KR20090028159A - Portable electronic device capable of sensing of brightness - Google Patents

Abstract

A portable apparatus which measures brightness while including a module capable of illuminance sensing and near sensing is provided to reduce the size including a module capable of illuminance sensing and near sensing. An image analysis part(110) analyzes and generates video data. According to the analyzed result of the image analysis part, a terminal control part(230) performs the control operation. A filter(214) includes a first filter domain passing through only the light of the predefined first wave length and a second filter zone passing through only the light of the predefined second wave length. An image sensor(218) converts the light which becomes through the filter applied into the electric signal. An image analysis unit(220) analyzes video data.

Description

Portable electronic device capable of sensing of brightness

The present invention relates to a portable electronic device, and more particularly, to a portable electronic device capable of measuring the ambient brightness by using the image data generated by the provided image sensor.

 Recently, with the rapid development of electronics and communication engineering, computer portable electronic devices equipped with an imaging unit (for example, a digital camera module, etc.), a sound source playback unit (for example, an MP3 file playback module, etc.) are provided. . Accordingly, the user can enjoy various functions such as Internet access, video communication and multimedia message service (MMS), digital music listening, and satellite broadcasting using a portable electronic device equipped with various functions. Accordingly, portable electronic devices with larger screens have been released. Furthermore, portable electronic devices equipped with touch pads have been released.

Therefore, the user can use various multimedia functions on a larger screen. However, since a large screen is provided, minimization of power consumption is required, and various technologies have been developed for this purpose. For example, portable electronic devices with sensors have been developed. Portable electronic devices that can turn off the power of the screen when the user takes the telephone to the ear to make a phone call using the proximity sensor provided have been developed. In another example, a portable electronic device equipped with an illuminance sensor has also been developed. In other words, portable electronic devices have been developed that can automatically reduce the brightness of a screen in a dark room and automatically increase the brightness of a screen in a bright room.

However, in order to have both of the above-described functions, two sensors (that is, a proximity sensor and an illuminance sensor) may be provided. Therefore, there is a problem that the size of the portable electronic device will be large.

An object of the present invention is to provide a portable electronic device including one module capable of both proximity sensing and illumination sensing.

In addition, the present invention is to provide a portable electronic device that can be reduced in size by including a module capable of both proximity sensing and illumination sensing.

According to an aspect of the invention, the image analysis unit for generating and analyzing the image data; And a terminal controller configured to control the portable electronic device to be operated in a preset operation mode according to an analysis result of the image analyzer, wherein the image analyzer includes a first filter region and a predetermined filter configured to pass only light having a predetermined first wavelength; A filter comprising a second filter region for passing only light of a second wavelength, wherein the first wavelength and the second wavelength are different wavelengths; An image sensor converting light incident through the filter into an electrical signal to generate the image data; And an image analysis unit analyzing the image data.

The image analyzer may further include a light source for irradiating light of the first wavelength, wherein the image sensor generates light image data by converting light incident through the filter into an electrical signal while the light source is activated. The image analysis unit extracts a first pixel corresponding to the first filter region from the glossy image data, calculates an average value of luminance values of each of the first pixels, and generates a first average luminance value. When the first average luminance value is greater than or equal to a preset first threshold value, a subject proximity signal is generated and output, and the terminal controller may control the portable electronic device to operate in a preset operation mode according to the subject proximity signal. .

The image analyzer may further include a light source that emits light of the first wavelength and is turned on at a predetermined time interval, wherein the image sensor is configured to electrically transmit light incident through the filter while the light source is activated. To produce glossy image data, and convert the light incident through the filter into an electrical signal while the light source is deactivated to generate matt image data. The image analysis unit is configured to generate the matt image data and the matt image. Comparing image data to generate subject image data, extracting a first pixel corresponding to the first filter region from the subject image data, calculating an average value of luminance values of each of the first pixels, and calculating a first average luminance. Generate a value, and generate and output a subject proximity signal when the first average luminance value is equal to or greater than a first threshold value. The terminal controller may control the portable electronic device to operate in a preset operation mode according to the subject proximity signal.

The portable electronic device may further include a display unit configured to display input image data; And an input unit configured to generate a signal according to a user's operation, wherein the terminal controller outputs a light amount of a back-light included in at least one of the display unit and the input unit when the subject proximity signal is input. Can be adjusted according to a preset method.

The image analyzing unit extracts a second pixel corresponding to the second filter region from the image data, calculates an average value of luminance values of each of the second pixels, and generates a second average luminance value. The illuminance information may be generated and output according to a result of analyzing the second average luminance value, and the terminal controller may control the portable electronic device to be operated in an operation mode corresponding to the illuminance information.

The image analysis unit may generate the illumination information by comparing the second average luminance value with a preset illuminance table, wherein the illuminance table is previously divided into 1 to n steps according to the range of the second average luminance value. The image analyzer may generate illuminance information corresponding to any one of steps 1 to n by comparing the second average luminance value with the illuminance table (where n is a natural number of 2 or more). .

The portable electronic device may further include a display unit configured to display input image data; And an input unit generating a signal according to a user's operation, wherein the terminal controller controls the brightness of a back-light included in any one of the display unit and the input unit in response to the illumination information. can do.

In addition, the light of the first wavelength may correspond to infrared light.

