Image display device and method of displaying image

• US 7,505,026 B2
• Filed: 07/22/2005
• Issued: 03/17/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 01/06/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Baba, Masahiro, Ito, Go
• Primary Examiner(s): Hjerpe; Richard
• Assistant Examiner(s): Sheng; Tom V
• Application Number:
  US11/187,004
• Publication Number:
  US 20060146005A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,334 Days
• Field of Search: 345/76, 345/77, 345 87- 89, 345/102, 345/204, 345/690
• US Class Current: 345/102
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2310/024 Scrolling of light from the illumination source over the display in combination with the scanning of the display screen
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2310/061 for resetting or blanking
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/0261 in the context of movement of objects on the screen or movement of the observer relative to the screen
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/0633 by amplitude modulation of the brightness of the illumination source
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/064 by time modulation of the brightness of the illumination source
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/103 Detection of image changes, e.g. determination of an index representative of the image change
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/106 Determination of movement vectors or equivalent parameters within the image
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2360/145 the light originating from the display screen
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2360/16 Calculation or use of calculated indices related to luminance levels in display data
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/3233 with pixel circuitry controlling the current through the light-emitting element
• 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 3/3648 using an active matrix G09G3/367 - G09G3/3696 take precedence

Abstract

It is an object of the invention to provide an image display device for improving the image quality of moving images and still images displayed on a liquid crystal display device while controlling increase in power consumption. A liquid crystal panel for performing input image display and black image display at an arbitrary black display time ratio in one frame period, a movement detection unit for detecting a movement of the input image and outputting movement information, a display ratio control unit for fixing the black display time ratio based on the movement information, and a display brightness control unit for controlling brightness of the liquid crystal panel for one frame period to be substantially constant irrespective of the black display period are provided. The movement detection unit detects whether the input image is a moving image or a still image, and the display ratio control unit sets at least one transient black display time ratio between the black display time ratios for the moving image and the still image which is determined according to the result of the movement detection unit, so that the black display time ratio changes midway to the transient black display time ratio in the period when the black display time ratio is switched between the moving image and the still image.

Claims

1. An image display device comprising:

an image inputting unit configured to input an input image;

a display ratio controller which controls a black display ratio which is a ratio of a period for displaying a black image in one frame period in a frame of the input image;

a period setting unit which sets a black display period and an image display period for displaying the frame on the basis of the black display ratio;

a brightness compensator which obtains brightness compensation information for compensating brightness of the frame according to the black display ratio; and

a display which displays the frame and the black image,

the display ratio controller comprising;

a ratio fixer which determines the black display ratio;

a transient black display time ratio calculator which calculates a transient black display ratio, which is a ratio between the current black display ratio fixed by the ratio fixer and a new black display ratio fixed by the ratio fixer; and

a transient black display time ratio setting unit which sets the black display ratio relating at least to the display of one frame from the current black display ratio to the transient black display ratio and then setting the black display ratio to the new black display ratio,

wherein the display displays a brightness compensation image based on the brightness compensation information and the frame in the image display period, and displays the black image in the black display period.

2. The device according to claim 1, wherein the transient black display time ratio setting processor comprises:

a comparator which determines whether an criterion indicating the change from the current black display ratio to the new black display ratio is larger than a predetermined condition;

a first setting unit which sets the black display time ratio of at least one frame to the transient black display ratio and then setting the black display ratio to the new black display ratio when the criterion is larger than the predetermined condition; and

a second setting unit which sets the black display ratio to be the new black display ratio when the criterion is smaller than the predetermined condition.

3. The device according to claim 2, wherein the transient black display time ratio calculator obtains the transient black display ratio so that absolute differences of the black display ratio between adjacent frames of the input image become smaller than a predetermined threshold, and

the transient black display time ratio setting unit changes the black display ratio so that the absolute differences of the black display ratio between the adjacent frames become smaller than the predetermined threshold.

4. The device according to claim 2, wherein the transient black display time ratio calculator sets the transient black display ratio so that the absolute value of rate of change in the black display ratio between the adjacent frames of the input image become smaller than a predetermined threshold, and

the transient black display time ratio setting unit changes the black display ratio so that the absolute value of the rate of change in black display ratio between the adjacent frames become smaller than the threshold.

