Flexible display having infrared transmitting device and infrared receiving device for recognition of folding state thereof

• US 9,958,970 B2
• Filed: 12/01/2014
• Issued: 05/01/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 09/03/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: BOE Technology Group Co., Ltd., Ordos Yuansheng Optoelectronics Co., Ltd. (BOE Technology Group Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: BOE Technology Group Co., Ltd., Ordos Yuansheng Optoelectronics Co., Ltd. (BOE Technology Group Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Feng, Xiang, Wei, Xiangdong, Qiu, Yun
• Primary Examiner(s): Amadiz, Rodney
• Application Number:
  US14/767,988
• Publication Number:
  US 20160252988A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,247 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1652 the display being flexible, e.g. mimicking a sheet of paper, or rollable
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1694 the I/O peripheral being a single or a set of motion sensors for pointer control or gesture input obtained by sensing movements of the portable computer
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04102 Flexible digitiser, i.e. constructional details for allowing the whole digitising part of a device to be flexed or rolled like a sheet of paper
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04103 Manufacturing, i.e. details related to manufacturing processes specially suited for touch sensitive devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/041 Digitisers, e.g. for touch screens or touch pads, characterised by the transducing means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0416 Control or interface arrangements specially adapted for digitisers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0421 by interrupting or reflecting a light beam, e.g. optical touch-screen
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0428 by sensing at the edges of the touch surface the interruption of optical paths, e.g. an illumination plane, parallel to the touch surface which may be virtual sensing beam interruptions in a planar beam grid of an optical touch-screen G06F3/0421
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2360/14 Detecting light within display terminals, e.g. using a single or a plurality of photosensors
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/00 Control arrangements or circuits, of interest only in connection with visual indicators other than cathode-ray tubes
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/035 for flexible display surfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/2096 Details of the interface to the display terminal specific for a flat panel suitable for both CRT and flat panel G09G5/006; specific for a CRT G09G1/167

Abstract

The present disclosure discloses a flexible display comprising a flexible display screen, an infrared transmitting device arranged on a border of the flexible display screen and comprising at least one infrared transmitting unit, an infrared receiving device arranged on a border of the flexible display screen and comprising at least one infrared receiving unit, and a signal processing unit, signally connected to each of the infrared receiving units in the infrared receiving device, for judging a folding state of the flexible display screen based on a state of receipt of an infrared signal at each of the infrared receiving units in the infrared receiving device. By means of cooperation between the infrared transmitting device and the infrared receiving device, the flexible display may judge the folding state of the flexible display screen and, in turn, perform a corresponding operation, such as an interactive operation, based on this folding state. The fabricating process is simplified, thereby reducing the production cost of the flexible display.

Claims

1. A flexible display comprising:

a flexible display screen;

an infrared transmitting device arranged on a border of the flexible display screen and comprising a first infrared transmitting unit and a second infrared transmitting unit that are separate from each other;

an infrared receiving device arranged on the border of the flexible display screen and comprising at least one infrared receiving unit, wherein the at least one infrared receiving unit is operable to receive an infrared signal transmitted from the infrared transmitting device; and

a signal processing unit signally connected to the at least one infrared receiving unit, wherein the signal processing unit is configured to identify different folding states where the flexible display screen is folded along different axes by recognizing whether the infrared signal is received by the at least one infrared receiving unit and when received, from which of the first infrared transmitting unit and the second infrared transmitting unit the received infrared signal is transmitted, the different axes comprising axes intersecting each other.

2. The flexible display according to claim 1, wherein the signal processing unit is further configured to control an interactive operation of the flexible display screen based on the identified folding state of the flexible display screen.

3. The flexible display according to claim 2, wherein the first and second infrared transmitting units are embedded in or attached on the border of the flexible display screen, and the at least one infrared receiving unit is embedded in or attached on the border of the flexible display screen.

4. The flexible display according to claim 1, wherein each of the first and second infrared transmitting units is configured to transmit an infrared signal in a direction perpendicular to the light emergent surface of the flexible display screen.

5. The flexible display according to claim 4, wherein the first and second infrared transmitting units are embedded in or attached on the border of the flexible display screen, and the at least one infrared receiving unit is embedded in or attached on the border of the flexible display screen.

