Adjusting display brightness and/or refresh rates based on eye tracking

• US 8,225,229 B2
• Filed: 11/09/2006
• Issued: 07/17/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 11/09/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Mobile Communications AB (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Thorn, Ola Karl, Lessing, Simon
• Primary Examiner(s): Huynh, Ba
• Application Number:
  US11/558,361
• Publication Number:
  US 20080111833A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,077 Days
• Field of Search: 345/156, 715/821, 715/805, 715/863, 715/764, 715/767, 715/802, 715/823
• US Class Current: 715/802
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3231 Monitoring the presence, absence or movement of users
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3265 Power saving in display device
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/013 Eye tracking input arrangements G06F3/015 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/0626 for control of overall brightness
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/0686 with two or more screen areas displaying information with different brightness or colours
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2354/00 Aspects of interface with display user
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/00 Control arrangements or circuits for visual indicators common to cathode-ray tube indicators and other visual indicators image data processing or generation, in general G06T
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/14 Display of multiple viewports
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 10/00 Energy efficient computing, e.g. low power processors, power management or thermal management

Abstract

A device may determine an area at which a user gazes on the display screen. The device may identify on the display screen a screen region which does not overlap the area, may darken the identified screen region, and/or may refresh the display screen by updating a screen region that overlaps the area and not updating the identified screen region.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

determining, using one or more processors, a first area at which a user gazes on a display screen;

identifying, using one or more processors, on the display screen, a screen region that does not overlap the first area, wherein the screen region includes a first portion and a second portion;

determining a first distance between the first area and the first portion;

determining a second distance between the first area and the second portion;

assigning, based on the first distance, a first value to the first portion;

assigning, based on second distance, a second value to the second portion, wherein the second value is different from the first value;

determining, using one or more processors, a brightness level of the identified screen region that does not overlap the first area at which the user gazes on the display screen;

darkening, using one or more processors, the first portion to a first brightness level based on the first value; and

darkening, using the one or more processors, the second portion to a second brightness level based on the second value, wherein the second brightness level is different than the first brightness level.

2. The method as in claim 1, further comprising:

determining a size and a location of a screen region which overlaps the first area.

3. The method as in claim 1, further comprising:

determining a distance from the identified screen region to the first area.

4. The method as in claim 1, further comprising:

determining colors of pixels in the identified screen region.

5. The method as in claim 4, where darkening the first and second portions of the identified screen region includes displaying the determined colors.

6. The method as in claim 1, where determining the first area at which the user gazes includes determining the area based on eye-tracking data.

7. The method as in claim 6, further comprising:

monitoring a position of an eye of the user; and

generating the eye-tracking data based on the monitored position.

8. The method as in claim 1, where determining the first area at which the user gazes includes estimating the first area based on user inputs.

9. A device comprising:

one or more processors to;

obtain an area at which a user gazes on a display screen;

identify one or more portions of the display screen;

select at least one identified portion of the display screen, from the identified one or more portions of the display screen, that includes at least part of the area at which the user gazes on the display screen;

determine a brightness level of at least one portion of the display screen, from the identified one or more portions of the display screen, that is not selected and that does not include at least part of the area at which the user gazes on the display screen;

generate a luminance value for the at least one portion of the display screen, from the identified one or more portions of the display screen, that is not selected and that does not include at least part of the area at which the user gazes on the display screen, based on the determined brightness level; and

dim the at least one portion of the display screen, from the identified one or more portions of the display screen, that is not selected and that does not include at least part of the area at which the user gazes on the display screen, based on the generated luminance value, wherein the at least one portion includes a first portion and a second portion and wherein when dimming the at least one portion, the one or more processors are configured to;

dim the first portion to a first brightness based on a first distance between the area at which the user gazes and the first portion, and

dim the second portion to a second brightness based on a second distance between the area at which the user gazes and the second portion, wherein the second brightness level is different than the first brightness level.

10. The device as in claim 9, where the area covers, on the display screen, a visually acute portion of a visual field of the user.

11. The device as in claim 9, where the one or more identified screen portions are contiguous.

12. The device as in claim 9, where the one or more identified screen portions are not contiguous.

13. The device as in claim 9, further comprising an eye-tracking logic to:

monitor a position of an eye of the user; and

determine eye-tracking data based on the monitored position.

14. The device as in claim 9, where the one or more processors are further to:

determine a size and a position of at least one of the one or more identified portions.

15. The device as in claim 9, where the one or more processors are further to:

determine a distance from the area to one of the one or more identified portions.

16. The device as in claim 9, where the one or more processors are further to:

produce colors for pixels in at east one portion that is not selected and that does not include at least part of the area.

17. The device as in claim 9, where the one identified portion includes an entire area of the display screen.

18. A device comprising:

one or more processors to;

locate an area at which a user gazes on a display screen;

identify portions of the display screen;

select at least a first portion that includes at least part of the area at which the user gazes on the display screen;

determine a distance between the first portion and other portions of the display screen that do not include the first portion;

assign, based on the determined distance, a first numerical value to at least one of the other portions that does not include the first portion, the assigned first numerical value indicating a reduced rate of display screen refresh for the at least one other portion,

wherein the selected at least first portion is at a first brightness level, and wherein the other portions are at a second, different brightness level;

assign, based on the determined distance, a second, different numerical value to a second one of the other portions, the assigned second, different numerical value indicating a reduced rate of display screen refresh for the second one of the other portions; and

refresh the display screen by updating the selected first portion, not updating the other portions, based on the assigned first numerical value, and updating the second other portion to a third, different brightness level, based on the assigned second, different numerical value.

19. The device as in claim 18, where the area covers on the display screen a visually acute portion of a visual field of the user.

23. The device of claim 18, where, when locating the area at which the user gazes on the display screen, the one or more processors are further to:

monitor a position of an eye of the user, and

determine eye-tracking data based on the monitored position, and

where the one or more processors are further to refresh the display screen based on the determined eye-tracking data.

20. A method comprising:

determining, using one or more processors, an area at which a user gazes on a display screen;

identifying, using one or more processors, screen regions that overlap the area at which a user gazes on the display screen, wherein the screen regions include a first screen region and a second screen region;

determining a distance between the area at which the user gazes and each of the first and second screen regions;

assigning, using one or more processors, a numerical value to each of the first and second screen regions based on the determined distance for each of the first and second screen regions, the assigned numerical value indicating a reduced rate of display screen refresh for each of the first and second screen regions,

where a first assigned numerical value of the first screen region is different than a second assigned numerical value of the second screen region; and

refreshing, using one or more processors, the display screen by updating the identified screen regions that overlap the area at which a user gazes on the display screen, updating the first screen region based on the first assigned numerical value and not updating the second screen region based on the second assigned numerical value,

where the second screen region is at a first brightness level, and the first screen region is updated to a second, different brightness level.

21. The method as in claim 20, where determining the area at which the user gazes includes locating the area based on eye-tracking data.

22. The method as in claim 21, further comprising:

tracking a direction of an eye of the user; and

generating the eye-tracking data based on the tracked direction.