Optical compensation device and optical compensation system including the same

Abstract

Disclosed are an optical compensation device and an optical compensation system including the same. The optical compensation device includes a measuring unit, a camera, and a compensating unit, wherein the measuring unit measures the luminance of a reference point and a neighboring point separated from the reference point on a display panel displaying an image to generate measurement data, the camera captures a surface of the display panel to generate a captured image, and the compensating unit generates a scaling value for the neighboring point based on the measurement data of the reference point, captured data generated based on the captured image of the reference point, the measurement data of the neighboring point, and the captured data generated based on the captured image of the neighboring point, and generates compensation data for the neighboring point based on the scaling value of the neighboring point and the captured data of the reference point.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an optical compensation device and an optical compensation system including the same. Background Art

[0002] In a display device, the brightness of pixels of the display device may not be uniform. For example, the uniformity of the brightness of the display device may be degraded due to variations in electrical characteristics of a driving transistor between pixels, variations in driving voltage between pixels, and degradation of a light-emitting element between pixels.

[0003] Optical compensation devices have been developed to compensate for the brightness of display devices using cameras. Images captured by the camera may have uneven brightness due to vignetting, and the optical compensation device may over-compensate for the brightness in some areas of the display device. In this case, the uniformity of the brightness of the display device may not be improved. Summary of the Invention

[0004] Technical issues

[0005] Various aspects of the present disclosure provide an optical compensation device and an optical compensation system including the same, which can prevent the camera's vignetting phenomenon to eliminate distortion caused by the camera's characteristics, and can improve the brightness uniformity of the display panel by compensating data even when the display panel does not have uniform brightness.

[0006] However, aspects of the present disclosure are not limited to the aspects set forth herein. The above and other aspects of the present disclosure will become more apparent to those skilled in the art to which the present disclosure pertains by referencing the detailed description of the present disclosure given below.

[0007] Workaround

[0008] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the optical compensation device may include a measuring unit that measures the brightness of a reference point of a display panel displaying an image and the brightness of at least one neighboring point separated from the reference point and generates measurement data, a camera that photographs the surface of the display panel and generates a photographed image, and a compensation unit that generates a scaling value of at least one neighboring point based on the measurement data of the reference point, the photographed data of the reference point generated based on the photographed image, the measurement data of at least one neighboring point, and the photographed data of at least one neighboring point generated based on the photographed image, and generates compensation data of at least one neighboring point based on the scaling value of the at least one neighboring point and the photographed data of the reference point.

[0009] The compensation part may generate the scaling value by multiplying a ratio of the photographed data of the at least one neighboring point to the measured data of the at least one neighboring point and a ratio of the measured data of the reference point to the photographed data of the reference point.

[0010] The compensating part may generate the compensation data of the at least one neighboring point by multiplying the photographed data of the reference point and the scaling value of the at least one neighboring point.

[0011] The compensation unit may generate compensation data of the same reference point as the photographic data of the reference point.

[0012] The compensation part may perform interpolation based on the compensation data of the reference point and the compensation data of the at least one adjacent point, and generate compensation data of a specific point between the reference point and the at least one adjacent point.

[0013] In a case where measurement data of the reference point is identical to measurement data of at least one neighboring point and photographed data of the reference point is greater than photographed data of at least one neighboring point, compensation data of at least one neighboring point may be less than compensation data of the reference point.

[0014] When the measurement data of the reference point is greater than the measurement data of at least one neighboring point and the photographed data of the reference point is identical to the photographed data of at least one neighboring point, the compensation data of the at least one neighboring point may be greater than the compensation data of the reference point.

[0015] The measuring part may directly contact the reference point of the display panel or at least one adjacent point of the display panel to measure the brightness of the reference point or the at least one adjacent point.

[0016] The compensation part may include: a preprocessing module that preprocesses the captured image of the camera and generates captured data corresponding to each of the reference point and the at least one adjacent point; a scaling module that generates a scaling value; and a compensation data generating module that generates compensation data.

[0017] The preprocessing module may align multiple pixels of the display panel with multiple pixels of the captured image, the preprocessing module may filter multiple pixels of the captured image, and the preprocessing module may match multiple pixels of the captured image with multiple pixels of the display panel respectively.

[0018] The pre-processing module may filter a plurality of pixels of the captured image using a Gaussian filter.

[0019] The measuring part may measure the brightness of each of the red image, the green image, and the blue image displayed on the display panel and generate measurement data of each of the red image, the green image, and the blue image.

[0020] The measuring unit may measure the brightness of a white image displayed on the display panel and generate measurement data of the white image.

[0021] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, an optical compensation system may include: a display device including a display panel that displays an image; and an optical compensation device that generates compensation data based on the image of the display device. The optical compensation device may include: a measuring unit that measures the luminance of a reference point of the display panel and the luminance of at least one adjacent point separated from the reference point and generates measurement data; a camera that captures the surface of the display panel and generates a captured image; and a compensation unit that generates a scaling value for the at least one adjacent point based on the measurement data of the reference point, captured data of the reference point generated based on the captured image, measurement data of the at least one adjacent point, and captured data of the at least one adjacent point generated based on the captured image, and generates compensation data for the at least one adjacent point based on the scaling value of the at least one adjacent point and the captured data of the reference point.

