Image display device and image display method

• US 7,053,881 B2
• Filed: 10/21/2002
• Issued: 05/30/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 11/02/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Itoh, Hiroshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Liang, Regina
• Application Number:
  US10/494,340
• Publication Number:
  US 20040257318A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,317 Days
• Field of Search: 345/87, 345/89, 345/102, 345/204, 345/690, 349/61
• US Class Current: 345/102
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/13318 Circuits comprising a photodetector
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/0238 Improving the black level
• 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 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 3/3406 Control of illumination source illumination devices structurally associated with liquid crystal cells G02F1/1336
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/3611 Control of matrices with row and column drivers

Abstract

An image display device according to the present invention is capable of presenting to a viewer a high-quality lustrous video on a display screen with best screen brightness by increasing visual contrast and avoiding loss of true black elements without widening a dynamic range of a picture signal. The image display device is provided with a liquid crystal display portion (11), a display control portion (14), a backlight (12), a backlight control portion (13) and an average brightness detecting portion (15) and detects brightness of the light source in accordance with the average brightness of a picture signal to be displayed. It is further provided with a peak detecting portion (16) and corrects the control of the backlight control portion (13) in accordance with a detected peak value of a picture.

Claims

1. An image display device for controlling brightness of a light source in accordance with average brightness of a picture input to the display device, comprising a peak detector for detecting a degree of peak level of a given input picture and a brightness control for correcting the brightness of the light source in accordance with the detected degree of peak level in a case when the average brightness is not more than a specified value.

2. An image display device as defined in claim 1, wherein the device controls the brightness of the light source independently of the detected degree of peak level in a case when the average brightness exceeds the specified value.

3. An image display device as defined in claim 1, wherein the device controls the brightness of the light source so that the brightness of the light source in a case when the average brightness is not more than the specified value may be higher than the brightness of the light source in a case when the average brightness exceeds the specified value.

4. An image display device as defined in claim 1, wherein the device decides the degree of peak level of the given input picture as being large in a case when the given input picture contains n or more pixels each being larger than a level m (where n and m are preset values).

5. An image display device as defined in claim 1, wherein the device detects a case that the given input picture contains na or more pixels each being larger than a level ma (where na and ma are preset values) and a case that the given input picture contains nb or more pixels each being larger than a level mb (where nb and mb are preset values) and decides a degree of peak level.

6. An image display device as defined in claim 1, wherein the device has at least three combinations of threshold level mx and threshold number nx for detecting a case that the given input picture contains nx or more pixels each being larger than a level mx (where nx and mx are preset values) and decides the degree of peak level based on results of comparison of the combinations.

7. An image display device as defined in claim 1, wherein the device detects a maximum level within the given input picture, compares the maximum level with a level p (where p is a preset value) and decides the degree of peak level as being large when the maximum level is larger than the level p.

8. An image display device as defined in claim 1, wherein the device detects a maximum level within the given input picture, compares the maximum level with a level pa and a level pb respectively (where pa and pb are preset values) and decides the degree of peak level.

9. An image display device as defined in claim 1, wherein the device detects a maximum level within the given input picture, compares the maximum level with at least three levels px (where px is a preset value) and decides the degree of peak level based on results of the respective comparison.

10. An image display device as defined in claim 1, wherein the device has a first threshold value ra (where ra is a preset value) being smaller than the specified value and controls the light source to have a fixed value of brightness in a case when the average brightness is smaller than the first threshold value ra.

11. An image display device as defined in claim 1, wherein the device has a second threshold value rb (where rb is a preset value) being larger than the specified value and controls the light source to have a fixed value of brightness in a case when the average brightness is larger than the second threshold value rb.

12. A display control method for controlling brightness of a light source in accordance with average brightness of a picture input to a display, comprising steps of:

detecting a degree of peak level of a given input picture; and

correcting brightness of the light source in accordance with the detected degree of peak level in a case when the average brightness is not more than a specified value.

13. A display control method for controlling brightness of a light source in accordance with average brightness of a picture input to a display, comprising steps of:

detecting a degree of peak level of a given input picture; and

controlling the brightness of the light source by correcting the brightness in accordance with the detected degree of peak level in a case when the average brightness is not more than a specified value and controlling the brightness of the light source independently of the detected degree of peak level when the average brightness exceeds the specified value.

14. An image display device for controlling brightness of a light source in accordance with average brightness of an input picture, comprising a picture display portion, a light source, a light source control portion and an average brightness detecting portion, wherein a peak detecting portion is provided for detecting a degree of peak level of the input picture and the light source control portion has a characteristic changing point corresponding to an average brightness value obtainable as a result of detection by the average brightness detecting portion, controls the light source independently of a result of detection by the peak detecting portion when the detected average brightness value exceeds the characteristic changing point and corrects the screen brightness of the picture display portion by controlling the light source in accordance with the result of detection by the peak detecting portion when the average brightness value does not exceed the characteristic changing point.

15. An image display device as defined in claim 14, wherein the picture display portion is a direct-viewing type liquid crystal display.

16. An image display device as defined in claim 14, wherein the picture display portion is a projecting type liquid crystal display.

17. An image display device for controlling brightness of a light source based on an input picture, comprising:

an average brightness detecting portion for detecting an average brightness of the input picture; and

a peak detecting portion for detecting a peak value of the input picture, wherein, in a case when the average brightness is not more than a specified value, the device increases the brightness of the light source as the input picture has a larger peak value.

18. An image display device as defined in claim 17, wherein the device keeps the brightness of the light source at a fixed value in a case when the average brightness of the input picture is within a specified range.

19. An image display device for controlling brightness of a light source based on an input picture, comprising:

an average brightness detecting portion for detecting an average brightness of the input picture; and

a peak detecting portion for detecting the number of pixels in the input picture having a larger level than a preset value, wherein, in a case when the average brightness of the input picture is not more than a specified value, the device increases the brightness of the light source as the input picture has a larger number of pixels having a level larger than the preset value.

20. An image display device as defined in claim 19, wherein the device keeps the brightness of the light source at a fixed value in a case when the average brightness of the input picture is within a specified range.