JP2007065680A - Image display device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable a user to view an image which has display luminance controlled within, for example, a luminance range arbitrarily set by the user himself, in accordance with surrounding illuminance, on an image display device which adjusts display luminance in accordance with surrounding illuminance. <P>SOLUTION: The image display device having a display part operated in accordance with display luminance calculated in accordance with surrounding illuminance or the like allows the user to arbitrarily set, for example, a range of the display luminance as a predetermined rule. The image display device includes a user interface which enables the user to easily input setting of the prescribed rule or perform the input of setting without being aware of it and displays an input bar indicating only an allowable set range of a maximum value as an input picture in the case of surrounding illuminance equal to or higher than prescribed illuminance and indicating only an allowable set range of a minimum value in the case of the surrounding illuminance lower than the prescribed illuminance. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image display device that displays an image according to input image data, and relates to a technique for adjusting the display luminance of an image according to the illuminance around the device.

Conventionally, a visual characteristic is known that the resolution relating to the brightness of the human eye is high for light with low luminance (dark light) and low for light with high luminance (bright light). Therefore, for an image viewed in a dark room (viewing environment with low ambient illuminance), a person can discern the gradation change of the image well, but conversely in a bright room (viewing environment with high ambient illuminance). It can be said that the discriminability of the gradation change with respect to the image seen in FIG. It has also been pointed out that the influence of the ambient illuminance on the human tone discrimination is particularly significant in the discrimination in the low tone portion of the image. Therefore, in Patent Document 1, the illuminance around the device is measured, and when the illuminance is low, the display luminance of the low gradation portion of the image display device is suppressed, and the gradation change is made fine (the luminance change is small). A technology related to an image display device having a function of displaying and displaying an image with a high gradation change and a large gradation change (increasing brightness change) when the illuminance is high. Is disclosed.
JP 2004-272156 A

  However, there are the following problems in the image display apparatus that adjusts the display luminance according to the ambient illuminance in this way. That is, there is a problem that the display luminance considered to be optimum varies depending on the person. For this reason, a user who is unhappy with image display on a conventional image display device with a display brightness adjustment function can only turn off the display brightness adjustment function or endure viewing with an image that is not very suitable for them. There wasn't.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention provides an image display apparatus having a display unit that operates according to display luminance calculated according to ambient illuminance or the like. Provides an image display device that can be arbitrarily set. Specifically, the display brightness of the display unit is calculated based on the display unit that operates according to the calculated display brightness, the illuminance detection unit that detects the ambient illuminance, the detected ambient illuminance, and a predetermined rule. Provided is an image display device comprising: a display luminance calculation unit; a rule holding unit that holds the predetermined rule; and a rule change unit that changes a rule held in the rule holding unit.

Further, the rule holding unit has a candidate rule holding unit that holds a plurality of candidate rules that can be used for calculation as a predetermined rule in the display luminance calculation unit, and the display luminance calculation unit holds the candidate rule holding unit There is also provided an image display device further comprising selection means for selecting a rule to be used as a predetermined rule from a plurality of candidate rules.
In addition, the selection unit includes a content type to be displayed, a received broadcast type to be displayed, display content control information associated with the content to be displayed, and a display broadcast associated with the received broadcast to be displayed. There is also provided an image display device that acquires any one or two or more combinations of control information and performs the selection according to the acquired information of one or more combinations.
Also provided is an image display device further comprising a luminance range rule holding unit in which the rule holding unit holds a rule for determining a maximum value and a minimum value of display luminance determined according to ambient illuminance as a predetermined rule.
In the present invention, in the above image display device, it is possible to allow the user to easily input the setting of the predetermined rule, or to make it possible to make it without being conscious of the setting input. Proposals are also made. Specifically, the rule changing unit changes the luminance range rule for changing the maximum value and the minimum value according to an external input unit using a user interface on a display and a value input by the external input unit. And an image display device.
Also provided is an image display device in which the rule changing unit further includes an illuminance dependence change limiting unit that limits the change of the luminance range rule changing unit according to the ambient illuminance detected by the illuminance detection unit.
In addition, the illuminance dependence change limiting unit restricts so that only the maximum value included in the luminance range rule holding unit can be changed when the ambient illuminance is greater than or equal to a predetermined illuminance, and the ambient illuminance is a predetermined illuminance In the following cases, an image display device is also provided that restricts only the minimum value included in the luminance range rule holding means to be changeable.
In addition, the external input means displays, as a user interface, an input bar indicating only a maximum settable range as an input screen when the ambient illuminance is greater than or equal to the predetermined illuminance, and when the ambient illuminance is less than or equal to the predetermined illuminance There is also provided an image display device having an input bar display for displaying an input bar indicating only a minimum value settable range as an input screen.
The image display device further includes an immediate reflection unit that causes the display unit on which a user interface screen is displayed to operate with a display luminance value calculated according to a rule changed according to a value input to the external input unit. Also provide.
In addition, when the illuminance detection unit changes the information for determining the luminance range of the rule held in the rule holding unit by an input from an external input means, the detection function is stopped to turn off the detection of illuminance. An image display apparatus having means is also provided.
Further, as a method for causing a computer to execute such image display, a recording step for recording in order to hold a predetermined rule, and a rule change for changing the predetermined rule recorded and held in the recording step. A display luminance calculating step for calculating the display luminance of the display unit based on the step, the illuminance detecting step for detecting the ambient illuminance, the ambient illuminance detected in the illuminance detecting step, and a predetermined rule; There is also provided an image display method including a display operation step of operating a display unit according to display brightness.
The predetermined rule recorded in the recording step is a plurality of candidate rules, and a rule to be used as the predetermined rule in the display luminance calculation step is selected from the plurality of candidate rules recorded and held. There is also provided an image display method further comprising a selection step.
In addition, the selection step includes a content type to be displayed, a received broadcast type to be displayed, display content control information associated with the content to be displayed, and a display broadcast associated with the received broadcast to be displayed. There is also provided an image display method for acquiring any one or two or more combinations of control information and performing the selection in accordance with the acquired information on one or more combinations.
Further, there is also an image display method in which the predetermined rule recorded and held in the recording step is a luminance range rule that holds a rule that determines a maximum value and a minimum value of display luminance determined according to ambient illuminance. provide.
Further, the rule changing step includes an external input step for inputting a value using a user interface on the display unit, and a luminance range rule change for changing the maximum value and the minimum value according to a value input by the external input step. There is also provided an image display method comprising:
In addition, there is also provided an image display method in which the luminance range rule changing step is a luminance range rule changing step with illuminance dependency change restriction in which the change is restricted according to the ambient illuminance detected in the illuminance detecting step.
In addition, the luminance range rule changing step with illuminance dependency change restriction restricts so that only the maximum value included in the luminance range rule can be changed when the ambient illuminance is greater than or equal to a predetermined illuminance, There is also provided an image display method for limiting so that only the minimum value included in the luminance range rule can be changed when it is equal to or lower than a predetermined illuminance.
In addition, the external input step displays, as a user interface, an input bar indicating only a maximum settable range as an input screen when the ambient illuminance is greater than or equal to the predetermined illuminance, and when the ambient illuminance is less than or equal to the predetermined illuminance. There is also provided an image display method for displaying an input bar showing only a minimum value settable range as an input screen.
Also provided is an image display method further comprising an immediate reflection step of causing the display unit on which the screen of the user interface is displayed to operate at a display luminance value calculated according to a rule changed by the value input in the external input step. To do.
In addition, when the illuminance detection step is a process for changing the information that determines the luminance range of the rule that is recorded and held, the detection function pause step for turning off the detection of illuminance is performed by an input from the external input step. An image display method is also provided.

