Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha Corporation

Sharp Corporation

The Secretary of State for Defence in Her Britannic Majesty's Government

Paul Antony Gass

Benjamin John Broughton

Nathan James Smith

Allan Evans

Diana Ulrich Kean

Kenji Maeda

Harry Garth Walton

Thomas Mathew Wynne-Powell

Mitsuhiro Koden

Emma Jayne Walton

Martin David Tillin

Andrew Kay

Aya Miyazaki

Charlotte Wendy Michele Borgers

Michael John Towler

Christopher James Brown

Tatsuo Watanabe

Yoshimitsu Inamori

Takashi Yasumoto

Heather Ann Stevenson

David James Montgomery

John Clifford Jones

Damien Gerard McDonnell

Tomoaki Kuratate

Hywel Hopkin

Graham Roger Jones

Adrian Marc Simon Jacobs

Teiyu Sako

Fumitaka Seki

Akira Sakaigawa

Peter John Roberts

William Frederick Smith

Harald Reinhart Bock

Masahiro Esashi

Yuuichi Sato

Edward David Heywood-Lonsdale

Bronje M Musgrave

John Patrick Nonweiler

Michel Sagardoyburu

Alexander Zawadzki

Jonathan P Bramble

Scott Boham

Marc Paul Servais

Meelis Lootus

Anthony John Carver

James M Ball

A flexible electronic device is used to receive user inputs via flex gestures. The electronic device includes a flexible substrate, a shape sensor configured to determine an axis of bending and a degree of flex of the flexible substrate, and a processor coupled to the shape sensor and configured to determine a flex gesture associated with the axis of bending and the degree of flex, wherein the processor updates an output of the electronic device based on the flex gesture. The output includes display information, user interface elements, and a flex gesture input for a device that is coupled to the electronic device. The flex gestures can be assigned to functions such as moving, zooming, scrolling, cropping, rotating, and selection to manipulate content associated with the flexible electronic device.

System and method for multidimensional flexible display device input

A display system which includes a first image display; a second image display; a reflective polariser disposed between the first image display and the second image display, with the second image display disposed on a viewing side of the display system; and a controller for addressing image data to the first image display and the second image display, wherein the controller, the first image display and second image display are configured to selectively operate in accordance with: a first display function in which the first image display is visible to a viewer through the second image display and the second image display appears substantially transparent to the first image display; a second display function in which the display system is in a reflective mode that conveys information to a user; and a third display function in which images are addressed to both the first image display and the second image display. The second display function may be generated by utilizing a diffusively reflective element such that the display system appears as a patterned diffuse reflection to the view.

Display system with diffuse and specular reflective modes

An illumination system comprises a lightguide () having a plurality of light extraction features (LEFs); and a plurality of independently controllable light sources (). The LEFs have a preferred direction, with light that is incident on an LEF along the preferred direction of the LEF being extracted from the lightguide generally parallel to a reference plane, and light that is incident on an LEF not along the preferred direction of the LEF being extracted from the lightguide at an extraction angle to the reference plane, the extraction angle being related by a response function to an incidence angle between the light propagation direction and the preferred direction of LEF. The shape of the LEFs varies with distance from a reference point or respective reference point so that the response function becomes larger with increasing distance of the LEFs from the reference point.

Light steering backlight

A display device includes control electronics and a pixellated liquid crystal (LC) panel. The control electronics receives inputs of main image data for a main image and side image data for a side image. The control electronics outputs combined image data combining the main and side images such that an on-axis viewer perceives from the combined image the main image, and an off-axis viewer perceives from the combined image the side image. The output image data comprises data values chosen from a set of available output data values for the pixels selected from multiple sets of available data values depending on at least on the side image data. For a pixel currently being processed, the output data value is chosen from the selected set of available output data values for which a resulting luminance value is closest to a target luminance value for the current pixel.

Odd-even veil view for FFS

An active matrix LCD display of the multi-pixel drive (MPD) type, in which a pixel comprises a plurality of sub-pixels with each sub-pixel of a pixel being associated with a respective storage capacitor address lines so that the voltage applied across an individual sub-pixel depends on both the signal voltage and the voltage applied to the associated storage capacitor address line, is driven such that the relationship between at least a first one of the capacitor line voltages and a second one of the capacitor line in a first display refresh period of the frame is different to the relationship between the first of the capacitor line voltages and the second of the capacitor line voltages in a second display refresh period of the frame. This allows the root-mean-square (RMS) voltage applied over the frame across a first of the sub-pixels to be controlled at least partially independently of the RMS voltage applied over the frame across a second of the sub-pixels, thereby providing increased resolution.

Active matrix display device and method of driving same

A display system which includes a first image display; a second image display; a reflective polarizer disposed between the first image display and the second image display, with the second image display disposed on a viewing side of the display system; and a controller for addressing image data to the first image display and the second image display, wherein the controller, the first image display and second image display are configured to selectively operate in accordance with: a first display function in which the first image display is visible to a viewer through the second image display and the second image display appears substantially transparent to the first image display; a second display function in which the display system appears as a plane mirror to the viewer; and a third display function in which the display system appears as a patterned mirror to the viewer.

