Electronic device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9703465-B2
Application number	US-201314403685-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 27, 2013
Priority date	Oct 4, 2013
Publication date	Jul 11, 2017
Grant date	Jul 11, 2017

Abstract

An electronic device that increases both visibility and selectability of executable programs. The electronic device includes a touch panel display having an elongated shape, a memory storing programs, and a processor controlling program execution and the display. The touch panel includes a first display region and a second display region contiguous with and narrower than the first display region. The display displays an execution image of a first program in the first display region and an icon image of a second program in the second display region in a smaller display area than the execution image. When the processor detects contact at the icon image and detects that the contact moves towards the first display region, the processor causes the display to display an execution image of the second program in the first display region.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An electronic device, comprising:
a display having a touch panel and an elongated shape, the display including a first display region and a second display region, the second display region being contiguous with the first display region in a longitudinal direction of the elongated shape and being narrower than the first display region in a lateral direction of the elongated shape;
a memory storing a plurality of programs; and
a processor that controls execution of each of the plurality of programs stored in the memory, and controls the display, wherein
the display displays in the first display region a first display image generated by execution of a first program among the plurality of programs, and the display displays in the second display region a first icon image indicating a second program other than the first program among the plurality of programs, a display area of the first display image being larger than a display area of the first icon image,
when the processor detects a contact at the first icon image in the second display region and detects that the contact at the first icon image moves in a direction towards the first display region, the processor causes the display to display in the first display region a second display image generated by execution of the second program,
the electronic device is a wearable terminal, having an external shape of which a portion is a wide rectangular shape, a narrow portion extending from one side of the wide rectangular shape,
the narrow portion includes a belt member for attachment to a user, and
the first display region corresponds to the wide rectangular portion and the second display region corresponds to the narrow portion.

2. The electronic device of claim 1 ,
wherein when the processor causes the display to display the second display image in the first display region, the processor causes the display to display in the second display region a second icon image indicating the first program.

3. The electronic device of claim 1 ,
wherein the display displays a predefined number of icon images in the second display region, each icon image indicating one of the plurality of programs, and
when the processor causes the display to display the second display image in the first display region, the processor causes the display to display a third icon image indicating a third program in the second display region, the third icon image being displayed subsequent to other displayed icon images within the predefined number of icon images, in accordance with a display order of the plurality of programs.

4. The electronic device of claim 1 ,
wherein when the processor detects that the contact at the first icon image moves in the direction towards the first display region, the processor causes the first icon image to be moved towards the first display region, and when the first icon image is moved into the first display region, the processor causes the display to display in the first display region, along with the first icon image, the first display image shrunk in the longitudinal direction of the elongated shape according to an extent that the first icon image is moved into the first display region.

5. The electronic device of claim 4 ,
wherein when the first icon image is moved into the first display region, the processor causes the display to display a second icon image indicating the first program in the second display region according to the extent that the first icon image is moved into the first display region.

6. The electronic device of claim 4 ,
wherein when the first icon image is moved into the first display region, the processor causes the display to display a second icon image that indicates the first program in the second display region while causing the display to display in the first display region, along with the first icon image, the first display image shrunk in the longitudinal direction of the elongated shape according to the extent that the first icon image is moved into the first display region.

7. The electronic device of claim 4 ,
wherein the display displays a predefined number of icon images in the second display region, each icon image indicating one of the plurality of programs, and
when the first icon image is moved into the first display region, the processor causes the display to display a third icon image indicating a third program in the second display region according to the extent that the first icon image is moved into the first display region, the third icon image being displayed subsequent to other displayed icon images within the predefined number of icon images, in accordance with a display order of the plurality of programs.

8. The electronic device of claim 4 ,
wherein he display displays a predefined number of icon images in the second display region, each icon image indicating one of the plurality of programs, and
when the first icon image is moved into the first display region, the processor causes the display to display a third icon image indicating a third program to be displayed in the second display region, the third icon image being displayed subsequent to other displayed icon images within the predefined number of icon images in accordance with a display order of the plurality of programs, while causing the display to display in the first display region, along with the first icon image, the first display image shrunk in the longitudinal direction of the elongated shape according to the extent that the first icon image is moved into the first display region.

9. The electronic device of claim 4 ,
wherein the first display image includes an image identical to the second icon image, and
the image identical to the second icon image is not shrunk in the first display image.

10. The electronic device of claim 1 ,
wherein the first display image includes an image identical to the second icon image, and
when the processor detects a contact at the first display image in the first display region and detects that the contact at the first display image moves in the lateral direction of the elongated shape, the processor causes a portion of the first display image excluding the image identical to the second icon image to move in the lateral direction of the elongated shape without changing a display position corresponding to the image identical to the second icon image.

11. The electronic device of claim 1 ,
wherein the display displays a plurality of icon images including the first icon image along the longitudinal direction of the elongated shape in the second display region, each icon image indicating one program from among the plurality of programs excluding the first program, and
when the processor causes the display to display the second display image in the first display region, the processor causes a plurality of icon images excluding the first icon image, each indicating one program from among a plurality of programs excluding the first program, to be moved towards the first display region and displayed in the second display region, filling a display region in which the first icon image was displayed.

12. The electronic device of claim 11 ,
wherein when the processor causes the display to display the second display image in the first display region, the processor causes the display to display a second icon image indicating the first program in an empty display region in the second display region, the empty display region being generated in the second display region when the plurality of icon images are moved towards the first display region.

13. The electronic device of claim 1 ,
wherein when the processor detects th

Assignees

• Panasonic Ip Corp America

Inventors

• Otsuka yu
• Fujita Hiroshi
• Aihara Kazuhiro
• Hisatake Goro
• Isobe Takashi

Classifications

• G06F3/0488 Primary

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• G04G21/08

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• G06F3/0486

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• G06F2203/04803

  Split screen, i.e. subdividing the display area or the window area into separate subareas · CPC title

• G04F10/00

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