Output device, output method, and output system

Abstract

To provide an output device, output method, and output system that can improve convenience. [Solution] The output device includes a profile acquisition unit that acquires a profile via a network, which is generated based on setting information relating to various settings when the user is viewing using another output device and condition information that forms the user's viewing conditions on the other output device; and a control unit that determines an output mode based on the profile so that the user's viewing conditions on its own device become viewing conditions equivalent to the user's viewing conditions on the other output device, and executes output in the determined output mode.

Description

Technical Field

[0004]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an output device, an output method, and an output system.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, a system that changes information displayed on a display device according to the distance between a user and the display device is known. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an information processing system that converts content according to the distance between a user and information providing means.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] In the system disclosed in Patent Document 1, content is converted based on a user profile set by a user and a distance measurement result. However, in the system disclosed in Patent Document 1, the user profile is set for one information providing means. Therefore, for example, for other information providing means having different sizes and viewing environments, it is necessary to make separate settings individually. This can be a cumbersome task for the user.

[0005] Further, in the system disclosed in Patent Document 1, since the user is not identified, the user for whom content conversion is effective is limited to the user who set the user profile.

[0006] The present disclosure has been made in view of the above problems. An object of the present disclosure is to provide an output device, an output method, and an output system that can improve convenience.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0007] An output device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure includes: a profile acquisition unit that acquires a profile via a network, which is generated based on setting information relating to various settings when the user is viewing using another output device and condition information that forms the user's viewing conditions on the other output device; and a control unit that determines an output mode based on the profile such that the user's viewing conditions on its own device become viewing conditions equivalent to the user's viewing conditions on the other output device, and executes output in the determined output mode.

[0008] An output method according to one embodiment of the present disclosure is an output method executed by an output device capable of outputting information, which acquires a profile generated based on setting information relating to various settings when a user is viewing using another output device and condition information forming the user's viewing conditions on the other output device, determines an output mode based on the profile such that the user's viewing conditions on the output device become viewing conditions corresponding to the user's viewing conditions on the other output device, and executes output in the determined output mode.

[0009] A display system according to one embodiment of the present disclosure comprises a first output device and a second output device capable of outputting information, and an information storage device connected to the first output device and the second output device in a manner that enables information communication, wherein the first output device acquires setting information regarding various settings when a user views using the first output device, the information storage device stores a profile generated based on the setting information and condition information that forms the user's viewing conditions at the first output device, and the second output device determines an output mode based on the profile such that the user's viewing conditions at the second output device correspond to the user's viewing conditions at the first output device, and executes output in the determined output mode. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] According to this disclosure, it is possible to provide an output device, an output method, and an output system that can improve convenience. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0011] [Figure 1] This figure shows an example configuration of an output system according to one embodiment. [Figure 2] Figure 1 is a functional block diagram showing the schematic configuration of the output system. [Figure 3] This diagram shows the positional relationship between the display device and the user. [Figure 4] This figure shows an example of the data stored in the memory unit. [Figure 5] This flowchart shows an example of the profile generation process performed by the first display device. [Figure 6] This flowchart shows an example of profile-based output processing performed by the second display device. [Figure 7] This figure shows an example of an image displayed on the display unit. [Figure 8] This figure shows an example of an image displayed on the display unit. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0012] Embodiments of this disclosure will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, identical or equivalent components are denoted by the same reference numerals, and descriptions of identical or equivalent components will be omitted where necessary.

[0013] <Output System Configuration> Figure 1 shows an example configuration of an output system 1 according to one embodiment. As shown in Figure 1, the output system 1 comprises a plurality of display devices 10 and an information storage device 20. In the output system 1, the information storage device 20 is connected to each of the plurality of display devices 10 in a manner that enables information communication, for example, via a network.

[0014] In the example shown in FIG. 1, the output system 1 includes three display devices 10, namely, a first display device 10a, a second display device 10b, and a third display device 10c, as the display device 10. However, the number of display devices 10 included in the output system 1 is not limited to three, and may be two or more. In this specification, when the first display device 10a, the second display device 10b, and the third display device 10c are not distinguished, they are collectively referred to as the "display device 10".

[0015] The display device 10 is a device capable of displaying information, and is configured by, for example, a television receiver (hereinafter also referred to as a "TV") or a computer. The display device 10 in the present embodiment functions as an information processing device in the present disclosure. The display device 10 is an example of an output device in the present disclosure.

[0016] In the present embodiment, the first display device 10a, the second display device 10b, and the third display device 10c have different display screen sizes respectively. For example, the display screen size of the first display device 10a is 32 inches, the display screen size of the second display device 10b is 50 inches, and the display screen size of the third display device 10c is 70 inches. Also, the first display device 10a, the second display device 10b, and the third display device 10c are arranged in different locations respectively. For example, the first display device 10a is arranged in the user's bedroom, the second display device 10b is arranged in the user's study, and the third display device 10c is arranged in the user's living room. Note that the display screen sizes and arrangement locations shown here are only examples. Therefore, each display device 10 may have an arbitrary display screen size and may be arranged at an arbitrary position.

