Luminance suppression power conservation

• US 20060250385A1
• Filed: 05/04/2005
• Published: 11/09/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 05/04/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. (Samsung Group)
• Original Assignee: Honeywood Technologies LLC
• Inventors: Plut, William J.
• Granted Patent: US 7,602,408 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/211
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2330/021 Power management, e.g. power saving
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/20 for presentation of an assembly of a number of characters, e.g. a page, by composing the assembly by combination of individual elements arranged in a matrix no fixed position being assigned to or needed to be assigned to the individual characters or partial characters
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/00 Control arrangements or circuits for visual indicators common to cathode-ray tube indicators and other visual indicators image data processing or generation, in general G06T
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/024 using colour registers, e.g. to control background, foreground, surface filling G09G5/06 takes precedence

Abstract

Described herein are systems and methods that reduce power consumption for an electronics device including a display. The systems and methods alter video information in a display area and reduce power for a display device when a graphics item is enlarged and the enlargement threatens to increase perceived luminance for the graphics item or increase aggregate luminance for the display area. Altering the video information reduces the luminance of video information in at least the graphics item when enlarged. This may offset perceived luminance gained by human visual processing when an item increases in size. If the graphics item is smaller than the display area after enlargement, then other video information in the display area may also be altered to conserve power.

Claims

1. A method for reducing power consumed by an electronics device that includes a display device, the method comprising:

increasing size of a graphics item to create a larger graphics item;

altering video information for at least a portion of the larger graphics item to produce an altered larger graphics item that includes a reduced luminance; and

displaying the altered video information, wherein the display device consumes less power when displaying the altered larger graphics item than would be consumed for the larger graphics item without the video information alteration.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the graphics item is already displayed on the display device at a smaller size before the increase in size.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the graphics item contributes to an initial aggregate luminance output by the display device and the altered larger graphics item contributes to a reduced aggregate luminance for the display device that is less than a new aggregate luminance that would be produced without the video information alteration.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein the reduced aggregate luminance is less than the initial aggregate luminance.

5. The method of claim 3 wherein the reduced aggregate luminance is within an error band of the initial aggregate luminance.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein increasing the size of the graphics item includes initiating the graphics item.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein initiating the graphics item includes initiating a program corresponding to the graphics item.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the graphics item includes a graphics window and the portion includes a central white portion of the graphics window.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the larger graphics item does not occupy an entire display area for the display device, and further comprising altering other video information in the display area to reduce an aggregate luminance for the display area.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein the display device is an LCD device and reducing power consumption for the display device includes changing a backlight to a lower backlight luminance level and altering the video information includes changing the transmissivity of the video information.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein the display device is an OLED device and altering the video information includes reducing a red, green or blue pixel value that also reduces power consumption for the OLED device.

12. The method of claim 1 wherein the graphics item provides video information for a program run on the electronics device.

13. The method of claim 1 wherein the program is a word processing program.

14. A method for reducing power consumed by an electronics device that includes a display device, the method comprising:

displaying initial video information that contributes to an initial aggregate luminance output by the display device;

in response to new video information for output on the display device, where the new video information will lead to a new aggregate luminance for the display device that is greater than the initial aggregate luminance, altering the new video information to produce altered video information that contributes to a reduced aggregate luminance for the display device that is less than the new aggregate luminance; and

displaying the altered video information, wherein the display device consumes less power when displaying the altered video information than would be consumed for display of the new video information.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein the reduced aggregate luminance is less than the initial aggregate luminance and consumes less power for the display device than would be consumed for display of the initial video information.

16. The method of claim 14 wherein the reduced aggregate luminance is within an error band of the initial aggregate luminance.

17. The method of claim 14 wherein the new video information does not occupy an entire display area for the display device, and further comprising altering other video information in the display area to reduce an aggregate luminance for the display area.

18. The method of claim 14 wherein the display device is an LCD device and reducing power consumption for the display device includes changing a backlight to a lower backlight luminance level and altering the video information includes changing the transmissivity of the video information.

19. The method of claim 14 wherein the display device is an OLED device and altering the video information includes reducing a red, green or blue pixel value that also reduces power consumption for the OLED device.

20-26. -26. (canceled)

27. A computer readable medium including instructions for reducing power consumed by an electronics device that includes a display device, the method comprising:

instructions for increasing size of a graphics item to create a larger graphics item;

instructions for altering video information for at least a portion of the larger graphics item to produce an altered larger graphics item that includes a reduced luminance; and

instructions for displaying the altered video information, wherein the display device consumes less power when displaying the altered larger graphics item than would be consumed for the larger graphics item without the video information alteration.

28. (canceled)

29-32. -32. (canceled)