Patent Description:
In recent days, a technology related to a docking system in which a portable terminal apparatus such as a smartphone is connected by being placed on a dock and a screen of the smartphone is output through a display apparatus connected to the dock. Such a docking system as described above is commonly referred to as a docking station, and a dock connected to a portable terminal apparatus is commonly referred to as a smart dock, a dex, or the like.

The docking station outputs a screen of a portable terminal apparatus having a small display panel through a display apparatus having a large display panel, thereby providing a more convenient watching environment to a user. Further, in the docking station, an input device connected to the display apparatus, such as a keyboard, a mouse, or the like interworks with software provided in the portable terminal apparatus, thereby providing a working experience under a desktop computer environment to the user.

Meanwhile, a multi-operating system (OS) technology enables an electronic apparatus supporting one multi-OS to have a host operating system and a guest operating system which may be selectively loaded, thereby providing a plurality of working environments. However, in case that an electronic apparatus supporting such a multi-OS is connected to a dock, there is no method of managing the multi-OS, in which it is possible to determine an operation screen of which OS is to be output through a display apparatus.

Various multi-operating system docking stations are disclosed in <CIT> and <CIT>.

Embodiments of the disclosure address the above disadvantages and other disadvantages not described above.

The disclosure provides an electronic apparatus capable of operating and managing a multi-OS in a docking station, and a control method thereof.

The invention is defined by independent apparatus claim <NUM> and independent method claim <NUM>.

According to various example embodiments of the disclosure, as the electronic apparatus is connected to the dock in the docking station environment, the user may be conveniently provided with a working environment of a preferred OS, thereby improving convenience of the user.

Additional and/or other aspects and advantages of the disclosure will be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will be apparent from the description.

The above and/or other aspects, features and advantages of certain embodiments of the disclosure will be more apparent from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:.

Before describing the disclosure in greater detail, an overview of the disclosure and the drawings is provided below.

As terms used in the disclosure and claims, general terms have been selected in consideration of functions in various example embodiments of the disclosure. However, these terms may be changed with an intention of one skilled in the art, legal or technical interpretation, the emergence of new technology, and the like. In addition, some terms may be arbitrarily selected. These terms may be interpreted as having a meaning set forth in the disclosure, and in case that the terms are not specifically defined, the terms may be interpreted based on general contents of the disclosure and a common technical knowledge in a corresponding technical field.

In addition, throughout the accompanying drawings in the disclosure, like reference numerals denote parts or components performing substantially the same functions. For convenience of explanation and understanding, the same reference numerals will be used in embodiments different from each other. That is, even when components having the same reference numeral are illustrated in all of a plurality of drawings, it does not mean that the plurality of drawings illustrate the same embodiment.

Further, in the specification and claims, terms including an ordinal number such as "first", "second", or the like may be used to distinguish components from each other. The ordinal number is used to distinguish the same or similar components from each other, and a term is not limited by the use of the ordinal number. For example, in case of a component represented by a term combined with the ordinal number, the order of use or disposition of the component should not be interpreted as being limited by the ordinal number. If necessary, ordinal numbers may be replaced with each other.

In the disclosure, singular forms are intended to include plural forms unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It should be understood that terms "comprise" or "include" used in the present disclosure, specify the presence of features, numerals, steps, operations, components, parts mentioned in the present disclosure, or combinations thereof, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, numerals, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof.

In embodiments of the disclosure, a "module", a "unit", or a "-er/-or" may refer, for example, to a component performing at least one function or operation, and may be implemented by hardware or software or be implemented by any combination of hardware and software. In addition, a plurality of "modules", a plurality of "units", or a plurality of "-ers/-ors" may be integrated in at least one module and be implemented by at least one processor (not illustrated) except for a "module", a "unit", or a "-er/-or" that must be implemented by specific hardware.

In various example embodiments of the disclosure, connection between one portion and another portion includes not only direct connection but also indirect connection via a medium. In addition, unless explicitly described otherwise, "comprising" any components will be understood to imply the inclusion of other components but not the exclusion of any other components.

