Patent Application
20230350458
The present invention relates to a structure for using two display panels as a single screen, and more particularly, to a structure for allowing panel housings to be unfolded from a folded state and strongly mounting display panels and input units on the panel housings.
In order to enlarge a screen of a portable display device, two display panels can be joined to each other to form a single screen. Various flat display panels such as an LCD, an OLED, an FED, a PDP, and an electronic paper can be used for this purpose. This principle can be applied to any flat panel display device.
The portable display device includes plural panel housings that can be folded and unfolded and plural display panels mounted on the panel housings, respectively, and has a structure in which the display panels are contiguous to each other when the display panels are unfolded.
The area of a joint which is a non-display area formed between the display panels can be minimized by effectively designing sides of the display panels. That is, the joint is minimized by disposing the display panels, one side of which is effectively designed, to be contiguous to each other.
However, a strong shaft structure is required for effectively folding and unfolding the display panels of the portable display device and thus there is a need for a structure design for the strong shaft structure. The portable display device needs to further include an optical member for minimizing the joint and an input unit to be mounted thereon.
An object of the invention is to provide a portable display device in which two display panels are joined to serve as a single screen when panel housings are unfolded, and a structure and a design of display panels and input units.
According to an aspect of the invention, a portable display device may comprise at least two panel housings and at least two display panels, wherein at least one display panel is mounted on each of the panel housings, wherein the display panels are joined to each other to serve as a single screen, and wherein, when the display panels are contiguous to each other, the distance between the display panels is less than 3 mm and the distance between input units or between input sensors is less than 3 mm.
In the portable display device, the panel housing may be capable of being folded and unfolded, and the panel housings may be unfolded from a folded state. The portable display device may further include a terminal capable of performing a near field communication.
According to an aspect of the invention, it is possible to provide a portable display device in which two display panels are joined to serve as a single screen when panel housings are unfolded, and to further provide a structure in which input units or optical members can be reliably mounted on panel housings.
Additional aspects and/or advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention.
These and/or other aspects and advantages of the invention will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the following description of the embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings of which:
Reference will now be made in detail to the present embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to the like elements throughout. The embodiments are described below in order to explain the present invention by referring to the figures.
Aspects of the invention provide a portable display device in which at least two flat display panels are joined to each other to form a single screen. Possible flat display panels include but are not limited to an LCD, an OLED, an FED, a PDP, and an electronic paper. The principle of the invention can be applied to any display panel as long as it has a flat panel shape.
The following embodiments should not be viewed as limiting the scope of the invention, but merely as examples thereof.
According to the embodiment of
The two panel housings 20 and 40 are joined to each other with connection shafts 61 and 62 so as to be foldable and unfoldable. The connection shafts employ a general shaft, and a hinge type may be used.
Additionally, according to the embodiment of
A button type key input unit 100 for inputting characters or numerals is further disposed on the outer surface.
A side cover 50 is disposed on the side surface of the panel housings 20 and 40 which are folded. The side cover 50 covers the side surface of the display panels when the panel housings are folded. The side cover 50 also protects the side surface of an input unit when the input unit is mounted on the panel housings.
The side cover 50 is effective when protection means 14 for protecting the side surfaces of the display panels (to be depicted in later figures) is formed thinly.
Display devices can be classified into at least three types: an out-cell type in which an input unit 200 and a display panel 2 are separated from each other with a fixed gap interposed therebetween as shown in embodiment (A) of
(A) of
The optical sensor 207 is connected to an X line 207b and a Y line 207c, and thus the coordinates of a sensor sensing light in the display panels 2 and 4 can be acquired.
(B) of
Similarly to the optical sensor 207, the micro switch 207a is also connected to an X line 207b and a Y line 207c, and thus the coordinates of a sensor sensing pressure in the display panels 2 and 4 can be acquired.
In these embodiments of the invention, since a micro sensor is disposed in each pixel of the display panels, a set of the micro sensors disposed in a first display panel is referred to as a first input sensor and a set of the micro sensors disposed in a second display panel is referred to as a second input sensor. The first input sensor has a fixed area and the second input sensor also has a fixed area.
According to embodiment (A) of
According to embodiment (B) of
A protective film (or a decoration plate) 240a may be further disposed on the top of the input unit. The protective film 240a is coated with a desired pattern.
The portable display device according to the embodiment of
In the embodiment of
The substrate 51 is covered with a cover substrate 52. A partition wall 2f may be formed of a sealant such as an adhesive, and the partition wall may be formed through different processes or may be formed of the substrates 51 and 52.
When the display panel 2 is mounted on the chassis 16, the chassis 16 may cover only the side surface of the display panel in the joint or may cover only an upper part P of the display panel corresponding to a non-display area.
As already noted, this structure of the joint is not limited only to the OLED type, but can be applied to all types of flat panel display devices.
