Apparatus and method of converting image signal for six color display device, and six color display device having optimum subpixel arrangement

• US 7,969,448 B2
• Filed: 11/20/2004
• Issued: 06/28/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 11/20/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Samsung Display Company Limited (Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Lee, Seong-Deok, Choe, Won-Hee, Song, Keun-Kyu, Kim, Chang-Yeong, Lee, Ho-Young, Ok, Hyun-Wook, Hong, Mun-Pyo, Roh, Nam-Seok, Park, Du-Sik, Yang, Young-Chol
• Primary Examiner(s): Sajous; Wesner
• Application Number:
  US10/579,951
• Publication Number:
  US 20080049042A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,411 Days
• Field of Search: 345/88, 345/690, 345589-591, 345/600, 345/77, 345/597, 345/606, 345/613, 345643-644, 345/581, 345/694, 345/426, 345/586, 345/204, 348253-254, 348/271, 348/277, 348/278, 348/519, 348/538, 348/557, 348/560, 348/582, 348/612, 348/708, 358518-519, 358/525, 358/446, 382162-165, 382/167, 382/254, 349/1, 349/97, 349/106
• US Class Current: 345/589
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2300/0452 Details of colour pixel setup, e.g. pixel composed of a red, a blue and two green components
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/0242 Compensation of deficiencies in the appearance of colours
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/06 Colour space transformation
• 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 3/3607 for displaying colours or for displaying grey scales with a specific pixel layout, e.g. using sub-pixels display of colours in flat matrix panels other than liquid crystal displays G09G3/2003; grey scales specific for television H04N3/127
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/3648 using an active matrix G09G3/367 - G09G3/3696 take precedence

Abstract

A method of converting image signals for a display device including six-color subpixels is provided, which includes: classifying three-color input image signals into maximum, middle, and minimum; decomposing the classified signals into six-color components; determining a maximum among the six-color components; calculating a scaling factor; and extracting six-color output signals.

Claims

1. A method of converting image signals by a signal controller for a display device including six-color subpixels, the signal controller including a magnitude comparator, a decomposer, a scaler and a signal extractor, the method comprising:

classifying three-color input image signals into maximum, middle, and minimum in the magnitude comparator;

decomposing the classified signals into six-color components in the decomposer;

determining a maximum among the six-color components;

calculating a scaling factor in the scaler; and

extracting six-color output signals in the signal extractor.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the three-color signals comprise red, green and blue signals.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the six-color signals comprise red, green, blue, cyan, magenta, and yellow signals.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the decomposition comprises:

expressing a predetermined number of terms of coordinates with coefficients.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the coefficients comprise first to third coefficients expressed as the maximum, middle, and minimum, and the coordinates are assigned to the six-color signals.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the six-color components comprises a first term expressed as a multiplication of the first coefficient and first to sixth coordinates, a second term expressed as a multiplication of the second coefficient and the first, second, and sixth coordinates, and a third term expressed as a multiplication of the third coefficient and the first coordinate.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the six-color components comprise a first term expressed as a multiplication of the first coefficient and first to sixth coordinates, a second term expressed as a multiplication of the second coefficient and the sixth coordinate, and a third term expressed as a multiplication of the third coefficient and the first coordinate.

8. The method of claim 6 or 7, wherein the first to the third terms are further decomposed into the first to sixth coordinates to be expressed as a multiplication of fourth to ninth coefficients and first to sixth coordinates.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the calculation of the scaling factor comprising:

determining a maximum among the coefficients; and

calculating a ratio of the maximum among the fourth to ninth coefficients and the maximum among the three-color signals to determine the scaling factor.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the scaling factor is equal to or larger than one.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the extraction of the six-color signals comprises:

multiplying the scaling factor to the fourth to ninth coefficients.

12. A device of converting image signals for a display device including six-color subpixels, the device comprising:

a signal controller converting three-color input signals into six-color output signals;

a gray voltage generator generating a plurality of gray voltages; and

a data driver converting into the six-color signals into data voltages selected among the gray voltages and supplying the data voltages to the subpixels,

wherein the signal controller comprises;

a magnitude comparator comparing the three-color signals;

a decomposer decomposing the three-color signals into six-color components;

a scaler calculating a scaling factor based on signals from the magnitude comparator and the decomposer; and

a signal extractor multiplying the scaling fact to the six-color components.

13. The device of claim 12, wherein the three-color signals comprise red, green and blue signals.

14. The device of claim 13, wherein the six-color signals comprise red, green, blue, cyan, magenta, and yellow signals.

15. The device of claim 14, wherein the scaling factor is defined as a ratio of the maximum among the six-color components and the maximum among the three-color signals.

16. The device of claim 15, wherein the signal extractor obtains increments by multiplying the scaling factor to the six-color components.

17. A display device comprising:

a plurality of pixel arranged in matrix, each pixel including first and second sets of three primary color subpixels,

wherein the subpixels are arranged so that two subpixels having complementary relation is adjacent to each other, and

a subpixel having the lowest luminance is disposed at a side.

18. The device of claim 17, wherein the subpixels are arranged in a 2×

3 matrix or a 3×

2 matrix.

19. The device of claim 18, wherein the first set of three primary color subpixels are arranged in a row or a column, and the second set of three primary color subpixels are arranged in a row or a column.

20. The device of claim 19, wherein three subpixels having relatively high luminance are distributed over different rows or columns.

21. The device of claim 20, wherein the three high-luminance subpixels are distributed over two rows or two columns.

22. The device of claim 21, wherein the three high-luminance subpixels are arranged symmetrically in a row or column direction.

23. The device of claim 19, wherein two subpixels having relatively high luminance are arranged in a diagonal.

24. The device of claim 17, wherein the first or the second set of three primary color subpixels include a white subpixel.

25. The device of claim 17, wherein the first set of three primary color subpixels include red, green and blue subpixels, and the second set of three primary color subpixels include cyan, magenta, and yellow subpixels.

26. The device of claim 17, wherein the first set of three primary color subpixels include red, green and blue subpixels, and the second set of three primary color subpixels include cyan, white, and yellow subpixels.

27. The device of claim 24, wherein the subpixels are arranged in a 2×

3 matrix or a 3×

2 matrix.

28. The device of claim 27, wherein the first set of three primary color subpixels are arranged in a row or a column, and the second set of three primary color subpixels are arranged in a row or a column.

29. The device of claim 28, wherein the blue subpixel is disposed at a side.

30. The device of claim 29, wherein the green subpixel is disposed at a center.

31. The device of claim 30, wherein the green, cyan, and yellow subpixels have luminance higher than other subpixels.

32. The device of claim 29, wherein the green subpixel is disposed at a side.

33. The device of claim 32, wherein the green and yellow subpixels have a luminance higher than other subpixels.