Electronic apparatus and control method thereof

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10690984-B2
Application number	US-201615780025-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 8, 2016
Priority date	Nov 30, 2015
Publication date	Jun 23, 2020
Grant date	Jun 23, 2020

Abstract

One aspect of the present invention is to provide an electronic apparatus which is configured to provide a color writing function by means of the physical force of an external input means, and a control method thereof. More particularly, the present invention is to provide an electronic apparatus equipped with a plurality of liquid crystal panels in an electronic apparatus so that a plurality of colors can be written by the physical force of an external input means, and a control method thereof.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An electronic apparatus comprising:
a touch panel;
a first display panel placed adjacent to a privacy protection layer and provided to reflect light of a first predetermined wavelength region among light incident on a touch input point when a touch input is received;
a second display panel placed adjacent to a surface of the first display panel facing away from the privacy protection layer and provided to reflect light of a second predetermined wavelength region among light incident on a touch input point when a touch input is received;
a communicator configured to receive color information to be applied to the first display panel and the second display panel; and
a controller configured to control power applied to the first display panel and the second display panel based on the color information received by the communicator,
wherein the privacy protection layer includes cholesteric liquid crystal molecules and blackening materials,
wherein the cholesteric liquid crystal molecules are arranged such that the cholesteric liquid crystal molecules are twisted at regular intervals, and the blackening materials are introduced into the twisted structure of the cholesteric liquid crystal molecules.

2. The electronic apparatus of claim 1 ,
wherein the first display panel is provided to reflect the light of the first predetermined wavelength region among the light incident on the touch input point when the touch input is received while power is off, and
wherein the second display panel is provided to reflect the light of the second predetermined wavelength region among the light incident on the touch input point when the touch input is received while power is off.

3. The electronic apparatus of claim 1 ,
wherein the first display panel includes a cholesteric liquid crystal placed with a first predetermined helical pitch while power is off,
wherein the second display panel includes a cholesteric liquid crystal placed with a second predetermined helical pitch while power is off, and
wherein the first display panel and the second display panel are placed such that the cholesteric liquid crystals transmit light incident on the first display panel and the second display panel when power is on.

4. The electronic apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising:
a memory configured to store information regarding the touch input point received from an external input,
wherein when a first color input mode is set, the controller performs a control operation to switch off power applied to the first display panel and switch on power applied to the second display panel, and
wherein when a second color input mode is set, the controller performs a control operation to switch on power applied to portions of the first display panel other than the touch input point and switch off power applied to the second display panel on the basis of the information stored in the memory.

5. The electronic apparatus of claim 4 , wherein when a touch input point in the first color input mode overlaps a touch input point in the second color input mode, the controller determines whether a mix of a first color and a second color is realized at an overlapping point or the second color is realized at the overlapping point.

6. The electronic apparatus of claim 1 ,
wherein the display panel comprises:
an electrochromic layer including an organic electrochromic material provided to represent a color during deoxidization and switch into a transparent mode during oxidization; and
an electrolyte layer placed adjacent to the electrochromic layer, and
wherein when the touch input is received by the touch panel, the controller performs a control operation to supply power to a point of the electrochromic layer corresponding to the touch input point.

7. The electronic apparatus of claim 6 , further comprising a memory configured to store information regarding the touch input point received by the touch panel,
wherein when a first color input mode is set, the controller performs a control operation to switch on power applied to a point of the first display panel corresponding to a point where the touch input is received and maintain power applied to the second display panel in an off state based on the information stored in the memory, and
wherein when a second color input mode is set, the controller performs a control operation to switch on power applied to a point of the second display panel corresponding to the point where touch input is received and maintain power applied to the first display panel in an off state based on the information stored in the memory.

8. The electronic apparatus of claim 7 , wherein when a touch input point in the first color input mode overlaps a touch input point in the second color input mode, the controller determines whether a mix of a first color and a second color is realized at an overlapping point or the second color is realized at the overlapping point.

9. The electronic apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a privacy protection layer placed adjacent to the touch panel and switched to a viewing angle adjustment mode due to a change in arrangement of a cholesteric liquid crystal and a blackening material when a privacy protection mode is set,
wherein the controller controls power applied to the privacy protection layer when a predetermined condition is satisfied.

10. The electronic apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the viewing angle adjustment mode is a mode in which a light transmission pattern and a light reflection pattern are alternately formed on the privacy protection layer.

11. A method of controlling an electronic apparatus including a first display panel provided to reflect light of a first predetermined wavelength region among light incident on a touch input point when a touch input is received and a second display panel provided to reflect light of a second predetermined wavelength region among light incident on a touch input point when a touch input is received, the method comprising:
setting a color input mode of the electronic apparatus;
switching off power applied to any one of the first display panel and the second display panel according to the color input mode and switching on power applied to the other panel; and
receiving a touch input,
wherein the electronic apparatus further includes a privacy protection layer including cholesteric liquid crystal molecules and blackening materials and configured to switch to a viewing angle adjustment mode according to power applied thereto, and
wherein the method further comprises switching the privacy protection layer to the viewing angle adjustment mode when a privacy protection mode is set.

12. The method of claim 11 , further comprising storing information regarding the touch input point in a memory,
wherein the switching off of power applied to any one of the first display panel and the second display panel according to the color input mode and the switching-on of power applied to the other panel comprises:
switching off power applied to the first display panel and switching on power applied to the second display panel when a first color input mode is set; and
switching on power applied to portions of the first display panel other than the touch input point and switching off power applied to the second display panel based on the information stored in the memory when a second color input mode is set.

13. The method of claim 12 , further comprising, when a touch input point in the first color input mode overlaps a touch input point in the second color input mode, determining whether a mix of a first color and a second color is realized at an overlapping point

Assignees

• Samsung Electronics Co Ltd

Inventors

• Bae Jun Cheol
• Baik Chul
• Kim Hong Suk
• Seo Byung Hwa
• Song Hyun Min
• Otsuka Tatsuhiro

Classifications

• G06F3/0481

  based on specific properties of the displayed interaction object or a metaphor-based environment, e.g. interaction with desktop elements like windows or icons, or assisted by a cursor's changing behaviour or appearance · CPC title

• G06F1/3218

  of display devices · CPC title

• G06F1/1643

  the display being associated to a digitizer, e.g. laptops that can be used as penpads (details related to the relative motion of the display enclosure with respect to the body enclosure, e.g. to move between laptop and tablet PC configuration G06F1/1615) · CPC title

• G02F2201/343

  cholesteric liquid crystal reflector · CPC title

• G02F1/13476 Primary

  in which at least one liquid crystal cell or layer assumes a scattering state · CPC title