as the received first input is moved on the first touch area, and

select the second application corresponding to the first touch area and a third application corresponding to the touched second touch area.

10. The foldable electronic device of claim 9 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:

deselect the second application based on identifying that the touched second touch area is re-touched as the first input is moved after the touched second touch area is touched.

11. The foldable electronic device of claim 9 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:

identify a change pattern of the angle between the first housing and the second housing, and

based on the identified change pattern of the angle and the angle between the first housing and the second housing corresponding to the first angle range, display the execution screen of the first application and the execution screen of the second application.

12. The foldable electronic device of claim 11 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:

based on the identified change pattern being a first pattern, display the execution screen of the first application and the execution screen of the second application such that the execution screen of the first application and the execution screen of the second application do not overlap each other.

13. The foldable electronic device of claim 11 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:

based on the identified change pattern being a second pattern, while displaying one of the execution screen of the first application and the execution screen of the second application, display a remaining one of the execution screen of the first application and the execution screen of the second application on a pop-up window.

14. The foldable electronic device of claim 13 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:

based on an order of priorities of the first application and the second application, display the execution screen of the second application on the pop-up window while displaying the execution screen of the first application.

15. A method of operating a foldable electronic device, the method comprising:

based on identifying an execution command of a first application in a state in which an angle between a first housing of the foldable electronic device and a second housing of the foldable electronic device corresponds to a first angle range, displaying, on a flexible display disposed in the first housing and the second housing, an execution screen of the first application comprising at least one first object associated with at least one application being executed;

based on the angle between the first housing and the second housing corresponding to a second angle range, displaying, in a first area of the flexible display, at least one second object associated with the at least one application being executed, the at least one second object being different from the at least one first object;

configuring at least one touch area for selecting the at least one second object in a second area of the flexible display, the second area being different from the first area;

receiving an input on a first touch area among the at least one touch area; and

based on the angle between the first housing and the second housing corresponding to the first angle range, displaying, on the flexible display, an execution screen of a second application corresponding to the first touch area.

16. The method of claim 15 , wherein the at least one first object comprises at least one of at least one icon or at least one thumbnail associated with the at least one application.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein the at least one touch area comprises a second touch area corresponding to a first thumbnail and the first touch area corresponds to a first icon associated with the second application, and

wherein the method further comprises:

selecting the second application based on receiving the input on the first touch area or the second touch area; and

based on the angle between the first housing and the second housing corresponding to the first angle range, executing the selected second application in a foreground mode, and displaying the execution screen of the second application being executed in the foreground mode.

18. The method of claim 15 , further comprising:

obtaining information related to the second application based on the receiving of the input on the first touch area; and

displaying the information in at least a portion of the second area.

19. The method of claim 15 , further comprising:

identifying a color associated with the at least one second object; and

displaying the color on the at least one touch area corresponding to the at least one second object.

20. A foldable electronic device comprising:

a hinge;

a first housing having a first portion coupled to the hinge;

a second housing having a second portion coupled to the hinge;

a flexible display disposed in the first housing and the second housing; and

at least one processor configured to:

display, based on an angle between the first housing and the second housing corresponding to a first angle range, the execution screen of a first application including at least one content on the flexible display,

display, based on the angle between the first housing and the second housing corresponding to a second angle range, at least one content in a first area of the flexible display associated with the hinge,

configure at least one touch area for selecting the at least one content in a second area different from the first area of the flexible display,

receive an input on a first touch area from among the at least one touch area,

select a first content corresponding to the first touch area, and

display, based on the angle between the first housing and the second housing corresponding to the first angle range, the first content in an entire area of the flexible display.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Jan 17, 2023
From: KIM, SANGHEON
To: SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.
Reel/Frame 062397/0899 →
Priority Claims (1)
KR 10-2020-0089841 · Jul 20, 2020 · national
Continuity (2)
Continuation PCTKR2021007723 · Jun 21, 2021
Related Publication 20230152966A1 · May 18, 2023
Cited By (1)
US 12,561,007