Patent Description:
Rapid advances in communication technologies and semiconductor technologies have enabled widespread popularization of mobile terminals. Particularly, high-end mobile terminals have evolved into mobile convergence devices supporting heterogeneous functions originating from distinct fields. For example, mobile communication terminals may support not only voice and data communication functions but also other multimedia functions such as mobile broadcast reception via DMB or DVB, music playback using an MP3 player, photography, Internet access, and dictionary search.

Many mobile terminals are increasingly equipped with a touch screen, which supports both a display means for displaying operating status and an input means for entering data, and thus function as touch-enabled devices. Typical touch-enabled devices are provided as full touch screen type devices without physical alphanumeric keys. As such, they are operated and controlled through an input interface based on touch gestures.

Various hardware or software techniques are continuously applied to touch-enabled devices. For example, new mechanisms are constantly added to user interface (UI) environments of touch-enabled devices to enhance ease of use and support new functions.

<CIT>, is about a portable electronic device that displays icons (e.g., graphical objects) in one or more regions of a user interface of a touch-sensitive display, and detects user input specifying an exchange of positions of icons in the user interface. In some aspects, the respective positions of two icons in a user interface can be selected to exchange positions in the one or more regions of the user interface, and one or both icons can change their visual appearance to indicate their selection status.

<CIT>, is about a method and apparatus for organizing and accessing addressing elements. An exemplary speed dialing system described therein includes a plurality of speed dial pages which can be selected by the user for display on a touch sensitive screen. Each speed dial page has an arrangement of speed dial buttons, and each speed dial button can be assigned a label, that is displayed on or adjacent the button, and a telephone number that is dialed when the button is pressed using the touch sensitive screen. The assignment of labels and telephone numbers can be arranged among the buttons by the user to aid the user in recalling where (e.g. which page and which button location) particular telephone numbers are and so enable quick and easy access by the user.

The present invention provides a touch-enabled device with a supplementary function for enhancing user convenience.

The present invention also provides a touch-enabled device with a user interface environment that enables the user to configure content items in the home screen in an intuitive and easy way through touch-based interaction.

The present invention further provides a touch-enabled device and a control method for the same that enables a content item to be moved between pages constituting the home screen according to user interaction during home screen editing.

The present invention further provides a touch-enabled device with an intuitive interface that enables movement of a content item between pages to enhance usability and convenience of the device during home screen editing.

In accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a home screen management method in a touch-enabled device includes: displaying a selected page as a current home screen; detecting a first interaction in the course of utilizing the home screen; displaying, when the first interaction is a page transition interaction, a transition mode screen; detecting a second interaction for moving a content item between pages while the transition mode screen is displayed; and moving the content item to a target page indicated by the second interaction.

In accordance with another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, there is provided computer readable storage media that contain computer programs implementing the home screen management method.

In accordance with another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a touch-enabled device includes: a touch screen displaying a home screen composed of one or more pages and receiving an interaction for moving a content item between pages via the home screen; and a control unit controlling, in the course of utilizing a selected page as a current home screen, the process of moving a content item between pages in response to a page transition interaction.

The home screen may include a transition region to be used to perform a transition mode operation for moving a content item from one page to another page. The transition region may be provided at a region of the home screen, and may be realized using at least one of a device indicator region, a page indicator region and a page region.

Hereinabove, the features and advantages of the present invention have been described in a relatively broad perspective to help those skilled in the art understand the present invention. Other features and advantages constituting the subject matter of the present invention will be more apparent from the following detailed description.

In a feature of the present invention, the method and apparatus for editing the home screen enable a touch-enabled device to move a content item between pages in an easy and intuitive way according to touch-based user interaction during home screen editing. The method and apparatus may be realized in any device having a touch input interface. During home screen editing, a content item may be moved between pages according to simple touch-based user interaction. The method and apparatus may simplify complex steps of an existing approach to home screen editing, and may provide an optimal environment for home screen editing and page transitions of a content item in a touch-enabled device.

In addition, the method and apparatus for editing the home screen enable multiple content items to be moved at once to another page of the home screen. When a content item is moved from a first page to a second page, the first page may remain as the current page or the second page may be set to the new current page according to user settings or selection. Hence, the method and apparatus may increase the level of flexibility in configuration of the home screen and movement of a content item between pages. The method and apparatus may provide an easy and intuitive interface for home screen editing and page transitions of a content item in a touch-enabled device, and hence may increase the level of usability, convenience and competitiveness of the touch-enabled device.

