Display apparatus and display method

• US 8,982,013 B2
• Filed: 08/17/2007
• Issued: 03/17/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 09/27/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Sako, Yoichiro, Tsuruta, Masaaki, Ito, Taiji, Asukai, Masamichi
• Primary Examiner(s): MARINELLI, PATRICK
• Application Number:
  US12/440,591
• Publication Number:
  US 20090278766A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,769 Days
• Field of Search: 345 7- 8, 345204-215, 345 87-104, 345690-699
• US Class Current: 345/8
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/0118 comprising devices for improving the contrast of the display / brillance control visibility
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/0138 comprising image capture systems, e.g. camera
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/014 comprising information/image processing systems
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/0178 Eyeglass type eyeglass details G02C
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/0185 Displaying image at variable distance
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/0187 slaved to motion of at least a part of the body of the user, e.g. head, eye
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/0101 characterised by optical features G02B27/0172 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/017 Head mounted
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/0172 characterised by optical features
• 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 11/60 Editing figures and text; Combining figures or text
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 15/80 Shading
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/0233 Improving the luminance or brightness uniformity across the screen
• 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 3/36 using liquid crystals

Abstract

An adequate display operation control in accordance with the external world situation is realized. For example, where a user wears the wearing unit of a spectacle-shaped or head-worn unit, the user is made to be able to view any type of image on the display section immediately in front of the eyes, and provided with taken images, reproduced images, and received images. At the point, a control relative to various display operations such as on/off of the display operation, display operation mode, and source change is carried out based on external world information.

Claims

1. A display apparatus, comprising:

a wearing member having at least one eye piece, the wearing member configured to be fitted around a head of a user;

a display provided within the at least one eye piece and operating in a displaying state for displaying an image, and operating in a transparent or translucent through state for displaying a field of view of the user; and

circuitry configured to;

communicate with an external device located remotely from the display apparatus to receive an image that has been captured by the external device;

acquire a plurality of outside world information, wherein each of the plurality of the outside world information has a corresponding operation to be performed on the display, and the plurality of outside world information includes at least brightness, temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, and weather of surroundings of the display apparatus;

display the captured image;

adjust the display based on the plurality of outside world information while the display continues to display the captured image such that the user does not need to operate an operation member in relation to the adjustment of the display; and

control split screen display performed in the display where the image captured by the external device is displayed in a first portion of the display, and a second portion of the display is separate and distinct from the first portion and includes the transparent or translucent through state for displaying the field of view of the user,

wherein the corresponding operation includes at least brightness level control, color correction, contrast control, sharpness or edge enhancement control, applying an image effect, and control of the split screen display.

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

an imager for photographing an image.

3. The display apparatus according to claim 2, wherein, based on the acquired outside world information, the circuitry is configured to control the image photographed to be displayed on said display.

4. The display apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a sensor for detecting information concerning an imaging object of said imager as the outside world information.

5. The display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the circuitry is further configured to:

reproduce data from a storage medium.

6. The display apparatus according to claim 5, wherein, based on the acquired outside world information, the circuitry is configured to control the reproduced data to be displayed on said display.

7. The display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, based on the acquired outside world information, the circuitry is configured to control data received to be displayed on said display.

8. The display apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a sensor for detecting a situation of a surrounding environment as the outside world information.

9. The display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the circuitry is configured to acquire current position information as the outside world information.

10. The display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the circuitry is configured to acquire a current date and time as the outside world information.

11. The display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the circuitry is configured to acquire the outside world information via communication with an external device.

12. The display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the circuitry is configured to acquire the outside world information via image analysis performed on input image data.

13. The display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the acquired outside world information is information on a place corresponding to a current position.

14. The display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the acquired outside world information is information on a structure or natural object in an area corresponding to a current position.

15. The display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the acquired outside world information is information for identifying a specified object included in input image data.

16. The display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the acquired outside world information is information for identifying a person, an animal, a structure, a natural object, or a device as a specified object included in input image data.

17. The display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the acquired outside world information is information on a motion of an object image included in input image data.

18. The display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the acquired outside world information is information for identifying an individual person included in input image data.

19. The display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the acquired outside world information is information for determining whether or not input image data includes a letter image.

20. The display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the acquired outside world information is information on brightness or clearness of input image data.

21. The display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the acquired outside world information is information on brightness or clearness of a part of an image of input image data.

22. The display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the circuitry is further configured to control start/termination of a display operation in said display.

23. The display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

said display is capable of switching between the transparent or translucent through state and the displaying state in which data supplied is displayed, and

the circuitry is configured to control said display to switch between the through state and the displaying state.

24. The display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the circuitry is configured to control switching of a source from which data to be displayed on said display is supplied.

25. The display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the circuitry is configured to control magnification/reduction of the image displayed on said display.

26. The display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the circuitry is configured to control highlighting of a part of a screen displayed on said display.

27. The display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the circuitry is configured to control display brightness in said display.

28. The display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the circuitry is configured to control signal processing performed on a signal of the image to be displayed by said display.

29. The display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the circuitry is further configured to:

perform speech synthesis based on a letter included in the image to be supplied to said display; and

output audio generated by said speech synthesis.

30. A display method employed in a display apparatus that includes a wearing member having at least one eye piece, the wearing member configured to be fitted around a head of a user, the at least one eye piece including a display provided within the at least one eye piece and operating in a displaying state for displaying an image, and operating in a transparent or translucent state for displaying a field of view of the user, the method comprising:

communicating with an external device located remotely from the display apparatus to receive an image that has been captured by the external device;

acquiring a plurality of outside world information, wherein each of the plurality of the outside world information has a corresponding operation to be performed on the display, and the plurality of outside world information includes at least brightness, temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, and weather of surroundings of the display apparatus;

displaying the captured image;

adjusting the display based on the plurality of outside world information while the display continues to display the captured image such that the user does not need to operate an operation member in relation to the adjustment of the display; and

control split screen display performed in the display where the image captured by the external device is displayed in a first portion of the display, and a second portion of the display is separate and distinct from the first portion and includes the transparent or translucent through state for displaying the field of view of the user,

wherein the corresponding operation includes at least brightness level control, color correction, contrast control, sharpness or edge enhancement control, applying an image effect, and control of the split screen display.

31. A display apparatus, comprising:

a wearing unit having at least one eye piece, the wearing unit configured to be fitted around a head of a user;

display means provided within the at least one eye piece and operating in a displaying state for displaying an image, and operating in a transparent or translucent through state for displaying a field of view of the user;

reception means for communicating with an external device located remotely from the display apparatus to receive an image that has been captured by the external device;

outside world information acquisition means for acquiring a plurality of outside world information, wherein each of the plurality of outside world information has a corresponding operation to be performed on the display means, and the plurality of outside world information includes at least brightness, temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, and weather of surroundings of the display apparatus;

displaying means for displaying the captured image;

adjusting means for adjusting the display means based on the plurality of outside world information while the display means continues to display the captured image such that the user does not need to operate an operation member in relation to the adjustment of the display means; and

control means for controlling split screen display performed in the display means where the image captured by the external device is displayed in a first portion of the display means, and a second portion of the display means is separate and distinct from the first portion and includes the transparent or translucent through state for displaying the field of view of the user,

wherein the corresponding operation includes at least brightness level control, color correction, contrast control, sharpness or edge enhancement control, applying an image effect, and control of the split screen display.