[0017] The information storage device 20 is a device capable of storing information. In the present embodiment, the information storage device 20 stores the "setting information" described later. The information storage device 20 is configured by an arbitrary device capable of storing information, and in the present embodiment, it is configured by a server device. The server device may be a physical server or a cloud server.

[0018] FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the output system 1 in FIG. 1. However, since the third display device 10c may have the same configuration as the second display device 10b, for simplicity of explanation, illustration of the third display device 10c is omitted.

[0019] As shown in FIG. 2, the first display device 10a includes, as functional units, a control unit 110, a storage unit 120, a communication unit 130, a display unit 140, and a sound output unit 150.

[0020] <00,00098>The control unit 110 controls and manages the entire first display device 10a, including each functional unit of the first display device 10a. The control unit 110 performs various controls, for example, by operating a control program stored in the storage unit 120. For example, the control unit 110 can be configured by a control device such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or an MPU (Micro Processing Unit). In the present embodiment, the control unit 110 includes a screen size acquisition unit 111, a user information acquisition unit 112, a position information acquisition unit 113, and a setting information acquisition unit 114.

[0021] The screen size acquisition unit 111 acquires information regarding the size of the display screen of the display unit 140 of the first display device 10a (hereinafter also referred to as "screen size"). For example, information regarding the screen size of the first display device 10a is stored in the storage unit 120. The screen size acquisition unit 111 acquires information regarding the screen size of the first display device 10a by referring to the storage unit 120. In the present embodiment, the screen size acquisition unit 111 acquires information that the screen size of the first display device 10a is 32 inches.

[0022] The user information acquisition unit 112 acquires user information regarding the user. Specifically, the user information acquisition unit 112 of the first display device 10a acquires user information of the user who is viewing content or the like using the first display device 10a. The user information acquisition unit 112 acquires user information by identifying the user based on information acquired from, for example, the image acquisition device 30.

[0023] The image acquisition device 30 is a device capable of capturing images, specifically a camera. The image acquisition device 30 captures images of the user viewing using the first display device 10a. Therefore, the image acquisition device 30 captures images of the front side where the display unit 140 of the first display device 10a is located. The image acquisition device 30 may be incorporated as part of the first display device 10a. Alternatively, the image acquisition device 30 may be configured as a separate device distinct from the first display device 10a. In this case, the image acquisition device 30 is connected to the first display device 10a in a manner that enables information communication so that it can output the captured images to the first display device 10a. The image acquisition device 30 outputs the captured images to the user information acquisition unit 112.

[0024] The user information acquisition unit 112 acquires images captured by the image acquisition device 30. The user information acquisition unit 112 can use these images as user information. Alternatively, if information that can identify a user (e.g., user ID or username) and an image of the user are stored in the storage unit 120, the user information acquisition unit 112 can perform image analysis on the acquired image to identify the user (user ID or username). Image analysis can be performed using known methods. For example, the user information acquisition unit 112 can extract feature points of the user's face contained in the image through image analysis, and by comparing these feature points with feature points of multiple users stored in the storage unit 120, it can identify which of the users stored in the storage unit 120 is the user viewing using the first display device 10a. In this way, the user information acquisition unit 112 acquires user information. If the extracted feature points do not match any of the feature points of multiple users stored in the storage unit 120, the user information acquisition unit 112 may store a user included in the image captured by the image acquisition device 30 as a new user in the storage unit 120.

[0025] The location information acquisition unit 113 acquires information about the location of the user viewing the content using the first display device 10a (hereinafter also referred to as "location information"). The location information acquisition unit 113 identifies the location information based on information acquired, for example, from the location acquisition device 40.

[0026] The position acquisition device 40 is a device that acquires information that allows for the estimation of the user's position relative to the first display device 10a. Here, the user's position relative to the first display device 10a includes the distance from the first display device 10a to the user. Therefore, the position information acquisition unit 113 identifies the distance D from the display device 10 (first display device 10a) to the user as position information, as shown in Figure 3. The position acquisition device 40 can be configured with appropriate devices.

[0027] For example, the position acquisition device 40 can be configured with a camera capable of capturing images. In this case, the camera may combine the functions of both the image acquisition device 30 and the position acquisition device 40. When the position acquisition device 40 is configured with a camera, the position acquisition device 40 captures an image of the user viewing using the first display device 10a. The position acquisition device 40 outputs the captured image to the position information acquisition unit 113.

[0028] When the location information acquisition unit 113 acquires an image captured by the image acquisition device 30, it performs image analysis to estimate the user's position relative to the first display device 10a. For example, the location information acquisition unit 113 estimates the distance from the first display device 10a to the user. In this way, the location information acquisition unit 113 can acquire location information.

