AV system

• US 9,344,632 B2
• Filed: 10/06/2010
• Issued: 05/17/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 10/06/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Auto Tech Group LLC
• Original Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
• Inventors: Fujii, Yasushi, Oi, Makoto, Arai, Kanehide
• Primary Examiner(s): Patel, Jay
• Assistant Examiner(s): Aghevli, Reza
• Application Number:
  US13/806,613
• Publication Number:
  US 20130088581A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,050 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30204 Marker
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/73 using feature-based methods
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/332 Displays for viewing with the aid of special glasses or head-mounted displays [HMD]
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/66 Transforming electric information into light information scanning details H04N3/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04S 7/304 For headphones

Abstract

An AV system that executes image recognition of an identification mark 9 provided on headphones 8 in a seat side shot image taken with a camera 2,calculates the coordinate position of the identification mark 9 in the shot image, decides from the coordinate position of the identification mark 9 as to which one of a plurality of seats a user wearing the headphones 8 sits on, and transmits audio data which corresponds to video data to be displayed on the display screen facing the seat, as to which a decision is made that the user sits on, to the headphones 8 to be produced as audio output.

Claims

1. An AV system comprising:

a plurality of display units with their display screens being directed to a plurality of seats;

an image recognizing unit for executing image recognition of an identification mark provided on an audio output device in a shot image taken with a camera unit for shooting the seats to which the camera face, and for calculating a coordinate position of the identification mark in the shot image;

a deciding unit for deciding from the coordinate position of the identification mark calculated by the image recognizing unit as to which one of the plurality of seats a user wearing the audio output device sits on;

an AV reproducing unit for reproducing video data and audio data; and

an audio communication unit for transmitting, from among the audio data reproduced by the AV reproducing unit, the audio data which corresponds to the video data to be displayed on the display screen facing the seat as to which the deciding unit decides that the user sits on, to the audio output device the user wears to be produced as audio output, wherein the AV system further comprising;

a plurality of identification marks provided on the audio output device at places on a plane perpendicular to the face direction of the user, wherein

the image recognizing unit executes image recognition of the plurality of identification marks provided on the audio output device in the shot image taken with the camera unit, and calculates a distance between the plurality of the coordinate positions of the plurality of identification marks in the shot image;

the deciding unit decides from the coordinate positions of the identification marks calculated by the image recognizing unit as to which one of the plurality of seats the user wearing the audio output device sits on, and decides from a comparison result of the distance between the plurality of identification marks with a prescribed threshold as to which one of the display screens of the plurality of display units the face of the user sitting on the seat decided is directed to; and

the audio communication unit transmits, from among the audio data reproduced by the AV reproducing unit, the audio data corresponding to the video data to be displayed on the display screen, as to which the deciding unit decides that the face of the user is directed to, to the audio output device the user wears to be produced as the audio output; and

a plurality of camera units, wherein

the deciding unit decides in shot images taken with the plurality of camera units as to which one of the plurality of seats the user wearing the audio output device sits on from the coordinate positions of the plurality of identification marks calculated by the image recognizing unit, and decides as to which one of the display screens of the plurality of display units the face of the user is directed to from a comparison result of the distance between the plurality of identification marks in each of the shot images taken with the plurality of camera units with a prescribed threshold.

2. The AV system according to claim 1, wherein the camera units are provided to the display units on a one-to-one basis.

3. The AV system according to claim 1, comprising:

a plurality of audio output devices provided with different identification marks, respectively, wherein

the image recognizing unit executes image recognition of the different identification marks, and calculates the coordinate positions of the different identification marks in the shot image taken with the camera unit;

the deciding unit decides, from the coordinate positions of the different identification marks, which are calculated by the image recognizing unit, as to which of the plurality of seats a plurality of users each wearing one of the plurality of audio output devices sit on, respectively; and

the audio communication unit transmits, from among the audio data reproduced by the AV reproducing unit, the audio data, which correspond to the video data to be displayed on the display screens facing the plurality of seats, respectively, as to which the deciding unit decides that the plurality of users sit on, respectively, to the plurality of audio output devices to be produced as the audio output, respectively.

4. The AV system according to claim 3, wherein

the different identification marks are prints that are applied on the audio output devices and are different in color or shape.

5. The AV system according to claim 3, comprising:

LED elements provided on the plurality of audio output devices, respectively; and

LED blinking units provided in the plurality of audio output devices for blinking the LED elements of the audio output devices at different frequencies, respectively, wherein

the image recognizing unit executes image recognition of the LED elements, which are made blinking by the LED blinking units as the different identification marks, in the shot image taken with the camera unit, and calculates the coordinate positions of the different identification marks in the shot image.

6. The AV system according to claim 1, comprising:

LED elements provided on the plurality of audio output devices, respectively; and

LED lighting units provided in the plurality of audio output devices, respectively, for turning on or off the LED element of each of the audio output devices in response to a lighting or shutoff command received from the audio communication unit, wherein

the image recognizing unit executes image recognition of the LED element that is lighting at shooting timing of the camera unit as the identification mark from among the LED elements provided on the plurality of audio output devices, respectively, in the shot image taken with the camera unit, and calculates the coordinate position of the identification mark in the shot image;

the deciding unit decides from the coordinate position of the identification mark calculated by the image recognizing unit as to which one of the plurality of seats the user wearing the audio output device with its LED element being lit at the shooting timing of the camera unit sits on; and

the audio communication unit transmits, from among the audio data reproduced by the AV reproducing unit, the audio data corresponding to the video data to be displayed on the display screen facing the seat, as to which the deciding unit decides that the user sits on, to the audio output device to be produced as the audio output, and turns on the LED elements provided on the plurality of audio output devices, respectively, at different timings by transmitting the lighting or shutoff command to the LED lighting units provided in the plurality of audio output devices, respectively.

7. The AV system according to claim 1, wherein the audio communication unit:

transmits, when the deciding unit decides the seat on which the user wearing the audio output device sits, speech information for causing the user to confirm the decision result to the audio output device;

transmits, when receiving from the user an affirmative response to the decision result, the audio data corresponding to the video data to be displayed on the display screen facing the seat associated with the decision result to the audio output device to be produced as the audio output; and

transmits, when receiving from the user a negative response to the decision result, the audio data corresponding to the video data to be displayed on the display screen facing a seat, which the deciding unit decides again from among the plurality of seats except for the seat associated with the negative response to the decision result, to the audio output device to be produced as the audio output.