CN113844243A

CN113844243A - Light modulation system

Info

Publication number: CN113844243A
Application number: CN202111111785.6A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 陈弘胤
Original assignee: AU Optronics Corp
Current assignee: AU Optronics Corp
Priority date: 2020-10-12
Filing date: 2021-09-23
Publication date: 2021-12-28
Anticipated expiration: 2041-09-23
Also published as: CN113844243B

Abstract

The invention discloses a dimming system, which comprises an image capturing device, a penetration type dimming panel and a control unit. The image capturing device can continuously capture a plurality of image frames. Each image frame has a plurality of frame units. The transmissive light modulation panel has a plurality of light valve regions, wherein the picture units of the same image picture correspond to the light valve regions. The control unit is in communication connection with the image capturing device and the penetration type dimming panel and can obtain gray scales of each picture unit. The control unit respectively controls the light penetration rates of the light valve areas according to the gray scales of the picture units of each image picture, so that the light penetration rates of at least two light valve areas corresponding to the same image picture are different from each other.

Description

Light modulation system

Technical Field

The present invention relates to an optical device, and more particularly, to a dimming system including a transmissive dimming panel.

Background

In the process of driving a general automobile on a road, due to the influence of light adaptation (light adaptation), a driver in the automobile sometimes can be difficult to see the road condition ahead due to the incidence of light, and the risk of an automobile accident is increased. For example, in daytime, when a vehicle traveling in a tunnel approaches an exit of the tunnel, external light from the exit of the tunnel is incident on eyes of a driver in the vehicle. Since the intensity of the external light is significantly greater than the intensity of the ambient light (ambient light) in the tunnel, the driver cannot see the road condition ahead clearly for a while, increasing the risk of traffic accidents.

Disclosure of Invention

At least one embodiment of the present invention provides a light modulation system, which includes a transmissive light modulation panel with adjustable light transmittance.

The dimming system provided by at least one embodiment of the invention comprises an image capturing device, a penetration type dimming panel and a control unit. The image capturing device is used for continuously capturing a plurality of image frames, wherein each image frame is provided with a plurality of frame units. The transmissive light modulation panel has a light incident surface, a light emergent surface opposite to the light incident surface, and a plurality of light valve regions, wherein each image frame corresponds to the light emergent surface, and the frame units of the same image frame correspond to the light valve regions. The control unit is in communication connection with the image capturing device and the transmission type dimming panel and is suitable for analyzing the image frames to obtain gray scales of each image frame unit, wherein the control unit respectively controls the light transmittance of the light valve areas according to the gray scales of the image frame units of each image frame, so that the light transmittance of at least two light valve areas corresponding to the same image frame is different from each other.

In at least one embodiment of the present invention, in the same image frame, the light transmittance corresponding to one frame unit in the dark gray scale range is a first light transmittance, and the light transmittance corresponding to another frame unit in the bright gray scale range is a second light transmittance, wherein the first light transmittance is greater than the second light transmittance.

In at least one embodiment of the present invention, the gray scale of each frame unit is inversely related to the light transmittance of the corresponding light valve region.

In at least one embodiment of the present invention, each light valve area has the highest transmittance and the lowest transmittance, and each frame unit corresponds to a plurality of light valve areas, wherein the light valve areas include a plurality of first light valve areas and a plurality of second light valve areas. In the same image frame, one frame unit in the dark state gray scale range corresponds to the first light valve areas, and the other frame unit in the bright state gray scale range corresponds to the second light valve areas, wherein the number of the first light valve areas with the highest transmittance is greater than that of the first light valve areas with the lowest transmittance, and the number of the second light valve areas with the highest transmittance is less than that of the second light valve areas with the lowest transmittance.

In at least one embodiment of the present invention, the transmissive dimming panel includes a driving substrate, an opposite substrate and a dimming material, wherein the dimming material is located between the driving substrate and the opposite substrate.

In at least one embodiment of the present invention, the light modulating material includes a plurality of light modulating particles and a plurality of dye molecules.

Another embodiment of the present invention provides a dimming system including an image capturing device, a transmissive dimming panel, and a control unit. The image capturing device is used for continuously capturing a plurality of image frames, wherein each image frame is provided with a plurality of frame units. The transmissive light modulation panel has a light incident surface, a light emergent surface opposite to the light incident surface, and a plurality of light valve regions, wherein each image frame corresponds to the light emergent surface, and the frame units of the same image frame correspond to the light valve regions. The control unit is in communication connection with the image capturing device and the transmission type dimming panel and is suitable for analyzing the image pictures to obtain the brightness of each picture unit, wherein the control unit respectively controls the light penetration rates of the light valve areas according to the brightness of the picture units of each image picture so as to enable the light penetration rates of at least two light valve areas corresponding to the same image picture to be different from each other.

In at least one embodiment of the present invention, in the same image frame, the light transmittance corresponding to one frame unit in the first brightness range is a first light transmittance, and the light transmittance corresponding to another frame unit in the second brightness range is a second light transmittance, where the first brightness range is smaller than the second brightness range, and the first light transmittance is greater than the second light transmittance.

In at least one embodiment of the present invention, the brightness of each frame unit is inversely related to the light transmittance of the corresponding light valve area.

