Image Display Device

• US 20100295839A1
• Filed: 05/18/2010
• Published: 11/25/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 05/19/2009
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Hitachi Consumer Electronics Company Limited (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Hitachi Consumer Electronics Company Limited (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Inventors: Nagaya, Shigeki, Yoshinaga, Tomoaki, Watanabe, Katsuyuki, Ito, Hiroaki, Furui, Maki, Fujita, Takehiro, Takeda, Hidekazu
• Application Number:
  US12/782,421
• Publication Number:
  US 20100295839A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/212
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3265 Power saving in display device
• 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: 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 2330/021 Power management, e.g. power saving
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2330/022 in absence of operation, e.g. no data being entered during a predetermined time
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/02 Handling of images in compressed format, e.g. JPEG, MPEG
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2354/00 Aspects of interface with display user
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/3406 Control of illumination source illumination devices structurally associated with liquid crystal cells G02F1/1336
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/3426 the different display panel areas being distributed in two dimensions, e.g. matrix
• 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: H04N 21/42201 biosensors, e.g. heat sensor for presence detection, EEG sensors or any limb activity sensors worn by the user input arrangements for interaction with the human body based on nervous system activity detection G06F3/015
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4223 Cameras H04N23/00 takes precedence
• 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 21/4436 Power management, e.g. shutting down unused components of the receiver power management in computer systems G06F1/3203; hibernate or awake process in computer systems G06F9/4418
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/488 Data services, e.g. news ticker systems specially adapted for using meteorological information in broadcast systems H04H60/71
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6582 Data stored in the client, e.g. viewing habits, hardware capabilities, credit card number arrangements where receivers interact with the broadcast H04H20/38
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/57 Control of contrast or brightness
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/63 Generation or supply of power specially adapted for television receivers
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 10/00 Energy efficient computing, e.g. low power processors, power management or thermal management
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/50 : in wire-line communication networks, e.g. low power modes or reduced link rate

Abstract

Disclosed is an image display device that provides power consumption reduction control in an improved manner. The image display device includes an input that inputs a video signal, an output controller that reproduces the video signal entered into the input, a display that displays an image in accordance with the video signal reproduced by the output controller, an imager that picks up an image of a user of the image display device, an attentiveness decider that analyzes the image picked up by the imager and judges whether the user is watching a display screen of the display, and a controller that selects either a normal mode or a power saving mode as a processing mode for light intensity control of a light source of the display or for reproduction in the output controller in accordance with the result of decision made by the attentiveness decider.

Claims

1. An image display device comprising:

an input that inputs a video signal;

an output controller that reproduces the video signal entered into the input;

a display that displays an image in accordance with the video signal reproduced by the output controller;

an imager that picks up an image of a user of the image display device;

an attentiveness decider that analyzes the image picked up by the imager and judges whether the user is watching a display screen of the display; and

a controller that selects either a normal mode or a power saving mode as a processing mode for light intensity control of a light source of the display or for reproduction in the output controller in accordance with the result of decision made by the attentiveness decider.

2. The image display device according to claim 1, wherein, when the processing mode for light intensity control of the light source of the display is changed from the normal mode to the power saving mode, the controller exercises control so as to extinguish the light source or provide the light source for the entire display screen or a part of the display screen of the display with lower light intensity than in the normal mode.

3. The image display device according to claim 2, wherein the attentiveness decider detects the face direction or the line-of-sight direction of the user from the image picked up by the imager, and concludes that the user is watching the display screen of the display when the detected direction does not exceed a threshold range, or that the user is not watching the display screen of the display when the detected direction exceeds the threshold range.

4. The image display device according to claim 1, wherein, when the attentiveness decider concludes for a predetermined period of time that the user is not watching the display screen, the controller switches the processing mode for light intensity control of the light source of the display or for reproduction in the output controller from the normal mode to the power saving mode.

5. The image display device according to claim 1, wherein the video signal entered into the input is an encoded video signal, the encoded video signal containing an intraframe predictive image and an interframe predictive image;

and wherein the output controller reproduces only the intraframe predictive image in the power saving mode.

6. The image display device according to claim 1, wherein the input receives an input video signal and an input audio signal;

wherein the output controller reproduces both the video signal and the audio signal, includes an audio output that outputs the audio signal reproduced by the output controller; and

wherein, when the controller switches the processing mode for reproduction in the output controller from the normal mode to the power saving mode, the output controller stops a process for reproducing the video signal and continuously performs a process for reproducing the audio signal.

7. The image display device according to claim 1, wherein the attentiveness decider performs a process for judging whether the user is watching the display screen of the display at a lower frequency in the normal mode than in the power saving mode.

8. The image display device according to claim 1, further comprising:

an external control signal input that inputs a control signal coming from the outside;

wherein the control signal instructs the controller to switch from the power saving mode to the normal mode.

9. The image display device according to claim 8, wherein the control signal is input into the external control signal input from an external terminal having a vibration sensor or an orientation sensor;

and wherein, when the vibration sensor detects vibration or when the orientation sensor detects a change in orientation, a control signal that gives an instruction for switching from the power saving mode to the normal mode is input from the external terminal to the external control signal input.

10. The image display device according to claim 1, wherein, when the power saving mode prevails, the output controller causes the display to present text information or graphic information indicating that the image display device is in the power saving mode.

11. The image display device according to claim 1, wherein, when the power saving mode prevails, the output controller causes the display to present text information or graphic information indicating a power consumption reduction amount, the text information or the graphic information being superimposed on a video signal.

12. The image display device according to claim 2, further comprising:

a caption display area calculator that calculates a caption information display area of the display, the caption information display area displaying caption information superimposed on an image contained in the video signal entered into the input or caption information entered into the input together with the video signal;

wherein, when the power saving mode prevails, the controller ensures that the light intensity of a light source for the caption information display area calculated by the caption display area calculator is higher than the light intensity of the other light source.

13. The image display device according to claim 2, wherein, when the power saving mode prevails, the output controller displays current time information on the display in the power saving mode.

14. The image display device according to claim 1, further comprising:

a network communicator that exchanges data with a data center server through the Internet;

wherein the controller includes a recorder that records power consumption reduction amount information, which indicates the amount of power consumption reduction achieved in the power saving mode;

wherein the network communicator transmits the power consumption reduction amount information recorded in the recorder to the data center server and receives total power consumption reduction information from the data center server, the total power consumption reduction information being obtained by summing up power consumption reduction amount information received from a plurality of image display devices connected to the data center server through the Internet; and

wherein the display presents information about the amount of power consumption reduction achieved by the plurality of image display devices in accordance with the total power consumption reduction information.