Electronic device including flexible display, and display method using same

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12169606-B2
Application number	US-202318127466-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 28, 2023
Priority date	Nov 13, 2020
Publication date	Dec 17, 2024
Grant date	Dec 17, 2024

Abstract

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, an electronic device includes: a housing; a touch circuit including a plurality of TX electrodes, and a plurality of RX electrodes arranged to cross over the plurality of TX electrode; a flexible display which includes the touch circuit, and which can be withdrawn from the inner space of the housing; a touch controller; and a processor operatively connected to the touch circuit, the flexible display and the touch controller, wherein the touch controller applies a driving signal by using the plurality of TX electrodes of the touch circuit, acquires the driving signal by using the plurality of RX electrodes, confirms a capacitance value on the basis of the acquired driving signal, and confirms information about a folded area of the flexible display on the basis of the capacitance value, and the processor can set an activation area for an unfolded area of the flexible display on the basis of the folded area of the flexible display. Various embodiments, in addition to various embodiments disclosed in the present document, are also possible.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An electronic device comprising:
a housing;
a touch circuit comprising multiple TX electrodes and multiple RX electrodes, wherein the multiple RX electrodes are arranged to cross over the multiple TX electrodes;
a flexible display comprising the touch circuit, the flexible display being movable out from an inner space of the housing;
a touch controller; and
a processor operatively connected to the touch circuit, the flexible display, and the touch controller,
wherein the touch controller is configured to:
apply a driving signal through the multiple TX electrodes of the touch circuit;
acquire the driving signal through the multiple RX electrodes;
identify a capacitance value based on the acquired driving signal; and
identify information about a folded area of the flexible display based on the capacitance value, and

wherein the processor is configured to:
based on the information about the folded area of the flexible display, determine an activation area with respect to an unfolded area of the flexible display;
determine an area of the display area of the flexible display, which is inserted into the inner space of the housing and formed to be a planar area, as a deactivation area;
detect movement of the folded area based on the capacitance value;
adjust the activation area based on the detected movement of the folded area;
adjust a ratio of a screen including visual information to be displayed on an adjusted activation area and reconfigure the screen including the visual information based on the adjusted activation area; and
output the reconfigured screen through the adjusted activation area.

2. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to determine an area of the display area of the flexible display excluding the folded area and the area inserted into the inner space of the housing and formed to be a planar area, as the unfolded area.

3. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the touch controller is further configured to:
identify whether a state change of the flexible display is detected after the activation area with respect to the unfolded area of the flexible display is determined; and
identify the capacitance value based on the driving signal acquired through the multiple RX electrodes as applied through the multiple TX electrodes, wherein the change in driving signal is based on the detection of the state change of the flexible display.

4. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the touch controller is further configured to identify the capacitance value based on the driving signal acquired through the multiple RX electrodes as applied through the multiple TX electrodes at a designated time interval after the activation area with respect to the unfolded area of the flexible display is determined.

5. The electronic device of claim 1 , further comprising a semicircular conductor disposed in the inner space of the housing.

6. The electronic device of claim 5 , wherein the touch controller is further configured to apply the driving signal by using the semicircular conductor based on the detection of a state change of the flexible display.

7. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the state change of the flexible display comprises a change into a state in which the flexible display is withdrawn from the inner space of the housing of the electronic device or inserted into the inner space of the housing.

8. A method for display of an electronic device comprising a flexible display, the method comprising:
applying a driving signal by using multiple TX electrodes of a touch circuit included in the flexible display;
acquiring the driving signal through multiple RX electrodes of the touch circuit;
identifying a capacitance value based on the acquired driving signal;
identifying information about a folded area of the flexible display based on the capacitance value;
determining, based on the information about the folded area of the flexible display, an activation area with respect to an unfolded area of the flexible display;
determining an area of the display area of the flexible display, which is inserted into the inner space of a housing of the electronic device and formed to be a planar area, as a deactivation area;
detecting movement of the folded area based on the capacitance value;
adjusting the activation area based on the detected movement of the folded area;
adjusting a ratio of a screen including visual information to be displayed on an adjusted activation area and reconfigure the screen including the visual information based on the adjusted activation area; and
outputting a reconfigured screen through the adjusted activation area.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the determining of the activation area with respect to the unfolded area of the flexible display comprises:
determining an area of the display area of the flexible display excluding the folded area and the area inserted into the inner space of the housing and formed to be a planar area, as the unfolded area.

10. The method of claim 8 , further comprising:
identifying whether a state change of the flexible display is detected after the activation area with respect to the unfolded area of the flexible display is determined; and
identifying the capacitance value based on the driving signal acquired through the multiple RX electrodes as applied through the multiple TX electrodes, wherein the change in driving signal is based on the detection of the state change of the flexible display.

11. The method of claim 8 , further comprising:
identifying the capacitance value based on the driving signal acquired through the multiple RX electrodes as applied through the multiple TX electrodes at a designated time interval after the activation area with respect to the unfolded area of the flexible display is determined.

12. The method of claim 11 , further comprising:
detecting movement of the folded area based on the capacitance value; and
adjusting the activation area based on the detected movement of the folded area.

13. The method of claim 8 , wherein the electronic device comprises a semicircular conductor disposed in an inner space of a housing of the electronic device.

14. The method of claim 13 , further comprising: applying the driving signal by using the semicircular conductor based on detection of a state change of the flexible display.

Assignees

• Samsung Electronics Co Ltd

Inventors

• Cho Youngho
• Lim Dahee
• Kim Mooyoung

Classifications

• G06F2203/04102

  Flexible digitiser, i.e. constructional details for allowing the whole digitising part of a device to be flexed or rolled like a sheet of paper · CPC title

• G06F3/044

  by capacitive means · CPC title

• G06F3/0412

  Digitisers structurally integrated in a display · CPC title

• G06F1/1652

  the display being flexible, e.g. mimicking a sheet of paper, or rollable · CPC title

• G06F3/017

  Gesture based interaction, e.g. based on a set of recognized hand gestures (interaction based on gestures traced on a digitiser G06F3/04883) · CPC title