JP5870173B2 - LIGHT CONTROL DEVICE, ITS CONTROL METHOD, AND DISPLAY DEVICE - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a light amount control device that controls the light amount of an LED element, a control method therefor, and a display device.

  In recent years, some display devices such as a liquid crystal monitor use a light emitting diode (LED) as a light source in order to reduce power consumption and improve a contrast ratio. The LED element of the display device has a variable light amount by, for example, a pulse current, and is driven by a feedback control of the pulse current so as to converge to a set constant light amount during normal use. For this reason, in a display device using an LED element as a light source, it takes time to perform feedback control from when the power is turned on until it converges to a predetermined light amount.

  Since the LED element has a characteristic that the voltage applied to the element fluctuates in accordance with a temperature change due to heat generation of the element itself, the light amount varies in proportion to the temperature. That is, since the current required to obtain the target light amount differs depending on the ambient temperature of the LED element, when the pulse current applied to the element at the time of turning on the power is fixed, the time required to converge to the desired light amount after turning on the power May be longer depending on temperature. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a state in which a predetermined pulse current (initial pulse current) given to an LED element when power is turned on is corrected depending on temperature to converge to a desired light amount after power is turned on. A technique for shortening the time required to become is disclosed.

  In addition, it is known that the light amount of the LED element is reduced due to deterioration of the sealing resin due to aging. That is, as the temperature changes, the correspondence between the current value and the amount of light changes due to aging, so if the pulse current applied to the element when the power is turned on is fixed, the time required to converge to the predetermined light amount after the power is turned on Becomes longer. For example, Patent Document 2 stores a ratio of a current value when actually converged to a desired light amount with respect to a current value of an initial pulse current, and multiplies the initial pulse current by the ratio to thereby obtain a light amount of a predetermined chromaticity. A technique for shortening the time required to become is disclosed.

JP 2006-171893 A JP 2006-171695 A

  However, Patent Documents 1 and 2 described above separately solve the influence of ambient temperature and the influence of secular change in the light amount control of the LED element, and those that solve both at the same time have been disclosed so far. There wasn't.

  Further, Patent Document 2 does not consider the influence due to the ambient temperature when storing the ratio of the current values (aging correction coefficient) for correcting the influence due to the secular change in the light amount control of the LED element. That is, the aging correction coefficient stored in Patent Document 2 is a coefficient that includes the influence of the ambient temperature of the LED element when the coefficient is stored. Therefore, if the ambient temperature when the power is turned on and the ambient temperature when storing the aging correction coefficient are different, a pulse current suitable for obtaining a desired light amount can be obtained even if the initial pulse current is multiplied by the aging correction coefficient. I can't.

  Furthermore, when the correction of the pulse current using the temperature correction coefficient based on the ambient temperature (standard temperature) of the LED element when the initial pulse current is set as in Patent Document 1 is additionally executed, it is still appropriate. A pulse current cannot be obtained. In some cases, the obtained pulse current may further deviate from an appropriate value.

  For example, when considering the case where the ambient temperature when storing the aging correction coefficient according to Patent Document 2 is higher than the standard temperature, the obtained aging correction coefficient includes the influence of the ambient temperature, and thus the aging when calculated at the standard temperature. The value is larger than the correction coefficient. In this case, assuming that the ambient temperature when the power is turned on next is the standard temperature, the value of the obtained pulse current becomes higher than necessary when the initial pulse current is multiplied by the aging correction coefficient. However, since the temperature correction coefficient of Patent Document 1 is 1 at the standard temperature, even if the temperature correction coefficient is multiplied, the pulse current cannot be corrected to an appropriate value. Alternatively, if the ambient temperature at power-on is the same as when storing the aging correction factor (higher than the standard temperature), multiplying the default pulse current by the aging correction factor will result in an appropriate pulse current at this point Is obtained. However, since the correction according to Patent Document 1 is subsequently performed, the finally obtained pulse current value becomes larger than an appropriate value (when the ambient temperature is higher than the standard temperature, the temperature correction coefficient is 1). To be bigger).

