JP5335706B2 - Image display device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a technique for suitably controlling an image display apparatus in accordance with an audio visual distance in consideration of an influence to a human body and to provide the image display apparatus controlled in such a manner. <P>SOLUTION: There is provided the image display apparatus 100 provided with an activation effect adjustment part 120 that lowers the clarification level or the chroma level of an image to be displayed on a display part 140 as the distance measured with a distance detection sensor 111 for measuring the distance between the display part 140 and a viewer is shortened. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image display technique, and more particularly to an image display technique for performing control according to the distance between an image display device and a viewer.

  In recent years, there has been proposed an image processing technique for adjusting image quality according to viewing distance.

  For example, in Patent Document 1, in a cyclic noise reduction circuit using a frame memory, a noise reduction level and a moving image according to a distance (viewing distance) between a display device and a viewer using a nonlinear conversion unit. There has been proposed an image processing technique for adjusting an image to a balanced image quality according to a viewing position by changing the degree of degradation of the edge image quality of the image.

  The document also detects a block noise in an MPEG stream signal, and changes the degree of smoothing of the pixel level of the block boundary according to the viewing distance, thereby achieving a balanced image quality according to the viewing position. An image processing technique for making adjustments has been proposed.

  In recent years, research has been reported on the influence of video expression techniques on the central nervous system, such as the advancement of video expression, which may adversely affect the human body in some cases (Non-Patent Document 1).

JP 2005-184442 (released July 7, 2005)

Report on the Study Group on Broadcasting and Audiovisual Functions, http://www.johotsusintokei.soumu.go.jp/whitepaper/en/h11/press/japanese/housou/0626j12.htm

  However, there are some problems in the adjustment of the image quality according to the viewing distance according to the prior art. For example, in the technique described in Patent Document 1, block noise peculiar to MPEG is reduced by changing the smoothing degree of block noise according to the viewing distance, but in this case, the sharpness of the image is impaired. End up. In particular, when the viewing distance is long, the entire image looks blurred without performing the smoothing process, and the entire process is further blurred by the smoothing process.

  In addition, the image quality adjustment method according to the viewing distance according to the related art is generally related to image contrast and noise reduction, and the effects of images such as those shown in Non-Patent Document 1 on the body and future developments. There are no considerations such as the effects of new video displays expected on the visual function, differences in the effects of human growth, and the effects of sound on the auditory function.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to appropriately control the image display device according to the viewing distance in consideration of the influence on the human body, and so on. It is an object of the present invention to provide an image display device that is controlled by the user.

  As a result of intensive studies on the above problems, the present inventors depend on the sharpness level, saturation level, volume level, and brightness level of the image in order to control the image display device appropriately according to the viewing distance. It is important and effective to consider the activation effect, and the activation effect given to the viewer is adjusted according to the viewing position by controlling the image display device so that the activation effect becomes small when the viewing distance is short The inventors have found that adverse effects on viewers can be suppressed, and have completed the invention.

  That is, a first image display device according to the present invention is an image display device that includes a saturation adjusting unit and displays an image whose saturation is adjusted by the saturation adjusting unit on a display unit, the saturation displaying unit The adjusting means is characterized in that the saturation of the image is lowered as the distance measured by the distance measuring unit that measures the distance between the display unit and the observer decreases.

  According to the above configuration, when the viewing distance is short and the activation effect tends to be large, by reducing the saturation of the image, it is possible to reduce the glaring and tight hue and to reduce the adverse effect on the viewer. it can. Thus, according to said structure, there exists an effect that the image which a display means should display can be set as the suitable image quality according to viewing distance.

  In the first image display device, the saturation adjusting means may change the red saturation, the green saturation, and the blue saturation of the image at different ratios when the distance changes. preferable.

  According to the above configuration, each of the red saturation, the green saturation, and the blue saturation of the image has different viewing angle sensitivities, so that by changing each at a different ratio according to the viewing distance, The activation effect can be suitably adjusted.

  The first image display device further includes a setting storage unit that stores information indicating whether or not the activation effect should be suppressed, and the saturation adjustment unit includes the information stored in the setting storage unit as the activation effect. When indicating that the image should be suppressed, it is preferable to lower the saturation of the image compared to when the information does not indicate that the activation effect should be suppressed.

