JP2000076010A - Information processing apparatus, information processing method, and providing medium - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Problem] To specify a position to be enlarged and an enlargement ratio, and to make it easy for a listener 143 to grasp the position to be enlarged. An explainer (142) includes a whiteboard (140).
A light spot is generated from the laser pointer 112 at a position on the image displayed in the area to be enlarged. CCD video camera 23
Captures an image in which a light spot is generated. The light spot recognition unit of the processing unit recognizes the light spot from the image captured by the CCD video camera 23, determines the position of the light spot, recognizes the blinking cycle of the light spot, and determines the magnification of the image. The enlargement unit of the processing unit enlarges the image at the determined enlargement ratio around the position of the recognized light spot. The enlarged image is displayed on the LCD 21.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, an information processing method, and a providing medium. The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, an information processing method, and a providing medium that can easily specify an image to be displayed by displaying an image based on the information.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a conventional presentation system, and FIG. 15 is a diagram for explaining an enlargement process of a conventional personal computer 141. In the presentation system of FIG. 14, the explainer 142 has a personal computer 141-1 and a whiteboard 14.
0 is used to explain predetermined items, and the listeners 143-1 to 143-3 listen using the personal computers 141-2 to 141-4.

[0003] Personal computers 141-1 to 141-1
41-4, video cameras 150-1 to 150-1 respectively
An image 50-4 is provided, and images written on the whiteboard 140 are captured by the video cameras 150-1 to 150-4 and displayed on the LCDs 151-1 to 151-4. Hereinafter, the audience members 143-1 to 143-3, the personal computers 141-1 to 141-4, the video cameras 150-1 to 150-4,
Alternatively, when it is not necessary to distinguish the LCDs 151-1 to 151-4 individually, the listener 143, the personal computer 141, the video camera 150, or the LCD 15 is simply used.
Described as 1. The same applies to other devices.

[0004] The explainer 142 uses the LCD 151 of the personal computer 141 to copy a desired portion of the whiteboard 140.
When the explanation is desired to be displayed in an enlarged manner, the attendee 143 is verbally notified of the fact, and each attendant 143 performs the enlargement processing on his or her personal computer 141-2 to 141-4.

At this time, as shown in FIG.
42 and the listener 143 use the scroll bar 152 displayed on the LCD 151 to scroll the image up, down, left and right, stop scrolling at an appropriate position, and press the enlargement key (not shown) to enlarge the image. . For example, as shown in FIG. 15A, when the explainer 142 and the listener 143 want to enlarge the portion B displayed on the LCD 151, the user scrolls the image up, down, left, and right with the scroll bar 152, and Stop scrolling,
By pressing an enlargement key (not shown), the portion B is enlarged and displayed as shown in FIG.

[0006]

However, in the conventional personal computer 141, the part to be enlarged is scrolled intuitively with the scroll bar 152, and then the enlargement key is pressed to display the enlarged part. As shown in FIG.
There is a problem that it is difficult to display the image at the center of the image No. 1 and it is difficult to specify a portion to be enlarged.

Further, in the presentation system shown in FIG. 14, since the explainer 142 verbally displays the part to be explained by enlarging and displaying it to the listener 143, it is difficult to make the listener 143 grasp the part (position) accurately. was there.

[0008] The present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and enables an image to be displayed to be easily specified and a listener to easily understand the image to be displayed.

[0009]

An information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a light spot generating means for generating a light spot on a predetermined image, and an image including a light spot generated by said light spot generating means. Imaging means for imaging the light spot, light spot detection means for detecting the image of the light spot from the image taken by the imaging means, and the imaging means based on the image of the light spot detected by the light spot detection means And image display control means for controlling the display of an image captured by the computer.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information processing method comprising: a light spot generating step of generating a light spot on a predetermined image; and an imaging step of capturing an image including the light spot generated in the light spot generating step. A light spot detection step of detecting the image of the light spot from the image captured in the imaging step, and an image of the image captured in the imaging step based on the image of the light spot detected in the light spot detection step. And an image display control step of controlling display.

