Spatial light modulator with storage reducer

• US 8,890,903 B2
• Filed: 12/20/2011
• Issued: 11/18/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 12/21/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Syndiant Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Syndiant Incorporated
• Inventors: Russell, Andrew Ian, Guttag, Karl Marion, Lund, Joshua Abraham, Waller, Craig Michael, Howard, James E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Tryder, Gregory J
• Application Number:
  US13/330,994
• Publication Number:
  US 20120154370A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,064 Days
• Field of Search: 348/14.13, 348/450, 382232-253, 382/166
• US Class Current: 345/690
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2300/0456 with a reflective area and a transmissive area combined in one pixel, such as in transflectance pixels
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/0266 Reduction of sub-frame artefacts
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/02 Handling of images in compressed format, e.g. JPEG, MPEG
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2354/00 Aspects of interface with display user
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/346 based on modulation of the reflection angle, e.g. micromirrors micromirrors devices per se G02B26/0833

Abstract

Described are devices and methods for reducing the need for storage on a display panel, for reducing the required bandwidth to a display panel, for increasing the light-on time for a display panel.

Claims

1. A device comprising a spatial light modulator comprising:

a pixel array, and a

plurality of processing elements,

wherein a pixel drive for each respective multi-primary color of each pixel of the pixel array is determined by one or more processing elements of the plurality of processing elements based on one or more multi-primary base values and one or more quantized sharpener values,

wherein the device comprises a partitioner for partitioning the pixel array into groups of pixels, and wherein a respective pixel drive for a respective multi-primary color for each pixel for each group of pixels of the pixel array is determined based on a common multi-primary base value, and

wherein the partitioner comprises a boundary shifter for altering partitioning of the pixel array between frames and/or fields displayed on a display device.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein there are a plurality of multi-primary colors for each pixel, and wherein a pixel drive for two or more of the multi-primary colors for each pixel is determined by the one or more processing elements based on a common sharpener value.

3. The device of claim 1, wherein the pixel array is for an RGB display, and a plurality of processing elements, and wherein each of the one or more multi-primary base values is for the color red, blue or green.

4. A device comprising a reconstructor for producing a reconstructed image based on pulse widths of pulses generated by the reconstructor,

wherein the pulse widths of the pulses are generated by the reconstructor based on a base image and a sharpener image,

wherein the sharpener image comprises quantized sharpener values,

wherein there is one quantized sharpener value for each pixel of the reconstructed image, and

wherein a first edge of each pulse is controlled by a base value and a second edge of each pulse is controlled by a decoded sharpener value.

5. The device of claim 4, wherein the reconstructor comprises a spatial light modulator.

6. The device of claim 4, wherein the reconstructor comprises hardware and/or software producing a pixel control signal form of a reconstructed image.

7. The device of claim 4, wherein the reconstructor comprises a plurality of processing elements for computing a plurality of control signals for multiple pixels at or about the same time.

8. The device of claim 4, wherein the device comprises a spatial light modulator comprising a pixel array of pixels, and wherein respective pixels of the pixel array are driven by reconstructor elements based on the base image and/or sharpener image.

9. The device of claim 4, wherein the device is a computer.

10. The device of claim 4, wherein the reconstructed image and the base image are in an RGB format.

11. A method comprising the following steps:

(a) producing a reconstructed image based on pulse widths of pulses, and

(b) displaying the reconstructed image on a visual display device, saving the reconstructed image to a storage medium and/or transmitting the reconstructed image to a computer,

wherein the pulse widths of the pulses are based on a base image and a sharpener image,

wherein the sharpener image comprises quantized sharpener values,

wherein there is one quantized sharpener value for each pixel of the reconstructed image, and

wherein a first edge of each pulse is controlled by a base value and a second edge of each pulse is controlled by a decoded sharpener value.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein step (b) comprises displaying the reconstructed image on a visual display device.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein step (b) comprises saving the reconstructed image to a storage medium.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein step (b) comprises transmitting the reconstructed image to a computer.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein the reconstructed image and the base image are in an RGB format.

16. A device comprising a reconstructor for producing a reconstructed image based on pulse widths of pulses generated by the reconstructor,

wherein the pulse widths of the pulses are generated by the reconstructor based on a base image and a sharpener image,

wherein at least one bit position of the base image is a color-locking indicator, wherein the sharpener image comprises quantized sharpener values,

wherein there is one quantized sharpener value for each pixel of the reconstructed image, and

wherein a first edge of each pulse is controlled by a base value and a second edge of each pulse is controlled by a decoded sharpener value.

17. The device of claim 16, wherein the reconstructed image and the base image are in an RGB format.