[0029] For example, the position acquisition device 40 can be configured with a distance measuring sensor capable of measuring distance. Specific examples of distance measuring sensors include, but are not limited to, millimeter-wave radar, which measures distance by irradiating an object with millimeter waves, and infrared distance measuring sensors, which measure distance by irradiating infrared rays. When the position acquisition device 40 is configured with a distance measuring sensor, the position acquisition device 40 obtains a sensor output corresponding to the distance from the first display device 10a to the user. Based on the sensor output, the position acquisition device 40 calculates the distance from the first display device 10a to the user and outputs the calculated distance information as position information to the position information acquisition unit 113. In this way, the position information acquisition unit 113 can acquire position information. Alternatively, the position acquisition device 40 may output the sensor output to the position information acquisition unit 113, and the position information acquisition unit 113 may calculate the distance based on the sensor output.

[0030] The position acquisition device 40 may be incorporated as part of the first display device 10a, similar to the image acquisition device 30, or it may be configured as a separate device distinct from the first display device 10a.

[0031] The setting information acquisition unit 114 acquires information regarding various settings (hereinafter also referred to as "setting information") when a user views content using the first display device 10a. The setting information is set by each user. Therefore, the setting information may differ from user to user. The setting information may include appropriate settings for viewing content. For example, the setting information may include the font size displayed on the display unit 140 of the display device 10. For example, the setting information may include the volume of sound output from the sound output unit 150 of the display device 10. The setting information is not limited to the examples shown here and may include other settings. In this embodiment, the user sets the font size displayed on the display unit 140 as setting information, and this will be explained below. The setting information acquisition unit 114 acquires setting information from, for example, the setting device 50.

[0032] The setting device 50 is a device on which a user can input setting information, and therefore, is a device that can accept operational input from a user to set setting information. The setting device 50 can be, for example, a user's terminal device that is connected to the first display device 10a in a manner that enables information communication. The terminal device includes, for example, a smartphone and a computer. In this case, the user makes operational input to the terminal device to set setting information (in this example, font size). The terminal device, which is the setting device 50, transmits the input setting information to the first display device 10a. As a result, the setting information acquisition unit 114 can acquire the setting information.

[0033] The setting device 50 can be, for example, a remote controller (hereinafter also referred to as "remote control") that transmits operation signals to the first display device 10a. In this case, the user makes an operation input to the remote control to set setting information, and a remote control signal based on the operation input is transmitted to the first display device 10a. The setting information acquisition unit 114 can acquire setting information based on the received remote control signal.

[0034] The setting device 50 can be, for example, an operation button provided on the first display device 10a. In this case, the user performs an operation input to set the setting information by operating the operation button. The setting information acquisition unit 114 can acquire the setting information based on the user's operation input to the operation button.

[0035] The storage unit 120 is a storage medium capable of storing programs and data. The storage unit 120 can be made up of, for example, semiconductor memory or magnetic memory. Specifically, the storage unit 120 can be made up of, for example, EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory). The storage unit 120 stores, for example, a program for operating the control unit 110.

[0036] In this embodiment, the storage unit 120 can store user information and profiles in association. Figure 4 shows an example of data stored by the storage unit 120. As shown in Figure 4, the storage unit 120 stores user IDs, user image information, and profiles in association. User ID is identification information assigned to each user to uniquely identify them. User image information is information used by the user information acquisition unit 112 to identify a user based on an image acquired by the image acquisition device 30. User image information may be, for example, an image of the user, or it may be information about feature points extracted from the user's image. Profile is information about viewing settings for each user. Specifically, profile is information that indicates which screen size display device 10 a user uses, at what position (distance) from the display device 10 they view content using which setting information (font size). Therefore, the profile is generated based on the screen size information obtained by the screen size acquisition unit 111, the location information obtained by the location information acquisition unit 113, and the setting information obtained by the setting information acquisition unit 114. The profile may include the screen size information, location information, and setting information as they are, or it may include values ​​calculated by normalizing the user's viewing settings based on this information. The profile is generated based on the setting information and condition information. The condition information is information that forms the user's viewing conditions on the first display device 10a, and includes, for example, screen size information and location information. Details of the profile generation process will be described later.

[0037] The data shown in Figure 4 is generated or updated by the control unit 110, for example, when a user inputs setting information using the setting device 50. When the control unit 110 generates or updates data, it stores the data in the storage unit 120. When the control unit 110 generates or updates data, it may also transmit the data to the information storage device 20. Other display devices 10 other than the first display device 10a also transmit data to the information storage device 20 in the same way, so that data is transmitted to and stored in the information storage device 20 from multiple display devices 10. The control unit 110 may also retrieve the data stored in the information storage device 20 in this manner from the information storage device 20.

[0038] The communication unit 130 performs information communication with an external device. In this embodiment, the communication unit 130 performs information communication with, for example, the information storage device 20. As a result, data such as the above-mentioned data is transmitted and received between the first display device 10a and the information storage device 20.

