Patent Application
20170018233
The present invention relates to the field of manufacturing of liquid crystal displays, and in particular, to a method for adjusting backlight brightness and an electronic device.
In recent years, liquid crystal displays (Liquid Crystal Display, LCD for short) have been developing by leaps and bounds, and are widely applied in fields such as smartphones, industrial meters, and medical instruments, bringing richer visual enjoyment to users.
However, an LCD is a passive light-emitting display, whose display effect is greatly related to LCD backlight brightness and ambient luminance. For example, backlight brightness of an LCD in the sun must be adjusted to a very high level to ensure that the LCD presents clear display content; inside a dark place, the LCD may present clear display content only by maintaining a relatively low level of backlight brightness of the LCD.
To ensure that an LCD can still present clear display content when ambient luminance changes, methods of light adaptive brightness control (Light Adaptive Brightness Control, LABC for short) and content adaptive brightness control (Content Adaptive Brightness Control, CABC for short) are proposed in the prior art.
Exemplarily, in the LABC method, after an electronic device is turned on, an application processor (Application Processor, AP for short) first checks ambient luminance, then obtains through calculation current LCD backlight brightness according to the ambient luminance, and transmits to an LCD driver circuit the LCD backlight brightness obtained through calculation. In this way, the LCD driver circuit can output a pulse width modulation (Pulse Width Modulation, PWM for short) signal to a backlight driver module, so that the current LCD backlight brightness can be adjusted. If the ambient luminance exceeds a particular range, the electronic device starts the foregoing process again to re-adjust the LCD backlight brightness.
However, in the current LABC method, LCD backlight cannot track ambient light changes in real time. As shown in
Embodiments of the present invention provide a method for adjusting backlight brightness and an electronic device, so as to resolve a problem that, in a process of adjusting backlight brightness of an LCD, a user sees obvious flickering in the light adjustment process.
To achieve the foregoing objective, the following technical solutions are used in the embodiments of the present invention:
According to a first aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides an electronic device, including a light sensor and a microcontroller connected to the light sensor, where
In a first possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the microcontroller is specifically configured to:
In a second possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the microcontroller is specifically configured to:
With reference to the first aspect or either of the foregoing two possible implementation manners of the first aspect, a third possible implementation manner of the first aspect is further provided, where the electronic device further includes: an application processor, a display driver module connected to the application processor and the microcontroller, and a backlight driver module connected to the microcontroller, where
With reference to the third possible implementation manner of the first aspect, a fourth possible implementation manner of the first aspect is further provided, where the application processor is further configured to send an instruction message to the microcontroller, where the instruction message is used to instruct the microcontroller to turn on or turn off the light sensor.
According to a second aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a method for adjusting backlight brightness, applied to an electronic device, where the adjustment method includes:
In a first possible implementation manner of the second aspect, the obtaining through calculation a first target backlight brightness value of the electronic device at the current time point according to the ambient luminance signal of the current time point includes:
In a second possible implementation manner of the second aspect, the adjusting from a first initial backlight brightness value to the first target backlight brightness value step by step includes:
With reference to the second aspect or either of the foregoing two possible implementation manners of the second aspect, a third possible implementation manner of the second aspect is further provided, where the adjustment method further includes:
The embodiments of the present invention provide a method for adjusting backlight brightness and an electronic device. A light sensor is configured to acquire an ambient luminance signal of a current time point; the microcontroller is configured to: read the ambient luminance signal of the current time point from the light sensor, obtain through calculation a first target backlight brightness value of the electronic device at the current time point according to the ambient luminance signal of the current time point, and if the electronic device is in a normal screen-on state, adjust from a first initial backlight brightness value to the first target backlight brightness value step by step, where the first initial backlight brightness value is a first target backlight brightness value of the electronic device at a previous time point. This resolves a problem that, in a process of adjusting backlight brightness of an LCD, a user sees obvious flickering in the light adjustment process.
To describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention more clearly, the following briefly introduces the accompanying drawings required for describing the embodiments or the prior art. Apparently, the accompanying drawings in the following description show merely some embodiments of the present invention, and a person of ordinary skill in the art may still derive other drawings from these accompanying drawings without creative efforts.
The following clearly and completely describes the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present invention. Apparently, the described embodiments are merely some but not all of the embodiments of the present invention. All other embodiments obtained by persons of ordinary skill in the art based on the embodiments of the present invention without creative efforts shall fall within the protection scope of the present invention.
This embodiment of the present invention provides an electronic device. As shown in
The light sensor 21 is configured to acquire an ambient luminance signal of a current time point; and
The ambient luminance signal may be an electrical signal converted by the light sensor 21 from an optical signal obtained in a current environment, where the electrical signal may be a current signal or a voltage signal, without being limited thereto though. The first target backlight brightness value is obtained according to the principle of light adaptive brightness control (Light Adaptive Brightness Control, LABC for short).
