Electronic device for displaying plurality of applications in partially folded state and control method

Abstract

An electronic device according to the present disclosure comprises a memory for storing instructions and at least one processor, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the electronic device to: display a first application and a second application in a landscape mode; identify a change from the landscape mode to a portrait mode on the basis of a rotation sensed by a third sensor; on the basis of a first folding angle sensed by a first sensor and a second folding angle sensed by a second sensor, identify whether any one of a first housing part or a third housing part is in a partially folded state; when it is identified that any one of the first housing part or the third housing part is in the partially folded state, display a second application corresponding to a preset type in an area located at the upper end among a first area and a second area divided on the basis of a first boundary formed by the partially folded state of the first housing part or a second boundary formed by the partially folded state of the third housing part; and display the first application in an area located at the lower end.

Description

Electronic device and control method for displaying multiple applications in a partially folded state

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an electronic device that displays a screen based on a change in state and a method for displaying a screen of the electronic device.

[0002] Recent advancements in electronic technology have led to the development of electronic devices with transformable form factors. For example, foldable phones are a prime example. These electronic devices can be folded to provide various states, such as folded, unfolded, or partially folded.

[0003] An electronic device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes a first housing part, a second housing part rotatably coupled to the first housing part, a third housing part rotatably coupled to the second housing part, a first hinge structure rotatably connecting the first housing part and the second housing part, a second hinge structure rotatably connecting the second housing part and the third housing part, a first display disposed on one surface of the first housing part, the second housing part and the third housing part, a second display disposed in a portion of the other surface opposite the first display, a first sensor configured to detect a first folding angle between the first housing part and the second housing part, a second sensor configured to detect a second folding angle between the second housing part and the third housing part, a third sensor configured to detect rotation of the electronic device, a memory storing instructions, and at least one processor, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the electronic device to: Displaying a second application, identifying a change from the landscape mode to the portrait mode based on the rotation detected through the third sensor, identifying whether one of the first housing part or the third housing part is in a partially folded state based on the first folding angle detected through the first sensor and the second folding angle detected through the second sensor, and if one of the first housing part or the third housing part is identified as being in the partially folded state, displaying the second application corresponding to a preset type in an area located at the upper end of a first area and a second area distinguished based on a first boundary due to the partially folded state of the first housing part or a second boundary due to the partially folded state of the third housing part.It is configured to display the first application in the area located at the bottom.

[0004] In a control method of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the electronic device includes a first housing part, a second housing part rotatably coupled to the first housing part, a third housing part rotatably coupled to the second housing part, a first hinge structure rotatably connecting the first housing part and the second housing part, a second hinge structure rotatably connecting the second housing part and the third housing part, a first display disposed on one surface of the first housing part, the second housing part and the third housing part, a second display disposed in a portion of the other surface opposite to the first display, a first sensor configured to detect a first folding angle between the first housing part and the second housing part, a second sensor configured to detect a second folding angle between the second housing part and the third housing part, and a third sensor configured to detect a rotation of the electronic device, wherein the method comprises: an operation of displaying a first application and a second application in a landscape mode; an operation of identifying a change from the landscape mode to a portrait mode based on a rotation detected through the third sensor; An operation of identifying whether one of the first housing part or the third housing part is in a partially folded state based on the first folding angle detected through the first sensor and the second folding angle detected through the second sensor, if the first housing part is identified as being in a partially folded state, displaying the second application corresponding to a preset type in an area located at the top among the first area and the second area divided based on the first boundary due to the partially folded state of the first housing part, and displaying the first application in an area located at the bottom, and if the third housing part is identified as being in a partially folded state,The third housing part includes an operation of displaying the second application corresponding to the preset type in an upper region among the first region and the second region, which are distinguished based on a second boundary caused by a partially folded state, and displaying the first application in an area located at the lower region.

[0005] FIG. 1A illustrates an example of a first state of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0006] FIG. 1b illustrates an example of a second state of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0007] FIG. 1c illustrates an example of a third state of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0008] FIG. 2A is a plan view of an electronic device with the first display removed according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0009] FIG. 2b is a rear view of an electronic device with the back cover and second display removed according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0010] FIG. 3A is a block diagram of an exemplary electronic device capable of performing the operations described in the present disclosure.

[0011] FIG. 3b is a block diagram of an exemplary electronic device capable of performing the operations described in the present disclosure.

[0012] FIG. 4A is a drawing for explaining an electronic device that displays an application corresponding to a preset type in an area located at the top when rotated clockwise according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0013] FIG. 4b is a drawing for explaining an electronic device that displays an application corresponding to a preset type in an area located at the top when rotated counterclockwise according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0014] FIG. 4c is a drawing for explaining an electronic device that displays an application corresponding to a preset type in an area located at the top when rotated clockwise according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0015] FIG. 4d is a drawing for explaining an electronic device that displays an application corresponding to a preset type in an area located at the top when rotated counterclockwise according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0016] FIG. 5 is a drawing for explaining an electronic device that displays an application corresponding to a preset type in an area located at the top when rotated in a partially folded state according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0017] FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining the horizontal mode layout and the vertical mode layout of an application according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0018] FIG. 7A is a diagram illustrating an electronic device that displays an application corresponding to a preset type in an area located at the top of any one activated application according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0019] FIG. 7b is a diagram illustrating an electronic device that displays an application in an area located at the top based on a ratio according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0020] FIG. 8 is a drawing for explaining an electronic device that enters a multi-window mode by identifying a partially folded state according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0021] FIG. 9 is a drawing for explaining an electronic device that changes from a portrait mode to a landscape mode according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0022] FIG. 10A is a drawing for explaining an electronic device that changes from a landscape mode to a portrait mode in a multi-window mode according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0023] FIG. 10b is a drawing for explaining an electronic device that changes from a landscape mode to a portrait mode in a multi-window mode according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0024] FIG. 11 is a flowchart for explaining a control method of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0025] Hereinafter, the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings.

[0026] The terms used in the embodiments of this disclosure have been selected from widely used, current terms, taking into account the functions of this disclosure. However, these terms may vary depending on the intentions of those skilled in the art, precedents, the emergence of new technologies, etc. Furthermore, in certain cases, terms may be arbitrarily selected by the applicant, and in such cases, their meanings will be described in detail in the description of the relevant disclosure. Therefore, the terms used in this disclosure should not be defined simply as names of terms, but rather based on the meanings of the terms and the overall content of this disclosure.

[0027] In this specification, expressions such as “has,” “may have,” “includes,” or “may include” indicate the presence of a feature (e.g., a number, function, operation, or component such as a part), but do not exclude the presence of additional features.

[0028] The expression "at least one of A and / or B" should be understood to mean either "A" or "B" or "A and B".

[0029] As used herein, expressions such as “first,” “second,” “first,” or “second,” can describe various components, regardless of order and / or importance, and are only used to distinguish one component from another, but do not limit the components.

[0030] When it is said that a component (e.g., a first component) is “(operatively or communicatively) coupled with / to” or “connected to” another component (e.g., a second component), it should be understood that the component may be directly coupled to the other component, or may be connected through another component (e.g., a third component).

[0031] Singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. In this application, terms such as "comprise" or "consist of" are intended to indicate the presence of a feature, number, step, operation, component, part, or combination thereof described in the specification, but should be understood not to preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof.

[0032] In this disclosure, the term user may refer to a person using an electronic device or a device using an electronic device (e.g., an artificial intelligence electronic device).

[0033] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in more detail with reference to the attached drawings.

[0034] FIG. 1A illustrates an example of a first state of an electronic device according to an embodiment. FIG. 1B illustrates an example of a second state of an electronic device according to an embodiment. FIG. 1C illustrates an example of a third state of an electronic device according to an embodiment.

[0035] Referring to FIGS. 1A, 1B, and 1C, an electronic device (1000) may include a housing structure (101), a flexible display (140), a first hinge structure (150), a second hinge structure (160), and a display (170).

[0036] The housing structure (101) may include a first housing part (110), a second housing part (120), and a third housing part (130). The housing parts may be replaced with expressions such as housing, body, or frame, for example.

[0037] The first housing part (110) can be rotatably coupled to the second housing part (120) by the first hinge structure (150). For example, the second housing part (120) can be rotatably coupled to one side of the first housing part (110) by the first hinge structure (150). The second housing part (120) and the first housing part (110) can be rotated with respect to the first hinge structure (150). While the first housing part (110) is rotated with respect to the first hinge structure (150), the second housing part (120) can be rotated with respect to the first hinge structure (150). For example, when the second housing part (120) and the first housing part (110) are rotated with respect to the first hinge structure (150), the angular displacement (or angular change) of the second housing part (120) may be substantially equal to the angular displacement of the first housing part (110).

[0038] The third housing part (130) can be rotatably coupled to the second housing part (120) by a second hinge structure (160). The second housing part (120) and the third housing part (130) can be rotated with respect to the second hinge structure (160). While the second housing part (120) is rotated with respect to the second hinge structure (160), the third housing part (130) can be rotated with respect to the second hinge structure (160). For example, when the second housing part (120) and the third housing part (130) are rotated with respect to the second hinge structure (160), the angular displacement of the second housing part (120) can be substantially equal to the angular displacement of the third housing part (130).

[0039] The first hinge structure (150) and the second hinge structure (160) can change the state of the electronic device (1000).

[0040] The first hinge structure (150) and the second hinge structure (160) can provide (or enable) a first state (100a) of the electronic device (1000) (or a first state (100a) of the housing structure (101)). The first state (100a) of the electronic device (1000) (or the first state (100a) of the housing structure (101)) can be described as an unfolded state (or an unfolded state) of the electronic device (1000) (or the housing structure (101)). For example, within the first state (100a), the first housing part (110), the second housing part (120), and the third housing part (130) can be unfolded. For example, within the first state (100a), the first housing part (110) and the second housing part (120) may form an angle of about 180 degrees, and the second housing part (120) and the third housing part (130) may form an angle of about 180 degrees. Within the first state (100a), the front surface of the first housing part (110), the front surface of the second housing part (120), and the front surface of the third housing part (130) may define the front surface of the electronic device (1000). Within the first state (100a), the front surface of the first housing part (110), the front surface of the second housing part (120), and the front surface of the third housing part (130) may face the same direction. Within the first state (100a), the electronic device (1000) may provide a large display area of ​​the flexible display (140) to the user.

[0041] The first hinge structure (150) and the second hinge structure (160) can provide a second state (100b) of the electronic device (1000) (or a second state (100b) of the housing structure (101)). The second state (100b) of the electronic device (1000) (or the second state (100b) of the housing structure (101)) can be described as a closed state (or a folded state or a folding state or a multi-folding state) of the electronic device (1000) (or the housing structure (101)). For example, within the second state (100b), the first housing part (110), the second housing part (120) and the third housing part (130) can be closed. For example, within the second state (100b), the first housing part (110) and the second housing part (120) may form an angle of about 0 to 10 degrees, and the second housing part (120) and the third housing part (130) may form an angle of about 0 to 10 degrees. Within the second state (100b), the front surface of the first housing part (110) and the front surface of the second housing part (120) may face in opposite directions, and the front surface of the second housing part (120) and the front surface of the third housing part (130) may face in opposite directions. Within the second state (100b), the front surface of the first housing part (110) and the front surface of the third housing part (130) may face in the same direction. For example, in the second state (100b), the front of the second housing part (120) may face the front of the first housing part (110), and the front of the third housing part (130) may face the rear of the first housing part (110). In the second state (100b), the rear of the second housing part (120) may be exposed to the outside. The display (170) may be disposed on the rear of the second housing part (120). In the second state (100b), the rear of the third housing part (130) may be exposed to the outside. The camera (175) may be disposed on the rear of the third housing part (130).Within the second state (100b), the electronic device (1000) can be closed (or folded) to enhance portability and provide visual information through a display (170) disposed on the rear of the second housing (120).

[0042] The electronic device (1000) may further include a key button (139). The key button (139) may be exposed from a structure (e.g., an opening) formed on a side surface of the third housing part (130) and may partially protrude outside the electronic device (1000). The key button (139) may provide a physical input to a processing circuit inside the electronic device (1000) by pressure transmitted from the outside. The key button (139) may not be included in the electronic device (1000) and may be implemented in another form, such as a soft key displayed on a flexible display (140) or a display (170).

[0043] The key button (139) may be positioned on the side of the third housing part (130) so as to be exposed to the outside in the second state (100b). As the key button (139) is positioned on the side of the third housing part (130), it may be positioned in a direction in which the side of the third housing (130) faces. Even if the electronic device (1000) is changed from the second state (100b) to the first state (100a) by a user looking at the display (170), the position of the key button (139) positioned on the side of the third housing (130) may not move. For example, referring to FIG. 1A, in the first state (100a), when the flexible display (140) is viewed from above, the key button (139) may be positioned on the right side. Referring to FIG. 1b, in the second state (100b), when the display (170) is viewed from above, the key button (139) can be placed on the right side.

[0044] The first hinge structure (150) and the second hinge structure (160) can provide a third state (100c) of the electronic device (1000). The third state (100c) of the electronic device (1000) can be described as a state in which the electronic device (1000) is partially closed and partially unfolded (or a single-folded state or a half-folded state). For example, within the third state (100c), the front surface of the second housing part (120) and the front surface of the third housing part (130) may face the same direction, and the front surface of the first housing part (110) and the front surface of the second housing part (120) may face opposite directions. For example, within the third state (100c), the first housing part (110) and the second housing part (120) may be closed, and the second housing part (120) and the third housing part (130) may be unfolded. For example, within the third state (100c), the first housing part (110) and the second housing part (120) may form an angle of about 0 to 10 degrees, and the second housing part (120) and the third housing part (130) may form an angle of about 180 degrees. Within the third state (100c), the electronic device (1000) may provide visual information through a portion of the flexible display (140) (e.g., the third display area (140c)).

[0045] The electronic device (1000) can change from the first state (100a) to the second state (100b) through the third state (100c). The electronic device (1000) can change from the first state (100a), which is an unfolded state, to the third state (100c), which is a partially unfolded state. For example, the electronic device (1000) can change from the first state (100a), in which the first housing part (110), the second housing part (120), and the third housing part (130) face the same direction, to the third state (100c), in which the front of the first housing part (110) faces the front of the second housing part (120). The electronic device (1000) can change from the third state (100c), which is a partially unfolded state, to the second state (100b), which is a closed (or folded) state. For example, when changing from the third state (100c) to the second state (100b), the closed first housing part (110) and the second housing part (120) can be placed on the third housing part (130).

[0046] A flexible display (140) can at least partially define the appearance of an electronic device (1000). The flexible display (140) can be partially disposed within a housing structure (101). The flexible display (140) can define a front surface of the electronic device (1000). The flexible display (140) can include a first unbendable portion (141), a second unbendable portion (142), a third unbendable portion (143), a first bendable portion (144), and a second bendable portion (145). The first unbendable portion (141) of the flexible display (140) can be disposed on a front surface of the first housing part (110). The second unbendable part (142) of the flexible display (140) may be disposed on the front side of the second housing part (120). The third unbendable part (143) of the flexible display (140) may be disposed on the front side of the third housing part (130). The first bendable part (144) of the flexible display (140) may be disposed between the first unbendable part (141) and the third unbendable part (143) of the flexible display (140). For example, the first bendable part (144) of the flexible display (140) may be disposed on the first hinge structure (150) connecting the first housing part (110) and the second housing part (120). The second bendable part (145) of the flexible display (140) may be placed between the second unbendable part (142) and the third unbendable part (143) of the flexible display (140). For example, the second bendable part (145) of the flexible display (140) may be placed on the second hinge structure (160) connecting the second housing part (120) and the third housing part (130).

