System and method for dynamically changing a display

• US 8,209,635 B2
• Filed: 12/20/2007
• Issued: 06/26/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 12/20/2007
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications USA Incorporated (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Mobile Communications AB (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Thm, Karl Ola
• Primary Examiner(s): Pesin, Boris
• Assistant Examiner(s): Wright, Elizabeth G
• Application Number:
  US11/960,767
• Publication Number:
  US 20090164896A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,650 Days
• Field of Search: 715/863, 715/788, 382/103, 382/117, 725/12, 345/156, 345/660, 345/649, 345/656, 345/667, 348/14.01, 348/352, 455/422.1
• US Class Current: 715/863
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1626 with a single-body enclosure integrating a flat display, e.g. Personal Digital Assistants [PDAs]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1686 the I/O peripheral being an integrated camera
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2200/1637 Sensing arrangement for detection of housing movement or orientation, e.g. for controlling scrolling or cursor movement on the display of an handheld computer
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/16 Human faces, e.g. facial parts, sketches or expressions
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/0261 in the context of movement of objects on the screen or movement of the observer relative to the screen

Abstract

A technique for managing the display of content on a display of an electronic device may be based on a distance of the user to the display. The distance may be estimated by analyzing video data to detect a face of the user and establish a distance parameter based on a relationship between facial features. Based on this information, the displayed content may be adjusted to facilitate easy viewing of the displayed content, such as by changing the size of the displayed content, the layout of the displayed content, or the number of visual elements that make up the displayed content.

Claims

1. A method of controlling visual content that is displayed on a display of an electronic device, comprising:

analyzing a video signal to detect facial features of a user of the electronic device and to establish a parameter indicative of a distance of the user form the display based on the detected facial features; and

adjusting the displayed content based on the parameter to facilitate user viewing of the displayed content at the indicated distance by varying a layout of a plurality of windows displayed on the display so that the plurality of windows are displayed in one of a side-by-side arrangement when the user is less than a predetermined distance from the display or an overlapping arrangement when the user is greater than the predetermined distance from the display; and

wherein the analyzing further includes determining a viewing angle of the user with respect to the display and the adjusting further includes skewing the displayed content so as to be non-uniformly varying in size across the display based on the viewing angle.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the parameter is derived from a relationship between at least two of the detected facial features.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the analyzing further includes determining a relative orientation of the user to the electronic device about an axis formed between the user'"'"'s eyes and the display of the electronic device and the adjusting further includes rotating the orientation of the displayed content to match the relative orientation of the user and the electronic device about the axis.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the displayed content is content other than the video signal, and the adjusting further includes changing a layout of visual elements from the displayed content, wherein the changing the layout of visual elements further includes changing a selection and arrangement of visual elements that make up the displayed content.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the content includes an image and a size of the image is changed by scaling the image.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the content includes text and the size of the text is changed by at least one of changing point size of the text or changing a font of the text.

7. The method of claim 4, wherein when the indicated distance is less than a predetermined threshold, the displayed content includes a plurality of items of visual content;

and

the method further includes detecting that the indicated distance has increased to be greater than the predetermined threshold and, upon the detection, the changing the layout includes removing at least one of the plurality of displayed items from the display and increasing a size of a remaining one of the items.

8. An electronic device, comprising:

an imaging device that generates a video signal containing a representation of a user of the electronic device;

a display that displays visual content to the user; and

a controller configured to analyze the video signal to detect facial features of the user of the electronic device and establish a parameter indicative of a distance of the user from the display based on the detected facial features, and wherein the controller adjusts the displayed content based on the parameter to facilitate user viewing of the displayed content at the indicated distance by varying a layout of a plurality of windows displayed on the display so that the plurality of windows are displayed in one of a side-by-side arrangement when the user is less than a predetermined distance from the display or an overlapping arrangement when the user is greater than the predetermined distance from the display.

9. The electronic device of claim 8, wherein the parameter is derived from a relationship between at least two of the detected facial features.

10. The electronic device of claim 8, wherein the controller is further configured to determine a relative orientation of the user to the electronic device about an axis formed between the user'"'"'s eyes and the display of the electronic device and rotate the orientation of the displayed content to match the relative orientation of the user and the electronic device about the axis.

11. The electronic device of claim 8, wherein the displayed content is content other than the video signal, and the controller changes a layout of visual elements from the displayed content, wherein the change in layout of visual elements includes a change in a selection and arrangement of visual elements that make up the displayed content.

12. The electronic device of claim 11, wherein the content includes an image and a size of the image is changed by scaling the image.

13. The electronic device of claim 11, wherein the content includes text and the size of the text is changed by at least one of changing point size of the text or changing a font of the text.

14. The electronic device of claim 11, wherein when the indicated distance is less than a predetermined threshold, the displayed content includes a plurality of items of visual content;

and the controller is further configured to detect that the indicated distance has increased to be greater than the predetermined threshold and, upon the detection, the change in layout includes removing at least one of the plurality of displayed items from the display and increasing a size of a remaining one of the items.

15. The electronic device of claim 8, wherein the controller is further configured to determine a viewing angle of the user with respect to the display and the adjustment to the displayed content further includes skewing the displayed content so as to be non-uniformly varying in size across the display based on the viewing angle.