[0011] The providing medium according to claim 4, wherein a light spot generating step of generating a light spot on a predetermined image, an imaging step of capturing an image including the light spot generated in the light spot generating step, A light spot detection step of detecting the image of the light spot from the image captured in the imaging step; and displaying the image captured in the imaging step based on the light spot image detected in the light spot detection step And a computer-readable program for causing an information processing apparatus to execute a process including an image display control step of controlling the image display control step.

In the information processing apparatus according to the first aspect, the light spot generating means generates a light spot on a predetermined image, and the imaging means generates an image including the light spot generated by the light spot generating means. Imaging, the light spot detection means detects an image of the light spot from the image taken by the imaging means, and the image display control means,
Based on the image of the light spot detected by the light spot detection means,
The display of the image captured by the imaging unit is controlled.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the light spot generating step, a light spot is generated on a predetermined image, and in the imaging step, an image including the light spot generated in the light spot generating step is generated. In the light spot detection step, an image of the light spot is detected from the image captured in the imaging step, and in the image display control step, based on the image of the light spot detected in the light spot detection step, an imaging step is performed. The display of the captured image is controlled.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the providing medium, a light spot is generated on a predetermined image in the light spot generating step, and an image including the light spot generated in the light spot generating step is captured in the imaging step. In the light spot detection step, an image of the light spot is detected from the image captured in the imaging step, and in the image display control step, the image is captured in the imaging step based on the image of the light spot detected in the light spot detection step. A computer-readable program for causing an information processing apparatus to execute a process of controlling display of a selected image is provided.

[0015]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The embodiments of the present invention will be described below. In order to clarify the correspondence between each means of the invention described in the claims and the following embodiments, The features of the present invention are described as follows by adding the corresponding embodiment (however, an example) in parentheses after each means. However, of course, this description does not mean that each means is limited to those described.

The information processing apparatus according to the first aspect includes a light spot generating means (for example, a laser pointer 112 in FIG. 8) for generating a light spot on a predetermined image, and a light generated by the light spot generating means. Imaging means for imaging an image including points (for example,
A CCD video camera 23 in FIG. 8), a light spot detecting means (for example, a light spot recognition unit 131 in FIG. 10) for detecting an image of the light spot from an image taken by the imaging means, and the light spot detecting means Image display control means (for example, LCD controller 83 in FIG. 7) for controlling the display of the image picked up by the image pickup means based on the image of the light spot detected by
And characterized in that:

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the information processing apparatus according to the first aspect, the light spot generating means (for example, the laser pointer 112 in FIG. 8) generates light spots having different blinking periods. Then, an enlargement ratio determining unit (for example, the light spot recognition unit 131 in FIG. 10) that determines the enlargement ratio of the image based on the blinking cycle of the light spot generated by the light spot generation unit.
Is further provided.

An embodiment of the information processing apparatus according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

1 to 6 show examples of the configuration of a portable personal computer to which the present invention is applied. The personal computer 1 is a mini-notebook type personal computer, and basically includes a main body 2 and a display unit 3 which can be opened and closed with respect to the main body 2. 1 is an external perspective view showing a state in which the display unit 3 is opened with respect to the main body 2, FIG. 2 is a plan view of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 shows a state in which the display unit 3 is closed with respect to the main body 2. 4 is a right side view showing the display unit 3 opened 180 degrees with respect to the main body 2, FIG. 5 is a front view of FIG. 3, and FIG.
FIG.

The main body 2 is provided on its upper surface with a keyboard 4 operated when inputting various characters and symbols, and a track point (trademark) 5 operated when moving a mouse cursor. . Further, on the upper surface of the main body 2, there are further provided a speaker 8 for outputting sound and a shutter button 10 operated when capturing an image with the CCD video camera 23 provided on the display unit 3.

