Method and apparatus for controlling screen brightness corresponding to variation of illumination

• US 9,424,804 B2
• Filed: 09/30/2013
• Issued: 08/23/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 09/28/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Kim, Kyoungmo, Jung, Hansub, Park, Wansang, Kang, Dongwook, Jang, Seongji
• Primary Examiner(s): AMIN, JWALANT B
• Application Number:
  US14/041,778
• Publication Number:
  US 20140092119A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,058 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/0626 for control of overall brightness
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/0653 Controlling or limiting the speed of brightness adjustment of the illumination source
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2360/144 the light being ambient light
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/20 for presentation of an assembly of a number of characters, e.g. a page, by composing the assembly by combination of individual elements arranged in a matrix no fixed position being assigned to or needed to be assigned to the individual characters or partial characters
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/3406 Control of illumination source illumination devices structurally associated with liquid crystal cells G02F1/1336
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/10 Intensity circuits

Abstract

A method of controlling a screen brightness in a user device includes determining an illumination when a display unit is turned on, determining an optimal brightness according to the illumination and displaying according to the optimal brightness during an illumination change, determining an illumination when the current optimal brightness reaches a threshold, and determining an optimal brightness in the determined illumination and controlling a screen display according to the optimal brightness.

Claims

1. A method of controlling a screen brightness in a user device, the method comprising:

detecting a first illumination when a display unit is turned on;

determining a first optimal brightness corresponding to the first illumination with reference to a first profile of a plurality of predefined brightness profiles for respective illuminations, and controlling the screen brightness to be the first optimal brightness;

maintaining, in response to an illumination change being detected, the screen brightness as the first optimal brightness;

detecting, a second illumination corresponding to the first optimal brightness with reference to a second profile of the plurality of predefined brightness profiles; and

determining, in response to the illumination change reaching the second illumination, a second optimal brightness corresponding to the second illumination with reference to the first profile, and controlling the screen brightness to be the second optimal brightness.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of predefined brightness profiles for the respective illuminations include a minimum brightness profile, an optimal brightness profile, and a maximum brightness profile, and

wherein the first profile is the optimal brightness profile, and the second profile is the minimum brightness profile or the maximum brightness profile.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein detecting the second illumination comprises:

detecting an illumination at which the first optimal brightness becomes less than or equal to the screen brightness corresponding to the minimum brightness profile when the illumination increases, wherein the threshold is the detected illumination, and

wherein the screen brightness corresponding to the optimal brightness profile in the detected illumination is determined as the second optimal brightness according to the illumination change.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein detecting the second illumination comprises:

detecting an illumination at which the first optimal brightness becomes greater than or equal to the screen brightness corresponding to the maximum brightness profile when the illumination decreases, wherein the threshold is the detected illumination, and

wherein the screen brightness corresponding to the optimal brightness profile at the detected illumination is determined as the second optimal brightness according to the illumination change.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein maintaining the screen brightness as the first optimal brightness comprises:

analyzing whether the illumination change corresponds to a noise-type illumination change when the illumination change is detected.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the noise-type illumination change includes an illumination change that is generated as an illumination sensor is covered when a user uses the user device, and an illumination change that is generated as an angle between the user device and a light source is changed.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein maintaining the screen brightness as the first optimal brightness comprises:

maintaining the screen brightness as the first optimal brightness if the illumination change corresponds to the noise-type illumination change; and

controlling the screen brightness maintained as the first optimal brightness when the changed illumination reaches the threshold of the plurality of predefined brightness profiles.

8. The method of claim 5, further comprises sensing a criterion state of sensing the illumination change according to a change-sensing sensitivity.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of predefined brightness profiles for the respective illuminations include a minimum brightness profile, a dark adaptation optimal brightness profile, an optimal brightness profile, a light adaptation optimal brightness profile, and a maximum brightness profile.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein detecting the second illumination comprises:

detecting an illumination at which the first optimal brightness becomes less than or equal to the screen brightness corresponding to the minimum brightness profile when the illumination increases, wherein the threshold is the detected illumination, and

wherein the screen brightness corresponding to the light adaptation optimal brightness profile at the detected illumination is determined as the second optimal brightness according to the illumination change.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein detecting the second illumination comprises:

detecting an illumination at which the first optimal brightness becomes greater than or equal to the screen brightness corresponding to the maximum brightness profile when the illumination decreases, wherein the threshold is the detected illumination, and

wherein the screen brightness corresponding to the dark adaptation optimal brightness profile at the detected illumination is determined as the second optimal brightness according to the illumination change.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein the screen brightness of the light adaptation optimal brightness profile is less than the screen brightness of the optimal brightness profile at a same illumination, and the screen brightness of the dark adaptation optimal brightness profile is greater than the screen brightness of the optimal brightness profile at a same illumination.

13. The method of claim 9, wherein the changed illumination measured by an illumination sensor in a light adaptation is reflected in the screen brightness in a shorter time than in a dark adaptation, and the changed illumination measured by the illumination sensor in the dark adaptation is reflected in the screen brightness in a longer time than in the light adaptation, so as to secure a sufficient dark adaptation time.

