Patent Application
20180307273
This application is based upon and claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 201710271898.X, filed with the State Intellectual Property Office on Apr. 24, 2017, the entire content of which is incorporated herein by reference for all purposes.
The present disclosure relates to the field of display technology, and in particular to a terminal and a display control method.
The appearance of a smart phone usually includes a front panel, a middle frame and a rear cover. The front panel is usually provided with a screen, a front camera, an earphone, a distance sensor, an optical sensor and so on.
The development trend of smart phones is to increase the screen occupation ratio of the screen on the front panel. For example, the screen occupation ratio of the screen on the front panel is increased by narrowing the distance between the left edge of the screen and the left border of the middle frame and the distance between the right edge of the screen and the right border of the middle frame. Since the upper area of the screen is usually provided with a front camera, an earphone, a distance sensor, an optical sensor and so on, usually components with small volumes are employed to narrow the upper area of the screen.
However, the area where the components on the upper area of the screen are cannot completely replace the screen. In addition, since the lower area of the screen is usually used as a key area, it usually cannot be reduced. Due to the limitation of hardware, it is hard to further increase the screen occupation ratio of the screen.
Examples of the present disclosure provide a terminal and a display control method.
In a first aspect, there is provided a terminal. The terminal may include: a display screen and a middle frame. The display screen may include a first display area and a second display area, and the middle frame may include an upper border, a left border, a lower border and a right border coupled sequentially. A left edge of the display screen may be coupled with the left border of the middle frame, and a right edge of the display screen may be coupled with the right border of the middle frame.
A lower edge of the display screen may be coupled with the lower border of the middle frame. A first upper edge of the first display area may be an upper edge of the display screen, a second lower edge of the second display area may be the lower edge of the display screen, and a first lower edge of the first display area may be a second upper edge of the second display area. A length of a first left edge of the first display area may equal to that of a first right edge thereof, a length of a second left edge of the second display area may equal to that of a second right edge thereof, and the length of the first left edge may be greater than that of the second left edge.
In a second aspect, there is provided a display control method for a terminal with a display screen. The method may include displaying a virtual key in a second display area of the display screen when a first display area of the display screen is in an operating state, where the display screen may include the first display area and the second display area, where a first upper edge of the first display area is an upper edge of the display screen, a second lower edge of the second display area is a lower edge of the display screen, the lower edge of the display screen is coupled with a lower border of a middle frame of the terminal, and a first lower edge of the first display area is a second upper edge of the second display area.
The method may also include receiving a control signal through the virtual key; and controlling the first display area to display a user interface corresponding to the virtual key in accordance with the control signal.
In a third aspect, there is provided a terminal. The terminal may include a processor unit and a memory storage that is configured to store at least one instruction, where the processor is coupled with a display screen of the terminal via a screen drive unit, and the at least one instruction, when is executed by the processor, may cause the processor to display a virtual key in a second display area of the display screen when a first display area of the display screen is in an operating state, where the display screen of the terminal may include the first display area and the second display area, where a first upper edge of the first display area is an upper edge of the display screen, a second lower edge of the second display area is a lower edge of the display screen, the lower edge of the display screen is coupled with a lower border of a middle frame of the terminal, and a first lower edge of the first display area is a second upper edge of the second display area.
The at least one instruction, when is executed by the processor, may also cause the processor to receive a control signal through the virtual key; and control the first display area to display a user interface corresponding to the virtual key in accordance with the control signal.
It is to be understood that both the forgoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and illustrative only, and do not limit the present disclosure.
In order to explain the technical solutions in the examples of the present disclosure more clearly, the drawings used in the descriptions of the examples will be briefly introduced hereinafter. Apparently, the drawings described hereinafter are merely some examples of the present disclosure, and a person of ordinary skill in the art may also obtain other drawings in accordance with these drawings without creative efforts.
Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions and/or relative positioning of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of various examples of the present disclosure. Also, common but well-understood elements that are useful or necessary in a commercially feasible example are often not depicted in order to facilitate a less obstructed view of these various examples. It will further be appreciated that certain actions and/or steps may be described or depicted in a particular order of occurrence while those skilled in the art will understand that such specificity with respect to sequence is not actually required. It will also be understood that the terms and expressions used herein have the ordinary technical meaning as is accorded to such terms and expressions by persons skilled in the technical field as set forth above, except where different specific meanings have otherwise been set forth herein.