  According to the present invention configured as described above, a user can view an image whose display luminance is controlled within a luminance range arbitrarily set by the user, for example, according to ambient illuminance. Therefore, it is possible to enjoy an image with a display luminance suitable for the illuminance in the viewing environment and suitable for one's own sense. In addition, by using the user interface displayed in the above configuration, the user can set the predetermined rule without being particularly aware that the user has set the brightness range or the like. It becomes like this.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and can be implemented in various modes without departing from the spirit of the present invention. In the first embodiment, claims 1, 3, 4, 7, 9, and 10 will be mainly described. In the second embodiment, claims 2 and 8 will be mainly described. In the third embodiment, other examples of claims 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 9, and 10 will be mainly described. In the fourth embodiment, claims 5 and 11 will be mainly described. In the fifth embodiment, claims 6 and 12 will be mainly described.

Example 1
<Overview of Example 1>
FIG. 1 shows an example of a user interface in the image display apparatus according to the present embodiment having a function of changing display luminance according to ambient illuminance. Specifically, it is a schematic diagram showing an example of a user interface for the user to arbitrarily set the upper limit / lower limit of the display luminance adjustment range. As shown in this figure, for example, a television menu screen provided with the image display device of the present embodiment, various setting items such as color management settings such as hue, saturation, brightness, and active contrast settings can be selected. Is displayed. In addition, an item “brightness sensor setting” for allowing the user to arbitrarily set the display luminance adjustment range is also displayed.

  Here, for example, a user is watching a DVD in a darkened room in order to watch a movie. Then, the image display apparatus according to the present embodiment detects the darkness of the room with a light amount sensor or the like, and automatically displays the display brightness while being suppressed to a set value “−16”, for example. However, if the display is performed with the luminance of the set value of “−16”, the image is too dark for the user to understand the content well. Therefore, the user calls the menu screen shown in FIG. 1 on the display by remote control, and selects the item “brightness sensor setting” from there. Then, a slider bar such as “maximum value setting” and “minimum value setting” as shown in the figure is displayed. The user moves the slider bar to the left and right, and places the bar at a desired point. For example, the display brightness adjustment processing in a completely dark room is changed from the initial setting of “−16” to “−12”. It can be arbitrarily changed to adjust. Therefore, the user can view the image with the display brightness that suits his / her wish.

<Configuration of Example 1>
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of functional blocks in the image display apparatus according to the present embodiment. As shown in this figure, the “image display device” (0200) of this embodiment includes a “display unit” (0201), an “ambient illuminance detection unit” (0202), and a “display luminance calculation unit” (0203). And a “rule holding unit” (0204) and a “rule changing unit” (0205).

  Note that the functional blocks of the system described below can be realized as hardware, software, or both hardware and software. Specifically, if a computer is used, a CPU, a memory, a bus, a storage device such as a hard disk or a nonvolatile memory, a storage medium such as a CD-ROM or a DVD-ROM, a read drive for these media, various communications And hardware components such as transmission / reception ports for printers and other peripheral devices, driver programs and other application programs for controlling the hardware, and interfaces used for information input. These hardware and software processes the programs developed on the memory sequentially with the CPU, and processes, stores, and outputs the data stored on the memory and hard disk, and the data input via the interface. Or used to control each hardware component.

  The present invention can be realized not only as a system but also as a method. In addition, a part of the invention can be configured as software. Furthermore, a software product used for causing a computer to execute such software and a recording medium in which the product is fixed to a recording medium are naturally included in the technical scope of the present invention (the same applies throughout the present specification). Is).

  The “display unit” (0201) is a display that operates according to the display luminance calculated by the display luminance calculation unit (0203) described later. Examples of the display unit include a liquid crystal display and a micromirror display of a non-light emitting display, or a light emitting plasma display, an electroluminescence display, a field emission display, and a fluorescent display tube display. For example, in the case of a liquid crystal display, this display unit is configured to be able to adjust the display luminance by adjusting the amount of backlight light or biasing the input video signal. An image can be displayed by operating according to the display luminance corresponding to the calculation result in the calculation unit.

  The “illuminance detection unit” (0202) has a function of detecting ambient illuminance, and may be configured by a light amount sensor that detects the amount of ambient light using a photoelectric conductive element, for example. Examples of the photoconductive element include a Cds cell in which free electrons in proportion to the amount of light are generated in a semiconductor when it is exposed to light, the current flow changes, and the resistance value decreases. Of course, the light quantity sensor is not limited to this. “Ambient illuminance” refers to the illuminance around the image display device, and the surrounding range is not particularly limited. However, it is desirable to be within a spatial range that has an effect on normal viewing. The ambient illuminance is detected by using the light quantity sensor or the like, for example, in a dark room of 0 lux and outside the house of 600 lux. Of course, the present invention is not limited to the method of directly detecting the ambient illuminance by the photoconductive element as described above, and various methods such as detecting the illuminance of the display surface affected by the ambient illuminance and replacing the ambient illuminance detection. It's okay.

  The “display luminance calculation unit” (0203) has a function of calculating the display luminance of the display unit based on the ambient illuminance detected by the illuminance detection unit (0202) and a predetermined rule. The “predetermined rule” is a rule used for calculating the display luminance, and is normally set in advance. Note that the display luminance calculated by the display luminance calculation unit may be a luminance value for each pixel, or may be a value calculated as a representative set value. When the representative set value is calculated, the luminance value of each pixel is corrected according to the display luminance (representative) value at the time of output to the actual display.

  FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram for explaining an example of “predetermined rules” of a conventional image display apparatus. As shown in this figure, in the conventional image display apparatus, a rule is set such that, for example, if the surrounding luminance is 500 lux, the display luminance is set to the set value “+16”. Alternatively, a rule that the display brightness is set to “−16” is set for 0 lux. Therefore, the display brightness setting value is acquired by the display brightness calculation unit based on the ambient illuminance detected by the illuminance detection unit and the predetermined rule. As described above, the calculation in the display luminance calculation unit includes not only the calculation of the four arithmetic operations but also the acquisition of data from the database indicating the correspondence between the ambient illuminance and the display luminance as described above.

  The calculation of the display luminance in the display luminance calculation unit is performed as follows using the hardware resources of the apparatus, for example. First, information serving as a key for starting calculation processing is detected, such as when the switch of the image display apparatus of this embodiment is turned on. Then, in response to the detection, information specifying a region in which a program for calculating display luminance is stored and instructing reading is output. Then, a calculation program stored in a predetermined area of a storage device such as a hard disk is developed in the work area of the memory according to the output of this information, and is sequentially executed by a central processing circuit or the like. By executing this calculation program, first, a numerical value indicating the ambient illuminance detected by the illuminance detection unit is stored in a predetermined area of the memory area together with information indicating the address of the storage area.