A claw 13 is provided at an upper end portion of the display section 3. As shown in FIG. 3, when the display section 3 is closed with respect to the main body 2, the main body 2 is positioned at a position opposed to the claw 13. Is provided with a hole 6 into which the claw 13 is fitted. A slide lever 7 is provided on the front face of the main body 2 so as to be movable in parallel with the front face. I can do it. By releasing the lock, the display unit 3 can be rotated with respect to the main body 2. Microphone 2 next to claw 13
4 is attached. As shown in FIG. 6, the microphone 24 can collect sound from the back.

A programmable power key (PPK) 9 is provided on the front of the main body 2. As shown in FIG. 4, an exhaust hole 11 is provided on the right side surface of the main body 2, and an intake hole 14 is provided at a lower part of the front surface of the main body 2 as shown in FIG. 5. In addition, a PCMCIA (Personal Computer Memory Card Interna
nation association) card (PC card) is provided.

An LCD for displaying an image is provided on the front of the display unit 3.
(Liquid Crystal Display) 21 is provided, and an imaging unit 22 is provided at the upper end thereof so as to be rotatable with respect to the display unit 3. That is, this imaging unit 22
It can rotate to any position within a range of 180 degrees between the same direction as D21 and the opposite direction (backward direction). A CCD video camera 23 is attached to the imaging unit 22.

A power lamp is provided on the lower body side of the display unit 3.
PL, battery lamp BL, message lamp ML, other LEDs
Is provided. Reference numeral 40 shown in FIG. 3 is a power switch provided on the left side surface of the main body 2, and reference numeral 25 shown in FIG. 5 is an adjustment ring for adjusting the focus of the CCD video camera 23. Further, FIG.
Reference numeral 26 denotes a lid for covering an opening for mounting an additional memory in the main body 2, and reference numeral 41 denotes a lid 26.
This is a small hole for inserting a pin for removing the lock claw.

FIG. 7 shows the internal configuration of the personal computer 1. As shown in FIG. 7, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 52, a PC card 53 inserted as needed, and a RAM (Random Access M
emory) 54 and a graphic chip 81 are connected. The internal bus 51 is connected to an external bus 55. The external bus 55 includes a hard disk drive (HDD) 56, an I / O (input / output) controller 57, a keyboard controller 58, a track point controller 59, and a sound chip 60. , LCD controller 8
3. The modem 50 and the like are connected.

The CPU 52 is a controller that controls each function, and the PC card 53 is appropriately mounted when an optional function is added.

In the RAM 54, when the activation is completed, an e-mail program (application program) 54A, an auto-pilot program (application program) 54B, and an OS (basic program) 54C are transferred from the HDD 56 and stored. You.

The e-mail program 54A is a program for exchanging messages via a network from a communication line such as a telephone line. E-mail program 54
A has an incoming mail acquisition function as a specific function. This incoming mail acquisition function checks the mail server 93 to see if mail addressed to the user (user) has arrived in the mailbox 93A, and if there is mail addressed to the user, obtains the mail. Execute.

The autopilot program 54B includes a plurality of preset processes (or programs).
This is a program that is started and processed sequentially in a preset order.

OS (basic program software) 54
C controls the basic operation of a computer typified by Windows95 (trademark).

On the other hand, a hard disk drive (HDD) 56 on the external bus 55 side has an electronic mail program 56
A, an autopilot program 56B and an OS (basic program software) 56C are stored. OS 56C, auto pilot program 56B, and e-mail program 5 in hard disk drive 56
6A is the RAM 54 during the boot-up process.
Are sequentially transferred and stored.

The I / O controller 57 has a microcontroller 61, and the microcontroller 61 is provided with an I / O interface 62. This microcontroller 61 includes an I / O interface 6
2, the CPU 63, the RAM 64, and the ROM 69 are connected to each other. The RAM 64 includes a key input status register 65 and an LED (light emitting diode) control register 6.
6, a set time register 67 and a register 68 are provided. The set time register 67 is used to start the operation of the start-up sequence control unit 76 at a time (start-up condition) set by the user in advance. The register 68 stores a correspondence between a preset operation key combination (start condition) and an application program to be started. When the stored operation key combination is input by the user, the register 68 stores the correspondence. The activated application program (for example, e-mail) is activated.

