Display unit, image processing unit, and display method for improving image quality

• US 10,373,551 B2
• Filed: 03/07/2018
• Issued: 08/06/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 06/14/2012
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Yano, Tomoya, Nakagawa, Makoto, Asano, Mitsuyasu, Inoue, Yasuo, Araki, Shoji, Shimizu, Hidehisa
• Primary Examiner(s): Watko, Julie Anne
• Application Number:
  US15/914,354
• Publication Number:
  US 20180197459A1
• Time in Patent Office: 517 Days
• Field of Search: 345690
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2300/0452 Details of colour pixel setup, e.g. pixel composed of a red, a blue and two green components
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/0646 Modulation of illumination source brightness and image signal correlated to each other
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/066 for control of contrast
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/0666 for control of colour parameters, e.g. colour temperature
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/06 Colour space transformation
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2360/147 the originated light output being determined for each pixel
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2360/16 Calculation or use of calculated indices related to luminance levels in display data
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/2003 Display of colours specific for liquid crystal displays G09G3/3607
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/3208 organic, e.g. using organic light-emitting diodes [OLED]

Abstract

An image processing unit includes: a gain calculating section obtaining, based on first luminance information for each pixel, a first gain, in which the first gain is configured to increase with an increase in pixel luminance value in a range where the pixel luminance value is equal to or larger than a predetermined luminance value, and in which the pixel luminance value is derived from the first luminance information; and a determination section determining, based on the first luminance information and the first gain, second luminance information for each of the pixels.

Claims

1. A display apparatus, comprising:

circuitry configured to perform an image processing based on an input image data so as to generate an output image data; and

an electro-luminescence display panel including a plurality of light-emitting pixels, respective ones of the plurality of pixels including a red sub-pixel, a green sub-pixel, a blue sub-pixel, and a white sub-pixel,

wherein the image processing includes;

calculating a gain value based on a first luminance information value, the first luminance information value being a portion of the input image data corresponding to a specific one of the plurality of pixels, and

generating a second luminance information value based on the first luminance information value and the gain value, the second luminance information value being a portion of the output image data corresponding to the specific one of the plurality of pixels,

wherein the circuitry is configured to increase the gain value in response to;

a decrease of an area of an image object to which the specific one of the plurality of pixels belongs to, and

an increase of the first luminance information value relative to an average value of the input image data corresponding to a predetermined region of an image included in the input image data, the predetermined region being larger than the area of the image object.

2. The display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first luminance information value is determined based on red luminance information, green luminance information, and blue luminance information.

3. The display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the green sub-pixel is adjacent to the blue sub-pixel.

4. The display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the circuitry is configured to obtain the gain value, the gain value being configured to increase with an increase in pixel luminance value in a range where the pixel luminance value is equal to or larger than a predetermined luminance value, and the pixel luminance value being derived from the first luminance information value.

5. The display apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the circuitry is configured to obtain the gain value based on a gain function that represents a relationship between the pixel luminance value and the gain value, and the gain value is configured to increase at a predetermined gradient with the increase in the pixel luminance value that is equal to or larger than the predetermined luminance value, in the gain function.

6. The display apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the predetermined luminance value is configured to increase with an increase in average of the first luminance information value in a frame image.

7. The display apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the pixel luminance value corresponds to a value of Value information in an HSV color space.

8. The display apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the circuitry is configured to acquire Saturation information in an HSV color space from the first luminance information value, and corrects the gain value to be reduced with an increase in the Saturation information.

9. The display apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the circuitry is configured to correct the gain value to be reduced with an increase in average of the first luminance information value in a frame image.

10. The display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the circuitry is configured to determine, based on the first luminance information value and the gain value, the second luminance information value.

11. The display apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the color light emitted by the white sub-pixel has a luminosity factor that is substantially equal to or higher than a luminosity factor for the green sub-pixel.

12. The display apparatus according to claim 11,

wherein the second luminance information value contains four pieces of second sub luminance information, respective ones of the four pieces of second sub luminance information corresponding to the red sub-pixel, the green sub-pixel, the blue sub-pixel, and the white sub-pixel, wherein the circuitry is configured to generate an output, based on the second luminance information value.

13. The display apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the circuitry is configured to perform color gamut conversion based on the second luminance information value.

14. The display apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the white sub-pixel is adjacent to the blue sub-pixel.

15. The display apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the gain value increases as a color represented by the first luminance information value of the red sub-pixel, the green sub-pixel, and the blue sub-pixel is closer to white.

16. The display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second luminance information value includes a red luminance value, a green luminance value, a blue luminance value, and a white luminance value respectively corresponding to the red sub-pixel, the green sub-pixel, the blue sub-pixel, and the white sub-pixel.

17. The display apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the circuitry is configured to determine at least one of the red luminance value, the green luminance value, or the blue luminance value based on the gain value.

18. The display apparatus according to claim 17, wherein the circuitry is configured to determine the white luminance value based on the gain value.

19. The display apparatus according to claim 17, wherein the circuitry is configured to determine each of the red luminance value, the green luminance value, the blue luminance value, and the white luminance value based on the gain value.

20. An image processing apparatus, comprising:

circuitry configured to perform image processing based on an input image data so as to generate an display image data, and

a display panel including a plurality of pixels, respective ones of the plurality of pixels including a red sub-pixel, a green sub-pixel, a blue sub-pixel, and a white sub-pixel,

wherein the image processing includes;

calculating a gain value based on a first luminance information value, the first luminance information value being a portion of the input image data corresponding to a specific one of the plurality of pixels, and

generating a second luminance information value based on the first luminance information value and the gain value, the second luminance information value being a portion of the output image data corresponding to the specific one of the plurality of pixels,

wherein the circuitry is configured to increase the gain value in response to;

a decrease of an area of an image object to which the specific one of the plurality of pixels belongs to, and

an increase of the first luminance information value relative to an average value of the input image data corresponding to a predetermined region of an image included in the input image data, the predetermined region being larger than the area of the image object.