JP2012014217A - Electronic apparatus and mobile terminal equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve the problem that, in an electronic apparatus having gaze input constituting virtual selectable choices in the outside of a display unit, a user cannot know through his gaze as to which the virtual selectable choice is selected since the user is required to turn his gaze to the outside of the display unit.SOLUTION: The electronic apparatus includes: a light-emitting unit disposed around the display unit; a gaze detection unit; and a control unit in which movement of the user's gaze is measured by the gaze detection unit, and brightness, color, and direction of the light-emitting unit are changed. By detecting that the user's gaze penetrates the virtual selectable choice and emitting light with the color, brightness and direction selecting the light-emitting unit closest to the virtual selectable choice, the user can know which virtual selectable choice is selected.

Description

  The present invention relates to line-of-sight input used in electronic devices such as mobile phones and mobile terminal devices.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, electronic devices equipped with a line-of-sight input are generally known in which a line of sight is positioned as a kind of pointing device, a position on a display unit where a user's line of sight is directed is detected, and a cursor is moved to that position. However, an electronic device with a small housing such as a portable terminal has a problem that the display unit is small and the user moves his / her line of sight within a narrow range, so that the input accuracy is low and malfunction is likely to occur. .

  In order to solve this problem, a method has been proposed in which the range of the line-of-sight input is extended to a plane outside the display unit, and virtual options are configured there and operated by the user (for example, Patent Document 1).

  In addition, a method has been proposed in which the design is enhanced by emitting light around the display unit of the mobile terminal (for example, Patent Document 2).

JP 2005-321870 A JP 2002-77339 A

  However, in the method described in Patent Document 1, since the virtual option is configured outside the display unit, if it is desired to perform an operation on the virtual option, it is necessary to direct the line of sight outside the range of the display unit. Even if information indicating which option is selected is displayed on the screen when the option is selected, the user cannot know it. For this reason, even if a virtual option different from the operation intended by the user is selected, it is not possible to know it, and there is a problem that an incorrect operation is performed.

  In addition, the method described in Patent Document 2 has no added value such as improving user operability.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a conventional problem. A light emitting unit is provided around the display unit, and light is emitted when a user operates a virtual option provided outside the display unit. An electronic device is provided that can inform the user of which virtual option has been operated by causing the unit to emit light.

  An electronic apparatus according to the present invention includes a surface, a housing including a side surface around the surface, a display unit disposed on the surface, a line-of-sight detection unit that detects a user's line of sight, and a periphery of the display unit. And a virtual option provided in a virtual area facing outward from the side surface, and a light emitting unit disposed around the display unit and disposed in the housing, and the line-of-sight detection unit detects When the user's line of sight passes through the virtual option, the light emitting unit is turned on.

  With this configuration, when the user's line of sight passes through the virtual options, the light emitting unit around the display unit is turned on, so that the user can recognize the light emission at the end of the user's field of view even if the user's line of sight is not on the display unit. You can be informed that you have selected an option.

  In the electronic device of the present invention, the light emitting unit is disposed on the side surface.

  With this configuration, by arranging the light emitting part on the side surface around the display part, the light emitting part can be arranged so that the light travels in a direction substantially perpendicular to the surface of the display part, and the light reaches farther. Since the user's line of sight is away from the electronic device and the light emission easily enters the field of view, the user can be informed that the virtual option is selected.

  In the electronic device of the present invention, the light emitting unit includes an LED.

  With this configuration, by changing the color and brightness of the light emitting unit, it is possible to notify the user which virtual option is selected even when there are a plurality of virtual options.

  In the electronic device of the present invention, the virtual option includes a first virtual option and a second virtual option, and the light emitting unit includes a first light emitting unit closer to the first virtual option than the second virtual option; A second light emitting unit that is closer to the second virtual option than the first virtual option, and the first light emitting unit is turned on when the user's line of sight detected by the visual line detection unit passes through the first virtual option. When the second virtual option is passed, the second light emitting unit is turned on.

