JP2011232964A - Electrical apparatus, and control method and program thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To accept only an intentional remote operation by a user.SOLUTION: An electrical apparatus 1 includes a remote operation function without a remote controller. A CPU13 determines whether a user looks at the apparatus body on the basis of an image of the user taken by a built-in camera 18, and further detects a predetermined specified movement of the user on the basis of the taken image. The CPU13 executes control processing corresponding to the specified movement only when the specified movement is detected on the basis of the taken image under a condition that the CPU13 determines that the user looks at the apparatus body.

Description

  The present invention relates to an electric device having a remote operation function that does not require a remote controller.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in home electric devices such as so-called air conditioners, television receivers, and video recorders used in general homes, a remote control unit (hereinafter referred to as a remote controller) that emits a predetermined infrared signal in response to a user's operation. In many cases, remote control is possible. In addition, for example, television receivers are becoming more multifunctional with the spread of multi-channel, digital service broadcasting, broadband networks, etc., and television receivers with many functions are premised on a structure that assumes operation with a remote control. In general, functions are provided.

  For electrical equipment that assumes the use of a remote control, if the battery that drives the remote control is exhausted, or if the remote control breaks down or is lost, the user can operate a switch provided on the equipment body. By doing so, you are forced to operate electrical equipment. This is particularly burdensome for people with physical disabilities.

  On the other hand, for example, Patent Document 1 described below describes a technique that allows various commands to be input by detecting a fingertip position of a person captured by a television camera disposed in front of a display device. If such a technique is used, it becomes possible to remotely operate the electric device by the operation of the fingertip without using a remote controller.

JP 2000-187551 A

  However, in the above technique, for example, when the user does not intend to operate the electric device, and the operation of the fingertip is detected by chance, the electric device performs a specific operation against the user's intention. It will be. Therefore, there is a problem that there is a high possibility that a malfunction occurs in response to an operation not intended by the user.

  The present invention has been made in view of such conventional problems, and an object thereof is to provide an electric device that can accept only an intentional remote operation by a user.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, in the electric device according to the first aspect of the present invention, in the electric device having a remote control function, a photographing means for photographing the user, and a photographed image photographed by the photographing means And a detection unit that determines whether or not the user is looking at the main body of the device, and a detection that detects a specific action predetermined by the user based on the captured image captured by the imaging unit. In response to the detection of the specific action on the user by the detection means under the condition that the user is looking at the device main body by the determination means and the determination means, And a control means for executing control processing of the corresponding contents.

  In the electric device according to the second aspect of the present invention, the control processing of the content corresponding to the specific operation executed by the control means includes switching control of the receiving station. .

  The electrical device according to the invention of claim 3 further comprises face recognition means for recognizing a face of a person registered in advance for the photographed image photographed by the photographing means. Is used by the detection means on the condition that it is determined by the determination means that the user is looking at the main body of the device, and a face of a person registered in advance is detected by the face recognition means. In response to the detection of the specific action in the person, a control process with a content corresponding to the specific action is executed.

  Further, in the electric device according to the invention of claim 4, the determination means obtains line-of-sight information representing the direction of the line of sight from an image of a face part of a person registered in advance recognized by the face recognition means. It is acquired and it is judged whether a user is looking at an equipment main part based on acquired eye-gaze information.

  Further, in the electric device according to the invention of claim 5, the determination means determines whether or not the user has opened his eyes based on a photographed image photographed by the photographing means, and the user When it can be determined that the eyes are open, the line-of-sight information is acquired from the image of the face portion, and it is determined whether the user is looking at the device main body based on the acquired line-of-sight information. .

  In the electric device according to the sixth aspect of the present invention, the control means may be configured such that the detection means determines whether the user is looking at the main body of the user by the determination means. In response to the detection of the specific action, the control process of the contents corresponding to the specific action is executed and the control process of the contents set in advance by the person registered in advance is executed. It is characterized by that.

  According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided a control method for an electric device having a remote control function, wherein the user views the device main body based on a photographed image of the user. A step of determining whether or not, a step of detecting a specific action determined in advance by the user based on the photographed image, and a condition in which it is determined that the user is looking at the device body, And a step of executing control processing of contents corresponding to the specific operation when the specific operation is detected based on the captured image.