The key input status register 65 stores an operation key flag when the programmable power key (PPK) 9 for one-touch operation is pressed. The LED control register 66 controls the lighting of a message lamp ML that indicates the activation state of the application program (e-mail) stored in the register 68. The set time register 67 can arbitrarily set a predetermined time.

A backup battery 74 is connected to the microcontroller 61.
The values of the registers 65, 66, and 67 are retained even when the power of the main unit 2 is turned off.

The ROM 69 in the microcontroller 61 stores a wakeup program 70, a key input monitoring program 71, and an LED control program 72 in advance. The ROM 69 is, for example, an EEPROM (electricall
y erasable and programmable read only memory). This EEPROM is also called a flash memory. Further, an RTC (Real-Time Clock) 75 that constantly counts the current time is connected to the microcontroller 61.

The wake-up program 70 in the ROM 69 checks, based on the current time data supplied from the RTC 75, whether or not the time set in the set time register 67 has been reached. , A program for starting a predetermined process (or a program). The key input monitoring program 71
This is a program for constantly monitoring whether or not K9 has been pressed by the user. The LED control program 72 is a program for controlling lighting of the message lamp ML.

The ROM 69 further includes a BIOS (Basic Input / O
utput System) 73 is written. The BIOS refers to a basic input / output system, and is a software program that controls data transfer (input / output) between an OS or application software and peripheral devices (display, keyboard, hard disk drive, etc.).

A keyboard controller 58 connected to the external bus 55 controls input from the keyboard 4. The track point controller 59 controls input of the track point 5.

The sound chip 60 includes the microphone 24
Or an audio signal is supplied to the built-in speaker 8.

The modem 50 can be connected to a communication network 92 such as the Internet, a mail server 93, and the like via a public telephone line 90 and an Internet service provider 91.

Image data captured by the CCD video camera 23 is input to the graphic chip 81 connected to the internal bus 51 after being processed by the processing section 82. The graphic chip 81 stores the video data input from the CCD video camera 23 via the processing unit 82 in the built-in VRAM 81, reads out the data as appropriate, and outputs the read data to the LCD controller 83. The LCD controller 83 outputs the image data supplied from the graphic chip 81 to the LCD 21 for display. The backlight 84 illuminates the LCD 21 from behind.

The power switch 40 is operated when the power is turned on or off. The half-press switch 85 is turned on when the shutter button 10 is half-pressed, and the full-press switch 86 is turned on when the shutter button 10 is fully pressed. The reversing switch 87 is connected to the imaging unit 2
2 is rotated 180 degrees (CCD video camera 23
It is turned on when it is rotated in the direction of imaging the opposite side of the CD 21).

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a presentation system to which the present invention is applied. In the presentation system shown in FIG. 8, the presenter 142 points a desired part of an image such as a character or a figure written on the whiteboard 140 by the laser pointer 112, and the specified part is changed to a personal computer used by the presenter 142. 1-
1 and the CCD video cameras 23-1 to 23-4 of the personal computers 1-2 to 1-4 used by the listeners 143-1 to 143-3, and the LCD 21-1
21 to 21-4.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an external configuration of the laser pointer 112 to which the present invention is applied. Laser pointer 1
Reference numeral 12 indicates that an enlargement ratio of a portion to be enlarged can be set based on a blinking cycle of the generated light spot. Button 122A is adapted to generate a light spot having a blink cycle indicating that the image remains at full size. The button 122B is adapted to generate a light spot having a blinking cycle indicating that the image is magnified two times around the position of the light spot. The button 122C generates a light spot having a blinking cycle such that the image is magnified four times around the position of the light spot.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of the processing section 82. Image data captured by the CCD video camera 23 is supplied to the light spot recognition unit 131 and is also supplied to the enlargement unit 132.

The light spot recognizing section 131 is a CCD video camera 2
The position of the light spot and the blinking period are recognized from the image data supplied from 3 and the position to be enlarged and the magnification are determined. The recognition level adjustment unit 133 can adjust the brightness and the like for recognizing a light spot from the keyboard 4 via the keyboard controller 58.