  With this configuration, it is possible to switch the light emitting unit to be lit depending on whether the virtual option through which the line of sight penetrates is the first virtual option or the second virtual option, and by recognizing which light emitting unit emits light, It is possible to recognize which virtual option the user has selected.

  In the electronic device of the present invention, when the virtual option includes a first virtual option and a second virtual option, and the user's line of sight detected by the line-of-sight detection unit passes through the first virtual option, the light emitting unit Emits light at a first brightness, and the light emitting unit emits light at a second brightness different from the brightness of the first light when passing through the second virtual option.

  With this configuration, the brightness of the light emitting unit can be changed depending on whether the virtual option through which the line of sight penetrates is the first virtual option or the second virtual option, and the user can recognize the change in the brightness of the light emitting unit, It is possible to recognize which virtual option the user has selected.

In the electronic device of the present invention, the second virtual option is farther from the light emitting unit than the first virtual option,
The second brightness is brighter than the first brightness.

  With this configuration, when the option provided far away is selected, the light emitting section emits bright light, so that even when the option provided far away is selected, the light emission can easily enter the user's field of view. The user can be surely notified that the remote option is selected.

  In the electronic device of the present invention, when the virtual option includes a first virtual option and a second virtual option, and the user's line of sight detected by the line-of-sight detection unit passes through the first virtual option, the light emitting unit Emits light in the first color, and the light emitting unit emits light in a second color different from the first color when passing through the second virtual option.

  With this configuration, the user can recognize the change in the color of the light emitting unit depending on whether the virtual option through which the line of sight penetrates is the first virtual option or the second virtual option. You can tell if you are.

  In the electronic device of the present invention, the first virtual option is closer to the light emitting unit than the second virtual option, the first color is green, and the second color is red.

  With this configuration, even when an option provided at a distance is selected, the user selects a virtual option by making the light emitting part emit light with a conspicuous color (red) and making it easy to enter the user's field of view. Can be informed.

  The electronic device according to the present invention may be configured such that when the user's line of sight detected by the line-of-sight detection unit passes through the virtual option, the direction in which the light of the light-emitting unit illuminates Turn to the intersection.

  With this configuration, even when the user selects a virtual option far away and the light emitting unit does not enter the field of view, the user can select the virtual option by showing the light of the light emitting unit irradiated on the installation surface to the user. I can tell you.

  The electronic device of the present invention may be a mobile terminal device.

  As described above, according to the electronic apparatus of the present invention, since the user can know where the virtual option is being operated, malfunction can be prevented and operability can be improved.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an electronic device according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. Flowchart for explaining the operation of the electronic device according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. The conceptual diagram which shows the movement of the direction of the light emission part of the electronic device in Embodiment 1 of this invention. Schematic configuration diagram of an electronic device according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention Flowchart for explaining the operation of the electronic device according to the second embodiment of the present invention. The conceptual diagram which shows the movement of direction of the light emission part of the electronic device in Embodiment 2 of this invention Schematic configuration diagram of an electronic device in Embodiment 3 of the present invention Flowchart for explaining the operation of the electronic device according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention. The conceptual diagram which shows the movement of the direction of the light emission part of the electronic device in Embodiment 3 of this invention Schematic configuration diagram of an electronic device in Embodiment 4 of the present invention Flowchart for explaining the operation of the electronic device according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. The conceptual diagram which shows the movement of the direction of the light emission part of the electronic device in Embodiment 4 of this invention. Schematic configuration diagram of an electronic device in Embodiment 5 of the present invention Flowchart for explaining the operation of the electronic device according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention. The conceptual diagram which shows the movement of direction of the light emission part of the electronic device in Embodiment 5 of this invention

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an electronic device according to the first embodiment, FIG. 2 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the electronic device, and FIG. 3 is a concept for explaining the operation of the light emitting unit with respect to the movement of the user's line of sight of the electronic device. FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the electronic device according to the embodiment of the present invention includes a line-of-sight detection unit 101 that detects a user's line of sight, a control unit 102, and a light emitting unit 103. As shown in FIG. 3, the line-of-sight detection unit 101 is installed on the surface of the electronic apparatus, and the light emitting unit 103 is installed on the side surface. The control unit 102 detects a change in the user's line of sight 107 by the line-of-sight detection unit 101, and whether or not the virtual options 105 to 106 set at arbitrary positions on the extended surface of the display surface of the electronic device are selected by the user. And the light emission of the light emitting unit 103 can be controlled.

  Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the control unit sets virtual options (S101) and waits until the line-of-sight detection unit detects the movement of the user's line of sight (S102). When the movement of the line of sight is detected, the intersection of the user's line of sight and the extended surface of the display unit is calculated (S103). When it is detected that the user's line of sight passes through the virtual option (S104), the light emitting unit is caused to emit light (S106). When it is detected that the user's line of sight does not pass through the virtual option (S104), the light emission of the light emitting unit is stopped (S105). In the example illustrated in FIG. 3, the light emitting unit is caused to emit light when the user's line of sight passes through the virtual option 105.

  As described above, according to the present invention, the user can know that the virtual option provided outside the display unit has been selected by viewing the light emission of the light emitting unit. In addition, since the light emitting unit is arranged on the side surface, the light emission can easily enter the field of view even when the user's line of sight is far from the electronic device.

The light emitting unit can change the color and brightness by using the LED, and the change can notify which virtual option of a plurality of virtual options has been selected. And will be described in the fourth embodiment).
(Second Embodiment)
FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram of the electronic device according to the second embodiment, FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the electronic device, and FIG. 6 is a concept for explaining the operation of the light emitting unit with respect to the movement of the user's line of sight of the electronic device. FIG.

  In the electronic device according to the embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 4, 201 and 202 are equivalent to 101 and 102 of the first embodiment, but the first light emitting unit 203 and the second light emitting The unit 208 is provided. As shown in FIG. 6, 201 and 203 to 206 are installed in the same manner as the first embodiment 101 and 102 to 106, but the second light emitting unit 208 is installed on the side surface, and the control unit is a user. Change of the line of sight 207 is determined, whether or not the virtual options 205 to 206 are selected by the user, and the light emission of the first light emitting unit 203 and the second light emitting unit 208 can be controlled.

  Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the control of S201 to S204 is equivalent to that of the first embodiment S101 to S104. When it is detected that the user's line of sight passes through the virtual option, the control unit selects a light emitting unit close to the selected virtual option (S206), causes the selected light emitting unit to emit light, and stops light emission of the unselected light emitting units. (S207). If the line of sight does not pass through the virtual options, the issuance of all the light emitting units is stopped (S205). In the example illustrated in FIG. 6, the first light emitting unit 203 emits light when the user's line of sight passes through the virtual option 207, and the second light emitting unit 203 emits light when the user's line of sight passes through the virtual option 208.

As described above, according to the present invention, when there are a plurality of virtual options provided outside the display unit, which virtual option the user has selected by recognizing which light-emitting unit emits light. Can know.
(Third embodiment)
7 is a schematic configuration diagram of an electronic device according to the third embodiment, FIG. 8 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the electronic device, and FIG. 9 is a concept for explaining the operation of the light emitting unit with respect to the movement of the user's line of sight of the electronic device. FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the electronic apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention includes 301 to 303 equivalent to 101 to 103 of the first embodiment, but includes a brightness changing unit 304. As shown in FIG. 9, 301 and 303 to 306 are installed in the same manner as in the first embodiment 101 and 102 to 106, but the control unit detects a change in the user's line of sight 307 and the virtual option 305. It is configured that it is possible to determine whether or not to 306 has been selected by the user, control the brightness changing unit 309, and change the brightness of the light emitting unit 303.

  Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the control of S301 to S305 is equivalent to that of the first embodiment S101 to S105. When it is detected that the user's line of sight passes through the virtual option, the control unit sets the brightness to be dark when the selected virtual option is close to the light emitting unit and bright when the selected virtual option is far (S306), and sets the light emitting unit at the set brightness. To emit light. (S307). In the example shown in FIG. 9, when the user's line of sight passes through the virtual option 305, the light emitting unit emits light darkly, and when the user's line of sight passes through the virtual option 304, the light emitting unit emits light brightly.

As described above, according to the present invention, when there are a plurality of virtual options provided outside the display unit, the user recognizes the change in the brightness of the light emitting unit, so that the user selects which virtual option is selected. Can know. In addition, when a virtual option provided far from the light emitting unit is selected, the light emitting unit can be made to emit light brightly so that the light emission can easily enter the user's field of view, and the virtual option far from the user is selected. I can let you know.
(Fourth embodiment)
FIG. 10 is a schematic configuration diagram of an electronic device according to the fourth embodiment, FIG. 11 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the electronic device, and FIG. 12 is a concept for explaining the operation of the light emitting unit with respect to the movement of the user's line of sight of the electronic device. FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 10, the electronic apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention includes 401 to 403 equivalent to 101 to 103 of the first embodiment, but includes a color changing unit 404. As shown in FIG. 12, 401 and 403 to 406 are installed in the same manner as in the first embodiment 101 and 102 to 106, but the control unit detects a change in the user's line of sight 407 and generates a virtual option 405. ˜ 406 is determined by the user, the color changing unit 410 is controlled, and the color of the light emitting unit 403 can be changed.

  Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

  As shown in FIG. 11, the control of S401 to S405 is equivalent to the first embodiment S101 to S105. When it is detected that the user's line of sight passes through the virtual option, the control unit sets the color to be inconspicuous when the selected virtual option is close to the light emitting unit, and to the color that is conspicuous when far away (S406). The light emitting unit emits light. (S407). In the example shown in FIG. 12, when the user's line of sight passes through the virtual option 405, the light emitting unit emits light in green, and when the user's line of sight passes through the virtual option 404, the light emitting unit emits light in red.

Thus, according to the present invention, when there are a plurality of virtual options provided outside the display unit, the user recognizes the change in the color of the light emitting unit, so which virtual option is selected by the user, I can know. In addition, when a virtual option provided far from the light emitting unit is selected, the light emitting unit emits light with a conspicuous color, so that the light emission can be easily entered into the user's field of view. Can inform you.
(Fifth embodiment)
FIG. 13 is a schematic configuration diagram of an information processing apparatus according to the fifth embodiment, FIG. 14 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the electronic device, and FIG. 15 is a concept showing the movement of the light emitting unit with respect to the movement of the user's line of sight of the electronic device. FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 16, in the electronic device according to the embodiment of the present invention, 501 to 503 are equivalent to 101 to 103 of the first embodiment, but a morphological measuring unit 510 that measures the form of the electronic device. And the direction change part 511 which changes the direction of light emission of the light emission part is provided. As shown in FIG. 15, 501 and 503 to 506 are installed in the same manner as in the first embodiment 101 and 102 to 106, but the control unit detects a change in the user's line of sight 507, and the virtual option 505 It is determined whether or not ˜506 has been selected by the user, and the direction changing unit 512 is controlled based on the measurement result of the portable measuring unit 511 so that the light emission direction 513 can be directed toward the user's line of sight 507. Configured.

  Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

  As shown in FIG. 14, the control of S501 to S505 is equivalent to that of the first embodiment S101 to S105. When it is detected that the user's line of sight passes through the virtual option, the form of the electronic device is measured to calculate the extended surface of the installation surface (S506), and the intersection of the user's line of sight and the installation surface of the electronic device is calculated (S507), The direction of the light emitting unit is calculated so as to illuminate the intersection, and the direction is changed (S508). Then, the light emitting unit is caused to emit light (S509). In the example shown in FIG. 15, when the user's line of sight passes through the virtual option 505, the direction of light emission is set at the intersection of the user's line of sight and the installation surface at that time, and when the user passes through the virtual option 504. It is directed to the intersection of the user's line of sight and the installation surface at that time.

