IMAGE DISPLAY APPARATUS, IMAGE DISPLAY METHOD, PROGRAM, AND RECORD MEDIUM

• US 20090201314A1
• Filed: 01/21/2009
• Published: 08/13/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 02/13/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Kokubo, Tetsushi, Kondo, Tetsujiro, Tatehira, Yasushi, Tanaka, Kenji, Mukai, Hitoshi, Morisaki, Hiroyuki, Tanaka, Kazumasa, Hibi, Hirofumi
• Granted Patent: US 8,446,422 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/629
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/58 Retrieval characterised by using metadata, e.g. metadata not derived from the content or metadata generated manually
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42204 User interfaces specially adapted for controlling a client device through a remote control device; Remote control devices therefor constructive details of casings for the remote control device H01H9/0235; user interfaces for controlling a tuning device of a television receiver through a remote control H03J9/00; remote control of peripheral devices connected to a television receiver through the remote control device of the television receiver H04B1/205
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/431 Generation of visual interfaces for content selection or interaction; Content or additional data rendering
• 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 21/47 End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4828 for searching program descriptors retrieval of video data G06F16/739
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8153 comprising still images, e.g. texture, background image

Abstract

An image display apparatus is disclosed. The image display apparatus includes a detection section, an image forming section, and a display process section. The detection section detects a user'"'"'s watching state. The image forming section that forms a display image which is displayed on a screen based on a plurality of images and changes the display image based on a detected result of the detection section. The display process section which performs a process of displaying the display image formed by the image forming section.

Claims

1. An image display apparatus, comprising:

a detection section configured to detect a user'"'"'s watching state;

an image forming section configured to form a display image that is displayed on a screen based on a plurality of images and changes the display image based on a detected result of the detection section; and

a display process section configured to perform a process of displaying the display image formed by the image forming section.

2. The image display apparatus as set forth in claim 1, further comprising:

a display section configured to display the display image under a control of the display process section,

wherein the display section is a display area larger than a field of view in the user'"'"'s watching state.

3. The image display apparatus as set forth in claim 2,

wherein the image forming section is configured to set up a size of each of images that forms the display image for a size reversely proportional to a distance between a watching position of the user and the display section.

4. The image display apparatus as set forth in claim 3,

wherein the image forming section is configured to change the size of each of the images that forms the display image based on an image selected by the user.

5. The image display apparatus as set forth in claim 4,

wherein if the display image has been formed in such a manner that each of the images that forms the display image has been permitted to overlap and each of the images that forms the display screen overlaps, when the size of each of the images is enlarged, the image forming section performs a process of causing each of the images not to overlap.

6. The image display apparatus as set forth in claim 2,

wherein the image forming section is configured to calculate a degree of correlation of an image selected by the user with each of the images that forms the display image and form the display image based on the calculated degree of correlation.

7. The image display apparatus as set forth in claim 6,

wherein the image forming section is configured to form the display image such that each of the images is arranged in an order of higher degrees of correlation.

8. The image display apparatus as set forth in claim 6,

wherein the image forming section is configured to perform a process of highlighting an image determined to have a higher degree of correlation with the selected image.

9. The image display apparatus as set forth in claim 8,

wherein if the display image has been formed in such a manner that each of the images that forms the display image has been permitted to overlap and each of the images that forms the display image overlaps, the image forming section performs a process of moving an image having a higher degree of correlation with the selected image to a foreground plane of a screen of the display section.

10. The image display apparatus as set forth in claim 8,

wherein the image forming section is configured to perform a process of moving an image determined to have a higher degree of correlation with the selected image to a vicinity thereof.

11. The image display apparatus as set forth in claim 2, further comprising:

an image information obtaining section configured to extract attribute information of each of the images,

wherein the image forming section is configured to decide a display order of each of the images that forms the display image based on the attribute information obtained by the image information obtaining section.

12. The image display apparatus as set forth in claim 11,

wherein the image information obtaining section is configured to obtain capture date/time information of each of the images as the attribute information, and

wherein the image forming section is configured to arrange each of the images that forms the display image in the order of capture dates/times obtained by the image information obtaining section.

13. The image display apparatus as set forth in claim 11,

wherein the image information obtaining section is configured to obtain photographer information of each of the images as the attribute information, and

wherein the image forming section is configured to form the display image such that the images are distinguished by photographers based on the photographer information obtained by the image information obtaining section.

14. The image display apparatus as set forth in claim 2,

wherein the image forming section is configured to assign two different parameters about the images to a vertical direction and a horizontal direction of the display image, respectively, so as to form the display image.

15. The image display apparatus as set forth in claim 4,

wherein the detection section is configured to detect a position of a line of sight of the user and determines the image arranged at the position of the line of sight to be an image selected by the user.

16. The image display apparatus as set forth in claim 6,

wherein the degree of correlation is calculated by comparing a feature amount extracted from the selected image and a feature amount extracted from each of the images that forms the display image.

17. The image display apparatus as set forth in claim 6,

wherein the image forming section is configured to perform an image recognition process for an image of a prepared object as a standard pattern to calculate the degree of correlation of the selected image with each of the images that forms the display image.

18. An image display method, comprising the steps of:

detecting a user'"'"'s watching state;

forming a display image that is displayed on a screen based on a plurality of images and changing the display image based on a detected result of the detection section; and

performing a process of displaying the display image that has been formed.

19. A program that causes a computer to execute the steps of:

detecting a user'"'"'s watching state;

forming a display image that is displayed on a screen based on a plurality of images and changing the display image based on a detected result of the detection section; and

performing a process of displaying the display image that has been formed.

20. A computer readable record medium on which a program has been recorded, the program causing a computer to execute the steps of:

detecting a user'"'"'s watching state;

forming a display image that is displayed on a screen based on a plurality of images and changing the display image based on a detected result of the detection section; and

performing a process of displaying the display image that has been formed.