Mobile terminal and control method therefor

• US 10,452,156 B2
• Filed: 01/08/2016
• Issued: 10/22/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Inventors: Kang, Jiwon, Heo, Jeongyun
• Primary Examiner(s): Yodichkas, Aneeta
• Assistant Examiner(s): Subedi, Deeprose
• Application Number:
  US15/764,455
• Publication Number:
  US 20180275770A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,383 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1652 the display being flexible, e.g. mimicking a sheet of paper, or rollable
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1677 for detecting open or closed state or particular intermediate positions assumed by movable parts of the enclosure, e.g. detection of display lid position with respect to main body in a laptop, detection of opening of the cover of battery compartment
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04102 Flexible digitiser, i.e. constructional details for allowing the whole digitising part of a device to be flexed or rolled like a sheet of paper
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04803 Split screen, i.e. subdividing the display area or the window area into separate subareas
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0221 Arrangements for reducing keyboard size for transport or storage, e.g. foldable keyboards, keyboards with collapsible keys G06F3/0216 takes precedence; for keyboards integrated in a laptop computer G06F1/1666
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/03 Arrangements for converting the position or the displacement of a member into a coded form
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/041 Digitisers, e.g. for touch screens or touch pads, characterised by the transducing means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0485 Scrolling or panning
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures
• 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: G09G 2340/0442 Handling or displaying different aspect ratios, or changing the aspect ratio
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2354/00 Aspects of interface with display user
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/035 for flexible display surfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/20 for presentation of an assembly of a number of characters, e.g. a page, by composing the assembly by combination of individual elements arranged in a matrix no fixed position being assigned to or needed to be assigned to the individual characters or partial characters
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/14 Display of multiple viewports
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/363 Graphics controllers

Abstract

The present invention relates to a mobile terminal and control method therefor. More specifically, the present invention relates to a mobile terminal for displaying various pieces of content according to the extension of the width of a flexible display, and a control method thereof. To this or another end, provided is a mobile terminal, according to one aspect of the present invention, comprising: a flexible display unit; a sensing unit for sensing an input signal and an extension length of the flexible display unit; and a control unit, wherein the control unit displays, on the flexible display unit, first content including first time information and displays, on the flexible display unit, second content including second time information if the flexible display unit is extended to a first preset length, wherein the first content and the second content are execution screens provided during an execution of the same application, and the first time information and the second time information are different from each other.

Claims

1. A mobile terminal, comprising:

a flexible display unit;

a sensing unit sensing an extension length of the flexible display unit and an input signal; and

a controller configured to;

display a first content including a first time information on the flexible display unit, and

if the flexible display unit is extended by a first preset length, display a second content including a second time information on the flexible display unit,

wherein the first content and the second content comprise running screens provided in the course of running a same application, and

wherein the first time information and the second time information are different from each other.

2. The mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to display the first content in a state that the flexible display unit is extended by a unit length.

3. The mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein the second time information corresponds to a time information of hierarchy higher than that of the first time information.

4. The mobile terminal of claim 2, wherein if the flexible display unit is extended in the unit-length extended state, the controller is configured to display an additional content related to the first content on a region corresponding to the first length.

5. The mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein if the flexible display unit is extended by a second preset length, the controller is further configured to display a third content including a third time information on the flexible display unit, wherein the first to third contents comprise running screens provided in the course of running a same application, and wherein the third time information is different from each of the first information and the second time information.

6. The mobile terminal of claim 1, further comprising:

a body unit; and

a holder provided to one side of the flexible display unit.

7. The mobile terminal of claim 6, wherein the controller is further configured to sense a first input signal in a state that the first content is displayed and display a fourth content including the first time information on the flexible display unit in response to the first input signal and wherein the first content and the fourth content comprise contents including time information of a same hierarchy as running screens of a same application, respectively.

8. The mobile terminal of claim 7, wherein the first input signal comprises an input of increasing a distance from the body unit to the holder and then decreasing the distance.

9. The mobile terminal of claim 6, wherein the controller is further configured to sense a second input signal in the state that the first content is displayed and display the first content and a preview of at least one content including the first time information on the flexible display unit in response to the second input signal and wherein the first content and the at least one content comprise contents including time information of a same hierarchy as running screens of a same application, respectively.

10. The mobile terminal of claim 9, wherein the controller is configured to display a portion of the first content on the flexible display unit or displays the first content by reducing the first content, in response to the second input signal.

11. The mobile terminal of claim 9, wherein the second input signal includes a third input signal for decreasing a distance from the body unit to the holder and a fourth input signal for increasing the distance from the body unit to the holder.

12. The mobile terminal of claim 11, wherein the controller is configured to display the preview of the at least one content on a region of the flexible display unit corresponding to the third input signal in response to the second input signal.

13. The mobile terminal of claim 9, wherein the controller is further configured to sense a third input signal in a state that the first content and the preview of the at least one content are displayed and display the first content and the at least one content on the flexible display unit in response to the third input signal and wherein the at least one content is displayed on a region corresponding to a length extended in response to the third input signal.

14. The mobile terminal of claim 2, wherein if the flexible display unit is extended by a first length in the unit-length extended state, the controller is further configured to display at least one menu option for controlling the first content on a region corresponding to the first length.

15. The mobile terminal of claim 14, wherein the controller is further configured to determine a content to display on the flexible display unit based on a location from which a fourth input signal for the first length extension is sensed.

16. The mobile terminal of claim 15, wherein if the fourth input signal for the first length extension is sensed from a first option among the at least one menu option, the controller is further configured to display a content corresponding to the first option on the flexible display unit.

17. The mobile terminal of claim 16, wherein the content corresponding to the first option corresponds to a content of a lower hierarchy of the first content.

18. A method of controlling a mobile terminal including a flexible display unit, comprising:

displaying a first content including a first time information on the flexible display unit; and

if the flexible display unit is extended by a first preset length, displaying a second content including a second time information on the flexible display unit,

wherein the first content and the second content comprise running screens provided in the course of running a same application and

wherein the first time information and the second time information are different from each other.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising displaying the first content in a state that the flexible display unit is extended by a unit length.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein the second time information corresponds to a time information of hierarchy higher than that of the first time information.