Patent Application
20070132750
The present invention generally relates to systems and methods for controlling display devices brightness and, more particularly, to a brightness controlling system and method for automatically adjusting the brightness of a display device.
Display devices, such as cathode ray tube (CRT) monitors and liquid crystal display (LCD) screens, are wildly used in people's everyday life. The display devices are used in computers, mobile phones, and other electronic apparatuses to display text or graphic information.
Display devices, especially those used in portable electronic apparatuses, such as notebook computers, are usually taken to various locations. Ambient illuminations of the locations may be different. If the display devices maintain a constant brightness regardless of the ambient illuminations change, the brightness may not be suitable to the ambient illuminations. This will make viewers feel uncomfortable.
Traditionally, special functional keys are provided on the display devices for adjusting the brightness of the display device according to viewing comfortableness and the ambient illuminations thereof. However, manual adjustment is not convenient and, particularly substantially impossible to follow the change of ambient illuminations. Thus it is desirable to change the brightness of the display device automatically according to the ambient illuminations.
Therefore, automatic adjustments of the brightness of the display devices based on the ambient illuminations have been introduced. A sensor is provided in the display device for detecting a current ambient illumination level and for generating electronic signals based on the current ambient illumination level. The electronic signals are used to change a current brightness value of the display device, so as to conform to the current ambient illumination level.
However, the above mentioned automatic adjustments of the brightness cannot truly satisfy different viewers' requirements because of different viewers comfortableness. That is, at a given ambient illumination level, a viewer A may prefer a relatively high brightness, while a viewer B may prefer a relatively low brightness. However, the sensor generates only one kind of electronic signal dependant on the specific ambient illumination level. Therefore, only one fixed brightness value can be provided according to the fixed relationships between the brightness values and the ambient illumination levels.
Therefore, an improved system and method for adjusting the brightness of a display device is desired.
A brightness controlling system includes a sensor, an input device, a display device and a control circuit. The sensor is used for detecting a current ambient illumination level. The input device is used for inputting brightness adjusting commands. The control circuit is used for receiving the brightness adjusting commands and sending control signals to the display device to adjust a current brightness value based on the brightness adjusting commands, and updating relationships between ambient illumination levels and brightness values according to the brightness adjusting commands.
A brightness controlling method for controlling brightness of a display device includes steps of: detecting a current ambient illumination level; determining whether a command is inputted for changing current brightness of the display device; changing the current brightness of the display device based on the command if the command is inputted; and updating relationships between brightness values and ambient illumination levels.
A storage medium is provided for recording an application program. The application program has a computer executable the steps of: detecting a current ambient illumination level; determining whether a command is inputted for changing current brightness of the display device; changing the current brightness of the display device based on the command if the command is inputted; and updating relationships between brightness values and ambient illumination levels.
Other advantages and novel features will become more apparent from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
Many aspects of the brightness controlling system and the brightness controlling method thereof can be better understood with reference to the following drawings. The components in the drawings are not necessarily to scale, the emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the present device. Moreover, in the drawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views.
Reference will now be made to the drawings to describe the preferred embodiment of the present brightness controlling system, in detail.
Referring to
The sensor 110 is a photosensitive element (e.g., a photoresistor, a photodiode, or a phototransistor) and is coupled to the control circuit 130 for generating electronic signals based on ambient illumination levels. The electronic signals are transmitted to the control circuit 130 to indicate a current ambient illumination level.
The keyboard 120 is coupled to the control circuit 130 for inputting commands to the control circuit 130. The control circuit 130 adjusts the brightness of the display device 140 according to the commands.
The control circuit 130 includes a control module 132 and a storage module 134. The control module 132 receives the electronic signals generated by the sensor 110 and the commands inputted by the keyboard 120, and then adjusts the brightness of the display device 140 accordingly. The storage module 134 stores a lookup unit 136 that records relationships between the ambient illumination levels and brightness values of the display device 140.
The lookup unit 136 includes a brightness-to-step (B-S) table 137 and a level-to-step (L-S) table 138. The B-S table 137 defines constant relationships between the brightness values and step values. There is a plurality of different brightness values in the B-S table 137, each brightness value corresponding to a respective step value.
