Patent Application
20090273587
This application claims the benefit of Taiwan application Serial No. 97116329, filed May 2, 2008, the subject matter of which is incorporated herein by reference.
As handheld electronic devices such as touch phone and personal digital assistant (PDA) phone have gained great popularity and rapid advance, manufacturers are dedicated to the attempt of integrating various functions in the same handheld electronic device to meet consumers' versatile needs.
For example, when the user makes a phone call with a PDA (personal digital assistant) phone, the user may need to take down the content of the talk during the call such as a telephone number or an address provided by the other party. By integrating a notepad application into the PDA phone, the user is able to take down the content of the talk during the call. Besides, PDA phone normally has a stylus with which the user can easily operate the PDA phone. If the use needs to activate the notepad application while making a phone call with a current PDA phone, the user has access many paths and menus to select and activate the notepad application, and thus which is inconvenient for the user and causes the other party to wait over a long time.
The application is directed to a handheld electronic device, an application executing method, and a digital storage medium. When a touch element is moved under a communication mode, which implies that the user would like to operate an application with the touch element, the application is executed. Thus, the user has better efficiency in activating an application.
According to a first aspect of the present application, a handheld electronic device is provided. The device comprises a body, a touch element, a communication module, a detection unit, and a processing unit. The touch element is disposed at the body. The communication module is for the device to enter a communication mode. The detection module is coupled to the communication module for determining whether the touch element is moved under a communication mode. The processing unit is coupled to the detection unit. If the touch element is moved under a communication mode, then the processing unit activates an application.
According to a second aspect of the present application, an application executing method is provided. The application executing method is applied to a handheld electronic device having a body and a touch element. The touch element is disposed at the body. The application executing method comprises the following steps. Firstly, a communication mode is entered. Next, whether the movement of the touch element is detected. If the touch element is moved, then an application is activated.
According to a third aspect of the present application, a digital storage medium is provided. The digital storage medium has many commands executable on a handheld electronic device, and the handheld electronic device executes an application executing method after executing these commands. The handheld electronic device comprises a body and a touch element. The touch element is disposed at the body. The application executing method comprises the following steps. Firstly, a communication mode is entered. Next, whether the movement of the touch element is detected. If the touch element is moved, then an application is activated.
The application will become apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred but non-limiting embodiments. The following description is made with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Referring to
In the present embodiment of the application, the touch element is exemplified by a stylus 120. The stylus 120 is disposed at the body 110 by way of being inserted into a slot 111 of the handheld electronic device 100. The communication module 130 is for entering a communication mode. The detection unit 140 is coupled to the communication module 130 and the processing unit 150 for determining whether the stylus 120 is moved under a communication mode. If the detection unit 140 detects that the stylus 120 is moved under a communication mode, the processing unit 150 activates an application P such as a notepad application.
Generally speaking, when the user moves the stylus 120 under a communication mode, which implies that the user would like to operate the application P with the stylus 120. For example, the user may take down the content of the talk during the call with the stylus 120 in the notepad application. In the present embodiment of the application, when the stylus 120 is moved under a communication mode, the application P is automatically activated. Thus, there is no need to activate the application P by accessing many paths and menus to active the application P after the stylus 120 is moved in a communication mode. Therefore, the efficiency of activating the application P is increased, user convenience is improved, and product competiveness is enhanced.
In an embodiment of the application, the detection unit 140 detects whether the stylus 120 is moved according to whether the stylus 120 is removed from the slot 111. The detection element 140 detects whether the stylus 120 is removed from the slot 111 by a switch or a capacitance sensor of the handheld electronic device 100. Referring to
Referring to
In one embodiment of the application, the detection unit 140 repeatedly detects whether the stylus 120 is removed from the slot 111 under a communication mode. Moreover, the communication module 130 receives or sends a call Ca request so as to enter a communication mode. The handheld electronic device 100 further comprises a touch screen 160. The touch screen 160 is coupled to the processing unit 150. When the stylus 120 is removed from the slot 111 under a communication mode, the processing unit 150 activates an application P and shows an input interface 161 of the application P on the touch screen 160. The input interface 161 is for the user to input a data Dt with the stylus 120. The data Dt is saved with regard to the call Ca, for example, the call history of the call Ca. Thus, the user can view the data Dt by clicking relevant records of the call Ca from the call history.