  Further, in the program according to the invention described in claim 8, whether or not the user is looking at the main body of the computer of the electric device having the remote control function based on the photographed image of the user. A determination means for determining whether the user is looking at the device main body based on the captured image, a detection means for detecting a specific action determined in advance by the user, and the determination means. In response to the detection of the specific action by the user by the detection means, the control means functions as a control means for executing a control process having contents corresponding to the specific action.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an electric device that can accept only an intentional remote operation by a user.

1 is an external perspective view of a digital television receiver according to the present invention. It is a block diagram which shows the electric constitution of a digital television receiver. It is a conceptual diagram which shows the memory area of a main memory. (A) is a conceptual diagram which shows a command table, (b) is a figure which shows the operation posture of a hand. It is a conceptual diagram which shows registration data. It is a flowchart which shows the user registration process by CPU. It is explanatory drawing which shows line-of-sight reference data. It is a flowchart which shows the process regarding the remote control function by CPU. It is a flowchart following FIG. It is the figure which showed the example of the image represented by the image data of a face area for convenience. It is the figure which showed the relationship between the eyes | visual_axis reference data when a viewer's face faces a display screen, and the actual eyes | visual_axis reference data when a viewer's face turned up and down, right and left. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of the operation attitude of the hand used for channel selection, and operation | movement of a hand. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of the operation posture of the hand used for volume adjustment, and operation | movement of a hand.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described. In this embodiment, a digital television receiver (hereinafter simply referred to as a television receiver) having a function (hereinafter referred to as a remote operation function) that allows a user to remotely operate a specific operation without using a remote controller. ). More specifically, the present invention relates to a television receiver in which channel selection and volume adjustment can be performed remotely only by moving the user's hand in a predetermined operation posture.

  FIG. 1 is an external view of the television receiver 1 of the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the main body 2 of the television receiver 1 holds a display panel 3 such as a liquid crystal display or a plasma display that constitutes a display screen that occupies almost the entire front surface of the main body 2. A photographing lens 4 is provided at the center of the lower side portion of the main body 2. The photographing lens 4 is provided for photographing a wide range of situations on the front side of the television receiver 1 with a built-in camera 18 to be described later. For example, the photographing lens 4 is a wide-angle lens having a focal length of about 20 mm.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the main part of the electrical configuration of the television receiver 1. The television receiver 1 mainly includes a tuner 12, a CPU 13, a video decoder 14, an audio decoder 15, a display device 16, a built-in camera 18, a main storage device 19, an auxiliary storage device 20, and an operation key unit 21.

  The tuner 12 is a digital tuner that receives broadcast waves of digital broadcasting via the antenna 11. The display device 16 includes the display panel 3 described above and a drive circuit for the display panel 3. The audio output device 17 includes an audio amplifier, a speaker, and the like. The operation key unit 21 is composed of a plurality of operation keys (not shown) provided in the main body 2 for performing various operations such as turning on / off the power and selecting a channel, and sends an operation signal corresponding to the key operation by the user to the CPU 13. Send to.

  The built-in camera 18 includes a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) or MOS (Complementary Meta 10xide Semiconductor) type image pickup device 31 for picking up an optical image of a subject formed by the photographing lens 4 shown in FIG. The signal processing circuit 32 includes a signal processing circuit 32 that performs various signal processing on the output imaging signal to generate image data and supplies the image data to the CPU 13.

  The signal processing circuit 32 includes an AGC circuit that amplifies the imaging signal, and an A / D converter that converts the amplified imaging signal into a digital image signal. Image data is generated by performing luminance signal processing, color signal processing, interpolation processing, and the like on the partial signals.

  The built-in camera 18 functions as a photographing unit by supplying the image data generated by the signal processing circuit 32 to the CPU 13. In the following description, an image represented by image data supplied from the built-in camera 18 to the CPU 13 is referred to as a captured image.

  When receiving an arbitrary television broadcast, the CPU 13 operates based on a control program stored in the main storage device 19, and converts the transport stream signal sent from the tuner 12 into an MPEG2 system (audio and video stream format). ) And distributes the video signal and the audio signal to the video decoder 14 and the audio decoder 15. The video decoder 14 decodes the compressed video data and sends it to the display device 16, and the audio decoder 15 decodes the compressed audio data and sends it to the audio output device 17.

  Further, the CPU 13 records program data such as broadcast video data and audio data received by the tuner 12 in the auxiliary storage device 20 as necessary. That is, program recording is performed. The auxiliary storage device 20 is a storage device such as a hard disk having a large storage capacity.