  According to the above configuration, for example, by setting the image quality adjustment degree differently according to the information indicating whether the activation effect should be suppressed, such as the age of the viewer, the human body considering the age etc. It is possible to reduce the influence of Information indicating whether or not the activation effect should be suppressed includes information on whether or not the viewer has a visual impairment in addition to the age of the viewer. Thereby, the activation effect with respect to the viewer who should not give a big activation effect can be suppressed. For example, when the age is stored in the setting storage means, when the stored age is lower than a predetermined threshold, it is determined that the infant is likely to be adversely affected by the video or the like, and the saturation of the image is reduced. Thus, the image to be displayed by the display means can be successfully adjusted to an image quality that does not adversely affect the viewer who is an infant.

  A first image processing apparatus according to the present invention is an image processing apparatus that includes a saturation adjustment unit, and outputs an input image whose saturation is adjusted by the saturation adjustment unit to an image display device, the saturation processing unit The adjusting means is characterized in that the saturation of the image is lowered as the distance measured by the distance measuring unit that measures the distance between the display unit and the observer decreases.

  According to said structure, there exists an effect equivalent to the 1st image display apparatus which concerns on this invention.

  A control method for a first image display device according to the present invention is a control method for an image display device for controlling the first image display device according to the present invention, wherein the saturation adjusting means is connected to the distance measuring unit. The method includes a step of decreasing the saturation of the image as the measured distance becomes shorter.

  According to said structure, there exists an effect equivalent to the 1st image display apparatus which concerns on this invention.

  A second image display device according to the present invention is an image display device that includes an image sharpening unit, and displays an image with a contour portion emphasized by the image sharpening unit on the display unit, the image sharpening unit. Is characterized in that as the distance measured by the distance measuring unit that measures the distance between the display unit and the display means and the observer becomes shorter, the degree of emphasis of the contour portion of the image is reduced. .

  According to the above configuration, when the viewing distance is short and the activation effect tends to increase, the adverse effect on the viewer can be reduced by reducing the degree of enhancement of the contour portion of the image. Further, when the viewing distance is long and the image viewed from the viewer is blurred, the contour portion of the image can be emphasized to obtain a clear image quality. Thus, according to said structure, there exists an effect that the image which a display means should display can be set as the suitable image quality according to viewing distance.

  The second image display device further includes a setting storage unit that stores information indicating whether or not the activation effect should be suppressed, and the image sharpening unit includes the information stored in the setting storage unit. When indicating that the image should be suppressed, it is preferable to reduce the degree of emphasis of the contour portion of the image compared to when the information does not indicate that the activation effect should be suppressed.

  According to the above configuration, for example, by setting the image quality adjustment degree differently according to the information indicating whether the activation effect should be suppressed, such as the age of the viewer, the human body considering the age etc. It is possible to reduce the influence of Information indicating whether or not the activation effect should be suppressed includes information on whether or not the viewer has a visual impairment in addition to the age of the viewer. Thereby, the activation effect with respect to the viewer who should not give a big activation effect can be suppressed. For example, in the case where the age is stored in the setting storage means, when the stored age is lower than a predetermined threshold, it is determined that the infant is likely to be adversely affected by an image or the like, and the degree of emphasis on the contour portion of the image By reducing the value, the image to be displayed by the display means can be adjusted to an image quality that does not adversely affect the viewer who is an infant.

  A second image processing apparatus according to the present invention is an image processing apparatus that includes an image sharpening unit, and outputs an input image with an outline enhanced by the image sharpening unit to an image display device, the image sharpening unit The converting means reduces the degree of emphasis of the contour portion in the input image as the distance measured by the distance measuring section that measures the distance between the display section and the display means and the observer decreases. It is a feature.

  According to said structure, there exists an effect equivalent to the 2nd image display apparatus which concerns on this invention.

  A control method for a second image processing apparatus according to the present invention is a control method for an image display apparatus for controlling the second image processing apparatus according to the present invention, wherein the image sharpening means includes the distance measuring unit. The method includes a step of reducing the degree of enhancement of the contour portion of the image as the measured distance becomes shorter.

  According to said structure, there exists an effect equivalent to the 2nd image display apparatus which concerns on this invention.

  In the image display device according to the present invention, the display unit includes a liquid crystal panel and a light source that illuminates the liquid crystal panel, and the brightness of the light source is reduced as the distance measured by the distance measurement unit becomes shorter. A light source control means may be provided.

  According to said structure, when viewing distance is near, the brightness of a light source is made dark, the brightness which is not too dazzling in a display part can be maintained, and the bad influence given to a viewer can be made small.

  The image display device according to the present invention is an image display device that displays an image on the display unit and outputs sound, and the sound output by the image display device as the distance measured by the distance measurement unit becomes shorter. It may be provided with a volume control means for reducing the volume.

  According to the above configuration, when the viewing distance is short, the volume output from the audio output means is reduced to adjust the sound pressure to be always constant regardless of the viewing distance, and the activation effect given to the viewer is achieved. It can be prevented from changing depending on the viewing distance.

