Patent

Am 7. April 2009 wurde beim Patentamt in den USA, wie auch bei Europäischen Patentamt der hm-Screenloader zum Patent angemeldet. Das Patent wurde wie folgt eingereicht:

TITLE

Providing an interactive visual representation on a display

ABSTRACT

The invention provides a method, apparatus and computer program product for providing an interactive visual representation (16) on a display (10). The invention comprises showing a two-dimensional visual representation (16) on the display (10), wherein the visual representation (16) comprises a plurality of continuously moving visual elements (18.x) that provide the appearance of a three‑dimensional shape, using at least two images (24.x) of a sequence of images (24.x) taken by at least one electronic camera (12) to determine at least one movement value, wherein the movement value is indicative of a movement of a person as depicted by the at least one electronic camera (12), and influencing the visual representation (16) based on the at least one movement value. The invention provides an interactive visual representation (16) that works well even if a rather simple movement tracking technique is used.

CLAIMS

1.         A method for providing an interactive visual representation (16) on a display (10), the method comprising:

-            showing a two-dimensional visual representation (16) on the display (10), the visual representation (16) comprising a plurality of continuously moving visual elements (18.x) that provide the appearance of a three‑dimensional shape,

-           using at least two images (24.x) of a sequence of images (24.x) taken by at least one electronic camera (12) to determine at least one movement value, the movement value being indicative of a movement of a person as depicted by the at least one electronic camera (12),

-            influencing the visual representation (16) based on the at least one movement value.

2.         The method of claim 1, wherein the continuously moving visual elements (18.x) comprise a plurality of tags, wherein each tag is a textual tag or a static graphical tag or a dynamic graphical tag.

3.         The method of claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the visual representation (16) is a navigation interface.

4.         The method of claim 2, wherein the visual representation (16) is a navigation interface, and wherein the method comprises showing a user-controllable cursor (22) within the navigation interface to enable a user to select one of the tags.

5.         The method of claim 4, wherein the user-controllable cursor (22) has a variable size that is influenced by an apparent depth of a currently selected tag within the navigation interface.

6.         The method of any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the three-dimensional shape is a sphere or an ellipsoid.

7.         The method of any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the continuously moving visual elements (18.x) move along circular or elliptical paths (20.x), thus providing the appearance of a continuously rotating and/or pulsating sphere or ellipsoid.

8.         The method of claim 7, wherein the paths (20.x) are invisible on the display (10).

9.         The method of any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the three-dimensional shape is shown at a deflection from a home orientation, and wherein the at least one movement value influences the deflection, and wherein the deflection gradually returns to zero if the at least one movement value indicates that there is no current movement.

10.      The method of claim 9, wherein the home orientation is set by a user command.

11.      The method of any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the sequence of images is taken by a single electronic camera (12).

12.      The method of any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein determining the at least one movement value comprises:

-            determining at least one contour or color area in a first image of the sequence of images (24.x),

-            determining a change of the contour or color area in a second image of the sequence of images (24.x) with respect to the first image, and

-            determining the at least one movement value depending on the determined change.

13.      The method of any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein the at least one movement value is indicative of a movement of a plurality of persons.

14.      An apparatus having a display (10), at least one electronic camera (12), and a processing unit, the apparatus being adapted for performing the method of any one of claims 1-13.

15.      A computer program product comprising a plurality of program instructions, the program instructions being adapted for causing at least one processor to execute the method of any one of claims 1-13.