[0039] The display unit 140 is a device that displays images. The display unit 140 is composed of a known display such as a liquid crystal display (LCD), an organic electro-luminescence display (OELD), or an inorganic electro-luminescence display (IELD). The display unit 140 displays various information under the control of the control unit 110. For example, the display unit 140 displays video content based on a television broadcast signal based on the control of the control unit 110. For example, the display unit 140 displays a television program guide or the like based on the control of the control unit 110 in response to user input. For example, the display unit 140 displays subtitles superimposed on the video based on a predetermined operation input by the user.

[0040] The sound output unit 150 is a device that outputs sound. The sound output unit 150 is composed of, for example, a speaker that outputs sound. The sound output unit 150 outputs sound based on a television broadcast signal, for example, based on control by the control unit 110.

[0041] The information storage device 20 comprises, as functional units, a control unit 210, a storage unit 220, and a communication unit 230.

[0042] The control unit 210 controls and manages the entire information storage device 20, including each functional unit of the information storage device 20. The control unit 210 performs various controls, for example, by operating a control program stored in the memory unit 220. For example, the control unit 210 can be configured using a control device such as a CPU or MPU.

[0043] The storage unit 220 is a storage medium capable of storing programs and data. The storage unit 220 can be made up of, for example, a semiconductor memory or a magnetic memory. Specifically, the storage unit 220 can be made up of, for example, an EEPROM. The storage unit 220 stores, for example, a program for operating the control unit 210. The storage unit 220 also stores data that associates user information with a profile based on information received from multiple display devices 10. Specifically, the storage unit 220 stores, for example, the data shown in Figure 4.

[0044] The communication unit 230 performs information communication with external devices. In this embodiment, the communication unit 230 performs information communication with, for example, a plurality of display devices 10. As a result, data such as the above-mentioned data is transmitted and received between each display device 10 and the information storage device 20.

[0045] The second display device 10b comprises a control unit 310, a storage unit 320, a communication unit 330, a display unit 340, and a sound output unit 350 as functional units. The control unit 310 comprises a screen size acquisition unit 311, a user information acquisition unit 312, and a location information acquisition unit 313. The functions and configurations of each functional unit of the second display device 10b are the same as those of the first display device 10a, except that the second display device 10b does not have a functional unit corresponding to the setting information acquisition unit 114. In other words, the functions and configurations of the control unit 310, storage unit 320, communication unit 330, display unit 340, sound output unit 350, screen size acquisition unit 311, user information acquisition unit 312, and location information acquisition unit 313 are the same as those of the control unit 110, storage unit 120, communication unit 130, display unit 140, sound output unit 150, screen size acquisition unit 111, user information acquisition unit 112, and location information acquisition unit 113, respectively. Therefore, a detailed explanation of each function unit will be omitted. As will be described in detail later, in this embodiment, the communication unit 330 acquires a profile from the information storage device 20, so the communication unit 330 functions as a profile acquisition unit.

[0046] In the second display device 10b, as shown in Figure 2, the user information acquisition unit 312 and the location information acquisition unit 313 acquire information from the image acquisition device 60 and the location acquisition device 70, respectively. The functions and configurations of the image acquisition device 60 and the location acquisition device 70 are the same as those of the image acquisition device 30 and the location acquisition device 40, respectively.

[0047] Furthermore, the second display device 10b may also be equipped with a functional unit corresponding to the setting information acquisition unit 114, similar to the first display device 10a.

[0048] <Profile generation process> Next, we will describe an example of processing performed by the output system 1. First, we will describe an example of profile generation processing performed by the first display device 10a with reference to Figure 5. The flow in Figure 5 may be executed at predetermined timings. For example, the flow in Figure 5 may be executed when the power of the first display device 10a is turned on, or it may be executed when a predetermined operation input is made by the user to perform profile generation. By inputting setting information when the user causes the first display device 10a to display information, the first display device 10a can generate a profile according to the flow shown in Figure 5.

[0049] In the profile generation process, the screen size acquisition unit 111 acquires information about the screen size of the first display device 10a (step S11). Here, we assume the screen size is 32 inches.

[0050] Furthermore, the user information acquisition unit 112 acquires user information (step S12). The user information acquisition unit 112 can acquire user information based on images acquired from the image acquisition device 30, for example, as described above. Here, we assume that the user information is the information of the first user.

[0051] Furthermore, the location information acquisition unit 113 acquires the user's location information (step S13). The location information acquisition unit 113 can acquire location information using, for example, the location acquisition device 40 as described above. In this embodiment, the user's location information acquired here is referred to as the first location information. Here, the first location information is assumed to be information that the distance between the first display device 10a and the user is 2m.

[0052] Furthermore, the setting information acquisition unit 114 acquires setting information (step S14). The setting information acquisition unit 114 can acquire setting information based on user input to the setting device 50, for example, as described above. Here, the setting information is assumed to be that the displayed character size is a first size.

