U.S. patent application number 13/274047 was filed with the patent office on 2013-04-18 for auto-stereoscopic display control.
This patent application is currently assigned to NOKIA CORPORATION. The applicant listed for this patent is Aki Petri Happonen, Tero Pekka Rissa. Invention is credited to Aki Petri Happonen, Tero Pekka Rissa.
Application Number | 20130093753 13/274047 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 48082612 |
Filed Date | 2013-04-18 |
United States Patent
Application |
20130093753 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Rissa; Tero Pekka ; et
al. |
April 18, 2013 |
AUTO-STEREOSCOPIC DISPLAY CONTROL
Abstract
An apparatus, a method and a non-transitory computer readable
medium is provided. The apparatus includes: at least one processor;
and at least one memory storing computer program instructions
configured, working with the at least one processor, to cause the
apparatus to perform at least the following: detecting bending of a
flexible auto-stereoscopic display; and adjusting a parallax
barrier arrangement of the flexible auto-stereoscopic display in
dependence upon the bending of the flexible auto-stereoscopic
display.
Inventors: |
Rissa; Tero Pekka;
(Siivikkala, FI) ; Happonen; Aki Petri; (Kiiminki,
FI) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Rissa; Tero Pekka
Happonen; Aki Petri |
Siivikkala
Kiiminki |
|
FI
FI |
|
|
Assignee: |
NOKIA CORPORATION
Espoo
FI
|
Family ID: |
48082612 |
Appl. No.: |
13/274047 |
Filed: |
October 14, 2011 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
345/419 ;
345/522 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06F 3/041 20130101;
H04N 13/383 20180501; G06F 1/1652 20130101; G06F 2203/04102
20130101; H04N 13/31 20180501; G06F 3/013 20130101; G06F 1/1684
20130101; G02B 30/27 20200101 |
Class at
Publication: |
345/419 ;
345/522 |
International
Class: |
G06T 15/00 20110101
G06T015/00; G06T 1/00 20060101 G06T001/00 |
Claims
1. An apparatus, comprising: at least one processor; and at least
one memory storing computer program instructions configured,
working with the at least one processor, to cause the apparatus to
perform at least the following: detecting bending of a flexible
auto-stereoscopic display; and adjusting a parallax barrier
arrangement of the flexible auto-stereoscopic display in dependence
upon the bending of the flexible auto-stereoscopic display.
2. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein adjustment of the
parallax barrier arrangement depends upon where the flexible
auto-stereoscopic display is bent.
3. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein adjustment of the
parallax barrier arrangement depends upon the extent to which the
flexible auto-stereoscopic display is bent.
4. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the parallax barrier
arrangement is configured to provide a plurality of opaque regions
defining a plurality of slits, and adjusting the parallax barrier
arrangement comprises adjusting at least one characteristic of the
opaque regions.
5. An apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein the at least one
characteristic comprises one or more positions of the opaque
regions.
6. An apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein the at least one
characteristic comprises one or more widths of the opaque
regions.
7. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the positions of a
viewer's eyes are determined using at least one image captured by
one or more image sensors, and the parallax barrier arrangement is
adjusted in dependence upon the determined positions.
8. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein adjustment of the
parallax barrier arrangement changes which pixels of the flexible
auto-stereoscopic display are viewable by one or both eyes of a
viewer.
9. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the computer program
instructions are configured, working with the at least one
processor, to cause the apparatus to: change how auto-stereoscopic
image content is displayed by pixels of the flexible
auto-stereoscopic display, in accordance with adjustment of the
parallax barrier arrangement.
10. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the computer
program instructions are configured, working with the at least one
processor, to cause: an output to be provided to a viewer,
following the bending of the flexible auto-stereoscopic display,
which is associated with a switch from the flexible
auto-stereoscopic display displaying a stereoscopic image to the
flexible auto-stereoscopic display displaying a non-stereoscopic
image.
11. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the computer
program instructions are configured, working with the at least one
processor, to cause: the flexible auto-stereoscopic display to
change from displaying a stereoscopic image to displaying a
non-stereoscopic image, in dependence upon the bending of the
flexible auto-stereoscopic display.
12. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further comprising the
flexible auto-stereoscopic display which includes a display panel
and the parallax barrier arrangement.