[0047] The first hinge structure (150) and the second hinge structure (160) may face substantially the same direction as the first unbendable portion (141) of the flexible display (140), the second unbendable portion (142) of the flexible display (140), and the third unbendable portion (143) of the flexible display (140). In the first state (100a), the first bendable portion (144) and the second bendable portion (145) may be arranged in substantially the same horizontal plane as the first unbendable portion (141), the second unbendable portion (142), and the third unbendable portion (143).

[0048] The first hinge structure (150) and the second hinge structure (160) can provide a second state (100b) of the electronic device (1000). In the second state (100b), the second unbendable portion (142) of the flexible display (140) can face the first unbendable portion (141) of the flexible display (140), and the third unbendable portion (143) of the flexible display (140) can face the back of the first housing part (110).

[0049] In the second state (100b), the first bendable portion (144) of the flexible display (140) is bent by the first hinge structure (150), so that the first bendable portion (144) of the flexible display (140) can be folded so that the first unbendable portion (141) of the flexible display (140) and the second unbendable portion (142) of the flexible display (140) face different directions.

[0050] In the second state (100b), the second bendable portion (145) of the flexible display (140) is bent by the second hinge structure (160), so that the second bendable portion (145) of the flexible display (140) can be folded such that the second unbendable portion (142) of the flexible display (140) and the third unbendable portion (143) of the flexible display (140) face different directions. The second bendable portion (145) may further include a first deformable portion (145a), a second deformable portion (145b), and a flat portion (145c). The first deformable portion (145a) may be disposed between the planar portion (145c) and the second unbendable portion (142), and the second deformable portion (145b) may be disposed between the planar portion (145c) and the third unbendable portion (143). The planar portion (145c) may be disposed between the first deformable portion (145a) and the second deformable portion (145b). The planar portion (145c) may be supported by a support plate (e.g., the support plate (264) of FIG. 2a) that is distinct from the hinge plates of the second hinge structure (160) (e.g., the third hinge plate (262) and the fourth hinge plate (263) of FIG. 2a). Regardless of the state of the electronic device (1000), the planar portion (145c) may remain flat. The first deformable portion (145a) and the second deformable portion (145b) can be unfolded in the first state (100a) and the third state (100c), and in the second state (100b), the first deformable portion (145a) and the second deformable portion (145b) can be bent such that the second unbendable portion (142) and the third unbendable portion (143) face different directions. In the second state (100b), the first housing part (110) can be disposed between the second housing part (120) and the third housing part (130). In the second state (100b), the second bendable portion (145) of the flexible display (140) disposed on the second hinge structure (160) can be partially oriented toward the side surface (110c) of the first housing part (110).

[0051] The first hinge structure (150) and the second hinge structure (160) can provide a third state (100c) of the electronic device (1000). Within the third state (100c), the first unbendable portion (141) of the flexible display (140) can face the second unbendable portion (142) of the flexible display (140), and the third unbendable portion (143) of the flexible display (140) can face the same direction as the second unbendable portion (142) of the flexible display (140). For example, the second unbendable portion (142) and the third unbendable portion (143) can be arranged in substantially the same horizontal plane.

[0052] In the third state (100c), the first bendable portion (144) of the flexible display (140) is bent by the first hinge structure (150), so that the first bendable portion (144) of the flexible display (140) can be folded so that the first unbendable portion (141) of the flexible display (140) and the second unbendable portion (142) of the flexible display (140) face different directions.

[0053] In the third state (100c), the second bendable portion (145) of the flexible display (140) is maintained in an unfolded state by the second hinge structure (160), so that the second bendable portion (145) of the flexible display (140) can unfold so that the second unbendable portion (142) of the flexible display (140) and the third unbendable portion (143) of the flexible display (140) face the same direction.

[0054] The display area of ​​the flexible display (140) may include a first display area (140a), a second display area (140b), and a third display area (140c). The display area represents an area that can provide visual information from the flexible display (140). In the first state (100a), the entire display area of ​​the flexible display (140) may be visible from the front of the housing structure (101). For example, in the first state (100a), the first display area (140a), the second display area (140b), and the third display area (140c) of the flexible display (140) may be visually exposed. The electronic device (1000) may provide a user with a large display area that includes the first display area (140a), the second display area (140b), and the third display area (140c).

[0055] Within the second state (100b), the display area of ​​the flexible display (140) may not be visible. For example, within the second state (100b), the first display area (140a), the second display area (140b), and the third display area (140c) of the flexible display (140) may not be visually exposed.

[0056] Within the third state (100c), the display area of ​​the flexible display (140) may be partially visible from the front of the third housing part (130). For example, the third display area (140c) may be visually exposed, while the first display area (140a) and the second display area (140b) may not be visually exposed.

[0057] As a non-limiting example, when the flexible display (140) is used to display a screen within a first state (100a) of the electronic device (1000), the first display area (140a), the second display area (140b), and the third display area (140c) of the flexible display (140) may be activated. As a non-limiting example, within a second state (100b), the first display area (140a), the second display area (140b), and the third display area (140c) of the flexible display (140) may be deactivated. As a non-limiting example, in a third state (100c) of the electronic device (1000), when the flexible display (140) is used to display a screen, the third display area (140c) may be activated, and the first display area (140a) and the second display area (140b) of the flexible display (140) may be deactivated.

[0058] As a non-limiting example, when the flexible display (140) is used to display a screen within a first state (100a) of the electronic device (1000), the first display area (140a), the second display area (140b), and the third display area (140c) of the flexible display (140) can display visual information. As a non-limiting example, within the second state (100b), the first display area (140a), the second display area (140b), and the third display area (140c) of the flexible display (140) can provide a black image. As a non-limiting example, in a third state (100c) of the electronic device (1000), when the flexible display (140) is used to display a screen, the third display area (140c) may provide visual information, and the first display area (140a) and the second display area (140b) of the flexible display (140) may provide a black image.

[0059] FIG. 2A is a plan view of an electronic device with a flexible display removed according to one embodiment. FIG. 2B is a rear view of an electronic device with a back cover and display removed according to one embodiment.

[0060] Referring to FIGS. 2A and 2B, the electronic device (1000) may include a first hinge structure (150) and a second hinge structure (160). A first width (w1) of the first hinge structure (150) may be narrower than a second width (w2) of the second hinge structure (160). A difference between the first width (w1) of the first hinge structure (150) and the second width (w2) of the second hinge structure (160) may be equal to or greater than a thickness of the first housing part (110). For example, the second hinge structure (160) may have a second width (w2) that is wider than the first width (w1) such that the first housing part (110) is disposed between the second housing part (120) and the third housing part (130) according to the second state (100b). The first hinge structure (150) may be referred to as a narrow hinge structure in that it has a narrower width than the second hinge structure (160). The second hinge structure (160) may be referred to as a wide hinge structure in that it has a wider width than the first hinge structure (150).

[0061] The first hinge structure (150) may include a first set of gears (251), a first hinge plate (252), and a second hinge plate (253). The first hinge plate (252) may be coupled to a first support portion (111) of the first housing part (110). The second hinge plate (253) may be coupled to a second support portion (121) of the second housing part (120). The gears (g11, g12, g13, g14) included in the first set of gears (251) may be configured to rotate the first hinge plate (252) and the second hinge plate (253). For example, the gears (g11, g12, g13, g14) included in the first set of gears (251) can rotate the second hinge plate (253) (or the second housing part (120)) in conjunction with the rotation of the first hinge plate (252) (or the first housing part (110)). After the first hinge plate (252) (or the first housing part (110)) is rotated, the gears (g11, g12, g13, g14) included in the first set of gears (251) can be rotated in accordance with the rotation of the first hinge plate (252) (or the first housing part (110)). The second hinge plate (253) (or the second housing part (120)) can rotate in conjunction with the rotation of the first hinge plate (252) according to the rotation of the gears included in the first set of gears (251). The gears (g11, g12, g13, g14) included in the first set of gears (251) can include a first gear (g11), a second gear (g12), a third gear (g13), and a fourth gear (g14). The first gear (g11) can be arranged adjacent to the first hinge plate (252), and the fourth gear (g14) can be arranged adjacent to the second hinge plate (253). The second gear (g12) and the third gear (g13) can be arranged between the first gear (g11) and the fourth gear (g14).The first gear (g11), the second gear (g12), the third gear (g13), and the fourth gear (g14) can be sequentially meshed. According to the rotation of the first gear (g11) in the first rotation direction (e.g., clockwise), the second gear (g12) meshed with the first gear (g11) can be rotated in the second rotation direction (e.g., counterclockwise) opposite to the first rotation direction. According to the rotation of the second gear (g12) in the second rotation direction, the third gear (g13) meshed with the second gear (g12) can be rotated in the first rotation direction. According to the rotation of the third gear (g13) in the first rotation direction, the fourth gear (g14) can be rotated in the second rotation direction. As the first gear (g11) and the fourth gear (g14) rotate in different directions, the first housing part (110) connected to the first hinge plate (252) and the second housing part (120) connected to the second hinge plate (253) can be folded or unfolded.

[0062] The second hinge structure (160) may include a second set of gears (261), a third hinge plate (262), a fourth hinge plate (263), and a support plate (264). The third hinge plate (262) may be coupled to a second support portion (121) of the second housing part (120). The fourth hinge plate (263) may be coupled to a third support portion (131) of the third housing part (130). The gears (g21, g22, g23, g24, g25, g26) included in the second set of gears (261) may be configured to rotate the third hinge plate (262) and the fourth hinge plate (263). For example, the gears (g21, g22, g23, g24, g25, g26) included in the second set of gears (261) can rotate the fourth hinge plate (263) (or the third housing part (130)) in conjunction with the rotation of the third hinge plate (262) (or the second housing part (120)). After the third hinge plate (262) (or the second housing part (120)) is rotated, the gears (g21, g22, g23, g24, g25, g26) included in the second set of gears (261) can be rotated in accordance with the rotation of the third hinge plate (262) (or the second housing part (120)). The fourth hinge plate (263) (or the third housing part (130)) can be rotated in conjunction with the rotation of the third hinge plate (262) according to the rotation of the gears (g21, g22, g23, g24, g25, g26) included in the second set of gears (261).

[0063] The gears (g21, g22, g23, g24, g25, g26) included in the second set of gears (261) may include a first gear (g21), a second gear (g22), a third gear (g23), a fourth gear (g24), a fifth gear (g25), and a sixth gear (g26). The first gear (g21) may be arranged adjacent to the third hinge plate (262), and the sixth gear (g26) may be arranged adjacent to the fourth hinge plate (263). The second gear (g22), the third gear (g23), the fourth gear (g24), and the fifth gear (g25) may be arranged between the first gear (g21) and the sixth gear (g26). The first gear (g21), the second gear (g22), the third gear (g23), the fourth gear (g24), the fifth gear (g25), and the sixth gear (g26) can be sequentially meshed. According to the rotation of the first rotation direction (e.g., clockwise) of the first gear (g21), the second gear (g22) meshed with the first gear (g21) can be rotated in a second rotation direction (e.g., counterclockwise) opposite to the first rotation direction. According to the rotation of the second rotation direction of the second gear (g22), the third gear (g23) meshed with the second gear (g22) can be rotated in the first rotation direction. According to the rotation of the first rotation direction of the third gear (g23), the fourth gear (g24) can be rotated in the second rotation direction. According to the rotation of the fourth gear (g24) in the second rotation direction, the fifth gear (g25) meshed with the fourth gear (g24) can be rotated in the first rotation direction. According to the rotation of the fifth gear (g25) in the first rotation direction, the sixth gear (g26) meshed with the fifth gear (g25) can be rotated in the second rotation direction. As the first gear (g21) and the sixth gear (g26) rotate in different directions, the second housing part (120) connected to the third hinge plate (262) and the third housing part (130) connected to the fourth hinge plate (263) can be folded or unfolded.

[0064] The first hinge structure (150) and the second hinge structure (160) may further include a spiral structure. The spiral structure may include a spiral groove formed on each hinge plate or a rotating member connected to the hinge plate, and a moving member sliding along the spiral groove. The hinge plates connected to the hinge structure may be configured to rotate at substantially the same angular displacement through the spiral structure.

[0065] The electronic device (1000) may include a first printed circuit board (271), a second printed circuit board (272), and a third printed circuit board (273).

[0066] A first printed circuit board (271) may be placed on a first support portion (111) of a first housing part (110). Hardware components within the first housing part (110) may be mounted on the first printed circuit board (271). A second printed circuit board (272) may be placed on a second support portion (121) of a second housing part (120). A third printed circuit board (273) may be placed on a third support portion (131) of a third housing part (130). Hardware components within the third housing part (130) may be mounted on the third printed circuit board (273).

[0067] The hardware components placed on the first printed circuit board (271) can support or operate independently of the hardware components placed on the second printed circuit board (272) and / or the hardware components placed on the third printed circuit board (273).

[0068] The hardware components arranged on the second printed circuit board (272) may support or operate independently of the hardware components arranged on the first printed circuit board (271) or the third printed circuit board (273). The hardware components arranged on the second printed circuit board (272) may include a speaker, a front camera, and / or a display driving circuit.

[0069] Hardware components arranged on the third printed circuit board (273) may include at least one processor including a processing circuit (e.g., an application processor (AP), a communication processor (CP)), a memory including one or more storage media, a communication circuit, and a rear camera (175). The rear camera (175) may be exposed through a structure (e.g., an opening) on ​​the rear of the third housing part (130).

[0070] The electronic device (1000) may further include a sub-printed circuit board (275) and flexible printed circuit boards (280, 290). The sub-printed circuit board (275) may be disposed on at least some of the first housing part (110), the second housing part (120), and the third housing part (130). The flexible printed circuit boards (280, 290) may include a first flexible printed circuit board (280) and a second flexible printed circuit board (290). The first flexible printed circuit board (280) may electrically connect the printed circuit boards disposed on each of the housing parts (110, 120, 130). The second flexible printed circuit board (290) can connect the sub printed circuit board (275) to a printed circuit board (e.g., the first printed circuit board (271), the second printed circuit board (272), or the third printed circuit board (273)) within the housing part in which the sub printed circuit board (275) is placed.

[0071] Components within the electronic device (1000) may be connected to at least one processor within the third printed circuit board (273) via flexible printed circuit boards (280, 290). For example, a signal received from an antenna disposed in the third housing part (130) may be transmitted to the third printed circuit board (273) on which at least one processor (e.g., AP or CP) is disposed via a signal path (a) provided by the first flexible printed circuit board (280). A driving circuit for the flexible display (140) disposed within the first housing part (110) may be connected to the third printed circuit board (273) on which at least one processor (e.g., AP) is disposed via a signal path (b) provided by the sub-printed circuit board (275) and the first flexible printed circuit board (280). A driving circuit for a display (170) connected to a sub-printed circuit board (275) disposed on a second housing part (130) can be electrically connected to a third printed circuit board (273) on which at least one processor (e.g., AP) is disposed via a signal path (c) provided by the sub-printed circuit board (275) and the first flexible printed circuit board (280) and the second flexible printed circuit board (290).

[0072] The electronic device (1000) may further include batteries. Each of the batteries may be attached to support portions (111, 121, 131) included in the housing parts (110, 120, 130). The support portions (111, 121, 131) may support rechargeable batteries.

[0073] The arrangement of hardware components is exemplary, and differently from the above, the rear camera (175) and the third printed circuit board (273) may be arranged in the second housing part (120), and the second printed circuit board (272) may be arranged in the third housing part (120).

[0074] Although the first housing part (110) and the third housing part (130) are shown as rotating in opposite directions with respect to the second housing part (120), this is not limited thereto. For example, during the change from the first state (100a) to the second state (100b), the first housing part (110) may rotate counterclockwise with respect to the second housing part (120), and the third housing part (130) may rotate counterclockwise with respect to the second housing part (120). As the first housing part (110) and the third housing part (130) rotate in the same direction, a portion of the display area of ​​the flexible display (140) within the second state may be visually exposed.

