PORTABLE DEVICE AND CONTROL METHOD FOR THE SAME

• US 20140375702A1
• Filed: 09/08/2014
• Published: 12/25/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 04/18/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Inventors: Cho, Eunhyung, Chun, Sinae, Kim, Jihwan
• Granted Patent: US 9,424,790 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/690
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1641 the display being formed by a plurality of foldable display components G06F1/1647 takes precedence
• 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 1/1652 the display being flexible, e.g. mimicking a sheet of paper, or rollable
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3218 of display devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3265 Power saving in display device
• 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 3/03 Arrangements for converting the position or the displacement of a member into a coded form
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0483 Interaction with page-structured environments, e.g. book metaphor
• 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: G06F 3/1438 using more than one graphics controller
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/0626 for control of overall brightness
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/03 specially adapted for displays having non-planar surfaces, e.g. curved displays
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/3611 Control of matrices with row and column drivers
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/10 Intensity circuits
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 10/00 Energy efficient computing, e.g. low power processors, power management or thermal management

Abstract

Disclosed are a portable device and a control method thereof for convenient and accurate dimming control. The portable device includes a foldable display unit, a state sensor unit to detect folded and unfolded states of the foldable display unit, an input sensor unit to sense user input and a processor to control the respective units. The processor converts the portable device from a first dimming mode to a second dimming mode upon detection of change of the foldable display unit from the unfolded state to the folded state, perform dimming of the foldable display unit based on a dimming time different with the second dimming time when the user input is sensed in the second dimming mode within a second dimming time, and performs dimming of the foldable display unit after the second dimming time has passed when the user input is not sensed in the second dimming mode within the second dimming time.

Claims

1. A portable device comprising:

a foldable display unit including a first display region and a second display region;

a state sensor unit configured to detect a folded state and an unfolded state of the foldable display unit;

an input sensor unit configured to sense user input; and

a processor configured to control the foldable display unit, the state sensor unit and the input sensor unit,

wherein the portable device provides a dimming mode for dimming at least a part of the foldable display unit when the user input is not sensed for a dimming time,

wherein the processor is further configured to;

convert the portable device from a first dimming mode to a second dimming mode upon detection of change of the foldable display unit from the unfolded state to the folded state, wherein the first dimming mode provides a first dimming time, wherein the second dimming mode provides a second dimming time different with the first dimming time;

perform dimming of the foldable display unit upon reaching the second dimming time when the user input is not sensed in the second dimming mode within the second dimming time; and

perform dimming of the foldable display unit based on a dimming time different with the second dimming time when the user input is sensed in the second dimming mode within the second dimming time.

2. The portable device according to claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to convert the portable device from the second dimming mode to a third dimming mode when the user input is sensed in the second dimming mode within the second dimming time, wherein the third dimming mode provides a third dimming time and wherein the third dimming time is longer than the second dimming time.

3. The portable device according to claim 1, wherein the second dimming time is shorter than the first dimming time.

4. The portable device according to claim 1, wherein the second display region is located at an inner side of the portable device in the folded state of the foldable display unit and located at an outer side of the portable device in the unfolded state of the foldable display unit.

5. The portable device according to claim 4, wherein the first display region and at least a portion of the second display region face in opposite directions.

6. The portable device according to claim 5, wherein the processor is further configured to:

display at least one content in the first display region in the folded state of the foldable display unit; and

display the at least one content in the second display region in the unfolded state of the foldable display unit.

7. The portable device according to claim 1, wherein the foldable display unit includes a transparent display unit and an opaque display unit divided by a single folding axis,

wherein the first display region is located on the transparent display unit and the second display region is located on the opaque display unit, and

wherein the second display region is located at an inner surface of the portable device in the folded state of the foldable display unit.

8. The portable device according to claim 7, wherein the processor is further configured to:

display at least one content in at least one of the first display region and the second display region in the folded state of the foldable display unit; and

display the at least one content in the first region and the second region in the unfolded state of the foldable display unit.

9. The portable device according to claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to:

convert the portable device from the second dimming mode to a third dimming mode when predetermined user input is sensed in the second dimming mode within the second dimming time, wherein the third dimming mode provides a third dimming time and wherein the third dimming time is longer than the second dimming time; and

perform dimming of the foldable display unit upon reaching the second dimming time when the predetermined user input is not sensed in the second dimming mode within the second dimming time.

10. The portable device according to claim 9, wherein the predetermined user input includes touch input to a soft button displayed at a specific point of the foldable display unit.

11. The portable device according to claim 9, wherein the predetermined user input includes touch input to the foldable display unit, the touch input having a touch input length exceeding a threshold length.

12. The portable device according to claim 1, wherein dimming of the foldable display unit includes blacking out of the foldable display unit.

13. The portable device according to claim 1, wherein dimming of the foldable display unit gradually proceeds as time passes.

14. The portable device according to claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to change the portable device to a locked state upon dimming of the foldable display unit.

15. The portable device according to claim 14, wherein the processor is further configured to deactivate at least one of the foldable display unit, the state sensor unit and the input sensor unit upon change of the portable device to the locked state.

16. The portable device according to claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to:

detect a time that it takes the foldable display unit to change from the folded state to the unfolded state;

convert the portable device from the first dimming mode to the second dimming mode when the detected time is equal to or more than a predetermined time; and

perform dimming of the flexible display unit when the detected time is less than the predetermined time.

17. The portable device according to claim 1, wherein the first dimming mode and the second dimming mode have different brightness of the foldable display unit.

18. The portable device according to claim 3, wherein, when the processor senses touch input, as the user input, to the foldable display unit, the first dimming mode and the third dimming mode are modes to allow the processor to activate sensing of the touch input to an overall region of the foldable display unit, and the second dimming mode is a mode to allow the processor to activate sensing of the touch input to a specific region of the foldable display unit.

19. The portable device according to claim 1, wherein the input sensor unit includes a sensor configured to recognize at least one of a user'"'"'s face, a gaze direction and voice as the user input.

20. A control method for a portable device, the portable device comprising a foldable display unit, the control method comprising:

detecting conversion of the foldable display unit from an unfolded state to a folded state;

converting the portable device from a first dimming mode to a second dimming mode, wherein the first dimming mode provides a first dimming time, wherein the second dimming mode provides a second dimming time different with the first dimming time;

performing dimming of the foldable display unit upon reaching the second dimming time when the user input is not sensed in the second dimming mode within the second dimming time; and

performing dimming of the foldable display unit based on a dimming time different with the second dimming time when the user input is sensed in the second dimming mode within the second dimming time.