Control of array of two-dimensional imaging elements in light modulating displays

• US 8,867,115 B2
• Filed: 07/20/2010
• Issued: 10/21/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 07/22/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Dolby Laboratories Licensing Corporation (Dolby Laboratories Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Dolby Laboratories Licensing Corporation (Dolby Laboratories Incorporated)
• Inventors: Margerm, Steve, Messmer, Neil W.
• Primary Examiner(s): Collins, Darryl J
• Assistant Examiner(s): O'NEILL, GARY WILLIAM
• Application Number:
  US13/384,864
• Publication Number:
  US 20120113498A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,554 Days
• Field of Search: 345 84- 87, 348/739, 348/795, 348/800, 348/801, 359/290, 359/291, 359/298, 359315-318
• US Class Current: 359/238
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2310/04 Partial updating of the display screen
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/0646 Modulation of illumination source brightness and image signal correlated to each other
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/3426 the different display panel areas being distributed in two dimensions, e.g. matrix
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/3644 with the matrix divided into sections
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/3666 with the matrix divided into sections

Abstract

Light emitting elements in an illumination unit of a display may be blanked during updates of pixels of a spatial light modulator (SLM). Updates of pixels in different segments of the SLM may be coordinated with blanking of corresponding segments of the illumination unit. Updating of segments of a light source (30A-30D) may be coordinated so that not all segments are updated in each frame (34A-37D) of a video.

Claims

1. A display for displaying a sequence of frames of image data, the display comprising:

a light source comprising a plurality of light source segments placed across a backplane area, each light source segment comprising a plurality of individually-controllable light emitters, wherein the set of light source segments partition said backplane area into a set of substantially non-overlapping spatial segments;

a spatial light modulator comprising a plurality of SLM segments, each SLM segment comprising a plurality of individually-controllable elements and corresponding to one or more light source segments containing one or more light emitters physically arranged to contribute to illumination of at least one of the plurality of individually-controllable elements of the SLM segment; and

a controller configured to update, for a first frame, the SLM segments according to a first order and, for a second frame, to update the SLM segments according to a second order;

wherein the first order is different from the second order, and each SLM segment update is derived with consideration of light characteristics of its corresponding light source segment(s) that vary from one light source segment to another in a same frame.

2. A display according to claim 1 wherein the controller is configured to blank one or more light source segments to which an SLM segment corresponds while updating the SLM segment.

3. A display according to claim 1 wherein the controller is configured to update one or more light source segments to which an SLM segment corresponds while updating the SLM segment.

4. A display according to claim 1 wherein the controller is configured to determine the order for updating the SLM segments based at least in part on the image data.

5. A display according to claim 1 wherein the controller is configured to update a subset of the SLM segments corresponding to parts of a frame that differ more from a previous frame than other parts of the frame.

6. A display according to claim 1 wherein the controller is configured to update a subset of the SLM segments that have not been updated for at least a threshold number of frames.

7. A display according to claim 1 wherein the controller is configured to compute desired driving values for the light source segments from image data for a current frame and to update a subset of the light source segments for which the desired driving values differ most from current driving values for the light source segments.

8. A display according to claim 1 wherein the controller is configured to update a subset of the light source segments that have not been updated for at least a threshold number of frames.

9. A display according to claim 1 wherein the controller is configured to update a fraction 1/n of the SLM segments for each frame of the sequence of frames, where n is an integer in the range of 2 to 10.

10. A display according to claim 1 wherein the controller is configured to update the SLM segments in a rolling pattern.

11. A display according to claim 1 wherein the controller is configured to update the SLM segments in a cascading pattern.

12. A display according to claim 1 comprising a light field simulator configured to estimate the light provided by the illumination source to the SLM segments for a given set of driving values, wherein:

the controller is configured to apply the estimates generated by the light field simulator in updating the SLM segments;

the controller is configured to determine to the light field simulator light source segments that will be updated for a frame; and

the controller is configured to re-use existing light field estimates for SLM segments that correspond to light source segments not being updated for the frame.

13. A display according to claim 1 comprising a correspondence manager configured to maintain configurable correspondence relationships, each correspondence relationship associating an SLM segment and one or more light source segments containing one or more light emitters physically arranged to contribute to illumination of at least one of the plurality of individually-controllable elements of the SLM segment.

14. A display according to claim 1 wherein the individually-controllable elements of the SLM are physically arranged in rows and at least two of the SLM segments comprise different sets of individually-controllable elements from a single one of the rows.

15. A display according to claim 1 wherein the SLM segments are physically arranged in a sequence.

16. A display according to claim 15 wherein the sequence in which the SLM segments are arranged begins with a SLM segment including a top left corner of the display and ends with a SLM segment including a bottom right corner of the display.

17. A method for controlling a display to display a sequence of frames, the display comprising:

a light source comprising a plurality of light source segments placed across a backplane area, each light source segment comprising a plurality of individually-controllable light emitters, wherein the set of light source segments partition said backplane area into a set of substantially non-overlapping spatial segments;

a spatial light modulator comprising a plurality of SLM segments, each SLM segment comprising a plurality of individually-controllable elements and corresponding to one or more light source segments containing one or more light emitters physically arranged to contribute to illumination of at least one of the plurality of individually-controllable elements of the SLM segment;

the method comprising;

for a first frame, updating the SLM segments according to a first order; and

for a second frame, updating the SLM segments according to a second order;

wherein the first order is different from the second order and each SLM segment update is derived with consideration of light characteristics of its corresponding light source segment(s) that vary from one light source segment to another.

18. A method according to claim 17 comprising blanking one or more light source segments to which an SLM segment corresponds while updating the SLM segment.

19. A method according to claim 17 comprising updating one or more light source segments to which an SLM segment corresponds while updating the SLM segment.

20. A method according to claim 17 comprising, for a third frame, updating a subset of the SLM segments.

21. A method according to claim 20 wherein the subset of SLM segments corresponds to parts of the third frame that differ more as between the third frame and a previous frame than other parts of the third frame.

22. A method according to claim 20 wherein the subset of SLM segments comprises SLM segments that have not been updated for at least a threshold number of frames.

23. A method according to claim 17 comprising for the first frame updating a subset of the light source segments for which the desired driving values differ most from current driving values for the light source segments.

24. A method according to claim 17 comprising for the first frame updating a subset of the light source segments that have not been updated for at least a threshold number of frames.