In at least one embodiment of the present invention, each light valve area has the highest transmittance and the lowest transmittance, and each frame unit corresponds to a plurality of light valve areas, wherein the light valve areas include a plurality of first light valve areas and a plurality of second light valve areas. In the same image frame, one frame unit in the first brightness range corresponds to the first light valve regions, and the other frame unit in the second brightness range corresponds to the second light valve regions, wherein the first brightness range is smaller than the second brightness range. The number of the first light valve areas with the highest transmittance is greater than the number of the first light valve areas with the lowest transmittance, and the number of the second light valve areas with the highest transmittance is less than the number of the second light valve areas with the lowest transmittance.

In at least one embodiment of the present invention, when the image frame corresponds to a first environment having a first environment brightness, the light transmittance corresponding to the frame unit is a first light transmittance. When the image frame corresponds to a second environment with a second environment brightness, the light penetration rate corresponding to the frame unit is a second light penetration rate, wherein the first environment brightness is less than the second environment brightness, and the first light penetration rate is greater than the second light penetration rate.

In at least one embodiment of the present invention, the first environment is indoors or inside a tunnel, and the second environment is outdoors or outside the tunnel.

Based on the above, in the light modulation system according to at least one embodiment of the invention, the control unit can respectively control the light penetration rates of the light valve regions according to at least one of the gray scales and the brightness of the image units of each image frame, so that the transmissive light modulation panel can weaken strong ambient brightness (e.g., external light from the tunnel exit), and reduce the occurrence of danger.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a block diagram of a dimming system according to at least one embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2A is a schematic diagram of the dimming system of fig. 1 applied to an automobile.

Fig. 2B and fig. 2C are schematic cross-sectional views of the transmissive dimming panel in fig. 2A.

Fig. 2D is a schematic cross-sectional view of the transmissive dimming panel in fig. 2A.

Fig. 3A is a schematic view of the automobile in fig. 2A while traveling in a tunnel.

Fig. 3B is a view of the driver looking at the front of the automobile from the transparent transmissive dimming panel in fig. 3A.

Fig. 4A is a schematic view of an image captured by the image capturing device in fig. 3B.

Fig. 4B is an enlarged schematic view inside a dashed-line box 4B in fig. 4A.

Fig. 5A is a view of the driver looking at the front of the automobile from the translucent transmissive dimming panel in fig. 3A.

Fig. 5B is an enlarged schematic view within the dashed box 5B in fig. 5A.

Fig. 6 is a partially enlarged schematic view of a transmissive dimming panel according to another embodiment of the invention. Wherein, the reference numbers:

4B, 5B: dotted line frame

20. 50: automobile

21: windscreen

29: driver's seat

30: tunnel

100: light modulation system

110: image acquisition device

111: optical axis

119: image picture

120. 620: penetration type light modulation panel

121: driving substrate

122: opposite substrate

123: light modulating material

123 a: light modulating particles

123 b: dye molecules

123 c: polymer networks

130: control unit

211: substrate

212: active component

212 c: channel layer

212 d: drain electrode

212g, and (3): grid electrode

212 i: gate insulating layer

212 s: source electrode

213: electrode for electrochemical cell

218: insulating layer

219: black matrix

B1: first ambient brightness

B2: second ambient brightness

EN 1: first environment

EN 2: second environment

F1: light incident surface

F2: light emitting surface

L2: ambient light

P11a, P11b, P11 c: picture unit

P12, P12a, P12b, P12c, P62a, P62 b: light valve area

Detailed Description

In the following description, the dimensions (e.g., length, width, thickness, and depth) of elements (e.g., layers, films, substrates, regions, etc.) in the figures are exaggerated in various proportions for the sake of clarity. Accordingly, the following description and illustrations of the embodiments are not limited to the sizes and shapes of elements shown in the drawings, but are intended to cover deviations in sizes, shapes and both that result from actual manufacturing processes and/or tolerances. For example, the planar surfaces shown in the figures may have rough and/or non-linear features, while the acute angles shown in the figures may be rounded. Therefore, the elements shown in the drawings are for illustrative purposes only, and are not intended to accurately depict the actual shapes of the elements or to limit the scope of the claims.

Furthermore, the terms "about", "approximately" or "substantially" as used herein encompass not only the explicitly recited values and ranges of values, but also the allowable range of deviation as understood by those of ordinary skill in the art, wherein the range of deviation can be determined by the error in measurement, for example, due to limitations in both the measurement system and the process conditions. For example, two objects (e.g., planes or traces of a substrate) are "substantially parallel" or "substantially perpendicular," where "substantially parallel" and "substantially perpendicular" represent that the parallelism and perpendicularity between the two objects, respectively, may include nonparallel and nonperpendicular effects due to allowable variations.

Further, "about" may mean within one or more standard deviations of the above-described values, e.g., within ± 30%, 20%, 10%, or 5%. The terms "about," "approximately," or "substantially," as used herein, may be selected with an acceptable range of deviation or standard deviation based on optical, etching, mechanical, or other properties, and not all properties may be used alone with one standard deviation.

Fig. 1 is a block diagram of a dimming system according to at least one embodiment of the present invention. Referring to fig. 1, the dimming system 100 includes an image capturing device 110, a transmissive dimming panel 120, and a control unit 130, wherein the control unit 130 is communicatively connected to the image capturing device 110 and the transmissive dimming panel 120. For example, the control unit 130 may be electrically connected to the image capturing device 110 and the transmissive dimming panel 120, so that the control unit 130 can control the transmissive dimming panel 120 and the image capturing device 110.