  The image display device according to the present invention may include a warning control unit that displays a warning message on the display unit when the distance measured by the distance measurement unit is closer than a predetermined threshold. Good.

  By sending a warning message to the viewer when the viewing distance is short and the activation effect tends to increase, the viewer can be prevented from being adversely affected without knowing it. Thus, according to said structure, the image display apparatus which suppressed the bad influence given to a viewer can be provided.

  The content reproduction apparatus may be realized by a computer. In this case, a content reproduction program for realizing the content reproduction apparatus in the computer by operating the computer as each of the above means and a computer-readable recording medium on which the content reproduction program is recorded also fall within the scope of the present invention.

  An image display apparatus according to the present invention includes a display unit that displays an image, a distance measurement unit that measures a distance between the display unit and an observer, and the distance measured by the distance measurement unit decreases as the distance measured by the distance measurement unit decreases. Reduce the degree of emphasis on the contour of the image, decrease the saturation of the image, decrease the brightness of the light source included in the display unit, or output the audio output unit included in the image display device Is provided with means for reducing the volume of the display or displaying a warning message on the display means, so that the activation effect given to the viewer can be adjusted according to the viewing position to suppress adverse effects on the viewer it can.

1 is a functional block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of an image display device according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a front view of an image display device according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a graph which shows the relationship between viewing distance and sharpening level in one Embodiment of this invention. It is a graph which shows the relationship between viewing distance and saturation level in one Embodiment of this invention. It is a graph which shows the relationship between viewing distance and volume level in one Embodiment of this invention. It is a graph which shows the relationship between viewing distance and the brightness level of a backlight in one Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the detection method of viewing distance in one Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the control method of the image display apparatus in one Embodiment of this invention.

Embodiment 1
A first embodiment according to the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

(Configuration of Image Display Device 100)
First, the image display apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of an image display apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a front view of the image display apparatus 100. The image display apparatus 100 includes an input unit 101, a reception unit 102, a setting input unit 103, a person detection sensor 110, a distance detection sensor (distance measurement unit) 111, an activation effect adjustment unit 120, an image processing unit 130, a display unit (display unit). ) 140, an audio processing unit 150, and an audio output unit (audio output means) 160.

  The image display apparatus 100 processes a video signal input from the outside via the input unit 101 or received by the receiving unit 102 in the image processing unit 130, displays the video signal on the display unit 140, and displays the video signal from the outside. The audio signal received through the receiver 102 or processed by the receiving unit 102 is processed by the audio processing unit 150 and then output by the audio output unit 160.

  At this time, the distance detection sensor 111 detects the distance (viewing distance) between the display unit 140 and the viewer (observer) of the image display device 100. Then, the activation effect adjustment unit 120 controls the image processing unit 130, the audio processing unit 150, and the display unit 140 according to the viewing distance detected by the distance detection sensor 111, thereby viewing the activation effect given to the viewer. Adjust according to the position to suppress adverse effects on the viewer.

  For example, the control can be as shown in Table 1, but the setting may be changed depending on the viewing situation, the screen size, and the viewing age. Details of the control will be described later.

  Hereinafter, each part will be briefly described.

  The input unit 101 receives external video and audio signals. The receiving unit 102 receives video signals and audio signals.

  The person detection sensor 110 detects whether a person is present in front of the display unit 140. For example, a sensor that detects a change in ambient temperature such as a pyroelectric infrared sensor can be used.

  When a sensor that senses ambient temperature changes is used as the person detection sensor 110, the person detection sensor 110 sends an electrical signal that takes a value corresponding to the sensed ambient temperature change to the distance detection sensor 111. When there is a person in front of the display unit 140 (more precisely, the detection range of the person detection sensor 110), the temperature change detected by the person detection sensor 110 becomes large, and there is no person in front of the display unit 140. The temperature change sensed by the person detection sensor 110 becomes small. For this reason, the distance detection sensor 111 can determine whether or not there is a person in front of the display unit 140 by referring to the value of the signal sent from the person detection sensor 110.

  The distance detection sensor 111 measures a distance (viewing distance) between the display unit 140 and a person existing in front of the display unit 140. For example, the near-infrared light is emitted by an LED attached to the sensor. Then, a “Time of Flight (TOF)” type sensor that obtains the viewing distance by measuring the time until the sensor receives the reflected light can be used. The distance detection sensor 111 may measure the distance between the display unit 140 and the person when the person detection sensor 110 detects a person in front of the display unit 140, for example.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the person detection sensor 110 and the distance detection sensor 111 are preferably provided on the front surface (the surface on which the display unit 140 is provided) of the image display device 100.