  Subsequently, in order to acquire information indicating the predetermined rule stored in a predetermined area of a storage device such as a hard disk, information for designating a storage area and instructing reading is output. Then, the information indicating the predetermined rule is stored together with information indicating the address of the storage area in another predetermined area of the storage area of the memory. Then, a comparison process between a numerical value indicating ambient illuminance stored in a predetermined area in the memory and a numerical value indicated by a predetermined rule is performed by a logical operation process of the CPU. Then, information indicating the set value of the corresponding display luminance is acquired by the comparison process, and stored together with information indicating the address of the storage area in another predetermined area in the memory. After that, the display brightness acquired in this way is used for a program for adjusting and controlling the display brightness of the display, and this image display device displays an image with display brightness corresponding to the ambient illuminance. Can do.

  However, here, the user may not be satisfied with the image and the image quality of the display brightness adjusted based on the setting determined by the predetermined rule. Therefore, the image display apparatus according to the present embodiment includes a “rule holding unit” (0204) and a “rule changing unit” (0205) in addition to the above-described configuration requirements. It can be arbitrarily changed and has a configuration of updating and holding.

  The “rule holding unit” (0204) has a function of holding a predetermined rule. Examples of the predetermined rule held by the rule holding unit include information indicating a mathematical expression f (x) for calculating a set value of display luminance from an illuminance value. As an example of this mathematical formula, “f (x) = 32/500 × x−16” or the like may be used, where f (x) is a set value of display luminance and x is ambient illuminance. In other words, this is a case where the display luminance setting value is set in a proportional relationship with the ambient illuminance. Of course, the mathematical formula as the predetermined rule is not limited to the above example, and besides the mathematical formula, the following predetermined rule shown in the database in which the ambient illuminance range and the display luminance setting value are associated with each other is also included. . That is, the display brightness setting value when the ambient illuminance is 0 to 100 lux is “−16”,..., And the display brightness setting value when the ambient illuminance is 500 or more is “+16”. It is a predetermined rule indicated by association. Then, the above-described configuration is realized by storing predetermined rules indicated by these mathematical formulas f (x) and data associations at predetermined addresses of a storage medium such as a semiconductor memory or a hard disk drive, which is a rule holding unit. ing. In addition, the predetermined rule held in the rule holding unit in this manner is arbitrarily changed and updated by the user, for example, by the action of the rule changing unit described below.

  The “rule holding unit” in the image display apparatus according to the present embodiment may further include “luminance range rule holding unit” (not shown). This “luminance range rule holding means” has a function of holding the luminance range rule. The “brightness range rule” is a predetermined rule that determines the maximum value and the minimum value of display luminance determined according to the ambient illuminance. This has an effect that, for example, in a predetermined rule changing process in a rule changing unit to be described later, it is possible to make the user specify change only for the maximum value and the minimum value.

  The “rule changing unit” (0205) has a function of changing the rule held in the rule holding unit (0204). The rule change by the rule changing unit is, for example, obtaining a new predetermined rule g (x) from an external device via a network or the like, and rewriting the predetermined rule held in the rule holding unit. There is a way to change the rule. Alternatively, there is a method of changing a predetermined rule by updating a numerical value associated with the range of ambient illuminance and display luminance data to a numerical value input by operating a keyboard or a button remote controller.

  Further, the rule changing unit may change the luminance range rule held in the luminance range rule holding unit. Therefore, the rule changing unit of the image display apparatus according to the present embodiment may further include the following functional blocks as shown in FIG. That is, the image display apparatus according to the present embodiment includes the above-described “display unit”, “ambient illuminance detection unit”, “display luminance calculation unit”, “rule holding unit”, and “rule change unit”. , “Luminance range rule holding means”. Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the “rule changing unit” (0405) further includes an “external input unit” (0405a) and a “luminance range rule changing unit” (0405b).

  The “external input means” (0405a) has a function of inputting a value, for example, using a user interface on the display. Examples of the “user interface” used by the external input means include a GUI (graphical user interface) as shown in FIG. In the user interface of this figure, for example, a display for allowing the user to arbitrarily set a maximum value and a minimum value that define a luminance range as a predetermined rule by moving an input bar such as a slider bar indicating the luminance range. Has been done. Of course, in this user interface, if the maximum value set is lower than the minimum value, there will be a problem in adjusting the display brightness. If such a setting is made, a warning message will be displayed or the minimum value will be set. It may be configured such that once set, the moving range of the bar displayed on the input bar for determining the maximum value is limited to be set to be equal to or greater than the minimum value of the setting.

  In addition, even when the range between the maximum and minimum values according to the set ambient illuminance is narrow, there may be a problem that the light flickers depending on the resolution of the display brightness of the backlight or display. . Therefore, a configuration may be adopted in which a predetermined threshold value is provided, such a narrow setting range is detected, a warning is displayed regarding a change to the value, or the change itself cannot be performed.

  The “luminance range rule changing unit” (0405b) has a function for changing the maximum value and the minimum value of the luminance range rule according to the value input by the external input unit. FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram for explaining an example of the luminance range rule changed by the luminance range rule changing unit. As shown in this figure, in the initial luminance range rule, when the ambient illuminance is 500 lux, the display brightness is adjusted to the set value “+16”, and when the ambient illuminance is 0 lux, the display brightness is “−16”. It is stipulated to adjust to. However, using the above user interface, the maximum value of display luminance is set to “+12”, the minimum value is set to “−8”, and the luminance range rule is changed as such. Specifically, in the process for changing the predetermined rule, for example, if the predetermined rule is a mathematical expression f (x), the numerical values of “slope” and “intercept” are changed so as to correspond to this numerical value ( f (x) = 20/500 × x−8). Alternatively, if the predetermined rule is a rule indicated by a database in which the ambient illuminance range and the display luminance setting value are associated with each other, the setting is performed by rewriting the display luminance setting value of the database.

  As described above, if the change in the rule changing unit is a change to the luminance range rule held by the luminance range rule holding means, basically only the change specification for the maximum value and the minimum value of the display luminance is required. Therefore, the input items of the user interface can be simplified, and the labor of the user can be saved by reducing the number of input items.

  Note that the change of the luminance range rule in the rule changing unit is performed as follows using the hardware resources of the apparatus, for example. First, a program for displaying a menu screen for performing various settings on the display and accepting setting changes in response to a user operation is expanded in the work area on the memory and executed by the central processing circuit, as shown in FIG. Menu screen appears on the display. Next, in order to acquire the numerical value indicating the maximum value of the luminance range and the numerical value indicating the minimum value respectively stored in a predetermined area of a storage device such as a hard disk, information specifying the respective storage areas and instructing readout Is output. Then, the information indicating the maximum value and the minimum value is stored in each predetermined area of the storage area of the memory together with information indicating the address of the storage area. Then, the respective values stored in the predetermined storage area are displayed on the screen by the menu display / setting change acceptance program.

  On the other hand, this menu display / setting change acceptance program waits for acceptance of input of the maximum value and minimum value with an input device such as a keyboard or button remote controller. When information on a value for changing the maximum value or the minimum value is input by the input device, the input value is stored in another predetermined area of the memory together with information indicating the address of the storage area. . And, for example, if a new value is input for the maximum value, a process of overwriting and updating the input value stored in a predetermined area of the memory with respect to the storage area in the hard disk where the maximum value was initially stored Is done. In this way, a predetermined rule update process is performed.

