EP-4741991-A1 - DISPLAY DEVICE AND CONTROL METHOD THEREOF

EP4741991A1EP 4741991 A1EP4741991 A1EP 4741991A1EP-4741991-A1

Abstract

A display device is disclosed. The present device comprises: a housing on which a display is mounted; at least one connection unit formed on at least one side of the housing; a plurality of wheels disposed on both sides of a lower end of the housing; a plurality of motors for rotating the plurality of wheels, respectively; and a control unit. When at least one external display device is connected to the housing by means of the at least one connection unit and used, the control unit may control at least one of the plurality of motors according to the operational state of the entire display device, including both the display device and the at least one external display device. Accordingly, the arrangement of the display devices may be automatically changed.

Inventors

CHOI, SUAN
CHUN, BUMHO
Jung, Jaewon
CHOI, NAKWON
HONG, Saerom
SON, SUNGDO
KIM, SUNYOUNG
KIM, YOUNGWOOK
BAN, SEOKHO
ANN, SUNGJIN
YOON, Sooyeoun
LEE, DONGHO
LEE, YONGJOO

Assignees

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260513
Application Date: 20241029

Claims (15)

A display device, comprising: a housing on which a display is mounted; at least one connection unit formed on at least one side of the housing; a plurality of wheels disposed on both sides of a lower end of the housing; a plurality of motors configured to rotate each of the plurality of wheels; and a control unit, wherein, when at least one external display device is connected to the housing by the at least one connection unit and used, the control unit controls at least one of the plurality of motors according to an operational state of all display devices, including both the display device and the at least one external display device.
The display device as claimed in claim 1, wherein, when a control signal for rotating the at least one wheel in the first direction or the second direction is received from the at least one external display device through the at least one connection unit, the control unit controls at least one of the plurality of motors in response to the control signal.
The display device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the control unit identifies operational state information of at least one of a position of a user, a distance from the user, and a gaze direction of the user based on a captured image of the user using all the display devices, determines an arrangement of all the display devices based on the identified operational state information, and transmits, to the external display device through the at least one connection unit, a control signal, based on the determined arrangement, for controlling at least one of the plurality of motors or folding the at least one external display device.
The display device as claimed in claim 3, wherein, when a change in state of the user is recognized based on continuously captured images, the control unit changes the arrangement according to the change in state, and transmits, to the external display device through the at least one connection unit, a control signal, based on the changed arrangement, for controlling at least one of the plurality of motors or folding the at least one external display device.
The display device as claimed in claim 1, further comprising: a memory storing user-specific configuration information; wherein the control unit recognizes a user using all the display devices based on a captured image of the user, acquires configuration information corresponding to the recognized user from the memory, and transmits, to the external display device through the at least one connection unit, a control signal, based on the configuration information on the arrangement of all the display devices among the acquired configuration information, for controlling at least one of the plurality of motors or folding the at least one external display device.
The display device as claimed in claim 1, further comprising: a memory storing information on arrangements differently set according to the type or number of content, wherein the control unit identifies the type or number of content provided by all the display devices, acquires the information on the arrangements corresponding to the identified type or number from the information stored in the memory, and transmits, to the external display device through the at least one connection unit, a control signal, based on the acquired information, for controlling at least one of the plurality of motors or folding the at least one external display device.
The display device as claimed in claim 1, wherein, when a user command for adjusting the arrangement or a folding angle of at least one of all the display devices is input, the control unit transmits, to the external display device through the at least one connection unit, a control signal, based on the input user command, for controlling at least one of the plurality of motors or folding the at least one external display device.
A control method for a display device, comprising: identifying an arrangement corresponding to an operational state of all display devices, including the display device and at least one external display device, in a state in which the display device is connected to at least one external display device in at least one direction and used; identifying a folding angle of the display device based on a position of the display device within all the display devices and the identified arrangement; and rotating at least one of a plurality of wheels disposed on both sides of a lower end of the display device so that the display device folds by the folding angle based on a connection portion with the at least one external display device.
The control method as claimed in claim 8, wherein the identifying of the arrangement includes: capturing a user using all the display devices with a camera; identifying at least one operational state information among a position of the user, a distance from the user, and a gaze direction of the user based on the captured image; and identifying the arrangement based on the identified operational state information.
The control method as claimed in claim 9, further comprising: continuously capturing the user's state with the camera; and. changing the folding angle based on a change in the user's state recognized based on the continuously captured images.
The control method as claimed in claim 8, wherein the identifying of the arrangement includes: capturing the user using all the display devices with a camera; recognizing the user based on the captured image; and acquiring configuration information on the recognized user from pre-stored configuration information, and identifying configuration information on the arrangement from the acquired configuration information.
The control method as claimed in claim 8, wherein the identifying of the arrangement includes: identifying the type or number of content provided by all the display devices; and acquiring information on the arrangement corresponding to the identified type or number from the pre-stored information.
The control method as claimed in claim 8, further comprising: receiving a user command for adjusting the arrangement or the folding angle; and rotating at least one of a plurality of wheels disposed on both sides of the lower end of the display device based on the user command.
The control method as claimed in any one of claims 8 to 13, further comprising: transmitting, to the external display device, a control signal for folding the at least one external display device based on a arrangement position of the at least one external display device among all the display devices and the identified arrangement; and displaying a UI object indicating the arrangement or a folding angle of each of all the display devices.
A non-transitory readable recording medium storing a program for executing a control method for controlling an operation of all display devices in a display device connected to at least one external display device and used, wherein the control method includes: identifying an operational state of all the display devices; and folding at least one of all the display devices based on a connection portion with another device so that all the display devices are disposed in a form corresponding to the operational state.

