Abstract:
Embodiments of an apparatus for having overlapping displays and methods for operating such apparatus can provide enhanced display and operational capabilities. The overlapping displays may include multiple overlapping transparent displays. Embodiments of additional apparatus, systems, and methods are disclosed.

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
       [0001]    Various embodiments described herein relate to apparatus and methods associated with displays. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    In the field of image display devices there is a growing trend toward the use of higher resolution, complex images, and streaming video to create a rich visual experience for the user. These requirements are pushing the processing power demands for display devices beyond the limits of existing processors. In some situations this may result in streaming video appearing to skip, pause, or stutter. Additionally, users increasingly want display devices that are lighter and thinner and that consume less power. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0003]      FIG. 1  illustrates overlapping displays in accordance with some embodiments; 
           [0004]      FIG. 2  illustrates overlapping displays and display processors in accordance with some embodiments; 
           [0005]      FIG. 3  illustrates overlapping display content in accordance with some embodiments; 
           [0006]      FIG. 4  illustrates a procedure for implementing overlapping displays in accordance with some embodiments; and 
           [0007]      FIG. 5  illustrates overlapping displays implemented in a portable electronic device in accordance with some embodiments. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0008]    The following description and the drawings sufficiently illustrate specific embodiments to enable those skilled in the art to practice them. Other embodiments may incorporate structural, logical, electrical, process, and other changes. Portions and features of some embodiments may be included in, or substituted for, those of other embodiments. 
         [0009]      FIG. 1  illustrates overlapping tangible displays in accordance with some embodiments. Displays  100 ,  110 , and  120  may be organic light emitting diode (OLED) displays. A display  120  overlaps another display  110  when it is positioned in front of the other display such that it completely or partially obscures the other display (from the point of view of a user viewing the displays) unless it is transparent. In some embodiments, displays  100 ,  110  and  120  may be partially overlapping. In some embodiments, displays  100 ,  110  and  120  may be of different shapes or dimensions. In some embodiments, displays  100 ,  110  and  120  may be completely overlapping. Although three displays are presented for illustrative purposes, any number of displays may be employed. The displays may be selectively or entirely transparent. In some embodiments, an OLED display may overlap a liquid crystal display (LCD). In some embodiments, other transparent display technologies may be used, including, for example, thin-film and electro-luminescent displays. 
         [0010]    OLED displays, which do not require backlighting, may be thinner than conventional displays, such as LCD&#39;s, and may require less power to operate in addition to being capable of being transparent. 
         [0011]    In some embodiments, overlapping displays  100 ,  110 , and  120  may be part of a portable electronic device such as a wireless communication device, a smart phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a laptop computer, a portable computer, a web tablet, a wireless telephone, a pager, an instant messaging device, a portable television, a portable DVD player, or a digital camera. Some portable electronic devices may be handheld, that is, sized to be held or carried in a human hand. In some embodiments, overlapping displays  100 ,  110 , and  120  may be part of a GPS, a television, a computer monitor or other device that may display images including videos and other forms of information. In some embodiments, overlapping displays  100 ,  110  and  120  may be used in touch screen applications. 
         [0012]      FIG. 2  illustrates overlapping displays and display processors in accordance with some embodiments. Displays  200 ,  210 , and  220  may each be controlled by separate processors  230 ,  240 , and  250 . In some embodiments, processors  230 ,  240 , and  250  may be physical processors. In some embodiments, processors  230 ,  240 , and  250  may be logical processors. Examples of logical processors may include multiple independent processes or threads running on a single physical processor. In some embodiments, processors  230 ,  240 , and  250  may maintain synchronized clocks. To attain synchronization, one of the processors can provide a clock signal for use by the other processors. Alternatively, a separate clock module may provide a clock signal to be shared by the processors. Alternatively, the processors may periodically update their clocks based on a comparison with a master clock to maintain synchronization. 
         [0013]    The processors may interact together, enabling one display to enhance another display, or the processors may operate independently. In some embodiments, the energy consumption of the displays may be independent of one another. In some embodiments, one or more processors may be specialized or high performance graphics processors that are suitable for handling complex images. Other processors may be less expensive processors that are suitable for handling simpler images. In some embodiments, the simpler images may be controlled by a general purpose processor of the device incorporating the overlapping displays. 
         [0014]      FIG. 3  illustrates overlapping display content, or images, in accordance with some embodiments. Display  300  may be configured to display streaming videos and display  310  may be configured to display on-screen controls. As used herein, a component is generally “configured” to perform a function when the component is capable of carrying out the function. 
         [0015]    Streaming videos may comprise a series of images, displayed at a rate sufficient to create a visual effect that simulates motion. In some embodiments, display  300  may display a background image, while display  310  may display a message, an e-mail or some other form of text. Display content may be separated so that complicated images may be processed and maintained on one display, while simple images may be processed and maintained on another display. Processing efficiencies may be realized in this manner, particularly when only the simple image is being updated. In such a case, the complex image, with its associated complex processing requirements, does not need to be redrawn since it is on a separate display. 
         [0016]    In some embodiments, the controlling processors  230 ,  240 , and  250  may permit an uninterrupted display of the streaming video  300 , while the on-screen controls  310  are being manipulated. In many cases, an uninterrupted display will be a “normal” display (from the point of view of a viewer), typically without jerks or stoppages or loss of image quality or other artifacts. Since the processing tasks associated with the various displays may be distributed among the controlling processors, the processor handling the streaming video on a particular display may not be burdened or interrupted by the need to interlace the on-screen controls onto the same display when a request is made to pause, skip, seek or play. This capability may avoid degradation of the streaming video that may be exacerbated in other conventional approaches when users attempt to manipulate on-screen controls. 