[0075] FIG. 3A is a block diagram of an exemplary electronic device capable of performing the operations described in the present disclosure.

[0076] Referring to FIG. 3A, the electronic device (1000) may be an electronic device such as a foldable type smartphone. For example, the electronic device (1000) may be a foldable type device that can provide a folded state, a half-folded state, and an unfolded state by using two hinge structures (150, 160). Such a device may also be referred to as a multi-foldable device or a multi-folding device. The components, their relationships, and their functions illustrated in FIG. 3A are merely exemplary and do not limit the implementations described or claimed in the present disclosure. The electronic device (1000) may be referred to as a mobile device, a user device, a multi-function device, or a portable device.

[0077] The electronic device (1000) may include components including at least one processor (310) (hereinafter, referred to as processor (310)), at least one memory (320) (hereinafter, referred to as memory (320)), at least one display (330) (hereinafter, referred to as display (330)), at least one image sensor (340) (hereinafter, referred to as image sensor (340)), at least one communication circuit (350) (hereinafter, referred to as communication circuit (350)), and / or at least one sensor (360) (hereinafter, referred to as sensor (360)).

[0078] The components illustrated in FIG. 3A are merely exemplary. The type and / or number of hardware included in the electronic device (1000) is not limited to those illustrated in FIG. 3A. For example, the electronic device (1000) may include other components (e.g., power management integrated circuitry (PMIC), audio processing circuitry, an antenna, a rechargeable battery, or input / output interfaces). For example, some components may be omitted from the electronic device (1000). For example, some components may be integrated into a single component.

[0079] The processor (310) may be implemented as one or more IC (integrated circuit (or circuitry)) chips and may perform various data processing. The processor (310) may include at least one electrical circuit and may individually or collectively perform distributed processing of instructions (or programs, data, etc.) stored in the memory (320). The processor (310) may include a processor assembly including one or more processing circuits. The processor (310) may include any processing circuit operative to control the performance and operations of one or more components (e.g., the memory (320), the display (330), the image sensor (340), the communication circuit (350), and / or the sensor (360)) of the electronic device (1000). For example, the processor (310) (e.g., the AP) may be implemented as a system on chip (SoC) (e.g., a single chip or a chipset). For example, the processor (310) may be implemented with multiple cores (or at least one core circuit), multiple chips, or multiple chipsets. For example, the processor (310) may include one or more processing circuits. For example, the processor (310) may include one or more processing circuits configured to individually and / or collectively perform various functions of the present disclosure. As a non-limiting example, at least a portion of the processor (310) may be included in a first chip of the electronic device (1000), and at least another portion of the processor (310) may be included in a second chip of the electronic device (1000) that is different from the first chip of the electronic device (1000).

[0080] For example, the processor (310) may include a central processing unit (CPU) (311), a graphics processing unit (GPU) (312), a neural processing unit (NPU) (313), an image signal processor (ISP) (314), a display controller (315), a memory controller (316), a storage controller (317), a communication processor (CP) (318), and / or a sensor interface (319). These components of the processor (310) are merely exemplary. For example, the processor (310) may further include other components. For example, some components of the processor (310) may be omitted from the processor (310). For example, some components of the processor (310) may be included as separate components of the electronic device (1000) outside the processor (310). For example, some components of the processor (310) (e.g., memory controller (316)) may be included within other components (e.g., at least a portion of memory (320), an interface (e.g., available for connection to at least one component of the electronic device (1000)), a display (330) and / or an image sensor (340)).

[0081] The processor (310) can cause other components of the electronic device (1000) to perform various operations by executing instructions stored in the memory (320).

[0082] The CPU (311) (or central processing circuit) may be configured to control components of the processor (310) based on the execution of instructions stored in the memory (320) (e.g., volatile memory (321) and / or non-volatile memory (322)). The GPU (312) (or graphics processing circuit) may be configured to execute parallel operations (e.g., rendering). The NPU (313) (or neural processing circuit, or artificial intelligence (AI) chip) may be configured to execute operations for an artificial intelligence model (e.g., convolution computation). The ISP (314) (or image signal processing circuit) may be configured to process a raw image acquired through the image sensor (340) into a format suitable for components within the electronic device (1000) or components of the processor (310). The display controller (315) (or display control circuit, or display processing unit (DPU)) may be configured to process an image obtained from the CPU (311), the GPU (312), the ISP (314), or the memory (320) (e.g., the volatile memory (321)) into a format suitable for the display (330). The memory controller (316) (or memory control circuit) may be configured to control reading data from the volatile memory (321) and writing data to the volatile memory (321). The storage controller (317) (or storage control circuit) may be configured to control reading data from the nonvolatile memory (322) and writing data to the nonvolatile memory (322).The CP (318) (communication processing circuit) may be configured to process data obtained from a component of the processor (310) into a format suitable for transmission to another electronic device via the communication circuit (350), or to process data obtained from another electronic device via the communication circuit (350) into a format suitable for processing by the component of the processor (310). For example, the communication circuit (350) may include one or more communication circuits. The sensor interface (319) (or sensing data processing circuit, sensor hub) may be configured to process data on the state of the electronic device (1000) and / or the state of the surroundings of the electronic device (1000), obtained via the sensor (360), into a format suitable for the component of the processor (310).

[0083] The memory (320) may include one or more storage media (or one or more storage devices). For example, the memory (320) may include a memory assembly including one or more storage media. For example, the one or more storage media may include permanent memory (e.g., non-volatile memory (322)) such as a hard drive, flash memory, read-only memory (ROM), semi-permanent memory (e.g., volatile memory (321)) such as random access memory (RAM), any other suitable type of storage (or storage assembly), or any combination thereof. The memory (320) may include cache memory, which is one or more different types of memory used to temporarily store data for a function or feature of the electronic device (1000). As a non-limiting example, the cache memory may be included within the processor (310). The memory (320) may be fixedly embedded within the electronic device (1000) or incorporated into one or more suitable types of components (e.g., a subscriber identity module (SIM) card and / or a secure digital (SD) card) that may be repeatedly inserted into and removed from the electronic device (1000).

[0084] For example, the memory (320) may store one or more software applications, such as an operating system (or system) software application, a firmware software application, a driver software application, a plug-in (e.g., add-in, add-on, and / or applet) software application, and / or any other suitable software applications. For example, the one or more software applications may include instructions executable by the processor (310). For example, the memory (320) may store instructions callable by an application programming interface (API). For example, the memory (320) may store instructions within a library.

[0085] The display (330) may be controlled by the processor (310) to output visualized information to the user. According to an embodiment, the display (330) may include a touch sensor configured to detect a touch, or a pressure sensor configured to measure the strength of a force generated by a touch.

[0086] The display (330) may include a first display (331) and a second display (332). The first display (331) may include a flexible display (140) having a bendable or curved characteristic. For example, the flexible display (140) may be implemented as an organic LED (OLED) or electronic paper. The second display (332) may include a flat panel display (FPD). The FPD may include a liquid crystal display (LCD), a plasma display panel (PDP), and / or one or more light emitting diodes (LEDs). The LEDs may include organic LEDs (OLEDs).

[0087] The first display (331) may span the first hinge structure (150) and the second hinge structure (160) and may be disposed on one surface of the first housing part (110), the second housing part (120), and the third housing part (130). For example, the first display (331) of FIG. 3A may include the flexible display (140) of FIGS. 1A to 1C.

[0088] The second display (332) may be positioned on the other side of the second housing part (120). For example, the second display (332) of FIG. 3A may include the display (170) of FIGS. 1A to 1C.

[0089] The communication circuit (350) may include hardware components for supporting transmission and / or reception of electrical signals between the electronic device (1000) and an external electronic device (e.g., a server device, another electronic device, etc.). For example, the communication circuit (350) may include at least one of a modem, an antenna, and an optical / electronic (O / E) converter. The communication circuit (350) may support transmission and / or reception of electrical signals based on various types of protocols, such as Ethernet, a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), wireless fidelity (WiFi), Bluetooth, Bluetooth low energy (BLE), ZigBee, long term evolution (LTE), 5G NR (new radio), and / or 6G.

[0090] The sensor (360) may generate electrical information that can be processed by the processor (310) and / or the memory (320) from non-electronic information related to the electronic device (1000). The information may be referred to as sensor data. For example, the sensor (360) may detect the operating status of the electronic device (1000) or the external environmental status and generate electrical information corresponding to the detected status. For example, the sensor (360) may include a global positioning system (GPS) sensor, an ambient light sensor, and / or a time-of-flight (ToF) sensor.

[0091] The sensor (360) may include at least one first sensor (361) (hereinafter, referred to as the first sensor (361)) and at least one second sensor (362) (hereinafter, referred to as the second sensor (362)) for detecting a state of the electronic device (1000). For example, the state of the electronic device (1000) may include a closed state (or folded state) and / or an unfolded state of the housing parts (110, 120, 130), or a folding angle between the housing parts (110, 120, 130).

[0092] According to an embodiment, the sensor (360) may include at least one third sensor (363) (hereinafter, referred to as the third sensor (363)). For example, the third sensor (363) may include a gyro sensor. According to an embodiment, the gyro sensor may include a three-axis gyro sensor, and may include at least three gyros for detecting rotation angles about the X, Y, and Z axes, respectively, and at least three acceleration sensors for detecting acceleration about the X, Y, and Z axes, respectively.

[0093] According to an embodiment, the third sensor (363) can detect the rotation of the electronic device (1000). For example, the third sensor (363) can detect the angular velocity based on the Coriolis force generated when the electronic device (1000) rotates, and can detect the rotation angle or inclination of the rotating electronic device (1000).

[0094] However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the sensor (360) may include an accelerometer, a magnetometer, or an optical sensor. For example, the accelerometer may detect the inclination of the rotating electronic device (1000), the magnetic sensor may detect a change in the direction (or orientation) of the rotating electronic device (1000) using a magnetic field, and the optical sensor may detect the movement (e.g., rotation angle or inclination) of the electronic device (1000) based on a change in the surrounding environment of the rotating electronic device (1000).

[0095] According to an embodiment, the processor (310) can identify the display mode of the electronic device (1000) based on the rotation angle, inclination, direction change, etc. detected through the sensor (360).

[0096] FIG. 3b is a block diagram of an exemplary electronic device capable of performing the operations described in the present disclosure.

[0097] In the description of Fig. 3b, any description that overlaps with Fig. 3a will be omitted.

[0098] According to an embodiment, the processor (310) may perform operations of the electronic device (1000) according to various embodiments by executing at least one instruction stored in the memory.

[0099] According to an embodiment, the processor (310) may be implemented as a digital signal processor (DSP), a microprocessor, or a timing controller (TCON) that processes a digital signal. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and may include one or more of a central processing unit (CPU), a micro controller unit (MCU), a micro processing unit (MPU), a controller, an application processor (AP), a communication processor (CP), an ARM processor, or an artificial intelligence (AI) processor, or may be defined by the relevant terms. In addition, the processor (310) may be implemented as a system on chip (SoC) having a built-in processing algorithm, a large scale integration (LSI), or may be implemented in the form of a field programmable gate array (FPGA). The processor (310) may perform various functions by executing computer executable instructions stored in the memory (320).

[0100] The processor (310) may include one or more of a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), an APU (Accelerated Processing Unit), a MIC (Many Integrated Core), a DSP (Digital Signal Processor), an NPU (Neural Processing Unit), a hardware accelerator, or a machine learning accelerator. The processor (310) may control one or any combination of other components of the electronic device, and may perform operations related to communication or data processing. The processor (310) may execute one or more programs or instructions stored in the memory (320). For example, the processor (310) may perform a method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure by executing one or more instructions stored in the memory (320).

[0101] When a method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes multiple operations, the multiple operations may be performed by one processor or by multiple processors. For example, when a first operation, a second operation, and a third operation are performed by a method according to an embodiment, the first operation, the second operation, and the third operation may all be performed by the first processor, or the first operation and the second operation may be performed by the first processor (e.g., a general-purpose processor) and the third operation may be performed by the second processor (e.g., an artificial intelligence-dedicated processor).

[0102] The processor (310) may be implemented as a single core processor including one core, or may be implemented as one or more multicore processors including multiple cores (e.g., homogeneous multicores or heterogeneous multicores). When the processor (310) is implemented as a multicore processor, each of the multiple cores included in the multicore processor may include internal processor memory such as cache memory or on-chip memory, and a common cache shared by the multiple cores may be included in the multicore processor. In addition, each of the multiple cores (or some of the multiple cores) included in the multicore processor may independently read and execute a program instruction for implementing a method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, or all (or some) of the multiple cores may be linked to read and execute a program instruction for implementing a method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0103] When a method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes a plurality of operations, the plurality of operations may be performed by one core among a plurality of cores included in a multi-core processor, or may be performed by a plurality of cores. For example, when a first operation, a second operation, and a third operation are performed by a method according to an embodiment, the first operation, the second operation, and the third operation may all be performed by a first core included in the multi-core processor, or the first operation and the second operation may be performed by a first core included in the multi-core processor, and the third operation may be performed by a second core included in the multi-core processor.

[0104] In embodiments of the present disclosure, a processor may mean a system on a chip (SoC) in which a processor and other electronic components are integrated, a single-core processor, a multi-core processor, or a core included in a single-core processor or a multi-core processor, wherein the core may be implemented as a CPU, a GPU, an APU, a MIC, a DSP, an NPU, a hardware accelerator, or a machine learning accelerator, but embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited thereto.

[0105] According to an embodiment, the processor (310) may control at least one of the first display (331) or the second display (332) to display a UI for setting a display mode of the electronic device (1000).

[0106] According to an embodiment, when a user input for setting the display mode of the electronic device (1000) to landscape mode is received through the UI displayed by the first display (331), the processor (310) can fix the display mode of the electronic device (1000) to landscape mode.

[0107] According to an embodiment, the processor (310) may display at least one application in landscape mode, regardless of the rotation of the electronic device (1000). For example, in landscape mode of the electronic device (1000), one application may be displayed based on the aspect ratio of the first display (331), or in multi-window mode, multiple applications may be displayed in distinct areas based on a border parallel to a short side (or a border perpendicular to a long side) of the electronic device (1000).

[0108] According to an embodiment, when a user input for setting the display mode of the electronic device (1000) to portrait mode is received through the UI displayed by the first display (331), the processor (310) can fix the display mode of the electronic device (1000) to portrait mode.

[0109] According to an embodiment, the processor (310) may display at least one application in portrait mode, regardless of the rotation of the electronic device (1000). For example, in portrait mode of the electronic device (1000), one application may be displayed based on the aspect ratio of the first display (331), or in multi-window mode, multiple applications may be displayed in distinct areas based on a border parallel to a long side (or a border parallel to a short side) of the electronic device (1000).

[0110] According to an embodiment, when a user input for setting the display mode of the electronic device (1000) to the automatic rotation mode is received through the UI displayed by the first display (331), the processor (310) can change the display mode to the landscape mode or the portrait mode depending on the rotation of the electronic device (1000).

[0111] According to an embodiment, when the electronic device (1000) is rotated in the auto-rotation mode of the electronic device (1000), the electronic device (1000) is changed to either a landscape mode or a portrait mode, and when at least one of the first housing part (110) or the third housing part (130) is identified as being in a partially folded state in the multi-window mode, a plurality of applications can be displayed in areas distinguished based on the boundaries caused by the partially folded state.

[0112] However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and depending on the embodiment, the processor (310) may provide a mode in which, in addition to the horizontal mode, vertical mode, and auto-rotate mode, a border is fixed in the multi-window mode and an application is rotated according to the rotation of the electronic device (1000) within the areas divided based on the fixed border.

