Image and light source modulation for a digital display system

• US 7,404,645 B2
• Filed: 10/21/2005
• Issued: 07/29/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 06/20/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Digital Display Innovations, LLC
• Inventors: Margulis, Neal D.
• Primary Examiner(s): KOVAL, MELISSA J
• Application Number:
  US11/255,353
• Publication Number:
  US 20070035706A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,012 Days
• Field of Search: 353/31, 353/85, 353/94, 353/121, 353/122, 345/202, 345/506, 348/625, 348/630, 348/631, 348/742
• US Class Current: 353/31
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 21/005 Projectors using an electronic spatial light modulator but not peculiar thereto
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 21/20 Lamp housings
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 21/2046 Positional adjustment of light sources
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 21/2053 Intensity control of illuminating light controlled by video signal processing H04N5/74 or H04N9/31
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2300/023 Display panel composed of stacked panels
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/062 Adjustment of illumination source parameters
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/106 Determination of movement vectors or equivalent parameters within the image
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/0407 Resolution change, inclusive of the use of different resolutions for different screen areas
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2360/142 the light being detected by light detection means within each pixel
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2360/18 Use of a frame buffer in a display terminal, inclusive of the display panel
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/2096 Details of the interface to the display terminal specific for a flat panel suitable for both CRT and flat panel G09G5/006; specific for a CRT G09G1/167
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/342 using several illumination sources separately controlled corresponding to different display panel areas, e.g. along one dimension such as lines
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/3433 using light modulating elements actuated by an electric field and being other than liquid crystal devices and electrochromic devices using liquid crystal devices G09G3/36; using electrochromic devices G09G3/38
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/363 Graphics controllers
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/3102 using two-dimensional electronic spatial light modulators micromechanical modulators as such G02B26/0833; liquid crystal modulators as such G02F1/13
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/3155 for controlling the light source light source control per se H05B35/00 – H05B47/00; control of an illumination source for displays in general G09G3/3406
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/3161 using laser light sources using laser beams scanning the display screen H04N9/3129
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/3179 Video signal processing therefor
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/3194 including sensor feedback

Abstract

Image processing enhances display quality by controlling both the image modulator and the light sources.

The image processing system utilizes a combination of user inputs, system configuration, design information, sensor feedback, pixel modulation information, and lighting control information to characterize the display environment on a per pixel basis. This per pixel characterization information is combined with one or more frames of the incoming real time display data. The image processing system processes each incoming pixel and produces a modified corresponding output pixel. Each pixel of each frame is processed accordingly.

The image processing system also produces control information for the light sources. The light source control information can control individual lamps, tubes or LEDs, or can control a block or subset of the light sources. The resulting display has improved image consistency, enhanced color gamut, higher dynamic range and is better able to portray high motion content.

Claims

1. A display comprising:

one or more light source modulators including a plurality of light source controls to dynamically vary the brightness of LED light sources at multiple locations of said display;

a display modulator including an array of individually controllable pixels;

one or more light sensors that, when necessary, feed back real time readings measuring the brightness from said light source modulators and store said measurements; and

a controller, connected both to said plurality of light source controls and to said display modulator, that receives an incoming data stream and, based both on values of the incoming data stream and on the stored measurements from said sensors, dynamically determines and controls at different ones of said locations the values for said light source brightness and the values for said display modulator array of pixels.

2. The display of claim 1 wherein said light sources provide a plurality of different wavelengths of light and said sensors, when necessary, feed back real time measurements of both brightness and wavelength.

3. The display of claim 1 wherein said plurality of light source controls to control brightness has lower granularity than the resolution of the array of pixels.

4. The display of claim 1 wherein each individually controllable pixel includes different wavelength sub-pixels and the brightness of each sub-pixel is modulated individually.

5. The display of claim 4 wherein each said sub-pixel has a local additional light source.

6. The display of claim 1 wherein said controller utilizes one or more frames of prior display data in order to temporally control the light source modulators and the display modulators to portray motion accurately on said display.

7. A display controller comprising:

controls for one or more LED light source modulators which can vary brightness across a display;

controls for individual pixels of a display modulator array of pixels;

one or more inputs to receive data fed back, when necessary, from real time sensor readings;

one or more inputs to receive real time display data; and

processing modules to perform low latency processing of the real time display data and of data stored from sensor readings to control said light source modulators and said display modulator pixels in real time to create a high quality display.

8. The display controller of claim 7 wherein said controls for light source modulators include individual controls for different wavelengths of light and including light sources having lower resolution than the display modulator array of pixels.

9. The display controller of claim 7 wherein said controls for the array of pixels include:

sub-pixel brightness controls for the full resolution of pixels; and

brightness controls for light sources that have lower resolution than the array of pixels.

10. The display controller of claim 7 wherein said processing modules utilize one or more frames of prior display data to perform temporal controls of said light source modulators and said individual pixels to portray motion at very high quality.

11. The display controller of claim 7 wherein said input of real time data is enhanced and utilized by one of said processing modules which then produces controls for the light source modulators and individual pixels to increase the dynamic range of an output image.

12. The display controller of claim 7 wherein received real time display data is enhanced and utilized by one of said processing modules which then produces controls for the light source modulators and individual pixels to increase the color gamut of the output image.

13. The display controller of claim 7 wherein said processing modules for real time display data produce controls for dynamically adjusting the ambient lighting around the display.

14. A method for displaying an image having high image quality, high color gamut and high dynamic range, comprising:

processing a real time display data stream;

processing display configuration parameters determined by real time sensor feedback;

processing, including spatial processing, of the display data stream;

producing controls to modulate one or more LED light sources to vary the brightness across a display; and

producing controls to perform image modulation for a full resolution display.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein said spatial processing includes temporal processing of two or more frames of display data.