# US 8,787,978 B2 · Mobile phone > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 8,787,978 B2 - Document ID: US8787978B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 12/965,106 - Filed: 2010-12-10 - Published: 2011-06-16 - Granted: 2014-07-22 - Earliest claimed: 2009-12-11 - Assignees: KYOCERA Corporation - Applicants: Akiko Inami - Inventors: Akiko Inami - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US8787978B2 ## CPC - H04M 1/0266: {for a display module assembly} - G06F 3/041: Digitisers, e.g. for touch screens or touch pads, characterised by the transducing means - H04M 1/0235: {Slidable or telescopic telephones, i.e. with a relative translation movement of the body parts; Telephones using a combination of translation and other relative motions of the body parts} - H04M 1/0241: {using relative motion of the body parts to change the operational status of the telephone set, e.g. switching on/off, answering incoming call} - H04M 1/22: Illumination; Arrangements for improving the visibility of characters on dials - H04M 2250/16: including more than one display unit - H04M 2250/22: including a touch pad, a touch sensor or a touch detector - H04M: TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION (circuits for controlling other apparatus via a telephone cable and not involving telephone switching apparatus G08) - G06F: ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING (computer systems based on specific computational models G06N) ## Abstract A mobile phone operable to operate a first display using a second touch panel display that partially covers the first display is disclosed. The first display and the second touch panel display are slidably coupled such that the second touch panel display may cover the first display. When low lighting is desired, the second touch panel display may be unlighted, and the first display partially covered by the second touch panel display. A visible portion of the first display may then be operated by touching the unlit second touch panel display. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A mobile phone, comprising: a first casing comprising a first display module, the first display module comprising a first display surface; a second casing comprising a first surface mutually opposed to a second surface and slidable on the first display surface with the first surface at a side of the first casing, and comprising a second display module comprising a second display surface, the second display surface comprising a touch panel function and being exposed from the second surface; a display control module operable to control the first display module and the second display module; wherein the first casing and the second casing are settable in a first positional relation in which an entire area of the first display surface is covered with the second casing, a second positional relation in which an entire area of each of the first display surface and the second display surface is visible, and a third positional relation in which a part of the first display surface is visible, a part of the first display surface is covered with the second casing, and an entire area of the second display surface is visible, by sliding the second casing on the first display surface, and wherein the display control module is configured to, while the first casing and the second casing are in the third positional relation, cause the second display module to turn off a backlight for the visible second display surface, cause the first display module to display information on the visible part of the first display surface, and switch the information displayed on the visible part of the first display surface, if a prescribed operation is performed to the visible second display surface while the backlight for the second display surface is turned off. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The mobile phone according to claim 1, wherein when the prescribed operation is performed to the second display surface, the information displayed on the visible part of the first display surface is switched by scrolling the display of the visible part of the first display surface. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The mobile phone according to claim 1, wherein, when the positional relation between the first casing and the second casing is the third positional relation, a display of the covered part of the first display surface is set in an off state under control of the display control module. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The mobile phone according to claim 1, wherein a setting screen for selecting the information displayed on the visible part of the first display surface is displayed on at least one of the first display surface and the second display surface. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The mobile phone according to claim 1, wherein a setting screen for setting whether or not the information displayed on the visible part of the first display surface should be limited is displayed on at least one of the first display surface and the second display surface. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The mobile phone according to claim 1, wherein a setting screen operable to set a luminance of the visible part of the first display surface is displayed on at least one of the first display surface and the second display surface. