IP Library Granted Patent US 9,551,870
Granted Patent B2
US 9,551,870 · App. 14/334,002 · Granted Jan 24, 2017

Transmissive display device and method of controlling transmissive display device

Inventor: Hiroyuki Baba (Azumino, JP)
Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
G02B27/017G02B2027/0118G02B2027/0178G09G2360/144
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 9,551,870
App. No.
14/334,002
Filed
Jul 17, 2014
Granted
Jan 24, 2017
Kind
B2
Art Unit
2612
USPC
345/589
Abstract

A head mounted display device that allows a user to visually recognize a content as a virtual image, includes a display part that displays the content in a predetermined display area, and a control part that determines a background color of the content and use environment brightness and adjusts brightness of the display area in response to the determination results thereof.

Claims (38)

1. A transmissive display device that allows a user to visually recognize a content as a virtual image, comprising:

a display part that displays the content in a predetermined display area;

a light source for image light that forms the content displayed by the display part; and

at least one processor that executes one or more programs to realize one or more functions of:

an image processing part that receives, from one or more external supply sources, input image data representative of the content,

a background color determination part that determines a background color of the input image data received from the one or more external supply sources; and

a brightness adjustment part that

calculates an intensity of the light source based on the determined background color of the input image data received from the one or more external supply sources, and

adjusts the intensity of the light source based on the calculated intensity of the light source to facilitate visual recognition of the content as the virtual image,

wherein the calculating of the intensity of the light source comprises determining whether the background color of the input image data received from the one or more external supply sources is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value.

2. The transmissive display device according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor executes the one or more programs to further realize one or more functions of a use environment brightness determination part that determines use environment brightness,

wherein the brightness adjustment part adjusts the intensity of the light source based further on the use environment brightness.

3. The transmissive display device according to claim 2 , wherein the calculating of the intensity of the light source further comprises determining whether the use environment brightness is equal to or greater than a second predetermined threshold value.

4. The transmissive display device according to claim 3 , wherein the brightness adjustment part calculates the intensity of the light source to be a first brightness level if the background color of the image data received from the one or more external supply sources is equal to or greater than the first predetermined threshold value and the use environment brightness is less than the second predetermined threshold value, and calculates the intensity of the light source to be a second brightness level different from the first brightness level if the background color of the image data received from the one or more external supply sources is less than the first predetermined threshold value and the use environment brightness is equal to or greater than the second predetermined threshold value.

5. The transmissive display device according to claim 4 , wherein the second brightness level is brighter than the first brightness level.

6. The transmissive display device according to claim 1 , wherein

the content is a book content, and

the background color determination part determines the background color in a text area of the book content.

7. The transmissive display device according to claim 6 , wherein the at least one processor executes the one or more programs to further realize one or more functions of a character color determination part that determines a character color in the text area,

wherein the brightness adjustment part adjusts the intensity of the light source based further on the character color.

8. The transmissive display device according to claim 1 , wherein the background color determination part determines a color most frequently appearing in the image data received from the one or more external supply sources as the background color of the image data received from the one or more external supply sources.

9. The transmissive display device according to claim 1 , wherein the background color determination part detects areas in the same color in a predetermined or wider range from the content and determines the color of the areas in the same color as the background color of the image data received from the one or more external supply sources.

10. The transmissive display device according to claim 1 , wherein

the content is a book content, and

the background color determination part detects data in a predetermined position in a predetermined page of the book content and determines a color of the data in the predetermined position in the predetermined page of the book as the background color of the image data received from the one or more external supply sources.

11. The transmissive display device according to claim 1 , wherein

the light source includes a backlight for right eye and a backlight for left eye, and

the brightness adjustment part independently adjusts an intensity of the backlight for right eye and an intensity of the backlight for left eye.

12. The transmissive display device according to claim 1 , wherein the brightness adjustment part calculates the intensity of the light source to be a first brightness level if the background color of the image data received from the one or more external supply sources is equal to or greater than the first predetermined threshold value, and calculates the intensity of the light source to be a second brightness level different from the first brightness level if the background color of the image data received from the one or more external supply sources is less than the first predetermined threshold value.

13. The transmissive display device according to claim 12 , wherein the second brightness level is brighter than the first brightness level.

14. The transmissive display device according to claim 1 , further comprising a display driving part that includes the light source.

15. The transmissive display device according to claim 14 , wherein the display driving part includes at least one of a liquid crystal display device, an organic electro-luminescence display device, a digital micromirror device, a laser retina projection device, and a scanning system using a micro electro-mechanical system (“MEMS”) mirror.

16. A method of controlling a transmissive display device that allows a user to visually recognize a content as a virtual image, comprising:

receiving, by a control unit having at least one processor, input image data from one or more external supply sources, the input image data representative of the content;

determining, by the control unit, a background color of the input image data received from the one or more external supply sources;

calculating, by the control unit, an intensity of a light source for image light that forms the content based on the determined background color of the input image data received from the one or more external supply sources; and

adjusting, by the control unit, the intensity of the light source based on the calculated intensity of the light source to facilitate visual recognition of the content as the virtual image,

wherein the calculating of the intensity of the light source comprises determining whether the background color of the input image data received from the one or more external supply sources is equal to or greater than a first predetermined threshold value.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Jul 17, 2014
From: BABA, HIROYUKI
To: SEIKO EPSON CORPORATION
Reel/Frame 033334/0811 →
Priority Claims (1)
JP 2013-149355 · Jul 18, 2013 · national
Continuity (1)
Related Publication 20150022542A1 · Jan 22, 2015