IMAGE DISPLAY DEVICE AND IMAGE DISPLAY METHOD

• US 20160282618A1
• Filed: 11/11/2014
• Published: 09/29/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 12/19/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: KON, TAKAYASU, KAWAMOTO, KENTA, YAMAMOTO, YUKI
• Granted Patent: US 9,964,766 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/014 comprising information/image processing systems
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/017 Head mounted
• 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: G06T 19/006 Mixed reality object pose determination, tracking or camera calibration for mixed reality G06T7/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/239 using two 2D image sensors having a relative position equal to or related to the interocular distance H04N13/243 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/25 using two or more image sensors with different characteristics other than in their location or field of view, e.g. having different resolutions or colour pickup characteristics; using image signals from one sensor to control the characteristics of another sensor
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/344 with head-mounted left-right displays

Abstract

An apparatus may include circuitry configured to control reproduction, at a head-mounted display device, of content, based on a determination of importance of an event occurring around the head-mounted display device.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

circuitry configured to control reproduction, at a head-mounted display device, of content, based on a determination of importance of an event occurring around the head-mounted display device.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the determination of importance of the event is by an external device.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the determination of importance of the event is by executing an application at the head-mounted display device.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the apparatus is part of the head-mounted display device.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein, when the importance of the event is determined to have a first predetermined level, the circuitry stops reproduction of the content and starts reproduction of an image from a real world.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein, when the importance of the event is determined to have a second predetermined level less than the first predetermined level, the circuitry only partially stops reproduction of the content and starts reproduction of the image from the real world to at least a portion of at least one of sight or hearing of a user of the head-mounted display device.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein, when the importance of the event is determined to have the second predetermined level, an image corresponding to the real world is displayed having a first size simultaneously with an image corresponding to the content having a second size other than the first size.

8. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein, when the importance of the event is determined to have the second predetermined level, an image corresponding to the real world is displayed simultaneously with and separately from an image corresponding to the content.

9. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein, when the importance of the event is determined to have a third predetermined level less than the second predetermined level, the circuitry continues reproduction of the content without reproduction of the image from the real world.

10. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein, when the importance of the event is determined to have the first or the second predetermined level, the circuitry resumes reproduction of the content after elapse of a predetermined period of time.

11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the importance of the event is determined based on a relationship of the event with a user of the head-mounted display device.

12. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the importance of the event is determined by recognizing the event.

23. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the content includes at least one of an image or sound.

14. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the determination of the importance of the event is in consideration of a degree of immersion of a user of the head-mounted display device.

15. An apparatus comprising:

circuitry configured to control reproduction, by a head-mounted display device, of content, based on an importance of an event occurring around the head-mounted display device.

16. A method comprising:

controlling, by a hardware device, reproduction, at a head-mounted display device, of content, based on a determination of importance of an event occurring around the head-mounted display device.

17. An apparatus comprising:

circuitry configured to control reproduction of an image captured around a head-mounted display device and content, based on an event occurring around the head-mounted display device.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the circuitry is configured to start reproduction of the image captured around the head-mounted display device and stop reproduction of the content when the head-mounted display device is in a moving direction.