[0113] According to an embodiment, when the processor (310) identifies that the electronic device (1000) has changed from a landscape mode to a portrait mode through the third sensor (363) according to the rotation of the electronic device (1000), the processor (310) can identify whether either the first housing part (110) or the third housing part (130) is in a partially folded state based on the first folding angle detected through the first sensor (361) and the second folding angle detected through the second sensor (362).

[0114] A partially folded state of either the first housing part (110) or the third housing part (130) can be described as a folding angle between the housing parts (e.g., the first housing part (110) to the third housing part (130)). Depending on the embodiment, the folding angle may be referred to as a folding axis angle or a hinge angle, but for the convenience of explanation, it will be collectively referred to as a folding angle hereinafter.

[0115] For example, the first folding angle may include an angle (e.g., θ1) between the first housing part (110) and the second housing part (120) with respect to the folding axis (e.g., 181 in FIG. 1A), and the second folding angle may include an angle (e.g., θ2) between the second housing part (120) and the third housing part (130) with respect to the folding axis (e.g., 182 in FIG. 1A).

[0116] The first sensor (361) may be configured to detect a first folding angle between the first housing part (110) and the second housing part (120) under the control of the processor (310). The second sensor (362) may be configured to detect a second folding angle between the second housing part (120) and the third housing part (130) under the control of the processor (310).

[0117] For example, the first sensor (361) may include a Hall sensor and / or at least one 6-axis sensor. The second sensor (362) may include a Hall sensor and / or at least one 6-axis sensor. Each of the first housing part (110), the second housing part (120), and the third housing part (130) may be provided with a 6-axis sensor. At least one 6-axis sensor of the first sensor (361) may include a 6-axis sensor provided in the first housing part (110) and the second housing part (120). At least one 6-axis sensor of the second sensor (362) may include a 6-axis sensor provided in the second housing part (120) and the third housing part (130).

[0118] A Hall sensor can generate an electrical signal (e.g., voltage) in response to a magnetic field. When the magnetic field is strong, the Hall sensor can generate a relatively large electrical signal, and when the magnetic field is weak, the sensor can generate a relatively small electrical signal.

[0119] For example, the Hall sensor may be located near the first hinge structure (150). In an embodiment, the Hall sensor may be located in the first housing part (110), and the magnetic body may be located in the second housing part (120). In an embodiment, the Hall sensor may be located in the second housing part (120), and the magnetic body may be located in the first housing part (110). The processor (310) may detect the states of the first housing part (110) and the second housing part (120) based on sensor data received from the Hall sensor. For example, when the first housing part (110) and the second housing part (120) change from an unfolded state to a closed state, or from a folded state to an unfolded state, the Hall sensor may react to the magnetic field of the magnetic body to generate an electrical signal. The processor (310) can use the intensity of the electrical signal received from the Hall sensor to identify whether the first housing part (110) and the second housing part (120) are in an unfolded state, a closed state, or a partially folded state.

[0120] For example, the Hall sensor may be located near the second hinge structure (160). In an embodiment, the Hall sensor may be located in the second housing part (120), and the magnetic body may be located in the third housing part (130). In an embodiment, the Hall sensor may be located in the third housing part (130), and the magnetic body may be located in the second housing part (120). The processor (310) may detect the states of the second housing part (120) and the third housing part (130) based on sensor data received from the Hall sensor. For example, when the second housing part (120) and the third housing part (130) change from an unfolded state to a folded state, or change from a folded state to an unfolded state, the Hall sensor may react to the magnetic field of the magnetic body to generate an electrical signal. The processor (310) can identify whether the second housing part (120) and the third housing part (130) are in an unfolded state, a closed state, or a partially folded state using an electrical signal received from the hall sensor.

[0121] The 6-axis sensor may include an acceleration sensor (e.g., a 3-axis acceleration sensor) and a gyro sensor (e.g., a 3-axis gyro sensor). The acceleration sensor may generate sensor data indicating a direction and / or magnitude of acceleration applied to the electronic device (1000) using a plurality of axes (e.g., an x-axis, a y-axis, a z-axis) that are perpendicular to each other. The gyro sensor may generate sensor data indicating an angular velocity of the electronic device (1000) with respect to the plurality of axes. The 6-axis sensors may be provided in each of the first housing part (110), the second housing part (120), and the third housing part (130). The processor (310) can identify the inclination and / or rotation of the first housing part (110) and the second housing part (120) using sensor data received from the 6-axis sensors provided in the first housing part (110) and the second housing part (120), and can identify the first folding angle between the first housing part (110) and the second housing part (120). The processor (310) can identify the inclination and / or rotation of the second housing part (120) and the third housing part (130), and can identify the second folding angle between the second housing part (120) and the third housing part (130), using sensor data received from the 6-axis sensors provided in the second housing part (120) and the third housing part (130).

[0122] According to an embodiment, the processor (310) can identify the state of the electronic device (1000) based on the state of the housing parts (110, 120, 130).

[0123] For example, the processor (310) may identify that the electronic device (1000) is in a second state (e.g., 100b of FIG. 1B) based on the identification that the first folding angle between the first housing part (110) and the second housing part (120) and the second folding angle between the second housing part (120) and the third housing part (130) are first designated angles (e.g., about 0 to 10 degrees). In the second state (e.g., 100b of FIG. 1B), the first housing part (110), the second housing part (120), and the third housing part (130) may be closed (or folded).

[0124] For example, the processor (310) may identify that the electronic device (1000) is in a first state (e.g., 100a of FIG. 1A) based on the identification that a first folding angle between the first housing part (110) and the second housing part (120) and a second folding angle between the second housing part (120) and the third housing part (130) are a second designated angle (e.g., about 180 degrees). In the first state (e.g., 100a of FIG. 1A), the first housing part (110), the second housing part (120), and the third housing part (130) may be unfolded.

[0125] For example, the processor (310) may identify that the electronic device (1000) is in a third state (e.g., 100c of FIG. 1C) based on identifying that the folding angle between the first housing part (110) and the second housing part (120) is a first designated angle (e.g., about 0 to 10 degrees) and that the folding angle between the second housing part (120) and the third housing part (130) is a second designated angle (e.g., about 180 degrees). In the third state (e.g., 100c of FIG. 1C), the first housing part (110) and the second housing part (120) may be closed (or folded), and the second housing part (120) and the third housing part (130) may be unfolded.

[0126] As described above, the first state (e.g., 100a in FIG. 1a) of the electronic device (1000) includes an unfolded state, the second state (e.g., 100b in FIG. 1b) includes a folded state, and the third state (e.g., 100c in FIG. 1c) includes a half-folded state.

[0127] Additionally, the processor (310) can identify whether either the first housing part (110) or the third housing part (130) is in a partially folded state based on the first folding angle and the second folding angle.

[0128] For example, the processor (310) may identify that the first housing part (110) is in a partially folded state when the first folding angle between the first housing part (110) and the second housing part (120) is identified as being between a first designated angle (e.g., about 0 to 10 degrees) and a second designated angle (e.g., about 180 degrees) (e.g., about 30 to 115 degrees or about 30 to 160 degrees, preferably 60 to 150 degrees, more preferably 90 to 150 degrees).

[0129] For example, the processor (310) may identify that the third housing part (130) (or the second housing part (120)) is in a partially folded state when the second folding angle between the second housing part (120) and the third housing part (130) is identified as being between a first specified angle (e.g., about 0 to 10 degrees) and a second specified angle (e.g., about 180 degrees) (e.g., about 30 to 115 degrees or about 30 to 160 degrees, preferably 60 to 150 degrees, more preferably 90 to 150 degrees).

[0130] According to an embodiment, when the processor (310) identifies that either the first housing part (110) or the third housing part (130) is in a partially folded state in a portrait mode, the processor (310) may display an application corresponding to a preset type in an area located at the top among the areas (e.g., the first area, the second area) distinguished based on a first boundary due to the partially folded state of the first housing part (110) or a second boundary due to the partially folded state of the third housing part (130).

[0131] FIG. 4A is a drawing for explaining an electronic device that displays an application corresponding to a preset type in an area located at the top when rotated clockwise according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0132] According to an embodiment, the electronic device (1000) may include a state in which the electronic device (1000) is unfolded (or unfolded), a closed state (or folded state (e.g., fully folded state) or a folding state or a multi-folding state) and a partially closed and partially unfolded state (or a single folding state or a half-folding state), in addition to a state in which either the first housing part (110) or the third housing part (130) is partially (or partially) folded (or partially unfolded or partially closed) or a flex state).

[0133] Referring to FIG. 4A, in the unfolded state of the electronic device (1000), the processor (310) can provide multiple applications through a screen on the first display (331).

[0134] For example, the processor (310) can divide the screen into multiple areas and position different applications in each of the multiple areas, thereby providing multiple applications simultaneously.

[0135] For example, in multi-window mode, the processor (310) may divide the screen into a first area (10a) and a second area (20a) based on a border (1a), and display a first application (A) in the first area (10a) and a second application (B) in the second area (20a). For example, the processor (310) may display a first application (A) in the first area (10a) located on the left, and display a second application (B) in the second area (20a) located on the right.

[0136] In a landscape mode of the electronic device (1000) according to an embodiment, the boundary (1a) is parallel to the main direction of the short side of the electronic device (1000) (or perpendicular to the main direction of the long side), and the position of the boundary (1a) can be changed on the first display (331) according to a user input (or a user setting).

[0137] For example, the area ratio of the first region (10a) and the second region (20a) divided by the boundary (1a) may be 1:1. However, this is not limited to this, and may be changed in various ways according to user input, such as 1:2 or 2:1.

[0138] According to an embodiment, the processor (310) may identify the display mode of the electronic device (1000) based on the rotation angle or inclination detected through the third sensor (363). For example, the display mode of the electronic device (1000) may include a landscape mode and a portrait mode. For example, in landscape mode, the width of the screen may be longer than the height, and in portrait mode, the height of the screen may be longer than the width. In this case, the long side may define the top edge and the bottom edge of the first display (311). The contents of the applications (A and B) may be aligned top-to-bottom from the top edge to the bottom edge. In landscape mode, the short side may define the left edge and the right edge of the first display (311). The left edge and right edge may also define a left portion and a right portion of the display. According to a possible definition, the left portion is a portion of the first display that is adjacent to the left edge and is located on one side of the vertical folding line in landscape mode, and the right portion is a portion of the first display that is adjacent to the right edge and is located on the opposite side of the vertical folding line.

[0139] For example, if the display mode of the electronic device (1000) is a landscape mode, the long side of the electronic device (1000) may correspond to the width of the screen, and the short side of the electronic device (1000) may correspond to the height of the screen. In addition, if the display mode of the electronic device (1000) is a portrait mode, the short side of the electronic device (1000) may correspond to the width of the screen, and the long side of the electronic device (1000) may correspond to the height of the screen.

[0140] When the electronic device (1000) is identified as changing from landscape mode to portrait mode through the third sensor (363) according to the rotation of the electronic device (1000), the processor (310) can rotate each of the boundary (1a), the first application (A), and the second application (B).

[0141] For example, in portrait mode, the processor (310) may display a first application (A) and a second application (B) in a first region (10b) and a second region (20b), respectively, which are distinguished based on a rotated boundary (1b), by rotating them to correspond to the portrait mode. In portrait mode, the short sides may define the top edge and the bottom edge of the first display (311). The contents of the applications (A and B) may be aligned vertically from the top edge to the bottom edge. Therefore, the top edge and the bottom edge may have a logical meaning based on the landscape or portrait mode. The top edge and the bottom edge may also define an area located at the top and a area located at the bottom of the display. According to a possible definition, the area located at the top is a part of the display located on one side of the fold line in portrait mode and adjacent to the top edge, and the area located at the bottom is a part of the display located on the opposite side of the fold line and adjacent to the bottom edge. In portrait mode, the short sides may define the left and right edges of the first display (311). The left and right edges may also define the left and right areas of the display.

[0142] According to an embodiment, when the display mode is changed according to the rotation of the electronic device (1000), the rotated boundary (1b) can be positioned on the first display (331) so that the area ratio between the first area (10b) and the second area (20b) in the display mode after the change (e.g., portrait mode) corresponds to the area ratio between the first area (10a) and the second area (20a) in the display mode before the change (e.g., landscape mode).

[0143] For example, when the electronic device (1000) is rotated clockwise (e.g., rotated about 90 degrees clockwise) to change from a landscape mode to a portrait mode, the processor (310) may position the rotated boundary (1b) on the first display (331) in the portrait mode of the electronic device (1000) so that the area ratio between the first region (10a) and the second region (20a) distinguished based on the boundary (1a) in the landscape mode of the electronic device (1000) is maintained in the portrait mode as well.

[0144] However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the processor (310) divides the screen into a first region (10a) and a second region (20a) based on a boundary (1a) corresponding to the landscape mode in the landscape mode of the electronic device (1000), and the processor (310) divides the screen into a first region (10b) and a second region (20b) based on a boundary (1b) corresponding to the portrait mode in the portrait mode of the electronic device (1000), and the ratio between the first region (10a) and the second region (20a) in the landscape mode may be different from the ratio between the first region (10b) and the second region (20b) in the portrait mode.

[0145] According to an embodiment, when the processor (310) identifies that the electronic device (1000) has changed from a landscape mode to a portrait mode through the third sensor (363), it can identify whether either the first housing part (110) or the third housing part (130) is in a partially (or partially) folded state (or a flex state of the electronic device (1000).

[0146] For example, when the processor (310) identifies that the electronic device (1000) has changed from a landscape mode to a portrait mode through the third sensor (363), the processor (310) can identify whether either the first housing part (110) or the third housing part (130) is in a partially folded state based on the first folding angle detected through the first sensor (361) and the second folding angle detected through the second sensor (362).

[0147] For example, if the processor (310) identifies the electronic device (1000) as being in an unfolded state based on the first folding angle and the second folding angle, the processor (310) may display the first application (A) that was displayed in the first area (10a) located on the left in the landscape mode in the first area (10b) located on the left among the first area (10b) and the second area (20b) that are distinguished based on the rotated boundary (1b) in the portrait mode, and may display the second application (B) that was displayed in the second area (20a) located on the right in the landscape mode in the second area (20b) located on the right.

[0148] According to an embodiment, when the first housing part (110) is identified as being in a partially folded state in the unfolded state and portrait mode of the electronic device (1000), the processor (310) may display a second application (B) corresponding to a preset type in an upper region among the first region (10c) and the second region (20c) that are distinguished based on the first boundary (1-1) due to the partially folded state of the first housing part (110), and may display the first application (A) in a lower region.

[0149] For example, when the electronic device (1000) is rotated clockwise from the horizontal mode to the vertical mode and then the first housing part (110) is changed from the unfolded state to a partially folded state, among the first region (10c) and the second region (20c) distinguished based on the first boundary (1-1), the first region (10c) may be located at the top, and the second region (20c) may be located at the bottom.

[0150] According to an embodiment, the first boundary (1-1) may correspond to the first folding axis (181), and the first folding axis (181) may correspond to the central axis of the first hinge structure (150) that rotatably connects the first housing part (110) and the second housing part (120). According to an embodiment, the first region (10c) may correspond to the first housing part (110), and the second region (20c) may correspond to the second housing part (120) and the third housing part (130).

[0151] According to an embodiment, the first boundary (1-1) may be the same as or different from the boundary (1a) that divides the screen into a first region (10a) and a second region (20a) in landscape mode of the electronic device (1000).

[0152] According to an embodiment, when the electronic device (1000) is changed from a landscape mode to a portrait mode by rotating clockwise (e.g., rotating clockwise by about 90 degrees), and then the first housing part (110) is changed from an unfolded state to a partially folded state, the processor (310) may move and display the first application (A) displayed in the first region (10b) located on the left in the unfolded state and portrait mode of the electronic device (1000) to the first region (10c) located on the top, and display the second application (B) displayed in the second region (20b) located on the right in the unfolded state and portrait mode to the second region (20c) located on the bottom.