In order to make the objects, technical solutions and advantages of the present disclosure clearer, examples of the present disclosure will be described in detail hereinafter with reference to the enclosed drawings.
The terminology used in the present disclosure is for the purpose of describing exemplary examples only and is not intended to limit the present disclosure. As used in the present disclosure and the appended claims, the singular forms “a,” “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It shall also be understood that the terms “or” and “and/or” used herein are intended to signify and include any or all possible combinations of one or more of the associated listed items, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.
It shall be understood that, although the terms “first,” “second,” “third,” and the like may be used herein to describe various information, the information should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one category of information from another. For example, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure, first information may be termed as second information; and similarly, second information may also be termed as first information. As used herein, the term “if” may be understood to mean “when” or “upon” or “in response to” depending on the context.
The first display area 110 may include a first upper edge 111, a first left edge 112, a first lower edge 113 and a first right edge 114. The second display area 120 may include a second upper edge 121, a second left edge 122, a second lower edge 123 and a second right edge 124.
The first upper edge 111 of the first display area 110 may be an upper edge of the display screen. The second lower edge 123 of the second display area 120 may be a lower edge of the display screen. The first lower edge 113 of the first display area 110 may be the second upper edge 121 of the second display area 120.
The length of the first left edge 112 of the first display area 110 equals to that of the first right edge 114. The length of the second left edge 122 of the second display area 120 equals to that of the second right edge 124. The length of the first left edge 112 is greater than that of the second left edge 122.
Additionally, the terminal may further include a middle frame 130 which may include an upper border 131, a left border 132, a lower border 133 and a right border 134 coupled sequentially.
The left edge of the display screen may be coupled with the left border 132 of the middle frame 130. The right edge of the display screen may be coupled with the right border 134 of the middle frame 130. That is, the first left edge 112 of the first display area 110 may be coupled with the left border 132 of the middle frame 130, the first right edge 114 of the first display area 110 may be coupled with the right border 134 of the middle frame 130, the second left edge 122 of the second display area 120 may be coupled with the left border 132 of the middle frame 130, and the second right edge 124 of the second display area 120 may be coupled with the right border 134 of the middle frame 130.
“Being coupled” in the examples of the present disclosure may be interpreted as being connected or contacting. For example, the left edge of the display screen is connected to the left border 132 of the middle frame 130. Alternately, the left edge of the display screen contacts the left border 132 of the middle frame 130, but they are not fixedly connected. The back of the display screen is fixedly connected to the frame body of the middle frame.
The lower edge of the display screen may be coupled with the lower border 133 of the middle frame 130. That is, the second lower edge 123 of the second display area 120 may be coupled with the lower border 133 of the middle frame 130.
Since the length of the first left edge 112 is greater than that of the second left edge 122, the area of the first display area 110 is greater than that of the second display area 120.
Referring to
Referring to
In other possible implementations, other components 140 may be provided at other locations on the front panel of the terminal, which is not limited to being between the first upper edge 111 and the upper border 131 of the middle frame 130.
In some embodiments, the display screen may be an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) screen.
The OLED screen has characteristics of self light-emitting, wide-viewing angle, low power consumption and rapid response speed. Generally, during the display of the OLED screen, merely displaying and light-emitting areas consume power and other light non-emitting areas do not consume power. Thus, when the second display area 120 is in an operating state for a long period of time, power consumption can be reduced by using the OLED screen.
Referring to
In some embodiments, four vertex angles of the display screen are rounded angles. Referring to
Referring to
The glass cover 150 may be located on the display screen. That is, the glass cover 150 may be located on the first display area 110 and the second display area 120 of the display screen.
The glass cover 150 may include an upper edge 151, a left edge 152, a lower edge 153 and a right edge 154. The upper edge 151 of the glass cover 150 may be coupled with the upper border 131 of the middle frame 130. The left edge 152 of the glass cover 150 may be coupled with the left border 132 of the middle frame 130. The lower edge 153 of the glass cover 150 may be coupled with the lower border 133 of the middle frame 130. The right edge 154 of the glass cover 150 may be coupled with the right border 134 of the middle frame 130.