The features and advantages of the present invention will be more apparent from the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention are described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The same reference symbols are used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts. For the purposes of clarity and simplicity, detailed descriptions of well-known functions and structures incorporated herein may be omitted to avoid obscuring the subject matter of the present invention.

The present invention relates to an apparatus and control method for the same that enable a touch-enabled device having a touch-based input interface to support editing of the home screen in a sensible and intuitive manner. In the embodiment, one or more content items may be moved between pages in the home screen of the touch-enabled device according to user interactions based on single or multi-touch gestures, and may be placed in a particular page according to a preset rule.

According to the teachings of the present invention, a user's interactions for movement of a content item between pages may be made according to preset approaches and input schemes for user interactions are described later. In the embodiment, the home screen may include multiple pages, each of which corresponds to a screen composed of one or more content items such as short-cut icons associated with applications, widget icons and folders.

Next, a description is given of the configuration and operation of a touch-enabled device with reference to the drawings. However, it should be noted that the configuration and operation thereof are not limited to or by the following description, and various changes and modifications are possible on the basis of the following description.

<FIG> is a block diagram of a touch-enabled device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to <FIG>, the touch-enabled device includes a display unit <NUM>, a storage unit <NUM>, and a control unit <NUM>. Although not shown, the touch-enabled device may further include various components, such as a radio frequency unit for mobile communication, an audio processing unit including a microphone and a speaker, a camera module for taking photographs, a digital broadcast receiving module for DMB (Digital Multimedia Broadcasting) or DVB (Digital Video Broadcasting), a camera module for capturing still and moving images, a Bluetooth module for Bluetooth communication, an Internet module for Internet access, a touch pad for entering touch-based inputs, and an input unit for physical key inputs. These additional components are not described further as they are well known in the art and not to obscure the subject matter of the present invention.

The display unit <NUM> displays the home screen and application screens of the touch-enabled device. For example, an application screen may include icons or items related to messages, e-mail, Internet, multimedia, search, communication, e-books, moving images, image capture, mobile television such as DMB or DVB, music players such as MP3 players, widgets, memos and games. The display unit <NUM> may be realized using liquid crystal display (LCD) devices, light emitting diodes (LED), organic LEDs (OLED) or active matrix OLEDs (AMOLED). The display unit <NUM> may display screens in portrait mode or landscape mode according to the orientation of the touch-enabled device.

In the embodiment, the display unit <NUM> may have a touch-based input interface. For example, the display unit <NUM> may have a touchscreen capability to support touch-based user interaction, and may generate an input signal corresponding to a user interaction and send the input signal to the control unit <NUM>. In operation, the display unit <NUM> may display the home screen, and may move one or more content items from one page to another page in the home screen according to touch-based user interaction. To support the movement of a content item between pages, the display unit <NUM> may place a transition region at a portion of the home screen. A detailed description relating to movement of content items between pages according to user interaction and arrangement of content items are described later with reference to figures.

The storage unit <NUM> stores various programs and associated data related to operation of the touch-enabled device. The storage unit <NUM> may be composed of one or more volatile memory elements or nonvolatile memory elements. For example, the storage unit <NUM> may temporarily or permanently store the operating system of the touch-enabled device, programs and data related to display control operation of the display unit <NUM>, programs and data related to input control operation using the display unit <NUM>, programs and data related to the movement of a content item between pages, and programs and data related to edit mode operation of the home screen according to user interaction.

The control unit <NUM> controls the overall operation of the touch-enabled device. In particular, the control unit <NUM> may control an operation to support editing of the home screen. The control unit <NUM> may control an operation to move a content item between pages during editing of the home screen. For example, the control unit <NUM> may set a requested one of multiple pages as the home screen. The control unit <NUM> may control page transitions according to a user interaction, and may set the target page as the home screen. When a touch-based user interaction is generated on the home screen, the control unit <NUM> determines whether the touch-based user interaction is related to movement of a content item between pages or to regular operation control. Here, a touch-based user interaction for the movement of a content item between pages may be determined by checking whether the touch-based user interaction has been generated via a preset transition region.

When the touch-based user interaction is a page transition interaction for movement of a content item between pages, the control unit <NUM> controls an operation to move at least one content item associated with the interaction from a first page to a second page and may arrange the moved content item within the second page according to a preset rule. Here, when the content item is moved from the first page (current page) to the second page, the control unit <NUM> may maintain the existing current page or may set the second page as the new current page. The control unit <NUM> may control the movement of a single content item according to a single-touch based user interaction or control movement of multiple content items according to a multi-touch based user interaction. Control operations of the control unit <NUM> are described in more detail with reference to figures.