[0022] The compensation part may generate the scaling value by multiplying a ratio of the photographed data of the at least one neighboring point to the measured data of the at least one neighboring point and a ratio of the measured data of the reference point to the photographed data of the reference point.

[0023] The compensating part may generate the compensation data of the at least one neighboring point by multiplying the photographed data of the reference point and the scaling value of the at least one neighboring point.

[0024] The display device may further include: a data driver that supplies data voltages to data lines of the display panel; a gate driver that supplies gate signals to gate lines of the display panel; a timing controller that controls driving timings of the data driver and the gate driver; and a memory that stores compensation data and supplies the compensation data to the timing controller.

[0025] The compensation part may generate compensation data of at least one neighboring point and may supply the compensation data to the memory.

[0026] The timing controller may receive compensation data of at least one neighboring point from the memory, and may supply the compensation data and a data control signal for controlling an operation timing of the data driver to the data driver.

[0027] The data driver may generate a data voltage based on compensation data of at least one neighboring dot.

[0028] Details of other implementations are included in the detailed description and accompanying drawings.

[0029] Beneficial effects

[0030] According to embodiments, an optical compensation device and an optical compensation system including the same can prevent camera vignetting by generating compensation data reflecting measurement data of a reference point, image data of the reference point, measurement data of a neighboring point, and scaled values and image data of the neighboring point, thereby eliminating distortion caused by camera characteristics. Furthermore, when a display panel has uneven brightness, the optical compensation device and the optical compensation system including the same can improve the brightness uniformity of the display panel using the compensation data.

[0031] The effects of the present disclosure are not limited to the above-described effects, and various other effects are included in the specification. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0032] Figure 1 is a schematic block diagram illustrating an optical compensation system according to an embodiment;

[0033] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a process of generating measurement data by a measuring section in an optical compensation system according to an embodiment;

[0034] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating a process of generating a captured image by a camera in an optical compensation system according to an embodiment;

[0035] Figure 4 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a compensation section in an optical compensation system according to an embodiment;

[0036] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of an optical compensation process in an optical compensation system according to an embodiment;

[0037] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating another example of an optical compensation process in an optical compensation system according to an embodiment;

[0038] Figure 7 is a flowchart illustrating an optical compensation process in an optical compensation system according to an embodiment;

[0039] Figure 8 FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an optical compensation system according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 7 A flowchart of the process of generating measurement data shown in;

[0040] Figure 9 FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an optical compensation system according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 7 Flowchart of the process of generating shooting data shown in;

[0041] Figure 10 FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an optical compensation system according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 7 A flowchart of a process for generating compensation data as shown in ; and

[0042] Figure 11 is a diagram showing color coordinate characteristics of an optical compensation system according to an embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0043] The present disclosure will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which preferred embodiments of the present disclosure are shown. However, the present disclosure may be embodied in different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that the present disclosure will be thorough and complete and will fully convey the scope of the present disclosure to those skilled in the art.

[0044] Although the terms "first," "second," etc. may be used herein to describe various types of elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are used to distinguish one element from another. Thus, the first element discussed below could be referred to as the second element without departing from the teachings of the present disclosure.

[0045] Various embodiments are described herein with reference to cross-sectional and / or exploded views that are schematic representations of idealized embodiments and / or intermediate structures. As such, variations in the illustrated shapes due to, for example, manufacturing techniques and / or tolerances should be anticipated. Accordingly, the embodiments disclosed herein should not necessarily be construed as limited to the shapes of the specifically illustrated regions, but rather should include deviations in shape that result, for example, from manufacturing. In this manner, the regions illustrated in the figures may be schematic in nature, and the shapes of these regions may not reflect the actual shapes of regions of the device, and therefore, are not necessarily intended to be limiting.

[0046] Hereinafter, embodiments will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0047] Figure 1 is a schematic block diagram illustrating an optical compensation system according to an embodiment. Figure 2 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a process of generating measurement data by a measuring section in an optical compensation system according to an embodiment. Figure 3 FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a process of generating a captured image by a camera in an optical compensation system according to an embodiment. Figure 4 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a compensation section in an optical compensation system according to an embodiment.

[0048] refer to Figures 1 to 4 , the optical compensation system may include an optical compensation device 100 and a display device 200 .

[0049] The optical compensation device 100 may generate compensation data DATA based on an image of the display device 200 and provide the compensation data DATA to the memory 270 of the display device 200 .

[0050] The optical compensation device 100 may include a measuring section 110 , a camera 120 , and a compensating section 130 .

[0051] The measuring unit 110 can measure the brightness of a specific point of the display panel 210 to generate measurement data MD. The measuring unit 110 can measure the brightness or chromaticity of a specific point of the display panel 210 and generate measurement data MD based on the measured brightness or chromaticity. For example, the measuring unit 110 can measure the brightness at a specific point by directly contacting the specific point of the display panel 210, but the method of measuring brightness is not limited to this. For example, the measuring unit 110 can measure the brightness at a specific point using a non-contact method. The measuring unit 110 can measure the brightness of each area of the display panel 210 by measuring the brightness of each of the various points of the display panel 210.

