TWI736053B - Device control method and electronic device - Google Patents

Abstract

A device control method and an electronic device are provided. The electronic device includes an electronic control glass layer and an image capturing device. The method includes: capturing a blurred image through the electronic control glass layer by a camera of the image capturing device in an un-electrified mode of the electronic control glass layer; electrifying the electronic control glass layer to change the electronic control glass layer to an electrified mode; and capturing a clear image through the electronic control glass layer by the camera in the electrified mode.

Description

Device control method and electronic device

The present invention relates to a device control technology, and particularly relates to a device control method and an electronic device.

Facial recognition technology has been widely used to authenticate users of electronic devices such as smart phones or notebook computers. However, in order to support the real-time facial recognition function, the image recognition module on the electronic device needs to be kept in the activated state at any time, which causes the power consumption of the electronic device to increase. In addition, the use of unshielded lenses also increases the risk of users being stolen inadvertently.

In view of this, the embodiments of the present invention provide a device control method and an electronic device, which can achieve the effect of privacy protection by energizing or not energizing the electrically controlled glass layer in front of the lens.

An embodiment of the present invention provides a device control method for controlling an electronic device, the electronic device having an electrically controlled glass layer and an image capturing device, and the device control method includes: In the mode, the lens of the image capturing device captures the blurred image through the electrically controlled glass layer; power is supplied to the electrically controlled glass layer to switch the electrically controlled glass layer to the power-on mode; and In the power-on mode, a clear image is captured by the lens through the electrically controlled glass layer.

An embodiment of the present invention further provides an electronic device, which includes an electrically controlled glass layer, an image capture device, and a processor. The image capturing device has a lens. The processor is coupled to the image capturing device and the electrically controlled glass layer. In the non-energized mode of the electrically controlled glass layer, the processor instructs the lens to capture a blurred image through the electrically controlled glass layer. The processor instructs to supply power to the electrically controlled glass layer to switch the electrically controlled glass layer to a power-on mode. In the power-on mode, the processor instructs the lens to capture a clear image through the electrically controlled glass layer.

Based on the above, the electronic device in the embodiment of the present invention includes an electrically controlled glass layer and an image capturing device. When power is not applied to the electrically controlled glass layer in front of the lens, the lens can capture blurred images through the electrically controlled glass layer that is not energized. When energized to this electrically controlled glass layer, the lens can capture a clear image through the electrically controlled glass layer that has been energized. By energizing or not energizing to the electrically controlled glass layer arranged in front of the lens, a balance can be effectively achieved between privacy protection and the ease of use of the device.

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the invention. Please refer to FIG. 1, the electronic device 10 includes an electrically controlled glass layer 11, an image capturing device 12 and a processor 13. The electrically controlled glass layer 11 can be switched between transparent and matte by electrifying or not electrifying. For example, in one embodiment, the main component of the electrically controlled glass layer 11 may include indium tin oxide (ITO), which is a mixture of indium (group III) oxide (In203) and tin (group IV) oxide (Sn02) . For example, the mass ratio of indium oxide to tin oxide may be 90:10. When the electrically controlled glass layer 11 is energized, the mixture in the electrically controlled glass layer 11 may be in the form of a transparent film. When the electrically-controlled glass layer 11 is not energized (ie, power is off), the mixture in the electrically-controlled glass layer 11 may be yellowish to gray (like milky white) blocks. It should be noted that in other embodiments, the main components of the electrically-controlled glass layer 11 can be changed, as long as the light-transmitting characteristics of the electrically-controlled glass layer 11 can be changed when the power is turned on and off.

The image capturing device 12 includes a lens 121 and is used to capture external images. The lens 121 may include a general optical lens and/or an infrared lens. The number of the lens 121 can be one or more, which is not limited in the present invention. The lens 121 is arranged behind the electrically controlled glass layer 11 and is shielded by the electrically controlled glass layer 11. In other words, the lens 121 needs to pass through the electrically controlled glass layer 11 to capture the image in front of the lens 121.

