WO2018103964A1

WO2018103964A1 - An image display device

Info

Publication number: WO2018103964A1
Application number: PCT/EP2017/077937
Authority: WO
Inventors: Hafize Ceren DUMEN; Ismail KARATEPE; Metin ELITAS; Cihan Torun; Sezer BAGLAN; Mehmet Hakan DOGAN
Original assignee: Arcelik AS
Current assignee: Arcelik AS
Priority date: 2016-12-08
Filing date: 2017-11-01
Publication date: 2018-06-14
Anticipated expiration: 2019-06-08
Also published as: TR201618080A2

Abstract

The present invention relates to an image display device (1) comprising a control unit (4) that can process the information regarding the distance between the display screen (2) and the user, and that receives a broadcast content including subtitle content and automatically changes the font size based on the distance information.

Description

AN IMAGE DISPLAY DEVICE

The present invention relates to an image display device.

Videos usually comprise subtitle packages that allow viewing with various language alternatives, enabling the users that do not speak the language of the broadcast to understand the broadcast content. Since the video players can receive only a limited amount of data in a certain time period, in order to prevent the broadcast from being interrupted due to the limited transfer rate, the size of the subtitle data in the video data package is preferred to be kept at minimum. Thus, the subtitle data content is displayed in the subtitle area that is defined in a limited part of the display screen. Accordingly, the font size in the subtitle data is reduced. When the font size is reduced, it becomes difficult for the viewer to read the subtitle and follow the video content.

Since increasing the subtitle display area in order to overcome this issue adversely affects the continuity of the video content, solutions such as increasing the subtitle size are implemented. Since a full sentence cannot be fit into a single window when the subtitle size is increased above a certain value, the subtitle is displayed as fast scrolling words. Since in this case it becomes difficult to follow the conversations in the video, an effective solution for the problem cannot be obtained.

In the state of the art United States of America Patent Document No. US2012293712, a method that enables the viewer to choose the subtitle size while viewing a video with subtitle content is disclosed.

In case the subtitles cannot be read, the related section of the display screen is zoomed and the subtitles are magnified. In this embodiment, the file size may increase and affect the broadcast speed and the viewing quality may decrease since the general video display area is affected.

Nowadays, especially the video formats usually comprise the subtitle option. Thus, a wider range of viewer can be addressed. The font size is very important for users while reading the subtitles. The distance of the viewer to the display screen is very important in determining the size of the subtitles. Since the position of the viewer relative to the display screen is not fixed, the viewer may have a difficulty in reading the subtitles the further he/she moves away from the screen.

When the viewer chooses to watch a video, the server broadcasts two different data contents, one containing the video and the audio and the other containing the textual data. The browser overlaps these two data contents and displays on a single display screen.

By providing the textual data separately, the user is enabled to make manual adjustments on the browser regarding this data. The manual adjustment is determined by the user assuming that the user will not change his/her position during the viewing.

The aim of the present invention is the realization of an image display device wherein the subtitle viewing properties are improved.

The image display device realized in order to attain the aim of the present invention, explicated in the first claim and the respective claims thereof, comprises a control unit that receives the broadcast, plays the video and runs the related subtitle files, and a display screen for displaying the broadcast/video content. When a subtitle content that can be used with the broadcast/video content is available, the information regarding the distance between the viewer and the display screen is transferred to the control unit by means of various methods and the font size of the text displayed on the display screen is changed accordingly based on a predetermined algorithm.

