Patent Publication Number: US-2017365210-A1

Title: Garment display apparatus, displayable garment and mobile terminal

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims all benefits accruing under 35 U.S.C. §119 from China Patent Application No. 201610439363.4, field on Jun. 17, 2016 in the China Intellectual Property Office, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference. 
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present disclosure generally relates to the technical field of garment, and in particular relates to a garment display apparatus, a displayable garment and a mobile terminal. 
     BACKGROUND 
     In daily life, a style of a garment (including versions, colors, patterns on surfaces of the garment, or the like) will be specifically designed, in order to make the garment to be dressed better designed. 
     However, at present, a style of each garment is fixed, and thus a user usually buys lots of garments in different styles, in order to meet special demands on different occasions or in different environments. Furthermore, when the user needs to attend different occasions on one day, he/she needs to change many sets of garments in one day, which is troublesome and wasteful for the user. 
     SUMMARY 
     Embodiments of the present provide a garment display apparatus, a displayable garment and a mobile terminal, which can solve the technical problems of unchanged styles of the garment in the art. 
     In accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure, a garment display apparatus, and the garment display apparatus comprising: a flexible display screen attached on an external surface of a garment; and a controller configured for acquiring a display signal and controlling the flexible display screen to display an image corresponding to the display signal based on the display signal. 
     In accordance with another aspect of the present disclosure, a displayable garment is provided, wherein the displayable garment has a garment display apparatus provided thereon, and the garment display apparatus comprises a flexible display screen attached on an external surface of a garment; and a controller configured for acquiring a display signal and controlling the flexible display screen to display an image corresponding to the display signal based on the display signal. 
     In accordance with a further aspect of the present disclosure, a mobile terminal, the mobile terminal comprising: a second communication module connected to a garment display apparatus; and a processor configured for sending display data to the display apparatus of the garment via the second communication module. 
     The display apparatus of the present disclosure includes a flexible display screen and a controller, wherein the flexible display screen is attached to the external surface of the garment; the controller acquires the display signal, and controls the flexible display screen to display the image corresponding to the display signal based on the acquired display signal. The controller may control the flexible display screen to display different images based on different display signals, while the flexible display screen is attached on the external surface of the garment. Therefore, the style of the garment may be changed. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic view illustrating an embodiment of a garment display apparatus according to the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic view illustrating an application of the garment display apparatus shown in  FIG. 1  to a shoe. 
         FIG. 3  is a schematic view illustrating an application of the garment display apparatus shown in  FIG. 1  to a shirt. 
         FIG. 4  is a structural view illustrating an embodiment of a displayable garment according to the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 5  is a schematic view illustrating an embodiment of a mobile terminal apparatus according to the present disclosure. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       FIG. 1  is a schematic view illustrating an embodiment of a garment display apparatus according to the present disclosure. As is shown in  FIG. 1 , the display apparatus  100  may include a flexible display screen  11  and a controller  12 . 
     The display apparatus  100  may be applied to a garment. The garment may be a single item for daily wearing such as a cap, a shirt, a glove, a tie, a bow tie, trousers, a shoe, a belt, a handbag, or the like. It is possible for the garment to be a certain single item; however, it may also be possible for the garment to be a plurality of single items. The flexible display screen  11  of the display apparatus  100  may be attached onto an external surface of the garment for displaying different images, in such a way that it is possible to change the style of the garment. 
     The flexible display screen  11  may be attached onto an external surface of the garment. The attachment may be achieved in many ways such as adhering, stitching, completely attaching, partially attaching, or the like. With the development of the flexible display screen technology, the flexible display screen  11  becomes thinner and thinner, and can be freely bent as if papers. When completely attached on the external surface of the garment, the flexible display screen  11  may be attached on the external surface of the garment in any shape. Further, the flexible display screen  11  may be deformed along with shape deformation of the external surface of the garment; for example, when the flexible display screen  11  is completely attached on the external surface of the garment, the softness of the garment will not be changed. 
     In one embodiment, by using the flexible display screen to display, the garment may have different kinds of styles; by attaching the flexible display screen  11  on the external surface of the garment, others may directly see what the flexible display screen  11  displays. The external surface is the surface of the garment that is away from the body; correspondingly, the internal surface is the surface of the garment that is close to the body. 