5. The device according to claim 1 further comprising an image determiner which determines whether the input image is a moving image or a still image, wherein the ratio fixer sets the black display ratio when the input image is determined to be the moving image to be a ratio larger than the black display ratio when the input image is determined to be the still image.

6. The device according to claim 5, wherein the image determiner detects a movement of the input image, and determines the input image to be a moving image when the magnitude of the movement is larger than a predetermined threshold, and determines the input image to be a still image when the magnitude of the movement is smaller than the threshold.

7. The device according to claim 5, wherein the ratio fixer increases the new black display ratio in proportion to the magnitude of the movement.

8. The device according to claim 1, wherein the transient black display time ratio calculator obtains a plurality of different transient black display ratios based on an average gray-scale level of pixels contained in the frame of the input image.

9. The device according to claim 8, wherein the transient black display time ratio calculator obtains the plurality of different transient black display time ratios based on the average gray-scale level of the pixels having gray-scale levels from a maximum gray-scale level to a gray-scale level which is smaller than the maximum gray-scale level by a predetermined proportion.

10. The device according to claim 8, wherein the transient black display time ratio calculator determines a plurality of different transient black display ratios based on the average gray-scale level of pixels included in a range from the highest to a predetermined ranking in gray-scale level.

11. The device according to claim 8, wherein the transient black display time ratio calculator determines a plurality of different transient black display ratios based on the average gray-scale level of the n pixels with the highest gray-scale levels, n being a predetermined fraction of the whole.

12. The device according to claim 1, wherein the display comprises a liquid crystal panel and a surface light source disposed on the back side of the liquid crystal panel for illuminating the liquid crystal panel from the back surface,

the brightness compensator obtains luminous brightness information of the surface light source based on the black display ratio and employs the obtained luminous brightness information as the brightness compensation information in order to control variations in integral brightness in one frame period caused by the change in the black display ratio within a predetermined range, and

an image display controller which controls the luminous brightness of the surface light source based on the brightness compensation information and writes the image information of the frame on the liquid crystal panel.

13. The device according to claim 12, wherein the image display controller causes the surface light source to emit light during the image display period, and causes the surface light source to turn off for the black display period.

14. The device according to claim 12, wherein the surface light source comprises an emission switching unit which switches the surface light source, comprising a plurality of horizontal light-emitting region units which are divided in the vertical direction of the screen of the liquid crystal panel, between on and off,

the liquid crystal panel comprises an image information inputting unit which inputs the image information to each horizontal line from the top or bottom of the screen on a line-by-line basis, and

the image display controller writes the image information of the frame in a display area on the liquid crystal panel corresponding to the horizontal light-emitting area units, and then turns off light in the horizontal light-emitting area in the black display period and causes the horizontal light-emitting area to emit light in image display period.

15. The device according to claim 14, wherein the image display controller turns light off in the horizontal light-emitting area in the black display period and then causes the horizontal light-emitting area to emit light in the image display period, or causes the horizontal light-emitting area to emit light in the image display period and then turns off the light in the horizontal light-emitting area in black display period.

16. The device according to claim 1, wherein the display comprises an electro-luminescence panel.

17. The device according to claim 16, wherein the brightness compensator obtains maximum display gray-scale level information based on the black display ratio and employs the obtained maximum display gray-scale level information as the brightness compensation information in order to control variations in integral brightness in one frame period caused by the change in the black display ratio within a predetermined range, and

an image display control processor generates the brightness compensation image using the maximum display gray-scale level information and pixel information of the frame, and displays the brightness compensation image on the electro-luminescence panel.

18. The device according to claim 16, wherein the brightness compensator calculates the electric current value to be supplied to the electro-luminescence panel and employs the obtained current value as the brightness compensation information in order to control variations in integral brightness in one frame period caused by the change in the black display ratio within a predetermined range, and

an image display controller supplies a current of the current value based on the pixel information of the frame and the brightness compensation information to the electro-luminescence panel.

