Electronic device having structure in which camera is disposed under display

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12556828-B2
Application number	US-202117917687-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 25, 2021
Priority date	Feb 10, 2020
Publication date	Feb 17, 2026
Grant date	Feb 17, 2026

Abstract

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, an electronic device comprises: a display including a light transmitting area and a drawing area surrounding the light transmitting area; a first camera disposed below the light transmitting area when looking at the light transmitting area from above the display; a processor operatively coupled to the display and the first camera; and a memory operatively coupled to the processor. The processor may be configured to store an application in the memory and draw a pattern on the drawing area on the basis of an execution state of the application. Various other embodiments are also possible.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1 . An electronic device comprising:
a display including a light passing area and a drawing area directly surrounding the light passing area; a first camera arranged below the light passing area when the light passing area is viewed from above the display; at least one processor operatively coupled to the display and the first camera; and a memory operatively connected to the at least one processor and storing instructions, wherein the at least one processor is configured to store an application in the memory, and the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the electronic device to draw a pattern in the drawing area based on an execution state of the application, wherein to draw the pattern includes to perform an operation of adjusting an inner diameter of the pattern to be wider than an inner diameter of the drawing area in a certain condition so as to enable light to enter through an inner part of the drawing area in which the pattern is not drawn and which directly surrounds the light passing area.

2 . The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the electronic device to determine, as part of an operation of drawing the pattern on the drawing area, an attribute including a color of the pattern to be drawn on the drawing area, based on an execution state of the application.

3 . The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the application includes a camera application, and
wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the electronic device to, as an operation of drawing the pattern on the drawing area, recognize that the first camera is in an active state according to execution of the camera application, and draw a pattern including a black color in the drawing area based on recognizing that the first camera is in the active state.

4 . The electronic device of claim 3 , wherein the active state indicates:
a state from when the first camera is powered-on until the first camera is powered-off; a state from when the at least one processor starts receiving image data from the first camera until reception of image data from the first camera stops; a state from when the at least one processor starts capturing an image by using the first camera until a process for the capturing is completed; a state from when the image photographed by the first camera is displayed on the display until the displaying is stopped; a state from when a photographing timer starts operating until the image photographed by the first camera is stored in the memory after termination of the timer; a state from when moving image recording is started by using the first camera until the moving image recording is terminated; or a state from when a user input for image capture is generated until a predetermined time elapses.

5 . The electronic device of claim 3 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the electronic device to perform an operation of adjusting a color of the pattern to be lighter than black when recognizing that a function to be executed by using the camera application is to apply an optical effect to an image to be photographed.

6 . The electronic device of claim 3 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the electronic device to draw a moving pattern in the drawing area in response to start of a photographing timer, and draw the black pattern in the drawing area in response to termination of the timer.

7 . The electronic device of claim 6 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the electronic device to, as at least part of the operation of drawing the moving pattern, perform:
an operation of gradually shortening a blinking interval as approaching the termination of the timer; an operation of changing a color of the pattern to be drawn in the drawing area; or an operation of changing brightness and/or saturation while drawing a predetermined color in the drawing area.

8 . The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the application includes an application for notification, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the electronic device to, as an operation of drawing the pattern in the drawing area, draw a moving pattern in the drawing area based on the execution of the application for notification, and
wherein the notification informs a user of reception of a message or a call from an external device via a communication circuit provided in the electronic device, a time alarm, termination of a timer, or a measurement result obtained by using a sensor provided in the electronic device.

9 . The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the application includes a media player, and
wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the electronic device to, as an operation of drawing the pattern in the drawing area, recognize that a media is being played by the media player, and display an animation effect corresponding to a sound according to the playing of the media via the drawing area.

10 . The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the application includes a camera application, and
wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the electronic device to, as an operation of drawing the pattern in the drawing area, draw a black pattern in the drawing area in response to a user input for executing the camera application.

11 . The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the display is disposed on a front surface of the electronic device, the electronic device further comprising a second camera operatively connected to the at least one processor and disposed on a rear surface of the electronic device, and
wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the electronic device to, as an operation of drawing the pattern in the drawing area, draw a black pattern in the drawing area in response to a user input for changing a camera to be used from the second camera to the first camera.

12 . The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the light passing area is an area provided as an opening, a region having a lower pixel density than other areas of the display, or an area having no pixels.

13 . The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor includes a camera manager and a drawing module,
wherein the camera manager is configured to observe an execution state of a camera application based on a request of the drawing module, recognize that the first camera is in an active state based on the observed execution state, and notify the drawing module that the first camera is in the active state, and wherein the drawing module is configured to draw a black pattern in the drawing area in response to the notification.

14 . The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the display further includes a second light passing area and a second drawing area surrounding the second light passing area, wherein the electronic device further comprises a second camera operatively coupled to the at least one processor and arranged below the second light passing area when the second light passing area is viewed from above the display, and
wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the electronic device to draw a black pattern in a drawing area corresponding to a camera that is in an active state among the cameras and use the drawing area corresponding to a camera in an inactive state among the cameras as an area for displa

Assignees

• Samsung Electronics Co Ltd

Inventors

• Lee Wooyong
• Park Kwangkyu
• Sung Daehyun
• Won Jonghoon

Classifications

• G06F1/1686 Primary

  the I/O peripheral being an integrated camera · CPC title

• G06F1/1637

  Details related to the display arrangement, including those related to the mounting of the display in the housing · CPC title

• G06F1/1626

  with a single-body enclosure integrating a flat display, e.g. Personal Digital Assistants [PDAs] · CPC title

• H04N23/57

  Mechanical or electrical details of cameras or camera modules specially adapted for being embedded in other devices · CPC title

• G06F3/005

  Input arrangements through a video camera · CPC title