  Thus, according to the present invention, even when the virtual option provided far from the light emitting unit is selected and the light emitting unit does not enter the field of view, the light emission of the electronic device that is beyond the user's line of sight Since the installation surface can be irradiated, the user can know that the virtual option is selected by viewing the emitted light.

The present invention includes a surface, a housing having a side surface around the surface, a display unit disposed on the surface,
A line-of-sight detection unit for detecting a line of sight of a user, a virtual option provided in a virtual area around the display unit and outward from the side surface, a periphery of the display unit, and the housing A light emitting unit disposed on the body, and when the user's line of sight detected by the line of sight detection unit passes through the virtual option, the light emitting unit is turned on to determine which virtual option is selected by the user. I can know.

  Therefore, even when a virtual option is provided outside the display area in the electronic device, it is possible to prevent selection of an incorrect virtual option, which is useful for an electronic device such as a mobile phone with a small display unit or a notebook PC. It is.

101, 201, 301, 401, 501 Gaze detection unit 102, 202, 302, 402, 502 Control unit 103, 203, 208, 303, 403, 503 Light emitting unit 104, 105, 106, 204, 205, 206, 304, 305, 306, 404, 405, 406, 504, 505, 506 Virtual option 107, 207, 307, 407, 507 User line of sight 309 Brightness change unit 410 Color change unit 511 Form measurement unit 512 Direction change unit 513 Direction of light emission

Claims (10)

A housing comprising a surface and side surfaces around the surface;
A display unit disposed on the surface;
A line-of-sight detector that detects the line of sight of the user;
A virtual option provided in a virtual region around the display unit and outward from the side surface;
A light emitting portion disposed around the display portion and in the casing,
An electronic device in which the light emitting unit is turned on when the user's line of sight detected by the line of sight detection unit passes through the virtual option. The electronic device according to claim 1,
The light emitting unit is an electronic device disposed on the side surface. It is an electronic device of Claim 1 or Claim 2, Comprising: The said light emission part is an electronic device provided with LED. The electronic device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The virtual option comprises a first virtual option and a second virtual option,
The light emitting unit includes a first light emitting unit closer to the first virtual option than the second virtual option;
A second light emitting unit closer to the second virtual option than the first virtual option,
An electronic device in which the first light emitting unit is turned on when the user's line of sight detected by the line of sight detection unit passes through the first virtual option, and the second light emitting unit is turned on when the user's line of sight passes through the second virtual option. The electronic device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The virtual option comprises a first virtual option and a second virtual option,
When the user's line of sight detected by the line-of-sight detection unit passes through the first virtual option, the light-emitting unit emits light with the first brightness, and when the user's line of sight passes through the second virtual option, An electronic device that emits light at a second brightness different from the brightness of the. The electronic device according to claim 5,
The second virtual option is farther from the light emitting unit than the first virtual option,
The electronic device in which the second brightness is brighter than the first brightness. The electronic device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The virtual option comprises a first virtual option and a second virtual option,
When the user's line of sight detected by the line-of-sight detection unit passes through the first virtual option, the light-emitting unit emits light in the first color, and when the user's line of sight passes through the second virtual option, the light-emitting unit An electronic device that emits light in a second color different from the color. The electronic device according to claim 7,
The first virtual option is closer to the light emitting unit than the second virtual option,
The electronic device in which the first color is green and the second color is red. The electronic device according to any one of claims 1 to 8,
An electronic device that directs the direction of light emitted from the light emitting unit to the intersection of the line of sight and the installation surface on which the electronic device is installed when the user's line of sight detected by the line of sight detection unit passes through the virtual option. The portable terminal device which is an electronic device as described in any one of Claims 1-9.

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