Method for adjusting display backlight with aid of ambient light brightness detection and time detection, and associated apparatus and associated computer program product

• US 9,412,320 B2
• Filed: 08/23/2013
• Issued: 08/09/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 08/23/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: HTC Corporation
• Original Assignee: HTC Corporation
• Inventors: Chen, Po-Ting, Chin, Cheng-Hao
• Primary Examiner(s): Olson, Jason
• Assistant Examiner(s): NEUPANE, KRISHNA P.
• Application Number:
  US13/974,058
• Publication Number:
  US 20150054725A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,082 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2330/022 in absence of operation, e.g. no data being entered during a predetermined time
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2360/144 the light being ambient light
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/3406 Control of illumination source illumination devices structurally associated with liquid crystal cells G02F1/1336
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/3648 using an active matrix G09G3/367 - G09G3/3696 take precedence

Abstract

A method and apparatus for adjusting display backlight and an associated computer program product are provided. The method is applied to an electronic device. The method includes the steps of: utilizing at least one light sensor of the electronic device to detect ambient light; and performing a plurality of detection operations to selectively control the electronic device to enter a specific mode to adjust brightness level of a backlight module of a display panel of the electronic device. The detection operations includes: detecting whether the ambient light is less than a predetermined ambient brightness threshold value for a time period; and detecting whether a length of the time period reaches a predetermined time threshold value. For example, the specific mode can be a low-light mode, which is suitable for a user who has stayed in the dark for a time period (e.g. tens of minutes, or one or more hours).

Claims

1. A method for adjusting display backlight, the method being applied to an electronic device, the method comprising the steps of:

utilizing at least one light sensor of the electronic device to detect ambient light brightness; and

controlling a brightness level of a backlight module of a display panel of the electronic device to automatically switch to be one of a plurality of predetermined levels of an automatic backlight mode in response to the ambient light brightness before the electronic device enters a low light mode, and performing a plurality of detection operations to selectively control the electronic device to enter the low light mode to adjust the brightness level of the backlight module of the display panel of the electronic device, wherein the plurality of detection operations comprises;

before the electronic device enters a suspend mode wherein the display panel is off, starting to count a time period when the ambient light brightness is less than a predetermined ambient brightness threshold value;

after the electronic device enters the suspend mode and then subsequently leaves the suspend mode so that the display panel turns on, performing an ambient light detection operation to detect whether the ambient light brightness is less than the predetermined ambient brightness threshold value; and

when the ambient light brightness in the ambient light detection operation is less than the predetermined ambient brightness threshold value, detecting the counted time period;

wherein when the counted time period reaches a predetermined time threshold value, the electronic device enters the low light mode.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the predetermined ambient brightness threshold value corresponds to a minimum level of the plurality of predetermined levels of the automatic backlight mode.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of detection operations further comprises determining whether the ambient light brightness during the counted time period is stably in a range corresponding to one of a plurality of predetermined levels of the automatic backlight mode;

and the step of performing the plurality of detection operations to selectively control the electronic device to enter the low-light mode further comprises;

when it is detected that the ambient light brightness during the counted time period is stably in a range corresponding to one of the plurality of predetermined levels of the automatic backlight mode, controlling the electronic device to enter the low-light mode.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of detection operations further comprises detecting whether a system time of the electronic device is within a predetermined time interval of a day;

and the step of performing the plurality of detection operations to selectively control the electronic device to enter the low-light mode further comprises;

when it is detected that the ambient light brightness is less than the predetermined ambient brightness threshold value for the counted time period and that the length of the counted time period reaches the predetermined time threshold value and that the system time of the electronic device is within the predetermined time interval of the day, controlling the electronic device to enter the low-light mode.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

when the electronic device is in the low-light mode, controlling the brightness level of the backlight module of the display panel to a predetermined backlight brightness threshold value;

wherein the predetermined backlight brightness threshold value is less than a minimum level of the plurality of predetermined levels of the automatic backlight mode.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

in a situation where the electronic device is in the low-light mode, when it is detected that the ambient light brightness reaches the predetermined ambient brightness threshold value, controlling the electronic device to exit the low-light mode and enter the automatic backlight mode to control the brightness level of the backlight module to be one of the plurality of predetermined levels.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of utilizing the at least one light sensor of the electronic device to detect the ambient light brightness further comprises:

utilizing the at least one light sensor to detect the ambient light brightness at different time points to obtain a plurality of light sensor values corresponding to the time points, respectively;

wherein the step of performing the plurality of detection operations to selectively control the electronic device to enter the low-light mode further comprises;

comparing the light sensor values with the predetermined ambient brightness threshold value, respectively, to determine whether the ambient light brightness is less than the predetermined ambient brightness threshold value at the time points, respectively.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of detection operations selectively control the electronic device to enter the low light mode to adjust the brightness level of the backlight module of the display panel of the electronic device to be less than a minimum level of the plurality of predetermined levels of the automatic backlight mode.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein when the ambient light brightness in the ambient light detection operation is less than the predetermined ambient brightness threshold value and the same as the ambient light brightness before entering the suspend mode, the counted time period is detected.

