Smart mirror with focus control

• US 10,134,370 B2
• Filed: 07/17/2015
• Issued: 11/20/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 07/18/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Park, Ken-Hyung, Kim, Tae-Seon, Heo, Chang-Ryong, Kim, Min-Young, Kim, Tae-Kyun
• Primary Examiner(s): Pringle-Parker, Jason
• Application Number:
  US14/802,782
• Publication Number:
  US 20160019868A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,222 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 3/0006 Arrays G02B3/02, G02B5/188 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 30/56 by projecting aerial or floating images
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 5/08 Mirrors vehicle mirrors involving special optical features B60R1/08
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/19 Sensors therefor
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2354/00 Aspects of interface with display user
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/003 Details of a display terminal, the details relating to the control arrangement of the display terminal and to the interfaces thereto specific for a CRT G09G1/165; for a flat panel G09G3/2092
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/391 Resolution modifying circuits, e.g. variable screen formats

Abstract

An electronic device includes a display unit configured to display a plurality images, an eye tracking sensor configured to detect a eye-focused area on the display unit, a reflective layer, a reflective control layer configured to change a regional reflectivity of the reflective layer, and a processor configured to receive the eye-focused area on the display unit from the eye tracking sensor, and determine a focus image within the eye-focused area and an unfocused image out of the eye-focused area, and cause the reflective control layer to reflect the unfocused image. In some embodiment, the processor is configured to cause the reflective control layer not to reflect the focused image.

Claims

1. An electronic device comprising:

a display panel;

a reflective layer;

a focus control layer, interposed between the display panel and the reflective layer, comprising a lens array including a plurality of lenses; and

a processor configured to;

determine a first area where an image is to be displayed;

identify whether the first area where the image is to be displayed is included in a designated display area, wherein information displayed within the designated display area is highlighted relative to information displayed within an area other than the designated display area;

in response to identifying that the first area is included in the designated display area, change refractive indices of lenses corresponding to the first area included in the designated display area among the plurality of lenses, based on a voltage identified based on a focal length of an object reflected on the reflective layer, wherein a focus of the first area included in the designated display area is different from a focus of a second area other than the first area; and

display, based on a focus identified based on the changed refractive indices, the image within the first area.

2. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein respective refractive indices of the plurality of lenses of the lens array vary based on respective applied voltages.

3. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein each lens included in the lens array corresponds to each pixel included in a pixel array of the display.

4. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein each lens included in the lens array corresponds to a plurality of pixels included in a pixel array of the display.

5. A method in an electronic device, comprising:

determining a first area where an image is to be displayed;

identifying whether the first area where the image is to be displayed is included in a designated display area, wherein information displayed within the designated display area is highlighted relative to information displayed within an area other than the designated display area;

in response to identifying that the first area is included in the designated display area, changing refractive indices of lenses corresponding to the first area included in the designated display area among a plurality of lenses that are included in a lens array, based on a voltage identified based on a focal length of an object reflected on a reflective layer, wherein the lens array is included in a focus control layer interposed between a display panel of the electronic device and the reflective layer of the electronic device, and wherein a focus of the first area included in the designated display area is different from a focus of a second area other than the first area; and

display, based on a focus identified based on the changed refractive indices, the image within the first area.