The image capturing device 110 can continuously capture a plurality of image frames (shown in fig. 4A), wherein the image frame may have a plurality of frame units. For example, the image capturing device 110 may be a video camera and can capture a video (video). The image has a plurality of image frames, wherein the image frames can be frames, and the image frames have frame units which can be pixels (pixels). The control unit 130 can analyze the image frames to obtain at least one of a gray level and a brightness of each frame unit, wherein the brightness may be a brightness in an HSL color space (luminance).

The transmissive dimming panel 120 has a plurality of light valve regions (shown in fig. 2D), wherein the control unit 130 can control the light transmittance of the light valve regions. The transmissive dimming panel 120 may become a transparent or translucent (semi-transparent) panel by the control of the control unit 130. The control unit 130 may individually control the light transmittance of the light valve regions, so that the light transmittance of at least two light valve regions is different from each other. For example, the control unit 130 can make one portion of the transmissive dimming panel 120 transparent, but make another portion of the transmissive dimming panel 120 translucent.

Referring to fig. 2A, the dimming system 100 can be applied to a vehicle 20. Specifically, the dimming system 100 can be installed in the vehicle 20, wherein the transmissive dimming panel 120 can be installed on the windshield 21 of the vehicle 20, and the image capturing device 110 can be a driving recorder installed in the vehicle 20. Alternatively, the image capturing device 110 may be an external camera and is disposed outside the automobile 20. For example, the image capturing device 110 may be disposed on the roof of the automobile 20 to easily capture images in front of the automobile 20. Therefore, the image capturing device 110 is not limited to be disposed in the automobile 20. Control unit 130 may be a vehicle control computer of vehicle 20, which may have a Central Information Display (CID).

The control unit 130 (e.g., a vehicle control computer) in fig. 2A is communicatively connected to the transmissive dimming panel 120 and the image capturing device 110 (e.g., a driving recorder) to control the transmissive dimming panel 120 and the image capturing device 110. For example, the control unit 130 may be electrically connected to the transmissive dimming panel 120 and the image capturing device 110 through an external Bus (external Bus), wherein the external Bus may be a Universal Serial Bus (USB).

The transmissive dimming panel 120 further has a light incident surface F1 and a light emitting surface F2 opposite to the light incident surface F1, wherein the light incident surface F1 is located between the light emitting surface F2 and the windshield 21, and the external light L2 can sequentially penetrate through the windshield 21 and the transmissive dimming panel 120. After the external light L2 passes through the windshield 21, the external light L2 enters the transmissive light-adjusting panel 120 through the light incident surface F1 and leaves the transmissive light-adjusting panel 120 through the light emitting surface F2. The external light L2 leaving the transmissive dimming panel 120 can be incident on the eyes of the driver 29, so that the driver 29 can know the road condition ahead from the external light L2. In addition, the light emitting surface F2 can divide the light valve regions, so that the light valve regions are located on the transmission path of the external light L2.

It should be noted that the optical axis 111 of the image capturing device 110 does not pass through the transmissive light-adjusting panel 120, so that the external light L2 received by the image capturing device 110 does not substantially pass through the transmissive light-adjusting panel 120. In other words, the image capturing device 110 does not capture the image of the transmissive dimming panel 120, so that the image capturing device 110 can directly capture the real image of the road condition ahead from the windshield 21. Therefore, the normal operation of the dimming system 100 can be prevented from being affected by the image capturing device 110 capturing the image of the transmissive dimming panel 120.

Fig. 2B and fig. 2C are schematic cross-sectional views of the transmissive dimming panel in fig. 2A. Referring to fig. 2B, the transmissive dimming panel 120 includes a driving substrate 121, an opposite substrate 122, and a dimming material 123, wherein the dimming material 123 is located between the driving substrate 121 and the opposite substrate 122. In addition, the dimming material 123 may be distributed in the light valve regions.

Both the driving substrate 121 and the opposite substrate 122 may be rigid substrates or flexible substrates, wherein the rigid substrates may be mainly made of glass, and the flexible substrates may be mainly made of transparent polymer materials. The transparent polymer material is, for example, Polyimide (PI) or Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET). When both the driving substrate 121 and the opposite substrate 122 are flexible substrates, the transmissive dimming panel 120 can be made into a flexible film so that the transmissive dimming panel 120 can be attached to the windshield 21, wherein the opposite substrate 122 can be located between the driving substrate 121 and the windshield 21.

The dimming material 123 may include a plurality of dimming particles 123 a. The driving substrate 121 can generate an electric field and apply the electric field to the light modulating material 123 to deflect the light modulating particles 123a, thereby changing the light transmittance of the transmissive light modulating panel 120. In the present embodiment, the light modulating material 123 may be a Polymer Network Liquid Crystal (PNLC), so the light modulating particles 123a may be Liquid Crystal molecules, and the light modulating material 123 may further include a Polymer Network 123c, wherein the light modulating particles 123a are distributed in the Polymer Network 123 c.

It is noted that in other embodiments, the light modulating material 123 may be a Polymer Dispersed Liquid Crystal (PDLC), a Suspended Particle Device (SPD), or an electrochromic material. When the dimming material 123 is a suspended particle device, the dimming particles 123a may be suspended particles (suspended particles). Accordingly, the light modulating material 123 may be of various types, and is not limited to Polymer Network Liquid Crystal (PNLC).

