Display apparatus, control method thereof, and display system with automatic image orientation adjustment

This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2004-0093258, filed on Nov. 15, 2004, which is hereby incorporated by reference for all purposes as if fully set forth herein.

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a display apparatus, a control method thereof, and a display system, and more particularly, to a display apparatus having a pivoting function, a control method thereof, and a display system.

2. Description of the Related Art

A conventional display apparatus processes a video signal transmitted, which has a predetermined format, from an internal or external source, thereby displaying an image.

The display apparatus may be a liquid crystal display (LCD), a plasma display panel (PDP), an organic electroluminescent display (OLED), etc., having a pivotable display panel. Thus, the display panel may be rotated with respect to a perpendicular axis to its surface so as to arrange in a landscape or portrait direction, which is referred to as a pivot function.

To use the pivot function, a computer should include a video card capable of supporting the pivot function and/or have a software program supporting a pivot function.

In the conventional display apparatus having the pivot function, a user pivots the display panel on a perpendicular axis to its surface, and then selects a pivoting angle through an input unit, such as a keyboard or the like. Thus, the computer processes an input video signal corresponding with the pivoting function selected by a user, and transmits the processed video signal to the display apparatus.

The display apparatus processes the received video signal through a scaler or the like, and displays an image according to the video signal. Meanwhile, an on screen display (OSD) menu provided in the display apparatus is also rotated by a pivoting command transmitted from the computer.

However, in the conventional display apparatus with the pivoting function, a user should separately rotate the display panel at a predetermined angle in order to use the pivoting function and select the pivoting angle in detail through a predetermined input unit, which makes the pivoting function time-consuming and difficult to use.

An aspect of the present invention is to provide a display apparatus having a is pivoting function, a control method thereof and a display system, in which a pivoting angle of a display panel is automatically sensed, an OSD menu is automatically rotated on the basis of the pivoting angle, and corresponding data is output to an external source, thereby fulfilling the pivoting function.

Additional features of the invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention.

The invention provides a display apparatus including a communication port communicating with an external source, an on screen display generator generating an on screen display menu, a display panel displaying the on screen display menu thereon, the display apparatus further including a pivot sensor sensing a pivoting angle of the display panel and outputting data corresponding to the pivoting angle when the display panel is pivoted, and a controller setting an on screen display displaying direction of the on screen display generator according to the data relating to the pivoting angle from the pivot sensor and transmitting the data relating to the pivoting angle to the external source through the communication port.

The invention further provides a display system including an external source processing a video signal, a display apparatus having a pivoting function, including a communication port communicating with the external source, an on screen display generator generating an on screen display menu, a display panel displaying the on screen display menu thereon, a memory storing data relating to a pivoting angle of the display panel, a pivot sensor sensing the pivoting angle of the display panel and outputting data corresponding to the pivoting angle when the display panel is pivoted by a user, and a controller comparing the data relating to the pivoting angle sensed by the pivot sensor with the data relating to the pivoting angle stored in the memory, setting an on screen display displaying direction of the on screen display generator on the basis of the data relating to the pivoting angle from the pivot sensor when the data relating to the pivoting angle sensed by the pivot sensor is not equal to the data relating to the pivoting angle stored in the memory, and transmitting the data relating to the pivoting angle to the external source through the communication port, wherein the external source processes the video signal according to the data relating to the pivoting angle received through the communication port and transmits the processed video signal to the display apparatus.

The invention further provides for a method of controlling a display apparatus including a communication port communicating with an external source, an on screen display generator generating an on screen display menu, and a display panel displaying the on screen display menu thereon, the method including storing data relating to a pivoting angle of the display panel, sensing the pivoting angle of the display panel and outputting data relating to the sensed pivoting angle, comparing the sensed data relating to the pivoting angle with the stored data relating to the pivoting angle, and setting an on screen display displaying a direction of the on screen display generator according to the sensed data relating to the pivoting angle when the output data relating to the pivoting angle is not equal to the stored data relating to the pivoting angle, and transmitting the data relating to the pivoting angle to the external source through the communication port.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed.

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the invention.

FIG. 1 is a control block diagram of a display system comprising a display apparatus according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a control flowchart of a display apparatus according to another embodiment of the invention.

Reference will now be made in detail to the embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout. The embodiments of a display system comprising a display apparatus 10 and a computer 20 are described below in order to explain the present invention by referring to the figures.

FIG. 1 is a control block diagram of a display apparatus according to an embodiment of the invention.

Referring to FIG. 1 , there is provided a display apparatus 10 that includes a display panel 11 to display an image according to a processed video signal, an OSD generator 13 to generate an OSD menu, a pivot sensor 17 to sense a pivoting angle of the display panel 111 and output a corresponding signal, a communication port 18 to communicate with an external source, and a controller 19 to control the display apparatus 10 . The display apparatus 10 may further include a memory 15 to store data relating to the pivoting angle of the display panel 11 .

The display panel 11 processes a video signal received through an internal source or an external source, and displays an image thereon. Here, the display panel 11 may be realized by an LCD, a PDP, or etc.

Further, the display panel 11 has a pivotable structure, e.g., rotatable, turnable, moveable, spinable, etc., and its pivoting angle is determined according to the pivotable structure.

The OSD generator 13 generates a video signal for the OSD menu for adjusting information relating to a video signal received from the external source and information relating to the display apparatus 10 . The OSD generator 13 may be realized by an OSD integrated chip (IC).

The OSD menu generated by the OSD generator 13 and displayed on the display panel 11 includes various OSD items for adjusting information relating to an effective area position, color, etc. of the display apparatus 10 or information about the video signal.