<Processing flow of Example 1>
FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of a processing flow in the present embodiment. Note that the steps shown below may be processing steps that constitute a program for controlling a computer recorded on a medium. As shown in this figure, first, in order to hold a predetermined rule, it is recorded (step S0601). Thereafter, for example, if the user inputs a value such as the maximum value or the minimum value of the luminance range using the user interface, the predetermined rule recorded and held in step S0601 is changed (step S0602). When displaying an image on the image display device, first, the ambient illuminance is detected (step S0603). If there is no change, the predetermined rule recorded in step S0601 is changed. If the change is made in step S0602, the change is made. The display brightness on the display unit is calculated based on the predetermined rule and the ambient illuminance detected in step S0603 (step S0604). Finally, the display unit is operated in accordance with the display brightness calculated in step S0604 (step S0605), and an image is displayed with a display brightness that matches the ambient illuminance of the viewing environment and better matches the user's sense. .

<Simple explanation of effect of Example 1>
As described above, according to the image display apparatus of the present embodiment, the user can arbitrarily set the display brightness range that is adjusted according to the ambient illuminance, for example, according to his / her preference and visibility. Can do. Therefore, it is possible to display an image with a display luminance that matches the ambient illuminance of the viewing environment and also matches the user's sense.

<< Example 2 >>
<Overview of Example 2>
The image display apparatus according to the present embodiment is based on the first embodiment, and its feature point is that “predetermined rules” are stored in advance in an EEPROM or the like as a plurality of candidate rules. Thus, for example, the “movie rule” set to be adjusted to a display brightness suitable for a movie, or “sport video rule” set to be adjusted to a display brightness suitable for a sports video, etc. In other words, by simply selecting a desired rule from a plurality of candidate rules, it is possible to easily enjoy a video adjusted to display brightness that matches the ambient illuminance and also the video content.

  In addition, by changing the predetermined rule in the rule changing unit described in the first embodiment for each of the plurality of candidate rules, it is possible to easily set the predetermined rule adjusted to various video contents and the like. Can do.

<Configuration of Example 2>
FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating an example of functional blocks in the image display apparatus according to the present embodiment. As shown in this figure, the “image display device” (1500) of the present embodiment is based on the first embodiment and includes a “display unit” (1501), an “ambient illuminance detection unit” (1502), and a “display”. It has a “luminance calculation unit” (1503), a “rule holding unit” (1504), and a “rule changing unit” (1505). Although not shown, the rule changing unit may further include an “external input unit” and a “luminance range rule changing unit”. These “display unit”, “ambient illuminance detection unit”, “display luminance calculation unit”, “rule holding unit”, “rule changing unit”, “external input means”, and “luminance range” “Rule changing means” has already been described in the above embodiment, and therefore its description is omitted. The feature point of the image display apparatus according to the present embodiment is that the rule holding unit further includes a “candidate rule holding unit” (1504a), and the display luminance calculation unit includes a “selection unit” (1503a). .

  The “candidate rule holding means” (1504a) has a function of holding a plurality of candidate rules. Specifically, this candidate rule holding means can be realized by a secondary storage device local to the image display device such as “EEPROM”, “Hard disk drive”, “Phase change optical disk medium”, “Non-volatile memory”, etc. . Alternatively, the candidate rule holding means is arranged in a server device on the network, and the image display apparatus of this embodiment accesses the candidate rule holding means on the server device via the network and downloads the candidate rule. It may be a configuration.

  The “candidate rule” refers to a rule that can be used for calculation as a predetermined rule in the display luminance calculation unit (1503). For example, a “movie rule”, a “sport video rule”, a “game video rule”, Also, among the rules for movies, rules such as “Horror Movie Rules” and “Comedy Movie Rules” are set according to the video content.

  By setting the rule according to the video content in this way, the image display apparatus according to the present embodiment only acquires the identification information of the candidate rule selected by the user, or automatically identifies the video content. It is possible to easily display an image with display brightness corresponding to the ambient illuminance and also depending on the image content.

  Of course, the plurality of candidate rules are not limited to the candidate rules corresponding to the above-mentioned video content. For example, “HDMI terminal input rule”, “PC input rule”, “analog tuner rule”, etc. It may be a candidate rule for each input interface to the device. Alternatively, candidate rules for each broadcast entity or broadcast medium such as “TV broadcast station A”, “TV broadcast station B”, “BS digital / analog”, “terrestrial digital / analog”, or “HD (high definition) Candidate rule for each image quality standard such as “degree image quality) broadcast” or “SD (standard image quality) broadcast”.

  FIG. 16 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of candidate rules held by this candidate rule holding means. As shown in FIG. 16A, for example, the rule of “dynamic mode” which is a rule for sports has a luminance setting value range according to illuminance of “−16 to +16”, and the contrast is clear. It is held as a function fs (x) that takes a curve indicating the rate of change. When viewing sports videos, this function can be used to adjust the display brightness so that even moving images can be easily viewed.

  The rule of “movie mode” is, for example, as shown in FIG. 16B, the range is “−16 to +8”, and is held as a function fm (x) of a curve where the contrast becomes gentle. Thereby, it is possible to adjust the display brightness so as to suppress a sense of contrast and make it easy to view a dark image. Further, in the “game mode”, for example, as shown in FIG. 16C, the range is “−8 to +8”, and is held as a function fg (x) of a curve with a gentle contrast. By using this function, it is possible to adjust the display brightness so that eyes are not tired.

  Alternatively, in addition to the rules according to the video content, for example, when the input terminal is “HDMI terminal 1”, it is assumed that sports broadcasts are often viewed with BS digital, and the function shown in FIG. The configuration may be such that it is held as a candidate rule used for display luminance calculation in an image input from “1”.

  Of course, this candidate rule can be arbitrarily changed by the user by the rule changing unit or its external input means as described in the first embodiment. In addition to the change by the rule changing unit, the candidate rule may be newly added and held by a “new candidate rule adding unit” included in the image display apparatus according to the present embodiment. By providing a function for newly adding candidate rules in this way, for example, a service provider can provide services such as network distribution of candidate rules adjusted by experts.

  In the image display apparatus of the present embodiment, a rule to be used as a predetermined rule is selected by the next selection means from among a plurality of candidate rules held in this manner, and the display brightness calculation unit performs actual display. The brightness will be calculated.

  The “selecting means” (1503a) has a function of selecting a rule to be used as a predetermined rule from a plurality of candidate rules held in the candidate rule holding means (1504a). This selection means is realized by, for example, a remote controller, a remote control light receiving unit, an operation panel, and the like, and a method in which a user selects and inputs identification information of a desired candidate rule using a GUI or the like can be given. It is done. Or the structure which acquires automatically the identification information of the video input interface of the image | video to display, and selects a candidate rule according to the identification information of the video input source as shown in FIG.16 (b) may be sufficient.

