Method and device for the polarizing of an LCD screen as a function of the ambient luminosity

• US 6,650,340 B1
• Filed: 06/19/1998
• Issued: 11/18/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 06/20/1997
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sextant Avionique
• Original Assignee: Sextant Avionique
• Inventors: De Lauzun, Frédéric, Georges, Laurent, Lopez, François
• Primary Examiner(s): Hjerpe, Richard
• Assistant Examiner(s): Dinh, Duc Q
• Application Number:
  US09/100,314
• Time in Patent Office: 1,978 Days
• Field of Search: 345/89, 345/96, 345/147, 345/207, 345/102
• US Class Current: 345/690
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/0626 for control of overall brightness
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2360/144 the light being ambient light
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/36 using liquid crystals
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/3648 using an active matrix G09G3/367 - G09G3/3696 take precedence

Abstract

To obtain improved readability of a liquid crystal display screen under varied conditions of ambient luminosity, it is possible to increase the dynamic range of variation of the polarizing voltage. However, this leads to an increase in the electrical power consumption and to contrast reversal defects. To prevent this phenomenon, it is proposed not to modify the dynamic range of variation of polarizing voltage but to shift this range towards the lower voltages when the ambient luminosity increases or towards the higher voltages when the ambient luminosity diminishes. Thus, the white level is favored under high ambient luminosity and the black level is favored under low or normal luminosity.

Claims

1. A method for changing electric polarization of an LCD screen as a function of ambient luminosity, comprising:

applying a range of polarizing voltages including a minimum polarizing voltage, intermediate polarizing voltages, and a maximum polarizing voltage to vary the electrical polarization of the LCD screen;

measuring brightness of the ambient luminosity;

shifting the range of the polarizing voltages applied to said LCD screen by shifting the minimum polarizing voltage, the intermediate polarizing voltages, and the maximum polarizing voltage so that all of the polarizing voltages of the range have a shifted value as a function of whether the ambient luminosity measured in the measuring step is above or below a particular value.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein said shifting of the range of the polarizing voltages applied to said screen shifts the minimum polarizing voltage, the intermediate polarizing voltages, and the maximum polarizing voltage by identical increments to preserve a dynamic constant.

3. A device for implementing the method according to claim 1, said device comprising:

a counter-electrode on one face of the LCD screen;

electrodes distributed in a matrix arrangement on an opposite face of the LCD screen;

reference circuitry connected to the counter-electrode and configured to couple a reference polarizing voltage received at a reference circuitry input to the counter-electrode; and

grey level circuitry configured to couple grey level voltages received at grey level circuitry inputs to the electrodes distributed in the matrix arrangement to provide viewable gray scale variation ranging from a white level to a black level,

wherein the reference polarizing voltage applied to the counter-electrode together with the grey level voltages applied to the electrodes distributed in the matrix arrangement provide the range of polarizing voltages being applied to the LCD screen and said device further comprises,

ambient luminosity detector circuitry,

a threshold comparator connected to receive an output from the ambient luminosity detector circuitry, said threshold comparator providing a first output indicating that the ambient luminosity detector circuitry is measuring the ambient luminosity as being above the particular value and a second output indicating that the ambient luminosity detector circuitry is measuring the ambient luminosity as being below the particular value, and

a memory with two zones that each store a different value for the reference polarizing voltage and that are separately addressed by the first output or the second output of said threshold comparator to provide the addressed one of the different values for the reference polarizing voltage to the reference circuitry input.

4. The device according to claim 3, wherein said memory also stores in the two zones two distinct sets of values for grey level voltages corresponding to two different scales of reference gray levels, the two distinct sets of values for grey level voltages also being separately addressed by the first output or the second output of said threshold comparator to provide the addressed one of the different values for the grey level voltages to the grey level circuitry inputs.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the shifting of the range of the polarizing voltages is to a shifted value having a higher absolute value when the ambient luminosity is determined to be below the particular value and the range of polarizing voltages is shifted to a shifted value having a lower absolute value when the ambient luminosity is determined to be above the particular value.