Source: https://patents.google.com/patent/EP2282491A1/en
Timestamp: 2019-11-20 18:33:33
Document Index: 732283238

Matched Legal Cases: ['arty 820', 'art 1120', 'arts 1160', 'arts 1160', 'arts 1160', 'art 1170', 'art 1160', 'art 1170', 'art 1170', 'art 1170', 'art 1170', 'art 1340']

EP2282491A1 - Terminal, in particular mobile terminal having an LED backlight unit - Google Patents
Terminal, in particular mobile terminal having an LED backlight unit Download PDF
EP2282491A1
EP2282491A1 EP10004282A EP10004282A EP2282491A1 EP 2282491 A1 EP2282491 A1 EP 2282491A1 EP 10004282 A EP10004282 A EP 10004282A EP 10004282 A EP10004282 A EP 10004282A EP 2282491 A1 EP2282491 A1 EP 2282491A1
EP10004282A
EP2282491B1 (en
2009-07-20 Priority to KR1020090065820A priority Critical patent/KR101632209B1/en
2009-07-20 Priority to KR1020090065821A priority patent/KR101658546B1/en
2010-04-22 Application filed by LG Electronics Inc filed Critical LG Electronics Inc
2011-02-09 Publication of EP2282491A1 publication Critical patent/EP2282491A1/en
2016-11-30 Publication of EP2282491B1 publication Critical patent/EP2282491B1/en
238000005286 illumination Methods 0 abstract description 50
241000287532 Colaptes Species 0 description 4
A terminal, in particular mobile terminal having a display unit provided with an LED backlight and controlling method thereof are disclosed. The present invention includes a housing, a display unit including a liquid crystal display provided to one side of the housing, and a backlight unit including a plurality of light emitting diodes for a backlight provided to a backside of the liquid crystal display and a control unit controlling the backlight unit to selectively adjust brightness of the light emitting diodes in part. Accordingly, a mobile terminal according to at least one of embodiments of the present invention controls light emission of an LED backlight locally, thereby providing more various display visual effects. And, a mobile terminal according to one embodiment of the present invention is able to use at least one portion of the light emitted from an LED BLU of a display unit as an illumination of a main body without using a separate light source for external illumination. Moreover, the illumination of the main body is able to play a role as a transmitter in a visible light communication.
This application claims the benefit of earlier filing date and right of priority to Korean Application Nos. 10-2009-0065820 and 10-2009-0065821, both filed on July 20, 2009 , the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein in their entirety.
The present invention relates to a terminal, in particular mobile terminal and controlling method thereof, and more particularly, to a terminal, in particular mobile terminal having a display unit provided with an LED backlight.
Generally, terminals can be classified into mobile/portable terminals and stationary terminals according to mobility. The mobile terminals can be classified into handheld terminals and vehicle mount terminals according to user's handheld portability.
To achieve these objects and other advantages and in accordance with the purpose of the invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, a mobile terminal according to the present invention includes a housing, a display unit including a liquid crystal display provided to one side of the housing and a backlight unit including a plurality of light emitting diodes for a backlight provided to a backside of the liquid crystal display, and a control unit controlling the backlight unit to selectively adjust brightness of the light emitting diodes in part.
In another aspect of the present invention, a mobile terminal includes a display unit including a liquid crystal display (LCD) and a backlight unit including a plurality of light emitting diodes provided to a backside of the liquid crystal display, at least one light-transmissive region formed of a light-transmissive material to enable at least one portion of a light emitted from a plurality of the light emitting diodes to pass through externally, and a control unit controlling at least one of a brightness and a flickering pattern of the light emitting diode located at a position corresponding to at least one external illumination part among a plurality of the light emitting diodes to be changed to cause a prescribed visual effect to each of the at least one external illumination part when a prescribed function is executed.
In another aspect of the present invention a mobile terminal according to the present invention includes a housing, a display unit including a liquid crystal display provided to one side of the housing and a backlight including a plurality of light emitting diodes for a backlight provided to a backside of the liquid crystal display, and a control unit, in order for a prescribed data to be externally delivered by a visible light communication (VLC) scheme, controlling at least one portion of a plurality of the light emitting diodes to flicker to correspond to the prescribed data.
In this case, the mobile terminal further includes at least one selected from the group consisting of a prism, reflector, diffusing place, lens, optical fiber and a light guide plate to deliver the light generated from a plurality of the light emitting diodes to the light-transmissive region.
Preferably, the mobile terminal further includes a receiving unit using an optical device converting an externally received flickering signal of a visible ray band to an electric signal. In this case, the control unit is able to control the electric signal to be recovered into a digital data.
In a further aspect of the present invention, a method of controlling a mobile terminal includes the steps of determining a data to be transmitted by a visible light communication (VLC), converting the determined data to a prescribed pulse signal, and enabling at least one portion of a plurality of light emitting diodes (LED) configuring a backlight unit (BLU) of a display unit to emit light to correspond to the pulse signal.