19. The image display device according to claim 16, wherein the transient image display ratio calculator determines the plurality of different transient image display ratios based on the average gray-scale level of the pixels having gray-scale level from a maximum gray-scale levels to a gray-scale level which is smaller than the maximum gray-scale level by a predetermined proportion.

20. The device according to claim 16, wherein the transient image display ratio calculator obtains the plurality of different transient image display ratios based on the average gray-scale level of pixels included in a range from the highest to a predetermined ranking in gray-scale level.

21. The device according to claim 16, wherein the transient image display ratio calculator obtains the plurality of different transient image display ratios based on the average gray-scale level of the n pixels with the highest gray-scale levels, n being a predetermined fraction of the whole.

22. An image display device comprising:

an image inputting unit configured to input an input image;

a display ratio controller which controls an image display ratio which is a ratio of a period for displaying the frame when the frame and the black image are displayed in one frame period of the input image;

a period setting unit which sets a black display period and an image display period for displaying the frame based on the image display ratio;

a brightness compensator which obtains brightness compensation information for compensating brightness of the frame according to the image display ratio; and

a display which displays the frame and the black image,

the display ratio controller comprising;

a ratio fixer which determines the image display ratio;

a transient image display ratio calculator which obtains the transient image display ratio, which is a ratio between the current image display ratio determined by the ratio fixer and a new ratio determined by the ratio fixer; and

a transient image display ratio setting unit which sets the image display ratio relating at least to the display in one frame from the current image display ratio to the transient image display ratio and then setting the image display ratio to be the new image display ratio,

wherein the display displays a brightness compensation image based on the brightness compensation information and the frame in the image display period, and displays a black image in a black display period.

23. The device according to claim 22, wherein the transient image display ratio setting unit comprises:

a comparator which determines whether or not an criterion indicating the change from the current image display ratio to the new image display ratio is larger than a predetermined condition;

a first setting unit which sets the image display ratio of at least one frame to be the transient image display ratio and then setting the image display ratio to be the new image display ratio, when the criterion is larger than the predetermined condition; and

a second setting unit which sets the image display ratio to be the new image display ratio when the criterion is smaller than the predetermined condition.

24. The device according to claim 23, wherein the transient image display ratio calculator calculates the transient image display ratio so that absolute differences between the image display ratio of adjacent frames of the input image become smaller than a predetermined threshold, and

the transient image display ratio setting unit changes the image display ratio so that the absolute differences between the image display ratio of the adjacent frames become smaller than the predetermined threshold.

25. The device according to claim 23, wherein the transient image display ratio calculator obtains the transient image display ratio so that the absolute value of rate of change in the image display ratio of adjacent frames of the input image becomes smaller than a predetermined threshold, and

the transient image display ratio setting unit changes the image display ratio so that the absolute value of the rate of change in image display ratio of adjacent frames become smaller than the threshold.

26. The device according to claim 22 further comprising an image determiner which determines whether the input image is a moving image or a still image,

wherein the ratio fixer sets the image display ratio when the input image is determined to be the moving image to a ratio smaller than the image display ratio when the input image is determined to be the still image.

27. The device according to claim 26, wherein the image determiner detects a movement of the input image, and determines the input image to be the moving image when the magnitude of the movement is larger than a predetermined threshold, while determines the input image to be the still image when the magnitude of the movement is smaller than the threshold.

28. The image display device according to claim 26, wherein the ratio fixer decreases the new image display ratio in proportion to the magnitude of the movement.

29. The device according to claim 22, wherein the transient image display ratio calculator determines a plurality of different transient image display ratios based on an average gray-scale level of pixels contained in the frame of the input image.

30. The device according to claim 22, wherein the display comprises a liquid crystal panel and a surface light source disposed on the back side of the liquid crystal panel for illuminating the liquid crystal panel from the back surface,

the brightness compensator obtains luminous brightness information of the surface light source based on the image display ratio, and employs the obtained luminous brightness information as the brightness compensation information in order to control variations in integral brightness in one frame period caused by the change in the image display ratio within a predetermined range, and

an image display controller controls the luminous brightness of the surface light source based on the brightness compensation information and writes the image information of the frame on the liquid crystal panel.

