Method and device for displaying application

Abstract

A method for displaying applications is provided, the method comprising: displaying a running screen of the first application in a first area when the first application is running; when a second application is running while the first application is running, displaying the running screen of the first application in a second area instead of the first area; and displaying the running screen of the second application in the first area.

Description

[0001] This application is a divisional application of the invention patent application with application date of July 31, 2014, application number 201480043502.0 and invention name “Method and device for display application”. Technical Field

[0002] One or more embodiments of the present invention relate to a method and apparatus for displaying an application in a window. Background Art

[0003] When the terminal device can perform multiple tasks in which two or more applications are simultaneously executed, the terminal device can display the execution screens of the applications on at least two windows. At least two windows that can display the execution screens of the applications may be referred to as a multi-window.

[0004] The user can control the terminal device to simultaneously execute tasks that the user wants to run in the terminal device by using the multi-window. Therefore, if the multi-window can be easily controlled, the user can easily perform multiple tasks in the terminal device. Summary of the invention

[0005] Problems solved

[0006] One or more embodiments of the present invention include methods and apparatus for displaying applications on a window.Other aspects will be set forth as part of the following description and will be apparent from the description, or may be obtained by practice of the listed embodiments.

[0007] Advantageous Effects of the Invention

[0008] According to one or more exemplary embodiments, a display area of ​​an application displayed on a full-sized window and a sub-window may be easily changed.

[0009] As described above, according to one or more of the above exemplary embodiments, an application is displayed on a full-size window and an application is displayed on a sub-window. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0010] These and / or other aspects will be apparent and more readily understood from the following description of the embodiments in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0011] Figure 1A and 1B is an example of a display screen of a terminal device according to an exemplary embodiment;

[0012] Figure 2A and 2B is a flowchart of a method of displaying an application according to an exemplary embodiment;

[0013] Figure 3A method of displaying an application according to an exemplary embodiment is shown;

[0014] Figure 4 is a flow chart of a method for displaying an application by changing a sub-window and a full-size window;

[0015] Figure 5 A method of displaying an application by changing a sub-window and a full-size window according to an exemplary embodiment is shown;

[0016] Figure 6 is a flowchart of a method for displaying a sub-window in a hidden mode according to an exemplary embodiment;

[0017] Figures 7A to 7D A method of displaying a sub-window in a hidden mode according to an exemplary embodiment is shown;

[0018] Figure 8 is a flowchart of a method of controlling a sub-window according to an area where a gesture is detected according to an exemplary embodiment;

[0019] Fig.9A and 9B A method of controlling a sub-window according to an area where a gesture is detected according to an exemplary embodiment is shown;

[0020] Fig. 10A and 10B A method of displaying an application list on a sub-window according to an exemplary embodiment is shown;

[0021] Fig.11 is a flowchart of a method of displaying an application list on a sub-window according to an exemplary embodiment;

[0022] Fig.12 An example of displaying an application list in a list mode in a sub-window according to an exemplary embodiment is shown;

[0023] Fig.13 is a flowchart of a method of changing a list item in a sub-window according to an exemplary embodiment;

[0024] Figures 14A to 15B is an example of a method for displaying an application list on a sub-window in a stack mode according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0025] Fig.16 is a flowchart of a method of moving a list group of sub-windows according to an exemplary embodiment;

[0026] Fig.17 An example of moving a list group of sub-windows displayed in a list mode according to an exemplary embodiment is shown;

[0027] Fig.18An example of moving a list group of sub-windows displayed in a stack mode according to an exemplary embodiment is shown;

[0028] Fig.19 is a flow chart of a method of changing the orientation of a sub-window according to an exemplary embodiment;

[0029] Fig. 20 An example of a method of changing the orientation of a sub-window according to an exemplary embodiment is shown;

[0030] Fig.21 is a flowchart of a method of displaying an application when the application is terminated according to an exemplary embodiment;

[0031] Fig.22A and 22B is an example of a method of displaying an application when the application is terminated according to an exemplary embodiment;

[0032] Fig.23 is a flowchart of a method of displaying an application according to an exemplary embodiment;

[0033] Fig.24 An example of a method of displaying an application according to an exemplary embodiment is shown; and

[0034] Fig.25A and 25B is a block diagram showing an internal structure of an apparatus for displaying applications according to an exemplary embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0035] According to one or more embodiments of the present invention, a method for displaying an application includes: displaying a running screen of the first application on a first area when the first application is running; displaying the running screen of the first application in a second area instead of the first area when a second application is running while the first application is running; and displaying the running screen of the second application in the first area.

[0036] The method may further include: detecting a user gesture in the second area; displaying an execution screen of the first application in the first area instead of the second area in response to the detected user gesture; and displaying an execution screen of any one application executed in the terminal device in the second area.

[0037] The method may further include displaying the second area in a hidden mode.

[0038] Displaying the second area in a hidden mode may include: instead of displaying the second area, displaying at least one of an optional image indicating the second area, a transparent portion of the second area, and a portion of the second area; and displaying the second area in a hidden mode when there is no user gesture input to request hiding the sub-window or there is no user gesture input regarding the second area.

[0039] Displaying the second area in a hidden mode may include: detecting a user gesture requesting to release an automatic hidden mode set for the second area; releasing the automatic hidden mode set for the second area in response to the detected user gesture; and displaying the second area in a hidden mode based on whether the automatic hidden mode is set for the second area when no input related to the second area is detected for a predetermined amount of time.

[0040] Displaying the sub-window in a hidden mode may include: detecting a user gesture requesting to release an automatic hidden mode set for a second area; releasing the automatic hidden mode set for the second area in response to the gesture; and displaying the second area in a hidden mode based on whether the second area is in the automatic hidden mode when no input related to the second area is detected for a predetermined amount of time.

[0041] The first area may be the entire area of ​​the display screen of the terminal device, and the running screen of the application may be displayed in the second area, the running screen size of which is reduced while maintaining a certain ratio and overlapping with the first area, and the second area may be a part of the entire area of ​​the display screen of the terminal device.

[0042] The method may further include: detecting a user gesture associated with the second area; and changing a size of the second area according to the changed size and displaying the second area in response to the gesture.

[0043] The method may further include: detecting a user gesture associated with the second area; and moving the second area in response to the gesture.

[0044] The method may further include: detecting a user gesture for displaying a list; and displaying an execution screen of at least one application running on the terminal device in a sub-window display mode on the second area in response to the gesture. The sub-window display mode may be one of a stack mode and a list mode.

[0045] Displaying the execution screen of at least one application on the second area in a sub-window display manner may include: selecting one of the applications displayed on the second area; and displaying the selected application in the first area.

[0046] Displaying the running screen of at least one application on the second area in a sub-window display manner may include: displaying multiple running screens of the application from the applications running in the terminal device, wherein the multiple running screens overlap each other and are displayed in a predetermined order; detecting a user gesture for changing an item; and displaying the running screen of the next application in response to the user gesture for changing the item.

[0047] The second area may include a sub-window list group, which includes at least one sub-window displaying an execution screen of an application running in the terminal device, and the method for displaying the application may also include: detecting a user gesture related to the sub-window list group; determining whether an area where the user gesture is detected is set as an area where the sub-window list group is to be moved; and moving the sub-window list group according to the determined result.

[0048] The method may further include: receiving an input requesting termination of the application; terminating display of the application on the first area in response to the received input; and displaying the application displayed on the second area on the first area.

[0049] The user gesture detected in the second area may be processed as a gesture for controlling display of an execution screen of the second application on the second area.

[0050] The method may also include: detecting a user gesture for changing the direction of the sub-window; and changing the direction of the running screen of the application displayed on the second area, and displaying the running screen with the changed direction in response to the detected user gesture for changing the direction of the sub-window.

[0051] Patterns for invention

[0052] This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2013-0091174, filed on Jul. 31, 2013, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0053] Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments, examples of which are shown in the accompanying drawings. Thus, the embodiments herein may have different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the description herein. Therefore, the embodiments are described below with reference to the accompanying drawings only to explain aspects of the present description. As used herein, expressions such as "at least one" when used before a list of elements, modify the entire list of elements and do not modify individual elements in the list of elements.

[0054] The present invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which exemplary embodiments of the present invention are shown. In the description of the present invention, if it is determined that a detailed description of a conventionally used technology or structure related to the present invention may unnecessarily obscure the subject matter of the present invention, the detailed description will be omitted. In addition, since the terms to be described later are defined in consideration of the function of the present invention, the terms may be changed according to the wishes or practices of the user. Therefore, it is necessary to interpret the terms according to the content of the entire specification.

[0055] It should also be understood that the terms "comprise" and / or "comprising" used herein indicate the presence of the listed features or components, but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features or components. In addition, the terms "... unit", "... module", etc. are units for processing at least one function or operation, and can be implemented as hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software.

[0056] The user's touch gestures may include a click gesture, a touch & hold gesture, a double-click gesture, a drag gesture, a pan gesture, a flick gesture, a drag & drop gesture, etc.

[0057] “Click” is an action of a user touching a screen by using a finger or a touch tool such as an electronic pen, and then immediately lifting the finger or the touch tool from the screen without moving.

[0058] "Touch & Hold" is an action of a user who touches the screen with a finger or a touch tool such as an electronic pen and then maintains the above touch action for a critical time (e.g., 2 seconds) after touching the screen. For example, the time difference between the start touch time (touch-in time) and the end touch time (touch-out time) is greater than or equal to the critical time, such as 2 seconds. When the touch input continues for more than the critical time, in order to remind the user that the touch input is a click or touch & hold, a feedback signal can be provided in a visual, audio, or tactile manner. The critical time may vary according to the implementation.

[0059] Double-clicking is an action of a user touching a screen twice by using a finger or a touch tool (such as a stylus pen).

[0060] "Drag" is an action of a user who contacts a screen with a finger or a touch tool and moves the finger or the touch tool to another position on the screen while maintaining the contact action. The drag action may allow movement or translation of an object.

[0061] "Panning" is an action of a user performing a dragging action without selecting a target. Since no target is selected in a panning action, no target moves on the page, but the page itself moves on the screen, or a group of targets can move in the page.

[0062] "Flick" is an action of a user who drags a finger or a touch tool at a speed exceeding a critical speed (e.g., 100 pixels / second). The drag (translation) action or flick action is distinguished based on whether the moving speed of the finger or the touch tool exceeds the critical speed (e.g., 100 pixels / second).

[0063] “Drag & Drop” is an action of a user who drags an object to a predetermined position on the screen by using a finger or a touch tool and then drops the object at the position.

[0064] Throughout this specification, when a part is "connected" to another part, the part may be "directly connected" to the other part, and the part may be "electrically connected" to the other part by inserting a device therebetween. In addition, when a part "includes" an element, it may also include another element without excluding the presence of the other element, unless otherwise specified.

[0065] Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail by explaining exemplary embodiments of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the accompanying drawings, like reference numerals denote like elements, and repeated description will be omitted.

[0066] Figure 1A and 1B is an example of the display screen 110 of the terminal device 100 according to the exemplary embodiment.