FIG. 7 is a diagram of a process that a light generated from an LED BLU arrives at an outer case formed of a light-transmissive material according to another embodiment of the present invention;
First of all, the wireless communication unit 110 typically includes one or more components, which permits wireless communication between the mobile terminal 100 and a wireless communication system or network within which the mobile terminal 100 is located. For instance, the wireless communication unit 110 can include a broadcast receiving module 111, a mobile communication module 112, a wireless Internet module 113, a short-range communication module 114, a position-location module 115 and the like.
The broadcast managing server generally refers to a server, which generates and transmits a broadcast signal and/or broadcast associated information or a server, which is provided with a previously generated broadcast signal and/or broadcast associated information and then transmits the provided signal or information to a terminal. The broadcast signal may be implemented as a TV broadcast signal, a radio broadcast signal, and a data broadcast signal, among others. If desired, the broadcast signal may further include a broadcast signal combined with a TV or radio broadcast signal.
The display 151 is typically implemented to visually display (output) information associated with the mobile terminal 100. For instance, if the mobile terminal is operating in a phone call mode, the display will generally provide a user interface (UI) or graphical user interface (GUI) which includes information associated with placing, conducting, and terminating a phone call. As another example, if the mobile terminal 100 is in a video call mode or a photographing mode, the display 151 may additionally or alternatively display images, which are associated with these modes, the UI or the GUI.
The display module 151 may be implemented using known display technologies including, for example, a liquid crystal display (LCD), a thin film transistor-liquid crystal display (TFT-LCD), an organic light emitting diode display (OLED), a flexible display and a three-dimensional display. The mobile terminal 100 may include one or more of such displays.
In case that the display 151 and a sensor for detecting a touch action (hereinafter called 'touch sensor') configures a mutual layer structure (hereinafter called 'touch screen'), it is able to use the display 151 as an input device as well as an output device. In this case, the touch sensor can be configured as a touch film, a touch sheet, a touchpad or the like.
Referring to FIG. 1, a proximity sensor (not shown in the drawing) can be provided to an internal area of the mobile terminal 100 enclosed by the touch screen or around the touch screen. The proximity sensor is the sensor that detects a presence or non-presence of an object approaching a prescribed detecting surface or an object existing around the proximity sensor using an electromagnetic field strength or infrared ray without mechanical contact. Hence, the proximity sensor has durability longer than that of a contact type sensor and also has utility wider than that of the contact type sensor.
The proximity sensor can include one of a transmissive photoelectric sensor, a direct reflective photoelectric sensor, a mirror reflective photoelectric sensor, a radio frequency oscillation proximity sensor, an electrostatic capacity proximity sensor, a magnetic proximity sensor, an infrared proximity sensor and the like. In case that the touch screen includes the electrostatic capacity proximity sensor, it is configured to detect the proximity of a pointer using a variation of electric field according to the proximity of the pointer. In this case, the touch screen (touch sensor) can be classified as the proximity sensor.
In the following description, for clarity, an action that a pointer approaches without contacting with the touch screen to be recognized as located on the touch screen is named 'proximity touch'. And, an action that a pointer actually touches the touch screen is named 'contact touch'. The meaning of the position on the touch screen proximity-touched by the pointer means the position of the pointer, which vertically opposes the touch screen when the pointer performs the proximity touch.
The proximity sensor detects a proximity touch and a proximity touch pattern (e.g., a proximity touch distance, a proximity touch duration, a proximity touch position, a proximity touch shift state, etc.). And, information corresponding to the detected proximity touch action and the detected proximity touch pattern can be outputted to the touch screen.
In particular, the projector module 155 can include a light source (not shown in the drawing) generating light (e.g., laser) for projecting an image externally, an image producing means (not shown in the drawing) for producing an image to output externally using the light generated from the light source, and a lens (not shown in the drawing) for enlarging to output the image externally in a predetermined focus distance. And, the projector module 155 can further include a device (not shown in the drawing) for adjusting an image-projected direction by mechanically moving the lens or the whole module.
The memory unit 160 is generally used to store various types of data to support the processing, control, and storage requirements of the mobile terminal 100. Examples of such data include program instructions for applications operating on the mobile terminal 100, contact data, phonebook data, messages, audio, still pictures, moving pictures, etc. And, a recent use history or a cumulative use frequency of each data (e.g., use frequency for each phonebook, each message or each multimedia) can be stored in the memory unit 160. Moreover, data for various patterns of vibration and/or sound outputted in case of a touch input to the touch screen can be stored in the memory unit 160.
Moreover, the controller 180 is able to perform a pattern recognizing process for recognizing a writing input and a picture drawing input carried out on the touch screen as characters or images, respectively.
