Distributed Aperture Head-Up Display for Visual Artifact Reduction
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Pixeled displays, such as LCDs, suffer from undesirable visual artifacts like Moiré patterns and 'screen door' effects due to their inherent structural periodicity, which existing solutions attempt to mitigate with smaller pixels or diffuser screens but result in decreased aperture ratio and increased complexity.
Innovation Solution
The use of distributed active regions in pixels, where multiple parallel coupled regions can be simultaneously switched, reducing first-order spatial harmonics and limiting pixel subtense angle to minimize visual artifacts.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If smaller pixels are used to reduce visual artifacts, then the screen door effect is reduced, but the aperture ratio decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The active aperture of each pixel is divided into multiple distributed sub-apertures (e.g., four quadrants) separated by non-switchable regions. This segmentation disrupts the periodic structure that causes visual artifacts while maintaining the total active aperture area, thereby reducing screen door effects without sacrificing brightness.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If diffuser screens are used to mitigate visual artifacts, then Moiré patterns are reduced, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of adding external diffuser screens, the patent segments the active aperture into multiple distributed regions within each pixel. This internal segmentation approach achieves Moiré pattern reduction through structural modification rather than adding separate optical components, thereby reducing device complexity.
3Manufacturing precision
If the number of pixels is increased to improve resolution, then image detail is improved, but manufacturing complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent distributes the active aperture area across multiple spatial regions within each pixel (e.g., dividing into four quadrants). This dimensional redistribution of the active area allows maintaining resolution while altering the periodic structure that causes artifacts, avoiding the need to simply increase pixel count.
Data Source
AI summary
Method and apparatus are provided for displaying an image to a viewer with reduced visual artifacts. The apparatus comprises a display panel for forming the image using an array of pixels with distributed active regions, and a viewing arrangement optically situated between the display panel and the viewer for transferring the image formed on the display panel to the viewer with limited angular pixel subtense. The distributed active regions of the pixels are desirably divided into at least two simultaneously switched portions at least partly separated by or surrounding a significant portion of the non-switchable region. First order spatial harmonics and associated artifacts are reduced by the distributed apertures and second order and higher harmonics are reduced by limiting the pixel subtense angle seen by the viewer. A significant reduction in visual artifacts arising from the periodic structure of the display panel is obtained.