Further, the control unit <NUM> may control various regular operations of the touch-enabled device. For example, when an application is activated, the control unit <NUM> may control execution and data display of the application. The control unit <NUM> may receive various input signals generated by the touch-based input interface and control operations according to the input signals. During editing of the home screen, the control unit <NUM> may control the movement of a content item within the current page and control an operation to delete a content item, update a content item, and change the name of a content item.

The touch-enabled device of <FIG> may be any mobile terminal having a touch-based input interface, such as a bar type mobile terminal, a folder type mobile terminal, a slide type mobile terminal, a swing type mobile terminal or a flip type mobile terminal. The touch-enabled device of the present invention may be any information and communication appliance or multimedia appliance, such as a mobile communication terminal based on communication protocols supporting various communication systems, a tablet personal computer, a portable multimedia player (PMP), a digital broadcast receiver, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a music player like an MP3 player, a portable game console, a net-book computer, or a smart phone.

It should be noted that the teachings of the present invention, in particular to controlling the movement of a content item between pages according to user interactions based on a touch-based input interface may be applied to various appliances such as a television set, a large format display (LFD), digital signage (DS), a media kiosk and a laptop computer.

<FIG> depicts the configuration of the home screen in the touch-enabled device.

As shown, the home screen of the touch-enabled device may be composed of multiple pages. For example, the home screen in <FIG> includes five pages (pages <NUM> to <NUM> indicated by reference symbols <NUM> to <NUM>), and one of the pages may be set as the current home screen according to a user request. For illustration purposes, page <NUM> indicated by reference symbol <NUM>, among the five pages, is set as the current home screen.

Each page of the home screen may include a group of content items according to user settings. The content items may indicate shortcut icons for applications supporting functions of the touch-enabled device, widget icons for widgets, and folders.

Referring to <FIG>, the touch-enabled device may display one of multiple pages as the current home screen according to user settings. The user may control page transitions by entering a preset interaction, i.e., a flick in a predetermined direction, on the current home screen. For example, assume that page <NUM> (reference symbol <NUM>) is the current home screen. When the user enters, for example, a flick interaction in the right direction at a portion of page <NUM>, page <NUM> is moved in the right direction and disappears, then page <NUM> (reference symbol <NUM>) appears as a new current home screen. Such a page transition may be performed between pages of the home screen according to a user interaction. For example, when a user interaction for page transition is entered while one page of the home screen is being displayed, the previous or next page is displayed according to the direction of the user interaction.

In addition, the touch-enabled device supports the movement of a content item between pages during editing of the home screen. In an existing or known method of moving a content item between pages, the user has to select a content item to be moved in one page, move the content item to the end portion of the screen in the direction of the target page, hold the content item until the target page appears, and drop the content item at a desired location of the target page. Hence, in the existing method, the movement of a content item from one page to another page (several pages apart) may require a longer time, inconveniencing the user. For example, to move a content item from page <NUM> to page <NUM>, the user may have to hold the content item and until page <NUM> appears on the screen.

To address the above problem, one embodiment of the present invention provides a new method which enables the user to move a content item between pages of the home screen through page transition in an easy and intuitive manner in order to enhance the level of usability and convenience during a editing mode of the home screen.

<FIG> is a screen representation of an interface supporting the movement of a content item between pages in accordance with the present invention.

Referring to <FIG>, the display unit <NUM> may divide the home screen into a transition region <NUM> and a content region <NUM>.

The transition region <NUM> refers to a region through which an interaction for entering into a home screen editing mode is input. When a page transition interaction is generated in the transition region <NUM> according to a user interaction during a home screen editing mode, the control unit <NUM> detects the page transition interaction through the transition region <NUM> and controls an operation to move a content item between pages according to the page transition interaction.

In one embodiment, the transition region <NUM> may include a device indicator region <NUM> for providing status information of the touch-enabled device, and a page indicator region <NUM> for guiding the movement of a content item between pages and ease of identification. That is, the movement of a content item between pages may be facilitated through utilizing one or both of the device indicator region <NUM> and the page indicator region <NUM>. Movement of a content item between pages using the transition region <NUM> is described in details later with reference to <FIG>.