Optionally, the microcontroller 22 is specifically configured to: perform filtering processing on the read ambient luminance signal of the current time point to obtain an after-filtering ambient luminance signal of the current time point; and
Specifically, the microcontroller 22 performs filtering processing on continuously read ambient light to obtain an after-filtering ambient light curve, obtains current ambient luminance from the ambient light curve, and further obtains the first target backlight brightness value according to the ambient luminance.
When the microcontroller 22 reads the ambient luminance signal of the current time point, if the light sensor 21 is directed abruptly to a strong light-emitting illuminant such as an electric light or the sun, data of the sudden change does not reflect the actual change of ambient luminance. Therefore, filtering processing needs to be performed on the read ambient luminance signal of the current time point, to obtain the actual ambient luminance change, that is, to obtain the after-filtering ambient luminance signal of the current time point. The filtering processing may be performed by using various algorithms for smoothing data, such as an average method, a weighting method, and an interpolation method.
Exemplarily, a first-order lag filtering algorithm is used as an example. The principle of the first-order lag filtering algorithm is: a current filtering result=(1−a)*a current sample value+a*a previous filtering result, where 0<a<1. X(K) represents the current filtering result, X(K−1) represents the previous filtering result, and U(k) represents the current sample value, and then X(K)=(1−a)*U(k)+a*X(K−1).
As shown in
As shown in
Optionally, the microcontroller 22 is specifically configured to:
If the ambient luminance signal of the current time point changes slightly relative to that of the previous time point, the first first intermediate backlight brightness value can serve as the first target backlight brightness value of the electronic device. In this case, the first target backlight brightness value of the electronic device can be reached by acquiring the initial brightness change rate corresponding to the first initial backlight brightness value and adjusting according to the initial brightness change rate only once.
If the ambient luminance signal of the current time point changes significantly relative to that of the previous time point, there is a large gap between the first initial backlight brightness value and the first target backlight brightness value. In this case, the first initial backlight brightness value needs to go through multiple first intermediate backlight brightness values so as to adjust to the first target backlight brightness value of the electronic device. Specifically, the initial brightness change rate corresponding to the first intermediate backlight brightness value is acquired and the first first intermediate backlight brightness value is reached by adjusting according to the initial brightness change rate; an intermediate brightness change rate corresponding to the first intermediate backlight brightness value is acquired, and a second first intermediate backlight brightness value is reached by adjusting according to the intermediate brightness change rate; the adjustment goes on until the first target backlight brightness value of the electronic device is reached.
Human eyes are extremely sensitive to brightness changes. Therefore, the initial brightness change rate corresponding to the first initial backlight brightness value and the intermediate brightness change rate corresponding to the first intermediate backlight brightness value need to ensure that the first backlight brightness is adjusted to the first target backlight brightness value of the electronic device at a highest rate with a largest change amount that are not to visual awareness of the human eyes. When a screen of the electronic device is darker, a gradual change of screen brightness should take a longer time at a lower transition rate. When the screen of the electronic device is brighter, the gradual change of screen brightness should take a shorter time at a higher transition rate.
Exemplarily, a curve of luminance sensitivity of the human eyes in different levels of ambient luminance is obtained by testing according to visual characteristics of the human eyes. According to this curve, an asymptote may be found for a highest rate and a largest change amount that are not to visual awareness of the human eyes. As shown in
Optionally, as shown in
The application processor 23 is configured to output an image to the display driver module 24.
The display driver module 24 is configured to acquire a second target backlight brightness value of the electronic device at the current time point according to the image input by the application processor 23.
The microcontroller 22 is configured to: multiply the first target backlight brightness value and the second target backlight brightness value to obtain a third target backlight brightness value of the electronic device, and output the third target backlight brightness value to the backlight driver module 25.
The backlight driver module 25 is configured to adjust backlight brightness of the electronic device according to the third target backlight brightness value.
The second target backlight brightness value is obtained according to the principle of content adaptive brightness control (Content Adaptive Brightness Control, CABC for short).
Optionally, the application processor 23 is further configured to send an instruction message to the microcontroller 22, where the instruction message is used to instruct the microcontroller 22 to turn on or turn off the light sensor 21.
The instruction message may be a startup or shutdown command. When the microcontroller 22 receives a startup command sent by the application processor 23, the microcontroller 22 turns on the light sensor 21. When the microcontroller 22 receives a shutdown command sent by the application processor 23, the microcontroller 22 turns off the light sensor 21.
Alternatively, the instruction message may be a wakeup or sleep command. When the microcontroller 22 receives a wakeup command sent by the application processor 23, the microcontroller 22 turns on the light sensor 21. When the microcontroller 22 receives a sleep command sent by the application processor 23, the microcontroller 22 turns off the light sensor 21.