  The activation effect adjustment unit 120 includes an image sharpening control unit (image sharpening adjustment unit) 121, a saturation level control unit (saturation adjustment unit) 122, a backlight control unit (light source control unit) 123, and a warning message control unit ( Warning control means) 124, volume level control section (volume control means) 125, and setting storage section (setting storage means) 129. Details of each part will be described later.

  The image processing unit 130 performs various image processing, such as decoding processing, I / P conversion, color format conversion, filter processing, etc., on the video signal sent from the input unit 101 or the receiving unit 102. The image sharpening processing unit (image sharpening adjusting unit) 131 and the color space converting unit (saturation adjusting unit) 132 are provided.

  The image sharpening processing unit 131 emphasizes a contour portion of an image to be displayed by the display unit 140, and a circuit that performs unsharp masking processing commonly used in the field such as a Laplacian filter can be used.

  The color space conversion unit 132 has a function of adjusting the saturation, lightness, and hue of the image, and can change the red saturation, the green saturation, and the blue saturation in the image at different ratios. It is preferable that a color space conversion circuit well known and commonly used in this field can be used as appropriate.

  In the present invention, the saturation refers to the ratio of the pure color to the overall brightness, for example, but is not limited to this, and refers to the saturation in the HLS or HSV color space. The saturation of red (green, blue) refers to the saturation of the color having the maximum R (G, B) component when the color is expressed by RGB, for example, R: 255, G: 0, When B is 0, the saturation of red becomes the maximum value (S (saturation) = 1.0).

  The display unit 140 displays the image processed by the image processing unit 130. In the present embodiment, the display unit 140 is a liquid crystal display including a backlight (light source) 141. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the display unit 140 may be any display device that can display the image processed by the image processing unit 130. For example, the display unit 140 may be a liquid crystal television, a PDP (plasma display panel), or the like. A television, a CRT television, an EL television, an SED (Surface-conduction Electr on-emitter Display) television, a PC monitor, a monitor for each of these display devices, and the like can be used. As the liquid crystal display, any of a transmissive liquid crystal panel, a transflective liquid crystal panel, and a reflective liquid crystal panel can be used.

  The audio processing unit 150 performs decoding processing, volume level adjustment, noise removal, and the like on the audio signal.

  The audio output unit 160 outputs an audio signal as audio, and for example, a general speaker can be used.

  The setting input unit 103 sets, in the setting storage unit 129, whether to execute various controls (ON) or not (OFF), settings for viewer information (for example, age, whether or not there is visual impairment, etc.) For example, a switch or a receiving means of a remote controller operated by a viewer can be used.

(Example of image display processing)
Next, an example of image display processing in the image display apparatus 100 will be described below with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing when the person detection sensor 110 and the distance detection sensor 111 measure the viewing distance.

  When the detection of the viewing distance is started (step S1), the person detection sensor 110 first detects a person in the vicinity of the display unit 140 (monitor screen) (step S2).

  In step S2, if the person detection sensor 110 cannot detect a person in the vicinity of the display unit 140, step S2 is repeated until a person can be detected.

  In step S <b> 2, when the person detection sensor 110 can detect a person in the vicinity of the display unit 140, the distance detection sensor 111 performs a connection between the display unit 140 and a person (viewer) in the vicinity of the display unit 140. The distance measurement is started (step S3). The distance detection sensor 111 detects a distance (viewing distance) between the display unit 140 and a person closest to the display unit 140 among the persons in the vicinity of the display unit 140 (step S4). This can be implemented, for example, by the distance detection sensor 111 measuring the distance between the display unit 140 and all persons in the vicinity of the display unit 140 and selecting the distance for the closest person. . The distance detection sensor 111 stores measurement data indicating the acquired viewing distance in itself (step S5). Thereafter, after a predetermined time (for example, N seconds: 0 <N <2), the process returns to step S2 to detect a person near the display unit 140 again.

  The distance detection sensor 111 transfers the measurement data indicating the viewing distance accumulated therein to the activation effect adjusting unit 120 (step S7). This may be performed by the distance detection sensor 111 at a predetermined timing or based on a request signal from the activation effect adjustment unit 120. The measurement data is then used as control data for sharpening processing, saturation level adjustment, volume, and screen brightness adjustment.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing when the activation effect adjusting unit 120 performs various controls according to the viewing distance.

  When the distance control is started (step S10), the activation effect adjusting unit 120 first reads the setting stored in the setting storage unit 129, and the distance control is turned on (a setting for executing control according to the viewing distance). It is determined whether or not there is (step S11).