[0052] The measuring unit 110 can measure the luminance of a reference point RP to generate measurement data MD for the reference point RP. The measuring unit 110 can also measure the luminance of at least one neighboring point TP to generate measurement data MD for the neighboring point TP. The measuring unit 110 can directly contact each of the first neighboring point TP1 and the second neighboring point TP2 to generate measurement data MD for the first neighboring point TP1 and the second neighboring point TP2, but the method of generating measurement data MD is not limited to this. For example, the reference point RP can correspond to the center of the display panel 210, the first neighboring point TP1 can correspond to the right edge of the display panel 210, and the second neighboring point TP2 can correspond to the lower right corner of the display panel 210, but the positions of the reference point RP and the first and second neighboring points TP1 and TP2 are not limited to this. The measuring unit 110 can measure the luminance of the neighboring points TP. As the number of measured neighboring points TP increases, the optical compensation system can improve the luminance uniformity of the display panel 210. The measuring unit 110 can provide the measurement data MD of the reference point RP and the measurement data MD of the first and second neighboring points TP1 and TP2 to the compensation unit 130.

[0053] For example, the measuring unit 110 may measure the brightness of a specific point of the display panel 210 after manufacturing the display device 200. The measuring unit 110 may measure the brightness of the display panel 210 at a time point according to a user's designation, and the optical compensation device 100 may generate new compensation data DATA for each time point.

[0054] As another example, the measuring part 110 may measure the brightness of a specific point of the display panel 210 and store the measurement data MD during the manufacturing process of the display device 200. The optical compensation device 100 may receive the stored measurement data MD to generate the compensation data DATA.

[0055] The camera 120 may capture a surface (e.g., the entire surface or the entire surface) of the display panel 210 to generate a captured image PI. The camera 120 may generate the captured image PI having brightness information of the pixels SP of the display panel 210 to provide the captured image PI to the compensation unit 130. Therefore, the captured image PI may have brightness information of the reference point RP and the first and second neighboring points TP1 and TP2.

[0056] The captured image PI may have uneven brightness due to a vignette phenomenon. The vignette phenomenon may occur because the brightness of the peripheral portion of the captured image PI is distorted due to the characteristics of the camera 120. For example, the amount of light from the camera 120 may decrease toward the peripheral portion of the lens of the camera 120. Therefore, the captured image PI of the camera 120 may be different from the actual brightness of the display panel 210. When the entire surface of the display panel 210 has uniform brightness, the brightness of the peripheral portion of the captured image PI may be lower than the brightness of the central portion of the captured image PI.

[0057] The compensation part 130 may include a pre-processing module 131 , a scaling module 132 , and a compensation data generating module 133 .

[0058] The pre-processing module 131 may receive the captured image PI from the camera 120 and pre-process the captured image PI. The pre-processing module 131 may improve the contrast of the captured image PI and eliminate noise from the captured image PI during the pre-processing process to correct the brightness of the captured image PI. The pre-processing module 131 may pre-process the captured image PI to generate captured data ID corresponding to each of the reference point RP and the at least one neighboring point TP.

[0059] The pre-processing module 131 may align the pixels of the captured image PI with the pixels of the display panel 210. The pre-processing module 131 may filter the pixels of the captured image PI to match the pixels of the captured image PI with the pixels of the display panel 210, respectively. The pre-processing module 131 may use a Gaussian filter to filter the pixels of the captured image PI, but the method of filtering the pixels is not limited thereto. For example, the pre-processing module 131 may use a Gaussian filter to filter the captured image PI in units of 4×4 pixels. The pre-processing module 131 may match the 4×4 pixels of the captured image PI with the pixels of the display panel 210, respectively. The pre-processing module 131 may generate the captured data ID based on the filtered pixel values.

[0060] The pre-processing module 131 may pre-process the pixels corresponding to the reference point RP in the captured image PI to generate the captured data ID of the reference point RP. The pre-processing module 131 may pre-process the pixels corresponding to the first neighboring point TP1 in the captured image PI to generate the captured data ID of the first neighboring point TP1. The pre-processing module 131 may pre-process the pixels corresponding to the second neighboring point TP2 in the captured image PI to generate the captured data ID of the second neighboring point TP2.

[0061] The scaling module 132 may calculate a scaling value SV for the neighboring point TP based on the measurement data MD of the reference point RP, the photographic data ID of the reference point RP, the measurement data MD of the neighboring point TP, and the photographic data ID of the neighboring point TP. The scaling module 132 may calculate the scaling value SV by multiplying the ratio of the photographic data ID of the neighboring point TP to the measurement data MD of the neighboring point TP and the ratio of the measurement data MD of the reference point RP to the photographic data ID of the reference point RP.

[0062] For example, the scaling module 132 may calculate the scaling value SV1 of the first neighboring point TP1 using Equation 1 below.

