METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CONTROLLING SCREEN BRIGHTNESS IN ELECTRONIC DEVICE

• US 20150116344A1
• Filed: 10/29/2014
• Published: 04/30/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 10/29/2013
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: WON, Sungjoon
• Application Number:
  US14/527,035
• Publication Number:
  US 20150116344A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/589
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/017 Gesture based interaction, e.g. based on a set of recognized hand gestures interaction based on gestures traced on a digitiser G06F3/04883
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/0686 with two or more screen areas displaying information with different brightness or colours
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2330/021 Power management, e.g. power saving
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2354/00 Aspects of interface with display user
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2360/144 the light being ambient light
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2360/145 the light originating from the display screen
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2360/16 Calculation or use of calculated indices related to luminance levels in display data
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/32 semiconductive, e.g. using light-emitting diodes [LED]
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/36 using liquid crystals
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/10 Intensity circuits
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/14 Display of multiple viewports

Abstract

A method of controlling screen brightness in an electronic device. The method includes determining whether to control screen brightness when displaying a screen; dividing a display area of screen information partially displayed on the screen if it is determined to control screen brightness; and partially controlling screen brightness of a display area having a low priority in the screen information of which the display area has been divided.

Claims

1. A method of controlling screen brightness in an electronic device, the method comprising:

determining whether to control screen brightness when displaying a screen;

dividing a display area of screen information partially displayed on the screen if it was determined to control screen brightness; and

partially controlling screen brightness of the display area having a low priority in the screen information of which the display area has been divided.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein determining whether to control screen brightness comprises:

detecting ambient brightness; and

determining whether to control screen brightness by comparing the ambient brightness with the screen'"'"'s current brightness,

wherein detecting ambient brightness comprises detecting ambient brightness sensed through an illuminance sensor, a camera, or a combination thereof.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein dividing the display area of the screen information comprises:

dividing the screen according to each display area; and

determining a priority of each display area.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein determining whether to control the screen brightness comprises controlling a screen brightness level of the display area or turning off the display area by making each pixel of the display area black when it is determined to control the screen brightness.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein a display area having the low priority is a background screen.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein determining whether to control screen brightness comprises:

analyzing whether to select screen information from the displayed screen information;

wherein controlling screen brightness of a display area having a low priority comprises;

controlling screen brightness of other display areas except for the display area of selected screen information when the screen information of a particular display area is selected.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the display area of the selected screen information further includes a surrounding area of a selected area and the selected screen information is a display area having a high priority,

wherein the display area has a high priority if it includes an indicator bar area or a keypad area, wherein the indicator bar area or the keypad area are always displayed when present.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein controlling the screen brightness of the other display areas comprises:

determining the display area of the selected screen information; and

controlling a screen brightness level of other display areas except for the display area of the selected screen information or turning off the display area by making each pixel in the display area black.

9. The method of claim 6, wherein analyzing whether to select the screen information comprises at least one of:

selecting the display area corresponding to a detected gaze direction of a user by detecting the gaze direction of the user from an output of a camera, selecting a display area corresponding to a detected hovering by detecting a hovering of a pen, selecting display information corresponding to detected successive touch inputs by detecting successive touch inputs,

detecting a number of times an application is executed and selecting an icon corresponding to an application which is most frequently executed during a predetermined time by detecting a number of times an application is executed, or

selecting an icon corresponding to an application which is most recently executed by determining an application execution time point.

10. The method of claim 6, wherein analyzing whether to select the screen information comprises controlling screen brightness of the selected display area when the screen information is selected in a display area previously touched for predetermined time.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein controlling the screen brightness of the selected display area comprises detecting a touch for a predetermined time.

12. An apparatus for controlling screen brightness in an electronic device, the apparatus comprising:

a display panel configured to display screen information of which brightness is controlled according to ambient brightness;

a touch panel configured to detect a selection of screen information displayed on the display panel; and

a controller configured to divide a display area and partially control screen brightness separately in each display area if it is determined to control the screen brightness in each display area.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, further comprising a sensor unit configured to detect ambient brightness.

14. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the controller is further configured to detect ambient brightness by periodically using a camera to determine a screen brightness control event by comparing the detected ambient brightness with the display panel'"'"'s current brightness.

15. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the controller is further configured to determine priorities of the display areas and to control a screen brightness level of the display area having a low priority or to turn off the display area having a low priority by making each pixel in the display area having a low priority black.

16. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the controller is further configured to compare the detected ambient brightness with the display panel'"'"'s current brightness to analyze whether screen information is selected when it is determined to not control screen brightness, and to display dark the display area except for a selected display area or the selected display area when screen information is selected the controller is configured to darkly displays screen brightness of display areas except for the display area associated with the selected screen information when the controller detects the selection of screen information from a gaze direction of a user, a hovering of a pen, or successive touch inputs.

17. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the controller is further configured to control partially screen brightness of a surrounding area of the selected screen information.

18. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein, when the controller is further configured to detect the selection of screen information through a detection of a touch in a display area previously touched for a predetermined time, the controller is configured to display dark a screen of the display area.

19. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the controller is further configured to display dark an area by controlling a brightness level of a layer or making pixels of the corresponding display area black.

20. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the controller is further configured to determine a display area in which is displayed screen information corresponding to an application, which is most frequently executed during a predetermined time or most recently executed, as a selected display area.