[0067] refer to Figure 1A , the terminal device 100 can operate as various types of devices having a display screen 110. The terminal device 100 described here is a device used by a user, for example, a mobile phone, a smart phone, a laptop computer, a digital broadcasting device, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a portable multimedia player (PDA), a navigation device, a desktop personal computer (PC), etc. However, the terminal device 100 is not limited thereto, and the terminal device 100 may be a device that has been commercialized or will be developed in the future.

[0068] like Figure 1A As shown in , the terminal device 100 may include a display screen 110 on which an execution screen of an application executed in the terminal device 100 can be displayed.

[0069] The terminal device 100 may display one or more applications, which are running on the display screen 110. Specifically, the execution screens of the applications running on the terminal device 100 may be displayed on a plurality of areas of the display screen 110 at the same time.

[0070] For example, the display screen 110 includes a sub-window 111 and a full-sized window 112 in which the execution screen of the application is displayed. The terminal device 100 can display the execution screen of the application on the sub-window 111 and the full-sized window 112 simultaneously.

[0071] In this embodiment, the full-size window 112 may be the entire area of ​​the display screen 110. In addition, the sub-window 111 may be a pop-up window that may overlap the full-size window 112 of the display screen 110.

[0072] When the execution screen of the application is displayed on the sub-window 111 or the full-sized window 112 , respectively, it is easier to control the sub-window 111 and the full-sized window 112 displaying the execution screen than to control a vertical area determined by vertically dividing the entire area of ​​the display screen 110 .

[0073] For example, moving or resizing the sub-window 111 may be easier than moving or resizing a vertical region.

[0074] The terminal device 100 may be in a Window-on-Window (WOW) mode in which the execution screen of the application is displayed on the sub-window 111 and the full-size window 112. In the WOW mode, the terminal device 100 may display the execution screen of the application on the sub-window 111 or the full-size window 112. When the WOW mode is not activated, the terminal device 100 may display the execution screen of the application on the full-size window 112.

[0075] Afterwards, if Figure 1A A method of displaying an execution screen of an application on the sub-window 111 or the full-sized window 112 is described as shown in FIG.

[0076] In the current implementation, the area for displaying the running screen of the application is not limited to the full-size window 112 and the sub-window 111. The entire area of ​​the display screen 110 can be divided into a plurality of areas according to the required area type, area shape or distinction method. For example, the display screen 110 can be roughly divided into a top area, a bottom area, a left area and a right area. In this specification, the areas into which the display screen 110 is divided are the sub-window 111 and the full-size window 112.

[0077] In addition, the applications that can be displayed on the terminal device 100 are not limited to the applications running on the terminal device 100. Figure 1B As shown in , an application running in the external device 200 can be displayed on the display screen 110 of the terminal device 100. That is, an application is running in the external device 200, and the running result is sent from the external device 200 to the terminal device 100, so the running result of the application is displayed on the display screen 110 of the terminal device 100. Figure 1B , the terminal device 100 receives the execution result of the application from the external device 200 and displays it on the display screen 110 of the terminal device 100 .

[0078] The terminal device 100 may be a cloud computing device that can be connected to a cloud computing system. For example, when a control signal is generated in the terminal device 100, the external device 200 receives and processes the generated control signal and sends the processing result to the terminal device 100. In addition, the terminal device 100 may display the processing result on the display screen 110. The control signal generated in the terminal device 100 may include a user input signal for running an application.

[0079] Hereinafter, a method of displaying one or more applications running on the terminal device 100 will be described. However, the application may also be run in other devices. That is, as described above, the displayed application may be an application running in the external device 200.

[0080] Figure 2A and 2B is a flowchart of a method of displaying an application according to an exemplary embodiment.

[0081] refer to Figure 2A , when the first application is executed in operation S201, the terminal device 100 may display the execution screen of the first application on the first area. In this case, the first area may be the full-sized window 112. For example, in operation S201, the execution screen of the first application including the execution result of the first application may be displayed on the full-sized window 112.

[0082] In operation S203, when the second application is executed, the terminal device 100 may display the execution screen of the first application in the second area instead of the first area. Therefore, the second area may be the sub-window 111. For example, in operation S203, the execution screen of the first application including the execution result of the first application may be displayed in the sub-window 111.

[0083] An effect indicating that the execution screen of the first application is displayed on the sub-window 111 instead of the full-size window 112 may also be output. The effect may include a visual effect and an auditory effect.

[0084] For example, the visual effect may include an effect by which the execution screen of the first application displayed on the full-size window 112 is gradually reduced and displayed on the sub-window 111. In addition, the auditory effect may include an effect of a "click" sound output when the execution screen of the first application is gradually reduced and displayed on the sub-window 111. The user of the terminal device 100 can easily recognize that the execution screen of the first application is displayed on the sub-window 111 instead of the full-size window 112 according to the visual effect and the auditory effect that are simultaneously output when the execution screen of the first application is displayed on the sub-window 111 instead of the full-size window 112.

[0085] When the execution screen of the first application is displayed on the sub-window 111 instead of the full-sized window 112 , the execution screen of the first application may be gradually reduced while maintaining a certain ratio and may be displayed on the sub-window 111 .

[0086] In operation S205 , the terminal device 100 may display the execution screen of the second application executed in operation S203 in the first area. The first area may be the full-sized window 112 .

[0087] In other words, when a new application is executed while the execution screen of the application is displayed on the full-size window 112, the execution screen of the new application may be displayed on the full-size window 112. In addition, the execution screen of the application displayed on the full-size window 112 before the execution screen of the new application is displayed on the full-size window 112 may be additionally displayed on the sub-window 111.

[0088] Therefore, when a new application is executed while another application is executed, since the execution screen of the application displayed on the full-sized window 112 is displayed on the sub-window 111 , the execution screen of the application may continue to be displayed on the display screen 110 .

[0089] For example, when the terminal device 100 runs a web browser while the terminal device 100 displays the execution screen of the calculator application on the full-sized window 112, the execution screen of the calculator application is displayed on the sub-window 111 instead of the full-sized window 112, and the execution screen of the web browser may be displayed on the full-sized window 112. Since the execution screen of the calculator application may overlap the execution screen of the web browser and may be displayed on the sub-window 111, the user may view the calculation result of the calculator application displayed on the sub-window 111 while using the web browser.

[0090] For example, when the terminal device 100 executes a new application while the terminal device 100 displays a video on the full-size window 112, the video is displayed on the sub-window 111 instead of the full-size window 112, and the running screen of the new application can be displayed on the full-size window 112. Therefore, the user can continue to watch the video displayed on the sub-window 111 while controlling the new application displayed on the full-size window 112. In this case, even if the video is displayed on the sub-window 111 instead of the full-size window 112, the video can continue to be reproduced. Therefore, the terminal device 100 can run the new application and can continue to reproduce the video without temporarily interrupting the video.

[0091] and Figure 2A different, Figure 2B The invention is a flowchart of a method for displaying applications in a full-size window or a sub-window according to the running order of the applications.

[0092] refer to Figure 2AThe case where the second application is run while the first application is displayed on the full-size window 112 is described, and reference will be made to Figure 2B The following describes a case where the nth application is running and the n-1th application is displayed on the full-size window 112. In this case, Figure 2A The first and second applications can be used with Figure 2B The n-1th and nth applications correspond to each other.

[0093] refer to Figure 2B , in operation S207, the terminal device 100 may display the execution screen of the n-1th application on the full-size window 112. The execution screen of the n-2th application may be displayed on the sub-window 111 of the terminal device 100. When no application other than the n-1th application is executed in the terminal device 100, the sub-window 111 may not appear.

[0094] In operation S209, the terminal device 100 may run the nth application. In the present embodiment, the running order of the applications may be the order in which the applications are run in the terminal device 100, or may be the display order of the running screens of the requested applications. Therefore, the nth application run in operation S209 may be the application for which the nth request for displaying its running screen is made. For example, the terminal device 100 selects one of the applications run in operation S209 and receives a request for displaying the running screen of the selected application. The application for which the running screen is requested to be displayed may be regarded as the nth application run.

[0095] In operation S211 , the terminal device 100 may display an execution screen of an n-th executed application on the full-sized window 112 .

[0096] In operation S213 , the terminal device 100 displays the execution screen of the n−1th application on the sub-window 111 instead of the full-sized window 112 .

[0097] In this embodiment, the terminal device 100 may display the running screen of the application on the full-size window 112 or the sub-window 111 according to the running order of the application or according to the request display order of the running screen of the application. Specifically, the terminal device 100 displays the running screen of the application that is most recently running or makes a display request on the full-size window 112, and may display the running screen of the application that is displayed on the full-size window 112 before the above application is displayed on the full-size window 112 on the sub-window 111.

[0098] Figure 3 A method of displaying an application according to an exemplary embodiment is shown. Specifically, display screens 310 to 350 are exemplary views of displaying an application according to the method of displaying an application.

[0099] refer to Figure 3 , the display screen 310 shows the running screen of the application A displayed on the full-size window 10. The button 11 for displaying the application list for running a new application can be selected. The display screen 310 can correspond to Figure 2A In operation S201, the first area of ​​the first application is displayed, or the corresponding Figure 2B The full-sized window 112 of the n-1th application is displayed in operation S207.

[0100] An application list 20 that can be run when the button 11 is selected may be displayed on the display screen 320. The application list 20 may include applications displayed in the WOW mode. An icon 21 of application B included in the application list 20 may be selected to run application B. The operation of the display screen 320 may be similar to that of FIG. Figure 2A Operation S203 corresponds to or is Figure 2B Corresponding to operation S209.

[0101] Application A on the display screen 320 may correspond to the first application or the n-1th application. In addition, application B may correspond to the second application or the nth application.

[0102] As a result of selecting the icon 21 of application B on the display screen 330, the application B is displayed on the full-sized window 10, and the application A may be displayed on the sub-window 40. That is, the application B has not been displayed on the display screens 310 and 320, and since the application B is executed, the application A displayed on the full-sized window 10 of the display screens 310 and 320 may be displayed on the sub-window 40 of the display screen 330. The display screen 330 may correspond to a case in which, as in Figure 2A In operations S203 to S205 of the present invention, the execution screen of the second application or the nth application is displayed on the first area or the full-size window 10, and as in Figure 2B The execution screen of the first application or the n-1th application is displayed on the second area or the sub-window 40 instead of the first area or the full-sized window 10 in operations S211 to S213 of the present invention.

[0103] As shown in display screen 310, button 11 may be selected on display screen 330 to display application list 20 for running a new application. The application screen 330 may correspond to a situation in which, as in Figure 2A The execution screen of the first application is displayed in operation S201 of the embodiment, or Figure 2B In operation S207 of the embodiment, the execution screen of the n-1th application is displayed.

[0104] As the button 11 is selected, the application list 20 running on the display screen 320 may be displayed on the display screen 340. The icon 22 of the application C included in the application list 20 may be selected to run the application C. The display screen 340 may correspond to a situation in which, as in Figure 2A In operation S203 of the embodiment, the second application is executed or as in Figure 2B The nth application is run in operation S209.

[0105] Application B on the display screen 340 may correspond to the first application or the n-1th application. In addition, application C may correspond to the second application or the nth application.