10. An apparatus for adjusting display backlight, the apparatus comprises at least one portion of an electronic device, the apparatus comprising:

a display panel arranged to display information for the electronic device;

at least one light sensor arranged to detect ambient light brightness for the electronic device; and

a processing circuit, coupled to the display panel and the at least one light sensor, arranged to control operations of the electronic device, wherein the processing circuit controls a brightness level of a backlight module of the display panel to automatically switch to be one of a plurality of predetermined levels of an automatic backlight mode in response to the ambient light brightness before the electronic device enters a low light mode, wherein the processing circuit performs a plurality of detection operations to selectively control the electronic device to enter the low light mode to adjust the brightness level of the backlight module of the display panel, wherein the plurality of detection operations comprises;

before the electronic device enters a suspend mode wherein the display panel is off, starting to count a time period when the ambient light brightness is less than a predetermined ambient brightness threshold value;

after the electronic device enters the suspend mode and then subsequently leaves the suspend mode so that the display panel turns on, performing an ambient light detection operation to detect whether the ambient light brightness is less than the predetermined ambient brightness threshold value; and

when the ambient light brightness in the ambient light detection operation is less than the predetermined ambient brightness threshold value, detecting the counted time period;

wherein when the counted time period reaches a predetermined time threshold value, the electronic device enters the low light mode.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the predetermined ambient brightness threshold value corresponds to a minimum level of the plurality of predetermined levels of the automatic backlight mode.

12. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the plurality of detection operations further comprises determining whether the ambient light brightness during the counted time period is stably in a range corresponding to one of a plurality of predetermined levels of the automatic backlight mode;

and when it is detected that the ambient light brightness during the counted time period is stably in a range corresponding to one of the plurality of predetermined levels of the automatic backlight mode, the processing circuit controls the electronic device to enter the low light mode.

13. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the plurality of detection operations further comprises detecting whether a system time of the electronic device is within a predetermined time interval of a day;

and when it is detected that the ambient light brightness is less than the predetermined ambient brightness threshold value for the counted time period and that the length of the counted time period reaches the predetermined time threshold value and that the system time of the electronic device is within the predetermined time interval of the day, the processing circuit controls the electronic device to enter the low light mode.

14. The apparatus of claim 10, when the electronic device is in the low-light mode, the processing circuit controls the brightness level of the backlight module of the display panel to a predetermined backlight brightness threshold value, wherein the predetermined backlight brightness threshold value is less than a minimum level of the plurality of predetermined levels of the automatic backlight mode.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein, in a situation where the electronic device is in the low-light mode, when it is detected that the ambient light brightness reaches the predetermined ambient brightness threshold value, the processing circuit controls the electronic device to exit the low-light mode and enter the automatic backlight mode to control the brightness level of the backlight module to be one of the plurality of predetermined levels.

16. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the processing circuit utilizes the at least one light sensor to detect the ambient light brightness at different time points to obtain a plurality of light sensor values corresponding to the time points, respectively;

and the processing circuit compares the light sensor values with the predetermined ambient brightness threshold value, respectively, to determine whether the ambient light brightness is less than the predetermined ambient brightness threshold value at the time points, respectively.

17. A computer program product, having program instructions for instructing a processor of an electronic device to perform a method comprising the steps of:

utilizing at least one light sensor of the electronic device to detect ambient light brightness; and

controlling a brightness level of a backlight module of a display panel of the electronic device to automatically switch to be one of a plurality of predetermined levels of an automatic backlight mode in response to the ambient light brightness before the electronic device enters a low light mode, and performing a plurality of detection operations to selectively control the electronic device to enter the low light mode to adjust the brightness level of the backlight module of the display panel of the electronic device, wherein the plurality of detection operations comprises;

before the electronic device enters a suspend mode wherein the display panel is off, starting to count a time period when the ambient light brightness is less than a predetermined ambient brightness threshold value;

after the electronic device enters the suspend mode and then subsequently leaves the suspend mode so that the display panel turns on, performing an ambient light detection operation to detect whether the ambient light brightness is less than the predetermined ambient brightness threshold value; and

when the ambient light brightness in the ambient light detection operation is less than the predetermined ambient brightness threshold value, detecting the counted time period;

wherein when the counted time period reaches a predetermined time threshold value, the electronic device enters the low light mode.