Attachable device with flexible display and detection of flex state and/or location

• US 10,318,129 B2
• Filed: 02/26/2016
• Issued: 06/11/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 08/27/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Flexterra, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Flexterra, Inc.
• Inventors: Inagaki, Philippe, Huitema, Hjalmar Edzer Ayco
• Primary Examiner(s): Davis, Tony O
• Application Number:
  US15/054,723
• Publication Number:
  US 20160283086A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,201 Days
• Field of Search: 345156, 345170-176, 345422
• CPC Class Codes: G04G 17/08 Housings
• CPC Class Codes: G04G 21/08 Touch switches specially adapted for time-pieces
• CPC Class Codes: G04G 9/0064 in which functions not related to time can be displayed digital output to display devices of digital computers G06F3/14
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1626 with a single-body enclosure integrating a flat display, e.g. Personal Digital Assistants [PDAs]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/163 Wearable computers, e.g. on a belt
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1643 the display being associated to a digitizer, e.g. laptops that can be used as penpads details related to the relative motion of the display enclosure with respect to the body enclosure, e.g. to move between laptop and tablet PC configuration G06F1/1615
• 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 1/1679 for locking or maintaining the movable parts of the enclosure in a fixed position, e.g. latching mechanism at the edge of the display in a laptop or for the screen protective cover of a PDA G06F1/1681 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04845 for image manipulation, e.g. dragging, rotation, expansion or change of colour
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text

Abstract

An article with automatic detection capabilities includes a dynamically flexible display and one or more detection elements. Based on signals generated by the detection elements, the article automatically detects/determines conditions associated with the article, and performs actions based on the conditions. Automatically detectable conditions may include a flex state or degree of flex of the display, an identity of an object supporting the article, a contextual environment and/or contextual location in which the article is situated, an orientation of the article, and/or other conditions. Resulting actions may include adapting an image content presented on the display, launching and/or closing applications, changing an operational mode of the article, and/or other actions that may be performed by optoelectronic elements of the flexible display and/or by other electronic elements of the article. The article may include a fastener that allows the article to be releasably attached to itself and/or to other objects.

Claims

1. A system, comprising:

a dynamically flexible electronic sheet having a flexible backplane substrate and a flexible frontplane substrate that are operatively connected between a first end and a second end opposite the first end, wherein the dynamically flexible electronic sheet is flexible between a substantially flat position and a curved position in which the first and second ends meet or overlap;

a fastener configured to allow the electronic sheet to be at least one of releasably attached to or supported by each of a plurality of objects;

one or more detection elements;

a processor in communicative connection with the flexible electronic sheet; and

a memory storing a routine that, when executed by the processor, operates to;

determine, based on one or more signals generated by the one or more detection elements, a particular object that is currently supporting an article in which the dynamically flexible, electronic sheet is included, the particular object included in the plurality of objects;

determine, based on the particular object, one or more respective actions that are to be performed by the article; and

cause the one or more respective actions to be performed by the article.

2. The system of claim 1,

wherein the routine operates to determine the one or more respective actions based on the particular object and further based on at least one of:

(i) a current, dynamic flex state of the article, the current, dynamic flex state included in a plurality of dynamic flex states including bent and flat;

(ii) a current spatial orientation of the article;

(iii) a current environment in which the article is located;

(iv) a current location at which the article is located within the current environment;

or

(v) a user input; and

wherein each of (i) to (v) is determined by the processor based on one or more respective signals generated by the one or more detection elements.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the article is releasably attached to itself using the fastener, and the article surrounds at least a portion of the particular object that is determined to be currently supporting the article.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the article surrounds the at least the portion of the particular object in a particular orientation of a plurality of orientations, and wherein the routine operates to determine the one or more respective actions further based on the particular orientation.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the particular object is a body part of a user of the article.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the article is releasably attached, using the fastener, to the particular object that is determined to be currently supporting the article.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein:

the memory further stores a mapping defining a plurality of associations between the plurality of objects and a plurality of respective actions; and

the routine operates to determine the one or more respective actions corresponding to the particular object using the mapping.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein when the dynamically flexible electronic sheet is in the curved position, the first and second ends overlap.

