Display and method for processing curved image thereof

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10074347-B2
Application number	US-201514850640-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 10, 2015
Priority date	Sep 11, 2014
Publication date	Sep 11, 2018
Grant date	Sep 11, 2018

Abstract

A curved display and a method for processing an image thereof are discussed. The curved display according to an embodiment includes a display panel selectively including a flat surface and a curved surface, and a controller including a signal processor for receiving image signal information from an external system, converting the image signal information into an image signal appropriate for the display panel, and distributing the image signal to the display panel, and a curved image generator for receiving the image signal and generating a curved image signal varied to correspond to a viewer's horopter surface corresponding to a curved surface when the display panel is a curved surface.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A curved display comprising:
a display panel selectively comprising a flat surface and a curved surface; and
a controller comprising:
a signal processor configured to receive image signal information from an external system, convert the image signal information into an image signal appropriate for the display panel, and distribute the image signal to the display panel; and
a curved image generator configured to receive the image signal and generate a curved image signal varied to correspond to a viewer's horopter surface corresponding to the curved surface of the display panel,

wherein the curved image signal is concentrated in a central portion of the curved surface of the display panel among the central portion and a peripheral portion, the central portion being shaped as a circular arc, and the peripheral portion including left, right, upper and lower portions of the display panel, and
wherein the curved image signal is further compensated for positional differences between virtual sectors and original sectors in generating the curved image signal for the viewer's horopter surface based on the curved image signal being concentrated in the central portion of the curved surface of the display panel and not at the peripheral portion.

2. The curved display according to claim 1 , wherein the controller further comprises:
an image signal input unit to receive the image signal information from the external system;
a curvature determination unit to determine whether a display surface is the flat surface or the curved surface according to curvature of the display panel;
a frame memory to store the curved image signal in units of frames; and
an image selection unit to distribute the image signal converted by the signal processor when the display surface is the flat surface according to a determination of the curvature determination unit, and to distribute the curved image signal from the frame memory to the display panel when the display surface is the curved surface according to the determination of the curvature determination unit.

3. The curved display according to claim 2 , wherein:
the controller further comprises a lookup table for storing the parameter values for the respective sectors on a matrix corresponding to curvature of the display panel; and
wherein the parameter values for the respective sectors are transmitted from the lookup table to the curved image generator.

4. The curved display according to claim 2 , further comprising an eye tracking sensor configured to track movement of the viewer's eye at one edge of the display panel.

5. The curved display according to claim 4 , wherein the movement of the viewer's eye tracked by the eye tracking sensor is transmitted to the controller and is used to define the viewer's horopter surface.

6. The curved display according to claim 4 , wherein the curved image generator receives the viewer's eye movement information from the eye tracking sensor.

7. The curved display according to claim 1 , wherein a curved image of the curved image signal corresponds to a point of the curved surface, to which a convergence point of the horopter surface of the viewer's is projected.

8. A display comprising:
a display panel comprising a display surface; and
a controller comprising:
a signal processor configured to receive image signal information from an external system, convert the image signal information into an image signal appropriate for the display panel, and distribute the image signal to the display panel; and
a curved image generator configured to generate a curved image signal varied to correspond to a viewer's horopter surface based on a curved surface of the display panel,
wherein the curved surface of the display panel is closer to the viewer's horopter surface than a flat surface of the display panel,
wherein each of original sectors is defined as rectangular in the flat surface of the display panel, and
wherein at least one original sector of the original sectors is modified to a virtual curved sector having curved four sides in the curved surface of the display panel by a curvature of the curved surface of the display panel.

9. The display according to claim 8 , wherein a curved image of the curved image signal corresponds to a point of the curved surface, to which a convergence point of the horopter surface of the viewer's is projected.

10. The display according to claim 8 , wherein the curved surface of the display panel abuts the viewer's horopter surface.

11. A method for processing an image of a display comprising a display panel having a variable display surface of a flat surface or a curved surface, the method comprising:
receiving image signal information from an external system;
converting the image signal information into an image signal appropriate for the display panel;
determining whether a display surface of the display panel is the flat surface or the curved surface according to a curvature of the display panel;
generating a curved image signal corresponding to a horopter surface of a viewer who views the display surface based on the curved surface of the display panel;
storing the curved image signal in units of frames; and
distributing the image signal corresponding to the display panel to the display panel when the display surface of the display panel is the flat surface according to a determination of a curvature determination unit, and distributing a variable image signal to the display panel in the units of frames when the display surface is the curved surface,
wherein the curved surface of the display panel is closer to the horopter surface of the viewer than the flat surface of the display panel,
wherein each of original sectors is defined as rectangular in the flat surface of the display panel, and
wherein at least one original sector of the original sectors is modified to a virtual curved sector having curved four sides in the curved surface of the display panel by a curvature of the curved surface of the display panel.

12. The method according to claim 11 , wherein the generating comprises receiving a viewer's eye movement information from an eye tracking sensor disposed at one edge of the display panel and configuring the horopter surface according to an interval between curved surfaces of the display surface of the display panel such that a curved image corresponds to a point of the display surface, to which a convergence point of the horopter surface is projected.

13. The method according to claim 11 , wherein the generating comprises receiving the parameter values for respective sectors from a lookup table for storing the parameter values for the respective sectors on a matrix appropriate for the curvature of the display panel and varying image signals for the sectors.

14. The method according to claim 11 , wherein the curved surface of the display panel abuts the horopter surface of the viewer.

Assignees

• Lg Display Co Ltd

Inventors

• Kim Hyuck-Jun
• Yu Sang-Ho

Classifications

• G09G5/363

  Graphics controllers · CPC title

• G09G5/395 Primary

  Arrangements specially adapted for transferring the contents of the bit-mapped memory to the screen (G09G5/399 takes precedence) · CPC title

• G09G2380/02

  Flexible displays · CPC title

• G06F3/013

  Eye tracking input arrangements (G06F3/015 takes precedence) · CPC title

• G09G5/37

  Details of the operation on graphic patterns (G09G5/38 takes precedence) · CPC title