31. The device according to claim 30, wherein the image display controller causes the surface light source to emit light for the image display period, and turns off the surface light source for the black display period.

32. The device according to claim 31, wherein the image display controllor turns off light in the horizontal light-emitting area in the black display period and then causes the horizontal light-emitting area to emit light in the image display period, or causes the horizontal light-emitting area to emit light in the image display period and then turns off the horizontal light-emitting area in black display period.

33. The device according to claim 30, wherein the surface light source comprises an emission switching unit which switches the surface light source, comprising a plurality of horizontal light-emitting region units which are divided in the vertical direction of the screen of the liquid crystal panel, between on and off,

the liquid crystal panel comprises an image information inputting unit which inputs the image information to each horizontal line from the top or bottom of the screen on a line-by-line basis, and

the image display controller writes the image information of the frame in a display area on the liquid crystal panel corresponding to the horizontal light-emitting area units, and turns off light in the horizontal light-emitting area in the black display period and causes the horizontal light-emitting area to emit light in the image display period.

34. The device according to claim 22, wherein the display comprises an electro-luminescence panel.

35. The device according to claim 34, wherein the brightness compensator obtains maximum display gray-scale level information based on the image display ratio, and employs the obtained maximum display gray-scale level information as the brightness compensation information in order to control variations in integral brightness in one frame period caused by the change in the image display ratio within a predetermined range, and

an image display controller generates the brightness compensation image using the maximum display gray-scale level information and the pixel information of the frame, and displays the brightness compensation image on the electro-luminescence panel.

36. The device according to claim 34, wherein the brightness compensator calculates the electric current value to be supplied to the electro-luminescence panel and employs the obtained current value as the brightness compensation information in order to control variations in integral brightness in one frame period caused by the change in the image display ratio within a predetermined range, and

an image display controller supplies current of the value calculated based on the pixel information of the frame and the brightness compensation information to the electro-luminescence panel.

37. A method of displaying an image comprising:

an image input step of inputting an input image;

a display ratio control step of controlling a black display ratio which is a ratio of a period for displaying black image in one frame period in a frame of the input image;

a period setting step of setting a black display period and an image display period of displaying the frame from the black display ratio;

a brightness compensation step of obtaining brightness compensation information for compensating brightness of the frame according to the black display ratio; and

an image display step of displaying the frame and the black image,

the display ratio control step comprising;

a ratio fixing step of determining the black display ratio;

a transient black display time ratio calculating step of obtaining the transient black display time ratio, which is a ratio between the current black display ratio, determined in the ratio fixing step, and a new black display ratio determined in the ratio fixing step; and

a transient black display time ratio setting step of setting the black display time ratio relating at least to the display in one frame from the current black display time ratio to the transient black display time ratio and then setting the black display time ratio to the new black display time ratio,

wherein the image display step displays a brightness compensation image based on the brightness compensation information and the frame in the image display period, and displays a black image in the black display period.

38. A method of displaying an image comprising:

an image input step for inputting an input image;

a display ratio control step of controlling an image display ratio which is a ratio of a period for displaying black image in one frame period in the frame of the input image;

a period setting step of setting a black display period and an image display period for displaying the frame from the image display ratio;

a brightness compensation step of obtaining brightness compensation information for compensating brightness of the frame according to the black display time ratio; and

an image display step of displaying the frame and the black image,

the display ratio control step comprising;

a ratio fixing step of fixing the image display ratio;

a transient image display ratio calculating step of obtaining the transient image display ratio, which is a ratio between a current black display time ratio fixed in the ratio fixing step and a new black display time ratio fixed in the ratio fixing step; and

a transient image display ratio setting step of setting the image display ratio relating at least to the display in one frame from the current image display ratio to the transient black display time ratio and then setting to the new black display time ratio,

wherein the image display step displays a brightness compensation image based on the brightness compensation information and the frame in the image display period, and displays a black image in the black display period.