Patent Application
20130027422
A computer user might sometimes utilize extended desktop functions of the user's notebook computer to attach an external monitor in order to have full-size views of multiple applications and processes. If an external monitor is not available, a user who is reliant on having an external monitor needs to change the user's computer usage in order to work with one monitor.
Embodiments generally relate to extending a display area of a computer. In one embodiment, a method includes detecting a first position of a secondary display relative to a primary display. The method further includes detecting a second position of the secondary display. The method further includes adjusting one or more settings of the secondary display based on the second position, where the adjusting causes the secondary display to be a continuation of the primary display.
Embodiments described herein extend a display area of a computer by providing one or more secondary displays that augment a primary display. In one embodiment, the primary display and one more secondary displays constitute the display area, where the combination of the primary display and one or more secondary displays in effect creates one continuous display. In one embodiment, a method includes detecting a first position of one or more secondary displays relative to a primary display. In some embodiments, the secondary displays may be foldable or pocketed displays, which could be opened to provide the user with an attached extended desktop. The method further includes detecting second positions of the respective secondary displays, and then adjusting one or more settings of the secondary displays based on the second positions, where the adjusting causes the one or more secondary displays to be a continuation of the primary display. As a result, the combination of displays provides a user with one seamless and contiguous display area.
In one embodiment, the combination of primary display 102 and secondary display 104 may be referred to as a single-panel bi-fold display. In one embodiment, secondary display 104 folds across primary display 102 when in a closed position. In this embodiment, the user opens secondary display 104 to use the computer. In one embodiment, the display positions and dimensions are fixed variables, which the screen management application 410 may take into account when creating the extended work area. Note that the terms display area, workspace, and work area are used interchangeably. Aspects of the relative positions of primary and secondary displays 102 and 104 are described in more detail below.
In other embodiments, computer 400 may not have all of the components listed and/or may have other elements instead of, or in addition to, those listed above. For ease of illustration,
Although embodiments disclosed herein are described in the context of displays for notebook computers, embodiments may apply to displays for other types of computers such as desktop computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), mobile phones, smart phones, etc.
The process is initiated in block 502, where screen management application 410 detects a first position of secondary display 104. In one embodiment, the first position may be relative to primary display 102. In one embodiment, the first position is a closed position as shown in
In block 504, screen management application 410 detects a second position of secondary display 104. In one embodiment, the second position may be relative to the first position or to primary display 102. In one embodiment, the second position is an open position as shown in
For ease of illustration, one open position is described in this particular example embodiment. As described in other embodiments below, the second/open position may represent different gradations of open positions. As described in more detail below, in some embodiments, one or more open positions of any given secondary display may be based on one or more reference points associated with the primary display.
In block 506, screen management application 410 adjusts one or more settings of the secondary display 104 based on the second position. In one embodiment, the adjusting causes the secondary display 104 to be a continuation of primary display 102. This embodiment and other embodiments described herein are particularly useful to users who rely on having an extended desktop, such as professional CAD users who need a very wide display to view structural layouts.
In one embodiment, the adjusted settings may include the following examples. In one embodiment, screen management application 410 adjusts extended desktop settings. In one embodiment, screen management application 410 adjusts one or more software applications that the user is using to continuously span across both the primary display and the secondary display. In one embodiment, screen management application 410 adjusts the user interface (UI) to match the extended desktop settings. As a result, the primary display and the secondary display both function together as one continuous display. As such, the combination of displays provides a user with one seamless and contiguous workspace.
In one embodiment, the workspace may be centered on the primary display and the extended desktop stretches outward from the primary display to the one or more secondary displays. In one embodiment, the height of the workspace may be the height of the primary display, even if the height of the secondary display is smaller than that of the primary display. This assumes that the workable area may spill over the top and bottom edges of the secondary display, which would be expected if the displayed content matches seamlessly along the vertical edge between the displays.
In one embodiment, in cases where the primary and secondary displays have bezels (e.g., outside frame areas surrounding the glass of the displays), screen management application 410 accounts for the bezel in order to keep the primary display and the secondary display functioning together as one continuous display. For example, screen management application 410 causes a given user interface or application used by the user to end at the edge of the primary display and begin at the neighboring edge of the secondary display(s). In one embodiment, the primary and secondary displays have bezels that are transparent in order to keep the primary display and the secondary display functioning together as one continuous display. For example, in one embodiment, pixels of the displays are visible through the transparent bezels. These embodiments provide a user with one seamless and contiguous workspace. Such transparent bezels enable the user to have more visible contiguous workspace between the primary and secondary displays. In another embodiment, the inner edge of the secondary display may also be transparent to enhance the amount of workspace. In the embodiments described herein, the setup of the extended desktop, including the adjusted one or more settings, is automatic upon opening the secondary display(s).
