Sensing the screen positions in a dual screen phone

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9904501-B2
Application number	US-201213627793-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 26, 2012
Priority date	Sep 27, 2011
Publication date	Feb 27, 2018
Grant date	Feb 27, 2018

Abstract

A handheld communication device includes first and second screens, a hinge to rotate the first and second screens between open and closed positions, and a position sensor to determine the relative position of the first and second screens. The position sensor can be a Hall-Effect sensor.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A handheld computing device, comprising:
adjacent first and second screens comprising first and second display panels, respectively, to receive input from and provide graphical output to a user;
a plurality of electronic components comprising a processor and memory, the plurality of electronic components generating an electromagnetic field during operation;
a hinge connected to the first and second screens, wherein the hinge moves between a closed position and an open position; and
first and second Hall-Effect sensors operable, at a selected time, to sense at least one of variations in and a strength of a selected magnetic field comprising a magnetic field component of the electromagnetic field generated by the plurality of electronic components, wherein the processor, based on the currently sensed at least one of variation in and strength of the selected magnetic field, determines a relative position of the first and second screens, wherein the first and second Hall-Effect sensors are positioned on opposing sides of the hinge connecting the first and second screens, wherein the first Hall-Effect sensor is positioned near a peripheral edge of the first screen, the peripheral edge being at an opposite edge of the first screen relative to the hinge, and the second Hall-Effect sensor is positioned near the hinge connecting the first and second screens, and wherein the first and second Hall-Effect sensors are positioned on opposing sides of the first and second display panels when the first and second screens are in a fully closed position.

2. The device of claim 1 , wherein the first and second Hall-Effect sensors are positioned proximal to the first and second screens, respectively, wherein the at least one of variation in and strength of the selected magnetic field is proportional to a voltage difference across different sides of the Hall-Effect sensor, and wherein each of the first and second Hall-Effect sensors measure a respective voltage difference.

3. The device of claim 2 , wherein the selected magnetic field is the electromagnetic field produced by the plurality of electronic components.

4. The device of claim 1 , further comprising at least one magnet to resist opening of the device when the hinge is in the closed position and wherein the selected magnetic field is the magnetic field of the at least one magnet.

5. The device of claim 4 , wherein the at least one magnet comprises first and second magnets, the first magnet being proximal to the first screen and the second magnet being proximal to the second screen, wherein the first magnet is spaced from the first display panel and the second magnet is spaced from the second display panel, and wherein, when the hinge is in the closed position, the first magnet attracts the second magnet, thereby resisting opening of the device.

6. The device of claim 1 , wherein the first and second display panels comprise first and second active display areas and wherein the first and second screens have a range of rotation about the hinge of more than 180 degrees so that the device is foldable between an open position in which a first plane of the first screen is transverse to a second plane of the second screen and a closed position in which the first and second screens are oriented substantially back-to-back in adjacent planes.

7. The device of claim 6 , wherein the hinge is configured to enable a distance between the first and second active display areas, when the first and second screens are in the fully opened position, to be no more than about 10 mm.

8. The device of claim 7 , wherein the distance is no more than about 5 mm.

9. The device of claim 1 , wherein the handheld computing device has plural different physical states comprising at least a fully closed state in which the handheld device is fully closed and fully open state in which the handheld device is fully open, an opening transitional state in which the handheld computing device is transitioning from the fully closed state to another state, a closing transitional state in which the handheld computing device is transitioning to the fully closed state from another state, an easel state in which the handheld computing device is partially open and has a first orientation, in the first orientation the hinge is located above opposing edges of each of the first and second screens, the opposing edges of the first and second screens contacting a supporting surface, and a modified easel state in which the handheld computing device is partially open and has a second orientation, in the second orientation one of the first and second screens is contacting the supporting surface and the other of the first and second screens is not contacting the supporting surface, and wherein the current state of the handheld device is based on input from the at least one Hall Effect sensor, an accelerometer, and a timer.

10. The device of claim 9 , wherein, in the fully closed state, each of the first and second display panels display at least one window and wherein the physical states further comprise one or more of an inbound/outbound communication state in which the handheld computing device is receiving an inbound call or making an outbound call and an image/video capture state in which the handheld computing device is capturing an image or video, and a docked state in which the handheld computing device is docked to another device.

11. The device of claim 10 , wherein in any of the physical states of the handheld computing device the handheld computing device can be in a portrait or landscape orientation.

12. A method, comprising:
providing a handheld computing device comprising first and second screens, the first and second screens comprising first and second display panels to receive input from and provide graphical output to a user, a plurality of electronic components comprising a processor and memory, and a hinge connected to the first and second screens, wherein the hinge moves between a closed position and an open position, and wherein the plurality of electronic components generates an electromagnetic field during operation;
sensing, at a selected time and by at least one position sensor, at least one of a variation in and strength of a selected magnetic field comprising a magnetic field component of said generated electromagnetic field; and
determining, based on the sensed at least one of a variation and strength of the selected magnetic field and by the processor, relative positions of the first and second screens, wherein the handheld computing device has plural different physical states comprising at least a fully closed state in which the handheld device is fully closed and fully open state in which the handheld device is fully open, an opening transitional state in which the handheld computing device is transitioning from the fully closed state to another state, a closing transitional state in which the handheld computing device is transitioning to the fully closed state from another state, an easel state in which the handheld computing device is partially open and has a first orientation, in the first orientation the hinge is located above opposing edges of each of the first and second screens, the opposing edges of the first and second screens contacting a supporting surface, a modified easel state in which the handheld computing device is partially open and has a second orientation, in the second orientation one of the first and second screens is contacting the supporting surface and the other of the first and second screens is not contacting the supporting surface, an inbound/outbound communication state in which the handheld computing device is receiving an inbound call

Assignees

• Z124

Inventors

• Becze Charles

Classifications

• H04N23/631

  Graphical user interfaces [GUI] specially adapted for controlling image capture or setting capture parameters · CPC title

• H04W72/563

  of the wireless resources · CPC title

• H04N23/63

  by using electronic viewfinders · CPC title

• G06F3/0483

  Interaction with page-structured environments, e.g. book metaphor · CPC title

• G02B6/0001

  specially adapted for lighting devices or systems (lighting or signalling on vehicles using light guides B60Q1/00; lighting devices for vehicle dashboards B60Q3/10; lighting devices for vehicle interior using light guides B60Q3/62; lighting devices mounted on the vehicle rear part using light guides F21S43/235; measuring arrangements having light conducting pointers G01D13/265; illumination of liquid crystal displays G02F1/1336; illuminated signs G09F13/00) · CPC title