[0153] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, when the electronic device (1000) is changed from a landscape mode to a portrait mode by rotating clockwise (e.g., rotating clockwise by about 90 degrees), and then the first housing part (110) is changed from an unfolded state to a partially folded state, the processor (310) can identify whether at least one of the first application (A) or the second application (B) corresponds to a preset type.

[0154] For example, if the second application (B) corresponds to a preset type, the processor (310) may display the second application (B) in the first area (10c) located at the top among the first area (10c) and the second area (20c) that are distinguished based on the first boundary (1-1) due to a partially folded state of the first housing part (110), and may display the first application (A) in the second area (20c) located at the bottom.

[0155] In Fig. 4a, for convenience of explanation, it is assumed that among the first application (A) and the second application (B), the second application (B) corresponds to a preset type and the first application (A) does not correspond to a preset type, but this is not limited thereto, and the first application (A) may correspond to a preset type and the second application (B) may not correspond to a preset type.

[0156] For example, the processor (310) can display the first application (A) corresponding to a preset type among the first application (A) and the second application (B) in the first area (10c) located at the top when the first housing part (110) is partially folded and in the vertical mode, and can display the second application (B) in the second area (20c) located at the bottom.

[0157] According to an embodiment, an application corresponding to a preset type may include an application that provides content such as video or music.

[0158] For example, an application corresponding to a preset type may include an application that provides real-time video, such as a video streaming application, an application that provides video (e.g., video on demand (VOD)) according to a user's desired time (or at the user's request), an application that provides music, podcasts, and radio programs, such as a music streaming application. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and an application corresponding to a preset type may include an application that provides various forms of video content, such as a social networking application that provides short clips, short form video content (e.g., Instagram Reels), a web browsing application, and a game application, and music content.

[0159] FIG. 4b is a drawing for explaining an electronic device that displays an application corresponding to a preset type in an area located at the top when rotated counterclockwise according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0160] Referring to FIG. 4B, in the unfolded state of the electronic device (1000), the processor (310) may display a first application (A) and a second application (B) in each of the first region (10a) and the second region (20a) separated based on the boundary (1a) according to the multi-window mode. For example, the processor (310) may display the first application (A) in the first region (10a) located on the left, and display the second application (B) in the second region (20a) located on the right.

[0161] According to an embodiment, the processor (310) may identify whether either the first housing part (110) or the third housing part (130) is in a partially (or partially) folded state (or a flex state of the electronic device (1000)) when the electronic device (1000) changes from a landscape mode to a portrait mode by rotating counterclockwise (e.g., rotating about 90 degrees counterclockwise).

[0162] According to an embodiment, when the first housing part (110) is identified as being in a partially folded state in the unfolded state and portrait mode of the electronic device (1000), the processor (310) may display a second application (B) corresponding to a preset type in an area located at the top among the first area (10c) and the second area (20c) distinguished based on the first boundary (1-1) due to the partially folded state of the first housing part (110), and may display the first application (A) in an area located at the bottom.

[0163] For example, when the electronic device (1000) is rotated counterclockwise from the horizontal mode to the vertical mode and then the first housing part (110) is changed from the unfolded state to a partially folded state, among the first region (10c) and the second region (20c) divided based on the first boundary (1-1), the second region (20c) may be located at the top, and the first region (10c) may be located at the bottom.

[0164] According to an embodiment, if the second application (B) corresponds to a preset type, the processor (310) may display the second application (B) in the second area (20c) located at the upper end among the first area (10c) and the second area (20c) that are distinguished based on the first boundary (1-1) due to a partially folded state of the first housing part (110), and may display the first application (A) in the first area (10c) located at the lower end.

[0165] According to an embodiment, the first boundary (1-1) may correspond to the first folding axis (181), and the first folding axis (181) may correspond to the central axis of the first hinge structure (150) that rotatably connects the first housing part (110) and the second housing part (120). According to an embodiment, the first region (10c) may correspond to the first housing part (110), and the second region (20c) may correspond to the second housing part (120) and the third housing part (130).

[0166] FIG. 4c is a drawing for explaining an electronic device that displays an application corresponding to a preset type in an area located at the top when rotated clockwise according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0167] Referring to FIG. 4c, in the unfolded state of the electronic device (1000), the processor (310) may display a first application (A) and a second application (B) in each of the first region (10a) and the second region (20a) separated based on the boundary (1a) according to the multi-windows mode. For example, the processor (310) may display the first application (A) in the first region (10a) located on the left, and display the second application (B) in the second region (20a) located on the right.

[0168] According to an embodiment, the processor (310) may identify whether either the first housing part (110) or the third housing part (130) is in a partially (or partially) folded state (or a flex state of the electronic device (1000)) when the electronic device (1000) is rotated clockwise (e.g., rotated about 90 degrees clockwise) to change from a landscape mode to a portrait mode.

[0169] According to an embodiment, when the electronic device (1000) is identified as being in an unfolded state, the processor (310) may, in the unfolded state and in the portrait mode, display the first application (A) and the second application (B) in the first area (10b) and the second area (20b) respectively, which are distinguished based on the rotated boundary (1b), by rotating them to correspond to the portrait mode.

[0170] According to an embodiment, when the third housing part (130) is identified as being in a partially folded state, the processor (310) may display a second application (B) corresponding to a preset type in an area located at the upper end of the first area (10d) and the second area (20d) distinguished based on the second boundary (1-2) due to the partially folded state of the third housing part (130), and may display the first application (A) in an area located at the lower end.

[0171] For example, when the electronic device (1000) is rotated clockwise from the horizontal mode to the vertical mode and then the third housing part (130) is changed from the unfolded state to a partially folded state, among the first region (10d) and the second region (20d) distinguished based on the second boundary (1-2), the first region (10d) may be located at the top, and the second region (10d) may be located at the bottom.

[0172] According to an embodiment, if the second application (B) corresponds to a preset type, the processor (310) may display the second application (B) in the first area (10d) located at the top among the first area (10d) and the second area (20d) that are distinguished based on the second boundary (1-2) due to a partially folded state of the third housing part (130), and may display the first application (A) in the second area (20d) located at the bottom.

[0173] According to an embodiment, the second boundary (1-2) may correspond to the second folding axis (182), and the second folding axis (182) may correspond to the central axis of the second hinge structure (160) that rotatably connects the second housing part (120) and the third housing part (130). According to an embodiment, the first region (10d) may correspond to the first housing part (110) and the second housing part (120), and the second region (20d) may correspond to the third housing part (130).

[0174] In Fig. 4c, for convenience of explanation, it is assumed that among the first application (A) and the second application (B), the second application (B) corresponds to a preset type and the first application (A) does not correspond to a preset type, but this is not limited thereto, and the first application (A) may correspond to a preset type and the second application (B) may not correspond to a preset type.

[0175] For example, the processor (310) can display the first application (A) corresponding to a preset type among the first application (A) and the second application (B) in the first area (10d) located at the top in a partially folded state of the third housing part (130) and in a vertical mode, and can display the second application (B) in the second area (20d) located at the bottom.

[0176] FIG. 4d is a drawing for explaining an electronic device that displays an application corresponding to a preset type in an area located at the top when rotated counterclockwise according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0177] Referring to FIG. 4D, in the unfolded state of the electronic device (1000), the processor (310) may display a first application (A) and a second application (B) in each of the first region (10a) and the second region (20a) separated based on the boundary (1a) according to the multi-windows mode. For example, the processor (310) may display the first application (A) in the first region (10a) located on the left, and display the second application (B) in the second region (20a) located on the right.

[0178] According to an embodiment, the processor (310) may identify whether either the first housing part (110) or the third housing part (130) is in a partially (or partially) folded state (or a flex state of the electronic device (1000)) when the electronic device (1000) changes from a landscape mode to a portrait mode by rotating counterclockwise (e.g., rotating about 90 degrees counterclockwise).

[0179] According to an embodiment, when the third housing part (130) is identified as being in a partially folded state in the unfolded state and portrait mode of the electronic device (1000), the processor (310) may display a second application (B) corresponding to a preset type in an area located at the top of the first area (10d) and the second area (20d) distinguished based on the second boundary (1-2) due to the partially folded state of the third housing part (130), and may display the first application (A) in an area located at the bottom.

[0180] For example, when the electronic device (1000) is rotated counterclockwise from the horizontal mode to the vertical mode and then the third housing part (130) is changed from the unfolded state to a partially folded state, among the first region (10d) and the second region (20d) divided based on the second boundary (1-2), the second region (20d) may be located at the top, and the first region (10d) may be located at the bottom.

[0181] According to an embodiment, if the second application (B) corresponds to a preset type, the processor (310) may display the second application (B) in the second area (20d) located at the upper end among the first area (10d) and the second area (20d) that are distinguished based on the second boundary (1-2) due to a partially folded state of the third housing part (130), and may display the first application (A) in the first area (10d) located at the lower end.

[0182] According to an embodiment, the second boundary (1-2) may correspond to the second folding axis (182), and the second folding axis (182) may correspond to the central axis of the second hinge structure (160) that rotatably connects the second housing part (120) and the third housing part (130). According to an embodiment, the first region (10d) may correspond to the first housing part (110) and the second housing part (120), and the second region (20d) may correspond to the third housing part (130).

[0183] FIG. 5 is a drawing for explaining an electronic device that displays an application corresponding to a preset type in an area located at the top when rotated in a partially folded state according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0184] In FIGS. 4A to 4D, it is assumed and described that after the electronic device (1000) changes from a horizontal mode to a vertical mode in an unfolded state, either the first housing part (110) or the third housing part (130) is identified as being in a partially folded state, but this is not limited thereto, and as illustrated in FIG. 5, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the electronic device (1000) may change from a horizontal mode to a vertical mode in a state in which either the first housing part (110) or the third housing part (130) is in a partially folded state.

[0185] Referring to FIG. 5, in the unfolded state of the electronic device (1000), the processor (310) can display a first application (A) and a second application (B) in each of the first region (10a) and the second region (20a) that are separated based on a boundary (1a) according to a multi-windows mode. For example, the processor (310) can display the first application (A) in the first region (10a) located on the left, and display the second application (B) in the second region (20a) located on the right.

[0186] According to an embodiment, when the processor (310) identifies a change in the first housing part (110) from an unfolded state to a partially folded state based on the first folding angle, the processor (310) may display the first application (A) and the second application (B) in each of the first area (10c) and the second area (20c) distinguished based on the first boundary (1-1).

[0187] For example, the boundary (1a) that separates the first region (10a) and the second region (20a) in the unfolded state and the first boundary (1-1) that separates the first region (10c) and the second region (20c) in the partially folded state of the first housing part (110) may be the same or different.

[0188] According to an embodiment, the processor (310) detects the rotation of the electronic device (1000) through the third sensor (363), and when the electronic device (1000) is rotated clockwise (e.g., rotated 90 degrees clockwise) and changed from a landscape mode to a portrait mode, the processor (310) may display the second application (B) corresponding to a preset type among the first application (A) and the second application (B) in the first area (10c) located at the top among the first area (10c) and the second area (20c), and may display the first application (A) in the second area (20c) located at the bottom.

[0189] For example, the processor (310) may display a first application (A) on the left side of the first boundary (1-1) and a second application (B) on the right side of the first boundary (1-1) when the first housing part (110) is partially folded and the electronic device (1000) is in landscape mode. Then, when the electronic device (1000) rotates clockwise, the processor (310) may rotate and display the first application (A) within the first region (10c) divided by the first boundary (1-1) and rotate and display the second application (B) within the second region (20c). Meanwhile, the processor (310) according to the embodiment of the present disclosure can display the second application (B) by moving it to the first area (10c) located at the top in portrait mode, and can display the first application (A) by moving it to the second area (20c) located at the bottom, if the second application (B) corresponds to a preset type.

[0190] In Fig. 5, for convenience of explanation, it is assumed that the electronic device (1000) rotates clockwise, but of course, the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0191] For example, when the electronic device (1000) is rotated counterclockwise (e.g., rotated 90 degrees counterclockwise) and changed from landscape mode to portrait mode, the processor (310) may display the second application (B) corresponding to a preset type among the first application (A) and the second application (B) in the second area (20c) located at the top among the first area (10c) and the second area (20c), and may display the first application (A) in the first area (10c) located at the bottom.

[0192] FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining the horizontal mode layout and the vertical mode layout of an application according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0193] Referring to FIG. 6, when the processor (310) identifies the first housing part (110) as being in a partially folded state in the landscape mode, the processor (310) can display the first application (A) in the first area (10c) corresponding to the first housing part (110) and the second application (B) in the second area (20c) corresponding to the second housing part (120) and the third housing part (130) based on the first boundary (1-1) corresponding to the central axis of the first hinge structure (150) connecting the first housing part (110) and the second housing part (120), i.e., the first folding axis (181).

[0194] In some embodiments, each of the plurality of applications may include a landscape mode layout and a portrait mode layout.

[0195] For example, in a landscape mode layout, objects (or content) that make up an application are arranged horizontally, and in a portrait mode layout, objects can be arranged vertically.

[0196] For example, each of the first application (A) and the second application (B) may include a landscape mode layout suitable for a screen whose width is relatively longer than its height, and a portrait mode layout suitable for a screen whose height is relatively longer than its width.

[0197] According to an embodiment, in the landscape mode of the electronic device (1000), the first area (10c) has a feature in which the vertical length (or width) is relatively shorter than the horizontal length (or height), and the processor (310) can display the first application (A) in the portrait mode layout based on the aspect ratio of the first area (10c) corresponding to the first housing part (110).

[0198] For example, the processor (310) may enlarge a video (e.g., a video with a 9:16 ratio), an image (e.g., a thumbnail image), a text, or a message suitable for providing in portrait mode among the objects included in the first application (A) in the portrait mode layout of the first application (A) relatively to the remaining objects, place it at the top, or provide it in full screen within the first area (10c).

[0199] According to an embodiment, the processor (310) may display the second application (B) in a landscape mode layout based on the aspect ratio of the second area (20c) corresponding to the second housing part (120) and the third housing part (130) in the landscape mode of the electronic device (1000).

[0200] For example, the processor (310) may enlarge or place at the top, relatively to the remaining objects, a video suitable for providing in landscape mode (e.g., a video with a 16:9 ratio, a video with a 4:3 ratio, a video with a 1:1 ratio), music, or a game among the objects included in the second application (B) in the landscape mode layout of the second application (B), or provide it in full screen within the second area (20c).

[0201] According to an embodiment, when the electronic device (1000) is rotated clockwise (e.g., rotated clockwise by about 90 degrees) so that the electronic device (1000) changes to a portrait mode, the first boundary (1-1) in the landscape mode can be maintained even in the portrait mode, thereby dividing the first display (331) into a first region (10c) and a second region (20c).

[0202] According to an embodiment, the processor (310) can identify whether each of the first application (A) and the second application (B) being displayed through the first display (331) in multi-window mode corresponds to a preset type.

[0203] For example, if the second application (B) corresponds to a preset type, the processor (310) can display the second application (B) in the first area (10c) rather than the second area (20c) in portrait mode.

[0204] For example, in the portrait mode of the electronic device (1000), the processor (310) may display a second application (B) corresponding to a preset type in the first area (10c) located at the top among the first area (10c) and the second area (20c), and may display the first application (A) in the second area (20c) located at the bottom.

[0205] For example, if the first housing part (110) is in a partially folded state and the electronic device (1000) is in a portrait mode, the second housing part (120) and the third housing part (130) may be placed on a flat surface, and the first housing part (110) may be tilted with respect to the second housing part (120) by a first folding angle.

