COLOR DISPLAY SYSTEM

• US 20090147033A1
• Filed: 12/05/2008
• Published: 06/11/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 12/06/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Olympus Corporation, Silicon Quest Kabushiki-Kaisha
• Original Assignee: Olympus Corporation, Silicon Quest Kabushiki-Kaisha
• Inventors: Endo, Taro, Arai, Kazuma, Ishii, Fusao
• Application Number:
  US12/315,771
• Publication Number:
  US 20090147033A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/697
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 26/0833 the reflecting element being a micromechanical device, e.g. a MEMS mirror, DMD G02B26/0825 takes precedence; micromechanical devices in general B81B
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2310/0235 Field-sequential colour display
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/0646 Modulation of illumination source brightness and image signal correlated to each other
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/2011 by amplitude modulation
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/3406 Control of illumination source illumination devices structurally associated with liquid crystal cells G02F1/1336
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/346 based on modulation of the reflection angle, e.g. micromirrors micromirrors devices per se G02B26/0833

Abstract

An image display apparatus for displaying images includes a light source for emitting an illumination light with an adjustable light intensity, at least one spatial light modulator (SLM) for receiving and applying an image signal for modulating the illumination light transmitted from the light source, and a control circuit for controlling the light source and/or the spatial light modulator to project modulated lights for image display having different dynamic ranges of the brightnesses between at least two successive frames.

Claims

1. An image display apparatus, comprising:

a light source for emitting an illumination light with an adjustable light intensity;

at least one spatial light modulator (SLM) for receiving and applying an image signal for modulating the illumination light transmitted from the light source; and

a control circuit for controlling the light source and the spatial light modulator to project modulated lights for image display having different adjustable dynamic ranges of brightnesses between at least two successive frames.

2. The image display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

the control circuit controls the adjustable light intensity of the illumination light emitting from the light source.

3. The image display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

the control circuit controls the light source to emit the illumination light as light pulses; and

the control circuit further changes an emission state of the light pulses emitted from the light source.

4. The image display apparatus according to claim 3, wherein:

the control circuit changes at least one characteristic of the light pulses including a pulse amplitude, a pulse width, an emission frequency, and a number of the light pulses emitted from the light source.

5. The image display apparatus according to claim 3, wherein:

the control circuit further changes a pattern of the light pulses wherein the pattern of the light pulses maintaining at least one characteristics of the light pulses including a pulse amplitude, a pulse width, a pulse emission frequency, and a number of the light pulses during each frame period.

6. The image display apparatus according to claim 3, wherein:

the control circuit further controls the light source to emit the light pulses with a pulse width shorter than a minimum length of controllable modulation time of the spatial light modulator.

7. The image display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

the light source further comprises a semiconductor light source.

8. The image display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

the light source further comprises a plurality of sub-light sources configured as a sub-light array.

9. The image display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

the control circuit further receives and applies the image signal for controlling the light source.

10. The image display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

the control circuit further receives and converts the image signal for each of a plurality of pixels of the spatial light modulator to non-binary data, and controls the spatial light modulator and/or the light source in accordance with the non-binary data.

11. The image display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

the control circuit is controlled to operate with a sequence of display frame periods wherein at least one of the frame periods has a different period length from another frame period.

12. The image display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

the control circuit is controlled to operate with a sequence of display frame periods wherein a number of display gray scale gradations of at least one of the frame periods is different from the number of display gray scale gradations of another frame period.

13. The image display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

the control circuit is controlled to operate with a sequence of display frame periods wherein at least one of the sequence of frame periods is a frame period generated by an interpolation process.

14. The image display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

the spatial light modulator further comprises a mirror device implemented with an array of deflectable mirror elements for deflecting and reflecting the illumination light in a plurality of directions in accordance with the image signal applied by the control circuit to control the array of deflectable mirror elements.

15. The image display apparatus according to claim 14, further comprising:

a projection optical system for projecting a modulated light beam transmitted from the spatial light modulator, wherein the control circuit applies the image signal to control each of mirror elements to operate in an ON state deflecting the illumination light to the projection optical system, an OFF state deflecting the illumination light in a direction away from the projection optical system, or an oscillation state oscillating between the ON state and the OFF state.

16. The image display apparatus according to claim 15, wherein:

the control circuit controls the light source to emit the light pulses at a frequency higher than an oscillation frequency of the mirror elements operated in the oscillation state.

17. The image display apparatus according to claim 14, wherein:

the control circuit controls the light source to emit the light pluses corresponding to operational conditions of the mirror elements controlled to operate in the oscillation state.

18. An image display apparatus, comprising:

a light source for emitting an illumination light with an adjustable light intensity;

at least one spatial light modulator (SLM) for receiving and applying an image signal for modulating the illumination light transmitted from the light source; and

a control circuit for controlling the light source or the spatial light modulator to project modulated lights for image display having different adjustable dynamic ranges of brightnesses between at least two successive frames.