Fig. 2B shows the driving substrate 121 without generating an electric field, so the driving substrate 121 in fig. 2B does not apply an electric field to the dimming material 123. When the driving substrate 121 does not apply an electric field to the dimming material 123, the dimming particles 123a are irregularly arranged. The irregular arrangement of the light-adjusting particles 123a can block, reflect and scatter part of the external light L2, so as to reduce the light transmittance of the transmissive light-adjusting panel 120, so that the transmissive light-adjusting panel 120 presents a translucent appearance, thereby weakening the intensity of the external light L2.

Referring to fig. 2C, in fig. 2C, the driving substrate 121 generating an electric field is shown, that is, the driving substrate 121 in fig. 2C applies an electric field to the light modulating material 123. When the driving substrate 121 applies an electric field to the light modulation material 123, the light modulation particles 123a are driven by the electric field to be deflected and arranged in a regular manner (as shown in fig. 2C). The regularly arranged light-adjusting particles 123a can substantially allow the external light L2 to completely penetrate through, and increase the light penetration rate of the transmissive light-adjusting panel 120, so that the transmissive light-adjusting panel 120 presents a transparent appearance, and the driver 29 can view the road condition ahead from the transmissive light-adjusting panel 120.

The dimming material 123 may further include a plurality of dye molecules 123 b. The color of the dye molecules 123b may be gray or dark gray, so the dye molecules 123b have a lower light reflectance. When the driving substrate 121 does not apply an electric field to the light modulating material 123, the dye molecules 123b can reduce the reflection and scattering of the external light L2 by the translucent transmissive light modulating panel 120, so as to prevent the transmissive light modulating panel 120 from presenting a hazy appearance and affecting the sight of the driver 29.

In addition, in the dimming material 123, the concentration (e.g., molar concentration) of the dye molecules 123b may be lower than the concentration (e.g., molar concentration) of the dimming particles 123a, so that the dye molecules 123b do not significantly reduce the light transmittance of the transmissive dimming panel 120 with a transparent appearance. Therefore, these dye molecules 123b in a lower concentration do not affect the line of sight of the driver 29 as a whole.

It should be noted that, in the present embodiment, the transmissive dimming panel 120 is a flexible film and is attached to the windshield 21. However, in other embodiments, the transmissive dimming panel 120 can be a rigid panel and can be attached to the windshield 21. Alternatively, both the windshield 21 and the transmissive dimming panel 120 may be integrated. That is, the transmissive dimming panel 120 can be directly manufactured as the windshield 21 including the driving substrate 121, the opposite substrate 122 and the dimming material 123. Therefore, fig. 2A is only an example, and the transmissive dimming panel 120 is not limited to a flexible film.

In addition, since the transmissive dimming panel 120 can be a flexible film, the transmissive dimming panel 120 can be attached to an article other than the windshield 21, so that the dimming system 100 can be applied to other technical fields. For example, the transmissive dimming panel 120 may be attached to a helmet, the control unit 130 may be a smart phone of a motorcycle rider, and the image capturing device 110 may be a driving recorder disposed on the helmet.

The control unit 130 is electrically connected to the transmissive dimming panel 120 and the image capturing device 110, or is in communication with the transmissive dimming panel 120 and the image capturing device 110 in a wireless manner, so that the control unit 130 can control the transmissive dimming panel 120 and the image capturing device 110. Thus, the control unit 130 can control the light transmittance of the transmissive light-adjusting panel 120 to reduce or eliminate the adverse effect of the external light L2 passing through the helmet cover and the transmissive light-adjusting panel 120 on the motorcycle rider. It can be seen that the dimming system 100 can be applied to other technical fields, and is not limited to the application only to the automobile 20.

Fig. 2D is a schematic cross-sectional view of the transmissive dimming panel in fig. 2A. Referring to fig. 2D, in the present embodiment, the driving substrate 121 may be an active device array substrate and includes a plurality of active devices 212 (only one is shown in fig. 2D). Taking fig. 2D as an example, the driving substrate 121 further includes a substrate 211, a plurality of electrodes 213 (only one is shown in fig. 2D), and an insulating layer 218, wherein the electrodes 213 may be transparent conductive layers made of, for example, Indium Tin Oxide (ITO) or Indium Zinc Oxide (IZO). In addition, the substrate 211 may have a light emitting surface F2. Taking fig. 2D as an example, the lower surface of the substrate 211 is a light emitting surface F2.

The substrate 211 may be a transparent plate, such as a glass plate or a transparent plastic plate, wherein the substrate 211 may be a rigid substrate (e.g., a glass plate) or a flexible substrate. The flexible substrate may be made of a transparent polymer material, such as Polyimide (PI) or polyethylene terephthalate (PET). The insulating layer 218 and the active devices 212 are disposed on the substrate 211, and the insulating layer 218 covers the active devices 212. A main portion of each electrode 213 is disposed on the insulating layer 218, and other portions of each electrode 213 penetrate the insulating layer 218 to connect to the active device 212, so that the active device 212 can be electrically connected to the electrode 213.

