Electronic Device Image Output Privacy Control

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing electronic devices, such as mobile phones and smart phones, do not adequately control display operations when outputting image data to external devices, potentially revealing private information like originator details during incoming calls, especially in shared viewing environments like homes or businesses.

Innovation Solution

An electronic device and method that selectively controls and composes image data output to external displays based on event attributes and display device attributes, allowing for the suppression of sensitive information during interrupt events like incoming calls, and adjusts the luminance of added information to match the original content, ensuring privacy.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If incoming-call screen displays originator information on external display device, then user can be notified of incoming call, but private information may be exposed to others viewing the external display

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvenotification reliabilityVSAvoidprivacy exposure
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies local quality by displaying different information with different privacy protection levels in different regions of the external display. Specifically, it displays a region indicating an incoming call event and a region indicating originator information, where the originator information region has its luminance adjusted to be lower than the event indication region, making the event visible while protecting private information.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

Solution Approach 2:

The patent changes the luminance parameter of the image representing originator information to protect privacy. The control unit adjusts the luminance of the originator information region to be lower than that of the event indication region, allowing the information to be displayed but less visible, thus preventing privacy exposure while maintaining notification functionality.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

2Object-affected harmful factors

If image data output to external display device is controlled to prevent privacy exposure, then private information is protected, but notification visibility may be reduced

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveprivacy protectionVSAvoidnotification visibility
Core Design Contradiction:
Object-affected harmful factorsVSLoss of information

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies local quality by creating distinct display regions with different luminance characteristics. The event indication region maintains normal luminance for clear visibility, while the originator information region uses reduced luminance to protect privacy. This allows both notification visibility and privacy protection to be achieved simultaneously through localized quality differentiation.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

Data Source

PatentEP2966838B1Electronic device, image data output processing method and program
Publication Date: 2019.09.18 NEC CORP
  • EP2966838B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP2966838B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP2966838B1 patent drawingFigure 3~5

AI summary

An electronic device includes an image data acquisition part configured to acquire image data, and an image output processor configured to output image data to an external display device, wherein, when an interrupt event occurs while the image output processor outputs image data to the external display device, the image output processor selects or refuses a plurality of information relating to an interrupt event based on at least one of the attribute of an interrupt event and the attribute of the external display device, thus outputting the selected information to the external display device.