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and considering the influence of the light quantity of the light emitting element over time and the influence of the ambient temperature of the light emitting element, the drive value given to the light emitting element when the power is turned on is determined. The purpose is to make an appropriate decision .

  In order to achieve the above-described object, the light quantity control device of the present invention has the following configuration.

A light quantity detecting means for detecting the light quantity of the light emitting element, a temperature detecting means for detecting the ambient temperature of the light emitting element, a light quantity of the light emitting element detected by the light quantity detecting means after the light quantity control device is turned on, and a target light quantity value Based on the control means for determining the drive value of the light emitting element and controlling the light emitting element to be driven, and after turning on the light quantity control device, the drive value determination result by the control means and the temperature detecting means Storage means for storing information for obtaining the driving value of the light emitting element at the time of turning on the light quantity control device with respect to the reference ambient temperature based on the ambient temperature, and the control means at the time of turning on the light quantity control device In addition, the drive value of the light emitting element is determined based on the information for obtaining the drive value and the ambient temperature detected by the temperature detecting means when the light quantity control device is turned on.

With such a configuration, according to the present invention, it is possible to appropriately determine the drive value given to the light emitting element when the power is turned on in consideration of the influence of the light amount of the light emitting element over time and the influence of the ambient temperature of the light emitting element. It becomes possible.

The block diagram which showed the function structure of the liquid crystal monitor which concerns on embodiment of this invention The block diagram which showed the structure of the light source control part which concerns on embodiment of this invention. Flowchart of aged correction coefficient calculation processing according to an embodiment of the present invention The figure which showed the relationship between the ambient temperature of the LED element which concerns on embodiment of this invention, and a temperature correction coefficient Flow chart of light amount control processing according to an embodiment of the present invention

  Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In addition, one Embodiment described below demonstrates the example which applied this invention to the liquid crystal monitor which can control the electric current given to an LED element as an example of a light source control apparatus. However, the present invention is applicable to any device that can control the current applied to the LED element.

(Structure of the LCD monitor 100)
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a liquid crystal monitor 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  The control unit 170 is a microprocessor, for example, and controls the operation of each block included in the liquid crystal monitor 100. Specifically, the control unit 170 reads out a program for light amount control processing (to be described later) stored in the storage unit 140, develops it in a RAM (not shown), and executes it, thereby performing the operation of each block included in the liquid crystal monitor 100. Control.

  The storage unit 140 is a rewritable nonvolatile memory such as an EEPROM, for example, and stores parameters and the like necessary for the operation of each block in addition to the light amount control processing program. In the present embodiment, the storage unit 140 has an initial duty ratio of a pulse current to be applied when power is turned on and an amount of light for converging the LED elements of each color, which are set before shipment from the factory for LED elements included in the light source control unit 180 described later. It is assumed that a target light quantity value that is a value is stored.

  The initial duty ratio is set for each color LED element so that the light source emits light having a predetermined luminance and chromaticity set as a target light amount value of the LED light source before shipment from the factory at a predetermined reference ambient temperature. The ratio between the preset pulse current frequency and the pulse width is shown. When the frequency of the pulse current applied to the LED elements of each color is fixed, the pulse current applied when the power is turned on can be defined by the pulse width by the duty ratio. When the liquid crystal monitor 100 is designed so that the user can adjust the luminance and chromaticity, a plurality of different initial duty ratios may be set in advance for the respective luminance and chromaticity settings. In this embodiment, the duty ratio of the pulse current for the target light quantity value of the LED element of each color, which is set in advance before shipment from the factory so that the LED light source exhibits the light quantity of one chromaticity, is set as the initial duty ratio below. Shall be explained.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the storage unit 140 is used to correct the pulse current applied to the LED elements of the respective colors of the LED light source in order to correct the influence of the light quantity of the LED elements included in the light source control unit 180 due to aging. A correction coefficient is stored. The aging correction coefficient refers to the pulse current given to each color LED element when the LED light source converges to the target light amount value with respect to the reference ambient temperature, and the above-described initial duty set in advance before factory shipment. The ratio with the pulse current specified in the ratio is shown. That is, by multiplying the initial duty ratio by the aging correction coefficient, the duty ratio of the pulse current applied to the LED element when the LED element after aging converges to the target light amount value at the reference ambient temperature is obtained. be able to.

  Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the temperature correction for correcting the influence of the ambient temperature of the LED elements of each color on the light amount detected by the temperature detection unit 160 described later for the LED elements included in the light source control unit 180 in the storage unit 140. A table for calculating the coefficient is stored. The temperature correction coefficient is a correction coefficient of a current value necessary for controlling the amount of light that fluctuates depending on the ambient temperature of the LED element to be a target light amount value, and is a pulse that is applied to each color LED element at the reference ambient temperature. Expressed as a ratio to current. In this embodiment, the ambient temperature Tb (reference ambient temperature) of the LED element when the initial duty ratio is defined is used as a reference, and the pulse current that converges to the target light amount value at a predetermined temperature is defined by the initial duty ratio. The temperature correction factor is shown as a ratio to the pulse current. Specifically, the relationship between the ambient temperature and the temperature correction coefficient is as shown in FIG. 4, and the controller 170 uses the table showing the relationship to determine the temperature of the current ambient temperature of the LED element. Determine the correction factor. As shown in FIG. 4, when the ambient temperature of the LED element becomes higher than the reference ambient temperature, the amount of light emitted from the element decreases, and thus the current value increases by control to compensate for the decrease in the amount of light.

  In the present embodiment, a pulse current defined by multiplying the initial duty ratio by the above-mentioned aging correction coefficient and temperature correction coefficient is given as an initial current amount to each color LED element when the power is turned on. That is, by doing so, the time required for the LED element to converge to the target light amount value can be shortened compared to the case where the pulse current defined by the initial duty ratio is applied as the initial current.

  In the present embodiment, description will be made assuming that processing is realized in each block included in the liquid crystal monitor 100 as hardware. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and processing of each block is processing similar to that of each block. It may be realized by a program that performs.

  The image input unit 110 is an interface including an input terminal compliant with, for example, the HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface: registered trademark) standard, the DVI (Digital Visual Interface) standard, the DisplayPort (registered trademark) standard, or the like. The image input unit 110 transmits an image signal input from a PC, a video player, or the like connected via an image input terminal included in the image input unit 110 to the image processing unit 120.

  The image processing unit 120 applies a correction process predetermined according to the display characteristics of the display unit 130 such as luminance correction and gamma correction to the input image signal, and obtains the corrected image obtained. The signal is output to the display unit 130. The display unit 130 is, for example, a liquid crystal panel, and forms an image corresponding to the image signal on the panel by controlling the deflection of the liquid crystal corresponding to each pixel according to the input image signal. The image formed on the panel in this manner can present the image in a state that the user can visually recognize the light emitted from the LED light source controlled by the light source control unit 180 described later on the back surface. .

  The light amount detection unit 150 is a sensor that detects the light amount of the LED light source included in the light source control unit 180. The light amount detection unit 150 includes, for example, a color sensor and an A / D converter, detects the light amounts of light of the red component, the green component, and the blue component, respectively, converts the obtained detection values into digital values, and controls the control unit 170. Output to.

  The temperature detection unit 160 is a sensor that detects the ambient temperature of the LED elements included in the light source control unit 180. Specifically, the temperature detection unit 160 includes, for example, a temperature sensor and an A / D converter, converts a detection signal obtained by measuring the ambient temperature of the LED element into a digital value, and outputs the digital value to the control unit 170.

  The light source control unit 180 is a block including an LED light source configured by red, green, and blue LED elements, and performs light amount control of the LED light source under the control of the control unit 170. Here, a detailed configuration of the light source control unit 180 will be described in detail below.