[0206] The second housing part (120) and the third housing part (130) placed on a flat surface facilitate user interaction, such as handwriting or touch motions, but the first housing part (110) placed at an angle may not facilitate user interaction. According to an embodiment, the processor (310) may display a preset type of second application (B) (e.g., a video application) in which user interaction, such as handwriting motions, do not occur frequently, in the first area (10c) located at the top, and may display a first application (A) (e.g., a memo application, a web browsing application, etc.) in which user interaction, such as handwriting motions, occur frequently, in the second area (20c) located at the bottom.

[0207] According to an embodiment, the processor (310) may display a second application (B) corresponding to a preset type in a landscape mode layout based on the aspect ratio of the first area (10c) corresponding to the first housing part (110) in the portrait mode of the electronic device (1000).

[0208] For example, the processor (310) may enlarge or place at the top, relatively to the remaining objects, a video (e.g., a video with a 16:9 ratio), music, or game suitable for providing in landscape mode among the objects included in the second application (B) in the landscape mode layout of the second application (B), or provide it in full screen within the first area (10c).

[0209] According to an embodiment, the processor (310) may display the first application (A) in a landscape mode layout based on the aspect ratio of the second area (20c) corresponding to the second housing part (120) and the third housing part (130) in the portrait mode of the electronic device (1000).

[0210] For example, the processor (310) may, in the landscape mode layout of the first application (A), display a video suitable for display in landscape mode (e.g., a video with a 16:9 ratio, a video with a 4:3 ratio, a video with a 1:1 ratio), or a game, among the objects included in the first application (A), enlarge it relatively to the remaining objects, place it on top, or display it in full screen within the second area (20c).

[0211] Referring to FIG. 6, the horizontal length (or width) of the second region (20c) in the horizontal mode of the electronic device (1000) corresponds to the vertical length (or height) of the second region (20c) in the vertical mode of the electronic device (1000), and the vertical length (or height) of the second region (20c) in the horizontal mode of the electronic device (1000) may correspond to the horizontal length (or width) of the second region (20c) in the vertical mode of the electronic device (1000).

[0212] For example, if the aspect ratio of the second area (20c) in the landscape mode of the electronic device (1000) is 1:1, the aspect ratio of the second area (20c) in the portrait mode may be 1:1, if the aspect ratio of the second area (20c) in the landscape mode of the electronic device (1000) is 9:8 (or 1.125:1), the aspect ratio of the second area (20c) in the portrait mode may be 8:9 (or 1:1.125), and if the aspect ratio of the second area (20c) in the landscape mode of the electronic device (1000) is 4:3, the aspect ratio of the second area (20c) in the portrait mode may be 3:4.

[0213] According to an embodiment, a second application (B) may be displayed in a landscape mode layout within a second area (20c) in a landscape mode of an electronic device (1000), and a first application (A) may be displayed in a landscape mode layout within a second area (20c) in a portrait mode of an electronic device (1000).

[0214] In FIG. 6, for convenience of explanation, it is assumed that the first housing part (110) is partially folded, the electronic device (1000) rotates clockwise so that the first area (10c) corresponding to the first housing part (110) is located at the top, and the second area (20c) corresponding to the second housing part (120) and the third housing part (130) are located at the bottom, but of course, the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0215] For example, as described in FIG. 4b, the first housing part (110) may be partially folded, and the electronic device (1000) may rotate counterclockwise so that the first area (10c) corresponding to the first housing part (110) is located at the bottom, and the second area (20c) corresponding to the second housing part (120) and the third housing part (130) may be located at the top; as described in FIG. 4c, the third housing part (130) may be partially folded, and the electronic device (1000) may rotate clockwise so that the first area (10d) corresponding to the first housing part (110) and the second housing part (120) is located at the top, and the second area (20d) corresponding to the third housing part (130) may be located at the bottom; as described in FIG. 4d, the third housing part (130) may be partially folded, and the electronic device (1000) may rotate counterclockwise so that the first housing part The first region (10d) corresponding to the part (110) and the second housing part (120) may be located at the bottom, and the second region (20d) corresponding to the third housing part (130) may be located at the top.

[0216] FIG. 7A is a diagram illustrating an electronic device that displays an application corresponding to a preset type in an area located at the top of any one activated application according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0217] Referring to FIG. 7a, the processor (310) can display each of the first application (A) and the second application (B) in a landscape mode according to a multi-window mode.

[0218] For example, when the first housing part (110) is partially folded in multi-window mode, the processor (310) can display the first application (A) in the first area (10c) divided by the first boundary (1-1), and display the second application (B) in the second area (20c).

[0219] According to an embodiment, when the electronic device (1000) is rotated and changed from a landscape mode to a portrait mode while the first housing part (110) is partially folded, the processor (310) can identify whether each of the first application (A) and the second application (B) corresponds to a preset type.

[0220] For example, if the first application (A) and the second application (B) each correspond to a preset type, the processor (310) can display one of the activated first application (A) and the second application (B) in the first area (10c) located at the top and display the other in the second area (20c) located at the bottom when the electronic device (1000) is rotated and changed to a portrait mode.

[0221] For example, as illustrated in FIG. 7A, the first application (A) is an application that provides a video, corresponds to a preset type, but may not be playing the video (e.g., paused) or may be playing the video with the video muted. The second application (B) is an application that provides a video, corresponds to a preset type, and may be playing the video (e.g., both video and sound may be output).

[0222] According to an embodiment, if each of the first application (A) and the second application (B) corresponds to a preset type, the processor (310) can identify one of the first applications (A) and the second application (B) that is playing a video (e.g., outputting both video and sound) as an activated application, and identify the other application that is not playing a video or is playing a video with sound muted as an inactive application.

[0223] For example, when the first application (A) and the second application (B) each correspond to a preset type, the processor (310) can display the activated second application (B) (e.g., the second application (B) playing a video) in the first area (10c) located at the top when the first housing part (110) is changed from a partially folded state to a portrait mode, and can display the deactivated first application (A) (e.g., the first application (A) not playing a video) in the second area (20c) located at the bottom.

[0224] According to an embodiment, when the processor (310) is in an unfolded state in a multi-window mode, the processor (310) can display a first application (A) and a second application (B) in each of a first area (10a) and a second area (20a) separated based on a boundary (1a).

[0225] According to an embodiment, the processor (310) may identify whether either the first housing part (110) or the third housing part (130) is in a partially (or partially) folded state (or a flex state of the electronic device (1000)) when the electronic device (1000) is rotated and changed from a landscape mode to a portrait mode in an unfolded state.

[0226] According to an embodiment, when the first housing part (110) is identified as being in a partially folded state in the unfolded state and portrait mode of the electronic device (1000), the processor (310) can identify whether each of the first application (A) and the second application (B) corresponds to a preset type.

[0227] For example, if the first application (A) and the second application (B) each correspond to a preset type, the processor (310) can display one of the activated first application (A) and the second application (B) in the first area (10c) located at the top, and display the other one in the second area (20c) located at the bottom, at the time when the first housing part (110) is identified as being in a partially folded state.

[0228] For example, when the electronic device (1000) is changed from an unfolded state to a portrait mode, and the first housing part (110) is identified as being in a partially folded state, the processor (310) may display an activated second application (B) (e.g., a second application (B) playing a video) in the first area (10c) located at the top, and display an inactivated first application (A) (e.g., a first application (A) not playing a video) in the second area (20c) located at the bottom, at the time when the first housing part (110) is identified as being in a partially folded state.

[0229] FIG. 7b is a diagram illustrating an electronic device that displays an application in an area located at the top based on a ratio according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0230] Referring to FIG. 7b, the processor (310) can display each of the first application (A) and the second application (B) in a landscape mode according to a multi-window mode.

[0231] For example, when the first housing part (110) is partially folded in multi-window mode, the processor (310) can display the first application (A) in the first area (10c) divided by the first boundary (1-1), and display the second application (B) in the second area (20c).

[0232] According to an embodiment, when the electronic device (1000) is rotated and changed from a landscape mode to a portrait mode while the first housing part (110) is partially folded, the processor (310) can identify whether each of the first application (A) and the second application (B) corresponds to a preset type.

[0233] For example, the processor (310) can identify the ratio of each of the first application (A) and the second application (B) if each of the first application (A) and the second application (B) corresponds to a preset type.

[0234] Referring to FIG. 7b, in the landscape mode of the electronic device (1000), the ratio of the content provided by the first application (A) may correspond to the portrait mode layout, and the ratio of the content provided by the second application (B) may correspond to the landscape mode layout.

[0235] For example, the content provided by the first application (A) may be video content with a 9:16 ratio, and the content provided by the second application (B) may be content with a 8:9 ratio.

[0236] According to an embodiment, when the electronic device (1000) is rotated to change to a portrait mode, the first region (10c) may be positioned at the top and the second region (20c) may be positioned at the bottom.

[0237] According to an embodiment, if the first area (10c) has a 9:16 ratio in landscape mode, the first area (10c) may be changed to a 16:9 ratio in portrait mode, and if the second area (20c) has an 8:9 ratio in landscape mode, the second area (20c) may be changed to a 9:8 ratio in portrait mode.

[0238] According to an embodiment, since the video content provided by the first application (A) with a 9:16 ratio is suitable for providing through the second area (20c) among the first area (10c) with a 16:9 ratio and the second area (20c) with an 8:9 ratio in portrait mode (or since distortion occurs when providing through the first area (10c)), the processor (310) can position the first application (A) in the second area (20c) in portrait mode.

[0239] According to an embodiment, the processor (310) may position the second application (B) located in the second area (20c) in portrait mode, and position it in the first area (10c) in landscape mode.

[0240] FIG. 8 is a drawing for explaining an electronic device that enters a multi-window mode by identifying a partially folded state according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0241] The processor (310) may display multiple applications (e.g., a first application (A) and a second application (B)) according to the multi-window mode, or may display one application according to the general mode.

[0242] Referring to FIG. 8, the processor (310) can display one application (hereinafter, the first application (A)) in the unfolded state and landscape mode of the electronic device (1000) to drive the electronic device (1000) in a normal mode.

[0243] According to an embodiment, when the processor (310) detects rotation of the electronic device (1000) through the third sensor (363) (e.g., when a 90 degree clockwise rotation is detected), the processor (310) can rotate and display the first application (A) in the unfolded state and in the portrait mode to correspond to the portrait mode.

[0244] According to an embodiment, the processor (310) may change from a normal mode to a multi-window mode when at least one of the first housing part (110) or the third housing part (130) is identified as being in a partially folded state in the portrait mode.

[0245] For example, in portrait mode, when the first housing part (110) is changed from an unfolded state to a partially folded state, the processor (310) can drive the electronic device (1000) in a multi-window mode that can display different applications in the first area (10c) and the second area (20c) separated by the first boundary (1-1).

[0246] According to an embodiment, the processor (310) can identify whether the first application (A) corresponds to a preset type when the first housing part (110) is identified as being in a partially folded state in portrait mode.

[0247] According to an embodiment, if one application, i.e., the first application (A) displayed by the first display (331) in the normal mode corresponds to a preset type, the processor (310) may display the first application (A) in the first area (10c) located at the upper end among the first area (10c) and the second area (20c) divided by the first boundary (1-1).

[0248] According to an embodiment, the processor (310) may display a second application (B) in the second area (20c) located at the bottom. For example, the second application (B) may include a web browsing application that provides information related to content (e.g., video) provided by the first application (A). However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the second application (B) may also include an application that was displayed before the first application (A) was executed in normal mode, or an application that was running in the background.

[0249] According to an embodiment, the processor (310) may display a home screen in the second area (20c) located at the bottom. For example, the home screen may include icons and widgets corresponding to each of a plurality of applications installed (or executable) on the electronic device (1000). The home screen may also be referred to as a desktop.

[0250] For example, the processor (310) can display a home screen in the second area (20c), and when an icon corresponding to the second application (B) is selected from among icons corresponding to each of a plurality of applications, the processor can execute the second application (B) and display it in the second area (20c).

[0251] According to an embodiment, when the first housing part (110) is changed from an unfolded state to a partially folded state, the processor (310) identifies whether the first application (A) corresponds to a preset type, and when one application displayed by the first display (331) in a normal mode, i.e., the first application (A), does not correspond to the preset type, the processor can display the first application (A) in one of the first area (10c) and the second area (20c) divided by the first boundary (1-1).

[0252] For example, the processor (310) can display the first application (A) in the second area (20c) that has a relatively larger area among the first area (10c) and the second area (20c). In addition, the processor (310) can display the second application (B) in the first area (10c) to drive the electronic device (1000) in multi-window mode.

[0253] However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and when the third housing part (130) is changed from an unfolded state to a partially folded state, the processor (310) identifies whether one application displayed by the first display (331) in the normal mode, i.e., the first application (A), corresponds to a preset type, and if the first application (A) does not correspond to the preset type, the first application (A) may be displayed in a first area (10d) having a relatively large area among the first area (10d) and the second area (20d) divided by the second boundary (1-2). In addition, the processor (310) may display the second application (B) in the second area (20d) to drive the electronic device (1000) in a multi-window mode.

[0254] FIG. 9 is a drawing for explaining an electronic device that changes from a portrait mode to a landscape mode according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0255] According to an embodiment, when the electronic device (1000) is in portrait mode and the first housing part (110) is partially folded, the processor (310) can display the second application (B) corresponding to the preset type in the first area (10c) located at the top, and display the first application (A) in the second area (20c) located at the bottom.

[0256] According to an embodiment, the processor (310) can maintain the first boundary (1-1) due to the first housing part (110) being partially folded when the electronic device (1000) is rotated (e.g., rotated 90 degrees counterclockwise) to change from a portrait mode to a landscape mode.

[0257] For example, since the electronic device (1000) rotates while the first housing part (110) is partially folded, the processor (310) can maintain the first area (10c) and the second area (20c) divided by the first boundary (1-1) in the multi-window mode.

[0258] According to an embodiment, the processor (310) may rotate and display the second application (B) displayed within the first area (10c) within the first area (10c) to correspond to the landscape mode, and may rotate and display the first application (A) displayed within the second area (20c) within the second area (20c) to correspond to the landscape mode.

[0259] According to an embodiment, when the processor (310) changes from landscape mode to portrait mode as described in FIG. 6, the processor (310) may move an application corresponding to a preset type among the plurality of applications being displayed by the first display (331) to an area located at the top. Meanwhile, when the processor (310) changes from portrait mode to landscape mode as illustrated in FIG. 9, the processor (310) may rotate each of the plurality of applications being displayed by the first display (331) within the current area without moving them to another area.

[0260] FIG. 10A is a drawing for explaining an electronic device that changes from a landscape mode to a portrait mode in a multi-window mode according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0261] Referring to FIG. 10a, in multi-window mode, the processor (310) can display a third application (C) in addition to the first application (A) and the second application (B).

[0262] For example, the processor (310) can display different applications in each of the first region (10a) and the second region (20a) separated by the boundary (1a) in the unfolded state.

[0263] For example, the processor (310) can display a first application (A) in a first area (10a). The processor (310) can divide the second area (20a) into a second-first area (20-1a) and a second-second area (20-2a) according to the first sub-boundary (2), and can display a second application (B) in the second-first area (20-1a) and a third application (C) in the second-second area (20-2a).

[0264] According to an embodiment, each of the boundary (1a) and the first sub-boundary (2) can be changed on the first display (331) according to user input (or user setting).

[0265] According to an embodiment, the boundary (1a) is a boundary parallel to the short side (or, a boundary perpendicular to the long side) in landscape mode of the electronic device (1000), and can divide the first display (331) into a first region (10a) and a second region (20a).

[0266] According to an embodiment, the first sub-boundary (2) is a boundary parallel to the long side (or, a boundary perpendicular to the short side) in the landscape mode of the electronic device (1000), and the second region (20a) can be divided into a second-first region (20-1a) and a second-second region (20-2a).

[0267] For example, the area ratio of the 2-1 region (20-1a) and the 2-2 region (20-2a) separated by the 1st sub-boundary (2) may be 1:1, or may be varied in various ways depending on user input. For example, the processor (310) changes the position of the 1st sub-boundary (2) depending on user input, and the area ratio of the 2-1 region (20-1a) and the 2-2 region (20-2a) may be 2:1.

