MOBILE TERMINAL AND CONTROL METHOD THEREOF

• US 20160041680A1
• Filed: 08/22/2013
• Published: 02/11/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 04/22/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Inventors: CHI, Jumin, PARK, Jiyoung, KIM, Sujin, YOON, Sunghye
• Granted Patent: US 10,168,821 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/163 Wearable computers, e.g. on a belt
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1652 the display being flexible, e.g. mimicking a sheet of paper, or rollable
• 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 3/011 Arrangements for interaction with the human body, e.g. for user immersion in virtual reality blind teaching G09B21/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/013 Eye tracking input arrangements G06F3/015 takes precedence
• 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: G06F 3/0346 with detection of the device orientation or free movement in a 3D space, e.g. 3D mice, 6-DOF [six degrees of freedom] pointers using gyroscopes, accelerometers or tilt-sensors
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/041 Digitisers, e.g. for touch screens or touch pads, characterised by the transducing means
• 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 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• 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 3/14 Digital output to display device ; Cooperation and interconnection of the display device with other functional units
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/0492 Change of orientation of the displayed image, e.g. upside-down, mirrored
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2380/02 Flexible displays
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/14 Display of multiple viewports
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/385 Transceivers carried on the body, e.g. in helmets
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/3888 Arrangements for carrying or protecting transceivers
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 2001/3861 carried in a hand or on fingers
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/0268 including a flexible display panel
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/12 : including a sensor for measuring a physical value, e.g. temperature or motion
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/181 : for receiving images from a plurality of remote sources

Abstract

A mobile terminal and a control method thereof are provided. The mobile terminal according to one exemplary embodiment includes a main body covering at least one area of a wrist, a display disposed on a front surface of the main body, a sensing unit configured to sense flatness of the wrist and a direction that the wrist faces, and a controller configured to select a display area for displaying screen information on the display based on the flatness of the wrist and the direction that the wrist faces, sensed by the sensing unit.

Claims

1. A mobile terminal comprising:

a main body covering at least one area of a wrist;

a display disposed on a front surface of the main body;

a sensing unit configured to sense flatness of the wrist and a direction that the wrist faces; and

a controller configured to select a display area for displaying screen information on the display based on the flatness of the wrist and the direction that the wrist faces, sensed by the sensing unit.

2. The terminal of claim 1, wherein the display comprises a flexible display capable of being curved to cover the at least one area of the wrist.

3. The terminal of claim 2, wherein the sensing unit comprises a flatness sensing sensor disposed on one surface of the display, the flatness sensing sensor measuring the flatness of the wrist by a preset time interval.

4. The terminal of claim 3, wherein the sensing unit comprises at least one of a terrestrial magnetism sensor, a gyro sensor and an acceleration sensor configured to measure the direction that the wrist faces by the preset time interval, and

wherein the controller controls the display to change the display area for displaying the screen information on the display according to the direction that the wrist faces.

5. The terminal of claim 4, wherein the controller controls the display to change a display direction of the screen information displayed on the display area according to the direction that the wrist faces.

6. The terminal of claim 3, wherein the sensing unit comprises a plurality of camera sensors disposed on different positions of the display, and wherein the controller controls the display to change the display area for displaying the screen information on the display based on a user'"'"'s eyes, sensed by the camera sensors.

7. The terminal of claim 1, wherein the controller changes the display area for displaying the screen information on the display based on the flatness of the wrist and the direction that the wrist faces, sensed by the sensing unit, when a movement of the wrist is sensed.

8. The terminal of claim 7, wherein the controller changes a position, a size and a shape of the display area for displaying the screen information.

9. The terminal of claim 1, wherein the display outputs a status bar for displaying a current work status, and

wherein the controller displays the status bar on one side of the display area in a fixed state.

10. The terminal of claim 9, wherein the display outputs first screen information including the status bar on a first display area, selected based on the flatness of the wrist and the direction that the wrist faces,

wherein the controller displays second screen information related to the status bar on the first display area when a touch input is sensed on the status bar, and

wherein the controller selects one area adjacent to the first display area as a second display area, and displays the first screen information on the second display area.

11. The terminal of claim 10, wherein the controller controls an operation involved with the first screen information displayed on the first display area, in response to a movement of the wrist sensed by the sensing unit.

12. The terminal of claim 1, wherein the controller selects a touch point as a display area based on a touch input sensed on the display.

13. The terminal of claim 12, wherein the controller selects a plurality of touch points as a plurality of display areas when a plurality of touch inputs are sensed on the display, and

wherein the controller displays the same screen information on the plurality of display areas.

14. The terminal of claim 10, wherein the display outputs an execution screen of an application, which is being executed on a foreground, on the first display area while a plurality of applications are multitasked, and

wherein the controller selects one area adjacent to the first display area as a second display area based on a touch input sensed on the display, and displays an execution screen of an application, which is being executed on a background, on the second display area.

15. The terminal of claim 14, wherein the controller swaps the screen information displayed on the first and second display areas with each other, in response to a movement of the wrist sensed by the sensing unit.

16. The terminal of claim 15, wherein the controller terminates the displaying of the screen information on at least one of the first and second display areas, based a touch input sensed on the display.

17. The terminal of claim 10, wherein the display outputs a plurality of images on the first display area, and

wherein the controller selects a plurality of areas including the first display area, based on a touch input sensed on the display, and displays the plurality of images on the plurality of display areas.

18. The terminal of claim 10, wherein the display outputs screen information including at least one icon on the first display area, the at least one icon corresponding to at least one application, and

wherein the controller selects one area adjacent to the first display area as a second display area when one of the at least one icons is selected, and displays an execution screen of an application corresponding to the selected icon on the second display area.

19. The terminal of claim 10, wherein the display outputs a contact information list including contact items on the first display area, and

wherein the controller selects one area adjacent to the first display area as a second display area based on a touch input sensed on one of the contact items, and displays a shortcut menu corresponding to the touched contact item on the second display area.

20. A control method for a mobile terminal, in a control method for a mobile terminal comprising a main body to cover at least one area of a wrist, and a display disposed on a front surface of the main body, the method comprising:

sensing flatness of the wrist and a direction that the wrist faces; and

selecting a display area for displaying screen information on the display based on the flatness of the wrist and the direction that the wrist faces sensed.