The L-S table 138 defines relationships between the ambient illumination levels and step values. Each ambient illumination level corresponds to a respective step value. The step values in the L-S table 138 are replaceable according to the commands inputted by the keyboard 120.
The step values are employed to associate the brightness values and the ambient illumination levels in the brightness controlling system 100. For example, the sensor 110 generates an electronic signal representing a current ambient illumination level. The electronic signal is then fed to the control module 132. A corresponding step value is obtained in the L-S table 138 according to the electronic signal. A corresponding brightness value is then obtained after being searched from the B-S table 137 according to the corresponding step value. Thus the brightness of the display device 140 can be adjusted automatically according to the current ambient illumination level.
Viewers can reset current brightness of the display device 140 according to their own comfortableness. The step value corresponding to the current ambient level in the L-S table 138 can be modified to another step value defined in the B-S table 137. Thus relationships between the ambient illumination levels and the brightness values are adjustable in the lookup unit 136.
An exemplary B-S table 137 is shown as follows:
An exemplary L-S table 138 is shown as follows:
Preferred embodiments will be described with reference to the B-S table 137 and the L-S table 138. For example, the ambient illumination level is L0 according to the electronic signals generated by the sensor 110. The step value corresponding to the ambient illumination level L0 is S3 according to the L-S table 138. The brightness value B33 is then obtained from the B-S table 137, and current brightness of the display device 140 is adjusted according to the brightness value B33.
If a current brightness value, such as B33, doesn't meet a viewer's comfortableness at the current ambient illumination level, such as L0, the viewer can modify the current brightness value via the keyboard 120 to another brightness value defined in the B-S table 137, such as B22. The control module 132 updates the relationships between the illumination levels and the brightness values in the lookup unit 136 based on the viewer's input. The step value S2, which corresponds to the brightness value B22, replaces the step value S3 in the L-S table 138. Then the L-S table 138 is updated as follows:
When the ambient illumination level detected by the sensor 110 is L0, the step value corresponding to the illumination level L0 is S2 according to the updated L-S table 138. The control module 130 adjusts the current brightness of the display device 140 according to the brightness value B22. Thus, the current brightness of the display device 140 meets the viewer's comfortableness.
Exemplarily, a predetermined key (not shown) can be employed to turn on/off the sensor 110 so as to turn on/off the brightness controlling system 100. A delay circuit (not shown) can be introduced to the brightness controlling system 100 for setting the brightness adjusting time intervals.
Referring also to
Then in step 202, the sensor 110 detects the ambient illumination and generates electronic signals representing a current ambient illumination level.
In step 203, a determination is made as to whether the current brightness value of the display device 140 corresponds to the current ambient illumination level. If so, the procedure then proceeds to step 205.
If in step 203, it is determined that the current brightness value of the display device 140 doesn't corresponds to the current ambient illumination level, the control module 130 changes the current brightness value accordingly so as to match the current ambient illumination level (step 204).
In step 205, The control module 130 concludes whether there is a command inputted via the keyboard 120 to change the current brightness of the display device 140. If no commands are inputted via the keyboard 120 to change the brightness, the procedure delays a period of predetermined time (step 209) and loops back to step 202. If there is a command inputted via the keyboard 120 to change the current brightness, the control module 132 changes the current brightness value according to the command inputted via the keyboard (step 206).
Successively, in step 207, the control module 132 updates the L-S table 138 of the brightness controlling system 100 by changing the step value that corresponds to the current ambient illumination level in the L-S table 138 to another step value which corresponds to the adjusted brightness value of the B-S table 137.
In step 208, A determination is made as to whether the sensor 110 is disabled. If so, the procedure is terminated. If the sensor 110 is not disabled, the procedure delays a period of predetermined time (step 209) and loops back to step 202.
When a viewer inputs commands to change the brightness of the display device 140 corresponding to a specific ambient illumination level, the step value will be updated according to the viewer's input. Thus relationships between the ambient illumination levels and the brightness values are customizable because of an updateable step value.
The depicted embodiment in
The embodiments described herein are merely illustrative of the principles of the present invention. Other arrangements and advantages may be devised by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Accordingly, the present invention should be deemed not to be limited to the above detailed description, but rather by the spirit and scope of the claims that follow, and their equivalents.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 200510102332.1 | Dec 2005 | CN | national |