[0106] As a result of selecting the icon 22 of application C on the display screen 350, application C is displayed on the full-size window 10, and application B may be displayed on the sub-window 50. That is, on the display screens 330 and 340 where application C is not yet displayed, since application C is executed, application B displayed on the full-size window 10 may be displayed on the sub-window 50. This display screen 350 may correspond to a case in which, as in Figure 2A In operations S203 to S205 of the present invention, the execution screen of the second application or the nth application is displayed on the first area or the full-size window 112, and as shown in Figure 2B The execution screen of the first application or the (n−1)th application in operations S211 to S213 is displayed on the second area or the sub-window 111 instead of the first area or the full-sized window 112 .

[0107] As a method of displaying an application, a method of displaying a new application by pressing the button 11 requesting display of an application list is described here. However, the method is not limited thereto, and the application can be executed by various methods.

[0108] For example, in the case of an alarm clock application, the alarm clock application can automatically run at a preset time without receiving an input signal from the user to run the alarm clock application. Therefore, the running screen of the alarm clock application is displayed on the full-size window 10 at the preset time, while another running application is displayed on the sub-window 40.

[0109] Figure 4 is a flowchart of a method of displaying an application by changing a sub-window and a full-size window.

[0110] refer to Figure 4 In operation S401 , the terminal device 100 may receive an input requesting a change in a display area of ​​an execution screen of an application displayed in the sub-window 111 .

[0111] For example, the terminal device 100 may receive an input from a user via an input unit, which requests a change in a display area of ​​an execution screen of an application displayed on the sub-window 111 .

[0112] The input unit may include a keypad, a dome switch, a touch pad (constant voltage / electrostatic type), a scroll wheel, a jog switch, and an H / W button.

[0113] Optionally, the terminal device 100 may detect a click gesture on the area of ​​the sub-window 111 on which the running screen of the application is displayed. The display screen 110 of the terminal device 100 on which the running screen of the application can be displayed may include a touch screen capable of detecting a user's gesture. The click gesture on the area of ​​the sub-window 111 may be processed as an input requesting a change in the display area of ​​the running screen of the application. Touch and hold, double-click, drag, pan, flick, and drag and drop gestures may be processed as an input requesting a change in the display area of ​​the running screen of the application displayed on the sub-window 111 according to preset information.

[0114] In operation S403 , in response to the input received in operation S401 , the terminal device 100 displays the execution screen of the first application that has been displayed on the sub-window 111 on the full-size window 112 , and displays the execution screen of the second application that has been displayed on the full-size window 112 on the sub-window 111 .

[0115] For example, the visual effect may include an effect in which the running screen of the first application displayed on the full-size window 112 is gradually reduced and displayed on the sub-window 111. In addition, the visual effect may include an effect in which the running screen of the second application displayed on the sub-window 111 is gradually enlarged and displayed on the full-size window 112. In addition, the visual effect may include an effect in which the running screen of the second application is gradually enlarged and the completion of the enlargement is notified when the running screen of the second application is completed. For example, when the running screen of the second application is completed, a vibration effect may be provided to the window. The effect may refer to a separation effect.

[0116] In addition, the auditory effect may include a “click” sound emitted when the execution screen of the first application is gradually reduced and then displayed on the sub-window 111 , and when the execution screen of the second application is gradually increased and then displayed on the full-size window 112 .

[0117] When the running screen of the first application that has been displayed on the full-size window 112 is displayed on the sub-window 111, and when the running screen of the second application that has been displayed on the sub-window 111 is displayed on the full-size window 112, the user of the terminal device 100 can easily recognize that the running screen of the first application is displayed on the sub-window 111 instead of the full-size window 112, and the running screen of the second application is displayed on the full-size window 112 instead of the sub-window 111 based on the visual effects and auditory effects output simultaneously.

[0118] Receiving an input requesting a change in the display area of ​​the execution screen of the application displayed on the sub-window 111 in operation S401 may control the display of the application displayed on the sub-window 111 so that the application is displayed on the full-size window 112 instead of the sub-window 111. In the present embodiment, the application displayed on the sub-window 111 may not be controlled on the sub-window 111, but the execution screen of the sub-window 111 may be viewed. However, the application displayed on the sub-window 111 may also be controlled according to settings.

[0119] Since the application is displayed on the sub-window 111, the sub-window 111 is useful as a window for checking the running state of the application. However, since the sub-window 111 is smaller than the full-size window 112, the sub-window 111 may not be sufficient for controlling the application. Therefore, an input related to the sub-window 111 or a gesture detected in the sub-window 111 may be processed as an input or gesture for controlling the sub-window 111 itself rather than controlling the application.

[0120] For example, when the application displayed on the sub-window 111 is a calculator application, the execution screen of the calculator application including the execution result of the calculator application according to the control of the user may be displayed on the sub-window 111. However, although an input for moving the sub-window 111 or adjusting the size of the sub-window 111 may be obtained, an input for executing a calculator function may not be obtained. Therefore, since an input requesting a change in the display area of ​​the execution screen of the application is received in the sub-window 111, the user may control the application on the full-size window 112 by displaying the execution screen of the application on the full-size window 112 instead of the sub-window 111.

[0121] When the first application displayed on the sub-window 111 is displayed on the full-sized window 112, the second application displayed on the full-sized window 112 may be displayed on the sub-window 111. Since it may be considered that at a point in time when the sub-window 111 receives an input requesting a change in the display area of ​​the execution screen of the application in operation S401, the application desired to be controlled by the user is the first application displayed on the sub-window 111, the second application may be displayed on the sub-window 111 instead of the full-sized window 112. Therefore, the second application displayed on the full-sized window 112 does not disappear from the display screen 110, but continues to be displayed on the sub-window 111.

[0122] Figure 5 A method of displaying an application by changing an application displayed on a sub-window 40 and a full-size window 10 according to another embodiment of the present invention is shown. Specifically, display screens 510 and 520 are examples of display screens that display applications according to the method of displaying an application by changing an application displayed on a sub-window 40 and a full-size window 10.

[0123] refer to Figure 5 In the display screen 510, the running screen of application A is displayed on the sub-window 40. In this case, an input requesting to change the display area of ​​the running screen of the application may be received, or a gesture may be detected in the area displayed in the sub-window 40. For example, a click gesture of the user may be detected in the area displayed in the sub-window 40. The display screen 510 may be displayed with Figure 4 Corresponding to operation S401.

[0124] On the display screen 520, in response to an input requesting a change in the display area of ​​the execution screen of the application or in response to a gesture detected at the area displayed by the sub-window 40, the execution screen of the application A displayed on the sub-window 40 may be displayed on the full-size window 10. In addition, in response to an input requesting a change in the display area of ​​the execution screen of the application or in response to a gesture, the execution screen of the application B displayed on the full-size window 10 may be displayed on the sub-window 40. The display screen 520 may correspond to Figure 4 Operation S403.

[0125] Figure 6 is a flowchart of a method for displaying a sub-window in a hidden mode according to an exemplary embodiment.

[0126] Figure 6The method shown relates to a method of displaying an application on a sub-window 111, and therefore, there is no limit to the number of screens that can be displayed on the full-size window 112. For example, an execution screen of an application executed in the terminal device 100 can be displayed on the full-size window 112, and execution screens of other applications can be displayed on the sub-window 111. Alternatively, an application drawer screen including icons for displaying a home screen or executing an application of the terminal device 100 can be displayed on the full-size window 112.

[0127] In this embodiment, displaying the sub-window 111 in a hidden mode may mean that the terminal device 100 displays part of the sub-window 111, or a transparent sub-window 111 is displayed in a hidden mode on the display screen 110. Alternatively, displaying the sub-window 111 in a hidden mode may mean that the terminal device 100 displays a replacement image indicating the sub-window 111 in the hidden mode. In this case, the replacement image may be much smaller than the sub-window 111.

[0128] Since the sub-window 111 overlaps the full-sized window 112, there may be an area that is displayed on the full-sized window 112 but is overlapped by the sub-window 111. Therefore, instead of displaying the sub-window 111, the terminal device 100 may display only a portion of the sub-window 111, display a transparent sub-window 111, or display an alternative icon that is smaller than the sub-window 111, so that the area overlapped by the sub-window 111 is visible on the full-sized window 112.

[0129] refer to Figure 6 , an execution screen of an application may be displayed on the sub-window 111 in operation S601.

[0130] In operation S603 , the terminal device 100 may determine whether there is an input or gesture related to the sub-window 111 for a predetermined amount of time or more.

[0131] In operation S605, when there is no input or gesture related to the sub-window 111 for a predetermined amount of time or more, the terminal device 100 may determine whether the sub-window 111 is set to an automatic hide mode. When there is no input or gesture related to the sub-window 111 for a predetermined amount of time or more, depending on whether the sub-window 111 is set to an automatic hide mode, in operation S609, the terminal device 100 may display the sub-window 111 in an automatic hide mode. For example, when there is no input or gesture related to the sub-window 111 for a predetermined amount of time or more, the terminal device 100 may display a portion of the sub-window 111 or an image indicating an alternative to the sub-window 111, or display a transparent sub-window 111 in an automatic hide mode on the display screen 110.

[0132] In the present embodiment, when a user input or gesture for setting the automatic hiding mode is detected, the automatic hiding mode of the sub-window 111 may be set. Alternatively, when a user input or gesture for releasing the automatic hiding mode is detected, the automatic hiding mode of the sub-window 111 may be released. For example, the automatic hiding mode of the sub-window 111 may be set or released according to an input received in a configuration screen related to the sub-window 111. As another example, when a gesture is detected on the sub-window 111 of the display screen 110, the automatic hiding mode of the sub-window 111 may be set or released.

[0133] When the sub-window 111 is set to the automatic hiding mode, and there is no input or gesture on the sub-window 111 of the display screen 110 for a predetermined amount of time or longer, the sub-window 111 can be displayed in the automatic hiding mode. According to the setting, the gesture is not limited to a specific gesture or can be a specific gesture. For example, when according to the setting, a specific gesture is not detected on the sub-window 111 for a predetermined amount of time or longer, the sub-window 111 can be displayed in the automatic hiding mode.

[0134] Furthermore, when the automatic hide mode is released, even if there is no input or gesture on the sub-window 111 of the display screen 110 for a predetermined amount of time or more, the sub-window 111 is not displayed in the automatic hide mode.

[0135] When the input or gesture detected in operation S603 or S607 is determined as an input or gesture requesting the sub-window 111 to be displayed in the hidden mode, the terminal device 100 may display the sub-window 111 in the hidden mode in operation S609.

[0136] For example, the gesture requesting display of the sub-window 111 in the hidden mode may be a drag and drop gesture in which the sub-window 111 is dragged and dropped vertically or horizontally.

[0137] When the sub-window 111 is in the hidden mode, some portions of the sub-window 111 may be hidden, and other portions may be displayed on the full-size window 112, such as bookmarks.

[0138] On the contrary, when the input or gesture detected in operation S603 or S607 is determined to be an input or gesture that does not request the sub-window 111 to be displayed in the hidden mode, the terminal device 100 may perform other functions according to the detected input or gesture. Next, in operation S603, the terminal device 100 may determine whether the sub-window 111 receives an input for a predetermined amount of time or longer.

[0139] In operation S611, the terminal device 100 may receive an input or gesture requesting to release the hidden mode of the sub-window 111. In operation S613, the terminal device 100 may display the entire sub-window 111 by releasing the sub-window 111 from the hidden mode according to the detected input or gesture.

