This application claims the priority benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2018-0123165 filed on Oct. 16, 2018, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference for all purposes.
One or more example embodiments relate to a method and apparatus for controlling an application icon.
Information associated with a program provided through an application may be provided to a user in a form of a push message or be verified only when a user directly executes the application.
When a user restricts a display of a push message through settings of a user terminal of the user, the user may not obtain or verify information associated with a program provided through the push message. When such program-related information is about system maintenance or inspection, the user may execute a corresponding application, and recognize a situation in which an access to the program, for example, a game, is currently restricted through information provided through the application. In such a case, the user may need to perform an unnecessary operation due to such a situation in which information associated with the application is not obtained in advance.
According to an example embodiment, there is provided a method of controlling an application icon to be performed by a user terminal, the method including receiving, from a server, a control signal including a change request for changing an application icon of an application and change type information, changing a form of the application icon based on the change type information in response to the change request being received, and displaying an application icon of the changed form.
The change type information may be determined based on state information indicating a state in which an access to the application is restricted. The changing may include changing an application icon of a basic form for the application to an application icon corresponding to the state in which the access is restricted. The changed application icon may indicate therein a progress rate of the state in which the access is restricted.
The change type information may include second change type information to be determined based on event information provided in a program corresponding to the application. The changing may include changing the form of the application icon based on the second change type information.
The change type information may include third change type information to be determined based on situational information associated with a progress of a content of a program provided through the application. The changing may include changing the form of the application icon based on the third change type information.
The change type information may include fourth change type information to be determined based on user account information for the application. The changing may include changing the form of the application icon based on the fourth change type information.
The changing may include displaying, in the application icon, a text predetermined based on the change type information.
The changing may include displaying, in the application icon, an image predetermined based on the change type information.
The image may include an image corresponding to a game character of a user, and the changing may include changing an image object displayed in the application icon to the image corresponding to the game character.
The image may include an image of which a shape changes based on a time limit of an event proceeding in a program provided through the application. The image of which the shape changes may be displayed in an area adjacent to the application icon.
According to another example embodiment, there is provided a method of controlling an application icon to be performed by a server, the method including generating a control signal including a change request for changing an application icon of an application and change type information, in response to a preset condition being satisfied, and providing the generated control signal to a user terminal.
In response to state information of the application being changed, the generating of the control signal may include generating the control signal based on the state information.
In response to an event provided in a program corresponding to the application being initiated, the generating of the control signal may include generating the control signal based on event information associated with the event.
In response to a predetermined content being initiated in a program provided through the application, the generating of the control signal may include generating the control signal based on situational information associated with a progress of the content.
The generating of the control signal may include generating the control signal based on user account information for the application.
According to still another example embodiment, there is provided a server including a communicator and a processor. In response to a preset condition being satisfied, the processor may generate a control signal including a change request for changing an application icon of an application and change type information, and provide the generated control signal to a user terminal.
According to yet another example embodiment, there is provided a user terminal including a communicator configured to communicate with a server, and a processor. The communicator may receive, from the server, a control signal including a change request for changing an application icon of an application and change type information. In response to the change request being received, the processor may change a form of the application icon based on the change type information, and display an application icon of the changed form through a display.
The change type information may be determined based on state information indicating a state in which an access to the application is restricted. The processor may change an application icon of a basic form for the application to an application icon corresponding to the state in which the access is restricted. The changed application icon may indicate therein a progress rate of the state in which the access is restricted.
In response to a preset condition being satisfied, the server may generate the control signal including the change request for changing the application icon of the application and the change type information, and provide the generated control signal to the user terminal.
Additional aspects of example embodiments will be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by practice of the disclosure.
These and/or other aspects, features, and advantages of the present disclosure will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the following description of example embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings of which:
The following detailed description is provided to assist the reader in gaining a comprehensive understanding of the methods, apparatuses, and/or systems described herein. However, various changes, modifications, and equivalents of the methods, apparatuses, and/or systems described herein will be apparent after an understanding of the disclosure of this application. For example, the sequences of operations described herein are merely examples, and are not limited to those set forth herein, but may be changed as will be apparent after an understanding of the disclosure of this application, with the exception of operations necessarily occurring in a certain order. Also, descriptions of features that are known in the art may be omitted for increased clarity and conciseness.
The features described herein may be embodied in different forms, and are not to be construed as being limited to the examples described herein. Rather, the examples described herein have been provided merely to illustrate some of the many possible ways of implementing the methods, apparatuses, and/or systems described herein that will be apparent after an understanding of the disclosure of this application.