The transmissive dimming panel 120 has a plurality of light valve regions P12 (fig. 2D only shows one light valve region P12), and the electrodes 213 of the driving substrate 121 respectively correspond to the light valve regions P12, wherein the electrodes 213 are respectively located in the light valve regions P12. Taking fig. 2D as an example, fig. 2D shows a cross-sectional structure of the driving substrate 121 in a single light valve region P12, wherein the electrodes 213 may be disposed in the light valve regions P12 one-to-one. In other words, in the present embodiment, one electrode 213 may be disposed in each light valve region P12.

The active device 212 may be a thin film transistor and includes a gate 212g, a source 212s, a drain 212d and a channel layer 212 c. The gate electrode 212g is disposed on the substrate 211, and the driving substrate 121 further includes a gate insulating layer 212i, wherein the gate insulating layer 212i is also disposed on the substrate 211 and covers the gate electrode 212 g. The channel layer 212c may be disposed on the gate insulating layer 212i and overlap the gate electrode 212g, wherein a portion of the gate insulating layer 212i is disposed between the channel layer 212c and the gate electrode 212g to form a capacitor. In addition, the channel layer 212c may be made of a semiconductor material.

The source 212s and the drain 212d are disposed on the channel layer 212c and electrically connected to the channel layer 212c, wherein the portion of each electrode 213 penetrating the insulating layer 218 is connected to the drain 212d, so that the active devices 212 can be electrically connected to the electrodes 213 respectively. In addition, the driving substrate 121 may further include a plurality of parallel scan lines (not shown) and a plurality of parallel data lines (not shown), wherein the scan lines and the data lines are interlaced to form a mesh arrangement. The gate electrode 212g is electrically connected to the scan line, and the source electrode 212s is electrically connected to the data line.

The active device 212 shown in fig. 2D may also be a Field-Effect Transistor (FET). When the gate 212g receives a bias voltage, the active device 212 can be turned on to electrically connect the source 212s and the drain 212d, so that the control unit 130 (see fig. 1 and 2A) can input a voltage from the data line to the turned-on active device 212, and the voltage can be input to the electrode 213 through the source 212s and the drain 212d to generate an electric field at the electrode 213, thereby driving the light-modulating particles 123a in the light-modulating material 123 to deflect (as shown in fig. 2C).

Therefore, the control unit 130 can control the driving substrate 121, so that the driving substrate 121 individually controls the light transmittance of the light valve regions P12 through the electric field generated by the electrodes 213. In addition, the driving substrate 121 may further include a black matrix 219 disposed on the insulating layer 218, wherein the black matrix 219 is in a mesh shape and covers the active devices 212, and the electrodes 213 are respectively disposed in a plurality of grids of the black matrix 219.

It should be noted that in the embodiment shown in fig. 2D, the active device 212 is a bottom gate thin film transistor (tft), but in other embodiments, the active device 212 may also be a top gate tft. Next, the driving substrate 121 in the embodiment is an active device array substrate, but the driving substrate 121 in other embodiments may be a passive device array substrate and include a plurality of passive devices, such as diodes. In other words, the active device 212 in fig. 2D can be replaced by a passive device. Accordingly, fig. 2D is only for illustration and does not limit the implementation aspect of the driving substrate 121.

Fig. 3A is a schematic view of the automobile in fig. 2A while traveling in a tunnel. Referring to fig. 3A, the vehicle 20 equipped with the dimming system 100 can be used in a variety of environments with different brightness levels. Taking fig. 3A as an example, the automobile 20 shown in fig. 3A runs in a tunnel 30, wherein a first environment EN1 is inside the tunnel and a second environment EN2 is outside the tunnel. The first environment EN1 has a first ambient brightness and the second environment EN2 has a second ambient brightness, wherein the first ambient brightness is less than the second ambient brightness, so the second environment EN2 is brighter than the first environment EN 1. Furthermore, in other embodiments, the first environment EN1 may be indoors and the second environment EN2 may be outdoors.

Fig. 3B is a view of the driver looking at the front of the automobile from the transparent transmissive dimming panel in fig. 3A. Referring to fig. 3A and 3B, when the transmissive dimming panel 120 is transparent, for example, the control unit 130 does not decrease the light transmittance of any light valve region P12 (shown in fig. 2D), the driver 29 moving from the first environment EN1 to the second environment EN2 not only sees the lower first environment luminance B1, but also sees the higher second environment luminance B2. At this time, the line of sight of the driver 29 is disturbed by the second environment luminance B2 due to the influence of the light adaptation, and the second environment EN2 is difficult to see clearly.

Fig. 4A is a schematic view of an image captured by the image capturing device in fig. 3B. Referring to fig. 3B and fig. 4A, the image capturing device 110 continuously captures a plurality of image frames from the windshield 21 (see fig. 2A), and the image frame 119 shown in fig. 4A is one of the image frames. Since the image 119 is captured directly from the windshield 21 by the image capturing device 110, the image 119 is substantially the same as the view of the driver 29 looking at the front of the vehicle 20 in the state where the transmissive dimming panel 120 is transparent (as shown in fig. 3B).