Hereinafter, the disclosure will be described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

<FIG> are diagrams illustrating an example docking station according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

As illustrated in <FIG>, a docking station arrangement <NUM> of the disclosure may include an electronic apparatus <NUM>, a dock <NUM>, and a display apparatus <NUM>.

The electronic apparatus <NUM> may store a plurality of operating systems (hereinafter, referred to as OS) therein and is may be capable of selectively loading and operating the stored OS. The OS may refer, for example, to a platform providing an environment under which a user program may be efficiently executed in the electronic apparatus <NUM>.

An example purpose of the docking station arrangement <NUM> is to provide a more convenient watching environment and/or working environment by outputting a screen of a portable terminal apparatus having a small display panel through a display apparatus having a large display panel. Therefore, in general, the electronic apparatus <NUM> may implemented by a portable terminal apparatus such as, for example, and without limitation, a smartphone which may be connected by being placed in the dock <NUM> as illustrated in <FIG>.

However, the electronic apparatus <NUM> may be implemented by various electronic apparatuses, including any kind of electronic apparatus such as, for example, and without limitation, a tablet computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a small personal computer (PC), a laptop computer, and the like, and the technical idea of the disclosure is not limited by the kind of electronic apparatus <NUM>.

The dock <NUM> may be connected to the electronic apparatus <NUM> and the display apparatus <NUM> and perform data transmission between the electronic apparatus <NUM> and the display apparatus <NUM>. The dock <NUM> generally serves to transfer a screen provided in the electronic apparatus <NUM> to the display apparatus <NUM>. For example, the dock <NUM> may have a structure in which the dock <NUM> may function as a holder for fixing the electronic apparatus <NUM>. The electronic apparatus <NUM> may be placed in a state where it is docked with the dock <NUM> through an interface such as, for example, and without limitation, a physical input/output terminal or the like as illustrated in <FIG>.

However, the electronic apparatus <NUM> and the dock <NUM> may also be connected to each other through wireless communication without the physical input/output terminal. For example, the electronic apparatus <NUM> and the dock <NUM> may be connected to each other through various communication manners such as, for example, and without limitation, Bluetooth, Bluetooth low energy, Wi-Fi, Zigbee, or the like.

The dock <NUM> may be various electronic apparatuses capable of being connected to the electronic apparatus <NUM> wirelessly or in a wired manner. For example, the dock <NUM> may be implemented, for example, and without limitation, by a game pad, or the like in various example embodiments, which will be described in greater detail below.

The display apparatus <NUM> may include a display panel capable of providing a screen and may be generally implemented, for example, and without limitation, by a television (TV), a monitor, or the like. The display apparatus <NUM> may, for example, display a screen provided in the electronic apparatus <NUM>.

In general, the display apparatus <NUM> may include a display panel larger than a display panel of the electronic apparatus <NUM>. This may provide the user with a more convenient watching environment and/or working environment by outputting a screen provided in the electronic apparatus <NUM> having the small display panel through the display apparatus having the large display panel.

For example, the display apparatus <NUM> may be connected to various input devices such as, for example, and without limitation, a keyboard <NUM>-<NUM>, a mouse <NUM>-<NUM>, and the like. Therefore, the user may watch contents stored in the electronic apparatus <NUM> through the display apparatus <NUM> and control the corresponding contents through the various input devices described above. Therefore, the user may be provided with convenience similar to a desktop environment.

For example, the display apparatus <NUM> may be connected to the dock <NUM> through various cable terminals such as, for example, and without limitation, a digital visual interface (DVI), a high definition multimedia interface (HDMI), a video graphics array (VGA), a display port (DP), and the like.

Hereinafter, an example configuration of the electronic apparatus <NUM> will be described in greater detail with reference to <FIG>.

<FIG> are block diagrams illustrating example configurations of electronic apparatuses according to embodiments of the disclosure.

Referring to <FIG>, the electronic apparatus <NUM> according to an embodiment of the disclosure includes a communicator (e.g., including communication circuitry) <NUM>, a storage <NUM>, and a processor (e.g., including processing circuitry) <NUM>.

