Hinged ancillary displays

• US 9,158,135 B1
• Filed: 09/25/2013
• Issued: 10/13/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 09/25/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Inventors: Johansson, Jesper Mikael, Cavenagh, Samuel Robert, Chaboud, Matthew Liang, Mathias, Lambert, Olson, Aaron Nicholas
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Sang V
• Application Number:
  US14/037,042
• Time in Patent Office: 748 Days
• Field of Search: 349/58, 349/60, 345/1.1, 345/1.3, 343/906, 361/679.04
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 26/001 based on interference in an adjustable optical cavity interference filters G02B5/28; devices or arrangements using multiple reflections in spectrometry or monochromators G01J3/26
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 26/004 based on a displacement or a deformation of a fluid
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 26/005 based on electrowetting
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 26/026 based on the rotation of particles under the influence of an external field, e.g. gyricons, twisting ball displays based on orientable dipolar particles G02F1/172; based on electrophoresis G02F1/167
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/0102 Constructional details, not otherwise provided for in this subclass
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/133308 Support structures for LCD panels, e.g. frames or bezels
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1632 External expansion units, e.g. docking stations
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/2258 used with computer equipment

Abstract

Ancillary or secondary displays usable with various electronic devices are described herein. In some implementations, the ancillary display may include a dual hinge to allow the ancillary display to act as a cover for a portion of an associated electronic device. In some implementations, the ancillary display may include a magnetic connector capable of providing a mechanical coupling with an electronic device. The magnetic connector may also provide a pathway for the transmission of data and/or power between the ancillary display and the electronic device.

Claims

1. An ancillary display configured to attach to an electronic device that includes an emissive display, the ancillary display comprising:

an electronic paper display;

a hinge having two parallel axes of rotation configured to allow the ancillary display to transition between a closed position in which the ancillary display at least partly covers the primary display of the electronic device and an open position in which the ancillary display does not cover the primary display of the electronic device;

a first magnetic connector and a second magnetic connector that detachably couple the ancillary display to the electronic device, the first magnetic connector having a first polarity that is different from a second polarity of the second magnetic connector, at least one of the first magnetic connector or the second magnetic connector is configured to;

provide a data communications pathway for providing data between the ancillary display and the electronic device; and

provide an electrical pathway for supplying power to the ancillary display from the electronic device.

2. The display as recited in claim 1, wherein the data communications pathway provides one or more wired data communications between the ancillary display and the electronic device.

3. The display as recited in claim 2, further comprising a wireless unit and antenna for providing wireless data communications between the ancillary display and the electronic device.

4. The display as recited in claim 1, wherein first axis of two parallel axes of rotation of the hinge is integrated with a body of the ancillary display and a second axis of the two parallel axes of rotation is integrated with a hinge body and each of the two parallel axes is configured to move relative to a position of the other to allow the first magnetic connector and the second magnetic connector to couple to the electronic device while the ancillary display covers the primary display of the electronic device.

5. The display as recited in claim 1, wherein the electronic paper display comprises an electrophoretic display, a gyricon display, an electrowetting display, an electrofluidic display, an interferometric modulator display, or a cholestric liquid crystal display.

6. An ancillary display for an electronic device, the ancillary display comprising:

one or more displays;

a plurality of attachment mechanisms configured to provide an electrical transmission pathway to supply electrical power to the ancillary display from the electronic device;

a hinge having a first axis of rotation and a second axis of rotation, the first axis of rotation allowing the plurality of attachment mechanisms to couple to the electronic device while the second axis of rotation allows the ancillary display to at least partly cover a primary display of the electronic device; and

a magnetic field sensor to detect a magnetic field generated by a plurality of magnets embedded within the ancillary display, the magnetic field sensor providing an indication that the ancillary display covers a portion of the primary display.

7. The ancillary display as recited in claim 6, wherein at least one of the one or more displays comprises a reflective display and the primary display of the electronic device comprises an emissive display.

8. The ancillary display as recited in claim 6, wherein each of the one or more displays on the ancillary display comprises an electronic paper display while the primary display of the electronic device comprises a liquid crystal display.

9. The ancillary display as recited in claim 6, wherein the plurality of attachment mechanisms are configured further to provide a data transmission pathway between the ancillary display and the electronic device.

10. The ancillary display as recited in claim 6, further comprising a wireless unit and antenna for providing a wireless data transmission pathway configured to transmit data between the ancillary display and the electronic device.

11. The ancillary display as recited in claim 6, wherein

the magnetic field sensor is a magnetometer to detect a magnetic field generated by the plurality of magnets.

12. The ancillary display as recited in claim 6, the plurality of attachment mechanisms comprise at least one of:

a plurality of magnetic connectors where each of the magnetic connectors has a polarity opposite an adjacent magnetic connector;

a pogo pin array having a plurality of pins configured to remain in contact with the electronic device while the ancillary display at least partly covers a primary display of the electronic device;

or

one or more jack connectors having a port to allow attachment of a device accessory while the ancillary display is coupled to the electronic device.

13. A secondary display configured to physically couple to an electronic device comprising a primary display and configured to supplement content displayed on the primary display of the electronic device, the secondary display comprising:

one or more displays;

a coupling over which power is received from the electronic device when the secondary display is physically coupled to the electronic device;

a magnetic field sensor to detect a magnetic field generated by a plurality of magnets embedded within the secondary display, the magnetic field sensor providing an indication that the secondary display covers a portion of the electronic device; and

a wireless data transmission interface to transmit data between the secondary display and the electronic device.

14. The secondary display as recited in claim 13, wherein one of the one or more displays comprises an electrowetting display or an electrophoretic display.

15. The secondary display as recited in claim 13, wherein each of the one or more displays of the secondary display comprises a bi-stable display and the primary display of the electronic device comprises a liquid crystal display.

16. The secondary display as recited in claim 13, wherein the primary display of the electronic device comprises an emissive display.

17. The secondary display as recited in claim 13, wherein the coupling comprises two or more groups of magnetic connectors configured to attach to a plurality of corresponding magnetic cavities on the electronic device.

18. The secondary display as recited in claim 13, wherein the coupling comprises at least one of an array of pogo pin contacts, one or more jack connectors, a universal serial bus connector or a high-definition multimedia interface.

19. The secondary display as recited in claim 13, further comprising a hinge with two separate axes of rotation configured to allow the secondary display to cover at least a portion of the primary display of the electronic device while the secondary display is physically coupled to the electronic device.

20. The secondary display as recited in claim 13, wherein the wireless data transmission interface is configured to transmit data between the secondary display and the electronic device by at least one of a cellular network, a Wi-Fi network, a short-range radio network, an infrared networks, or radio frequency signal.