Mobile electronic device with an adaptively responsive flexible display

• US 9,684,341 B2
• Filed: 04/18/2016
• Issued: 06/20/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 08/04/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Vartanian, Harry
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee, John J
• Application Number:
  US15/132,030
• Publication Number:
  US 20160231785A1
• Time in Patent Office: 428 Days
• Field of Search: 455566, 4555501, 4555751, 455 903
• 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 1/1647 including at least an additional display G06F1/1692 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1652 the display being flexible, e.g. mimicking a sheet of paper, or rollable
• 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 1/3206 Monitoring of events, devices or parameters that trigger a change in power modality
• 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 3/0346 with detection of the device orientation or free movement in a 3D space, e.g. 3D mice, 6-DOF [six degrees of freedom] pointers using gyroscopes, accelerometers or tilt-sensors
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0412 Digitisers structurally integrated in a display
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04845 for image manipulation, e.g. dragging, rotation, expansion or change of colour
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0261 based on user location
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2370/02 Networking aspects
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2370/16 Use of wireless transmission of display information
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/005 Adapting incoming signals to the display format of the display terminal
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/14 Display of multiple viewports
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/373 for modifying the size of the graphic pattern
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/0268 including a flexible display panel
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/7243 with interactive means for internal management of messages
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/12 : Messaging; Mailboxes; Announcements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/14 : Short messaging services, e.g. short message services [SMS] or unstructured supplementary service data [USSD]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/18 : Information format or content conversion, e.g. adaptation by the network of the transmitted or received information for the purpose of wireless delivery to users or terminals

Abstract

A mobile electronic device having a flexible display device is disclosed. A request to retrieve information from a server over a wireless network is triggered based on flexing the flexible display device and other gestures.

Claims

1. A method of operating an electronic device, wherein the electronic device includes a flexible display and a plurality of sensors configured to detect bending of the flexible display, and wherein the flexible display is configured to be bent from a first shape with a first size to a second shape with a second size that is different than the first size, the method comprising:

displaying an image with the flexible display while the electronic device has the first shape;

with the plurality of sensors, detecting that the flexible display has been bent from the first shape to the second shape; and

in response to detecting that the flexible display has been bent into the second shape, resizing the image to fit the second shape.

2. The method defined in claim 1, wherein the first shape comprises a first predetermined shape and wherein the second shape comprises a second predetermined shape.

3. The method defined in claim 1, wherein the electronic device comprises an additional flexible display, and wherein the flexible display overlaps the additional flexible display.

4. The method defined in claim 3, wherein the electronic device comprises an additional sensor configured to detect rotation of the electronic device, the method further comprising:

in response to the additional sensor detecting rotation of the electronic device, turning off the flexible display.

5. The method defined in claim 4, further comprising:

in response to the additional sensor detecting rotation of the electronic device and after turning off the flexible display, displaying an image on the additional flexible display.

6. An electronic device comprising:

a flexible display;

a plurality of sensors configured to detect folding of the flexible display; and

circuitry configured to trigger an action in the electronic device in response to the plurality of sensors determining that the flexible display is folded into a given shape, wherein determining that the flexible display is folded into the given shape comprises determining that the flexible display is bent so that a first part of the flexible display covers a second part of the flexible display.

7. The electronic device defined in claim 6, wherein the action comprises modifying an image displayed by the flexible display.

8. The electronic device defined in claim 6, wherein the action comprises turning off the flexible display.

9. The electronic device defined in claim 6, wherein triggering the action in the electronic device in response to the plurality of sensors determining that the flexible display is folded into the given shape comprises turning off the flexible display in response to the plurality of sensors determining that the flexible display is folded into the given shape.

10. An electronic device comprising:

a flexible display;

a plurality of sensors configured to detect folding of the flexible display; and

circuitry configured to trigger an action in the electronic device in response to the plurality of sensors determining that the flexible display is folded into a given shape, wherein triggering the action in the electronic device in response to the plurality of sensors determining that the flexible display is folded into the given shape comprises resizing an image displayed on the flexible display to fit the given shape in response to the plurality of sensors determining that the flexible display is folded into the given shape.