WO2017008415A1

WO2017008415A1 - Apparatus and method for launching mobile applications from a lock screen

Info

Publication number: WO2017008415A1
Application number: PCT/CN2015/094049
Authority: WO
Inventors: Huan KONG
Original assignee: Zte Corporation
Priority date: 2015-07-10
Filing date: 2015-11-06
Publication date: 2017-01-19
Also published as: CN105045465A

Abstract

Disclosed are a method and an apparatus for launching mobile applications from a lock screen. The method comprising: displaying, on the lock screen with a lock function activated, at least one icon associated with a secure application; acquiring a launching instruction corresponding to the secure application; and launching the secure application without requiring input for unlocking the lock screen.

Description

APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR LAUNCHING MOBILE APPLICATIONS FROM A LOCK SCREEN

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure relates generally to screen lock techniques for terminal devices. More specifically， it relates to devices and methods for launching mobile applications from a lock screen.

BACKGROUND

Smart phones have become ubiquitous and even essential tools for many people around the world. Smart phone applications have also sprouted into various fields such as finance， social communication， games， video， etc. Demands for better smart phones and better smart phone applications have vastly increased. Smart phone related technology development community cares not only the security of information， but also the convenience and ease of use to improve user experience. Many smart phones are equipped with a screen lock function， which prevents an unauthorized person from using the device while in standby mode or prevent accidentally launching of an application. When the screen lock function is enabled， a lock screen is displayed and a user has to unlock the lock screen by entering a password or other types of authentication information before using the smart phone to perform its normal functions. While the screen lock function enhances the security of information stored in or that can be accessed by a smart phone， the additional step of entering a password or other authentication information every time a user wants to use his/her smart phone also reduces the convenience.

SUMMARY

In one aspect， the present disclosure is directed to a method for launching an application from a lock screen. The method may include displaying， on the lock screen with a lock function activated， at least one icon associated with a secure application. The method may also include acquiring a launching instruction corresponding to the secure application. In addition， the method may include launching the secure application without requiring input for unlocking the lock screen.

In another aspect， the present disclosure is directed to a terminal device. The terminal device may include a display device and a processor device communicatively coupled to the display device. The processor device may be programmed to control the display device to display a lock screen. The processor may also be programmed to control the display device to display， on the lock screen with a lock function activated， at least one icon associated with a secure application. The processor may further be programmed to acquire a launching instruction corresponding to the secure application. In addition， the processor may be programmed to launch the secure application without requiring input for unlocking the lock screen.

In a further aspect， the present disclosure is directed to a non-transitory， computer-readable medium. The computer-readable medium may store instructions that， when executed by a processor device， cause the processor device to perform a method for launching an application from a lock screen. The method may include displaying， on the lock screen with a lock function activated， at least one icon associated with a secure application. The method may also include acquiring a launching instruction corresponding to the secure application. In addition， the method may include launching the secure application without requiring input for unlocking the lock screen.

Additional objects and advantages of the present disclosure will be set forth in part in the following detailed description， and in part will be obvious from the description， or may be learned by practice of the present disclosure. The objects and advantages of the present disclosure will be realized and attained by means of the elements and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

It is to be understood that the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only， and are not restrictive of the invention， as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings， which constitute a part of this specification， illustrate several embodiments and， together with the description， serve to explain the disclosed principles.

Fig. 1 is a flow chart of an exemplary method for launching an application from a lock screen， according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

Fig. 2 is a flow chart of another exemplary method for launching an application from a lock screen， according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary lock screen interface， according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

Fig. 4 is a functional block diagram of an exemplary terminal device， according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made in detail to exemplary embodiments of the invention， examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. When appropriate， the same reference numbers are used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts.

Fig. 1 is a flow chart of an exemplary method 100 for rapidly launching an application directly from a lock screen. As used herein， the term “application” may include any applications that are operable on a terminal device， for example， mobile applications that are operable on a smart phone. These applications may also be referred to as “apps. ” The terminal device may include phones， tablets， PDAs， portable computers， or any other devices capable of executing software applications. For simplicity and consistency， the term terminal device is used to refer to such a device. For easy of illustration， one type of terminal devices， such as a smart phone， may be used as an example in the descriptions of some embodiments. A person having ordinary skill in the art should understand that other terminal devices are interchangeable with the exemplary terminal device.

As shown in Fig. 1， method 100 may include the following steps.