  The main storage device 19 is a memory capable of rewriting stored data, such as an EEPROM or a flash memory. As shown in FIG. 3, a program data storage area 19a and a registered data storage area 19b for storing data registered by the user are secured in the main storage device 19.

  The program data storage area 19a stores the control program composed of various programs and various data used for receiving television broadcasts such as the frequency of the broadcasting station. Further, a command table 100 shown in FIG. 4A is stored in the program data storage area 19a. The command table 100 is data used when the CPU 13 performs processing related to the above-described remote operation function of the television receiver 1 according to the control program. That is, the command table 100 is data indicating a basic combination of the operation posture of the person's hand and the control content to be recognized from the captured image acquired by the built-in camera 18.

  The operation posture of the hand is an operation posture that can be recognized from the captured image by an image recognition technique such as pattern recognition, and each of the first posture A in a state in which the palm is substantially vertical shown in FIG. There are two types, the second posture B with the palm in a substantially horizontal state. Further, the control content is an operation to be controlled by the remote operation function, and as described above, there are two types of “channel selection” and “volume adjustment”. In the command table 100, the first posture A is set as the operation posture corresponding to “channel selection”, and the second posture B is set as the operation posture corresponding to “volume adjustment”. The program data storage area 19a also stores data such as model patterns used when recognizing the first and second postures A and B from the captured image.

  On the other hand, the registration data 200 shown in FIG. 5 is stored in the registration data storage area 19b. The registration data 200 is setting data indicating face image data corresponding to each user managed by the user number, line-of-sight reference data, channel operation hand operation posture, and volume operation hand operation posture, respectively. It consists of and. The face image data is image data of a face portion of a specific person who is a user. The line-of-sight reference data is line-of-sight information serving as a reference that is used when the CPU 13 determines the orientation of the user's face. Details of the line-of-sight reference data will be described later.

  Data for each user making up the registration data 200 is stored when the user performs a predetermined registration operation using a user registration function prepared in advance in the television receiver 1. The registration work can be performed by the user performing a predetermined key operation while facing the display screen of the television receiver 1.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a user registration process executed by the CPU 13 in accordance with a control program stored in the main storage device 19 (program data storage area 19a) when a registration request is received from a user by a predetermined key operation. .

  When there is a registration request from the user, the CPU 13 immediately checks the presence / absence of a shooting instruction by a predetermined key operation (step SA1). It is assumed that the user issues a shooting instruction with the face facing the display screen of the television receiver 1 (a state facing the display screen).

  Thereafter, when a photographing instruction (predetermined key operation) is given (step SA1: YES), the CPU 13 causes the built-in camera 18 to perform a photographing operation to acquire a photographed image (step SA2). Next, the CPU 13 detects a face area corresponding to the face portion of an arbitrary person from the acquired photographed image, and acquires image data representing the detected face area, that is, face image data (step SA3). When acquiring the face image data, the CPU 13 performs image recognition processing such as binarization, contour extraction, and pattern matching on the captured image, so that there are eyes, nose, and mouth in a certain range of positional relationship. A specific area is detected as a face area.

  Next, the CPU 13 acquires the following data as line-of-sight reference data (step SA4). The line-of-sight reference data is data related to the inverted triangle D shown in FIG. 7 having apexes at the center positions of the eyes (left and right eyes) and the mouth recognized when the face area is detected in the process of step SA3. In other words, the length of the base of the inverted triangle D (the distance between the left and right eyes) is a (= E + E ′), and the height of the inverted triangle D (the distance from the line connecting the left and right eyes to the mouth) is b. It is a ratio c (= b / a) between the length and the height of the bottom of the case.

  Further, the CPU 13 causes the user to set operation methods for channel selection and volume adjustment (step SA5). In step SA5, the CPU 13 displays on the display device 16 a predetermined setting screen that shows a basic combination of the above-described control content and the hand operation posture (first and second postures A and B) in a default state. Display, and allow the user to select whether or not to change the combination by a key operation.

  After that, the CPU 13 adds the face image data, the line-of-sight reference data acquired in steps SA3 and SA4, and the operation method setting data to the registration data 200 in association with the new user number. Of the data illustrated in FIG. 5, the setting data of the operation method corresponding to the user numbers 1 and 3 is data when the combination of the control content and the operation posture of the hand is not changed by the user. Further, the setting data of the operation method corresponding to the user number 2 is data when the combination of the operation posture and the hand operation posture is changed by the user.