  If it is determined in step S11 that the distance control is OFF, the image sharpening control unit 121 sets the sharpening level by the image sharpening processing unit 131, and the saturation level control unit 122 sets the saturation by the color space conversion unit 132. The sound volume level control unit 125 sets the sound level by the sound processing unit 150, and the backlight control unit 123 sets the backlight to the normal level (step S17), and the process returns to step S11.

  If it is determined in step S11 that the distance control is ON, the activation effect adjustment unit 120 reads the viewer setting information stored in the setting storage unit 129 and determines whether the viewer is an infant. (Step S12). The determination of whether or not the viewer is an infant by the activation effect adjustment unit 120 determines whether the viewer's age stored in the setting storage unit 129 is greater than or less than a certain threshold (for example, 5 years old), and the age is When it is less than the threshold value, it may be determined that the viewer is an infant, or information indicating whether or not the viewer is an infant may be directly stored in the setting storage unit 129.

  If it is determined in step S12 that the child is an infant, the activation effect adjustment unit 120 uses the image sharpening control unit 121 for the sharpening level obtained by the image sharpening processing unit 131, and the saturation level control unit 122 uses the color space conversion. The level of saturation by the unit 132, the volume level control unit 125, the audio level by the audio processing unit 150, and the backlight control unit 123, the brightness of the backlight are lower than those determined when the child is not an infant. (Step S18). The details of the infant setting will be described later together with a case where the viewer is determined not to be an infant. Then, it returns to step S11.

  If it is determined in step S12 that the viewer is not an infant, the activation effect adjustment unit 120 is based on the measurement data transferred from the distance detection sensor 111, and the distance indicated by the measurement data is a predetermined distance (reference) For example, it is determined whether it is 2 m) or more (step S13). The predetermined distance may be appropriately set according to the size of the display unit 140 and the like.

  In step S13, when the activation effect adjustment unit 120 determines that the distance is equal to or greater than the predetermined distance, the image sharpening control unit 121 emphasizes the contour portion of the image by the image sharpening processing unit 131 according to the distance. The image sharpening processing unit 131 is controlled so as to increase the degree of color (step S14), and the saturation level control unit 122 adjusts the color so that the color space conversion unit 132 improves the saturation according to the distance. The space conversion unit 132 is controlled (step S15), and the volume level control unit 125 controls the audio processing unit 150 so that the audio processing unit 150 increases the volume according to the distance (step S16), and step S11. Return to.

  In step S13, when the activation effect adjusting unit 120 determines that the distance is less than the predetermined distance, the image sharpening control unit 121 emphasizes the contour portion of the image by the image sharpening processing unit 131 according to the distance. The image sharpening processing unit 131 is controlled so as to reduce the degree of color (step S19), and the saturation level control unit 122 adjusts the color so that the color space conversion unit 132 decreases the saturation according to the distance. The space conversion unit 132 is controlled (step S20), and the sound volume level control unit 125 controls the sound processing unit 150 so that the sound processing unit 150 decreases the sound volume according to the distance (step S21), and a warning message. The control unit 126 controls the image processing unit 130 to synthesize a warning message indicating that the distance is too close to the image to be displayed on the display unit 140, As view prompts (step S22), and the backlight control unit 123, so that the backlight 141 is darkened in accordance with the distance, and controls the backlight 141 (step S23), the flow returns to step S11.

  Hereinafter, details of the control by each unit will be described with reference to FIGS.

(Control by image sharpening control unit 121)
FIG. 3 is a graph showing an example of the relationship between the viewing distance and the image sharpening (the degree of emphasis on the outline).

  As shown in FIG. 3, when the viewing distance is short (for example, 2 m or less), there is a research result that the activation effect (the effect of causing a reaction in the brain due to stimulation) increases, depending on the type of image displayed. The image sharpening level (the degree of emphasis on the contour portion) should not be increased. If the viewing distance is far enough, the image sharpening level is increased to produce a clear image. The relationship between the viewing distance and the image sharpening level can be a relationship represented by a linear function as shown in FIG. 3, for example (distance control ON 112). Note that it is preferable to appropriately adjust the proportionality constant of the linear function according to the size of the display unit 140.

  The image sharpening level indicates the degree of emphasis of the contour portion of the image in the unsharp masking process. For example, 0 is set when no processing is performed, and 15 is set when the contour portion is emphasized to the maximum. It may be indicated by the value obtained.