[0053] Then, the control unit 110 generates a profile based on the condition information, which is screen size information and first position information, and the setting information (step S15). For example, the control unit 110 generates a profile by associating the screen size information, first position information, and setting information. Alternatively, the control unit 110 can obtain normalized values ​​as a profile by performing a predetermined calculation using the screen size information, first position information, and setting information.

[0054] The control unit 110 stores the profile generated in step S15 in the storage unit 120, associating it with the user identified by the user information acquired in step S12 (step S16). This generates data associating user information with the profile, for example, as shown in Figure 4. As a result, viewing conditions such as "when a user referred to as 'User 1' views a 32-inch television from a distance of 2m, the font size is set to 'Size 1'," or a normalized value equivalent to this, are stored.

[0055] The control unit 110 may transmit data associating user information with a profile to the information storage device 20. Alternatively, in step S16, the control unit 110 may have the data stored in the storage unit 220 of the information storage device 20 instead of the storage unit 120. In this way, the information storage device 20 stores data associating user information with a profile.

[0056] Note that in the flow chart of Figure 5, the order in which steps S11 to S14 are executed does not necessarily have to be the order shown in Figure 5. The order in which steps S11 to S14 are executed can be changed as appropriate, or two or more steps may be executed simultaneously.

[0057] Furthermore, the first display device 10a performs the display on the display unit 140 according to the setting information acquired in step S14. For example, in the above example, the control unit 110 controls the display on the display unit 140 so that the characters are displayed in the first size.

[0058] <Output processing based on profile> Next, an example of profile-based output processing will be described. For example, a user may view content on the first display device 10a and then view content on the second display device 10b located in a different location. Specifically, a user may watch television (first display device 10a) in the bedroom and then watch television (second display device 10b) in the study. In such a case, the second display device 10b performs profile-based output processing. That is, after a profile is generated by the first display device 10a according to the flow shown in Figure 5, for example, by inputting setting information to the first display device 10a, the user will cause the second display device 10b to display the content, and the second display device 10b will perform profile-based output processing. In this case, it is not necessary to input setting information again to the second display device 10b. Figure 6 is a flowchart showing an example of profile-based output processing performed by the second display device 10b. An example of profile-based output processing performed by the second display device 10b will be explained with reference to Figure 6.

[0059] The user information acquisition unit 312 acquires user information (step S21). The user information acquisition unit 312 can acquire user information based on images acquired from, for example, the image acquisition device 60. Here, the user information is assumed to be the information of the first user.

[0060] The control unit 310 acquires a profile associated with the user identified by the user information acquired in step S21 (step S22). Specifically, the control unit 310 acquires the profile from the information storage device 20 via the communication unit 330. For example, the control unit 310 sends a request signal to the information storage device 20 requesting the profile associated with the user, along with the user information identified by the user information acquired in step S21. The information storage device 20 identifies the profile associated with the user from the data stored in the storage unit 220 based on the request signal and transmits the information of the profile to the second display device 10b. Upon receiving the information of the profile from the second display device 10b, the control unit 310 can acquire the profile. In this example, since the user identified by the user information acquired in step S21 is the first user, the control unit 310 acquires the profile associated with the first user. By acquiring the profile associated with the first user identified by the user information in this way, the control unit 310 can determine the output mode based on the profile associated with the first user, as shown in the processing from step S25 onward.

[0061] The screen size acquisition unit 311 acquires information about the screen size of the second display device 10b (step S23). Here, it is assumed that the screen size of the second display device 10b is 50 inches.

[0062] Furthermore, the location information acquisition unit 313 acquires the user's location information (step S24). The location information acquisition unit 313 can acquire location information using, for example, a location acquisition device 70. In this embodiment, the user's location information acquired here is referred to as the second location information. Here, the second location information is assumed to be information that the distance between the second display device 10b and the user is 3m.

[0063] Then, the control unit 310 determines the output mode based on the profile (step S25). The control unit 310 determines the output mode so that the user's viewing conditions on its own device (here, the second display device 10b) correspond to the user's viewing conditions on the other output device (here, the first display device 10a). Here, the viewing conditions are the state in which the user receives the information output from the display device 10. The control unit 310 can determine the output mode based on the profile using screen size information and / or second position information. Several examples of how the control unit 310 determines the output mode are described below. Here, an example of determining the display mode as the output mode will be described.

[0064] For example, based on the first position information and the second position information, the control unit 310 determines the output mode such that the user's viewing conditions on the second display device 10b are equivalent to the user's viewing conditions on the first display device 10a. Specifically, the control unit 310 determines the size of the characters to be displayed. As an output mode, the control unit 310 determines the size of the characters to be displayed on the display unit of its device such that, based on the first position information and the second position information, the size of the characters recognized when the user views the second display device 10b from the second position indicated by the second position information is equivalent to the size of the characters recognized when the user views the first display device 10a from the first position indicated by the first position information. In other words, the control unit 310 determines the size of the characters so that the appearance of the characters displayed on the display unit 340 of the second display device 10b is the same as the appearance of the characters displayed on the display unit 140 of the first display device 10a for the user.