  Next, in the television receiver 1 of the present embodiment, a process related to a remote operation function executed by the CPU 13 according to a control program stored in the main storage device 19 (program data storage area 19a) while receiving an arbitrary broadcast. explain. 8 and 9 are flowcharts showing processing related to the remote operation function in the CPU 13.

  While the television receiver 1 is powered on and receives an arbitrary broadcast, the CPU 13 causes the built-in camera 18 to perform shooting operations periodically (for example, 15 fps to 30 fps) and performs the following processing.

  When the CPU 13 acquires a new captured image by the built-in camera 18 (step SB1: YES), first, the CPU 13 performs a face detection process for detecting a face area corresponding to a face portion of an arbitrary person from the acquired captured image (step SB2). ). The face detection process is the same as the process for acquiring face image data at the time of user registration. When the face area cannot be detected (step SB3: NO), the CPU 13 returns to the process of step SB1 and waits until a new captured image is acquired.

  On the other hand, when the face area can be detected in the captured image (step SB3: YES), the CPU 11 continues to target the image data of the face area detected in the face detection process of step SB2 (hereinafter referred to as a viewer). ) Is opened or not (step SB4). In the process of step SB4, the CPU 13 performs filter processing (image processing) such as binarization and contour extraction on the image data of the face region, and specifies a region corresponding to the eyes in the image after the filter processing. Thereafter, whether or not the eyes are open is determined based on whether or not a portion corresponding to the black eye can be recognized in the specified region.

  FIG. 10A is a diagram conveniently showing an example of an image represented by the image data of the face area when the viewer opens his eyes, and FIG. 10B shows the viewer closing his eyes. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of an image represented by image data of a face area for convenience. In FIGS. 10A and 10B, the left side shows an example of an image before the filter process, and the right side in the figure shows an example of the image after the filter process. Further, a region surrounded by a circle in the image after filtering (the image on the right side) is a region A corresponding to the eyes.

  If the CPU 13 determines that the viewer has closed his eyes (step SB4: NO), the CPU 13 returns to the processing of step SB1 without doing anything and waits until a new captured image is acquired.

  On the other hand, if the CPU 13 determines that the viewer has opened his / her eyes (step SB4: YES), whether or not the face in the face area detected by the face detection process in step SB2 is a registered user's face. (Step SB5). That is, it is confirmed whether or not the current viewer is a registered user.

  In the process of step SB5, the CPU 13 first acquires the degree of coincidence with the face area image data detected in the face detection process of step SB2 for each of the plurality of face image data stored as the registration data 200. . The degree of coincidence is an average of individual degrees of coincidence regarding a plurality of feature points such as the size of eyes, nose and mouth, and the positional relationship between them.

  Then, the CPU 13 determines that the current viewer is a registered user if face image data having an averaged matching level equal to or higher than the reference is present in the registration data 200, and conversely the averaged matching level. If face image data having a value equal to or greater than the reference does not exist in the registration data 200, it is determined that the current viewer is not a registered user. If the current viewer is not a registered user (step SB5: NO), the CPU 13 returns to the process of step SB1 and acquires a new captured image.

  On the other hand, when the current viewer is a registered user, that is, when the user's face registered in the photographed image can be recognized (step SB5: YES), the CPU 13 first selects the user who is the current viewer. Is specified (step SB6). That is, the CPU 13 identifies the user whose face image data having the highest degree of coincidence described above is stored in the registration data 200 as the current viewer.

  Further, the CPU 13 refers to the registration data 200 to confirm the combination of the specified user, that is, the control content set by the current viewer and the hand operation posture, and stores the confirmed content in the internal memory. (Step SB7).

  Next, the CPU 13 acquires line-of-sight data from the image data of the face area detected by the face detection process at step SB2 (step SB8). The line-of-sight data acquired from the image data of the face area is the same as the data acquired as the line-of-sight reference data in the process of step SA4 in the previously described user registration process (FIG. 6). That is, the height b of the inverted triangle D having the vertexes at the center positions of the eyes (left and right eyes) and the mouth in the face area detected by the face detection process in step SB2, and the length a of the base of the inverted triangle D, Ratio c (= b / a) (see FIG. 7).