The processor 13 is coupled to the electrically controlled glass layer 11 and the image capturing device 12. In one embodiment, the processor 13 can be used to control the electrically controlled glass layer 11 and the image capturing device 12. For example, the processor 13 can control to be energized or not energized to the electrically controlled glass layer 11 to change the light transmission state of the electrically controlled glass layer 11. In addition, the processor 13 can control the lens 121 to capture images. In an embodiment, the processor 13 may also be used to control the whole or part of the operation of the electronic device 10. For example, the processor 13 may include a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), or other programmable general-purpose or special-purpose microprocessors, digital signal processors (DSP), Programmable controller, Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASIC), Programmable Logic Device (PLD) or other similar devices or a combination of these devices.

In an embodiment, the electronic device 10 further includes various electronic components such as a storage circuit, an input/output interface, and/or a power supply circuit, which is not limited by the present invention. For example, the input/output interface may include a screen, a touch screen, a keyboard, a mouse, a touch pad, a speaker, a microphone, a wired communication interface card, and/or a wireless communication interface card, etc., which is not limited by the present invention.

In the following embodiments, a notebook computer is used as an example of the electronic device 10 in FIG. 1. However, in other embodiments, the electronic device 10 of FIG. 1 can also be an electronic device equipped with an electrically controlled glass layer 11 and an image capturing device 12 at the same time, such as a desktop computer, an industrial computer, a tablet computer, or a smart phone. The invention is not limited.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the appearance of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a blurred image drawn according to an embodiment of the invention. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a clear image drawn according to an embodiment of the invention.

Please refer to FIG. 2, taking a notebook computer as an example of the electronic device 10. In the default state (ie, the unpowered mode), the electrically controlled glass layer 11 can present a color similar to milky white to shield the lens 121. In the unpowered mode, the lens 121 is shielded by the electrically controlled glass layer 11 and can only capture a blurred image, such as the image 31 in FIG. 3. After power is supplied to the electrically controlled glass layer 11 to switch the electrically controlled glass layer 11 to the energization mode, the electrically controlled glass layer 11 will appear transparent. Therefore, in the power-on mode, even if it is shielded by the electrically controlled glass layer 11, the lens 121 can still capture a clear image through the electrically controlled glass layer 11, as shown in the image 41 in FIG. 4.

Taking FIGS. 3 and 4 as an example, when a user is in front of the lens 121, in the image 31 captured in the unpowered mode (ie, blurred image), the user's outline 301 and the background are blurred. Therefore, the processor 13 may only be able to determine whether there is an object in front of the lens 121 and/or the general type of the object (for example, whether it is a human face) by analyzing the light and shadow changes in the image 31. At this time, the processor 13 not only cannot clearly know the facial features of the user in front of the current lens 121, but also cannot analyze the image 31 through facial recognition technology to obtain the identity of the user in front of the current lens 121. However, in the image 41 (ie, clear image) captured in the power-on mode, the contour 401 and facial features of the user are clear. Therefore, the processor 13 can obtain the facial features and/or identity of the user in front of the current lens 121 by analyzing the image 41 (for example, performing facial recognition on the image within the contour 401).

In one embodiment, when the user of the electronic device 10 does not instruct to activate the image capture device 12 or the lens 121, the processor 13 can control the power-off to the electrically-controlled glass layer 11, so that the electrically-controlled glass layer 11 is in a non-energized state. model. At this time, even if the lens 121 of the image capturing device 12 is activated under the control of an external malicious user (such as a hacker), the activated lens 121 cannot capture a clear image through the electrically controlled glass layer 11 that is not powered on. Strengthen user privacy protection.

In one embodiment, when the user of the electronic device 10 actually instructs to activate the image capturing device 12 or the lens 121, the processor 13 can control the power to the electrically controlled glass layer 11 so that the electrically controlled glass layer 11 is in the energized mode. At this time, a clear image of the user in front of the lens 121 (for example, the image 41 in FIG. 4) can be obtained. This clear image can be further used for facial recognition and other operations. In other words, by controlling whether to supply power to the electrically controlled glass layer 11, a balance can be struck between the user's privacy protection and the ease of use of the image capturing device 12.