A touchpad 135 for detecting a touch can be additionally provided to the rear case 102. The touchpad 135 can be configured in a light-transmissive type like the display 151. In this case, if the display 151 is configured to output visual information from its both faces, it is able to recognize the visual information via the touchpad 135 as well. The information outputted from both of the faces can be entirely controlled by the touchpad 135. Alternatively, a display is further provided to the touchpad 135 so that a touch screen can be provided to the rear case 102 as well.
FIG. 3 shows that a touch-applied to a soft key is inputted through a front face of a terminal body.
For instance, an output window 151a and an input window 151b are displayed on the display 151. A soft key 151c representing a digit for inputting a phone number or the like is outputted to the input window 151b. If the soft key 151c is touched, a digit corresponding to the touched soft key is outputted to the output window 151a. If the first manipulating unit 131 is manipulated, a call connection for the phone number displayed on the output window 151a is attempted.
Meanwhile, in the manipulation of a touch screen, 'pointer' or 'cursor' is frequently used as an arrow mark indicating a specific position by being displayed on a display unit. In this disclosure, in order to discriminate 'pointer' and 'cursor' from each other, a figure or the like, which is displayed on a display unit to indicate a specific position, is named 'cursor'. And, a user's finger, a stylus pen or the like, which is used to physically apply a contact touch or a proximity touch to a specific point of a touch screen, is named 'pointer'.
Generally, a liquid crystal display (hereinafter abbreviated LCD) is used as the display unit 151 of the mobile terminal 100. LCD is a non-light emitting electronic display device failing to emit light by itself. In order to implement good quality of vivid and natural colors of a moving picture, the LCD needs an additional light source. For this, a backlight plays a role as the light source. In order to apply light from a backside of the LCD, provided is a complex structure including a light source, a power circuit for driving the light source and a series of parts for generating a planar light. This complex structure is named a backlight unit (hereinafter abbreviated BLU).
First of all, the direct type is explained. The direct type BLU is mostly characterized in that a light source for applying light to an LCD panel is located at a position for directly applying light from a backside of the LCD panel. The direct type BLU can include a backlight lamp as a light source, a reflector for reflecting light of the backlight lamp and a diffusing plate for diffusing the reflected light evenly.
Secondly, the edge type is explained. The edge type BLU is mostly characterized in that a light source is located at a lateral side of an LCD panel. Light generated from the light source located at the lateral side is applied as a planar light to the LCD panel via a light guide plate for carrying the light. The edge type is more advantageous than the direct type in slimness.
Cold cathode fluorescent lamp (CCFL) has mainly been used as the backlight lamp that is a core part of the BLU. The cold cathode fluorescent lamp includes a glass tube having its inner side coated with a fluorescent material. Electrodes are attached to both ends of the glass tube. And, high-pressure mixed gas and Hg of constant quantity are enclosed within the glass tube. If a power is applied to the cold cathode fluorescent lamp, electrons from the electrode collide with Hg to generate UV ray. The generated UV ray reacts with the fluorescent material to generate visible rays.
Recently, the cold cathode fluorescent lamp is being replaced by a light emitting diode (hereinafter abbreviated LED), which is a semiconductor device using effect of electric field light emission. A BLU adopting the LED is more advantageous than the CCFL BLU in low power consumption, high color reproducibility and excellent response speed.
According to one embodiment of the present invention, a mobile terminal and controlling method thereof are provided, by which a prescribed visual effect can be generated in a manner of locally controlling a dimming of an LED BLU (light emitting diode backlight unit) of a display.
Referring to (a) of FIG. 4, LEDs are arranged in a check shape to construct a direct type BLU. If this BLU structure is used, brightness or flickering of each of the LEDs is individually controlled by the controller 180 to cause a prescribed visual effect according to a local brightness difference, or a light emitting pattern difference on the display unit 151 provided over the BLU.
For instance, referring to (b) of FIG. 4, it is able to cause a visual effect according to a touched point or a trace of a touch in a manner that LEDs located right below a portion of the touch screen 151, to which the touch is applied, are controlled to be brighter than others around the corresponding LEDs. In doing so, if the brightness of LEDs located farther from the touch-applied portion is controlled to decrease gradually, it is able to obtain a visual effect of natural gradation.
For another instance, in consideration of saving a power consumption attributed to light emission of a backlight, it is able to dim down or turn off LED located right below a point touched with such a pointer as a finger, a stylus pen and the like. This is because the touched point is blocked by the pointer itself. In doing so, the controller 180 controls LEDs around the other LEDs located right below the touched point to get brighter than their surrounding.
