Control of spectral range intensity in media devices

• US 9,406,277 B1
• Filed: 05/29/2013
• Issued: 08/02/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 05/29/2013
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Inventors: Letourneur, Herv Jacques Clment
• Primary Examiner(s): Giesy, Adam R
• Assistant Examiner(s): Heyi, Henok
• Application Number:
  US13/904,955
• Time in Patent Office: 1,161 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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: G09G 2320/0271 Adjustment of the gradation levels within the range of the gradation scale, e.g. by redistribution or clipping
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/062 Adjustment of illumination source parameters
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/0626 for control of overall brightness
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/064 by time modulation of the brightness of the illumination source
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/0666 for control of colour parameters, e.g. colour temperature
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2330/021 Power management, e.g. power saving
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2354/00 Aspects of interface with display user
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2360/144 the light being ambient light
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/02 characterised by the way in which colour is displayed details of colour display specific for CRTs G09G1/28; specific for flat matrix panels other than liquid crystal displays G09G3/2003; specific for liquid crystal displays G09G3/3607
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/10 Intensity circuits

Abstract

Illumination of a display is controlled so as to modulate the intensity of emissions in one or more spectral ranges over time while content is being presented. Usage data indicative of user interaction with the presented content or previously presented content can be used to generate or modify a pattern profile. The pattern profile is used to control light emitters of a media device. Various operating modes respectively directed to decreasing or increasing intensity over time within certain portions of the visible spectrum can be used during the presentation of written, video or other content.

Claims

1. A device comprising:

a display configured to present content;

one or more input devices;

one or more light emitters configured to illuminate the display; and

a processor configured to;

present the content using the display with a first display output mode operating the one or more light emitters using a first intensity curve of light emissions across a first portion and a second portion of a range of wavelengths from about 380 nanometers to 570 nanometers;

receive one or more user inputs from the one or more input devices;

generate usage data based on the one or more user inputs, wherein the usage data is indicative of a time-of-day of ending presentation of content on the display; and

based at least in part on the usage data, transition over a period of time of at least five minutes to a second display output mode operating the one or more light emitters to generate a second intensity curve of light emissions having a second intensity of light emissions across the first portion of the range of wavelengths that is less than the first intensity curve and having the second intensity of light emissions across the second portion of the range of wavelengths being the same as the first intensity curve.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein the usage data is further indicative of one or more of:

a rate at which a user turns pages of content presented by the display;

orientation of the device during presentation of content on the display;

detection that a user has backtracked within content presented on the display;

detection of motion of the device during presentation of content on the display;

or

a geographic location of the device during presentation of content on the display.

3. The device of claim 1, wherein the second intensity curve of light emissions for the first portion of the range of wavelengths is lower than the first intensity curve of light emissions for the second portion of the range of wavelengths by at least 50%.

4. The device of claim 1, wherein the display comprises an electrophoretic display and a frontlight film coupled to a front of the electrophoretic display, wherein the frontlight film is optically coupled to the one or more light emitters such that emitted light from the one or more light emitters is distributed by the frontlight film to illuminate the electrophoretic display;

and

at least one of the light emitters comprising a red-green-blue light-emitting diode (RGBLED), each RGBLED including individually controllable diodes corresponding to different regions of the visual spectrum.

5. A system, comprising:

a server configured to;

receive usage data from a media device, wherein the usage data is indicative of consumption by a user of content comprising an electronic book;

derive a pattern profile by way of the usage data;

provide at least one or more of the usage data or the pattern profile to a media device; and

a media device including a display and an illumination resource and a controller, the controller configured to;

present the content on the display;

provide usage data to the server, the usage data corresponding to the user interaction with content presented on the display;

receive the pattern profile from the server, wherein the pattern profile specifies a transition over time from a first output mode to a second output mode; and

control, based at least in part on the pattern profile, one or more of the display or the illumination resource to change from using a first intensity curve of light emissions across a first portion and a second portion of spectral range while content is being presented on the display to a second intensity curve having a second intensity of light emissions across the first portion of the spectral range that differs from the first intensity curve while having the second intensity of light emissions across the second portion of the spectral range being the same as the first intensity curve.

6. The system of claim 5, the controller and the display and the illumination resource further respectively configured such that spectral range includes at least the range from 400 nanometers to 550 nanometers.

7. The system of claim 5, the controller further configured to:

query a user regarding options for operating the media device;

receive a user response to the query; and

control the intensity of light emissions in the spectral range based at least in part on the user response.

8. The system of claim 5, the controller further configured such that the pattern profile is directed to influencing human sleep during presentation of content on the display.

9. The system of claim 5, the controller further configured such that the pattern profile includes linear ramping portions of respectively different slopes of the pattern profile.

10. The system of claim 5, the controller further configured such that the pattern profile includes a linear ramping portion and a dwell portion.

11. The system of claim 5, the controller further configured to increase the intensity of light emissions in the spectral range over time in accordance with the pattern profile while content is being presented on the display.

12. The system of claim 5, the controller further to decrease intensity of light emissions in the spectral range over time in accordance with the pattern profile while content is being presented on the display.

13. A non-transitory computer-readable storage media including a program code, the program code configured to cause one or more processors to:

derive usage data corresponding to user interaction with viewable content presented by a media device, wherein the user interaction comprises a page turn of an electronic book and the usage data is indicative of a page turn rate;

present viewable content using the media device; and

modulate illumination intensity of the media device within a first portion of a predetermined spectral range between an initial magnitude of light intensity and a terminal magnitude of light intensity over a period of at least five minutes while the initial magnitude of light intensity across a second portion of the predetermined spectral range remains the same, the modulation performed in accordance with the usage data and a pattern profile during the presentation of viewable content.

14. The non-transitory computer-readable storage media of claim 13, the program code further configured to cause the one or more processors to control at least a display of the media device or an illumination entity of the media device so as to modulate illumination intensity from the media device within the predetermined spectral range according to the usage data and the pattern profile.

15. The non-transitory computer-readable storage media of claim 13, the program code further configured to cause the one or more processors to:

determine user intent to operate the media device in a human-sleep promoting mode; and

modulate illumination intensity from the media device within the first portion of the predetermined spectral range over time such that the initial magnitude of the illumination intensity is greater than the terminal magnitude.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable storage media of claim 13, the program code further configured to cause the one or more processors to:

determine user intent to operate the device in a human-sleep inhibiting mode; and

modulate illumination intensity from the media device within the first portion of the predetermined spectral range over time such that the initial magnitude of the illumination intensity is lesser than the terminal magnitude.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable storage media of claim 13, the program code further configured such that the predetermined spectral range includes the range of 450 nanometers to 550 nanometers.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable storage media of claim 13, the program code further configured to cause the one or more processors to modulate the illumination intensity of the media device within the predetermined spectral range in accordance with a content viewing goal for a user.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable storage media of claim 13, the program code further configured to cause the one or more processors to:

detect that a user is viewing content on the media device at a page turn rate greater than a predetermined rate; and

increase a rate at which the illumination intensity of the media device within the first portion of the predetermined spectral range is increased over time.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable storage media of claim 13, the program code further configured to cause the one or more processors to:

detect that a user is viewing content on the media device at a page turn rate lesser than a predetermined rate, the detecting including determining a rate at which a user is turning virtual pages of the viewable content presented by the media device; and

increase a rate at which the illumination intensity of the media device within the first portion of the predetermined spectral range of the intensity curve is decreased over time.