Portable electronic device for changing menu display state according to rotating degree and method thereof

• US 20050190281A1
• Filed: 02/28/2005
• Published: 09/01/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 02/27/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Cho, Woo-jong, Choi, Sang-on, Lee, Woo-jong
• Granted Patent: US 7,486,323 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/333.12
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 17/30 Earth-inductor compasses
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1616 with folding flat displays, e.g. laptop computers or notebooks having a clamshell configuration, with body parts pivoting to an open position around an axis parallel to the plane they define in closed position
• 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: G06F 2200/1614 Image rotation following screen orientation, e.g. switching from landscape to portrait mode
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2200/1637 Sensing arrangement for detection of housing movement or orientation, e.g. for controlling scrolling or cursor movement on the display of an handheld computer
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/0241 using relative motion of the body parts to change the operational status of the telephone set, e.g. switching on/off, answering incoming call
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/12 including a sensor for measuring a physical value, e.g. temperature or motion

Abstract

A video pick device for displaying a menu in a fixed position regardless of its rotation state. The photographing device comprises a geomagnetic sensor for detecting a predetermined output value corresponding to a geomagnetism; a display unit for displaying a predetermined menu through a display panel; and a control unit for checking the output value detected by the geomagnetic sensor to determine a pickup position, and controlling the display unit to have a display state of the menu changed in response to the determined pickup position. Accordingly, the menu display state on the display panel is changed in response to respective pickup positions to be displayed with the same form in a fixed direction with respect to the surface of the earth.

Claims

1. A photographing device comprising:

a geomagnetic sensor which detects a predetermined output value corresponding to a geomagnetism;

a display unit which displays a predetermined menu through a display panel; and

a control unit which checks the output value detected by the geomagnetic sensor to determine a pickup position, and controls the display unit to have a display state of the menu changed in response to the determined pickup position.

2. The photographing device as recited in claim 1, wherein the geomagnetic sensor comprises:

a geomagnetism detection module which includes an X-axis fluxgate and a Y-axis fluxgate orthogonal to each other detects a respective electrical signal corresponding to a respective geomagnetism of each of the X and Y-axis fluxgates;

a signal processing unit which converts the respective electrical signal output from each of the X and Y-axis fluxgates to respective predetermined output values of the X and Y-axes and outputs said respective output values; and

a geomagnetism calculation unit which normalizes the respective output values of the X and Y-axes to values in respective predetermined ranges.

3. The photographing device as recited in claim 2, wherein the control unit checks respective magnitudes of the respective output values of the X and Y-axes and determines that there exists a pickup position corresponding to a predetermined condition if the respective magnitudes meet the predetermined condition.

4. The photographing device as recited in claim 3, wherein the control unit uses the respective magnitudes of the respective output values of the X and Y-axes as the condition under respective pickup positions which are extracted, in advance, by measuring the respective output values of the X and Y-axes while changing the pickup positions of the photographing device.

5. The photographing device as recited in claim 4, wherein the geomagnetic sensor is mounted so as to have the X-axis fluxgate and the Y-axis fluxgate formed in a pickup direction of the photographing device and in a direction perpendicular to the pickup direction of the photographing device, respectively.

6. The photographing device as recited in claim 5, wherein the control unit determines that the pickup position is in a longitudinal pickup direction if the output value of the Y-axis is greater than that of the X-axis and the output value of the X-axis is smaller than a first predetermined threshold value.

7. The photographing device as recited in claim 6, wherein the control unit determines that the pickup position is in a left horizontal pickup direction if the output value of the Y-axis is greater than that of the X-axis and a second predetermined threshold value.

8. The photographing device as recited in claim 7, wherein the control unit determines that the pickup position is in a right horizontal pickup direction if the output value of the X-axis is greater than that of the Y-axis and the output value of the Y-axis is smaller than a third predetermined threshold value.

9. The photographing device as recited in claim 1, wherein the control unit changes position and angle of the menu display to correspond to the change of the pickup position, so that the menu is displayed with a same form on the display panel in a fixed direction with respect to a surface of the earth.

10. A portable electronic device comprising:

a geomagnetic sensor which detects a predetermined output value corresponding to a geomagnetism;

a control unit which checks the output value detected by the geomagnetic sensor, and determines that there is an inclination corresponding to a predetermined condition if the output value meets the predetermined condition; and

a display unit which displays a predetermined menu on a display panel, and changes a display state of the menu in response to the inclination to display the menu with a same form on the display panel in a fixed direction with respect to a surface of the earth.

11. The portable electronic device as recited in claim 10, wherein the geomagnetic sensor comprises:

a geomagnetism detection module which includes an X-axis fluxgate and a Y-axis fluxgate orthogonal to each other and detects a respective electrical signal corresponding to a geomagnetism of each of the X and Y-axis fluxgates;

a signal processing unit which converts the respective electrical signal output from each of the X and Y-axis fluxgates to respective predetermined output values of the X and Y-axes and outputs said respective output values; and

a geomagnetism calculation unit which normalizes the output values of the X and Y-axes to values in respective predetermined ranges.

12. A method for displaying a menu of a photographing device having a display panel and two axis fluxgates, comprising:

(a) using the two axis fluxgates to detect at least one predetermined output value corresponding to at least one geomagnetism;

(b) checking whether the at least one predetermined output value meets a predetermined condition to determine the pickup position of the photographing device; and

(c) displaying a predetermined menu on the display panel, and changing a display state of the menu in response to the pickup position to display the menu with a same form on the display panel in a fixed direction with respect to the surface of the earth.

13. The method as recited in claim 12, wherein (a) comprises:

detecting a respective electrical signal corresponding to said at least one geomagnetism from the two axis fluxgates;

converting the respective electrical signal output from each of the X and Y-axis fluxgates to respective predetermined output values of the X and Y-axes and outputting said respective output values; and

normalizing the respective output values of the X and Y-axes to values in respective predetermined ranges.

14. The method as recited in claim 13, wherein (b) comprises using magnitude information of the respective output values of the X and Y-axes as the condition under respective pickup positions which are extracted, in advance, by measuring the respective output values of the X and Y-axes while changing the pickup position of the photographing device.