In case that the touch screen 151 is able to discriminatively recognize a contact touch and a proximity touch (e.g., in case of an electrostatic touch screen), it is able to differently set a brightness of a contact touch-applied case to differ from a brightness of a proximity touch-applied case. In case that a proximity of a pointer is detected on the touch screen 151 capable of recognizing a proximity touch, the controller 180 is able to generate a visual effect attributed to the proximity of the pointer in a manner of dimming up the LEDs related to illumination of a pointer proximate point to be brighter than their surrounding. Moreover, in case that the touch screen 151 is able to recognize a proximity distance from the pointer according to a plurality of steps, the controller 180 enables LEDs corresponding to the proximity point to be emit more light than LEDs corresponding to a region except the proximity point if the pointer get closer to the touch screen 151.
For another instance, referring to (c) of FIG. 4, when a plurality of shortcut icons are displayed on the display unit 151, it is able to adjust brightness of an LED located at a position corresponding to each of a plurality of the shortcut icons in order of a decreasing preference. In particular, the brightness of the LED corresponding to a position, at which the icon 710 having the highest preference is displayed, is controlled to be brightest. And, the icon 720 having a relatively high preference can be controlled to get dimmer than the former icon 710 having the highest preference but brighter than the normal icons. Moreover, it is able to control the LEDs locally in a manner that the icon 730 having a low preference is dimmer than the icons having normal preferences. Thus, a method of applying brightness or flickering differently or locally is applicable to a menu configured with text as well as the icons.
In (a) of FIG. 5, shown is a BLU LED of a direct type using a plurality of LEDs arranged in a prescribed array. In (b) of FIG. 5, shown is a configuration of a display 151 of an LCD placed over an LED BLU. Referring to (b) of FIG. 5, a plurality of indicators 810 including a reception sensitivity, a battery status and the like are arranged at the top side of the display 151. An information 820 on a phone icon indicating an activated call status according to a use of a call function and a call correspondent party is displayed in the middle part of the display 151. And, a plurality of menus 830 related to the all function are displayed on a bottom side of the display 151.
In this case, using the local dimming of the LED BLU, it is able to deliver information more clearly in a manner of controlling the LEDs corresponding to the parts having the icon and menu text displayed thereon to get bright and controlling the LEDS corresponding to the rest of the parts to get dimmer than the former LEDs. For instance, the controller 180 controls the LED 801 corresponding to the indicator 810, the LED 802 corresponding to the information on the phone icon and the call correspondent party 820 and the LED 803 corresponding to the menu 830 to get bright. The rest of the LEDs are dimmed down or turned off, whereby information necessary for a user can be clearly displayed on the display 151. Moreover, it is able to obtain a power saving effect.
Meanwhile, in order to provide a bigger power saving effect, the mobile terminal according to the present invention is able to perform a power saving function of gradually decreasing brightness of a whole BLU at an occurring time of a specific event or in proportion to a time of having no input from a user via the user input unit 130. In this case, the specific event includes one of an arrival of a message or email, an incoming voice or video call, an expiration of a preset alarm time and the like for example. Exceptionally, an LED corresponding to a region for displaying a watch frequently checked by a user can be set not to have a power saving function applied thereto or to emit light at a constant brightness all the time.
The application of the above-described local dimming is non-limited by an indicator, an icon or a menu. And, the local dimming is applicable to any object that needs to be emphasized more than other parts. For instance, when a short text message or an email is checked, it is able to locally control the light emission of the LED to enable a touched row to be seen bright. In case of reading an e-book, it is able to control the light emission of the LED in a manner that a touched paragraph is seen brighter than other paragraphs. In case of reading a webpage, it is able to control the light emission of the LED in a manner that a touched block is seen brighter than the rest of the webpage.
Moreover, a relative brightness of a position, size, and/or controlled part of the local dimming can be customized by a user.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, provided is a mobile terminal and controlling method thereof, by which at least one portion of light generated from an LED BLU of a display unit can be used as an illumination of a main body instead of using a separate light emitting device for the illumination.
The LED BLU is designed to have a structure capable of applying light generated from a normal LED to a backside of an LCD evenly. And, it is able to apply at least one portion of the light generated from this LED BLU to an inner wall of an outer case (i.e., a housing) of a mobile terminal as well as to the LCD. In this case, the inner wall, to which the light generated from the LED BLU is applied, can be formed of a light-transmissive material enabling at least one portion of the light, which arrives at the inner wall, to pass through itself. Thus, it is able to cause an illumination effect to the mobile terminal externally using the light generated from the LED BLU without the separate light emitting device for illumination. This is explained with reference to FIG. 6 and FIG. 7.
First of all, in order to achieve an illumination effect using the light generated from an LED BLU, a light-transmissive material can be used for a side face 910 of the mobile terminal 100 [(a) of FIG. 6], or for an edge 920 of a display unit 151 [(b) of FIG. 6]. Moreover, a light-transmissive material can be used for a prescribed region 930 of a backside of a mobile terminal 100 [(c) of FIG. 6]. According to the present invention, a location of the light-transmissive material enabling the light generated from the LED BLU to be used as an external illumination is non-limited by the location described with reference to FIG. 6 but can include a combination of at least two of the respective locations.
