Display orientation control method and electronic device

• US 9,019,312 B2
• Filed: 05/31/2011
• Issued: 04/28/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 07/02/2010
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Inventors: Ishidera, Nobutaka
• Primary Examiner(s): Liu, Zhengxi
• Application Number:
  US13/067,413
• Publication Number:
  US 20120001943A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,428 Days
• US Class Current: 345/659
• 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

Abstract

In an electronic device, a control unit determines a state of changes of tilt angles detected by a tilt sensor, modifies at least one of control information stored in a control information storage unit, and a tilt direction and tilt angle detected by the tilt sensor, depending on the determined state of the changes, and changes the display orientation of a display unit on the basis of the modification result. The tilt sensor detects the tilt direction and tilt angle of the display unit with respect to the vertical downward direction. The control information storage unit stores the control information indicating correlations between display orientations of the display unit and tilts of the own device. A detected tilt data storage unit stores detected tilt data indicating a history of tilt directions and tilt angles detected by the tilt sensor.

Claims

1. An electronic device comprising:

a display device to display information;

a tilt sensor to detect a tilt direction and tilt angle of the display device with respect to a vertical downward direction;

a memory to store detected tilt data that indicates a history of tilt directions and tilt angles detected by the tilt sensor and control information indicating correlations between display orientations of the display device and tilts of the electronic device to be detected by the tilt sensor and a threshold of the tilt direction and tilt angle detected by the tilt sensor for determining whether to change the display orientation of the display device; and

a processor to analyze the detected tilt data to capture a state of changes of the tilt angles detected by the tilt sensor, modify the control information, the tilt direction and tilt angle detected by the tilt sensor, or a combination thereof, depending on the captured state of the changes of the tilt angles, and change a display orientation of the display device on the basis of a result of the modification, wherein;

the memory stores the detected tilt data that indicates the changes of the tilt directions and tilt angles detected at a predetermined number of past time points; and

the processor analyzes the detected tilt data to capture the state of the changes of the tilt angles detected by the tilt sensor, modifies the control information so that a smaller change in tilt angle than a predetermined value causes a change of the display orientation of the display device in a case where the state of the changes of the tilt angles is a first state and that a larger change in tilt angle than the predetermined value causes the change of the display orientation of the display device in a case where the state of the changes of the tilt angles is a second state, and changes the display orientation of the display device on the basis of the modified control information, and the tilt direction and tilt angle,

wherein the first state is a state where a tilt angle indicated by the detected tilt data exceeds the threshold after a predetermined time period during which prior tilt angles to the tilt angle do not reach the threshold and a difference between each of the prior tilt angles and the threshold falls in a predetermined range smaller than the threshold, and

wherein the second state is a state where the changes of the tilt angles are larger than the changes of the tilt angles of the first state.

2. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein:

the memory stores first control information and second control information both of which indicate correlations between the tilts of the own electronic device and the display orientations of the display device, the second control information allowing a larger change in tilt angle of the own electronic device than the first control information to cause the change of the display orientation of the display device;

the detected tilt data indicates the changes of the tilt directions and tilt angles detected at a predetermined number of past time points; and

the processor analyzes the detected tilt data to capture the state of the changes of the tilt angles detected by the tilt sensor, determines to use the first control information as the control information in changing the display orientation of the display device in a case where the state of the changes of the tilt angles is a first state and to use the second control information as the control information in a case where the state of the changes of the tilt angles is a second state larger than the first state, and changes the display orientation of the display device on the basis of the determined one of the first control information and second control information, and the tilt direction and tilt angle.

3. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein:

the memory stores correction information that corrects the tilt angle detected by the tilt sensor in such a way that an absolute value of the detected tilt angle is increased in a case where the changes indicated by the detected tilt data are small and the absolute value is decreased in a case where the changes indicated by the detected tilt data are large, wherein;

the detected tilt data indicates the changes of the tilt directions and tilt angles detected at a predetermined number of past time points, and

the processor analyzes the detected tilt data stored in the memory to capture the state of the changes of the tilt angles, corrects the tilt angle with the correction information depending on the captured state of the changes of the tilt angles, and changes the display orientation of the display device on the basis of the control information stored in the memory, the tilt direction, and the corrected tilt angle.

4. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein:

the memory stores the detected tilt data that indicates the changes of the tilt directions and tilt angles detected at a predetermined number of past time points; and

the processor analyzes the detected tilt data stored in the memory, and determines that the state of the changes of the tilt angles is the second state in a case where the changes of the tilt angles cross the threshold.

5. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a control program causing a computer to operate as:

a display device to display information;

a tilt sensor to detect a tilt direction and tilt angle of the display device with respect to a vertical downward direction; and

a processor to analyze detected tilt data stored in a memory to capture a state of changes of tilt angles detected by the tilt sensor, modify control information, the tilt direction and tilt angle detected by the tilt sensor, or a combination thereof, depending on the captured state of the changes of the tilt angles, and change a display orientation of the display device on the basis of a result of the modification, the detected tilt data indicating a history of tilt directions and tilt angles detected by the tilt sensor, the control information indicating correlations between display orientations of the display device and tilts of an own computer to be detected by the tilt sensor and a threshold of the tilt direction and tilt angle detected by the tilt sensor for determining whether to change the display orientation of the display device, wherein;

the memory stores the detected tilt data that indicates the changes of the tilt directions and tilt angles detected at a predetermined number of past time points; and

the processor analyzes the detected tilt data to capture the state of the changes of the tilt angles detected by the tilt sensor, modifies the control information so that a smaller change in tilt angle than a predetermined value causes a change of the display orientation of the display device in a case where the state of the changes of the tilt angles is a first state and that a larger change in tilt angle than the predetermined value causes the change of the display orientation of the display device in a case where the state of the changes of the tilt angles is a second state, and changes the display orientation of the display device on the basis of the modified control information, and the tilt direction and tilt angle,

wherein the first state is a state where a tilt angle indicated by the detected tilt data exceeds the threshold after a predetermined time period during which prior tilt angles to the tilt angle do not reach the threshold and a difference between each of the prior tilt angles and the threshold falls in a predetermined range smaller than the threshold, and

wherein the second state is a state where the changes of the tilt angles are larger than the changes of the tilt angles of the first state.

6. A control method for a computer to perform:

detecting a tilt direction and tilt angle of a display device that displays information, with respect to a vertical downward direction;

analyzing detected tilt data stored in a memory to capture a state of changes of detected tilt angles, the detected tilt data indicating a history of detected tilt directions and tilt angles;

modifying control information stored in the memory, the detected tilt direction and tilt angle, or a combination thereof, depending on the captured state of the changes of the detected tilt angles, the control information indicating correlations between display orientations of the display device and tilts of an own computer to be detected and a threshold of the tilt direction and tilt angle detected by the detecting for determining whether to change display orientation of the display device; and

changing the display orientation of the display device on the basis of a result of the modification, wherein;

the memory stores the detected tilt data that indicates the changes of the tilt directions and tilt angles detected at a predetermined number of past time points; and

the analyzing analyzes the detected tilt data to capture the state of the changes of the tilt angles detected by the tilt sensor, modifies the control information so that a smaller change in tilt angle than a predetermined value causes a change of the display orientation of the display device in a case where the state of the changes of the tilt angles is a first state and that a larger change in tilt angle than the predetermined value causes the change of the display orientation of the display device in a case where the state of the changes of the tilt angles is a second state, and changes the display orientation of the display device on the basis of the modified control information, and the tilt direction and tilt angle,

wherein the first state is a state where a tilt angle indicated by the detected tilt data exceeds the threshold after a predetermined time period during which prior tilt angles to the tilt angle do not reach the threshold and a difference between each of the prior tilt angles and the threshold falls in a predetermined range smaller than the threshold, and,

wherein the second state is a state where the changes of the tilt angles are larger than the changes of the tilt angles of the first state.