What is claimed is:
1. A system for indicating usage state of a headset in connection with a device that sends or receives auditory signals to or from the headset, the system comprising:
a) an indicator perceivable by individuals in local proximity to a headset user wearing a headset connected to a device, wherein the indicator may transition between a plurality of perceivably differing states, wherein at least one of the plurality of states corresponds to an active state of the headset and wherein at least one of the plurality of states corresponds to an inactive state of the headset; and
b) a transition trigger that causes the indicator to transition between states in the plurality of states.
2. The system of claim 1, wherein the indicator comprises a plurality of indicator elements.
3. The system of claim 2, wherein at least one of the plurality of indicator elements is visually perceivable by individuals in local proximity to the headset user.
4. The system of claim 3, wherein the at least one visually perceivable indicator element is a light or a mechanical sign.
5. The system of claim 2, wherein at least one of the plurality of indicator elements is audibly perceivable by individuals in local proximity to the headset user.
6. The system of claim 1, wherein the indicator is audibly perceivable by individuals in local proximity to the headset user.
7. The system of claim 1, wherein the indicator is visually perceivable by individuals in local proximity to the headset user.
8. The system of claim 7, wherein the indicator is a light or a mechanical sign.
9. The system of claim 1, wherein the transition trigger is manually operated by the headset user to cause the indicator to transition between states.
10. The system of claim 9, wherein the transition trigger comprises a switch, a button or a dial.
11. The system of claim 1, and further comprising a device interface adapted to connect the system with the device, wherein the indicator is capable of drawing power from the device when connected via the device interface.
12. The system of claim 11, and further comprising a headset interface adapted to connect the system with the headset and a pass-through circuit that passes signals between the device interface and the headset interface.
13. The system of claim 1, and further comprising a device interface adapted to connect the system with the device and a headset activity detector capable of detecting headset usage based upon signals from the device when connected via the device interface and capable of activating the transition trigger based upon detected activity.
14. The system of claim 13, wherein the transition trigger comprises a manually operated override to cause the indicator to transition between states, thereby overriding activation by the headset activity detector.
15. The system of claim 13, and further comprising a headset interface adapted to connect the system with the headset and a pass-through circuit that passes signals between the device interface and the headset interface.
16. The system of claim 13, wherein the indicator is capable of drawing power from the device when connected via the device interface.
17. The system of claim 13, wherein the headset activity detector comprises a timing circuit that activates the transition trigger after an amount of time where no headset activity is detected.
18. The method of claim 17, wherein the amount of time is a predetermined amount of time.
19. The system of claim 13, wherein the device interface supports wireless connectivity between the system and the device.
20. The system of claim 1, and further comprising a headset interface adapted to connect the system with the headset, wherein the indicator is capable of drawing power from the headset when connected via the headset interface.
21. The system of claim 1, and further comprising a headset interface adapted to connect the system with the headset and a headset activity detector capable of detecting headset usage based upon signals from the headset when connected via the headset interface and capable of activating the transition trigger based upon detected activity.
22. The system of claim 21, wherein the transition trigger comprises a manually operated override to cause the indicator to transition between states, thereby overriding activation by the headset activity detector.
23. The system of claim 21, wherein the indicator is capable of drawing power from the headset when connected via the headset interface.
24. The system of claim 21, wherein the headset activity detector comprises a timing circuit that activates the transition trigger after an amount of time where no headset activity is detected.
25. The system of claim 24, wherein the amount of time is a predetermined amount of time.
26. The system of claim 21, wherein the headset interface supports wireless connectivity between the system and the headset.
27. The system of claim 1, and further comprising a power source.
28. The system of claim 27, wherein the power source is rechargeable.
29. The system of claim 27, wherein the power source is adapted to receive one or more disposable batteries.
30. The system of claim 1, wherein the system is mounted in the device.
31. The system of claim 1, wherein the system is mounted in the headset.
32. A method of indicating headset usage to individuals in proximity to a headset user, the method comprising:
a) detecting a use state of a headset connected to a device that sends audio signals to or receives such signals from a headset worn by a headset user;
b) activating a light perceivable by individuals in local proximity to the headset user when the detected active use state indicates active current use of the headset; and
c) deactivating the light when the detected active use state indicates no current use of the headset.
33. A system for indicating usage state of a headset in connection with a device that sends or receives auditory signals to or from the headset, the system comprising:
a) indicator means for indicating active or inactive status of a headset connected to a device to individuals in local proximity to a headset user wearing the headset, wherein the indicator may transition between a state corresponding to active status and a state corresponding to inactive status;
b) power means for conveying power to the indicator means;
c) transitioning means for triggering the indicator means to transition between states; and
d) detecting means for detecting an active use state of the headset and for activating the transitioning means based upon the detected active use state.
