Electronic appliance

• US 8,203,601 B2
• Filed: 10/31/2007
• Issued: 06/19/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 12/20/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: JVC Kenwood Corporation
• Original Assignee: JVC Kenwood Corporation
• Inventors: Kida, Shingo, Kitaura, Masahiro
• Primary Examiner(s): ENGLAND, DAVID E
• Application Number:
  US11/979,236
• Publication Number:
  US 20080151045A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,693 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 348/61
• 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: G06F 3/0304 Detection arrangements using opto-electronic means constructional details of pointing devices not related to the detection arrangement using opto-electronic means G06F3/033; optical digitisers G06F3/042
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/18 Closed-circuit television [CCTV] systems, i.e. systems in which the video signal is not broadcast

Abstract

An electronic appliance has a video camera for picking up an image of a user of the electronic appliance. The user'"'"'s image is displayed on a display of the electronic appliance. To adjust the size of the user'"'"'s image on the display, a measurement zone having a first area is defined on the display. The user holds his or her hand so that the hand is displayed on the measurement zone. A control information determination unit or a CPU generates information indicative of the ratio of the area of the hand in the measurement zone to the area of the measurement zone. According to the generated information, the CPU controls an image adjuster that optimizes the size and position of the user'"'"'s image on the display.

Claims

1. An electronic appliance comprising:

a video camera configured to photograph an operator who is in front of the video camera and operates the electronic appliance, and obtain an image including an image of the operator;

a mirror image converter configured to convert the image including the image of the operator provided by the video camera into a mirror image;

an image adjuster configured to adjust the size of the image including the image of the operator provided by one of the video camera and mirror image converter;

a display configured to display the image including the image of the operator provided by the image adjuster;

a measurement zone having a first area, the measurement zone being used to adjust the size of the image including the image of the operator on the display, the operator overlaying an object so that an image of the object is displayed in the measurement zone;

a generator configured to generate information indicative of a ratio of an area of the object'"'"'s image in the measurement zone to the first area; and

a controller configured to control the image adjuster according to the information provided by the generator so that the image adjuster optimizes the size of the image including the image of the operator on the display, such that as the ratio of the area of the object'"'"'s image in the measurement zone to the first area becomes smaller, a zoom magnitude becomes larger, and as the ratio of the area of the object'"'"'s image in the measurement zone to the first area becomes larger, the zoom magnitude becomes smaller.

2. The electronic appliance of claim 1, further comprising:

an operational image generator configured to generate an operational image including a control button to be superimposed on the measurement zone;

a mixer configured to mix the operational image with the image including the image of the operator from the image adjuster into a mixed image; and

a first detector configured to generate a first detection signal from an image signal representative of an operation that is conducted by the operator with the object with respect to a first detection zone having a second area smaller than the first area that corresponds to the control button,

wherein in response to the first detection signal, the controller controls the image adjuster so that the image adjuster optimizes the size of the operator'"'"'s image on the display.

3. The electronic appliance of claim 2, wherein the controller controls the image adjuster when the ratio of the area of the object'"'"'s image in the measurement zone to the first area reaches a first value and the ratio of the area of the object'"'"'s image in the first detection zone to the second area reaches a second value.

4. The electronic appliance of claim 1, further comprising:

an extractor configured to extract, from the image including the image of the operator, a partial image corresponding to a second detection zone that agrees with the measurement zone; and

a second detector configured to generate, according to the partial image, a second detection signal indicative of a ratio of the area of the object'"'"'s image to the second detection zone having the first area,

wherein the generator generates information according to the second detection zone, and

wherein the controller controls the image adjuster according to the information.

5. The electronic appliance of claim 1, further comprising:

a move controller configured to sequentially move a third detection zone through the measurement zone in a predetermined time, the third detection zone having a second area that is smaller than the first area of the measurement zone;

an extractor configured to extract, from the image including the image of the operator, a partial image corresponding to the measurement zone when the move controller moves the third detection zone through the measurement zone; and

a second detector configured to generate, according to the partial image, a second detection signal indicative of a ratio of the area of the object'"'"'s image to the second detection zone having the first area,

wherein the generator generates information according to the second detection zone, and

wherein the controller controls the image adjuster according to the information.

6. The electronic appliance of claim 5, wherein:

the second detection signal includes information indicative of a position of the object in the measurement zone; and

the image adjuster moves the image including the image of the operator on the display according to the second detection signal.

7. The electronic appliance of claim 5, wherein:

the measurement zone includes an initial measurement zone through which the third detection zone is initially moved and a reserve zone adjoining the initial measurement zone, the second detection signal generated by the second detector includes positional information indicative of a position of the object in the measurement zone; and

the electronic appliance further comprises a zone controller configured to shift, according to the positional information, a zone through which the third detection zone is moved from the initial measurement zone to a zone that is in the measurement zone including the initial measurement zone and reserve zone and is optimum for the object.