Display control apparatus and method, and program

• US 8,890,792 B2
• Filed: 04/10/2009
• Issued: 11/18/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 04/11/2008
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Saturn Licensing LLC (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Hiramatsu, Takeshi, Asano, Mitsuyasu, Inada, Tetsuji, Nishida, Koji
• Primary Examiner(s): Bukowski, Kenneth
• Application Number:
  US12/451,964
• Publication Number:
  US 20100117948A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,048 Days
• Field of Search: 345/102
• US Class Current: 345/102
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/0646 Modulation of illumination source brightness and image signal correlated to each other
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2360/16 Calculation or use of calculated indices related to luminance levels in display data
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/3426 the different display panel areas being distributed in two dimensions, e.g. matrix

Abstract

A display control apparatus may include a necessary light emission level calculation unit that calculates a necessary attention block light emission level of a back light in an attention block which satisfies a necessary luminance based on an image signal. A first neighborhood block light emission level calculation unit may calculate a light emission level of first neighborhood blocks which satisfies a deficient luminance by a light emission contribution amount to the attention block through light emission in first neighborhood blocks of the attention block which satisfies the deficient luminance by the back light in the attention block. The back light in the attention block emits the light at the largest light emission level at which the light can be emitted and back lights in the first neighborhood blocks emit the light at the first neighborhood block light emission level.

Claims

1. A display control apparatus comprising:

necessary attention block light emission level calculation means configured to calculate, based on an image signal of an image to be displayed, a light emission level by a back light in an attention block among back lights composed of a plurality of blocks, respectively, in which the back lights emit light at a time of emitting light by the back light in the attention block in accordance with a light emission profile thereof as a necessary attention block light emission level, wherein the necessary attention block light emission level is determined based on a contribution rate indicated by a light emission profile with respect to the block of the plurality of blocks corresponding to the attention block and with respect to a necessary luminance based on the image signal;

necessary first neighborhood block light emission level calculation means configured to calculate, in a case where a largest light emission level at which light can be emitted by the back light in the attention block, the largest light emission level determined from the light emission profile for the attention block, is less than the necessary attention block light emission level such that a deficient luminance with respect to the necessary luminance exists, a light emission level of first neighborhood blocks at a time of emitting light by back lights in the first neighborhood blocks in accordance with respective light emission profiles thereof as a necessary first neighborhood block light emission level, wherein the necessary first neighborhood block light emission level is determined from contribution rates to the attention block indicated by respective light emission profiles of the first neighborhood blocks to compensate for the deficient luminance with respect to the necessary luminance and corresponds to a light emission contribution amount to the attention block through light emission in the first neighborhood blocks in a neighborhood of the attention block which compensates for the deficient luminance by the back light in the attention block,

wherein the necessary first neighborhood block emission level is determined using at least one of a largest value of a contribution rate to the attention block of an outermost peripheral part of the first neighborhood blocks or a unified contribution rate based on an average distance of the first neighborhood blocks to the attention block; and

back light light-emission control means configured to cause the back light in the attention block to emit the light at the largest light emission level at which the light can be emitted and the back lights in the first neighborhood blocks to emit the light at the necessary first neighborhood block light emission level.

2. The display control apparatus according to claim 1 further comprising:

necessary second neighborhood block light emission level calculation means configured to calculate, in a case where a largest light emission level at which the light can be emitted by the back lights in the first neighborhood blocks is less than the necessary first neighborhood block light emission level, a light emission level of second neighborhood blocks at a time of emitting light by back lights in the second neighborhood blocks in accordance with respective light emission profiles thereof as a necessary second neighborhood block light emission level, wherein the necessary second neighborhood block light emission level is determined from contribution rates to the attention block indicated by respective light emission profiles of the second neighborhood blocks to compensate for the deficient luminance with respect to the necessary luminance and corresponds to a light emission contribution amount to the attention block through light emission in the second neighborhood blocks in a neighborhood of the attention block and a neighborhood farther than the first neighborhood blocks,

wherein the back light light-emission control means causes the back light in the attention block and the back lights in the first neighborhood blocks to emit the light at the respective largest light emission levels and the back lights in the second neighborhood blocks to emit the light at the necessary second neighborhood block light emission level.

3. The display control apparatus according to claim 2 further comprising:

first weight addition means configured to add a weight on the light emission level of the first neighborhood blocks, the light emission level of the first neighborhood blocks being calculated by the necessary first neighborhood block light emission level calculation means, wherein the weight corresponds to a predetermined set shape of the light spread from the attention block.

4. The display control apparatus according to claim 3 further comprising:

second weight addition means configured to add a weight on the light emission level of the second neighborhood blocks, the light emission level of the second neighborhood blocks being calculated by the necessary second neighborhood block light emission level calculation unit, wherein the weight corresponds to the predetermined set shape of the light spread from the attention block.

