JP2015152757A - Device of reducing fatigue degree of eye and control method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve the problem that the number of times of blink of a user is not measured during a period in which the user continues to watch a display screen without operating a communication terminal since the number of times of blink is not measured during a period in which the user does not operate the terminal; therefore the fatigue of eyes is not considered during the period and fatigue reduction control is not performed.SOLUTION: A display device 10 performing display processing on the basis of setting information on a display unit comprises a line-of-sight detection unit 11 for detecting a line of sight of a user, a clocking unit 15 for counting time for which a user is watching the display unit, a fatigue degree measurement unit 12 for measuring a fatigue degree of eyes of a user, and a display control unit 13 for performing display controlling of the display unit on the basis of the fatigue degree.

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for reducing eye fatigue of a display device.

  Patent Document 1 below describes a mechanism in which eye fatigue of a user who is looking at a display screen of a communication terminal is determined and setting information on the display screen is updated. Specifically, when the communication terminal detects a key press, it is determined that the user is operating the communication terminal, and the user's face is detected from the captured image of the sub camera. After the face is detected, the number of blinks of the user's eyes per predetermined time is measured. The document describes that the user's eye fatigue is reduced by updating and displaying the font size, font thickness, background contrast, brightness, and the like according to the number of blinks measured.

JP 2010-237392 A (released on October 21, 2010)

  However, when the technique described in Patent Literature 1 is applied, the number of blinks is not measured during a period in which the user does not operate the communication terminal, and thus the period in which the user continues to watch the display screen without operating the terminal. The number of blinks is not measured. That is, eye fatigue during that period is not considered and fatigue reduction control is not performed.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and has an object to enhance the effect of reducing fatigue by detecting that a user is looking at a display device and determining eye fatigue during that period. To do.

  In order to solve the above problems, a display device according to an aspect of the present invention includes a line-of-sight detection unit that can detect a user's line of sight, a fatigue level measurement unit that measures the fatigue level of the user's eyes, and a fatigue level measurement. Display control means for controlling the display screen based on the degree of fatigue measured by the means.

  According to one embodiment of the present invention, since the degree of eye fatigue can be measured without the user operating the display device, the effect of reducing eye fatigue in the display device can be enhanced.

It is a functional block diagram of the display apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a hardware block diagram of the display apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a flowchart of blink number detection and display control concerning Embodiment 1 of the present invention. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the display control which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a flowchart which detects the user's extraordinary finding which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is an example of the parameter preserve | saved at the setting information storage part which concerns on this invention. It is an example of a setting parameter of display control of the present invention. It is a flowchart which counts the number of times of finding according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention. It is a flowchart regarding the setting of the blink reference frequency | count which concerns on Embodiment 4 of this invention.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Embodiment 1
First, Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram showing a configuration of a display device 10 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. A display device 10 illustrated in FIG. 1 is a display device including a line-of-sight detection unit 11, a fatigue measurement unit 12, a display control unit 13, a setting information storage unit 14, and a timer unit 15. The line-of-sight detection unit 11 includes, for example, a camera, an infrared camera, and a myoelectric sensor. The fatigue level measurement unit 12 measures the number of blinks. The display control unit 13 controls the brightness and refresh rate of the liquid crystal display screen based on the number of blinks, and these setting values are stored in the setting information storage unit 14. The timer unit 15 measures the time during which the user is looking at the display unit.

  FIG. 2 is a hardware configuration diagram of the display device 20 of the present invention. The display device 20 includes a display unit 21, a camera (infrared camera) 22, a control unit 23, a storage unit 24, a time measuring unit 25, and a myoelectric sensor 26. The display unit 21 may be a liquid crystal (LCD) or an organic EL, and may be configured by an LED, a lamp, or the like.

  The camera 22 is used for detecting the user's line of sight and counting the number of blinks, regardless of the type, and a plurality of cameras may be provided. The camera 22 is preferably disposed at a position where the user's face and eyes can be easily photographed, for example, in the vicinity of the display unit 21. The control unit 23 includes a part or all of the line-of-sight detection unit 11, the fatigue level measurement unit 12, and the display control unit 13 in FIG.