     The controller  12  is used for controlling the flexible display screen  11  to display images. Specifically, the controller  12  acquires a display signal, and controls the flexible display screen  11  to display an image corresponding to the display signal based on the display signal. The image described here may be a static image or a dynamic image. 
     The controller  12  may acquire the display signal in many ways, and certain examples will be described below. 
     The display apparatus  100  may further comprise a first communication module  13  connected to the controller  12 , and the display apparatus  100  may be connected to a mobile terminal via the first communication module  13 . The mobile terminal is configured for generating the display signal. 
     The first communication module  13  may be implemented as a wireless connection module such as a WiFi module, a Bluetooth module, or the like, and the display apparatus  100  is connected to the mobile terminal via a wireless connection. After the mobile terminal generates a display signal, the display signal is sent to the display apparatus  100  via the wireless connection. The controller  12  of the display apparatus  100  acquires the display signal via the first communication module  13 , and controls the flexible display screen  11  to display the corresponding image based on the display signal. 
     Further, it is also possible for the mobile terminal to generate the display signal in many ways. For example, the mobile terminal may automatically generate the display signal, that is, the mobile terminal may be triggered to automatically select a certain image itself based on a signal detected by a hardware detector, and in turn generate the display signal corresponding to the image. However, the mobile terminal may also generate the display signal artificially; that is, a user may select an image via an APP, and then an instruction of selecting the image is generated, and the mobile terminal generates a display signal corresponding to the selected image based on the instruction. In this case, it is possible for the image to be stored locally, or stored in the network cloud. 
     In a further embodiment, the display apparatus  100  may include an environmental detector  14  configured for acquiring environmental data. The controller  12  may acquire the display signal based on the environmental data, and in turn control the flexible display screen  11  to display the image corresponding to the environmental data based on the display signal. 
     The environmental detector  14  may be configured for acquiring the environmental data, and generally arranged on the external surface of the garment. The environmental detector  14  may be implemented as a temperature detector, a light detector, a humidity detector, a camera device, a positioning device, or the like. 
     When the environmental detector  14  is a temperature detector, it can detect the temperature in the environment. In this case, different preset patterns corresponding to different environmental temperature may be set. When a certain environmental temperature is detected, the preset pattern corresponding thereto may be selected to display. In specific, when it is cold, the flexible display screen  11  may be controlled to display the pattern in dark color. Likewise, the light detector or the humidity detector may have similar configurations. 
     When the environmental detector  14  is a camera device, it can take a photograph of surroundings, and analyze contents in the photograph; in this way, the current scene will be known. In this case, the user needs to take some distinctive photographs artificially; for example, when corporate logos or office tables have been photographed, it can be known that the user is in a business occasion at present; however, when dining tables or wines have been photographed, it can be known that the user is in a restaurant at present. It may be also possible for the camera device to automatically photograph for a period of time, in order to acquire more data, and thus it is possible to determine the current occasion more accurately. After the occasion is known, it is possible to select and display the preset image corresponding to the occasion. 
     It is also possible to display different preset images corresponding to different occasions by means of the positioning device. That is, the environmental detector  14  is now a positioning device. The positioning device can get to know which hotel or which office building the user is located in, and further determine the current occasion. 
     The environmental detector  14  may be the temperature detector, a light detector, a humidity detector, a camera device, a positioning device, or any combination thereof. 
     After the environmental detector  14  acquires the environmental data, the controller  12  acquires the display signal based on the environmental data. In one embodiment, it is possible for the controller  12  to acquire the display signal from the display apparatus  100  itself based on the environmental data; in this case, the display apparatus  100  stores locally the display signal corresponding to the environmental data. 
     In a further embodiment, it is also possible for the controller  12  to acquire the display signal from other apparatuses based on the environmental data. In that case, the display apparatus  100  may include the first communication module  13 , and is connected to the mobile terminal via the first communication module  13 . After acquiring the environmental data, the environmental detector  14  sends the environmental data to the mobile terminal. The mobile terminal generates the display signal corresponding to the environmental data based on the environmental data. As is described above, the mobile terminal may generate the display signal automatically or artificially. After that, the controller  12  acquires the display signal from the mobile terminal. 