In the following description, explained is an example of a process that a light generated from an LED BLU arrives at an outer case formed of a light-transmissive material.
FIG. 7 is a diagram of a process that a light generated from an LED BLU arrives at an outer case including at least one part formed of a light-transmissive material according to another embodiment of the present invention.
First of all, to enable the light generated from an LED BLU to reach an inner wall formed of a light-transmissive material provided to a prescribed position of another case, it is able to use a prism 1000 shown in (a) of FI. 7. In this case, the prism 1000 is able to change a propagation direction of an externally incident light by having it reflected internally. If the prism is placed in a suitable form in consideration of a position relative to the LED BLU provided within a mobile terminal, a portion of the light generated from the LED BLU can reach the light-transmissive material of the outer case to provide an illumination effect.
In (b) of FIG. 7, it is assumed that a case where an outer case of a mobile terminal includes an upper plate and a lower plate 102. And, assume that a direct type LED BLU 1005 is provided as a backlight to a backside of an LCD 151. The light generated from an LED 1010 located at an edge of the LED BLU 1005 including a plurality of LEDs changes its propagation direction via a prism 1000 and is then able to arrive at a light-transmissive material 1030 around the LCD 151 or a light-transmissive material 1040 located at one lateral side of an outer wall. The LED BLU can be constructed to have a structure for delivering the light of LED in a direction opponent to the LCD directly/indirectly. In this case, it is able to cause an illumination effect through a light-transmissive material 1050 located at the backside of the mobile terminal.
A means for adjusting a direction of the light generated from the LED BLU is non-limited by the above described prism but can include such a means for changing a propagation direction of light as a reflector, a diffusing plate, a light guide plate (LGP), an optical fiber and the like.
The external illumination adopting the above described backlight LED is able to cause various visual effects by interconnecting to a prescribed function or event executed in the mobile terminal 100. This is explained with reference to FIG. 8 as follows.
Referring to (a) of FIG. 8, portions 1110 and 1120 of a lateral side and backside of a mobile terminal 100 can be formed of a light-transmissive material enabling a light generated from an LED BLU to be used for an external illumination. If a specific event occurs in the mobile terminal 100, the mobile terminal 100 is able to cause various visual effects to the external illumination in a manner of changing a brightness of partial LEDs of the LED BLU or flickering the LEDs of the LED BLU in part.
For another instance, if the mobile terminal 100 includes the sensing module 140 capable of detecting a posture (e.g., a direction against a ground, an inclination degree against a ground, etc.) of the mobile terminal 100, the controller 180 is able to cause a visual effect to the external illumination in consideration of the posture of the mobile terminal 100. In particular, referring to (a) of FIG. 8, the controller 140 is able to detect that the backside of the mobile terminal 100 faces upward. In order to inform a user of this posture, the controller 180 controls some of the LEDs of the LED BLU to cause a prescribed figure, a prescribed character or an animation effect using the figure and character to the light-transmissive material part 1120.
Referring to (b) of FIG. 8, assume a case that external illumination parts 1160 and 1170 formed of light-transmissive material are provided to edges of both lateral sides of a display unit of a mobile terminal 100. In this case, the external illumination parts 1160 and 1170 use the light generated from an LED BLU. If a music play mode is entered in the mobile terminal 100, a prescribed graph 1150 indicating a volume per range, a ratio of right to left sound in stereo mode or the like can be displayed on the display unit 151. The controller 180 enables both of the external illumination parts 1160 and 1170 to interconnect to the graph 1150, thereby enabling a visual effect (visualization) to be caused according to the ratio or volume per range of the currently played music.
To implement this, the controller 180 controls each LED of the LED BLU affecting the external illumination directly/indirectly to change intensity or size of the light in consideration of the corresponding range or the levels of the right and left volumes. Therefore, the visual effect can be caused to the external illumination parts.
For instance, the controller 180 enables a low-pitched part of the currently played music to interconnect to the left external illumination part 1170 and enables a high-pitched part of the currently played music to interconnect to the right external illumination part 1160. In particular, the controller 180 enables the light to be strengthened or enables light emission to be performed on a wide area of the external illumination part 1170 in a manner of controlling the LEDs of the LED BLU affecting the left external illumination part 1170 at the moment that the low-pitched part of the currently played music is dominant. On the contrary, the controller 180 enables the light to be weakened or enables light emission to be performed on a narrow area of the external illumination part 1170 in a manner of controlling the LEDs of the LED BLU affecting the left external illumination part 1170 at the moment that the low-pitched part of the currently played music is not dominant.