The status information of the touch-enabled device may be provided in the device indicator region <NUM> as informational icons in the form of still or dynamic images, static or dynamic text, and the device indicator region <NUM> may display one or more informational icons. For example, to provide status information, the device indicator region <NUM> may display an icon indicating signal strength for communication, an icon indicting message reception, an icon indicating a ringtone setting (vibration/sound/mute), an icon indicating Bluetooth activation/deactivation, an icon indicating Wi-Fi activation/deactivation, an icon indicating remaining battery power, and an icon indicating the current time. The device indicator region <NUM> may further display various other icons. A different number of icons may be arranged in the device indicator region <NUM> according to usage situations of the touch-enabled device.

The page indicator region <NUM> may be configured corresponding to the pages allocated to the home screen. For example, when the home screen is composed of five pages as in <FIG>, the page indicator region <NUM> may include five page items represented as small circles corresponding to the five pages, respectively. Hence, the user may select a page item in the page indicator region <NUM> and move to the page corresponding to the selected page item, and the moved page is then displayed as a new current home screen. When a user interaction like sweep is entered over the page items in the page indicator region <NUM>, a page transition may be performed in sequence. In another embodiment, the transition region <NUM> may be operated using the device indicator region <NUM> only without the page indicator region <NUM>.

The content region <NUM> is a region in which one or more content items are arranged to provide content. The content region <NUM> displays content items arranged in a page corresponding to the current home screen. As described before, the content items may indicate shortcut icons for applications supporting various functions of the touch-enabled device, widget icons for widgets, and folders.

Next, a description relating to the movement of a content item between pages through the transition region <NUM> during editing of the home screen is described with reference to <FIG>.

<FIG> illustrates touch-based user interactions to move a particular content item between pages on the home screen of the touch-enabled device.

Referring to <FIG>, the display unit <NUM> is assumed to display a specific page (for example, page <NUM>) as the current home screen as indicated by reference symbol <NUM>. The user may enter a preset interaction for entering into a home screen editing mode using a content item on the home screen. For example, in a state indicated by reference symbol <NUM>, the user may enter an interaction for selecting a content item <NUM>, holding the content item <NUM> for a preset time and releasing the content item <NUM>.

Upon detection of the interaction through the home screen, the control unit <NUM> may control the display unit <NUM> to display an editing mode screen as indicated by reference symbol <NUM>. Here, to indicate activation of the home screen editing mode, edit indicators <NUM> may be attached to individual content items in the home screen as indicated by reference symbol <NUM>; the color of content items may be changed to a translucent color; or other intuitive means may be taken. In another embodiment, the movement of a content item between pages may be directly performed, without entering into the home screen editing mode, as described later.

In a state indicated by reference symbol <NUM>, the user may enter a touch-based user interaction for moving a content item between pages in the home screen. For example, the user may enter an interaction for selecting a content item <NUM> and moving the content item <NUM> to the transition region <NUM> as indicated by reference symbol <NUM>. Here, the device indicator region <NUM> of the transition region <NUM> is assumed to be utilized in <FIG>. In <FIG>, for illustrative purposes, it is assumed that the home screen is composed of <NUM> pages and each page includes a plurality of content items.

Hence, the user may move the selected content item <NUM> to the device indicator region <NUM>. For example, as indicated by reference symbol <NUM>, the user may place the content item <NUM> at a portion of the device indicator region <NUM> for a preset time period. Then, the control unit <NUM> may recognize the user interaction detected through the transition region <NUM> as a page transition interaction for entering into a transition mode to move a content item between pages during the home screen editing mode.

When the selected content item <NUM> is placed at a portion of the device indicator region <NUM> as indicated by reference symbol <NUM>, the control unit <NUM> may display all the pages in the home screen. For example, the control unit <NUM> may create thumbnails corresponding to the respective page and display the thumbnails in the current home screen, as indicated by reference symbol <NUM>. The thumbnails corresponding to the pages may be resized according to the display area of the display unit <NUM> and the number of pages. That is, in order the fit all <NUM> pages in the home screen, the size of respective thumbnail indicative of each page is adjusted. As the number of pages is assumed to be <NUM> in <FIG>, twelve thumbnails may appear in the current home screen.

For easy distinction, the thumbnail corresponding to the page activated before entering into the transition mode (for example, the page <NUM> indicated by the content item <NUM>) may be represented differently from the other thumbnails. For example, as indicated by reference symbol <NUM>, the control unit <NUM> may highlight the thumbnail corresponding to the page (for example, page <NUM>) containing the content item <NUM> to be moved. As indicated by reference symbol <NUM>, each thumbnail displays a preview image of the corresponding page to increase the intuitiveness of moving a content item.