  Further, the myoelectric sensor 26 may be used to count the number of blinks. In the case of using a myoelectric sensor, an electrode is disposed on the skin surface around the user's eyes, and a muscle current is detected by applying a pulse current to the electrode. When blinking is performed, a response appears on the electromyogram, so the number of blinks can be counted. The electrodes and the control unit 23 of the display device body are connected by wire or wirelessly.

  If the number of blinks is less than the predetermined number, it is determined that the user's eyes are burdened and the eyes are fatigued or that the eyes are likely to become tired. For example, when the number of blinks per minute is 20 or less, it is determined that the user's eyes are fatigued or exhausted.

  Next, each function of the eye fatigue reduction device shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 will be described.

  The line-of-sight detection unit 11 is a part that detects the user's line of sight. Specifically, it corresponds to a part of the camera 22 and the control unit 23 shown in FIG. Which direction the user is looking at is determined from the orientation of the user's face taken by the camera 22, the position of the eyes, and the position of the eyeball.

  When the gaze detection unit 11 determines that the user is looking at the display unit 21, the fatigue level measurement unit 12 counts the number of blinks of the user within a predetermined time. Specifically, the camera (infrared camera) 22 and the myoelectric sensor 26 shown in FIG.

  Further, the timer unit 15 (timer unit 25) counts a predetermined period. This period is a period in which the number of blinks is measured, and when the line-of-sight detection unit 11 determines that the user is looking at the display unit 21, time counting is started. If the line-of-sight detection unit 11 determines that the user's line of sight has deviated from the display unit 21 before the counted time reaches a predetermined period, the count of the time measuring unit 15 is reset.

  When the number of blinks is small as a result of the measurement by the fatigue degree measurement unit 12, the display control unit 13 performs a display for guiding the user to blink when it is determined that the user's eyes are fatigued. Specifically, the control of inducing the user's blink is performed by increasing the brightness of the display unit 21 or flickering or blinking the display unit 21. Luminance, flickering, and blinking parameters (timing and brightness) at that time are stored in the setting information storage unit 14. The display control unit 13 reads out the parameters stored in the setting information storage unit 14 and controls the brightness, flickering, and blinking of the display unit 21 based on the parameters.

  As an example of the parameters stored in the setting information storage unit 14, FIG. In this example, “blink detection timer A” indicating the time for detecting the number of blinks, “blink reference number” that is a criterion for determining whether or not to perform display control, The “extra-sight timer B” for determining only the long-term out of sight, and the “luminance” and “refresh rate” of the display unit are set.

  Next, processing executed in the display device 10 of the present embodiment will be described using the flowchart shown in FIG. 3, and a screen display control method according to the present embodiment will be described.

  FIG. 3-A is a flowchart showing the user blink detection and display processing executed in the display device 20 of the present embodiment.

  When the display on the display unit 21 is started (S300), the brightness of the display unit 21 is set with the parameters of the initial state stored in the storage unit 24 (S301). This initial setting includes the initial value of the time measuring unit 15 in addition to the setting of the parameters relating to the display.

  Next, the camera 22 captures the user's face, captures the line of sight, and determines whether the user is looking at the display unit 21 (S302). Some methods for detecting the line of sight have already been invented and commercialized, and any method or type may be used in this specification.

