Patent Grant
11270655
The present disclosure relates to a display apparatus and a method for operating the same. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a display apparatus and a method for monitoring whether the display apparatus functions properly.
As display apparatuses are widely used in different environments, how to ensure the reliability and robustness of display apparatuses under harsh conditions has become an important issue. For example, if a display apparatus is placed outdoors, the display apparatus may be exposed to sunlight, wind, and rain. The outdoor operating conditions may cause problems such as deterioration of the backlight module or display unit and accidental shut-down of components of the display apparatus.
In view of the above, there is a need to provide a display apparatus with a self-detection capability, so as to ensure that the display apparatus is functioning properly. There is also a need for the administrator or owner of the display apparatus or an advertiser to monitor whether the display apparatus is functioning properly.
In one aspect according to some embodiments, a display apparatus comprises a display unit, a backlight module, a light sensor, and a controller. The backlight module is located on a first side of the display unit. The light sensor is located on a second side of the display unit different from the first side. The light sensor faces away from the display unit for detecting light comprising ambient light and reflected light from the display unit and generates a first brightness value. The controller determines the display apparatus malfunction based on the first brightness value.
In a preferred embodiment, the controller further controls the backlight module based on the first brightness value.
In one aspect according to some embodiments, a method for monitoring a display apparatus comprises detecting light comprising ambient light and reflected light from the display apparatus; generating a first brightness value based on the detected light; and determining a display apparatus malfunction based on the first brightness value.
In a preferred embodiment, the method further comprises controlling the backlight of the display apparatus based on the first brightness value.
Other aspects and embodiments of the present disclosure are also contemplated. The foregoing summary and the following detailed description are not meant to limit the present disclosure to any particular embodiment but are merely meant to describe some embodiments of the present disclosure.
For a better understanding of the nature and objects of some embodiments of the present disclosure, reference should be made to the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, identical or functionally identical elements are given the same reference numbers unless otherwise specified.
The display unit 12 may include a liquid crystal layer. In some embodiments, the backlight module 13 may be a direct backlight module including a plurality of light sources and a backlight assembly for mounting the light sources. The light sources can be, for example, a plurality of LEDs, which may be placed on the front surface of the backlight assembly to provide backlight illumination for the display unit 12. In some embodiments, the backlight module 13 may be an edge-lit backlight module including a light source for side illumination and a light guiding plate. One or more optical films may be included in the display unit 12, the backlight module 13, or both, and can be, for example, a light diffuser, a light reflector, a brightness enhancement film, or a combination of two or more thereof. The type and the number of optical films to be used are not limited here.
In a preferred embodiment, the sensing device 14 is disposed on the display unit 12. The sensing device 14 is disposed on the non-display area 122 instead of the display area 121 of the display unit 12. Thus, the sensing device 14 would not block a portion of the display area 121. In a preferred embodiment, the sensing device 14 is disposed facing away from the display unit 12 and facing toward the protective plate 11. The protective plate 11 can be made of tempered glass or other transparent material with higher strength.
The sensing device 14 may detect or measure the magnitude of light and generate a corresponding brightness value. In some embodiments, the sensing device 14 may be a light detector or a light sensor. The sensing device 14 may detect or measure light from different sources, such as ambient light passing through the protective plate 11 and light emitted by the backlight module 13 passing through the display unit 12 and then reflected by the protective plate 11. Thus, the brightness value generated by the sensing device 14 may present both the brightness of the environment in which the display apparatus 1 is placed and the brightness of light emitted by the display apparatus itself. Thus, the sensing device 14 can be used for detecting the ambient light and for determining whether the display apparatus functions properly. The sensing device 14 may be any device that is capable to detect or measure the magnitude of light and is not limited by the above embodiments. For example, the sensing device 14 may be an image capturing device, such as camera.
