The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office published a Microsoft granted patent relating to their next-gen foldable dual display devices branded Surface Neo (folding tablet) and Surface Duo (foldable smartphone). The hinge position of the device corresponds to a particular state of the device, such as a "book state" or a "laptop state," which then signals which type of applications could be supported.
These next-gen devices were expected to launch sometime during the 2020 Christmas shopping Quarter but a rumor from ZDNet's Mary Jo Foley surfacing last week claimed that Microsoft's Panos Panay, Microsoft's SVP Hardware, told his team that the new products would be delayed until sometime in 2021 due to COVID-19 complications.
Microsoft's granted patent notes that it would be desirable for a user of the device to access information regarding multiple applications simultaneously. However, a conventional device typically displays information regarding one application at a time.
In order for a user to access information from multiple applications simultaneously, it would be desirable to deliver a device with multiple displays. And that's exactly what Microsoft's patented solution delivers – the foundation for their next-gen dual display hardware that has been branded Surface Neo, for a dual display tablet, and Surface Neo, a dual display based foldable smartphone.
The patent describes dual display devices that are capable of making a "state-based" determination of information to be displayed on a screen region of a hinge that is coupled to other screen regions.
The determination may be made based on any one or more of a variety of factors, including but not limited to a state of the hinge (a.k.a. the hinge state; e.g., an angle of the hinge and/or the hinge state changing from a first state to a second state), an orientation of a device that includes the hinge, a manner in which the device is held, the device being located on a surface of an object, a context of the user, an application being executed in foreground by the device, an application being executed in background by the device, a state of an operating system of the device, and a state of a user interface associated with a task that is being performed by a user of the device.
Microsoft's patent FIGS. 1-6 below are views of example devices having hinges in respective states which translates to: "Open state, closed state, book state, laptop state and tent state." The hinge determines the state and how software is to respond in those states.
Examples of information that may be displayed on the screen region include but are not limited to virtual control(s), interface element(s) (e.g., a bookmark), notification(s) (e.g., time, remaining battery power, a number of messages or calls that have been received or missed, an indication of an application that is displayed on another screen region, an indication of another device that is connected to the device, or an identity of a user (e.g., owner) of the device), instructions (e.g., to copy or move content from a screen region to another screen region), and a portion of an image that spans multiple screen regions.
Example techniques described in the patent have a variety of benefits as compared to conventional techniques for displaying information to a user. For instance, the example techniques may be capable of selecting the information (e.g., the type of information) that is to be displayed on a hinge screen region depending on a state (e.g., orientation) of the hinge and/or other factor(s).
A hinge screen region is a screen region that is provided (e.g., located) on a hinge. The example techniques may be capable of capturing signals regarding the state of the hinge and/or the other factor(s) and providing the signals to the operating system (OS) of a device that includes the hinge. The signals may be used to select which contextual information is to be displayed on the hinge screen region.
The state of the hinge may provide an overall intent of the device. For instance, the information that is displayed on the hinge screen region may depend on the overall intent of the device. The hinge screen region may provide user interface (UI) feedback to the user in response to gestures of the user and/or the state of the hinge.
Context of the hinge may be used to select (e.g., optimize) the information that is displayed on the hinge screen region depending on the user's current intent (e.g., to increase a likelihood that the information is relevant to the user).
For instance, when the device is closed (e.g., first and second screen regions that are coupled to the hinge face each other), the user may have an intent to know about notifications. When the user views the first screen region while the first and second screen regions are back-to-back (e.g., facing opposing exterior surfaces of the device) or in a tent state (e.g., facing surfaces of the device that form a reflex angle less than 360 degrees), the user may have an intent to know global information, such as what is displayed on the second screen region, information about what is displayed on the first screen region, or which applications will be provided to the user in response to gestures.
When the device is open (e.g., the first and second screen regions face the same direction), the user may have an intent for the hinge screen region to bridge the first and second screen regions together to create a continuous (e.g., seamless) display surface or to provide a visual divider between the first and second screen regions.
The example embodiments may be capable of mitigating (e.g., eliminating) clutter with regard to display of information on the device. The example techniques may enable the user to access information regarding multiple applications simultaneously. The example techniques may enable the user to be able to provide input to applications in addition to an application with which the user is interacting on a screen region.
Microsoft's patent FIG. 13 below is a detailed block diagram of an example device.
Microsoft's patent FIGS. 11 and 12 above depict flowcharts of example methods for making a state-based determination of information to be displayed on a screen region of a hinge that is coupled to other screen regions.
The U.S. Patent Office granted Microsoft this granted patent on March 31, 2020. The patent was originally filed in Q3 2019.
Comments