Liquid crystal drive apparatus, image display apparatus capable of reducing degradation in image quality due to disclination, and storage medium storing liquid crystal drive program capable thereof

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10163382-B2
Application number	US-201615253976-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 1, 2016
Priority date	Sep 8, 2015
Publication date	Dec 25, 2018
Grant date	Dec 25, 2018

Abstract

The liquid crystal drive apparatus drives a liquid crystal element. The apparatus includes an image data producer producing, using each of multiple input frame image data continuously input thereto, first frame image data and second frame image data, and a driver sequentially controlling, depending on the first frame image data and the second frame image data, application of a first voltage or a second voltage lower than the first voltage to each of multiple pixels of the liquid crystal element in respective multiple sub-frame periods included in one frame period to cause that pixel to form a tone. Pixel data at pixel positions corresponding to each other in the first and second frame image data have mutually different tones. A tone difference between the mutually different tones is 20% or less of a higher one of the mutually different tones.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A liquid crystal drive apparatus configured to drive a liquid crystal element, the apparatus comprising:
an image data producer configured to produce, using each of multiple input frame image data continuously input thereto, first frame image data and second frame image data; and
a driver configured to drive the liquid crystal element so as to cause each of multiple pixels of the liquid crystal element to form a tone by sequentially controlling, depending on the first frame image data and the second frame image data, application of a first voltage or a second voltage lower than the first voltage to each of the multiple pixels of the liquid crystal element in each of multiple sub-frame periods that are included in one frame period and in which the liquid crystal element is driven depending on one of the first and second image data,
wherein the image data producer is configured to (a) apply a first gain to all tones of the input frame image data to produce the first frame image data and (b) apply a second gain different from the first gain to the all tones of that input frame image data to produce the second frame image data, and
wherein a difference between the first gain and the second gain is 20% or less of a higher one of the first and second gains.

2. A liquid crystal drive apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the difference between the first gain and the second gain is 1% or more of the higher one of the first and second gains.

3. A liquid crystal drive apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the image data producer is configured to produce, using the respective input frame image data continuously input thereto, the first and second frame image data such that a sum of the first and second gains applied to the respective input frame image data is fixed.

4. A liquid crystal drive apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein, when the sub-frame period where the first voltage is applied to the pixel is referred to as an ON period, the sub-frame period where the second voltage is applied to the pixel is referred to as an OFF period, and the sub-frame period that corresponds to the ON period and the OFF period respectively for a first pixel and a second pixel of two mutually adjacent pixels in the multiple pixels is referred to as an ON/OFF adjacent period,
the image data producer is configured to provide the difference between the first and second gains such that, in a case where the ON/OFF adjacent period is generated for the first and second pixels when the liquid crystal element is driven depending on one of the first and second frame image data, the ON/OFF adjacent period is not generated for the first and second pixels when the liquid crystal element is driven depending on another one of the first and second frame image data.

5. A liquid crystal drive apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the image data producer is configured to provide the difference between the first and second gains such that in the liquid crystal element a pixel position at which disclination is generated when the liquid crystal element is driven depending on the first frame image data and that at which the disclination is generated when the liquid crystal element is driven depending on the second frame image data are mutually different.

6. An image display apparatus comprising:
a liquid crystal element; and
a liquid crystal drive apparatus configured to drive the liquid crystal element,
wherein the liquid crystal drive apparatus comprises:
an image data producer configured to produce, using each of multiple input frame image data continuously input thereto, first frame image data and second frame image data; and
a driver configured to drive the liquid crystal element so as to cause each of multiple pixels of the liquid crystal element to form a tone by sequentially controlling, depending on the first frame image data and the second frame image data, application of a first voltage or a second voltage lower than the first voltage to each of the multiple pixels of the liquid crystal element in each of multiple sub-frame periods that are included in one frame period and in which the liquid crystal element is driven depending on one of the first and second image data,
wherein the image data producer is configured to (a) apply a first gain to all tones of the input frame image data to produce the first frame image data and (b) apply a second gain different from the first gain to the all tones of that input frame image data to produce the second frame image data, and
wherein a difference between the first gain and the second gain is 20% or less of a higher one of the first and second gains.

7. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a liquid crystal drive program as a computer program to cause a computer to drive a liquid crystal element, the program causing the computer to:
produce, using each of multiple input frame image data continuously input to the computer, first frame image data and second frame image data; and
drive the liquid crystal element so as to cause each of multiple pixels of the liquid crystal element to form a tone by sequentially controlling, depending on the first frame image data and the second frame image data, application of a first voltage or a second voltage lower than the first voltage to each of the multiple pixels of the liquid crystal element in each of multiple sub-frame periods that are included in one frame period and in which the liquid crystal element is driven depending on one of the first and second image data,
wherein the program causes the computer to (a) apply a first gain to all tones of the input frame image data to produce the first frame image data and (b) apply a second gain different from the first gain to the all tones of that input frame image data to produce the second frame image data, and
wherein a difference between the first gain and the second gain is 20% or less of a higher one of the first and second gains.

8. A liquid crystal drive apparatus comprising:
an image data producer configured to (a) produce, using first input frame image data of multiple input frame image data continuously input thereto, first output frame image data and first low-tone output frame image data whose tone is lower than that of the first output frame image data and (b) produce, using second input frame image data of the multiple input frame image data, second output frame image data and second low-tone output frame image data whose tone is lower than that of the second output frame image data; and
a driver configured to drive the liquid crystal element so as to cause each of multiple pixels of the liquid crystal element to form a tone by sequentially controlling, depending on the first output frame image data, the first low-tone output frame image data, the second output frame image data and the second low-tone output frame image data, application of a first voltage or a second voltage lower than the first voltage to each of the multiple pixels of the liquid crystal element in each of multiple sub-frame periods that are included in one frame period and in which the liquid crystal element is driven depending on one of the first, first low-tone, second and second low-tone output frame image data,
wherein the image data producer is configured to (a) apply a first gain to all tones of the first input frame image data to produce the first output frame image data, (b) apply a first low gain lower than the first gain to the all tones of the first input frame image data to produce the first low-tone output frame image data, (c) apply a second gain different from the first gain to the all tones of the second input frame image data to produce the second output frame image data and (d) apply a second low gain lower than

Assignees

• Canon Kk

Inventors

• Ichimasa Shoji
• Abe Masayuki

Classifications

• G09G3/3611

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• G09G2310/0235

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• G09G2320/0673

  for control of gamma adjustment, e.g. selecting another gamma curve · CPC title

• G09G3/36

  using liquid crystals · CPC title

• G02F1/1337

  Surface-induced orientation of the liquid crystal molecules, e.g. by alignment layers · CPC title