         [0017]      FIG. 4  illustrates a procedure for implementing overlapping displays in accordance with some embodiments. In the example procedure of  FIG. 4 , it is assumed for simplicity that there are two displays and both are OLED displays. Operation  410  comprises displaying a first image on a first OLED display. Operation  420  comprises displaying a second image on a second OLED display. The second OLED display may partially or completely overlap the first OLED display and may be selectively transparent to the first OLED display. The ability to adjust (i.e., control) the opacity of the individual OLED displays allows for tinting effects that may help with visibility in different lighting conditions as well as security. 
         [0018]    A variety of visual effects may be implemented with the overlapping displays. A transition effect may be created between a first image and a second image wherein the transition is a gradual changeover from one image to the other. The transition effect may comprise the fading out of a first OLED display and fading in of a second OLED display. In some embodiments, the fading in of the second OLED display may be simultaneous with the fading out of the first OLED display. In some embodiments, the first image may be associated with one application, while the second image may be associated with a different application. The first image may be optimized for work activities, while the second image may be optimized for other activities. In some embodiments the first image may be a background image and the second image may be a message, such as a text message. In some embodiments the background image may be an animation such as a changing wallpaper pattern or slideshow. A visual floating effect may be created between an image on the first OLED display and an image on the second OLED display by taking advantage of the physical spacing between the first and second OLED displays such that the second image appears to float above the first image by the distance of the physical spacing. Such an effect may create an added sense of realism and a more satisfying user experience without any additional requirement for processing power. 
         [0019]    Operation  430  comprises assigning a first processor to display the first image. A processor—which may be a logical processor or a physical processor—is assigned when the processor is responsible for or controls the displaying of image or the manner in which the image is displayed (including, but not limited to, controlling the opacity of the image). The first image displayed (operation  420 ) may be (for example) a streaming video. Operation  430  comprises assigning a second processor to display the second image. The second image displayed (operation  440 ) may be (for example) a relatively static display of on-screen controls. Note that the operations shown in  FIG. 4  need not always be carried out in the order shown. Operations  410  through  440 , for example, may be performed in any order other than that shown. 
         [0020]    Operation  450  comprises maintaining an uninterrupted display of the first image. In this example, maintain refers to maintaining video performance. The operation involves displaying both video content and video controls on separate displays to avoid impact to the video content playback performance. If carried out on a single display, there may be an impact to video performance when overlapping video controls onto video content. This involves additional processing, which may result in jitter/stutter/reduced frame rate if the processor is already struggling to display the video content alone. In a simple formula, this example recognizes that on a single display: 
         [0000]      Total Processing Power=Processing Power to combine content and controls+Processing Power to display combined content. 
         [0000]      And on multiple displays: Total Processing Power=Processing Power to display video content+Processing Power to display video control. 
         [0021]    The Processing Power utilized on multiple displays may be significantly less than on a single display since the video controls are static (not a moving video), as opposed to the amount of post-processing required to the static image with the video. 
         [0022]    Operation  460  comprises maintaining synchronized clocks between the first processor and the second processor. This may be accomplished wherein one of the processors provides a clock signal for use by the other processors. Alternatively, the processors may periodically update their clocks based on a comparison with a master clock to maintain synchronization. 
         [0023]    Operation  470  comprises maintaining independent energy consumption between the first OLED display and the second OLED display. Independent energy consumption is maintained through the separation of display content onto different displays. If one display is an LCD display, and the other a transparent OLED, there exists a difference is power consumptions between one display and another (OLED having better power consumption). By separating content, a degree of optimization can be implemented to utilize the power consumption tradeoff based on content. LCD may hold visual/performance benefits over an OLED display that would make the use of a power-hungry display more favorable for certain applications. For some arrangements of overlapping displays, if only one is used to display content, the alternative displays may be “powered down,” minimizing the power consumption. 
         [0024]      FIG. 5  illustrates overlapping displays implemented in a portable electronic device in accordance with some embodiments. Portable electronic device  500  may implement multiple overlapping displays  510  and  520 . Displays  510  and  520  may be organic light emitting diode (OLED) displays. Although two displays are presented for illustrative purposes, any number of displays may be employed. 
         [0025]    One or more of the embodiments of the concepts may realize one or more benefits, some of which have been mentioned already. Some embodiments may produce displays of images that are more aesthetically pleasing in one or more respects. For example, the display of one image (such as displaying an on-screen control) need not affect the fluidity or aesthetic appearance of another image. The absence of artifacts in one or more images may be less noticeable to a user (in comparison to artifacts that might be generated if a single processor controlled the displaying two or more images, which may be much more noticeable). Independent control of the images by independent processors, and their independent energy consumption, may result in more efficient energy usage. In the case of implementation in a handheld device, in which considerations of size and weight may be of importance, the concepts described herein can be implemented in a miniature display. The concepts herein may be further advantageous, however, in that they may be flexibly applied to devices having different purposes, sizes and shapes. 
         [0026]    Embodiments may be implemented in one, or a combination, of hardware, firmware and software. Embodiments may be implemented as instructions stored on a machine-readable storage medium, which may be read and executed by at least one processor to perform the operations described herein. The machine-readable storage medium may be realized as a computer-readable storage meduim. A machine-readable medium may include any tangible medium for storing in a form readable by a machine (e.g., a computer, a mobile wireless device that includes a controller or processor). For example, a machine-readable medium may include read-only memory (ROM), random-access memory (RAM), magnetic disk storage media, optical storage media, and flash-memory devices. 
         [0027]    The Abstract is provided to comply with 37 C.F.R. Section 1.72(b) requiring an abstract that will allow the reader to ascertain the nature and gist of the technical disclosure. It is submitted with the understanding that it will not be used to limit or interpret the scope or meaning of the claims. The following claims are hereby incorporated into the detailed description, with each claim standing on its own as a separate embodiment.