Description

[TECHNICAL FIELD] Apparatuses and methods consistent with the disclosure relate to a display device that can be connected to at least one external display device, and a control method thereof [Background Art] With the development of an electronic technology, various kinds of electronic apparatus have been used. A representative example of an electronic apparatus used in a general household may be a display device such as a television (TV). In conventional display devices, only a single piece of content was displayed; however, recently, multiple pieces of content may be displayed in various layouts. There are cases in which a size of a display device is increased, or a plurality of display devices are connected and used. Conventionally, when a plurality of display devices are connected and used, a user may rotate some of the display devices toward the user to match the user's field of view. However, the user's usage state, such as the type or number of content and the user's posture, may change frequently. It has been difficult to change the layout of the display devices each time such changes occur. [Disclosure of Invention] [Solution to Problem] In accordance with an aspect of the disclosure, a display device includes a housing on which a display is mounted, at least one connection unit formed on at least one side of the housing, a plurality of wheels disposed on both sides of a lower end of the housing based on the display, a plurality of motors configured to rotate each of the plurality of wheels, and a control unit, in which, when at least one external display device is connected to the housing by the at least one connection unit and used, the control unit may control at least one of the plurality of motors according to an operational state of all display devices, including both the display device and the at least one external display device. In accordance with another aspect of the disclosure, a control method for a display device includes identifying an arrangement corresponding to an operational state of all display devices, including the display device and at least one external display device, in a state in which the display device is connected to at least one external display device in at least one direction and used, identifying a folding angle of the display device based on a position of the display device within all the display devices and the identified arrangement, and rotating at least one of a plurality of wheels disposed on both sides of the lower end of the display device so that the display device folds by the folding angle based on a connection portion with the at least one external display device. In accordance with still another aspect of the disclosure, there is provided a non-transitory readable recording medium storing a program for executing a control method for controlling an operation of all display devices in a display device connected to at least one external display device and used. Here, the control method may include identifying an operational state of all the display devices, and folding at least one of all the display devices based on a connection portion with another device so that all the display devices are disposed in a form corresponding to the operational state. [Brief Description of Drawings] FIG. 1 is a diagram for describing an operation of a display device according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure.FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of display devices connected by a hinge device.FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a connection portion between display devices in a state in which the display devices are connected by the hinge device.FIGS. 4 to 6 are diagrams illustrating an example of a configuration of a wheel provided in the display device.FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the display device according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure.FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of the display device according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.FIGS. 9 to 15 are diagrams illustrating a method for changing an arrangement of a display device according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.FIGS. 16 to 18 are diagrams illustrating an example of graphic objects displayed on display devices.FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating an example of changing the arrangement according to a change in a user's usage state.FIGS. 20 to 22 are diagrams illustrating an example of changing the arrangement according to an operating mode.FIG. 23 is a diagram illustrating a method for changing an arrangement based on speech recognition technology.FIG. 24 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of the hinge device according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure.FIG. 25 is a diagram for describing a connection method according to other embodiments of the present disclosure.FIG. 26 is a flowchart illustrating a control method of a display device ac