In some embodiments, referring to
In some embodiments, the screen drive unit 160 may be configured to control the display of the first display area 110.
In some embodiments, the screen drive unit 160 may be configured to control the display of the second display area 120.
In some embodiments, the screen drive unit 160 may be configured to control the display of the first display area 110 and the second display area 120.
Referring to
The display screen of the terminal may be coupled with the screen drive unit 160. That is, the screen drive unit 160 may be coupled with the first display area 110 and the second display area 120 of the display screen, and the screen drive unit 160 may be coupled with the processor 170.
In some embodiments, the processor 170 may be configured to control the screen drive unit 160 to control the display of the first display area 110.
In some embodiments, the processor 170 may be configured to control the screen drive unit 160 to control the display of the second display area 120.
In some embodiments, the processor 170 may be configured to control the screen drive unit 160 to control the display of the first display area 110 and the second display area 120.
In some embodiments, the processor 170 may be a central processing unit (CPU) or a graphics processing unit (GPU). The processor 170 may be used as an upper computer of the screen drive unit 160.
In the terminals shown in
For example, the first display area 110 displays a main menu interface, an operation interface of an application and so on of the terminal.
In some embodiments, the second display area 120 may be configured to implement a display function of a predetermined function when the terminal is idle. The terminal's being idle may refer to that the terminal is in a standby state, or the first display area 110 is in an off state, or the first display area 110 is in a state as that when it's in the homepage of the display operating system.
For example, the second display area 120 implements clock display, date display, music operation interface and so on when the first display area 110 is not in an operating state.
In some embodiments, the second display area 120 may be configured to implement a display function of a virtual key of the terminal when the first display area 110 is in an operating state.
For example, the second display area 120 displays virtual keys such as return control, home control, menu control and so on when the first display area 110 is in an operating state.
In some embodiments, the second display area 120 may be configured to implement an auxiliary display function of the first display area 110 when the first display area 110 is in an operating state.
For example, the second display area 120 displays a corresponding favorite control, search control and so on when the first display area 110 displays a browser interface.
In some embodiments, the second display area 120 may also be configured to display at least one of a screenshot control, a flashlight switch control, a recording control and a photographing control.
In summary, in the terminal provided in the examples of the present disclosure, the display screen of the terminal is divided into the first display area and the second display area and the second lower edge of the second display area is coupled with the lower border of the middle frame, such that the second display area replaces the key area to increase the screen occupation ratio on the front panel of the terminal.
In addition, an independent display function of the second display area can be realized by means of software design when the first display area turns off, satisfying the display requirements of small functions such as time display to the user and saving the power consumption of the terminal. At the same time, since the display screen is a touch control screen, a key function of the second display area can be realized by means of software design. A control signal can be generated by an operation acting on the second display area to control predetermined operations performed in the first display area such as screen lighting, interface switch and so on, thus realizing linked operations between the first display area and the second display area and enriching the form of screen interaction.
In addition, a glass cover is provided on the display screen, such that the glass cover protects the display screen.
Moreover, by means of coupling the display screen with the screen drive unit and respectively controlling the display of the first display area and the second display area by the screen drive unit, the first display area and the second display area can be independently controlled. Thus, the first display area and the second display area may be controlled to realize different functions.
Additionally, by means of controlling the display of the first display area and the second display area by the screen drive unit, the first display area and the second display area can realize the display function collaboratively.
Furthermore, by means of the coupling the screen drive unit with the processor, the display screen may be controlled by two units separately. The processor may be in charge of control and the screen drive unit may be in charge of screen drive, which improves the control efficiency.
In addition, by means of providing the display screen as an OLED screen, the second display area can still keep being a normal working state when it's in a continuously lighting state, which saves the power consumption of the terminal.
Step 701: displaying a virtual key in the second display area when the first display area is in an operating state.
In some embodiments, the virtual key includes at least one of: a menu key, a home key and a return key as shown in
Step 702: receiving a control signal through the virtual key.