In one embodiment, in the unpowered mode, the processor 13 may analyze the blurred image captured by the electrically controlled glass layer 11 (for example, the image 31 in FIG. 3) to trigger a predetermined operation. In one embodiment, the preset operation includes an operation of supplying power to the electrically controlled glass layer 11 to switch the electrically controlled glass layer 11 to a power-on mode. Taking FIGS. 3 and 4 as examples, the processor 13 may analyze the image 31 and determine that there is an object currently in front of the lens 121 and/or that the object may be a human face. According to the analysis result, the processor 13 can control the electrically controlled glass layer 11 to enter the power-on mode. In other words, in an embodiment, whether the electrically controlled glass layer 11 enters the energized mode can be automatically determined according to the blurred image obtained by the electrically controlled glass layer 11 in the non-energized mode.

In the power-on mode, the lens 121 can obtain an image 41 through the electrically controlled glass layer 11. The processor 13 can analyze the image 41 and perform facial recognition on the image 41. According to the result of facial recognition, the processor 13 can determine whether to log in to the operating system (or a specific application) of the electronic device 10 and/or perform a specific operation (for example, open a specific application). For example, if the result of facial recognition reflects that the identity of the user in front of the camera 121 is indeed the administrator of the electronic device 10, the processor 13 may allow the user to log in to the operating system of the electronic device 10. However, in another embodiment, if the processor 13 determines that there is no object currently in front of the lens 121 by analyzing the blurred image and/or determines that the object in front of the lens 121 should not be a human face, the processor 13 may not perform the prediction. Set up operation.

In an embodiment, the predetermined operation includes waking up the electronic device 10. Also taking FIG. 3 as an example, in one embodiment, in the unpowered mode, if the processor 13 determines that an object is currently in front of the lens 121 by analyzing the image 31 and/or determines that the object may be a human face, the processor 13 13 can directly switch the electronic device 10 from the current standby or idle mode to the normal mode to wake up the electronic device 10 from the standby or idle mode. In one embodiment, after the electronic device 10 is woken up, the processor 13 may also execute an operating system (or a specific application program) including logging into the electronic device 10 and/or perform a specific operation (such as opening a specific application program).

In an embodiment, whether the electrically controlled glass layer 11 is energized or not can also be controlled by a specific switch. FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the invention. Please refer to FIG. 5, the electronic device 50 includes an electrically controlled glass layer 11, an image capturing device 12, a processor 13 and a switch 51. The electrically controlled glass layer 11, the image capturing device 12, and the processor 13 are respectively the same as or similar to the electrically controlled glass layer 11, the image capturing device 12, and the processor 13 of FIG. 1, and will not be repeated here.

In an embodiment, the switch 51 may be a physical switch. For example, the physical switch 51 can be arranged outside the electronic device 10 in FIG. 2 in a manner similar to a button or a lever. The user can operate the switch 51 by pressing a button or moving a lever to control whether to energize the electrically controlled glass layer 11. For example, when the user wants to activate the lens 121, the user can operate the switch 51 by pressing a button or moving a lever to control the energization of the electrically controlled glass layer 11. Alternatively, when the user wants to close the lens 121, the user can operate the switch 51 by pressing a button or moving a lever to control the electric control glass layer 11 not to be energized.

In an embodiment, the switch 51 may also be a virtual switch. For example, the virtual switch 51 may be presented on the display screen of FIG. 2. The user can click the switch 51 by operating an input interface such as a mouse or a touchpad to control whether to energize the electrically controlled glass layer 11.

FIG. 6 is a functional block diagram of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the invention. Please refer to FIG. 6, the electronic device 60 includes an electrically controlled glass layer 11, an image capture device 12, a processor 13 and an indicator light 61. The electrically controlled glass layer 11, the image capturing device 12, and the processor 13 are respectively the same as or similar to the electrically controlled glass layer 11, the image capturing device 12, and the processor 13 of FIG. 1, and will not be repeated here. The indicator light 61 is used to reflect whether the lens 121 is activated. For example, the indicator light 61 may be provided outside the electronic device 10 of FIG. 2.