(Internal configuration of light source control unit 180)
FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an internal configuration of the light source control unit 180. The light source control unit 180 receives the initial duty ratio of the pulse current applied to the LED elements of each color read from the storage unit 140. In addition, the following parameters are input to the light source control unit 180 according to the current control state of the LED element.

・ Temperature correction coefficient for correcting the ambient temperature of the LED element ・ Aging correction coefficient for correcting the aging of the LED element ・ Pulse calculated by feedback control for convergence to the target light amount value executed by the controller 170 Control value of current In this embodiment, in order to indicate the pulse current to be applied to the LED elements of each color at the next timing, the control value indicates a ratio to the pulse current defined by the initial duty ratio of the LED elements of each color. Although it demonstrates below as a thing, implementation of this invention is not restricted to this. That is, in the feedback control for the light quantity, the control value output for the current value given to the LED elements of each color to converge to the target light quantity value is not limited to the ratio to the current value at the time of power-on, but is given immediately before. Information such as a ratio or increment to the current value may be used.

  The signal generator 200 is a block that generates a pulse signal for generating a pulse current to be applied to a red LED 220, a green LED 230, and a blue LED 240, which will be described later. The signal generation unit 200 multiplies the initial duty ratio of the pulse current applied to the input LED elements of each color by at least one of the temperature correction coefficient, the aging correction coefficient, and the control value described above according to the situation. In this way, the duty ratio of an appropriate pulse current to be applied to the LED elements of each color is calculated, and based on the calculated duty ratio, the pulse current is output from the drive control unit 210 to the LED elements of each color. The pulse signal is generated.

  The drive control unit 210 is a block that controls light emission of each color LED element by energizing a pulse current generated based on a pulse signal for each color LED element input from the signal generation unit 200. In the present embodiment, the light emission of each LED element is controlled by using PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) drive that controls the pulse width as the duty ratio of the pulse current. Is not limited to this. In other words, the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to PWM driving, and may use a PAM (Pulse Amplitude Modulation) driving that controls the amplitude of a pulse current to control the current value applied to each color LED element.

(Aging correction coefficient calculation process)
A specific process of the aging correction coefficient calculation process of the liquid crystal monitor 100 of the present embodiment having such a configuration will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The processing corresponding to the flowchart can be realized by the control unit 170 reading, for example, a corresponding processing program stored in the storage unit 140, developing the program in a RAM (not shown), and executing the program. This aging correction coefficient calculation process is described below as being started and repeated when, for example, the LED element included in the light source control unit 180 converges to the target light amount value.

  In S301, the control unit 170 determines whether or not the cumulative lighting time of the LED elements included in the light source control unit 180 has exceeded the update set time set for updating the aging correction coefficient. Specifically, the control unit 170 reads the information on the cumulative lighting time of the LED element and the information on the update setting time set for updating the aging correction coefficient from the storage unit 140, and sets the cumulative lighting time to the update setting time. Judge whether or not it has been exceeded. If the controller 170 determines that the accumulated lighting time exceeds the update setting time, the control unit 170 proceeds to S302, and if it determines that the accumulated lighting time does not exceed the update setting time, completes the aging correction coefficient calculation process.

  The accumulated lighting time is a value that is updated by being counted by a built-in timer (not shown) while the liquid crystal monitor 100 is activated. The update setting time is information set based on the aging deterioration characteristics of the LED elements. For example, the next update setting time may be set for each update of the information. For example, the update setting time may be set periodically so as to have a certain time interval. In addition, the update setting time is, for example, a period in which the cumulative lighting time is set to be short, and the interval is small because the amount of decrease in light amount due to secular change is large, and a period in which the cumulative lighting time is long is set to be small. The interval may be determined to be large.

  In S <b> 302, the control unit 170 determines the reference ambient when the initial duty ratio is set to correct the influence of the ambient temperature on the light amount with respect to the current value of the ambient temperature of the LED element input from the temperature detection unit 160. The temperature correction coefficient of each color LED element with respect to the temperature is acquired. The temperature correction coefficient of the LED element of each color is acquired from the table indicating the relationship between the ambient temperature and the temperature correction coefficient stored in the storage unit 140 as described above. In S301, when it is determined that the cumulative lighting time exceeds the update setting time, immediately after the power of the liquid crystal monitor is turned on, the temperature change of the environment where the liquid crystal monitor is placed, or the setting value of the liquid crystal monitor by the user If the ambient temperature of the LED element is not stable due to a change in the above, etc., the process may proceed to S302 after the ambient temperature of the LED element is stabilized.