In a state in which the thumbnails are displayed, the user may enter an interaction for moving the selected content item <NUM> to a thumbnail <NUM> corresponding to the target page (for example, page <NUM>) and holding the content item <NUM> as indicated by reference symbol <NUM>. Then, the control unit <NUM> may display the page (page <NUM>) corresponding to the thumbnail <NUM>, and place the content item <NUM> at the hold point (i.e., location of thumbnail <NUM>) as indicated by reference symbol <NUM>.

In a state indicated by reference symbol <NUM>, the user may enter an interaction for moving the content item <NUM> to a desired portion of the current page (page <NUM>) and dropping the content item <NUM> as indicated by reference symbol <NUM>. That is, the user may move the content item <NUM> to a desired location within the page. Then, the control unit <NUM> places the content item <NUM> at a portion around the release point as indicated by reference symbol <NUM>.

Although not shown in <FIG>, in a state indicated by reference symbol <NUM>, the user may enter an interaction for moving the content item <NUM> to a thumbnail <NUM> corresponding to the target page (for example, page <NUM>) and dropping the content item <NUM>. That is, the user may directly move the content item <NUM> to the thumbnail <NUM> corresponding to page <NUM>. Then, the control unit <NUM> may display the page (page <NUM>) corresponding to the thumbnail <NUM>, and automatically place the content item <NUM> at a suitable portion of the page or a default location as indicated by reference symbol <NUM>. In other words, the state indicated by reference symbol <NUM> may be skipped according to user preference.

Although not shown in <FIG>, in a state indicated by reference symbol <NUM>, the user may enter an interaction for moving the content item <NUM> to a thumbnail <NUM> corresponding to the target page (for example, page <NUM>) and dropping the content item <NUM>. That is, the user may directly move the content item <NUM> to the thumbnail <NUM> corresponding to page <NUM>. Then, the control unit <NUM> may place the content item <NUM> on the page corresponding to the thumbnail <NUM>. Here, the state indicated by reference symbol <NUM> may be kept unchanged while the content item <NUM> disappears. Thereafter, the control unit <NUM> automatically displays the page corresponding to a thumbnail selected by a user interaction after the content item <NUM> disappears during a state indicated by reference symbol <NUM>.

In the above description of <FIG>, the movement of a single content item between pages is depicted using single-touch based interaction. However, it should be noted that the above teachings of the present invention is also possible to select multiple content items using a multi-touch based interaction and move the multiple content items between pages at once.

<FIG> illustrates touch-based user interaction to move a content item between pages in the home screen of the touch-enabled device in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to <FIG>, the display unit <NUM> is assumed to display a specific page (for example, page <NUM>) as the current home screen as indicated by reference symbol <NUM>. The user may enter a preset interaction for entering into a home screen editing mode using a content item <NUM> in a state indicated by reference symbol <NUM>. Then, the control unit <NUM> indicates activation of the home screen editing mode using edit indicators <NUM> as indicated by reference symbol <NUM>. In an alternate embodiment, such an interaction for entering into the home screen editing mode may be skipped.

In a state indicated by reference symbol <NUM>, the user may enter a touch-based user interaction for moving a content item between pages in the home screen. For example, the user may enter an interaction for selecting a content item <NUM> in a state indicated by reference symbol <NUM> and moving the content item <NUM> to the transition region <NUM> as indicated by reference symbol <NUM>. Here, it is assumed that the page indicator region <NUM> of the transition region <NUM> is utilized in <FIG>. In <FIG>, it is assumed that the home screen is composed of five pages and five page items (a row of five circles) are shown in the page indicator region <NUM>. Note that a row of circles did not reflect the number of pages in <FIG> as it disclosed a different embodiment.

Hence, the user may move the selected content item to a page item corresponding to the target page among the page items in the page indicator region <NUM>. For example, as indicated by reference symbol <NUM>, the user may place the content item <NUM> at a portion of the page item corresponding to page <NUM> (i.e., <NUM>th circle). Then, the control unit <NUM> may recognize the user interaction detected through the transition region <NUM> as a page transition interaction for entering into a transition mode to move a content item between pages during the home screen editing mode.

When the selected content item <NUM> is placed at a portion of the page item corresponding to page <NUM> in the page indicator region <NUM> as indicated by reference symbol <NUM>, the control unit <NUM> may change the current home screen to the page (page <NUM>) corresponding to the page item at which the content item <NUM> is placed as indicated by reference symbol <NUM>.