The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the,” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “includes,” and/or “including,” when used herein, specify the presence of stated features, integers, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.
Terms such as first, second, A, B, (a), (b), and the like may be used herein to describe components. Each of these terminologies is not used to define an essence, order, or sequence of a corresponding component but used merely to distinguish the corresponding component from other component(s). For example, a first component may be referred to as a second component, and similarly the second component may also be referred to as the first component.
Unless otherwise defined, all terms, including technical and scientific terms, used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure pertains based on an understanding of the present disclosure. Terms, such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries, are to be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art and the present disclosure, and are not to be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.
Hereinafter, some example embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Regarding the reference numerals assigned to the elements in the drawings, it should be noted that the same elements will be designated by the same reference numerals, wherever possible, even though they are shown in different drawings.
Referring to
In the example of
The user terminal 120 displays an application icon 121 of a changed form when an application system is under maintenance or inspection. The application icon 121 displays therein a text indicating that the system is currently under maintenance.
The user terminal 130 displays an application icon 131 in which a game character of a user is displayed. The application icon controlling system may thus provide information about the game character of the user through the application icon 131.
The application icon controlling system may provide various sets of information associated with an application through an application icon of a changed form, for example, the application icons 121 and 131, without a need to execute the application, and provide the information without a push message. Thus, a user may obtain the various sets of information through the changed application icon without a need to perform an additional operation.
Referring to
However, when the application is not executed or run in the user terminal 230, or executed or run in the background, the user terminal 230 may execute the application temporarily and change a form of the application icon of the application, based on the control signal. As illustrated, a user 240 verifies information associated with the application through the application icon 232 of the changed form without executing the application.
Referring to
The user terminals 331, 332, 333, and 334 may be configured to perform a communication function, and connected to or have access to the server 310 through the communication network 320. The user terminals 331, 332, 333, and 334 may be one of various electronic devices that are generally used by general users today, for example, a smartphone, a personal computer (PC), a tablet PC, a laptop computer, and the like. However, examples of a user terminal are not limited to what has been described in the foregoing as an example, and include other communication devices. The user terminals 331, 332, 333, and 334 may have a client program installed therein, and be connected to the server 310 through the client program.
In the illustrated example, the server 310 generates a control signal that changes an application icon of an application in the user terminals 331, 332, 333, and 334 based on a preset condition, and transmits the generated control signal to the user terminals 331, 332, 333, and 334. The user terminals 331, 332, 333, and 334 change a form of the application icon based on the received control signal, and displays the application icon of the changed form. The user terminals 331, 332, 333, and 334 provide a user with information associated with the application through the application icon of the changed form.
Referring to
In operation 420, when the user terminal receives the change request through the control signal, the user terminal changes a form of the application icon based on the change type information.
The change type information may be determined based on information associated with the application to be provided to a user through the changing of the form of the application icon.
The change type information may include first change type information to be determined based on state information of an application, and the user terminal may change a form of the application icon based on the first change type information.
The state information of an application may include various sets of information associated with a current state of the application. The state information of an application may indicate a state of the application, for example, a state in which an application system is currently under maintenance or inspection, or a state in which an access is restricted due to, for example, server overload.
The change type information may include second change type information to be determined based on event information provided in a program corresponding to an application, and the user terminal may change a form of the application icon based on the second change type information.
The event information may be information associated with an event that is additionally provided besides a content generally provided in a program corresponding to an application. The event may include, for example, an event of providing a special reward for an access to a game program, an event of providing a chance to purchase a certain item at a reduced price, and the like.
The change type information may include third change type information to be determined based on situational information associated with a progress of a content of a program provided through an application, and the user terminal may change a form of the application icon based on the third change type information.
The situational information may be information indicating a progress of a content provided in a program corresponding to an application. For example, when a game application corresponds to a game of constructing various buildings or structures and trading the constructed buildings or structures, the situational information may include, for example, information indicating a progress of a content of constructing a building in the current game program, and information indicating a progress of a content of trading the constructed building in the current game program. The situational information may also include various sets of information, for example, information associated with a situation in which a character of a user is leveled up, information associated with a situation in which a character of a user is killed during a hunt, and the like, according to an application.
The change type information may also include fourth change type information to be determined based on user account information for an application, and the user terminal may change a form of the application icon based on the fourth change type information.
The account information may be information associated with a user account of a user registered for the application. The account information may include, for example, character information corresponding to the user account, information associated with a type and a number of items possessed by the user account, information associated with a ranking of the user account, and the like.