Furthermore, after the detection unit 140 detects the movement of the stylus 120 under a communication mode, the detection unit 140 further detects whether the stylus 120 is moved to the initial position. If the detection unit 140 detects that the stylus 120 is moved to the initial position, the processing unit 140 closes the application P. For example, after the detection unit 140 detects that the stylus 120 is removed from the slot 111 under a communication mode, the processing unit 140 activates the application P. If the detection unit 140 detects that the stylus 120 is inserted into the slot 111 again, then the processing unit 140 closes the application P. Thus, after the user put the stylus 120 into the initial position, the application P will be automatically closed. In another embodiment, the processing unit 140 shows a window on the touch screen 160 to enquire the user whether to close the application P. In yet another embodiment, if the user has not stored the inputted data Dt when put the stylus into the initial position, then the processing unit 140 shows a window the touch screen 160 to enquire the user whether to store the data Dt before closing the application P.
Furthermore, in another embodiment of the application, when the stylus 120 is moved and the application P is activated, the operating mode of the handheld electronic device 100 is changed to a speakerphone mode, i.e. the speakerphone of the handheld electronic device 100 is turned on.
In the present embodiment of the application, the stylus 120 of the touch element is disposed at the body 110 of the handheld electronic device 100. In other embodiments, the touch element can be disposed outside the body 110 of the handheld electronic device 100 and connected to the handheld electronic device 100.
Referring to
Firstly, the method begins at step S410, the communication module 130 receives or sends a call Ca request to enter a communication mode. Next, the method proceeds to step S420, the detection unit 140 detects whether the stylus 120 is moved. If the detection unit 140 detects that the stylus 120 is moved, then the method proceeds to step S430. IF the detection unit 140 detects that the stylus 120 is not moved, then the step S420 is repeated to detect whether the stylus 120 is moved.
In step S420, the detection unit 140 detects whether the stylus 120 is moved according to whether the stylus 120 is moved from the slot 111. In one embodiment of the application, the detection unit 140 detects whether the stylus 120 is removed from the slot 111 according to whether the switch 141 is released. In another embodiment of the application, the detection unit 140 may detects whether the stylus 120 is removed from the slot 111 according to the change in the charges of the metal conductor 143 or 144.
As indicated in step S430, the processing unit 150 activates an application P, for example a notepad application. In an embodiment of the application, the processing unit 150 activates the application P and shows an input interface 161 on the touch screen 160 for the user to input a data Dt. Furthermore, in another embodiment of the application, the processing unit 150 changes the operating mode of the handheld electronic device 100 to a speakerphone mode, i.e. the processing unit 150 turns the speakerphone of the handheld electronic device 100 on. Then, the method proceeds to step S440, the data Dt is saved with regard to the call history of the call Ca. Afterwards, the method proceeds to step S450, when the detection element 140 detects that the stylus 120 is moved to the initial position, the processing unit 120 closes the application P.
The above application executing method may be programmed and stored in a digital data storage medium executable on the handheld electronic device 100. The digital data storage medium, such as secure digital (SD) card, memory stick (MS) and multimedia memory card (MMC), has the above application executing function after the application executing method is executed on the handheld electronic device 100.
According to the handheld electronic device, the application executing method, and the digital storage medium disclosed in the above embodiments of the application, an application is automatically activated when the user removes a touch element under a communication mode. The touch element is a stylus and the application is a notepad application for example. Thus, the user can immediately input data to an input interface of the notepad application with the stylus without having to activate the notepad application manually, hence saving time, improving user convenience, and enhancing product competiveness. Besides, the data inputted by the user is saved with respect to the call history of the call. Thus, the user can view the data Dt by clicking relevant records of the call Ca from the call history. Also, after the user moves the stylus to the initial position, the application is automatically closed.
While the application has been described by way of example and in terms of embodiments, it is to be understood that the application is not limited thereto. On the contrary, it is intended to cover various modifications and similar arrangements and procedures, and the scope of the appended claims therefore should be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similar arrangements and procedures.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 97116329 | May 2008 | TW | national |
| 200810095249.X | May 2008 | CN | national |