The communicator <NUM> may include various communication circuitry and may communicate with the dock <NUM> wirelessly or in a wired manner. When the electronic apparatus <NUM> communicates with the dock <NUM> in a wired manner, the communicator <NUM> may include a physically implemented connector to communicate with the dock <NUM>. Implementation of the connector is not limited, and the connector of the communicator <NUM> may be connectors with various type such as, for example, and without limitation, a micro-USB type connector, a mini-USB type connector, or the like. The connector may also simultaneously function as a connector for charging the electronic apparatus <NUM>.

When the electronic apparatus <NUM> wirelessly communicates with the dock <NUM>, the communicator <NUM>, provides an interface for wireless connection with the dock <NUM>, and may include various communication chips including various communication circuitry depending on a communication manner such as, for example, and without limitation, Bluetooth, Bluetooth low energy, Wi-Fi, Zigbee, or the like.

In some example embodiments, the communicator <NUM> may also communicate with an external apparatus including a server, which will be described in greater detail below.

The storage <NUM> may, for example, be a component storing a plurality of difference OSs. For example, the storage <NUM> may store various OSs such as, for example, and without limitation, Windows, Linux, Unix, Android, macOS, and the like, therein. The processor <NUM> may selectively load the plurality of OSs stored in the storage <NUM> or simultaneously load the plurality of OSs.

In a state where one OS is already operated in a single computer device, when another OS is virtually operated, the OS operated earlier may be commonly referred to, for example, as a host OS, and the OS operated additionally may be referred to as a guest OS.

In addition, the OS may also be provided from an external apparatus, other than the electronic apparatus. A virtual desktop infrastructure (hereinafter, referred to as VDI) may refer, for example, to a technology of providing a cloud-based virtual desktop service through the Internet, in which, for example, and without limitation, a server maintains data of the user and an OS environment, and the user accesses the corresponding OS environment through a network to remotely use a virtual desktop provided in the corresponding OS environment. An example of a VDI will be described in greater detail below.

The storage <NUM> may, for example, store identification information of the dock <NUM> connected to the electronic apparatus <NUM> and setting information of an OS to be operated according to the identification information of the dock <NUM>, therein. For example, the storage <NUM> may store, as the setting information, a matching table in which information on the kind of dock <NUM> and a certain OS to be operated based on the kind of dock <NUM>, therein. Such a matching may, for example, be set in a manufacturing process and/or by the user. The setting information may be set based on a preference of the user or a characteristic of the dock <NUM>. For example, the setting information may be generated, for example, and without limitation, by being directly input by the user, or may be generated using history information of OSs operated by the user, or the like. In addition, the setting information may also be generated in a manner that an OS appropriate for the dock <NUM> is automatically set depending on the kind of dock <NUM> based on the identification information of the dock <NUM>.

The above-described storage <NUM> may, for example, include a hard disk drive (HDD), a solid state drive (SDD), a dynamic random-access memory (DRAM), a static random-access memory (SRAM), a ferroelectric random-access memory (FRAM), a flash memory, or may be various types of memories not mentioned above. The various example embodiments of the disclosure are not affected by the type of implemented storage <NUM>.

The processor <NUM> may include various processing circuitry for controlling a general operation of the electronic apparatus <NUM>. For example, when the electronic apparatus <NUM> is connected to another electronic apparatus, the processor <NUM> may identify the another electronic apparatus, and operate an OS corresponding to the identified another electronic apparatus among the plurality of stored OSs. Here, the another electronic apparatus may include the dock <NUM>.

For example, the processor <NUM> may detect connection between the electronic apparatus <NUM> and the dock <NUM> through the communicator <NUM>, and receive identification information of the dock <NUM> through the communicator <NUM> when the electronic apparatus <NUM> is connected to the dock <NUM>. The processor <NUM> may compare the received identification information and the identification information stored in the storage <NUM> with each other to identify the dock <NUM>, and operate an OS matched to the identified dock <NUM> from among the plurality of OSs stored in the storage <NUM> by using matching information stored in the storage <NUM>.

The processor <NUM> may, for example, operate the OS corresponding to the dock <NUM> using a virtual machine (hereinafter, referred to as VM) when an OS is already operated, or may selectively boot the OS corresponding to the dock <NUM> in case of a dual-booting environment. Further, the processor <NUM> may access an external server <NUM> to be provided with the cloud-based VDI depending on the kind of identified dock <NUM>.