The external illumination effect using the LED BLU of the present invention is non-limited by the above described embodiments and is applicable in various types to other functions of the mobile terminal according to an occurrence of such an event as a game, a video viewing, a call, a message reception and the like.
Moreover, the external illumination effect using the LED BLU of the present invention is able to perform a function of a transmitting side of a visible light communication (hereinafter abbreviated VLC). In the following description, an embodiment for applying the present invention to the visible light communication is explained in detail.
According to a further embodiment of the present invention, provided is a mobile terminal and controlling method thereof by which a visible light communication can be performed using the light generated from an LED BLU of a display unit.
First of all, the visible light communication technology is a sort of a communication technology for delivering information using a wavelength of a visible ray. By enabling an LED to flicker at an pre-determined frequency, data can be exchanged. Therefore, a fast data communication can be performed wherever an LED illumination can be provided. Although this visible light communication uses wavelength of 280∼780 nm most similar to that of an infrared communication (IrDA) that used wavelength of 870∼900 nm, it is characterized or advantageous in that a communication and illumination can be simultaneously performed. The visible light communication is also advantageous in having almost no electric wave effect on a human body and devices, having a light arriving range correspond to a communication available range for safe security, and facilitating a frequency reuse.
As mentioned in the foregoing description, since the visible light communication uses LED, if an LED BLU of a display unit is used as a light source, a mobile terminal is able to work as a transmitting side of the visible light communication without a separate LED for the visible light communication.
Referring to FIG. 9, a protocol management unit 1201 performs a function of controlling overall functions of a visible light communication module. The protocol management unit 1201 receives data, which is to be transmitted via a visible light communication, from the controller 180 and is then able to determine a transmission sequence and modulation and coding schemes.
First of al, a visible light signal can be transformed into an electric signal via a receiving optical front end 1214. In this case, a semiconductor light-receiving device is usable as the receiving optical front end 1214. For example, such an image sensor as a CMOS, a CCD and the like is usable as the semiconductor light-receiving device. And, a photodiode is usable as the semiconductor light-receiving device.
The electric signal transformed by the receiving optical front end 1214 is delivered to an optical frontend amplifier 1213. The optical frontend amplifier 1213 is able to amplify the delivered electric signal. The amplified electric signal enters a data/clock recovery unit 1212 to be recovered into a digital data. The recovered digital data can be delivered to the protocol management unit 1201. The protocol management unit 1201 is then able to deliver the received data to the controller 180.
When the above described visible light communication module is implemented within the mobile terminal 100, the respective elements except the transmitting diode 1204 and the receiving optical front end 1214 can be included in the controller 180. And, a function of the transmitting diode 1204 can be replaced by the LED of the backlight unit (BLU) of the display unit 151. Even if the LED BLU is used as a transmitting side of an optical communication, as the LED flickers at the speed unrecognizable by human eyes of a user, any visual inconvenience is caused to the user.
Thus, the mobile terminal 100 is able to work as a transmitting side of a visible light communication without a separate device. When the mobile terminal 100 is provided with an optical front end, it is able to perform both transmitting and receiving functions of the visible light communication.
Referring to (b) of FIG. 10, the mobile terminal 100 is able to perform the visible light communication via an external illumination unit 1301 formed of a light-transmissive material provided to an outer case as well as the display unit 151 using the external illumination function explained in the description of the second embodiment.
Referring to (c) of FIG. 10, in case that the mobile terminal 100 is a folder type having a top side 1320 and a bottom side 1330 hinged together, a visible light communication can be performed using an external illumination part 1340 formed of a light-transmissive material provided to a top side cover.
By the above-described method, a mobile terminal is able to perform a communication with another mobile terminal or a stationary terminal in a manner of using an LED BLU as a transmitting side of visible light communication instead of using a separate LED for the visible light communication. If a receiving optical front end is provided to this mobile terminal, the corresponding mobile terminal is able to perform data exchange wherever an LED illumination for performing a visible light communication is provided.
For instance, a mobile terminal obtains information on a structure of a building via an LED illumination within the building and is then able to display the obtained information. And, a mobile terminal is able to provide the visually handicapped with information on a status of a traffic light through a speaker or vibration using the information obtained from a LED traffic light provided to a crosswalk.
For another instance, if a direction of a receiving optical front end is fixed within a vehicle to a proceeding direction of the vehicle, a mobile terminal obtains traffic information through an LED of a streetlight or a traffic light and is then able to inform a driver of the obtained information via a display unit or a speaker. The mobile terminal obtains information on a deceleration status of a vehicle from an LED taillight of the vehicle and is then able to deliver a warning message to a user.