[0065] Specifically, according to the flow shown in Figure 5 above, a profile is generated indicating that when a user, referred to as "User 1," views a 32-inch television from a distance of 2 meters, the character size is set to "Size 1." Based on this profile, the control unit 310 determines the character size of the characters to be displayed on the display unit 340 of the second display device 10b. However, it is assumed here that the first display device 10a and the second display device 10b are set to display the same size of characters, etc., even if the display screen sizes are different. In other words, if the processing according to this embodiment is not executed, the first display device 10a and the second display device 10b will display characters, etc., of the same size on their display screens. In contrast, according to the processing according to this embodiment, the display mode is determined based on the profile.

[0066] For example, the control unit 310 determines the character size so that the character size visible to a user at a distance of 3m from the television (second display device 10b) is the same as the first character size visible to a user at a distance of 2m from the television (first display device 10a). The character size determined in this way will be referred to here as the second character size. The second character size can be determined according to the ratio of the distance from the display device 10 when the user is at the first position and the second position. In this example, the distance from the user to the first display device 10a is 2m, and the distance from the user to the second display device 10b is 3m, so the second character size is 3m / 2m = 1.5 times larger than the first character size. In this way, by making the second size used when the user is 3m away from the second display device 10b 1.5 times larger than the first size used when the user is 2m away from the first display device 10a, the character size recognized by the user can be unified even if the distance between the display device 10 and the user is different. In this way, the control unit 310 can calculate the character size based on the profile and location information, using a predetermined calculation formula according to the difference in location information. In order to maintain a consistent character size for the user, the displayed characters need to be larger as the distance between the user and the television increases.

[0067] Furthermore, the control unit 310 determines the display mode by appropriately adjusting the image to be displayed on the display unit 340 to match the second size of the determined characters. The control unit 310 can determine the display mode by, for example, enlarging or shrinking the image or changing its arrangement to match the character size.

[0068] The characters shown as examples here can be any characters displayed on the display unit 340, such as characters listed in the program guide, characters displayed on the settings screen, characters displayed as a recording list, or subtitle characters.

[0069] Then, the control unit 310 outputs in the output mode determined in step S25 (step S26). In this example, the control unit 310 displays the image on the display unit 340 in the display mode determined in step S25. This makes it possible to realize the viewing environment using the first display device 10a on the second display device 20b as well. That is, the first display device 10a and the second display device 20b output images that look the same to the user. In this example, the first display device 10a and the second display device 20b output images such that the font size recognized by the user is the same. In this way, once the user has entered setting information using one display device (in this case, the first display device 10a), the output system 1 can realize the same viewing environment on other display devices (in this case, the second display device 20b) without requiring any further user input. Therefore, the output system 1 can improve the convenience of the display device 10.

[0070] In this embodiment, each user can input setting information according to their individual preferences. As a result, a profile is generated for each user, and the information storage device 20 stores the profile associated with each user, for example, as shown in Figure 4. When a user views content using the display device 10, the user is identified by acquiring user information in step S21 of Figure 6, and in step S22, the profile corresponding to the identified user is acquired. As a result, the output mode is determined according to the user viewing content on the display device 10. In other words, in this embodiment, each display device 10 can change its display mode according to the user. Therefore, even when multiple users use the same display device 10, rather than being limited to a specific single user, user convenience can be improved.

[0071] Furthermore, as in this embodiment, data linking user information and profiles is stored in the information storage device 20. This allows for output in an appropriate output mode tailored to the user, even when a user uses a new display device 10, for example, due to the replacement of the display device 10.

[0072] Note that in the flow chart of Figure 6, the order in which steps S21 to S24 are executed does not necessarily have to be the order shown in Figure 6. Step S22 may be executed after step S21, and steps S23 and S24 may be executed in any order.

[0073] Also, the above example was described assuming that the first display device 10a and the second display device 10b are set such that the display size of characters and the like is the same even if the sizes of the display screens are different. However, if the first display device 10a and the second display device 10b are set such that the display size of characters and the like is changed according to the size of the display screen, the control unit 310 can determine the output mode in consideration of not only the distance from the display device 10 to the user but also the change in the display size according to the difference in the size of the display screen. In this case, the control unit 310 determines the final output mode by adding the change in the display size based on the distance from the display device 10 to the user with reference to the difference in the display size according to the difference in the size of the display screen.

[0074] <Modified Example> In the above example, an example of determining the output mode determined by the second display device 20b when determining the character size to be displayed was described. However, the output mode is not limited to this. Hereinafter, examples of several output modes will be described. However, the output mode is not limited to the examples described here.