The memory 15 may be realized by an erasable programmable read only memory (EPROM), an electrical erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM), a register, or the like. Thus, data may be reread and rewritten from the memory 15 .

The data relating to the pivoting angle of the display panel is stored in the memory 15 and may include at least one of −90 degrees, 90 degrees, and 180 degrees.

The pivot sensor 17 senses the pivoting angle of the display panel 11 and outputs sensed data to the controller 19 . The pivot sensor 17 may be realized by a pivoting angle sensing IC.

The pivot sensor 17 may output signals having different electrical potential according to the pivoting angles. Further, the pivot sensor 17 outputs a corresponding signal when the pivoting angle is more or less than a predetermined reference angle, thereby preventing a sensitive operation. The pivot sensor 17 may be designed to only output a corresponding signal when the pivoting angle is more or less than a predetermined than the predetermined reference angle. In a non-limiting example, the pivot sensor 17 may not output the signal when the pivoting angle is within a range from 0 degree to 30 degrees.

An allowable pivoting angle of the display panel 11 may be divided into predetermined ranges, and the same signal may be output with regard to the pivoting angles corresponding to the same range. For example, the allowable pivoting angle may be divided into a range from −30 degrees to 30 degrees, a range from 50 degrees to 120 degrees, and a range from 150 degrees to 210 degrees, and the same signal is output with regard to the same range.

The communication port 18 enables the data to communicate with the external source and is connected with a communication cable, such as a digital video interface (DVI) connector, a high definition multimedia interface (HDMI) connector, etc.

The controller 19 checks the sensed signal output from the pivot sensor 17 , sets an OSD pivoting angle as an OSD displaying direction arranging the OSD menu generated by the OSD generator 13 , and transmits the corresponding signal to the external source through the communication port 18 , wherein the controller 19 may be realized by a micro control unit (MCU).

The controller 19 may further include an OSD pivot program to pivot the OSD menu.

The controller 19 sets the OSD pivoting angle, and converts an OSD video signal output from the OSD generator 13 into a signal corresponding with the pivoted image by using a process or an equation that is different depending on the pivoting angles, thereby controlling the OSD menu on the display panel 11 .

When the display panel 11 is pivoted from a pivoting angle having a range between 0 degree to 180 degrees, the respective video signals are reversed with respect to each other, such that the controller 19 reverses the video signal in order to display an image, and vice versa. Similarly, the controller 19 reverses the video signal when the display panel 11 is pivoted from a pivoting angle having a range of between −90 degrees to 90 degrees, and vice versa.

The controller 19 may further control the memory 15 to store the sensed signal of the pivot sensor 17 therein, and control the display panel 11 to display the OSD menu and an image according to the video signal output from the external source according to the pivoting angle data stored in the memory 15 when power is on.

According to an embodiment of the invention, a computer 20 may be used as the external source (refer to FIG. 1 ).

The computer 20 has a pivot program 21 . The controller 19 outputs a signal relating to the pivoting angle as a virtual control panel (VCP) code command according to monitor control command set (MCCS) standards through the communication port 18 .

Further, when the computer 20 requests the controller 19 to send the data relating to the pivoting angle of the display panel 11 , the controller 19 reads the data from the memory 15 and then outputs the data as the VCP code based on the MCCS standards.

The pivot program 21 of the computer 20 recognizes the signal transmitted from the display apparatus 10 and transforms the video signal transmitted from the computer 20 to the display apparatus 10 in correspondence with the pivoting angle of the display panel 11 , thereby rotating the image according to the video signal.

Therefore, even when a user does not know how to use the pivot program 21 , the pivoting angle of the display panel 11 is automatically sensed when the display panel 11 is pivoted, so that an image according to the video signal from the external source as well as the OSD menu is properly displayed according to the pivoting angles.

FIG. 2 is a control flowchart of a display apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention. A display apparatus 10 according to the embodiment of the invention discussed below and described with reference to FIG. 2 , has the same configuration as the configuration of the display apparatus of the embodiment of the invention discussed above and shown in FIG. 1 , and thus repetitive descriptions are avoided as necessary.

Referring to FIG. 2 , in a non-limiting embodiment of the invention, the controller 19 controls the memory 15 to store the data relating to the pivoting angle of the display panel 11 sensed by the pivot sensor 17 , as shown at operation S 10 .

When the display apparatus 10 is turned on, the controller 19 controls the OSD menu to be generated according to the data relating to the pivoting angle stored in the memory 15 , and transmits the data to the computer 20 by reading out the data from the memory 15 when the computer 20 requests the corresponding data.

The pivot sensor 17 senses whether the display panel 11 is pivoted, and outputs a signal corresponding to the pivoting angles. The controller 19 checks the signal corresponding to the pivoting angle, as shown at operation S 11 .

The controller 19 compares the data relating to the pivoting angle sensed by the pivot sensor 17 with the data relating to the pivoting angle stored in the memory 15 , as shown at operation S 13 .

When the data of the pivot sensor 17 is not equal to the data of the memory 15 , the OSD menu is rotated according to the data from the pivot sensor 17 , and the data from the pivot sensor 17 is transmitted to the external source, as shown at operation S 14 .

Further, the data relating to the pivoting angle stored in the memory 15 is replaced by the data relating to the pivoting angle sensed by the pivot sensor 17 , and then stored in the memory 15 , as shown at operation S 10 .

The foregoing control flowchart of the controller 19 may vary according to its programming methods.

As described above, the present invention provides a display apparatus, a control method thereof and a display system, in which a pivoting angle of a display panel is automatically sensed, an OSD menu is automatically rotated according to the pivoting angle, and corresponding data is output to an external source, thereby completing the pivoting operation.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variation can be made in the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Thus, it is intended that the present invention cover the modifications and variations of this invention provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.