Patent Application
20100007576
The present invention relates to handheld electronic devices and, more particularly, to handheld electronic devices with display capabilities.
Consumers may now select from a wide array of handheld electronic devices, such as cellular mobile terminals, personal digital assistants (PDAs) and media players. Such devices typically provide audio and/or video user interfaces. For example, a mobile terminal may include a display, keypad, speaker and microphone, which together support telephony functions. These components may also Support multimedia, gaming and other applications.
Producers of such devices constantly strive to provide new audio and visual interfaces to enhance user experience and, thus, gainer greater market share. Thus, for example, handheld devices have been provided with touchscreen displays that allow for user scrolling and other inputs, and display generators that use accelerometer inputs to adaptively onent an image to adjust for the attitude at which the device is being held. For example, Apple Incorporated's iPhone changes its display between portrait and landscape modes responsive to an accelerometer that senses the attitude at which the device is being held.
In some embodiments of the present invention, a handheld electronic device, such as a mobile terminal, PDA, media player or the like, includes a plurality of displays including at least one display moveable to variably overlap at least one other of the plurality of displays. A position sensor circuit is operatively associated with the at least one moveable display and is configured to detect movement thereof. A display controller circuit is configured to control respective images displayed on the plurality of the displays responsive to the position sensor circuit.
For example, in some embodiments, the plurality of displays may include first and second displays fixed in or deployable to a side-by-side arrangement and the at least one moveable display may include a third display fixed in or deployable to an overlapping arrangement with respect to the first and second displays in the side-by-side arrangement. Display surfaces of the first and second displays may lie in a first plane in the side-by-side arrangement and the third display may be fixed in or deployable to an overlapping arrangement with respect to the first and second displays in the side-by-side arrangement such that a display surface of the third display lies in a second plane parallel to the first plane.
According to further embodiments, the third display is moveable among a first position in which the third display predominantly overlaps the first display, a second position in which the third display overlaps portions of the first and second displays and a third position in which the third display predominantly overlaps the second display. The display controller circuit may be configured to display a composite image of a single scene across the first, second and third displays responsive to detecting movement of the third display to the second position. The device may further include a user input device, such as a touchscreen, that is configured to accept a user input and the display controller circuit may be operatively coupled to the user input device and further configured to transition one of the first, second and third displays from display of a portion of the composite image to display of a discrete image responsive to the user input. The display controller circuit may be further configured to transition from display of the composite image to display of respective first and second discrete images on the second and third displays responsive to detection of movement of the third display from the second position to the third position.
In additional embodiments of the present invention, a handheld electronic device includes a clamshell housing including first and second portions joined by a hinge that supports movement of the housing between an open position and a closed position. Respective first and second displays are mounted on the first and second portions of the clamshell housing such that the first and second displays are opposed when the clamshell housing is in the closed position and such that the first and second displays are deployed in a side-by-side configuration when the clamshell housing is in the open position. A third display is mounted on the clamshell housing and configured to move across the first and second displays to variably overlap the first and second displays. A position sensor circuit is configured to detect movement of the third display with respect to the first and second displays, and a display controller circuit is configured to control respective images displayed on the first, second and third displays responsive to the position sensor circuit. Display surfaces of the first and second displays may lie in a first plane when the clamshell housing is in the open position and a display surface of the third display may lie in a second parallel plane overlying the first plane when the clamshell housing is in the open position.
When the clamshell housing is in the open position, the third display may be moveable among a first position in which the third display predominantly overlaps the first display, a second position in which the third display overlaps portions of the first and second displays and a third position in which the third display predominantly overlaps the second display. The display controller circuit may be configured to display a composite image of a single scene across the first, second and third displays responsive to detecting movement of the third display to the second position. The device may further include a user input device configured to accept a user input and the display controller circuit may be operatively coupled to the user input device and further configured to transition one of the first, second and third displays from display of a portion of the composite image to display of a discrete image responsive to the user input. The display controller circuit may be further configured to transition from display of the composite image to display of respective first and second discrete images on the second and third displays responsive to detection of movement of the third display from the second position to the third position. The position sensor circuit may include a first set of electrical contacts configured to move with the third display and variably engage a second set of contacts fixedly positioned with respect to the first and second displays.