[0268] According to an embodiment, when the first housing part (110) is changed to a partially folded state in an unfolded state and a landscape mode, the processor (310) may divide the first display (331) into a first region (10c) and a second region (20c) based on the first boundary (1-1). According to an embodiment, the processor (310) may display a first application (A) in the first region (10c).

[0269] According to an embodiment, the processor (310) may divide the second region (20a) into a second-first region (20-1b) and a second-second region (20-2b) based on the second sub-boundary (3).

[0270] According to an embodiment, the processor (310) may display a second application (B) in the 2-1 area (20-1b) and a third application (C) in the 2-2 area (20-2b).

[0271] According to an embodiment, when the electronic device (1000) is rotated and changed to a portrait mode, the processor (310) can maintain the first boundary (1-1) and display the second application (B) corresponding to a preset type among the first application (A), the second application (B) and the third application (C) in the first area (10c) located at the top.

[0272] According to an embodiment, the processor (310) may rotate the second sub-boundary (3) when the electronic device (1000) is rotated and changed to a portrait mode. For example, among the first region (10c) and the second region (20c) divided according to the first boundary (1-1), the processor (310) may divide the second region (20c) into the second-first region (20-1c) and the second-second region (20-2c) based on the rotated second sub-boundary (4).

[0273] According to an embodiment, the processor (310) may display a second application (B) corresponding to a preset type in the first area (10c) located at the top among the first area (10c), the second-1 area (20-1c), and the second-2 area (20-2c), display the first application (A) in the second-1 area (20-1c), and display the third application (C) in the second-2 area (20-2c). According to an embodiment, the area where the first application (A) is displayed may change from the first area (10c) before rotation to the second-1 area (20-1c) after rotation, and the area where the second application (B) corresponding to the preset type is displayed may change from the second-1 area (20-1b) before rotation to the first area (10c) after rotation. According to an embodiment, the first region (10c) may be located at the top when the first housing part (110) is partially folded in the vertical mode of the electronic device (1000).

[0274] Referring to Fig. 10a, the rotated second sub-boundary (4) may be the same as or different from the second boundary (1-2). For example, if the processor (310) identifies the third housing part (130) as being in a partially folded state, among the first region (10c) and the second region (20c) divided according to the first boundary (1-1), the second region (20c) may be divided into the second-first region (20-1c) and the second-second region (20-2c) based on the second boundary (1-2) corresponding to the second folding axis (182).

[0275] FIG. 10b is a drawing for explaining an electronic device that changes from a landscape mode to a portrait mode in a multi-window mode according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0276] Referring to FIG. 10b, the processor (310) can display a first application (A) in the first area (10a) among the first area (10a) and the second area (20a) divided according to the boundary (1a) in the unfolded state, divide the second area (20a) into a 2-1 area (20-1a) and a 2-2 area (20-2a) based on the first sub-boundary (2), and display a second application (B) in the 2-1 area (20-1a) and a third application (C) in the 2-2 area (20-2a).

[0277] According to an embodiment, when the first housing part (110) is changed to a partially folded state, the processor (310) may divide the first display (331) into a first region (10c) and a second region (20c) based on the first boundary (1-1). According to an embodiment, the processor (310) may display a first application (A) in the first region (10c).

[0278] According to an embodiment, the processor (310) may divide the second region (20c) into a second-first region (20-1b) and a second-second region (20-2b) based on the second sub-boundary (3).

[0279] According to an embodiment, the processor (310) may display a second application (B) in the 2-1 area (20-1b) and a third application (C) in the 2-2 area (20-2b).

[0280] According to an embodiment, when the electronic device (1000) is rotated and changed to a portrait mode, the processor (310) maintains the first boundary (1-1) and the second sub-boundary (3), and displays the second application (B) corresponding to a preset type among the first application (A), the second application (B), and the third application (C) in the first area (10c) located at the top.

[0281] According to an embodiment, the processor (310) may display a second application (B) corresponding to a preset type in the first area (10c) located at the top among the first area (10c), the second-1 area (20-1b), and the second-2 area (20-2b), display the first application (A) in the second-1 area (20-1b), and display the third application (C) in the second-2 area (20-2b). According to an embodiment, the area where the first application (A) is displayed may change from the first area (10c) before rotation to the second-1 area (20-1b) after rotation, and the area where the second application (B) corresponding to the preset type is displayed may change from the second-1 area (20-1b) before rotation to the first area (10c) after rotation. According to an embodiment, the first region (10c) may be located at the top when the first housing part (110) is partially folded in the vertical mode of the electronic device (1000).

[0282] FIG. 11 is a flowchart for explaining a control method of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0283] Referring to FIG. 11, in a control method of an electronic device (1000), the electronic device (1000) includes a first housing part (110), a second housing part (120) rotatably coupled to the first housing part (110), a third housing part (130) rotatably coupled to the second housing part (120), a first hinge structure (150) rotatably connecting the first housing part (110) and the second housing part (120), a second hinge structure (160) rotatably connecting the second housing part (120) and the third housing part (130), a first display (331) disposed on one surface of the first housing part (110), the second housing part (120) and the third housing part (130), a second display (332) disposed in a portion of the other surface opposite to the first display (331), and a hinge structure between the first housing part (110) and the second housing part (120). It may include a first sensor (361) configured to detect a first folding angle, a second sensor (362) configured to detect a second folding angle between the second housing part (120) and the third housing part (130), and a third sensor (363) configured to detect whether the electronic device is in landscape mode or portrait mode.

[0284] A method for controlling an electronic device (1000) according to an embodiment can identify a change from the horizontal mode to the vertical mode according to the rotation of the electronic device (1000) in operation S1101, when the electronic device (1000) operates in a horizontal mode, and in operation S1102, when the electronic device (1000) operates in a horizontal mode.

[0285] A control method of an electronic device (1000) according to an embodiment can identify whether one of the first housing part (110) or the third housing part (130) is in a partially folded state based on a first folding angle detected through a first sensor (361) and a second folding angle detected through a second sensor (362) in operation S1103.

[0286] In a control method of an electronic device (1000) according to an embodiment, if the first housing part (110) is identified as being in a partially folded state in operation S1103, the first application (A) corresponding to a preset type may be displayed in an upper region (e.g., the first region (10c)) among the first region (10c) and the second region (20c) distinguished based on the first boundary (1-1) due to the partially folded state of the first housing part (110) in operation S1104, and the second application (B) may be displayed in a lower region (e.g., the second region (20c)).

[0287] In a control method of an electronic device (1000) according to an embodiment, if the third housing part (130) is identified as being in a partially folded state in operation S1103, the first application (A) corresponding to a preset type may be displayed in an area (e.g., the first area (10d)) located at the top among the first area (10d) and the second area (20d) distinguished based on the second boundary (1-2) due to the partially folded state of the third housing part (130) in operation S1105, and the second application (B) may be displayed in an area (e.g., the second area (20d)) located at the bottom.

[0288] The operation S1101 for displaying in a landscape mode according to an embodiment may include an operation for displaying a first application (A) in one of a first area and a second area divided based on a boundary according to a multi-window mode in the landscape mode, and displaying a second application (B) in the other area.

[0289] The operation S1103 for identifying whether the first housing part (110) is in a partially folded state according to the embodiment may include an operation for identifying whether the first housing part (110) is in a partially folded state when a change to a vertical mode is identified.

[0290] The operation S1104 of displaying the first application (A) and the second application (B) in a partially folded state of the first housing part (110) according to the embodiment may include an operation of displaying the second application (B) corresponding to a preset type in a first area located at the top among the first area and the second area divided based on the first boundary caused by the partially folded state of the first housing part (110) in the portrait mode, and displaying the first application (A) in the second area located at the bottom.

[0291] According to an embodiment, the first region may correspond to the first housing part (110), and the second region may correspond to the second housing part (120) and the third housing part (130).

[0292] The operation S1101 for displaying in a landscape mode according to an embodiment may include an operation for displaying a first application in one of a first area and a second area divided based on a boundary according to a multi-window mode in the landscape mode, and displaying a second application in the remaining area.

[0293] The operation S1103 for identifying whether the first housing part (110) is in a partially folded state according to the embodiment may include an operation for identifying whether the first housing part (110) is in a partially folded state when a change to a vertical mode is identified.

[0294] The operation S1104 of displaying the first application and the second application in a partially folded state of the first housing part (110) according to the embodiment may include an operation of displaying the second application corresponding to a preset type in a second area located at the top among the first area and the second area divided based on the first boundary caused by the partially folded state of the first housing part (110) in a portrait mode, and displaying the first application in the first area located at the bottom.

[0295] According to an embodiment, the first region may correspond to the first housing part (110), and the second region may correspond to the second housing part (120) and the third housing part (130).

[0296] The operation S1101 for displaying in a landscape mode according to an embodiment may include an operation for displaying a first application in one of a first area and a second area divided based on a boundary according to a multi-window mode in the landscape mode, and displaying a second application in the remaining area.

[0297] The operation S1103 for identifying whether the third housing part (130) is in a partially folded state according to the embodiment may include an operation for identifying whether the third housing part (130) is in a partially folded state when a change to a vertical mode is identified.

[0298] The operation S1105 of displaying the first application and the second application in a partially folded state of the third housing part (130) according to the embodiment may include an operation of displaying the second application corresponding to a preset type in a first area located at the top among the first area and the second area divided based on the second boundary caused by the partially folded state of the third housing part (130) in the portrait mode, and displaying the first application in the second area located at the bottom.

[0299] According to the embodiment, the first region may correspond to the first housing part (110) and the second housing part (120), and the second region may correspond to the third housing part (130).

[0300] The operation S1101 for displaying in a landscape mode according to an embodiment may include an operation for displaying a first application (A) in one of a first area and a second area divided based on a boundary according to a multi-window mode in the landscape mode, and displaying a second application (B) in the other area.

[0301] The operation S1103 for identifying whether the third housing part (130) is in a partially folded state according to the embodiment may include an operation for identifying whether the third housing part (130) is in a partially folded state when a change to a vertical mode is identified.

[0302] The operation S1105 of displaying the first application (A) and the second application (B) in a partially folded state of the third housing part (130) according to the embodiment may include an operation of displaying the second application (B) corresponding to a preset type in a second area located at the top among the first area and the second area divided based on the second boundary caused by the partially folded state of the third housing part (130) in the portrait mode, and displaying the first application (A) in the first area located at the bottom.

[0303] According to the embodiment, the first region may correspond to the first housing part (110) and the second housing part (120), and the second region may correspond to the third housing part (130).

[0304] The operation S1104 of displaying the first application (A) and the second application (B) in a partially folded state of the first housing part (110) according to the embodiment may include an operation of displaying the second application (B) in a landscape mode layout or a portrait mode layout based on an aspect ratio of an area located at the top, and an operation of displaying the first application (A) in a landscape mode layout or a portrait mode layout based on an aspect ratio of an area located at the bottom.

[0305] The operation S1105 of displaying the first application (A) and the second application (B) in a partially folded state of the third housing part (130) according to the embodiment may include an operation of displaying the second application (B) in a landscape mode layout or a portrait mode layout based on an aspect ratio of an area located at the top, and an operation of displaying the first application (A) in a landscape mode layout or a portrait mode layout based on an aspect ratio of an area located at the bottom.

[0306] According to an embodiment, operation S1101 for displaying in a landscape mode may include an operation for displaying a first application (A) in one of a first area and a second area divided based on a boundary according to a multi-window mode in a landscape mode, and displaying a second application (B) in the other area.

[0307] According to an embodiment, operation S1103 for identifying whether either the first housing part (110) or the third housing part (130) is in a partially folded state may include an operation for rotating the boundary to correspond to the rotation of the electronic device when the electronic device is identified as being in an unfolded state based on the first folding angle and the second folding angle in the portrait mode.

[0308] A method according to an embodiment may include displaying a first application (A) in one of a first region and a second region, which are distinguished based on a rotated boundary on a first display, and displaying a second application (B) in the other one.

[0309] The method according to the embodiment may include an operation of displaying a second application (B) in an area located at the top of a first area and a second area divided based on a first boundary, and displaying a first application (A) in an area located at the bottom, when the first housing part (110) is changed from an unfolded state to a partially folded state.

[0310] The method according to the embodiment may include an operation of displaying a second application (B) in an area located at the top of the first area and the second area divided based on the second boundary, and displaying a first application (A) in an area located at the bottom, when the third housing part (130) is changed from an unfolded state to a partially folded state.

[0311] The operation S1104 of displaying the first application (A) and the second application (B) in a partially folded state of the first housing part (110) according to the embodiment may include an operation of, if each of the first application (A) and the second application (B) corresponds to a preset type, displaying one of the first application (A) and the second application (B) that is activated at the time when the first housing part (110) is identified as being in a partially folded state in an area located at the top, and displaying the other one in an area located at the bottom.

[0312] The operation S1105 of displaying the first application (A) and the second application (B) in a partially folded state of the third housing part (130) according to the embodiment may include an operation of, when each of the first application (A) and the second application (B) corresponds to a preset type, displaying one of the first application (A) and the second application (B) that is activated at the time when the third housing part (130) is identified as being in a partially folded state in an area located at the top, and displaying the other one in an area located at the bottom.

[0313] A method according to an embodiment may include an action of displaying a first application (A) in a landscape mode.

[0314] A method according to an embodiment may include an operation of rotating and displaying a first application (A) when the electronic device is identified as being in an unfolded state in portrait mode.

[0315] The method according to the embodiment may include an operation of entering a multi-window mode when the first housing part (110) is identified as being in a partially folded state in an unfolded state.

[0316] A method according to an embodiment may include an operation of displaying a first application (A) in a first area located at an upper portion of a first area and a second area divided based on a first boundary.

[0317] The method according to the embodiment may include an action of displaying a second application (B) including information related to content provided by a first application (A) in a second area located at the bottom.

[0318] The method according to the embodiment may include an operation of displaying a second application (B) in an area located on the left side of a first region and a second region, which are distinguished based on a first boundary due to a partially folded state of the first housing part (110) or a second boundary due to a partially folded state of the third housing part (130), when the electronic device changes from a portrait mode to a landscape mode, and displaying a first application (A) in an area located on the right side.

[0319] According to an embodiment, an electronic device (e.g., electronic device (1000) of FIG. 3A) may include a display (e.g., at least one of the first display (331) or the second display (332) of FIG. 3A) and at least one processor (e.g., processor (310) of FIG. 3A). In the electronic device, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the electronic device includes a first housing part, a second housing part rotatably coupled to the first housing part, a third housing part rotatably coupled to the second housing part, a first hinge structure rotatably connecting the first housing part and the second housing part, a second hinge structure rotatably connecting the second housing part and the third housing part, a first display disposed on one surface of the first housing part, the second housing part and the third housing part, a second display disposed in a portion of the other surface opposite to the first display, a first sensor configured to detect a first folding angle between the first housing part and the second housing part, a second sensor configured to detect a second folding angle between the second housing part and the third housing part, a third sensor configured to detect whether the electronic device is in a landscape mode or a portrait mode, a memory storing instructions, and at least one processor, wherein the instructions are to be executed by the at least one processor (310). When the electronic device displays a first application and a second application in a landscape mode, identifies a change from the landscape mode to a portrait mode based on a rotation detected through the third sensor, and identifies whether one of the first housing part (110) or the third housing part (130) is in a partially folded state based on the first folding angle detected through the first sensor and the second folding angle detected through the second sensor (362).When either the first housing part (110) or the third housing part (130) is identified as being in the partially folded state, the second application (B) corresponding to the preset type is displayed in the upper region among the first region (10) and the second region (20) that are distinguished based on the first boundary (1-1) due to the partially folded state of the first housing part (110) or the second boundary (1-2) due to the partially folded state of the third housing part (130), and the first application (A) is displayed in the lower region.

