Patent Publication Number: US-2011058754-A1

Title: File selection system and method

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     1. Technical Field 
     The present disclosure relates to a file selection system and a file selecting method. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     Conventional media players display media with a two-dimensional appearance, regardless of a viewing angle, the media such as an image of clock looks always the same. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic block diagram of an exemplary embodiment of a file selection system including a storage system. 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic block diagram of the storage system of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIGS. 3-5  are schematic diagrams of an electronic device using the file selection system of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 6  is a flowchart of an embodiment of a file selecting method. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , an exemplary embodiment of a file selection system  1  includes a camera  10 , a storage system  12 , and a processing unit  15 . The file selection system  1  is operable to select different image files when users look at an electronic device  100  from different angles. By changing an image to correspond to different viewpoints, a three dimensional effect is created. The electronic device  100  displays image files selected by the file selection system  1 . 
     The camera  10  is mounted on the electronic device  100 , to capture an image of a user who looks at a screen of the electronic device  100 . The captured image is transmitted to the storage system  12 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 2 , the storage system  12  includes a detecting module  120 , a location processing module  122 , a relationship storing module  125 , a selecting module  126 , and a file storing module  128 . The detecting module  120 , the location processing module  122 , and the selecting module  126  may include one or more computerized instructions and are executed by the processing unit  15 . 
     The detecting module  120  checks the image from the camera  10  to find a key portion in the image, and to obtain information about the found key portion. In the embodiment, the detecting module  120  may be a face detecting module, and the key portion may be a face in the image. The detecting module  120  checks the image to find the face in the image, and to obtain information about the found face. It can be understood that the face detecting module uses well known facial recognition technology to find the face in the image. The information about the found face may include coordinates of the found face in the image. 
     The location processing module  122  determines the coordinates of the found face in the image to obtain a location relationship between the found face and the screen of the electronic device  100 . The location relationship between the found face and a plane defined by viewing area of the screen of the electronic device  100  may be regarded as a location status. For example, the location processing module  122  defines a center of the found face as a first point, and a center of the screen of the electronic device  100  as a second point. An angle between a line from the first point to the second point and the plane of the screen is regarded as the location status. In other words, it is determined if the viewer is looking at the display straight on or from some angle to the left or right of the display. 
     The file storing module  128  stores a plurality of groups of files, such as image files, in advance. Images of an object from a particular shooting angle but respectively at different times are captured to obtain a first group of files. For example, ten images of the object are captured from 90 degrees (directly facing the object) at one for each of ten consecutive seconds, to obtain the first group of files. 
     The relationship storing module  125  stores a plurality of relationships between the location status and the plurality of groups of files. In other words, one group of files corresponds to one of the plurality of location statuses. For example, a location status of 90 degrees between the line from the first point to the second point and the plane of the screen, which equates to viewing the screen straight on, corresponds to the first group of files. 
     The selecting module  126  selects one group of the plurality of groups of files in the file storing module  128  according to the relationship storing module  125  and the location status. The selected files are displayed by the electronic device  100 . 
     Referring to  FIGS. 3-5 , in the embodiment, the object is a clock  20 . The clock  20  is captured from three different shooting angles, such as directly facing a front of the clock  20 , obliquely facing the left side of the clock, which we will call 45 degrees left, and obliquely facing the right side of the clock  20 , which we will call 45 degrees right, to obtain three groups of images. Images obtained from 90 degrees compose a first group of images  60 . Images obtained from 45 degrees left compose a second group of images  50 . Images obtained from 45 degrees right compose a third group of images  70 . In this embodiment, the clock  20  has a second hand, and image of the clock is captured each second for a full minute to acquire sixty images from each angle from 8:00:00 to 8:00:59 for example. Thus three groups of images are acquired that can be used to display a dynamic image of a clock that can be viewed from different angles to give the illusion of three dimensions. 
     The detecting module  120  checks an image  30  from the camera  10  to find a face in the image  30 . In  FIG. 3 , there is no face in the image  30 . The selecting module  126  selects the first group of images  60  to show the clock  20  ticking off the seconds from straight ahead by going through the images once each second. 