14. A method of controlling a screen brightness in a user device, the method comprising:

detecting an illumination when a screen is turned on, and determining a first optimal brightness corresponding to the illumination with reference to an optimal brightness profile of a plurality of brightness profiles for respective illuminations;

controlling the screen brightness to be the determined first optimal brightness;

detecting an illumination change during the screen brightness is controlled to be the determined first optimal brightness;

determining whether the illumination change corresponds to a noise-type illumination change;

performing an exceptional process for the noise-type illumination change if the illumination change corresponds to the noise-type illumination change;

determining whether an adaptation mode that considers characteristics of a user'"'"'s vision angle is set after performing the exceptional process for the noise-type illumination change, or when the illumination change does not correspond to the noise-type illumination change;

detecting a second illumination corresponding to the determined first optimal brightness with reference to a minimum or maximum profile of the plurality of predefined brightness profiles, and determining a second optimal brightness corresponding to the illumination change based on the optimal brightness profile of the plurality of brightness profiles when the illumination change reaches the second illumination, if the adaptation mode has not been set;

detecting the second illumination corresponding to the determined first optimal brightness with reference to the minimum or maximum profile of the plurality of predefined brightness profiles, and determining an adaptation optimal brightness corresponding to the illumination change based on an adaptation optimal brightness profile of the plurality of brightness profiles when the illumination change reaches the third illumination, if the adaptation mode has been set; and

controlling the screen brightness to be the determined second optimal brightness or the determined adaptation optimal brightness.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the second optimal brightness is determined with reference to the plurality of brightness profiles including a minimum brightness profile, the optimal brightness profile, and a maximum brightness profile when the adaptation mode has not been set, and

wherein the adaptation optimal brightness is determined with reference to the plurality of brightness profiles including a minimum brightness profile, a dark adaptation optimal brightness profile, the optimal brightness profile, a light adaptation optimal brightness profile, and a maximum brightness profile when the adaptation mode has been set.

16. The method of claim 14, further comprises sensing a criterion state of sensing the illumination change according to a change-sensing sensitivity.

17. A user device, comprising:

an illumination sensor configured to measure an illumination surrounding the user device;

a display unit configured to display a screen corresponding to a screen brightness determined according to the surrounding illumination;

a storage unit configured to store a plurality of brightness profiles for respective illuminations; and

a controller configured to;

control the screen brightness by determining a first optimal brightness according to a first illumination when the display unit is turned on with reference to a first profile of the plurality of brightness profiles;

maintain, in response to an illumination change being detected, the screen brightness as the first optimal brightness, and detect a second illumination corresponding to the first optimal brightness with reference to a second profile of the plurality of brightness profiles;

determine a second optimal brightness corresponding to the second illumination with reference to a third profile of the plurality of brightness profiles in response to the illumination change reaching the second illumination; and

control the screen brightness to be the second optimal brightness.

18. The user device of claim 17, wherein the plurality of brightness profiles for the respective illuminations include a minimum brightness profile, a dark adaptation optimal brightness profile, an optimal brightness profile, a light adaptation optimal brightness profile, and a maximum brightness profile, and

wherein the first profile is the optimal brightness profile, the second profile is the minimum brightness profile or the maximum brightness profile, and the third profile is the dark adaptation optimal brightness profile or the light adaptation optimal brightness profile.

19. The user device of claim 17, wherein the controller is further configured to:

analyze whether the illumination change is a noise-type illumination change when the illumination change is detected, and maintain the first optimal brightness if the illumination change is a noise-type illumination change; and

determine the second optimal brightness corresponding to the second illumination when the changed illumination reaches the threshold of the plurality of brightness profiles for respective illuminations while maintaining the screen brightness as the first optimal brightness.

20. The user device of claim 19, wherein the controller is further configured to sense the noise-type illumination change according to a change-sensing sensitivity, which defines a criterion state of sensing the illumination change.

21. The user device of claim 17, wherein the controller is further configured to determine the second optimal brightness according to the illumination change based on an optimal brightness profile of the plurality of brightness profiles in an adaptation mode non-setting state, and determine the second optimal brightness according to the illumination change based on an adaptation optimal brightness profile of the plurality of brightness profiles in an adaptation mode setting state.

22. The user device of claim 21, wherein in a light adaptation, the controller is further configured to reflect the changed illumination measured by the illumination sensor in the screen brightness in a shorter time compared to a dark adaptation, and in the dark adaptation, the controller is further configured to reflect the changed illumination measured by the illumination sensor in the screen brightness in a longer time compared to the light adaptation, so as to secure a sufficient dark adaptation time.

23. A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium having recorded thereon a method of controlling a screen brightness in a user device, the method comprising:

detecting a first illumination when a display unit is turned on;

determining a first optimal brightness corresponding to the first illumination with reference to a first profile of a plurality of predefined brightness profiles for respective illuminations, and controlling the screen brightness to be the first optimal brightness;

maintaining, in response to an illumination change being detected, the screen brightness as the first optimal brightness;

detecting a second illumination corresponding to the first optimal brightness with reference to a second profile of the plurality of predefined brightness profiles; and

determining, in response to the illumination change reaching the second illumination, a second optimal brightness corresponding to the second illumination with reference to the first profile, and controlling the screen brightness to be the second optimal brightness.