In addition, the light of the second wavelength may correspond to visible light.

According to another aspect of the invention, generating the image data; Analyzing the image data; And operating in a preset operation mode according to an analysis result of the image data, wherein the image data passes only a first filter region through which only light of a first predetermined wavelength passes and light of a second predetermined wavelength. Provided is a method for measuring brightness in a portable electronic device, characterized in that light incident through a filter including a second filter region is converted into an electrical signal.

The analyzing of the image data may include extracting a first pixel corresponding to the first filter area by analyzing the image data; Generating a first average luminance value by calculating an average value of luminance values of each of the first pixels; And generating and outputting a subject proximity signal when the first average luminance value is greater than or equal to a preset first threshold value, wherein the step of operating in a preset operation mode according to an analysis result of the image data includes: The image data may be operated in a preset operation mode according to a signal, and the image data may be glossy image data generated when a light source for irradiating light having the first genital wavelength is activated.

The generating of the image data may include generating gloss image data in a state in which a light source for irradiating light having the first genital wavelength is activated; Generating matt image data when the light source is inactivated; And generating subject image data by comparing the gloss image data and the matt image data, and analyzing the image data may include analyzing the subject image data.

The analyzing of the subject image data may include extracting a first pixel corresponding to the first filter area from the subject image data; Generating a first average luminance value by calculating an average value of luminance values of each of the first pixels; And generating and outputting a subject proximity signal when the first average luminance value is greater than or equal to a preset first threshold value, wherein the step of operating in a preset operation mode according to an analysis result of the image data includes: The operation may be performed in a preset operation mode, and the light source may be turned on at a predetermined time interval.

In addition, the step of operating in a predetermined operation mode according to the analysis result of the image data includes the step of adjusting the amount of light of the provided back-light (Back-light) according to a predetermined method, the back-light is It may be included in any one or more of the display unit or input unit provided in the portable electronic device.

The analyzing of the image data may include extracting a second pixel corresponding to the second filter area from the image data; Calculating a mean value of luminance values of each of the second pixels to generate a second average luminance value; And generating and outputting illuminance information according to a result of analyzing the second average luminance value, wherein the step of operating in a preset operation mode according to the analysis result of the image data is a preset operation according to the illuminance information. It may be a step of operating in the mode.

The generating and outputting the illuminance information may include generating the illuminance information by comparing the second average luminance value with a preset illuminance table, wherein the illuminance table is within a range of the second average luminance value. Accordingly, the illumination information may be previously divided into steps 1 to n, and the illumination information may be generated as a value corresponding to any one of steps 1 to n by comparing the second average luminance value with the illumination table. N is two or more natural numbers).

In addition, the step of operating in a predetermined operation mode according to the analysis result of the image data is controlling the brightness of the back-light of the back-light (Back-light) provided corresponding to the illumination information Including, the back-light may be included in any one or more of the display unit or the input unit provided in the portable electronic device.

In addition, the light of the first wavelength may correspond to infrared light.

In addition, the light of the second wavelength may correspond to visible light.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a program of instructions that can be executed by the portable electronic device is tangibly embodied in order to perform the above-described method of measuring brightness in the portable electronic device, and is to be read by the portable electronic device. A recording medium on which a program can be recorded is provided.

According to the present invention, a portable electronic device including one module capable of both proximity sensing and illumination sensing may be provided.

In addition, according to the present invention, a portable electronic device that can be reduced in size can be provided by including one module capable of both proximity sensing and illumination sensing.

As the invention allows for various changes and numerous embodiments, particular embodiments will be illustrated in the drawings and described in detail in the written description. However, this is not intended to limit the present invention to specific embodiments, it should be understood to include all transformations, equivalents, and substitutes included in the spirit and scope of the present invention. In the following description of the present invention, if it is determined that the detailed description of the related known technology may obscure the gist of the present invention, the detailed description thereof will be omitted.

Terms such as first and second may be used to describe various components, but the components should not be limited by the terms. The terms are used only for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular example embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the present invention. Singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. In this application, the terms "comprise" or "have" are intended to indicate that there is a feature, number, step, operation, component, part, or combination thereof described in the specification, and one or more other features. It is to be understood that the present invention does not exclude the possibility of the presence or the addition of numbers, steps, operations, components, components, or a combination thereof. Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a view illustrating the appearance of a portable electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, an appearance of a portable electronic device 100 equipped with an image analyzer 110 according to an embodiment of the present invention is illustrated. Here, the image analyzer 110 according to an embodiment of the present invention may be attached to an electronic device, and in particular, a small and portable electronic device such as a mobile communication terminal 110, a personal digital assistant (PDA), an MP3 player, or the like. It can be attached to the device. However, it will be described on the assumption that the image analyzer 110 is provided in the mobile communication terminal 100 for the convenience of understanding and explanation. In this case, the mobile communication terminal 100 may be applied regardless of the case of the folding type, the slide type or the swing type.

Here, the mobile communication terminal 100 may include an input unit 120 that can generate various signals by the user's selection. In addition, the image analyzer 110 may generate image data by using the provided image sensor (not shown), and may analyze the image data captured and measure the brightness of the surroundings. For example, the image analyzer 110 may perform proximity sensing and / or illumination sensing by analyzing the captured image data. Here, proximity sensing may refer to detecting whether a subject (eg, a user's finger, a user's face, etc.) is close to the portable electronic device (particularly, the image analyzer 110). In addition, illuminance sensing may mean sensing ambient illumination. Detailed description thereof will be described later.