[0140] 7A to 7D A method of displaying the sub-window 111 a in the hidden mode according to an exemplary embodiment is shown.

[0141] refer to Fig. 7A , when a drag and drop gesture of dragging and dropping the sub-window 111 a vertically and horizontally is detected, the terminal device 100 may display the sub-window 111 a in a hidden mode.

[0142] As shown in display screen 710, the terminal device 100 may detect a drag and drop gesture in which the sub-window 111a is dragged in the right direction and dropped. Display screen 710 may display Figure 6 Operation S607.

[0143] As shown in display screen 720, the terminal device 100 may display the sub-window 111a in the hidden mode (111b) in response to the detected gesture. When the sub-window 111a is displayed in the hidden mode, some parts of the sub-window 111a may be displayed as shown in display screen 720. The display screen 720 may be displayed in the same manner as the display screen 720. Figure 6 Corresponding to operation S609.

[0144] Referring to display screen 730, the terminal device 100 may release the hidden mode of the sub-window 111b displayed in the hidden mode when a drag and drop gesture of dragging and dropping the sub-window 111a to the left is detected. Display screen 730 may be displayed with Figure 6 Corresponding to operation S611.

[0145] Referring to display screen 740, the terminal device 100 may release the hidden mode in response to the detected gesture, and may display the entire area of ​​the sub-window 111a. Display screen 740 may be displayed with Figure 6 Corresponding to operation S613.

[0146] refer to Figure 7B , the terminal device 100 can display the sub-window 111a in the hidden mode (111c) by detecting the drag and drop gesture on the sub-window 111a. As shown in display screens 750 to 780, the position of the sub-window 111a displayed in the hidden mode can be changed according to the direction of the drag and drop.

[0147] Referring to display screen 750, the terminal device 100 may detect a drag and drop gesture in which the sub-window 111a is dragged and dropped in an upward direction. Display screen 750 may be similar to Figure 6 Corresponding to operation S607.

[0148] Referring to display screen 760, the terminal device 100 may display the sub-window 111a in the hidden mode on the upper area of ​​the display screen (111c) in response to the detected gesture. Figure 6 Corresponding to operation S609.

[0149] Figure 7C and 7D 111d and 111e are examples of sub-windows 111d and 111e displayed in the hidden mode by the terminal device 100.

[0150] Referring to display screen 770 , when the sub-window 111 a is displayed in the hidden mode, a substitute image 111 d smaller than the sub-window 111 is displayed instead of the sub-window 111 .

[0151] Referring to display screen 780 , when the sub-window 111 is displayed in the hidden mode, the terminal device 100 may display a transparent sub-window 111 e without displaying the sub-window 111 .

[0152] Figure 8 is a flowchart of a method of controlling the sub-window 111 according to an area where a gesture is detected, according to an exemplary embodiment.

[0153] refer to Figure 8 , in operation S801, the terminal device 100 may detect a user gesture in an area where the sub-window 111 is displayed.

[0154] In operation S803 , the terminal device 100 may determine whether to move the sub-window 111 or change the size of the sub-window 111 according to the area of ​​the sub-window 111 where the gesture is detected in operation S801 .

[0155] When the area of ​​the sub-window 111 where the gesture is detected in operation S801 is not included in the area where the sub-window 111 is movable or the area where its size is changeable, the terminal device 100 may perform an operation for controlling the sub-window 111 instead of moving the sub-window 111 or changing the size of the sub-window 111. For example, the color or brightness of the sub-window 111 is controlled, or the volume of the sound output of the application displayed on the sub-window 111 may be controlled. As another example, when a gesture is detected, the terminal device 100 may control the color or brightness of the sub-window 111 according to the area of ​​the sub-window 111 where the gesture is detected. In addition, when a gesture is detected, the terminal device 100 may control the volume of the sound output from the application displayed on the sub-window 111 according to the area of ​​the sub-window 111 where the gesture is detected.

[0156] The operation of controlling sub-window 111 according to a gesture detected on sub-window 111 is not limited to the operation for moving sub-window 111 or changing the size of sub-window 111, and various operations of controlling sub-window 111 according to the area of ​​sub-window 111 where the gesture is detected may be performed.

[0157] In operation S805 , when the terminal device 100 determines to change the size of the sub-window 111 according to the area of ​​the sub-window 111 where the gesture is detected in operation S801 , the terminal device 100 may change the size of the sub-window 111 according to the detected gesture in operation S807 .

[0158] Furthermore, in operation S805 , when the terminal device 100 determines to move the sub-window 111 according to the area of ​​the sub-window 111 of the gesture detected in operation S801 , the terminal device 100 may move the sub-window 111 according to the detected gesture in operation S811 .

[0159] In the present embodiment, when the sub-window 111 is moved according to the detected gesture, the terminal device 100 identifies x and y values, which are touch coordinates indicating that the gesture is detected, and the terminal device 100 may determine whether the x and y values ​​of the touch coordinates are included in the predetermined area where the sub-window 111 is moved. For example, the predetermined area may be set to the upper area of ​​the sub-window 111. When the touch coordinates where the gesture is detected are included in the area where the sub-window 111 is moved, the terminal device 100 may continue to track the touch coordinates where the gesture is detected. In addition, by resetting the touch coordinates of the sub-window 111 according to the tracked touch coordinates, the sub-window 111 may be moved according to the reset touch coordinates. That is, the terminal device 100 moves the sub-window 111 according to the detected gesture, and then displays the movement result on the display screen 110.

[0160] Fig.9A and 9B A method of controlling the sub-window 111 according to the regions 112 to 116 where a gesture is detected according to an exemplary embodiment is shown.

[0161] refer to Fig.9A , the sub-window 111 may be controlled according to the areas 112 to 116 where the gesture is detected.

[0162] For example, when a gesture is detected in regions 113, 114, 115, and 116, the size of sub-window 111 may be adjusted according to the detected gesture. Also, when a gesture is detected in region 112, sub-window 111 may be moved according to the detected gesture.

[0163] refer to Fig. 9B , the sub-window 111 may be moved according to a gesture detected in the upper area 117 of the sub-window 111 .

[0164] Referring to display screen 910, sub-window 111 may be moved according to a gesture detected in upper area 117 of sub-window 111. Terminal device 100 may move sub-window 111 to the left side of display screen 910 according to a drag gesture as a user gesture detected in upper area 117 of sub-window 111. Display screen 910 may be moved to the left side of display screen 910 according to a drag gesture as a user gesture detected in upper area 117 of sub-window 111. Figure 8 Corresponding to operation S803.

[0165] Referring to display screen 920, sub-window 111 is moved to the left side of display screen 920 according to the detected gesture. As long as the user gesture is still detected in the upper area 117 of sub-window 111, the terminal device 100 can move sub-window 111 to the bottom side according to the drag gesture. Figure 8 Corresponding to operation S811.

[0166] Referring to display screen 930, sub-window 111 is moved to the bottom of display screen 920 according to the detected gesture. Display screen 930 may correspond to Figure 8 Operation S811.

[0167] Fig. 10A and 10B A method of displaying an application list on the sub-windows 111 and 117 according to an exemplary embodiment is shown.

[0168] refer to Fig. 10A , the application list can be displayed on the sub-windows 111 and 117 in a stack mode.

[0169] When the sub-windows 111 and 117 are displayed in a stack mode, the execution screens of the applications executed in the terminal device 100 may be displayed on the sub-windows 111 and 117 in a predetermined order superimposed manner. For example, the execution screens of the applications executed in the terminal device 100 are displayed on the sub-windows 111 and 117, and the sub-windows 111 and 117 may be displayed and overlapped according to the execution order of the applications or the requested display order of the applications. The terminal device 100 may display at least one of the sub-windows 111 and 117 according to the number of applications executed in the terminal device 100.

[0170] When the sub-windows 111 and 117 are displayed in the stack mode and a new application is executed as a second application, the execution screen of the second application is displayed on the full-size window, and the first application that has been displayed on the full-size window may be displayed on the sub-windows 111 and 117. In other words, the execution screen of the first application may be displayed on the frontmost sub-window of the sub-windows 111 and 117.

[0171] In the current embodiment, the execution screens of the applications may be displayed in the order of a frontmost sub-window, a second sub-window, . . . from among the sub-windows 111 and 117 .

[0172] refer to Fig. 10B , an application list including sub-windows 120 , 121 , and 122 may be displayed in a list mode.

[0173] When the application list is displayed in the list mode, the execution screens of the applications executed in the terminal device 100 may be displayed on the sub-windows 120, 121, and 122 according to a predetermined order. For example, the execution screens of the applications executed in the terminal device 100 are displayed on the sub-windows 120, 121, and 122, which may be displayed in the order in which the applications are executed or in the requested display order of the applications.

[0174] When the sub-windows 120, 121, and 122 are displayed in the list mode and a new application is executed as a second application, the execution screen of the second application is displayed on the full-sized window, and the execution screen of the first application that has been displayed on the full-sized window 112 may be displayed on the uppermost sub-window among the sub-windows 120, 121, and 122. In other words, the execution screen of the first application may be displayed on the uppermost sub-window among the sub-windows 120, 121, and 122.

[0175] According to the present embodiment, the execution screen of the application may be displayed in the order of the uppermost sub-window, the second sub-window, . . . from among the sub-windows 120 , 121 , and 122 .

[0176] Fig.11 is a flowchart of a method of displaying an application list on the sub-window 111 according to an exemplary embodiment.

[0177] refer to Fig.11 , in operation S1101, the terminal device 100 may detect a gesture requesting display of an application list on the sub-window 111, or may receive an input.

[0178] In operation S1103, the terminal device 100 may determine whether to display the sub-window 111 in a stack mode or a list mode according to the gesture detected or input received in operation S1101. For example, the gesture detected in operation S1101 may be a double-click gesture of double-clicking the area where the sub-window 111 is displayed.

[0179] The terminal device 100 may determine whether to display the sub-window 111 in a stack mode or a list mode according to a preset list display mode. In this embodiment, the list display mode indicates a method of displaying a list of the sub-window 111 and may include a stack mode and a list mode.

[0180] The method of displaying the list of the sub-window 111 is not limited thereto, and the sub-window 111 may be variously displayed.

[0181] When the terminal device 100 determines that the list display mode of the sub-window 111 is the stack mode in operation S1103, the terminal device 100 may display an application list of applications running on one or more sub-windows in the stack mode in operation S1105. The sub-windows may be superimposed and displayed on the full-size window 112.

[0182] In addition, when the terminal device 100 determines that the list display mode of the sub-window 111 is the list mode at operation S1107 , the terminal device 100 may display an application list of applications running in one or more sub-windows in the list mode. The sub-window may be displayed on the full-size window 112 .

[0183] When one application is selected from the displayed list of applications in operation S1109, the terminal device 100 may display the application selected in operation S1109 on the full-sized window 112. When an application is displayed on the full-sized window 112 before operation S1111, the execution screen of the application may be displayed on the sub-window 111 instead of the full-sized window 112 in operation S1111.

