FOLDABLE MOBILE PHONE HAVING ELECTRONIC PAPER DISPLAY

Abstract

The foldable mobile phone having an ePaper display added on a mobile phone through mechanical and electronic means so that the ePaper display shares the mobile phone's various mechanical and electronic units. The mechanical means allows the ePaper display to be folded towards or unfolded from the mobile phone. The electronic means allows various data such as text, pictures, videos to be shown from the mobile phone on the ePaper display. The ePaper display enhances the mobile phone's applicability and reduces harm to the eyes.

Claims

1. A foldable mobile phone comprising a first member and a second member foldable together through mechanical means, characterized in that: the first member comprises electronic components and a LED/LCD display; the second member comprises an ePaper display; the LED/LCD display and the ePaper display are electrically connected to the electronic components; wherein the LED/LCD display and the ePaper display show data provided by the electronic components.

2. The mobile phone according to claim 1, wherein the electronic components comprise a power management unit, a network communication unit, an audio unit, an input/output unit, a camera unit, a central processing unit, a graphic processing unit, a storage unit, and operating system, APPs, and firmware stored in the storage unit.

3. The mobile phone according to claim 2, wherein the network communication unit provides wireless 4G, 5G, WIFI, and Bluetooth communications; and the network communication unit comprises an USB connector.

4. The mobile phone according to claim 1, wherein the ePaper display is electrically connected to the electronic components through a flexible printed circuit (FPC).

5. The mobile phone according to claim 1, wherein the ePaper display is an electrophoretic or electrowetting technique display having the numbers of resolutions, colors, and refresh rate lower than those of the LED/LCD display.

6. The mobile phone according to claim 1, wherein the electronic components comprise a display control unit adapting images from the LED/LCD display to those of appropriate resolutions, colors, and refresh rates for the ePaper display.

7. The mobile phone according to claim 1, wherein the LED/LCD display and the ePaper display are both touch screen displays; and a user interacts with the LED/LCD display by touching the touch screen to enter data control signal to both or one of the displays, orby the touch screen of ePaper display to enter data control signal to both or one of the displays.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0025] FIG. 1 is a front view diagram showing an existing dual-display mobile phone.

[0026] FIG. 2 is a front view diagram showing an existing foldable mobile phone.

[0027] FIG. 3 is a front view diagram showing a foldable mobile phone according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0028] FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram showing the foldable mobile phone of FIG. 3.

[0029] FIG. 5 is a front view diagram showing the foldable mobile phone of FIG. 3 under a power saving mode.

[0030] FIG. 6 is a front view diagram showing the foldable mobile phone of FIG. 3 when different images are respectively shown on two displays.

[0031] FIG. 7 is a front view diagram showing the foldable mobile phone of FIG. 3 when it is tilted to a side.

[0032] FIG. 8 is a front view diagram showing the foldable mobile phone of FIG. 3 when it is turned upside down.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0033] The following descriptions are exemplary embodiments only, and are not intended to limit the scope, applicability or configuration of the invention in any way. Rather, the following description provides a convenient illustration for implementing exemplary embodiments of the invention. Various changes to the described embodiments may be made in the function and arrangement of the elements described without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

[0034] As shown in FIG. 1, a conventional dual-display mobile phone 1 includes a first display 11 and a second display 12. The first display 11 and second display 12 are for showing different images A and B. The second display 12 may also be installed to the mobile phone l′s back side. But it is for showing frequently accessed information such as time or keyboard, not the same as the image A provided by the first display 11.

[0035] For example, R.O.C. Taiwan Patent No. 1533656 and U.S. Pat. No. 9,351,334 both have two displays arranged at two sides of a mobile phone. R.O.C. Taiwan Patent No. 1533656 also has one of the displays for showing frequently accessed information such as time. U.S. Pat. Nos. 10,320,962, 10,771,729, and 9,721,529 also have two displays on the same side of a mobile phone. These teachings do not involve foldable phones, the displays are small, and no ePaper display is adopted.

[0036] As shown in FIG. 2, an existing foldable mobile phone 2 has a first display 21 and a second display 22 respectively arranged in a left member and a right member of the mobile phone 2, each showing a half image C and another half image D. By combining the images C and D from the first display 21 and the second display 22, an image twice as large is presented.

[0037] U.S. Pat. Nos. 10,848,603, 10,491,724, 8,868,142, and 8,264,823, and R.O.C. Taiwan Patent No. 1721672 teach foldable mobile phones to provide an integrated and enlarged display so that the mobile phone would have a display comparable in size to that of a tablet. These teachings, also do not involve an ePaper display.

[0038] As shown in FIG. 3, a foldable mobile phone according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a foldable mobile phone body 3 having a first member 31 and second member 32. The first member 31 is configured with an existing LED/LCD display 33 for displaying text, picture and video. The second member 32 is configured with an ePaper display 34 for displaying low resolutions and low colors text, picture and low refresh rate video. The first member 31 and the second member 32 are coupled through mechanical and electrical means and the both members share the mobile phone's various mechanical and electrical modules. The mechanical means allows both members to be folded together or unfolded. It can be similar to the hinges of a notebook computer. The electronic means shows various data such as text, pictures, and videos on the displays. As it is commonly known that there are many mobile phones and ePaper displays on the market of different brands and models. Despite some minor differences, they all share a lot of common hardware and functions. The present invention is not aimed to alter these existing hardware and functions, or to adopt some special functions from a particular brand or model. In the present invention, both displays are touch screen displays and both share a display control unit 43 and a touch screen control unit 47. A user may interact with the LED/LCD display 33 by touching the touch screen to enter data control signal to the ePaper display 34, or with the ePaper display 34 to enter data control signal to the LED/LCD display 33. The two displays adopt basically identical hardware components and functionalities to those mobile phones currently available in the market.

