Timing controller with frequency modulation, converter with frequency modulation for scanning-based backlight unit module, and control system for 3D display

• US 8,957,834 B2
• Filed: 11/16/2011
• Issued: 02/17/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 05/13/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: InnoLux Corporation
• Original Assignee: InnoLux Corporation
• Inventors: Tsai, Yung-Yu, Shen, Wei-Chih
• Primary Examiner(s): Snyder, Adam J
• Application Number:
  US13/298,193
• Publication Number:
  US 20120287119A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,189 Days
• Field of Search: 345/6, 345/102, 345/419
• US Class Current: 345/6
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2310/024 Scrolling of light from the illumination source over the display in combination with the scanning of the display screen
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2310/08 Details of timing specific for flat panels, other than clock recovery
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/062 Adjustment of illumination source parameters
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/064 by time modulation of the brightness of the illumination source
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/0435 Change or adaptation of the frame rate of the video stream
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2360/18 Use of a frame buffer in a display terminal, inclusive of the display panel
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/003 to produce spatial visual effects
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/342 using several illumination sources separately controlled corresponding to different display panel areas, e.g. along one dimension such as lines
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/3611 Control of matrices with row and column drivers
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/005 Adapting incoming signals to the display format of the display terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/341 using temporal multiplexing
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/356 having separate monoscopic and stereoscopic modes
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/398 Synchronisation thereof; Control thereof
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/0127 by changing the field or frame frequency of the incoming video signal, e.g. frame rate converter

Abstract

Timing controller with frequency modulation, converter with frequency modulation for scanning-based backlight unit module, and control system for 3D display. A timing controller with frequency modulation performs display frequency modulation of a first frame rate of a first display signal and outputs a second display signal at a second frame rate greater than or substantially equal to the first frame rate for presentation by a 3D display in a 3D mode or a 2D mode, selectively. A converter with frequency modulation performs scanning frequency modulation of a first scanning frequency of a first control signal generated from the converter and outputs a second control signal at a second scanning frequency greater than or substantially equal to the first scanning frequency, selectively, for controlling the scanning-based backlight unit module of the 3D display.

Claims

1. A timing controller with frequency modulation, comprising:

a frame rate detection unit detecting a first frame rate of a first display signal that is a frequency signal, and in response to the first display signal, outputting a detection signal indicating the first frame rate of the first display signal; and

a display frequency modulation unit, coupled to the frame rate detection unit, the display frequency modulation unit, in response to the first display signal and the detection signal, outputting a second display signal at a second frame rate greater than or substantially equal to the first frame rate selectively,

wherein the second display signal indicates digital signals for presentation by a display in a 3D mode in which the second frame rate is greater than the first frame rate and the second display signal indicates digital signals for presentation by a display in a 2D mode in which the second frame rate is substantially equal to the first frame rate, and

wherein the display frequency modulation unit comprises a 2D/3D format processing unit, in response to the first display signal and the first frame rate multiplied by n, performing motion estimation or motion compensation or interpolation for generating the second display signal at the second frame rate with n greater than 1 in the 3D mode or n substantially equal to 1 in the 2D mode selectively.

2. The timing controller with frequency modulation according to claim 1, wherein the display frequency modulation unit further comprises:

a frequency multiplier, in response to the detection signal indicating a frequency f of the first frame rate, outputting the first time rate multiplied by n.

3. The timing controller with frequency modulation according to claim 2, further comprising:

a memory, coupled to the 2D/3D format processing unit, buffering data produced by the 2D/3D format processing unit.

4. The timing controller with frequency modulation according to claim 1, wherein the display frequency modulation unit further generates a plurality of control signals for enabling a scanning-based backlight module to control different regions of a backlight module.

5. The timing controller with frequency modulation according to claim 4, wherein the display frequency modulation unit outputs the control signals through a serial communication interface.

6. A control system for a 3D display with scanning-based backlight, comprising:

a timing controller with frequency modulation for a display panel of the 3D display, the timing controller detecting a first frame rate of a first display signal that is a frequency signal, and in response to the first display signal, outputting a second display signal at a second frame rate greater than or substantially equal to the first frame rate selectively and outputting a first control signal indicating signals at a first scanning frequency for controlling a scanning-based backlight unit module of the 3D display, wherein the second display signal indicates digital signals for presentation by a display panel of the 3D display in a 3D mode in which the second frame rate is greater than the first frame rate and the second display signal indicates digital signals for presentation by the display panel of the 3D display in a 2D mode in which the second frame rate is substantially equal to the first frame rate, wherein the timing controller comprises a display frequency modulation unit, which comprises a 2D/3D format processing unit, in response to the first display signal and the first frame rate multiplied by n, performing motion estimation or motion compensation or interpolation for generating the second display signal at the second frame rate with n greater than 1 in the 3D mode or n substantially equal to 1 in the 2D mode selectively; and

a converter with frequency modulation for the scanning-based backlight unit module, the converter, in response to the first control signal, outputting a second control signal at a second scanning frequency greater than or substantially equal to the first scanning frequency selectively, wherein the second control signal indicates signals for controlling scanning-based backlight unit module, wherein the second frame rate corresponds to the first scanning frequency.