[0063]

[0064] In Equation 1, "SV1" refers to the scaled value of the first neighboring point TP1, "ID1" refers to the photographic data of the first neighboring point TP1, "MD1" refers to the measurement data of the first neighboring point TP1, "MD0" refers to the measurement data of the reference point RP, and "ID0" refers to the photographic data of the reference point RP. Therefore, the scaling module 132 can calculate the scaled value SV1 of the first neighboring point TP1 by multiplying the ratio of the photographic data ID1 of the first neighboring point TP1 to the measurement data MD1 of the first neighboring point TP1 and the ratio of the measurement data MD0 of the reference point RP to the photographic data ID0 of the reference point RP.

[0065] For example, the scaling module 132 may calculate the scaling value SV2 of the second neighboring point TP2 using Equation 2 below.

[0066]

[0067] In Equation 2, "SV2" refers to the scaled value of the second neighboring point TP2, "ID2" refers to the photographic data of the second neighboring point TP2, "MD2" refers to the measurement data of the second neighboring point TP2, "MD0" refers to the measurement data of the reference point RP, and "ID0" refers to the photographic data of the reference point RP. Therefore, the scaling module 132 can calculate the scaled value SV2 of the second neighboring point TP2 by multiplying the ratio of the photographic data ID2 of the second neighboring point TP2 to the measurement data MD2 of the second neighboring point TP2 and the ratio of the measurement data MD0 of the reference point RP to the photographic data ID0 of the reference point RP.

[0068] The compensation data generation module 133 may generate compensation data DATA for the neighboring point TP based on the scaling value SV of the neighboring point TP and the photographing data ID of the reference point RP. The compensation data generation module 133 may calculate the compensation data DATA for the neighboring point TP by multiplying the photographing data ID of the reference point RP by the scaling value SV of the neighboring point TP.

[0069] For example, the compensation data generation module 133 may calculate the compensation data DATA1 of the first neighboring point TP1 using Equation 3 below.

[0070] DATA1 = ID0 × SV1 Equation 3

[0071] In Equation 3, "DATA1" refers to the compensation data of the first neighboring point TP1, "ID0" refers to the photographic data of the reference point RP, and "SV1" refers to the scaling value of the first neighboring point TP1. Therefore, the compensation data generation module 133 can calculate the compensation data DATA1 of the first neighboring point TP1 by multiplying the photographic data ID0 of the reference point RP by the scaling value SV1 of the first neighboring point TP1.

[0072] For example, the compensation data generation module 133 may calculate the compensation data DATA2 of the second neighboring point TP2 using Equation 4 below.

[0073] DATA2 = ID0 × SV2 Equation 4

[0074] In Equation 4, "DATA2" refers to the compensation data of the second neighboring point TP2, "ID0" refers to the photographic data of the reference point RP, and "SV2" refers to the scaling value of the second neighboring point TP2. Therefore, the compensation data generation module 133 can calculate the compensation data DATA2 of the second neighboring point TP2 by multiplying the photographic data ID0 of the reference point RP by the scaling value SV2 of the second neighboring point TP2.

[0075] The scaling module 132 may set the scaling value SV0 of the reference point RP to 1. Therefore, the compensation data generating module 133 may calculate the compensation data DATA0 of the reference point RP that is the same as the photographing data ID0 of the reference point RP.

[0076] For example, the scaling module 132 and the compensation data generating module 133 may calculate the scaling value SV and the compensation data DATA of each of the reference point RP and the first and second neighboring points TP1 and TP2 as shown in Table 1 below.

[0077] [Table 1]

[0078]

[0079] In Table 1, when the measurement data MD0 of the reference point RP and the measurement data MD1 of the first neighboring point TP1 have the same value and the photographic data ID0 of the reference point RP is greater than the photographic data ID1 of the first neighboring point TP1, the compensation data DATA1 of the first neighboring point TP1 may be smaller than the compensation data DATA0 of the reference point RP. When the measurement data MD0 of the reference point RP is greater than the measurement data MD2 of the second neighboring point TP2 and the photographic data ID0 of the reference point RP and the photographic data ID2 of the second neighboring point TP2 have the same value, the compensation data DATA2 of the second neighboring point TP2 may be greater than the compensation data DATA0 of the reference point RP.

[0080] The compensation part 130 may provide the compensation data DATA0 of the reference point RP, the compensation data DATA1 of the first neighboring point TP1 , and the compensation data DATA2 of the second neighboring point TP2 to the memory 270 of the display apparatus 200 .

[0081] The compensation part 130 may perform interpolation based on the compensation data DATA0 of the reference point RP and the compensation data DATA1 of the first neighboring point TP1 to generate compensation data DATA of a specific point between the reference point RP and the first neighboring point TP1. The compensation part 130 may perform interpolation based on the compensation data DATA0 of the reference point RP and the compensation data DATA2 of the second neighboring point TP2 to generate compensation data DATA of a specific point between the reference point RP and the second neighboring point TP2.