Herein, a case in which one image analyzer 110 is provided on the upper left side of the input unit 120 is assumed and described. However, this is only an example and the image analyzer 110 may be provided in plural and may be provided at various positions. It may be. For example, suppose that four image analyzers 110 are provided in the portable electronic device 100. In this case, one image analyzer 110 may be provided at the upper right side of the input unit 120, one at the lower left side of the input unit 120, and two at the left side of the portable electronic device 100. Therefore, the number and / or location of the image analyzer 110 does not limit the scope of the present invention.

In addition, the input unit 120 may be implemented in various ways such as a button method and / or a touch method so that numbers, letters, and / or special symbols may be input by a user's selection.

The general appearance of the portable electronic device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention has been described above. Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings will be described the operation of the portable electronic device 100, in particular, the operation of the image analysis unit 110 and the performance of the portable electronic device 100 according to it.

2 is a view showing the configuration of a portable electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 2, the portable electronic device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes an image analyzer 110, a terminal controller 230, a main input unit 240, a storage unit 250, and a display unit 260. ) May be included. In addition, the image analyzer 110 may include a subject imaging unit 210 and an image analysis unit 220. The subject imaging unit 210 may include a light source 212, a filter 214, a lens 216, The image sensor 218 may be included. In addition, although not shown, it is apparent that the portable electronic device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention may further include a communication unit, a power unit, a speaker unit, and the like. First, a cross-sectional configuration of the image analyzer 110 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 3.

3 is a cross-sectional view of an image analyzer according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3, the image analyzer 110 includes two or more light sources 212, a filter 214, and an image sensor 218 stacked on a substrate 320 under a light transmitting unit 310 through which light may pass. It may be mounted in the portable electronic device 100. In this case, the light projector 310 may protect the image analyzer 110 from an external material, and the light irradiated from the light source 212 may be reflected by the subject to filter 214 and / or the image sensor. It may be made to enter into 218. In this case, the light transmitting part 310 may be formed of a transparent plastic. Hereinafter, the operation of each component of the image analyzer 110 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 2.

Referring back to FIG. 2, the light source 212 is a device for irradiating predetermined light, and the light emitted from the light source 212 may be reflected by the subject and incident on the subject imaging unit 210. In this case, the light source 212 may irradiate light having a predetermined first wavelength, and may be, for example, an infrared light emitting diode (LED). In addition, the light irradiated from the light source 212 may be infrared rays, which may be light having a relatively small proportion in sunlight. In this case, the infrared wavelength may be 900 to 980 nm, 1080 to 1180 nm, 1325 to 1425 nm, 1800 to 2000 nm, and the like.

In addition, the light of the first wavelength irradiated from the light source 212 may be reflected by the subject to be incident on the subject imaging unit 210 continuously. In addition, the light source 212 may be turned on at a predetermined time interval under the control of the terminal controller 230. At this time, the image sensor 218 photographs the subject while the light source 212 is outputting light, and the glossy image data, and the subject is photographed while the light source 212 is not outputting light. Optical image data may be generated and output to the image analysis unit 220. Although only the operation of one light source 212 has been described herein, it is obvious that one or more light sources 212 may be provided as illustrated in FIG. 3.

The light reflected and incident by the subject 130 may pass through only the light having a specific wavelength by the filter 214 and reach the lens 216. That is, the filter 214 may pass only light having a specific wavelength to block light of other wavelengths that may act as noise. For example, assume that the light source 212 emits infrared light (ie, light of a first wavelength) as an infrared LED. In this case, the filter 214 may be a filter capable of passing only infrared rays corresponding to the light source 212. Thus, only the infrared light passing through the filter 214 in this case can reach the lens 216 and / or the image sensor 218. As another example, assume that the light source 212 is not included or the light source 212 is included but is not activated. At this time, the filter 214 may be a filter that can pass only visible light. Thus, only visible light passing through the filter 214 in this case can reach the lens 216 and / or the image sensor 218.

In addition, the filter 214 may be designed in an arrangement in which a first filter area capable of passing only infrared rays corresponding to the light source 212 and a second filter area capable of passing only visible light are preset. That is, the filter 214 may include a first filter region (hereinafter, referred to as an “infrared filter region”) capable of passing only infrared rays corresponding to the light source 212 and a first filter region (hereinafter, referred to as “infrared filter regions”). The infrared light filter area and the visible light filter area may be arranged in a predetermined manner (hereinafter, referred to as a 'compound filter'). Hereinafter, embodiments of the filter 214 in which the infrared filter area and the visible light filter area are arranged in a predetermined manner will be described with reference to FIGS. 4A and 4B.

4A is a view showing an embodiment of a filter included in an image analyzer according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4B is another embodiment of a filter included in an image analyzer according to an embodiment of the present invention. The figure shown.