9. A system, comprising:

a dynamically flexible electronic sheet having a flexible backplane substrate and a flexible frontplane substrate that are operatively connected between a first end and a second end opposite the first end, wherein the dynamically flexible electronic sheet is flexible between a substantially flat position and a curved position in which the first and second ends meet or overlap;

a wireless communication module that enables detection of an environment in which the flexible electronic sheet is located;

a processor included in or in communicative connection with an article including the flexible electronic sheet; and

a memory storing a routine that, when executed by the processor, operates to;

determine, based on one or more signals received at the wireless communication module from another object, a current environment of the article;

determine, based on the current environment in which the article is located, one or more respective actions that are to be performed by the article; and

cause the one or more respective actions to be performed by the article.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the current environment in which the article is located includes a plurality of locations, and wherein the routine determines the current environment and a current location of the article within the current environment based on the one or more signals received at the wireless communication module from the another object.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein:

the flexible electronic sheet includes a dynamically flexible, electronic display;

one or more optoelectronic elements are included in a display area of the dynamically flexible, electronic display;

each optoelectronic element of the one or more optoelectronic elements is configured to at least one of emit, reflect, or transflect light; and

the one or more respective actions to be performed by the article include causing image content to be at least one of presented or modified on the display area by using the one or more optoelectronic elements.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the image content corresponds to at least one of:

a newly launched application, a closing of a previously launched application, or a modification to a format of image content provided by a currently launched application.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the modification to the format of the image content provided by the currently launched application comprises at least one of:

a change in a size of the image content provided by the currently launched application,

a change in an orientation of the image content provided by the currently launched application,

a disappearance or hiding of at least a part of the image content provided by the currently launched application,

a re-appearance or un-hiding of the at least the part of the image content provided by the currently launched application, or

a change in a location, on the flexible electronic display, of the image content provided by the currently launched application.

14. The system of claim 11, wherein the memory is a first memory, and wherein the article stores, in the first memory or in a second memory, one or more images to be presented on the display area when the article is detected, by the processor, to be in a particular mode, the particular mode corresponding to at least one of:

a particular object currently supporting the article, the particular object determined by the processor,

a current flex state of the article, the current flex state determined by the processor,

a current environment in which the article is located, the current environment determined by the processor,

a current location at which the article is situated within the current environment, the current location determined by the processor,

a current spatial orientation of the article, the current spatial orientation determined by the processor, or

a detected movement of the article, the detected movement determined by the processor.

15. A method presenting information at an article, the method comprising:

determining, by a processor that is included in the article or that is communication connection with the article, based on one or more respective signals generated by the one or more detection elements, an object currently supporting the article; and

determining, by the processor, respective image content based on the object currently supporting the article; and

causing, by the processor, the respective image content to be presented on a dynamically flexible electronic display of the article, wherein the dynamically flexible electronic display is flexible between a substantially flat position and a curved position in which a first end of the dynamically flexible electronic display and a second end of the dynamically flexible electronic display opposite the first end meet or overlap.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein determining the object currently supporting the article comprises determining that a human being or an inanimate object is currently supporting the article.

17. The method of claim 16,

further comprising determining an identity of the human being or of the inanimate object;

and

wherein determining the respective image content based on the degree of flex comprises determining respective image content based on the determined identity.

18. The method of claim 15, wherein:

the one or more detection elements exclude a user interface;

the method further comprises determining, by the processor based on one or more respective signals generated by the one or more detection elements, an environment in which the article is currently located; and

determining the respective image content based on the degree of flex of the at least the portion of the article includes determining respective image content based on (i) the object currently supporting the article, and (ii) the environment in which the article is currently located.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein determining the environment in which the article is currently located comprises determining a particular location at which the article is situated within the environment in which the article is currently located, the particular location included in a plurality of locations within the environment.

20. The method of claim 15, wherein determining the respective image content further includes determining a modification to at least some of a current image content being presented on the flexible electronic display, the modification to the at least some of the current image content including at least one of:

a modification to a size of the at least some of the current image content;

a modification to an orientation of the at least some of the current image content;

a hiding of the at least part of the at least some of the current image content;

an un-hiding of a previously hidden portion of the current image content;

or

moving the at least some of the current image content to a different location on the flexible electronic display.

21. The method of claim 15,

further comprising, by the processor and based on the object currently supporting the article, at least one of a launching a new application or closing a previously launched application;

and

wherein at least one of the new image content included in the respective image content is provided by the launched new application, or the at least part of the current image content excluded from the respective image content is provided by the closed, previously launched application.