Automatic positioning of display depending upon the viewer's location

• US 20020149613A1
• Filed: 03/05/2001
• Published: 10/17/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 03/05/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Original Assignee: Philips Electronics North America Corporation (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Inventors: Gutta, Srinivas, Kurapati, Kaushal, Colmenarez, Antonio J.
• Granted Patent: US 6,931,596 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/728
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/011 Arrangements for interaction with the human body, e.g. for user immersion in virtual reality blind teaching G09B21/00
• CPC Class Codes: G09F 11/00 Indicating arrangements for variable information in which the complete information is permanently attached to a movable support which brings it to the display position showcases or showcabinets with arrangements for continuously or intermittently moving the merchandise A47F3/08; using static means to present variable information G09F9/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44218 Detecting physical presence or behaviour of the user, e.g. using sensors to detect if the user is leaving the room or changes his face expression during a TV program methods or arrangements for recognising human body or animal bodies or body parts G06V40/10; methods or arrangements for acquiring or recognising human faces, facial parts, facial sketches, facial expressions G06V40/16; methods or arrangements for recognising movements or behaviour G06V40/20; arrangements for identifying users in broadcast systems H04H60/45
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/44 Receiver circuitry for the reception of television signals according to analogue transmission standards H04N5/14 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/64 Constructional details of receivers, e.g. cabinets or dust covers furniture aspects of television cabinets A47B81/06
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/74 Projection arrangements for image reproduction, e.g. using eidophor

Abstract

A system having a video display screen that provides video to a user. The position of the display screen is adjustable based upon the location of the user with respect to the display screen. The system includes at least one image capturing device trainable on a viewing region of the display screen and coupled to a control unit having image recognition software. The image recognition software identifies the user in an image generated by the image capturing device. The software of the control unit also generates at least one measurement of the position of the user based upon the detection of the user in the image.

Claims

1. A system having a video display screen that provides video to a user, the position of the display screen being adjustable based upon the location of the user with respect to the display screen, the system comprising at least one image capturing device trainable on a viewing region of the display screen and coupled to a control unit having image recognition software that identifies the user in an image generated by the image capturing device, the software of the control unit also generating at least one measurement of the position of the user based upon the detection of the user in the image.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the display screen is part of an integrated display unit that also incorporates display projection components.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the display screen is a screen in a home theater system.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the control unit adjusts the position of the display screen so that a normal vector to the display screen faces the user, the control unit using the at least one measurement of the position of the user to adjust the position of the display.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the at least one measurement of the position of the user is determined by a pose of the user'"'"'s face detected in the image by the image recognition software.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the at least one measurement of the position of the user is an angular displacement of the user with respect to a reference axis, the detected pose being correlated to the angular displacement of the user from the axis.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the control unit rotates the display screen so that the normal vector to the display screen has the angular displacement of the user with respect to the reference axis.

8. The system of claim 4, wherein the at least one measurement of the position of the user is determined by the position of the user in the image by the image recognition software.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the at least one measurement of position of the user is an angular displacement of the user with respect to a reference axis, the control unit using the position of the detected user in the image to determine the angular displacement.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the control unit rotates the display screen so that the normal vector to the display screen has the angular displacement of the user with respect to the reference axis.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the control unit identifies the images of two or more users in the image generated by the image capturing device, the control unit generating an average position of the users based upon the detections of the users in the image.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the control unit adjusts the position of the display screen based upon based upon the average position of the users.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the one or more gestures detected of the user are hand gestures.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein each of the one or more hand gestures are correlated to movement of the display screen in a pre-determined direction.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein each of the one or more audio commands are correlated to movement of the display screen in a predetermined direction.

13. A system having a video display screen that provides video to a user, the system comprising at least one image capturing device trainable on a viewing region of the display screen and coupled to a control unit having image recognition software that identifies one or more gestures of the user in an image generated by the image capturing device, the control unit invoking an adjustment of the orientation of the display screen based upon the identified gesture of the user in the image.

16. A system having a video display screen that provides video to a user, the system comprising at least one audio capturing device that captures audio input from a viewing region of the display screen and coupled to a control unit having speech recognition software that identifies one or more audio commands spoken by a user in the viewing region, the control unit invoking an adjustment of the orientation of the display screen based upon the identified audio commands received from the user.