Referring to FIG. 4A, an embodiment of the composite filter 214-1 included in the image analyzer 110 according to an embodiment of the present invention is illustrated. For convenience of description, the composite filter 214-1 illustrated in FIG. 4A is called a first filter 214-1. Here, the first filter 214-1 is formed in a rectangular shape, and as shown in FIG. 4A, the infrared filter regions 410-1 and 410-2 and the visible light filter regions 420-1 and 420-2. ) May be included. In this case, each of the infrared filter regions 410-1 and 410-2 may be symmetrically positioned in the diagonal direction, and each of the visible light filter regions 420-1 and 420-2 may also be symmetrically positioned in the diagonal direction. .

4B, another embodiment of the composite filter 214-2 included in the image analyzer 110 according to an embodiment of the present invention is illustrated. For convenience of description, the composite filter 214-2 illustrated in FIG. 4B is referred to as a second filter 214-2. Here, the second filter 214-2 is formed in a rectangular shape, and as shown in FIG. 4B, the infrared filter areas 440-1 and 440-2 and the visible light filter areas 450-1 and 450-2. ) May be included. In this case, each of the infrared filter regions 440-1 and 440-2 may be symmetrically positioned in the vertical direction, and each of the visible light filter regions 450-1 and 450-2 may be symmetrically positioned in the left and right directions. .

Herein, the filter 214 is assumed to have a rectangular shape, but the shape of the filter may be formed in various shapes such as a circle, a triangle, and a pentagon. In addition, although it was assumed that two infrared filter areas and two visible light filter areas included in the filter 214 are included, two or more filter areas may be included. That is, n infrared filter regions and / or m visible light filter regions may be included in the filter 214, and the filter 214 may be formed in various forms (where n and m are natural numbers). Accordingly, the number of each filter region and the shape of the filter 214 do not limit the scope of the present invention.

In addition, the n infrared filter areas and / or the m visible light filter areas may be arranged by a preset method. For example, one infrared filter area may be disposed above the filter 214, and one visible light filter area may be disposed below the filter 214. Alternatively, the n infrared filter areas and / or the m visible light filter areas may be disposed by the method illustrated in FIG. 4A or 4B. Therefore, it is apparent that the method of arranging the infrared filter area and / or the visible light filter area also does not limit the scope of the present invention.

Referring back to FIG. 2, light passing through the filter 214 may be incident to the image sensor 218 through the lens 216. The image sensor 218 may be a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) image sensor or a charge coupled device (CCD) image sensor. A complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) image sensor is composed of a plurality of unit pixels including a photo diode, and the signal output from the sensor is a digital electrical signal, which is driven by a control circuit and signal processing. . A charge coupled device (CCD) image sensor includes a plurality of MOS capacitors, and is operated by outputting an analog electric signal by moving charges (carriers) to the MOS capacitors.

The image sensor 218 includes a plurality of pixels capable of sensing light. Accordingly, the image sensor 218 generates the gloss image data and / or the matte image data so that the image analysis unit 220 can determine whether the subject is close to the image analyzer 110 and / or the illuminance of the surroundings. It can be output to the image analysis unit 220.

The image analyzing unit 220 may determine whether a subject (eg, a user's finger or face) is close to the image analyzing unit 110 and / or the illumination of the surroundings. Hereinafter, a method of determining whether the image analysis unit 220 is close to the subject and / or the illuminance of the surrounding will be described in detail.

First, the method of determining whether the image analyzing unit 220 is close to the subject will be described, and then the method of determining the illuminance of the surroundings will be described.

The image analysis unit 220 may extract a first pixel (hereinafter, referred to as an “infrared pixel”) that is a pixel photographed by infrared rays among the pixels of the glossy image data. Of course, if the filter 214 is an infrared filter, all pixels will be infrared pixels, but infrared light, such as the first filter 214-1 and / or the second filter 214-2 shown in FIGS. 4A and / or 4B In the case of the composite filter including both the filter area and the visible light filter area, the image analysis unit 220 may extract an infrared pixel corresponding to the infrared filter area.

For example, the infrared filter area and the visible light filter area included in the filter 214 may be arranged by a predetermined method, whereby the infrared pixel and the visible light pixel (ie, the visible light filter) included in the glossy image data. The second pixel corresponding to the region may also be arranged by a preset method. That is, when the glossy image data and the filter 214 are matched one-to-one, a portion overlapping the infrared filter region of the glossy image data may be an infrared pixel, and a portion overlapping the visible ray filter region may be a visible ray pixel. Taking the first filter 214-1 shown in FIG. 4A as an example, the gloss image data is divided into four equal parts with the first filter 214-1, so that the pixels of the upper left area (that is, the area corresponding to 410-1) Pixels) and pixels in the lower right region (i.e., 410-2) may be preset as infrared pixels, and pixels in the upper right region (i.e., pixels in the region corresponding to 420-1) and pixels in the lower left region ( That is, 420-2 may be preset to a visible light pixel.

In addition, in the case of the second filter 214-2 illustrated in FIG. 4B, the infrared pixel and the visible light pixel may be preset by a method similar to the above-described method. That is, the infrared pixel and the visible light pixel may also be preset according to the arrangement of the preset filter 214.

