System and method for bendable display

• US 9,117,384 B2
• Filed: 03/18/2011
• Issued: 08/25/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 03/18/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Malikie Innovations Limited (Key Patent Innovations Limited)
• Original Assignee: Blackberry Limited
• Inventors: Phillips, W Garland, Jano, Bashar
• Primary Examiner(s): Mengistu, Amare
• Assistant Examiner(s): Rodriguez, Joseph G
• Application Number:
  US13/051,470
• Publication Number:
  US 20120235893A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,621 Days
• Field of Search: 345/156, 345/618
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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 3/012 Head tracking input arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/013 Eye tracking input arrangements G06F3/015 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/003 to produce spatial visual effects
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/03 specially adapted for displays having non-planar surfaces, e.g. curved displays
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/035 for flexible display surfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/20 for presentation of an assembly of a number of characters, e.g. a page, by composing the assembly by combination of individual elements arranged in a matrix no fixed position being assigned to or needed to be assigned to the individual characters or partial characters

Abstract

Systems, methods and apparatus are described for displaying visual information on a deformable display device, and for compensating for distortion of images of the visual information that results from the deformation of the display device and the viewing orientation of a viewer of the display device, or for improving or enhancing the displayed visual information in response to the deformation of the display device and the viewing position of the viewer.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a deformable display device to produce displayed visual information on the display device as a function of one or more image control signals; and

a display control unit receiving image display data and producing the one or more image control signals,

wherein the one or more image control signals change the appearance of the visual information from a first display format to a second display format, the second display format configured to provide a display of the same visual information provided in the first display format by using the deformation data, viewer position data, and the image display data,

wherein the deformation data is a function of a deformation in the deformable display device and

the viewer position data is a function of a proximity of a human viewer to the deformable display device and an orientation of the human viewer with respect to the deformable display device,

wherein the one or more image control signals compensate for distortion that is experienced by the human viewer due to a current perspective of the human viewer resulting from a combination of the proximity of the human viewer to the deformable display device and the orientation of the human viewer relative to the deformable display device, and

wherein the one or more image control signals compensate for distortion by at least substituting original fonts of text in the image display data with alternative fonts that present the text with reduced distortion relative to the original fonts.

2. The system according to claim 1 further including at least one processing system responsive to at least one deformation detection signal and viewer position information to produce the deformation data and the viewer position data.

3. The system according to claim 2, further including at least one camera to produce viewer position information.

4. The system according to claim 1, wherein the visual information comprises one or more of text, graphics, and video.

5. The system according to claim 1, wherein the display device and the display control unit are part of a machine that is a:

personal computer, smart phone, mobile phone, laptop computer, notebook computer, reading device, or tablet computer.

6. The system according to claim 1, wherein the one or more image control signals enhance, improve or create a special effect in response to deformation in the display device and the proximity and the orientation of the human viewer.

7. The system according to claim 1, wherein the displayed visual information on the deformable display device appears distorted to a second human viewer, the second human viewer associated with second viewer position data that differs from the viewer position data associated with the human viewer.

8. The system according to claim 1, wherein the current perspective of the human viewer is based on eye position of the human viewer.

9. A system comprising:

a deformable display device to produce displayed visual information on the deformable display device as a function of one or more image control signals;

one or more deformation detection devices to produce a deformation detection signal indicative of deformation of the deformable display device;

a viewer position detector to produce viewer position information indicative of proximity of a human viewer to the deformable display device and an orientation of the human viewer with respect to the deformable display device; and

at least one processing system responsive to the deformation detection signals and the viewer position information to produce data used to adjust the one or more image control signals,

wherein at least one or more image control signals are adjusted to change the appearance of the visual information from a first display format to a second display format, the second display format configured to provide a display of the same visual information provided in the first display format,

wherein the one or more image control signals compensate for distortion that is experienced by the human viewer due to a current perspective of the human viewer resulting from a combination of the proximity of the human viewer to the deformable display device and the orientation of the human viewer relative to the deformable display device, and

wherein the one or more image control signals compensate for distortion by at least substituting original fonts of text in the first display format with alternative fonts that present the text with reduced distortion relative to the original fonts.

10. The system according to claim 9, wherein the deformation detection devices are load cells that produce the deformation detection signals.

11. The system according to claim 9, wherein the deformation detection device comprises a camera.

12. The system according to claim 9, wherein the deformation detection devices are adjacent to or in contact with the deformable display device.

13. The system according to claim 9, wherein the deformation detection signals specify, at least in part, bends or contours in the display device that are at least partially transverse to one another.

14. The system according to claim 9, wherein the viewer position detector comprises a camera.

15. The system according to claim 9, wherein the display device is part of a machine that is a:

personal computer, smart phone, mobile phone, laptop computer, notebook computer, reading device, or tablet computer.

16. The system according to claim 9, wherein the at least one processing system receives the deformation detection signals and generates deformation data specifying deformation properties of the display device.

17. A method comprising:

detecting one or more deformations of a deformable display device, and representing the one or more deformations, at least in part, in deformation data;

detecting proximity of a human viewer to the deformable display device and an orientation of the human viewer with respect to the deformable display device, and representing the proximity and orientation of the human viewer, at least in part, in viewer position data; and

adjusting one or more image control signals to be applied to the deformable display device to produce visual information, the one or more image control signals being adjusted using the deformation data and the viewer position data,

wherein the one or more image control signals are adjusted to change the appearance of the visual information from a first display format to a second display format, the second display format configured to provide a display of the same visual information provided in the first display format, viewer position data, and the image display data,

wherein the one or more image control signals compensate for distortion that is experienced by the human viewer due to a current perspective of the human viewer resulting from a combination of the proximity of the human viewer and the orientation of the human viewer relative to the deformable display device, and

wherein the one or more image control signals compensate for distortion by at least substituting original fonts of text in the first display format with alternative fonts that present the text with reduced distortion relative to the original fonts.

18. The method according to claim 17, further comprising a viewer position detector that generates viewer position data as a function of the proximity and the orientation of the human viewer with respect to the deformable display device.

19. The method according to claim 18, wherein the viewer position detector comprises a camera.

20. The method according to claim 17, wherein the one or more image control signals compensate for distortion due to the deformation in the deformable display device and the proximity and the orientation of the human viewer.

21. The method according to claim 17, wherein the one or more image control signals are adjusted by altering image display data, wherein the one or more image control signals are a function of the image display data.

22. The method according to claim 17, wherein the one or more image control signals enhance, improve or create a special effect in response to deformation in the display device and the proximity and the orientation of the human viewer.

23. A computer program product comprising computer program instructions recorded in non-transitory form on a machine-readable media, the instructions adapted to execute on a computer to:

receive one or more signals or data indicative of the deformation of a deformable display device, and produce deformation data representing the deformation of the display device;

receive data indicating proximity of the deformable display device to a human viewer of the deformable display device and orientation of the human viewer relative to the deformable display device;

encode data indicating the proximity and the orientation of the human viewer relative to the deformable display device, at least in part, in viewer position data; and

generate adjustments to one or more image control signals to be applied to the deformable display device,

wherein the one or more image control signals change the appearance of the visual information from a first display format to a second display format,

the second display format configured to provide a display of the same visual information provided in the first display format by using the deformation data, and the viewer position data

wherein the one or more image control signals compensate for distortion that is experienced by the human viewer due to a current perspective of the human viewer resulting from a combination of the proximity of the human viewer and the orientation of the human viewer, and

wherein the one or more image control signals compensate for distortion by at least substituting original fonts of text in the first display format with alternative fonts that present the text with reduced distortion relative to the original fonts.