In step 101， when the screen lock function is enabled on a terminal device， the terminal device may display at least one， for example， a plurality of icons on a lock screen. Each icon may correspond to a secure application.

In some embodiments， a terminal device may have a screen lock function. When the screen lock function is enabled or activated (i.e.， the screen being locked) ， the terminal device may display a lock screen when a user attempts to use the terminal device. The user must enter a password to unlock the lock screen in order to initiate a regular mode and access the interface under the regular mode. The regular mode refers to the regular operational status after the lock screen of the terminal device is unlocked.

A plurality of applications may be installed on the terminal device. The user may select one or more applications and mark the selected applications as secure applications. Icons corresponding to the secure applications may be established and the absolute addresses of the secure applications may be recorded. An absolute address refers to the address of an application in the main memory or storage device. In some embodiments， an absolute address may be the physical address where the application is stored. The terminal device may include a secure application setting unit， through which a user may set or mark an application as a secure application. Once an application is set or marked as a secure application， the terminal device may automatically generate an icon corresponding to the secure application and record the absolute address of the secure application. The user may then launch the secure application by operating the corresponding icon directly on the lock screen. The launched secure application may run in a secure mode to allow the user to perform operations with the secure application. Once the secure application ends， for example， when a user finishes his/her use of the secure application and exits the secure application， the terminal device may return to and redisplay the lock screen.

In some embodiments， the quantity of the secure applications that can be marked may be limited to a predetermined number. All applications that have already been marked as secure applications may be provided to a user， e.g.， by displaying the secure applications on the screen of the terminal device. The terminal device may allow deletion or unmarking of a secure application. In some embodiments， the secure application setting unit may be provided to the user through one or more menu options in the system setting module of the terminal device. In some embodiments， some functions of the secure application setting unit， such as deletion or unmarking of a secure application， may also be provided through an interface directly on the lock screen.

In some embodiments， the user may select from among all applications installed on the terminal device through an interface and set or mark any application as a secure application. Corresponding icon to be displayed on the lock screen may then be built or generated and the absolute address of the secure application may be recorded. The user may perform operations on the icon directly on the lock screen to launch the corresponding secure application by accessing the recorded absolute address. For any application that is not marked as a secure application， referred to as a non-secure application， the user may have to enter the password to unlock the lock screen first before launching that application in a traditional way.

In some embodiments， the user may customize the icon of a secure application that is displayed on the lock screen.

In step 102， the terminal device may acquire a launching instruction corresponding to a secure application.

The launching instruction may include single-click， double-click， swiping， gesture， or other suitable operations. In some embodiments， to prevent accidental operations， a triggering operation may also be provided to activate the process for launching secure applications directly on the lock screen. The triggering operation may include single-click， double-click， swiping， etc.

In step 103， the terminal device may launch the secure application in response to the launching instruction and run the secure application in a first operating mode. The first operating mode refers to a mode in which the secure application is running after launched directly from the lock screen without requiring user input for unlocking the lock screen. In some embodiments， the first operating mode refers to a secure mode. On the other hand， a second operating mode refers to a mode in which an application is running after launched from the regular user interface after unlocking the lock screen. The second operating mode is the regular operating mode.

The unlocked interface， which is also the regular interface after unlocking the lock screen， may be displayed after the user enters the correct password.

The lock screen may be redisplayed after a secure application ceases or exits operation.

If the screen lock function is not enabled or activated， the terminal device is in the normal operating mode. If the screen lock function is enabled or activated， the secure mode may be established. In some embodiments， the information access mechanism under the secure mode is as follows. A secure application may be launched either through the normal interface after unlocking the lock screen or through the corresponding icon displayed on the lock screen. When the secure application is directly launched by a launching operation performed on the corresponding icon displayed on the lock screen， the terminal device may enter into the secure mode， in which the user may launch the secure application without entering the password to unlock the lock screen. Out of information security concern， in the secure mode， interactions between a secure application and a non-secure application may be prohibited. Interactions among secure applications may be allowed. When the operation system of the terminal device exits the secure mode， the interface of the terminal device may return to the lock screen (e.g.， by redisplaying the lock screen) . When a correct password is entered， the lock screen may be unlocked and the normal interface may be displayed.