  In addition, when the activation effect adjustment unit 120 determines that the viewer is an infant based on the age of the viewer stored in the setting storage unit 129, the overall sharpening may be set to be small (distance control). ON113). In addition, although the aspect of reduction of sharpening in the case of an infant is not particularly limited, it may be reduced so as to draw a quadratic function curve as shown in FIG. 3 (a point that does not change sharply may not be provided). It is preferable because it does not look unnatural.

  When the control based on the viewing distance is not performed, the sharpening level is constant regardless of the viewing distance (distance control OFF111).

(Control by saturation level control unit 122)
FIG. 4 is a graph showing an example of the relationship between viewing distance and saturation level.

  The saturation level indicates how much the saturation is adjusted. For example, the saturation level is set to 0 when no adjustment is made, and the degree of improvement in saturation is +, and the saturation is reduced. The degree may be indicated by a minus value.

  As for saturation, visual sensitivity is different for each of R (red), G (green), and B (blue). Therefore, it is preferable to suppress the activation effect by independently adjusting each according to the viewing distance. For example, it is generally known that a sensitivity ratio of R: G: B = approximately 3: 6: 1 is preferable. Further, according to Non-Patent Document 1, R (red) is particularly considered to have a large activation effect, and for R, when the viewing distance is short, the saturation level is lowered than other colors and the activation effect is reduced. By adjusting the balance so that the saturation level is not increased so much even when the viewing distance is long, the influence on the infant can be reduced (distance control ON 119 to 121). ). Note that the curves shown in FIG. 4 are only in one embodiment. If the viewing distance is short and the saturation of red is reduced, the curve depends on the color preference of the viewer. You may change suitably.

  In addition, the same color control can be maintained for each of R, G, and B (distance control ON 118).

  When the control based on the viewing distance is not performed, the saturation level is constant regardless of the viewing distance (distance control OFF 117).

(Control by volume level control unit 125)
FIG. 5 is a graph showing an example of the relationship between viewing distance and volume level.

  Note that the volume level indicates the level at which the sound output unit 160 outputs sound with respect to a sound signal input from the outside. In FIG. The normal volume level is set to 0, and when it is higher than that, it is expressed as a positive value, and when it is lower, it is expressed as a negative value.

  When the volume at a predetermined distance (for example, around 2 m) is used as a reference, viewing is controlled by controlling the volume to be lower when the viewing distance is shorter than that, and to increase when the viewing distance is far. Even if the distance changes, the volume that reaches the viewer is kept at a level close to the reference volume.

  As shown in FIG. 5, for example, the relationship between the viewing distance and the sound volume level can be expressed by a linear function (distance control ON 115). In addition, in the case of an infant, it is preferable to control so that it suddenly rises up suddenly in response to a sudden change so that no loud sound is suddenly produced. For example, the control may be performed so that the change in the volume level at the normal viewing position (1 to 3 m) becomes small (distance control ON 116).

  When the distance control is not performed, the volume level is constant regardless of the viewing distance (distance control OFF 114).

(Control by the backlight control unit 123)
FIG. 6 is a graph showing an example of the relationship between the viewing distance and the brightness of the backlight 141.

  In FIG. 6, the brightness of the backlight 141 is expressed by a positive value when the normal brightness is 0, and a negative value when the brightness is brighter than that.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the backlight control unit 123 controls the backlight 141 so that the brightness of the backlight 141 becomes darker as the viewing distance becomes shorter, so that the burden on the eyes is not applied (distance control ON 117). ). The relationship between the viewing distance and the brightness of the backlight 141 can be, for example, a relationship represented by a linear function as shown in FIG.

  When the distance control is not performed, the brightness of the backlight is constant regardless of the viewing distance (distance control OFF 116).

  Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described control, and the above settings can be adjusted according to the screen size and viewing age, and optimal settings can be provided. Since the screen tends to be viewed farther as the screen becomes larger, each control is set to be loose, and the smaller the screen is, the closer the viewing distance is, so the setting that takes into account the effect on the human body etc. It is preferable to adjust and provide an optimal image. Further, the viewing age, particularly the influence on the human body to the infant, is large. For example, when the viewing age is set to the infant, it is preferable that each control is set to have the least influence on the human body (the activation effect is small).

(Advantages of this embodiment)
As described above, the image display apparatus 100 is suitable for reducing the adverse effects on the human body by adjusting the sharpening, saturation, screen brightness, sound, and the like according to the viewing distance and according to the viewing age. Can provide a good image.

(Modification of Configuration of Image Display Device 100)
Note that the image display apparatus 100 includes a viewer determination unit that automatically determines whether or not the viewer is an infant (or a visually impaired person), and the activation effect adjustment unit 120 determines that the viewer in step S12. It may be determined whether the viewer is an infant (or a visually impaired person) using the determination means. Examples of the viewer discriminating means include one that performs face authentication of the viewer based on an image acquired from a camera provided on the display unit 140 side of the image display device 100.

