Lighting Control of a User Environment via a Display Device

• US 20070279427A1
• Filed: 01/19/2007
• Published: 12/06/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 05/04/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc. (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Computer Entertainment Incorporated (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Marks, Richard
• Granted Patent: US 7,965,859 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/581
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/61 in combination with predictive coding
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4131 home appliance, e.g. lighting, air conditioning system, metering devices home automation data switching networks exchanging configuration information on appliance services H04L12/2807
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42202 environmental sensors, e.g. for detecting temperature, luminosity, pressure, earthquakes
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4223 Cameras H04N23/00 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/74 by influencing the scene brightness using illuminating means
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/2226 Determination of depth image, e.g. for foreground/background separation determining depth by image analysis in general G06T7/50; segmentation by image analysis in general G06T7/10
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/147 Communication arrangements, e.g. identifying the communication as a video-communication, intermediate storage of the signals selecting H04Q
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/15 Conference systems

Abstract

A system and method for controlling lighting conditions in a user environment in the context of an image capture device are disclosed. An inner frame area and an outer frame area adjust certain lighting conditions in the user environment in response to certain lighting conditions detected by the image capture device. The frame areas may be dynamically controlled as to affect the brightness and/or color of the particular user environment.

Claims

1. A system for controlling lighting conditions in a user environment, comprising:

an image capture device configured to capture image data in a user environment, the image capture device further configured to identify at least one lighting condition in the user environment;

a computing device configured to generate an inner frame area and an outer frame area; and

a display device configured to display the inner frame area and the outer frame area, wherein the inner frame area includes image data captured by the image capture device and the outer frame area controls at least one lighting condition in the user environment.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the computing device is further configured to adjust the size of the inner frame relative to the outer frame.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the captured image data is integrated with a video game.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the captured image data is transmitted to a remote computing device.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the remote computing device is a conferencing management server.

6. The system of claim 4, wherein the remote computing device is associated with a video conference participant.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the image capture device is further configured to track an object in the user environment in response to a source of audio tracked by a directional-sensitive microphone.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the image capture device automatically focuses on the object in accordance with the position of the audio source relative to the image capture device.

10. A method for controlling lighting conditions in a user environment, comprising:

capturing image data in the user environment;

identifying at least one lighting condition in the user environment;

generating an inner frame area and an outer frame area on a display device; and

controlling at least one lighting condition in the user environment through the outer frame area.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein controlling the at least one lighting condition comprises increasing the brightness of the user environment.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein controlling the at least one lighting condition comprises adjusting the color of the user environment.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the brightness of the user environment is controlled through the intensity of the outer frame area.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein the brightness of the user environment is controlled through the size of the outer frame area.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein the brightness of the user environment is controlled through a combination of intensity and size of the outer frame area.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the intensity and size are dynamically controlled as the at least one lighting condition in the user environment changes.

17. A machine-readable medium having embodied thereon a program executable by a machine, the program comprising instructions for controlling lighting conditions in a user environment, the method comprising:

capturing image data in the user environment;

identifying at least one lighting condition in the user environment;

generating an inner frame area and an outer frame area on a display device; and

controlling at least one lighting condition in the user environment through the outer frame area.

18. The machine-readable medium of claim 17, further comprising controlling the at least one lighting condition through a change in the brightness of the user environment.

19. The machine-readable medium of claim 17, further comprising controlling the at least one lighting condition through a change in the color of the user environment.

20. The machine-readable medium of claim 17, wherein the brightness of the user environment is controlled through the intensity of the outer frame area.

21. The machine-readable medium of claim 17, wherein the brightness of the user environment is controlled through the size of the outer frame area.

22. The machine-readable medium of claim 18, wherein the brightness of the user environment is controlled through a combination of intensity and size of the outer frame area.

23. The machine-readable medium of 22, wherein the intensity and size are dynamically controlled as the at least one lighting condition in the user environment changes.

24. A video conference system, comprising:

a first image capture device configured to capture first user environment image data in a first user environment for transmission over a communications network;

a second image capture device configured to capture second user environment image data in a second user environment;

for transmission over the communications network;

a conference management server coupled to the network, the conference management server configured to receive the first user environment image data and the second user environment image data, the conference management server further configured to identify at least one lighting condition in the first user environment and the second user environment;

a first user client computing device associated with the first image capture device, the first user client computing device configured to receive lighting control instructions from the conference management server; and

a second user computing device associated with the second image capture device, the second user client computing device configured to receive lighting control instructions from the conference management server,

wherein the lighting control instructions from the conference management server comprise generating an outer frame area and an inner frame area, the outer frame area controlling at least one lighting condition in the respective user environment.

25. The video conference system of claim 24, wherein the conference management server is further configured to exchange data ancillary to the video conference with the first user client computing device and the second user client computing device.

26. The video conference system of claim 25, wherein the ancillary data comprises application data.

27. The video conference system of claim 25, wherein the ancillary data comprises text data.

28. The video conference system of claim 25, wherein the ancillary data comprises multi-media data that is not the actual conferencing data.

29. The video conference system of claim 25, wherein the ancillary data comprises a video-game.

30. The video conference server of claim 24, wherein the conference server is further configured to record image capture data exchanged between the first client computing device and the second client computing device.