Multiple function display system

A method of processing image data for display on a display device having a multi-primary image display panel () comprises receiving image data constituting an image for display on the image display panel. In a first mode, signal voltages to be applied to sub-pixels of the image display panel are determined from the received image data and from a secondary data value for the pixel thereby to generate luminance variations perceivable at a first viewing position () but substantially not perceivable at a second viewing position (). This provides a private display mode, since the luminance variations perceivable at the first viewing position () obscure the image from an observer at the first viewing position, while an observer at the second viewing position () is able to perceive the image since the luminance variations are not perceivable (or are substantially not perceivable) at the second viewing position In a second mode, signal voltages to be applied to sub-pixels of the image display panel may be determined just from the received image data thereby to generate an image perceivable at the first viewing position () and at the second viewing position (). This provides a public or wide-view display mode.

Method of processing image data for display on a display device, which comprising a multi-primary image display panel

A display device is provided that comprises a liquid crystal display panel () for displaying an image by spatial light modulation. The image is represented by a plurality of image elements each having an image data value (). The display device further comprises a display controller () arranged to determine a signal voltage to be applied to the panel () for each image element in dependence upon its image data value () and a secondary data value () for the element, there being a predetermined mapping between the data values and the signal voltage. The secondary data values () are arranged to vary across the image so as to introduce variations in luminance as a result of the mapping. The mapping and secondary data values () are mutually arranged to take account of the signal voltage to on-axis luminance response of the panel () so that the luminance variations introduced on-axis tend to balance locally through spatial averaging to, and hence would not be perceivable by, an on-axis viewer (). The panel () furthermore has a non-linear off-axis luminance to on-axis luminance relationship, so that at least some of the luminance variations introduced off-axis do not balance locally through spatial averaging to, and hence would be perceivable by, an off-axis viewer ().

Display device

A method of processing an image comprises: receiving pixel data constituting an image, the pixel data including at least four sub-pixel color components having respective data values, and modifying one or more of the sub-pixel color component data values. The data values of corresponding sub-pixels from two pixels are modified in opposite directions to one another and such that the overall luminance of the display panel appears substantially unchanged to an on-axis viewer of the display panel.

Image processing method for reduced colour shift in multi-primary LCDs

A display comprises independently addressable pixels, a pixel comprising first and second electrodes () disposed on a first substrate and spaced apart from one another. A counter electrode () is provided on a second substrate, with an electro-optical material provided between the first substrate and the second substrate. A controller, in use, applies a first voltage to the first electrode of the pixel, a second voltage different to the first voltage to the second electrode of the pixel, and a third voltage to the counter electrode of the pixel to define in the pixel at least one of a first region (), a second region () and a third region (). The first, second and third voltages are selected such that an area of the first region, second region and third region or each of the first, second region and third region defined in the pixel produces a desired greyscale level for the pixel.

Display with wide view angle

A liquid crystal device comprises an active matrix substrate () and a counter-substrate () provided with homeotropic alignment surfaces (). A layer of nematic liquid crystal material is provided between the alignment surfaces () so as to form a vertically aligned nematic device. The substrates () carry a pixel electrode arrangement and a counter-electrode arrangement which define a plurality of pixel regions. Each of least some of these regions has a pixel electrode (), which may be split into two halves, and a counter-electrode () which are arranged to apply an electric field for controlling the liquid crystal director () out-of-plane tilt angle. A further electrode (), for example in the form of a plurality of parallel fingers, cooperates with at least one of the other electrodes () to apply a second electric field for controlling the director in-plane azimuth angle. Such a device may be used, for example, as a switchable public/private display.

Liquid crystal device

A method of processing image data for display by a display panel of a display device. The method comprises receiving main image pixel data representing a main image and side image pixel data representing a side image, and performing a mapping of the pixel data to signals used to drive the display panel. The mapping is arranged to produce an average on-axis luminance which is dependent mainly on the main image pixel data and an average off-axis luminance which is dependent at least to some extent on the side image pixel data. A compression of the main image pixel data is performed in advance of or at least partly incorporated into the mapping, the compression being performed at least partly in dependence upon the main image pixel data and at least partly in dependence upon how the off-axis luminance varies with pixel data input to the mapping.

Method, apparatus and program for processing image data for display by a display panel of a display device, and a display device

A display device is provided that comprises a liquid crystal display panel for displaying an image by spatial light modulation, and circuitry for switching liquid crystal in the panel between having a first configuration in a first mode to cause an image displayed using the panel to be discernible from a wide range of viewing angles, and having a second configuration in a second mode to cause an image displayed using the panel to be discernible substantially only from within a narrow range of viewing angles. Several types of display panel to achieve such in-panel switching between public and private viewing modes are disclosed.

Display device and liquid crystal display panel

A method and apparatus is provided for reducing color shift in relation to viewing angle in an LCD. The method includes receiving a plurality of pixel data constituting an image, each pixel data including a plurality of sub-pixel color components having respective data values; for each of the pixel data, comparing the sub-pixel color component data values included therein; and based on the comparison, modifying the sub-pixel color component data values included in the pixel data to reduce color shift when displayed on the LCD.

Adaptive image processing method and apparatus for reduced colour shift in LCDs

Growing community of inventors

Oxford, United Kingdom

Paul Antony Gass