  In addition, the selection means is associated with the content type to be displayed, the received broadcast type to be displayed, the display content control information associated with the content to be displayed, and the received broadcast to be displayed. Any one or two or more combinations of display broadcast control information may be acquired, and the selection may be performed according to the acquired information on one or more combinations. The “content type” refers to information representing the type of video content such as a horror movie, a comedy movie, a sports video, a news video, and a game video. “Receiving broadcast type” means, for example, a broadcasting medium type such as BS digital / analog, terrestrial digital / analog, CS digital / analog, or a broadcasting entity such as broadcasting station (channel) A or broadcasting station B. Type. “Display content control information” and “display broadcast control information” refer to command information for controlling the image display apparatus according to the present embodiment in accordance with such content type and reception broadcast type.

  That is, in the case of a video obtained by reproducing a media such as a DVD, identification information regarding the video genre such as “movie” and “sport” is written as “content type” in the lead-in area of the DVD media, The image display apparatus according to the present embodiment acquires the “content type” and selects a candidate rule according to the content type as shown in FIG. In the case of a digital broadcast wave image, the content type is similarly obtained by automatically acquiring the “content type” described in the BML (broadcast markup language) format in the data portion included in the digital broadcast wave. Candidate rules may be selected according to

  FIG. 17 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of the data portion of this digital broadcast wave. As shown in this figure, the data portion of the digital broadcast wave is composed of “header”, “resource list”, “BML document” of the data body, etc., and the genre information of the broadcast as “content type” is “ It is described in “BML document”. Of course, what is described here may be information such as “BS digital”, “terrestrial digital”, “CS digital”, and other types of received broadcasts, and the image of this embodiment according to these types. It may be display content control information or display broadcast control information for controlling the display device.

  As described above, the image display device according to the present embodiment uses the candidate rule according to the user's desired candidate rule or the automatically acquired content type from among a plurality of candidate rules. A rule for calculating the display brightness can be selected according to the illuminance.

  The image display apparatus according to the present embodiment may further include an “in-video object information acquisition unit”, and the “display luminance calculation unit” may include “object display luminance calculation unit”. Thus, for example, information such as an object in a video such as a person and a background is acquired using a visual feature description tool of MPEG7, and a person object that is the center of an image is brighter than a background object. It is possible to perform processing such as calculating the display brightness so that

<Hardware Configuration of Example 2>
FIG. 18 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of the image display device when the above functional components are realized as hardware. The operation of each hardware component in adjusting display luminance will be described with reference to this figure, taking a liquid crystal display as an example of the display unit.

  First, image data to be displayed on the display including RGB signals, vertical and horizontal synchronization signals, and time information is input to the LCD controller (1801). The LCD controller outputs a signal line control signal including RGB signals to the signal line driver circuit (1802) based on the input image data. Further, the scanning line control signal is output to the scanning line driving circuit (1803), and an image is displayed on the liquid crystal display (1807).

  A plurality of candidate rules are accumulated in the hard disk drive (HDD: 1812), and any one of them is stored as a predetermined rule on a predetermined area of the memory (1809). In addition, a value indicating ambient illuminance measured by the light quantity measurement sensor (1811) is also stored in another predetermined area of the memory. Then, the brightness control program is developed and executed on the CPU (1808), whereby the display brightness value is calculated by the four arithmetic operations using a value indicating a predetermined rule and ambient illuminance. Then, based on the calculated display luminance value, the LCD controller controls the backlight inverter circuit (1805) via the backlight control circuit (1804) to adjust the drive current, whereby the backlight (1806). The backlight brightness is adjusted.

  Here, a menu display signal is output from the input device when the menu display button of the input device (1810) is pressed. Upon reception of this menu display signal, a GUI for selecting a candidate rule is displayed on the display by, for example, OSD processing. Then, the user operates the remote controller while viewing the GUI, selects a desired candidate rule, for example, “movie rule”, and presses the input button. Then, the image display device that has received the selection signal at the “input device” reads a predetermined function fm (x) that is a corresponding candidate rule from “HDD” and stores it as a predetermined rule at a predetermined address in “memory”. To do.

  Alternatively, the digital broadcast wave received by a “tuner” (not shown) or the “content type” recorded in the lead-in area of the DVD medium set by the “DVD drive” can be automatically obtained. Candidate rules may be read from “HDD” and stored as predetermined rules at predetermined addresses in “memory”.

  A value indicating ambient illuminance measured by the light quantity measurement sensor is also stored in another predetermined area of the storage area of the memory. Subsequently, a display luminance setting value is calculated by CPU calculation processing based on a predetermined rule fm (x) stored in a predetermined area of the memory and a value indicating ambient illuminance by CPU calculation processing. . Then, by performing backlight brightness control based on the calculated display brightness setting value, image display is performed with ambient illuminance and brightness based on a predetermined rule selected from the candidate rules. In this example, the embodiment is shown in which the luminance control is realized by the backlight luminance control. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the inclination of the gamma characteristic of the liquid crystal panel is controlled to the calculated display luminance setting value. The brightness control may be various, such as brightness control by changing the brightness value of the image data.

<Processing flow of Example 2>
FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of processing in the present embodiment. Note that the steps shown below may be processing steps that constitute a program for controlling a computer recorded on a medium. As shown in this figure, first, in order to hold a plurality of candidate rules, they are recorded (step S1901). Thereafter, if the change information is input for each candidate rule by the user using the user interface, for example, the candidate rule recorded and held in step S0601 is changed and recorded.

  When displaying an image on the image display device, first, ambient illuminance is detected (step S1902). Also, a rule to be used as a predetermined rule is selected from the candidate rules recorded in step S1901 (step S1903). Note that this selection includes the content type to be displayed, the received broadcast type to be displayed, the display content control information associated with the content to be displayed, and the display broadcast control associated with the received broadcast to be displayed. Any one or two or more combinations of information may be acquired, and selection may be made according to the acquired information of one or more combinations. Then, the display luminance on the display unit is calculated based on the ambient illuminance detected in step S1902 and the rule selected as the predetermined rule in step S1903 (step S1904). Finally, the display unit is operated in accordance with the display brightness calculated in step S1904 (step S1905), and an image is displayed with a display brightness that matches the ambient illuminance of the viewing environment and, for example, the content content. .

<Simple explanation of effect of Example 2>
As described above, the image display device according to the present embodiment uses the candidate rule according to the user's desired candidate rule or the automatically acquired content type from among a plurality of candidate rules. A rule for calculating the display brightness can be selected according to the illuminance.

Example 3
<Concept of Example 3>
The image display apparatus according to the present embodiment is based on the first embodiment, and the feature point is limited to change of the maximum value and the minimum value of the rule held in the luminance range rule according to the detected ambient illuminance. It is a point. Specifically, for example, if the illuminance surrounding the viewing environment is brighter than the standard, the image display device adjusts the display brightness so that the minimum value is not set and only the maximum value is set. It is. Thus, by restricting the change of the luminance range rule according to the ambient illuminance, the number of input items can be reduced according to the illuminance situation, and it is not necessary for the user to spend unnecessary effort. In addition to the effect that the number of display items can be reduced in the user interface, it is also possible to change the rule settings without making the user particularly aware of the small number of display items. It becomes possible.