  Thereafter, the CPU 13 stores the ratio c (hereinafter referred to as the actual ratio) acquired in the process of step SB8 and the current viewer (the user specified in the process of step SB6) as the line-of-sight reference data in the registration data 200. It is determined whether or not the viewer is turning his / her face to the display screen of the television receiver 1 by comparing with the ratio c (hereinafter referred to as the reference ratio) (step SB9). That is, the CPU 13 finally determines whether or not the viewer is viewing the display screen in the processing.

  FIG. 11 shows the reference ratio c when the viewer's face faces the display screen and the actual ratio c when the viewer's face faces up, down, left and right (denoted as c ′ in the figure). It is the figure which showed the relationship. Here, assuming that the viewer's face is directly facing the display screen as shown in FIG. 11 (a), the viewer's face is shown in FIGS. 11 (b) and 11 (c). Is directed to the left and right, the length a of the base of the inverted triangle D is relatively small. Therefore, the actual ratio c ′ becomes larger than the reference ratio c. In addition, when the viewer's face faces up and down as shown in FIGS. 11D and 11E, the height b of the inverted triangle D becomes relatively small. Therefore, the actual ratio c ′ is smaller than the reference ratio c.

  From the above viewpoint, in the process of step SB9, when the difference between the ratio c acquired as the line-of-sight data and the ratio c stored as the line-of-sight reference data is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold, It is determined that the face is facing the display screen of the television receiver 1. Further, the CPU 13 determines that the viewer does not face the display screen of the television receiver 1 when the difference in the ratio c exceeds the threshold value. The threshold value is a value in which the distance between the viewer and the television receiver 1 is determined in accordance with the viewing distance assumed in advance according to the display screen size of the television receiver 1.

  When it is determined that the viewer does not face the display screen of the television receiver 1 (step SB9: NO), the CPU 13 does nothing and returns to the process of step SB1 until a new captured image is acquired. stand by.

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the viewer is facing the display screen of the television receiver 1, that is, when it can be determined that the viewer is looking at the display screen (step SB9: YES), the CPU 13 continues to FIG. The following processing shown is executed.

  In other words, the CPU 13 recognizes the hand operation posture for the captured image acquired in step SB1 (step SB10). As described above, the operation posture of the hand recognized by the CPU 13 is the first posture A with the palm shown in FIG. 4B substantially vertical and the second posture with the palm substantially horizontal. Posture B.

  When the CPU 13 succeeds in recognizing the first posture A or the second posture B in the photographed image (step SB11: YES), the CPU 13 performs a process after step SB12 to be described later, and then newly captures the photographed image. Every time it is acquired (step SB23: YES), the hand operating posture is recognized (step SB10). Thereafter, the CPU 13 repeats the processing from step SB12 onward while successfully recognizing the hand operation posture (first posture A or second posture B) in the new photographed image.

  Hereinafter, the processing of step SB12 to step SB22 will be described. That is, while the hand operation posture is successfully recognized, the CPU 13 first stores the hand operation posture with the control content set by the current viewer stored in the internal memory in the process of step SB7. From the combination content, it is confirmed whether or not the recognized operation posture of the hand is the operation posture set for channel selection in the current viewer (step SB12).

  The CPU 13 repeats the following processing while the recognized hand operation posture is the operation posture set for channel selection (step SB12: YES). In the following description, the combination of the control content set by the current viewer and the hand operation posture is the basic combination shown in FIG. 4A and is recognized in the process of step SB10. It is assumed that the operated posture of the hand is the first posture A.

  While the operation posture is the operation posture set for channel selection, the CPU 13 sequentially acquires the position of the hand in the newly acquired captured image (for example, the center position of the hand in the image) and stores it in the internal memory. (Step SB13). Thereafter, the CPU 13 confirms whether or not the viewer has instructed forward or backward channel feeding based on the change in the hand position so far (steps SB14 and SB16).

  That is, the CPU 13 reverses at the arbitrary position P2 after the position of the hand in the first posture A moves rightward from the arbitrary initial position P1, as shown in FIG. When the forward movement operation returning to P1 is confirmed, it is determined that the forward movement of the channel is instructed. Further, the CPU 13 moves the left position of the hand in the first posture A from the initial position P1 to the left as shown in FIG. When the backward movement operation returning to the position P1 is confirmed, it is determined that the backward movement of the channel is instructed.