In general, when the lens 121 is activated, the indicator light 61 will be lit to reflect that the lens 121 is activated. Similarly, when the lens 121 is turned off, the indicator light 61 will also be turned off to reflect that the lens 121 is turned off. However, in some special cases, for example, when the lens 121 is controlled and activated by an external malicious user (such as a hacker), the indicator light 61 may not be lit. For example, when the lens 121 is activated, the hacker may control the enable pin of the indicator light 61 to be in an OFF state. In this special case, the user may not be aware that the current lens 121 has been secretly activated for sneak shooting.

In one embodiment, the processor 13 can detect the state of the indicator light 61 (also referred to as the indicator light state). The status of the indicator light can reflect whether the indicator light 61 is currently lit. According to the status of the indicator light, the processor 13 can determine whether to supply power to the electrically controlled glass layer 11. For example, if the status of the indicator light reflects that the indicator light 61 is currently lit (at this time, the enable pin of the indicator light 61 is in the ON state), the processor 13 can control the electrical control glass layer 11 to be energized to turn the electrical control glass layer 11 Switch to power-on mode. Conversely, if the status of the indicator light reflects that the indicator light 61 is not currently lit, the processor 13 can control the electrically controlled glass layer 11 not to be energized, so as to maintain the electrically controlled glass layer 11 in the non-energized mode. In this way, even if the hacker controls the enable pin of the indicator light 61 to be in the OFF state while activating the lens 121 to prevent the indicator light 61 from emitting light, the processor 13 can also synchronously maintain the electrically controlled glass layer 11 in the unpowered mode. To prevent hackers from sneaking a clear image through the lens 121.

In one embodiment, the connection of the circuit pins can also be used to synchronize whether the electrically controlled glass layer 11 is energized or not with the status of the indicator light. For example, in one embodiment, the enable pin of the indicator light 61 can be coupled to the power switch of the electrically controlled glass layer 11. When the enable pin of the indicator light 61 is ON, the energization switch of the electrically controlled glass layer 11 can be synchronized to the ON state according to the state of the indicator light at this time, so as to energize the electrically controlled glass layer 11. When the enable pin of the indicator light 61 is OFF, the energization switch of the electrically-controlled glass layer 11 can also be in an OFF state synchronously according to the state of the indicator light at this time, so as to stop the energization of the electrically-controlled glass layer 11.

It should be noted that in the embodiment of FIG. 2, the size, appearance, and/or arrangement of the electrically controlled glass layer 11 are only examples, and are not intended to limit the present invention. For example, in another embodiment of FIG. 2, the electrically controlled glass layer 11 can also be embedded in the electronic device 10 (or the camera module 121), etc., which is not limited by the present invention.

Fig. 7 is a flowchart of a device control method according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 7, in step S701, in the non-energized mode of the electrically controlled glass layer of the electronic device, the lens of the image capturing device of the electronic device captures a blurred image through the electrically controlled glass layer. In step S702, power is supplied to the electrically controlled glass layer to switch the electrically controlled glass layer to a power-on mode. In step S703, in the power-on mode, a clear image is captured by the lens through the electrically controlled glass layer.

However, each step in FIG. 7 has been described in detail as above, and will not be repeated here. It should be noted that each step in FIG. 7 can be implemented as multiple program codes or circuits, and the present invention is not limited. In addition, the method in FIG. 7 can be used in conjunction with the above exemplary embodiments, or can be used alone, and the present invention is not limited.

In summary, the electronic device in the embodiment of the present invention includes an electrically controlled glass layer and an image capturing device. The electrically controlled glass layer can be arranged in front of the lens of the image capturing device. The electrically controlled glass layer can be selectively energized or de-energized. When the electrically controlled glass layer is not energized, the lens can capture blurred images through the electrically controlled glass layer that is not energized. When power is applied to this electrically controlled glass layer, the lens can capture a clear image through the electrically controlled glass layer that has been energized. In this way, it is possible to effectively strike a balance between privacy protection and the convenience of using the device. In addition, in an embodiment, it is also possible to synchronously control whether the electrically controlled glass layer is energized or not according to the status of the indicator light, so as to further enhance the protection of the user's privacy.