13. A method, comprising: detecting bending of a flexible
auto-stereoscopic display; and adjusting a parallax barrier
arrangement of the flexible auto-stereoscopic display in dependence
upon the bending of the flexible auto-stereoscopic display.
14. A method as claimed in claim 13, wherein the parallax barrier
arrangement is configured to provide a plurality of opaque regions
defining a plurality of slits, and adjusting the parallax barrier
arrangement comprises adjusting at least one characteristic of the
opaque regions.
15. A method as claimed in claim 13, wherein the at least one
characteristic comprises one or more positions of the opaque
regions and/or one or more widths of the opaque regions.
16. A method as claimed in claim 13, further comprising: changing
how auto-stereoscopic image content is displayed by pixels of the
flexible auto-stereoscopic display, in accordance with adjustment
of the parallax barrier arrangement.
17. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing computer
program instructions that, when performed by at least one
processor, cause at least the following to be performed: detecting
bending of a flexible auto-stereoscopic display; and adjusting a
parallax barrier arrangement of the flexible auto-stereoscopic
display in dependence upon the bending of the flexible
auto-stereoscopic display.
18. A non-transitory computer readable medium as claimed in claim
17, wherein the parallax barrier arrangement is configured to
provide a plurality of opaque regions defining a plurality of
slits, and adjusting the parallax barrier arrangement comprises
adjusting at least one characteristic of the opaque regions.
19. A non-transitory computer readable medium as claimed in claim
17, wherein the at least one characteristic comprises one or more
positions of the opaque regions and/or one or more widths of the
opaque regions.
20. A non-transitory computer readable medium as claimed in claim
17, further comprising: changing how auto-stereoscopic image
content is displayed by pixels of the flexible auto-stereoscopic
display, in accordance with adjustment of the parallax barrier
arrangement.
Description
TECHNOLOGICAL FIELD
[0001] Embodiments of the present invention relate to
auto-stereoscopic display control. In particular, they relate to
controlling a parallax barrier arrangement of a flexible
auto-stereoscopic display.
BACKGROUND
[0002] A stereoscopic display is configured to convey a
stereoscopic image (that is, a three dimensional image) to a
viewer. Some stereoscopic displays require a viewer to wear special
glasses (such as polarized glasses or active shutter glasses) in
order to obtain the stereoscopic effect.
[0003] An auto-stereoscopic display is configured to convey a
stereoscopic image to a viewer without requiring the viewer to wear
special glasses to view the displayed stereoscopic image.
[0004] Some forms of auto-stereoscopic display include a parallax
barrier arrangement. The parallax barrier arrangement controls
which parts of the display can be seen by each eye of the viewer
from a particular position. Each eye sees a different image, which
results in a stereoscopic effect for the viewer.
BRIEF SUMMARY
[0005] According to various, but not necessarily all, embodiments
of the invention there is provided an apparatus, comprising: at
least one processor; and at least one memory storing computer
program instructions configured, working with the at least one
processor, to cause the apparatus to perform at least the
following: detecting bending of a flexible auto-stereoscopic
display; and adjusting a parallax barrier arrangement of the
flexible auto-stereoscopic display in dependence upon the bending
of the flexible auto-stereoscopic display.
[0006] According to various, but not necessarily all, embodiments
of the invention there is provided a method, comprising: detecting
bending of a flexible auto-stereoscopic display; and adjusting a
parallax barrier arrangement of the flexible auto-stereoscopic
display in dependence upon the bending of the flexible
auto-stereoscopic display.
[0007] According to various, but not necessarily all, embodiments
of the invention there is provided an apparatus comprising means
for performing the above method.
[0008] According to various, but not necessarily all, embodiments
of the invention there is provided a non-transitory computer
readable medium storing computer program instructions that, when
performed by at least one processor, cause at least the following
to be performed: detecting bending of a flexible auto-stereoscopic
display; and adjusting a parallax barrier arrangement of the
flexible auto-stereoscopic display in dependence upon the bending
of the flexible auto-stereoscopic display.