  When the CPU 13 determines that the viewer has instructed the channel forward (the forward operation has been confirmed) (step SB14: YES), the CPU 13 forwards the channel by one channel (step SB15). Further, when the CPU 13 determines that the viewer has instructed the channel reverse feed (the reverse feed operation has been confirmed) (step SB14: NO, step SB16: YES), the CPU 13 reverses the channel by one channel (step SB14: NO). SB17).

  However, during the continuous selection operation in which the forward feeding operation or the backward feeding operation of the hand in the first posture A is continuously performed, the CPU 13 performs the following processing in the processing after step SB13. In other words, after the first confirmed operation is the sequential feeding operation, the CPU 13 sequentially feeds the channels by one channel every time the hand in the first posture A moves back and forth once.

  FIG. 12C is a diagram illustrating an example of the continuous selection operation of the hand in the first posture A when the first operation is a forward movement operation. During the continuous selection operation, the CPU 13 sequentially forwards the channel by one channel when the hand in the first posture A reciprocates between the initial position P1 and the arbitrary position P2, and is in the first posture A. When the hand reciprocates between the initial position P1 and the arbitrary position P3, the channels are sequentially fed by one channel.

  Contrary to the above, the CPU 13 reversely feeds the channel by one channel every time the hand in the first posture A reciprocates once after the first confirmed operation is the reverse feed operation.

  In addition, when neither the forward movement operation nor the backward movement operation can be confirmed (step SB16: NO), the CPU 13 does nothing at that time, and after acquiring the next photographed image, the same as above. Perform the process.

  Therefore, if the user moves the hand in the first posture A to the left and right, the display channel can be selected (switched) even at a location away from the television receiver 1 without using the remote controller. .

  On the other hand, the CPU 13 repeats the following process while the hand operation posture recognized in step SB10 is not for channel selection but for the sound volume adjustment (step SB12: NO). Also in the following description, the combination of the control content set by the current viewer and the hand operation posture is the basic combination shown in FIG. 4A, and the processing in step SB10 is performed. It is assumed that the recognized hand operation posture is the second posture B.

  While the operation posture is the operation posture set for volume adjustment, the CPU 13 sequentially acquires the position of the hand in the newly acquired captured image (for example, the center position of the hand in the image) and stores it in the internal memory. (Step SB18). Thereafter, the CPU 13 confirms whether or not the viewer has instructed to increase or decrease the volume based on the change in the hand position so far (step SB19, step SB21).

  That is, the CPU 13 was able to confirm the volume increasing operation in which the position of the hand in the second posture B moves upward by a predetermined distance L from any initial position P1, as shown in FIG. 13 (a). In some cases, it is determined that the sound volume is instructed. In addition, the CPU 13 was able to confirm the sound volume down operation in which the position of the hand in the second posture B moves downward by a predetermined distance L from the arbitrary initial position P1, as shown in FIG. 13B. Sometimes, it is determined that the sound volume is instructed.

  Then, when the CPU 13 determines that the volume up is instructed by the viewer (the volume up operation has been confirmed) (step SB19: YES), the CPU 13 increases the volume by one level (step SB20). On the other hand, when the CPU 13 determines that the sound volume is instructed by the viewer (the sound volume down operation can be confirmed) (step SB19: NO, step SB21: YES), the CPU 13 decreases the sound volume by one level (step SB22).

  However, during the continuous adjustment operation in which the volume increase operation or the volume decrease operation of the hand in the second posture B is continuously performed, the CPU 13 performs the following processing in the processing after step SB19. That is, the CPU 13 increases the sound volume by one step each time the hand in the second posture B moves by the predetermined distance L regardless of the moving direction after the first confirmed operation is the sound volume increasing operation.

  FIG. 13C is a diagram illustrating an example of the continuous selection operation of the hand in the second posture B when the first operation is a volume up operation. During the continuous selection operation, the CPU 13 increases the volume by one step when the hand in the second posture B reaches the position P2 that is a predetermined distance L away from the initial position P1, and is further in the second posture B. When the hand returns to the initial position P1, the volume is increased by one level.

  Contrary to the above, the CPU 13 increases the volume every time the hand in the second posture B moves by the predetermined distance L regardless of the moving direction after the first confirmed operation is the volume down operation. Move down one step.

  In addition, when neither the above-described volume-up operation or volume-down operation can be confirmed (step SB21: NO), the CPU 13 does nothing at that time and acquires the next captured image, and then Similar processing is performed.

  Therefore, if the user moves his / her hand in the second posture B up and down, the volume can be adjusted at a place away from the television receiver 1 without using a remote controller.