[0082] Therefore, the compensation unit 130 can prevent the vignetting phenomenon of the camera 120 by generating the scaled value SV and the compensation data DATA reflecting the measurement data MD of the reference point RP, the photographic data ID of the reference point RP, the measurement data MD of the neighboring point TP, and the photographic data ID of the neighboring point TP, so as to reduce or eliminate distortion caused by the characteristics of the camera 120. When the display panel 210 does not have uniform brightness, the compensation unit 130 can improve the brightness uniformity of the display panel 210 through the compensation data DATA.

[0083] The display device 200 is a device for displaying moving images or still images. For example, the display device 200 can be used as a display screen for various products such as televisions, notebook computers, monitors, billboards, and Internet of Things (IoT) devices, as well as portable electronic devices such as mobile phones, smartphones, tablet personal computers (tablet PCs), smart watches, watch phones, mobile communication terminals, electronic notebooks, electronic books, portable multimedia players (PMPs), navigation systems, and ultra-mobile PCs (UMPCs).

[0084] The display device 200 may include at least one of an organic light-emitting display device using an organic light-emitting diode, a quantum dot light-emitting display device including a quantum dot light-emitting layer, an inorganic light-emitting display device including an inorganic light-emitting diode, and a micro light-emitting display device including a micro light-emitting diode.

[0085] The display device 200 includes a display panel 210 , a timing controller 220 , a data driver 230 , a power supply 240 , a gate driver 250 , an emission control driver 260 , and a memory 270 .

[0086] The display panel 210 may include a display area DA in which pixels SP are formed to display an image, and a non-display area NDA corresponding to a peripheral area of the display area DA. The display area DA may include pixels SP, gate lines GL electrically connected to the pixels SP, emission control lines EML, data lines DL, and drive voltage lines VDDL. The gate lines GL and the emission control lines EML are formed substantially parallel to each other in a first direction (or horizontal direction). The data lines DL and the drive voltage lines VDDL may be formed substantially parallel to each other in a second direction (vertical direction) intersecting the first direction.

[0087] Each pixel SP may include a driving transistor, at least one switching transistor, a light-emitting element, and at least one capacitor. When a gate signal is applied from a gate line GL, the switching transistor may be turned on. A data voltage from a data line DL may be applied to the gate electrode of the driving transistor. The driving transistor may supply a driving current to the light-emitting element based on the data voltage applied to the gate electrode, and the light-emitting element may emit light having a brightness that is determined by the driving current. For example, the light-emitting element may include at least one of an organic light-emitting diode, an inorganic light-emitting diode, and a micro light-emitting diode. The capacitor may maintain a constant data voltage applied to the gate electrode of the driving transistor.

[0088] In an embodiment, the non-display area NDA may be defined as a region from a boundary of the display area DA to an edge of the display panel 210 .

[0089] The timing controller 220 may receive compensation data DATA from the memory 270 and may receive timing signals from a circuit board (not shown). Based on the timing signals, the timing controller 220 may generate a data control signal DCS for controlling the operation timing of the data driver 230, a gate control signal GCS for controlling the operation timing of the gate driver 250, and an emission control signal ECS for controlling the operation timing of the emission control driver 260. The timing controller 220 may supply the compensation data DATA and the data control signal DCS to the data driver 230. The timing controller 220 may supply the gate control signal GCS to the gate driver 250 and the emission control signal ECS to the emission control driver 260.

[0090] The data driver 230 may convert the compensation data DATA into a data voltage to supply the data voltage to the data line DL through the fan-out line. The gate signal of the gate driver 250 may select a pixel SP to be supplied with the data voltage, and the data driver 230 may supply the data voltage to the selected pixel SP.

[0091] The power supply 240 may generate a driving voltage and supply the driving voltage to the driving voltage line VDDL. The power supply 240 may generate a common voltage and supply the common voltage to the cathode electrode of the light-emitting element of each pixel SP. For example, the driving voltage may be a high potential voltage for driving the light-emitting element, and the common voltage may be a low potential voltage for driving the light-emitting element.

[0092] The gate driver 250 can generate gate signals based on the gate control signal GCS and sequentially output the gate signals to the gate lines GL. The gate driver 250 may include thin film transistors. The thin film transistors of the gate driver 250 and the thin film transistors of the pixels SP may be formed on the same layer. For example, the gate driver 250 may be formed in the non-display area NDA on one side (e.g., the left side) of the display area DA, but the position of the gate driver 250 is not limited thereto. As another example, the gate driver 250 may be formed in the non-display area NDA on both sides (e.g., the left and right sides) of the display area DA.

[0093] The emission control driver 260 may generate emission signals according to the emission control signal ECS and sequentially output the emission signals to the emission control lines EML.

[0094] The memory 270 may receive and store the compensation data DATA from the optical compensation device 100. The memory 270 may supply the compensation data DATA to the timing controller 220.

[0095] Figure 5is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of an optical compensation process in an optical compensation system according to an embodiment.