According to the above described embodiments of the present invention, if a light generated from an LED BLU is used for an external illumination of a mobile terminal, the controller 180 is able to control a color of light emission as well as an intensity, size and position of the light emission. This is applicable to a BLU designed to emit a white light attributed to a combination of red, green and blue LEDs (i.e., RGB LED) instead of a BLU using an LED emitting a white light only. In other words, the controller 180 controls flickering according to colors of LEDs located at the positions related to an external illumination of an LED BLU, thereby enabling a specific color to appear on the external illumination.
Yet, in this case, since an LED of a specific color emits a light by being intensely located at a specific position, it may affect colors of an LCD. To solve this problem, a color of an LCD corresponding to a part, in which the LED of the specific color is intensely located, is controlled in a direction for compensating for the color of the intensively located LED. For example, if a blue LED is strongly turned on at a specific part of an LED BLU to emit a blue light from an external illumination, a blue component of the color displayed on the corresponding part of an LCD is weakened or a complementary color of the blue is strongly displayed. Therefore, a color change sensed by a user can be minimized.
Meanwhile, according to one embodiment of the present invention, the above-described method can be implemented in a program recorded medium as computer-readable codes. The computer-readable media include all kinds of recording devices in which data readable by a computer system are stored. The computer-readable media include ROM, RAM, CD-ROM, magnetic tapes, floppy discs, optical data storage devices, and the like for example and also include carrier-wave type implementations (e.g., transmission via Internet).
Applicability of the above-described mobile terminal having the display unit provided with the LED backlight is non-limited by the above-mentioned mobile terminal including the display unit provided with the LED backlight. Moreover, the embodiments of the present invention can be configured in a manner of being entirely combined together or selectively in part to enable various modifications.
A terminal, in particular mobile terminal comprising:
- a display unit comprising:
-- a liquid crystal display provided to one side of the housing; and
-- a backlight unit including a plurality of light emitting diodes for a backlight provided to a backside of the liquid crystal display; and
- a control unit adapted to control the backlight unit to selectively adjust brightness of the light emitting diodes in part.
The terminal of claim 1, wherein the display unit comprises a touch screen and wherein the control unit is further adapted to control the brightness of at least one of the plurality of the light emitting diodes corresponding to a touched position on the touch screen to be selectively adjusted.
The terminal of claim 2, wherein the control unit is adapted to control the at least one of the light emitting diodes located within a prescribed distance from the touched position on the touch screen to emit light by a first brightness and the light emitting diodes located outside the prescribed distance to emit light by a second brightness lower than the first brightness.
The terminal of claim 2, wherein the control unit is adapted to control the at least one of the light emitting diodes located within a first distance from the touched position on the touch screen to be turned off, to control at least one of the light emitting diodes located between the first distance and a second distance farther than the first distance to emit the light by a first brightness, and controls the light emitting diodes located outside the second distance to emit light by a second brightness lower than the first brightness.
The terminal of claim 2, 3 or 4, wherein the touch screen is adapted to recognize a contact touch or a proximity touch by discriminating the contact touch and the proximity touch from each other and wherein the control unit is adapted to control the adjusted brightness of the at least one of the light emitting diodes to differ according to a presence of the contact touch or the proximity touch.
The terminal of claim 5, wherein the touch screen is adapted to discriminatively recognize the proximity touch by at least two steps according to a proximity distance and to control the backlight unit to differently grant the adjusted brightness of the at least one of the light emitting diodes according to each of the at least two steps.
The terminal of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the control unit is adapted to control at least one or more objects to be displayed on the display unit and to control the brightness of at least one of the light emitting diodes corresponding to at least one of the at least one or more objects to be selectively adjusted.
The terminal of claim 7, wherein the control unit is adapted to control the backlight unit to grant the brightness of at least one or more objects to be different from the brightness of at least one of the rest of the objects.
The terminal of claim 7 or 8, wherein the control unit is adapted to control the backlight unit in a manner that a region except a region corresponding to positions of the at least one or more objects is displayed darker than the region corresponding to the positions of the at least one or more objects.
The terminal of claim 7, 8 or 9, wherein, when a text including a plurality of rows is displayed on the liquid crystal display as the at least one or more objects, the control unit is adapted to control the at least one of the light emitting diodes located at a point corresponding to the whole row corresponding to a touched position on the touch screen to emit the light by a first brightness and to control the light emitting diodes located in a region except the touched position row to emit the light by a second brightness lower than the first brightness.