10, 50, 60: electronic device 11: Electrically controlled glass layer 12: Image capture device 121: Lens 13: Processor 31, 41: Image 301, 401: Contour 51: Switch 61: indicator light S701~S703: Steps

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the appearance of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a blurred image drawn according to an embodiment of the invention. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a clear image drawn according to an embodiment of the invention. FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the invention. FIG. 6 is a functional block diagram of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the invention. Fig. 7 is a flowchart of a device control method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

S701~S703: Steps

Claims (10)

A device control method for controlling an electronic device, the electronic device having an electrically controlled glass layer and an image capturing device, the device control method includes: in an unpowered mode of the electrically controlled glass layer, the image A lens of the capturing device captures a blurred image through the electrically controlled glass layer; in the unpowered mode, analyzes the blurred image to trigger a preset operation; power is supplied to the electrically controlled glass layer to make the electrically controlled glass The layer is switched to a power-on mode; and in the power-on mode, a clear image is captured by the lens through the electrically controlled glass layer. According to the device control method described in item 1 of the scope of patent application, the preset operation includes the operation of supplying power to the electrically controlled glass layer. According to the device control method described in claim 1, wherein the preset operation includes: switching the electronic device from a standby mode to a normal mode to wake up the electronic device. For example, the device control method described in item 1 of the scope of patent application further includes: detecting the status of an indicator light of the electronic device, wherein the indicator status reflects whether the lens is activated; and determining whether power is supplied to the lens according to the status of the indicator light The electrically controlled glass layer. An electronic device, including: An electrically controlled glass layer; an image capture device having a lens; and a processor coupled to the image capture device and the electrically controlled glass layer, wherein in an unpowered mode of the electrically controlled glass layer, The processor instructs the lens to capture a blurred image through the electrically controlled glass layer, the processor instructs to supply power to the electrically controlled glass layer to switch the electrically controlled glass layer to a power-on mode, and in the power-on mode, The processor instructs the lens to capture a clear image through the electrically controlled glass layer. As for the electronic device described in item 5 of the scope of patent application, the predetermined operation includes the operation of supplying power to the electrically controlled glass layer. According to the electronic device described in claim 5, the preset operation includes: switching the electronic device from a standby mode to a normal mode to wake up the electronic device. For the electronic device described in item 5 of the scope of patent application, the processor further detects the status of an indicator light of the electronic device, wherein the indicator status reflects whether the lens is activated, and the processor further detects the status of the indicator light The state determines whether to supply power to the electrically controlled glass layer. A device control method for controlling an electronic device, the electronic device having an electrically controlled glass layer and an image capture device, the device control method includes: in an unpowered mode of the electrically controlled glass layer, the image A lens of the capturing device captures a blurred image through the electrically controlled glass layer; power is supplied to the electrically controlled glass layer to switch the electrically controlled glass layer to a power-on mode; in the power-on mode, the lens passes through the The electrically controlled glass layer captures a clear image; detects the status of an indicator light of the electronic device, wherein the indicator status reflects whether the lens is activated; and determines whether to supply power to the electrically controlled glass layer according to the status of the indicator light. An electronic device includes: an electrically controlled glass layer; an image capture device with a lens; and a processor coupled to the image capture device and the electrically controlled glass layer, wherein the electrically controlled glass layer In an unpowered mode, the processor instructs the lens to capture a blurred image through the electrically controlled glass layer, and the processor instructs to supply power to the electrically controlled glass layer to switch the electrically controlled glass layer to an energized mode. In the power-on mode, the processor instructs the lens to capture a clear image through the electrically controlled glass layer, and the processor further detects the status of an indicator light of the electronic device, wherein the indicator light The state reflects whether the lens is activated, and the processor further determines whether to supply power to the electrically controlled glass layer according to the state of the indicator light.

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