Thereafter, the image analysis unit 220 may calculate a first average luminance value (hereinafter, referred to as an 'infrared average luminance value'), which is an average value of luminance values of the respective infrared pixels, and calculates an infrared ray average luminance value and a predetermined value. You can compare the set IR threshold. Here, the value below the decimal point of an average value can be rounded. At this time, the image analysis unit 220 may generate a proximity signal to the subject and output to the terminal controller 230 if the infrared average luminance value is greater than the infrared threshold value. That is, the high infrared mean luminance value means that an arbitrary object (ie, a subject) reflects a lot of infrared rays emitted from the light source 212 in proximity to the portable electronic device 100 (particularly, the image analyzer 110). Because it can mean. Thereafter, the terminal controller 230 may perform a preset function corresponding to the subject proximity signal (to be described later).

In the above description, it is assumed that the image analyzing unit 220 analyzes the glossy image data to determine the proximity of the subject. However, the image analysis unit 220 uses the glossy image data and the sequentially input matte image data. Subject image data may be generated, and the subject image data may be analyzed to determine whether the subject is close. That is, the image sensor 218 may generate the glossy image data while the light source 212 is activated, and generate the matt image data while the light source 212 is inactivated. Therefore, the image analysis unit 220 may generate the subject image data by comparing the input glossy image data and the sequentially input matt image data.

For example, the subject image data may be image data obtained by subtracting the luminance value of each pixel of the matte image data from the luminance value of each pixel of the glossy image data as the luminance value of each pixel. That is, since the gloss image data is image data photographed while the light source 212 is activated, an image of a subject photographed at a position close to the light source 212 may have a high luminance value, and is captured at a position far from the light source 212. The luminance value of the background partial image will be relatively small. In addition, since the matte image data is image data captured while the light source 212 is inactivated, the luminance value of the subject image and the luminance value of the background image will be smaller than those of the glossy image data.

In addition, since the background of the glossy image data and the matte image data are both located far from the light source 212 relative to the light source 212 and the subject, the difference in luminance value will be very small. Therefore, if the luminance value of the matte image data corresponding to each pixel is subtracted from the luminance value of the glossy image data, the luminance value of the background portion excluding the subject will be almost 'zero', and the subject 130 Only the luminance value of the part corresponding to will be present. By this method, the image analysis unit 220 may generate the subject image data in which only a portion corresponding to the subject is extracted from the captured image data.

Here, it is assumed that the gloss image data is input first and the matte image data is input later, but it is obvious that the matte image data is input first and the gloss image data may be input later. In this case, it is apparent that the luminance value of each pixel of the subject image data may correspond to the absolute value of the subtracted value of the luminance value of each pixel of the matte image data and the luminance value of each pixel of the glossy image data.

In addition, the image analysis unit 220 may analyze the subject image data to extract an image pixel (hereinafter referred to as a reference pixel) corresponding to the subject. For example, it is assumed that the resolution of the image sensor 218 is 640 * 480 (horizontal * vertical), and the luminance value of each pixel is divided into 0 to 255. If the luminance value is '0', the brightness is '0', so it will be black, and if the luminance value is '255', it will be represented as white because it is the brightest case. In this case, if the reference luminance value set in advance to extract the reference pixel is '150', the image analysis unit 220 may extract, as the reference pixel, a pixel having a luminance value of '150' or more among all pixels included in the subject image data. have. At this time, since the pixel whose luminance value is too high or too low is likely to be a noise pixel, the upper and lower luminance values may be set in addition to the reference luminance value. For example, if the reference luminance value is '150' and the luminance upper limit value is set to '220' in advance, the subject detecting unit 220 has a luminance value of '150' or more among all pixels included in the subject image data. A pixel less than '220' may be extracted as a reference pixel.

In addition, the image analysis unit 220 may calculate the number of reference pixels and compare the number of reference pixels with a preset reference threshold. For example, it is assumed that the preset reference threshold value is '10, 000 '. In this case, if the number of reference pixels is '10, 000 'or more, the image analysis unit 220 may generate a proximity signal to the subject and output the same to the terminal controller 230. That is, the large number of reference pixels may mean that the light source 212 has a lot of portions covered by the subject (that is, it may mean that there is a lot of light reflected by the subject (ie, infrared rays)). The image analyzing unit 220 may generate a subject proximity signal and output the subject proximity signal to the terminal controller 230. Thereafter, the terminal controller 230 may cause the portable electronic device 100 to start operation in a preset operation mode according to the input subject proximity signal (to be described later).

In the above, the method of determining whether the image analyzing unit 220 is close to the subject has been described. Hereinafter, a method of determining the ambient illumination in the image analysis unit 220 will be described.

The image analysis unit 220 may output the illuminance information on the ambient illuminance generated by analyzing the input matte image data to the terminal controller 230. First, the image analysis unit 220 may extract the visible light pixel by analyzing the input matte image data. For example, when the filter 214 is a visible light filter capable of passing only visible light, all pixels of the matte image data may be extracted as visible light pixels. However, when the filter 214 is a composite filter including both the visible light filter area and the infrared filter area at the same time, the image analysis unit 220 is matted because the visible light data and the infrared pixel may also be included at the same time. Only visible light pixels should be extracted from the image data. Here, the infrared pixel and the visible light pixel may be set in advance according to the arrangement method of the infrared filter area and the visible light pixel area included in the filter 214, and thus the image analysis unit 220 is described above. Visible light pixels can be extracted by a method similar to a method of extracting an infrared pixel.

