ADJUSTING DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS AND/OR REFRESH RATES BASED ON EYE TRACKING

• US 20080111833A1
• Filed: 11/09/2006
• Published: 05/15/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 11/09/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications USA Incorporated (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: LESSING, Simon, THORN, Ola Karl
• Granted Patent: US 8,225,229 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/690
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3231 Monitoring the presence, absence or movement of users
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3265 Power saving in display device
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/013 Eye tracking input arrangements G06F3/015 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/0626 for control of overall brightness
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/0686 with two or more screen areas displaying information with different brightness or colours
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2354/00 Aspects of interface with display user
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/00 Control arrangements or circuits for visual indicators common to cathode-ray tube indicators and other visual indicators image data processing or generation, in general G06T
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/14 Display of multiple viewports
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 10/00 Energy efficient computing, e.g. low power processors, power management or thermal management

Abstract

A device may determine an area at which a user gazes on the display screen. The device may identify on the display screen a screen region which does not overlap the area, may darken the identified screen region, and/or may refresh the display screen by updating a screen region that overlaps the area and not updating the identified screen region.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

determining an area at which a user gazes on a display screen,

identifying on the display screen, based on the location, a screen region that does not overlap the area; and

darkening the identified screen region.

2. The method as in claim 1, further comprising:

determining a size and a location of the identified screen region and a size and a location of a screen region which overlaps the area.

3. The method as in claim 1, further comprising:

determining a distance from the identified screen region to the area.

4. The method as in claim 1, further comprising:

determining a brightness level of the identified screen region.

5. The method as in claim 1, further comprising:

determining colors of pixels in the identified screen region.

6. The method as in claim 5, wherein darkening the identified screen region includes displaying the determined colors.

7. The method as in claim 1, wherein determining the area at which the user gazes includes determining the location based on eye-tracking data.

8. The method as in claim 7, further comprising:

monitoring a position of an eye of the user; and

generating the eye-tracking data based on the monitored position.

9. The method as in claim 1, wherein determining the area at which the user gazes includes estimating the location based on user inputs.

10. A device comprising:

one or more processors to;

obtain an area at which a user gazes on a display screen;

identify one or more portions of the display screen;

select at least one identified portion that includes at least part of the area; and

dim at least one portion that is not selected and that does not include at least part of the area.

11. The device as in claim 10, wherein the area covers on the display screen a visually acute portion of a visual field of the user.

12. The device as in claim 10, wherein the one or more identified screen portions are contiguous.

13. The device as in claim 10, wherein the one or more identified screen portions are not contiguous.

14. The device as in claim 10, further comprising an eye-tracking logic to:

monitor a position of an eye of the user; and

determine eye-tracking data based on the monitored position.

15. The device as in claim 10, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:

determine a size and a position of at least one of the one or more identified portions.

16. The device as in claim 10, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:

determine a distance from the area to one of the one or more identified portions.

17. The device as in claim 10, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:

generate a luminance value for at least one portion that is not selected and that does not include at least part of the area.

18. The device as in claim 10, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:

produce colors for pixels in at least one portion that is not selected and that does not include at least part of the area.

19. The device as in claim 10, wherein the one identified portion includes an entire area of the display screen.

20. A device comprising:

means for determining an area at which a user looks on a display screen;

means for detecting one or more screen divisions that include the area; and

means for reducing a brightness of a portion of the display screen other than the detected one or more screen divisions.

21. A device comprising:

one or more processors to;

locate an area at which a user gazes on a display screen;

identify one or more portions of the display screen;

select at least one identified portion that includes at least part of the area; and

refresh the display screen by updating the selected portion and not updating at least one identified portion that does not include at least part of the area.

22. The device as in claim 21, wherein the area covers on the display screen a visually acute portion of a visual field of the user.

23. A method comprising:

determining an area at which a user gazes on a display screen;

identifying screen regions that overlap the area on the display screen; and

refreshing the display screen by updating the identified screen regions and not updating screen regions that do not overlap the area.

24. The method as in claim 23, wherein determining the area at which the user gazes includes locating the area based on eye-tracking data.

25. The method as in claim 24, further comprising:

tracking a direction of an eye of the user; and

generating the eye-tracking data based on the tracked direction.

26. A method comprising:

locating an area at which a user gazes on a display screen;

identifying on the display screen a screen region that does not overlap the area;

darkening the identified screen region; and

decreasing display screen refresh rates in the identified screen region.