Automatic brightness control for displays

• US 9,940,902 B2
• Filed: 11/18/2016
• Issued: 04/10/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 03/13/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Original Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Inventors: Bell, Cynthia S.
• Primary Examiner(s): Siddiqui, Md Saiful A
• Application Number:
  US15/356,270
• Publication Number:
  US 20170069295A1
• Time in Patent Office: 508 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/0626 for control of overall brightness
• 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 5/10 Intensity circuits

Abstract

An automatic brightness adjustment for devices with displays includes the capability to assess ambient light. The assessment may be made using circuitry, such as a light meter circuit, by exploiting exposure control circuitry, or using other approaches. The ambient light value is sent to a brightness adjustment driver, which may employ a look-up table to keep track of brightness adjustments for particular ambient conditions. The look-up table may include distinct adjustment values.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

a display; and

a processor coupled to the display, the processor to determine a desired display brightness of the display in response to at least a predetermined eye adaptation to display brightness, a predetermined eye adaptation to environmental brightness, and an ambient light condition, the desired display brightness to avoid conflicts between direct and lateral adaptations of a user, wherein the display is to adjust a display brightness of the display based on the desired display brightness of the display.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the eye adaptation to display brightness comprises a direct eye adaptation and the eye adaptation to environmental brightness comprises a lateral eye adaptation.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the brightness of the display comprises an average display luminance and the environmental brightness comprises an average environmental luminance.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein to determine the desired display brightness of the display, the processor is to access a look-up table.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the look-up table is to comprise values derived from both the eye adaptation to display brightness and the eye adaptation to environmental brightness.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, further comprising memory to store the look-up table.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising an ambient light sensor to sense the ambient light condition.

8. An article comprising a non-transitory medium storing instructions that, upon execution, cause a processor-based system to:

determine a desired display brightness of a display in response to at least a predetermined eye adaptation to display brightness, a predetermined eye adaptation to environmental brightness, and an ambient light condition, the desired display brightness to avoid conflicts between direct and lateral adaptations of a user; and

adjust a brightness of the display based on the desired display brightness of the display.

9. The article of claim 8, wherein the eye adaptation to display brightness comprises a direct eye adaptation and the eye adaptation to environmental brightness comprises a lateral eye adaptation.

10. The article of claim 8, wherein the brightness of the display comprises an average display luminance and the environmental brightness comprises an average environmental luminance.

11. The article of claim 8, wherein to determine the desired display brightness of the display comprises accessing a look-up table.

12. The article of claim 11, wherein the look-up table is to comprise values derived from both the eye adaptation to display brightness and the eye adaptation to environmental brightness.

13. A method comprising:

determining, by a processor, a desired display brightness of a display in response to at least a predetermined eye adaptation to display brightness, a predetermined eye adaptation to environmental brightness, and an ambient light condition sensed by an ambient light sensor, the desired display brightness to avoid conflicts between direct and lateral adaptations of a user; and

adjusting a brightness of the display based on the desired display brightness of the display.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the eye adaptation to display brightness comprises a direct eye adaptation and the eye adaptation to environmental brightness comprises a lateral eye adaptation.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the brightness of the display comprises an average display luminance and the environmental brightness comprises an average environmental luminance.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein determining the desired display brightness of the display comprises accessing a look-up table.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the look-up table is to comprise values derived from both the eye adaptation to display brightness and the eye adaptation to environmental brightness.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising storing the look-up table in memory.

19. The method of claim 13, further comprising sensing the ambient light condition with the ambient light sensor.

20. A system comprising:

a display;

means for determining a desired display brightness of a display in response to at least a predetermined eye adaptation to display brightness, a predetermined eye adaptation to environmental brightness, and an ambient light condition, the desired display brightness to avoid conflicts between direct and lateral adaptations of a user; and

means for adjusting a brightness of the display based on the desired display brightness of the display.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein the eye adaptation to display brightness comprises a direct eye adaptation and the eye adaptation to environmental brightness comprises a lateral eye adaptation.

22. The system of claim 20, wherein the brightness of the display comprises an average display luminance and the environmental brightness comprises an average environmental luminance.

23. The system of claim 20, wherein the means for determining the desired display brightness of the display comprise means for accessing a look-up table.

24. The system of claim 23, wherein the look-up table is to comprise values derived from both the eye adaptation to display brightness and the eye adaptation to environmental brightness.

25. The system of claim 20, further comprising:

means for sensing the ambient light condition.