Computer graphics processing and selective visual display system – Display peripheral interface input device – Cursor mark position control device
Reexamination Certificate
1998-01-02
2001-02-20
Chow, Dennis-Doon (Department: 2775)
Computer graphics processing and selective visual display system
Display peripheral interface input device
Cursor mark position control device
C345S156000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06191773
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an interface apparatus for input and output of information apparatus such as computer and word processor and appliance having a display such as television.
In a kind of conventional interface apparatus, it is designed to display a cursor at a coordinate position detected by the mouse on a display screen, for adding some other information to the information in the display device, or changing or selecting the displayed information.
FIG. 30
shows an outline of this conventional interface apparatus. In
FIG. 30
, reference numeral
501
denotes a host computer, and
502
is a display, and virtual operation buttons
503
,
504
,
505
are displayed in the display
502
by the host computer
501
. Reference numeral
506
represents a mouse cursor, and the host computer
501
controls the display so as to move in the screen in synchronism with the move of the mouse
507
, on the basis of the moving distance of the mouse
507
detected by the mouse
507
. As the user moves the mouse
507
, the mouse cursor
506
is moved to the position of a desired virtual operation button in the display screen, and by pressing a switch
508
on the mouse
507
, an operation button is selected so as to instruct action to the host computer
501
.
In this conventional construction, however, the mouse or the input device is necessary in addition to the main body of the appliance, and a table or area for manipulating the mouse is also needed, which is not suited to portable information appliance or the like. Besides, by manipulation through the mouse, it is not a direct and intuitive interface.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the invention to present an interface apparatus capable of manipulating an appliance easily without requiring input device such as keyboard and mouse. It is other object thereof to present an interface apparatus further advanced in the ease of manipulation of indicating or catching the display object by judging interactions along the intent of the operator sequentially and automatically.
In structure, the invention provides an interface apparatus comprising recognizing means for recognizing the shape of a hand of an operator, display means for displaying the features of the shape of the hand recognized by the recognizing means on the screen as a special shape, and control means for controlling the information displayed in the screen by the special shape displayed in the screen by the display means, whereby the information displayed in the screen can be controlled only by varying the shape of the hand.
It is a further object to present an interface apparatus much superior in ease of manipulation by recognizing also the move of the hand. To recognize the move, a frame memory for saving the image picking up the shape or move of the hand, and a reference image memory for storing the image taken before the image saved in the frame memory as reference image are provided, and it is achieved by depicting the difference between the image in the frame memory and the reference image stored in the reference image memory. In other method of recognition, the shape or move of the hand of the user in the taken image is depicted as the contour of the user, and its contour is traced, and the relation between the angle of the contour line and the length of contour line, that is, the contour waveform is calculated and filtered, and the shape waveform expressing the specified shape is generated.
Moreover, comprising cursor display means for displaying a feature of the shape of a hand on the screen as a special shape and manipulating as cursor, means for storing the relation with display object other than cursor displays the coordinates and shape of the representative point representing the position of the display object other than cursor display, and means for calculating and judging the interaction of the cursor display and the display object, manipulation is realized smoothly by the interactions along the intent of the operator when gripping the displayed virtual object in the case of display of cursor display as virtual manipulator.
In the interface apparatus thus constructed, as the user faces the recognizing means and shows, for example, a hand, the special shape corresponding to the shape of the hand is displayed as an icon in the screen for screen manipulation, so that control according to the icon display is enabled.
Or when instructed by hand gesture, the given hand gesture is displayed as a special shape set corresponding to the shape of the hand on the display screen, and its move is also displayed, and, for example, a virtual switch or the like displayed on the display screen can be'selected by the hand gesture, or the display object displayed on the screen can be grabbed or carried depending on the purpose, and therefore without requiring mouse or other input device, a very simple manipulation of appliance is realized.
It is further possible to realize the interface much enhanced in the ease of manipulation by sequentially and automatically judging the interaction with the display object desired to be operated by the virtual manipulator according to the intent of operation of the operator, as the special shape set corresponding to the shape of the hand works as virtual manipulator aside from the mere cursor.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5594469 (1997-01-01), Freeman et al.
patent: 5767842 (1998-06-01), Korth
patent: 5864334 (1999-01-01), Sellers
patent: 8-16781 (1996-01-01), None
“Wideo-Based Handshape Recognition Using a Handshape Structure Model in Real Time” Grobel et al., 1996 IEEE, pp. 446-450, 1996.
Imagawa Taro
Kondo Kenji
Maruno Susumu
Moriya Michiyo
Chow Dennis-Doon
Matsushita Electric - Industrial Co., Ltd.
Ratner & Prestia
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