When a pixel 2n closest to the joint 8 is considered as shown in
The thickness K of the partition wall 2f is set to be in a range of 0.01 mm to 1 mm. The distance between the pixel 2n closest to the joint and the boundary 2g of each display panel 2 or 4 is set to 2 mm or less.
The partition wall 2f generally indicates the boundary edge portion between the inside and the outside of each display panel 2 or 4.
The display panels 2 and 4 and relevant components (including but not limited to a backlight unit or driving circuit components) are mounted on the chassis 16. The chassis is formed of metal such as aluminum or alloy or plastic material.
The width of the chassis 16 in the joint 8 is set to a range of 0.01 mm to 1 mm.
The boundary 2g of the display panel and the boundary of the partition wall 2f do not have to be matched with each other, and the partition wall 2f may be disposed within 0.5 mm from the boundary 2g.
That is, the width of the non-display area of the joint 8 in this embodiment of the invention is the total sum of the value of J, the value of K, and the thickness of the chassis 16. The maximum of this value is 3.0 mm, 6 mm when two display panels are joined to each other.
The chassis 16 in the joint 8 may be opened.
According to the embodiment of
The partition wall is used to couple conductor films or other plates in the input units to each other.
The distance between an electrode line 250n and the boundary 250g of the input unit 200 (or 400) is set to be less than 2 mm. Alternatively, the distance between the boundary of the active area 250a and the boundary 250g of the input unit 200 (or 400) is set to be less than 2 mm or less than 2 mm).
The boundary 250g of the joint 8 and the boundary of the partition wall 250f do not have to be matched with each other, and the partition wall 250f may be disposed within 0.5 mm from the boundary 250g.
In the embodiment of
According to the embodiment of
In another embodiment (not depicted), the side walls of the panel housings 20 and 40 may be removed leaving only the protective film 14.
The thickness of the protective film 14 is generally set to be less than or equal to 0.5 mm though it may be set to be less than or equal to 1 mm in some cases.
The thickness of the partition wall is generally set to be less than or equal to 1 mm, preferably to be less than or equal to 0.5 mm, and more preferably to be less than or equal to 0.3 mm.
The distance between the partition walls 2f or 4f and the closest pixels 2n or 4n is set to a range of 0.1 mm to 0.3 mm.
In the joint 8, the display panel may be in close contact with the side wall of the panel housing or the distance between the display panel and the side wall of the panel housing may be set to be less than 1 mm.
In this embodiment of the invention, the distance between the display panels 2 and 4 and the distance between the input units 200 and 400 are minimized. A structure in which a micro sensor is built in each pixel of the display panels 2 and 4, instead of using the input units 200 and 400, may also be employed. That is, in the case of an embodiment with an in-cell type input unit, the distance between the micro sensors in the joint 8 can be minimized.
A sensing area for sensing an input in the input units or the input sensors can be considered.
Therefore, when an area in the first display panel 2 is defined as a first sensing area and an area in the second display panel 4 is defined as a second sensing area, the distance between the first sensing area and the second sensing area in the joint 8 is not greater than the width of the non-display area. An error therebetween may be less than 1 mm.
The optical members in the embodiments of
According to the embodiment of
Alternatively, the part “V” may have a thickness similar to that of the side walls 20 and 40 of the panel housings, and may form a body along with the side walls of the panel housings. The thickness of the part “V” is set to be less than 1.5 mm.
When the part “V” is a protective film, the protective film may be formed of metal or resin. When the protective film is formed of resin, the resin film is coated with metal or inorganic material. In this case, the thickness of the part “V” as the protective film is preferably set to a range of 0.005 mm to 0.5 mm. When the protective film is formed of metal, the thickness is preferably set to a range of 0.2 mm to 1.5 mm.
On the other hand, the protective film may be a coating film formed on the side surfaces of the display panels or on the side surfaces of the input units. In this case, the thickness thereof may be set to be less than several tens of micro meters.
The distance between the part “V” and the display panels may be set to 0 mm or may be set to about 1.5 mm.
Therefore, when the thickness of the part “V” is 1.5 mm and the panel housings are unfolded, the distance between the display panels and the distance between the input units are 3 mm. However, even when the thickness of the part “V” does not reach 1.5 mm, the distance between the display panels and the distance between the input units may be 3 mm. In this case, there is a gap between the part “V” and the display panels and there is a gap between the part “V” and the input units.
When a part disposed between the input units 200 and 400 is defined as “V1” and a part disposed between the display panels 2 and 4 is defined as “V2”, the thickness of the part “V1” is smaller than the thickness of the part “V2”.
The parts “V1” and “V2” may form a body along with the side walls of the joint of the panel housings 20 and 40.