[0184] Fig.11 Operations S1109 and S1111 can be respectively Figure 4 That is, when an application is selected from the list of applications displayed on the sub-window 111, it may be considered to display the selected application on the full-sized window 112. Therefore, the selected application may be displayed on the full-sized window 112 in operation S1109.

[0185] Fig.12 An example of displaying an application list on the sub-window 111 in a list mode according to an exemplary embodiment is shown.

[0186] Referring to display screen 1210, the terminal device 100 may detect a gesture for requesting display of a list of the sub-window 111 on the sub-window 111, or receive an input for requesting display of a list of the sub-window 111. For example, the terminal device 100 may detect a double-click gesture for requesting display of the list of the sub-window 111 on the sub-window 111. The display screen 1210 may be displayed with Fig.11 Corresponding to operation S1101.

[0187] Referring to display screen 1220, the terminal device 100 may display applications A, C, and D running in the terminal device 100 on sub-windows 120, 121, and 122 in a list mode. The display screen 1220 may be displayed in conjunction with Fig.11 Corresponding to operation S1107.

[0188] Referring to display screen 1230, the terminal device 100 may display an execution screen of an application selected from the applications displayed on the sub-windows 120, 121, and 122 on the full-size window 112. For example, when a click gesture of a user is detected on the sub-window 122 displaying application D, the terminal device 100 may display application D on the full-size window 112. In addition, the terminal device 100 may display application B on the sub-window 111 instead of the full-size window 112. The display screen 1230 may be similar to the display screen 1230 of FIG. Fig.11 Corresponding to operation S1111.

[0189] In addition, the display screen 1230 can be used with Figure 4 That is, when an application is selected from the list of applications displayed on the sub-windows 120 , 121 , and 122 , the selected application may be displayed on the full-sized window 112 .

[0190] Will refer to Fig.14A and 14B A detailed description is given on displaying the application list in stack mode.

[0191] Fig.13 is a flowchart of a method for converting list items in a sub-window according to an exemplary embodiment.

[0192] refer to Fig.13 , in operation S1301, the terminal device 100 may detect a gesture for requesting display of a list of the sub-window 111, or receive an input for requesting display of a list of the sub-window 111.

[0193] In operation S1303 , the terminal device 100 may display a list of executed applications in response to the received input or the detected gesture.

[0194] In operation S1303, according to a predetermined list display mode, the sub-window 111 may be displayed in a stack mode, a list mode, or another mode. Optionally, according to the received input or the detected gesture, the list of the sub-window 111 may be displayed in a list display mode different from the stack mode. For example, according to the detected gesture, the sub-window 111 may be displayed in different modes.

[0195] In operation S1305 , the terminal device 100 may receive a request for changing an item of the list of the sub-window 111 .

[0196] In this embodiment, the items of the list of sub-windows 111 may indicate the sub-windows constituting the list of sub-windows 111 .

[0197] For example, a gesture requesting to change an item may be detected in the area where the sub-window 111 is displayed. The gesture for requesting to change an item may be a drag and drop gesture for dragging and dropping the sub-window 111 vertically and horizontally in the area where the sub-window 111 is displayed.

[0198] In operation S1307, the terminal device 100 may display a sub-window including an execution screen of a next application according to the gesture received in operation S1305. Therefore, the terminal device 100 may sequentially display sub-windows according to a gesture requesting a change of an item.

[0199] In the present embodiment, the execution order of the applications may be the order of the applications executed in the terminal device 100 , or the requested display order of the application screens of the applications.

[0200] When the sub-windows are displayed in a stack mode, the terminal device 100 may sequentially change the frontmost sub-window displayed in the stack mode to another sub-window according to the gesture received in operation S1305. When a list of sub-windows is displayed in a stack mode, only the entire portion of the frontmost sub-window is displayed. In the case of other sub-windows, portions of these sub-windows may be displayed. In another example, according to the gesture received in operation S1305, the display order of the sub-windows may be changed so that the second sub-window overlapping the frontmost sub-window may be set as the frontmost sub-window from the sub-windows, and the frontmost sub-window may be set as the last sub-window from the sub-windows.

[0201] When the list of sub-windows is displayed in the stack mode, according to the detected gesture, the terminal device 100 can display an animation showing an operation by which the frontmost sub-window is sent to the last sub-window among other sub-windows. Therefore, according to the result of changing the item of the sub-window 111, it can be easily recognized that the frontmost sub-window is displayed on the last sub-window among other sub-windows.

[0202] In addition, when displaying a list of sub-windows, the terminal device 100 may sequentially display the sub-windows according to the gesture received in operation S1305. For example, the sub-windows may be sequentially displayed according to a scroll gesture detected in a list area of ​​the sub-window. When displaying a list of sub-windows in list mode, the entire portion of the sub-window may be displayed according to the size of the sub-window or the size of the display screen 110. Other sub-windows may not be displayed, or portions thereof may be displayed on the display screen 110.

[0203] When an application is selected from the application list in operation S1309, the terminal device 100 may display an execution screen of the selected application on the full-sized window 112 in operation S1309. When an execution screen of an application is displayed on the full-sized window 112 before operation S1311, the execution screen of the application displayed on the full-sized window 112 before operation S1311 may be displayed on a sub-window instead of the full-sized window 112 in operation S1311.

[0204] Fig.13 Operations S1309 and S1311 may be performed with Figure 4 The operation S401 and S403 of the operation S1309 correspond to each other. That is, when a sub-window is selected from the list of sub-windows 111, the execution screen of the application previously displayed on the selected sub-window may be displayed on the full-size window 112 instead of the selected sub-window. Therefore, the execution screen of the selected application may be displayed on the full-size window 112 instead of the sub-window 111 in operation S1309.

[0205] In this embodiment, when the list of sub-windows is displayed, as shown in FIG. Figure 8 and Fig.9A and Fig. 9B In the method of moving the sub-window 111, the terminal device 100 may move at least one sub-window included in the list of sub-windows 111. For example, when a gesture related to some areas of the sub-window is detected when the list of sub-windows is displayed, the terminal device 100 may move the sub-windows in the list according to the detected gesture. The area where the gesture requesting to move the sub-window in the stack mode is detected may be the upper part of the frontmost sub-window displayed in the sub-windows. In addition, the area where the gesture requesting to move the sub-window in the list mode is detected may be the upper part of each sub-window.

[0206] Will refer to Fig.16 and 17 Describes in detail the movement of child windows in the list.

[0207] FIG. 14A to FIG. 15B is an example of a method of displaying an application list in a stack mode on a sub-window according to an exemplary embodiment.

[0208] Fig.14A and 14B are examples of display screens 1410 to 1470 displaying sub-windows according to a method of displaying a list of sub-windows in a stack mode.

[0209] Referring to display screen 1410, the execution screens of applications A and B are displayed on sub-window 111 and full-size window 112, respectively. The terminal device 100 may detect a gesture requesting display of a list of sub-windows in the area displayed by sub-window 111. For example, the gesture requesting display of a list of sub-windows may be a double-click gesture. The display screen 1410 may be displayed with Fig.13 Corresponding to operation S1301.

[0210] Referring to display screen 1420, in response to the detected gesture, the terminal device 100 may display a list of sub-windows in which the execution screens of the executed applications are displayed. Specifically, sub-windows 120, 121, and 122 including the execution screens of applications A, C, and D may overlap and be displayed. Display screen 1420 may be displayed with Fig.13 Corresponding to operation S1303.

[0211] Referring to display screen 1430, the terminal device 100 may detect a gesture requesting change of the foremost sub-window of the list of sub-windows 120, 121, and 122. In this case, the gesture may be a drag and drop gesture in which the area displaying the sub-window 120 is dragged and dropped in a downward direction.

[0212] Specifically, a request to change the frontmost sub-window of the list of sub-windows 120, 121, and 122 may be the same as a request to change the frontmost sub-window to another sub-window in the list of sub-windows. Fig.13 Corresponding to operation S1305.

[0213] Referring to display screen 1440, sub-window 121 including the execution screen of the next application according to the detected gesture may be displayed. Specifically, when the next application, that is, the application executed after application A is executed is application C, sub-window 121 including the execution screen of application C may be displayed on the frontmost sub-window among sub-windows 120, 121, and 122.

[0214] In addition, the sub-window 120 including the execution screen of the application A displayed on the frontmost sub-window is set on the last sub-window in the list of the sub-windows 120, 121, and 122, and may be partially displayed. The display screen 1440 may be displayed with Fig.13 Corresponding to operation S1307.

[0215] Referring to display screen 1450, the terminal device 100 may select an application from the displayed application list, thereby displaying the execution screen of the selected application on the full-size window 112. For example, the terminal device 100 may detect a gesture for selecting an application. The gesture may be a click gesture of clicking a portion of the sub-window 121 displaying the execution screen of the application. The display screen 1450 may be displayed with Fig.13 Corresponding to operation S1309.

[0216] Referring to display screen 1460, the terminal device 100 may display the execution screen of the application selected on display screen 1450 on the full-sized window 112. The execution screen of application B, which has been displayed on the full-sized window 112, may be displayed on the sub-window 111 instead of the full-sized window 112. The display screen 1460 may be displayed on the sub-window 111. Fig.13 Corresponding to operation S1311.

[0217] Display screens 1450 and 1460 may be used with Figure 4 That is, the gesture for selecting an application may be a gesture for displaying the execution screen of the application on the full-sized window 112 instead of the sub-window 111 .

[0218] refer to Fig. 14B In display screen 1470 of the embodiment, terminal device 100 may display the execution screen of the application selected on display screen 1450 on full-size window 112 instead of sub-window 111. The execution screen of application B, which has been displayed on full-size window 112, is displayed on sub-window 123, and unlike display screen 1460, sub-window 123 is included in the list of sub-windows 120, 122, and 123 displayed in the stack mode. Since application B is the most recently executed application among the applications displayed on sub-windows 120, 122, and 123, sub-window 123 displaying the execution screen of application B may be set in front of the list. Display screen 1470 may be displayed in the same manner as in the embodiment of the present invention. Fig.13 Corresponding to operation S1311.

[0219] Fig.15A An example of displaying screens 1510 to 1550 for displaying sub-windows according to a method of displaying an application list is shown. Fig.14A and 14B There are different ways to change the order of the child windows of the application list.

[0220] Referring to display screen 1510, execution screens of applications A and B are displayed on sub-window 111 and full-size window 112, respectively, and the terminal device 100 may detect a gesture for requesting display of a list of sub-windows. Display screen 1510 may be displayed with Fig.13 Corresponding to operation S1301.

[0221] Referring to display screen 1520, the terminal device 100 may display an application list of a sub-window in a stack mode in response to the detected gesture, on which the execution screen of the running application is displayed. Specifically, sub-windows 120, 121, and 122 including the execution screens of applications A, C, and D may overlap and be displayed. The display screen 1520 may be displayed in a stack mode. Fig.13 Corresponding to operation S1303.

[0222] Referring to display screen 1530, a gesture for changing the order of sub-windows in the list may be detected in an area where at least one of sub-windows 120, 121, and 122 is displayed. In other words, a gesture for moving the selected sub-window to the front of the application list may be detected. For example, a click gesture is detected, which is clicking the area where sub-window 121 is displayed to move sub-window 121 to the front of the application list. Display screen 1530 may be displayed with Fig.13 Corresponding to operation S1303.