In some embodiments， data protection may be established in the secure mode. In some embodiments， when the system enters and exits the secure mode， temporary data of the user associated with the terminal device may be protected. In an exemplary system， launcher (e.g.， launcher， provider) may need to add a secure application identifier， indicating whether a particular application is on the secure application list. Data protection may then be initiated for those applications identified as secure applications. For example， data protection may include backing up or restoring temporary application information， building temporary buffer queues for launcher activity， recording path information of temporarily launched activities， etc. For a secure application employing a database， the system may temporarily backup the database， redirect the database location of the previous user， cleanup data， and load data into activity interface upon launching. For a secure application without a database， such as Calculator， the system may use widget or control identification method to obtain text attribute of an input block， buffer the information， and restore the information after the system exits the secure mode.

Method and apparatus disclosed in this application enable a user to launch an application directly from a lock screen. For example， a user may use a chatting application frequently on his/her smart phone， and is confident or comfortable about the security management of that chatting application. However， the screen of the smart phone may be locked automatically whenever there is a certain time period during which the smart phone does not receive input. The user has to enter password repeatedly in order to resume a conversation session， which is inconvenient and time wasting. With the technical solution disclosed in this application， the user may simply set the chatting application as a secure application. Then that chatting application may be directly launched from the lock screen without requiring the user to enter password， which improves the convenience and user experience.

Fig. 2 is a flow chart of an exemplary method 200 for launching an application from a lock screen. Method 200 may include the following steps.

In step 201， after the terminal device is turned on， the terminal device checks screen lock settings.

In step 202， the terminal device may determine whether the screen lock function is activated. If no， perform step 203. If yes， perform step 204.

In step 203， the terminal device enters a normal or regular mode， and the operation flow ends.

In step 204， the terminal device displays the lock screen.

In step 205， the terminal device determines whether an unlocking instruction or operation is received. If yes， perform step 206. If no， perform step 207.

In step 206， the lock screen is unlocked and the terminal device enters the normal or regular mode and display regular standby interface. The operation flow ends.

In step 207， upon receiving a direct launch instruction or operation to an icon on the lock screen， the terminal device launches the corresponding secure application in a secure mode.

Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary lock screen 300. In Fig. 3， lock screen 300 includes two icons 301 and 302， corresponding to two secure applications Message and WeChat， respectively. These two applications may be set or marked as secure application using the secure application setting unit discussed above. The two icons may be generated by the terminal device or selected or customized by the user. A curved arrow is shown to lead from each secure application to a small triangular sign 310， indicating that the user may launch either secure application in secure mode by swiping the corresponding icon along the trajectory defined by the curved arrow. Graphical indicators 320 may indicate keys， dots， or other suitable input means for the user to enter password or other authentication information to unlock the lock screen 300.

The above example is merely illustrative. Other ways of displaying or arranging icons， or launching applications may also be used.

The technical solution is hereby described in greater detail， taking a smart phone case for example. A user’s smart phone may have screen lock function activated. The user may use a Notepad application frequently. The user may open the secure application setting interface (e.g.， provided by the secure application setting unit) ， select Notepad from all applications installed on the smart phone， and add the Notepad application onto the secure application list. The user may also choose a personal photo from his/her camera database as the icon to be displayed on the lock screen corresponding to the Notepad application. The user may also define a direct launch operation， such as double-click， as the launching instruction to launch the Notepad application directly from the lock screen. Then， the user may open the Notepad application under normal mode (e.g.， after unlocking the smart phone) ， and record some notes， such as “meeting room setup： ^＊＊＊.” The screen of the smart phone may subsequently be locked. The user may， directly on the lock screen， double-click the personal image (the icon defined by the user as corresponding to the Notepad application) and launch Notepad application without entering the screen unlocking password. The Notepad interface may be displayed， showing the last point of edit “meeting room setup： ^＊＊＊.” The user may resume the note taking process and add “platform setup： ^＊＊＊.” Suppose that the Notepad application has a short messaging function， the user may wish to send the note to his/her colleague through a short message. If application Message (a short messaging application) is also a secure application， the user may send the note through a short message by calling Message application directly from the Notepad application (e.g.， currently in secure mode) . If， on the other hand， the Message application is not a secure application， then the user cannot send the note just yet. The system may prompt “please unlock before sending” or a similar message. If the user exits the Notepad application， the system may return to the lock screen. The new information added to the note “platform setup： ^＊＊＊” during secure mode operation may be saved. Once the user unlocks the screen (e.g.， enter the normal mode) ， the user may send the note through a short message.

The technical solution disclosed in this application enables a user to launch an application directly from the lock screen without unlocking operations， simplifying the operation flow and enhancing user experience. The user may also customize the direct launching icon and direct launching operation， improving privacy and security.

