Method and apparatus for providing event of portable device having flexible display unit

• US 10,178,208 B2
• Filed: 06/17/2016
• Issued: 01/08/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 01/07/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Kim, Donghyun
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Lee
• Application Number:
  US15/185,808
• Publication Number:
  US 20160294995A1
• Time in Patent Office: 935 Days
• Field of Search: 455566-567, 345173
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1626 with a single-body enclosure integrating a flat display, e.g. Personal Digital Assistants [PDAs]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/165 the additional display being small, e.g. for presenting status information
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1652 the display being flexible, e.g. mimicking a sheet of paper, or rollable
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1694 the I/O peripheral being a single or a set of motion sensors for pointer control or gesture input obtained by sensing movements of the portable computer
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/2092 Details of a display terminals using a flat panel, the details relating to the control arrangement of the display terminal and to the interfaces thereto suitable for both CRT and flat panel G09G5/003; specific for a CRT G09G1/165
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/14 Display of multiple viewports
• CPC Class Codes: H01H 2219/039 Selective or different modes of illumination
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/0269 mounted in a fixed curved configuration, e.g. display curved around the edges of the telephone housing
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/0281 for providing single handed use or left/right hand conversion
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/22 Illumination; Arrangements for improving the visibility of characters on dials
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/57 Arrangements for indicating or recording the number of the calling subscriber at the called subscriber's set at the operator set in a manual exchange H04M5/20
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 19/04 the ringing-current being generated at the substations
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2201/38 Displays
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/12 including a sensor for measuring a physical value, e.g. temperature or motion
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42042 Notifying the called party of information on the calling party details within substation equipment H04M1/57, signalling details H04Q3/72
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/12 Messaging; Mailboxes; Announcements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 68/00 User notification, e.g. alerting and paging, for incoming communication, change of service or the like
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 68/02 Arrangements for increasing efficiency of notification or paging channel

Abstract

A portable terminal is provided having a front surface and a curved side surface in which the portable terminal is operated in a general mode in which an application is displayed on a main display area of the front surface, and in response to the occurrence of the event while in the general mode, the display is controlled to display event information related to the event on an auxiliary display area of the curved side surface and display the application on the main display area.

Claims

1. A portable terminal, comprising:

a display, the display comprising a main area and a curved area, the curved area comprising a curved portion integrally formed in the display with the main area and bent from the main area,

a sensor configured to detect an orientation of the portable terminal; and

a controller configured to, in response to an occurrence of an event, determine whether event information is displayed only on the curved area or on the main area and the curved area according to the orientation of the portable terminal detected by the sensor, and control the portable terminal to display the event information only on the curved area or on the main area and the curved area.

2. The portable terminal as claimed in claim 1, wherein the controller configured to, in response to the sensor detecting that the main area is placed in a first orientation of a downward direction, control the potable terminal to display the event information only on the curved area and in response to the sensor detecting that the main area is placed in a second orientation a upward direction, control the potable terminal to display the event information on the main area and the curved area.

3. The portable terminal as claimed in claim 1, wherein the controller configured to, in response to the sensor detecting that the main area is in a first orientation of being covered, control the potable terminal to display the event information only on the curved area and, in response to the sensor detecting that the main area is in a second orientation of being not covered, control the potable terminal to display the event information on the main area and the curved area.

4. The portable terminal as claimed in claim 1, wherein the sensor comprises at least one of an illumination sensor configured to detect whether the main display area of the portable terminal is covered and a motion sensor configured to detect orientation of the portable terminal.

5. The portable terminal as claimed in claim 1, wherein the display is a touch display.

6. The portable terminal as claimed in claim 1, wherein the controller configured to, in response to the occurrence of the event while the display is inactivated, activates the curved area and control the portable terminal to display the event information only on the curved area of the display if the orientation of the electronic device is a first orientation.

7. The portable terminal as claimed in claim 1, wherein the main area is disposed on a front surface of the portable terminal, and

wherein the curved area is extended from the main area to be bent on at least one side of the main area and covers a part of the side surface of the portable terminal.

8. The portable terminal as claimed in claim 1, wherein the controller, in response to changing the orientation of the portable terminal while the event information is displayed only on the curved area, controls the portable terminal to display information associated with the event on the main area and the curved area.

9. A method of controlling a portable terminal comprising a display, the display comprising a main area and a curved area, the curved area comprising a curved portion integrally formed in the display with the main area and bent from the main area, the method comprising:

detecting an orientation of the portable terminal;

in response to an occurrence of an event, determining whether event information is displayed only on the curved area or on the main area and the curved area according to the orientation of the portable; and

displaying the event information only on the curved area or on the main area and the curved area.

10. The method as claimed in claim 9, wherein the displaying comprises:

in response to detecting that the main area is placed in a first orientation of a downward direction, displaying the event information only on the curved area; and

in response to detecting that the main area is placed in a second orientation of an upward direction, displaying the event information on the main area and the curved area.

11. The method as claimed in claim 9, wherein the operating comprises:

in response to detecting that the main area is in a first orientation of being covered, displaying the event information only on the curved area; and

in response to detecting that the main area is in a second orientation of being not covered, displaying the event information on the main area and the curved area.

12. The method as claimed in claim 9, wherein the detecting comprises detecting the orientation of the portable terminal using a sensor of the portable terminal, and

wherein the sensor comprises at least one of an illumination sensor configured to detect whether the main display area of the portable terminal is covered and a motion sensor configured to detect orientation of the portable terminal.