[0096] refer to Figure 5 , the display panel 210 may include a first pixel SP1, a second pixel SP2, and a third pixel SP3. For example, the first pixel SP1 may emit light of a first color or red light, the second pixel SP2 may emit light of a second color or green light, and the third pixel SP3 may emit light of a third color or blue light, but the colors of the light from the first pixel SP1, the second pixel SP2, and the third pixel SP3 are not limited thereto.

[0097] When the first pixel SP1 of the display panel 210 emits light of the first color, the measurement unit 110 can measure the brightness of the first color image to generate measurement data MD_R. The camera 120 can capture the display panel 210 displaying the first color image to generate a captured image PI of the first color. The pre-processing module 131 can generate captured data ID_R of the first color based on the captured image PI of the first color. The scaling module 132 can calculate a scaled value SV_R of the first color, and the compensation data generation module 133 can calculate compensation data DATA_R of the first color. Therefore, the compensation unit 130 can provide the compensation data DATA_R of the first color to the memory 270.

[0098] When the second pixel SP2 of the display panel 210 emits light of the second color, the measurement unit 110 can measure the brightness of the second color image to generate measurement data MD_G. The camera 120 can capture the display panel 210 displaying the second color image to generate a captured image PI of the second color. The pre-processing module 131 can generate captured data ID_G of the second color based on the captured image PI of the second color. The scaling module 132 can calculate a scaling value SV_G of the second color, and the compensation data generation module 133 can calculate compensation data DATA_G of the second color. Therefore, the compensation unit 130 can provide the compensation data DATA_G of the second color to the memory 270.

[0099] When the third pixel SP3 of the display panel 210 emits light of the third color, the measurement unit 110 can measure the brightness of the third color image to generate measurement data MD_B. The camera 120 can capture the display panel 210 displaying the third color image to generate a captured image PI of the third color. The pre-processing module 131 can generate captured data ID_B of the third color based on the captured image PI of the third color. The scaling module 132 can calculate a scaling value SV_B of the third color, and the compensation data generation module 133 can calculate compensation data DATA_B of the third color. Therefore, the compensation unit 130 can provide the compensation data DATA_B of the third color to the memory 270.

[0100] Therefore, the optical compensation device 100 can generate compensation data DATA based on each of the first color image, the second color image and the third color image of the display panel 210, and can improve the brightness uniformity of the first color image, the second color image and the third color image of the display panel 210.

[0101] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating another example of an optical compensation process in an optical compensation system according to an embodiment.

[0102] refer to Figure 6 The display panel 210 may include a first pixel SP1, a second pixel SP2, and a third pixel SP3. For example, the first pixel SP1 may emit a first color of light or red light, the second pixel SP2 may emit a second color of light or green light, and the third pixel SP3 may emit a third color of light or blue light, but the colors of the light are not limited thereto.

[0103] When the first pixel SP1, the second pixel SP2, and the third pixel SP3 of the display panel 210 emit light, the display panel 210 may emit white light. The measuring unit 110 may measure the brightness of the white light to generate measurement data MD. The camera 120 may capture the display panel 210 displaying a white image to generate a white captured image PI, and the pre-processing module 131 may generate white captured data ID based on the white captured image PI. The scaling module 132 may calculate a scaling value SV for white, and the compensation data generation module 133 may calculate compensation data DATA for white. Therefore, the compensation unit 130 may provide the white compensation data DATA to the memory 270.

[0104] Figure 7 is a flowchart illustrating an optical compensation process in an optical compensation system according to an embodiment.

[0105] refer to Figure 7 The measuring unit 110 may measure the luminance of a specific point of the display panel 210 to generate measurement data MD (step S100). The measuring unit 110 may measure the luminance or chromaticity of a specific point of the display panel 210 and generate measurement data MD based on the measured luminance or chromaticity.

[0106] The camera 120 may capture a surface (e.g., the entire surface or the entire surface) of the display panel 210 to generate a captured image PI. The pre-processing module 131 may receive the captured image PI from the camera 120 to pre-process the captured image PI. The pre-processing module 131 may pre-process the captured image PI to generate captured data ID corresponding to each of the reference point RP and the at least one neighboring point TP (step S200).

[0107] The scaling module 132 may generate a scaling value SV for the neighboring point TP based on the measurement data MD of the reference point RP, the photographic data ID of the reference point RP, the measurement data MD of the neighboring point TP, and the photographic data ID of the neighboring point TP. The compensation data generating module 133 may generate compensation data DATA for the neighboring point TP based on the scaling value SV of the neighboring point TP and the photographic data ID of the reference point RP (step S300).

[0108] The compensation unit 130 may provide the generated compensation data DATA to the memory 270 of the display device 200. The timing controller 220 may receive the compensation data DATA from the memory 270 and may receive a timing signal from a circuit board (not shown). The data driver 230 may receive the compensation data DATA from the timing controller 220 to generate a data voltage (step S400).

[0109] The data driver 230 may supply the data voltage to the data line DL. The gate signal of the gate driver 250 may select a pixel SP to be supplied with the data voltage, and the data driver 230 may supply the data voltage to the selected pixel SP.

[0110] Figure 8 FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an optical compensation system according to an embodiment. Figure 7 Flowchart of the process of generating measurement data shown in .

