DISPLAY APPARATUS AND CONTROL METHOD THEREOF

• US 20150077357A1
• Filed: 07/22/2014
• Published: 03/19/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 09/17/2013
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. (Samsung Group)
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. (Samsung Group)
• Inventors: HAN, Jae-ryong
• Application Number:
  US14/337,801
• Publication Number:
  US 20150077357A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/173
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04808 Several contacts: gestures triggering a specific function, e.g. scrolling, zooming, right-click, when the user establishes several contacts with the surface simultaneously; e.g. using several fingers or a combination of fingers and pen
• 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 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures

Abstract

Disclosed are a display apparatus and a control method thereof, the display apparatus including: a display section which displays an image; a touch detecting section which receives a plurality of touch inputs from a user; an image input section which receives an image; and a controller which performs operations corresponding to the plurality of received touch inputs using information of the touch inputs received through the touch detecting section and eye-gaze information of the user received through the image input section. Thus it is possible to identify a user using an eye-gaze direction of the user for plural touch inputs to perform an operation corresponding to a touch input of the identified user, to thereby provide a display apparatus capable of distinguishing plural touch inputs of plural users.

Claims

1. A display apparatus comprising:

a display section which displays an image;

a touch detecting section which receives a plurality of touch inputs from a user;

an image input section which receives an image; and

a controller which performs operations corresponding to the plurality of received touch inputs using information on the touch inputs received through the touch detecting section and eye-gaze information of the user received through the image input section.

2. The display apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the eye-gaze information comprises at least one of face direction information and pupil direction information.

3. The display apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the controller determines whether a touch input at a position corresponding to a face direction or a pupil direction is present for each of the plurality of touch inputs, and identifies a user corresponding to each of the plurality of touch inputs on the basis of the determination.

4. The display apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a storage section which stores a matching table for determination of a face direction or a pupil direction,

wherein the controller acquires information from a user image received through the image input section, and loads the face direction and/or the pupil direction which matches with the acquired information from the matching table to determine the eye-gaze direction of the user.

5. The display apparatus according to claim 4,

wherein in a case where the eye-gaze information is the pupil direction information, the controller acquires information on horizontal and vertical lengths between the edge of a pupil of a user'"'"'s eye and the edge of a white thereof from the user image, and loads a pupil direction which matches with the acquired the lengths information from the matching table to determine the pupil direction of the user.

6. The display apparatus according to claim 4,

wherein the eye-gaze direction of the user comprises directions of right, left, up, down, center, left-up, right-up, left-down and right-down, which are distinctly stored in the matching table.

7. The display apparatus according to claim 4,

wherein in a case where the eye-gaze information is the face direction information, the controller determines the face direction of the user using at least one of a horizontal position, a vertical position and a rotational angle of a face in the user image received through the image input section.

8. The display apparatus according to claim 4,

wherein the storage section further stores a history of matching for the face direction or the pupil direction of the user.

9. The display apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the controller determines a touch input of which the position matches with an eye-gaze direction corresponding to the eye-gaze information, among the plurality of touch inputs, as a valid touch input.

10. The display apparatus according to claim 9,

wherein the controller identifies the type of the valid touch input, performs an operation corresponding to the identified type of the valid touch input, and controls the display section to display an image corresponding to the performed operation.

11. The display apparatus according to claim 10,

wherein the valid touch input comprises a first touch input for a first object and a second touch input for a second object, and

wherein the controller performs an operation corresponding to the first touch input for the first object and performs an operation corresponding to the second touch input for the second object.

12. A control method of a display apparatus, comprising:

receiving a plurality of touch inputs from a user;

receiving eye-gaze information of the user; and

performing operations corresponding to the plurality of received touch inputs using information of the received touch inputs and the eye-gaze information of the user.

13. The method according to claim 12,

wherein the eye-gaze information comprises at least one of face direction information and pupil direction information.

14. The method according to claim 13, further comprising:

determining whether a touch input at a position corresponding to a face direction or a pupil direction is present for each of the plurality of touch inputs; and

identifying a user corresponding to each of the plurality of touch inputs on the basis of the determination.

15. The method according to claim 14, further comprising:

storing a matching table for determination of the face direction and/or the pupil direction,

wherein the determination of the presence of the touch input comprises acquiring information from a user image, and loading a face direction and/or a pupil direction which matches with the acquired information from the matching table to determine an eye-gaze direction of the user.

16. The method according to claim 15,

wherein in a case where the eye-gaze information is the pupil direction information, the acquisition of the information comprises acquiring information on horizontal and vertical lengths between the edge of a pupil of a user'"'"'s eye and the edge of a white thereof from the user image, and the determination of the eye-gaze direction comprises loading a pupil direction which matches with the acquired lengths information from the matching table to determine the pupil direction of the user.

17. The method according to claim 15,

wherein the eye-gaze direction of the user comprises directions of right, left, up, down, center, left-up, right-up, left-down and right-down, which are distinctly stored in the matching table.

18. The method according to claim 17,

wherein in a case where the eye-gaze information is the face direction information, the determination of the eye-gaze direction comprises determining the face direction of the user using at least one of a horizontal position, a vertical position and a rotational angle of a face in the user image.

19. The method according to claim 12, further comprising:

storing a history of matching for a face direction and/or a pupil direction of the user.

20. The method according to claim 12, further comprising:

determining a touch input of which the position matches with an eye-gaze direction corresponding to the eye-gaze information, among the plurality of touch inputs, as a valid touch input.

21. The method according to claim 20, further comprising:

identifying the type of the valid touch input;

performing an operation corresponding to the identified type of the valid touch input; and

displaying an image corresponding to the performed operation.

22. The method according to claim 21,

wherein the valid touch input comprises a first touch input for a first object and a second touch input for a second object, and

wherein the performance of the operation comprises performing an operation corresponding to the first touch input for the first object and performing an operation corresponding to the second touch input for the second object.