Background plateau manipulation for display device power conservation

• US 7,714,831 B2
• Filed: 06/20/2006
• Issued: 05/11/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 07/16/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Honeywood Technologies LLC
• Inventors: Plut, William J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Awad, Amr
• Assistant Examiner(s): BOYD, JONATHAN A
• Application Number:
  US11/471,988
• Publication Number:
  US 20070002035A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,421 Days
• Field of Search: 345/102, 345/211
• US Class Current: 345/102
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3218 of display devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3265 Power saving in display device
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2310/04 Partial updating of the display screen
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/062 Adjustment of illumination source parameters
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/0626 for control of overall brightness
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/0646 Modulation of illumination source brightness and image signal correlated to each other
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/0686 with two or more screen areas displaying information with different brightness or colours
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2330/022 in absence of operation, e.g. no data being entered during a predetermined time
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2330/023 using energy recovery or conservation
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2360/16 Calculation or use of calculated indices related to luminance levels in display data
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/20 for presentation of an assembly of a number of characters, e.g. a page, by composing the assembly by combination of individual elements arranged in a matrix no fixed position being assigned to or needed to be assigned to the individual characters or partial characters
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/3208 organic, e.g. using organic light-emitting diodes [OLED]
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/00 Control arrangements or circuits for visual indicators common to cathode-ray tube indicators and other visual indicators image data processing or generation, in general G06T
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 10/00 Energy efficient computing, e.g. low power processors, power management or thermal management
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/50 in wire-line communication networks, e.g. low power modes or reduced link rate

Abstract

Described herein are systems and methods that reduce power consumption for an electronics device that includes a display. The power conservation systems and methods alter background video information not needed for interactive use when a user returns to a display after some period of inactivity. Power conservation also preserves video information for one or more graphical user interface items. Preserving a graphics item maintains a person'"'"'s ability to detect the graphical user interface item, and return to it at a later time, even though the background video information has been altered to conserve power.

Claims

1. A method for reducing power consumed by an electronics device that includes a liquid crystal display device, the method comprising:

altering background video information to produce altered background video information such that the liquid crystal display device will consume less power when displaying the altered background video information than an amount of power that would be required to display the background video information without the alteration;

altering video information for a graphical user interface item such that the liquid crystal display device will consume less power when displaying the altered graphical user interface item than an amount of power that would be required to display the graphical user interface item without the alteration,

wherein the video information for the graphical user interface item is altered at a first rate and the background video information is altered at a second rate that is greater than the first rate; and

displaying the altered background video information with the altered video information for the graphical user interface item.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the altering the background video information reduces average luminance of the background video information and altering video information for the graphical user interface item reduces average luminance of the altered graphical user interface item video information.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein altering the background video information and altering video information for the graphical user interface item increases the difference between an average luminance of the background video information and an average luminance for the altered graphical user interface item video information.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein altering the background video information comprises a luminance reduction for the background video information.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein altering the video information for the graphical user interface item comprises a luminance reduction for the graphical user interface item video information.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein altering the video information for the graphical user interface item maintains a minimum luminance difference between an average luminance for video information for the graphical user interface item and an average luminance for the altered background video information.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein altering the video information for the graphical user interface item maintains characteristic color video information for the graphical user interface item.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein altering the video information for the graphical user interface item maintains characteristic edge detection video information for the graphical user interface item that contributes to edge and/or shape recognition of the graphics component.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein an average luminance for the altered video information for the graphical user interface item is greater than an average luminance for the altered background video information.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein the graphical user interface item includes one of:

an icon that permits a user of the electronics device to initiate a program, a toolbar, and a clock.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein the liquid crystal display device includes more than one backlight.

12. The method of claim 1 further comprising reducing luminance for the video information for the graphical user interface item to a maximum luminance that permits a reduction in backlight luminance level for the LCD display device.

13. The method of claim 1 wherein the display device is included in one of:

a laptop computer, a handheld computer, a portable phone or a portable music player.

14. A method for reducing power consumed by an electronics device that includes a display device, the method comprising:

a) altering video information for a graphical user interface item at a first rate to produce altered video information for the graphical user interface item such that the liquid crystal display device will consume less power when displaying the altered video information for the graphical user interface item than an amount of power that would be required to display the graphical user interface item without the alteration;

b) altering background video information at a second rate, that is greater than the first rate, to produce altered background video information such that the display device will consume less power when displaying the altered background video information than an amount of power that would be required to display the background video information without the alteration;

c) displaying the altered video information for the graphical user interface item and the altered background video information; and

repeating a), b) and c),

wherein for each iteration of a) and b), altering the background video information and altering the video information for the graphical user interface item maintains visibility of the graphical user interface item relative to the altered background video information when displayed.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein the second rate includes a higher frequency of alterations than the first rate.

16. The method of claim 14 wherein the second rate and the first rate are altered at about the same frequency and the second rate includes a larger alteration than the first rate at each alteration.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein the larger alteration includes a larger luminance reduction for the background video information than a luminance reduction for the graphical user interface item video information.

18. The method of claim 14 further comprising setting a power conservation scheme that selects the at least one graphical user interface item.

19. The method of claim 14 wherein the alteration to the background video information begins after a threshold inactivity time has been reached.

20. A computer readable medium including instructions for reducing power consumed by an electronics device that includes a liquid crystal display device, the computer-readable medium comprising:

instructions for altering background video information to produce altered background video information such that the liquid crystal display device will consume less power when displaying the altered background video information than an amount of power that would be required to display the background video information without the alteration;

instructions for altering video information for a graphical user interface item such that the liquid crystal display device will consume less power when displaying the altered graphical user interface item than an amount of power that would be required to display the graphical user interface item without the alteration,

wherein video information for the graphical user interface item is altered at a first rate and the background video information is altered at a second rate that is greater than the first rate; and

instructions for displaying the altered background video information with the altered video information for the graphical user interface item.