IP Library › Granted Patent US 9,144,815
Granted Patent B2
US 9,144,815 · App. 14/178,848 · Granted Sep 29, 2015

Digital device and method for controlling the same

Inventors: Jihwan Kim (Seoul, KR); Doyoung Lee (Seoul, KR); Sinae Chun (Seoul, KR); Eunhyung Cho (Seoul, KR)
Assignee: LG Electronics Inc.
B05B12/124
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 9,144,815
App. No.
14/178,848
Granted
Sep 29, 2015
Kind
B2
Abstract

A digital device including a scent emitting unit and a method for controlling the same are disclosed. The digital device includes a display unit for displaying a first image including a first object having a first scent property and a second object having a second scent property, a sensor unit for sensing a distance from a specific body part of a user, a scent emitting unit, and a processor. The processor controls the scent emitting unit to emit any one of a first scent, a second scent or a mixture of the first scent and the second scent according to the distance from the specific body part of the user, and a mixture ratio of the first scent to the second scent in the mixture is changed according to a predetermined condition.

Claims (39)

1. A digital device comprising:

a display unit for displaying a first image including a first object having a first scent property and a second object having a second scent property;

a sensor unit for sensing a distance from a specific body part of a user to the sensing unit;

a scent emitting unit; and

a processor,

wherein the processor controls the scent emitting unit to emit any one of a first scent, a second scent or a mixture of the first scent and the second scent according to the sensed distance from the specific body part of the user,

wherein a mixture ratio of the first scent to the second scent in the mixture is changed according to a predetermined condition, and

wherein:

the sensor unit further senses an external wind direction, and

the processor controls the scent emitting unit to emit the scent to the external wind direction when the sensed distance from the specific body part of the user exceeds a first distance.

2. The digital device according to claim 1 , wherein the specific body part of the user is a user's face or nose.

3. The digital device according to claim 1 , wherein the processor further controls the scent emitting unit to emit only one scent of an object corresponding to the specific body part of the user when the sensed distance from the specific body part of the user is equal to or less than a first distance.

4. The digital device according to claim 3 , wherein the processor further controls the scent emitting unit to emit the mixture in which a rate of a scent of an object closer to the specific body part of the user is larger than a rate of a scent of the other object in the mixture, when the sensed distance from the specific body part of the user is equal to or less than a second distance and greater than the first distance.

5. The digital device according to claim 4 , wherein the processor further controls the scent emitting unit to emit the mixture, in which the mixture ratio of the first scent to the second scent is 1:1, when the sensed distance from the specific body part of the user is equal to or less than a third distance and greater than the second distance.

6. The digital device according to claim 5 , wherein the processor further controls the scent emitting unit to stop scent emission when the sensed distance from the specific body part of the user exceeds the third distance.

7. The digital device according to claim 6 , wherein the processor further controls the scent emitting unit to emit any one of the first scent, the second scent, or the mixture of the first scent and the second scent, when a predetermined user input is detected only.

8. The digital device according to claim 1 , wherein:

the display unit includes a touchscreen, and

the processor controls the scent emitting unit to emit a scent of an object corresponding to a touch area of the touchscreen between the first scent and the second scent when touch input is received via the touchscreen.

9. The digital device according to claim 8 , wherein the processor further controls the scent emitting unit to emit the scent of the object corresponding to the touch area of the touchscreen regardless of the sensed distance from the specific body part of the user when touch input is received via the touchscreen.

10. The digital device according to claim 4 , wherein at least one of the first object and the second object has a depth perceived by the user.

11. The digital device according to claim 10 , wherein the processor determines an object closer to the specific body part of the user using the sensed distance from the specific body part of the user and the depth.

12. The digital device according to claim 1 , wherein the processor further controls the strength of the scent emitted from the scent emitting unit according to the distance from the specific body part of the user.

13. The digital device according to claim 7 , further comprising a user input unit for receiving user input,

wherein the processor controls the scent emitting unit to emit at least one of the first scent, the second scent or the mixture of the first scent and the second scent according to specific user input received via the user input unit when the sensed distance from the specific body part of the user exceeds the third distance.

14. The digital device according to claim 1 , wherein the first image includes a still image or a moving image.

15. The digital device according to claim 1 , wherein:

the display unit displays a second image instead of the first image, and

the processor controls the scent emitting unit to stop emission of the first scent, the second scent or the mixture of the first scent and the second scent and to emit a neutralization material.

16. The digital device according to claim 1 , wherein the processor further controls the scent emitting unit to emit a neutralization material before emitting the second scent or the mixture when the scent emitted from the scent emitting unit is changed from the first scent to the second scent or is changed from the first scent to the mixture.

17. The digital device according to claim 1 , wherein, when the scent emitted from the scent emitting unit is changed from a mixture having a first mixing ratio to a mixture having a second mixing ratio, the processor controls the scent emitting unit to emit a neutralization material before emitting the mixture having the second mixing ratio.

18. The digital device according to claim 1 , wherein the processor further controls the scent emitting unit to emit the scent, the strength of which is changed according to the sensed distance from the specific body part of the user, toward the direction of the wind.

19. A method for controlling a digital device, the method comprising:

displaying a first image including a first object having a first scent property and a second object having a second scent property;

sensing a distance from a sensor unit of the digital device to a specific body part of a user;

sensing an external wind direction from the sensor unit; and

emitting any one of a first scent, a second scent or a mixture of the first scent and the second scent according to the sensed distance from the specific body part of the user, and

wherein a mixing ratio of the first scent to the second scent in the mixture is changed according to a predetermined condition, and

wherein the emitting of the any one of the first second, the second scent or the mixture of the first scent and the second scent is emitted to the external wind direction when the sensed distance from the specific body party of the user exceeds a first distance.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Feb 18, 2014
From: KIM, JIHWAN; LEE, DOYOUNG; CHUN, SINAE; CHO, EUNHYUNG
To: LG ELECTRONICS INC.
Reel/Frame 032237/0193 →
Priority Claims (1)
KR 10-2013-0114501 · Sep 26, 2013 · national
Continuity (1)
Related Publication 20150083817A1 · Mar 26, 2015