Hereinafter, for convenience of explanation, by way of non-limiting example, an operation of the disclosure will be described based on an embodiment in which an OS is additionally operated through the VM when an OS is already operated in the electronic apparatus <NUM> as a main embodiment, and the additional operated OS will be referred to as a guest OS.

When the guest OS is operated in the electronic apparatus <NUM> based on the connection between the electronic apparatus <NUM> and the dock <NUM>, the processor <NUM> may transmit an image signal corresponding to an operation screen of the operated guest OS to the dock <NUM> through the communicator <NUM> so that the image signal corresponding to the operation screen of the OS may be output in the display apparatus <NUM> connected to the dock <NUM>. The dock <NUM> may transmit the received image signal to the display apparatus <NUM>, such that the operation screen of the guest OS is displayed in the display apparatus <NUM>.

An electronic apparatus <NUM>' according to another embodiment of the disclosure may further include a display <NUM> as illustrated in <FIG>. In case that the electronic apparatus <NUM>' further includes the display <NUM>, when the electronic apparatus <NUM>' is connected to the dock <NUM>, the processor <NUM> may also control the display <NUM> to output the image signal corresponding to the operation screen of the guest OS.

The operation screen of the guest OS may be displayed only in the electronic apparatus <NUM>' or when the dock <NUM> is connected to the display apparatus <NUM>, the operation screen of the guest OS may be simultaneously displayed in the electronic apparatus <NUM>' and the display apparatus <NUM>. However, the processor <NUM> may perform a control so that the operation screen of the guest OS is displayed in the display <NUM> and the display apparatus <NUM> by mirroring, or may perform a control so that the operation screen of the guest OS is displayed only in the display apparatus <NUM>.

<FIG> is a diagram for describing a method of operating a guest OS according to an embodiment of the disclosure, <FIG> is a diagram for describing a method of operating a guest OS according to an embodiment of of the disclosure, and <FIG> is a diagram for describing a method of operating a guest OS according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

<FIG> is a diagram illustrating an example embodiment in which a guest OS set based on a user preference in advance is operated when the electronic apparatus <NUM> is connected to the dock <NUM>. The electronic apparatus <NUM> may provide a user interface (UI) for setting a guest OS preferred by the user according to the identification information of the dock <NUM>. The corresponding UI may be displayed through the display <NUM> included in the electronic apparatus <NUM>, or the display apparatus <NUM> connected to the electronic apparatus <NUM> through the dock <NUM>.

When the electronic apparatus <NUM> is connected to the dock <NUM> for the first time, the processor <NUM> may provide a UI for setting a guest OS matched to the connected dock <NUM>, and the user may select any one guest OS through the corresponding UI. Information on the selection of the guest OS is stored in the storage <NUM> as a user preference, and when the electronic apparatus <NUM> is connected to the dock <NUM> again later, the guest OS selected by the user may be automatically operated based on the user preference stored in the storage <NUM>. A screen of the automatically operated guest OS may be output through the display apparatus <NUM>, and interwork with input devices <NUM>-<NUM> and <NUM>-<NUM> connected to the display apparatus <NUM>.

<FIG> illustrates a state where a screen of an OS (e.g., OS1) is automatically operated with the connection between the electronic apparatus <NUM> and the dock <NUM> is output in the display apparatus <NUM> in case that the user sets the OS1 as the guest OS matched to the dock <NUM>.

<FIG> illustrate example embodiments in which the user directly selects a guest OS to be operated with the connection between the electronic apparatus <NUM> and the dock <NUM> in case that the user preference is not stored in the electronic apparatus <NUM>.

According to the embodiment illustrated in <FIG>, when the electronic apparatus <NUM> is connected to the dock <NUM>, the processor <NUM> may control the display <NUM> to output an image signal corresponding to a UI screen for selecting any one of a plurality of stored guest OSs. When any one of the guest OSs is selected through the UI screen, the processor <NUM> may control the display <NUM> to output an image signal corresponding to an operation screen of the guest OS.

