DISPLAY DEVICE

• US 20080303786A1
• Filed: 02/06/2008
• Published: 12/11/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 06/06/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Toshiba Matsushita Display Technology (Japan Display Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Toshiba Matsushita Display Technology (Japan Display Incorporated)
• Inventors: NAKAMURA, Hiroki, Nakamura, Takashi, Hayashi, Hirotaka, Imai, Takayuki
• Application Number:
  US12/026,814
• Publication Number:
  US 20080303786A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/156
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/1075 using a touch screen
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04806 Zoom, i.e. interaction techniques or interactors for controlling the zooming operation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0412 Digitisers structurally integrated in a display
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/042 by opto-electronic means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04886 by partitioning the display area of the touch-screen or the surface of the digitising tablet into independently controllable areas, e.g. virtual keyboards or menus

Abstract

An object of the present invention is to achieve an advanced input operation without complicating image processing. A display device of the present invention includes a display unit, an optical input unit, and an image processor. The display unit displays an image on a display screen. The optical input unit captures an image of an object approaching the display screen. The image processor detects that the object comes into contact with the display screen on the basis of a captured image captured by the optical input unit, and then performs image processing to obtain the position coordinates of the object. In the display device, the image processor divides the captured image into a plurality of regions, and performs the image processing on each of the divided regions.

Claims

1. A display device comprising:

a display unit which displays an image on a display screen;

an optical input unit which captures an image of an object approaching the display screen; and

an image processor which detects that the object comes into contact with the display screen on the basis of a captured image captured by the optical input unit, and which then performs image processing to obtain the position coordinates of the object, wherein

the image processor divides the captured image into a plurality of regions, and performs the image processing on each of the divided regions.

2. The display device according to claim 1 wherein

the optical input unit is an optical sensor which detects an incident light through the display screen, and which then converts a signal of the detected light into an electrical signal with a magnitude corresponding to the amount of the received light, and

the image processor further performs any one of first image processing to recognize an increase or a decrease in the value of the electrical signal at the position coordinates of the object in each of the divided regions;

and second image processing to recognize the distance between the position coordinates of one of a plurality of objects and the position coordinates of another one of the plurality of objects.

3. The display device according to claim 1 wherein

the image processor divides the captured image into a plurality of regions in advance, and

upon detection of the contact of the object with each of the divided regions in the display screen, the image processor further performs image processing to change a first region where the contact of the object is detected to a second region including the position coordinates of the object, and also being smaller than the first region.

4. The display device according to claim 1 wherein

upon detection of the contact of the object with the display screen, the image processor further performs image processing to divide the captured image into a center region including the position coordinates of the object and a peripheral region located around the first region.

5. The display device according to any one of claims 3 and 4 wherein

the image processor detects a movement of the position coordinates of the object in each of the divided regions, and further performs image processing to dynamically change, in accordance with the movement of the position coordinates, a region where the movement of the position coordinates of the object is detected.