See-Through Display Camera Synchronization for Aligned Video Calls
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing electronic devices face challenges in aligning the user's line of sight with the projected partner during online conferences due to the camera's location outside the screen, leading to degraded communication quality and reduced visibility of the displayed image.
Innovation Solution
An electronic device with a transparent liquid crystal display panel and synchronized camera operation, allowing the user to naturally direct their line of sight toward the camera while matching it with the projected partner on the screen, using a control unit to coordinate the display panel, light source, and camera operations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If the camera is located outside the display screen, then the camera can capture the user's face, but the user's line of sight cannot be matched with the projected partner on the screen
Solution Approach 1:
The camera is integrated into the display screen structure, with the camera lens positioned at the same location as the display panel. This merging of the camera and display allows the user to face the camera while simultaneously viewing the projected partner on the screen, achieving line of sight matching without requiring the user to shift their gaze between separate components.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes the transparent region of the display screen to position the camera, effectively using the z-dimension (depth/ transparency) rather than just the x-y plane. By making the camera transparent to light in certain wavelengths or states, the camera can be positioned within the display structure without blocking the visual output, allowing simultaneous camera capture and display viewing from the same spatial location.
2Measurement precision
If the display panel is always transparent, then the camera can continuously capture the user, but the displayed image becomes invisible to the user
Solution Approach 1:
The display panel alternates between opaque and transparent states in synchronization with the camera's capture cycles. During opaque periods, the display shows images to the user; during transparent periods, the camera captures the user's face. This periodic switching resolves the contradiction by ensuring that at any given moment, either the display is visible or the camera is capturing, but not both simultaneously in conflict.
Solution Approach 2:
The display panel's optical properties are dynamically adjusted based on operational requirements. The system transitions the display between different transparency states controlled by the backend processor, allowing the panel to adapt its properties in real-time to support both display visibility and camera capture functions as needed.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the camera and display operate simultaneously, then both functions are available, but they interfere with each other's performance
Solution Approach 1:
The camera and display operate in alternating time slots rather than simultaneously. The backend processor coordinates the timing so that the display outputs images during opaque periods while the camera captures during transparent periods. This periodic operation ensures both functions are available and execute with high quality, eliminating interference between the two functions.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables simultaneous subject capture and image display without interference, improving communication quality and visibility by synchronizing the display panel's transparency with camera capturing periods.
Implementation Method 1
a liquid crystal layer 30... in a case where a scattering voltage is applied to the liquid crystal layer 30, external light incident on the liquid crystal layer 30 is scattered... in a case where a transparent voltage is applied to the liquid crystal layer 30, the liquid crystal layer 30 is in the transparent state
Implementation Method 2
the control unit 103 applies a voltage between the pixel electrode 11 and the common electrode 21... selectively applies a scattering voltage and a transparent voltage to the plurality of liquid crystal regions 3
Data Source
AI summary
According to one embodiment, an electronic device includes a display panel configured to display an image and including a display region that transmits external light, a light source unit, a camera opposed to the display region of the display panel, and a control unit. The control unit is configured to in a light emission period, permit irradiation of light by the light source unit, irradiate the display region with light, display the image in the display region, and prohibit capturing by the camera. The control unit is configured to in a capturing period, prohibit the irradiation of the light by the light source unit, set the display region to be transparent, permit the capturing by the camera, and take in the external light transmitted through the display region to the camera.