DIGITAL DISPLAY DEVICES HAVING COMMUNICATION CAPABILITIES

• US 20090256780A1
• Filed: 01/22/2009
• Published: 10/15/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 04/11/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: T-Mobile USA, Inc. (Deutsche Telekom AG)
• Original Assignee: T-Mobile USA, Inc. (Deutsche Telekom AG)
• Inventors: Small, Andrea, Goulart, Valerie, Ungari, Joseph
• Granted Patent: US 8,704,777 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/55
• 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 1/1626 with a single-body enclosure integrating a flat display, e.g. Personal Digital Assistants [PDAs]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1643 the display being associated to a digitizer, e.g. laptops that can be used as penpads details related to the relative motion of the display enclosure with respect to the body enclosure, e.g. to move between laptop and tablet PC configuration G06F1/1615
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1647 including at least an additional display G06F1/1692 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1656 Details related to functional adaptations of the enclosure, e.g. to provide protection against EMI, shock, water, or to host detachable peripherals like a mouse or removable expansions units like PCMCIA cards, or to provide access to internal components for maintenance or to removable storage supports like CDs or DVDs, or to mechanically mount accessories mounting of accessories to a computer display G06F1/1607; display hoods G06F1/1603; cooling arrangements for portable computers G06F1/203
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/166 related to integrated arrangements for adjusting the position of the main body with respect to the supporting surface, e.g. legs for adjusting the tilt angle
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1684 Constructional details or arrangements related to integrated I/O peripherals not covered by groups G06F1/1635 - G06F1/1675
• 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 1/1698 the I/O peripheral being a sending/receiving arrangement to establish a cordless communication link, e.g. radio or infrared link, integrated cellular phone details of antennas disposed inside a computer H01Q1/2266
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1446 display composed of modules, e.g. video walls
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00127 Connection or combination of a still picture apparatus with another apparatus, e.g. for storage, processing or transmission of still picture signals or of information associated with a still picture
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00129 with a display device, e.g. CRT or LCD monitor with a television apparatus H04N1/00283; arrangements for control of display devices G09G
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00442 Simultaneous viewing of a plurality of images, e.g. using a mosaic display arrangement of thumbnails
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00453 arranged in a two dimensional array
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00458 Sequential viewing of a plurality of images, e.g. browsing or scrolling

Abstract

A digital display device having two or more displays that are coupled at angles to each other for displaying content associated with multiple sets of sources of content is described herein. Each display has one or more display regions in which content is displayed. A first display region on one display may be merged with a second display region on the same or a different display to form a merged display region in which content is displayed. The displays may be touch-sensitive. Display regions may be merged by, for example, receiving a first touch from a user of a first touch-sensitive display region and a second touch of a second touch-sensitive display region. In some embodiments, the digital display device has the form of a cube with six displays.

Claims

1. A digital display device having a plurality of interconnected faces, each face having one or more display regions for the display of content from at least one source of content, the digital display device comprising:

a plurality of interconnected faces, each of the plurality of interconnected faces being oriented at an angle with respect to an adjacent face and each of the interconnected faces having one or more display regions for the display of content;

a communication component configured to receive signals from a telecommunications network, the signals containing content associated with at least one source of content;

a storage component configured to store;

definitions of one or more merged display regions, a merged display region defined as any two or more display regions selected from the one or more display regions on the plurality of interconnected faces;

associations between a source of content and a display region on one of the plurality of interconnected faces; and

associations between a source of content and a merged display region; and

a routing component coupled to the communication component, the storage component, and the plurality of interconnected faces, the routing component;

analyzing received content to identify a source of the received content;

accessing the storage component to determine a display region or a merged display region associated with the identified source of the received content; and

routing the received content to the determined display region or determined merged display region for display.

2. The digital display device of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of interconnected faces is a square and wherein all of the plurality of interconnected faces form the shape of a cube.

3. The digital display device of claim 1, wherein all of the plurality of interconnected faces form the shape of a triangle when viewed from a plane that is perpendicular to a plane of a display region.

4. The digital display device of claim 1, wherein adjacent interconnected faces are interconnected with a hinge.

5. The digital display device of claim 1, wherein adjacent interconnected faces have a fixed interconnection.

6. The digital display device of claim 1, wherein a merged region is defined by a user selection of a first display region from the plurality of interconnected faces and a second display region from the plurality of interconnected faces.

7. The digital display device of claim 6, wherein the first and second display regions are selected from the same interconnected face.

8. The digital display device of claim 6, wherein the first display region is selected from a first interconnected face and the second display region is selected from a second interconnected face.

9. The digital display device of claim 6, wherein the merged display region is further defined by a user selection of a third display region from the plurality of interconnected faces.

10. The digital display device of claim 6, wherein the plurality of interconnected faces are touch sensitive and the user selection is made by a user touching the first display region and touching the second display region.

11. The digital display device of claim 1, wherein an association is stored between a single source of content and all of the display regions on the two or more interconnected faces.

12. The digital display device of claim 1, wherein for each of the plurality of interconnected faces, an association is stored between a source of content and all of the display regions of the interconnected face.

13. The digital display device of claim 1, wherein the received content includes at least one of a still image, a moving image, and text.