Alternatively, only the part “V2” may form a body along with the side wall of the joint of the panel housings 20 and 40, and the part “V1” may form a separate protective film or protection means. When the part “V1” is a protective film or protection means, the protection means or the protective film described in the embodiment of
As yet another alternative, the parts “V1” and “V2” may both form protection means separated from the panel housings.
The maximum thickness of the part “V2” is set to be less than 1.5 mm, and the thickness of the part “V1” may be set even smaller. That is, when the distance between the display panels 2 and 4 is less than 3 mm, the distance between the input units 200 and 400 may be smaller than the distance between the display panels.
The thickness of the part “V1” may be 0 mm. That is, when the panel housings are unfolded, the input units 200 and 400 may come in contact with each other. Since the input units 200 and 400 may include a protective plate 240 (see
According to the embodiment of
The protective members are formed of transparent or opaque plastic resin or metal such as alloys.
The possible thickness of the part “V4” is the same as that of part “V2” in the embodiment of
As shown
According to the embodiment of
Out of two display panels 2 and 4, a bottom plate (which is indicated by “0” in the drawing) of the panel housing 20 is located just below one display panel 2 and a main controller, a central processing unit, and a battery are disposed below the other display panel 4.
The input units 200 and 400 or the optical members 27 are disposed above the display panels 2 and 4.
According to the embodiment of
Although not shown in the drawing, a display panel support or a sheet-like shock absorbing plate absorbing impact may be inserted into the gap between the display panel and the bottom plate. In
According to the embodiment of
The possible thickness and material of the part “V5” are the same as that of part “V” in the embodiment of
The possible materials and thicknesses of the parts “V6” and “V7” are the same as those of parts “V1” and “V2” in the embodiment of
According to
According to the embodiment of
That is, a color film may be attached to the outer surface (which is indicated by an arrow in the drawing), or the outer surface may be coated with a colorant. The same color as the panel housings may be selected.
According to the embodiment of
According to the embodiment of
The distance between the display panels 2 and 4, the distance between the optical members 27 and 27, and the distance between the input units 200 and 400 are the same as in the above embodiments.
The part “V10” can be separated into a part “V10-1” disposed on the side surfaces of the optical members 27 and a part “V10-2” disposed on the side surfaces of the input units. The thicknesses of the parts “V10-1” and “V10-2” may be different from each other.
According to the embodiment of
The connector 250d of the input unit 200 can be electrically connected to junctions 2e and 4e of the display panels 2 and 4. Accordingly, both the display panels 2 and 4 and the input units 200 and 400 can be controlled by a main unit (including a central processing unit and the like).
The display signal line FPC may be located on the side opposite to the joint, or the signal line (FPC) of the input unit 200 may be located on one side among three sides other than the joint 8.
According to the embodiment of
When a signal supply line 2i connected to a panel electrode 2f is drawn out from the second side or the fourth side, the signal supply line is connected to the third side via the edge of the display panel. The signal supply line drawn out from the third side is connected to the third side.
Accordingly, signals can be sent to the display panel through the use of only the driver 2k mounted on the third side.
According to the embodiment of
When a signal supply line 2i connected to a panel electrode 2f is drawn out from the first side or the third side, the signal supply line is drawn to the fourth side via the edge of the display panel. The signal supply line drawn out from the fourth side is connected to the fourth side.
Accordingly, by mounting the driver on the fourth side, the display panel can be driven.
The numbers of signal supply lines drawn out from the first side and the third side may not be equal to each other. For example, the number of signal supply lines drawn out from the third side may be more. This is to further reduce the width of the joint. In some cases, the number of signal supply lines drawn out from the first side may be more.
According to the embodiment of
According to the embodiment of
According to the embodiment of
A fixing portion 16c is disposed in the chassis 16 so as to strongly fix the chassis to the panel housing 20. Two display panels are symmetric in a state where they are mounted on the chasses.
According to the embodiment of
As shown in the drawing, the display panel 2 or 4 is mounted on the panel housing, and the result is covered with a cover frame 24 having a shape in which one side of a rectangle is opened. That is, the edges which are a non-display area of the display panel 2 or 4 is covered with the cover frame. Input buttons 110 or a speaker 101 may be mounted on the cover.
According to the embodiment of
The input unit includes signal supply lines 250c and a connector 250b. A groove 24g is formed at a position corresponding to the signal supply lines and the connector.
The input unit 200 is mounted on a support 24c disposed in the cover frame 24.
When the input unit 200 is mounted on the cover frame 24, the height of the surface of the cover frame 24 is larger than the height of the surface of the input unit 200. The difference therebetween is preferably set to be less than 1.5 mm.
A cutout 24k is formed to fit a shaft.
According to the embodiment of
The thickness of the cover side wall 24d is preferably set to be greater than or equal to 2 mm.