As illustrated in <FIG>, when the electronic apparatus <NUM> is connected to the dock <NUM>, the processor <NUM> may control the display <NUM> to display a UI for selecting any one of a plurality of guest OSs (OS1 to OS3) stored in the storage <NUM>. The UI may include a list of the plurality of guest OSs stored in the storage <NUM>.

When the user selects OS2 through the UI displayed in the display <NUM>, the processor <NUM> operates the selected OS2. The processor <NUM> may transmit an image signal corresponding to an operation screen of the OS2 to the dock <NUM> through the communicator <NUM> so that the image signal corresponding to the operation screen of the OS2 may be output in the display apparatus <NUM> connected to the dock <NUM>. As a result, the display apparatus <NUM> may display the operation screen of the OS2 as illustrated in <FIG>.

According to the example embodiment illustrated in <FIG>, when the electronic apparatus <NUM> is connected to the dock <NUM>, the processor <NUM> may control the display apparatus <NUM> to output an image signal corresponding to a UI screen for selecting any one of a plurality of stored guest OSs. When any one guest OS is selected through the UI screen displayed in the display apparatus <NUM>, the processor <NUM> may operate the selected guest OS. The processor <NUM> may transmit an image signal corresponding to an operation screen of the selected guest OS to the dock <NUM> so that the image signal corresponding to the operation screen of the selected guest OS may be output in the display apparatus <NUM>.

As illustrated in <FIG>, when the user selects OS3 through the UI displayed in the display apparatus <NUM>, the display apparatus <NUM> may display an operation screen of the OS3.

<FIG>, <FIG> and <FIG> are block diagrams illustrating example architectures in which a guest OS is operated according to various embodiments of the disclosure.

According to the embodiments illustrated in <FIG>, <FIG> and <FIG>, each architecture may include an event detection module (e.g., including processing circuitry and/or program elements) <NUM> configured to detect an event of connection to the dock <NUM>, a guest OS setting module (e.g., including processing circuitry and/or program elements) <NUM> configured to set a guest OS to be automatically operated at the time of connection to the dock <NUM>, an automatic guest OS operation module (e.g., including processing circuitry and/or program elements) <NUM> configured to automatically operate the guest OS based on the event of connection to the dock <NUM>, and an I/O interworking module (e.g., including processing circuitry and/or program elements) <NUM> configured to interwork between an I/O signal of the guest OS, and the display apparatus <NUM> and devices such as the keyboard <NUM>-<NUM>, the mouse <NUM>-<NUM>, or the like connected to the display apparatus <NUM> at the time of connection to the dock <NUM>.

When the event of connection to the dock <NUM> set in advance is detected through the event detection module <NUM> and the guest OS setting module <NUM>, the guest OS corresponding to the dock <NUM>, which is set in advance, may be operated through the automatic guest OS operation module <NUM> and the I/O interworking module <NUM>. The guest OS may be operated in various manners as illustrated, for example, and without limitation, in <FIG>, <FIG> and <FIG>.

The architecture illustrated in <FIG> may be referred to, for example, as a bare-metal virtualization architecture, and may include a plurality of virtual machine VM<NUM> to VMN software <NUM>-<NUM> to <NUM>-n different from each other and a hypervisor <NUM>. The hypervisor <NUM>, which may, for example, be a logical platform for simultaneously executing the VM<NUM> to VMN software <NUM>-<NUM> to <NUM>-n, may also be referred to as a virtual machine monitor (VMM). The hypervisor <NUM> may be directly executed on hardware without relying on a host OS, and such a bare-metal virtualization architecture supports a real-time OS and enables improved I/O access through partitioning, which is advantageous.

Such a hypervisor type virtualization software may, for example, and without limitation, be ESX / EXSi server of VMware, XenServer of Citrix, VM server of Oracle, xVM Server of Sun Microsystems, Hyper-V of Microsoft, Virtual Iron of Virtual Iron, Parallels Server of Parallels, or the like.

The architecture illustrated in <FIG> is a hosted virtualization architecture, and includes a plurality of virtual machine VM<NUM> to VMN software <NUM>-<NUM> to <NUM>-n different from each other and a host OS <NUM>. In the hosted virtualization architecture, a VMM may be installed on the host OS <NUM> and a VM may be executed on the VMM. Such a hosted virtualization architecture may execute various kinds of VMs, which is advantageous.