[0039] A mobile phone module 41 is configured inside the first member 31. The mobile phone module 41 and the ePaper display 34 are connected with a flexible printed circuit (FPC) 35, which include many thin wires. In the drawings, the FPC 35 is denoted by a dashed line as it is housed inside the foldable mobile phone. The FPC 35 provides power and signal communications between the first member 31 and the ePaper display 34. Due to its flexibility, the FPC 35 is not damaged when the foldable mobile phone is folded and unfolded. The first member 31 has an exposed power and signal connector 36, such as an USB Type C connector, which is the same as those found on the existing mobile phones.

[0040] As shown in FIG. 4, the foldable mobile phone module 41 is the same as those that may found in existing mobile phones and, as exemplarily shown, it may include a power management unit, a network communication unit, a crystal oscillator unit, an input/output unit, a camera unit, an APP processing unit, a security authentication unit, a computation unit, a digital signal processing unit, artificial intelligence unit, a graphic processing unit, a storage unit, and operating system, APPs, and firmware stored in the storage unit, etc. The network communication unit provides wireless 4G, 5G, WIFI, and Bluetooth communications; and the network communication unit may include an USB connector. It should be noted that the various units of the foldable mobile phone module 41 are exemplary only, and the present invention is not limited as such. As a matter of fact, the present invention is not about the mobile phone module 41; people skilled in the related art can, based on their needs and requirements, use one of the mobile phone modules available in the market. Therefore, its details are omitted here.

[0041] The mobile phone module 41 is connected to a central processing unit 42 and a display control unit 43. The display control unit 43 is connected to a pixel and color transformation unit 44. The central processing unit 42 is also connected to an audio unit in the first member 31. People skilled in the related art can use one of the central processing units 42 and display control units 43 available from the market as long as they fit the needs and requirements. The pixel and color transformation unit 44 transforms data for the LED/LCD display pixels to those for ePaper display pixels, and converts the numbers of colors for the LED/LCD display to an appropriate number of colors for the ePaper display.

[0042] Through the display control unit 43 and the pixel and color transformation unit 44, the central processing unit 42 transmits images of different frames per second (FPS), of different pixels, and of different numbers of colors respectively to the LED/LCD display 33 and the ePaper display 34. For example, the images for the LED/LCD display 33 are 50-FPS images. For the ePaper display 34, the images are first determined whether they are black and white image 45 or color images 46. Then, images are transformed so that they are appropriate for the ePaper display 34. For example, 8-FPS images are for black and white images, and 1-FPS images are for color images. In addition, the pixel and color transformation unit 44 reduces the images of greater numbers of pixels for the LED/LCD display 33 to those of smaller numbers of pixels for the ePaper display 34. The pixel and color transformation unit 44 also reduces the images of greater numbers of colors for the LED/LCD display 33 to those of smaller numbers of colors for the ePaper display 34. The display control unit 43 is connected to a touch control screen unit 47 so that the LED/LCD display interacts with the ePaper display 34, and the ePaper display 34 interacts with the LED/LCD display 33 by touching each of the touch screens.

[0043] The LED/LCD display 33 and the ePaper display 34 may show an identical image E. When the foldable mobile phone is unfolded, both images E are simultaneously visible. For images E of a higher refresh rate such as a video, most user would prefer the images E shown on the LED/LCD display 33. For images E of a lower refresh rate such as text or picture, most user would prefer the images E shown in the ePaper display 34 which is easier for eyes. Alternatively, the foldable mobile phone of the present embodiment also allows a user to choose to view video of reduced refresh rate on the ePaper display 34. For currently available foldable mobile phones such as Huawei Mate X and Samsung Galaxy Fold, their dual displays have a very small gap in between and the gap is almost not visible. The purpose is to achieve an integrated display that is twice as large. In contrast, the foldable mobile phone of the present embodiment does not require such a small gap between the two displays. The foldable mobile phone of the present embodiment basically adds an additional ePaper display 34, and the ePaper display 34 is not required to be an integral part of the other display. The ePaper display 34 is a separate display but of a small thickness. Therefore, carrying the foldable mobile phone of the present embodiment is just like carrying an ordinary mobile phone.

[0044] As shown in FIG. 5, the foldable mobile phone of the present embodiment automatically turns off the LED/LCD display 33 when the foldable mobile phone enters a power saving mode whereas the ePaper display 34 would continuously show the image E with little power consumption.

[0045] As shown in FIG. 6, the foldable mobile phone of the present embodiment may be configured so that the image E remains shown by the ePaper display 34 whereas the LED/LCD display 33 is switched to show a different image F. In other words, the LED/LCD display 33 and the ePaper display 34 may be configured to show two independent images. In addition, a user may enter data control signal into and interact with ePaper display 34 through the touch screen of the LED/LCD display 33.

[0046] As shown in FIG. 7, as the foldable mobile phone of the present embodiment is tilted into a horizontal orientation, the image E is automatically turned to shown in a landscape mode.

[0047] As shown in FIG. 8, the foldable mobile phone of the present embodiment may be turned upside down so that the power and signal connector 36 is now at the top so that a left-handed user may operate the LED/LCD display 33 without blocking the view to the ePaper display 34. This mode of operation may also allow a right-handed user to conduct touch operation on the ePaper display 34. The image E would be automatically turned upside down.

[0048] While certain novel features of this invention have been shown and described and are pointed out in the annexed claim, it is not intended to be limited to the details above, since it will be understood that various omissions, modifications, substitutions and changes in the forms and details of the device illustrated and in its operation can be made by those skilled in the art without departing in any way from the claims of the present invention.