6. The flexible display according to claim 1, wherein the first and second infrared transmitting units are arranged at a first portion of the border of the flexible display screen, and the at least one infrared receiving unit is arranged at a second portion of the border of the flexible display screen.

7. The flexible display according to claim 1, wherein the first and second infrared transmitting units and the at least one infrared receiving unit are arranged on the same surface of the flexible display screen.

8. The flexible display according to claim 1, wherein the first and second infrared transmitting units and the at least one infrared receiving unit are arranged on different surfaces of the flexible display screen.

9. The flexible display according to claim 1, wherein the infrared transmitting device further comprises at least one additional infrared transmitting unit, wherein the first and second infrared transmitting units are arranged on a first surface of the flexible display screen and the at least one additional infrared transmitting unit is arranged on a second surface of the flexible display screen that is opposite to the first surface, or wherein the infrared receiving device comprises a plurality of the infrared receiving units, wherein at least one of the plurality of infrared receiving units is arranged on a first surface of the flexible display screen and the remaining ones of the plurality of infrared receiving units are arranged on a second surface of the flexible display screen that is opposite to the first surface.

10. The flexible display according to claim 1, wherein the light emergent surface of the flexible display screen has a rectangular shape.

11. The flexible display according to claim 10, wherein the infrared receiving device comprises a first infrared receiving unit and a second infrared receiving unit, the first infrared transmitting unit, the second infrared transmitting unit, the first infrared receiving unit and the second infrared receiving unit being arranged on the light emergent surface of the flexible display screen and being located at a respective corner of the flexible display screen;

along the column direction of the pixel units in the flexible display screen, the first infrared transmitting unit being adjacent to the second infrared transmitting unit, and the first infrared receiving unit being adjacent to the second infrared receiving unit;

along the row direction of the pixel units in the flexible display screen, the first infrared transmitting unit being adjacent to the first infrared receiving unit, and the second infrared transmitting unit being adjacent to the second infrared receiving unit.

12. The flexible display according to claim 11, wherein the infrared transmitting device further comprises a third infrared transmitting unit and a fourth infrared transmitting unit, and the infrared receiving device further comprises a third infrared receiving unit and a fourth infrared receiving unit, the third infrared transmitting unit, the fourth infrared transmitting unit, the third infrared receiving unit and the fourth infrared receiving unit being arranged on the side of the flexible display screen facing away from the light emergent surface and being located at a respective corner of the flexible display screen;

along the column direction of the pixel units in the flexible display screen, the third infrared transmitting unit being adjacent to the fourth infrared transmitting unit, and the third infrared receiving unit being adjacent to the fourth infrared receiving unit;

along the row direction of the pixel units in the flexible display screen, the third infrared transmitting unit being adjacent to the third infrared receiving unit, and the fourth infrared transmitting unit being adjacent to the fourth infrared receiving unit.

13. The flexible display according to claim 12, wherein along the direction perpendicular to the light emergent surface of the flexible display screen, the third infrared transmitting unit is opposite to the first infrared transmitting unit;

the fourth infrared transmitting unit is opposite to the second infrared transmitting unit;

the third infrared receiving unit is opposite to the first infrared receiving unit; and

the fourth infrared receiving unit is opposite to the second infrared receiving unit.

14. The flexible display according to claim 12, wherein each of the first infrared transmitting unit, the second infrared transmitting unit, the third infrared transmitting unit and the fourth infrared transmitting unit is configured to transmit an infrared signal in a direction perpendicular to the light emergent surface of the flexible display screen.

15. The flexible display according to claim 1, wherein the light emergent surface of the flexible display screen is of a circular or trapezoidal shape.

16. The flexible display according to claim 1, wherein the flexible display screen is an organic electroluminescent display screen or a liquid crystal display screen.

17. The flexible display according to claim 1, wherein the flexible display screen is a touch screen.

18. The flexible display according to claim 1, wherein the first and second infrared transmitting units are embedded in or attached on the border of the flexible display screen, and the at least one infrared receiving unit is embedded in or attached on the border of the flexible display screen.

19. The flexible display according to claim 1, wherein the first and second infrared transmitting units are embedded in or attached on the border of the flexible display screen, and the at least one infrared receiving unit is embedded in or attached on the border of the flexible display screen.