The cover side wall has the same function as the protection means or the side wall of the panel housing in the embodiments of
The cover frame 24 and the cover side wall 24d may be formed as a single body. A shaft is disposed in the cutout 24k.
According to the embodiment of
A mask print 16d is formed in the input unit 200 mounted on the frame 20h. The mask print 16d has an effect of causing the edge of the input unit to be opaque. The mask print may be formed on a protective film disposed on the input unit. The protective film and the input unit may be formed as a single body.
The mask print 16d serves to cause the edges other than the edge corresponding to the joint to be opaque. Holes in which an opening for a camera or a speaker may be located in the mask print.
A cutout 16f is disposed at both corners (or one corner) of each input unit 200 or 400. A connection shaft is disposed in the cutout 16f.
In a display device not including the input unit 200, a protective plate formed of glass or plastic may be disposed in place of the input unit 200.
According to the embodiment of
The opened side of the cover frame 24 is located to correspond to the joint 8 of the display panel 2.
The opened side of the frame 20b and the joint of the input unit 200 are located to correspond to the joint 8 of the display panel 2.
According to the embodiments of
The panel housings 200 and 400 can be folded and unfolded through the use of a shaft 6.
According to the embodiment of
Cutouts on which a shaft 6 is mounted are formed in the button plate 110. The shaft is attached to the button plate and the input units 200 and 400.
According to the embodiment of
The mask print 16d may be formed in the joint. In this case, the width of the mask print formed in the joint is set to be less than 3 mm.
According to the embodiment of
According to the embodiment of
The joint side wall 24f extending in the joint cover a part or all of the side surface of the display panel 2.
Only one of the extension side wall 24e and the joint side wall 24f may be formed.
The extension side wall 24e may be formed as a single body along with the cover and the joint side wall 24f may be formed as a single body along with the cover side wall 24d.
According to the embodiment of
According to the embodiment of
According to the embodiment of
According to the embodiment of
According to the embodiment of
The thickness, material, level difference, and the like of the side walls of the panel housings 20 and 40 in the joint can be applied to the side wall of the embodiment of
According to the embodiment of
The non-display area of the portable display device is compensated for by the optical member 27.
In
According to the embodiment of
The non-display area of the display panel 2 and a part of the joint portion 20a (which may further include the side wall of a panel housing, protection means, and an extension of a cover or a frame) are compensated for.
The distance between the display panel and the optical member is defined as Y Since an image is displayed at the center of the display panel, the distance Y is measured from the center of the display panel. X is a value compensated for by the optical member. Conclusively, the optical member is designed on the basis of the X value and the Y value.
According to the embodiment of
When the protection means 14a is formed of a transparent material, the side surface (represented by C in the drawing) of the protection means is coated with a specific colorant or a thin film having a specific color. The color with which the side surface of the protection means 14a is coated is preferably similar to the color of the side wall of the panel housings, but may be different therefrom depending on the design.
The part (represented by a boundary B in the drawing) of the protection means 14a through which the light path L passes can be formed of a transparent material such as reinforced glass or reinforced plastic and the other part can be formed of a reinforcement material such as alloy, thereby enhancing the reliability.
When the thickness of the protection means 14b for protecting the optical member 27 is equal to the thickness of the protection means 14a for protecting the input unit 200, the X value is X2.
The protection means 14a may again be transparent, similarly to the above-mentioned embodiments.
According to the embodiment of
Alternatively, the thickness of the protection means 14b for protecting the side surface of the optical member 27 may be smaller than that of the joint portion 20a. In this case, the X value is X2.
On the other hand, the thickness of the protection means 14b for protecting the optical member may be smaller than that of the protection means 14a for protecting the side surface of the input unit. In this case, the X value is X2.
In this disclosure, the expression “a thickness is equal to another thickness” includes an error of ±1 mm. The error is preferably less than ±0.1 mm. However, even when the error increases to kl mm, it does not mean that it exceeds the scope of the invention.
When the optical member is formed of a single plate, a micro lens having an optical function may be located on the plate or may be located under the plate, as shown in the embodiment of
When the thickness of the optical member is less than 0.3 mm or is several micrometers, the Y value does not vary, without depending on whether a tilted structure is located on or under the optical member.
According to the embodiment of
That is, a protective plate may be disposed in the input unit and the optical member may be disposed on the surface of the protecting plate.
According to this embodiment, the portable display device includes two display panels 2 and 4 and two input units 250-1 and 250-2, and input units are disposed on the display panels.
The input units may employ the input units 200 and 400 described various previous embodiments, or may be the input sensor shown in
According to the embodiment of
The R/F unit 124 tunes an RF channel as a radio frequency, amplifies an input sound signal, and converts an RF signal received via an antenna into an intermediate frequency signal. An input unit 110 includes various input devices, ten keys, a menu key, and a selection key.