[0223] Referring to display screen S1530, a gesture for displaying the execution screen of application C on the full-size window 112 instead of the sub-window 121 may be detected in the area displayed by the sub-window 121. For example, a tap gesture of tapping the area displayed by the sub-window 121 may be detected, thereby displaying the execution screen of application C on the full-size window 112 instead of the sub-window 121.

[0224] Referring to display screen S1540, as a result of selecting sub-window 121, sub-window 121 displaying the execution screen of application C may be set at the front of the application list and may be displayed. Next, a user gesture for displaying sub-window 122 set at the front of the application list on full-size window 112 may be detected. The gesture may be a click gesture of clicking an area displayed by sub-window 121. Display screen 1540 may be displayed with Fig.13 Corresponding to operation S1309.

[0225] Referring to display screen 1550, the terminal device 100 may display the execution screen of the application selected on display screen 1530 or 1540 on the full-sized window 112. In this embodiment, the sub-window 121 selected on display screen 1530 may be directly displayed on the full-sized window 112, rather than being displayed at the front of the application list as shown in display screen 1540. The execution screen of application B displayed on the full-sized window 112 may be displayed on the sub-window 111. Display screen 1550 may be displayed in conjunction with Fig.13 Corresponding to operation S1311.

[0226] Display screens 1530, 1540, and 1550 may be respectively Figure 4 That is, the gesture for selecting an application may be a gesture for changing the display area of ​​the application from the sub-window 111 to the full-size window 112 .

[0227] Fig. 15B 1 shows an example of a display screen in which the sub-window 111 is displayed in a mode different from the stack mode or the list mode. Fig. 15BAs shown in , the list display mode of the sub-window 111 will be referred to as a bookmark mode.

[0228] Referring to display screen 1560, the execution screens of applications A and B are displayed on the sub-window 111 and the full-size window 112, respectively, and the terminal device 100 may detect a gesture for requesting display of the application list of the sub-window 111. The display screen 1560 may be displayed with Fig.13 Corresponding to operation S1301.

[0229] Referring to display screen 1570, the terminal device 100 may display an application list on which the running applications are displayed in a bookmark mode in response to the detected gesture. Specifically, alternative images 131 and 132 indicating running applications C and D other than application A may be displayed on the side of the sub-window 111 like bookmarks. The display screen 1570 may be displayed with Fig.13 Corresponding to operation S1303.

[0230] Referring to display screen 1580, the terminal device 100 may detect a gesture for displaying the execution screen of the application selected from the applications C and D on the sub-window 111 instead of displaying the execution screen of the application A on the area where the substitute images 131 and 132 are displayed. For example, the tap gesture is tapping the area where the substitute images 131 and 132 are displayed.

[0231] In addition, referring to display screen 1580, the terminal device 100 may detect a gesture for displaying the execution screen of the application selected from applications C and D on the full-size window 111 instead of displaying the execution screen of application A on the area where the substitute images 131 and 132 are displayed. For example, the tap gesture is tapping the area where the substitute images 131 and 132 are displayed.

[0232] Referring to display screen 1590, as a result of selecting alternative image 131, alternative image 131 indicating the execution screen of application C may be displayed on sub-window 111. On display screen 1591, when a user gesture may be detected, wherein the user gesture is used to display the execution screen of application C already displayed on sub-window 111 on full-size window 112, terminal device 100 displays the execution screen of application C on full-size window 112 instead of sub-window 111. The gesture may be a click gesture, which is to click the area of ​​sub-window 111 where the execution screen of application C is displayed. Display screen 1590 may be similar to Fig.13 Corresponding to operation S1309.

[0233] Referring to display screen 1591, the terminal device 100 may display the execution screen of the application selected on display screen 1580 or 1590 on the full-sized window 112. That is, in the current embodiment, the application C corresponding to the alternative image 131 selected on display screen 1580 may be directly displayed on the full-sized window 112, instead of displaying the entire portion of the sub-window 111 as shown in display screen 1590. On display screen 1591, the execution screen of application B may be displayed on the sub-window 111, instead of the full-sized window 112. Display screen 1591 may be displayed on the full-sized window 112. Fig.13 Corresponding to operation S1311.

[0234] Display screens 1580 and 1591 can be used with Figure 4 That is, the gesture for selecting an application may be a gesture for displaying the running application in the full-size window 112 instead of the sub-window 111 .

[0235] Fig.16 is a flowchart of a method of moving a list group of sub-windows according to an exemplary embodiment.

[0236] The list group of sub-windows may indicate a list of sub-windows including one or more sub-windows. In the current embodiment, when the list of sub-windows is moved, the sub-windows are moved together. The list of sub-windows will be referred to as the list group of sub-windows.

[0237] refer to Fig.16 , in operation S1601, the terminal device 100 may detect a gesture in an area where a sub-window is displayed.

[0238] In operation S1603 , the terminal device 100 may determine whether the gesture detected in operation S1601 is used to move the list group of the sub-window.

[0239] The list group may be in a stack mode or a list mode, but is not limited thereto. The list group of the sub-window may be displayed in a variety of modes, and the list group of the sub-window may be moved according to the detected gesture.

[0240] In the current embodiment, when the list group of sub-windows is moved according to a detected gesture, the terminal device 100 identifies values ​​x and y, which are touch coordinates indicating the location where the gesture is detected, and can determine whether the values ​​are the same as the x and y values ​​of the center of a predetermined area of ​​the sub-window 111 to which the list group of sub-windows is moved.

[0241] When the list group of the sub-window is displayed in a stack mode, the area for moving the list group of the sub-window may be determined as an upper area of ​​the sub-window set at the front.

[0242] When the list group of sub-windows is displayed in the list mode, the area for moving the sub-windows may be determined as an upper area of ​​one or more sub-windows displayed on the display screen.

[0243] When the gesture detected in operation S1601 is not in the area of ​​the movement of the sub-window, the terminal device 100 may perform a preset task in operation S1605. The preset task may be performed according to the gesture, and the preset task may be a task different from moving the sub-window. For example, when the gesture is detected in one of the areas for adjusting the size of the sub-window and not in one of the areas for moving the sub-window, the terminal device 100 may adjust the size of the sub-window according to the detected gesture.

[0244] In operation S1607, the terminal device 100 may move the list group according to the detected gesture.

[0245] In this embodiment, when the touch coordinates of the gesture detected are the area for moving the sub-window 111, the terminal device 100 may continue to track the touch coordinates of the gesture. The terminal device 100 resets the coordinates of the list group including the sub-windows 120, 121, and 122 according to the recognized touch coordinates, and may re-indicate the position of the list group including the sub-windows 120, 121, and 122 according to the reset coordinates. That is, the terminal device 100 moves the list group including the sub-windows 120, 121, and 122 according to the detected gesture, and may display the movement result.

[0246] Fig.17 An example of moving a list group including sub-windows 120 , 121 , and 122 displayed in a list mode according to an exemplary embodiment is shown.

[0247] Referring to display screen 1710, the terminal device 100 detects a gesture in an area where the sub-window 120 is displayed, and may determine whether the detected gesture is input into area 123. When it is determined that the detected gesture is input into area 123 for moving the list group including the sub-windows 120, 121, and 122, the terminal device 100 may move the list group including the sub-windows 120, 121, and 122 according to the detected gesture. For example, the area for moving the list group including the sub-windows 120, 121, and 122 displayed in the list mode may be set to areas 123, 124, and 125 of the upper portion of the sub-windows displayed on the display screen 110. The display screen 1710 may be Fig.16 Corresponding to operation S1603.

[0248] Referring to display screen 1720, according to the detected gesture, the list group including sub-windows 120, 121, and 122 is moved to the left. Fig.16In addition, the terminal device 100 may move the list group including the sub-windows 120 , 121 , and 122 to the right according to the detected gesture.

[0249] Referring to display screen 1730, the list group including sub-windows 120, 121, and 122 is moved to the right according to the detected gesture. Display screen 1730 may be displayed with Fig.16 Corresponding to operation S1607.

[0250] Fig.18 An example of moving a list group including sub-windows 120 , 121 , and 122 displayed in a stack mode according to an exemplary embodiment is shown.

[0251] Referring to display screen 1810, the terminal device 100 detects a gesture in an area where sub-windows 120, 121, and 122 are displayed, and may determine whether the detected gesture is input to area 123 for moving the list group including sub-windows 120, 121, and 122. When it is determined that the detected gesture is input to area 123 for moving the list group including sub-windows 120, 121, and 122, the terminal device 100 may move the list group including sub-windows 120, 121, and 122 according to the detected gesture. For example, the area for moving the list group including sub-windows 120, 121, and 122 displayed in a stack mode may be set to area 123 of an upper portion of sub-window 120. Display screen 1810 may be displayed with Fig.16 Corresponding to operation S1603.

[0252] Referring to display screen 1820, the list group including sub-windows 120, 121, and 122 may be moved to the left according to the detected gesture. Fig.16 Corresponding to operation S1607.

[0253] In addition, referring to display screen 1830, the terminal device 100 may move the list group including the sub-windows 120, 121, and 122 to the lower right side. Fig.16 Corresponding to operation S1603.

[0254] Referring to display screen 1840, the list group including sub-windows 120, 121, and 122 is moved to the lower right side. Display screen 1840 can be Fig.16 Corresponding to operation S1607.

[0255] Fig.19 is a flowchart of a method of changing a direction of a sub-window 111 according to an exemplary embodiment.

[0256] refer to Fig.19, in operation S1901, the terminal device 100 may detect a gesture for changing the direction of the sub-window 111. For example, a drag and drop gesture may be detected in the sub-window 111 whose direction is to be changed. Optionally, the tilt of the terminal device 100 may be detected in the direction to be changed by a gravity sensor. When the direction of the sub-window 111 changes according to its tilt, an additional gesture may be set to be distinguished from the change in the direction of the full-size window 112, the additional gesture being, for example, a touch and hold gesture of touching and holding the sub-window 111. For example, when the gravity sensor detects the tilt, the direction of the sub-window 111 changes according to the touch and hold gesture detected in the sub-window 111.

[0257] In operation S1903 , the terminal device 100 may change the direction of the sub-window 111 in response to the detected gesture.

[0258] In the present embodiment, since the direction of the sub-window 111 may be changed in response to the detected gesture, the direction of the sub-window 111 may be changed without changing the physical direction of the terminal device 100 .

[0259] Fig. 20 A method of changing the direction of the sub-window 111 according to an exemplary embodiment is shown.

[0260] Referring to display screen 2010, the terminal device 100 may detect a gesture for changing the direction of the sub-window 111. For example, a drag and drop gesture may be detected in the sub-window 111, the direction of which is to be changed. The display screen 2010 may be similar to Fig.19 Corresponding to operation S1901.

[0261] Referring to display screen 2020, the terminal device 100 may change the direction of the sub-window 111 in response to the detected gesture. The direction of the sub-window 111 changes in a clockwise direction according to the detected gesture. The display screen 2020 may be displayed with Fig.19 Corresponding to operation S1903.

[0262] Fig.21 is a flowchart of a method of displaying an application when the application is terminated according to an exemplary embodiment.