Fig. 4 is a functional block diagram of an exemplary terminal device 400. Terminal device 400 may include the following components： display unit 41， acquisition unit 42， launch unit 43， exit unit 44， secure application setting unit 45， icon setting unit 46， and unlock unit 47.

Display unit 41 may be used to display a lock screen and a plurality of icons on the lock screen. Each icon may correspond to a secure application.

Acquisition unit 42 may be used to acquire a launching instruction corresponding to a secure application. Acquisition unit 42 may also be used to detect a launching operation performed on an icon and generate a launching instruction.

Launch unit 43 may be used to respond to the launching instruction and launch the secure application in a first operating mode， such as a secure mode.

Exit unit 44 may be used to exit the secure application and return to the lock screen.

Secure application setting unit 45 may be used to select one or more applications and mark the selected application (s) as secure application (s) .

Icon setting unit 46 may be used to build or generate an icon corresponding to each secure application and record the absolute address of the secure application.

Launch unit 43 may also be used to launch the secure application by accessing the absolute address recorded from that secure application.

Unlock unit 47 may be used to obtain an unlocking operation and display an unlocked interface that includes multiple application icons.

Launch unit 43 may also be used to record the status of the secure mode， record application call information， and properly display user data of the calling or called application.

Exit unit 44 may also be used to return to lock screen upon user operation； process data under secure mode， including storing and deleting data； and deleting temporary files. After data processing， exit unit 44 may mark the current status as the normal mode.

In some embodiments， whether an application is a secure or non-secure application may be determined through terminal device handshaking. Interactions and calling between a currently running secure application and another secure application are permitted. Interactions between the currently running secure application and a non-secure application are prohibited. A friendly warning message may be provided when a secure application attempts to interact with a non-secure application. In addition， when the user launches or exits an application under secure or normal mode， data consistency is maintained.

In some embodiments， the terminal device may protect the original user data and buffer the temporary data. The protection of the original data refers to hiding the original user data in the secure mode such that the original data will not be exposed. Buffering the temporary data refers to processing the temporary data after exiting the secure mode or entering the normal mode. The processing may include ignoring， prompting to save， directly merging， marking， etc.

The units shown in Fig. 4 may be implemented according to the corresponding methods described above. The functions of each unit may be implemented through software programs that are executable by one or more processor devices， or through specific logical circuits.

The specification has described system and method for launching mobile applications from a lock screen. The illustrated steps are set out to explain the exemplary embodiments shown， and it should be anticipated that ongoing technological development will change the manner in which particular functions are performed. Thus， these examples are presented herein for purposes of illustration， and not limitation. For example， steps or processes disclosed herein are not limited to being performed in the order described， but may be performed in any order， and some steps may be omitted， consistent with disclosed embodiments. Further， the boundaries of the functional building blocks have been arbitrarily defined herein for the convenience of the description. Alternative boundaries can be defined so long as the specified functions and relationships thereof are appropriately performed. Alternatives (including equivalents， extensions， variations， deviations， etc.， of those described herein) will be apparent to persons skilled in the relevant art (s) based on the teachings contained herein. Such alternatives fall within the scope and spirit of the disclosed embodiments.

While examples and features of disclosed principles are described herein， modifications， adaptations， and other implementations are possible without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosed embodiments. Also， the words “comprising， ” “having， ” “containing， ” and “including， ” and other similar forms are intended to be equivalent in meaning and be open ended in that an item or items following any one of these words is not meant to be an exhaustive listing of such item or items， or meant to be limited to only the listed item or items. It must also be noted that as used herein and in the appended claims， the singular forms “a， ” “an， ” and “the” include plural references unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

Furthermore， one or more computer-readable storage media may be utilized in implementing embodiments consistent with the present disclosure. A computer-readable storage medium refers to any type of physical memory on which information or data readable by a processor may be stored. Thus， a computer-readable storage medium may store instructions for execution by one or more processors， including instructions for causing the processor (s) to perform steps or stages consistent with the embodiments described herein. The term “computer-readable medium” should be understood to include tangible items and exclude carrier waves and transient signals， i.e.， be non-transitory. Examples include RAM， ROM， volatile memory， nonvolatile memory， hard drives， CD ROMs， DVDs， flash drives， disks， and any other known physical storage media. The methods and functions disclosed in this application can be implemented as software codes or instructions stored on a non-transitory computer-readable medium. The software codes or instructions， when executed by a processor device， can cause the processor device to perform the disclosed methods and functions， such as launching an application from a lock screen without requiring input for unlocking the lock screen.