In some embodiments, the control signal may be at least one of a click signal, a double-click signal, a long press signal, a floating touch signal and a slide signal. For example, the slick signal may be received through the menu key, the long press signal may be received through the home key, the double-click signal may be received through the return key and so on.
Step 703: controlling the first display area to display a user interface corresponding to the virtual key in accordance with the control signal.
When the control signal is received through the menu key, the first display area is controlled to display a first user interface. The first user interface may include thumbnails of various applications that are operating. The applications include applications that are operating in the foreground and applications that are operating in the background. A user may click the target thumbnail in the first user interface to switch the application that is operating in the foreground to the application corresponding to the target thumbnail.
When the control signal is received through the home key, the first display area is controlled to display a second user interface. The second user interface may be a main user interface of the operating system, which is also referred to as a desktop or a home page.
When the control signal is received through the return key, the first display area is controlled to display a third user interface. The third user interface may be a previous user interface.
In summary, in accordance with the display control method provided in the present disclosure, the second display area may be enabled to achieve the function of keys by way of software designs. An operation may be performed in the second display area to generate a control signal to control the first display area to perform preset operations, such as screen lighting, interface switching and the like. Thus, the coordinated operation between the first display area and the second display area is realized and the form of screen interactions is enriched.
In some embodiments, the terminals shown in
An ordinary person skilled in the art may realize that the units and algorithm steps of various examples described in combination with the embodiments disclosed herein can be realized by electronic hardware or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are performed by hardware or software depends on the constraint conditions for specific applications and the design of the technical solutions. Those skilled in the art may implement the described functions with different methods for each specific application, but such an implementation shall not be deemed as going beyond the scope of the present disclosure.
In the examples provided in the present disclosure, it should be understood that the disclosed system, apparatus and method may be realized in other ways. For example, the apparatus examples described above are merely illustrative. For example, the division of the units may be merely a logic function division and there may be other methods for division during implementation. For example, a plurality of units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be omitted or not performed. Additionally, the mutual coupling, the direct coupling or the communication connection shown or discussed may be an indirect coupling or communication connection via some interfaces, apparatuses or units in the forms of being electrical, mechanical and so on.
The units described as separated components may be or may not be physically separated, and the components shown as units may be or may not be physical units. That is, they may be located at the same place or may also be distributed in a plurality of network units. Some or all of the units may be selected based on actual needs to realize the object of the solution of the present example.
In addition, the functional units in the examples of the present disclosure may be integrated in one processor. The units may also be present physically separately, and two or more units may also be integrated in one unit.
The present disclosure may include dedicated hardware implementations such as application specific integrated circuits, programmable logic arrays and other hardware devices. The hardware implementations can be constructed to implement one or more of the methods described herein. Applications that may include the apparatus and systems of various examples can broadly include a variety of electronic and computing systems. One or more examples described herein may implement functions using two or more specific interconnected hardware modules or devices with related control and data signals that can be communicated between and through the modules, or as portions of an application-specific integrated circuit. Accordingly, the computing system disclosed may encompass software, firmware, and hardware implementations. The terms “module,” “sub-module,” “circuit,” “sub-circuit,” “circuitry,” “sub-circuitry,” “unit,” or “sub-unit” may include memory (shared, dedicated, or group) that stores code or instructions that can be executed by one or more processors.
The functions may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium when the functions are realized in the form of software functional units and sold or used as independent products. Based on this understanding, the technical solutions of the present disclosure essentially or a portion of the technical solutions may be embodied by a software product. The computer software product may be stored in a storage medium, including several instructions to cause a computer device (which may be a personal computer, a server or a network device and so on) to perform all or part of the steps of the method described in the examples of the present disclosure. The above-mentioned storage medium may include a U-disk, a mobile hard disk, a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a magnetic diskette or an optical disk which can store program codes.
The foregoing are merely some examples of the present disclosure, and the protection scope of the present disclosure is not limited thereto. Any variations or substitutions readily derived to those skilled in the art without departing from the technical scope of the present disclosure shall be protected by the present disclosure.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 201710271898.X | Apr 2017 | CN | national |