In addition, the image analysis unit 220 may calculate a second average luminance value (hereinafter, referred to as a 'visible ray average luminance value'), which is an average value of luminance values of all visible light pixels. At this time, the value below the decimal point of the average value may be rounded up. In addition, the image analysis unit 220 may generate illuminance information by analyzing the visible ray average luminance value. For example, the image analysis unit 220 may generate the illumination information by comparing the visible light average luminance value with a preset illumination table. For example, the average luminance value may be any one of data '0' to '255', and the illuminance table has one stage when the average luminance value is '0' to '100', and the average luminance value is '101'. It is assumed that the case where 'to' 200 'is preset is set to two stages and the case where the average luminance value is' 201' to '255' is three stages.

At this time, the image analysis unit 220 may generate the illumination information by comparing the average luminance value and the illumination table. That is, when the average luminance value is one of the values of '0' to '100', the image analysis unit 220 uses the luminance information corresponding to the first stage, and the average luminance value is '101' to '200'. In the case of any one of the illumination information corresponding to the second stage, and if the average luminance value is any one of the values of '201' to '255' can be generated the illumination information corresponding to the third stage. In addition, the image analysis unit 220 may output the generated illuminance information to the terminal controller 230.

Here, the illuminance information has been classified in three stages and assumed to be set in advance, but this is only an example and does not limit the scope of the present invention. That is, the illuminance information may be classified into n levels, and the range of average luminance values corresponding to the illuminance information may also be set differently (where n is a natural number). In addition, although it is assumed here that illuminance information is generated by the image analysis unit 220, the illuminance information may be generated by the terminal controller 230. That is, the image analysis unit 220 may generate a visible light average luminance value and output the same to the terminal controller 230, and the terminal controller 230 compares the input visible light average luminance value with a preset illuminance table to illuminate the light. You can also generate information. Therefore, the component in which the illuminance information is generated does not limit the scope of the present invention.

The terminal controller 230 may control the overall operation of the portable electronic device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. In particular, the terminal controller 230 may control the portable electronic device 100 to perform a corresponding operation when a subject proximity signal is input from the image analyzer 110 (in particular, the image analysis unit 220). For example, the terminal controller 230 may control the portable electronic device 100 to operate in a power saving mode when a subject proximity signal is input from the image analyzer 110 (in particular, the image analysis unit 220). have. Here, the power saving mode may mean an operation mode in which the display unit 260 is deactivated or the back-light included in the input unit 240 is operated to save power of the portable electronic device 100. Can be. That is, the terminal controller 230 may include various back-lights (not shown) included in the display unit 260 and / or the input unit 240 (hereinafter, referred to as a “back-light”) when a subject proximity signal is input. The amount of light can be adjusted according to a preset method. For example, the terminal controller 230 turns off the power of the back-light included in any one or more of the display unit 260 and / or the input unit 240 when the subject proximity signal is input. You can. Here, the back-light may be a name for various back-lights included in the display unit 260 and / or the input unit 240.

For another example, the portable electronic device 100 is a mobile communication terminal and the user outputs the voice data received from the counterpart terminal through a speaker phone call mode (that is, a speaker unit (not shown)). ) Is assumed to be operated in a call mode capable of making a voice call without being in close contact with the ear. However, the portable electronic device 100 is wirelessly connected to the other terminal through a mobile communication network. Or a video call). At this time, the terminal controller 230 terminates the speakerphone mode operation of the portable electronic device 100 when the subject proximity signal is input from the image analyzer 110, and the general call mode (that is, the user opens the portable electronic device 100). Call mode) to initiate a voice call while being in close contact with the ear.

Here, the method in which the speakerphone mode operation of the portable electronic device 100 is terminated and the general call mode is started is obvious to those skilled in the art, and a detailed description thereof may be omitted. In addition, the portable electronic apparatus 100 may include a communication unit (not shown) for performing a voice call and / or a video call with a counterpart terminal connected through a mobile communication network and / or a speaker for outputting voice data received from the counterpart terminal to the outside. Obviously, it may further include a part (not shown).

As described above, an operation that the terminal controller 230 may perform in response to the subject proximity signal may vary according to a user's setting and / or a manufacturer's setting. Therefore, the operation performed by the terminal controller 230 in correspondence to the subject proximity signal is only an example and thus does not limit the scope of the present invention.

In addition, when the illumination information is input from the image analyzer 110 (in particular, the image analysis unit 220), the terminal controller 230 may control the portable electronic device 100 to operate in a power mode corresponding to the illumination information. Can be. For example, the terminal controller 230 may control the brightness of the back light to be maximum when the illumination information corresponds to the first stage. In addition, the terminal controller 230 may control the brightness of the back light to be medium when the illumination information corresponds to the second stage. In addition, the terminal controller 230 may control the brightness of the backlight to be minimum (or to turn off the backlight) when the illumination information corresponds to three levels. Here, the illuminance information has been described on the assumption that the first to third stages, but as described above, the stage of the illuminance information may be classified into n stages, and thus, the terminal controller 230 may illuminate the brightness of the back light. It can be controlled to adjust in n steps according to the information (where n is a natural number).

The input unit 240 may generate various signals according to a user's manipulation and output them to the terminal controller 230. Here, the input unit 240 may be implemented in various ways, for example, may be implemented in a button method and / or a touch method. In particular, the input unit 240 may include a back-light for allowing a user to operate a desired button even in a dark place.

