Luminance balancing

• US 8,106,860 B2
• Filed: 01/10/2008
• Issued: 01/31/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 06/28/2007
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Snaptrack Incorporated (Qualcomm, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm MEMS Technologies Incorporated (Qualcomm, Inc.)
• Inventors: Chui, Clarence
• Primary Examiner(s): Dharia, Prabodh M
• Application Number:
  US12/008,700
• Publication Number:
  US 20090002288A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,482 Days
• Field of Search: 345/690, 345/418, 345/7, 345 30- 46, 345 82- 88, 345102-110, 348/743, 348/758, 349/18.64, 352/107, 352/112, 352/115, 352/118, 362/249.02, 362/231, 362241-247, 3408154-81553
• US Class Current: 345/84
• CPC Class Codes: G09F 19/12 using special optical effects
• CPC Class Codes: G09F 9/33 being semiconductor devices, e.g. diodes
• CPC Class Codes: G09F 9/37 being movable elements G09F9/302 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2300/026 Video wall, i.e. juxtaposition of a plurality of screens to create a display screen of bigger dimensions
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/005 forming an image using a quickly moving array of imaging elements, causing the human eye to perceive an image which has a larger resolution than the array, e.g. an image on a cylinder formed by a rotating line of LEDs parallel to the axis of rotation
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/32 semiconductive, e.g. using light-emitting diodes [LED]

Abstract

A composite display may include a paddle configured to sweep out an area and a plurality of pixel elements mounted on the paddle. Selectively activating one or more of the plurality of pixel elements while the paddle sweeps the area may cause at least a portion of an image to be rendered. A characteristic of at least one pixel element of the plurality of pixel elements that is associated with balancing luminance across the composite display associated with the paddle may be based, at least in part, on a radial distance of the one pixel element from an axis of rotation of the paddle.

Claims

1. A composite display, comprising:

a paddle configured to sweep out an area; and

a plurality of pixel elements mounted on the paddle;

wherein selectively activating one or more of the plurality of pixel elements while the paddle sweeps the area causes at least a portion of an image to be rendered and wherein a characteristic of at least one pixel element of the plurality of pixel elements that is associated with balancing luminance across at least a portion of the composite display associated with the paddle is based at least in part on a radial distance of the one pixel element from an axis of rotation of the paddle.

2. The composite display of claim 1, wherein the characteristic includes a maximum intensity value.

3. The composite display of claim 2, wherein a first pixel element mounted at a first radial distance from the axis of rotation has a higher maximum intensity value than a second pixel element mounted at a second radial distance from the axis of rotation, wherein the first radial distance is greater than the second radial distance.

4. The composite display of claim 1, wherein the characteristic includes a duty cycle of an applied voltage or current.

5. The composite display of claim 4, wherein a first pixel element mounted at a first radial distance from the axis of rotation has a lower duty cycle value than a second pixel element mounted at a second radial distance from the axis of rotation, wherein the second radial distance is greater than the first radial distance.

6. The composite display of claim 1, wherein the characteristic includes an amplitude of an applied voltage or current.

7. The composite display of claim 6, wherein a first pixel element mounted at a first radial distance from the axis of rotation has a lower amplitude value than a second pixel element mounted at a second radial distance from the axis of rotation, wherein the second radial distance is greater than the first radial distance.

8. The composite display of claim 1, wherein the characteristic includes a spacing of the at least one pixel element with neighboring or nearby pixel elements.

9. The composite display of claim 8, wherein one or more successively higher densities of pixel elements are mounted at increasing radial distances from the axis of rotation.

10. The composite display of claim 1, wherein pixel elements along a length or radius of the paddle are non-uniformly spaced.

11. The composite display of claim 1, wherein the paddle has a triangular shape.

12. The composite display of claim 1, wherein the paddle includes a disc and the plurality of pixel elements are mounted along one or more radii of the disc.

13. The composite display of claim 1, wherein the characteristic includes a fraction of an intensity value.

14. The composite display of claim 1, wherein at least one pixel element includes a light emitting diode (LED).

15. A method, comprising:

obtaining a paddle configured to sweep out an area; and

mounting a plurality of pixel elements on the paddle;

wherein selectively activating one or more of the plurality of pixel elements while the paddle sweeps the area causes at least a portion of an image to be rendered and wherein a characteristic of at least one pixel element of the plurality of pixel elements that is associated with balancing luminance across at least a portion of a composite display associated with the paddle is based at least in part on a radial distance of the one pixel element from an axis of rotation of the paddle.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the characteristic includes one or more of:

a maximum intensity value, a duty cycle of an applied voltage or current, an amplitude of an applied voltage or current, and a spacing with neighboring or nearby pixel elements.

17. A method for distributing an intensity value in a composite display, comprising:

mapping an image pixel of a source image to a temporal pixel of the composite display, wherein each temporal pixel of the composite display corresponds to a pixel element of a paddle at a given sweep location; and

distributing at least a portion of an intensity value of the image pixel that is assigned to the temporal pixel during the mapping to one or more neighboring or nearby inactive temporal pixels;

wherein the one or more inactive temporal pixels comprise temporal pixels to which no image pixels are mapped.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the one or more neighboring or nearby inactive temporal pixels are along the same circumference as the temporal pixel.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the temporal pixel is a first temporal pixel and wherein mapping includes remapping the image pixel from a second temporal pixel to the first temporal pixel because another image pixel is mapped to the second temporal pixel.

20. The method of claim 17, wherein the temporal pixel is a first temporal pixel and further comprising distributing to at least one of the one or more inactive temporal pixels a portion of an intensity value assigned to a neighboring or nearby second temporal pixel along the same circumference as the first temporal pixel.

21. The method of claim 17, wherein a fraction of an intensity value associated with each of the temporal pixel and one or more of the inactive temporal pixels is a same value.

22. The method of claim 17, wherein no other image pixels are mapped to the temporal pixel to which the image pixel is mapped.

23. The method of claim 17, wherein distributing at least a portion of the intensity value to one or more neighboring or nearby inactive temporal pixel results in the one or more inactive temporal pixels becoming active, removing dark spot artifacts from an image rendered on the composite display that would have resulted had the one or more inactive temporal pixels remained inactive.

24. A system for distributing an intensity value in a composite display, comprising:

a processor configured to;

map an image pixel of a source image to a temporal pixel of the composite display, wherein each temporal pixel of the composite display corresponds to a pixel element of a paddle at a given sweep location; and

distribute at least a portion of an intensity value of the image pixel that is assigned to the temporal pixel during the mapping to one or more neighboring or nearby inactive temporal pixels; and

a memory coupled to the processor and configured to provide the processor with instructions;

wherein the one or more inactive temporal pixels comprise temporal pixels to which no image pixels are mapped.

25. A computer program product for distributing an intensity value in a composite display, the computer program product being embodied in a computer readable medium and comprising computer instructions for:

mapping an image pixel of a source image to a temporal pixel of the composite display, wherein each temporal pixel of the composite display corresponds to a pixel element of a paddle at a given sweep location; and

distributing at least a portion of an intensity value of the image pixel that is assigned to the temporal pixel during the mapping to one or more neighboring or nearby inactive temporal pixels;

wherein the one or more inactive temporal pixels comprise temporal pixels to which no image pixels are mapped.