The enlargement unit 132 blinks the image data supplied from the CCD video camera 23 around the position of the light spot recognized by the light spot recognition unit 131 and blinks the light spot recognized by the light spot recognition unit 131. The enlargement is performed at an enlargement rate corresponding to the cycle.

The enlargement ratio setting unit 134 can set an enlargement ratio of an image to be enlarged from the keyboard 4 via the keyboard controller 58.

Next, the operations of the presentation system, the personal computer 1 and the processing unit 82 of FIG. 8 will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 11 and 12 and FIG. FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the personal computer 1, FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the processing unit 82 in step S2 of FIG. 11, and FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating the enlargement process.

The explainer 142 presses the button 122 corresponding to the enlargement ratio to be enlarged, and generates a light spot at the center of the portion to be enlarged on the image written on the whiteboard 140 (projects the light spot). Do). For example, FIG.
In FIG. 3 (A), when the explainer 142 wants to enlarge the portion B, as shown in FIG.
B is generated. At this time, for example, when the part B is to be enlarged four times, the explainer 142 presses the button 122-3 to generate the light spot 112B.

In step S1, the CCD video camera 23 captures an image on the whiteboard 140, and outputs the captured image data to the light spot recognition unit 131 and the enlargement unit 132 of the processing unit 82. Next, in step S2, the processing unit 82 executes a detection process of the light spot 112B. Details of this processing are shown in the flowchart of FIG.

In step S21 of FIG. 12, the light spot recognition unit 131 of the processing unit 82 determines whether a light spot has been recognized from the supplied image data. Light spot recognition unit 13
1 recognizes the light spot based on the recognition level of the luminance of the light spot supplied from the recognition level adjustment unit 133. The light spot recognition unit 131 waits in step S21 until the light spot can be recognized, and if it is determined that the light spot has been recognized, the process proceeds to step S21.
Proceed to 22.

In step S22, the light spot recognition unit 13
1 determines the position of the recognized light spot on the image. In step S23, the light spot recognition unit 131 recognizes the blinking cycle of the recognized light spot. In step S24, the light spot recognition unit 131 determines an enlargement ratio of the image data based on the blinking cycle of the recognized light spot, and
Output to

In step S25, the enlarging unit 132
Expands the image data supplied from the CCD video camera 23 based on the determined enlargement ratio with the position of the light spot recognized by the light spot recognition unit 131 as the center.

In step S26, the enlarging unit 132
Outputs the enlarged image data to the graphic chip 81.

Returning to FIG. 11, in step S3, the graphic chip 81 converts the supplied enlarged image data into
It is supplied to VRAM 81A. In step S4, the VRAM 8
1A stores the supplied enlarged image data. In step S5, the graphic chip 81
The enlarged image data stored in A is supplied to the LCD controller 83. In step S6, the LCD controller 83 outputs the supplied enlarged image data to the LCD 21 for display. Thereby, for example, FIG.
As shown in (1), the personal computer 1 of the presenter 142 and the listener 143 displays an image in which the part B is enlarged four times in the center of the LCD 21.

As described above, according to the presentation system of FIG. 8, a light point having a blinking cycle indicating a desired magnification is generated on the image of the whiteboard 140 by the laser pointer 112, and the generated light point is included. Since the image is taken, the position of the light spot and the blinking period of the captured image are recognized, and the position of the recognized light spot is centered, the image is enlarged at an enlargement ratio corresponding to the recognized blinking period. , The enlargement position and enlargement ratio can be easily specified.

According to the presentation system shown in FIG. 8, the explainer 142 uses the laser pointer 112 to place the light spot 1 on the image displayed on the white board 140.
Since the 12B is generated and the part to be enlarged is designated, the listener 143 can grasp the part to be enlarged on the whiteboard 140 at a glance. In addition, since each of the listeners 143 does not need to input an operation of designating the position to be enlarged, it is possible to surely confirm the image of the enlarged portion intended by the explainer 142.