Display driving circuits 130a serve to drive the display panels on the basis of the output of the central processing unit 105. The first and second display panels 2 and 4 display information on the screens on the basis of the output signal of the driving circuits.
The display device further includes a gravity sensor 235 that determines whether two display panels 2 and 4 are located vertically or horizontally. That is, the central processing unit 105 determines whether two display panels 2 and 4 are arranged vertically or horizontally on the basis of the input signal from the gravity sensor 235. This determination is performed on the basis of the output of the gravity sensor by the use of a predetermined program.
The central processing unit controls the first and second input units 250-1 and 250-2 through the use of first and second input unit controllers 140-1 and 140-2. That is, since two input units 250-1 and 250-2 are disposed, two input unit controllers 140-1 and 140-2 are also disposed to control the corresponding input units.
In the embodiment shown in
According to the embodiment of
That is, a single component can be manufactured in which elements serving as the control unit 110, the memory 120, the time controller 125, the display driver 130, and the input unit driver 140 are all disposed in the main controller 105.
The display driver 130 supplies data, which an image is divided into, to the first display panel 2 and the second display panel 4. The input unit driver 140 corrects and adjusts signals to be output to the first input unit 250-1 and the second input unit 250-2.
To display an image on the display panels 2 and 4, source units 2b and 4b supplying data signals and gate units 2c and 4c supplying line selection signals are provided.
When dividing an image, a source signal and a gate signal can be divided. The signals may be divided at a ratio of 1:1, or may be divided at various ratios such as 2:1, 1.5:1, and 3:1. That is, the number of lines of the first display panel and the number of lines of the second display panel may be different from each other.
According to the embodiment of
That is, the signal of the input unit 250 corresponding to the coordinate value is selected depending on the resolution (the numbers of source and gate lines) of the display panels 2 and 4, and the selected signal is supplied to the control unit 110. Accordingly, the control unit 110 stores and manages the coordinate value corresponding to the panel signal.
An average detection number adjusting unit 143 adjusts the number of times of detecting an average value for the panel signals output from the input unit 250 on the basis of the screen resolution information of the display panels 2 and 4 supplied from the control unit 110.
An average value detector 142 detects the average value of the panel signals transmitted from the input units 250 on the basis of the number of times of detecting an average value, which is adjusted by the average detection number adjusting unit 143. The detected average value is transmitted to a panel signal generator 144.
The panel signal generator 144 generates an adjusted panel signal on the basis of the changed screen resolution of the display panels 2 and 4 supplied from the control unit 110 or the position information of the display screen changed by a virtual scroll and the average value of the presently-input panel signal.
Since there are the first input unit 250-1 and the second input unit 250-2 in the invention, the input unit driver 140 performs the signal control on the first input unit 250-1 and the signal control on the second input unit 250-2.
That is, under the control of the time controller 125 and the control unit 110, a switching element 145 alternately connects the first input unit 250-1 and the second input unit 250-2 to the input unit driver 140.
Instead of using the switching element 145, input unit drivers corresponding to the number of the input units may be provided.
However, the invention is not limited to the method performed by the input unit in
According to the embodiment of
Accordingly, the main controller 105 divides an image and transmits the corresponding image data to the first display panel and the second display panel (402).
Then, the input unit driver 140 drives the first input unit 250-1. That is, information output from the first input unit is controlled (404). The information output from the first input unit is controlled on the basis of the image display information of the first display panel 2 (406).
Similarly, the input unit driver controls the output signal of the second input unit (408), and controls the output signal of the second input unit on the basis of the image display information of the second display panel 410).
When a stop command is not given, the main controller again divides an image and drives the respective input units (returning to 402). When a stop command is given, such functions are ended (412 and 414).
That is, the input unit driver in the invention controls the information output from the first input unit on the basis of the screen information of the first display and controls the information output from the second input unit on the basis of the screen information of the second display. By causing the input unit driver to repeatedly perform such control, two input units can be controlled as if they are a single input unit.
According to the embodiment of
Specifically, in (A) of
It is assumed that the screen is reduced when two points move inward and the screen is enlarged when two points move outward, in accordance with a predetermined program. Then, the central processing unit 105 or the control unit 110 transmit screen information, which indicates that the screen is enlarged or reduced with the movement 147a of two points 147, to the display drivers 130a and 130a. That is, two screens form a single screen and the single screen is enlarged or reduced.
In (B) of
It is assumed that the pattern (or image) 147b is reduced when two points used to select the pattern or image move inward and the pattern (or image) is enlarged when two points move outward, in accordance with a predetermined program. Then, the central processing unit 105 or the control unit 110 transmits screen information, which represents that the pattern (or image) is enlarged or reduced with the movement of two points 147, to the display drivers 130a and 130a.