The controller 15 may control the backlight module 13 based on the brightness value generated by the sensing device 14. The controller 15 may adjust the backlight module 13 based on the brightness of ambient light. For example, if the environment is very bright, the brightness value generated by the sensing device 14 may be higher than a threshold for a time period (e.g., 10 minutes). In this case, the controller 15 may control the backlight module 13 to increase its brightness, so that the viewer can see the displayed image easily. On the other hand, if the environment is very dark, the brightness value generated by the sensing device 14 may be lower than another threshold for a time period (e.g., 10 minutes). In this case, the controller 15 may control the backlight module 13 to decrease its brightness so as to save power and avoid the glare. Additionally, the controller 15 can determine whether the display apparatus 1 functions properly and the detailed description will be provided in the paragraphs related to
In a preferred embodiment, the sensing device 14 faces toward the transparent plate 2 and faces away from the display unit 12. The sensing device 14 may be capable to detect or measure the magnitude of light and generate a corresponding brightness value. The sensing device 14 may detect or measure light from different sources, such as ambient light passing through the transparent plate 2 and light emitted by the backlight module 13 passing through the display unit 12 and then reflected by the transparent plate 2. Since the sensing device 14 may detect light reflected by the transparent plate 2 from the display unit 12 and the backlight module 13, the sensing device 14 may be used to determine whether the display apparatus functions properly. Furthermore, since the sensing device 14 may detect ambient light, the brightness value generated by the sensing device 14 can be used to adjust the backlight module 13 as mentioned above.
Please note that although the sensing device 14 is mounted on the display unit 12 in
In addition to sensing ambient light, the sensing device 14 in combination with the controller 15 can also be used to determine whether the display apparatus 1 (or 1a) functions properly. For example, if the backlight module 13 is broken and the display unit 12 functions properly, the brightness of the display apparatus 1 (or 1a) become very low and viewers may not be able to see the displayed content. In this situation, the sensing device 14 may detect or measure only ambient light, and the generated brightness value would remain a low and almost constant value for a long time period, such as 10 minutes. Thus, the controller 15 may determine that a display apparatus malfunction has occurred based on the generated brightness value.
V(t), in which t refers to time.
In operation 101, the controller 15 obtains the brightness value V(t) from the sensing device 14. In operation 102, the controller 15 determines whether the brightness V(t) is smaller than a threshold T1 for a preconfigured time period. If so, the controller 15 determines the occurrence of the display apparatus malfunction (operation 103); otherwise, the controller 15 performs operation 101 again. For example, if the time period is set as 10 minutes and a brightness value is obtained every second, then the controller 15 may determine that the brightness of the display apparatus 1 (or 1a) is too low if 600 continuous brightness values are lower than the threshold T1. In some embodiments, the determination of operation 102 may be expressed as:
V(t)<T1 for every tin the range from (t1−m+1) to t1, in which t1 denotes the current time and m is an integer and is determined based on the preconfigured time period and the rate of obtaining brightness values.
Otherwise, the controller 15 determines that the display apparatus 1 (or 1a) functions properly and performs operation 101.
In some embodiments, the threshold T1 is a preconfigured value. In some other embodiments, the threshold T1 is determined based on the brightness values Vw and Vb, where Vw is the brightness value when the display unit 12 displays a white image, and Vb is the brightness value when the display unit 12 displays a black image. In some embodiments, the threshold T1 equals to:
C1*(Vw−Vb)+Vb, in which C1 is between 0 and 1.
Vw and Vb may be generated during the initialization stage of the display apparatus 1 (or 1a) or during normal operation of the display apparatus 1 (or 1a). In some embodiments, Vw and Vb are fixed values and the threshold T1 is preconfigured. Thus, the calculation of the threshold T1 can be skipped during the operation of the display apparatus.
V(t), in which t refers to time.
In operation 201, the controller 15 obtains the brightness value V(t) from the sensing device 14. In operation 202, the controller 15 calculates an average brightness value Va(t) for a past time period. In some embodiments, the average brightness value Va(t) is an average value of V(t−n+1) to V(t), in which n is a preconfigured integer. In operation 203, the controller 15 determines whether the difference between V(t) and Va(t) is smaller than a threshold T2 for a preconfigured time period. In some embodiments, the determination of operation 203 may be expressed as:
|V(t)−Va(t)|<T2 for every t in the range from (t2−m+1) to t2, in which t2 denotes the current time and m is an integer which is determined based on the preconfigured time period and the rate of obtaining the brightness values. For example, if the preconfigured time period is 10 seconds and a brightness value is obtained every 2 ms, then m is equal to 5,000.