  To describe in detail an example of the viewer automatic discrimination method by the viewer discrimination means, first, in the setting storage unit 129, the face image of a person who may use the image display device 100 such as a family, and the person. Is stored in association with information indicating whether or not is an infant (or a visually impaired person). The viewer discrimination unit compares the image acquired from the camera with an image of a person who may use the image display device 100 stored in the setting storage unit 129, and detects the person currently viewing. Then, the viewer determination unit determines whether or not the information indicating the infant (or the visually impaired person) is associated with the detected face image of the person in the setting storage unit 129, so that the viewer can recognize the infant. It is determined whether or not the user is an audiovisual handicapped person, and the result is sent to the activation effect adjustment unit 120.

  Even when the image display apparatus 100 includes a viewer determination unit, the above-described automatic viewer determination does not always have to be performed. For example, ON and OFF may be switched depending on settings. . In other words, when the setting is to turn off the automatic viewer discrimination function, the activation effect adjustment unit 120 is based on the information read from the setting storage unit 129 in step S12 without using the viewer discrimination unit. It may be determined whether or not the child is an infant (or a visually impaired person).

  In the present embodiment, the image display device 100 does not necessarily have to be configured as a single device, and may be any device as long as it has a function equivalent to that of the image display device 100 as described above. You may implement | achieve by the combination of these apparatuses.

  For example, an image processing apparatus including an input unit 101, a receiving unit 102, a setting input unit 103, a person detection sensor 110, a distance detection sensor 111, an activation effect adjustment unit 120, and an image processing unit 130, a display unit 140, and an audio output unit It can be configured by a combination with an image display device having 160. The image processing device outputs the image processed by the image processing unit 130 to the image display device, and the image display device displays the image input from the image processing device on the display unit 140. Further, the image display device and the image processing device are connected by a signal line for inputting and outputting control signals, and the audio output unit 160 and the backlight 141 of the image display device are connected to the image processing device. The activation effect adjusting unit 120 is controlled.

  According to the above configuration, as with the image display device 100, the image displayed on the display unit 140 has been subjected to image processing by the image processing unit 130 under the control of the activation effect adjusting unit 120, and is at a viewing distance. Accordingly, the degree of emphasis and saturation of the contour portion are adjusted. A warning message corresponding to the viewing distance is displayed. Furthermore, since the audio output unit 160 and the backlight 141 are controlled by the activation effect adjustment unit 120, the sound output unit 160 and the backlight 141 have a volume and brightness corresponding to the viewing distance.

  In this way, a configuration in which a plurality of devices cooperate to achieve the effects of the present embodiment is also within the scope of the present invention.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to embodiment mentioned above, A various change is possible in the range shown to the claim. In other words, embodiments obtained by combining technical means appropriately changed within the scope of the claims are also included in the technical scope of the present invention.

  Moreover, although the above demonstrated the structure which suppresses an activation effect with respect to an infant, this invention is not limited to this. For example, the structure which suppresses an activation effect with respect to an audiovisual impaired person may be sufficient. In other words, in step S12, the activation effect adjustment unit 120 reads from the setting storage unit 129 information indicating whether or not the viewer is an audiovisual impaired person, which is input in advance to the setting storage unit 129, and should suppress the activation effect. It may be determined whether or not. In this case, if it is determined that the activation effect should be suppressed, the activation effect adjustment unit 120 may perform various controls in step S18 with the same settings as the infant settings shown in FIGS.

  As described above, the activation effect adjustment unit 120 of the image display device 100 should suppress the activation effect based on the information indicating whether the activation effect input in advance to the setting storage unit 129 should be suppressed. When the information indicates that the information does not indicate that the activation effect should be suppressed, the degree of sharpening in the image sharpening processing unit 131 is reduced, or the color space conversion unit 132 reduces the saturation level. It can be something that

(Program and recording medium)
The activation effect adjustment unit 120, the image processing unit 130, and the sound processing unit 150 of the image display device 100 (or the image processing device or the control device of the image display device) may be configured by hardware logic. Alternatively, it may be realized by software using a CPU (Central Processing Unit) as follows.

  In other words, the activation effect adjustment unit 120, the image processing unit 130, and the audio processing unit 150 include a CPU such as an MPU that executes instructions of a program that realizes each function, a ROM (Read Only Memory) that stores the program, and the above program. A RAM (Random Access Memory) that expands into an executable format and a storage device (recording medium) such as a memory that stores the program and various data are provided.