[0009] According to various, but not necessarily all, embodiments
of the invention there is provided an apparatus comprising: means
for detecting bending of a flexible auto-stereoscopic display; and
means for adjusting a parallax barrier arrangement of the flexible
auto-stereoscopic display in dependence upon the bending of the
flexible auto-stereoscopic display.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION
[0010] For a better understanding of various examples of
embodiments of the present invention reference will now be made by
way of example only to the accompanying drawings in which:
[0011] FIG. 1 illustrates an apparatus;
[0012] FIG. 2 illustrates a further apparatus;
[0013] FIG. 3 illustrates a method;
[0014] FIG. 4 schematically illustrates a viewer viewing a flexible
auto-stereoscopic display that has been bent, where a parallax
barrier arrangement of the flexible auto-stereoscopic display has
not been adjusted;
[0015] FIG. 5 schematically illustrates a viewer viewing a flexible
auto-stereoscopic display that has been bent and the parallax
barrier arrangement has been adjusted; and
[0016] FIG. 6 schematically illustrates a change in how
auto-stereoscopic content is displayed by the flexible
auto-stereoscopic display in accordance with adjustment of the
parallax barrier arrangement.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0017] Embodiments of the invention relate to controlling a
parallax barrier arrangement of a flexible auto-stereoscopic
display. An image displayed on the flexible display may be viewable
in three dimensions from one or more viewer positions ("sweet
spots"). At all other viewer positions, the viewer may see a
two-dimensional image displayed on the flexible display rather than
a three-dimensional image.
[0018] In embodiments of the invention, if a user bends the
flexible auto-stereoscopic display, the three-dimensional effect is
advantageously maintained at one or more of the "sweet spots" by
adjusting the parallax barrier arrangement of the flexible
display.
[0019] In this regard, the figures illustrate an apparatus 10/30,
comprising: at least one processor 12; and at least one memory 14
storing computer program instructions 16 configured, working with
the at least one processor 12, to cause the apparatus 10/30 to
perform at least the following: detecting bending of a flexible
auto-stereoscopic display 20; and adjusting a parallax barrier
arrangement 22 of the flexible auto-stereoscopic display 20 in
dependence upon the bending of the flexible auto-stereoscopic
display 20.
[0020] FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic of an apparatus 10 comprising
at least one processor 12 and at least one memory 14. The apparatus
10 may, for example, be a chip or a chipset. Although a single
processor 12 and a single memory 14 are illustrated in FIG. 1, in
some implementations of the invention more than one processor 12
and/or more than one memory 14 is provided.
[0021] The processor 12 is configured to read from and write to the
memory 14. The processor 12 may also comprise an output interface
via which data and/or commands are output by the processor 12 and
an input interface via which data and/or commands are input to the
processor 12.
[0022] Although the memory 14 is illustrated as a single component
it may be implemented as one or more separate components some or
all of which may be integrated/removable and/or may provide
permanent/semi-permanent/dynamic/cached storage.
[0023] The memory 14 stores computer program instructions 16 that
control the operation of the apparatus 10 when loaded into the
processor 12. The computer program instructions 16 provide the
logic and routines that enables the apparatus 10/30 to perform the
method illustrated in FIG. 3. The processor 12 by reading the
memory 14 is able to load and execute the computer program
instructions 16.
[0024] The computer program instructions 16 may arrive at the
apparatus 10/30 via any suitable delivery mechanism 40. The
delivery mechanism 40 may be, for example, a non-transitory
computer-readable storage medium, a computer program product, a
memory device, a record medium such as a compact disc read-only
memory (CD-ROM) or digital versatile disc (DVD), an article of
manufacture that tangibly embodies the computer program
instructions 16. The delivery mechanism 40 may be a signal
configured to reliably transfer the computer program instructions
16. The apparatus 10/30 may propagate or transmit the computer
program instructions 16 as a computer data signal.
[0025] FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic of a further apparatus 30.
The apparatus 30 may, for example, be a hand-portable electronic
apparatus. The apparatus 30 may be configured to operate as a
mobile telephone, an electronic book, a tablet computer, a games
console and/or a portable music player.
[0026] The apparatus 30 illustrated in FIG. 2 comprises a flexible
auto-stereoscopic display 20, a user output device 11, one or more
image sensors 13 and the apparatus 10 illustrated in FIG. 1. The
elements 11, 12, 13, 14 and 20 are operationally coupled and any
number or combination of intervening elements can exist (including
no intervening elements). The elements 11, 12, 13, 14 and 20 may be
co-located within a housing.
[0027] The user output device 11 may, for example, be an
illumination apparatus comprising one or more light emitting
diodes. The processor 12 is configured to provide control outputs
to the user output device 11.
[0028] The processor 12 is also configured to read image data from
the one or more image sensors 13. The one or more image sensors 13
may, for example, be charge coupled devices (CCDs) or complementary
metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) sensors.
