Color display system

• US 7,969,640 B2
• Filed: 12/05/2008
• Issued: 06/28/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 11/01/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ignite USA (Ignite)
• Original Assignee: Olympus Corporation, Silicon Quest Kabushiki-Kaisha
• Inventors: Endo, Taro, Arai, Kazuma, Ishii, Fusao
• Primary Examiner(s): Sugarman; Scott J
• Assistant Examiner(s): Thomas; Brandi N
• Application Number:
  US12/315,794
• Publication Number:
  US 20090128588A1
• Time in Patent Office: 935 Days
• Field of Search: 359290-292, 359/295, 359/298, 382/276, 382/293, 382298-300
• US Class Current: 359/290
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 26/0841 the reflecting element being moved or deformed by electrostatic means
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/09 Beam shaping, e.g. changing the cross-sectional area, not otherwise provided for adapting the beam shape of a laser diode G02B19/0052; adapting the beam shape of an LED G02B19/0061; coupling into light guides using intermediate optical elements G02B6/4204; beam shaping specially adapted for lasers H01S3/005
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2310/0235 Field-sequential colour display
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/064 by time modulation of the brightness of the illumination source
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/0646 Modulation of illumination source brightness and image signal correlated to each other
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/2011 by amplitude modulation
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/3406 Control of illumination source illumination devices structurally associated with liquid crystal cells G02F1/1336
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/346 based on modulation of the reflection angle, e.g. micromirrors micromirrors devices per se G02B26/0833
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/7458 the modulator being an array of deformable mirrors, e.g. digital micromirror device [DMD]
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/3114 by using a sequential colour filter producing one colour at a time
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/3123 using pulse width modulation
• 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

Abstract

An image display apparatus is disclosed in this invention. The image display apparatus includes a light source for emitting an illumination light, at least one spatial light modulator for receiving and applying an image signal for modulating illumination light from the light source, and a control circuit for controlling the light source and/or the spatial light modulator to project a modulated light for image display having different gray scale characteristics between at least two successive frames.

Claims

1. An image display apparatus, comprising:

a light source for emitting an illumination light;

at least one spatial light modulator for receiving and applying an image signal for modulating the illumination light emitted from the light source; and

a control circuit for controlling the light source or the spatial light modulator to project a modulated light for image display having different gray scale characteristics between at least two successive frames; and

wherein at least one of the successive frames is a frame generated by interpolating images of other frames among said successive frames.

2. The image display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

the control circuit controls the light source or the spatial light modulator to project the modulated light for image display having different number of display gray scale gradations in at least one of the frames.

3. The image display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

the control circuit controls the light source or the spatial light modulator to project the modulated light for image display having different resolutions of a display gray scale gradations in at least one of the frames.

4. The image display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

the control circuit controls the light source or the spatial light modulator to project the modulated light for image display having different dynamic ranges of a brightness in at least one of the frames.

5. The image display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

the spatial light modulator modulating the illumination light in accordance with a predetermined image signal to generate the modulate light having a different brightness in at least one of the display frames from another brightness in another one of the frames.

6. The image display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

the control circuit controls the light source and the spatial light modulator to operate in a display period of at least one of the frames having a different period length from another one of the frames.

7. The image display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

the control circuit controls the light source to adjust an intensity of the illumination light emitted from the light source in a display period of at least one of the frames.

8. The image display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

the spatial light modulator comprises a mirror device including a plurality of deflectable mirror elements arranged as mirror array for deflecting the illumination light according to the image signal to a plurality of directions.

9. The image display apparatus according to claim 8, further comprising:

a projection optical system for projecting a light beam modulated by the spatial light modulator, wherein the mirror elements are controlled in accordance with the image signal to operate in an ON state for deflecting the illumination light to the projection optical system, an OFF state for deflecting the illumination light away from the projection optical system, or an oscillation state for oscillating between the ON state and the OFF state.

10. The image display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

the control circuit further converts the image signal corresponding to pixels of the spatial light modulator into non-binary data, and applies the non-binary data to control the spatial light modulator and/or the light source.

11. An image display apparatus, comprising:

a light source for emitting an illumination light;

at least one spatial light modulator for receiving and applying an image signal for modulating the illumination light emitted from the light source; and

a control circuit for controlling the light source and/or the spatial light modulator to project a modulated light for image display having different gray scale characteristics between at least two successive frames by interpolating images of other frames among said at least two successive frames.