As described above, the user terminal may change the form of the application icon based on the change type information. In detail, the user terminal may display, in the application icon, a text or an image predetermined based on the change type information. Hereinafter, examples of how an application icon changes will be described in greater detail with reference to
In operation 430, the user terminal displays the application icon of the changed form through a display.
Referring to
In addition,
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In addition,
Referring to
In addition, the application icon 540 is changed to application icons 543 and 545 including an image indicating event information and an image indicating time information associated with the event. The application icon 543 displays an image 544 indicating a time limit of the event in a nearby area, and a length of the image 544 is reduced as a time elapses. The application icon 543 is then changed to the application icon 545 including an image 546 with the reduced length.
Referring to
When the building is completely constructed after a time required to construct the building elapses, the application icon 551 is changed to the application icon 553 including an image 554 indicating a situation in which the building is completely constructed and an image 555 indicating that a preparation for the content of trading the building is completed.
In addition,
Referring to
In addition,
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When state information of the application is changed, the server may generate a control signal based on the state information. For example, when an application system maintenance or inspection is initiated, the server may determine change type information based on state information corresponding to the application system maintenance or inspection, and generate a control signal based on the determined change type information.
When an event provided in a program corresponding to the application is initiated, the server may generate a control signal based on event information associated with the event. For example, when an event of providing a certain item at a reduced price is initiated in a program, the server may determine change type information based on event information associated with the event, and generate a control signal based on the determined change type information.
When a predetermined content is initiated in a program provided through the application, the server may generate a control signal based on situational information associated with a progress of the content. For example, when the application is a game application of constructing a building in a city, and a content of constructing a building proceeds in a game program, the server may determine change type information based on situational information associated with a current situation of the content, and generate a control signal based on the determined change type information. In this example, an application icon to be generated through the determined change type information may provide information associated with a progress, for example, a progress of constructing a building, through an image or a text.
In addition, the server may generate a control signal based on user account information for the application. For example, when a user links a user account to the application, the server may determine change type information based on the user account information, for example, character information and possessed item information, and generate a control signal based on the determined change type information.
In operation 630, the server provides the generated control signal to a user terminal.
Referring to
In operation 712, the user terminal 710 executes a control signal receiving service and accesses a server 720.
In operation 723, when a condition for changing an application icon of the application is satisfied, the server 720 generates a control signal. In operation 724, the server 720 transmits the generated control signal to the user terminal 710. The condition for changing an application icon may include a situation, for example, when a game character of is leveled up, when a game character is killed in a battle, when an application system maintenance or inspection is initiated, when an event is initiated in a program, and the like.
In operation 715, the user terminal 710 changes a form of the application icon based on the control signal.
Referring to
In operation 732, the user terminal 730 sends, to a server 740, a request for information associated with changing an application icon of the application. The information associated with changing an application icon may include, for example, information associated with a preset condition for changing the application icon, change type information, information associated with a duration or time to be maintained, and information associated with a resource path of an image of the application icon. The preset condition may include, for example, changing state information of the application (e.g., system maintenance or inspection), initiating a content (e.g., content of constructing a building), linking a user account, initiating an event, and the like.
The server 740 transmits, to the user terminal 730, the information associated with changing the application icon in operation 743, and the user terminal 730 registers an icon change schedule for changing the application icon based on the received information in operation 734. For example, the user terminal 730 may register the icon change schedule by matching change type information corresponding to each of an application system maintenance or inspection time and an event initiation time.
In operation 735, when such application icon change condition is satisfied, for example, when the application system maintenance or inspection time registered in the icon change schedule arrives, the user terminal 730 changes a form of the application icon based on the matching change type information.
Referring to
In operation 761, a program server 760 sends, to a notification server 770, a message transmission request for transmitting a notification message. Here, the notification message may have a same target as a control signal.
In response to the message transmission request, the notification server 770 transmits the notification message to the user terminal 750 through a message cloud in operation 772.
The user terminal 750 temporarily executes an application based on the notification message, and sends a request for information associated with changing an application icon to the program server 760 in operation 753.
In response to the request, the program server 760 transmits the information associated with changing the application icon to the user terminal 750 in operation 764.
The user terminal 750 obtains information associated with an icon image resource path based on the information associated with changing the application icon, and sends a request for downloading an icon image resource to a resource server 780 in operation 755.
In response to the request, the resource server 780 transmits the icon image resource to the user terminal 750 in operation 786, and the user terminal 750 changes a form of the application icon of the application based on the icon image resource in operation 757.