It is intended that the disclosure and examples be considered as exemplary only， with a true scope and spirit of disclosed embodiments being indicated by the following claims.

Claims

A method for launching an application from a lock screen， the method comprising：

displaying， on the lock screen with a lock function activated， at least one icon associated with a secure application；

acquiring a launching instruction corresponding to the secure application； and

launching the secure application without requiring input for unlocking the lock screen.
The method of claim 1， comprising：

launching the secure application in a secure mode.
The method of claim 2， comprising：

prohibiting interactions between the secure application and a non-secure application in the secure mode.
The method of claim 2， comprising：

allowing interactions between the secure application and another secure application in the secure mode.
The method of claim 2， comprising：

establishing data protection of original user data in the secure mode.
The method of claim 2， comprising：

generating temporary data in the secure mode；

existing the secure mode； and

processing the temporary data after existing the secure mode， wherein processing includes at least one of saving， merging， or marking the temporary data.
The method of claim 1， comprising setting one or more applications as secure applications， including：

receiving one or more applications selected by a user；

marking the selected one or more applications as secure applications to allow each secure application to be launched from the lock screen； and

for each secure application， recording an address corresponding to the secure application， wherein launching of the secure application is initiated by accessing the corresponding address.
The method of clam 7， comprises：

launching the secure application by accessing the recorded address corresponding to the secure application.
A terminal device， comprising：

a display device； and

a processor device communicatively coupled to the display device， wherein the processor device is programmed to：

control the display device to display a lock screen；

control the display device to display， on the lock screen with a lock function activated， at least one icon associated with a secure application；

acquire a launching instruction corresponding to the secure application； and

launch the secure application without requiring input for unlocking the lock screen.
The terminal device of claim 9， wherein the processor device is programmed to：

launch the secure application in a secure mode.
The terminal device of claim 10， wherein the processor device is programmed to：

prohibit interactions between the secure application and a non-secure application in the secure mode.
The terminal device of claim 10， wherein the processor device is programmed to：

allow interactions between the secure application and another secure application in the secure mode.
The terminal device of claim 10， wherein the processor device is programmed to：

establish data protection of original user data in the secure mode.
The terminal device of claim 10， wherein the processor device is programmed to：

generate temporary data in the secure mode；

exist the secure mode； and

process the temporary data after existing the secure mode， wherein the processor device is programmed to process the temporary data by performing at least one of saving， merging， or marking the temporary data.
The terminal device of claim 9， wherein the processor device is programmed to set one or more applications as secure applications， including：

receive one or more applications selected by a user；

mark the selected one or more applications as secure applications to allow each secure application to be launched from the lock screen； and

for each secure application， record an address corresponding to the secure application， wherein launching of the secure application is initiated by accessing the corresponding address.
The terminal device of claim 15， wherein the processor device is programmed to：

launch the secure application by accessing the recorded address corresponding to the secure application.
A non-transitory， computer-readable medium storing instructions that， when executed by a processor device， cause the processor device to perform a method for launching an application from a lock screen， the method comprising：

displaying， on the lock screen with a lock function activated， at least one icon associated with a secure application；

acquiring a launching instruction corresponding to the secure application； and

launching the secure application without requiring input for unlocking the lock screen.
The computer-readable medium of claim 17， wherein the method comprises：

launching the secure application in a secure mode.
The computer-readable medium of claim 18， wherein the method comprises：

prohibiting interactions between the secure application and a non-secure application in the secure mode.
The computer-readable medium of claim 18， wherein the method comprises：

allowing interactions between the secure application and another secure application in the secure mode.
The computer-readable medium of claim 18， wherein the method comprises：

establishing data protection of original user data in the secure mode.
The computer-readable medium of claim 18， wherein the method comprises：

generating temporary data in the secure mode；

existing the secure mode； and

processing the temporary data after existing the secure mode， wherein processing includes at least one of saving， merging， or marking the temporary data.
The computer-readable medium of claim 17， wherein the method comprises setting one or more applications as secure applications， including：

receiving one or more applications selected by a user；

marking the selected one or more applications as secure applications to allow each secure application to be launched from the lock screen； and

for each secure application， recording an address corresponding to the secure application， wherein launching of the secure application is initiated by accessing the corresponding address.
The computer-readable medium of claim 23， wherein the method comprises：

launching the secure application in the first operating mode by accessing the recorded address corresponding to the secure application.