The storage unit 250 is a storage space in which various data can be stored, and various software for operating the portable electronic device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention may be stored. In particular, the storage unit 250 may store an infrared threshold value preset for comparison with an infrared ray average luminance value, an illumination table preset for comparison with a visible ray average luminance value, and the like. The storage unit 250 may be a NAND semiconductor memory device.

The display unit 260 may display various data under the control of the terminal controller 230. This allows the user to initially recognize the displayed data. The display unit 260 may include a liquid crystal display (LCD). In particular, the display unit 260 may include a back-light to allow the user to easily identify the displayed data even in a dark place.

5 is a flowchart illustrating a proximity sensing method in a portable electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, a proximity sensing method in the portable electronic device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 5. Each step to be described below may be steps performed on each component included in the portable electronic device 100, but it is assumed that the steps are performed on the portable electronic device 100 for convenience of understanding and description. Therefore, the subject performing the steps to be described below may be omitted.

In operation 510, the image 130 may be generated by capturing the subject 130 while the light source 212 is activated, that is, while outputting light.

In operation 520, the matte image data may be generated by capturing the subject 130 while the light source 212 is inactivated, that is, not outputting light.

In this case, the light source 212 may be turned on at a predetermined time interval under the control of the terminal controller 230, and the image sensor 218 may be matted when the light source 212 is inactivated immediately after generating the glossy image data. Image data can be generated. In addition, although the description has been made on the assumption that the matte image data is generated after the matte image data is generated, the matte image data may be generated after the matte image data is generated. That is, after step 510 is performed, step 520 may be generated.

 In operation 530, the object image data may be generated by comparing the generated glossy image data and the matte image data. Since the method of generating the subject image data may be the same as or similar to the method described above, a detailed description thereof may be omitted here.

In operation 540, the generated infrared image may be extracted by analyzing the generated subject image data. When the filter 214 included in the portable electronic device 100 is an infrared filter, all pixels of the subject image data may be infrared pixels. However, when the filter 214 is a complex filter including both an infrared filter area and a visible light filter area, pixels corresponding to the infrared filter area among the pixels of the subject image data may be extracted as infrared pixels.

In operation 550, an infrared average luminance value, which is an average value of luminance values of each infrared pixel, may be calculated and compared with a preset infrared threshold value. In this case, when the infrared mean luminance value is greater than or equal to the infrared threshold value, it may mean that an arbitrary subject (for example, a user's face, a finger, etc.) is close to the portable electronic device 100. Operation may be initiated in a saving mode (step 560).

Herein, the infrared pixel is assumed to be extracted from the subject image data, but the infrared pixel may be extracted from the glossy image data as described above. Therefore, in this case, steps 520 and 530 described above may be omitted, and step 540 may be replaced by extracting an infrared pixel from the glossy image data.

In addition, it is assumed herein that the portable electronic device 100 is set to be operated in a power saving mode when any subject is close to the portable electronic device 100. However, this is only an example. It does not limit the scope of rights. Accordingly, step 560 may be replaced with a step in which the portable electronic device operating in the speakerphone mode is started in the general call mode.

6 is a flowchart illustrating a roughness sensing method in a portable electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, a method of sensing illuminance in the portable electronic device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 6. Each step to be described below may be steps performed on each component included in the portable electronic device 100, but it is assumed that the steps are performed on the portable electronic device 100 for convenience of understanding and description. Therefore, the subject performing the steps to be described below may be omitted.

In operation 610, the image data may be generated, and the visible pixel may be extracted by analyzing the generated image data (operation 620). Here, when the filter 214 included in the portable electronic device 100 is a visible light filter, all pixels of the subject image data may be visible light pixels. However, when the filter 214 is a composite filter including both an infrared filter area and a visible light filter area, only pixels corresponding to the visible light filter area among the pixels of the subject image data may be extracted as the visible light pixels.

In operation 630, an average value of each visible pixel luminance value may be calculated to generate a visible average luminance value, and the calculated luminance average luminance value may be analyzed to generate illumination information (operation 640). In this case, as described above, illuminance information may be generated by comparing the visible light average luminance value with a preset illuminance table.

In operation 650, the operation may be started in a power mode corresponding to the generated illuminance information. For example, the terminal controller 230 may control the brightness of the back light to be maximum when the illumination information corresponds to the first stage. In addition, the terminal controller 230 may control the brightness of the back light to be medium when the illumination information corresponds to the second stage. In addition, the terminal controller 230 may control the brightness of the backlight to be minimum (or to turn off the backlight) when the illumination information corresponds to three levels.

Herein, it is assumed that the illumination information is classified into 1 to 3 levels. As described above, the illuminance information may be classified into n levels (where n is a natural number). Therefore, the power mode may be classified and operated in n steps according to the illumination information.

In addition, it is assumed here that the portable electronic device 100 is set in advance to start operation in a corresponding power mode according to illuminance information. However, this is only an example, and thus the scope of the present invention is not limited.

Although the above has been described with reference to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as set forth in the claims below It will be appreciated that modifications and variations can be made.

