Flexible display device and method of controlling the same

• US 9,570,042 B2
• Filed: 09/14/2013
• Issued: 02/14/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 04/16/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Display Company Limited (Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Samsung Display Company Limited (Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.)
• Inventors: Jeong, Chul-Woo, Park, Soon-Ryong, Jung, Woo-Suk, So, Jung-Ho, Kim, Tae-Eun
• Primary Examiner(s): Chowdhury, Afroza
• Application Number:
  US14/027,171
• Publication Number:
  US 20140306985A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,249 Days
• 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: G09G 2300/0819 used for counteracting undesired variations, e.g. feedback or autozeroing
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2300/0842 forming a memory circuit, e.g. a dynamic memory with one capacitor
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2300/0861 with additional control of the display period without amending the charge stored in a pixel memory, e.g. by means of additional select electrodes
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2310/0262 The addressing of the pixel, in a display other than an active matrix LCD, involving the control of two or more scan electrodes or two or more data electrodes, e.g. pixel voltage dependent on signals of two data electrodes
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/0233 Improving the luminance or brightness uniformity across the screen
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/0242 Compensation of deficiencies in the appearance of colours
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/035 for flexible display surfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/3233 with pixel circuitry controlling the current through the light-emitting element
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/06 using colour palettes, e.g. look-up tables
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 2102/311 Flexible OLED

Abstract

Provided are a flexible display device and a method of controlling the same. The flexible display device includes: a display unit including a first display area and a second display area bendable with respect to the first display area; and a control unit correcting at least one of a brightness and color coordinate of an image to be displayed in at least one of the first display area and the second display area according to a degree of bending between the first display area and the second display area.

Claims

1. A flexible display device, comprising:

a display unit comprising a first display area and a second display area bendable with respect to the first display area, the second display area comprising a bending area bendable and a flat area having a flat form, the bending area connecting the flat area to the first display area;

a control unit coupled to the display unit, the control unit performing a correction of at least one of a brightness and a color coordinate of an image to be displayed in at least one of the first display area and the second display area according to a degree of bending between the first display area and the second display area, a degree of the correction of a first pixel in the second display area being larger than a degree of the correction of a second pixel in the second display area when the first pixel in the second display area is disposed farther from the first display area than the second pixel in the second display area, both of the first pixel and the second pixel being in the same flat area of the second display area; and

a backplate attached to one side of the display unit to be bent together with the display unit, the backplate comprising;

a bendable housing unit; and

a metallic plate embedded in the housing unit, the metallic plate comprising a bent portion disposed at the interface between the first display area and the second display area, wherein the metallic plate maintains a bent form even when the display unit is not bent.

2. The flexible display device of claim 1, further comprising a sensing unit coupled to the display unit and measuring the degree of bending between the first display area and the second display area.

3. The flexible display device of claim 1, wherein the second display area is bendable in a front or rear direction of the display unit, with respect to the first display area.

4. The flexible display device of claim 1, wherein the control unit corrects an image to be displayed in the second display area to reduce a brightness of the image to be displayed in the second display area when the second display area bends toward a front direction of the display unit.

5. The flexible display device of claim 1, wherein the control unit corrects an image to be displayed in the second display area to reduce a blue color of the image to be displayed in the second display area when the second display area bends toward a front direction of the display unit.

6. The flexible display device of claim 1, wherein the control unit corrects an image to be displayed in the second display area to increase a brightness of the image to be displayed in the second display area when the second display area bends toward a rear direction of the display unit.

7. The flexible display device of claim 1, wherein the control unit corrects an image to be displayed in the second display area to reduce a red color of the image to be displayed in the second display area when the second display area bends toward a rear direction of the display unit.

8. The flexible display device of claim 1, further comprising a lookup table including correction values predetermined according to the degree of bending between the first display area and the second display area, wherein the control unit receives a correction value corresponding to the degree of bending between the first display area and the second display area by using the lookup table, and corrects an image to be displayed on the display unit.

9. The flexible display device of claim 1, further comprising a slap unit attached to one side of the display unit to be bent together with the display unit, a portion of the slap unit corresponding to an interface between the first display area and the second display area being bent while the second display area is bent with respect to the first display area.

10. The flexible display device of claim 9, wherein the slap unit comprises a form variable unit including a bent unit that maintains a bending form even when the display unit is not bent, the bent unit being disposed at the interface between the first display area and the second display area.

11. A method of controlling a flexible display device including a first display area and a second display area bendable with respect to the first display area, the method comprising:

measuring a degree of bending between the first display area and the second display area, the second display area comprising a bending area bendable and a flat area having a flat form, the bending area connecting the flat area to the first display area;

correcting at least one of a brightness and a color coordinate of an image to be displayed in at least one of the first display area and the second display area according to the degree of bending to produce a corrected image, a degree of said correcting at a first pixel in the second display area being larger than a degree of said correcting at a second pixel in the second display area when the first pixel in the second display area is disposed farther from the first display area than the second pixel in the second display area, both of the first pixel and the second pixel being in the same flat area of the second display area; and

displaying the corrected image, wherein the flexible display device comprises a backplate attached to one side of the display unit to be bent together with the display unit, the backplate comprising;

a bendable housing unit; and

a metallic plate embedded in the housing unit, the metallic plate comprising a bent portion disposed at the interface between the first display area and the second display area, wherein the metallic plate maintains a bent form even when the display unit is not bent.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the second display area is bendable in a front or rear direction of the display unit, with respect to the first display area.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the correcting the at least one of the brightness and the color coordinate comprises correcting an image to be displayed in the second display area to reduce the brightness of the image to be displayed in the second display area when the second display area bends toward a front direction of the display unit.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein the correcting the at least one of the brightness and the color coordinate comprises correcting an image to be displayed in the second display area to reduce a blue color of the image to be displayed in the second display area when the second display area bends toward a front direction of the display unit.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein the correcting the at least one of the brightness and the color coordinate comprises correcting an image to be displayed in the second display area to increase the brightness of the image to be displayed in the second display area when the second display area bends toward a rear direction of the display unit.

16. The method of claim 11, wherein the correcting the at least one of the brightness and the color coordinate comprises correcting an image to be displayed in the second display area to reduce a red color of the image to be displayed in the second display area when the second display area bends toward a rear direction of the display unit.