CAMERA-BASED ORIENTATION FIX FROM PORTRAIT TO LANDSCAPE

• US 20120057064A1
• Filed: 09/08/2010
• Published: 03/08/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 09/08/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Gardiner, Koji, Chang, E-Cheng, Rukes, Jason
• Granted Patent: US 8,593,558 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/333.12
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1626 with a single-body enclosure integrating a flat display, e.g. Personal Digital Assistants [PDAs]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2200/1614 Image rotation following screen orientation, e.g. switching from landscape to portrait mode
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2200/1637 Sensing arrangement for detection of housing movement or orientation, e.g. for controlling scrolling or cursor movement on the display of an handheld computer
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/012 Head tracking input arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0346 with detection of the device orientation or free movement in a 3D space, e.g. 3D mice, 6-DOF [six degrees of freedom] pointers using gyroscopes, accelerometers or tilt-sensors
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72454 according to context-related or environment-related conditions
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/52 including functional features of a camera constructional features concerning the integration of cameras in portable phones H04M1/0264
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/61 based on recognised objects
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/63 by using electronic viewfinders

Abstract

A portable electronic device includes a camera and a display switchable between a portrait mode and a landscape mode in response to an inertial sensor. When it is determined that the display mode should be switched in response to movement of the device, a feature of a user of the device, such as the user'"'"'s face, is imaged with the camera. If the imaged feature changes orientation with respect to the display by less than a threshold amount, then the switch in display mode is disabled and the display remains in its current mode. Other embodiments are also described and claimed.

Claims

1. In a portable electronic device having a camera and a display screen for which the display mode is switchable between a portrait mode and a landscape mode in response to an inertial sensor, a method comprising:

determining that the display mode should be switched in response to mode movement of the device;

imaging a feature of a user of the device with the camera;

disabling switching of the display mode if the imaged feature changes orientation with respect to the device by less than a threshold amount.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the imaged feature comprises part of the user'"'"'s face.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein an imaging lens of the camera and the display screen are both disposed on a front surface of the device.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining that a facial stabilization mode has been selected.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining an initial orientation of the feature of the user with respect to an initial orientation of the device.

4. A portable electronic device comprising:

an inertial sensor;

a display whose display mode is switchable between a portrait mode and a landscape mode;

a processor for determining that the display mode should be switched in response to movement of the device sensed by the inertial sensor;

a camera for imaging a feature of a user of the device;

wherein the processor disables switching of the display mode if the imaged feature changes orientation with respect to the device by less than a threshold amount.

5. The portable electronic device of claim 4 wherein the camera and display are both disposed on a front surface of the device.

6. The portable electronic device of claim 4 wherein the inertial sensor comprises an accelerometer.

7. The portable electronic device of claim 4 further comprising circuitry for transmitting and receiving cellular network communication signals.

8. An article of manufacture comprising:

a machine-readable medium having stored therein instructions that program a processor, the processor being a component of a portable electronic device having a camera and a display screen for which the display mode is switchable between a portrait mode and a landscape mode in response to an inertial sensor, to determine that the display mode should be switched in response to movement of the device, to analyze a feature of a user of the device in a plurality of images captured by the camera, and to disable switching of the display mode if the imaged feature, as determined by the analysis, changes orientation with respect to the device by less than a threshold amount.

9. The article of manufacture of claim 8 wherein the imaged feature is the user'"'"'s face.

10. The article of manufacture of claim 8 wherein the camera and display screen are both disposed on a front surface of the device.

13. The article of manufacture of claim 8 wherein the machine-readable medium contains additional instructions that program the processor to determine that a facial stabilization mode has been selected.

14. The article of manufacture of claim 8 wherein the machine-readable medium contains additional instructions that program the processor to determine an initial orientation of the feature of the user with respect to an initial orientation of the device.

15. In a portable electronic device having a camera and a display screen for which the display mode is switchable between a portrait mode and a landscape mode in response to an inertial sensor, a method comprising:

detecting a movement of the device that would trigger a switch of the display mode;

capturing an image of a feature of a user in response to the movement; and

analyzing the imaged feature to determine whether to switch the display mode.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

maintaining the display mode if the feature changes orientation with respect to the device by less than a threshold amount.

17. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

switching the display mode if the feature changes orientation with respect to the device by more than a threshold amount.

18. The method of claim 15 wherein analyzing the imaged feature includes determining an orientation of a line passing through the user'"'"'s eyes in a plane of the image, relative to an orientation of the device.

19. The method of claim 15 wherein the image is captured by the camera having an imaging lens disposed on the same surface of the device as the display screen.

20. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

determining an initial orientation of the feature of the user with respect to an initial orientation of the device.