  When it is determined that the user is looking at the display unit 21, the time counting unit 25 starts counting the time during which the display unit 21 is viewed (S303), and blinks during the period when the user is viewing the display unit 21. Is counted (S304). The blink detection here uses a camera (infrared camera) or a myoelectric sensor. If the user's line of sight deviates from the display unit 21 (NO in S305), the process returns to the initial setting (S301) again. If the user's line of sight continues to look at the display unit 21 without deviating from the display unit 21 (YES in S305), whether or not the time counting unit 25 that counts the time during which the display unit 21 is viewed exceeds a specified value. Is determined (S306). If the count value of the timer unit 25 does not exceed the specified value (NO in S306), the presence / absence of blinking is continuously detected (S304), and the number of blinks is counted. When the count value of the timer unit 25 exceeds the reference value (YES in S306), it is determined whether or not the number of blinks counted within a predetermined period is equal to or greater than a predetermined value (reference number) ( S307). When the number of blinks is large, that is, when the number of blinks is larger than the reference number (NO in S307), it is determined that the user's eyes are not tired. This is because if the number of blinks is sufficient, it is determined that the eyes are moistened and the eyes are not tired. Then, the number of blinks is measured again from the beginning (return to S301). If the number of blinks of the user is less than the reference number in S307 (YES in S307), there is a concern that the eyes will dry and the user's eyes will become tired, so display control (S308) is performed.

  The display control here is, for example, controlling the brightness of the LCD of the display unit 21. As an example, the brightness is increased from 35 cd / m 2 to 100 cd / m 2 to induce the user to blink. The same applies when the display unit 21 is an organic EL, LED, or lamp. Further, as an example of the display control, the refresh rate of the display unit 21 may be changed. By lowering the refresh rate value, the display of the display unit 21 flickers, and the user's blink is induced. Further, the luminance control target is not the luminance of the display unit 21 that the user is viewing, but may be a light emitter disposed around the display unit 21.

  An example of the display control (S308) operation is shown in FIG.

  First, when the number of blinks of the user within a predetermined time is small and it is necessary to induce blinks, the brightness of the display unit 21 is increased (S309). The change in luminance at this time may be small or large. Next, following FIG. 3-A, it is monitored whether or not the user blinks (S310). At this time, if the user blinks (NO in S310), the display control for inducing the blink is terminated, the process returns to S301, and the luminance is set to the base value. On the other hand, if the user does not blink (YES in S301), it waits until it blinks (self loop in S310) or returns to S309 to further increase the brightness and induce blinking.

  Although FIG. 3B illustrates the luminance of the display unit, the refresh rate of the display unit may be changed.

  A setting example of the parameter display control of FIG. 3-B is shown in FIG. When executing the present invention, initial values of brightness and refresh rate are set. If it is determined that the number of blinks of the user is small, the setting values of the brightness and the refresh rate are set to blinking induction values.

  With the above operation, the eyestrain of the user can be reduced by keeping the number of blinks at a predetermined number or more.

  Note that the processing of the present invention may be executed constantly while the display device is operating, or may be executed after a predetermined time has elapsed since the display device started to operate. Moreover, you may perform intermittently.

  The reference number of blinks may be changed over time. For example, it is conceivable to increase the reference number of blinks set immediately after the display device 10 is started and used every time 30 minutes elapse. Conversely, it may be reduced. Further, instead of the blink reference number or together with the blink reference number, the value of the blink detection timer A may be changed over time.

  With the above configuration and operation, it is possible to reduce eye fatigue when the user continues to look at the display unit 21 for a long time without operating the display device 10.

  Note that, as an explanation of the flowchart shown in FIG. 3A, the gaze detection is started when the display of the display unit 21 is started (S <b> 300), but it is detected that the user holds the display device 20. Thus, the line-of-sight detection operation may be started. As a method for detecting that the display device 20 is gripped, there are a grip sensor (not shown), an acceleration sensor (not shown), and the like provided in the display device 20.

[Embodiment 2]
The display device 10 according to the second embodiment performs display control in consideration of the time required for looking away during blink measurement. In the first embodiment, when the user's line of sight deviates from the display unit during the measurement of the fatigue level, the user's line of sight is detected again from the beginning, and the timer is initialized. Even in such a case, the measurement is re-executed. Therefore, in the second embodiment, an instantaneous look is treated as an error.

  The flowchart of FIG. 4 is basically the same as that of the first embodiment (FIG. 3-A), but differs in the following points.