The hosted virtualization architecture may, for example, and without limitation, be VMware Workstation, VMware Server, and VMware Player of VMWare, Virtual Server and Virtual PC of Microsoft, VirtualBox of Sun Microsystems, Workstation of Parallels, or the like.

The architecture illustrated in <FIG> is a desktop virtualization architecture and may include a virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) client <NUM>. The VDI client <NUM> may be provided with a cloud-based desktop environment desired by the user through a VM corresponding to the user of the electronic apparatus <NUM> among a plurality of different virtual machine VM<NUM> to VMN software stored in an external server <NUM>.

<FIG> is a flowchart illustrating an example process of operating a guest OS by connection between the electronic apparatus and the dock according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

An event of connection to the dock <NUM> may be detected (S701). The electronic apparatus <NUM> receives identification information from the dock <NUM>, and determines whether data of a preference for a guest OS to be operated at the time of connection to the dock <NUM> exists based on the received identification information (S702). The data of the preference for the guest OS to be operated at the time of connection to the dock <NUM> means data related to a user preference for a guest OS to be operated when the dock <NUM> is connected to the electronic apparatus <NUM>.

In case that the data of the preference for the guest OS to be operated does not exist (N in S702), a screen of a host OS of the electronic apparatus <NUM> is output in the display apparatus <NUM> connected to the dock <NUM> (S707), and an input signal of the host OS interworks with an input device connected to the display apparatus <NUM> or an external input device (S708).

In case that the data of the preference for the guest OS to be operated exists (Y in S702), whether setting data of a preferred guest OS selected by the user in advance exist is additionally determined (S703). In case that the setting data of the preferred guest OS selected by the user in advance exist (Y in S703), the guest OS according to the setting data of the preferred guest OS is automatically operated (S704). An operation screen of the preferred guest OS is output through the display apparatus <NUM> connected to the dock <NUM> (S705). Further, an input signal of the guest OS interworks with the input device connected to the display apparatus <NUM> or the external input device (S706).

In case that the setting data of the preferred guest OS selected by the user in advance does not exist (N in S703), a list of all of guest OSs that are installed in the electronic apparatus <NUM> and may be operated is output (S709). When the user selects a guest OS desired to be operated from the list of the guest OSs displayed on a screen of the electronic apparatus <NUM> (S710), the selected guest OS is operated, and the operated guest OS is output through the display apparatus <NUM> connected to the dock <NUM> (S711). Further, an input signal of the guest OS interworks with the input device connected to the display apparatus <NUM> or the external input device (S712).

<FIG> is a diagram illustrating an example docking station according to an embodiment of the disclosure, and <FIG> is a diagram illustrating an example docking station according to another embodiment of the disclosure.

As illustrated in <FIG>, the docking station of the disclosure may also be applied to a vehicle. For example, the vehicle generally includes a display apparatus <NUM> providing various information related to a driving of a vehicle, such as, for example, and without limitation, a navigation system, or the like. In this case, when the user connects a smartphone <NUM> to a dock <NUM> provided in the vehicle, the operations of the disclosure described with reference to <FIG>, <FIG> may be applied as they are.

Further, as illustrated in <FIG>, the dock <NUM> connected to the electronic apparatus <NUM> of the disclosure may also be implemented, for example, and without limitation, by a game pad. For example, when the smartphone <NUM> is connected to the game pad <NUM>, the smartphone <NUM> may receive identification information from the game pad <NUM>. The smartphone <NUM> may operate a guest OS corresponding to the connected game pad <NUM> from among a plurality of stored guest OSs based on the received identification information. It may, for example, be preferable that the operated guest OS is a guest OS in which a game interworking with the game pad <NUM> may be executed. An operation screen of the guest OS may be output through a display <NUM> of the smartphone <NUM>.

Further, in various example embodiments, a graphics processing unit (GPU) may be embedded in the game pad <NUM>. In this case, when the smartphone <NUM> is connected to the game pad <NUM>, the guest OS operated in the smartphone <NUM> may interwork with the GPU embedded in the game pad <NUM>, instead of a GPU embedded in the smartphone <NUM>, with the connection between the smartphone <NUM> and the game pad <NUM>. As such, the electronic apparatus <NUM> may also utilize resources of a GPU or the like embedded in the dock <NUM>.

