Self-orienting display

Abstract

A self-orienting display senses the characteristics of an object and automatically rotates and reformats a display image in accordance with those characteristics. In one embodiment, the object is the display device, such as a hand held device, that provides the display image. As the display device is rotated, the display image is automatically oriented to either a landscape orientation or a portrait orientation. Characteristics may be sensed by mechanical sensors, electrical sensors, optical sensors, acoustic sensors, gyroscopic sensors, or a combination thereof. Sensors may be positioned on the display device, a person, or a combination thereof. The display images may include graphic display images, textual display images, videos display images, and functional control buttons (e.g., functional displayed representations of control buttons such as play, rewind, stop, scroll). The self-orienting display may also include an authenticator that authenticates a user.

1 . A method of orienting a display image rendered by a display device, the method comprising:
 sensing, via at least one sensor, at least one characteristic of an object other than the display device;   determining an orientation of the object from at least one of the at least one sensed characteristic; and   orienting the display image relative to the determined orientation of the object.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the object is a viewer of the display device. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the at least one sensor is positioned on the viewer. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one sensor is positioned on the display device. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one sensor is communicatively coupled to the display device. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising initializing a relative orientation between the display image and the object. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein orienting the display image further comprises orienting the display image so the relative orientation remains approximately constant. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the characteristic is at least one of an image of at least a portion of the object or an acoustic signal provided by the object. 
     
     
         9 . A system for orienting a display image rendered by a display device, the system comprising:
 a sensor portion configured to sense at least one characteristic of an object other than the display device and provide a sensor signal indicative of the at least one characteristic; and   a display processor configured to:
 receive the sensor signal; 
 determine an orientation of the object from the sensor signal; and 
 orient the display image relative to the determined orientation of the object. 
   
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein the object is a viewer of the display device. 
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 10 , wherein the sensor portion is positioned on the viewer. 
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein the sensor portion is positioned on the display device. 
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein the display processor is further configured to initialize a relative orientation between the display image and the object. 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein the display processor orients the display image so the relative orientation remains approximately constant. 
     
     
         15 . A computer readable storage medium having program code stored thereon that when executed by a processor causes a display device to orient a display image rendered by the display device, the program code comprising:
 a sense object code segment that causes at least one sensor to sense at least one characteristic of an object other than the display device;   a determine orientation code segment that causes the processor to determine an orientation of the object from at least one of the at least one sensed characteristic; and   an orient code segment that causes the display device to orient the display image relative to the determined orientation of the object.   
     
     
         16 . The computer readable storage medium of  claim 15 , wherein the object is a viewer of the display device. 
     
     
         17 . The computer readable storage medium of  claim 16 , wherein the at least one sensor is positioned on the viewer. 
     
     
         18 . The computer readable storage medium of  claim 15 , wherein the at least one sensor is positioned on the display device. 
     
     
         19 . The computer readable storage medium of  claim 15 , wherein the program code further comprises a relative orientation code segment that causes the processor to initialize a relative orientation between the display image and the object. 
     
     
         20 . The computer readable storage medium of  claim 19 , wherein the relative orientation code segment causes the processor to orient the display image so that the relative orientation remains approximately constant.