The difference between V(t) and Va(t) being smaller than a threshold T2 for a preconfigured time period means that the displayed content may be still. It may be caused by malfunction of the display unit (e.g., still image) or malfunction of the backlight module. Thus, the controller 15 determines that the display apparatus malfunctions (i.e., operation 204) if the difference between V(t) and Va(t) is smaller than a threshold T2 for a preconfigured time period. Otherwise, the controller 15 determines that the display apparatus 1 (or 1a) functions properly and performs operation 201. If the controller 15 determines that the display apparatus 1 (or 1a) malfunctions, the controller 15 may further alarm a remote user through the communication module 16.
In some embodiments, the threshold T2 is a preconfigured value. In some other embodiments, the threshold T2 is determined based on the brightness values Vw and Vb, where Vw is the brightness value when the display unit 12 displays a white image, and Vb is the brightness value when the display unit 12 displays a black image. In some embodiments, the threshold T2 equals to:
C2*(Vw−Vb), in which C2 is between 0 and 1.
In some embodiments, the brightness values Vw and Vb are preconfigured before the operation 201. Thus the threshold T2 is preconfigured before the operation 201, and the calculation of the threshold T2 can be skipped during the operation of the display apparatus 1 (or 1a). In some embodiments, Vw and Vb may be generated during the initialization stage of the display apparatus 1 (or 1a) or during normal operation of the display apparatus 1 (or 1a).
V(t), in which t refers to time or the ordinal number of frame.
In operation 301, the controller 15 obtains the brightness value V(t) from the sensing device 14.
When the display apparatus 1 (or 1a) displays images or videos, the display apparatus 1 (or 1a) may turn off the backlight module 13 for short time. In some embodiments, the short time for which the backlight module 13 is turned off may be a portion of one frame. When the display apparatus 1 (or 1a) is operated (e.g., displaying images or videos) without the backlight, the sensing device 14 detects or measures the light and generates the corresponding brightness values. The sensing device 14 may generate brightness values without the backlight at different time or different frames. The brightness values without the backlight generated by the sensing devices 14 may be expressed as a function associated with time or as a function associated with the ordinal number of frame. For example, the brightness values generated by the sensing devices 14 may be expressed as:
Vnb(t), in which t refers to time or the ordinal number of frame.
In operation 302, the controller 15 obtains the brightness value Vnb(t) from the sensing device 14.
Referring to
In operation 304, the controller 15 determines whether the difference between Vr(t) and Vr(t−1) (i.e., the value Vr for the current time and the value Vr for the previous time) is smaller than a threshold T3 for a preconfigured time period, for preconfigured times, or for preconfigured frames. In some embodiments, the determination of operation 303 may be expressed as:
|Vr(t)−Vr(t−1)|<T3 for every t in the range from (t3−m+1) to t3, in which t3 denotes the current time and m is an integer which is determined based on the preconfigured time period and the rate of obtaining the brightness values. For example, if the preconfigured time period is 10 seconds and a brightness value is obtained every 2 ms, then m is equal to 5,000.
The difference between Vr(t) and Vr(t−1) being smaller than a threshold T3 for a preconfigured time period means that the displayed content may be still. It may be caused by malfunction of the display unit (e.g., still image) or malfunction of the backlight module. Thus, the controller 15 determines that the display apparatus malfunctions (i.e., operation 305) if the difference between Vr(t) and Vr(t−1) is smaller than a threshold T3 for a preconfigured time period. Otherwise, the controller 15 determines that the display apparatus 1 (or 1a) functions properly and performs operation 301. If the controller 15 determines that the display apparatus malfunctions, the controller 15 may further alarm a remote user through the communication module 16.