  Although not shown in the figure, when the combination of the control content set by the current viewer and the hand operation posture is the reverse of the basic combination, that is, the operation posture corresponding to “channel selection” When the second posture B is set and the first posture A is set as the operation posture corresponding to “volume adjustment”, the CPU 13 performs the following processing in steps SB12 to SB22.

  That is, when the CPU 13 confirms a forward movement operation in which the hand in the second posture B moves upward from the arbitrary initial position and then reverses at the arbitrary position and returns to the initial position, the CPU 13 instructs the reverse channel. (Step SB14: YES), the channels are forwarded by one channel in order (Step SB15). Further, when the CPU 13 confirms the forward feed operation in which the hand in the second posture B moves downward from the arbitrary initial position and then reverses at the arbitrary position and returns to the initial position, the CPU 13 instructs the reverse channel. It is determined that it has been performed (step SB16: YES), and the channel is fed back by one channel (step SB17).

  It should be noted that the CPU 13 moves to the second posture B if the first operation is the forward movement operation during the continuous selection operation in which the forward movement operation or the reverse movement operation of the hand in the second posture B is continuously performed. Each time a hand moves one reciprocating motion, the channel is sequentially fed by one channel. On the contrary, if the first operation is a reverse feed operation, the CPU 13 feeds back the channel by one channel every time the hand in the second posture B moves one reciprocating motion.

  Furthermore, when the CPU 13 confirms the sound volume increasing operation in which the hand in the first posture A moves a predetermined distance in the right direction from an arbitrary initial position, the CPU 13 determines that the sound volume is instructed (step SB19: YES). The volume is increased by one level (step SB20). In addition, when the CPU 13 confirms the sound volume down operation in which the hand in the first posture A moves a predetermined distance leftward from an arbitrary initial position, the CPU 13 determines that the sound volume down is instructed (step SB21: YES). Reduce the volume by one level.

  In addition, during the continuous adjustment operation in which the volume up operation or the volume down operation of the hand in the first posture A is continuously performed, the CPU 13 determines the first posture if the first operation is the volume up operation. Each time the hand in A moves a predetermined distance, the volume is increased by one level. Conversely, if the first operation is a volume down operation, the CPU 13 decreases the volume by one step each time the hand in the first posture A moves by a predetermined distance.

  On the other hand, as described above, the CPU 13 repeats the control of the channel and the volume according to the movement of the hand in the first posture A or the second posture B, and the hand operation posture ( If the first posture A or the second posture B) cannot be recognized (step SB11: NO), the hand position stored so far is initialized (cleared) (step SB24), and then once shown in FIG. Returning to step SB1 of step 8. Thereafter, the CPU 13 repeats the process described above.

  As described above, in the television receiver 1 of the present embodiment, while receiving an arbitrary broadcast, the CPU 13 is in the first posture A on the condition that the viewer is watching the display screen. Specific movements such as movements in the horizontal direction of the hand or movements of the hand in the second posture B in the vertical direction are detected at any time, and the channel (reception station) and volume are controlled using the detection as a trigger. .

  Therefore, in the television receiver 1, even when the user's hand in the first posture A or the second posture B happens to move left and right or up and down when the viewer does not look at the display screen, The channel does not change or the volume does not change. That is, there is no possibility of malfunction occurring in response to an operation not intended by the user. Therefore, only an intentional remote operation by the user can be accepted.

  In the television receiver 1 of the present embodiment, the CPU 13 controls the channel (receiving station) and volume on the condition that the user's face registered in advance can be recognized from the captured image. Therefore, only intentional remote operation by the user can be accepted more reliably.

  Further, in the television receiver 1 of the present embodiment, when the CPU 13 can determine that the viewer is open and faces the display screen of the television receiver 1, the viewer can display the screen. It is finally determined that you are watching. Therefore, it is possible to accurately determine the nourishing pair that the viewer is looking at the display screen, and it is also possible to accept only the intentional remote operation by the user more reliably.

