Abstract:
Phones comprising a touch panel and a controller. The controller is operable to control the touch panel to stop showing a first user interface to show a second user interface when receiving an interrupt signal that is occurred when a dialing icon of the first user interface had been tapped.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The invention relates to phones, and particularly relates to phones with touch panels. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Multimedia mobile phone has a touch panel with virtual keyboard and buttons, but a minimum amount of hardware input. The functions of the multimedia mobile phone include those of a camera phone and portable media player in addition to text messaging and visual voice mail. The multimedia mobile phone also offers internet services including e-mail, web browsing, and local Wi-Fi connectivity. 
     For different functions of the multimedia mobile phone, the touch panel thereof shows different user interfaces. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention provides phones comprising a touch panel and a controller. The controller is operable to control the touch panel to stop showing a first user interface to show a second user interface when receiving an interrupt signal, wherein the interrupt signal is occurred when a dialing icon of the first user interface had been tapped. 
     In another embodiment of the invention, the phone comprises a touch panel, a voice receiver and a controller. The controller is coupled to the touch panel and the voice receiver, and disables a touch function of the touch panel when the voice receiver receives conversation from the user. 
     The invention further discloses methods of controlling a touch panel of a phone. The touch panel is capable of displaying a first user interface and a second user interface. The first user interface provides a dialing icon. The method of the invention comprises detecting an interrupt signal when the dialing icon had been tapped, and controlling the touch panel to switch from the first user interface to the second user interface according to the detected interrupt signal. 
     The above and other advantages will become more apparent with reference to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The invention can be more fully understood by reading the subsequent detailed description and examples with references made to the accompanying drawings, wherein: 
         FIG. 1A  illustrates a phone with a touch panel displaying a first user interface; 
         FIG. 1B  illustrates a phone with a touch panel displaying a second user interface; 
         FIG. 2  illustrates an embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 3  illustrates another embodiment of the invention; and 
         FIG. 4  is a flowchart illustrating an embodiment of the method of the invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     The following description shows some embodiments carrying out the invention. This description is made for the purpose of illustrating the general principles of the invention and should not be taken in a limiting sense. The scope of the invention is best determined by reference to the appended claims. 
       FIG. 1A  illustrates a phone  100  with a touch panel  102 , wherein the touch panel  102  shows an embodiment of a first user interface. The first user interface comprises numeric icons  104  and a dialing icon  106  for the user to dial a phone number. 
       FIG. 1B  illustrates an embodiment of a second user interface. The second user interface comprises icons for controlling the phone  100 . For example, users can tap the icons of the second user interface to adjust the speaker volume (by tapping icon  108 ) or to hold the call (by tapping icon  110 ). 
       FIG. 2  illustrates an embodiment of the invention, which comprises a touch panel  202  and a controller  204 . For dialing a phone number, the touch panel  202  may be controlled to display a first user interface, such as that shown by  FIG. 1A , comprising numeric icons  104  and a dialing icon  106 . After the dialing icon  106  is tapped by the user, the controller  204  maintains display of the first user interface until an interrupt signal  206  enters the controller  204 . Unlike the conventional phone, wherein the user interface is switched once the dialing icon  106  is tapped, the invention controls the touch panel  202  to switch from the first user interface to a second user interface (such as that shown by  FIG. 1B ) according to the interrupt signal  206  which occurs later than tapping of the dialing icon  106 . 
     The conventional phones, which may switch from the first user interface to the second user interface once the dialing icon  106  is tapped, are inconvenient to voice service systems in which the user may need the first user interface shown in  FIG. 1A  to dial an extension or follow the instructions from the voice service system. In these cases, the users of the conventional phones have to tap the keyboard icon  112  of the second user interface to switch the touch panel  102  to the first user interface to show the numeric icons  104 . 
     Compared with the users of the conventional phones, the user of the invention can directly dial an extension or follow the instructions of the voice service system without switching the user interface. 
       FIG. 3  illustrates another embodiment of the invention. Compared with the embodiment shown in  FIG. 2 ,  FIG. 3  further comprises a voice receiver  302 . The voice receiver  302  is operable to receive conversation  304  from the user. In some embodiments, the interrupt signal  206  is generated when the voice receiver  302  detects that the conversation comprises a predetermined phrase, such as ‘hello’ or ‘may I speak with’ or any other phrases. Because users usually don&#39;t say the predetermined phrases while dialing an extension or using a voice service, the embodiments can maintain display of the first user interface comprising numeric icons (such as those shown by  104 ) under a voice service system. Thus, the user doesn&#39;t have to switch user interfaces for dialing an extension or following the instructions from the voice service system. 
     In another embodiment, the voice receiver  302  may generate the interrupt signal  206  after the conversation  304  has been received for a period of time. In another embodiment, the voice receiver  302  may generate the interrupt signal  206  immediately when the voice receiver  302  receives a conversation  304 . 
     In some embodiments, the interrupt signal  206  is generated when a switch button on the case of the phone is pressed. In these cases, the switching of the user interface is controlled by the user. The switch button may be a specially designed button on the case of the phone, or may be any of the conventional buttons on the case of the phone. 
     The invention may disable a touch function of the touch panel  202  when the voice receiver  302  receives conversation  304 . Thus, the invention can avoid the touch panel  202  from being accidentally touched during a conversation. 
     The invention further discloses methods for controlling a touch panel of a phone.  FIG. 4  is a flowchart of the invention. In the flowchart, the touch panel is initially controlled to display a first user interface comprising numeric icons and a dialing icon for the user to dial a phone number. Step S 402  detects whether the dialing icon is tapped by the user. If the dialing icon is tapped, the method enters step S 404  to detect an interrupt signal. When the interrupt signal is detected, the method enters step S 406  to switch the touch panel from the first user interface to a second user interface. The second user interface may comprise icons controlling the functions of the phone, such as adjusting the speaker volume or holding the call. 
     The interrupt signal may be generated by several ways. In some embodiments, the interrupt signal is generated when a voice receiver of the phone receives a predetermined phrase such as ‘hello’ or ‘may I speak with’ or any other phrases. In some embodiments, the interrupt signal is generated once a conversation from the user is detected. In some embodiments, the interrupt signal is generated after a conversation has been detected for a period of time. In some embodiments, the interrupt signal is generated when a switch button on the case is touched, wherein the switch button may be a specially designed button or one of the conventional buttons on the case of the phone. 
     The method of the invention may further disable a touch function of the touch panel when the voice receiver receives a conversation. 
     The phones of the invention may be indoor phones or mobile phones or any phones with touch panels. 
     While the invention has been described by way of example and in terms of preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited thereto. To the contrary, it is intended to cover various modifications and similar arrangements (as would be apparent to those skilled in the art). Therefore, the scope of the appended claims should be accorded to the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similar arrangements.