[0075] For example, the control unit 310 determines the range of the image to be displayed on the display unit 340 according to the screen size as the output mode. As an example, assume that the distance between the user and the display device 10 is the same when the user views an image using the first display device 10a and when the user views an image using the second display device 20b. In this case, the control unit 310 does not change the character size to be displayed. In this case, in the above example, since the screen size of the first display device 10a is 32 inches while the screen size of the second display device 20b is 50 inches, the second display device 20b has a larger screen size. Therefore, the control unit 310 can display more information on the second display device 10b than when it is displayed on the first display device 10a.

[0076] For example, suppose a program guide like the one shown in Figure 7 is displayed on a first display device 10a having a 32-inch screen. If the distance between the user and the display device 10 is the same whether the user is viewing the image using the first display device 10a or the second display device 20b, the control unit 310 does not change the font size. On the other hand, the screen size of the second display device 10b is 50 inches, which is larger than that of the first display device 10a. In this case, even if the same program guide as in Figure 7 is displayed on the second display device 10b, as shown in Figure 8, for example, a wider range of the program guide will be displayed due to the larger screen size.

[0077] In addition to the examples described above, the control unit 310 may determine the display mode, such as the font size and the range in which images (e.g., a program guide) are displayed, as appropriate, depending on the screen size and the distance between the user and the display device 10.

[0078] Furthermore, the input of setting information does not necessarily have to be performed on the first display device 10a, and the change in display mode does not necessarily have to be performed on the second display device 10b. For example, the input of setting information may be performed on a display device 10 other than the first display device 10a (in the example of Figure 1, the second display device 10b or the third display device 10c). Subsequently, the display mode may be changed on a display device other than the display device 10 on which the setting information was input, using a profile generated based on the input of the setting information. In other words, the processing in this disclosure may be performed between any two display devices as appropriate.

[0079] Furthermore, the input of setting information and the change of display mode may be performed by the same display device 10. For example, as explained with reference to Figure 5, when the user views an image again using the first display device 10a after setting information has been input to the first display device 10a and a profile has been generated, the first display device 10a may output the image by performing the process explained with reference to Figure 6 based on the generated profile. Even when the user views using the same display device 10, the distance between the user and the display device 10 may differ. In such cases, even with the same display device 10, it is not always appropriate to display the image in the same display mode as in the past. That is, even when using the same display device 10, it is preferable to display the image according to the distance between the user and the display device 10. For this reason, the display device 10 that has received the input of setting information may perform the change of display mode shown in Figure 6.

[0080] The output processing based on the profile described in Figure 6 does not necessarily have to be performed entirely by a display device that outputs an image (the second display device 10b in the above embodiment). For example, the second display device 10b may use the information acquired in steps S21, S23, and S24 to allow the information storage device 20 to determine the output mode in step S25, and based on the determined output mode, the second display device 10b may perform the output in step S26. In addition to the examples described here, each process can be performed by any appropriate device.

[0081] In the above embodiment, the information storage device 20 was described as a server device. However, the information storage device 20 does not necessarily have to be a server device. The information storage device 20 can be any device capable of storing information. For example, the information storage device 20 may be a computer or a smartphone. Alternatively, the information storage device 20 may be a television remote control. In this case, the information storage device 20 can be a general-purpose remote control that can be used in common for multiple display devices 10. When operating multiple display devices 10 using the general-purpose remote control, the processing described in the above embodiment can be executed by communicating information between the display devices 10 and the general-purpose remote control. Furthermore, the display device 10 may also perform the functions of the information storage device 20. Alternatively, the information storage device 20 may be a storage medium such as a USB (Universal Serial Bus) memory.

[0082] The data stored in the information storage device 20, which associates user information with a profile, may be shared, for example, through smartphone app integration. In this case, the data may be shared with multiple display devices 10 by, for example, transmitting the data via Bluetooth®.

[0083] The data can be shared by any appropriate method. For example, the data may be stored on a smartphone or the like, and the data may be shared with multiple display devices 10 by scanning a QR code (registered trademark) that indicates the information of the data.

[0084] In the above embodiment, it was explained that the font size is input as setting information. However, the items input as setting information are not limited to the font size and may be other items. For example, image quality information may be input as setting information. In this case, the first display device 10a generates a profile based on the setting information including the input image quality information. In this case, the second display device 10b can determine the image quality according to the user's position when determining the output mode in step S25 of Figure 6.

[0085] The items entered as setting information do not necessarily have to be related to the display. For example, volume information may be entered as setting information. In this case, the first display device 10a generates a profile based on the setting information, including the entered volume information. In this case, when the second display device 10b determines the output mode in step S25 of Figure 6, it can determine the volume of the sound output from the sound output unit 350 according to the user's position. Therefore, the output device does not necessarily have to be the display device 10, and may be a sound output device that does not have a display unit but is capable of outputting sound.

[0086] In the above embodiment, the image acquisition devices 30 and 60 may acquire images only at specific timings. For example, when the user turns on the power of the display device 10, the image acquisition device 30 or 60 may acquire an image. After that, the image acquisition device 30 or 60 does not perform image acquisition. This allows the user's image to be acquired when the user turns on the power of the display device 10, while the user's image is not acquired at other times, thus protecting privacy.

