Liquid crystal display

• US 8,212,753 B2
• Filed: 11/24/2006
• Issued: 07/03/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 02/27/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Tomizawa, Kazunari
• Primary Examiner(s): Eisen, Alexander
• Assistant Examiner(s): Chatly, Amit
• Application Number:
  US12/280,747
• Publication Number:
  US 20090167657A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,048 Days
• Field of Search: 345 87- 90, 345694-696
• US Class Current: 345/88
• 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 2320/068 for control of viewing angle adjustment
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/06 Colour space transformation
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/2003 Display of colours specific for liquid crystal displays G09G3/3607
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/2074 using sub-pixels
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/3607 for displaying colours or for displaying grey scales with a specific pixel layout, e.g. using sub-pixels display of colours in flat matrix panels other than liquid crystal displays G09G3/2003; grey scales specific for television H04N3/127
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/3611 Control of matrices with row and column drivers
• 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 liquid crystal display device includes a pixel defined by at least four sub-pixels. The sub-pixels include at least one sub-pixel belonging to a first group and at least one sub-pixel belonging to a second group, the sub-pixel of the second group being different from that of the first group. The luminances of the sub-pixels are set such that if the colors represented by the pixel change from black into white while being kept achromatic, the first group of sub-pixel starts to increase in luminance first, and the second group of sub-pixel starts to increase in luminance when the luminance of the first group of sub-pixel reaches a predetermined value.

Claims

1. A liquid crystal display device comprising:

a pixel including at least four sub-pixels;

wherein

the sub-pixels include at least one sub-pixel belonging to a first group and at least one sub-pixel belonging to a second group, the sub-pixel of the second group being different from that of the first group; and

luminances of the sub-pixels are set such that if the colors represented by the pixel change from black into white while being kept achromatic, the first group of sub-pixel starts to increase in luminance first, and the second group of sub-pixel starts to increase in luminance when the luminance of the first group of sub-pixel reaches a predetermined value.

2. The liquid crystal display device of claim 1, wherein an area occupied by the sub-pixel in the first group is equal to that of the sub-pixel in the second group.

3. The liquid crystal display device of claim 1, wherein an area occupied by the sub-pixel in the first group is smaller than that of the sub-pixel in the second group.

4. The liquid crystal display device of claim 1, wherein achromatic colors are represented by each of the sub-pixel belonging to the first group and the sub-pixel the second group.

5. The liquid crystal display device of claim 1, wherein the chromaticity of the pixel in a situation where the luminance of the first group of sub-pixel is increased with that of the second group of sub-pixel kept equal to a value associated with the lowest gray scale level is equal to that of the pixel in a situation where each of all the sub-pixels has a luminance associated with the highest gray scale level.

6. The liquid crystal display device of claim 1, wherein the luminance of the pixel in a situation where the luminance of the first group of sub-pixel is increased to a value associated with the highest gray scale level with that of the second group of sub-pixel kept equal to a value associated with the lowest gray scale level is lower than that of the pixel in a situation where the luminance of the second group of sub-pixel is increased to the value associated with the highest gray scale level with that of the first group of sub-pixel kept equal to the value associated with the lowest gray scale level.

7. The liquid crystal display device of claim 1, wherein the first group of sub-pixel includes multiple sub-pixels, and in every sub-pixel in the first group, a ratio of the predetermined luminance to a luminance associated with the highest gray scale level is the same.

8. The liquid crystal display device of claim 1, wherein the predetermined luminance is a luminance of the first group of sub-pixel that is associated with the highest gray scale level.

9. The liquid crystal display device of claim 1, wherein the predetermined luminance is lower than a luminance of the first group of sub-pixel that is associated with the highest gray scale level.

10. The liquid crystal display device of claim 1, wherein the first group of sub-pixel includes multiple sub-pixels, and the luminances of the sub-pixels are set such that in a situation where the colors represented by the pixel change from black into white while being kept achromatic, when the luminance of the sub-pixels in the first group reaches the predetermined value, the second group of sub-pixel starts to increase in luminance and at least one of the sub-pixels in the first group continues to increase in luminance.

11. The liquid crystal display device of claim 10, wherein the predetermined luminance is at least about 0.3 times as large as, but still not more than, the luminance associated with the highest gray scale level.

12. The liquid crystal display device of claim 11, wherein the predetermined luminance is about 0.9 times as large as the luminance associated with the highest gray scale level.

13. The liquid crystal display device of claim 10, wherein the first group of sub-pixel includes multiple sub-pixels, and a ratio of the predetermined luminance to the luminance associated with the highest gray scale level is different from each other in each of the sub-pixels in the first group.

14. The liquid crystal display device of claim 1, wherein the first group of sub-pixel includes red, green and blue sub-pixels.

15. The liquid crystal display device of claim 14, wherein the second group of sub-pixel includes yellow, cyan and magenta sub-pixels.

16. The liquid crystal display device of claim 14, wherein the second group of sub-pixel includes yellow and cyan sub-pixels and another red sub-pixel, which is different from the red sub-pixel.

17. The liquid crystal display device of claim 14, wherein the second group of sub-pixel includes a white sub-pixel.

18. The liquid crystal display device of claim 14, wherein the second group of sub-pixel includes yellow and cyan sub-pixels.

19. The liquid crystal display device of claim 1, wherein the first group of sub-pixel includes yellow, cyan and magenta sub-pixels, and the second group of sub-pixel includes red, green and blue sub-pixels.

20. A liquid crystal display device comprising:

a pixel that represents a color by using at least four primary colors in an arbitrary combination at an arbitrary luminance;

wherein

the primary colors include at least one primary color belonging to a first group and at least one primary color belonging to a second group, the primary color of the second group being different from that of the first group; and

luminances of the primary colors are set such that if the colors represented by the pixel change from black into white while being kept achromatic, the first group of primary color starts to increase in luminance first, and the second group of primary color starts to increase in luminance when the luminance of the first group of primary color reaches a predetermined value.

21. A liquid crystal display device comprising:

a pixel including at least four sub-pixels;

wherein

the sub-pixels include at least one sub-pixel belonging to a first group and at least one sub-pixel belonging to a second group, the sub-pixel of the second group being different from that of the first group;

the sub-pixels represent a color including a chromatic component and an achromatic component; and

luminances of the sub-pixels, which are associated with the achromatic component, are set such that if the achromatic component change from a minimum value into a maximum value, the first group of sub-pixel starts to increase in luminance first, and the second group of sub-pixel starts to increase in luminance when the luminance of the first group of sub-pixel reaches a predetermined value.

22. A signal converter for generating a multi-primary-color signal, representing the luminances of multiple primary colors, based on a video signal for use in a multi-primary-color display panel that conducts a display operation in at least four primary colors, including at least one primary color belonging to a first group and at least one primary color belonging to a second group, the primary color of the second group being different from that of the first group, the signal converter comprising:

a color component separating section arranged to separate a color specified by the video signal into an achromatic component and a chromatic component;

an achromatic component converting section arranged to convert the achromatic component of the video signal into color components of the multiple primary colors;

a chromatic component converting section arranged to convert the chromatic component of the video signal into color components of the multiple primary colors; and

a synthesizing section arranged to synthesize together the color components of the multiple primary colors that have been converted by the achromatic and chromatic component converting sections, thereby generating the multi-primary-color signal;

wherein

if the achromatic component changes from a minimum value to a maximum value, the achromatic component converting section starts to increase the luminance of the first group of primary colors first, and starts to increase the luminance of the second group of primary colors when the luminance of the first group of primary colors reaches a predetermined value.