[0029] The flexible auto-stereoscopic display 20 comprises one or
more touch sensors 21, a parallax barrier arrangement 22, a
(flexible) display panel 23 and one or more flex sensors 24.
[0030] The one or more touch sensors 21 are configured to sense
touch input from a user (for example, fingertip or stylus input).
The processor 12 is configured to read the touch sensor(s) 21. The
touch sensor(s) 21 may be any type of touch sensors, including
resistive sensors, capacitive sensors, infrared sensors or surface
acoustic wave sensors, or some combination of these sensors.
[0031] The display panel 23 comprises a plurality of pixels
arranged in columns and rows. The processor 12 is configured to
control the display panel 23 to display stereoscopic images (that
is, three dimensional images) and non-stereoscopic images (that is,
two dimensional images).
[0032] The display panel 23 may be any type of flexible display
panel. It could, for example, be a liquid crystal display panel
(LCD), an organic light emitting diode (OLED) display panel, a
quantum dot display panel or an electrophoretic ink (E Ink) display
panel.
[0033] The one or more flex sensors 24 are configured to sense when
the flexible display 20 is bent (for example by a user). The one or
more flex sensors 24 may also sense the position(s) at which the
flexible display 20 has been bent and the extent to which it has
been bent. The processor 12 is configured to read the flex
sensor(s) 24. The one or more flex sensors 24 may, for example,
comprise one or more strain gauges, one or more piezoelectric
sensors, one or more optical sensors, one or more capacitive
sensors and/or one or more resistive sensors.
[0034] The parallax barrier arrangement 22 is positioned between
the display panel 23 and a viewer of the display panel 23. It is
controlled by the processor 12. When the display 20 is in a
stereoscopic (three-dimensional) mode, the processor 12 controls
the parallax barrier arrangement 22 to provide a plurality of
opaque regions that define a plurality of slits. In this mode, the
parallax barrier arrangement 22 separates light emanating from the
display panel 23 such that the viewer's left eye sees a different
image to the viewer's right eye. Image content for viewer's left
eye and image content for the viewer's right eye is displayed
concurrently on the display panel 23.
[0035] When the display 20 is in a non-stereoscopic (two
dimensional) mode, the processor 12 controls the parallax barrier
arrangement 22 such that it does not separate out light emanating
from the display panel 23 for the viewer's left and right eyes. For
example, in this mode, the parallax barrier arrangement 22 may be
transparent.
[0036] The parallax barrier arrangement 22 may comprise at least
one parallax barrier. Each parallax barrier may, for example,
comprise a switching liquid crystal that includes portions which
switch from being substantially opaque to being substantially
transparent.
[0037] A method according to embodiments of the invention will now
be described with reference to FIG. 3.
[0038] Initially, the flexible auto-stereoscopic display 20 is in
stereoscopic mode. A viewer is positioned in a position (a "sweet
spot") that enables him to view the display 20 stereoscopically. At
this time, the flexible display 20 is substantially planar in
shape.
[0039] The viewer of the display 20 subsequently bends/flexes the
display 20 using his hands, such that a cross-section of the
flexible display 20 defines a curve. At block 300 of FIG. 3, the
processor 12 detects bending of the flexible display 20 by reading
the one or more flex sensors 24. The output provided by the flex
sensors 24 to the processor 12 may, for example, indicate the
position(s) at which the flexible display 20 has been bent and/or
the magnitude/extent of the bending.
[0040] FIG. 4 is a schematic illustrating a viewer 50 viewing the
flexible auto-stereoscopic display 20 following bending of the
display 20, and without adjustment of the parallax barrier
arrangement 22. A cross section of the display panel 23 comprising
ten pixels 230-239 is shown for illustrative purposes. Each pixel
230-239 is positioned in a different column in the display panel
23. The pixels 230, 232, 234, 236 and 238 are displaying image
content for viewer's right eye 52 and the pixels 231, 233, 235, 237
and 239 are displaying image content for the viewer's left eye 51.
The illustrated parallax barrier arrangement 22 comprises a
plurality of opaque regions 220-225 which define a plurality of
slits.