<Configuration of Example 3>
FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of functional blocks in the image display apparatus according to the present embodiment. As shown in this figure, the “image display device” (0700) of the present embodiment is based on the first embodiment and includes a “display section” (0701), an “ambient illuminance detection section” (0702), and a “display”. It has a “luminance calculation unit” (0703), a “rule holding unit” (0704), and a “rule changing unit” (0705). The rule changing unit further includes an “external input unit” (0705a) and a “luminance range rule changing unit” (0705b). These “display unit”, “ambient illuminance detection unit”, “display luminance calculation unit”, “rule holding unit”, “rule changing unit”, “external input means”, and “luminance range rule” Since “changing means” has already been described in the above embodiment, the description thereof will be omitted. A feature point of the image display apparatus according to the present embodiment is that the rule changing unit further includes “illuminance dependence change limiting means” (0705c).

  The “illuminance dependence change limiting unit” (0705c) has a function of limiting the change of the luminance range rule changing unit (0705b) according to the ambient illuminance detected by the illuminance detection unit (0702). For example, when the ambient illuminance is equal to or higher than the predetermined illuminance, the change is limited to allow only the maximum value included in the luminance range rule holding unit to be changed. For example, there is a restriction that only the minimum value included in the luminance range rule holding unit can be changed.

  FIG. 8 is a conceptual diagram for explaining an example of the change limitation of the maximum value of the display luminance in accordance with the ambient illuminance by the illuminance dependency change limiting unit. As shown in this figure, when the ambient illuminance detected by the ambient illuminance detection unit is, for example, 300 lux or more, the ambient illuminance in the viewing environment is sufficiently bright, and thus the display luminance needs to be adjusted in the negative direction. Since the value is low, changing the minimum value is limited to be omissible. Then, only the maximum value needs to be changed, and the setting value of the maximum value can be changed between “+1” and “+16” indicated by the hatched area in the figure.

  In addition, as a user interface for changing only the maximum value of display luminance when there is a restriction according to such ambient illuminance, for example, a user interface having the following configuration requirements can be cited. That is, it is a user interface having an input bar display that displays an input bar showing only a maximum settable range as an input screen when the ambient illuminance is greater than or equal to a predetermined illuminance. The “input bar” includes, for example, a bar indicating the settable range by its length, and a configuration in which a desired value is designated by sliding the bar up and down or left and right. FIG. 9 shows an example of a display screen of this user interface. As shown in this figure, when the tab of the item “image adjustment” (0900) is designated, for example, a slider bar which is an “input bar” (0901) for adjusting the brightness is “input bar display” ( (Not shown) on the display. The user can designate the maximum value of the desired display luminance by moving the knob (0902) on the slider bar for changing the maximum value to the left and right. The feature point of this input bar is that when the ambient illuminance is sufficiently bright, the input bar for changing the minimum value of display luminance is omitted as shown in the figure.

  Of course, contrary to the above example, the limitation may be a limitation that allows only the minimum value included in the luminance range rule holding means to be changed when the ambient illuminance is less than or equal to a predetermined illuminance. FIG. 10 is a conceptual diagram for explaining another example of the change limitation of the minimum value of the display luminance in accordance with the ambient illuminance by the illuminance dependency change limiting unit. As shown in this figure, when the ambient illuminance detected by the ambient illuminance detection unit is, for example, 200 lux or more, the ambient illuminance in the viewing environment is dark, and therefore it is necessary to adjust the display brightness in the positive direction. Is limited so that changing the maximum value is optional. Then, only the minimum value needs to be changed, and the setting value of the minimum value can be changed between “−16” and “−1” indicated by the hatched area in the figure.

  Further, as a user interface in such a case, when using a user interface having an input bar display that displays an input bar indicating only a minimum settable range as an input screen when the ambient illuminance is less than or equal to a predetermined illuminance good. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a display screen of a user interface having an input bar display that displays an input bar indicating only the minimum value settable range. As shown in this figure, the feature point of this user interface is that the input bar for changing the maximum value of display brightness is omitted, and only the input bar for changing the minimum value of display brightness is displayed. Is a point.

  In this way, by restricting the change of the brightness range rule according to the ambient illuminance, it is possible to reduce the number of input items according to the ambient illuminance situation of the viewing environment, eliminating the need for the user to spend unnecessary effort. . Further, as shown above, the number of display items can be reduced even in the user interface, and the setting of the rules can be changed without making the user particularly aware from the small number of display items. .

<Processing Flow of Example 3>
FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing an example of a processing flow in the present embodiment. Note that the steps shown below may be processing steps that constitute a program for controlling a computer recorded on a medium. As shown in this figure, first, in order to hold the luminance range rule, it is recorded (step S1201). Thereafter, ambient illuminance is detected when an image is displayed on the image display device (step S1202). Subsequently, the changeable range of the maximum value or the minimum value of the luminance range rule is limited according to the ambient illuminance detected in step S1202 (step S1203). When a value is input using the user interface within the change range limited in step S1203 (step S1204), the maximum value of the luminance range rule recorded in step S1201 is determined based on the input value. The value or the minimum value is changed (step S1205). If there is no change, the luminance range rule recorded in step S1201 is changed. If the change is made in step S1205, the changed luminance range rule is changed on the display unit based on the ambient illuminance detected in step S1202. Is calculated (step S1206). Finally, the display unit is operated according to the display brightness calculated in step S1206 (step S1207), and an image is displayed with a display brightness that matches the ambient illuminance of the viewing environment and better matches the user's sense. .
Of course, the processing flow of the present embodiment is the same as that in step S1203 in the above processing flow (step in which the changeable range of the maximum value or the minimum value of the luminance range rule according to the ambient illuminance is limited), step S1204, step S1205. There may be a process flow that does not include (a step of changing a luminance range rule by acquiring a value using a user interface).
In that case, first, in order to hold a luminance range rule for holding a rule for determining a maximum value and a minimum value of display luminance according to the ambient illuminance, recording is performed. After that, for example, when the value input by the user is obtained using the user interface on the display unit, the maximum value and the minimum value defined by the luminance range rule recorded and held are changed by the input value. It may be recorded. In addition, the change of the luminance range rule may be configured such that, for example, ambient illuminance is detected by a sensor or the like, and the change is limited according to the detected ambient illuminance. In addition, the limitation is such that if the detected ambient illuminance is greater than or equal to the predetermined illuminance, only the maximum value included in the luminance range rule can be changed, and if the detected ambient illuminance is less than or equal to the predetermined illuminance, the minimum The configuration may be such that only the value can be changed. In addition, as a user interface of the display unit for enabling change according to the restriction, for example, an input bar indicating only a settable range of the maximum value as an input screen, or only a settable range of the minimum value as an input screen is shown. The input bar may be displayed, and the input value may be acquired using the display user interface.
Thereafter, ambient illuminance is detected when an image is displayed on the image display device. Then, the display brightness on the display unit is calculated based on the brightness range rule and the detected ambient illuminance. Finally, the display unit is operated according to the calculated display brightness.

<Simple explanation of effect of Example 3>
As described above, the image display apparatus according to the present embodiment can reduce the number of input items according to the illuminance situation around the viewing environment, and eliminates the need for the user to spend unnecessary time. Also, the number of display items can be reduced in the user interface, and the setting of rules can be changed without making the user particularly aware from the small number of display items.