[0111] refer to Figure 8 The measuring unit 110 can measure the brightness or chromaticity of a specific point of the display panel 210 and generate measurement data MD based on the measured brightness or chromaticity. For example, the measuring unit 110 can directly contact a specific point of the display panel 210 to measure the brightness of the specific point, but the method of measuring brightness is not limited thereto.

[0112] The measuring part 110 may measure the brightness of the reference point RP to generate measurement data MD0 of the reference point RP (step S110 ).

[0113] The measuring unit 110 may measure the brightness of at least one neighboring point TP to generate measurement data MD of the neighboring point TP (step S120). For example, the measuring unit 110 may measure the brightness of the first neighboring point TP1 to generate measurement data MD1 of the first neighboring point TP1, and may measure the brightness of the second neighboring point TP2 to generate measurement data MD2 of the second neighboring point TP2.

[0114] Figure 9 FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an optical compensation system according to an embodiment. Figure 7 Flowchart of the process of generating shooting data shown in .

[0115] refer to Figure 9 , the camera 120 may photograph the entire surface of the display panel 210 to generate a photographed image PI (step S210 ).

[0116] The pre-processing module 131 may receive the photographed image PI of the camera 120 to pre-process the photographed image PI. The pre-processing module 131 may align pixels of the photographed image PI and pixels of the display panel 210 (step S220).

[0117] The pre-processing module 131 may filter the pixels of the captured image PI (step S230). For example, the pre-processing module 131 may filter the pixels of the captured image PI using a Gaussian filter, but the method of filtering the pixels is not limited thereto.

[0118] The pre-processing module 131 may match the pixels of the photographed image PI with the pixels of the display panel 210 to generate photographed data ID (step S240 ).

[0119] Figure 10 FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an optical compensation system according to an embodiment. Figure 7 Flowchart of the process of generating compensation data shown in .

[0120] refer to Figure 10 The scaling module 132 may generate a scaling value SV for the neighboring point TP based on the measurement data MD of the reference point RP, the photographic data ID of the reference point RP, the measurement data MD of the neighboring point TP, and the photographic data ID of the neighboring point TP. The scaling module 132 may calculate the scaling value SV by multiplying the ratio of the photographic data ID of the neighboring point TP to the measurement data MD of the neighboring point TP and the ratio of the measurement data MD of the reference point RP to the photographic data ID of the reference point RP (step S310).

[0121] The compensation data generation module 133 may generate compensation data DATA for the neighboring point TP based on the scaling value SV of the neighboring point TP and the photographing data ID of the reference point RP. The compensation data generation module 133 may calculate the compensation data DATA for the neighboring point TP by multiplying the photographing data ID of the reference point RP and the scaling value SV of the neighboring point TP (step S320).

[0122] Figure 11 is a diagram showing the color coordinate characteristics of the optical compensation system according to the embodiment. For example, Figure 11 1 and 2. The first display device OCD1 that does not perform optical compensation, the second display device OCD2 that performs optical compensation using a camera, and the second display device OCD3 that performs optical compensation using a camera are shown. Figures 1 to 4 The optical compensation device 100 shown in FIG. 1 performs optical compensation on the color coordinates Δu′v′ of the third display device OCD3 .

[0123] refer to Figure 11 , the first display device OCD1 may have a color coordinate Δu'v' of 0.0137, the second display device OCD2 may have a color coordinate Δu'v' of 0.0066, and the third display device OCD3 may have a color coordinate Δu'v' of 0.0044. The color coordinate Δu'v' refers to the maximum value of the color deviation between two points on the display panel 210. As the color coordinate Δu'v' of the display device decreases, the brightness uniformity of the display device can be improved.

[0124] For example, since the first display device OCD1 does not perform optical compensation, the first display device OCD1 may have color coordinates Δu'v' higher than those of the second and third display devices OCD2 and OCD3. The second display device OCD2 may perform optical compensation using a camera, but due to a vignetting phenomenon of the camera, may have color coordinates Δu'v' higher than those of the third display device OCD3.

[0125] Therefore, the optical compensation device 100 and the optical compensation system including the optical compensation device 100 can prevent the vignetting phenomenon of the camera 120 by generating the scaled value SV and the compensation data DATA reflecting the measurement data MD of the reference point RP, the photographic data ID of the reference point RP, the measurement data MD of the neighboring point TP, and the photographic data ID of the neighboring point TP, so as to eliminate distortion caused by the characteristics of the camera 120. When the display panel 210 does not have uniform brightness, the optical compensation device 100 and the optical compensation system including the optical compensation device 100 can improve the brightness uniformity of the display panel 210 through the compensation data DATA.

[0126] At the end of the detailed description, those skilled in the art will appreciate that many changes and modifications may be made to the embodiments without departing substantially from the principles of the present disclosure. Therefore, the disclosed embodiments are used in a general and descriptive sense only and not for the purpose of limitation.