Since the external light L2 is incident on the eyes of the driver 29 from the light emitting surface F2, the driver 29 basically views the light emitting surface F2 to know the road condition ahead. In other words, the front road condition presented by the light emitting surface F2 is substantially the same as or similar to each image (e.g., the image 119) captured by the image capturing device 110. Therefore, each image captured by the image capturing device 110 corresponds to the light emitting surface F2. Since the image 119 is substantially the same as the driver 29 shown in fig. 3B looking at the front of the vehicle 20, the image capturing device 110 is also affected by the second ambient brightness B2, so that the second ambient EN2 shown in the image 119 is a bright block which is white and a bright block, like the second ambient brightness B2 shown in fig. 3B.

Fig. 4B is an enlarged schematic view inside a dashed-line box 4B in fig. 4A. Referring to FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B, the video frame 119 may have a plurality of frame units P11a, P11B and P11 c. In order to clearly identify the cells P11a, P11B, and P11c, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 4B, the squares filled with densely distributed dots represent the cell P11a, the blank squares represent the cell P11c, and the remaining squares represent the cell P11B filled with more sparsely distributed dots.

The picture elements P11a correspond to a first environment EN1, and the picture elements P11c correspond to a second environment EN2, wherein the picture elements P11b correspond to a boundary between a first environment EN1 and a second environment EN2 displayed on the video picture 119. Since the first ambient brightness B1 of the first ambient EN1 is less than the second ambient brightness B2 of the second ambient EN2, the picture elements P11a are in the dark gray scale range and the first brightness range, and the picture elements P11c are in the bright gray scale range and the second brightness range, wherein the first brightness range is less than the second brightness range. In other words, the gray level and the brightness of the cell P11a are lower than those of the cell P11 c. In addition, the gray level and the brightness of the cell P11b are both between the cells P11a and P11 c.

It should be noted that the video frame 119 may be processed video data. Specifically, the image frame captured by the image capturing device 110 is usually a color frame, and the image frame 119 can be a gray-scale frame converted from a color frame, so as to help the control unit 130 obtain at least one of the gray scales and the luminances of the frame cells P11a, P11b, and P11 c.

Fig. 5A is a view of the driver in fig. 3A looking at the front of the automobile from the translucent transmissive dimming panel, and fig. 5B is an enlarged view within a dotted frame 5B in fig. 5A. Referring to fig. 5A and 5B, fig. 5B shows the transmissive dimming panel 120 controlled by the control unit 130. The transmissive dimming panel 120 has a plurality of light valve regions P12a, P12B, and P12c, wherein the light valve regions P12a, P12B, and P12c are all the same as the light valve region P12, and the control unit 130 controls the light transmittance of the light valve regions P12a, P12B, and P12c in fig. 5B, so that the light transmittance of the light valve regions P12a, P12B, and P12c are different from each other.

For clarity, the light valve regions P12a, P12B and P12c in fig. 5B are represented by the squares filled with densely distributed dots representing the light valve region P12c, the blank squares representing the light valve region P12a, and the remaining squares filled with more sparsely distributed dots representing the light valve region P12B. Light valve area P12a has a first light transmittance and light valve area P12c has a second light transmittance, wherein the first light transmittance is greater than the second light transmittance. The light valve area P12b has a third light transmittance between the first light transmittance and the second light transmittance. Therefore, most of the external light L2 passes through the light-transmissive valve region P12a, and the light valve region P12c blocks more of the external light L2.

Referring to fig. 4B and fig. 5B, since each image frame (e.g., the image frame 119) captured by the image capturing device 110 corresponds to the light exiting surface F2, the frame units P11a, P11B, and P11c of the image frame 119 correspond to the valve areas P12a, P12B, and P12 c. In addition, the position of the dashed box 5B on the transmissive dimming panel 120 in fig. 5A is equivalent to the position of the dashed box 4B on the video screen 119 in fig. 4A, and therefore the screen cells P11a, P11B, and P11c in fig. 4B correspond to the light valve regions P12a, P12B, and P12c in fig. 5B, respectively.

In the present embodiment, the picture elements P11a, P11B and P11c in fig. 4B can correspond to the light valve regions P12a, P12B and P12c in fig. 5B in a one-to-one manner. For example, the picture element P11a at the upper right of FIG. 4B corresponds to the light valve region P12a at the upper right of FIG. 5B, and the picture element P11c at the lower left of FIG. 4B corresponds to the light valve region P12c at the lower left of FIG. 5B. Thus, the frame cell P11a corresponds to the light valve area P12a, the frame cell P11b corresponds to the light valve area P12b, and the frame cell P11c corresponds to the light valve area P12 c.

Based on the above, the picture element P11a corresponds to the first environment EN1 and the light valve area P12a having the first light transmittance, and the picture element P11c corresponds to the second environment EN2 and the light valve area P12c having the second light transmittance. Therefore, when the image frame 119 corresponds to the first environment EN1 with the first environment brightness B1, the light transmittance corresponding to the frame cell P11a is the first light transmittance, and when the image frame 119 corresponds to the second environment EN2 with the second environment brightness B2, the light transmittance corresponding to the frame cell P11c is the second light transmittance, wherein the first light transmittance is greater than the second light transmittance.

The control unit 130 can control the light transmittance of the light valve regions P12 according to at least one of the gray scales and the luminances of the picture elements P11a, P11B and P11c of each image 119, so that the light transmittance of at least two light valve regions P12 corresponding to the same image 119 are different from each other, as shown in fig. 5B as the light valve regions P12a and P12 c. Thus, in the same image frame 119, the light transmittance corresponding to the frame cell P11a in the dark gray scale range or the first brightness range is a higher first light transmittance, and the light transmittance corresponding to the frame cell P11c in the bright gray scale range or the second brightness range is a lower second light transmittance. Therefore, the gray scale and brightness of each frame cell P11a, P11b or P11c are inversely related to the light transmittance of the corresponding light valve region P12a, P12b or P12 c.