34. The system of claim 33, wherein the detecting means comprises timing means for activating the transitioning means after a predetermined amount of time where no headset activity is detected.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A picture encoding method for performing encoding while predicting a picture between a plurality of views using a reference picture encoded for a view different from a view of an encoding target picture and reference picture depth information which is depth information of an object in the reference picture when a multiview picture which includes pictures from the views is encoded, the method comprising:
a correspondence point setting step of setting a correspondence point on the reference picture for each pixel of the encoding target picture;
an object depth information setting step of setting object depth information which is depth information for a pixel at an integer pixel position on the encoding target picture indicated by the correspondence point;
an interpolation tap length determining step of determining a tap length for pixel interpolation using the reference picture depth information for a pixel at an integer pixel position or an integer pixel position around a fractional pixel position on the reference picture indicated by the correspondence point and the object depth information;
a pixel interpolating step of generating a pixel value at the integer pixel position or the fractional pixel position on the reference picture indicated by the correspondence point using an interpolation filter in accordance with the tap length; and
an inter-view picture predicting step of performing inter-view picture prediction by setting the pixel value generated in the pixel interpolating step as a predicted value of the pixel at the integer pixel position on the encoding target picture indicated by the correspondence point.
2. A picture encoding method for performing encoding while predicting a picture between a plurality of views using a reference picture encoded for a view different from a view of an encoding target picture and reference picture depth information which is depth information of an object in the reference picture when a multiview picture which includes pictures from the views is encoded, the method comprising:
a correspondence point setting step of setting a correspondence point on the reference picture for each pixel of the encoding target picture;
an object depth information setting step of setting object depth information which is depth information for a pixel at an integer pixel position on the encoding target picture indicated by the correspondence point;
an interpolation reference pixel setting step of setting pixels at integer pixel positions of the reference picture for use in pixel interpolation as interpolation reference pixels using the reference picture depth information for a pixel at an integer pixel position or an integer pixel position around a fractional pixel position on the reference picture indicated by the correspondence point and the object depth information;
a pixel interpolating step of generating a pixel value at the integer pixel position or the fractional pixel position on the reference picture indicated by the correspondence point in accordance with a weighted sum of pixel values of the interpolation reference pixels; and
an inter-view picture predicting step of performing inter-view picture prediction by setting the pixel value generated in the pixel interpolating step as a predicted value of the pixel at the integer pixel position on the encoding target picture indicated by the correspondence point.
3. The picture encoding method according to claim 2, further comprising an interpolation coefficient determining step of determining interpolation coefficients for the interpolation reference pixels based on a difference between the reference picture depth information for the interpolation reference pixels and the object depth information for each of the interpolation reference pixels,
wherein the interpolation reference pixel setting step sets the pixel at the integer pixel position or the integer pixel position around the fractional pixel position on the reference picture indicated by the correspondence point as the interpolation reference pixels, and
the pixel interpolating step generates the pixel value at the integer pixel position or the fractional pixel position on the reference picture indicated by the correspondence point by obtaining the weighted sum of the pixel values of the interpolation reference pixels based on the interpolation coefficients.
4. The picture encoding method according to claim 3, further comprising an interpolation tap length determining step of determining a tap length for pixel interpolation using the reference picture depth information for the pixel at the integer pixel position or the integer pixel position around the fractional pixel position on the reference picture indicated by the correspondence point and the object depth information,
wherein the interpolation reference pixel setting step sets pixels present in a range of the tap length as the interpolation reference pixels.
5. The picture encoding method according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the interpolation coefficient determining step excludes one of the interpolation reference pixels from the interpolation reference pixels by designating an interpolation coefficient as zero if a magnitude of a difference between the reference picture depth information for one of the interpolation reference pixels and the object depth information is greater than a predetermined threshold value, and determines the interpolation coefficient based on the difference if the magnitude of the difference is within the threshold value.
6. The picture encoding method according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the interpolation coefficient determining step determines an interpolation coefficient based on a difference between the reference picture depth information for one of the interpolation reference pixels and the object depth information and a distance between one of the interpolation reference pixels and an integer pixel or a fractional pixel on the reference picture indicated by the correspondence point.
7. The picture encoding method according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the interpolation coefficient determining step excludes one of the interpolation reference pixels from the interpolation reference pixels by designating an interpolation coefficient as zero if a magnitude of a difference between the reference picture depth information for one of the interpolation reference pixels and the object depth information is greater than a predetermined threshold value, and determines an interpolation coefficient based on the difference and a distance between one of the interpolation reference pixels and an integer pixel or a fractional pixel on the reference picture indicated by the correspondence point if the magnitude of the difference is within the predetermined threshold value.
