Patent ID: 9645649
Date: 2017-05-09
CPC Classifications: B29D,E05D,E05Y,G02B,G06F,G06G,G06T,G09G,H04B,H04M,H04N,H04W,H05K,Y10T

Claim:
1. A method, comprising: providing a communication device comprising a microprocessor and a screen and having a form factor of a tablet computer or cell phone, the screen having first and second display modes and single and multi-application modes, in the first display mode the microprocessor divides the screen into first and second portions separated by a logical seam, the logical seam giving the appearance that the first and second portions are separate screens and the first and second portions emulating separate screens such that each of the first and second portions is capable of having multiple applications open simultaneously, wherein the first and second display portions are on a common screen, and, in the second display mode, the microprocessor does not divide the screen into the first and second portions and in the second display mode the seam is not displayed, wherein, in the single application mode, all of the displayed and maximized window panes of information are provided by a single application, wherein, in the multi-application mode, at least two displayed and maximized window panes of information are provided by different applications, and wherein, in the single application mode, the communication device operates in either the first or second display modes and, in the multi-application mode, the communication device operates in the first display mode but not the second display mode; receiving, by the microprocessor, information to be displayed on the screen of the communication device in either the first or second display mode and in either the single or multi-application mode; determining an orientation of the screen relative to a selected point of reference; based on the results of the determining step, selecting, by the microprocessor, a first subset of the information to display on the screen; displaying, by the screen, the first subset of information on the screen; and receiving, by a screen mode selector, a request from the user to switch from the multi-application mode in which a maximized first application, providing a first window pane of information, is currently in focus as determined by a focus indicator and a second application, providing a maximized second window pane of information, is not currently in focus as determined by the focus indicator, to the single-application mode in which the in focus maximized first window pane of information provided by the first application is displayed by the screen but not the maximized second window pane of information provided by the second application; wherein each of the first and second screen portions tracks historically displayed window panes of information to restore a prior state when switching between the first and second display modes and/or between the single and multi-application modes, wherein each of the first and second screen portions has a respective stack of currently active applications and a respective desktop viewable behind the corresponding stack, wherein the user selects the screen mode selector to switch from the multi-application mode in which the first application, providing a maximized first window pane of information, is currently in focus as determined by a focus indicator and the second application, providing a maximized second window pane of information, is not currently in focus as determined by the focus indicator, to the single-application mode in which the in focus maximized first window pane of information is displayed but not the maximized second window pane of information, wherein the determining step is determined by an accelerometer, wherein the orientation of the screen is one of portrait and landscape, and wherein the instructions further program the microprocessor to: detect a change in orientation of the screen relative to the selected point of reference; in response to the change in orientation, select a second subset of the information, different from the first subset of information, to display on the screen; and display the second subset of information on the screen.