7. The control system according to claim 6, wherein the converter comprising:

a scanning frequency modulation unit, in response to the first control signal, outputting an intermediate control signal indicating control signals at the second scanning frequency greater than or substantially equal to the first scanning frequency selectively; and

a power converter, in response to the intermediate control signal, outputting the second control signal at the second scanning frequency.

8. The control system according to claim 7, wherein the scanning frequency modulation unit comprises:

a power controller; and

a processing unit, in response to the second scanning frequency and the first control signal, controlling the power controller to output the intermediate control signal.

9. The control system according to claim 8, wherein the scanning frequency modulation unit further comprises:

a frequency detection unit, in response to the first control signal, outputting a detection signal indicating the first scanning frequency at which the signals for controlling the scanning-based backlight unit module of the 3D display are; and

a frequency multiplier, in response to the detection signal indicating a frequency fs1 of the first scanning frequency, outputting the second scanning frequency of m multiplied by fs1, wherein m is greater than or substantially equal to 1.

10. The control system according to claim 9, wherein the scanning frequency modulation unit further comprises:

a communication interface unit for receiving the first control signal; and

a decoder, coupled between the communication interface unit and the frequency detection unit, for decoding the first control signal compliant with an interface format and outputting corresponding raw data of the first control signal.

11. The control system according to claim 6, wherein the timing controller further comprises:

a frame rate detection unit, in response to the first display signal, outputting a detection signal indicating the first frame rate at which the first display signal is,

wherein the display frequency modulation unit is coupled to the frame rate detection unit, and the display frequency modulation unit, in response to the first display signal and the detection signal, outputs the second display signal at the second frame rate greater than or substantially equal to the first frame rate selectively and outputs the first control signal.

12. The control system according to claim 11, wherein the display frequency modulation unit further comprises:

a frequency multiplier, in response to the detection signal indicating a frequency f of the first frame rate, outputting the first frame rate multiply by n; and

a control unit for outputting the first control signal.

13. The control system according to claim 12, further comprising:

a memory, coupled to the 2D/3D format processing unit, buffering data produced by the 2D/3D format processing unit.

14. The control system according to claim 11, wherein the display frequency modulation unit further generates a plurality of control signals to control different regions of the scanning-based backlight unit module.

15. The control system according to claim 14, wherein the display frequency modulation unit outputs the control signals through a serial communication interface.

16. A method for providing display signals and control signals for a 3D display with scanning-based backlight, comprising:

(a) detecting a first frame rate of a first display signal that is a frequency signal, and in response to the first display signal, outputting, by a timing controller, a second display signal at a second frame rate greater than or substantially equal to the first frame rate selectively and outputting a first control signal indicating signals at a first scanning frequency for controlling a scanning-based backlight unit module of the 3D display, wherein the second display signal indicates digital signals for presentation by a display panel of the 3D display in a 3D mode in which the second frame rate is greater than the first frame rate and the second display signal indicates digital signals for presentation by the display panel of the 3D display in a 2D mode in which the second frame rate is substantially equal to the first frame rate, wherein the timing controller comprises a display frequency modulation unit, which comprises a 2D/3D format processing unit, in response to the first display signal and the first frame rate multiplied by n, performing motion estimation or motion compensation or interpolation for generating the second display signal at the second frame rate with n greater than 1 in the 3D mode or n substantially equal to 1 in the 2D mode selectively; and

(b) in response to the first control signal, outputting, by a converter with frequency modulation for the scanning-based backlight unit module, a second control signal at a second scanning frequency greater than or substantially equal to the first scanning frequency selectively, wherein the second control signal indicates signals for controlling scanning-based backlight unit module, wherein the second frame rate corresponds to the first scanning frequency.

17. The method according to claim 16, wherein the step (a) comprises:

in response to the first display signal, outputting, by a frequency detection unit, a detection signal indicating the first frame rate at which the first display signal is; and

in response to the detection signal indicating a frequency f of the first frame rate, outputting, by a frequency multiplier, the first frame rate multiplied by n; and

outputting, by the timing controller, the first control signal for controlling the scanning-based backlight unit module.

18. The method according to claim 16, wherein the step (b) comprises:

in response to the first control signal, outputting an intermediate control signal indicating control signals at the second scanning frequency greater than or substantially equal to the first scanning frequency selectively; and

in response to the intermediate control signal, outputting, by a power converter, the second control signal at the second scanning frequency.

19. The method according to claim 18, wherein the step of outputting the intermediate control signal comprises:

in response to the first control signal, outputting a detection signal indicating the first scanning frequency at which the signals for controlling the scanning-based backlight unit module of the 3D display are; and

in response to the detection signal indicating a frequency fs1 of the first scanning frequency, outputting the second scanning frequency of m multiplied by fs1, wherein m is greater than or substantially equal to 1.

20. The method according to claim 16, wherein the first control signal is outputted through a serial communication interface.