  In the present embodiment, the CPU 13 is viewing the display screen when it is determined that the viewer has opened his eyes and is facing the display screen of the television receiver 1. The configuration to be finally determined has been described. However, in the implementation of the present invention, it is possible to determine whether or not the viewer is looking at the display screen based only on whether or not the viewer is facing the display screen of the television receiver 1. Good.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the configuration has been described in which it is determined whether or not the viewer faces his / her face on the display screen of the television receiver 1 using the previously registered line-of-sight reference data. The determination may be made without using the line-of-sight reference data registered in advance. For example, every time a captured image obtained by capturing a viewer is acquired, the ratio c (line-of-sight information) between the height b of the inverted triangle D and the length a of the base of the inverted triangle D shown in FIG. In both cases, the minimum ratio c among the ratios c acquired at any time may be updated as the line-of-sight reference data as needed, and the line-of-sight reference data may be used.

  In addition, when determining whether or not the viewer faces his / her face on the display screen of the television receiver 1 using the line-of-sight reference data updated as necessary as described above, for example, a user who is not registered in advance in the CPU 13 Also, the above-described hand movement (specific movement) may be detected, and the channel (receiving station) and volume may be controlled using the detected movement as a trigger.

  In the present embodiment, the specific motion of the viewer detected from the captured image by the CPU 13 is the movement of the hand in the first posture A in the left-right direction or the vertical direction of the hand in the second posture B. Although the case of moving to is described, the specific operation detected from the captured image can be appropriately changed to another operation as long as it is a predetermined operation.

  Moreover, although the case where the content controlled by the CPU 13 triggered by the detection of a specific operation from the captured image is a channel or volume, the control content can be changed as appropriate.

  In the present embodiment, the case where the present invention is applied to a digital television receiver has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to a digital television receiver, and is not limited to a video recorder or radio broadcast used for recording a broadcast program. The present invention can also be applied to other electric devices such as a radio receiver that receives the signal.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Television 2 Main body 3 Display panel 4 Shooting lens 11 Antenna 12 Tuner 13 CPU
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 14 Video decoder 15 Audio | voice decoder 16 Display apparatus 17 Audio | voice output apparatus 18 Built-in camera 19 Main memory device 20 Auxiliary memory device 21 Operation key part 22 Signal processing circuit 31 Image pick-up element 32 Signal processing circuit

Claims (8)

In electrical equipment with remote control function,
Photographing means for photographing the user;
A determination unit that determines whether the user is looking at the device main body based on a captured image captured by the imaging unit;
Detecting means for detecting a predetermined specific operation of the user based on a photographed image photographed by the photographing means;
Responding to the detection unit detecting the specific action by the detection unit under the condition that the determination unit determines that the user is looking at the device main body, and corresponding to the specific operation An electrical apparatus comprising: control means for executing the control process.   2. The electric apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control processing of the content corresponding to the specific operation executed by the control means includes switching control of a receiving station. Face recognition means for recognizing a face of a person registered in advance for a photographed image photographed by the photographing means,
The control means is provided on the condition that the judgment means judges that the user is looking at the main body of the apparatus and that the face of the person registered in advance is detected by the face recognition means. The electric device according to claim 1, wherein a control process having a content corresponding to the specific operation is executed in response to the specific operation detected by the user. The determination unit obtains line-of-sight information indicating the direction of the line of sight from an image of a face portion of a person registered in advance recognized by the face recognition unit, and the user views the device body based on the obtained line-of-sight information. The electric device according to claim 3, wherein it is determined whether or not it is present. The determination means determines whether or not the user has opened his eyes based on the photographed image taken by the photographing means, and when it can be determined that the user has opened his eyes, from the image of the face portion The electrical apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the line-of-sight information is acquired, and it is determined whether a user is looking at the apparatus main body based on the acquired line-of-sight information. The control means responds to the specific action on the user being detected by the detection means under the condition that the determination means determines that the user is looking at the device body, and the specific means 6. The electric device according to claim 5, wherein a control process of content corresponding to an operation, the control process of content set in advance by the person registered in advance is executed. A method for controlling an electrical device having a remote control function,
A step of determining whether the user is looking at the device body based on a photographed image of the user;
A step of detecting a specific action determined in advance by the user based on the captured image;
A step of executing a control process of contents corresponding to the specific operation when the specific operation is detected based on the captured image under a condition that the user is looking at the device main body. A control method characterized by that. A computer included in an electrical device having a remote control function,
A determination means for determining whether or not the user is looking at the device main body based on a photographed image of the user;
Detection means for detecting a specific action predetermined by the user based on the captured image;
Responding to the detection unit detecting the specific action by the detection unit under the condition that the determination unit determines that the user is looking at the device main body, and corresponding to the specific operation A program which functions as a control means for executing the control process.

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