8. A picture decoding method for performing decoding while predicting a picture between views using a decoded reference picture and reference picture depth information which is depth information of an object in the reference picture when a decoding target picture of a multiview picture is decoded, the method comprising:
a correspondence point setting step of setting a correspondence point on the reference picture for each pixel of the decoding target picture;
an object depth information setting step of setting object depth information which is depth information for a pixel at an integer pixel position on the decoding target picture indicated by the correspondence point;
an interpolation tap length determining step of determining a tap length for pixel interpolation using the reference picture depth information for a pixel at an integer pixel position or an integer pixel position around a fractional pixel position on the reference picture indicated by the correspondence point and the object depth information;
a pixel interpolating step of generating a pixel value at the integer pixel position or the fractional pixel position on the reference picture indicated by the correspondence point using an interpolation filter in accordance with the tap length; and
an inter-view picture predicting step of performing inter-view picture prediction by setting the pixel value generated in the pixel interpolating step as a predicted value of the pixel at the integer pixel position on the decoding target picture indicated by the correspondence point.
9. A picture decoding method for performing decoding while predicting a picture between views using a decoded reference picture and reference picture depth information which is depth information of an object in the reference picture when a decoding target picture of a multiview picture is decoded, the method comprising:
a correspondence point setting step of setting a correspondence point on the reference picture for each pixel of the decoding target picture;
an object depth information setting step of setting object depth information which is depth information for a pixel at an integer pixel position on the decoding target picture indicated by the correspondence point;
an interpolation reference pixel setting step of setting pixels at integer pixel positions of the reference picture for use in pixel interpolation as interpolation reference pixels using the reference picture depth information for a pixel at an integer pixel position or an integer pixel position around a fractional pixel position on the reference picture indicated by the correspondence point and the object depth information;
a pixel interpolating step of generating a pixel value at the integer pixel position or the fractional pixel position on the reference picture indicated by the correspondence point in accordance with a weighted sum of pixel values of the interpolation reference pixels; and
an inter-view picture predicting step of performing inter-view picture prediction by setting the pixel value generated in the pixel interpolating step as a predicted value of the pixel at the integer pixel position on the decoding target picture indicated by the correspondence point.
10. The picture decoding method according to claim 9, further comprising an interpolation coefficient determining step of determining interpolation coefficients for the interpolation reference pixels based on a difference between the reference pixel depth information for the interpolation reference pixels and the object depth information for each of the interpolation reference pixels,
wherein the interpolation reference pixel setting step sets the pixel at the integer pixel position or the integer pixel position around the fractional pixel position on the reference picture indicated by the correspondence point as the interpolation reference pixels, and
the pixel interpolating step generates the pixel value at the integer pixel position or the fractional pixel position on the reference picture indicated by the correspondence point by obtaining the weighted sum of the pixel values of the interpolation reference pixels based on the interpolation coefficients.
11. The picture decoding method according to claim 10, further comprising an interpolation tap length determining step of determining a tap length for pixel interpolation using the reference picture depth information for the pixel at the integer pixel position or the integer pixel position around the fractional pixel position on the reference picture indicated by the correspondence point and the object depth information,
wherein the interpolation reference pixel setting step sets pixels present in a range of the tap length as the interpolation reference pixels.
12. The picture decoding method according to claim 10 or 11, wherein the interpolation coefficient determining step excludes one of the interpolation reference pixels from the interpolation reference pixels by designating an interpolation coefficient as zero if a magnitude of a difference between the reference picture depth information for one of the interpolation reference pixels and the object depth information is greater than a predetermined threshold value, and determines the interpolation coefficient based on the difference if the magnitude of the difference is within the threshold value.
13. The picture decoding method according to claim 10 or 11, wherein the interpolation coefficient determining step determines an interpolation coefficients based on a difference between the reference picture depth information for one of the interpolation reference pixels and the object depth information and a distance between one of the interpolation reference pixels and an integer pixel or a fractional pixel on the reference picture indicated by the correspondence point.
14. The picture decoding method according to claim 10 or 11, wherein the interpolation coefficient determining step excludes one of the interpolation reference pixels from the interpolation reference pixels by designating an interpolation coefficient as zero if a magnitude of a difference between the reference picture depth information for one of the interpolation reference pixels and the object depth information is greater than a predetermined threshold value, and determines an interpolation coefficient based on the difference and a distance between one of the interpolation reference pixels and an integer pixel or a fractional pixel on the reference picture indicated by the correspondence point if the magnitude of the difference is within the predetermined threshold value.