Still further embodiments of the present invention provide methods of operating a handheld electronic device including a plurality of displays including at least one display moveable to variably overlap at least one other of the plurality of displays. Movement of the at least one moveable display is detected and display of respective images on the plurality of the displays is controlled responsive to the detected movement.
Other electronic devices and/or methods according to embodiments of the invention will be or become apparent to one with skill in the art upon review of the following drawings and detailed description. It is intended that all such additional electronic devices and methods be included within this description, be within the scope of the present invention, and be protected by the accompanying claims.
The present invention will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying figures, in which embodiments of the invention are shown. This invention may, however, be embodied in many alternate forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein.
Accordingly, while the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof are shown by way of example in the drawings and will herein be described in detail. It should be understood, however, that there is no intent to limit the invention to the particular forms disclosed, but on the contrary, the invention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the claims. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout the description of the figures.
The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises”, “comprising,” “includes” and/or “including” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. Moreover, when an element is referred to as being “responsive” or “connected” to another element, it can be directly responsive or connected to the other element, or intervening elements may be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly responsive” or “directly connected” to another element, there are no intervening elements present. As used herein the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items and may be abbreviated as “/”.
It will be understood that, although the terms first, second, etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another. For example, a first element could be termed a second element, and, similarly, a second element could be termed a first element without departing from the teachings of the disclosure. Although some of the diagrams include arrows on communication paths to show a primary direction of communication, it is to be understood that communication may occur in the opposite direction to the depicted arrows.
Some embodiments are described with regard to flowcharts in which each block represents a circuit element, module, or portion of code which includes one or more executable instructions for implementing the specified logical function(s). It should also be noted that in other implementations, the function(s) noted in the blocks may occur out of the order noted. For example, two blocks shown in succession may, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending on the functionality involved.
Some embodiments of the present invention arise from a realization that an improved user interface for a handheld electronic device may use a set of overlapping displays including a moveable display that may be variably overlapped across one or more other displays to support, for example, a mode in which the moveable and fixed displays present components of a composite image having a size greater than any of the individual displays. For example, a “clamshell” device, such as a mobile terminal, may include first and second displays fixedly mounted on respective portions of a hinged clamshell housing and a third, moveable display that is configured to slide across the two fixed displays when the clamshell housing is in an open position. When this moveable display is moved over the hinge to bridge across the other two displays, the displays may change their displayed images, for example, to transition from a telephone interface mode in which each display presents a discrete image to a widescreen multimedia mode in which the displays collectively provide a composite image.
As further shown, the mobile terminal 100 includes a third, moveable display 130c that is configured to variably overlap the first and second displays 130a, 130b. In particular, as shown in
It will be appreciated that movement of the moveable display 130c may be achieved in any of a number of different ways. For example, the moveable display 130c may have a tab or other feature that a user may engage to push the moveable display 130c across the fixed displays 130a, 103b. The moveable display 130c may also be moved using a mechanical or electromechanical actuator, such as a spring loaded actuator or motor drive.
According to some embodiments of the present invention, images presented by the displays 130a, 130b, 130c may be controlled responsive to the position of the moveable display 130c in relation to the fixed displays 130a, 130b. For example, as shown in
Referring to
It will be appreciated that a variety of other display movement controlled display transitions may be provided in further embodiments of the present invention. For example, instead of providing mirror image displays in the far left and far right detent positions of the moveable display 103c, these positions may be used to display different user interface image sets, such as different telephone user interface images or a telephone interface image and a music player interface image, respectively. Instead of triggering a composite display as shown in
A variety of techniques may be used for sensing screen position, including using sets of contacts and/or resistive, capacitive or magnetic transducers. For example, as shown in
According to further embodiments, a position sensor for a moveable display may further support determination of direction of movement of a display to support, for example, intermediate modes such as the “preview” move shown in
When the moveable display 810c reaches a middle position as shown in
It will be appreciated that the contact-based techniques for position detection illustrated in
In the drawings and specification, there have been disclosed exemplary embodiments of the invention. However, many variations and modifications can be made to these embodiments without substantially departing from the principles of the present invention. Accordingly, although specific terms are used, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation, the scope of the invention being defined by the following claims.