Example 4
<Overview of Example 4>
The image display apparatus according to the present embodiment is based on the image display apparatus having the luminance range rule holding means according to the first and second embodiments. For example, when the knob of the input bar of the user interface shown in FIG. 9 or FIG. 11 is moved to the left, the movement of the knob is reflected in the display brightness of the image display in real time, and the screen gradually becomes darker. It is a point that has the function of saying. In this way, changes in the maximum and minimum display brightness settings are reflected in the display brightness in real time, allowing the user to set the maximum and minimum values while visually checking the actual display brightness. It becomes possible to do.

<Configuration of Example 4>
FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of functional blocks in the image display apparatus according to the present embodiment. As shown in this figure, the “image display device” (1300) of the present embodiment is based on the image display device having the luminance range rule holding means of the first embodiment, and the “display unit” (1301) and “ambient illuminance”. A "detection unit" (1302), a "display luminance calculation unit" (1303), a "rule holding unit" (1304), and a "rule changing unit" (1305). The “luminance range rule holding means” (1304a), and the rule changing unit has “external input means” (1305a) and “luminance range rule changing means” (1305b). Further, although not shown in the figure, the “illuminance dependence change limiting means” may be further provided on the basis of the third embodiment.

A feature point of the image display apparatus according to the present embodiment is that it further includes an “immediate reflection unit” (1306). The “immediate reflection unit” (1306) has a function of operating the display unit on which the screen of the user interface is displayed with the display luminance value calculated according to the rule changed by the value input to the external input unit. Have. By immediately operating with the display luminance value calculated according to the rule changed in this way, the rule of the luminance range can be set while visually confirming the actual luminance change. Therefore, the user can set the range with a value more suited to his / her preference.
<Processing Flow of Example 4>
In addition to the processing of the third embodiment, the processing of the present embodiment uses the display unit on which the screen of the user interface is displayed, the display luminance value calculated according to the rule changed by the value input using the user interface. This is a process having an immediate reflection step that is operated by.
Specifically, for example, similar to the processing described in the third embodiment, first, a luminance range rule for holding a rule for determining the maximum value and the minimum value of display luminance according to the ambient illuminance is recorded for holding. Thereafter, when a value input by the user is obtained using the user interface on the display unit, the maximum value and the minimum value defined by the luminance range rule recorded and held are changed according to the input value. .
Then, in order to immediately reflect the change of the luminance range rule on the display luminance of the display unit, the ambient illuminance is detected, and the display luminance on the display unit is determined based on the detected ambient illuminance and the changed luminance range rule. Calculate Then, it is preferable to perform a process of operating the display unit on which the screen of the user interface is displayed with the calculated display brightness value, and perform an immediate reflection process of the display brightness value according to the change.

<Hardware Configuration of Example 4>
Here, an example of the overall processing flow of the brightness adjustment in the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 14, focusing on individual processing in hardware resources of the apparatus, taking a liquid crystal display as an example of the display. First, image data to be displayed on a display including RGB signals, vertical and horizontal synchronization signals, and time information is input to the LCD controller (1401). The LCD controller outputs a signal line control signal including RGB signals to the signal line driver circuit (1402) based on the input image data. Further, the scanning line control signal is output to the scanning line driving circuit (1403), and an image is displayed on the liquid crystal display (1407). In addition, as described in the first embodiment, a predetermined rule is stored in a predetermined area of the memory (1409) from the hard disk drive (HDD: 1412), and is measured by the light quantity measurement sensor (1411). A value indicating ambient illuminance is also stored in another predetermined area of the memory. Then, the brightness control program is developed and executed on the CPU (1408), whereby the display brightness value is calculated by the four arithmetic operations using a value indicating a predetermined rule and ambient illuminance. Then, based on the calculated display luminance value, the LCD controller controls the backlight inverter circuit (1405) via the backlight control circuit (1404) to adjust the drive current, thereby the backlight (1406). The backlight brightness is adjusted.

  Here, a menu display signal is output from the input device when the menu display button of the input device (1410) is pressed. Upon receiving this menu display signal, as described above, the menu display / setting change acceptance program is expanded in the work area on the memory (1409) and executed by the CPU (1408). As a result, a menu screen as shown in FIG. 1 is displayed on the display. In addition, information indicating the maximum and minimum values indicating the display luminance range is also stored in each predetermined area of the memory together with information indicating the address of the storage area, and each value is displayed on the menu screen. Is done. Further, a value indicating the ambient illuminance measured by the light quantity measuring sensor is also stored in another predetermined area of the storage area of the memory.

  When an operation for moving the knob with the maximum value setting shown in FIG. 1 is performed on the input device, a value indicating the setting value corresponding to the movement position of the knob is acquired and stored in a predetermined area of the memory. The Here, the CPU executes the above-described backlight brightness control program, and performs arithmetic processing of the CPU based on a set value corresponding to the movement position of the knob stored in a predetermined area of the memory and a value indicating ambient illuminance. Thus, the set value of the display brightness is calculated.

  In the image display device according to the fourth embodiment, the luminance control of the backlight is performed based on the calculated display luminance value according to the movement of the knob in real time. Of course, there is no need to calculate the display brightness value and control the backlight in real time when the knob is moved, and the backlight will receive the decision signal indicating that the menu device setting decision button has been pressed on the input device. A configuration in which the brightness control program is executed may be used. In any case, the maximum value and the minimum value stored together with the information indicating the address in the predetermined area of the storage area of the memory that is finally input and determined are initially stored in the predetermined area of the memory. The predetermined maximum value and minimum value are updated, and a predetermined rule is changed. At the time of viewing the image, the image is displayed with the brightness controlled by the backlight brightness control program using the maximum value and the minimum value that are arbitrarily changed and set by the user. In this example, the brightness control is realized by controlling the backlight brightness. However, of course, the present invention is not limited to this. The brightness control by controlling the inclination of the gamma characteristic of the liquid crystal panel, or the brightness of the image data. There may be various brightness control by changing the value.

Example 5
<Overview of Example 5>
The image display apparatus according to the present embodiment is based on an image display apparatus having luminance range rule holding means in the first to fourth embodiments. For example, when the luminance range rule is set using the user interface shown in FIG. 9 or FIG. By turning off the function, the image display device can effectively exhibit an energy saving effect.

  In addition, when the function of the light quantity measurement sensor is turned off, the display luminance adjustment may not be performed when the luminance range rule is set using the user interface. Alternatively, using the value sensed immediately before the function of the light quantity sensor is turned off, the image display brightness is adjusted in real time by moving the knob by the processing of the “immediate reflection unit” described in the fourth embodiment. It may be configured as follows.

<Configuration of Example 5>
FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating an example of functional blocks in the image display apparatus according to the present embodiment. As shown in this figure, the “image display device” (2000) of the present embodiment is based on the image display device having the luminance range rule holding means of the first embodiment, and the “display unit” (2001) and “ambient illuminance”. A "detection unit" (2002), a "display luminance calculation unit" (2003), a "rule holding unit" (2004), and a "rule changing unit" (2005). The “luminance range rule holding means” (2004a), and the rule changing unit have “external input means” (2005a) and “luminance range rule changing means” (2005b). Further, although not shown, on the basis of the third and fourth embodiments, “candidate rule holding means”, “selection means”, and “illuminance dependence change restriction means” may be further provided.

  A feature point of the image display apparatus according to the present embodiment is that the “ambient illuminance detection unit” further includes “detection function suspension unit” (2002a).

