WO2007034388A2

WO2007034388A2 - Viewing device

Info

Publication number: WO2007034388A2
Application number: PCT/IB2006/053306
Authority: WO
Inventors: Oscar Pena
Original assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V.
Priority date: 2005-09-20
Filing date: 2006-09-15
Publication date: 2007-03-29
Also published as: WO2007034388A3

Abstract

The invention relates to a viewing device that allows one to view and listen to a movie clip selected from a number of stored movie clips and displayed on the LCD screen of the device. The invention proposes such a viewing device to include an optical element for producing a spherical image displayed on the flat LCD screen. This optical element is a bundle with a large number of fibers, cut off with a flat surface on one end and with a spherical surface on the other end. The flat surface is attached to the LCD screen and the light from the LCD screen is coupled into the fibers of the bundle. The user sees the light coming out of the other side of the bundle and hence sees the image in a spherical way. In a particular embodiment, the viewing device contains an acceleration sensor and the user can shake the device for selecting a new, random movie clip from the stored movie clips. The shake is detected by analyzing the histogram of measured accelerations over time.

Description

Viewing device

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a viewing device that allows one to view and listen to a number of images on it.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Nowadays, images are normally stored on cameras, mobile telephones, computers, or other such devices. They are normally not readily accessible, as they exist as files in a large database. No dedicated device exists to just play short personal movie clips, and none is designed to be part of the domestic environment.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the invention to provide a viewing device that allows easy viewing of images and the like. To this end, the viewing device according to the invention comprises a substantially flat display screen for displaying an image, a light guiding unit with a first side having a surface which corresponds to and is coupled to said display screen and with a second side having a spherical surface, and a lens having a shape corresponding to the spherical surface of the light guiding unit, which second side of the light guiding unit is coupled to said lens, thus being arranged for reproducing the displayed image on said lens.

This allows storing and playing images in an easy way. It is a personal product, that contains special memories, which it plays in a 'magical' way, and it does this through very engaging interaction. This is something new, as movie players are normally one of many functions on a standardized product.

The viewing device according to the invention is designed in the first instance to provide the function described above, and in the second instance, to be part of domestic environment. In this way it is designed to be both a precious object and a piece of electronic equipment.

In a preferred embodiment the viewing device further comprises an acceleration sensor for detecting movements of the viewing device, wherein an image is displayed on said lens when a predetermined number of movements has been detected. When a user shakes the viewing device e.g. three times, it displays a new image, or, if it has been in a previous sleep mode, the image shown when the sleep mode started. The shaking may also initiate a slideshow of images, a video clip or a movie.

In another preferred embodiment the viewing device further comprises a proximity sensor for detecting a moving object in the presence of the viewing device, wherein an image is displayed on said lens when said presence has been detected. When e.g. a hand of a person reaches out to touch the viewing device an image is displayed in the same manner as explained in the previous paragraph.

In yet another preferred embodiment the viewing device further comprises transmitting means and/or receiving means for transmitting or receiving data. The data may be transmitted wirelessly or through wires by using e.g. Bluetooth, Zigbee, UWB, NFC, IrDA, Firewire, wireless and wired USB, etc.

In yet another preferred embodiment the viewing device is arranged to wirelessly transmit or receive data to and from an object which has been detected in the presence of the viewing device. If it is desired to e.g. download images into the viewing device from another portable device such as a PDA, a mobile phone, an MP3 player, a laptop, another viewing device etc., that device is brought into the presence of the viewing device and download may automatically be initiated. The download may of course also be initiated when physically connecting respective devices, i.e. as in the plug-and-play scheme.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Figure 1 is a diagram of the assembled viewing device according to the invention. It shows the lens(es) 10, component housing 20, and speaker shell 30.

Figure 2 is an exploded diagram of the viewing device according to the invention showing more clearly the configuration of 2 lenses: glass/acrylic lens 40, and optic fiber lens 50. It also shows the other main components such as the LCD screen 80 and speaker 90.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION The viewing device according to the invention is a spherical object comprised of two hemisphere halves, the lenses 10 and the component housing 20. In an arrangement, the size of the outside diameter of the viewing device is approximately 100 mm. The upper half contains a glass or acrylic lens 40, which is optically designed to distort the image from being flat to being curved (dome appearance). Preferably, the upper half consists of two parts. This configuration comprises a smaller convex optic fiber lens 50 and a larger glass lens 40, the combination of which increases the curvature of the image. The optic fiber lens 50 has a diameter to match the dimension of the visible display on the LCD screen 80, and sits directly on the screen surface. The LCD screen is preferably as large as possible to fit within the diameter of the viewing device.