[0041] Prior to the flexible display 20 being bent by the viewer
50, the viewer's left eye 51 was able to see pixels 231, 233, 235,
237 and 239 and the viewer's right eye 52 was able to see pixels
230, 232, 234, 236 and 238. The parallax barrier arrangement 22
prevented the viewer's left eye 51 from seeing pixels 230, 232,
234, 236 and 238 and prevented the viewer's right eye 52 from
seeing pixels 231, 233, 235, 237 and 239, in order to provide a
stereoscopic effect.
[0042] After the flexible display 20 was bent by the viewer 50 (as
shown in FIG. 4), the viewer's left eye 51 is still able to see
pixels 231, 233 and 235, because light passing through those pixels
reaches the viewer's left eye 51 (see light rays 61, 62 and 63 in
FIG. 4). However, the viewer 50 cannot see pixels 237 and 239,
because the light passing through those pixels is being blocked by
the opaque regions 223 and 224 (see light rays 64 and 65 in FIG.
4). The viewer's right eye 52 is able to see pixels 232, 234, 236
and 238 (see light rays 72-75 in FIG. 4) but it cannot see pixel
230, because light passing through that pixel is being blocked by
the opaque region 221 (see light ray 71 in FIG. 4).
[0043] In some circumstances, it may also be the case that, due to
the inappropriate positioning of the parallax barrier arrangement
22 following bending of the flexible display 20, the viewer's right
eye 52 can see image content that is being displayed for his left
eye 51 and the viewer's left eye 51 can see image content that is
being displayed for his right eye 52.
[0044] The viewer 50 in FIG. 4 will either see a poorer quality
stereoscopic image following bending of the flexible display 20, or
he will lose the stereoscopic effect altogether. However, in
embodiments of the invention, this may be avoided. This is because,
at block 301 of FIG. 3, the processor 12 adjusts the parallax
barrier arrangement 22 in dependence upon the bending of the
flexible display 20.
[0045] The processor 12 may adjust at least one or more
characteristics of the parallax barrier arrangement 22 following
bending of the flexible display 20. For example, the processor 12
may control the parallax barrier arrangement 22 to re-position the
opaque regions and the slits in the parallax barrier arrangement
22, such that different regions of the parallax barrier arrangement
22 are opaque following bending, as compared with the parallax
barrier arrangement 22 prior to bending. Alternatively or
additionally, the width of one or more of the opaque regions may be
adjusted.
[0046] FIG. 5 illustrates an example of a situation in which the
parallax barrier arrangement 22 of the flexible display 20 has been
adjusted by the processor 12. In the FIG. 5 example, the parallax
barrier arrangement 22 comprises opaque regions 226, 227, 228 and
229. The adjusted parallax barrier arrangement 22 enables the
viewer's left eye 51 to see pixels 231, 233, 235, 237 and 239
displaying left eye image content (see light rays 61-65 in FIG. 5)
and enables the viewer's right eye 52 to see pixels 230, 232, 234,
236 and 238 displaying right eye image content (see light rays
71-75 in FIG. 5).
[0047] The viewer's left eye 51 is prevented by the opaque regions
226-229 of the parallax barrier arrangement 22 from seeing the
right eye image content being displayed by pixels 230, 232, 234,
236 and 238. The viewer's right eye 52 is prevented by the opaque
regions 226-229 of the parallax barrier arrangement 22 from seeing
the left eye image content being displayed by pixels 231, 233, 235,
237 and 239.
[0048] Adjustment of the parallax barrier arrangement 22 in
accordance with bending of the flexible display 20 advantageously
enables a (clear) stereoscopic image to continue to be conveyed to
the viewer 50. In some embodiments, there is no need for the viewer
50 to change his viewing position in order to continue viewing the
stereoscopic image displayed by the flexible display 20 after the
display 20 has been bent. For example, in some implementations, the
processor 12 may assume that the viewer's viewing position has not
changed when the flexible display 20 is bent and it may adjust the
parallax barrier arrangement 22 accordingly.
[0049] In other implementations, the processor 12 may use the image
sensor(s) 13 to determine the positions of the viewer's eyes 51,
52. The processor 12 may use this information to determine how to
adjust the parallax barrier arrangement 22, when the flexible
display 20 is bent, to enable a clear stereoscopic image to
continue to be conveyed to the viewer 50.
