DISPLAY APPARATUS AND POWER SAVING METHOD THEREOF

• US 20130311807A1
• Filed: 03/15/2013
• Published: 11/21/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 05/15/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LG Innotek Company Limited (LG Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LG Innotek Company Limited (LG Corporation)
• Inventors: WOO, Jeong Woo, KIM, Jun Chul
• Granted Patent: US 9,710,046 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 713/323
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3203 Power management, i.e. event-based initiation of a power-saving mode
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3231 Monitoring the presence, absence or movement of users
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3234 Power saving characterised by the action undertaken
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/012 Head tracking input arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/013 Eye tracking input arrangements G06F3/015 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/017 Gesture based interaction, e.g. based on a set of recognized hand gestures interaction based on gestures traced on a digitiser G06F3/04883
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/33 Arrangements for monitoring the users' behaviour or opinions
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/65 for using the result on users' side
• 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 21/42203 sound input device, e.g. microphone
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4223 Cameras H04N23/00 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 10/00 Energy efficient computing, e.g. low power processors, power management or thermal management

Abstract

Disclosed are a display apparatus and a power saving method thereof. The power saving method of a display apparatus includes acquiring an image by photographing surroundings of the display apparatus, detecting a human body region contained in the image by analyzing the acquired image, and entering a power saving mode by determining there is no user viewing the display apparatus if the human body region is not detected in the image.

Claims

1. A power saving method of a display apparatus, the power saving method comprising:

acquiring an image by photographing surroundings of the display apparatus;

detecting a human body region contained in the image by analyzing the acquired image; and

entering a power saving mode by determining there is no user viewing the display apparatus if the human body region is not detected in the image.

2. The power saving method of claim 1, further comprising detecting a viewing state of the user by analyzing the human body region if the human body region is detected in the image.

3. The power saving method of claim 2, wherein the detecting of the viewing state of the user includes determining if the user is in a sleep state.

4. The power saving method of claim 2, wherein the detecting of the viewing state of the user includes:

detecting a face region in the detected human body region;

detecting an eye region in the face region; and

detecting an eye state of the user by analyzing the detected eye region.

5. The power saving method of claim 4, further comprising analyzing a change in motion of human body regions detected in a plurality of images if the face region is not detected in the human body region.

6. The power saving method of claim 5, further comprising entering the power saving mode by determining that the user viewing the display apparatus is in a sleep state if the eye region of the user is in a closed state, or if the motion of the human body regions is not changed.

7. The power saving method of claim 6, wherein the entering the power saving mode includes:

entering a first power saving mode if the user is determined as being absent or determined as being in a sleep state for a first time; and

entering a second power saving mode if the user is determined as being absent or determined as being in the sleep state for a second time after entering the first power saving mode.

8. The power saving method of claim 7, wherein the entering the first power saving mode includes blocking an image output through the display apparatus, and the entering the second power saving mode includes blocking an image and voice output through the display apparatus.

9. The power saving method of claim 6, further comprising storing a broadcasting program, which is viewed by the user before entering the power saving mode, when entering the power saving mode.

10. The power saving method of claim 6, further comprising periodically determining the power saving mode is cancelled by periodically acquiring the image.

11. A display apparatus comprising:

a power managing unit to manage a power supplied to components of the display apparatus;

a camera to acquire an image by photographing surroundings of the display apparatus;

a user recognizing unit to recognize a user viewing the display apparatus by analyzing the image acquired through the camera and detecting a human body region contained in the image; and

a controller to determine a presence state of the user viewing the display apparatus according to a recognition result of the user recognizing unit, and to control entrance into a power saving mode based on the presence state of the user,

wherein the controller determines that the user is absent if the human body region is not detected from the image and controls the power managing unit to enter the power saving mode.

12. The display apparatus of claim 11, wherein the controller controls analysis for the detected human body region if the human body region is detected from the image, and controls entrance into the power saving mode by detecting a viewing state of the user based on the analysis for the human body region.

13. The display apparatus of claim 12, wherein the controller determines if the user is currently in a sleep state by detecting the viewing state.

14. The display apparatus of claim 12, wherein the user recognizing unit comprises:

a human body detecting unit to detect the human body region contained in the acquired image data;

a face detecting unit to detect a face region from the detected human body region; and

an eye state recognizing unit to recognize an eye state of the user by detecting an eye region existing in the detected face region and analyzing the detected eye region.

15. The display apparatus of claim 14, wherein the user recognizing unit further comprises a motion pattern analyzing unit to analyze a motion pattern of the user by analyzing motion change of the human body region detected from a plurality of images as the face region is not detected from the human body region.

16. The display apparatus of claim 15, wherein the user recognizing unit further comprises a learning unit for storing learning information to detect the human body region, the face region, and the eye region, to recognize an eye state, and to analyze the motion pattern.

17. The display apparatus of claim 15, wherein the controller controls the entrance into the power saving mode if the eye state of the user recognized by the eye state recognizing unit is in a closed state, or if the motion change of the user according to the analyzed motion pattern is not detected.

18. The display apparatus of claim 17, wherein the controller controls to gradually enter the power saving mode depending on a lapse of a time during which the human body region is not detected, the eye state is recognized as the closed state, and the motion change of the user is not detected.

19. The display apparatus of claim 18, further comprising:

an image processing unit to process an image signal and output the processed image signal; and

a voice processing unit to process a voice signal and output the processed voice signal,

wherein the power managing unit enters a first power saving mode to shut off a power supplied to the image processing unit as the time elapses, and enters a second power saving mode to shut off a power supplied to both of the image processing unit and the voice processing unit as the time elapses.

20. The display apparatus of claim 16, further comprising a storage unit to store a broadcasting program, which is viewed by the user before entering the power saving mode, when entering the power saving mode.

21. The display apparatus of claim 16, wherein a power supplied to the camera and the user recognizing unit is continuously maintained when entering the power saving mode, and wherein the controller cancels the power saving mode according to image data acquired through the camera in the power saving mode and the presence state of the user recognized by the user recognizing unit.