Patent Publication Number: US-9836119-B2

Title: Display dimming in response to user

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The inventions general relate to display dimming in response to a user. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Current power management implementations are not context aware. Mobile devices, for example, typically have power modes that are only responsive to being touched or closed. A user will experience a complete loss of interaction with any application, work, or content with which the user is interfacing. Today&#39;s power management techniques are not otherwise aware of context in any meaningful way. It is not responsive to what the user is doing or how the user is working, creating, consuming, etc. Power management is typically an “all or nothing” arrangement, with a power management state corresponding to dimming of the display screen, for example. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The inventions will be understood more fully from the detailed description given below and from the accompanying drawings of some embodiments of the inventions which, however, should not be taken to limit the inventions to the specific embodiments described, but are for explanation and understanding only. 
         FIG. 1  illustrates a system according to some embodiments of the inventions, 
         FIG. 2  illustrates a system according to some embodiments of the inventions. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Some embodiments of the inventions relate to display dimming in response to a user&#39;s body. 
     In some embodiments, a body of a user is detected, an area of focus of the user is determined in response to the detecting, and a portion of a display that is not in the area of focus is dimmed. 
     In some embodiments a detector is to detect a body of a user. A controller is to determine an area of focus of the user in response to the detector, and to dim a portion of a display, that is not in the area of focus. 
       FIG. 1  illustrates a system  100  according to some embodiments. In some embodiments system  100  includes a user  102  and a device  104  such as an electronic device. In some embodiments, device  104  is one or more of a computer, a desktop computer, a personal computer, a mobile phone, a tablet, a laptop, a mobile device, a mobile internet device, a music player, etc. 
     In some embodiments, device  104  includes a display  106  and a camera  108 . In some embodiments, display  106  is a display screen or a device screen, etc. In some embodiments, camera  108  is a still camera, a video camera, a web camera, etc, in some embodiments, camera  108  is coupled to and/or part of the display  106  of the device  104 . 
     In some embodiments, display  104  includes an area  112  of active user focus and an area  114  that is not actively viewed by the user  102 . For example, when user  102  is working on a particular application appearing on the display  104  the user&#39;s attention is focused on area  112  and the user is not paying attention to anything that is displayed in area  114 . 
     In some embodiments, camera  108  monitors user  102 . Specifically, in some embodiments, camera  108  monitors a particular body area of the user such as the head or the eyes of the user. Based on the monitoring of user  102  by the camera  108 , it may be determined where the user  102  is gazing into a field of vision  122 . 
     In some embodiments, the gaze of user  102  is monitored in order to perform power management. In some embodiments, the field of vision  122  of user  102  can be determined in response to the monitoring of the camera in order to help determine the area  112  of active focus that the user is currently focusing on within the display  106 . Once the area  106  of focus has been determined, power management is implemented according to some embodiments. For example, in some embodiments, area  114  of display  106  that is not being actively viewed by the user is dimmed, completely blackened, or otherwise changed in order to manage power use by the device  104 . 
       FIG. 2  illustrates a system  200  according to some embodiments. In some embodiments system  200  includes a display  206 , a detector  208 , and a controller  212 . In some embodiments, display is a display that is the same as or similar to display  106  in  FIG. 1 . In some embodiments, detector  208  is a detector that detects a body of a user (for example, to determine an area of focus of the user). In some embodiments, detector  208  is a detector that detects a physical feature of a body of a user. For example, in some embodiments, detector  208  is a detector that detects a positioning, orientation, or movement of a user&#39;s head, face, eye, eyes, ear, ears, mouth, nose, shoulder, shoulders, and/or body, etc. 
     In some embodiments, detector  208  is an eye tracker. In some embodiments, detector  208  is an eye tracker that detects movement of one or both eyes of a user. In some embodiments, detector  208  is a camera (for example, a camera that is the same as or similar to camera  108  in  FIG. 1 ). In some embodiments, controller  212  is a processor. 
     In some embodiments, detector  208  detects a user&#39;s gaze. In response to the detected gaze, controller  212  determines if the user&#39;s gaze is directed toward a specific area of the display  206  for a sustained period of time, for example. In some embodiments, controller  212  calculates the specific area of the display  206  corresponding to the user&#39;s gaze (for example, area  112  in  FIG. 1  according to some embodiments). In some embodiments, controller  212  dims, blackens, or otherwise changes an area of display  206  that is not in the area of the user&#39;s gaze (for example, to save power and/or to save battery power). In some embodiments, only a portion of display  206  remains illuminated. In some embodiments, controller  212  and display  206  use a visual marker to dim, blacken or otherwise change the area of display  206  that is not in the area of the user&#39;s gaze. 
