DISPLAY DEVICE AND METHOD OF CONTROLLING THE SAME

• US 20150062175A1
• Filed: 02/13/2014
• Published: 03/05/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 09/03/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Inventors: KIM, Hansu
• Granted Patent: US 9,368,081 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/639
• 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 1/1637 Details related to the display arrangement, including those related to the mounting of the display in the housing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04804 Transparency, e.g. transparent or translucent windows
• 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: G09G 2300/023 Display panel composed of stacked panels
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/10 Mixing of images, i.e. displayed pixel being the result of an operation, e.g. adding, on the corresponding input pixels
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/3648 using an active matrix G09G3/367 - G09G3/3696 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/10 Intensity circuits
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/14 Display of multiple viewports
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/0266 for a display module assembly
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/52 including functional features of a camera constructional features concerning the integration of cameras in portable phones H04M1/0264

Abstract

A display device is provided that includes a transparent display unit, a setting unit that sets transparency of a first screen that is output in the foreground to the transparent display unit, and a controller that determines transparency of a background object that is seen through the transparent display unit, based on the transparency of the first screen that is set, such that the transparency of at least one of the background object and at least one region of the first screen is changed, based on a detected event that is associated with transparency control of the transparent display unit.

Claims

1. A display device comprising:

a transparent display unit configured to display information; and

a controller configured to;

set transparency of a first screen that is displayed in a foreground of the transparent display unit;

set transparency of at least one background object that is visible through the transparent display unit based on the set transparency of the first screen; and

control the transparent display unit to change a transparency set for at least one region of the first screen or a transparency set for one or more of the at least one background object based a detected event associated with transparency control.

2. The display device of claim 1, wherein the controller is further configured to control the transparent display unit to set the transparency of the at least one background object higher than the set transparency of the first screen.

3. The display device of claim 2, wherein the controller is further configured to control the transparent display unit to set different transparencies of each of a plurality of background objects that are visible through the transparent display unit according to a distance between each of the a plurality of background objects and the transparent display unit.

4. The display device of claim 2, wherein the controller is further configured to control the transparent display unit to:

set transparency of a second screen that is displayed in a background of the transparent display unit higher than the set transparency of the first screen or to decrease the set transparency of the first screen to less than a set transparency of the second screen; and

set the transparency to the at least one background object higher than the set transparency of each of the first and second screens.

5. The display device of claim 4, wherein the controller is further configured to control the transparent display unit to:

set transparencies of a plurality of screens displayed in the background of the transparent display unit, the transparencies set in a sequential order from a highest transparency to a lowest transparency such that a screen that corresponds to an application executed most recently has the highest transparency set and a screen that corresponds to an application executed most previously has the lowest transparency set; and

set transparency of the at least one background object higher than the highest transparency set for the screen corresponding to the application executed most recently.

6. The display device of claim 4, wherein the controller is further configured to control the transparent display unit to:

increase the set transparency of the first screen when an indication is received to switch the first screen and second screen; and

set the transparency of the second screen to the previously set transparency of the first screen.

7. The display device of claim 1, wherein the controller is further configured to control the transparent display unit to at least decrease the set transparency of an input region of the first screen or to apply a non-transparency mode to the input such that the input region disappears from the first screen when a predetermined touch is received on the input region.

8. The display device of claim 7, wherein the controller is further configured to control the transparent display unit to decrease a set transparency of a region of the transparent display unit on which a graphic image is displayed to less than the set transparency of the first screen or to switch the region to the non-transparency mode when a touch corresponding to the region is received on the graphic image.

9. The display device of claim 1, further comprising a setting unit configured to set a clearness priority of the at least one background object and first screen according to an execution status of an application that is executed on the transparent display unit,

wherein the controller is further configured to control the transparent display unit to change the set transparency of at least the first screen or the at least one background object based on the set clearness priority.

10. The display device of claim 9, wherein:

the setting unit is further configured to set the clearness priority of the at least one background object higher than the clearness priority of the first screen; and

the controller is further configured to control the transparent display unit increase the set transparency of the first screen and decrease the set transparency of the at least one background object to less than the set transparency of the first screen if the execution status of the application is a preview screen of a camera.

11. The display device of claim 1, wherein the controller is further configured to control the transparent display unit to set the transparency of the first screen according to a type of application that corresponds to the first screen.

12. The display device of claim 1, wherein the controller is further configured to control the transparent display unit to:

apply a non-transparency mode to at least one region of the first screen when a dragging touch input is received on a border region of the first screen in a first direction, the non-transparency mode applied along the first direction and in proportion to an extent of the dragging; and

display a visually-distinguishable indication of the non-transparency mode on at least one border line of the at least one region.

13. The display device of claim 12, wherein the controller is further configured to control the transparent display unit to apply a transparency mode to the at least one region of the first screen when a dragging touch input is received on the border region of the first screen in a second direction that is opposite to the first direction, the transparency mode applied at a predetermined transparency along the second direction and in proportion to an extent of the dragging.

14. The display device of claim 1, wherein the controller is further configured to control the transparent display unit to:

display an indicator for adjusting the set transparency of the first screen; and

adjust the set transparency of the first screen according to an extent to which a touch applied to the indicator is dragged.

15. The display device of claim 1, further comprising a gaze tracking unit configured to detect a user'"'"'s gaze within a predetermined range of the transparent display unit, wherein the controller is further configured to control the transparent display unit to change the set transparency of the at least one region of the first screen according to the detected gaze.

16. The display device of claim 15, wherein the controller is further configured to control the transparent display unit to gradually decrease the set transparency of a specific region of the first screen or to apply a non-transparency mode to the specific region of the first screen when the detected gaze is fixed on the specific region for a predetermined time.

17. The display device of claim 1, further comprising a sensing unit configured to detect a change in strength of light incident on the transparent display unit according to an inclination of the transparent display unit, wherein the controller is further configured to control the transparent display unit to adjust a difference in set transparency between a first region of the first screen on which at least one character is displayed and a second region of the first screen that is not part of the first region.

18. The display device of claim 1, wherein the controller is further configured to control the transparent display unit to:

apply a non-transparency mode to a region of the first screen on which a specific object is displayed when a signal related to the specific object is received; and

display an indicator of the non-transparency mode.

19. The display device of claim 18, wherein the controller is further configured to control the transparent display unit to replace the specific object on the first screen with a previously-registered substitute image when the non-transparency mode is applied during execution of an application corresponding to the first screen.

20. A method of controlling a display device, the method comprising:

displaying a first screen in a foreground of a transparent display unit;

setting transparency of the first screen;

determining transparency of at least one background object that is visible through the transparent display unit based on the set transparency of the first screen; and

changing a transparency set for at least one region of the first screen or a transparency set for one or more of the at least one background object based a detected event associated with transparency control.