5. A display control method comprising:

a necessary attention block light emission level calculation step of calculating, based on an image signal of an image to be displayed, a light emission level by a back light in an attention block among back lights composed of a plurality of blocks, respectively, in which the back lights emit light at a time of emitting light by the back light in the attention block in accordance with a light emission profile thereof as a necessary attention block light emission level, wherein the necessary attention block light emission level is determined based on a contribution rate indicated by a light emission profile with respect to the block of the plurality of blocks corresponding to the attention block and with respect to a necessary luminance based on the image signal;

a necessary first neighborhood block light emission level calculation step of calculating, in a case where a largest light emission level at which light can be emitted by the back light in the attention block, the largest light emission level determined from the light emission profile for the attention block, is less than the necessary attention block light emission level such that a deficient luminance with respect to the necessary luminance exists, a light emission level of first neighborhood blocks at a time of emitting light by back lights in the first neighborhood blocks in accordance with respective light emission profiles thereof as a necessary first neighborhood block light emission level, wherein the necessary first neighborhood block light emission level is determined from contribution rates to the attention block indicated by respective light emission profiles of the first neighborhood blocks to compensate for the deficient luminance with respect to the necessary luminance and corresponds to a light emission contribution amount to the attention block through light emission in the first neighborhood blocks in a neighborhood of the attention block which compensates for deficient luminance by the back light in the attention block,

wherein the necessary first neighborhood block emission level is determined using at least one of a largest value of a contribution rate to the attention block of an outermost peripheral part of the first neighborhood blocks or a unified contribution rate based on an average distance of the first neighborhood blocks to the attention block; and

a back light light-emission control step of causing the back light in the attention block to emit the light at the largest light emission level at which the light can be emitted and the back lights in the first neighborhood blocks to emit the light at the necessary first neighborhood block light emission level.

6. A non-transitory storage medium recorded with a program for causing a computer to execute a processing comprising:

a necessary attention block light emission level calculation step of calculating, based on an image signal of an image to be displayed, a light emission level by a back light in an attention block among back lights composed of a plurality of blocks, respectively, in which the back lights emit light at a time of emitting light by the back light in the attention block in accordance with a light emission profile thereof as a necessary attention block light emission level, wherein the necessary attention block light emission level is determined based on a contribution rate indicated by a light emission profile with respect to the block of the plurality of blocks corresponding to the attention block and with respect to a necessary luminance based on the image signal;

a necessary first neighborhood block light emission level calculation step of calculating, in a case where a largest light emission level at which light can be emitted by the back light in the attention block, the largest light emission level determined from the light emission profile for the attention block, is less than the necessary attention block light emission level such that a deficient luminance with respect to the necessary luminance exists, a light emission level of first neighborhood blocks at a time of emitting light by back lights in the first neighborhood blocks in accordance with respective light emission profiles thereof as a necessary first neighborhood block light emission level, wherein the necessary first neighborhood block light emission level is determined from contribution rates to the attention block indicated by respective light emission profiles of the first neighborhood blocks to compensate for the deficient luminance with respect to the necessary luminance and corresponds to a light emission contribution amount to the attention block through light emission in the first neighborhood blocks in a neighborhood of the attention block which compensates for the deficient luminance by the back light in the attention block,

wherein the necessary first neighborhood block emission level is determined using at least one of a largest value of a contribution rate to the attention block of an outermost peripheral part of the first neighborhood blocks or a unified contribution rate based on an average distance of the first neighborhood blocks to the attention block; and

a back light light-emission control step of causing the back light in the attention block to emit the light at the largest light emission level at which the light can be emitted and the back lights in the first neighborhood blocks to emit the light at the necessary first neighborhood block light emission level.

7. A display control apparatus comprising:

necessary attention block light emission level calculation means configured to set a back light among back lights, the back lights composed of a plurality of blocks, respectively, in which the back lights emit light, based on an image signal of an image to be displayed, and to calculate a light emission level by the set back light in an attention block at a time of emitting light by the set back light in the attention block in accordance with a light emission profile thereof as a necessary attention block light emission level, wherein the necessary attention block light emission level is determined based on a contribution rate indicated by a light emission profile with respect to the block of the plurality of blocks corresponding to the attention block and with respect to a necessary luminance based on the image signal; and

back light light-emission control means configured to cause the set back light in the attention block to emit light at the largest light emission level at which the light can be emitted and back lights respectively in the first neighborhood blocks to emit the light at a necessary first neighborhood block light emission level to compensate for an amount that a largest light emission level at which light can be emitted by the set back light in the attention block, the largest light level of the set back light in the attention block determined from the light emission profile for the attention block, is less than the necessary attention block light emission level such that a deficient luminance with respect to the necessary luminance is suppressed,

wherein the necessary first neighborhood block light emission level is determined at a time of emitting light by back lights in the first neighborhood blocks in accordance with respective light emission profiles thereof and from contribution rates to the attention block indicated by respective light emission profiles of the first neighborhood blocks to compensate for the deficient luminance with respect to the necessary luminance and corresponds to a light emission contribution amount to the attention block through light emission in the first neighborhood blocks in a neighborhood of the attention block which compensates for the deficient luminance by the set back light in the attention block,

wherein the necessary first neighborhood block emission level is determined using at least one of a largest value of a contribution rate to the attention block of an outermost peripheral part of the first neighborhood blocks or a unified contribution rate based on an average distance of the first neighborhood blocks to the attention block.