[0050] In some examples, the processor 12 may be configured to
control the user output device 11 to cause an output to be provided
to the viewer 50, following bending of the flexible display 20,
which is associated with a switch from the display 20 displaying a
stereoscopic image to the display 20 displaying a non-stereoscopic
image. For example, if excessive bending of the display 20 has or
is about to occur, the processor 12 may control the user output
device 11 to provide a warning output to the viewer 50 (for
example, by illumining a warning light) after or prior to switching
the flexible display 20 from displaying a stereoscopic image to
displaying a non-stereoscopic image.
[0051] FIG. 6 illustrates an implementation in which the processor
12 responds to detecting bending of the flexible display 20 by
changing how auto-stereoscopic content is displayed by the display
panel 23, in accordance with adjustment of the parallax barrier
arrangement 22. The processor 12 may, for example, change which
pixels are viewable by one or both eyes 51, 52 of the viewer
50.
[0052] In this example, when the flexible display 20 is
substantially planar, the processor 12 controls alternate columns
of pixels of the display panel 23 to display left eye image content
and right eye image content. Pixels 230, 232, 234, 236 and 238
display left eye image content and pixels 231, 233, 235, 237 and
239 display right eye image content.
[0053] When the parallax barrier arrangement 22 is adjusted in
dependence upon the bending of the flexible display 20, the
processor 12 controls the display panel 23 such that pixel 233 is
not used to display any image content. Both eyes 51, 52 of the
viewer 50 may be prevented from seeing pixel 233 by the adjusted
parallax barrier arrangement 22. Pixels 230, 232, 235, 237 and 239
are controlled by the processor 12 to display left eye image
content, and pixels 231, 234, 236 and 238 are controlled by the
processor 12 to display right eye image content.
[0054] References to `computer-readable storage medium`, or a,
`computer`, `processor`, etc. should be understood to encompass not
only computers having different architectures such as
single/multi-processor architectures and sequential (Von
Neumann)/parallel architectures but also specialized circuits such
as field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application specific
circuits (ASICs), signal processing devices and other processing
circuitry. References to computer program, instructions, code etc.
should be understood to encompass software for a programmable
processor or firmware such as, for example, the programmable
content of a hardware device whether instructions for a processor,
or configuration settings for a fixed-function device, gate array
or programmable logic device, etc.
[0055] As used in this application, the term `circuitry` refers to
all of the following:
(a) hardware-only circuit implementations (such as implementations
in only analog and/or digital circuitry) and (b) to combinations of
circuits and software (and/or firmware), such as (as applicable):
(i) to a combination of processor(s) or (ii) to portions of
processor(s)/software (including digital signal processor(s)),
software, and memory(ies) that work together to cause an apparatus,
such as a mobile phone or server, to perform various functions) and
(c) to circuits, such as a microprocessor(s) or a portion of a
microprocessor(s), that require software or firmware for operation,
even if the software or firmware is not physically present.
[0056] This definition of `circuitry` applies to all uses of this
term in this application, including in any claims. As a further
example, as used in this application, the term "circuitry" would
also cover an implementation of merely a processor (or multiple
processors) or portion of a processor and its (or their)
accompanying software and/or firmware. The term "circuitry" would
also cover, for example and if applicable to the particular claim
element, a baseband integrated circuit or applications processor
integrated circuit for a mobile phone or a similar integrated
circuit in server, a cellular network device, or other network
device.
[0057] The blocks illustrated in FIG. 3 may represent steps in a
method and/or sections of code in the computer program instructions
16. The illustration of a particular order to the blocks does not
necessarily imply that there is a required or preferred order for
the blocks and the order and arrangement of the block may be
varied. Furthermore, it may be possible for some blocks to be
omitted.
[0058] Although embodiments of the present invention have been
described in the preceding paragraphs with reference to various
examples, it should be appreciated that modifications to the
examples given can be made without departing from the scope of the
invention as claimed. For example, the user output device 11 could
be an aural device rather than a visual device, such as a
loudspeaker.
[0059] Features described in the preceding description may be used
in combinations other than the combinations explicitly
described.
[0060] Although functions have been described with reference to
certain features, those functions may be performable by other
features whether described or not.
[0061] Although features have been described with reference to
certain embodiments, those features may also be present in other
embodiments whether described or not.
[0062] Whilst endeavoring in the foregoing specification to draw
attention to those features of the invention believed to be of
particular importance it should be understood that the Applicant
claims protection in respect of any patentable feature or
combination of features hereinbefore referred to and/or shown in
the drawings whether or not particular emphasis has been placed
thereon.
* * * * *