Rollable Screens, Transparent Doors and Following Robots: LG Patents

What is it?

"Rollable display device" places a flexible display part on a roller inside a housing. FIG. 1 shows the large screen rising from the long base when the display is in use.

A conventional television remains a large black rectangle even when switched off. Here, the viewing surface itself can be stored. The area available for watching and the area permanently occupied in the room no longer have to be the same.

What is it?

"Refrigerator" describes a refrigerator door incorporating a transparent display. FIG. 2 shows the appliance from an oblique angle with the large door surface forming the interface between the user and the compartment.

A refrigerator normally requires opening the door to see what is inside. A transparent display can preserve that closed boundary while letting the user look through it and overlay useful information on the same area.

What is it?

"Method for projecting image and robot implementing the same" describes a mobile robot with a projector that recognizes the user and the surrounding space, then chooses a projection area appropriate for the content. FIG. 7 places the robot and user together in a room while an image is projected nearby.

A fixed projector assumes the screen location in advance. This proposal moves the projector itself and treats nearby physical surfaces as candidates, letting the room supply the display area.

What is it?

"Roll-slide mobile terminal" stores part of a flexible display inside the body and expands the frame so more of the panel becomes visible. FIG. 2 compares the contracted and expanded states.

A foldable divides a screen around a hinge. A roll-slide design instead changes the outline of the device itself: the phone grows sideways and a continuous hidden portion of the display appears.

What is it?

"Deformable display device for vehicle" makes the shape and location of an in-car display variable. FIG. 6 shows the relationship between the curved display portion and the mechanism that moves it.

Most dashboard screens are fixed pieces of interior trim. Here, "where is the screen?" and "how curved is it?" become changeable states that can respond to driving, viewing or storage needs.

What is it?

"Head mounted display" uses gears and rails to move parts of the wearable member around the user's head. FIGS. 3A and 3B show the relationship between the head and the fitting mechanism.

Headsets are usually adjusted by manually tightening a strap. This design gives the mechanism itself the ability to move, shifting some of the fitting task from the wearer to the device.

What is it?

"Wearable robot" places a rear supporting portion, hip-joint driving unit and leg mounting structures directly on the user's body. FIG. 1 shows the robot overlapping the waist and legs.

A service robot usually moves next to a person. In this arrangement the machine becomes part of the wearer's outer structure, turning two separate bodies into one assisted system.

What is it?

"Transparent display device" puts a transparent display panel and control module into a frame that can be attached to the door of a cooler or another product. FIGS. 1 and 2 show the display area and the frame structure.

Rather than building a transparent display permanently into the appliance, the display-bearing door surface can become a separate module. Products remain visible behind it while information or advertising appears in front.

What is it?

"Robot cleaner and a system including the same" can display the cleaner's estimated traveling path as an AR image on a mobile terminal. FIG. 10D distinguishes the planned route from the already cleaned region with different lines.

Autonomous cleaners are convenient partly because people do not have to drive them, but that also makes their next action less obvious. This system exposes the internal route plan by placing it back into the physical room visually.

What is it?

"Movable robot" describes a mobile robot that can function as a shopping cart. FIG. 1 shows the basket, frame, wheels and handle that make the robot recognizable as an ordinary cart.

The patent includes a user-following mode and a driving-power supporting mode. It can track the position of a phone or wearable and follow the user, or detect force on the handle and add motor assistance while the person pushes.