Display device and control method

• US 10,372,165 B2
• Filed: 12/23/2014
• Issued: 08/06/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 12/23/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Inventors: Lee, Doyoung
• Primary Examiner(s): Lao, Lunyi
• Assistant Examiner(s): Casarez, Benjamin X
• Application Number:
  US15/533,353
• Publication Number:
  US 20170344071A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,687 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/1333 Constructional arrangements; Manufacturing methodsG02F1/135, G02F1/136 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1652 the display being flexible, e.g. mimicking a sheet of paper, or rollable
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1686 the I/O peripheral being an integrated camera
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/011 Arrangements for interaction with the human body, e.g. for user immersion in virtual reality blind teaching G09B21/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0481 based on specific properties of the displayed interaction object or a metaphor-based environment, e.g. interaction with desktop elements like windows or icons, or assisted by a cursor's changing behaviour or appearance
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04886 by partitioning the display area of the touch-screen or the surface of the digitising tablet into independently controllable areas, e.g. virtual keyboards or menus
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/0268 including a flexible display panel
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/57 Mechanical or electrical details of cameras or camera modules specially adapted for being embedded in other devices

Abstract

A display device and a control method are disclosed. The display device comprises: a flexible display unit capable of displaying an image in two directions; a camera unit, which is disposed in a first direction and receives as an input the image in the first direction; and a control unit, wherein the control unit can temporarily capture the image input in the first direction and display the temporarily captured image in the first direction on the flexible display unit in a second direction or a bent region of the flexible display unit when the region of the flexible display unit, which includes the camera unit, is bent in the second direction at an angle equal to or greater than a preset angle, so that the camera unit can receive as an input the image in the second direction, which is opposite the first direction.

Claims

1. A display device comprising:

a flexible display unit configured to display images in two directions;

a camera unit disposed in a first direction and configured to;

when the flexible display unit is not bent, receive as an input an image in the first direction; and

when an area of the flexible display unit, in which the camera unit is included, is bent in a second direction opposite to the first direction at a predetermined angle or more, receive as an input an image in the second direction; and

a control unit configured to;

temporarily capture the image received in the first direction;

cause the flexible display unit to display the image temporarily captured in the first direction on a second direction side of the flexible display unit or the bent area of the flexible display unit in response to the bending of the area of the flexible display unit in the second direction;

cause the image received in the second direction to rotate in a gravity direction of the display device;

crop the rotated image based on a screen ratio of the flexible display unit with respect to the rotation direction of the image; and

cause the flexible display unit to display the cropped image.

2. The display device of claim 1, wherein the control unit is configured to temporarily capture the image in the first direction at a predetermined period and delete the image temporarily captured in the first direction after elapse of a predetermined time.

3. The display device of claim 1, wherein when the image temporarily captured in the first direction is displayed on the bent area of the flexible display unit, the control unit is configured to display the image received in the second direction on the second direction side of the flexible display device.

4. The display device of claim 1, wherein when the image temporarily captured in the first direction is displayed on the second direction side of the flexible display unit, the control unit is configured to display the image received in the second direction on the bent area of the flexible display unit.

5. The display device of claim 4, wherein the control unit is configured to further display at least one photography image associated with the image temporarily captured in the first direction on the second direction side of the flexible display unit.

6. The display device of claim 5, wherein the photography image associated with the image temporarily captured in the first direction comprises at least one of an image including a same person, an image including a same background, and an image photographed within a predetermined time range.

7. The display device of claim 1, wherein when the bent area of the flexible display unit is unfolded, the control unit is configured to delete the image temporarily captured in the first direction.

8. The display device of claim 7, wherein the control unit is configured to control the flexible display unit to display a bending line of the bent area of the flexible display unit on the second direction side of the flexible display unit.

9. The display device of claim 1, wherein the control unit is configured to control the flexible display unit to display an area corresponding to a position of the camera unit on the second direction side of the flexible display unit.

10. The display device of claim 1, wherein the control unit is configured to display a menu related to photography on the bent area of the flexible display unit.

11. The display device of claim 1, wherein the control unit is configured to generate a photography button at a boundary of the bent area of the flexible display unit and the second direction side of the flexible display unit such that the photography button is included in both of the bent area of the flexible display unit and the second direction side of the flexible display unit.

12. The display device of claim 11, wherein when only a part of the photography button, which is included in the bent area of the flexible display unit, is selected, the control unit is configured to photograph an image displayed on the bent area of the flexible display unit.

13. The display device of claim 11, wherein when only a part of the photography button, which is included in the second direction side of the flexible display unit, is selected, the control unit is configured to photograph an image displayed on the second direction side of the flexible display unit.

14. The display device of claim 11, wherein when the entirety of the photography button included in the both of the bent area of the flexible display unit and the second direction side of the flexible display unit is selected, the control unit is configured to photograph images displayed on the bent area of the flexible display unit and the second direction side of the flexible display unit.

15. The display device of claim 1, wherein an upper side of the display device and an upper side of the camera unit are in parallel when the flexible display unit is not bent.

16. The display device of claim 15, wherein the upper side of the camera unit is inclined with respect to the upper side of the display device when the area of the flexible display unit is bent.

17. A method for controlling a display device including a flexible display unit capable of displaying images in two directions, the method comprising:

temporarily capturing an image in a first direction by receiving as an input the image through a camera unit disposed in the first direction when the flexible display unit is not bent;

sensing bending of an area of the flexible display unit, in which the camera unit is included, in a second direction opposite to the first direction at a predetermined angle or more such that the camera unit receives as an input an image in the second direction;

displaying the image temporarily captured in the first direction on a second direction side of the flexible display unit or the bent area of the flexible display unit in response to the bending of the area of the flexible display unit in the second direction;

rotating the image received in the second direction in a gravity direction of the display device;

cropping the rotated image based on a screen ratio of the flexible display unit with respect to the rotation direction of the image; and

displaying the cropped image.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein displaying the image temporarily captured in the first direction comprises displaying the image temporarily captured in the first direction on the second direction side of the flexible display unit and wherein displaying the image received in the second direction comprises displaying the image received in the second direction on the bent area of the flexible display unit.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising, when the bent area of the flexible display unit is unfolded, displaying a bending line of the bent area of the flexible display unit on the second direction side of the flexible display unit.

20. The method of claim 17, further comprising generating a photography button at a boundary of the bent area of the flexible display unit and the second direction side of the flexible display unit such that the photography button is included in both of the bent area of the flexible display unit and the second direction side of the flexible display unit.