Granted Patent B2

US 12,596,398 · App. 19/009,547 · Granted Apr 7, 2026

Inventor: Kihun Eom (Suwon-si, KR)

Assignee: SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.

G06F1/1618G09G3/035

Abstract

Claims (48)

1 . An electronic device comprising:

a foldable housing;

a flexible display supported by the foldable housing, the flexible display comprising a first portion and a second portion;

a first sensor and a second sensor disposed in the foldable housing;

a third sensor disposed in the foldable housing;

at least one processor; and

memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor individually or collectively, cause the electronic device to:

based on a determination that the flexible display is in a folded state, at least partially deactivate a first sensing portion of the first sensor and the second sensor,

detect an event to switch the flexible display from the folded state to an unfolded state using the third sensor;

detect a movement of the foldable housing using a second sensing portion of the first sensor and the second sensor,

activate the first sensing portion based on the detection of the event and the detection of the movement of the foldable housing; and

measure at least one of a relative position or an angle of the first portion and the second portion in the flexible display using the first sensing portion and the second sensing portion.

2 . The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the first sensor comprises a first gyro sensor,

wherein the second sensor comprises a second gyro sensor, and

wherein the first sensing portion corresponds to the first gyro sensor and the second gyro sensor.

3 . The electronic device of claim 2 , wherein the first sensor further comprises a first acceleration sensor,

wherein the second sensor further comprises a second acceleration sensor, and

wherein the second sensing portion corresponds to the first acceleration sensor and the second acceleration sensor.

4 . The electronic device of claim 3 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor individually or collectively, cause the electronic device to:

based on the determination that the flexible display is in the folded state, have the first acceleration sensor and the second acceleration sensor at least partially remain active and deactivate the first gyro sensor and the second gyro sensor.

5 . The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the third sensor comprises a Hall sensor or a proximity sensor.

6 . The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor individually or collectively, cause the electronic device to:

receive a first interrupt signal from the third sensor in response to the event; and

determine that the flexible display switched from the folded state to the unfolded state, based on the first interrupt signal.

7 . The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor individually or collectively, cause the electronic device to at least partially deactivate the first sensor and the second sensor, based on the flexible display switching from the unfolded state to the folded state.

8 . The electronic device of claim 7 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor individually or collectively, cause the electronic device to:

receive a second interrupt signal from the third sensor in response to another event to switch the flexible display from the unfolded state to the folded state; and

determine that the flexible display switched from the unfolded state to the folded state, based on the second interrupt signal.

9 . The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor individually or collectively, cause the electronic device to:

perform the measurement of the at least one of the relative position or the angle based on an operation mode of the electronic device, and

the operation mode comprises a low-power mode and an active mode.

10 . The electronic device of claim 9 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the electronic device to:

obtain data with respect to an amount of the movement of the foldable housing using the activated first sensing portion and the second sensing portion while the operation mode of the electronic device is the low-power mode; and

perform the measurement of the at least one of the relative position or the angle using the data, if the operation mode of the electronic device switches from the low-power mode to the active mode.

11 . An operation method of an electronic device, the operation method comprising:

based on a determination that a flexible display of the electronic device is in a folded state, at least partially deactivating a first sensing portion of a first sensor of the electronic device and a second sensor of the electronic device;

detecting an event to switch the flexible display from the folded state to an unfolded state using a third sensor in the electronic device;

detecting a movement of a foldable housing of the electronic device using a second sensing portion of the first sensor and the second sensor;

activating the first sensing portion based on the detecting of the event and the detecting of the movement of the foldable housing; and

measuring at least one of a relative position or an angle of a first portion and a second portion in the flexible display using the first sensing portion and the second sensing portion.

12 . The operation method of claim 11 , wherein the first sensor comprises a first gyro sensor,

wherein the second sensor comprises a second gyro sensor, and

wherein the first sensing portion corresponds to the first gyro sensor and the second gyro sensor.

13 . The operation method of claim 11 , wherein the third sensor comprises a Hall sensor or a proximity sensor.

14 . The operation method of claim 11 , wherein the detecting the event comprises:

receiving a first interrupt signal from the third sensor in response to the event; and

determining that the flexible display switched from the folded state to the unfolded state, based on the first interrupt signal.

15 . The operation method of claim 11 , further comprising at least partially deactivating the first sensor and the second sensor, based on the flexible display switching from the unfolded state to the folded state.

Assignments (1)

Priority Claims (2)

Continuity (2)

References Cited (27)