In (C) of
Similarly, when the movement is programmed, the central processing unit 105 or the control unit 110 causes the pattern (or image) 147b to move with the movement of the point, as if the movement of the pattern for image) 147b occurred in a single screen.
In (C) of
In (D) of
When a screen is programmed to change depending on the moving path of a point, the central processing unit 105 or the control unit 110 transmits information on the previous screen or the subsequent screen based on the movement of the point to the display drivers 130a and 130a so as to display a screen.
When the moving path 147a of the point 147 rotates, the screen can also be made to rotate.
According to the embodiment of (A) of
On the screen, two points 147 can move inward or outward. The screen can be reduced or enlarged with the movement of two points. When a pattern (or image) is selected, the selected pattern (or image) 147b can be reduced or enlarged.
The movement result of the points is displayed on one screen.
According to the embodiment of (B) of
According to the embodiment of
That is, the height H1 in the drawing represents the height of the protection means (the cover side wall or the side wall extension). In the invention, when information is inputted onto the display panels 2 and 4, an input point moves over two display panels 2 and 4. Accordingly, when the height H1 is excessively large, it causes inconvenience to the information input.
When the protection means (or the side wall or the side wall extension) has a height smaller than that of the input unit (or the protective plate), the difference therebetween is defined as H2.
In this embodiment, the value of H1 or H2 is preferably set to be less than 2 mm or 3 mm, respectively. Both values are more preferably set to 0 mm or a value closer to 0 mm.
According to the embodiment of
A single-screen mode or a two-screen mode is selected (310).
When a single-screen mode is selected, the first and second display panels are combined into a single screen, and a position corresponding to a coordinate value of the combined single screen is compared with a coordinate value input through the input unit (sensor).
In the single-screen mode, it is determined whether the coordinate value input through the input unit (or sensor) is a coordinate value in a pattern (or image) displayed on the display panels (315).
When the input coordinate value is not located in the pattern (or image) and the input point and the moving path of the input point are located in the first and second input units (or sensors), a program is executed as if the information were input through a single input unit, and the screen moves (320).
When the input coordinate value is located in the pattern (or image) and the input point and the moving path of the input point are located in the first and second input units (or sensors), a program is executed as if the information were input through a single input unit (325).
When a pattern is selected in a single-screen mode as described in the above-mentioned embodiment, the central processing unit or the control unit executes a predetermined program depending on the number of points or the moving path of a point.
When the two-screen mode is selected in 310, a predetermined program is executed depending on the selection of a pattern (or image) in the two-screen mode, the number of input points, and the moving path thereof (330).
The central processing unit or the control unit transmits a drive signal to the display driver in accordance with the program control result in the single-screen mode, and the first and second display panels display the result as if they were a single screen (335).
On the other hand, when a program is executed using the first and second display panels as a single screen, a program, determined depending on the input points and the moving paths of the points, is executed, and the execution result is displayed on the first and second display panels (340).
Once the program execution result is displayed on the screen, the process flow goes to 305 when a stop command is not given (350), and the process flow is ended when a stop command is given (355).
According to the embodiment of
When two input units are controlled as a single input unit, the coordinate systems which are actually separated are connected as shown in (13) of
According to the embodiment of
According to the embodiment of
The near-field communication unit 241 can be unified with the central processing unit 105 to form a single module.
The particular terminal 150 includes a near-field communication unit 243 and an antenna 244 and may further include a RAM, a ROM, and an EEPROM 204. A particular central processing unit 203 used to control the memory 204, the display unit 152, and the input unit 155 (which may have a button type or a touch panel type) is provided.
Although not shown in the drawing for the purpose of facilitating the explanation, a microphone and a speaker for voice communication may be further provided.
The telecommunication module may be a normal communication module used to transmit and receive information to and from a wide area network. The near-field communication unit 241 may be a communication module for communication between the display panels 2 and 4 and the particular terminal 150.
Possible local area networks include but are not limited to all near-field communication means such as Bluetooth. UWB (Ultra-Wide Band), Zigbee, Wibree, binary CDMA, infrared communication, and RS-232 port.
The central processing unit 203 and the near-field radio communication unit 243 of the particular terminal 150 may be formed in a module.
At the time of transmitting information, the information is encoded, the encoded information is converted, and the converted information is sent via the antenna by a signal transmitting unit.
At the time of receiving information, the information received via the antenna is converted into a signal by a signal receiving unit and the signal is then decoded.
That is, the near-field radio communication units 241 and 243 include a signal transceiver, a signal converter, a signal decoder, and a signal encoder.
A signal distributor instead of the central processing unit 203 may be disposed in the terminal 150 so as to distribute and send the signal output from the radio communication unit 243 to the speaker or the display panel. That is, the central processing unit is not necessarily provided.