[0087] Furthermore, the user information acquisition units 112 and 312 do not necessarily have to acquire user information based on information acquired from the image acquisition devices 30 and 60, respectively. User information may be acquired by any method and in any manner as long as the user can be identified in the control unit 110 or 310.

[0088] For example, the microphone on the display device 10 may acquire voice, and user information may be acquired through voice analysis. Alternatively, a biometric authentication sensor such as a fingerprint sensor may be placed on the remote control, and user information may be acquired through biometric authentication. Furthermore, millimeter waves may be used to acquire the silhouette of a person near the display device 10, and user information may be acquired by estimating the user from the silhouette. In addition, user information may be acquired when the user logs into an account. Furthermore, AI (artificial intelligence) may be used to learn the viewing trends and viewing times of each user, and user information may be acquired by estimating the user based on the programs and times viewed on the display device 10. User information can be acquired by any known method that can identify or estimate the user, other than the examples shown here.

[0089] It was also explained that data is transmitted to and stored in the information storage device 20 from multiple display devices 10. However, it is also possible that at least the data of the display device 10a as itself is transmitted. For example, if the settings of the display device 10a as itself are lost, the control unit 110 can restore the settings of the display device 10a to their previous state by obtaining the data of itself stored in the information storage device 20 from the information storage device 20.

[0090] While this disclosure has been described based on the drawings and embodiments, it should be noted that those skilled in the art will find it easy to make various modifications and alterations based on this disclosure. Therefore, it should be noted that these modifications and alterations are within the scope of this disclosure. For example, the functions included in each functional part or step can be rearranged in a logically consistent manner, and multiple functional parts or steps can be combined into one or separated. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0091] 1 Display System 10 Display device 10a 1st display device 10b 2nd display device 10c 3rd display device 20 Information storage device 30,60 Image acquisition device 40,70 Location acquisition device 50 Setting device 110,210,310 Control Unit 111,311 Screen size acquisition section 112,312 User Information Acquisition Unit 113,313 Location information acquisition unit 114 Configuration Information Acquisition Unit 120,220,320 storage section 130,230,330 Communications Department 140,340 Display section 150,350 Sound output section

Claims

1. An output device, A profile acquisition unit acquires a profile via a network, which is generated based on setting information regarding various settings made by the user when viewing using other output devices, and condition information that forms the user's viewing conditions on the other output devices. A control unit, which determines the output mode based on the profile so that the user's viewing conditions on its own device correspond to the user's viewing conditions on the other output device, and executes the output in the determined output mode, An output device equipped with the following features.

2. The condition information includes first position information relating to the first position of the user relative to the other output device when the user is viewing on the other output device, The output device further includes a location information acquisition unit that acquires second location information relating to the second location of the user viewing the content on the device. The control unit determines the output mode based on the first position information and the second position information such that the user's viewing conditions on its own device correspond to the user's viewing conditions on the other output device. The output device according to claim 1.

3. The setting information includes information regarding the character size displayed on the display unit of the other output device, The control unit determines, as the output mode, the size of the characters to be recognized when the user views the device from the second position, based on the first position information and the second position information, according to the ratio of the distance between the user and the other output device and the distance between the user and the device itself. The output device according to claim 2.

4. The output device further comprises a screen size acquisition unit that acquires information regarding the screen size of the display unit of the device, The control unit determines the range of the image to be displayed on the display unit according to the screen size as the output mode. The output device according to claim 2.

5. The aforementioned profile is associated with the aforementioned user, The output device further comprises a user information acquisition unit that acquires user information relating to the user, The control unit determines the output mode based on the profile associated with the user identified by the user information acquired by the user information acquisition unit. The output device according to claim 1.

6. An output method in which an output device capable of outputting information is executed, A profile is obtained that is generated based on setting information regarding various settings made by the user when viewing using other output devices, and condition information that forms the user's viewing conditions on the other output devices. Based on the profile, the output mode is determined such that the user's viewing conditions on the output device correspond to the user's viewing conditions on the other output devices. The output is executed in the determined output mode. Output method.

7. A first output device and a second output device capable of outputting information, An information storage device connected to the first output device and the second output device in a manner that enables information communication, A display system equipped with The first output device acquires setting information regarding various settings made by the user when viewing using the first output device. The information storage device stores a profile generated based on the setting information and the condition information that forms the user's viewing conditions on the first output device. The second output device determines an output mode based on the profile such that the user's viewing conditions at the second output device correspond to the user's viewing conditions at the first output device, and then performs output in the determined output mode. Output system.

8. An output device, A profile acquisition unit acquires a profile via a network, which is generated based on setting information regarding various settings made by the user when viewing using the output device, and condition information that forms the user's viewing conditions on the output device. A control unit that determines the output mode such that the viewing conditions on the output device correspond to the viewing conditions of the user on the output device based on the profile, and executes the output in the determined output mode, An output device equipped with the following features.

Images