Flexible display device and operating method thereof

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9953617-B2
Application number	US-201514958474-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 3, 2015
Priority date	Jul 6, 2015
Publication date	Apr 24, 2018
Grant date	Apr 24, 2018

Abstract

A flexible display device that includes a display unit to display content information on a screen, wherein the screen can be expandable or reducible; a sensing unit to detect a size of the screen; and a control unit to display at least one of a first indicator for indicating a degree to which the screen of the display unit is expandable and a second indicator for indicating an amount of remaining content information.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A flexible display device comprising:
a display configured to display content information on a display screen that is expandable or reducible;
a sensor configured to detect a size of the display screen; and
a control configured to control the display and the sensor, the controller is further configured to:
display on the display screen a first indicator to indicate an amount that the display screen is expandable and a second indicator to indicate an amount of remaining content information to be displayed from an entirety of the content information,
detect that the display screen is additionally expanded when the display screen is not expanded to maximum and the entirety of the content information is displayed on the display screen, and
enlarge the entirety of the content information as the display screen is additionally expanded,
wherein the first indicator and the second indicator are displayed when the control unit detect that the display screen is expanded or reduced,
a location of the first indicator is moved to an expanded display screen or a reduce display screen according to detecting that the display screen is expanded or reduced, and
wherein the controller is further configured to:
display a reduction view icon if the display screen is expanded to maximum and the entirety of the content information is not displayed on the display screen,
reduce the entirety of the content information according to a request for selecting the reduction view icon, and
display the reduced entirety of the content information on the display screen having maximum size.

2. The device of claim 1 , wherein the first indicator comprises:
an expansion guide bar to indicate an amount that the display screen is expanded with respect to a fully expanded size of the display screen; and
a movement bar provided on the expansion guide bar to indicate an amount that the display screen is currently expanded.

3. The device of claim 1 , wherein the second indicator comprises:
an entire information amount bar to indicate an amount of the entire content information; and
a movement information bar to indicate an amount of content information that is displayed on the display screen with respect to the entire content information amount.

4. The device of claim 1 , wherein if the content information includes more than one page, the control unit displays on the second indicator a page number of the content information that is currently displayed on the display screen with respect to the total number of pages of content information.

5. The device of claim 4 , wherein the entire information amount bar includes a plurality of sub areas respectively representing the plurality of pages of content information.

6. The device of claim 1 , wherein the control unit detects whether the display screen is expanded or reduced in a specific direction, and displays on the first indicator an amount of the expansion or the reduction of the display screen when the expansion or reduction is detected.

7. The device of claim 1 , wherein the control unit determines whether the entirety of the content information will display on the display screen when the display screen is fully expanded,
wherein when the control unit determines that the entirety of the content information will not display on the display screen when the display screen is fully expanded, the control unit sequentially displays on the display screen remaining content information and does not sequentially display existing displayed content information as the display screen is expanded.

8. The device of claim 1 , wherein the control unit detects whether the display screen is fully expanded, determines whether the entirety of the content information is displayed on the display screen when the display screen is not fully expanded, detects an expanded area of the display screen in a specific direction when the entirety of the content information is displayed on the display screen, and displays information relating to the content information in the expanded area.

9. The device of claim 1 , wherein the display screen is a rollable display screen that is unwound from the display unit.

10. The device of claim 9 , wherein the control unit displays the first indicator and the second indicator based on a size of the unwound display screen.

11. The device of claim 10 , wherein the control unit changes a display of the first indicator or a display of the second indicator when the size of the unwound display screen is changed.

12. A method for operating a flexible display device, comprising:
displaying, by a display, content information on a display screen that is expandable or reducible;
detecting, by a sensor, a size of the display screen in a specific direction;
displaying, by a controller, an amount of content information based on the size of the display screen in the specific direction; and
displaying, by the controller, on the display screen, a first indicator to indicate an amount that the display screen is expandable and a second indicator to indicate an amount of remaining content information to be displayed from an entirety of the content information;
detecting that the display screen is additionally expanded when the display screen is not expanded to maximum and the entirety of the content information is displayed on the display screen; and
enlarging the entirety of the content information as the display screen is additionally expanded,
wherein the first indicator and the second indicator are displayed when the control unit detect that the display screen is expanded or reduced,
a location of the first indicator is moved to an expanded display screen or a reduce display screen according to detecting that the display screen is expanded or reduced, and
wherein the method is further comprises:
displaying a reduction view icon if the display screen is expanded to maximum and the entirety of the content information is not displayed on the display screen,
reducing the entirety of the content information according to a request for selecting the reduction view icon, and
displaying the reduced entirety of the content information on the display screen having maximum size.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the display screen is a rollable display screen that is unwound from the display unit.

14. The method of claim 13 , further comprising displaying, by the controller, the first indicator and the second indicator based on a size of the unwound display screen.

15. The method of claim 14 , further comprising changing, by the controller, a display of the first indicator or a display of the second indicator when the size of the unwound display screen is changed.

Assignees

• Lg Electronics Inc

Inventors

• Eim Sanghyun
• Chi Jumin

Classifications

• H04M1/0268

  including a flexible display panel · CPC title

• G09G2380/02

  Flexible displays · CPC title

• G09G2340/045

  Zooming at least part of an image, i.e. enlarging it or shrinking it · CPC title

• G09G3/20

  for presentation of an assembly of a number of characters, e.g. a page, by composing the assembly by combination of individual elements arranged in a matrix {no fixed position being assigned to or needed to be assigned to the individual characters or partial characters} · CPC title

• G06F3/0362

  with detection of one-dimensional [1D] translations or rotations of an operating part of the device, e.g. scroll wheels, sliders, knobs, rollers or belts · CPC title