According to the embodiment of
Among the information processed by the central processing unit 203 of the particular terminal 150, information to be displayed on the two display panels is transmitted to the large-screen display panels 2 and 4 via the near-field communication units 241 and 243. Then, the central processing unit 105 controls the display drivers to display the information on the display panels 2 and 4.
Information input via the input unit 110 and the input units 250-1 and 250-2 shown in the block diagram of
The display device including two display panels 2 and 4 may serve as only a simple monitor. In this case, a signal distributor may be provided instead of the central processing unit 105 shown in
The portable display device may not include the RAM, the ROM, and the EEPROM. In this case, the central processing unit 203 of the particular terminal 150 substantially controls two display panels 2 and 4 and two input units 250-1 and 250-2. The RAM, the ROM, and the EEPROM of the particular terminal 150 serve as high-capacity memories.
In an alternative embodiment, the display device may connect the two display panels and the particular terminal to each other in a wired manner, instead of a wireless manner.
According to the embodiment of
That is, as shown in (a) of
Since two display panels are present, the menu screen is displayed on one display panel and detailed information of the selected icon is displayed on the other display panel. That is, program information or stored data of a terminal capable of performing near-field communication with the portable display device according to the embodiment of
The display panels 2 and 4 according to the embodiment of
A terminal 150 embodied in a mobile phone includes a central processing unit 203, an input unit 155, a display panel 152, and a memory unit 204 and further includes a first communication module 243a, a second communication module 243b, and a third communication module 243c for communications.
In the mobile phone terminal 150, the first communication module may be a mobile-phone communication module such as a CDMA, a GSM, and a TDMA and the second communication module may be a communication module related to high-speed data communication such as a WiFi and a WiBro. The third communication module is a communication module related to near-field communication. The third communication module is not limited to the near-field communication module described above, but may employ any module capable of performing near-field communication.
A terminal embodied in a digital camera 180 includes a central processing unit 181, an input unit 182, a display panel 184, and a mechanical units and parts 183. The mechanical units and parts are associated with a digital camera, are not associated with the subject matter of the invention, and thus will not be described in detail. Similarly, the digital camera includes a first communication module 185a, a second communication module 185b, and a third communication module 185c.
The above-mentioned three terminal embodiments necessarily include the third communication module capable of performing near-field communication, but do not necessarily include the first communication module and the second communication module. Other embodiments are also possible without departing from the scope of the invention.
Any of these terminals can perform telecommunication through the near field communication with a terminal capable of performing telecommunication.
A program system in which a protocol is set up in advance and communication environments are set up should be constructed to mutually recognize the terminal capable of near-field communication and this is typically known.
A menu screen indicating the functions as shown in
When a normal program is selected from the menu screen, the process flow is returned to the initial operation after performing a function (502). When a networking function is selected (504), a networking operation is prepared and the process flow goes to 506.
According to the embodiment of
Here, when a specific terminal, for example the mobile phone terminal 150, is selected (510), information on the selected terminal 150 is displayed in detail on the display panels 2 and 4.
Details of the selected terminal can be displayed on the basis of information stored in advance through the following process. That is, when information is inputted through the input units 200 and 400, the central processing unit 105 processes information and transmits a command via the third communication module 105a which is a near-field communication module.
Then, the third communication module 243c of the terminal 150 receives the information and sends the received information to the central processing unit 203. The central processing unit 203 sends the information on the terminal 150 stored in the memory unit 204 to the display panels 2 and 4 of the invention. The central processing unit 105 of the display panels 2 and 4 display the information received from the terminal 150 on the display panels 2 and 4.
One of the functions of the terminal 150 displayed on the display panels 2 and 4 is performed (514). In this case, a command is inputted through the use of the input units 200 and 400. The inputted command is transmitted to the central processing unit 203 of the terminal 150 in the same way as described in 512 and the central processing unit 203 performs the selected program function.
When the program function is performed, the central processing unit 203 transmits the result thereof to the central processing unit 105 of the display device via the third communication module. The central processing unit 105 in the invention controls the display driver to display the result of the program function on the display panels 2 and 4 (516).
The process flow goes to 520 when additional information for executing a program is inputted, and the process flow goes to 542 when additional information is not inputted (518).
Subsequently, according to the embodiment of
On the other hand, when data stored in the memory unit 120 of the display panels 2 and 4 of the invention is selected (526), the central processing unit 105 transmits the information selected from the memory unit 120 to the terminal 150 via the third communication module 124c (528), and the central processing unit 203 of the terminal 150 executes a program on the basis of the received data. When the execution result is transmitted to the display panels 2 and 4 of the invention, the execution result is displayed on the display panels 2 and 4 and the process flow goes to 542.