In a state in which the new page (page <NUM>) is displayed as indicated by reference symbol <NUM>, the user may enter an interaction for moving the content item <NUM> to a desired portion of the current page (page <NUM>) and dropping the content item <NUM> as indicated by reference symbol <NUM>. That is, the user may move the content item <NUM> to a desired location in the page. Then, the control unit <NUM> places the content item <NUM> at a portion around the release point as indicated by reference symbol <NUM>.

Although not shown in <FIG>, in a state indicated by reference symbol <NUM>, the user may enter an interaction for moving a content item over other page items in the page indicator region <NUM>. In response to such a sweep interaction, the control unit <NUM> may perform page transitions according to the page items. For example, when the user moves the content item from the page item corresponding to page <NUM> to the pages items corresponding respectively to page <NUM>, page <NUM>, page <NUM> and page <NUM>, the control unit <NUM> may perform page transitions from page <NUM> to page <NUM>, from page <NUM> to page <NUM>, from page <NUM> to page <NUM>, and from page <NUM> to page <NUM> (the current home screen is changed accordingly). That is, the movement of a content item over the page items causes sequential transitions between pages corresponding to the page items. A content item may be directly moved from a page item corresponding to page <NUM> to a page item corresponding to page <NUM>, resulting in an abrupt transition from page <NUM> to page <NUM>.

In the above description of <FIG>, the movement of a single content item between pages is depicted using single-touch based interaction. However, it should be noted that the above teachings can be applied to select multiple content items using multi-touch based interaction and move the multiple content items between pages at once.

Referring to <FIG>, the display unit <NUM> is assumed to display a specific page (for example, page <NUM>) as the current home screen as indicated by reference symbol <NUM>. The user may enter a preset interaction for entering into a home screen editing mode using a content item <NUM> in a state indicated by reference symbol <NUM>. Upon detection of the interaction, the control unit <NUM> indicates activation of the home screen editing mode using edit indicators <NUM> as indicated by reference symbol <NUM>.

For example, in the editing mode, pages may be resized as indicated by reference symbol <NUM>. Here, the current page is resized into a page <NUM>. For the transition mode, the previous and next pages are also resized respectively as pages <NUM> and <NUM>, and the resized pages <NUM> and <NUM> are displayed in part together with the resized page <NUM>.

As indicated by reference symbol <NUM>, a page region <NUM> is provided at a portion (for example, lower end) of the screen together with the resized pages <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM>. A number of thumbnails may be shown in the page region <NUM> to display preview images of the individual pages. In <FIG>, it is assumed that four thumbnails are provided in the page region <NUM>. In the page region <NUM>, the thumbnails may be ordered with respect to the page represented in the current screen (for example, the page indicated by reference symbol <NUM>). For example, the thumbnail corresponding to the page indicated by reference symbol <NUM> may be the leftmost entry in the page region <NUM>, and the thumbnails corresponding to the subsequent pages may be next entries in sequence from the leftmost entry. Here, the page region <NUM> may correspond to the transition region <NUM> described before. Hence, the transition region <NUM>, the device indicator region <NUM>, the page indicator region <NUM> and the page region <NUM> may be regions demarcated for ease of description.

In a state indicated by reference symbol <NUM>, the user may enter a touch-based user interaction for moving a content item to another portion within the home screen. For example, the user may enter an interaction for moving a content item <NUM> to another location. Upon detection of the interaction, the control unit <NUM> places the content item <NUM> at a different location as indicated by reference symbol <NUM>.

In a state indicated by reference symbol <NUM>, the user may enter a user interaction to perform thumbnail transitions in the page region <NUM>. For example, the user may enter an interaction like flick or sweep to scroll the thumbnails in the page region <NUM>. Then, the control unit <NUM> may shift the thumbnails in the left or right direction and display the resulting thumbnails in the page region <NUM>.

In a state indicated by reference symbol <NUM>, the user may enter a user interaction to perform page transition. For example, the user may enter a user interaction like tap to select a thumbnail <NUM> in the page region <NUM> in a state indicated by reference symbol <NUM>. Then, the control unit <NUM> may replace the resized page <NUM> with a resized page <NUM> corresponding to the thumbnail <NUM> as indicated by reference symbol <NUM>. Here, when the resized page <NUM> is a reduced version of page <NUM> and the thumbnail <NUM> corresponds to page <NUM>, the user interaction may be considered to have caused a page transition from page <NUM> to page <NUM>. This page transition may facilitate the movement of a content item between pages.