While the embodiments above are described in the context of a single panel bi-fold, other display embodiments are possible, as described in more detail below. The embodiments described in
In one embodiment, the combination of primary display 602 and secondary displays 604 and 606 may be referred to as a dual-panel tri-fold display. In one embodiment, secondary displays 604 and 606 fold across primary display 602 when in closed positions. In this embodiment, the user opens both secondary displays 604 and 606 to use the computer. In this embodiment, the dual display positions and dimensions are fixed variables, which the screen management application 410 may take into account when creating the extended work area.
In one embodiment, the combination of primary display 902 and secondary display 604 may be referred to as a single-panel pocket mechanical display. In one embodiment, secondary display 904 slides into a pocket behind primary display 902. In one embodiment, the user pulls out the secondary display 904 when needed. In one embodiment, the display dimensions are fixed variables. In one embodiment, fixed-position catch locks 910, 912, and 914 enable the user to pull secondary display 904 out to predetermined positions. In one embodiment, the predetermined positions may be hard coded as parameters, which screen management application 410 may take into account when creating the extended work area. For example, in one embodiment, each of fixed-position catch locks 910, 912, and 914 may be associated with a different position. In one embodiment, each different position may be hard coded with the size of the resulting extended display area, or the size of the portion of secondary display 904 that is exposed, or the distance/width of secondary display 904 that is exposed. Screen management application 410 may then compute the size of the resulting extended display area as needed. In either of these embodiments, the size of the resulting extended display area would be, for example, the size of primary display 902 plus the size of the portion of secondary display 904 that is exposed, which would be predetermined or calculated, and associated with the given position. These examples may be applied to other embodiments where there are two secondary displays, as described below in connection with
In one embodiment, the combination of primary display 1202 and secondary displays 1204 and 1206 may be referred to as a dual-panel pocket mechanical display. In one embodiment, secondary displays 1204 and 1206 operate similarly to secondary display 904 described above.
In one embodiment, the combination of primary display 1502 and secondary display 1504 may be referred to as a single-panel pocket sensor display. In one embodiment, secondary display 1504 slides into a pocket behind primary display 1502. In one embodiment, the user pulls out secondary display 1504 when needed. In one embodiment the display dimensions are fixed variables. In one embodiment, range sensor 1510 may be employed to enable the user to have a completely dynamic extendable workspace. In one embodiment, touch-activation sensor 1512 and range sensor 1510 are located on the external edge of secondary display 1504. In one embodiment, touch-activation sensor 1512 may indicate to screen management application 410 when the position of secondary display 1504 is being modified, and range sensor 1510 may indicate to screen management application 410 how much the position of secondary display 1504 has changed. In one embodiment, the touch-activation sensor 1512 is activated by pressure or heat from a user's thumb or finger when the user grabs secondary display 1504 to pull it out. Also, range sensor 1510 scans the distance from range sensor 1510 to fixed-position sensor 1520. In one embodiment, using an algorithm, screen management application 410 may determine how far secondary display 1504 has been extended relative to primary display 1502. This may be determined using the distance variable determined by range sensor 1510, the known location of fixed-position sensor 1520, and the known dimensions of primary and secondary displays 1502 and 1504. Screen management application 410 uses this determination to adapt the user interface and/or application that the user is using to the extended display area.
In one embodiment, screen management application 410 may apply the following formula to determine an extended display area. In one embodiment, the extended display area may be centered vertically on primary display 1502 at a height of the primary display 1502 resolution.
Extended display area=H×W, where W=P+(R−(P−F)), where
H=Height of the primary display as a fixed distance from the range sensor or a fixed height from a predetermined location on the chassis of the primary display; W=Total width of available display desktop; P=Total width of the primary display; R=Range sensor distance to a fixed position (e.g., to fixed-position sensor); and F=Fixed-position sensor in relation to the center of the primary display (e.g., to fixed-position sensor). In one embodiment, screen management application 410 then determines the extended workspace resolution based on the resolution of the primary display. For example, a 1920×1080 primary display might have a 50% increase in workspace width. As such, the displayed resolution on the secondary display would be 1920×540.
In one embodiment, the combination of primary display 1602 and secondary displays 1604 and 1606 may be referred to as a dual-panel pocket sensor display. In one embodiment, screen management application 410 may apply the following formula to determine an extended display area. In one embodiment, the extended display area may be centered vertically on primary display 1602 at a height of the primary display 1602 resolution, where the position of the primary display 1602 is fixed.
Extended display area=H×W, where W=P+(R−(P−F))+(L−(P−F)), where
H=Height of the primary display as a fixed distance from the range sensor or a fixed height from a predetermined location on the chassis of the primary display; W=Total width of available display desktop; P=Total width of the primary display; R=Right range sensor distance to a fixed position (e.g., to fixed-position sensor or left range sensor); L=Left range sensor distance to a fixed position (e.g., to fixed-position sensor or right range sensor); and F=Fixed-position sensor in relation to the center of the primary display (e.g., to fixed-position sensor).