<FIG> is a block diagram illustrating an example configuration of an electronic apparatus according to another embodiment of the disclosure.

As illustrated in <FIG>, an electronic apparatus <NUM>" according to another example embodiment of the disclosure may include a communicator (e.g., including communication circuitry) <NUM>, a storage <NUM>, a processor (e.g., including processing circuitry) <NUM>, a display <NUM>, an audio processor (e.g., including audio processing circuitry) <NUM>, an audio output (e.g., including audio output circuitry) <NUM>, a video processor (e.g., including video processing circuitry) <NUM>, and a user interface <NUM>. Hereinafter, a description for some components overlapping with those illustrated in <FIG> will not be repeated.

The storage <NUM> may store various data such as, for example, and without limitation, a plurality of OS software modules for driving the electronic apparatus <NUM>", various multimedia contents, and the like, therein.

In addition, the storage <NUM> may store a base module processing a signal transferred from each hardware included in the electronic apparatus <NUM>", a storage module managing a database (DB) or a registry, a graphic processing module generating a layout screen, a security module, and the like, therein. For example, the storage <NUM> may store a module related to the architectures described with reference to <FIG>, <FIG> and <FIG>.

The processor <NUM> may include a read only memory (ROM) <NUM>, a random access memory (RAM) <NUM>, a central processing unit (CPU) <NUM>, a graphic processor <NUM>, and first to n-th interfaces <NUM>-<NUM> to <NUM>-n. The ROM <NUM>, the RAM <NUM>, the CPU <NUM>, the graphic processor <NUM>, and the first to n-th interfaces <NUM>-<NUM> to <NUM>-n may be connected to one another through a bus <NUM>.

The CPU <NUM> may access the storage <NUM> to perform booting using an OS stored in the storage <NUM>. In addition, the CPU <NUM> may perform various operations using various programs, contents, data, and the like, stored in the storage <NUM>.

An instruction set for booting a system, or the like, may, for example, be stored in the ROM <NUM>. When a turn-on instruction is input to supply power to the electronic apparatus <NUM>", the CPU <NUM> may copy the OS stored in the storage <NUM> to the RAM <NUM> according to instructions stored in the ROM <NUM>, and operates the OS to boot the system. When the booting is completed, the CPU <NUM> may copy various application programs stored in the storage <NUM> to the RAM <NUM>, and executes the application programs copied to the RAM <NUM> to perform various operations.

The graphic processor <NUM> renders a screen including various objects such as an icon, an image, a text, and the like, using a calculator (not illustrated) and a renderer (not illustrated). The calculator calculates attribute values such as coordinate values at which the respective objects will be displayed, forms, sizes, colors, and the like, of the respective objects depending on a layout of a screen. The renderer renders screens with various layouts including objects based on the attribute values calculated in the calculator.

The first to n-th interfaces <NUM>-<NUM> to <NUM>-n are connected to the various components described above. One of the interfaces may, for example, and without limitation, be a network interface connected to an external apparatus through a network.

The operation of the processor <NUM> described above may be performed by executing a program stored in the storage <NUM>.

The display <NUM> may, for example, be a component providing a screen including an operation screen of an OS operated in the electronic apparatus <NUM>" and an execution screen of contents. The contents may include contents having various formats, such as a text, an image, a video, a graphic user interface (GUI), or the like.

Implementation of the display <NUM> is not limited, and, for example, the display <NUM> may be implemented by various types of displays such as, for example, and without limitation, a liquid crystal display (LCD), an organic light emitting diode (OLED) display, an active-matrix organic light emitting diode (AM-OLED), a plasma display panel (PDP), and the like. The display <NUM> may include additional components depending on the type of implemented display <NUM>. For example, when the display <NUM> is a liquid crystal type, the display <NUM> may include an LCD display panel (not illustrated), a backlight unit (not illustrated) supplying light to the LCD display panel, and a panel driving substrate (not illustrated) driving the panel (not illustrated).