[0263] refer to Fig.21 In operation S2101, the terminal device 100 may receive an input for requesting termination of an application. Alternatively, the terminal device 100 may detect a gesture for requesting termination of an application. For example, the terminal device 100 may receive the input through a termination button of the terminal device 100.

[0264] In operation S2103 , the terminal device 100 may determine whether the execution screen of the most recently executed application is displayed on the full-sized window 112 .

[0265] In the present embodiment, since the application that has been recently executed or for which a display request has been received may be displayed on the full-sized window 112, when the application is displayed on the full-sized window 112, the terminal device 100 may first terminate the application displayed on the full-sized window 112. That is, according to the termination request, the terminal device 100 may first terminate the application that has been recently executed or for which a display request has been received.

[0266] In operation S2105 , when the execution screen of the executing application is displayed on the full-sized window 112 , the terminal device 100 may terminate the application displayed on the full-sized window 112 .

[0267] In operation S2107 , after the application displayed on the full-sized window 112 is terminated, the terminal device 100 may determine whether there is an application displayed on the sub-window 111 .

[0268] In operation S2107, when it is determined that no application is displayed on the sub-window 111 after the application displayed on the full-sized window 112 is terminated, the terminal device 100 may determine that no application will be displayed on the full-sized window 112 after the application displayed on the full-sized window 112 is terminated. Therefore, the terminal device 100 may display an initial screen of the terminal device 100, for example, a home screen or an application drawer screen, on the full-sized window 112.

[0269] When an application is displayed on the sub-window 111 , the terminal device may display the execution screen of the application displayed on the sub-window 111 on the full-sized window 112 instead of the sub-window 111 .

[0270] Furthermore, in the stack mode, when the list of sub-windows is displayed without displaying the sub-window 111 at operation 2109, after the application displayed on the full-sized window 112 is terminated, the execution screen of the foremost application in the list may be displayed on the full-sized window 112. Furthermore, in the list mode, after the application displayed on the full-sized window 112 is terminated, the execution screen of the topmost application may be displayed on the full-sized window 112.

[0271] In operation S2115, after the application displayed on the full-sized window 112 is terminated, the terminal device 100 may determine whether an application other than the application displayed on the full-sized window 112 in operation S2109 is running in the terminal device 100. Since the application previously displayed on the sub-window 111 is displayed on the full-sized window 112, the terminal device 100 makes a decision to determine whether an application is displayed on the sub-window 111.

[0272] When the list of sub-windows is displayed without displaying a sub-window in operation S2115, sub-windows in which other applications except the terminated application are displayed may be displayed according to a preset list display mode (eg, a stack mode or a list mode).

[0273] When it is determined in operation S2115 that no application is executed in the terminal device 100 and there is no application that can be displayed on the sub-window 111 , the terminal device 100 may display the full-sized window 112 without the sub-window 111 .

[0274] When it is determined that an application is running in the terminal device 100 and can be displayed on the sub-window 111 , the terminal device 100 may display the execution screen of the running application determined in operation S2115 on the sub-window 111 in operation S2117 .

[0275] When it is determined in operation S2103 that the execution screen of the running application is not displayed on the full-sized window 112 , the terminal device 100 may determine in operation S2111 whether the execution screen of the application running in the terminal device 100 is displayed on the sub-window 111 .

[0276] Therefore, according to the termination request received in operation S2101 , when no application is displayed on the full-sized window 112 , the terminal device 100 may terminate the application displayed on the sub-window 111 .

[0277] In operation S2111 , when no execution screen of the executing application is displayed on the sub-window 111 , the terminal device 100 may determine that there is no application to be terminated, and may end the process according to the termination request.

[0278] In operation S2113 , when it is determined that the execution screen of the application executed in the terminal device 100 is displayed on the sub-window 111 , the terminal device 100 may end the application displayed on the sub-window 111 .

[0279] Furthermore, in the stack mode, when the list of sub-windows is displayed without displaying the sub-window 111 in operation S2113, the terminal device 100 may terminate the foremost application of the list. Furthermore, in the list mode, the terminal device 100 may terminate the topmost application of the list.

[0280] Furthermore, in operation S2115, the terminal device 100 may determine whether an application other than the application terminated in operation S2113 is executed in the terminal device 100. The terminal device 100 makes a decision to determine whether an application other than the application terminated in operation S2113 is displayed on the sub-window 111.

[0281] In operation S2115, when it is determined that no application other than the application terminated in operation S2113 is running in the terminal device 100, it may be considered that no application is to be displayed on the display screen 110 of the terminal device 100. Therefore, the terminal device 100 may display an initial screen of the terminal device 100, for example, a home screen or an application drawer screen, on the full-sized window 112.

[0282] In operation S2117 , when it is determined that an application is executed in the terminal device 100 , the terminal device 100 may display the execution screen of the application determined to be executed in operation S2115 on the sub-window 111 .

[0283] Furthermore, in operation S2117, when the list of sub-windows is displayed without displaying the sub-window 111, sub-windows in which applications other than the terminated application are displayed may be displayed according to a preset list display mode (eg, a stack mode or a list mode).

[0284] In this embodiment, when receiving an input requesting to terminate an application, the terminal device 100 may sequentially terminate the applications according to the execution order of the applications or the display order of the applications by first terminating the application displayed on the full-sized window 112 .

[0285] Furthermore, when no application is displayed on the full-sized window 112 , the terminal device 100 may sequentially terminate applications according to the execution order of the applications or the display order of the applications by first terminating the application displayed on the sub-window 111 .

[0286] In addition, when no application is displayed on the full-sized window 112, the terminal device 100 can terminate the applications in sequence according to the execution order of the applications or the display order of the applications by first terminating the application displayed on the topmost or frontmost sub-window among the sub-windows displayed in the list of sub-windows.

[0287] Fig.22A and 22B is an example of a method of displaying an execution screen of an application when the application is terminated according to an exemplary embodiment.

[0288] Fig.22A An example of a method of displaying an application when the application is terminated when the full-sized window 112 and the sub-window 120 display the execution screen of the application is shown.

[0289] Referring to display screen 2210, the full-size window 112 and the sub-window 120 display the execution screen of the application. In this case, the terminal device 100 may receive an input for requesting to terminate the application. The display screen 2210 may be displayed with Fig.21 Corresponding to operation S2101.

[0290] Referring to display screen 2220, the execution screen of application C displayed on the full-size window 112 is terminated, and then the execution screen of application B displayed on the sub-window 120 may be displayed on the full-size window 112. In addition, application A is executed in the terminal device 100 instead of the execution screens of applications B and C, and the execution screen of application A is displayed on the sub-window 121 instead of the execution screen of application B. Display screen 2220 may be displayed on the sub-window 121. Fig.21 In display screen 2220 , the terminal device 100 may receive an input for requesting termination of an application again.

[0291] Referring to display screen 2230, since the terminal device 100 may again receive an input for requesting termination of an application in display screen 2220, the execution screen of application B displayed on full-sized window 112 may be terminated. In addition, the terminal device 100 may display the execution screen of application A, which was previously displayed on sub-window 121, on full-sized window 112 instead of sub-window 121. Since application A is the only application running in the terminal device 100, display screen 2230 does not show sub-window 121. Display screen 2230 may be displayed in conjunction with Fig.21 Operations S2115 and S2117 correspond.

[0292] Fig. 22B An example of a method of displaying an execution screen of an application when the application is terminated when only the sub-window 111 displays the application is shown.

[0293] Referring to display screen 2240, the running screen of the application is displayed on the sub-window 111. The initial screen of the terminal device can be displayed on the full-size window 112 for running a new application, and the initial screen is, for example, a home screen or an application drawer screen. Fig.21 Corresponding to operation S2101.

[0294] Referring to display screen 2250, when receiving an input for requesting the termination of an application, the terminal device 100 may terminate application B displayed on the sub-window 111. Since no application is executed after the termination of application B, display screen 2250 shows that only the initial screen of the terminal device 100 is displayed. This display screen 2250 may be displayed with Fig.21 Corresponding to operation S2115.

[0295] Fig.23 is a flowchart of a method of displaying an application according to an exemplary embodiment.

[0296] refer to Fig.23In operation S2301, the terminal device 100 may run a new application. In this case, the sub-window 111 may not be displayed on the display screen 110 of the terminal device 100.

[0297] Furthermore, in operation S2301, the terminal device 100 may receive an input for displaying a home screen.

[0298] In operation S2303, the terminal device 100 may determine whether the screen displayed on the full-size window 112 is an execution screen of an application or a home screen. That is, the terminal device 100 may determine whether the screen displayed on the full-size window 112 can be displayed only on the full-size window 112 or also on the sub-window 111. The home screen may be set to be displayed only on the full-size window 112, and not on the sub-window 111.

[0299] The initial screen of the terminal device 100, for example, the home screen or the application drawer screen, is a screen for running an application, and therefore, it can be considered that when the terminal device 100 runs a new application, there is no need to display the home screen or the application drawer screen on the sub-window 111 instead of the full-size window 112, and continue to check the home screen or the application drawer screen.

[0300] Therefore, the initial screen (e.g., the home screen or the application drawer screen) of the terminal device 100 may be set to be displayed only on the full-size window 112 and not on the sub-window 111. However, there may be applications other than the initial screen (e.g., the home screen or the application drawer screen) of the terminal device that are set to be displayed only on the full-size window 112.

[0301] In operation S2307, the terminal device 100 may not display the sub-window 111, but display the execution screen of the new application on the full-size window 112. When the execution screen of another application is already displayed on the sub-window 111 in operation S2301, the execution screen of the application may continue to be displayed on the sub-window 111 even if a new application is executed.

[0302] When it is determined in operation S2303 that the execution screen of the application displayed on the full-sized window 112 can be displayed on the sub-window 111, in operation S2305, the terminal device 100 can display the execution screen of the application already displayed on the full-sized window 112 on the sub-window 111. In operation S2307, the execution screen of a new application can be displayed on the full-sized window 112.

[0303] Fig.24 An example of a method of displaying an application according to an exemplary embodiment is shown.

[0304] Referring to display screen 2410 , the full-sized window 112 and the sub-window 111 may display execution screens of applications, respectively.

[0305] Referring to display screen 2420, the main screen may be displayed as a new application on the full-size window 112. In addition, the execution screen of application B displayed on the full-size window 112 may be displayed on the sub-window 111. Display screen 2420 may be displayed with Fig.23 Corresponding to operation S2305.

[0306] Referring to display screen 2430, application C may be displayed as a new application on the full-size window 112. Since the main screen displayed on the full-size window 112 may not be displayed on the sub-window 111, the sub-window 111 may continue to display application B. Display screen 2430 may be displayed as a new application on the full-size window 112. Fig.23 Corresponding to operation S2307.

[0307] Referring to display screen 2440, the main screen may be displayed as a new application on the full-size window 112. In addition, the execution screen of application C displayed on the full-size window 112 may be displayed on the sub-window 111. Display screen 2440 may be displayed with Fig.23 Corresponding to operation S2305.

[0308] Will refer to Fig.25A and 25B The internal structure of the terminal device 2500 is described.

[0309] Fig.25A and 25B is a block diagram of an internal structure of a terminal device 2500 displaying applications according to an exemplary embodiment.

