Foldable display and image processing method thereof

• US 9,250,851 B2
• Filed: 02/05/2013
• Issued: 02/02/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 09/06/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: HannStar Display Corporation
• Original Assignee: Industrial Technology Research Institute
• Inventors: Lee, Cheng-Chung, Lu, Min-Yao, Wang, Sheng-Po, Chen, Heng-Yin
• Primary Examiner(s): GIESY, ADAM
• Application Number:
  US13/759,090
• Publication Number:
  US 20140062856A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,092 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1641 the display being formed by a plurality of foldable display components G06F1/1647 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1677 for detecting open or closed state or particular intermediate positions assumed by movable parts of the enclosure, e.g. detection of display lid position with respect to main body in a laptop, detection of opening of the cover of battery compartment
• 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: G06F 3/1446 display composed of modules, e.g. video walls
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/0407 Resolution change, inclusive of the use of different resolutions for different screen areas
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2356/00 Detection of the display position w.r.t. other display screens
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/393 Arrangements for updating the contents of the bit-mapped memory
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/0218 The hinge comprising input and/or output user interface means

Abstract

A foldable display and an image processing method thereof are disclosed. The foldable display comprises a display module, a memory, a sensor module, and a processing unit. The sensor module senses a bending state of the display module. The processing unit generates adjusted images according to an image signal, and stores those adjusted images to a plurality of memory addresses of the memory. The processing unit selects a reading address from those memory addresses according the bending state. The processing unit selects a corresponding adjusted image from the memory according to the reading address and outputs the corresponding adjusted image to the display module.

Claims

1. A foldable display, comprising:

a display module;

a memory;

a sensor module detecting a bending state of the display module; and

a processing unit generating a plurality of adjusted images according to an image signal and respectively storing those adjusted images to a plurality of memory addresses of the memory, wherein the processing unit selects a reading address from those memory addresses according to the bending state, and selects one of the adjusted images from the memory according to the reading address and outputs the selected adjusted image to the display module.

2. The foldable display according to claim 1, wherein the processing unit comprises:

an image processing core generating those adjusted images according to the image signal, and respectively storing those adjusted images to those memory addresses; and

a central processor controlling the image processing core to read the corresponding adjusted image according to the bending state and output the corresponding adjusted image to the display module.

3. The foldable display according to claim 2, wherein the image processing core further generates a user interface stored to the memory, and when the display module is not folded, the display module displays the user interface and the corresponding adjusted image.

4. The foldable display according to claim 1, wherein the sensor module comprises a first sensor and a second sensor, those adjusted images comprise a first adjusted image, a second adjusted image and a third adjusted image, the first adjusted image is larger than the second adjusted image, and the second adjusted image is larger than the third adjusted image, and when a curvature of the first sensor and a curvature of the second sensor are not larger than a threshold, the processing unit selects the first adjusted image and outputs the first adjusted image to the display module.

5. The foldable display according to claim 4, wherein when the curvature of the first sensor is larger than the threshold and the second sensor is not larger than the threshold, the processing unit selects the second adjusted image and outputs the second adjusted image to the display module.

6. The foldable display according to claim 4, wherein when both curvatures of the first sensor and the second sensor are larger than the threshold, the processing unit selects the third adjusted image and outputs the third adjusted image to the display module.

7. The foldable display according to claim 4, wherein the processing unit generates a difference map between a plurality of original images at an interval of the original images.

8. The foldable display according to claim 4, wherein each of the first sensor and the second sensor of the sensor module is a bending sensor, a pressure sensor, a light sensor, touch sensor, a mechanical sensor, a magnetic sensor, an acceleration sensor or a gyroscope.

9. The foldable display according to claim 1, wherein those adjusted images respectively correspond to a plurality of folding modes of the display module.

10. The foldable display according to claim 1, wherein the display module is formed by one single substrate.

11. The foldable display according to claim 1, wherein the display module is formed by multi-substrates connected together.

12. An image processing method of a foldable display comprising a sensor module, a display module and a memory, wherein the image processing method comprises:

generating a plurality of adjusted images according to an image signal;

respectively storing those adjusted images to a plurality of memory addresses of the memory;

detecting a bending state of the display module by the sensor module; and

selecting a reading address from those memory addresses according to the bending state, and selecting one of the adjusted images from the memory according to the reading address and outputting the selected adjusted image to the display module.

13. The image processing method according to claim 12, further comprising:

generating a user interface stored to the memory;

wherein, when the display module is not folded, the display module displays the user interface and the corresponding adjusted image.

14. The image processing method according to claim 12, wherein the sensor module comprises a first sensor and a second sensor, those adjusted images comprise a first adjusted image, a second adjusted image and a third adjusted image, the first adjusted image is larger than the second adjusted image, and the second adjusted image is larger than the third adjusted image, and the selection step comprises:

determining whether at least one of a curvature of the first sensor and a curvature of the second sensor is larger than a threshold; and

selecting the first adjusted image and outputting the first adjusted image to the display module when both of the curvatures of the first sensor and the second sensor are not larger than the threshold.

15. The image processing method according to claim 14, wherein the selection step further comprises:

determining whether both of the curvatures of the first sensor and the second sensor are larger than the threshold when at least one of the curvatures of the first sensor and the second sensor is larger than the threshold; and

selecting the second adjusted image and outputting the second adjusted image to the display module when either one but not both of the curvatures of the first sensor and the second sensor are larger than the threshold.

16. The image processing method according to claim 14, wherein the selection step further comprises:

selecting the third adjusted image and outputting the third adjusted image to the display module when both of the curvatures of the first sensor and the second sensor are larger than the threshold.

17. The image processing method according to claim 12, wherein in the generation step, a difference map between a plurality of original images is generated at an interval of the original images.

18. The image processing method according to claim 12, wherein those adjusted images respectively correspond to a plurality of folding modes of the display module.

19. The image processing method according to claim 12, wherein the display module is formed by one single substrate.

20. The image processing method according to claim 12, wherein the display module is formed by multi-substrates connected together.