     The first communication module  13  may be implemented as a wireless connection module; the display apparatus  100  may be directly connected to the internet via the wireless connection module, and the controller  12  may acquire the display signal corresponding to the environmental data from the database of the Internet based on the environmental data. In this case, the database may be a cloud database established by an individual or by the public, and preset images and the correspondence between the preset images and the environmental data are stored therein. In order to ensure that the data is safe and valid, adaptation verification may be performed when the display apparatus  100  is connected to the database for the first time. 
     After acquiring the display signal, the controller  12  controls the flexible display screen  11  to display the preset image corresponding to the environmental data based on the display signal. 
     The display apparatus  100  may further include a human body detector  15  configured for acquiring human body data; the controller  12  acquires the display signal based on the human body data, the controller  12  acquires the display signal based on the human body data and controls the flexible display screen  11  to display the preset image corresponding to the human body data based on the display signal. 
     The human body detector  15  is configured for acquiring the human body data, and may be positioned on the internal surface of the garment in general since the human body detector  15  needs to detect skin, heart rate, temperature, blood pressure of the human body, or the like. Correspondingly, the human body detector  15  may be implemented as a skin detector, a heart rate detector, a temperature detector, a blood pressure detector, or any combination thereof. 
     When the human body detector  15  is a skin detector, the skin tone of the human body can be detected. In this case, different preset patterns corresponding to different skin tones may be set. When a certain skin tone is detected, the corresponding preset pattern may be selected to display. For example, when the skin tone is warm-toned, the flexible display screen  11  is controlled to display a warm-toned pattern. 
     When the human body detector  15  is a heart rate detector, the heart rate can be detected, and the mood of the user can be determined based on the heart rate. In this case, different preset patterns corresponding to different moods may be set. When the user is determined to be in a certain mood, the corresponding preset pattern may be selected to display. The human body detector  15  may meanwhile further include a temperature detector or a blood pressure detector, and may detect the heart rate, the temperature, and the blood pressure at the same time. In this way, the mood determined by the human body detector is more accurate. 
     After the human body detector  15  acquires the human body data, the controller  12  acquires the display signal based on the human body data. Similar to the situation of acquiring the display signal based on the environmental data, the controller  12  may also acquire the display signal from the display apparatus  100  itself based on the human body data, and it will not be repeated any more here. 
     The display apparatus  100  may further include a flexible touch screen  16  arranged on a display surface of the flexible display screen  11  and configured for receiving a touch instruction. The controller  12  may be connected to the flexible touch screen, acquire the touch instruction, and perform corresponding operations on the flexible display screen  11  based on the touch instruction. 
     With the development of technology, the flexible touch screen  16  may be freely bent. The flexible touch screen  16  may be arranged on the display surface of the flexible display screen  11 , and attached onto the external surface of the garment along with the flexible display screen  11 , without limiting the shape of the garment. 
     The user may input touch operations on the flexible touch screen  16 , and thus the touch instruction may be generated. The controller  12  may acquire the touch instruction, control and perform corresponding operations on the flexible display screen  11 , and thus visual interaction may be achieved via the flexible display screen  11 . 
     The user may select the image to be displayed via the flexible touch screen  16  and the flexible display screen  11 , and thus a display image instruction may be generated; the controller  12  then controls the flexible display screen  11  to display the selected image based on the instruction. 
     The ways in which the controller  12  acquires the display signal described above do not conflict with each other, and thus these ways may exist in the display apparatus  100  at the same time, or parts of them may be selected to use in the display apparatus  100  as required. When the controller  12  of the display apparatus  100  uses a plurality of ways to acquire the display signal, these ways are implemented at the same time. In this case, priorities may be set; for example, the way of acquiring the human body data may have the highest priority, and followed by the way of acquiring the display signal based on the environmental data. The priorities of these ways may be fixedly set, or may be customized by the user himself/herself. 