In the above description, the enlargement unit 132 enlarges the image based on the blinking cycle of the light spot designated by the laser pointer 112. However, the enlargement ratio is set by the enlargement ratio setting unit 134, and the laser pointer is set. The image may be enlarged based on the set enlargement ratio centering on the portion specified by 112. In this case, the setting of the enlargement ratio in the enlargement ratio setting unit 134 is performed via the keyboard controller 58 in response to an input from the keyboard 4.
If the enlargement ratio is set to 1 or less, the image is reduced, and the enlargement here includes the reduction.

In the above description, the personal computer 1 supplies the enlarged image data supplied to the graphic chip 81 only to the LCD controller 83. However, the personal computer 1 inputs the enlarged image data to the HDD 56 by the input from the keyboard 4 as necessary. The LCD 21 also supplies and stores arbitrary image data from the image data stored in the HDD 56.
May be displayed. Thereby, Explainer 1
The description 42 can be made by using the image once written on the whiteboard 140 and then erased again.

[0061] In this specification, the term "system" refers to an entire apparatus including a plurality of apparatuses.

Further, as a providing medium for providing a user with a computer program for performing the above-described processing,
In addition to recording media such as magnetic disks, CD-ROMs, and solid memories, communication media such as networks and satellites can be used.

[0063]

As described above, according to the information processing apparatus according to the first aspect, the information processing method according to the third aspect, and the providing medium according to the fourth aspect, a light spot is formed on a predetermined image. Is generated, the image of the generated light spot is detected, and the display of the image is controlled based on the image of the detected light spot. Therefore, the image to be displayed can be easily specified.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view showing a state in which a display unit of a configuration example of a portable personal computer to which the present invention is applied is opened with respect to a main body.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a left side view showing a state where the display unit of FIG. 1 is closed with respect to a main body.

FIG. 4 is a right side view showing a state where the display unit of FIG. 1 is opened 180 degrees with respect to a main body.

FIG. 5 is a front view of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a bottom view of FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of an electric circuit of FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of an information processing system to which the present invention has been applied.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of an appearance of a laser pointer 112;

FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a processing unit 82.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the personal computer 1.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a processing unit 82;

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an enlargement process.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a conventional presentation system.

FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating an enlargement process of a conventional personal computer 141.

[Explanation of symbols]

1,141 Personal computer, 21,151
LCD, 23 CCD video camera, 58 keyboard controller, 81 graphic chip, 81A
VRAM, 82 processing unit, 83 LCD controller,
112 laser pointer, 122 button, 131
Light spot recognition unit, 132 enlargement unit, 133 recognition level adjustment unit, 134 enlargement ratio setting unit, 140 whiteboard, 142 explainer, 143 audience, 15
0 Video camera

Claims (4)

[Claims] A light spot generating unit configured to generate a light spot on a predetermined image; an imaging unit configured to capture an image including the light spot generated by the light spot generating unit; and an image captured by the imaging unit. A light spot detecting means for detecting an image of the light spot from; an image display control means for controlling display of an image taken by the imaging means based on the image of the light spot detected by the light spot detecting means; An information processing apparatus comprising: 2. An enlargement factor determining unit that generates light spots having different blinking periods, and determines an enlargement ratio of an image based on the blinking period of the light spots generated by the light spot generator. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: 3. A light spot generating step of generating a light spot on a predetermined image, an imaging step of capturing an image including the light spot generated in the light spot generating step, and an image captured in the imaging step A light spot detection step of detecting an image of the light spot from an image display control step of controlling display of an image captured in the imaging step based on the image of the light spot detected in the light spot detection step; An information processing method comprising: 4. A light spot generating step of generating a light spot on a predetermined image, an imaging step of capturing an image including the light spot generated in the light spot generation step, and an image captured in the imaging step A light spot detection step of detecting an image of the light spot from an image display control step of controlling display of an image captured in the imaging step based on the image of the light spot detected in the light spot detection step; A computer-readable storage medium that provides a computer-readable program that causes an information processing apparatus to execute a process including: