JP2008199514A - Image display device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image display device which makes images easy to see and has a security function easy to introduce inexpensively. <P>SOLUTION: The direction of a screen 17 of a display body 11 can be changed upward and downward and to the right and left directions. Image data of an image imaged by a camera 13 are transmitted to a controller 14 every fixed time. Based on the image data a viewer's face image is detected from the imaged image. Based on the position of the viewer's face image in the imaged image, a rotation angle of the display body 11 is calculated. Based on the calculated rotation angle, the controller 14 turns the display body 11. Thereby the screen 17 is turned toward the viewer's face. When a monitor mode is set, it is determined whether or not the person of the detected face image is suspicious. When it is determined to be suspicious, a face image of the suspicious person is displayed on the screen 17, and the face image is stored in the memory. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image display device that makes it easy to see an image displayed on a screen. The present invention also relates to an image display device having a function as a security system.

  In recent years, a large number of liquid crystal televisions are on the market in place of CRT televisions. This liquid crystal television has the advantage that its width in the depth direction is small and it does not take up space for installation. On the other hand, since the viewing angle of a liquid crystal television is narrower than that of a cathode ray tube television, there is a problem that it is difficult to see an image on the screen of the television. In addition, LCD TVs with a viewing angle expanded to the same level as CRT TVs, so-called wide-view LCD TVs, are beginning to spread. However, when the TV screen is viewed from the side, TV images are still used. May be difficult to see.

  In the past, in order to make it easy to see TV images, a movable stand that allows the TV main body with the TV screen to rotate has been provided, and the viewer operates the movable stand with a remote controller or the like as appropriate. The TV itself was moved to a position where it was easier to see the images. In addition, there is known a technique for adjusting image quality data of a television so that an image on a screen can be easily seen according to the installation state of a movable stand (see Patent Document 1).

In addition, as related to the invention using a television, a monitoring camera is provided in the progressive television, and the motion information is obtained from the imaging signal obtained by the surveillance camera by using the function of detecting the motion information in the video of the progressive television. There has been proposed a television receiver with a monitoring function that detects and determines whether or not a suspicious person has entered based on the motion information (see Patent Document 2).
JP-A-2005-341105 JP 2000-224572 A

  However, in the case of the above-described conventional method, there is a problem that the viewer has to operate with a remote controller or the like when it becomes difficult to see the TV image. In addition, regarding the invention of Patent Document 1, even if the image quality of the television is optimized according to the installation state of the movable stand, if the viewer changes the position of watching the television, the television image becomes difficult to see. There is. The invention of Patent Document 2 cannot be applied to televisions other than progressive televisions, such as televisions that do not have a function of detecting motion information in video, such as an interlaced television.

  It is an object of the present invention to provide an image display device having a security function that makes it easy to see an image on a television screen and is easy to introduce at a low cost.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, an image display device according to the present invention detects an image of a viewing area in which a display screen of a display is observable, and detects a human face image from images captured by the imaging unit. And a control unit that changes the orientation of the display screen of the display in accordance with the position of the face image detected by the face image detection unit.

  When a plurality of face images are detected by the face image detection means, the control means specifies one detection area including the plurality of face images and faces the display screen of the display to the center of the detection area. It is preferable.

  A determination unit that determines whether the face image detected by the face image detection unit is a face image of a person registered in advance, and the determination unit determines that the face image is a face image other than a registered person. And a recording unit that records image data of the face image detected by the face image detecting unit, and has a monitoring mode in which the control unit is turned off and the determination unit and the recording unit are turned on. .

  It is preferable that a transmission unit that transmits image data obtained from the imaging unit to the outside in the monitoring mode is provided.

  When the determination unit determines that the face image is other than a registered person, the password input instruction unit that prompts the user to input a password to the password input unit and the password input from the password input instruction unit are appropriate And a password verification unit for verifying whether or not the recording unit or the transmission unit is prohibited when the password is appropriate.

  It is preferable to use a zoom lens for the optical system of the imaging means. It is preferable that a receiving device for receiving a television signal is provided, and an image is displayed on the display based on the received television signal.

  The present invention captures a viewing area using an imaging unit, detects a human face image from the captured image using a face image detection unit, and changes a display screen orientation according to the position of the detected face image. By doing so, even if the viewing angle is narrow, it is possible to make it easy to see the image on the display screen.

  Further, the present invention is a determination unit that determines whether or not the face image captured by the imaging unit is a face image of a person registered in advance, and a face image other than a person registered by the determination unit. Recording means for recording the image data obtained from the imaging means when the determination is made. It is possible to monitor the intrusion of a suspicious person by turning off the control means for changing the orientation of the display screen of the display and setting the monitoring mode to turn on the determination means and the recording means. By using the imaging means and the face image detection means for monitoring the intrusion of a suspicious person, a security system can be constructed at a low cost.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a television receiver 10 to which the present invention is applied includes a display main body 11, a stand 12, a camera 13, a controller 14, a notification server 15, and an alarm 16. Although not shown, the television receiver includes a receiving unit that receives a television signal via an antenna and a signal conversion unit that converts the television signal into a television image signal.

  The display main body 11 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape and includes a screen 17 and an operation unit 18. The screen 17 is composed of an LCD, and is provided on the front surface 11 a of the display main body 11. The screen 17 displays a television image based on the television image signal converted by the signal conversion unit. Further, an arm 19 is attached to the back surface 11b of the display main body 11, and this arm 19 is substantially vertical to the stand 12 ("Y direction" in FIGS. 1 to 3) and substantially to the left and right (FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 ("X direction") and can be rotated at a predetermined angle. As the arm 19 rotates, the display body 11 also rotates at a predetermined angle in the X or Y direction. As the display body 11 rotates, the orientation of the screen 17 is changed to the X direction or the Y direction. The display body is not necessarily limited to the LCD, and may be a CRT, a plasma display, or other known display means.

  The operation unit 18 is provided on the front surface 11a of the display body 11, and includes a monitor mode setting button 18a and a password input unit 18b (both see FIG. 6) in addition to buttons such as a power button. The monitoring mode setting button 18a sets a monitoring mode for monitoring the intrusion of a suspicious person. When the monitoring mode is set by the monitoring mode setting button 18a, the display of the screen 17 is stopped, and information indicating that the monitoring mode is set is transmitted to the controller 14. The password input unit 18b includes input means such as a numeric keypad. The input password is transmitted to the controller 14. Although the display of the screen is stopped when the monitoring mode is set, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the power supply of the display main body may be turned off while the controller and the camera are turned on.

  The stand 12 includes a stand body 20, a stand base 21, and a joint 22. The interior of the stand body 20 is hollow, and openings 20a and 20b are formed at both ends thereof. Further, the inside of the stand base 21 is also hollow, and a shaft hole 21a for the rotating shaft 30 described later is formed in a substantially central portion of the upper surface thereof. Although the stand main body and the stand base are separated from each other, the present invention is not limited to this and may be integrated.

  The joint 22 is rotatable at a predetermined angle in the X direction on the upper surface of the stand body 20. Further, an insertion hole 22 a for inserting the arm 19 of the display body 11 is formed on the side surface of the joint 22. The insertion hole 22a is sized so that the arm 19 can move in the Y direction within a predetermined range. A gear 24 is attached to the arm 19, and a rotary shaft 25 is fixed to the gear 24. The rotary shaft 25 is rotatably supported inside the joint 22. The gear 24 rotates according to the rotation of the motor 27. The motor 27 is driven and controlled by the controller 14 via a driver (not shown). As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the display main body 11 rotates in the Y direction with the center 25 a of the rotation shaft 25 as the rotation center by the drive control of the controller 14. As the display body 11 rotates, the orientation of the screen 17 is changed to the Y direction.

  A rotating shaft 30 is fixed to the lower surface of the joint 22, and a gear 31 is provided at the lower end of the rotating shaft 30. The gear 31 rotates according to the rotation of the motor 32. The motor 32 is driven and controlled by the controller 14 via a driver (not shown). By the drive control of the controller 14, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the joint 22 rotates about the center of the rotating shaft 30, and the display main body 11 rotates in the X direction in conjunction with this. As the display body 11 rotates, the orientation of the screen 17 is changed to the X direction. 4 and 5, the illustration of the stand base is omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the camera 13 is fixedly attached to the upper surface of the stand base 21 and images approximately the front of the screen 17 of the display body 11. The camera 13 includes a zoom lens (not shown). The imaging range of the camera 13 includes a viewing mode imaging range for displaying a television image on the screen 17 and a monitoring mode imaging range, and is switched as appropriate according to the set mode.

  The imaging range for the viewing mode is substantially in front of the screen 17 and is within a few meters from the screen 17. Therefore, the zoom lens of the camera 13 is set at the wide end. On the other hand, the imaging range for the monitoring mode is a range in which the suspicious person's face can be reliably detected. Therefore, the zoom lens moves by a predetermined amount between the wide end and the tele end until a face image is detected by the face image detection unit 33 of the controller 14 described later, and imaging is performed for each movement. A captured image captured by the camera 13 is transmitted to the controller 14 as image data.

  In addition, although the camera 13 was fixed and attached to the upper surface of the stand base 21, it is not necessary to restrict to this. For example, in order to enhance monitoring of suspicious persons, a rotation mechanism that rotates the camera 360 ° within the surface of the upper surface of the stand base 21 is provided, and the camera is rotated at a predetermined angle every predetermined time. Imaging may be performed. Thus, by providing a rotation mechanism in the camera, the imaging range of the camera can be expanded to the entire space where the television receiver 10 is installed.

  The controller 14 is provided inside the stand base 21, and as shown in FIG. 6, a face image detecting unit 33, a first position specifying unit 34, a second position specifying unit 35, a rotation angle calculating unit 36, a face image collating unit. 37, a password input instruction unit 38, a password verification unit 39, a zoom instruction unit 42, and a memory 14a.

  The face image detection unit 33 detects a face image based on the image data from the camera 13. A plurality of face image patterns are stored in the memory 14a in advance, and face images are detected by performing pattern matching using the plurality of face image patterns. For example, when the viewing mode is set, face images 46 and 47 of one or more viewers are detected from the captured image 45 as shown in FIGS. Note that face image detection is not limited to face image pattern matching, and it is determined whether the color of each pixel included in the captured image is a color that belongs to the skin color range, and the skin color portion is a predetermined area or more. May be detected as a face image.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the first position specifying unit 34 is set to the viewing mode, and when the face image detection unit 33 detects the face image 46 of one viewer, The position 46a of the face image is specified. As shown in FIG. 8, the second position specifying unit 35 is set to the viewing mode, and when the face image detecting unit 33 detects the face images 47 of the plurality of viewers, One detection area 48 including the face image 47 is identified. Further, the second position specifying unit 35 specifies the center position 48 a from the detection area 48.

  As illustrated in FIG. 6, the rotation angle calculation unit 36 is based on the face image position 46 a specified by the first position specifying unit 34 or the center position 48 a of the detection area specified by the second position specifying unit 35. The rotation angle of the display body 11 is calculated. The controller 14 rotates the display body 11 in the X direction or the Y direction based on the calculated rotation angle. Thereby, when there is one viewer, the screen 17 of the display main body 11 is directed toward the viewer's face. When there are a plurality of viewers, the screen 17 of the display main body 11 is directed toward the center of the range including the faces of the viewers.

  The face image collation unit 37, when set to the monitoring mode by the monitoring mode setting unit 18a, detects the face image detected by the face image detection unit 33 and the face image of the resident of the house registered in advance in the memory 14a (hereinafter referred to as the face image detection unit 33a). ("Registered face image"). If it matches the registered face image, the monitoring mode is maintained, and the face image detection unit 33 detects the face image again. On the other hand, if it does not match the registered face image, the password input instruction unit 38 instructs the password input. As a method for instructing the input of the password, there is a method of displaying a message “Please enter the password within a predetermined time” on the screen 17 of the display main body 11.

  The registered face image need not be limited to the face image of the resident of the house. For example, when the television receiver of the present invention is installed in a store or the like, the registered face image may be a face image of an employee of the store. Further, when the image matches the registered face image, the monitoring mode may be canceled and the viewing mode may be switched. If the registered face image does not match, the person from whom the face image is detected may be determined as a suspicious person.

  The password verification unit 39 compares the password input by the password input unit 18b with a password preset in the memory 14a (hereinafter referred to as “set password”). If it does not match the set password, or if the password is not input within a certain time from the input instruction of the password input instruction unit 38, it is determined that the person whose face image is detected by the face image detection unit 33 is a suspicious person. The In this case, as shown below, the zoom instructing unit 42, the notification server 15, the alarm 16, and the like perform processing when a suspicious person enters. On the other hand, if the password matches the set password, the execution of the process when the suspicious person enters is prohibited and the monitoring mode state is maintained. As with the face image matching unit 37, when the password matches the set password, the monitoring mode may be canceled and the viewing mode may be switched.

  The zoom instruction unit 42 instructs the camera 13 to enlarge the suspicious person's face when the password verification unit 39 determines that the person is a suspicious person. Thereby, the image data in which the face of the suspicious person is enlarged is transmitted to the controller 14, and the image data is recorded in the memory 14a. Further, as shown in FIG. 9, the face image is displayed on the screen 17 of the display main body 11, and a message warning the suspicious person is displayed. In addition, an alarm 16 sounds and warns the suspicious person with a sound.

  The notification server 15 includes a communication means (not shown) such as a modem, and is connected to a network 50 such as a telephone line. The notification server 15 stores a telephone number of a contact address, an e-mail address, and voice message data notifying that a suspicious person has entered. If the password verification unit 39 determines that the report server 15 is a suspicious person, the report server 15 calls the contact phone number. When the phone is connected, a voice message is sent to inform the contact phone that a suspicious person has entered. In addition, the notification server 15 transmits the image data of the suspicious person's face image recorded in the memory 14a to the e-mail address of the contact. Instead of the voice message, an e-mail indicating that a suspicious person has entered may be transmitted to a contact e-mail address, a mobile phone, or the like.

  Next, the operation of the present invention will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. When the power is turned on by the power button of the operation unit 18 of the display main body 11, the viewing mode is set and a television image is displayed on the screen 17 of the display main body 11. In addition, the imaging of the camera 13, the operation of the face image detection unit 33, the first and second position specifying units 34 and 35, and the rotation angle calculation unit 36 in the controller 14 are started. The controller 14 acquires image data from the camera 13.

  The face image detection unit 33 detects a face image based on the image data from the camera 13. When the face image detection unit 33 detects a face image 46 of one viewer, the first position specifying unit 34 specifies the position 46a of the face image of the one viewer. When the face image detection unit 33 detects the face images 47 of a plurality of viewers, the second position specifying unit 35 specifies one detection area 48 including the face images 47 of each viewer. . Further, the second position specifying unit 35 specifies the center position 48 a from the detection area 48. On the other hand, when the face image detection unit 33 does not detect a face image, the camera 13 captures an image again, and the controller 14 acquires image data of the captured image.

  The rotation angle calculation unit 36 determines the rotation angle of the display main body 11 based on the face image position 46 a specified by the first position specifying unit 34 or the center position 48 a of the detection area specified by the second position specifying unit 35. calculate. The controller 14 rotates the display main body based on the calculated rotation angle. Thereby, the orientation of the screen 17 is changed.

  On the other hand, when the monitoring mode is set by the monitoring mode setting button 18a, the display of the screen 17 of the display main body 11 is stopped, the first and second position specifying units 34 and 35 in the controller 14 are operated, and the rotation angle. The operation of the calculation unit 36 is stopped. Meanwhile, the operation of the camera 13 and the face image detection unit 33 in the controller 14 is maintained, and the face image collation unit 37, password input instruction unit 38, password collation unit 39, zoom instruction unit 42, notification server 15, The operation of the alarm 16 is started.

  The face image detection unit 33 detects a face image based on the image data from the camera 13. When a face image of a person is detected by the face image detection unit 33, the face image collation unit 37 collates the detected face image with a registered face image. On the other hand, when the face image is not detected by the face image detection unit 33, the zoom lens is moved between the wide end and the tele end until the face image is detected by the face image detection unit 33, and each time the movement is performed. Take an image. Image data of the captured image is transmitted to the controller 14.

  When the face image matching unit 37 matches the registered face image, the monitoring mode is maintained, and when it does not match the registered face image, the password input instructing unit 38 instructs the password input. The password collation unit 39 collates the password input by the password input unit 18b with the set password. As a result of the collation, if the password matches the set password, execution of the process when the suspicious person enters is prohibited, and the state of the monitoring mode is maintained. If it does not match the set password or if the password is not entered within a certain time, it is determined that the person of the face image detected by the face image detection unit 33 is a suspicious person, and when the suspicious person enters Processing is executed.