  That is, when it is determined that the user's line of sight is looking at the display unit 21 (S405), if it is determined that the user is not looking at the display unit 21 (NO at S405), an extra observation timer separate from the blink timer A B (remaining time measuring means) is counted (S409). The timer B is a timer for determining whether the action of the user turning his / her line of sight away from the display unit 21 is temporary (whether it is regarded as a momentary surplus) or whether the user has left his line of sight for a long time. If the value of timer B is equal to or greater than a certain value (YES in S410), it is determined that the user has stopped viewing the display unit 21, and the process returns to the initial process (S401). If the value of timer B is less than a certain value (NO in S410), the process returns to S405, and the user's line of sight is monitored. Note that in the setting of the timer unit 15 performed in the initial setting (S401), the value of the look-off timer B in addition to the blink detection timer A is set to the initial value.

  This process makes it easier to detect fatigue of the user's eyes because it is not necessary to perform blink detection again from the beginning even if a little extra observation is made.

  Further, the blink detection timer A may be temporarily stopped when a user's extraneous information is detected (S409, S410). Thereby, the number of blinks can be counted only for the time when the user is actually viewing the display unit 21.

[Embodiment 3]
The display device 10 according to the third exemplary embodiment performs display control in consideration of the number of times of looking (looking away) during blink measurement.

  The flowchart of FIG. 6 is basically the same as that of the second embodiment (FIG. 4), but differs in the following points.

  That is, the number of times of looking around for a long time is counted (S611). If the counted number is equal to or more than the specified number (YES in S612), it is determined that the eyes are not tired and the process returns to the beginning. If the counted number is less than the specified number (NO in S612), the process returns to S605 and continues to detect the user's line of sight.

  By this process, display control for eye fatigue recovery is not performed when the number of long-term appearances is large, and display control is performed when the number of long-term appearances that are considered necessary for eye fatigue recovery is small. By doing so, it is possible to perform processing efficiently and to achieve both the visibility of the display unit 21 and the recovery of eye fatigue.

[Embodiment 4]
In the first embodiment described above, it is determined whether or not to perform display control depending on whether the number of blinks in a certain period is greater than or less than a predetermined number (blink reference number). Although the example memorize | stored in the part 14 was given, the reference | standard number of times of this blink is the case where the default value is memorize | stored beforehand in the setting information storage part 14, and the number of blinks measured before the user's eyes get tired The reference number may be set.

  FIG. 7 shows an example of setting the reference number. The flow of FIG. 7 operates when the user first views the display unit 21.

  First, display-related initial settings are made (S701), and when it is detected that the user is looking at the display unit 21 (YES in S702), the operation of the blink detection timer A is started (S703). Then, the number of blinks within a predetermined time (time until the blink detection timer A expires: S705) is counted (S704). A reference number is set based on the counted number of blinks (S706). The reference number set at this time may be the measured number of blinks per se, or a value before or after that.

  The above operations are preferably performed before the user's eyes get tired, for example, immediately after the display device 10 is activated. In this case, instead of determining the reference number by one measurement, the average may be set as the reference number after performing a plurality of measurements. Alternatively, it may be performed when the user looks away from the display unit 21 after looking away from the display unit 21 for a predetermined time or more.

  Thus, by setting the reference number of blinks, the reference number of blinks suitable for each user who uses the display device 10 can be determined.

[Summary]
A display device 10 according to an aspect 1 of the present invention is a display device that performs display processing based on setting information related to a display unit, and a line-of-sight detection unit 11 that detects a user's line of sight, and the user is viewing the display unit. A timekeeping unit 15 that counts time or time when the display unit is not viewed, a fatigue level measurement unit 12 that measures the fatigue level of the user's eyes, and a display control unit 13 that performs display control of the display unit based on the fatigue level . According to the above configuration, when the user looks at the display unit for a long time without blinking, display control that induces blinking is performed, and thus eye fatigue can be reduced.

  In the control device according to aspect 2 of the present invention, in the aspect 1, when the fatigue level measurement unit measures the number of blinks of the user, and the display control unit is less than the predetermined number of times, the brightness of the display unit To move up. According to the above operation, when the user looks at the display unit for a long time without blinking, it is possible to induce blinking by increasing the luminance of the display unit and reduce eye fatigue.