     The display apparatus  100  shown in  FIG. 1  comprises the first communication module  13 , the environmental detector  14 , the human body detector  15  and the flexible touch screen  16 . However, in other embodiments, the display apparatus may comprise some components selecting from the group of components consisting of the first communication module  13 , the environmental detector  14 , the human body detector  15  and the flexible touch screen  16 . 
     The display apparatus  100  may further comprise a power source. The power source may be a thin-film battery which can be attached onto the surface of the garment. 
     The display apparatus  100  described above may be applied to the garment. In this embodiment, the display apparatus  100  is applied to a shoe, and  FIG. 2  is a schematic view illustrating the application of the garment display apparatus shown in  FIG. 1  to the shoe. 
     The garment includes a shoe  200 . The flexible display screen  11  is attached on an upper  21  of the shoe  200 , and the controller  12  is arranged in a heel  22  or a sole  23  of the shoe  200 . It is conceivable that the power source of the display apparatus  100  may also be arranged in the heel  22  or the sole  23 . 
     The manufacturing of the shoe  200  generally includes the following processes: attaching the flexible display screen  11  on the upper  21  of the shoe  200 , and arranging the controller  12  in the heel  22  or the sole  23  of the shoe  200 . That is, the products leaving the factory is the shoe  200  having the display apparatus  100  arranged therein. 
     The shoe  200  may be manufactured by using the  3 D printing technology to form a main body of the shoe, and a cavity having an opening is formed in the heel  22  or the sole  23 . After that, the flexible display screen  11  of the display apparatus  100  is attached on the upper  21  of the shoe  200 , and the controller  12  is arranged in the cavity of the heel  22  or the sole  23 . Finally, the opening of the cavity is sealed. 
     The flexible display screen  11  may be attached to the whole upper  21 , and the display content of the flexible display screen  11  is the appearance of the shoe  200 . The shoe shown in  FIG. 2  is a high-heeled shoe, and the controller  12  is in generally arranged in the heel  22 . However, for a flat shoe, the controller  12  may be arranged in the sole  23 . Connecting wires between the controller  12  and the flexible display screen  11  may be embedded in the upper  21  or the sole  23 . 
     When the display apparatus  100  further comprises the first communication module  13 , the environmental detector  14 , the human body detector  15  or the flexible touch screen  16 , generally, the first communication module  13  is arranged in the heel  22  or the sole  23 , the environmental detector  14  is arranged on the upper  21 , and the flexible touch screen  16  is arranged on the display surface of the flexible display screen  11 . 
     In general, there is no need to arrange the human body detector  15  on the display apparatus  100  when the display apparatus  100  is applied to the shoe. The display apparatus  100  having the human body detector  15  is more widely used in the clothes or the gloves. 
     When the display apparatus  100  is provided with the first communication module  13 , the display apparatus  100  may be connected to the mobile terminal via the first communication module  13 . In this case, the user may acquire the style of the garment via the mobile terminal, and the display signal is then generated based on the style; after that, the controller  12  controls the flexible display screen  11  to display the image corresponding to the style. 
     In specific, after selecting the clothes and needing to select the shoes go with the clothes, the user can acquire the style of the selected clothes (including its color, pattern, or the like) via a camera of the mobile terminal. The image of the shoe  200  to be displayed is determined based on the acquired pattern, and the corresponding display signal is generated. The controller  12  may acquire the display signal from the mobile terminal via the first communication module  13 , and control the flexible display screen  11  to display the image corresponding to the styles based on the display signal. 
       FIG. 3  is a schematic view illustrating an application of the garment display apparatus shown in  FIG. 1  to a shirt. As is shown in  FIG. 3 , when the display apparatus  100  is used in the shirt, the garment includes a shirt  300 . The flexible display screen  11  is attached on an external surface  31  of the shirt  300 , while the controller  12  may be arranged under a collar  32  of the shirt  300 . In other cases, it may also be possible to provide an interlining in the shirt  300  for the arrangement of the controller  12 . The manufacturing and display controlling ways of the shirt  300  are similar to those of the shoe  200 , and will not be repeated any more. 
