Flexible display apparatus and display method thereof

• US 9,448,660 B2
• Filed: 07/29/2013
• Issued: 09/20/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 07/30/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Seo, Joon-kyu, Sohn, Jung-joo, Kim, Hyun-jin, Lee, Geun-ho
• Primary Examiner(s): Edun, Muhammad N
• Application Number:
  US13/953,136
• Publication Number:
  US 20140028596A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,149 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1652 the display being flexible, e.g. mimicking a sheet of paper, or rollable
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04803 Split screen, i.e. subdividing the display area or the window area into separate subareas
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/017 Gesture based interaction, e.g. based on a set of recognized hand gestures interaction based on gestures traced on a digitiser G06F3/04883
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/03 Arrangements for converting the position or the displacement of a member into a coded form
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/033 Pointing devices displaced or positioned by the user , e.g. mice, trackballs, pens or joysticks; Accessories therefor digitisers characterised by the transducing means G06F3/041
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0481 based on specific properties of the displayed interaction object or a metaphor-based environment, e.g. interaction with desktop elements like windows or icons, or assisted by a cursor's changing behaviour or appearance
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0486 Drag-and-drop
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0487 using specific features provided by the input device, e.g. functions controlled by the rotation of a mouse with dual sensing arrangements, or of the nature of the input device, e.g. tap gestures based on pressure sensed by a digitiser
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 11/60 Editing figures and text; Combining figures or text
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/0268 including a flexible display panel
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/724 User interfaces specially adapted for cordless or mobile telephones

Abstract

A flexible display apparatus includes a flexible display, a sensor which senses bending of the flexible display, and a controller which determines a screen activation region and a screen inactivation region from among a plurality of display regions of the flexible display based on the sensed bending, and displays a predetermined screen on the screen activation region.

Claims

1. A flexible display apparatus comprising:

a flexible display;

a sensor to sense a bending of the flexible display; and

a controller to;

determine an activation display region and an inactivation display region from among a plurality of display regions of the flexible display based on the sensed bending,

display information related to a function set to correspond to the sensed bending on the activation display region,

wherein information is not displayed on the inactivation display region.

2. The flexible display apparatus of claim 1, wherein the controller determines the activation display region as one of the plurality of display regions that is formed by a bending line formed by the bending, and at least two of four sides of the flexible display, and determines the remaining display regions as the inactivation region.

3. The flexible display apparatus of claim 2, wherein the controller determines the activation display region as one of the plurality of display regions that is formed by two points at which the bending line meets first and second sides of the flexible display which are adjacent to each other, and a vertex at which the first and second adjacent sides meet each other, and determines the remaining display regions as the inactivation display region.

4. The flexible display apparatus of claim 2, wherein the at least two sides are opposite each other, and

wherein the controller determines the activation display region as one of the plurality of display regions that is formed by two points at which the bending line meets the two opposite sides of the flexible display, and two vertexes at which the two opposite sides meet a third side which connects the two opposite sides, and determines the remaining display regions as the inactivation display region.

5. The flexible display apparatus of claim 1, wherein, if the bending is performed in a state in which an original screen is displayed on the entire flexible display, the controller determines the activation display region based on the bending, reconfigures the original screen according to a size and a shape of the determined activation display region, and displays on the determined activation display region one of the reconfigured screen and a part of the original screen that corresponds to the size and shape of the determined activation display region.

6. The flexible display apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a storage device to store information on a plurality of functions and information on a priority given to the plurality of functions,

wherein, if the activation display region is determined, the controller determines a number of executable functions with reference to a size and a shape of the activation display region, executes the determined number of functions from among the plurality of functions with reference to the priority, and generates an object corresponding to each of the executed functions.

7. The flexible display apparatus of claim 6, wherein the priority is determined according to a location of the activation display region.

8. The flexible display apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

a storage device to store information on at least one function that matches each display region of the flexible display,

wherein, if the activation display region is determined, the controller executes a function that matches a location of the activation display region.

9. The flexible display apparatus of claim 8, wherein the storage device further stores information on a priority given to each function, and

wherein, if a display region matching a plurality of functions is included in the activation display region, the controller determines a number of executable functions according to a size and a shape of the activation display region, executes the determined number of functions from among the plurality of functions in sequence according to the priority, and generates an object corresponding to each of the executed functions.