  In the control device according to aspect 3 of the present invention, in the above aspect 1, the fatigue level measurement unit measures the number of blinks of the user, and the display control unit refreshes the display unit when the number of blinks is less than a predetermined number. Perform the action to lower the rate. According to the above operation, when the user looks at the display unit for a long time without blinking, blinking is induced by reducing the refresh rate of the display unit, and eye fatigue can be reduced.

  A control device according to an aspect 4 of the present invention includes a control device according to the aspect 1, further including an extra timing unit that starts counting when the user's line of sight deviates from the display unit, and the user's line of sight is displayed on the display unit. When the time deviating from the time exceeds the specified time, the count of the timekeeping part is returned to the initial setting, so that the number of blinks of the time when the display part is seen can be counted except for the extra time.

  The control device according to aspect 5 of the present invention is the operation to return the setting of the display unit based on the setting of the display unit when the fatigue level measurement unit detects blinking of the user after the display control unit performs display control in the above-described modes 1 to 3. I do. According to the above operation, an environment in which the user can easily view the display unit can be provided by returning the brightness and refresh rate of the display unit to the base again after successfully inducing the user's blink.

  A control method according to aspect 6 of the present invention is a control method for controlling a plurality of display control units that are included in a control device and capable of controlling the display unit. A time counting process for counting the time for which the display unit is viewed, a fatigue measurement process for measuring the fatigue level of a user's eyes, and a display control process for performing display control of the display unit based on the fatigue level. . According to the above operation, when the user looks at the display unit for a long time without blinking, display control is performed to induce blinking, and thus eye fatigue can be reduced.

  The control device according to each aspect of the present invention may be realized by a computer, and in this case, a program for causing the computer to realize the control device by causing the computer to operate as each unit included in the control device, and A computer-readable recording medium on which it is recorded also falls within the scope of the present invention.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible within the scope shown in the claims, and embodiments obtained by appropriately combining technical means disclosed in different embodiments. Is also included in the technical scope of the present invention. Furthermore, a new technical feature can be formed by combining the technical means disclosed in each embodiment.

  The present invention can be used in electronic devices including a display unit, for example, electronic devices such as a television, a mobile phone, a smartphone, and a personal computer.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10, 20 Display apparatus 11 Gaze detection part 12 Fatigue degree measurement part 13 Display control part 14 Setting information storage part 15, 25 Time measuring part 21 Display part 22 Camera / infrared camera 23 Control part 24 Storage part 26 Myoelectric sensor

Claims (6)

In a display device that performs display processing based on setting information related to a display unit,
A line-of-sight detector that detects the line of sight of the user;
A time counting unit that counts the time that the user is watching the display unit;
A fatigue measurement unit that measures the fatigue of the user's eyes;
A display control unit that performs display control of the display unit based on the fatigue level;
A control device comprising: The fatigue measurement unit measures the number of blinks of the user,
The control device according to claim 1, wherein the display control unit increases the luminance of the display unit when the number of blinks is less than a predetermined number. The fatigue measurement unit measures the number of blinks of the user,
The control device according to claim 1, wherein the display control unit lowers a refresh rate of the display unit when the number of blinks is less than a predetermined number. The line-of-sight detection unit includes an extra timing unit that starts counting when the user's line of sight deviates from the display unit,
2. The control device according to claim 1, wherein when the time during which the user's line of sight deviates from the display unit exceeds a predetermined time, the count of the time measuring unit is reset to an initial setting. 4. The control device according to claim 1, wherein, after the display control unit executes display control, when the fatigue level measurement unit detects a blink of a user, the setting of the display unit is restored. 5. A control method for controlling a plurality of display control units provided in the control device and capable of controlling the display unit,
A line-of-sight detection step of detecting the line of sight of the user;
A time counting step for counting a time during which the user looks at the display unit;
A fatigue measurement process that measures the fatigue of the user's eyes;
A display control step of performing display control of the display unit based on the degree of fatigue.