In an embodiment of the present invention, a remote control that sends signals to the control unit for the execution of various commands is provided. The information regarding the distance between the viewer and the display screen is entered manually using the remote control by the viewer. When the subtitle content is desired to be viewed, the position information entry screen is displayed. By means of the button/buttons on the remote control, the estimated distance to the display screen is entered. The distance information screen can be activated using the remote control during the broadcast of the subtitle content. Thus, by updating the subtitle font size when the viewer changes position during the broadcast, viewing with the most suitable font size is provided.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the subtitle font size is adjusted according to the distance between the position information that is obtained based on the position of the remote control and the display screen. The viewer usually keeps the remote control close during the viewing so as to control the broadcast. Thus, the distance information received from the remote control can be directly processed as the viewer distance information. The distance of the viewer to the display screen is detected by means of the communication between the remote control and the control unit. This communication can be performed in various ways. The distance can be measured by detecting the distance of the remote control to the display screen by means of a sensor on the remote control. The distance can be measured by detecting the distance of the remote control by means of a sensor positioned on the control unit or at a fixed distance to the control unit. When the subtitle content starts to be displayed, the distance measurement is automatically activated and thus, the most suitable subtitle font size is displayed. The ease of use is provided by suitably resizing the subtitle font without the need for the user to make any manual adjustments.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the image display device comprises a movement sensor. The movement sensor generates the viewer position information and transmits the same to the control unit. Thus, the automatically adjusted subtitle font size that is determined based on the distance information is displayed. Consequently, the subtitle font size adjustment function is automatically activated when the viewer position changes. If the movement sensor detects more than one viewer, the distance information is generated for each viewer separately. The positions of the viewers are compared and the resizing is performed based on the longest distance measured.

In an embodiment of the present invention, by means of the button/buttons on the remote control, the distance based automatic subtitle font size adjustment function can be adjusted. Thus, the viewer can control the said function without changing position.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the distance based subtitle font size adjustment function can be activated or deactivated by the user. By making the selection using the remote control buttons, the automatic subtitle font size adjustment function is activated. In cases when the resizing of the subtitle font is not necessary, the said function can be deactivated by means of the remote control. If the position of the viewer is suitable for comfortably reading the subtitles and he/she usually views the screen at this fixed position, he/she may prefer to deactivate the function. Thus, the need for responding selection screens related to the function and to other similar warnings is obviated.

In an embodiment of the present invention, by means of the buttons on the remote control, the subtitle font size adjusted automatically based on the distance can be changed. The subtitle size automatically changed based on the distance is determined based on the font size information corresponding to the distance information. The said automatically determined font size can be desired to be changed due to visual impairment or personal preferences. In this case, after the font size is automatically determined, the viewer can increase or decrease the font size using the buttons on the remote control. Thus, flexibility of options is provided to the user. Determining the subtitle font size based on the distance is performed by means of an algorithm that allows selection according to the predetermined optimum values.

In another embodiment of the present invention, if a frequently applied change on the font size automatically selected based on the distance is detected, the said change is saved as an automatic font size selection. When as a personal choice, the user increases the subtitle font size always with the same increment and it is detected by the system that this process is performed regularly, the program output obtained by adding the same amount entered regularly to the value that is predefined for a certain distance is displayed as the automatically selected font size. For instance, if a viewer with visual impairment increases the automatically selected font size by 2 points 5 times, the next automatic subtitle size selection is fixed as the predetermined font size plus 2. Thus, by personalizing the option, the viewer can use the subtitles with the desired font size without the need for making the same selection repeatedly.

By means of the present invention, an interactive subtitle font size adjustment is provided based on the display screen distance that is the most important factor affecting the viewing experience of the user and the most suitable subtitle font size for the user is provided.

Accompanying drawings are given solely for the purpose of exemplifying a system and method by which an image display device is operable, whose advantages over prior art were outlined above and will be explained in brief hereinafter.

The drawings are not meant to delimit the scope of protection as identified in the claims nor should it be referred to alone in an effort to interpret the scope identified in the claims without recourse to the technical disclosure in the description of the present invention.

Figure 1 – is the front view of the image display device in an embodiment of the present invention.