[0320] According to an embodiment, in a control method of an electronic device (e.g., an electronic device (1000) of FIG. 3A), the electronic device includes a first housing part, a second housing part rotatably coupled to the first housing part, a third housing part rotatably coupled to the second housing part, a first hinge structure rotatably connecting the first housing part and the second housing part, a second hinge structure rotatably connecting the second housing part and the third housing part, a first display disposed on one surface of the first housing part, the second housing part and the third housing part, a second display disposed in a portion of the other surface opposite to the first display, a first sensor configured to detect a first folding angle between the first housing part and the second housing part, a second sensor configured to detect a second folding angle between the second housing part and the third housing part, and a third sensor configured to detect whether the electronic device is in a landscape mode or a portrait mode, and the method comprises: in a control method of an electronic device, the method comprises: in a landscape mode, a first application and An operation of displaying a second application (S1101), an operation of identifying a change from the landscape mode to the portrait mode based on the rotation detected through the third sensor (S1102), an operation of identifying whether one of the first housing part (110) or the third housing part (130) is in a partially folded state based on the first folding angle detected through the first sensor and the second folding angle detected through the second sensor (362) (S1103), and if the first housing part is identified as being in a partially folded state, displaying the second application corresponding to a preset type in an area located at the upper end of the first area and the second area distinguished based on the first boundary due to the partially folded state of the first housing part.An operation (S1104) of displaying the first application in an area located at the bottom, and when the third housing part is identified as being in a partially folded state, an operation (S1105) of displaying the second application corresponding to the preset type in an area located at the top among the first and second areas distinguished based on the second boundary due to the partially folded state of the third housing part is included.

[0321] Meanwhile, the various embodiments described above may be implemented in a computer-readable recording medium or similar device using software, hardware, or a combination thereof. In some cases, the embodiments described herein may be implemented by the processor itself. In a software implementation, embodiments, such as the procedures and functions described herein, may be implemented as separate software modules. Each of the software modules may perform one or more functions and operations described herein.

[0322] Meanwhile, computer instructions for performing processing operations of an electronic device according to various embodiments of the present disclosure described above may be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium. When the computer instructions stored in such a non-transitory computer-readable medium are executed by a processor of a specific device, the computer instructions cause the specific device to perform processing operations in the electronic device according to various embodiments described above.

[0323] A non-transitory computer-readable medium refers to a medium that permanently stores data and can be read by a device, rather than a medium that stores data for a short period of time, such as a register, cache, or memory. Specific examples of non-transitory computer-readable media include CDs, DVDs, hard disks, Blu-ray discs, USBs, memory cards, and ROMs.

[0324] Although the preferred embodiments of the present disclosure have been illustrated and described above, the present disclosure is not limited to the specific embodiments described above, and various modifications may be made by a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the present disclosure pertains without departing from the gist of the present disclosure as claimed in the claims, and such modifications should not be understood individually from the technical idea or prospect of the present disclosure.

Claims

1. In an electronic device (1000), First housing part (110); A second housing part (120) rotatably coupled to the first housing part (110); A third housing part (130) rotatably coupled to the second housing part (120); A first hinge structure (150) that rotatably connects the first housing part (110) and the second housing part (120); A second hinge structure (160) that rotatably connects the second housing part (120) and the third housing part (130); A first display (331) arranged on the first surface of the first housing part (110), the second housing part (120), and the third housing part (130); A first sensor (361) configured to detect a first folding angle between the first housing part (110) and the second housing part (120); A second sensor (362) configured to detect a second folding angle between the second housing part (120) and the third housing part (130); A third sensor (363) configured to detect rotation of the electronic device (1000); memory that stores instructions; and comprising at least one processor (310); The above instructions, when executed by the at least one processor (310), cause the electronic device to: Displays the first application in landscape mode and the second application corresponding to the preset type, Identifying a change from the landscape mode to the portrait mode by defining the top and bottom edges of the first display based on the rotation detected through the third sensor; Based on the first folding angle detected through the first sensor and the second folding angle detected through the second sensor (362), it is identified whether either the first housing part (110) or the third housing part (130) is in a partially folded state. When either the first housing part (110) or the third housing part (130) is identified as being in the partially folded state, the second application (B) is displayed in the upper region among the first region (10c, 10d) and the second region (20c, 20d) that are distinguished based on the first boundary (1-1) due to the partially folded state of the first housing part (110) or the second boundary (1-2) due to the partially folded state of the third housing part (130), and the first application (A) is displayed in the lower region. An electronic device wherein the region located at the top is defined as a region adjacent to the upper edge among the first region and the second region, and the region located at the bottom is defined as a region adjacent to the lower edge among the first region and the second region.

2. In paragraph 1, The above instructions, when executed by the at least one processor (310), cause the electronic device (1000) to: In the above landscape mode, the first application (A) is displayed in one of the first area (10a) and the second area (20a) divided based on the boundary (1a) according to the multi-window mode, and the second application (B) is displayed in the other area. When the change to the vertical mode is identified through the third sensor (363) according to the rotation, it is identified whether the first housing part (110) is in the partially folded state. In the vertical mode, when the first area (10c) and the second area (20c) are located at the top among the first area (10c) and the second area (20c) that are divided based on the first boundary (1-1) due to the first housing part (110) being partially folded, the second application (B) corresponding to the preset type is displayed in the first area (10c) located at the top, and the first application (A) is displayed in the second area (20c) located at the bottom. The above first area (10c) is Corresponds to the above first housing part (110), The above second area (20c) is An electronic device corresponding to the second housing part (120) and the third housing part (130).

3. In paragraph 1, The above instructions, when executed by the at least one processor (310), cause the electronic device (1000) to: In the above landscape mode, the first application (A) is displayed in one of the first area (10a) and the second area (20a) divided based on the boundary (1a) according to the multi-window mode, and the second application (B) is displayed in the other area. When the change to the vertical mode is identified through the third sensor (363) according to the rotation, it is identified whether the first housing part (110) is in the partially folded state. In the vertical mode, when the second area (20c) among the first area (10c) and the second area (20c) that are divided based on the first boundary (1-1) due to the first housing part (110) being partially folded, is located at the upper end, the second application (B) corresponding to the preset type is displayed in the second area (20c) located at the upper end, and the first application (A) is displayed in the first area (10c) located at the lower end. The above first area (10c) is Corresponds to the above first housing part (110), The above second area (20c) is An electronic device corresponding to the second housing part (120) and the third housing part (130).

4. In paragraph 1, The above instructions, when executed by the at least one processor (310), cause the electronic device (1000) to: In the above landscape mode, the first application (A) is displayed in one of the first area (10a) and the second area (20a) divided based on the boundary (1a) according to the multi-window mode, and the second application (B) is displayed in the other area. When the change to the vertical mode is identified through the third sensor (363) according to the rotation, it is identified whether the third housing part (130) is in the partially folded state. In the vertical mode, when the first area (10d) and the second area (20d) are located at the top among the first area (10d) and the second area (20d) that are divided based on the second boundary (1-2) due to the third housing part (130) being partially folded, the second application (B) corresponding to the preset type is displayed in the first area (10d) located at the top, and the first application (A) is displayed in the second area (20d) located at the bottom. The above first area (10d) is Corresponding to the above first housing part (110) and the above second housing part, The above second area (20d) is An electronic device corresponding to the third housing part (130).

5. In paragraph 1, The above instructions, when executed by the at least one processor (310), cause the electronic device (1000) to: In the above landscape mode, the first application (A) is displayed in one of the first area (10a) and the second area (20a) divided based on the boundary (1a) according to the multi-window mode, and the second application (B) is displayed in the other area. When the change to the vertical mode is identified through the third sensor (363) according to the rotation, it is identified whether the third housing part (130) is in the partially folded state. In the vertical mode, when the second area (20d) among the first area (10d) and the second area (20d) that are divided based on the second boundary (1-2) due to the third housing part (130) being partially folded, is located at the upper end, the second application (B) corresponding to the preset type is displayed in the second area (20d) located at the upper end, and the first application (A) is displayed in the first area (10d) located at the lower end. The above first area (10d) is Corresponding to the above first housing part (110) and the above second housing part, The above second area (20d) is An electronic device corresponding to the third housing part (130).

6. In any one of paragraphs 1 to 5, The above instructions, when executed by the at least one processor (310), cause the electronic device (1000) to: Display the second application (B) in a landscape mode layout or a portrait mode layout based on the aspect ratio of the area located at the top, An electronic device configured to display the first application (A) in the landscape mode layout or the portrait mode layout based on the aspect ratio of the area located at the bottom.

7. In any one of paragraphs 1 to 6, The above instructions, when executed by the at least one processor (310), cause the electronic device (1000) to: In the above landscape mode, the first application (A) is displayed in one of the first area (10a) and the second area (20a) divided based on the boundary (1a) according to the multi-window mode, and the second application (B) is displayed in the other area. When the electronic device (1000) is identified as being in an unfolded state based on the first folding angle and the second folding angle in the vertical mode, the boundary (1a) is rotated to correspond to the rotation of the electronic device (1000). Displaying the first application (A) in one of the first area (10b) and the second area (20b) divided based on the rotated boundary (1b) on the first display (331), and displaying the second application (B) in the other one, When the first housing part (110) is changed from the unfolded state to the partially folded state, the second application (B) is displayed in the area located at the upper end among the first area (10c) and the second area (20c) divided based on the first boundary (1-1), and the first application (A) is displayed in the area located at the lower end. An electronic device configured to display the second application (B) in the upper region among the first region (10d) and the second region (20d) divided based on the second boundary (1-2) and to display the first application (A) in the lower region when the third housing part is changed from the unfolded state to the partially folded state.

8. In any one of paragraphs 1 and 7, The above instructions, when executed by the at least one processor (310), cause the electronic device (1000) to: An electronic device configured to display, when each of the first application (A) and the second application (B) corresponds to the preset type, one of the first housing part (110) or the third housing part (130) among the first application (A) and the second application (B) is identified as being in the partially folded state, the activated one in the area located at the upper portion, and the other one in the area located at the lower portion.

9. In any one of paragraphs 1 and 8, The above instructions, when executed by the at least one processor (310), cause the electronic device (1000) to: Display the first application (A) in the above landscape mode, When the electronic device (1000) is identified as being in an unfolded state in the portrait mode, the first application (A) is rotated and displayed, When the first housing part (110) is identified as being in the partially folded state in the unfolded state, it enters the multi-window mode, The first application (A) is displayed in the first area (10c) located at the upper end of the first area (10c) and the second area (20c) divided based on the first boundary (1-1), An electronic device configured to display the second application (B) including information related to content provided by the first application (A) in the second area (20c) located at the bottom.

10. In paragraph 1, The above instructions, when executed by the at least one processor (310), cause the electronic device (1000) to: An electronic device configured to display the second application (B) in an area located on the left side of the first area (10c, 10d) and the second area (20c, 20d) based on the first boundary (1-1) due to the partially folded state of the first housing part (110) or the second boundary (1-2) due to the partially folded state of the third housing part (130), and to display the first application (A) in an area located on the right side when the electronic device (1000) changes from the portrait mode to the landscape mode.

11. In a method for controlling an electronic device, The above electronic device, 1st housing part; A second housing part rotatably coupled to the first housing part; A third housing part rotatably coupled to the second housing part; A first hinge structure that rotatably connects the first housing part and the second housing part; A second hinge structure that rotatably connects the second housing part and the third housing part; A first display disposed on the first surface of the first housing part, the second housing part, and the third housing part; A first sensor configured to detect a first folding angle between the first housing part and the second housing part; a second sensor configured to detect a second folding angle between the second housing part and the third housing part; and a third sensor configured to detect rotation of the electronic device; The above method, An operation of displaying a first application and a second application corresponding to a preset type in landscape mode (S1101); An operation (S1102) of identifying a change from the landscape mode to the portrait mode defining the upper and lower edges of the first display based on the rotation detected through the third sensor; An operation (S1103) of identifying whether either the first housing part or the third housing part is in a partially folded state based on the first folding angle detected through the first sensor and the second folding angle detected through the second sensor; When the first housing part is identified as being in a partially folded state, an operation (S1104) of displaying the second application in an area located at the top of the first area and the second area divided based on the first boundary due to the partially folded state of the first housing part, and displaying the first application in an area located at the bottom; and When the third housing part is identified as being in a partially folded state, an operation (S1105) of displaying the second application in an area located at the top of the first area and the second area divided based on the second boundary due to the partially folded state of the third housing part, and displaying the first application in an area located at the bottom; A control method, wherein the region located at the top is defined as an region adjacent to the upper edge among the first region and the second region, and the region located at the bottom is defined as an region adjacent to the lower edge among the first region and the second region.

12. In paragraph 11, The behavior of displaying in the above landscape mode is: An operation of displaying the first application in one of the first area and the second area divided based on the boundary according to the multi-window mode in the above landscape mode, and displaying the second application in the remaining one; The action of identifying whether the above part is in a folded state is: When the change to the vertical mode is identified, an operation of identifying whether the first housing part is in the partially folded state is included; The operation of displaying the first application and the second application in the partially folded state of the first housing part is: An operation of displaying the second application corresponding to the preset type in the first area located at the top among the first area and the second area divided based on the first boundary due to the first housing part being partially folded in the portrait mode, and displaying the first application in the second area located at the bottom; The above first area is, Corresponds to the above first housing part, The second area above is, A control method corresponding to the second housing part and the third housing part.

13. In paragraph 11, The behavior of displaying in the above landscape mode is: An operation of displaying the first application in one of the first area and the second area divided based on the boundary according to the multi-window mode in the above landscape mode, and displaying the second application in the remaining one; The action of identifying whether the above part is in a folded state is: When the change to the vertical mode is identified, an operation of identifying whether the first housing part is in the partially folded state is included; The operation of displaying the first application and the second application in the partially folded state of the first housing part is: An operation of displaying the second application corresponding to the preset type in the second area located at the upper end among the first area and the second area divided based on the first boundary due to the first housing part being partially folded in the portrait mode, and displaying the first application in the first area located at the lower end; The above first area is, Corresponds to the above first housing part, The second area above is, A control method corresponding to the second housing part and the third housing part.

14. In paragraph 11, The behavior of displaying in the above landscape mode is: An operation of displaying the first application in one of the first area and the second area divided based on the boundary according to the multi-window mode in the above landscape mode, and displaying the second application in the remaining one; The action of identifying whether the above part is in a folded state is: When the change to the vertical mode is identified, an operation for identifying whether the third housing part is in the partially folded state is included; The operation of displaying the first application and the second application in the partially folded state of the third housing part is as follows: An operation of displaying the second application corresponding to the preset type in the first area located at the top among the first area and the second area divided based on the second boundary due to the third housing part being partially folded in the vertical mode, and displaying the first application in the second area located at the bottom; The above first area is, Corresponding to the above first housing part and the above second housing part, The second area above is, An electronic device corresponding to the third housing part.

15. In paragraph 11, The above operation in landscape mode is as follows: An operation of displaying the first application in one of the first area and the second area divided based on the boundary according to the multi-window mode in the above landscape mode, and displaying the second application in the remaining one; The action of identifying whether the above part is in a folded state is: When the change to the vertical mode is identified, an operation for identifying whether the third housing part is in the partially folded state is included; The operation of displaying the first application and the second application in the partially folded state of the third housing part is as follows: An operation of displaying the second application corresponding to the preset type in the second area located at the upper end of the first area and the second area divided based on the second boundary due to the third housing part being partially folded in the vertical mode, and displaying the first application in the first area located at the lower end; The above first area is, Corresponding to the above first housing part and the above second housing part, The second area above is, A control method corresponding to the third housing part above.

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