Claims

1. An optical compensation device, comprising: a measuring unit configured to measure the brightness of a reference point of a display panel displaying an image and the brightness of at least one adjacent point separated from the reference point, and generate measurement data; a camera, configured to photograph the surface of the display panel and generate a photographed image; as well as a compensation unit that generates a scaling value for the at least one neighboring point based on the measurement data of the reference point, the captured data of the reference point generated based on the captured image, the measurement data of the at least one neighboring point, and the captured data of the at least one neighboring point generated based on the captured image, and generates compensation data for the at least one neighboring point based on the scaling value of the at least one neighboring point and the captured data of the reference point.

2. The optical compensation device according to claim 1, wherein: The compensation section generates the scaling value by multiplying a ratio of the photographed data of the at least one neighboring point to the measured data of the at least one neighboring point and a ratio of the measured data of the reference point to the photographed data of the reference point.

3. The optical compensation device according to claim 1, wherein: The compensation section generates the compensation data of the at least one neighboring point by multiplying the photographed data of the reference point and the scaling value of the at least one neighboring point.

4. The optical compensation device according to claim 1, wherein: The compensation section generates compensation data of the reference point that is identical to the photographic data of the reference point.

5. The optical compensation device according to claim 4, wherein: The compensation section performs interpolation based on the compensation data of the reference point and the compensation data of the at least one adjacent point, and generates compensation data for a specific point between the reference point and the at least one adjacent point.

6. The optical compensation device according to claim 1, wherein: When the measurement data of the reference point is the same as the measurement data of the at least one neighboring point and the photographed data of the reference point is greater than the photographed data of the at least one neighboring point, the compensation data of the at least one neighboring point is less than the compensation data of the reference point.

7. The optical compensation device according to claim 1, wherein: When the measurement data of the reference point is greater than the measurement data of the at least one neighboring point and the photographed data of the reference point is identical to the photographed data of the at least one neighboring point, the compensation data of the at least one neighboring point is greater than the compensation data of the reference point.

8. The optical compensation device according to claim 1, wherein: The measuring part directly contacts the reference point of the display panel or the at least one adjacent point of the display panel to measure the brightness of the reference point or the at least one adjacent point.

9. The optical compensation device according to claim 1, wherein: The compensation unit includes: a preprocessing module, configured to preprocess the captured image of the camera and generate captured data corresponding to each of the reference point and the at least one adjacent point; a scaling module, generating the scaling value; and A compensation data generating module generates the compensation data.

10. The optical compensation device according to claim 9, wherein: The pre-processing module aligns a plurality of pixels of the display panel with a plurality of pixels of the captured image, The pre-processing module filters the plurality of pixels of the captured image, and The pre-processing module matches the multiple pixels of the captured image with the multiple pixels of the display panel respectively.

11. The optical compensation device according to claim 10, wherein: The pre-processing module filters the multiple pixels of the captured image using a Gaussian filter.

12. The optical compensation device according to claim 1, wherein: The measuring section measures luminance of each of a red image, a green image, and a blue image displayed on the display panel and generates measurement data of each of the red image, the green image, and the blue image.

13. The optical compensation device according to claim 1, wherein: The measuring section measures the brightness of a white image displayed on the display panel and generates measurement data of the white image.

14. An optical compensation system, comprising: A display device including a display panel for displaying an image; as well as an optical compensation device that generates compensation data based on an image of the display device; Wherein, the optical compensation device includes: a measuring unit configured to measure the brightness of a reference point of the display panel and the brightness of at least one adjacent point separated from the reference point, and generate measurement data; a camera that captures a surface of the display panel and generates a captured image; and a compensation unit that generates a scaling value for the at least one neighboring point based on the measurement data of the reference point, the captured data of the reference point generated based on the captured image, the measurement data of the at least one neighboring point, and the captured data of the at least one neighboring point generated based on the captured image, and generates compensation data for the at least one neighboring point based on the scaling value of the at least one neighboring point and the captured data of the reference point.

15. The optical compensation system according to claim 14, wherein: The compensation section generates the scaling value by multiplying a ratio of the photographed data of the at least one neighboring point to the measured data of the at least one neighboring point and a ratio of the measured data of the reference point to the photographed data of the reference point.

16. The optical compensation system according to claim 14, wherein: The compensation section generates the compensation data of the at least one neighboring point by multiplying the photographed data of the reference point and the scaling value of the at least one neighboring point.

17. The optical compensation system according to claim 14, wherein: The display device further includes: a data driver for supplying data voltages to the data lines of the display panel; a gate driver for supplying gate signals to gate lines of the display panel; a timing controller, controlling the driving timing of the data driver and the gate driver; and A memory stores the compensation data and supplies the compensation data to the timing controller.

18. The optical compensation system according to claim 17, wherein: The compensation section generates the compensation data of the at least one neighboring point and supplies the compensation data to the memory.

19. The optical compensation system according to claim 17, wherein: The timing controller receives the compensation data of the at least one neighboring point from the memory and supplies the compensation data and a data control signal for controlling an operation timing of the data driver to the data driver.

20. The optical compensation system according to claim 17, wherein: The data driver generates the data voltage based on the compensation data of the at least one neighboring dot.

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