The audio processor <NUM> may include various audio processing circuitry for performing processing for audio data.

The audio output <NUM> may include various audio output circuitry for outputting the audio data processed in the audio processor <NUM>.

The video processor <NUM> may include various video processing circuitry for performing various kinds of image processing such as, for example, and without limitation, decoding, scaling, noise filtering, frame rate converting, resolution converting, and the like, for the contents.

The user interface <NUM> may, for example, be a component detecting a user interaction for controlling a general operation of the electronic apparatus <NUM>". The user interface <NUM> may include various interaction detection apparatuses such as, for example, and without limitation, an infrared (IR) signal receiver (not illustrated), a camera (not illustrated), and the like.

<FIG> and <FIG> are flowcharts illustrating example control methods of an electronic apparatus according to different example embodiments of the disclosure.

<FIG> is a flowchart illustrating an example control method of an electronic apparatus according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

The another electronic apparatus may be identified based on an electronic apparatus being connected to another electronic apparatus (S1110). The another electronic apparatus may be identified using pre-stored identification information of the another electronic apparatus.

An OS corresponding to the identified another electronic apparatus may be operated, from among the plurality of different and pre-stored OSs (S1120). An OS corresponding to the identified another electronic apparatus may, for example, be operated using pre-stored setting information of the OS to be operated with the connection to the another electronic apparatus. The setting information may, for example, be set based on a preference of the user or a characteristic of the another electronic apparatus.

An image signal corresponding to an operation screen of the operated OS may be transmitted to the another electronic apparatus so that the image signal corresponding to the operation screen is output in a display apparatus connected to the another electronic apparatus.

Further, the image signal corresponding to the operation screen of the operated OS may also be output through a display included in the electronic apparatus.

<FIG> is a flowchart illustrating an example control method of an electronic apparatus in which the user may select an OS to be operated every time the electronic apparatus <NUM> is connected to the dock <NUM>.

An image signal corresponding to a UI screen for selecting any one of a plurality of OSs is output based on an electronic apparatus being connected to another electronic apparatus, from among the plurality of different and pre-stored OSs (S1210). In this case, the UI screen may be a screen providing a list of the plurality of stored OSs.

The selected OS is operated based on any one of the plurality of stored OSs being selected (S1220).

According to various example embodiments of the disclosure, as the electronic apparatus is connected to the dock in the docking state environment, the user may be automatically provided with a working environment of a preferred OS, thereby improving convenience of the user.

In addition, the control methods according to various example embodiments described above may be implemented by a program and be stored in various recording media. For example, a computer program for executing the various control methods by being processed by various processors may be used in a state where it is stored in a recording medium.

As an example, a non-transitory computer-readable medium in which a program sequentially performs identifying another electronic apparatus based on an electronic apparatus being connected to the another electronic apparatus, and operating an OS corresponding to the identified another electronic apparatus from among a plurality of OSs is stored may be provided, the plurality of different and pre-stored OSs.

Claim 1:
An electronic apparatus (<NUM>), comprising:
a communicator (<NUM>) comprising communication circuitry configured to provide a connection to another electronic apparatus;
a storage (<NUM>) configured to store:
a plurality of operating systems, each of the plurality of operating systems being different from each other; and
identification information of the another electronic apparatus (<NUM>); and
a processor (<NUM>) configured to:
in the event that the preferred operating system corresponding to the another electronic apparatus, is stored by the storage (<NUM>), based on the electronic apparatus (<NUM>) being connected to the another electronic apparatus, identify the another electronic apparatus using the stored identification information and operate the preferred operating system corresponding to the another electronic apparatus; and
characterized in that,
in the event that the preferred operating system corresponding to the another electronic apparatus, is not stored by the storage (<NUM>), based on the electronic apparatus (<NUM>) being connected to the another electronic apparatus, control a display (<NUM>) to output an image signal corresponding to a user interface, UI, screen for selecting any one of the plurality of stored operating systems, operate the selected operating system based on any one of the plurality of stored operating systems being selected, and store information on the selected operating system in the storage (<NUM>) as the preferred operating system corresponding to the another electronic apparatus,
wherein the UI screen includes a screen providing a list of the plurality of stored operating systems.