  In this embodiment, in order to obtain an aging correction coefficient at the reference ambient temperature when the initial duty ratio is set before shipment from the factory, the current value is changed from the current value that is changed to become the target light amount value at the current ambient temperature. It is necessary to obtain a current value that excludes the influence of the ambient temperature. That is, by using the information on the current value excluding the influence of the ambient temperature, the control unit 170 can grasp the change in the current value caused only by the secular change so that the LED element has the target light amount value. Can do. In the present embodiment, the temperature correction coefficient is described as being determined using a table. However, the temperature correction coefficient may be calculated by a function having a relationship as shown in FIG.

  In step S303, the control unit 170 corrects the currently set ambient temperature of the LED element and the influence on the light quantity due to secular change so that the light quantity of the LED element becomes the target light quantity value ( Using the total correction coefficient) and the temperature correction coefficient determined in S302, an aged correction coefficient for each color LED element is calculated. Specifically, first, the control unit 170 can calculate the aging correction coefficient by dividing the currently set total correction coefficient by the temperature correction coefficient determined in S302. By using the aging correction coefficient obtained in this way, the reference ambient temperature when the initial duty ratio is set before factory shipment is applied to the LED elements of the respective colors so that the target light quantity value is obtained in the current aging state. The duty ratio of the applied pulse current can be calculated.

  In the present embodiment, the overall correction coefficient is divided by the temperature correction coefficient to calculate the aging correction coefficient for each color LED element. However, the processing in this step may be as follows, for example. . Specifically, first, the control unit 170 acquires information on the duty ratio of the pulse current currently applied to the LED elements of each color from the light source control unit 180, and in order to eliminate the influence of temperature from the information, the duty ratio Is divided by the temperature correction factor. The duty ratio information obtained in this way is the duty ratio of the pulse current given to the LED elements of each color so that the target light quantity value is obtained after aging at a predetermined temperature at which the initial duty ratio was set before factory shipment. It becomes. Then, the controller 170 calculates the aging correction coefficient by calculating the ratio of the duty ratio of the pulse current applied to the LED elements of each color after aging to the initial duty ratio of the LED elements of each color stored in the storage unit 140. Can be obtained.

  In S <b> 304, the control unit 170 stores the aging correction coefficient calculated in S <b> 303 in the storage unit 140, and next determines an update setting time set for updating the aging correction coefficient, and stores it in the storage unit 140. To complete the aging correction coefficient calculation process. In addition, when the aging correction coefficient already exists in the storage unit 140, the aging correction coefficient may be updated using the newly calculated aging correction coefficient.

  Thus, according to the present aging correction coefficient calculation process, it is an aging correction coefficient that does not include the influence of the ambient temperature of the LED element, and an aging correction coefficient that can easily cope with various ambient temperatures can be obtained.

(Light control process)
A specific process of the light amount control process of the liquid crystal monitor 100 of the present embodiment using the aging correction coefficient calculated in this way will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The processing corresponding to the flowchart can be realized by the control unit 170 reading, for example, a corresponding processing program stored in the storage unit 140, developing the program in a RAM (not shown), and executing the program. This light amount control process will be described below, for example, when it is started when the power of the liquid crystal monitor 100 is turned on, and repeatedly executed while the power is turned on.

  In step S501, the control unit 170 determines whether it is time to apply a pulse current to each color LED element for the first time after the power is turned on. Specifically, the control unit 170 determines whether or not the light source control unit 180 has already given a pulse current to each color LED element. If it is determined that it is time to apply a pulse current to each color LED element for the first time after the power is turned on, the control unit 170 moves the process to S502, and otherwise moves the process to S505.