15. A picture encoding apparatus for performing encoding while predicting a picture between a plurality of views using a reference picture encoded for a view different from a view of an encoding target picture and reference picture depth information which is depth information of an object in the reference picture when a multiview picture which includes pictures from the views is encoded, the apparatus comprising:
a correspondence point setting unit which sets a correspondence point on the reference picture for each pixel of the encoding target picture;
an object depth information setting unit which sets object depth information which is depth information for a pixel at an integer pixel position on the encoding target picture indicated by the correspondence point;
an interpolation tap length determining unit which determines a tap length for pixel interpolation using the reference picture depth information for a pixel at an integer pixel position or an integer pixel position around a fractional pixel position on the reference picture indicated by the correspondence point and the object depth information;
a pixel interpolating unit which generates a pixel value at the integer pixel position or the fractional pixel position on the reference picture indicated by the correspondence point using an interpolation filter in accordance with the tap length; and
an inter-view picture predicting unit which performs inter-view picture prediction by setting the pixel value generated by the pixel interpolating unit as a predicted value of the pixel at the integer pixel position on the encoding target picture indicated by the correspondence point.
16. A picture encoding apparatus for performing encoding while predicting a picture between a plurality of views using a reference picture encoded for a view different from a view of an encoding target picture and reference picture depth information which is depth information of an object in the reference picture when a multiview picture which includes pictures from the views is encoded, the apparatus comprising:
a correspondence point setting unit which sets a correspondence point on the reference picture for each pixel of the encoding target picture;
an object depth information setting unit which sets object depth information which is depth information for a pixel at an integer pixel position on the encoding target picture indicated by the correspondence point;
an interpolation reference pixel setting unit which sets pixels at integer pixel positions of the reference picture for use in pixel interpolation as interpolation reference pixels using the reference picture depth information for a pixel at an integer pixel position or an integer pixel position around a fractional pixel position on the reference picture indicated by the correspondence point and the object depth information;
a pixel interpolating unit which generates a pixel value at the integer pixel position or the fractional pixel position on the reference picture indicated by the correspondence point in accordance with a weighted sum of pixel values of the interpolation reference pixels; and
an inter-view picture predicting unit which performs inter-view picture prediction by setting the pixel value generated by the pixel interpolating unit as a predicted value of the pixel at the integer pixel position on the encoding target picture indicated by the correspondence point.
17. A picture decoding apparatus for performing decoding while predicting a picture between views using a decoded reference picture and reference picture depth information which is depth information of an object in the reference picture when a decoding target picture of a multiview picture is decoded, the apparatus comprising:
a correspondence point setting unit which sets a correspondence point on the reference picture for each pixel of the decoding target picture;
an object depth information setting unit which sets object depth information which is depth information for a pixel at an integer pixel position on the decoding target picture indicated by the correspondence point;
an interpolation tap length determining unit which determines a tap length for pixel interpolation using the reference picture depth information for a pixel at an integer pixel position or an integer pixel position around a fractional pixel position on the reference picture indicated by the correspondence point and the object depth information;
a pixel interpolating unit which generates a pixel value at the integer pixel position or the fractional pixel position on the reference picture indicated by the correspondence point using an interpolation filter in accordance with the tap length; and
an inter-view picture predicting unit which performs inter-view picture prediction by setting the pixel value generated by the pixel interpolating unit as a predicted value of the pixel at the integer pixel position on the decoding target picture indicated by the correspondence point.
18. A picture decoding apparatus for performing decoding while predicting a picture between views using a decoded reference picture and reference picture depth information which is depth information of an object in the reference picture when a decoding target picture of a multiview picture is decoded, the apparatus comprising:
a correspondence point setting unit which sets a correspondence point on the reference picture for each pixel of the decoding target picture;
an object depth information setting unit which sets object depth information which is depth information for a pixel at an integer pixel position on the decoding target picture indicated by the correspondence point;
an interpolation reference pixel setting unit which sets pixels at integer pixel positions of the reference picture for use in pixel interpolation as interpolation reference pixels using the reference picture depth information for a pixel at an integer pixel position or an integer pixel position around a fractional pixel position on the reference picture indicated by the correspondence point and the object depth information;
a pixel interpolating unit which generates a pixel value at the integer pixel position or the fractional pixel position on the reference picture indicated by the correspondence point in accordance with a weighted sum of pixel values of the interpolation reference pixels; and
an inter-view picture predicting unit which performs inter-view picture prediction by setting the pixel value generated by the pixel interpolating unit as a predicted value of the pixel at the integer pixel position on the decoding target picture indicated by the correspondence point.
19. A picture encoding program for causing a computer to execute the picture encoding method according to any one of claims 1 to 4.
20. A picture decoding program for causing a computer to execute the picture decoding method according to any one of claims 8 to 11.
21. A computer-readable recording medium recording the picture encoding program according to claim 19.
22. A computer-readable recording medium recording the picture decoding program according to claim 20.