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The mobile phone according to claim 1, wherein at least one of a received call history, a received electronic mail history, and distributed news from a web server is displayed on the visible part of the first display surface. ### Claim 8 (depends on 7) The mobile phone according to claim 7, wherein the received call history is displayed on the visible part of the first display surface, the mobile phone further comprising: a radio communication module operable to perform a radio communication; and a communication control module operable to control the radio communication module, wherein, when a selection is performed of a received call from the received call history displayed on the visible part of the first display surface and thereafter the positional relation between the first casing and the second casing is changed to the first positional relation from the third positional relation, the communication control module controls the radio communication module to make a call to a telephone number associated with the selected received call. ### Claim 9 (depends on 8) The mobile phone according to claim 8, wherein when the positional relation between the first casing and the second casing is set in the third positional relation and thereafter the positional relation between the first casing and the second casing is changed to the first positional relation from the third positional relation without performing the selection to the second display surface, the display of the entire area of the second display surface is lightened off while the display of the entire area of the first display surface remains to be lightened off. ### Claim 10 (depends on 7) The mobile phone according to claim 7, wherein the received call history is displayed on the visible part of the first display surface, and, when the positional relation between the first casing and the second casing is changed to the second positional relation from the third positional relation, the received call history is listed on at least one of the first and second display surfaces. ### Claim 11 (depends on 7) The mobile phone according to claim 7, wherein the received electronic mail history is displayed on the visible part of the first display surface, and, when a selection of a received electronic mail from the received electronic mail history displayed on the visible part of the first display surface is performed and thereafter the positional relation between the first casing and the second casing is changed to the first positional relation from the third positional relation, a browsing screen of the selected received electronic mail is displayed on the second display surface. ### Claim 12 (depends on 11) The mobile phone according to claim 11, wherein, when the positional relation between the first casing and the second casing is set in the third positional relation and thereafter the positional relation between the first casing and the second casing is changed to the second positional relation from the third positional relation without performing the selection, the received electronic mail history is listed on at least one of the first and second display surfaces. ### Claim 13 (depends on 7) The mobile phone according to claim 7, further including: an operation content specifying module operable to specify a content of an operation performed to the second display surface; and a positional relation specifying module operable to specify a positional relation between the first casing and the second casing, wherein the received electronic mail history is displayed on the visible part of the first display surface, and, when it is specified by the operation content specifying module that a selection of a received electronic mail from the received electronic mail history displayed on the visible part of the first display surface is performed and thereafter it is specified by the positional relation specifying module that the positional relation between the first casing and the second casing is changed to the second positional relation from the third positional relation, an edit screen of an electronic reply mail to the selected received electronic mail is displayed on at least one of the first and second display surfaces. ### Claim 14 (depends on 13) The mobile phone according to claim 13, wherein, when the selection of the received electronic mail is performed and thereafter the positional relation between the first casing and the second casing is changed to the second positional relation from the third positional relation, an edit screen of an electronic reply mail to the selected received electronic mail is displayed on one of the first display surface and the second display surface and a browsing screen of the selected received electronic mail is displayed on one of the first display surface and the second display surface that is not displaying the edit screen. ### Claim 15 (depends on 1) The mobile phone according to claim 1, further comprising an attitude detection module operable to detect an attitude of the mobile phone, wherein the display control module changes a kind of information displayed on the visible part of the first display surface according to the attitude detected by the attitude detection module. ### Claim 16 (depends on 1) The mobile phone according to claim 1, wherein, when information does not exist to be displayed on the visible part of the first display surface, the display control module displays an indication that no information to be displayed exists on the visible part of the first display surface. ### Claim 17 (depends on 1) The mobile phone according to claim 1, wherein, when information does not exist to be displayed on the visible part of the first display surface, at least the display of the visible part of the first display surface is lightened off by the display control module. ### Claim 18 (depends on 1) The mobile phone according to claim 1, comprising: a radio communication module operable to perform radio communication; and a communication control module operable to control the radio communication module, wherein, when the positional relation between the first casing and the second casing is set in the third positional relation and an incoming call is detected by the radio communication module, the display control module causes display of the incoming call on the visible part of the first display surface. ### Claim 19 (depends on 18) The mobile phone according to claim 18, wherein, when the positional relation between the first casing and the second casing is changed to the first positional relation from the third positional relation during an incoming call, the communication control module controls the radio communication module to respond to the call.