Per-Pixel Gain Mapping for Non-Uniform Flat Panel Displays
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Solution Overview
Problem
Low-cost flat panel displays without light guides suffer from non-uniform brightness, leading to degraded image quality and contrast, which negatively impacts the user's viewing experience.
Innovation Solution
The solution involves calculating regional pixel gains to compensate for non-uniform brightness by accounting for the illumination contributions from primary and neighboring backlights, including attenuation, and applying these gains on a per-pixel basis to enhance image quality and reduce power consumption.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If light guides are not included to reduce cost, then manufacturing cost is reduced, but brightness uniformity deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by calculating and applying different gain values to different regions of the display screen. The screen is divided into multiple regions, and each region receives a customized gain adjustment based on its specific illumination characteristics, allowing non-uniform brightness compensation without requiring uniform structural modifications across the entire display.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the parameter of pixel data by applying gain adjustments to compensate for non-uniform brightness. By modifying the luminance values of pixels in different regions according to calculated gain factors, the system compensates for the lack of light guides and achieves improved brightness uniformity through digital parameter transformation.
2Illumination intensity
If backlight intensity is increased to improve brightness, then illumination intensity is improved, but power consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by adjusting pixel gains in specific regions rather than uniformly increasing backlight intensity across the entire screen. This allows brightness compensation in areas that need it while maintaining lower overall backlight power consumption.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical/optical approach of uniformly increasing backlight intensity with a digital signal processing approach. By applying gain adjustments to pixel data, the system achieves brightness improvement without the energy cost of increasing physical backlight illumination across the entire display.
3Illumination intensity
If gain is applied to compensate for non-uniform brightness, then brightness uniformity is improved, but risk of over-saturation increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements feedback by calculating gain values based on the specific illumination characteristics of each region and then applying these gains to pixel data. This closed-loop approach ensures that gain adjustment is precisely tailored to compensate for non-uniform brightness without causing over-saturation, as the gain is derived from actual measured or modeled illumination distribution.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies partial action by regionally adjusting gains only where needed to compensate for non-uniform brightness, rather than applying uniform gain across the entire screen. This selective approach prevents over-saturation in regions that already have adequate brightness while providing necessary compensation in darker regions.
Data Source
AI summary
An aspect of the present invention proposes a solution to allow low-cost flat panel displays without light guides to maintain a high quality image display via enhancement of pixel data to account for non uniform brightness. According to one embodiment, each pixel of a display is mapped to the brightness (intensity) of illumination that reaches the pixel. Regional pixel gains are calculated and applied on a per pixel basis to compensate for the non-uniform brightness across the screen. According to such an embodiment, even low cost flat panel displays experiencing non-uniform brightness can be used to render high quality images.