     The display apparatus of the present disclosure includes a flexible display screen and a controller, wherein the flexible display screen is attached to the external surface of the garment; the controller may acquire the display signal in many ways, and control the flexible display screen to display the image corresponding to the display signal based on the acquired display signal. The controller may control the flexible display screen to display different images based on different display signals, while the flexible display screen is attached on the external surface of the garment. Therefore, it is possible to change the style of the garment. 
       FIG. 4  is a structural view illustrating an embodiment of a displayable garment according to the present disclosure. As is shown in  FIG. 4 , the garment  400  of the present embodiment is provided with a display apparatus  41 . The display apparatus  41  is similar to the display apparatus  100  described above, and will not be repeated any more. 
     The display apparatus  41  may be arranged on the garment  400  during the manufacturing processes of the garment  400 . However, it is also possible that the finished garment  400  is acquired during the manufacturing processes, and the display apparatus  41  is arranged on the finished garment  400  by means of adhering, stitching, or the like. 
     For example, when the garment  400  is a shoe, the display apparatus  41  may be mounted on the shoe during the manufacturing processes, and the finished product leaving the factory is a shoe having the display apparatus  41  arranged therein. However, it may be also possible to manufacture the shoe and the display apparatus  41  individually, and to arrange the display apparatus on the shoe by operations (such as attaching) of the customer. 
     Furthermore, for the garment  400  having the display apparatus  41  arranged therein, in order to keep the garment clean, it is also possible to coat a layer of transparent nano material onto the surface of the garment  400  after the display apparatus  41  has been arranged on the garment  400 . In this way, the garment is more stain-resistant. 
     In a further embodiment, the displayable garment of the present disclosure may be provided with the display apparatus. By displaying different image via the display apparatus, it is possible to change the style of the garment. 
       FIG. 5  is a schematic view illustrating an embodiment of a mobile terminal apparatus according to the present disclosure. As is shown in  FIG. 5 , the mobile terminal  500  of the present embodiment may comprise a second communication module  51  and a processor  52 . The term “second” used in the “second communication module  51 ” is only used for distinguishing from the first communication module  13  of the display apparatus  100  described above, and is not used for limiting that the mobile terminal  500  includes two communication modules. 
     The second communication module  51  is configured for connecting to the display apparatus of the garment, and the processor  52  is configured for sending display data to the display apparatus of the garment via the second communication module  51 . 
     The display data to be sent needs to be determined before it is sent by the processor  52  of the mobile terminal  500 . The determination can be carried out in many ways. 
     The user inputs image selecting instruction via an input apparatus (such as a physical keyboard, a touch panel, speech recognition, or the like) of the mobile terminal, and the processor  52  acquires the display data corresponding to the selected image in response to the instruction. After that, the processor  52  may send the display apparatus to the garment automatically or based on the instruction of the user. 
     During the processes described above, an image database may be established in the mobile terminal  500 , in such a way that the user may access to the database and select the image he/she needs. The image database may be store locally or in the cloud. 
     It may be also possible for the mobile terminal  500  to classify the image database, and different garments have different databases. When the mobile terminal  500  is connected to the display apparatus of the garment, the information of the garment may be acquired; that is, it can be ensured that whether the garments are clothes or other kinds of garments. After receiving the information of the garment, the mobile terminal  500  loads in or connects to the corresponding database, in such a way that the user may directly select the required pattern in the corresponding database of the clothes or the shoes. 
     When an environmental detector or a human body detector is arranged on the garment, the mobile terminal  500  may acquire environmental information from the environmental detector, or acquire human body data from the human body detector. The processor  52  may automatically acquire the corresponding display information based on the environmental information or the human body data, and send the display information to the display apparatus automatically or based on the user instructions. 
     3) The mobile terminal  500  may further comprise a camera  53  configured for acquiring external information. The processor  52  may acquire the display data corresponding to the external information based on the external information, and send the display data to the display apparatus of the garment via the second communication module  51 . 
     The mobile terminal of the present disclosure may control the display of the display apparatus on the displayable garment, and thus it is possible to change the style of the garment. 
     The above description depicts merely some exemplary embodiments of the disclosure, but does not mean to limit the scope of the disclosure. Any equivalent structure or flow transformations made to the disclosure, or any direct or indirect applications of the disclosure on other related fields, shall all be covered within the protection of the disclosure.