     In some embodiments, if a user&#39;s gaze changes (for example, by a user moving their eyes toward a different portion of the display  206 ), the system  200  reawakens, for example, to a full screen display/illumination mode. In some embodiments, when this occurs, an outline of the previous area of the user&#39;s gaze (that is the area where the user&#39;s attention was previously focused) is provided using controller  212  and display  206 , In sonic embodiments, this outline area slowly fades away as the gaze detection of detector  208  and controller  212  register eye movement outside the last area of major focus by the user. 
     In some embodiments, power is saved by dimming (for example, partially dimming, fully dimming, and/or blackening) a portion of the display, even if it is only a small portion of the display. This is particularly helpful in a mobile device that is using battery power, By dimming a portion of the display, it is easier for the user&#39;s eyes to focus on the task at hand rather than being distracted by peripheral visual noise. Additionally, according to some embodiments, power management is context aware since gaze detection across some or all areas of the display screen may be only slightly dimmed instead of entirely dimming the screen. According to some embodiments, the user sets preferences to select complete or shaded use of this tool (for example, complete dimming or slight dimming, a user adjustable amount of dimming, etc). 
     Although some embodiments have been described herein as being implemented in a certain way, according to some embodiments these particular implementations may not be required. 
     Although some embodiments have been described in reference to particular implementations, other implementations are possible according to some embodiments. Additionally, the arrangement and/or order of circuit elements or other features illustrated in the drawings and/or described herein need not be arranged in the particular way illustrated and described, Many other arrangements are possible according to some embodiments. 
     In each system shown in a figure, the elements in some cases may each have a same reference number or a different reference number to suggest that the elements represented could be different and/or similar. However, an element may be flexible enough to have different implementations and work with some or all of the systems shown or described herein. The various elements shown in the figures may be the same or different. Which one is referred to as a first element and which is called a second element is arbitrary. 
     In the description and claims, the terms “coupled” and “connected,” along with their derivatives, may be used. It should be understood that these terms are not intended as synonyms for each other. Rather, in particular embodiments, “connected” may be used to indicate that two or more elements are in direct physical or electrical contact with each other. “Coupled” may mean that two or more elements are in direct physical or electrical contact. However, “coupled” may also mean that two or more elements are not in direct contact with each other, but yet still co-operate or interact with each other. 
     An algorithm is here, and generally, considered to be a self-consistent sequence of acts or operations leading to a desired result. These include physical manipulations of physical quantities. Usually, though not necessarily, these quantities take the form of electrical or magnetic signals capable of being stored, transferred, combined, compared, and otherwise manipulated. It has proven convenient at times, principally for reasons of common usage, to refer to these signals as bits, values, elements, symbols, characters, terms, numbers or the like. It should be understood, however, that all of these and similar terms are to be associated with the appropriate physical quantities and are merely convenient labels applied to these quantities. 
     Some embodiments may be implemented in one or a combination of hardware, firmware, and software. Some embodiments may also be implemented as instructions stored on a machine-readable medium, which may be read and executed by a computing platform to perform the operations described herein. A machine-readable medium may include any mechanism for storing or transmitting information in a form readable by a machine (e.g., a computer). For example, a machine-readable medium may include read only memory (ROM); random access memory (RAM); magnetic disk storage media; optical storage media; flash memory devices; electrical, optical, acoustical or other form of propagated signals (e.g., carrier waves, infrared signals, digital signals, the interfaces that transmit and/or receive signals, etc.), and others. 
     An embodiment is an implementation or example of the inventions. Reference in the specification to “an embodiment,” “one embodiment,” “some embodiments,” or “other embodiments” means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiments is included in at least some embodiments, but not necessarily all embodiments, of the inventions. The various appearances “an embodiment,” “one embodiment,” or “some embodiments” are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiments. 
     Not all components, features, structures, characteristics, etc. described and illustrated herein need be included in a particular embodiment or embodiments. If the specification states a component, feature, structure, or characteristic “may”, “might”, “can” or “could” be included, for example, that particular component, feature, structure, or characteristic is not required to be included. If the specification or claim refers to “a” or “an” element, that does not mean there is only one of the element. If the specification or claims refer to “an additional” element, that does not preclude there being more than one of the additional element. 
     Although flow diagrams and/or state diagrams may have been used herein to describe embodiments, the inventions are not limited to those diagrams or to corresponding descriptions herein. For example, flow need not move through each illustrated box or state or in exactly the same order as illustrated and described herein. 
     The inventions are not restricted to the particular details listed herein. Indeed, those skilled in the art having the benefit of this disclosure will appreciate that many other variations from the foregoing description and drawings may be made within the scope of the present inventions. Accordingly, it is the following claims including any amendments thereto that define the scope of the inventions.