  In S502, the control unit 170 acquires or calculates a temperature correction coefficient for each color LED element based on the current value of the ambient temperature of the LED element input by the temperature detection unit 160. Specifically, the control unit 170 determines the current ambient temperature of the LED element detected by the temperature detection unit 160 from the table indicating the relationship between the ambient temperature of the LED element stored in the storage unit 140 and the temperature correction coefficient. The temperature correction coefficient corresponding to is acquired or calculated.

  In S503, the control unit 170 reads the aging correction coefficient of each color LED element stored in the storage unit 140, and multiplies the temperature correction coefficient obtained in S502 to thereby change the current ambient temperature and aging of the LED element. The total correction coefficient for correcting the influence on the light quantity due to is calculated. That is, the aging correction coefficient stored in the storage unit 140 by the above-described aging correction coefficient calculation process is a coefficient for correcting the influence on the light quantity due to the aging change in the reference ambient temperature Tb when the initial duty ratio is set. It is not suitable for the current ambient temperature. That is, in this step, by including the temperature correction at the current ambient temperature of the LED element in the aging correction coefficient stored in the storage unit 140, an overall correction coefficient optimum for the current state of the LED element can be obtained.

  In step S <b> 504, the control unit 170 transmits the total correction coefficient for each color LED element obtained in step S <b> 503 and the initial duty ratio read from the storage unit 140 to the light source control unit 180. In the light source controller 180, the signal generator 200 generates a pulse signal based on the duty ratio obtained by the product of the input total correction coefficient and the initial duty ratio. Then, the drive control unit 210 generates a pulse current for each color LED element according to the pulse signal. At this time, the pulse current applied to the LED elements of each color is a pulse current having a duty ratio different from the initial duty ratio in consideration of the ambient temperature of the current LED elements and the aging of the LED elements. For example, when the ambient temperature is high and the service life is long, the initial current is set to a pulse current defined by a duty ratio that is larger than the initial duty ratio that is expected to converge to the target light intensity value. The time required can be shortened.

  The control unit 170 applies the initial current controlled using the overall correction coefficient obtained by correcting the ambient temperature and the secular change for the LED elements of each color in this way to the LED elements of each color in the light source control unit 180, The light quantity control process is completed.

  If it is determined in S501 that a pulse current has already been applied to each color LED element, in S505, the control unit 170 stores the amount of light output from each color LED element detected by the light amount detection unit 150, and the storage. The difference from the target light amount value stored in the unit 140 is calculated. That is, in this step, in order to calculate the control value of the LED element of each color, the control unit 170 acquires the difference between the current light amount and the target light amount value of the LED element of each color serving as a reference for the control value.

  In step S506, the control unit 170 determines whether the current light amount has converged to the target light amount value for each color LED element. Specifically, for each LED element of each color, the control unit 170 indicates in advance a light amount range in which it is determined that the absolute value of the difference between the current light amount acquired in S505 and the target light amount value has converged to the target light amount value. It is determined whether or not it is below a predetermined threshold value.

  Note that the threshold value of the light amount difference that is determined to have converged to the target light amount value is a value determined based on the light amount detection error for the LED elements of each color, and the light amount difference so as to ignore the fluctuation of the light amount due to noise. It shall be set to a value larger than the fluctuation range.

  When it is determined that the current light amount has converged to the target light amount value for the LED elements of all colors, the control unit 170 performs control so as not to change the duty ratio of the pulse current currently applied to the LED elements of each color, The light quantity control process is completed. If the control unit 170 determines that the LED element of any color has not converged to the target light amount value, the control unit 170 performs the following processing from S507 on for the LED element of the non-converged color.

  In step S <b> 507, the control unit 170 calculates a total correction coefficient (control value) of a pulse current to be given at the next timing for an LED element whose color has not converged to the target light amount value. In the present embodiment, in order to perform PWM control, the pulse current to be applied to the LED element is controlled by controlling the pulse current generated in the drive control unit 210 by determining the overall correction coefficient indicating the ratio to the initial duty ratio. . However, the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to this, and may be, for example, a ratio of the pulse current applied to the LED element at the immediately preceding timing to the duty ratio.

