Attachable device with flexible display and detection of flex state and/or location

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2016283086-A1
Application number	US-201615054723-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Feb 26, 2016
Priority date	Aug 27, 2013
Publication date	Sep 29, 2016
Grant date	—

Abstract

An article with automatic detection capabilities includes a dynamically flexible display and one or more detection elements. Based on signals generated by the detection elements, the article automatically detects/determines conditions associated with the article, and performs actions based on the conditions. Automatically detectable conditions may include a flex state or degree of flex of the display, an identity of an object supporting the article, a contextual environment and/or contextual location in which the article is situated, an orientation of the article, and/or other conditions. Resulting actions may include adapting an image content presented on the display, launching and/or closing applications, changing an operational mode of the article, and/or other actions that may be performed by optoelectronic elements of the flexible display and/or by other electronic elements of the article. The article may include a fastener that allows the article to be releasably attached to itself and/or to other objects.

First claim

1 . A system, comprising:
a dynamically flexible, electronic sheet having a flexible backplane substrate and a flexible frontplane substrate that are operatively connected; a fastener configured to allow the electronic sheet to be at least one of releasably attached to or supported by each of a plurality of objects; one or more detection elements; a processor in communicative connection with the flexible electronic sheet; and a memory storing a routine that, when executed by the processor, operates to: determine, based on one or more signals generated by the one or more detection elements, a particular object that is currently supporting an article in which the dynamically flexible, electronic sheet is included, the particular object included in the plurality of objects; determine, based on the particular object, one or more respective actions that are to be performed by the article; and cause the one or more respective actions to be performed by the article.

2 .- 10 . (canceled)

11 . The system of claim 1 ,
wherein the routine operates to determine the one or more respective actions based on the particular object and further based on at least one of: (i) a current, dynamic flex state of the article, the current, dynamic flex state included in a plurality of dynamic flex states including bent and flat; (ii) a current spatial orientation of the article; (iii) a current environment in which the article is located; (iv) a current location at which the article is located within the current environment; or (v) a user input; and wherein each of (i) to (v) is determined by the processor based on one or more respective signals generated by the one or more detection elements.

12 . (canceled)

13 . (canceled)

14 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the article is releasably attached to itself using the fastener, and the article surrounds at least a portion of the particular object that is determined to be currently supporting the article.

15 . The system of claim 14 , wherein the article surrounds the at least the portion of the particular object in a particular orientation of a plurality of orientations, and wherein the routine operates to determine the one or more respective actions further based on the particular orientation.

16 . (canceled)

17 . (canceled)

18 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the particular object is a body part of a user of the article.

19 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the article is releasably attached, using the fastener, to the particular object that is determined to be currently supporting the article.

20 . The system of claim 1 , wherein:
the memory further stores a mapping defining a plurality of associations between the plurality of objects and a plurality of respective actions; and the routine operates to determine the one or more respective actions corresponding to the particular object using the mapping.

21 - 56 . (canceled)

57 . A system, comprising:
a dynamically flexible, electronic sheet having a flexible backplane substrate and a flexible frontplane substrate that are operatively connected; a wireless communication module that enables detection of an environment in which the flexible electronic sheet is located; a processor included in or in communicative connection with an article including the flexible electronic sheet; and a memory storing a routine that, when executed by the processor, operates to: determine, based on one or more signals received at the wireless communication module from another object, a current environment of the article; determine, based on the current environment in which the article is located, one or more respective actions that are to be performed by the article; and cause the one or more respective actions to be performed by the article.

58 - 67 . (canceled)

68 . The system of claim 57 , wherein the current environment in which the article is located includes a plurality of locations, and wherein the routine determines the current environment and a current location of the article within the current environment based on the one or more signals received at the wireless communication module from the another object.

69 - 74 . (canceled)

75 . The system of claim 57 , wherein:
the flexible electronic sheet includes a dynamically flexible, electronic display; one or more optoelectronic elements are included in a display area of the dynamically flexible, electronic display; each optoelectronic element of the one or more optoelectronic elements is configured to at least one of emit, reflect, or transflect light; and the one or more respective actions to be performed by the article include causing image content to be at least one of presented or modified on the display area by using the one or more optoelectronic elements.

76 . The system of claim 75 , wherein the image content corresponds to at least one of: a newly launched application, a closing of a previously launched application, or a modification to a format of image content provided by a currently launched application.

77 . The system of claim 76 , wherein the modification to the format of the image content provided by the currently launched application comprises at least one of:
a change in a size of the image content provided by the currently launched application, a change in an orientation of the image content provided by the currently launched application, a disappearance or hiding of at least a part of the image content provided by the currently launched application, a re-appearance or un-hiding of the at least the part of the image content provided by the currently launched application, or a change in a location, on the flexible electronic display, of the image content provided by the currently launched application.

78 . The system of claim 75 , wherein the memory is a first memory, and wherein the article stores, in the first memory or in a second memory, one or more images to be presented on the display area when the article is detected, by the processor, to be in a particular mode, the particular mode corresponding to at least one of:
a particular object currently supporting the article, the particular object determined by the processor, a current flex state of the article, the current flex state determined by the processor, a current environment in which the article is located, the current environment determined by the processor, a current location at which the article is situated within the current environment, the current location determined by the processor, a current spatial orientation of the article, the current spatial orientation determined by the processor, or a detected movement of the article, the detected movement determined by the processor.

79 - 105 . (canceled)

106 . A method presenting information at an article, the method comprising:
determining, by a processor that is included in the article or that is communication connection with the article, based on one or more respective signals generated by the one or more detection elements, an object currently supporting the article; and determining, by the processor, respective image content based on the object currently supporting the article; and causing, by the processor, the respective image content to be presented on a dynamically flexible electronic display of the article.

107 . (canceled)

108 . (canceled)

109 . The method of cl

Assignees

• Polyera Corp

Inventors

• Inagaki Philippe
• Huitema Hjalmar Edzer Ayco

Classifications

• G06F1/1652

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

• G06F3/04883

  for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text · 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

• G06F1/1626

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

• G06F1/163

  Wearable computers, e.g. on a belt · CPC title