In a state indicated by reference symbol <NUM>, the user may enter a touch-based user interaction for moving a content item between pages in the home screen. For example, the user may enter an interaction for selecting a content item <NUM> in a state indicated by reference symbol <NUM> and moving the content item <NUM> to a thumbnail <NUM> in the page region <NUM> as indicated by reference symbol <NUM>. Here, the user may enter an interaction for moving the content item <NUM> to the thumbnail <NUM> corresponding to a target page (for example, page <NUM>) and dropping or releasing the content item <NUM> thereon. Then, the control unit <NUM> may place the content item <NUM> on the page corresponding to the thumbnail <NUM> at the release point as indicated by reference symbol <NUM>. Here, as indicated by reference symbol <NUM>, the current page may be kept unchanged except for the content item <NUM> being removed from the current page.

In a state indicated by reference symbol <NUM>, the user may enter a touch-based user interaction for moving a content item between pages in the home screen. For example, the user may enter an interaction for selecting a content item <NUM>, moving the content item <NUM> to a thumbnail <NUM> in the page region <NUM> and holding the content item <NUM> as indicated by reference symbol <NUM>. Here, the user may enter an interaction for moving the selected content item <NUM> to the thumbnail <NUM> corresponding to a target page (for example, page <NUM>) and holding the content item <NUM> thereon. Then, as indicated by reference symbol <NUM>, the control unit <NUM> automatically display a resized page <NUM>, which is a version of the page (page <NUM>) corresponding to the thumbnail <NUM>, and place the content item <NUM> at the hold point (around the thumbnail <NUM>).

In a state indicated by reference symbol <NUM>, the user may enter an interaction for moving the content item <NUM> to a portion of the resized page <NUM> and dropping the content item <NUM> as indicated by reference symbol <NUM>. That is, the user may move the content item <NUM> to a desired location and release the content item <NUM> thereat. Then, the control unit <NUM> places the content item <NUM> at a portion around the release point as indicated by reference symbol <NUM>.

<FIG> is a flowchart of a procedure for moving a content item between pages in the touch-enabled device.

Referring to <FIG>, the control unit <NUM> controls the display unit <NUM> to display the home screen (<NUM>). For example, the control unit <NUM> may set a page having multiple content items as the current home screen.

The control unit <NUM> detects a user interaction during a display of the home screen (<NUM>). For example, when the user enters a touch-based user interaction on the home screen, the display unit <NUM> may generate an input signal corresponding to the user interaction and send the input signal to the control unit <NUM>, which then receives the input signal to thereby recognize the user interaction. The user may enter various user interactions using the touch-based input interface of the touch-enabled device. Here, the user interactions may include touch gestures such as tap, drag, drag and drop, sweep and flick, and may be single-touch or multi-touch gestures.

The control unit <NUM> checks whether the user interaction is a page transition interaction for the movement of a content item between pages or a regular control interaction (<NUM>). To achieve this, the control unit <NUM> examines whether the user interaction has followed a preset rule for the movement of a content item between pages. For example, when the user interaction is related to selecting a content item on the home screen and moving the content item to the device indicator region <NUM> of the transition region <NUM> as described in connection with <FIG>, the control unit <NUM> may regard the user interaction as a page transition interaction. As another example, when the user interaction is related to selecting a content item on the home screen and moving the content item to the page indicator region <NUM> of the transition region <NUM> as described in connection with <FIG>, the control unit <NUM> may regard the user interaction as a page transition interaction. As another example, when the user interaction is related to selecting a content item on the home screen and holding the content item for a preset time (for example, touch and hold) as described in connection with <FIG>, the control unit <NUM> may regard the user interaction as a page transition interaction. Other types of user interactions may also be specified as a page transition interaction.

When the user interaction is a regular control interaction, the control unit <NUM> performs a control operation indicated by the user interaction (<NUM>). For example, when the user interaction corresponds to a double tap on a content item, the control unit <NUM> may execute an application mapped to the content item and control application screen display.

When the user interaction is a page transition interaction for the movement of a content item between pages, the control unit <NUM> activates the transition mode (<NUM>) and controls screen display for the transition mode (<NUM>). Here, the control unit <NUM> may control screen display in response to a page transition interaction as described before in connection with <FIG>. For example, as depicted in connection with <FIG>, the control unit <NUM> may represent all the pages on the current home screen in the form of thumbnails. As another example, as depicted in connection with <FIG>, the control unit <NUM> may perform page transition to a page indicated by the page indicator region <NUM>. As another example, as depicted in connection with <FIG>, the control unit <NUM> may reduce the current page through resizing and display thumbnails corresponding to the pages (the thumbnails are ordered in sequence with respect to the current page) in a region of the screen in addition to the resized page.