The optic fiber lens 50 comprises a cylindrical pile containing many fibers that guide the light from the LCD screen to the inner side of the lens 40. The bottom side of the pile is flat and is mounted closely to the LCD screen. In case the displayed image source (here the LCD screen) deviates from being flat, the shape of the bottom side of the pile corresponds with said deviated, displayed image source. The topside of the pile has a spherical shape corresponding with the inner shape of the lens 40. The topside is fitted closely against the lens 40 to avoid any breaking of light. The light of the pixels of the LCD is coupled into the fibers at the bottom side and leaves the fibers at the topside. Because the topside of the pile of fibers is spherical, the viewers looking to the light leaving the fibers perceive a spherical image. The outer lens 40 magnifies the image formed by the fibers. The outer lens 40 is optional and is not required to create the spherical image. In an arrangement, the LCD screen has a diagonal size of e.g. 3.5 inches and a resolution corresponding to the PAL standard. The pile of fibers contains so many fibers that the light of a single pixel of the LCD is guided through approximately 20 fibers. In an alternative arrangement, the fibers are slightly separated from each other by some separating means when going from the bottom side into the direction of the topside in a tree like fashion. This creates a larger spherical image.

The main components in the viewing device according to the invention are an LCD screen 80 which displays the movie clips, a loudspeaker 90 to provide sound, proximity sensors 100 to detect someone's presence, a transmitter and receiver 110 to receive the data from mobile devices through wireless data transfer, a battery to power all the electronic components 120, and (X₅Y) acceleration sensors 140 to detect shaking movement. These components are fixed into the component housing 20. To provide a glow around the LCD screen 80, LEDs on PCBs 70 are fixed to the top of the component housing 10, with a screen mask 60 on top to diffuse the light created by the LEDs. With these components in place, the glass/acrylic lens 40 is attached to the component housing 20. Next, the main shell 130 is put in place and the speaker shell 30 is put into position to fix the main shell 130 and speaker shell 30 in place. In an embodiment, the viewing device contains a processor to analyze the output of the acceleration sensor. This output represents the acceleration exerted on the device. The processor creates a histogram from the output of the acceleration sensor. The shape of the histogram indicates the acceleration pattern applied to the viewing device. For example, when the viewing device is in rest the histogram shows a peak at zero. By analyzing whether the histogram shows a peak above a certain threshold, the processor determines whether there is a shake applied to the viewing device. In an embodiment, the processor is programmed to determine whether the user applies e.g. three shakes to the viewing device by analyzing the histogram accordingly. When the three shakes are detected, a new movie clip is selected and displayed.

Proximity sensors register when someone reaches out to touch the viewing device, which causes it to wake up from a power saving 'sleep' mode. A movie clip begins to play with random selection and another is randomly played when (X₅Y) acceleration sensors detect a shaking movement. This movement can be detected when the viewing device is moved in any direction, and requires e.g. three 'firm' shakes before changing video clips. Movie clips can be downloaded from e.g. a mobile telephone or a personal digital assistant with a proximity and/or touch sensor, where the transmitters in the viewing device detect the presence of these mobile devices. Once within a particular range, the viewing device will prompt them to transfer movie clips to its own memory store, which has a capacity of e.g. 50 Gb. This wireless data transfer may be shown with visual feedback. The transferred clips can then be viewed on the viewing device in the same way as the already present clips, through shaking the device.

In summary, the invention relates to a viewing device that allows one to view and listen to a movie clip selected from a number of stored movie clips and displays it on the LCD screen of the device. The invention proposes such a viewing device to include an optical element for producing a spherical image displayed on the flat LCD screen. This optical element is a bundle with a large number of fibers, cut off with a flat surface on one end and with a spherical surface on the other end. The flat surface is attached to the LCD screen and the light from the LCD screen is coupled into the fibers of the bundle. The user sees the light coming out of the other side of the bundle and hence sees the image in a spherical way.

The application of the invention is not limited to displaying video clips. Other applications include: displaying photos, displaying other images, displaying movies, etc.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. A viewing device comprising: a substantially flat display screen for displaying an image; a light guiding unit with a first side having a surface which corresponds to and is coupled to said display screen and with a second side having a spherical surface; and - a lens having a shape corresponding to the spherical surface of the light guiding unit, which second side of the light guiding unit is coupled to said lens, thus being arranged for reproducing the displayed image on said lens.

2. A viewing device according to claim 1, wherein the viewing device further comprises: an acceleration sensor for detecting movements of the viewing device, wherein an image is displayed on said lens when a predetermined number of movements has been detected.

3. A viewing device according to claim 1, wherein the viewing device further comprises: a proximity sensor for detecting a moving object in the presence of the viewing device, wherein an image is displayed on said lens when said presence has been detected.

4. A viewing device according to claim 1, wherein the viewing device further comprises: transmitting means and/or receiving means for transmitting or receiving data.

5. A viewing device according to claim 4 and 3, which is arranged to wirelessly transmit or receive data to and from an object which has been detected in the presence of the viewing device.