In some embodiments, the threshold T3 is a preconfigured value. In some other embodiments, the threshold T3 is determined based on the brightness values Vw and Vb, where Vw is the brightness value when the display unit 12 displays a white image, and Vb is the brightness value when the display unit 12 displays a black image. In some embodiments, the threshold T3 equals to:
C3*(Vw−Vb), in which C3 is between 0 and 1.
In some embodiments, the brightness values Vw and Vb are preconfigured before the operation 301. Thus, the threshold T3 is preconfigured before the operation 301, and the calculation of the threshold T3 can be skipped during the operation of the display apparatus 1 (or 1a). In some embodiments, Vw and Vb may be generated during the initialization stage of the display apparatus 1 (or 1a) or during normal operation of the display apparatus 1 (or 1a).
In operation 405, the controller 15 determines whether the difference between Vw and Vb is smaller than a threshold T4. If the difference between Vw and Vb is not smaller than the threshold T4, the controller 15 determines that the environment of the display apparatus 1 (or 1a) is good for detecting the light reflected by the transparent plate 2 or the protective plate 11 (i.e., operation 406). Such environment may be good for the operations shown in
In some embodiment according to the present disclosure, the result of the operation 405 may be used to determine whether the display apparatus 1 (or 1a) functions properly. If the difference between Vw and Vb is not smaller than the threshold T4, the controller 15 determines that the display apparatus 1 (or 1a) functions properly (i.e., operation 406). If the difference between Vw and Vb is smaller than the threshold T4, the controller 15 determines that the display apparatus 1 (or 1a) has malfunctioned (i.e., operation 407). For example, if the display unit 12 malfunctions or if the backlight module 13 malfunctions, the displayed image may not change. Thus, the difference between Vw and Vb may be smaller than the threshold T4 and it can be determined that the display apparatus 1 (or 1a) has malfunctioned. The controller 15 may further alarm a remote user through the communication module 16.
In some embodiments, the threshold T4 is determined based on values Vwp and Vbp. The value Vwp refers to the brightness value when the display apparatus 1 (or 1a) normally displays a white image. The value Vbp refers to the brightness value when the display apparatus 1 (or 1a) normally displays a black image. Values Vwp and Vbp may be preconfigured values or may be an average of Vw and an average of Vb obtained by the controller 15 at different times. In some embodiments, the threshold T4 equals to:
C4*(Vwp−Vbp), in which C4 is between 0 and 1.
In some embodiments, the determination in operation 405 can be expressed as:
(Vw−Vb)<C4*(Vwp−Vbp).
In some embodiments the threshold T4 is preconfigured, thus the operation calculating the threshold T4 can be skipped.
As used herein, the singular terms “a,” “an,” and “the” may include plural referents unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. For example, reference to an electronic device may include multiple electronic devices unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.
As used herein, the terms “connect,” “connected,” and “connection” refer to an operational coupling or linking. Connected components can be directly or indirectly coupled to one another through, for example, another set of components.
Additionally, amounts, ratios, and other numerical values are sometimes presented herein in a range format. It is to be understood that such range format is used for convenience and brevity and should be understood flexibly to include numerical values explicitly specified as limits of a range, but also to include all individual numerical values or sub-ranges encompassed within that range as if each numerical value and sub-range is explicitly specified.
While the present disclosure has been described and illustrated with reference to specific embodiments thereof, these descriptions and illustrations are not limiting. It should be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted without departing from the true spirit and scope of the present disclosure as defined by the appended claims. The illustrations may not be necessarily drawn to scale. There may be distinctions between the artistic renditions in the present disclosure and the actual apparatus due to manufacturing processes and tolerances. There may be other embodiments of the present disclosure which are not specifically illustrated. The specification and drawings are to be regarded as illustrative rather than restrictive. Modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation, material, composition of matter, method, or process to the objective, spirit and scope of the present disclosure. All such modifications are intended to be within the scope of the claims appended hereto. While the methods disclosed herein have been described with reference to particular operations performed in a particular order, it will be understood that these operations may be combined, sub-divided, or re-ordered to form an equivalent method without departing from the teachings of the present disclosure. Accordingly, unless otherwise specifically indicated herein, the order and grouping of the operations are not limitations of the present disclosure.
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