Electronic device and display method

• US 9,519,142 B2
• Filed: 03/31/2014
• Issued: 12/13/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 08/13/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Beijing Lenovo Software Ltd (Lenovo Group Ltd.), Lenovo Company Limited (Lenovo Group Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Beijing Lenovo Software Ltd (Lenovo Group Ltd.), Lenovo Company Limited (Lenovo Group Ltd.)
• Inventors: He, Zhiqiang, Liu, Junfeng
• Primary Examiner(s): Hoang, Peter
• Application Number:
  US14/230,068
• Publication Number:
  US 20150049120A1
• Time in Patent Office: 988 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/0138 comprising image capture systems, e.g. camera
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/014 comprising information/image processing systems
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/0187 slaved to motion of at least a part of the body of the user, e.g. head, eye
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/01 Head-up displays
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/66 Transforming electric information into light information scanning details H04N3/00

Abstract

An electronic device and a display method include a main body with a processing unit that generates a first image and performs display control; a fixing apparatus connected with the main body apparatus, which has at least a first fixed state in which the fixing apparatus can be at least a part of an annular space or an approximate annular space meeting a first predetermined condition, the annular space or the approximate annular space being capable of surrounding an outer side of a cylinder meeting a second predetermined condition; and a display unit arranged on the main body apparatus or the fixing apparatus, which outputs the first image; wherein the display unit comprises a first display component outing a first image and a first optical component forming a magnified virtual image corresponding to the first image.

Claims

1. An electronic device, comprising:

a main body apparatus comprising a processing unit which generates a first image and performs display control;

a fixing apparatus connected with the main body apparatus, which has at least a fixed state in which the fixing apparatus can be at least a part of an annular space or an approximate annular space meeting a first predetermined condition, the annular space or the approximate annular space being capable of surrounding an outer side of a cylinder meeting a second predetermined condition;

a display unit arranged on the main body apparatus or the fixing apparatus, which outputs the first image; and

a sensor unit arranged on the main body apparatus or the fixing apparatus, which generates a first control signal when sensing that the first predetermined condition is met, the processing unit controlling the on/off of the display unit according to the first control signal;

wherein the display unit comprises a first display component which displays the first image, and a first optical component which is capable of at least receiving light corresponding to the first image emitted from the first display component, and changing the light path of the light corresponding to the first image to form a magnified virtual image corresponding to the first image,

the display unit is capable of displaying image with two display modes; and

the processing unit controls the display unit to switch between a first display mode and a second display mode when a third predetermined condition is met;

the display image viewed by the user is a real image in the first display mode, and the display image viewed by the user is a virtual image in the second display mode.

2. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein at least a part of the first optical component is a component the transmittance of which meets a predetermined condition in the outward direction of the annular space or the approximate annular space.

3. The electronic device according to claim 2, wherein the transmittance of the electronic device meets a predetermined condition in the outward direction of the annular space or the approximate annular space corresponding to the at least a part of the first optical component.

4. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the sensor unit is an accelerator sensor, the accelerator component value in the gravity direction of the first control signal is larger than or equal to a predetermined value, and the processing unit controls the on/off of the display unit according to the first control signal.

5. The electronic device according to claim 1, further comprising an image capturing unit arranged on the main body apparatus or the fixing apparatus, an image capturing direction of the image capturing unit is opposite to an image output direction of the display unit in the radial direction of the annular space or the approximate annular space.

6. The electronic device according to claim 5, wherein the image capturing unit captures an interaction action of the user to generate a first image capturing signal, the processing unit converts the first image capturing signal into a second control signal to control the display of a second image.

7. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the display region of the display unit in the first display mode is a first region and the display region of the display unit in the second display mode is a second region at least partly overlapped with the first region.

8. The electronic device according to claim 1, further comprising

a distance detection unit arranged near the display unit, the detection direction of which is towards a viewable space of the display unit, which detects a distance parameter between an object and the display unit;

wherein the third predetermined condition is that the distance between the object and the display unit is smaller than a first threshold.

9. The electronic device according to claim 8, wherein the third predetermined condition further comprises the distance between the object and the display unit being larger than a second threshold.

10. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein

the first optical component covers the first display unit and meets a predetermined transmittance, so that the user can view the first image displayed on the first display component via the first optical component;

and

the first optical component has two optical modes, the first optical component is in a first optical mode in the first display mode, and is in a second optical mode in the second display mode.

11. The electronic device according to claim 10, wherein the first optical component is constructed of a shape changeable cavity and filled-in liquid;

and in the first display mode, the first optical component is in the first optical mode, the shape changeable cavity does not change its shape and maintains a first shape so that the user views a real image of the same size with the image displayed on the first display component via the shape changeable cavity;

in the second display mode, the first optical component is in the second optical mode, the shape changeable cavity changes its shape to a second shape, and the user views a magnified virtual image of the display image on the first display component via the shape changeable cavity.

12. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the first optical component is a separable attachment and the user views the magnified virtual image via the separable attachment in the second display mode.

13. The electronic device according to claim 1, the display unit displays a first image in the first display mode, and displays a second image in the second display mode;

and the processing unit generates the second image based on the first image, so that content of the first image and the second image is correlated but different, and information amount of the second image is larger than that of the first image.

14. A display switch method applied to the electronic device of claim 1 having a display unit capable of displaying an image with two display modes, the display switch method comprising controlling the display unit to switch between a first display mode and a second display mode when a predetermined condition is met;

wherein the display image viewed by a user is a real image in the first display mode, and the display image viewed by the user is a virtual image in the second display mode.

15. The display switch method according to claim 14, further comprising detecting a distance parameter between an object and the display unit wherein the predetermined condition is that the distance between the object and the display unit is smaller than a first threshold.

16. The display switch method according to claim 14, wherein the image is displayed in a first region in the first display mode, and in a second region in the second display mode;

and the display switch method further comprises determining a location of the second region based on an acquired parameter.

17. The display switch method according to claim 14, wherein the display unit displays a first image in the first display mode, and displays a second image in the second display mode;

and the display switch method further comprises generating the second image based on the first image, so that content of the first image and the second image is correlated but different, and information amount of the second image is larger than that of the first image.

18. A display method applied to an electronic device comprising a main body apparatus comprising:

a processing unit which generates a first image and performs display control;

a fixing apparatus connected with the main body apparatus, which has at least a fixed state in which the fixing apparatus can be at least a part of an annular space or an approximate annular space meeting a first predetermined condition, the annular space or the approximate annular space being capable of surrounding an outer side of a cylinder meeting a second predetermined condition; and

a display unit arranged on the main body apparatus or the fixing apparatus, which outputs the first image, wherein the display unit comprises a first display component which displays the first image, and a first optical component which receives light corresponding to the first image emitted from the first display component, and changes the light path of the light corresponding to the first image to form a magnified virtual image corresponding to the first image, and the display unit is capable of displaying image with two display modes, the display method comprising;

generating or acquiring an image signal for display by the processing unit; and

displaying based on the image signal by display unit,

wherein the processing unit controls the display unit to switch between a first display mode and a second display mode when a third predetermined condition is met;

the display image viewed by the user is a real image in the first display mode, and the display image viewed by the user is a virtual image in the second display mode.