Dual display arrangement and a terminal device

• US 6,583,770 B1
• Filed: 05/13/1998
• Issued: 06/24/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 05/26/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: WSOU Investments, LLC (WSOU Holdings, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Nokia Mobile Phones UK Limited (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Ronkka, Risto, Antila, Mika
• Primary Examiner(s): Shankar, Vijay
• Application Number:
  US09/078,298
• Time in Patent Office: 1,868 Days
• Field of Search: 345/1.1, 345/3.1, 345/173, 345/1.2, 345/1.3, 345/2.2, 178/18.06, 704/3, 455/556, 455/550, 455/90, 708/109
• US Class Current: 345/1.1
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/133342 for double-sided displays
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/133391 Constructional arrangement for sub-divided displays
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/1336 Illuminating devices
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/133604 with lamps
• CPC Class Codes: G09F 9/35 being liquid crystals G09F9/302 takes precedence; liquid crystal materials C09K19/00; liquid crystal panels comprising a number of electrodes in a single cell per se G02F1/13

Abstract

A display arrangement displays in two different directions and includes a first display (D1) displaying in a first direction and a second display (D2) displaying in a second, essentially opposite direction. The display arrangement comprises a component common to the first (D1) and second (D2) display, which component comprises a display material layer (2′, 2″, 8′, 8″, 14) of a certain size which determines the type of the display, and a first part (2′, 8′, 14) of the display material layer forms a part of the first display (D1) and a second part (2″, 8″, 14) of the display material layer forms a part of the second display (D2).

Claims

1. A display arrangement displaying fixedly to two different directions, comprising a first display displaying to a first direction and a second display displaying to a second direction, said second display being fixed in relation to said first display thus displaying fixedly in an essentially opposite direction to said first direction, wherein the display arrangement comprises a component common to said first and second display, which component comprises a display material layer of a certain size which determines the type of the display, and a first part of said display material layer forms a part of said first display and a second part of said display material layer forms a part of said second display, and the display arrangement further comprises driver circuits for controlling said first display to display a first information and said second display to display a second information that is different from said first information.

2. A display arrangement according to claim 1, wherein said display material layer comprises all such layers of the display, the location of which within the display is independent of the direction of viewing.

3. A display arrangement according to claim 1,

wherein the display arrangement further comprises glass plate layers of a certain size enveloping the display material layer on both sides, which glass plate layers are common for said first and second displays and a first part of said glass plate layers forms a part of said first display and a second part of said display material layers forms a part of said second display.

4. A display arrangement according to claim 1, wherein it further comprises layers the order and direction of which in the arrangement is dependent on the viewing direction of the display, and such layers have in the area of the first display been placed in a first order and in a first direction and in the area of the second display in the opposite order and direction compared with the first display.

5. A display arrangement according to claim 4, wherein it comprises in the first part and in the second part of the display on both sides of the display material layer a first and a second layer dependent on the direction of viewing, and the first layer, dependent on the direction of viewing of the first display has been placed in a certain first order and direction in the part of the first display in the arrangement and the second layer, dependent on the direction of viewing, of the first display has been placed in a certain second order and direction in the arrangement in the part of the first display, and the corresponding first layer, dependent on the direction of viewing, of the second display has been placed in order on the same layer with the second layer, dependent on the direction of viewing, of the first display and in the opposite direction to the first layer, dependent on the direction of viewing, of the first display in the part of the second display and the corresponding second layer, dependent on the direction of viewing, of the second display has been placed in order on the same layer with the first layer, dependent on the direction of viewing, of the first display and in the opposite direction to the second layer, dependent on the direction of viewing, in the part of second display.

6. A display arrangement according to claim 1, wherein said common display material layer comprises the liquid crystal layer of the liquid crystal display, electrode layers and glass plate layers formed on both sides of it.

7. A display arrangement according to claim 5, wherein said first layer, dependent on the direction of viewing, is a first polarization layer counted from the direction of viewing of the liquid crystal display and said second layer, dependent on the direction of viewing, is a second polarization layer counted from the direction of viewing the liquid crystal display.

8. A display arrangement according to claim 7, wherein said second polarization layer also comprises a reflector layer of the liquid crystal display.

11. A display arrangement according to claim 1, wherein said first display is smaller than said second display, the use of said first display resulting in a smaller power consumption than the use of said second display.

12. A display arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the display arrangement comprises common driver circuits for said first and second display.

13. A display arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the display arrangement comprises separate driver circuits for said first and second display.

15. A terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the display arrangement comprises common driver circuits for said first and second display.

16. A terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the display arrangement comprises separate driver circuits for said first and second display.

17. A display arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the display material layer is a flat layer of display material having a total area in size, and said first part of the display material layer is a first area of the total area and less than the total area, and said second part of the display material layer is a second area of the total area but different from the first area and less than the total area.

18. A display arrangement according to claim 17, wherein said first area is substantially the viewing area of the first display, said second area is substantially the viewing area of the second display, and said first area is bigger than said second area.

21. A display arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the first and second displays are non-overlapping.

9. A terminal device comprising

a first user interface for using a first function, which first user interface comprises a first display displaying in a first direction, and

a second user interface for using a second function which second user interface comprises a second display displaying in a second direction, said second display being fixed in relation to said first display in order to display fixedly in an essentially opposite direction to the first display, wherein the terminal device comprises a component common to said first and second displays, which component comprises a display material layer of a certain size which determines the type of the display, and a first part of said display material layer forms a part of said first display and a second part of said display material layer forms a part of said second display, and the terminal device further comprises driver circuits for controlling said first display to display information in relation to said first function and said second display to display information in relation to said second function.

10. A terminal device according to claim 9, wherein it is a communication device comprising telephone- and organizer functions, said first and second display form one compact construction placed inside the same housing of the device, and said first display has been arranged to display information connected with the telephone function and said second display has been arranged to display information connected with the organizer function.

14. A terminal device according to claim 9, wherein said first display is smaller than said second display, the use of said first display resulting in a smaller power consumption than the use of said second display.

19. A terminal device according to claim 9, wherein the display material layer is a flat layer of display material having a total area in size, and said first part of the display material layer is a first area of the total area and less than the total area, and said second part of the display material layer is a second area of the total area but different from the first area and less than the total area.

20. A terminal device according to claim 19, wherein said first area is substantially the viewing area of the first display, said second area is substantially the viewing area of the second display, and said first area is bigger than said second area.

22. A terminal device according to claim 9, wherein the first and second displays are non-overlapping.