Image Display Device, Image Display Method, Image Display Program, Recording Medium Containing Image Display Program, and Electronic Apparatus

• US 20080100554A1
• Filed: 10/02/2007
• Published: 05/01/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 10/27/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Original Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Inventors: MORI, Kenji
• Granted Patent: US 7,973,753 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/89
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/0242 Compensation of deficiencies in the appearance of colours
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/0626 for control of overall brightness
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/066 for control of contrast
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/0673 for control of gamma adjustment, e.g. selecting another gamma curve
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2330/021 Power management, e.g. power saving
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2360/16 Calculation or use of calculated indices related to luminance levels in display data
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2360/18 Use of a frame buffer in a display terminal, inclusive of the display panel
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/3406 Control of illumination source illumination devices structurally associated with liquid crystal cells G02F1/1336
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/003 Details of a display terminal, the details relating to the control arrangement of the display terminal and to the interfaces thereto specific for a CRT G09G1/165; for a flat panel G09G3/2092
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/02 characterised by the way in which colour is displayed details of colour display specific for CRTs G09G1/28; specific for flat matrix panels other than liquid crystal displays G09G3/2003; specific for liquid crystal displays G09G3/3607

Abstract

An image display device corrects image data, which are used for displaying an image, using a gray scale value assigned to each pixel and also controls the amount of source light emitted from a light source. The image display device includes a source light amount control device and an image correction device. The source light amount control device determines the amount of source light and then controls the amount of source light. The image correction device corrects a signal used for changing saturations of the image data so as to reduce a change in the saturations due to a change in the amount of source light, the change in the amount of source light being performed by the light source amount control device.

Claims

1. An image display device that corrects image data, which are used for displaying an image, using a gray scale value assigned to each pixel and that also controls the amount of source light emitted from a light source, comprising:

a source light amount control device that determines the amount of source light and then controls the amount of source light; and

an image correction device that corrects a signal used for changing saturations of the image data, so as to reduce a change in the saturations due to a change in the amount of source light, the change in the amount of source light being performed by the light source amount control device.

2. The image display device according to claim 1, wherein the image correction device corrects the signal so as to reduce a change in an average value of the saturations of the image data when the source light control device controls to change the amount of source light.

3. The image display device according to claim 1, wherein the image correction device corrects the signal so that an average value of saturations of image data, in which a signal for changing saturations has been corrected and the source light amount control device has controlled to change the amount of source light, is substantially equal to an average value of saturations of image data which have been corrected from image data, in which a signal for changing saturations has not been corrected, so that the saturations are approximated to a predetermined saturation reference.

4. The image display device according to claim 1, wherein the source light amount control device determines the amount of source light on the basis of luminances and saturations of the image data.

5. The image display device according to claim 4, wherein the source light amount control device determines the amount of source light on the basis of a value specified by the luminances or a value specified by the saturations, whichever is larger.

6. The image display device according to claim 5, wherein the value specified by the luminances includes an average value of the luminances, the value specified by the saturations includes twice an average value of color differences specified by blue-yellow axis and twice an average value of color differences specified by red-green axis, wherein the source light amount control device determines the amount of source light on the basis of a maximum value among the average value of the luminances, twice the average value of the color differences specified by blue-yellow axis, and twice the average value of the color differences specified by red-green axis.

7. The image display device according to claim 5, wherein the value specified by the luminances includes an average of the luminances, the value specified by the saturations includes twice an average value of saturations, each of which is defined by taking an average of a color difference specified by blue-yellow axis and a color difference specified by red-green axis, wherein the source light amount control device determines the amount of source light on the basis of a maximum value among the average value of the luminances and twice the average value of the saturations, each of which is defined by taking the average of a color difference specified by blue-yellow axis and a color difference specified by red-green axis.

8. The image display device according to claim 4, wherein the image correction device corrects the signal on the basis of the amount of source light that is determined by the source light amount control device.

9. An electronic apparatus comprising:

the image display device according to claim 1; and

a power supply unit that supplies the image display device with voltage.

10. An image display method that corrects image data, which are used for displaying an image, using a gray scale value assigned to each pixel and that controls the amount of source light emitted from a light source, comprising:

determining the amount of source light and then controlling the amount of source light; and

correcting a signal used for changing saturations of the image data so as to reduce a change in the saturations due to a change in the amount of source light by controlling the amount of source light.

11. A computer readable recording medium comprising:

an image display program that executes a process to correct image data, which are used for displaying an image, using a gray scale value assigned to each pixel and that also executes a process to control the amount of source light emitted from a light source, the image display program comprising the instructions to cause a computer to;

determine the amount of source light and then control the amount of source light; and

correct a signal used for changing saturations of the image data so as to reduce a change in the saturations due to a change in the amount of source light by controlling the amount of source light.