Sequence and timing control of writing and rewriting pixel memories with substantially lower data rate

• US 8,228,595 B2
• Filed: 11/06/2009
• Issued: 07/24/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 11/01/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ignite USA (Ignite)
• Original Assignee: Silicon Quest Kabushiki-Kaisha
• Inventors: Ishii, Fusao, Liu, YiQing
• Primary Examiner(s): PINKNEY, DAWAYNE
• Application Number:
  US12/590,372
• Publication Number:
  US 20100073270A1
• Time in Patent Office: 991 Days
• Field of Search: 359290-292, 359/198, 359223-225, 359/245, 359260-263, 359/298, 359/295, 359301-303, 359317-318
• US Class Current: 359/290
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 26/0841 the reflecting element being moved or deformed by electrostatic means
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/2037 with specific control of sub-frames corresponding to the least significant bits
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/2077 by a combination of two or more gradation control methods
• 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 2005/7466 Control circuits therefor
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/7458 the modulator being an array of deformable mirrors, e.g. digital micromirror device [DMD]
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/312 Driving therefor driving of electronic spatial light modulators in displays other than projection devices G09G3/34, G09G3/36; control of liquid crystal elements G02F1/133; control of micromechanical modulators G02B26/08

Abstract

A spatial light modulator driven with binary pulse-width-modulation requires very high data transfer rate to achieve high grayscale. This invention enables to reduce substantially the data transfer rate using non-sequential order of binary bits, wherein the combination of the sequences of binary bits is selected from the combinations which avoid simultaneous writing of multiple rows. The possible number of such combinations is astronomically large and mathematical programs were developed to find right combinations. These results were proposed.

Claims

1. An image display system implemented with a spatial light modulator (SLM) having a plurality of pixel elements to receive and apply image data of multiple bits to display image according to the image data, the image display system further comprising:

a controller to control a process of writing the image data into each of the pixel elements by dividing the image data of multiple bits into groups and writing each group of bits into the pixel element in a non-sequential order of significance of bit, neither in a order of from a most significant bit (MSB) to a least significant bit (LSB) nor from the LSB to the MSB, and without a writing conflict in writing said memory data into two pixel elements simultaneously during the process of writing.

2. The image display system of claim 1 wherein:

the pixel elements are configured as a pixel array having at least two rows of pixels.

3. The image display system of claim 2 wherein:

said controller controls the process of writing the image data to each of the pixels in each of said rows in a non-sequential order of significance.

4. The image display system of claim 1 wherein:

the pixel elements are configured as a pixel array having multiple rows of pixels; and

said controller controls the process of writing the image data to the pixels in different rows in a non-sequential order of significance.

5. The image display system of claim 2 wherein:

the pixel elements in each of the rows are divided into at least two groups; and

the controller controls the process of writing data into each of the rows and each of the two groups in a non-sequential order of significance; and

the controller controls the writing the group of pixels according a sequential order of a group number of each group.

6. The image display system of claim 2 wherein:

the pixel elements in each of the rows are divided into area groups according to a location of each of the pixels located at a different area in the pixel array and said controller controls the writing process of the image data in a non-sequential order in each of the groups according to the order of the area groups.

7. The image display system of claim 1 wherein:

the pixel elements in each of the rows are divided into groups consisted of interleaved lines.

8. The image display system of claim 1 wherein:

the pixel elements in each of the rows further comprises a micromirror whereby said SLM constituting a mirror device.