  If the password verification unit 39 determines that the person is a suspicious person, the zoom instruction part 39 instructs the camera 13 to enlarge the suspicious person's face. The image data with the suspicious person's face enlarged is recorded in the memory 14a. The screen 17 of the display main body 11 displays a suspicious person's face image and a warning message. In addition, an alarm sounds and the suspicious person is warned with sound.

  Further, the notification server 15 calls the telephone number of the contact and sends a voice message notifying that the suspicious person has entered the telephone. In addition, the notification server 15 transmits the image data of the suspicious person's face image recorded in the memory 14a to the e-mail address of the contact.

  In the above embodiment, the present invention is applied to a television receiver. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the present invention can be applied to a display of a personal computer.

  In the above embodiment, the display main body is attached to the stand, and the mechanism for changing the orientation of the screen of the display main body is provided in the stand. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, instead of the stand, a display body may be attached to a wall, and a mechanism for changing the screen orientation of the display body may be provided on the wall.

  In the above embodiment, in order to determine whether or not the person of the face image detected by the face image detection unit is a suspicious person, pattern matching with the face image of the resident of the house is performed. There is no need to limit. For example, in the monitoring mode setting state, when a face image is detected by the face image detection unit, only the resident of the house can know to prove that the person of the face image is a resident of the house An operation may be requested.

It is sectional drawing which shows the television receiver to which this invention is applied. It is a side view which shows the state from which the direction of the screen of the display main body was changed to the upper direction. It is a side view which shows the state from which the direction of the screen of the display main body was changed to the downward direction. It is a top view which shows the state by which the direction of the screen of a display main body was changed to the left direction. It is a top view which shows the state by which the direction of the screen of the display main body was changed to the right direction. It is a block diagram which shows a controller. It is explanatory drawing which shows the state in which the face image of one viewer was detected. It is explanatory drawing which shows the state in which the face image of the several viewer was detected. It is a front view which shows the screen of the display main body displayed when a suspicious person's invasion is detected. It is a flowchart which shows the effect | action of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Television receiver 11 Display main body 12 Stand 13 Camera 14 Controller 14a Memory 15 Notification server 16 Alarm 18 Operation part 18a Monitoring mode setting button 18b Password input part 20 Stand main body 22 Joint 24, 31 Gear 25, 30 Rotating shafts 27, 32 Motor 33 Face image detection unit 34 First position specification unit 35 Second position specification unit 36 Rotation angle calculation unit 37 Face image verification unit 38 Password input instruction unit 39 Password verification unit 42 Zoom instruction unit 45 Captured image 46a Face image position 48a Center position

Claims (7)

Imaging means for imaging a viewing area where the display screen of the display can be observed;
A face image detecting means for detecting a face image of a person from images picked up by the image pickup means;
An image display apparatus comprising: control means for changing the orientation of the display screen of the display in accordance with the position of the face image detected by the face image detection means.   When a plurality of face images are detected by the face image detection means, the control means specifies one detection area including the plurality of face images and faces the display screen of the display to the center of the detection area. The image display device according to claim 1.   A determination unit that determines whether the face image detected by the face image detection unit is a face image of a person registered in advance, and the determination unit determines that the face image is a face image other than a registered person. Recording means for recording the image data of the face image detected by the face image detection means, and has a monitoring mode in which the control means is turned off and the determination means and the recording means are turned on. The image display device according to claim 1 or 2.   The image display apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising a transmission unit configured to transmit image data obtained from the imaging unit to the outside under the monitoring mode.   When the determination unit determines that the face image is other than a registered person, the password input instruction unit that prompts the user to input a password to the password input unit and the password input from the password input instruction unit are appropriate 5. The image display apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising a password verification unit that verifies whether or not the password is valid, and that the operation of the recording unit or the transmission unit is prohibited when the password is appropriate.   6. The image display device according to claim 1, wherein a zoom lens is used for the optical system of the image pickup means.   The image display device according to claim 1, further comprising a receiving device that receives a television signal, and displaying an image on the display based on the received television signal.

Images