Display mode switching device and method for mobile terminal

Abstract

The present application relates to a display mode switching device and method for a portable electronic device. In particular, the present application relates to a portable electronic device that can switch display modes of an integrated display and input device to facilitate composition of a text message by switching between a portrait mode and a landscape mode. A portable electronic device may use a display mode switching method in which a posture of the portable electronic device can be checked, and a display mode can be selected based on the posture. A portrait-mode text messaging composition window with a portrait-mode key map and a landscape-mode text messaging composition window with a landscape-mode key map can be displayed in the selected display mode.

1 . A method for switching a display mode of a portable electronic device, the method comprising:
 activating a text input function;   determining a posture of the portable electric device;   selecting a first mode or a second mode according to the posture of the portable electronic device; and   displaying a first key map when the first mode is selected.   
   
   
       2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 displaying a second key map when the second mode is selected.   
   
   
       3 . The method of  claim 2 , further comprising:
 monitoring a change in the posture of the portable electronic device;   switching to the second key map in response to the change in the posture of the portable electronic device if the first key map was displayed; and   switching to the first key map in response to the change in the posture of the portable electronic device if the second key map was displayed.   
   
   
       4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the posture of the portable electronic device is determined by sensing an orientation of the portable electronic device. 
   
   
       5 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the change in the posture of the portable electronic device is monitored by sensing an orientation of the portable electronic device. 
   
   
       6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the posture of the portable electronic device is determined by sensing an area of an external surface of the portable electronic device contacted by a user as the user holds the portable electronic device. 
   
   
       7 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the change in the posture of the portable electronic device is monitored by sensing an area of an external surface of the portable electronic device contacted by a user as the user holds the portable electronic device. 
   
   
       8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the posture of the portable electronic device is determined by sensing a sliding movement of a first portion of the portable electronic device relative to a second portion of the portable electronic device. 
   
   
       9 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the change in the posture of the portable electronic device is monitored by sensing a sliding movement of a first portion of the portable electronic device relative to a second portion of the portable electronic device. 
   
   
       10 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the first key map is displayed in the first mode and configured with a first number of keys, and
 wherein the second key map is displayed in the second mode and configured with a second number of keys, the first number of keys being smaller than the second number of keys.   
   
   
       11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the number of keys per line in the first key map is smaller than the number of keys per line in the second map. 
   
   
       12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the first key map is displayed in a portrait mode, the first key map being a 3×4 key map. 
   
   
       13 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the second key map is displayed in a landscape mode, the second key map being a qwerty key map or 5×4 key map. 
   
   
       14 . A display mode switching device of a portable electronic device, comprising:
 a mode detector to detect a posture of the portable electronic device;   a control unit configured to select a first or a second mode according to the posture of the portable electronic device; and   a display unit displaying a first key map when the first mode is selected and a second key map when the second mode is selected.   
   
   
       15 . The display mode switching device of  claim 14 , wherein the control unit changes the selected mode when the posture of the portable electronic device changes,
 wherein the control unit selects the second mode in response to the change in the posture of the portable electronic device if the first mode was selected, and   wherein the control unit selects the first mode is response to the change in the posture of the portable electronic device if the second mode was selected   
   
   
       16 . The display mode switching device of  claim 14 , wherein the mode detector comprises at least a unit to sense an orientation of portable electronic device, a unit to sense an area of an external surface of the portable electronic device contacted by a user as the user holds the portable electronic device, and a unit to sense movement of a first portion of the portable electronic device relative to a second portion of the portable electronic device. 
   
   
       17 . The display mode switching device of  claim 14 , wherein the display unit displays the first key map in the first mode with a first number of keys, and
 wherein the display unit displays the second key map in the second mode with a second number of keys, the number of keys per line in the first key map being smaller than the number of keys per line in the second map.   
   
   
       18 . The display mode switching device of  claim 15 , wherein the first key map is a 3×4 key map, the first key map being displayed in the portrait mode. 
   
   
       19 . The display mode switching device of  claim 15 , wherein the second key map is a qwerty key map or 5×4 key map, the second key map being displayed in the landscape mode. 
   
   
       20 . The display mode switch device of  claim 14 , wherein the control unit comprises:
 a resizing controller to adjust a display screen in the display unit according to the selected mode; and   a key map manager to load the first key map and/or the second key map according to the selected mode.