Alternatively, the instruction message may be a command indicating whether to adjust backlight brightness. When the microcontroller 22 receives a command of adjusting backlight brightness sent by the application processor 23, the microcontroller 22 turns on the light sensor 21. When the microcontroller 22 receives a command of not adjusting backlight brightness sent by the application processor 23, the microcontroller 22 turns off the light sensor 21.
This embodiment of the present invention provides an electronic device. The electronic device includes a light sensor and a microcontroller connected to the light sensor. The light sensor is configured to acquire an ambient luminance signal of a current time point; the microcontroller is configured to: read the ambient luminance signal of the current time point from the light sensor, obtain through calculation a first target backlight brightness value of the electronic device at the current time point according to the ambient luminance signal of the current time point, and if the electronic device is in a normal screen-on state, adjust from a first initial backlight brightness value to the first target backlight brightness value step by step, where the first initial backlight brightness value is a first target backlight brightness value of the electronic device at a previous time point. This resolves a problem that, in a process of adjusting backlight brightness of an LCD, a user sees obvious flickering in the light adjustment process.
This embodiment of the present invention further provides a method for adjusting backlight brightness, where the adjustment method is applied to an electronic device. As shown in
701: Acquire an ambient luminance signal of a current time point.
The ambient luminance signal is an electrical signal that is converted from the optical signal, where the electrical signal may be a current signal or a voltage signal, without being limited thereto though.
702: Obtain through calculation a first target backlight brightness value of the electronic device at the current time point according to the ambient luminance signal of the current time point.
The first target backlight brightness value is obtained according to the principle of LABC.
Optionally, the obtaining through calculation a first target backlight brightness value of the electronic device at the current time point according to the ambient luminance signal of the current time point includes:
703: If the electronic device is in a normal screen-on state, adjust from a first initial backlight brightness value to the first target backlight brightness value step by step, where the first initial backlight brightness value is a first target backlight brightness value of the electronic device at a previous time point.
Optionally, the adjusting from a first initial backlight brightness value to the first target backlight brightness value step by step includes:
Optionally, when backlight brightness needs to be adjusted according to content of an image that is input to the electronic device, as shown in
704: Acquire a second target backlight brightness value of the electronic device at the current time point according to the image input to the electronic device.
The second target backlight brightness value is obtained according to the principle of CABC.
705: Multiply the first target backlight brightness value and the second target backlight brightness value to obtain a third target backlight brightness value, so that the electronic device adjusts backlight brightness according to the third target backlight brightness value.
This embodiment of the present invention provides an adjustment method. An ambient luminance signal of a current time point is acquired; a first target backlight brightness value of the electronic device at the current time point is obtained through calculation according to the ambient luminance signal of the current time point; and if the electronic device is in a normal screen-on state, adjustment is performed from a first initial backlight brightness value to the first target backlight brightness value step by step, where the first initial backlight brightness value is a first target backlight brightness value of the electronic device at a previous time point. This resolves a problem that, in a process of adjusting backlight brightness of an LCD, a user sees obvious flickering in the light adjustment process.
In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed system, apparatus, and method may be implemented in other manners. For example, the described apparatus embodiment is merely exemplary. For example, the unit division is merely logical function division or may be other division in actual implementation. For example, a plurality of units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be ignored or not performed. In addition, the displayed or discussed mutual couplings or direct couplings or communication connections may be implemented by using some interfaces. The indirect couplings or communication connections between the apparatuses or units may be implemented in electronic, mechanical, or other forms.
The units described as separate parts may or may not be physically separate. Parts displayed as units may or may not be physical units, and may be located in one position or may be distributed on a plurality of network units. Some or all of the units may be selected according to actual needs to achieve the objectives of the solutions of the embodiments.
In addition, functional units in the embodiments of the present invention may be integrated into one processing unit, or each of the units may exist alone physically, or two or more units are integrated into one unit. The integrated unit may be implemented in a form of hardware, or may be implemented in a form of hardware in addition to a software functional unit.
When the foregoing integrated unit is implemented in a form of a software functional unit, the integrated unit may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. The software functional unit is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions for instructing a computer device (which may be a personal computer, a server, or a network device) to perform some of the steps of the methods described in the embodiments of the present invention. The foregoing storage medium includes: any medium that can store program code, such as a USB flash drive, a portable hard disk, a read-only memory (Read-Only Memory, ROM for short), a random access memory (Random Access Memory, RAM for short), a magnetic disk, or an optical disc.
Finally, it should be noted that the foregoing embodiments are merely intended to describe the technical solutions of the present invention but not to limit the present invention. Although the present invention is described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, persons of ordinary skill in the art should understand that they may still make modifications to the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments or make equivalent replacements to some technical features thereof, without departing from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/CN2014/073402 | 3/13/2014 | WO | 00 |