The control unit <NUM> detects a user interaction for moving a selected content item to a target page during the transition mode (<NUM>), and moves the content item to the target page and places the content item at a suitable portion thereof (<NUM>). Here, as described before in connection with <FIG>, according to a user interaction in a state in which the transition mode screen is displayed, the control unit <NUM> may move a selected content item to a target page indicated by the user interaction and place the content item at a suitable portion of the target page.

For example, in a state in which all the pages are represented as thumbnails as depicted in connection with <FIG>, when the user enters an interaction for moving a content item to a thumbnail corresponding to a target page and releasing the content item, the control unit <NUM> may move the content item to the target page corresponding to the thumbnail at the release point. As another example, in a state in which all the pages are represented as thumbnails as depicted in connection with <FIG>, when the user enters an interaction for moving a content item to a thumbnail corresponding to a target page and holding the content item, the control unit <NUM> may perform a page transition to the target page and move the content item to a location of the target page at the release point. As another example, as depicted in connection with <FIG>, when the user enters an interaction for moving a content item to a target page and releasing the content item, the control unit <NUM> may perform page transition to the target page and move the content item to the release point. As another example, as depicted in connection with <FIG>, in a state in which thumbnails corresponding to the pages are presented in the page region <NUM>, when the user enters an interaction for moving a selected content item to a thumbnail and releasing the content item thereon, the control unit <NUM> may move the content item to the page corresponding to the thumbnail at the release point. As another example, as depicted in connection with <FIG>, in a state in which thumbnails corresponding to the pages are presented in the page region <NUM>, when the user enters an interaction for moving a selected content item to a thumbnail and holding the content item thereon, the control unit <NUM> may perform a page transition to a target page corresponding to the thumbnail and move the content item to the release point in the target page.

After content item movement, the control unit <NUM> performs a requested operation (<NUM>). For example, the control unit <NUM> may repeat the movement of a content item between pages according to a user request. According to a user request, the control unit <NUM> may terminate the transition mode, move a content item within the current page, change the name of a content item, or delete a content item.

According to the present invention, the method for moving a content item between pages in the home screen may be implemented as computer programs and may be stored in various computer readable storage media. The computer readable storage media may store program instructions, data files, data structures and combinations thereof. The program instructions may include instructions developed specifically for the present invention and existing general-purpose instructions.

The computer readable storage media may include magnetic media such as a hard disk and floppy disk, optical media such as a CD-ROM and DVD, magneto-optical media such as a floptical disk, and memory devices such as a ROM and RAM. The program instructions may include machine codes produced by compilers and high-level language codes executable through interpreters.

The description of the various embodiments is to be construed as exemplary only and does not describe every possible instance of the invention. Therefore, it should be understood that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements of the invention.

Claim 1:
A mobile device comprising:
a display unit (<NUM>) comprising a touch screen;
a storage unit (<NUM>) storing program instructions; and
a control unit (<NUM>),
wherein the program instructions, when executed by the control unit (<NUM>), cause the mobile device to:
display (<NUM>), via the touch screen, in a mode of regular operation control of a home screen including a content region (<NUM>) and a page indicator region (<NUM>), a selected page including icons of the home screen in the content region (<NUM>), the icons for applications supporting various functions of the mobile device, the page indicator region (<NUM>) including a plurality of page items corresponding to a plurality of pages of the home screen, wherein, in the mode of regular operation control of the home screen, each of the icons displayed in the content region is selectable for execution of a corresponding application;
enter a home screen editing mode in response to a first user interaction (<NUM>) with the touch screen using an icon (<NUM>) of the selected page in the content region (<NUM>);
move the icon of the selected page in the content region to one of the page items during the home screen editing mode in response to a second user interaction (<NUM>) with the touch screen;
in response to the icon being placed on the one of the page items corresponding to a target page via the second user interaction, display the target page of the home screen in the content region, to replace the previously displayed selected page, while in the home screen editing mode; and
while in a state in which the target page of the home screen is displayed, place (<NUM>) the icon on the target page of the home screen,
wherein the plurality of page items are displayed in the page indicator region to represent the number of pages of the home screen.