Although it is illustrated in
Referring to
The communicator 820 may receive, from the server, a control signal including a change request for changing an application icon of an application and change type information.
The processor 810 may control an overall operation of the user terminal 800, and perform one or more operations or methods described herein in relation to a user terminal.
When the processor 810 receives the change request, the processor 810 may change a form of the application icon based on the change type information, and display the application icon of the changed form through a display (not shown).
The processor 810 may change the form of the application icon based on the change type information which is determined based on state information of the application, and display the application icon of the changed form through the display. The change type information may be determined based on, for example, situational information associated with a progress of a content, event information, and user account information, in addition to the state information.
In addition, the processor 810 may change the form of the application icon based on a text or an image corresponding to the change type information.
In addition, the user terminal 800 may perform the application icon controlling method described above in relation to a user terminal.
Referring to
The processor 910 may control an overall operation of the server 900, and perform one or more operations or methods described herein in relation to a server. According to an example embodiment, when a preset condition is satisfied, the processor 910 may generate a control signal including a change request for changing an application icon of an application and change type information, and the communicator 920 may provide the generated control signal to the user terminal.
When state information of the application changes, the processor 910 may generate the control signal based on the changed state information.
In addition, the server 900 may perform the application icon controlling method described above in relation to a server.
The units described herein may be implemented using hardware components and software components. For example, the hardware components may include microphones, amplifiers, band-pass filters, audio to digital convertors, non-transitory computer memory and processing devices. A processing device may be implemented using one or more general-purpose or special purpose computers, such as, for example, a processor, a controller and an arithmetic logic unit (ALU), a digital signal processor, a microcomputer, a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a programmable logic unit (PLU), a microprocessor or any other device capable of responding to and executing instructions in a defined manner. The processing device may run an operating system (OS) and one or more software applications that run on the OS. The processing device also may access, store, manipulate, process, and create data in response to execution of the software. For purpose of simplicity, the description of a processing device is used as singular; however, one skilled in the art will appreciated that a processing device may include multiple processing elements and multiple types of processing elements. For example, a processing device may include multiple processors or a processor and a controller. In addition, different processing configurations are possible, such a parallel processors.
The software may include a computer program, a piece of code, an instruction, or some combination thereof, to independently or collectively instruct or configure the processing device to operate as desired. Software and data may be embodied permanently or temporarily in any type of machine, component, physical or virtual equipment, computer storage medium or device, or in a propagated signal wave capable of providing instructions or data to or being interpreted by the processing device. The software also may be distributed over network coupled computer systems so that the software is stored and executed in a distributed fashion. The software and data may be stored by one or more non-transitory computer readable recording mediums The non-transitory computer readable recording medium may include any data storage device that can store data which can be thereafter read by a computer system or processing device.
The methods according to the above-described example embodiments may be recorded in non-transitory computer-readable media including program instructions to implement various operations of the above-described example embodiments. The media may also include, alone or in combination with the program instructions, data files, data structures, and the like. The program instructions recorded on the media may be those specially designed and constructed for the purposes of example embodiments, or they may be of the kind well-known and available to those having skill in the computer software arts. Examples of non-transitory computer-readable media include magnetic media such as hard disks, floppy disks, and magnetic tape; optical media such as CD-ROM discs, DVDs, and/or Blue-ray discs; magneto-optical media such as optical discs; and hardware devices that are specially configured to store and perform program instructions, such as read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), flash memory (e.g., USB flash drives, memory cards, memory sticks, etc.), and the like. Examples of program instructions include both machine code, such as produced by a compiler, and files containing higher level code that may be executed by the computer using an interpreter. The above-described devices may be configured to act as one or more software modules in order to perform the operations of the above-described example embodiments, or vice versa.
While this disclosure includes specific examples, it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that various changes in form and details may be made in these examples without departing from the spirit and scope of the claims and their equivalents. The examples described herein are to be considered in a descriptive sense only, and not for purposes of limitation. Descriptions of features or aspects in each example are to be considered as being applicable to similar features or aspects in other examples. Suitable results may be achieved if the described techniques are performed in a different order, and/or if components in a described system, architecture, device, or circuit are combined in a different manner and/or replaced or supplemented by other components or their equivalents.
Therefore, the scope of the disclosure is defined not by the detailed description, but by the claims and their equivalents, and all variations within the scope of the claims and their equivalents are to be construed as being included in the disclosure.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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10-2018-0123165 | Oct 2018 | KR | national |