[0310] Fig.25A and 25B The terminal device 2500 may execute reference Figures 1A to 22B The method of displaying application.

[0311] refer to Fig.25A , the terminal device 2500 may include a controller 2510 and a display 2520. However, all components of the terminal device 2500 are not required. The terminal device 2500 may operate with more or fewer components than those described here.

[0312] In summary, the controller 2510 controls the overall operation of the terminal device 2500. For example, the controller 2510 controls the sub-window 111 and the full-size window 112 displaying the execution screen of the application, and can control the display screen 110. That is, the controller 2510 can generally control the display 2520.

[0313] The display 2520 may display and output information processed by the display 2520. For example, the display 2520 may display the sub-window 111 or the full-size window 112 controlled by the controller 2510.

[0314] In this embodiment, when the first application is running, the controller 2510 displays the running screen of the first application in the first area, and when the second application is running while the first application is running, the controller 2510 can control the display 2520 to display the running screen of the first application on the second area instead of the first area, and display the running screen of the second application in the first area. The first and second areas can indicate the full-size window 112 and the sub-window 111, respectively.

[0315] refer to Fig.25B , the terminal device 2500 may include a controller 2510, a display 2520, a sensor 2530, and a user input unit 2540. However, all components of the terminal device 2500 are not required. The terminal device 2500 may operate with more or less components than described here.

[0316] The controller 2510 and the display 2520 may be used with Fig.25A The controller 2510 and the display 2520 correspond to each other, and therefore, repeated descriptions are omitted.

[0317] The sensor 2530 detects a current state of the terminal device 2500 , such as its position, whether it contacts a user, bearing, deceleration / acceleration, and tilt of the terminal device 2500 , and generates a sensing signal for controlling an operation of the sensor 2530 .

[0318] The sensor 2530 may include a plurality of sensors for detecting a touch on the touch screen or a near touch on the touch screen. The sensor for detecting a touch on the touch screen may be a tactile sensor. The tactile sensor may be a sensor for detecting a touch of a specific object to a certain degree of human sensitivity. The tactile sensor may detect a variety of information, such as the roughness of the contact surface, the hardness of the contact object, the temperature of the contact point, and the like.

[0319] Furthermore, the sensor for detecting a touch on the touch screen may be a proximity sensor.

[0320] The proximity sensor is a sensor for detecting whether an object is close to a contact surface or whether an object is around a contact surface by using the energy of an electromagnetic field or without mechanical contact. Therefore, compared with a contact type sensor, the proximity sensor has a longer service life and has a variety of uses.

[0321] Examples of the proximity sensor are a penetration type photoelectric sensor, a direct reflection type photoelectric sensor, a mirror reflection type photoelectric sensor, a high frequency oscillation type proximity sensor, a capacitive sensor, a magnetic proximity sensor, an infrared proximity sensor, and the like.

[0322] Therefore, the sensor 2530 can detect a gesture for controlling the full-size window 112 or the sub-window 111. For example, the sensor 2530 can detect a user's gesture, such as a drag gesture, a flick gesture, a click gesture, a double-click gesture, etc. In this regard, the sensor 2530 can detect the direction, speed, length, etc. of the gesture.

[0323] Sensor 2530 can detect a gesture for changing the display area of ​​the execution screen of an application displayed on sub-window 111 from sub-window 111 to full-size window 112, and a gesture for selecting an execution screen of an application from applications running in terminal device 2500 and displaying it on sub-window 111.

[0324] The sensor 2530 may detect a user gesture for hiding the sub-window 111 for a predetermined amount of time or longer or detect whether there is an input related to the sub-window 111. Therefore, according to the detection result from the sensor 2530, in the case where a user gesture for hiding the sub-window 111 or an input related to the sub-window 111 is not input for a predetermined amount of time or longer, the controller 2510 may control the display 2520 to display at least one of an image indicating a replacement of some parts of the sub-window 111, a transparent part of the sub-window 111, and a part of the sub-window 111, to replace the sub-window 111.

[0325] The sensor 2530 may detect a user gesture for displaying a list. Therefore, in response to the detected gesture for displaying a list, the controller 2510 may control the display 2520 to display an execution screen of at least one application selected from applications running in the terminal device 2500 on the sub-window 111 according to the sub-window display method.

[0326] The user input unit 2540 generates input data for controlling the operation of the terminal device 2500. The user input unit 2540 may include a keyboard, a dome switch, a touch pad (constant voltage / electrostatic type), a scroll wheel, a scroll switch, an H / W button, etc. Specifically, when the touch pad forms a sandwich structure with the display 150, the touch pad may be referred to as a touch screen.

[0327] In this embodiment, the user input unit 2540 may include a termination button for terminating an application running in the terminal device 2500 .

[0328] When the display 2520 and the touch panel have a sandwich structure and form a touch screen, the display 2520 can also be used not only as an output device but also as an input device. The display 2520 may include at least one of a liquid crystal display (LCD), a thin film transistor liquid crystal display (TFT LCD), an organic light emitting diode (OLED) display, a flexible display, and a three-dimensional (3D) display. According to the configuration type of the terminal device 2500, at least two types of displays may be provided. The touch screen may be formed to detect the position, range, and pressure of the touch input. In addition, the touch screen may be formed to detect actual touch as well as proximity touch.

[0329] In this specification, "actual touch" means that the pointer actually touches the screen, and "proximity touch" means that the pointer does not directly touch the screen but approaches the screen from a predetermined distance. In this specification, the pointer is a tool for touching a specific area of ​​the displayed screen or generating a proximity touch, and examples of the pointer are a stylus, a finger, etc.

[0330] The memory 2550 may store applications executable in the terminal device 2500 .

[0331] The memory 2550 may include at least one storage medium selected from the following: a flash memory, a hard disk memory, a multimedia card micro memory, a card memory (e.g., a secure digital (SD) memory, an ex-divided memory (XD)), etc.), a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a PROM, a magnetic memory, a magnetic disk, and an optical disk. In addition, the terminal device 2500 may operate a network storage that performs the storage function of the memory 2550 on the Internet.

[0332] According to one or more exemplary embodiments, a display area of ​​an application displayed on a full-sized window and a sub-window may be easily changed.

[0333] As described above, according to one or more of the above exemplary embodiments, an application is displayed on a full-size window and an application is displayed on a sub-window.

[0334] In addition, other exemplary embodiments may be executed by computer readable code / instructions in / on a medium (e.g., a computer readable medium) to control at least one processing element to perform any of the above embodiments. The medium may correspond to any medium / media that allows storage and / or transmission of computer readable code. The computer readable code may be recorded / transmitted on a medium in a variety of ways, examples of which include recording media, such as magnetic storage media (e.g., ROM, floppy disk, hard disk, etc.) and optical recording media (e.g., CD-ROM or DVD), as well as transmission media such as Internet transmission media.

[0335] It should be understood that the exemplary embodiments described herein should be considered in an illustrative sense only and not for limiting purposes. The description of features or aspects in each embodiment should generally be considered as similar features or aspects that can be used in other embodiments.

[0336] Although one or more exemplary embodiments have been described with reference to the accompanying drawings, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the embodiments as defined by the following claims.

Claims

1. A method performed by an electronic device, the method comprising: based on receiving user input selecting the first application from the list of one or more applications, displaying the first application in the full-size window; displaying a second application in a sub-window overlapping at least a portion of the full-size window; detecting a gesture on the child window for requesting to display the child window in hidden mode; Based on detecting a gesture on the sub-window requesting display of the sub-window in a hidden mode, hiding the sub-window and displaying a replacement image indicating a second application on a portion of the full-size window; detecting a gesture on the replacement image to release the hidden mode; and Based on detecting a gesture for releasing the hidden mode on the replacement image, the second application is displayed again on the sub-window overlapping at least a portion of the full-size window without displaying the replacement image.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: Based on detecting a gesture for displaying a list of the plurality of hidden sub-windows, displaying a plurality of applications including a second application and a third application on the plurality of sub-windows overlapping at least a portion of the full-sized window, The multiple sub-windows respectively display multiple applications being executed by the electronic device.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein: Displaying the plurality of applications overlapping at least a portion of the full-size window includes: The plurality of applications are displayed on the plurality of sub-windows overlapping at least a portion of the full-sized window such that the plurality of sub-windows do not overlap each other.

4. The method of claim 2, further comprising: Based on a scroll gesture on the plurality of sub-windows, the plurality of applications are sequentially displayed on the plurality of sub-windows overlapping at least a portion of the full-sized window.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein: Displaying an alternative image indicating a second application on the full-size window includes: The replacement image is displayed in the shape of a bookmark on the full-size window.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein: The gesture for releasing the hidden mode includes a tap gesture.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising: Based on detecting a gesture for displaying the list of the plurality of applications that are hidden, displaying a plurality of replacement images corresponding to the plurality of applications including the hidden second and third applications overlapping at least a portion of the first application; as well as Based on detecting a gesture for selecting a replacement image from among the plurality of replacement images, an application corresponding to the selected replacement image is displayed on a sub-window overlapping at least a portion of the first application.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein: A plurality of replacement images corresponding to the hidden plurality of applications overlapping at least a portion of the full-sized window are displayed in the order in which the hidden plurality of applications are executed.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising: Based on detecting a gesture for displaying the second application in full size, the second application is displayed on the full-size window instead of the sub-window.

10. An electronic device, comprising: monitor; User input unit; a memory storing one or more instructions; and at least one processor configured to execute the one or more instructions to: based on receiving user input selecting a first application from the list of one or more applications, controlling the display to display the first application in a full-size window; controlling the display to display a second application on a sub-window overlapping at least a portion of the full-size window; controlling the user input unit to detect a gesture on the sub-window for requesting to display the sub-window in a hidden mode; Based on detecting a gesture on the sub-window requesting display of the sub-window in a hidden mode, controlling the display to hide the sub-window and displaying a replacement image indicating a second application on a portion of the full-size window; controlling the user input unit to detect a gesture for releasing the hidden mode on the replacement image; and Based on detecting a gesture for releasing the hidden mode on the replacement image, the display is controlled to display the second application again on the sub-window overlapping at least a portion of the full-size window without displaying the replacement image.

11. The electronic device according to claim 10, wherein: The at least one processor is further configured to: executing the one or more instructions to control the display to display a plurality of applications including a second application and a third application on the plurality of sub-windows overlapping at least a portion of the full-size window based on detecting a gesture for displaying a list of the plurality of sub-windows that are hidden, The multiple sub-windows respectively display multiple applications being executed by the electronic device.

12. The electronic device according to claim 11, wherein: The at least one processor is configured to execute the one or more instructions to control the display to display the multiple applications on the multiple sub-windows overlapping at least a portion of the full-size window so that the multiple sub-windows do not overlap each other.

13. The electronic device according to claim 11, wherein: The at least one processor is further configured to execute the one or more instructions to control the display to sequentially display the multiple applications on the multiple sub-windows overlapping at least a portion of the full-size window based on a scroll gesture on the multiple sub-windows.

14. The electronic device according to claim 10, wherein: The at least one processor is configured to execute the one or more instructions to control the display to display the replacement image in the shape of a bookmark on the full-size window.

15. The electronic device according to claim 10, wherein: The gesture for releasing the hidden mode includes a tap gesture.

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