  Specifically, the control unit 170 determines the intensity of the pulse current applied at the next timing according to the sign of the difference from the target light amount value calculated in S505 for the LED element whose color does not converge to the target light amount value. To calculate a total correction coefficient. That is, when the light amount of the LED element is smaller than the target light amount value, the total correction coefficient is larger than 1, and when it is larger than the target light amount value, the total correction coefficient is smaller than 1.

  Note that the feedback control performed by the control unit 170 to calculate the total correction coefficient in this step may be, for example, proportional control using a preset proportional coefficient. That is, the correction coefficient can be obtained by determining an increase according to the difference in the light amount value and calculating the ratio between the duty ratio that provides the pulse current for the increase and the initial duty ratio.

  In step S <b> 508, the control unit 170 supplies the light source control unit 180 with the total correction coefficient for the LED element whose color light amount obtained in step S <b> 507 does not converge to the target light amount value and the initial duty ratio read from the storage unit 140. To transmit. In the light source controller 180, the signal generator 200 generates a pulse signal based on the duty ratio obtained by the product of the input total correction coefficient and the initial duty ratio. Then, the drive control unit 210 generates a pulse current for each color LED element according to the pulse signal. Note that, as described above, the LED element whose color is determined to have converged to the target light quantity value may be controlled so as not to change the duty ratio of the pulse current currently applied to the LED element.

  The total correction coefficient calculated in S507 has been described as being calculated as a correction coefficient that includes corrections for the ambient temperature and aging of the LED element, but includes corrections for the ambient temperature and aging. It may not be. In this case, in addition to the correction coefficient, the light source control unit 180 receives a temperature correction coefficient and an aging coefficient for the ambient temperature of the current LED element, and uses the coefficient obtained by the product of all the coefficients, The duty ratio of the pulse current applied to the LED element is determined at the next timing.

  In this way, by using the aging correction coefficient that is obtained by the above-described aging correction coefficient calculation process and does not include the influence on the light amount with respect to the ambient temperature of the LED element, the aging correction coefficient that corrects only the influence due to aging change can be used. The initial current given to the LED element can be set appropriately.

  In the present embodiment, the light source having the LED elements of three colors of red, green, and blue has been described as detecting the light amount for each color component using the color filter in the light amount detection unit 150. The implementation of the invention is not limited to this. For example, when the LED light source included in the light source control unit 180 is configured by a white LED element, the light amount detection unit 150 does not have to be a sensor having a color filter, and thus the amount of light emitted from the white LED element using a photodiode is determined. The structure which detects may be sufficient. In this case, the storage unit 140 may store an aging correction coefficient, a temperature correction coefficient, an initial duty ratio, and the like for one type of LED element.

  As described above, the light quantity control device according to the present embodiment acquires a coefficient for correcting the influence due to the secular change of the light quantity of the LED element in consideration of the influence of the ambient temperature of the LED element. Specifically, the light amount control device is configured to change the light amount of the element at a temperature different from the first current amount set in advance so that the light amount of the LED element becomes a target light amount value at a predetermined reference ambient temperature and the reference ambient temperature. A temperature correction coefficient for correcting the first current amount so as to be the target light amount value is stored. Further, when the light quantity of the LED element becomes the target light quantity value, the secular change in the reference ambient temperature is obtained from the second current amount given to the LED element and the temperature correction coefficient corresponding to the ambient temperature of the LED element. In order to correct, an aged correction coefficient for correcting the first current amount is calculated and stored.

  In this way, the initial current applied to the LED element when the power is turned on can be set appropriately, so that the time required for convergence to the target light amount value is reduced regardless of the ambient temperature and aging of the LED element. be able to.

(Other embodiments)
The present invention can also be realized by executing the following processing. That is, software (program) that realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to a system or apparatus via a network or various storage media, and a computer (or CPU, MPU, or the like) of the system or apparatus reads the program. It is a process to be executed.