By controlling the light transmittance of the light valve regions P12 by the control unit 130, in the same image 119, the picture element P11a in the dark gray scale range or the first brightness range corresponds to a higher first light transmittance, and the picture element P11c in the bright gray scale range or the second brightness range corresponds to a lower second light transmittance, so that the light valve regions P12c corresponding to the second ambient brightness B2 have a low light transmittance (i.e., a second transmittance).

Therefore, the transmissive dimming panel 120 can weaken the second ambient brightness B2 and reduce the interference of the second ambient brightness B2 with the line of sight of the driver 29, thereby helping the driver 29 in the first environment EN1 to see the second environment EN2 clearly. Taking fig. 5A as an example, when the transmissive dimming panel 120 weakens the second ambient brightness B2, the interference of the second ambient brightness B2 with the view of the driver 29 is eliminated or reduced, so that the driver 29 can see the front automobile 50 immediately, the driver 29 is prompted to react immediately, and the risk of an automobile accident is reduced.

In particular, the above embodiment is exemplified by the automobile 20 traveling in the tunnel 30. However, the dimming system 100 may also be applied in outdoor environments other than the tunnel 30. For example, when the car 20 travels on an outdoor road outside a tunnel (e.g., the tunnel 30) at night, if the coming car in front of the car 20 is turned on to make a high beam light dazzling, the transmissive dimming panel 120 can immediately weaken the brightness of the high beam light, so that the driver 29 can quickly see the coming car in front, and the risk of car accidents is reduced. Therefore, the dimming system 100 is not limited to be applied only to the automobile 20 traveling in the tunnel 30.

Fig. 6 is a partially enlarged schematic view of a transmissive dimming panel according to another embodiment of the invention. Referring to fig. 6, the transmissive dimming panel 620 is similar to the transmissive dimming panel 120 disclosed in fig. 2A and 2B, wherein the transmissive dimming panel 620 may include a driving substrate, an opposite substrate 122 and a dimming material 123. However, unlike the driving substrate 121, the driving substrate of the transmissive dimming panel 620 may be a passive device array substrate and includes a plurality of passive devices (not shown), such as diodes.

Therefore, each of the light valve regions of the transmissive dimming panel 620 has only the highest transmittance and the lowest transmittance, i.e., a single light valve region of the transmissive dimming panel 620 can only exhibit the highest transmittance or the lowest transmittance. Taking fig. 6 as an example, the transmissive dimming panel 620 has a plurality of light valve regions P62a and P62b, wherein the light valve region P62a indicated by blank has the highest transmittance, and the light valve region P62b filled with dots has the lowest transmittance.

The control unit 130 can also be communicatively connected to the transmissive dimming panel 620, and can control the light transmittance of the light valve regions P62a and P62B according to at least one of the gray scales and the brightness of the picture cells P11a, P11B, and P11c shown in fig. 4B. Although the light valve regions P62a and P62b can only exhibit the highest transmittance and the lowest transmittance, the control unit 130 can achieve the visual effect of light transmittance between the highest transmittance and the lowest transmittance by using a dithering (coloring) method.

Taking fig. 4B as an example, each of the picture elements P11a, P11B, and P11c may correspond to a plurality of light valve regions of the transmissive dimming panel 620. That is, at least two light valve regions of the transmissive dimming panel 620 can represent one picture element P11a, P11b or P11 c. For example, in the same video frame 119, each of the frame cells P11a, P11b, and P11c may correspond to four light valve regions arranged in a 2 × 2 matrix.

In detail, the picture element P11a in the dark gray scale range or the first luminance range may correspond to the four light valve regions P62a arranged in a 2 × 2 matrix, and the picture element P11c in the bright gray scale range or the second luminance range may correspond to the four light valve regions P62b arranged in a 2 × 2 matrix. The other picture cells P11b may correspond to three light valve regions P62b and one light valve region P62a, wherein the three light valve regions P62b and one light valve region P62a are arranged in a 2 × 2 matrix, as shown in fig. 6.

The light valve regions P62a corresponding to a picture element P11a are defined as a plurality of first light valve regions, and the light valve regions P62b corresponding to a picture element P11c are defined as a plurality of second light valve regions. Taking fig. 6 as an example, the first light valve regions are a plurality of light valve regions P62a circled by a dashed frame of the picture element P11a in fig. 6, wherein one picture element P11a circled four light valve regions P62 a. The second light valve regions are a plurality of light valve regions P62b circled by the dashed frame of the picture element P11c in fig. 6, wherein one picture element P11c circled four light valve regions P62 b.

The number of the first light valve areas having the highest transmittance (i.e., light valve area P62a) is greater than the number of the first light valve areas having the lowest transmittance (i.e., light valve area P62b), and the number of the second light valve areas having the highest transmittance (i.e., light valve area P62a) is less than the number of the second light valve areas having the lowest transmittance (i.e., light valve area P62 b).

