Conversion of a sub-pixel format data to another sub-pixel data format

• US 7,688,335 B2
• Filed: 10/11/2006
• Issued: 03/30/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 05/09/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Higgins, Michael Francis, Brown Elliott, Candice Hellen
• Primary Examiner(s): Caschera; Antonio A
• Application Number:
  US11/548,669
• Publication Number:
  US 20070109330A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,266 Days
• Field of Search: 345/613, 345/617, 345/695
• US Class Current: 345/613
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 3/4015 Image demosaicing, e.g. colour filter arrays [CFA] or Bayer patterns
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 3/4069 by subpixel displacements
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2300/0452 Details of colour pixel setup, e.g. pixel composed of a red, a blue and two green components
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/0276 for the purpose of adaptation to the characteristics of a display device, i.e. gamma correction
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/0407 Resolution change, inclusive of the use of different resolutions for different screen areas
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/0414 Vertical resolution change
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/0421 Horizontal resolution change
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/0457 Improvement of perceived resolution by subpixel rendering
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/0492 Change of orientation of the displayed image, e.g. upside-down, mirrored
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/2003 Display of colours specific for liquid crystal displays G09G3/3607
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/006 Details of the interface to the display terminal specific for a display terminal using a CRT G09G1/167; using a flat panel G09G3/2096; circuits for interfacing with colour displays G09G5/04
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/02 characterised by the way in which colour is displayed details of colour display specific for CRTs G09G1/28; specific for flat matrix panels other than liquid crystal displays G09G3/2003; specific for liquid crystal displays G09G3/3607

Abstract

A method of determining implied sample areas for each data point of each color in a source pixel data specified in a first sub-pixel format is used for sub-pixel rendering an image on a display specified in a second sub-pixel format. Each of the first and second sub-pixel formats comprises a plurality of colored sub-pixels. The method comprises determining a geometric center of each colored sub-pixel of the first format to define a sampling point; and defining each implied sample area by forming lines that are substantially equidistant between the sampling point of one colored sub-pixel and the sampling point of another neighboring same color colored sub-pixel. A similar technique may be used for determining resample areas for computing color values for rendering an image specified in a first sub-pixel format on a display substantially comprising a plurality of colored sub-pixels arranged in a second sub-pixel format.

Claims

1. A method of rendering a source image defined by source pixel data onto a display having tiled there across substantially identical display pixel units,

where each of the substantially identical display pixel units includes independently-driveable display sub-pixel units,

where the source pixel data defines said source image as sampled image points corresponding to a first set of sub-pixel color samplers that are spatially organized according to a prespecified first sub-pixel format,

where said independently-driveable display sub-pixel units correspond to a second set of sub-pixel color samplers that are spatially organized according to a prespecified second sub-pixel format different from the first sub-pixel format,

where the color samplers of each of said first and second sub-pixel formats include samplers for first, second and third colors, the first, second and third colors being different from one another,

the method comprising:

for each given one of the first, second and third colors, respectively determining locations of geometric centers of implied color sourcings represented respectively by the sub-pixel color samplers associated with said first format and the given one color, each of the determined geometric centers defining an implied source sampling point for the respective given one color; and

for each given one of the first, second and third colors, respectively defining implied source sample areas as bounded by generally shared hypothetical lines that are disposed substantially equidistant between said implied source sampling points of the given one color, with each of the hypothetical lines except edge of source image ones being shared by at least two of the implied source sample areas;

attributing color luminance values to each of the implied source sample areas in accordance with respective luminance values attributed to the first set of sub-pixel color samplers and the source image; and

generating signals for driving said independently-driveable display sub-pixel units of the display to render the source image, the driving being done as a function of overlap-area proportional color luminance contributions associated with respective same colored ones of said implied source sample areas that become disposed contributingly adjacent to corresponding ones of the display sub-pixel units when the implied source sample areas are hypothetically overlaid across the display.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said implied source sample areas are identical to one another and are disposed in a tiling pattern.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein each of the identical implied source sample areas in said tiling pattern is a tiled one of the group comprising tiled squares, tiled rectangles, tiled triangles, tiled hexagons, tiled octagons, tiled diamonds, staggered tiled squares, staggered tiled rectangles, staggered tiled triangles, Penrose tiles, tiled rhombuses, tiled distorted rhombuses, and staggered tiled diamonds.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein said set of neighboring same color colored display sub-pixels are displaced from said one colored implied source sub-pixel in more than one dimension of the plane of the display.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein said step of generating signals for driving said independently-driveable display sub-pixel units is performed by hardware, the hardware including Read Only Memory.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein said step of generating signals for driving said independently-driveable display sub-pixel units is performed by hardware that implements scaling and sub-pixel rendering.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein said step of generating signals for driving said independently-driveable display sub-pixel units is performed by hardware that implements sub-pixel rendering.

8. A method of rendering a source image defined by source pixel data onto a display having tiled there across substantially identical display pixel units,

where each of the substantially identical display pixel units includes independently-driveable display sub-pixel units,

where the source pixel data defines said source image as sampled image points corresponding to a first set of sub-pixel color samplers that are spatially organized according to a prespecified first sub-pixel format,

where said independently-driveable display sub-pixel units correspond to a second set of sub-pixel color samplers that are spatially organized according to a prespecified second sub-pixel format different from the first sub-pixel format,

where the color samplers of each of said first and second sub-pixel formats include samplers for first, second and third colors, the first, second and third colors being different from one another,

the method comprising:

for each given one of the first, second and third colors, respectively determining a geometric center of each correspondingly colored ones of the independently-driveable display sub-pixel units of said second sub-pixel format to thereby define respective reconstruction points;

for each given one of the first, second and third colors, respectively defining each of said resample areas by forming hypothetical lines that are substantially equidistant between said reconstruction points of the correspondingly colored reconstruction points of a set of neighboring same color colored sub-pixels; and

generating signals for driving said independently-driveable display sub-pixel units of the display to render the source image, the driving being done as a function of overlap-area proportional color luminance contributions associated with respective same colored ones of said implied source sample areas that become disposed contributingly and overlapping corresponding ones of the resample areas of the display when the implied source sample areas are hypothetically overlaid across the display and over the resample areas.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein said resample areas are disposed in a tiling pattern.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein said tiling pattern is one of the group comprising squares, rectangles, triangles, hexagons, octagons, diamonds, staggered squares, staggered rectangles, staggered triangles, Penrose tiles, rhombuses, distorted rhombuses, and staggered diamonds.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein said set of neighboring same color colored display sub-pixels are displaced from said one colored implied source sub-pixel in more than one dimension of the plane of the display.

12. The method of claim 8, wherein said step of generating signals for driving said independently-driveable display sub-pixel units is performed by hardware, the hardware including Read Only Memory.

13. The method of claim 8, wherein said step of generating signals for driving said independently-driveable display sub-pixel units is performed by hardware that implements scaling and sub-pixel rendering.