According to the embodiment of
Then, the central processing unit 181 of the terminal 180 transmits the selected information to the terminal 150 via the third communication module 185c (536). The terminal 150 receives the information via the third communication module 243c, executes a program on the basis of the received information, and transmits the result to the display panels 2 and 4 of the invention (538).
The central processing unit 105 displays the received result on the display panels 2 and 4 (540). Then, the process flow goes to 542.
On the basis of a program end command is given (542), the program execution result is continuously displayed when the end command is not given (544), and the process flow goes to 498 when the end command is given.
In the flowcharts and block diagrams described above, a terminal (for example, 150 or 180) capable of performing near-field communication is further provided to the display panels 2 and 4 of the invention, a program of the terminal capable of performing near-field communication can be controlled and information can be inputted through the use of the input units 200 and 400 disposed in the display device, the program execution result of the terminal capable of performing near-field communication can be displayed on the display panels 2 and 4 of the display device.
When a program of the terminal 150 is performed through the use of the input units 200 and 400 of the display device, information stored in the terminal 180 capable of performing near-field communication can be selected and utilized.
Then, the received data is checked (554). For example, when the terminal 150 receives a specific signal or executes a program (556), a signal is sent to the display panels 2 and 4 of the invention in accordance with a predetermined rule, and the central processing unit 105 displays the signal on the display panels 2 and 4 in accordance with a predetermined rule on the basis of the signal received via the third communication module 124c (558). When data is not received, the checking operation is perforned again.
For example, when the terminal 150 receives a call, the display panels 2 and 4 may be turned on.
When information is inputted through the input units 200 and 400 or the input unit 110 of the display panels 2 and 4 (560), the input information is transmitted to the terminal 150 (562). The terminal 150 executes a program on the basis of the transmitted information again, and this execution result is displayed on the display panels 2 and 4 of the display device as shown in the flowchart.
On the other hand, when information is not inputted, the process flow is ended (566) or is returned to the received data check operation depending on whether an end command is given or not.
That is, the display device can automatically display the program execution result of the terminal capable of performing near-field communication on the display panels 2 and 4 and can additionally control the program execution through the use of the input units 200 and 400 of the invention or the input units.
For example, the terminal 150 capable of performing near-field communication is displayed on the menu screen of the display panels 2 and 4 (574) and telecommunication with the terminal 150 is selected (576), detailed information of the terminal capable of performing near-field communication is displayed and the communication mode of the terminal capable of performing near-field communication is selected (578).
That is, when the second communication module 243b of the communication modules of the terminal 150 is selected through the use of the input units 200 and 400 of the display device, the display device can perform telecommunication through the use of the second communication module 243b of the terminal 150.
Although not described herein, a program to be executed when the first communication module of the terminal 150 is selected and a program to be executed when the second communication module thereof is selected may be different from each other.
According to the embodiment of
According to the embodiment of
In the various above embodiments, the thickness of the frames on the side in which the display panels are contiguous to each other may be smaller than the thickness in the opposite side.
According to the embodiment of
Possible methods of causing the display panels to be contiguous to each other, of mounting the input units or the protection means, and of inputting information through the input units (or sensors) have been described previously.
According to the embodiment of
According to the embodiment of
A connection shaft 60 has a structure surrounding a first shaft 60a and a second shaft 60b disposed in the panel housings 20 and 40. That is, the folding and unfolding operations are carried out using two shafts.
As already shown in the embodiment of
According to the embodiment of
That is, a structure in which the display panels are folded to face the inside and a structure in which the display panels are folded to face the outside are alternately arranged. By employing this folding type, four or five or more display panels may be used. Previously disclosed embodiments of joints may be applied to the joint portion represented by J.
For an embodiment comprising three display panels,
According to the embodiment of
According to various embodiments of the invention, when panel housings are unfolded, two display panels can be joined to each other to form a single screen. Structures and designs of display panels and input units thereof are also provided.
Although a few embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it would be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes may be made in this embodiment without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined in the claims and their equivalents.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-2010-0066332 | Jul 2010 | KR | national |
This application is a continuation application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/690,589 filed on Mar. 9, 2022, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 14/557,338, filed on Dec. 1, 2014 and now abandoned, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 13/809,355, filed on Apr. 12, 2013 and now abandoned, which is the national stage of International Application No. PCT/KR2011/002980, filed on Apr. 25, 2011, which claims the benefit of priority to Korean Application No. 10-2010-0066332, filed on Jul. 9, 2010 in the Korean Intellectual Property Office. It is noted that U.S. application Ser. No. 17/362,847, filed Jun. 29, 2021, is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 14/557,338. All disclosures of the documents named above are incorporated herein by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 17690589 | Mar 2022 | US |
| Child | 18346599 | US | |
| Parent | 14557338 | Dec 2014 | US |
| Child | 17690589 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 13809355 | Apr 2013 | US |
| Child | 14557338 | US |