The elements illustrated in the figures are numbered as follows:

Image display device
Display screen
Sensor
Control unit

R: Remote control

The image display device (1) comprises a display screen (2) and a control unit (4) that receives a broadcast content including textual content and enables the textual content to be displayed on the display screen (2), that processes the information regarding the distance between the display screen (2) and the user and automatically changes the font size based on the distance information. When it is desired to watch a broadcast or a video that has textual content, the control unit (4) executes the function of playing the audio, image and text files of the video. Among these files, the audio and image files are processed together and the text file that is provided separately is processed independently from the audio and image files and displayed on the display screen (2). The text file is displayed inside a limited area in a predetermined section of the display screen (2). The subtitles are displayed on the display screen (2) in the said area and the subtitles in synchronization with the speech in the video is displayed in the defined region. In this process, the font size specified in the text file is not changed. During the production, an algorithm that enables the subtitle size to be adjusted to a certain value if the distance values are entered is recorded in the control unit (4). The said algorithm comprises a template that determines the suitable subtitle size for the most comfortable reading experience according to the distance defined by taking several parameters into consideration. When the distance of the viewer to the display screen (2) is entered into the control unit (4), the corresponding subtitle font size information is generated and displayed on the display screen (2). Thereby, the viewer can easily read the subtitles when he/she is positioned at various distances to the display screen (2).

In another embodiment of the present invention, the image display device (1) comprises a remote control (R) for sending commands to the control unit (4) and the control unit (4) that changes the information regarding the distance of the viewer to the display screen (2) by means of the information received from a sensor (3) that measures the distance between the remote control (R) and the display screen (2). When the subtitle content is determined, the sensor (3) sends a signal to the device the distance to which is to be measured and determines the distance using the reaction time of the device or the difference between arrival times of the signals coming from the device. The sensor (3) can be positioned in or on the image display device (1) or on the remote control (R). The remote control (R) serves for sending commands to the control unit (4). The viewer is usually not in the same position relative to the display screen (2), but keeps the remote control (R) close in order to control the broadcast. Thus, the distance information of the remote control (R) provides information regarding the position of the viewer. In case where the sensor (3) is on the remote control (R), the sensor (3) that detects the distance using the communication between the remote control (R) and the control unit (4) sends this information to the control unit (4). The control unit (4) assumes that the distance information shows the distance of the viewer to the display screen (2) and using the algorithm, selects the suitable subtitle font size corresponding to this value and displays the same on the display screen (2). When the sensor (3) is on the image display device (1), the sensor (3) generates the position information by communicating with the remote control (R) and transmits the same to the control unit (4). The control unit (4) automatically performs the subtitle font size adjustment according to this information and displays the same on the display screen (2). Thus, the viewer can watch the content with the most suitable font size from the desired position without the need for performing any actions.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the image display device (1) comprises the control unit (4) that automatically changes the font size by detecting the distance of the viewer to the display screen (2) using the information received from the movement sensor. The movement sensor is positioned on the image display device (1) or near the image display device (1) at a constant distance and is in communication with the control unit (4). The movement sensor is disposed at a position in front of the display screen (2), suitable for detecting the movement in the area covering the region suitable for viewing the display screen (2). The movement sensor is activated by the command sent by the control unit (4) when the subtitle content is available. When there is not any subtitle content available, the movement sensor is deactivated if not used by another program or function. When the broadcast or video that contains subtitle content starts to be displayed, the movement sensor scans the viewing area in front of the display screen (2) and detects the viewer and his/her position relative to the display screen (2). The movement sensor sends the position information to the control unit (4) as the distance of the viewer to the display screen (2). The font size corresponding to the distance value indicated in the predefined algorithm is displayed on the display screen (2). When there are a plurality of viewers at different distances, the movement sensors assigns numbers to the viewers. The position information of the each numbered viewer is processed as the distance to the display screen (2). The distance values separately detected for each numbered viewer are compared. Among these values, the position information of the numbered viewer with the highest distance value is used. This information is sent to the control unit (4) as the distance information and the corresponding font size in the algorithm is selected. After the distances of the viewers to the display screen (2) are detected, the distances can be displayed on the display screen (2) by means of symbols. Thus, the viewers select the distance according to which the font size will be adjusted by means of the remote control (R) and this information is transmitted to the control unit (4). The control unit (4) processes the distance information corresponding to the said value and the subtitle is displayed on the screen (2) in the corresponding font size. Thus, the subtitle is displayed so as to be followed comfortably by all viewers.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the image display device (1) comprises a remote control (R) that has one or more than one control button enabling the automatic subtitle font size adjustment function to be adjusted and a control unit (4) that processes and executes the command received from the remote control (R). When one of the buttons on the remote control (R) is pressed at any time of the viewing to display the subtitle font size adjustment function based on the viewer position on the display screen (2) and the information based to the command entered by the viewer is transmitted to the control unit (4), the control unit (4) executes the desired command. Thus, the viewer can change the selection when needed.

