FLEXIBLE DISPLAY APPARATUS AND OPERATING METHOD THEREOF

• US 20130265257A1
• Filed: 04/08/2013
• Published: 10/10/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 04/08/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: LEE, Chang-soo, JUNG, Ji-hyun
• Granted Patent: US 10,152,153 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/173
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1652 the display being flexible, e.g. mimicking a sheet of paper, or rollable
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/0381 Multimodal input, i.e. interface arrangements enabling the user to issue commands by simultaneous use of input devices of different nature, e.g. voice plus gesture on digitizer
• 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 2203/04105 Pressure sensors for measuring the pressure or force exerted on the touch surface without providing the touch position
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/038 Control and interface arrangements therefor, e.g. drivers or device-embedded control circuitry
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0412 Digitisers structurally integrated in a display
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0416 Control or interface arrangements specially adapted for digitisers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures

Abstract

A flexible display device is provided. The flexible touch-sensitive display device includes a display which is deformable, a sensor which senses an input comprising a touch of the display and a deformation of the display, and a controller which receives the input, determines whether to select one of only the touch and only the deformation based on a condition of the input, and selects only the touch if it is determined to select only the touch and only the deformation if it is determined to select only the deformation.

Claims

1. A flexible touch-sensitive display device comprising:

a display which is deformable;

a sensor which senses an input comprising a touch of the display and a deformation of the display; and

a controller which determines whether to select one of only the touch and only the deformation based on a condition of the input sensed by the sensor, and selects i) only the touch if it is determined to select only the touch and ii) only the deformation if it is determined to select only the deformation.

2. The flexible touch-sensitive display device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the controller further determines whether to select both the touch and the deformation based on the condition of the input, and

wherein the controller selects iii) both the touch and the deformation if it is determined to select both the touch and deformation.

3. The flexible touch-sensitive display device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the condition of the input is at least one of a property of the touch, a property of the deformation, a timing of the touch, a timing of the deformation, a usage history of the device, an input mode changing event, and a signal received from a second sensor.

4. The flexible touch-sensitive display device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the condition of the input comprises at least one of a timing of the touch and a timing of the deformation,

wherein the timing of the deformation comprises a predetermined period of time for accepting the deformation of the display, and

wherein the timing of the touch comprises a predetermined period of time for accepting the touch of the display.

5. The flexible touch-sensitive display device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the condition of the input comprises a property of the touch, and

wherein the property of touch comprises one of a location of the touch, a pressure of the touch, a speed of the touch, a number touch points in the touch, and a frequency of the touch.

6. The flexible touch-sensitive display device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the condition of the input comprises a property of the deformation, and

wherein the property of the deformation comprises one of a location of the deformation, a frequency of the deformation, an angle of the deformation, and a number of deformation lines in the deformation.

7. The flexible touch-sensitive display device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the condition of the input comprises an input mode changing event, and

wherein the input mode changing event is activated by at least one of selecting a menu item displayed on a screen of the display, selecting a button provided on the flexible display apparatus, performing a predetermined touch gesture on the screen of the display, and deforming the display in a predetermined shape.

8. The flexible touch-sensitive display device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the condition of the input comprises a usage history comprising pattern information corresponding to information about a history of inputs from a user of the device.

9. The flexible touch-sensitive display device as claimed in claim 8, wherein the information about a history of inputs from a user comprises at least one of a pressure of the input, a location of the input, a date and time of the input, and an application being executed when the input is received.

10. The flexible touch-sensitive display device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the condition of the input comprises at least one signal received from a second sensor, and

wherein the second sensor comprises at least one of a non-touch gesture detector, an ambient light detector, an image sensor, an infrared sensor, an acceleration sensor, and a gyroscope.

11. The flexible touch-sensitive display device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the controller further determines whether to reject both the touch and the deformation based on the condition of the input, and

wherein the controller rejects iv) both the touch and the deformation if it is determined to reject both the touch and the deformation.

12. The flexible touch-sensitive display device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the controller performs an operation corresponding to only the touch if it is determined to select only the touch and performs an operation corresponding to only the deformation if it is determined to select only the deformation.

13. A method for operating a flexible touch-sensitive display device comprising:

sensing an input comprising a touch of the display and a deformation of the display; and

determining whether to select one of only the touch and only the deformation based on a condition of the input;

selecting only the touch if it is determined to select only the touch; and

selecting only the deformation if it is determined to select only the deformation.

14. The method as claimed in claim 13, further comprising:

determining whether to select both the touch and the deformation based on the condition of the input; and

selecting both the touch and the deformation if it is determined to select both the touch and deformation.

15. The method as claimed in claim 13, wherein the condition of the input is at least one of a property of the touch, a property of the deformation, a timing of the touch, a timing of the deformation, a usage history of the device, an input mode changing event, and a signal received from a second sensor.

16. The method as claimed in claim 13, wherein the condition of the input comprises at least one of a timing of the touch and a timing of the deformation,

wherein the timing of the deformation comprises a predetermined period of time for accepting the deformation of the display, and

wherein the timing of the touch comprises a predetermined period of time for accepting the touch of the display.

17. The method as claimed in claim 13, wherein the condition of the input comprises a property of the touch, and

wherein the property of touch comprises one of a location of the touch, a pressure of the touch, a speed of the touch, a number touch points in the touch, and a frequency of the touch.

18. The method as claimed in claim 13, wherein the condition of the input comprises a property of the deformation, and

wherein the property of the deformation comprises one of a location of the deformation, a frequency of the deformation, an angle of the deformation, and a number of deformation lines in the deformation.

19. The method as claimed in claim 13, wherein the condition of the input comprises an input mode changing event, and

wherein the input mode changing event is activated by at least one of selecting a menu item displayed on a screen of the display, selecting a button provided on the flexible display apparatus, performing a predetermined touch gesture on the screen of the display, and deforming the display in a predetermined shape.

20. The method as claimed in claim 13, wherein the condition of the input comprises a usage history comprising pattern information corresponding to information about a history of inputs from a user of the device.

21. The method as claimed in claim 20, wherein the information about a history of inputs from a user comprises at least one of a pressure of the input, a location of the input, a date and time of the input, and an application being executed when the input is received.

22. The method as claimed in claim 13, wherein the condition of the input comprises at least one signal received from a second sensor, and

wherein the second sensor comprises at least one of a non-touch gesture detector, an ambient light detector, an image sensor, an infrared sensor, an acceleration sensor, and a gyroscope.

23. The method as claimed in claim 13, further comprising:

determining whether to reject both the touch and the deformation based on the condition of the input; and

rejecting both the touch and the deformation if it is determined to reject both the touch and the deformation.

24. The method as claimed in claim 13, further comprising:

performing an operation corresponding to only the touch if it is determined to select only the touch; and

performing an operation corresponding to only the deformation if it is determined to select only the deformation.

25. A non-transitory computer readable medium having recorded thereon instructions which are executed by a computer to perform the method of claim 13.