Display apparatus and method of controlling the same

• US 8,791,964 B2
• Filed: 08/13/2010
• Issued: 07/29/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 03/24/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Park, Jae-sung, Ha, Tae-hyeun, Kim, Hyung-rae
• Primary Examiner(s): Bost, Dwayne
• Assistant Examiner(s): MICHAUD, ROBERT J
• Application Number:
  US12/855,768
• Publication Number:
  US 20110234643A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,446 Days
• Field of Search: 345/211, 345/77, 345/690
• US Class Current: 345/690
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/062 Adjustment of illumination source parameters
• 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 2330/021 Power management, e.g. power saving
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/10 Intensity circuits

Abstract

A display apparatus and method of controlling the same are disclosed, the display apparatus including: a display unit; an image processor configured to process an image and display the processed image on the display unit; and a controller configured to control the image processor to adjust a brightness of an inattentive area of the image displayed on the display unit depending on whether a user is able to recognize a corresponding brightness change, determined based on image information, such that the controller controls the image processor to adjust the brightness of the inattentive area if the controller determines, based on the image information, that the user is not able to recognize the corresponding brightness change.

Claims

1. A display apparatus comprising:

a display unit;

an image processor configured to process an image and display the processed image on the display unit;

an image analysis unit configured to determine an attentive area and an inattentive area of the image by analyzing image information; and

an image control unit configured to control the image processor to adjust a brightness of the inattentive area of the image displayed on the display unit based on the analyzed image information,

wherein the image control unit determines whether or not the brightness can be adjusted in consideration of a psycho-visual characteristic of a user and compensates the gray scale of an area of an image where the brightness can be adjusted.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the image control unit controls the image processor to adjust the brightness of a portion of the inattentive area where a user is not able to recognize a brightness change based on the analyzed image information.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the image analysis unit determines the inattentive area based on at least one of a factor related to a specific area in the image and another factor related to whether effective image data exists therein.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the image analysis unit determines a central area of the image as an attentive area of the image and other areas of the image, except for the attentive area, as the inattentive area of the image.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the image information comprises a frequency, a contrast, and an edge characteristic of the image.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the image analysis unit determines an area of the inattentive area of the image having a frequency above a predetermined frequency level as an area where the user is not able to recognize the corresponding brightness change.

7. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the image analysis unit determines an area of the inattentive area of the image having a contrast below a predetermined contrast level as an area where the user is not able to recognize the corresponding brightness change.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the image analysis unit determines a brightness adjustment level of the inattentive area in consideration of whether a local dimming is performed.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the image control unit adjusts the brightness of the inattentive area of the image by controlling a gray scale of the image.

10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the display unit comprises a backlight, and the image control unit adjusts the brightness of the inattentive area of the image by controlling the backlight.

11. A method for controlling a display apparatus, the method comprising:

determining an attentive area of an image and an inattentive area of the image by analyzing image information;

adjusting a brightness of the inattentive area based on the analyzed image information; and

displaying the inattentive area according to the adjusted brightness,

wherein the brightness of the inattentive area is adjusted if determined that a user is not able to recognize a corresponding brightness change, and

wherein an area of the inattentive area of the image having a frequency above a predetermined frequency level is determined as an area where the user is not able to recognize the corresponding brightness change.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the brightness of a portion of the inattentive area where the user is not able to recognize the brightness change is adjusted based on the image information.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the inattentive area is determined based on at least one of a factor related to a specific area in the image and another factor related to whether effective image data exists.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein a central area of the image is determined as an attentive area of the image and other areas of the image, except for the attentive area, are determined as the inattentive area of the image.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein the image information comprises a frequency, a contrast, and an edge characteristic of the image.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein an area of the inattentive area of the image having a contrast below a predetermined contrast level is determined as an area where the user is not able to recognize the corresponding brightness change.

17. The method of claim 11, wherein a brightness adjustment level of the inattentive area is determined in consideration of whether a local dimming is performed.

18. The method of claim 11, wherein the brightness of the inattentive area of the image is adjusted by controlling a gray scale of the image.

19. The method of claim 11, wherein the display apparatus comprises a backlight, and the brightness of the inattentive area of the image is adjusted by controlling the backlight.

20. A display apparatus comprising:

a display unit;

an image processor which processes an image and displays the processed image on the display unit;

an image analysis unit configured to determine an attentive area and an inattentive area of the image by analyzing image information; and

an image control unit configured to control the image processor to adjust a brightness of the inattentive area of the image displayed on the display unit based on the analyzed image information,

wherein the image control unit determines whether or not the brightness can be adjusted in consideration of a psycho-visual characteristic of a user and compensates the gray scale of an area of an image where the brightness can be adjusted.

21. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the image analysis unit separates the image into the attentive area and the inattentive area which correspond to a central area and an edge area, respectively, such that the central area has a predetermined size and shape, and the edge area surrounds the central area.

22. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the image analysis unit analyzes the image by determining an input aspect ratio of the image and an output aspect ratio of the image, by comparing the input aspect ratio with the output aspect ratio, and by separating the image into the attentive area and the inattentive area based on a comparison result.

23. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein:

if the input aspect ratio is equal to the output aspect ratio, the image analysis unit separates the image into the attentive area and the inattentive area which correspond to a central area and an edge area, respectively, such that the central area has a predetermined size and shape, and the edge area surrounds the central area,

if the input aspect ratio is 4;

3 and the output aspect ratio is 16;

9, the image analysis unit separates the image into the attentive area and the inattentive area according to a pillar box arrangement such that the inattentive area includes a ride side and a left side of the image, and

the input aspect ratio is 16;

9 and the output aspect ratio is 4;

3, the image analysis unit separates the image into the attentive area and the inattentive area according to a letter box arrangement such that the inattentive area includes an upper side and a lower side of the image.

24. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the image analysis unit divides the inattentive area into a plurality of inattentive portions based on the image information related to the psycho-visual characteristic of the user, and

the image analysis unit determines a brightness adjustment level separately for each of the plurality of inattentive portions according to the image information of each of the plurality of inattentive portions.

25. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein the image control unit only adjusts the brightness of an inattentive portion of the plurality of inattentive portions if the inattentive portion has a frequency above a predetermined frequency level and has a contrast below a predetermined contrast level.