14. The digital display device of claim 1, wherein the received content includes a status message of a user associated with the source of the received content.

15. The digital display device of claim 1, wherein the received content includes a web feed.

16. The digital display device of claim 1, wherein the telecommunications network is a wireless network.

17. The digital display device of claim 1, wherein the merged display region is further defined by all of the display regions on an interconnected face, and wherein the merged display region displays content associated with a single individual.

18. The digital display device of claim 1, further comprising an accelerometer configured to detect a movement of the digital display device, wherein when the accelerometer detects a movement, at least one association between a source of content and a display region on one of the plurality of interconnected faces is changed.

19. A digital display device for the display of content associated with at least one source of content, the digital display device comprising:

a display configured to provide multiple distinct display regions for the display of content, wherein two or more of the multiple distinct display regions may be merged to form a merged display region for the display of content;

a communication component configured to receive signals from a telecommunications network, the signals containing content associated with at least one source of content;

a storage component configured to store associations between the at least one source of content and at least one of the multiple distinct display regions, wherein an association may be created between a source of content and one of the distinct display regions and/or between a source of content and the merged display region; and

a routing component coupled to the communication component, the storage component, and the display, the routing component;

analyzing received content to identify a source of the received content;

accessing the storage component to determine the distinct display region and/or the merged display region associated with the identified source of the received content; and

routing the received content to the determined distinct display region or the determined merged display region for display.

20. The digital display device of claim 19, wherein an association may be created between a source of content and all of the multiple distinct display regions.

21. The digital display device of claim 19, wherein the merged display region includes all of the multiple distinct display regions.

22. The digital display device of claim 19, wherein the merged display region is defined by a user selection of a first distinct display region and a second distinct display region.

23. The digital display device of claim 22, wherein the merged display region is further defined by a user selection of a third distinct display region.

24. The digital display device of claim 22, wherein the display is touch sensitive and the user selection is made by a user touching the first distinct display region and touching the second distinct display region.

25. The digital display device of claim 19, wherein the display is further configured to display an interface that enables a user to merge two or more of the multiple distinct display regions to form the merged display region and to create an association between a source of content and one of the distinct display regions and/or between a source of content and the merged display region.

26. The digital display device of claim 19, wherein the telecommunications network is a wireless network.

27. The digital display device of claim 19, wherein the merged display region is further defined by all of the multiple distinct display regions on the display, and wherein the merged display region displays content associated with a single individual.

28. The digital display device of claim 19, further comprising an accelerometer configured to detect a movement of the digital display device, wherein when the accelerometer detects a movement, at least one association between a source of content and a distinct display region is changed.

29. A digital display device for the display of content associated with at least one source of content, the digital display device comprising:

a touch-sensitive display configured to provide multiple distinct display regions for the display of content, wherein two or more of the multiple distinct display regions may be merged to form a merged display region for the display of content;

a communication component configured to receive signals from a telecommunications network, the signals containing content associated with at least one source of content;

a storage component configured to store associations between the at least one source of content and at least one of the multiple distinct display regions, wherein an association may be created between a source of content and one of the distinct display regions and/or between a source of content and the merged display region; and

a routing component coupled to the communication component, the storage component, and the display, the routing component;

analyzing received content to identify a source of the received content;

accessing the storage component to determine the distinct display region and/or the merged display region associated with the identified source of the received content; and

routing the received content to the determined distinct display region or the determined merged display region for display.

30. The digital display device of claim 29, wherein the two or more of the multiple distinct display regions may be merged by receiving from a user a first touch of a first distinct display region and a second touch of a second distinct display region.

31. The digital display device of claim 29, wherein content displayed in a first distinct display region may be switched with content displayed in a second distinct display region by receiving from a user a first touch of the first distinct display region and a second touch of the second distinct display region.

32. The digital display device of claim 29, wherein the merged display region is further defined by all of the multiple distinct display regions on the touch-sensitive display, and wherein the merged display region displays content associated with a single individual.

33. The digital display device of claim 29, further comprising an accelerometer configured to detect a movement of the digital display device, wherein when the accelerometer detects a movement, at least one association between a source of content and a distinct display region is changed.

34. An electronic display device for the display of content associated with at least one source of content, the digital display device comprising:

means for receiving signals from a telecommunications network, the signals containing content associated with at least one source of content;

means for providing multiple distinct display regions for the display of content, wherein two or more of the multiple distinct display regions may be merged to form a merged display region for the display of content;

means for storing associations between the at least one source of content and at least one of the multiple distinct display regions, wherein an association may be created between a source of content and one of the multiple distinct display regions and/or between a source of content and the merged display region;

means for analyzing received content to identify a source of the received content;

means for determining the distinct display region and/or merged display region associated with the identified source of the received content; and

means for routing the received content to the determined distinct display region or the determined merged display region for display.

35. The electronic display device of claim 34, wherein the received content includes at least one of a still image, a moving image, and text.

36. The electronic display device of claim 34, wherein the merged display region is further defined by all of the multiple distinct display regions on the means for providing multiple distinct display regions, and wherein the merged display region displays content associated with a single individual.

37. The electronic display device of claim 34, further comprising means for detecting a movement of the digital display device, wherein when the means for detecting a movement detects a movement, at least one association between a source of content and a distinct display region is changed.