EP10004282.9A 2009-07-20 2010-04-22 Terminal, in particular mobile terminal having an LED backlight unit Active EP2282491B1 (en)
KR1020090065820A KR101632209B1 (en) 2009-07-20 2009-07-20 Mobile terminal with an led backlight unit and method for controlling thereof
KR1020090065821A KR101658546B1 (en) 2009-07-20 2009-07-20 Mobile terminal with an led backlight unit
EP2282491A1 true EP2282491A1 (en) 2011-02-09
EP2282491B1 EP2282491B1 (en) 2016-11-30
ID=42942300
EP10004282.9A Active EP2282491B1 (en) 2009-07-20 2010-04-22 Terminal, in particular mobile terminal having an LED backlight unit
US (1) US8224391B2 (en)
EP (1) EP2282491B1 (en)
EP2521118A3 (en) * 2011-05-03 2012-12-12 Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. Apparatus and method for controlling brightness in portable terminal
EP3048518A1 (en) * 2015-01-16 2016-07-27 Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. Electronic apparatus and operating method thereof
KR101653169B1 (en) * 2010-03-02 2016-09-02 삼성디스플레이 주식회사 Apparatus for visible light communication and method thereof
US9825702B2 (en) * 2012-11-12 2017-11-21 Seoul National University Of Technology Center For Industry Collaboration OLED display apparatus and visible light communication system having the same
JP6419079B2 (en) * 2012-11-30 2018-11-07 トムソン ライセンシングＴｈｏｍｓｏｎ Ｌｉｃｅｎｓｉｎｇ Method and apparatus for displaying content
JP2014179905A (en) * 2013-03-15 2014-09-25 Ricoh Co Ltd Projection device, visible light communication method and program
WO2014178672A2 (en) * 2013-04-30 2014-11-06 Lee Young Jae Mobile device system
US9635255B1 (en) * 2013-05-30 2017-04-25 Amazon Technologies, Inc. Display as adjustable light source
EP3043551B1 (en) * 2013-09-04 2019-05-01 Panasonic Corporation Display device
KR20150033880A (en) * 2013-09-25 2015-04-02 삼성전자주식회사 Apparatus and method for controlling a display in an electronic device
CN104123001A (en) * 2014-07-14 2014-10-29 联想(北京)有限公司 Display method and electronic device
CN104849946B (en) * 2015-06-10 2017-11-24 魅族科技（中国）有限公司 One kind shooting servicing unit and its assembly method and terminal
CN106648413A (en) * 2016-09-28 2017-05-10 北京小米移动软件有限公司 Method and device for processing operable region based on mobile phone
CN107317929A (en) * 2017-06-26 2017-11-03 上海与德科技有限公司 A kind of method and device of time showing
JP2018022510A (en) * 2017-09-19 2018-02-08 トムソン ライセンシングＴｈｏｍｓｏｎ Ｌｉｃｅｎｓｉｎｇ Method and apparatus for displaying content
WO2005024765A2 (en) * 2003-09-03 2005-03-17 Motorola Inc. Selective illumination of regions of an electronic display
EP2034399A2 (en) * 2007-09-04 2009-03-11 LG Electronics Inc. Scrolling method of mobile terminal
JP4318370B2 (en) * 2000-02-25 2009-08-19 パナソニック株式会社 Mobile phone equipment
FI114950B (en) * 2003-06-24 2005-01-31 Nokia Corp A method for feeding a terminal and a display section for visualizing and the corresponding terminal
CN100511530C (en) * 2003-10-23 2009-07-08 诺基亚公司 Keyboard with key supporting structure for portable electronic devices
JP4679985B2 (en) * 2005-07-07 2011-05-11 株式会社 日立ディスプレイズ Liquid crystal display device
JP4039440B2 (en) * 2005-09-29 2008-01-30 エプソンイメージングデバイス株式会社 Liquid crystal device, electro-optical device and electronic apparatus
KR100910577B1 (en) * 2006-09-11 2009-08-04 삼성전자주식회사 Computer system and control method thereof
JP4925429B2 (en) * 2006-10-03 2012-04-25 シチズン電子株式会社 Mobile phone
TWI366018B (en) * 2008-03-21 2012-06-11 Au Optronics Corp Backlight module with integrated base and method of manufacturing thereof
2010-02-25 US US12/712,576 patent/US8224391B2/en active Active
2010-04-22 EP EP10004282.9A patent/EP2282491B1/en active Active
JP2016532248A (en) * 2013-06-06 2016-10-13 ドルビー ラボラトリーズ ライセンシング コーポレイション Lighting for audio equipment
US20110014955A1 (en) 2011-01-20
EP2282491B1 (en) 2016-11-30
US8224391B2 (en) 2012-07-17
US8666455B2 (en) 2014-03-04 Apparatus having a flexible display and method of controlling the same
US8279158B2 (en) 2012-10-02 Dual-function light guide for LCD backlight
JP2012058753A (en) 2012-03-22 Backlight control for portable computer device
US8295892B2 (en) 2012-10-23 Mobile terminal and method for controlling display thereof
Ref document number: 602010038365
Ipc: G02F 1/1335 20060101AFI20160519BHEP
Ipc: G06F 3/0488 20130101ALI20160519BHEP
Ipc: G09G 3/34 20060101ALI20160519BHEP
Ipc: H04M 1/22 20060101ALI20160519BHEP
Ref document number: 850344