Claims (13)

A light amount detecting means for detecting the light amount of the light emitting element;
Temperature detecting means for detecting the ambient temperature of the light emitting element;
After turning on the power of the light amount control device, the drive value of the light emitting element is determined based on the light amount of the light emitting element detected by the light amount detecting means and the target light amount value, and control for driving the light emitting element is performed. Control means to perform;
After turning on the light quantity control device, the light emission at the time of turning on the light quantity control device with respect to a reference ambient temperature based on the determination result of the drive value by the control means and the ambient temperature detected by the temperature detection means Storage means for calculating and storing information for obtaining a drive value of the element;
With
Wherein, at the time of power-on of the light quantity control device, the information for obtaining the drive value, on the basis of the ambient temperature detected by said temperature detecting means at the time of power-on of the light quantity control device, the light emitting A light quantity control device for determining a drive value of an element.   The determination result of the drive value by the control means is a correction coefficient of the drive value of the light emitting element calculated so that the light amount of the light emitting element becomes a target light amount value at the detected ambient temperature. The light quantity control device according to claim 1. Information for obtaining the drive value, claims, characterized in that the light quantity of the light emitting element at the reference ambient temperature is calculated such that the target light quantity value is a correction coefficient of the drive value of the light emitting element The light quantity control apparatus according to 1 or 2.   The determination result of the drive value by the control means is a duty ratio of a pulse current applied to the light emitting element at which the light amount of the light emitting element becomes a target light amount value at the detected ambient temperature. Item 4. The light quantity control device according to Item 1. Information for obtaining the drive value, the light quantity of the light emitting element becomes the target light intensity value at the reference ambient temperature, according to claim 1 or 4, characterized in that the duty ratio of the pulse current applied to the light emitting element The light quantity control device described in 1.   The light quantity control device according to claim 1, wherein the drive value is a duty ratio of a pulse current given to the light emitting element.   A display device comprising: the light quantity control device according to any one of claims 1 to 6; and a display panel that displays an image. A light amount detecting means for detecting a light amount of the light emitting element;
A temperature detecting step in which a temperature detecting means detects an ambient temperature of the light emitting element;
The first control means determines the drive value of the light emitting element based on the light quantity of the light emitting element detected in the light quantity detection step and the target light quantity value after turning on the power of the light quantity control device, and the light emission A first control step for performing control to drive the element;
After the power of the light amount control device is turned on , the storage means determines the reference ambient temperature of the light amount control device based on the drive value determination result in the first control step and the ambient temperature detected in the temperature detection step. A storage step of calculating and storing information for obtaining a driving value of the light emitting element at power-on;
The second control means, wherein upon power-on of the light quantity control device, the information for obtaining the drive value, the based on the ambient temperature detected in the temperature detecting step at the time of power-on of the light quantity control device, wherein And a second control step of determining a drive value of the light emitting element. The drive value determination result in the first control step is a correction coefficient of the drive value of the light emitting element calculated so that the light amount of the light emitting element becomes a target light amount value at the detected ambient temperature. The control method of the light quantity control apparatus of Claim 8 characterized by these. Information for obtaining the drive value, claims, characterized in that the light quantity of the light emitting element at the reference ambient temperature is calculated such that the target light quantity value is a correction coefficient of the drive value of the light emitting element The control method of the light quantity control apparatus of 8 or 9. The determination result of the drive value in the first control step is a duty ratio of a pulse current applied to the light emitting element at which the light amount of the light emitting element becomes a target light amount value at the detected ambient temperature. The control method of the light quantity control apparatus of Claim 8. Information for obtaining the drive value, the light quantity of the light emitting element becomes the target light quantity value at the reference ambient temperature, claim 8 or 11, characterized in that the duty ratio of the pulse current applied to the light emitting element The control method of the light quantity control apparatus as described in 2.   The method of controlling a light amount control apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the drive value is a duty ratio of a pulse current applied to the light emitting element.

Images