1 is a view illustrating the appearance of a portable electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a view showing the configuration of a portable electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a cross-sectional view of an image analyzer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

4A is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of a filter included in an image analyzer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

4B is a view showing another embodiment of a filter included in an image analyzer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

5 is a flowchart illustrating a proximity sensing method in a portable electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 6 is a flow chart for the illumination sensing method in a portable electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

<Description of the symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

110: image analysis unit

210: subject recording unit

212 light source

214: filter

216 lens

218: image sensor

220: image analysis unit

230: terminal control unit

240: input unit

250: storage unit

260: display unit

Claims (12)

In portable electronic devices, An image analyzer for generating and analyzing image data; And According to an analysis result of the image analysis unit includes a terminal control unit for controlling the portable electronic device to operate in a predetermined operation mode, The image analyzer, A filter comprising a first filter region passing only light of a first predetermined wavelength and a second filter region passing only light of a second predetermined wavelength, wherein the first wavelength and the second wavelength are different wavelengths ; An image sensor converting light incident through the filter into an electrical signal to generate the image data; And And a video analysis unit for analyzing the video data. The method of claim 1, The image analyzer further includes a light source for irradiating light of the first wavelength, The image sensor generates a glossy image data by converting light incident through the filter into an electrical signal when the light source is activated, The image analysis unit extracts a first pixel corresponding to the first filter region from the gloss image data, calculates an average value of luminance values of each of the first pixels, and generates a first average luminance value. 1 If the average luminance value is greater than or equal to a preset first threshold value, a proximity signal of the subject is generated and output. And the terminal controller controls the portable electronic device to operate in a preset operation mode according to the subject proximity signal. The method of claim 1, The image analyzer, Irradiating light of the first wavelength, and further comprises a light source that is turned on at a predetermined time interval, The image sensor converts light incident through the filter into an electrical signal while the light source is activated to generate gloss image data, and converts light incident through the filter into an electrical signal while the light source is deactivated. Creates matte image data, The image analysis unit generates subject image data by comparing the glossy image data and the matt image data, extracts a first pixel corresponding to the first filter region from the subject image data, and each of the first pixels. A first average luminance value is generated by calculating an average value of the luminance values of the generated values, and generates and outputs a subject proximity signal when the first average luminance value is greater than or equal to a preset first threshold value; And the terminal controller controls the portable electronic device to operate in a preset operation mode according to the subject proximity signal. The method according to claim 2 or 3, A display unit displaying input image data; And Further comprising an input unit for generating a signal according to the user's operation, And the terminal controller adjusts a light amount of a back-light included in any one or more of the display unit or the input unit according to a preset method when the subject proximity signal is input. The method of claim 1, The image analysis unit extracts a second pixel corresponding to the second filter area from the image data, calculates an average value of luminance values of each of the second pixels, and generates a second average luminance value, wherein the second pixel is generated. Generate and output roughness information according to the result of analyzing the average luminance value, And the terminal controller controls the portable electronic device to operate in an operation mode corresponding to the illuminance information. The method of claim 5, The image analysis unit compares the second average luminance value with a preset illuminance table to generate the illuminance information, The illuminance table is previously divided into 1 to n steps according to the range of the second average luminance value, and the image analyzer compares the second average luminance value with the illuminance table to any one of steps 1 to n. Portable electronic device, characterized in that for generating the illumination information corresponding to the step of (where n is a natural number of 2 or more). The method according to claim 5 or 6, A display unit displaying input image data; And Further comprising an input unit for generating a signal according to the user's operation, The terminal controller controls the brightness of the back-light included in any one of the display unit or the input unit in accordance with the illuminance information. Generating image data; Analyzing the image data; And And operating in a preset operation mode according to the analysis result of the image data. The image data may be generated by converting light incident through a filter including a first filter region through which only light of a first predetermined wavelength and a second filter region through only light having a second predetermined wavelength are converted into an electrical signal. Brightness measurement method in a portable electronic device, characterized in that. The method of claim 8, Analyzing the image data, Analyzing the image data to extract a first pixel corresponding to the first filter area; Generating a first average luminance value by calculating an average value of luminance values of each of the first pixels; And Generating and outputting a subject proximity signal when the first average luminance value is greater than or equal to a preset first threshold value; The step of operating in a preset operation mode according to the analysis result of the image data is a step of operating in a preset operation mode according to the subject proximity signal, the image data is a light source for irradiating light of the first genital wavelength provided The brightness measurement method in a portable electronic device, characterized in that the glossy image data generated in the activated state. The method of claim 8, Analyzing the image data, Extracting a second pixel corresponding to the second filter area from the image data; Calculating a mean value of luminance values of each of the second pixels to generate a second average luminance value; And Generating and outputting illuminance information according to a result of analyzing the second average luminance value; And operating in a preset operation mode according to the analysis result of the image data is operating in a preset operation mode according to the illuminance information. The method of claim 10, Generating and outputting the illumination information, Comparing the second average luminance value and a predetermined illuminance table to generate the illuminance information, The illuminance table is previously divided into 1 to n steps according to the range of the second average luminance value, and the illuminance information is any one of steps 1 to n when the second average luminance value is compared with the illuminance table. Method for measuring the brightness in a portable electronic device, characterized in that it is generated with a value corresponding to the step of (wherein n is a natural number of 2 or more). A program of instructions that can be executed by the portable electronic device is tangibly embodied in order to perform the brightness measuring method of the portable electronic device according to any one of claims 8 to 11, A recording medium on which a program that can be read is recorded.

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