Taking fig. 6 as an example, each picture element P11a has four light valve regions P62a circled but no light valve regions P62b circled, so that the number of light valve regions P62a with the highest transmittance is greater than the number of light valve regions P62b with the lowest transmittance in the first light valve regions. Each picture element P11c has four light valve regions P62b but no light valve regions P62a, so that the number of light valve regions P62a having the highest transmittance is smaller than the number of light valve regions P62b having the lowest transmittance in the second light valve regions.

Therefore, even if each light valve region of the transmissive dimming panel 620 can only exhibit the highest transmittance or the lowest transmittance, the transmissive dimming panel 620 can achieve the effect of weakening the second environment brightness B2 by the above color-transferring manner, so as to help the driver 29 in the first environment EN1 to see the second environment EN2 clearly (as shown in fig. 5A).

In summary, the transmissive dimming panel of the dimming system of at least one embodiment of the present invention can adjust the light transmittance, wherein the control unit can control the light transmittance of the light valve regions of the transmissive dimming panel according to at least one of the gray scales and the brightness of the image units in each image, so that the transmissive dimming panel weakens the stronger environmental brightness (e.g., the second environmental brightness B2), helps the driver to see the road condition ahead clearly, and reduces the risk of the car accident.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to particular embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A dimming system, comprising:

an image capturing device for continuously capturing a plurality of image frames, wherein each image frame has a plurality of frame units;

a transmissive light modulation panel having a light incident surface, a light emergent surface opposite to the light incident surface, and a plurality of light valve regions, wherein each image frame corresponds to the light emergent surface, and the image units of the same image frame correspond to the light valve regions; and

and the control unit is in communication connection with the image acquisition device and the transmission type dimming panel and is suitable for analyzing the image pictures to obtain a gray scale of each picture unit, wherein the control unit respectively controls the light transmittance of the light valve areas according to the gray scale of the picture units of each image picture so as to ensure that the light transmittance of at least two light valve areas corresponding to the same image picture is different from each other.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the light transmittance corresponding to one frame unit in a dark gray scale range is a first light transmittance, and the light transmittance corresponding to another frame unit in a bright gray scale range is a second light transmittance, wherein the first light transmittance is greater than the second light transmittance.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the gray scale of each frame cell is inversely related to the light transmittance of the corresponding light valve region.

4. The dimming system of claim 1, wherein each of the light valve regions has a highest transmittance and a lowest transmittance, and each of the frame cells corresponds to a plurality of the light valve regions, wherein the light valve regions comprise a plurality of first light valve regions and a plurality of second light valve regions;

in the same image frame, one of the frame units in a dark gray scale range corresponds to the first light valve regions, and the other of the frame units in a bright gray scale range corresponds to the second light valve regions, wherein the number of the first light valve regions with the highest transmittance is greater than the number of the first light valve regions with the lowest transmittance, and the number of the second light valve regions with the highest transmittance is less than the number of the second light valve regions with the lowest transmittance.

5. The dimming system of claim 1, wherein the transmissive dimming panel comprises:

a driving substrate;

a counter substrate; and

and a light modulation material located between the driving substrate and the opposite substrate.

6. The dimming system of claim 5, wherein the dimming material comprises dimming particles and dye molecules.

7. A dimming system, comprising:

and the control unit is in communication connection with the image acquisition device and the transmission type dimming panel and is suitable for analyzing the image pictures to obtain the brightness of each picture unit, wherein the control unit respectively controls the light transmittance of the light valve areas according to the brightness of the picture units of each image picture so as to ensure that the light transmittance of at least two light valve areas corresponding to the same image picture is different from each other.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the light transmittance corresponding to one of the frame units in a first brightness range is a first light transmittance, and the light transmittance corresponding to another of the frame units in a second brightness range is a second light transmittance, wherein the first brightness range is smaller than the second brightness range, and the first light transmittance is greater than the second light transmittance.

9. The system of claim 7, wherein the brightness of each frame cell is inversely related to the light transmittance of the corresponding light valve region.

10. The dimming system of claim 7, wherein each of the light valve regions has a highest transmittance and a lowest transmittance, and each of the frame cells corresponds to a plurality of the light valve regions, wherein the light valve regions comprise a plurality of first light valve regions and a plurality of second light valve regions;

in the same image frame, one of the frame units in a first brightness range corresponds to the first light valve regions, and the other frame unit in a second brightness range corresponds to the second light valve regions, wherein the first brightness range is smaller than the second brightness range, the number of the first light valve regions with the highest transmittance is larger than that of the first light valve regions with the lowest transmittance, and the number of the second light valve regions with the highest transmittance is smaller than that of the second light valve regions with the lowest transmittance.

11. The dimming system of claim 10, wherein the transmissive dimming panel comprises:

a driving substrate;

a counter substrate; and

12. The dimming system of claim 11, wherein the dimming material comprises dimming particles and dye molecules.

13. The system of claim 7, wherein when the image frame corresponds to a first environment with a first ambient brightness, the light transmittance corresponding to the frame unit is a first light transmittance;

when the image frame corresponds to a second environment with a second environment brightness, the light penetration rate corresponding to the frame unit is a second light penetration rate, wherein the first environment brightness is smaller than the second environment brightness, and the first light penetration rate is greater than the second light penetration rate.

14. The dimming system of claim 13, wherein the first environment is indoors or in a tunnel, and wherein the second environment is outdoors or outside the tunnel.