     In  FIG. 4 , there is a face  300  in the image  30 . The location processing module  122  determines the coordinates of the found face  300  in the image  30  to obtain a location status of 45 degrees left. In other words, an angle between the line  310  from the first point to the second point and the plane of the screen of the electronic  100  is 45 degrees left. Thus the face  300  is to the left of the screen of the electronic device  100 . The selecting module  126  selects the second group of images  50  according to the location status and the relationship storing module  125 . The second group of images  50  is displayed by the electronic device  100 . Thus to the user viewing the screen he or she sees the clock  20  in quarter profile from the left. 
     In  FIG. 5 , the face  300  is at the right of the image  30 . The location processing module  122  determines the coordinates of the found face  300  in the image  30  to obtain a location status of 45 degrees right. In other words, an angle between the line  310  from the first point to the second point and the plane of the screen of the electronic device  100  is 45 degrees right. Thus the face  300  is to the right of the screen of the electronic device  100 . The selecting module  126  selects the third group of images  70  according to the location status and the relationship storing module  125 . The third group of images  70  is displayed by the electronic device  100 . Thus to the user viewing the screen he or she sees the clock  20  in quarter profile from the right. 
     In addition, upon the condition that the detecting module  120  found the face  300  at the right of the image  30  when the electronic device  100  is displaying the first group of images  60 , the selecting module  126  selects an image in the third group of images  70  which is at a next time. For example, when the electronic device  100  is displaying an image of the first group at 8:00:50 P.M., the detecting module  120  finds the face  300  at the right of the image  30 . As a result, the selecting module  126  selects an image of the third group at 8:00:51 P.M. The selected image is displayed by the electronic device  100 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 6 , an exemplary embodiment of a file selecting method includes the following steps. 
     In step S 1 , a plurality of groups of files is stored in the file storing module  128 . Images of the clock  20  from a particular shooting angle but respectively at different times are captured to obtain a first group of files. For example, ten images of the clock  20  are captured from 90 degrees one for each of ten consecutive seconds, to obtain the first group of files. 
     In step S 2 , a plurality of relationships between the location status and the plurality of groups of files are stored in the relationship storing module  125 . In other words, one group of files corresponds to a location status. For example, a location status of 90 degrees between the line from the center of the face to the center of the image and the plane of the screen of the electronic device  100  corresponds to the first group of files. 
     In step S 3 , the camera  10  captures images of the user who looks at the screen of the electronic device  100 . 
     In step S 4 , the detecting module  120  checks the image from the camera  10 , to find a key portion in the image, and to obtain information about the found key portion. In the embodiment, the detecting module  120  may be a face detecting module. The key portion may be a face in the image. The detecting module  120  checks the image to find the face in the image, and to obtain information about the found face. It can be understood that the face detecting module uses well known facial recognition technology to find the face in the image. The information about the found face may include coordinates of the found face in the image. 
     In step S 5 , the location processing module  122  determines the coordinates of the found face in the image to obtain the location status. For example, the location processing module  122  defines the center of the found face as the first point, and the center of the screen of the electronic device  100  as the second point. An angle between the line from the first point to the second point and the plane of the screen of the electronic device  100  is regarded as the location status. 
     In step S 6 , the selecting module  126  selects one of the plurality of groups of files in the file storing module  128  according to the relationship storing module  125  and the location status. 
     In step S 7 , the selected group of files are displayed by the electronic device  100 . 
     The foregoing description of the exemplary embodiments of the disclosure has been presented only for the purposes of illustration and description and is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosure to the precise forms disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above everything. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to explain the principles of the disclosure and their practical application so as to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to utilize the disclosure and various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. Alternative embodiments will become apparent to those of ordinary skills in the art to which the present disclosure pertains without departing from its spirit and scope. Accordingly, the scope of the present disclosure is defined by the appended claims rather than the foregoing description and the exemplary embodiments described therein.