  The object of the present invention is not limited to the case where the activation effect adjusting unit 120, the image processing unit 130, and the sound processing unit 150 are fixedly supported by the program memory. This can also be achieved by supplying a recording medium recording a code program or a source program) to the image display apparatus 100, and the image display apparatus 100 reads and executes the program code recorded on the recording medium. is there.

  The recording medium is not limited to a specific structure or type. That is, the recording medium includes, for example, a tape system such as a magnetic tape and a cassette tape, a magnetic disk such as a floppy (registered trademark) disk / hard disk, and an optical disk such as a CD-ROM / MO / MD / DVD / CD-R. System, a card system such as an IC card (including a memory card) / optical card, or a semiconductor memory system such as a mask ROM / EPROM / EEPROM / flash ROM.

  Further, the object of the present invention can be achieved even if the activation effect adjustment unit 120, the image processing unit 130, and the sound processing unit 150 (or the image display device 100) are configured to be connectable to a communication network. In this case, the program code is supplied to the activation effect adjustment unit 120, the image processing unit 130, and the sound processing unit 150 via the communication network. The communication network is not limited to a specific type or form as long as it can supply program codes to the main control unit. For example, the Internet, intranet, extranet, LAN, ISDN, VAN, CATV communication network, virtual private network, telephone line network, mobile communication network, satellite communication network, etc. may be used.

  The transmission medium constituting the communication network may be any medium that can transmit the program code, and is not limited to a specific configuration or type. For example, even with wired lines such as IEEE 1394, USB, power line carrier, cable TV line, telephone line, ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) line, infrared rays such as IrDA and remote control, Bluetooth (registered trademark), 802.11 wireless, HDR, NFC It can also be used by radio such as DLNA, mobile phone network, satellite line, and digital terrestrial network. The present invention can also be realized in the form of a computer data signal embedded in a carrier wave in which the program code is embodied by electronic transmission.

  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.

  The present invention can be used in the field of manufacturing image display devices.

100 Image display device 111 Distance detection sensor (distance measuring means)
120 Activation Effect Adjustment Unit 121 Image Sharpening Control Unit (Image Sharpening Means)
122 Saturation level control unit (saturation adjusting means)
123 Backlight control unit (light source control means)
124 Warning message control unit (warning control means)
125 Volume level control unit (volume control means)
129 Setting storage unit (age storage means)
130 Image processing unit 131 Image sharpening processing unit (image sharpening means)
132 Color space conversion unit (saturation adjusting means)
140 Display section (display means)
141 Backlight (light source)
160 Voice output unit (voice output means)

Claims (3)

An image display device that includes a saturation adjusting unit and displays an image whose saturation is adjusted by the saturation adjusting unit on a display unit,
The saturation adjusting means lowers the saturation of the image as the distance measured by the distance measuring unit that measures the distance between the display unit and the observer decreases .
The saturation adjusting means adjusts the red saturation, the green saturation, and the blue saturation in the image independently according to the distance when the distance changes,
A setting storage means for storing the face image and information indicating whether or not to suppress the activation effect in association with each other;
A camera for performing face recognition of the observer,
The saturation adjusting means detects an observer by comparing the image acquired from the camera and the face image stored in the setting storage means, and associates the detected image with the detected face image. When the information stored in the means indicates that the activation effect should be suppressed, the saturation of the image is reduced compared to when the information does not indicate that the activation effect should be suppressed,
The display unit includes a liquid crystal panel and a light source that illuminates the liquid crystal panel,
As the distance measured by the distance measuring unit becomes shorter, it comprises light source control means for reducing the brightness of the light source,
The image display device displays an image on the display unit and outputs sound,
As the distance measured by the distance measuring unit is shortened, it comprises a volume control means for reducing the volume of the sound output from the image display device,
An image display apparatus, comprising: a warning control unit that displays a warning message on the display unit when the distance measured by the distance measurement unit is shorter than a predetermined threshold value. The image display device further includes image sharpening means for displaying an image with an emphasized outline on the display.
The image sharpening means is characterized in that, as the distance measured by the distance measuring unit that measures the distance between the display unit and the observer decreases, the degree of emphasis of the contour portion of the image decreases. The image display device according to claim 1 . The image sharpening means detects an observer by comparing the image acquired from the camera and the face image stored in the setting storage means, and associates the detected face image with the detected face image. When the information stored in the means indicates that the activation effect should be suppressed, the degree of emphasis of the contour portion of the image is made smaller than when the information does not indicate that the activation effect should be suppressed The image display device according to claim 2 .

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