Curved display apparatus providing air touch input function

• US 10,664,103 B2
• Filed: 11/10/2014
• Issued: 05/26/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 09/29/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Tovis Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Tovis Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Kim, Yong Beom, Kim, Joon Seog
• Primary Examiner(s): Eisen, Alexander
• Assistant Examiner(s): Lam, Nelson
• Application Number:
  US14/917,022
• Publication Number:
  US 20160291715A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,024 Days
• Field of Search: 345173-179
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/00 Devices or arrangements for the control of the intensity, colour, phase, polarisation or direction of light arriving from an independent light source, e.g. switching, gating or modulating; Non-linear optics
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04108 Touchless 2D- digitiser, i.e. digitiser detecting the X/Y position of the input means, finger or stylus, also when it does not touch, but is proximate to the digitiser's interaction surface without distance measurement in the Z direction
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04806 Zoom, i.e. interaction techniques or interactors for controlling the zooming operation
• 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 3/016 Input arrangements with force or tactile feedback as computer generated output to the user
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/017 Gesture based interaction, e.g. based on a set of recognized hand gestures interaction based on gestures traced on a digitiser G06F3/04883
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0412 Digitisers structurally integrated in a display
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/042 by opto-electronic means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04845 for image manipulation, e.g. dragging, rotation, expansion or change of colour
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/305 using lenticular lenses, e.g. arrangements of cylindrical lenses

Abstract

A curved display apparatus providing an air touch input function including: a curved display including a concavely curved monitor to display a three-dimensional image; a three-dimensional filter unit having the same radius of curvature as the curved monitor and disposed in front of the curved monitor; a position input unit disposed in front of the three-dimensional filter unit and configured to detect a three-dimensional position according to a user'"'"'s non-touch motion in a predetermined sensing region; and an image control unit configured to control a three-dimensional image displayed on the curved monitor by transmitting position information sensed through position input unit to the curved display, wherein air touch input through a user'"'"'s non-touch motion is performed in a concave region of the curved display.

Claims

1. A curved display apparatus providing an air touch input function comprising:

a curved display including a concavely curved monitor to display a three-dimensional image, wherein a top and a bottom of the curved display are bent to include the concavely curved monitor;

a backlight unit being disposed behind the concavely curved monitor and configured to emit light toward the concavely curved monitor;

a three-dimensional filter unit being disposed in front of the concavely curved monitor and aligned along the concavely curved monitor and configured to display a virtual image, wherein a radius of curvature defined by the three-dimensional filter unit is identical to a radius of curvature defined by the concavely curved monitor,

wherein a concave region is formed and defined by the front of the concavely curved monitor, the virtual image being displayed in the concave region,

wherein a length of the three-dimensional filter unit is substantially identical to a length of the concavely curved monitor;

a flat-shaped position input unit having a motion sensor unit, the flat-shaped position input unit disposed at one non-curved end of the three-dimensional filter unit and configured to detect a three-dimensional position according to a user'"'"'s non-touch motion in the concave region, wherein the motion sensor unit has one or more signal generators configured to generate and transmit a sensing signal to the concave region and two or more receivers configured to sense the sensing signal reflected in the concave region, the one or more signal generators and the two or more receivers being disposed together in a row,

wherein the one or more signal generators are configured to generate and transmit the sensing signal to a sensing region, and the two or more receivers are configured to receive the sensing signal reflected according to the user'"'"'s non-touch motion in the sensing region,

wherein the sensing region includes a range extending forward from a concave surface of the concavely curved monitor by a predetermined radius of curvature, a range extending in a longitudinal direction of the concavely curved monitor, and a range extending in a height direction of the concavely curved monitor; and

an image control unit configured to control the three-dimensional image displayed on the concavely curved monitor and configured to control the virtual image displayed in the concave region by transmitting position information sensed through the flat-shaped position input unit to the curved display,

wherein an air touch of the virtual image through the user'"'"'s non-touch motion is performed in the concave region,

wherein an opposite side of the virtual image positioned in the concave region is touchable as the virtual image is displayed in the concave region,

wherein the flat-shaped position input unit is configured to sense a position and a movement in all directions of the user'"'"'s non-touch motion of the virtual image in the concave region and the image control unit is configured to control the virtual image in response to the flat-shaped position input unit without mapping between the concave region and the virtual image,

wherein the curved display further includes an interaction unit configured to blow air in response to the air touch of the virtual image, the interaction unit including a polymer-based haptic element or piezo element.

2. The curved display apparatus providing the air touch input function according to claim 1, wherein the motion sensor unit is an infrared sensor or an ultrasonic sensor configured to output the sensing signal upward towards the concavely curved monitor or downwards towards the concavely curved monitor.

3. The curved display apparatus providing the air touch input function according to claim 1, wherein the interaction unit is configured to be synchronized with the position information sensed through the flat-shaped position input unit and perform physical interaction.

4. The curved display apparatus providing the air touch input function according to claim 1, wherein the three-dimensional filter unit includes a lenticular lens sheet.