Image information displaying apparatus

• US 7,570,275 B2
• Filed: 08/08/2006
• Issued: 08/04/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 10/24/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Fujita, Toyomi, Miyazaki, Eiji, Idesawa, Masanori
• Primary Examiner(s): Tung; Kee M
• Assistant Examiner(s): Chu; David H
• Application Number:
  US11/500,845
• Publication Number:
  US 20060268008A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,092 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 345/684
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1601 Constructional details related to the housing of computer displays, e.g. of CRT monitors, of flat displays constructional details related to flat displays integrated in a portable computer, e.g. laptop, handheld computer G06F1/1637; constructional details related to television receivers H04N5/64
• 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 1/1637 Details related to the display arrangement, including those related to the mounting of the display in the housing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1684 Constructional details or arrangements related to integrated I/O peripherals not covered by groups G06F1/1635 - G06F1/1675
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1694 the I/O peripheral being a single or a set of motion sensors for pointer control or gesture input obtained by sensing movements of the portable computer
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1698 the I/O peripheral being a sending/receiving arrangement to establish a cordless communication link, e.g. radio or infrared link, integrated cellular phone details of antennas disposed inside a computer H01Q1/2266
• 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: G06T 15/20 Perspective computation
• CPC Class Codes: G09F 19/14 displaying different signs depending upon the view-point of the observer
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/005 forming an image using a quickly moving array of imaging elements, causing the human eye to perceive an image which has a larger resolution than the array, e.g. an image on a cylinder formed by a rotating line of LEDs parallel to the axis of rotation
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/346 for systems having a bit-mapped display memory
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/724 User interfaces specially adapted for cordless or mobile telephones
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/275 from 3D object models, e.g. computer-generated stereoscopic image signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/305 using lenticular lenses, e.g. arrangements of cylindrical lenses
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/31 using parallax barriers

Abstract

This invention is relative to an image information display apparatus in which a large-sized image can readily be recognized even with use of a small-sized display unit such as is provided in a portable telephone set or in a mobile computer.

It is assumed that an observer (user) 122 is about to recognize an image of a larger size 121 using an image information display apparatus 124 having a display 123 of a smaller size. When the observer 122 moves his or her hand 126, a partial area 125 of an image demonstrated in the display 123 is actively changed. This permits the image of a larger size 121 to be comprehended readily in its entirety. The image of a larger size 121 can readily be recognized by having the hand movement matched to the movement of the display image (partial area 125 of the image), based on perceptual characteristics of the human being.

Claims

1. An image information displaying apparatus comprising:

a casing of a size that can be held and operated by hand, said casing having a horizontal orientation and a vertical orientation;

a display unit built into said casing for displaying an image;

a two-dimension position sensor for detecting a direction and a distance when said casing is moved in an XY-plane;

an image information storage unit for storing the image information of an image size larger than an image size that permits display at a time on said display unit;

a display image range selection unit for selecting a partial image information of a display range that can be displayed at a time, from the image information stored in said image information storage unit, and for outputting the selected information to said display unit for display; and

a partial image information selection controller for moving the image selected by said display image range selection unit according to the direction and the distance of the casing movement as selected by said two-dimension position sensor,

wherein the partial image information selection controller detects movement of the casing along a Z-axis perpendicular to the XY plane of the casing such that,

when the casing is in the horizontal orientation, movement of the casing along the Z-axis causes movement of the displayed image along a height of the image information, and

when the casing is held in the vertical orientation, movement of the casing along the Z-axis causes movement of the displayed image along a cross-section of the image information.

2. The image information displaying apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said two-dimension position sensor detects the movement by substituting two-dimensional movement for spatial movement of said casing, and wherein said partial image information selection controller moves the image selected by said display image range selection unit in relationship to the substituted two-dimensional movement.

3. The image information displaying apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said two-dimension position sensor detects the movement by substituting three-dimensional movement for spatial movement of said casing, and wherein said partial image information selection controller moves the image selected by said display image range selection unit in relationship to the substituted three-dimensional movement.

4. The image information displaying apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said image information storage unit stores the image information downloaded over a communication network.

5. The image information displaying apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said partial image information selection controller includes a point of origin coordinate data registration unit for registering the coordinate of a point of origin serving as a reference for a display frame in slicing a portion of the image information stored in said image information storage unit to said display unit for display thereon, and a selection instructing unit for causing said display image range selection unit to select sequentially the display range of the partial image determined by said display frame by sequentially changing the coordinate of said point of origin in relationship to the direction and the magnitude of spatial movement of said casing as detected by said two-dimension position sensor.

6. The image information displaying apparatus according to claim 1 further comprising a switch for on/off setting as to whether or not the spatial movement of said casing sequentially detected by said two-dimension position sensor is to be reflected in registered contents of said point of origin coordinate data registration unit.

7. The image information displaying apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said image information storage unit is a memory in a computer.

8. The image information displaying apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said display image range selection unit is implemented by a CPU and a memory in a computer and the functions of a computer software stored in said memory.

9. The image information displaying apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said partial image information selection controller is implemented by a CPU and a memory in a computer and the functions of a computer software stored in said memory.

12. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the image information storage unit stores partial images of an unknown image of a larger size than the display unit, and wherein the display range image selection unit selects the partial images in a sequence such that the unknown image is assembled from the partial images in accordance with movement of the case.

10. An image information displaying apparatus comprising:

a casing of a size that can be held and operated by hand, said casing having a horizontal orientation and a vertical orientation;

a display unit built into said casing for displaying an image;

a two-dimension position sensor for detecting a direction and a distance when the casing is moved;

a stereoscopic model information storage unit having the stereoscopic model information stored therein;

a two-dimensional image information outputting unit for changing an observing point in keeping with movement of said casing as detected by said two-dimension position sensor to generate and output the two-dimensional image information from the stereoscopic model, wherein the two-dimensional image information is based on the changed viewing point; and

a display image range selection unit for selecting partial image information from the two-dimensional image information and outputting the selected partial image information to the display unit, wherein the partial image information is displayed at a time on said display unit,

wherein the partial image information selection controller detects movement of the casing along a Z-axis perpendicular to the XY plane of the casing such that,

when the casing is in the horizontal orientation, movement of the casing along the Z-axis causes movement of the displayed image along a height of the image information, and

when the casing is held in the vertical orientation, movement of the casing along the Z-axis causes movement of the displayed image along a cross-section of the image information.

11. The image information displaying apparatus according to claim 10 wherein said two-dimensional image information outputting unit generates and outputs an image for a right eye and an image for a left eye for stereoscopy and wherein said display unit displays said image for a right eye and the image for a left eye in such a manner as to enable stereoscopy.

13. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the image information storage unit stores partial images of an unknown image of a larger size than the display unit, and wherein the display range image selection unit selects the partial images in a sequence such that the unknown image is assembled from the partial images in accordance with movement of the case.