Controller for electronic appliance
First Claim
1. A controller for controlling an electronic appliance having a display, comprising:
- a video camera configured to photograph an operator who is in front of the display;
a mirror image converter configured to convert an image of the operator photographed by the video camera into a mirror image and output a mirror image signal representative of the mirror image;
an operational image generator configured to generate an operational image signal representative of an operational image that is displayed on the display and is used by the operator to make the electronic appliance perform a desired operation;
a mixer configured to mix the mirror image signal with the operational image signal;
a detector configured to detect that the operator displayed on the display has pointed to the operational image displayed on the display, the operator and operational image being displayed on the display according to the mixed signals from the mixer; and
a controlling unit configured to detect whether or not the operator has carried out an operation with respect to the displayed operational image while the detector is indicating that the operator has pointed to the displayed operational image, and if detecting that the operator has carried out an operation with respect to the displayed operational image, control the electronic appliance according to an operation that is determined from a position of the operational image where the operator has pointed to, the detector comprising;
a color filter configured to extract a specific-color area from the mirror image signal, the specific-color area corresponding to a hand of the operator pointing to the displayed operational image.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A controller controls an electronic appliance. The electronic appliance has a display. The controller employs a video camera to photograph an image of a user and converts the image into a mirror image. The controller generates an operational image including operation buttons, overlays the operational image on the user'"'"'s image, and displays the images on the display. In the displayed images, the user moves his or her hand onto one of the displayed operation buttons and bends the fingers of the hand to select the operation button. This selecting operation is detected by a detector of the controller, and information about the selected operation button is supplied to a processing unit, which outputs control signals corresponding to the selected operation button.
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Citations
16 Claims
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1. A controller for controlling an electronic appliance having a display, comprising:
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a video camera configured to photograph an operator who is in front of the display;
a mirror image converter configured to convert an image of the operator photographed by the video camera into a mirror image and output a mirror image signal representative of the mirror image;
an operational image generator configured to generate an operational image signal representative of an operational image that is displayed on the display and is used by the operator to make the electronic appliance perform a desired operation;
a mixer configured to mix the mirror image signal with the operational image signal;
a detector configured to detect that the operator displayed on the display has pointed to the operational image displayed on the display, the operator and operational image being displayed on the display according to the mixed signals from the mixer; and
a controlling unit configured to detect whether or not the operator has carried out an operation with respect to the displayed operational image while the detector is indicating that the operator has pointed to the displayed operational image, and if detecting that the operator has carried out an operation with respect to the displayed operational image, control the electronic appliance according to an operation that is determined from a position of the operational image where the operator has pointed to, the detector comprising;
a color filter configured to extract a specific-color area from the mirror image signal, the specific-color area corresponding to a hand of the operator pointing to the displayed operational image. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3)
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4. A controller for controlling an electronic appliance having a display, comprising:
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a video camera configured to photograph an operator who is in front of the display;
a mirror image converter configured to convert an image of the operator photographed by the video camera into a mirror image and output a mirror image signal representative of the mirror image;
an operational image generator configured to generate an operational image signal representative of an operational image that is displayed on the display and is used by the operator to make the electronic appliance perform a desired operation;
a mixer configured to mix the mirror image signal with the operational image signal;
a detector configured to detect that the operator displayed on the display has pointed to the operational image displayed on the display, the operator and operational image being displayed on the display according to the mixed signals from the mixer; and
a controlling unit configured to detect whether or not the operator has carried out an operation with respect to the displayed operational image while the detector is indicating that the operator has pointed to the displayed operational image, and if detecting that the operator has carried out an operation with respect to the displayed operational image, control the electronic appliance according to an operation that is determined from a position of the operational image where the operator has pointed to, the detector comprising;
an extractor configured to extract, from the mirror image signal, an area corresponding to a hand of the operator pointing to the displayed operational image; and
a histogram detector configured to detect, in the extracted hand corresponding area, a histogram showing the frequencies of occurrence of gradation levels, the controlling unit detecting in the detected histogram whether or not the operator has carried out an operation with respect to the displayed operational image. - View Dependent Claims (5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A method of controlling an electronic appliance having a display, comprising:
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photographing an operator who is in front of the display with a video camera;
converting an image of the operator photographed by the video camera into a mirror image and outputting a mirror image signal representative of the mirror image;
generating an operational image signal representative of an operational image that is displayed on the display and is used by the operator to make the electronic appliance perform a desired operation;
mixing the mirror image signal with the operational image signal;
detecting that the operator displayed on the display has pointed to the operational image displayed on the display by extracting a specific-color area from the mirror image signal, the specific-color area corresponding to a hand of the operator pointing to the displayed operational image, the operator and operational image being displayed on the display according to the mixed signals;
detecting whether or not the operator has carried out an operation with respect to the displayed operational image while it is being detected that the operator has pointed to the displayed operational image; and
controlling, if it is detected that the operator has carried out an operation with respect to the displayed operational image, the electronic appliance according to an operation that is determined from a position of the operational image where the operator has pointed to. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11)
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12. A method of controlling an electronic appliance having a display, comprising:
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photographing an operator who is in front of the display with a video camera;
converting an image of the operator photographed by the video camera into a mirror image and outputting a mirror image signal representative of the mirror image;
generating an operational image signal representative of an operational image that is displayed on the display and is used by the operator to make the electronic appliance perform a desired operation;
mixing the mirror image signal with the operational image signal;
detecting that the operator displayed on the display has pointed to the operational image displayed on the display, the operator and operational image being displayed on the display according to the mixed signals;
detecting whether or not the operator has carried out an operation with respect to the displayed operational image while it is being detected that the operator has pointed to the displayed operational image; and
controlling, if it is detected that the operator has carried out an operation with respect to the displayed operational image, the electronic appliance according to an operation that is determined from a position of the operational image where the operator has pointed to, the detecting that the operator displayed on the display has pointed to the operational image displayed on the display comprising;
extracting, from the mirror image signal, an area corresponding to a hand of the operator pointing to the displayed operational image; and
detecting, in the extracted hand corresponding area, a histogram showing the frequencies of occurrence of gradation levels, the detecting whether or not the operator has carried out an operation with respect to the displayed operational image comprising;
detecting in the detected histogram whether or not the operator has carried out an operation with respect to the displayed operational image. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16)
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Specification