  The “detection function suspending means” (2002a) is used when the information changing process for determining the luminance range of the rule held in the rule holding unit (2004) is performed by an input from the external input means (2005a). , It has a function to turn off the detection of illuminance. This “turn off illuminance detection” refers to the method of turning off the illuminance detection function by cutting off the power supply to the light quantity measurement sensor as described above, as well as covering the light quantity measurement sensor with a cover or the like. There may be various methods such as a method of turning off the detection function.

  In addition, the adjustment of the display luminance that can be placed on the display unit when the illuminance detection function is turned off by the “detection function pause means” is performed by setting the luminance range rule using the user interface as described above. The display brightness adjustment at the time may not be performed, or the processing of the “immediate reflection unit” described in the fourth embodiment is performed using a value sensed immediately before the function of the light amount measurement sensor is turned off. Accordingly, the image display brightness may be adjusted in real time by moving the knob.

  The “detection function pause means” has a hardware configuration, for example, “CPU” that receives a display signal of “luminance range rule setting GUI” by an external input means, and the reception of the display signal. It may be realized by a “power supply control circuit” that receives the power supply cut command of the light quantity measurement sensor output from the “CPU” and controls the power supply thereof. When the CPU obtains a signal indicating that the setting and display of the luminance range rule GUI with the external input means has been completed, a power supply start command is output to the light quantity measurement sensor, and the illuminance detection function Is turned on.

<Processing Flow of Example 5>
FIG. 21 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing flow in the present embodiment. Note that the steps shown below may be processing steps that constitute a program for controlling a computer recorded on a medium. As shown in this figure, first, in order to hold the luminance range rule, it is recorded (step S2101). Thereafter, when a luminance range rule change command is acquired (step S2102), for example, 21 UI is displayed on the display (step S2103). Then, upon receiving the GUI display, the illuminance detection function is turned off (step S2104). When an input value is acquired using the GUI (step S2105), the luminance range rule is changed and recorded according to the input value (step 2106). When the change of the luminance range rule is completed, the illuminance detection function is turned on (step S2107), and the display luminance is calculated in accordance with the ambient illuminance of the viewing environment and according to a predetermined rule.

<Simple explanation of effect of Example 5>
As described above, when the user sets the luminance range rule using the GUI or the like by the image display apparatus of this embodiment, power is supplied to the “light quantity measurement sensor” or the like that is an illuminance detection unit. And the function can be turned off. Therefore, the energy saving effect can be effectively exhibited.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a user interface in the image display apparatus according to the first embodiment. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of functional blocks in the image display apparatus according to the first embodiment. Conceptual diagram for explaining an example of a predetermined rule in a conventional image display device The figure showing another example of the functional block in the image display apparatus of Example 1. FIG. FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram for explaining an example of a luminance range rule changed by a luminance range rule changing unit in the image display apparatus according to the first embodiment. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a processing flow in the image display apparatus according to the first embodiment. The figure showing an example of the functional block in the image display apparatus of Example 3. The conceptual diagram for demonstrating an example of the change restriction | limiting of the maximum value of the display brightness according to ambient illuminance in the illumination intensity dependence change restriction means in the image display apparatus of Example 3. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a user interface display screen in the image display apparatus according to the third embodiment. The conceptual diagram for demonstrating another example of the change restriction | limiting of the maximum value of the display brightness according to ambient illuminance in the illumination intensity dependence change restriction means in the image display apparatus of Example 3. The figure showing another example of the display screen of the user interface in the image display apparatus of Example 3. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process flow in the image display apparatus according to the third embodiment. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of functional blocks in the image display apparatus according to the fourth embodiment. The figure for demonstrating an example of the whole process flow of the brightness adjustment in the image display apparatus of this invention FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of functional blocks in the image display apparatus according to the second embodiment. FIG. 7 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of a candidate rule holding unit of the image display device according to the second embodiment. FIG. 7 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of a data portion of a digital broadcast wave including a content type acquired by the selection unit of the image display device according to the second embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining an example of a hardware configuration in an image display apparatus according to a second embodiment. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process flow in the image display apparatus according to the second embodiment. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of functional blocks in the image display apparatus according to the fifth embodiment. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a processing flow in the image display apparatus according to the fifth embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

0200 Image display device 0201 Display unit 0202 Ambient illuminance detection unit 0203 Display luminance calculation unit 0204 Rule holding unit 0205 Rule change unit

Claims (12)

A display unit that operates according to the calculated display brightness;
An illuminance detector for detecting ambient illuminance;
A display luminance calculation unit that calculates the display luminance of the display unit based on the ambient illuminance detected by the illuminance detection unit and a predetermined rule;
A rule holding unit for holding the predetermined rule;
A rule changing unit for changing a rule held in the rule holding unit;
An image display apparatus. The rule holding unit is
The display brightness calculation unit has candidate rule holding means for holding a plurality of candidate rules that can be used for calculation as a predetermined rule,
The display brightness calculator
The image display device according to claim 1, further comprising a selection unit that selects a rule to be used as a predetermined rule from a plurality of candidate rules held in the candidate rule holding unit.   The image display according to claim 1, wherein the rule holding unit includes a luminance range rule holding unit that holds a rule that determines a maximum value and a minimum value of display luminance that are determined according to ambient illuminance as a predetermined rule. apparatus. The rule changing unit
An external input means using a user interface on the display;
The image display apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising: a luminance range rule changing unit for changing the maximum value and the minimum value according to a value input by an external input unit.   5. The image according to claim 4, further comprising an immediate reflection unit that operates a display unit on which a screen of a user interface is displayed with a display luminance value calculated according to a rule changed according to a value input to the external input unit. Display device.   The illuminance detection unit includes a detection function pause unit that turns off the detection of illuminance when the process of changing the information that determines the luminance range of the rule held in the rule holding unit is performed by an input from an external input unit. The image display device according to claim 4 or 5. A recording step for recording to hold predetermined rules;
A rule changing step for changing the predetermined rule recorded and held in the recording step;
Illuminance detection step for detecting ambient illuminance;
A display luminance calculation step for calculating the display luminance of the display unit based on the ambient illuminance detected in the illuminance detection step and a predetermined rule;
A display operation step for operating the display unit according to the calculated display brightness;
An image display method comprising: The predetermined rule recorded in the recording step is a plurality of candidate rules,
The image display method according to claim 7, further comprising selection means for selecting a rule to be used as a predetermined rule in the display luminance calculation step from the plurality of candidate rules recorded and held.   The predetermined rule recorded and held in the recording step is a luminance range rule for holding a rule for determining a maximum value and a minimum value of display luminance determined according to ambient illuminance. 9. The image display method according to 8. The rule changing step includes:
An external input step for inputting a value using a user interface on the display unit;
A luminance range rule changing step of changing the maximum value and the minimum value according to the value input by the external input step;
The image display method according to claim 9.   11. The image according to claim 10, further comprising an immediate reflection step of causing the display unit on which the screen of the user interface is displayed to operate with a display luminance value calculated according to a rule changed according to a value input in the external input step. Display method.   The illuminance detection step includes a detection function pause step that turns off the detection of illuminance when the information changing process for determining the luminance range of the rule that is recorded and held is performed by an input from the external input step. Item 12. The image display method according to Item 10 or 11.

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