In one embodiment, the combination of primary display 1702 and secondary display 1704 may be referred to as a primary and secondary sliding panel pocket sensor display. In one embodiment, primary display 1702 and secondary display 1704 slide in independent directions, and the adjusting of the settings of secondary display 1704 is based on the position of secondary display 1704 relative to the position of primary display 1702. A detailed example is described below.
In one embodiment, screen management application 410 may apply the following formula to determine an extended display area. In one embodiment, the extended display area may be centered vertically on primary display 1702 at a height of primary display 1702 resolution.
Extended display area=H×W, where W=P+S, where S=(R+L)−P, and where
H=Height of the primary display as a fixed distance from the range sensor or a fixed height from a predetermined location on the chassis of the primary display; W=Total width of available display desktop; P=Total width of primary display; R=Right range sensor distance to a fixed distance (e.g., to fixed-position sensor or left range sensor); L=Left range sensor distance to a fixed distance (e.g., to fixed-position sensor or right range sensor); S=Secondary display width available for display.
In one embodiment, fixed-position sensor 1720 may be used to determine the offset of the primary display 1702 for purposes of centering the desktop display horizontally. In one embodiment, the combination of primary display 1702 and secondary display 1704 may be referred to as a primary and secondary sliding panel sensor display, where primary display 1702 and secondary display 1704 slide in independent and/or opposite directions. In one embodiment, the user opens the extra display when needed. In one embodiment, the display dimensions are fixed variables. This is a similar situation to the previous embodiment described in
In one embodiment, screen management application 410 may perform power-saving functions. For example, in one embodiment, screen management application 410 may display black (e.g., turn off pixels) at the portions of the secondary display(s) that are hidden (e.g., a portion that is still inside a primary display pocket).
Although the description has been described with respect to particular embodiments thereof, these particular embodiments are merely illustrative, and not restrictive. For example, in the embodiments described above, one or two secondary displays have been described. Other embodiments are possible where there are more than two secondary displays. Any suitable programming language can be used to implement the routines of particular embodiments including C, C++, Java, assembly language, etc. Different programming techniques can be employed such as procedural or object-oriented. The routines can execute on a single processing device or multiple processors. Although the steps, operations, or computations may be presented in a specific order, this order may be changed in different particular embodiments. In some particular embodiments, multiple steps shown as sequential in this specification can be performed at the same time.
Particular embodiments may be implemented in a computer-readable storage medium (also referred to as a machine-readable storage medium) for use by or in connection with the instruction execution system, apparatus, system, or device. Particular embodiments can be implemented in the form of control logic in software or hardware or a combination of both. The control logic, when executed by one or more processors, may be operable to perform that which is described in particular embodiments.
A “processor” includes any suitable hardware and/or software system, mechanism or component that processes data, signals or other information. A processor can include a system with a general-purpose central processing unit, multiple processing units, dedicated circuitry for achieving functionality, or other systems. Processing need not be limited to a geographic location, or have temporal limitations. For example, a processor can perform its functions in “real time,” “offline,” in a “batch mode,” etc. Portions of processing can be performed at different times and at different locations, by different (or the same) processing systems. A computer may be any processor in communication with a memory. The memory may be any suitable processor-readable storage medium, such as random-access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), magnetic or optical disk, or other tangible media suitable for storing instructions for execution by the processor.
Particular embodiments may be implemented by using a programmed general purpose digital computer, by using application specific integrated circuits, programmable logic devices, field programmable gate arrays, optical, chemical, biological, quantum or nanoengineered systems, components and mechanisms may be used. In general, the functions of particular embodiments can be achieved by any means as is known in the art. Distributed, networked systems, components, and/or circuits can be used. Communication, or transfer, of data may be wired, wireless, or by any other means.
It will also be appreciated that one or more of the elements depicted in the drawings/figures can also be implemented in a more separated or integrated manner, or even removed or rendered as inoperable in certain cases, as is useful in accordance with a particular application. It is also within the spirit and scope to implement a program or code that can be stored in a machine-readable medium to permit a computer to perform any of the methods described above.
As used in the description herein and throughout the claims that follow, “a”, “an”, and “the” includes plural references unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Also, as used in the description herein and throughout the claims that follow, the meaning of “in” includes “in” and “on” unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.
While one or more implementations have been described by way of example and in terms of the specific embodiments, it is to be understood that the implementations are not limited to the disclosed embodiments. To the contrary, it is intended to cover various modifications and similar arrangements as would be apparent to those skilled in the art. Therefore, the scope of the appended claims should be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similar arrangements.
Thus, while particular embodiments have been described herein, latitudes of modification, various changes, and substitutions are intended in the foregoing disclosures, and it will be appreciated that in some instances some features of particular embodiments will be employed without a corresponding use of other features without departing from the scope and spirit as set forth. Therefore, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the essential scope and spirit.