In this embodiment of the present invention, the image display device (1) comprises a control unit (4) that enables the automatic subtitle font size adjustment function to be deactivated with a command entered using the control buttons. While watching a broadcast that has a subtitle file, the viewer presses the button on the remote control (R) that enables the automatic subtitle font size adjustment function to be adjusted and the related menu is displayed on the display screen (2). The viewer activates or deactivates the features displayed on the display screen (2) as per his/her preference. The control unit (4) that processes the selection command activates or deactivates the function. Thus, the control unit (4) prevents the font size from being changed repeatedly in such cases where the viewer changes his/her position frequently.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the image display device (1) comprises a control unit (4) that processes the command of changing the automatically defined font size based on the selection of increasing or decreasing the font size by means of the control buttons. By pressing the buttons on the remote control (R) that enable the distance based subtitle font size adjustment function to be changed, the viewer can increase or decrease the automatically defined subtitle font size. In this case, every time the viewer selects the font size increase option, the control unit (4) displays the subtitles with the font size that corresponds to the next greater distance defined in the algorithm on the display screen (2). Similarly, every time the viewer selects the font size decrease option, the subtitles with the font size that corresponds to the next shorter distance defined in the algorithm is displayed on the display screen (2). Thus, in addition to the normal viewers, the viewers that needs to view the subtitles with different font sizes due to problems such as visual impairment can view the subtitles comfortably.

In this embodiment of the present invention, the image display device (1) comprises a control unit (4) that changes the automatically determined value by the standard deviation permanently when the changes increasing and decreasing the automatically adjusted subtitle font size create a significant standard deviation of the changes relative to the automatically adjusted value. If the viewer increases or decreases the subtitle font size with the same amount in a specific pattern, the said amount is automatically added to the values defined in the algorithm that correspond to the distance of the viewer. Thus, a selection that is standardized according to the personal preferences can be made and the need for the viewer to make changes repeatedly is eliminated.

By means of the present invention, the broadcast subtitle content, the font size of which is automatically changed based on the distance of the user to the display screen (2), is displayed on the display screen (2) and the user is enabled to read the subtitle content easily.

Claims

An image display device (1) comprising a display screen (2), a sensor (3) that detects the distance between the display screen (2) and the user and a control unit (4) that receives a broadcast content including subtitle content and enables the subtitle content to be displayed on the display screen (2), characterized by the control unit (4) that automatically changes the font size based on the distance information.
An image display device (1) as in Claim 1, characterized by a remote control (R) for sending commands to the control unit (4) and the sensor (3) that measures the distance between the remote control (R) and the display screen (2).
An image display device (1) as in Claim 1, characterized by the sensor (3) that is a movement sensor.
An image display device (1) as in any of the above claims, characterized by a remote control (R) that has one or more than one control button enabling the automatic subtitle font size adjustment function to be adjusted and the control unit (4) that processes and executes the command received from the remote control (R).
An image display device (1) as in Claim 4, characterized by the control unit (4) that enables the automatic subtitle font size adjustment function to be deactivated with a command entered by the control buttons.
An image display device (1) as in Claim 4 or 5, characterized by the control unit (4) that processes the command of changing the automatically defined font size based on the selection of increasing or decreasing the font size by means of the control buttons.
An image display device (1) as in Claim 6, characterized by the control unit (4) that changes the automatically determined value by the standard deviation permanently when the changes increasing and decreasing the automatically adjusted subtitle font size create a significant standard deviation of the changes relative to the automatically adjusted value.