Display device

• US 8,890,797 B2
• Filed: 02/22/2012
• Issued: 11/18/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 08/31/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kyocera Corporation
• Original Assignee: Optrex Corporation (Kyocera Corporation)
• Inventors: Gondo, Kenji
• Primary Examiner(s): Lao, Lun-Yi
• Assistant Examiner(s): Siddiqui, Md Saiful A
• Application Number:
  US13/402,637
• Publication Number:
  US 20120147068A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,000 Days
• Field of Search: 345/77, 345/89, 345/102, 345/207, 345690-691, 362/600, 362/97.2, 349/65, 349/69
• US Class Current: 345/102
• 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 2360/144 the light being ambient light
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2360/16 Calculation or use of calculated indices related to luminance levels in display data
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/3406 Control of illumination source illumination devices structurally associated with liquid crystal cells G02F1/1336
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/3611 Control of matrices with row and column drivers

Abstract

A display device includes an illuminance sensor for detecting an illuminance in a surrounding environment, an input average luminance detection circuit for detecting an average luminance of input images, a frame insertion control circuit for producing a gray image frame and inserting the produced gray image frame into between an input image frame and its subsequently input image frame input, and an insertion luminance level generation circuit for determining a luminance of the gray image frame according to the illuminance detected by the illuminance sensor and the average luminance of the input images detected by the input average luminance detection circuit.

Claims

1. A display device comprising:

an illuminance sensor that detects an illuminance in a surrounding environment;

an input average luminance detection circuit that detects an average luminance of input images;

a frame insertion control circuit that produces a gray image frame and inserts the produced gray image frame into between an input image frame and its subsequently input image frame; and

an insertion luminance level generation circuit that determines a luminance of the gray image frame according to the illuminance detected by the illuminance sensor and the average luminance of the input images detected by the input average luminance detection circuit,

wherein the insertion luminance level generation circuit is configured such that when the illuminance detected by the illuminance sensor is contained in a first range of less than a first set value, the luminance of the gray image frame is set to a lower luminance than the average luminance of the input images, that when the illuminance detected by the illuminance sensor is contained in a second range of not less than the first set value and less than a second set value, the luminance of the gray image frame is set to be equal to the average luminance of the input images, and that when the illuminance detected by the illuminance sensor is contained in a third range of not less than the second set value, the luminance of the gray image frame is set to a luminance of not lower than the average luminance of the input images; and

when the illuminance detected by the illuminance sensor is contained in the first range or the third range, the luminance of the gray image frame is determined such that a value obtained by dividing the luminance of the gray image frame by the average luminance of the input images increases as the illuminance detected by the illuminance sensor increases.

2. The display device according to claim 1, further comprising a backlight driving circuit that drives a backlight;

wherein the backlight driving circuit is configured such that when the illuminance detected by the illuminance sensor is less than a first boundary value, the backlight is driven so as to have a relatively lower luminance, that when the illuminance detected by the illuminance sensor is not less than the first boundary value and less than a second boundary value, the backlight is driven so as to have a relatively higher luminance, and that when the illuminance detected by the illuminance sensor is not less than the second boundary value, the backlight is driven so as to have a maximized luminance.

3. The display device according to claim 1, wherein the insertion luminance level generation circuit determines a luminance of the gray image frame so that the value increases monotonically with respect to the illuminance expressed on a logarithmic scale.

4. The display device according to claim 1, wherein the luminance of the backlight is changed by changing a period of time for energizing the backlight.

5. A display device comprising:

a means for detecting an illuminance in a surrounding environment;

a means for detecting an average luminance of input images;

a means for producing a gray image frame and inserting the produced gray image frame into between an input image frame and its subsequently input image frame; and

a means for determining a luminance of the gray image frame according to the illuminance detected by the means for detecting the illuminance and the average luminance of the input images detected by the means for detecting the average luminance so that a value obtained by dividing the luminance of the gray image frame by the average luminance of the input images increases as the illuminance detected by the means for detecting the illuminance increases,

wherein the means for determining the luminance is configured such that when the illuminance detected by the means for detecting the illuminance is contained in a first range of less than a first set value, the luminance of the gray image frame is set to a lower luminance than the average luminance of the input images, that when the illuminance detected by the means for detecting the illuminance is contained in a second range of not less than the first set value and less than a second set value, the luminance of the gray image frame is set to be equal to the average luminance of the input images, and that when the illuminance detected by the means for detecting the illuminance is contained in a third range of not less than the second set value, the luminance of the gray image frame is set to a luminance of not lower than the average luminance of the input images; and

when the illuminance detected by the means for detecting the illuminance is contained in the first range or the third range, the luminance of the gray image frame is determined such that the value obtained by dividing the luminance of the gray image frame by the average luminance of the input images increases as the illuminance detected by the means for detecting the illuminance increases.