10. The flexible display apparatus of claim 1, wherein, in a state in which a first application is executed and an execution screen of the first application is displayed on the entire flexible display, if a notice message regarding a second application is received, the controller displays the notice message on one display region of the execution screen,

wherein, if the display region on which the notice message is displayed is bent, the controller displays the execution screen of the first application on a display region other than the bent display region, and displays a whole text of the notice message on the bent display region.

11. The flexible display apparatus of claim 10, wherein, if flap manipulation to unfold the bent display region is sensed in the state in which the whole text of the notice message is displayed on the bent display region, the controller executes the second application and displays an execution screen of the second application on the entire flexible display.

12. The flexible display apparatus of claim 1, wherein the controller determines a brightness of the activation display region based on the bending.

13. The flexible display apparatus of claim 1, wherein the controller further displays other information in the activation display.

14. A display method of a flexible display apparatus, the display method comprising:

sensing a bending of a flexible display provided in the flexible display apparatus;

determining an activation display region and an inactivation display region from among a plurality of display regions of the flexible display based on the sensed bending;

displaying information related to a function set to correspond to the sensed bending on the activation display region; and

wherein information is not displayed on the inactivation display region.

15. The display method of claim 14, wherein the determining the activation display region and the inactivation display region comprises determining as the activation display region a display region that is formed by a bending line formed by the bending, and at least two of four sides of the flexible display, and determining the remaining display regions as the inactivation display region.

16. The display method of claim 15, wherein the determining the activation display region and the inactivation display region comprises determining as the activation display region a display region that is formed by two points at which the bending line meets first and second sides of the flexible display which are adjacent to each other, and a vertex at which the first and second adjacent sides meet each other, and determining the remaining display regions as the inactivation display region.

17. The display method of claim 15, wherein the at least two sides are opposite each other, and

wherein the determining the activation display region and the inactivation display region comprises determining as the activation display region a display region that is formed by two points at which the bending line meets the two opposite sides of the flexible display, and two vertexes at which the two opposite sides meet a third side which connects the two opposite sides, and determining the remaining display regions as the inactivation display region.

18. The display method of claim 14, wherein the displaying the information comprises, if the bending is performed in a state in which an original screen is displayed on the entire flexible display, reconfiguring the original screen according to a size and a shape of the determined activation display region and displaying on the determined activation display region one of the reconfigured screen and a part of the original screen that corresponds to the size and the shape of the determined activation display region.

19. The display method of claim 18, wherein a priority of displaying the information is determined according to a location of the activation display region.

20. The display method of claim 14, wherein the displaying the information comprises:

if the activation display region is determined, determining a number of executable functions with reference to a size and a shape of the activation display region;

executing the determined number of functions from among a plurality of functions executable in the flexible display apparatus with reference to a priority given to the plurality of functions; and

generating an object corresponding to each of the executed functions, and displaying the object on the activation display region.

21. The display method of claim 14, wherein the displaying the information comprises:

if the activation display region is determined, identifying a function that matches a location of the activation display region based on information on at least one function that matches each display region of the flexible display and is stored; and

executing the identified function and generating the information corresponding to the function, and displaying the information on the activation display region.

22. The display method of claim 14, wherein the displaying the information comprises:

if a display region matching a plurality of functions is included in the activation display region,

determining a number of executable functions according to a size and a shape of the activation display region;

executing the determined number of functions from among the plurality of functions in sequence according to a priority given to the plurality of functions; and

generating an object corresponding to each of the executed functions, and displaying the object on the activation display region.

23. A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium to contain computer-readable codes as a program to execute the method of claim 14.

24. A flexible display apparatus, comprising:

a flexible display; and

a controller to;

determine an activation display region and an inactivation display region of the flexible display from among a plurality of display regions of the flexible display based on a bending of the flexible display,

display information related to a function set to correspond to the bending of the flexible display on the activation display region according to at least one of a shape, size, and location of the activation display region, and

wherein information is not displayed on the inactivation display region.

25. The flexible display apparatus of claim 24, wherein the controller displays an image on the activation display region, and

wherein the controller changes at least one of a size and content of the image according to the bending of the flexible display.

26. The flexible display apparatus of claim 25, wherein the image corresponds to an application of the flexible display apparatus, and

wherein the controller controls the application according to the bending of the flexible display.