KR20140122119A - Video processing apparatus and method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a device and a method for processing an image, capable of reducing power consumption and quality deterioration in an image displaying device. The device for processing an image according to an embodiment of the present invention comprises a data converting unit to convert an RGB data value to an RGBW data value by increasing a use frequency of a white data value in the RGBW data value when the RGB data value is converted to the RGBW data value.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD [0001] The present invention relates to a video processing apparatus,

The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus and a method thereof.

The image display device includes both a device for receiving and displaying a broadcast, a device for recording and reproducing a moving image, and a device for recording and reproducing audio. The video display device includes, for example, a television, a computer monitor, a projector, a tablet, and the like. As the functions of such a video display device are diversified, a multimedia device (multimedia player) having a complex function of shooting a picture or a video, receiving a game, receiving a broadcast, etc. in addition to a function of broadcasting, . Furthermore, in recent years, video display devices have been implemented as smart devices (for example, smart television). A description of a video display device according to the related art is disclosed in Korean Patent Application No. 10-2011-0052965.

An object of the present invention is to provide an image processing apparatus and a method thereof capable of reducing power consumption and image quality deterioration of an image display apparatus.

The image processing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention converts RGB (red, green, and blue) data values into RGBW data values corresponding to RGBW (red, green, blue and white) subpixels included in one pixel A method of converting an RGB data value into an RGBW data value, the method comprising: converting RGB data values into RGBW data values by increasing the frequency of use of white (W) data values among the RGBW data values, And may further include a conversion unit.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the data conversion unit may calculate the white data value by adding the minimum color data value and the offset value in the RGB data value, subtract the white data value from the RGB data value, And outputs the converted white data value as the RGBW data, wherein the offset value indicates a deviation between the reference white data value and the minimum color data value.

As an example of the present invention, the data conversion unit may compensate for a negative error occurring when subtracting the offset value from the minimum color data value.

As an example related to the present invention, the data conversion unit may add the error to a data value corresponding to pixels adjacent to the sub-pixel corresponding to the minimum color data value to compensate for the negative error, And performs RGBW data conversion on the adjacent pixels based on the added data value.

As an example related to the present invention, the data conversion unit may distribute the error evenly to the adjacent pixels.

As an example related to the present invention, the data conversion unit may distribute the error differentially according to the adjacent positions of the adjacent pixels.

As an example of the present invention, the data conversion unit may set a value obtained by dividing a minimum data value among the data values of the adjacent pixels by the number of adjacent pixels as the offset value.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the data converter may set the offset value to be equal to or smaller than the predetermined maximum value when the offset value is greater than a predetermined maximum value.

As an example related to the present invention, the data conversion unit may perform the RGBW data conversion while alternating the positions of pixels including the RGBW subpixel.

The image processing method according to the embodiment of the present invention converts RGB (red, green, and blue) data values into RGBW data values corresponding to RGBW (red, green, blue and white) subpixels included in one pixel A method of processing an image, the method comprising: converting the RGB data value to the RGBW data value by increasing a frequency of use of a white (W) data value among the RGBW data values when converting the RGB data value to the RGBW data value . ≪ / RTI >

An image processing apparatus and method thereof according to an embodiment of the present invention can convert RGBW (red, green, blue, and white) data into RGBW (red, green, ) Power consumption and image quality deterioration of an image display device (for example, an OLED television) can be reduced by increasing the frequency of use of white (W) data among the data.

1 is a block diagram showing an image display apparatus and an external input apparatus according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram illustrating an organic light emitting diode (OLED) display device to which an image processing apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention is applied.
3 is a configuration diagram illustrating an image processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a process of converting RGB (red, green, and blue) data into RGBW (red, green, blue, and white) data according to an embodiment of the present invention.
5 is an exemplary view illustrating an error diffusion process according to an embodiment of the present invention.
6 is a view illustrating another exemplary error diffusion process according to an embodiment of the present invention.

It is noted that the technical terms used herein are used only to describe specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the invention. It is also to be understood that the technical terms used herein are to be interpreted in a sense generally understood by a person skilled in the art to which the present invention belongs, Should not be construed to mean, or be interpreted in an excessively reduced sense. Further, when a technical term used herein is an erroneous technical term that does not accurately express the spirit of the present invention, it should be understood that technical terms that can be understood by a person skilled in the art are replaced. In addition, the general terms used in the present invention should be interpreted according to a predefined or prior context, and should not be construed as being excessively reduced.

Also, the singular forms "as used herein include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. In the present application, the term "comprising" or "comprising" or the like should not be construed as necessarily including the various elements or steps described in the specification, Or may be further comprised of additional components or steps.

Furthermore, terms including ordinals such as first, second, etc. used in this specification can be used to describe various elements, but the elements should not be limited by the terms. The terms are used only for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another. For example, without departing from the scope of the present invention, the first component may be referred to as a second component, and similarly, the second component may also be referred to as a first component.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like or similar elements throughout the several views, and redundant description thereof will be omitted.

In the following description, well-known functions or constructions are not described in detail since they would obscure the invention in unnecessary detail. It is to be noted that the accompanying drawings are only for the purpose of facilitating understanding of the present invention, and should not be construed as limiting the scope of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In this specification, an image display device includes both a device for receiving and displaying a broadcast, a device for recording and reproducing a moving image, and a device for recording and reproducing audio. Hereinafter, as an example of this, a television will be described as an example.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an image display device 100 and an external input device 200 according to the present invention. The video display device 100 includes a tuner 110, a demodulator 120, a signal input / output unit 130, an interface unit 140, a control unit 150, a storage unit 160, a display unit 170, And an output unit 180. However, the external input device 200 may be a separate device from the image display device 100, or may be included as a component of the image display device 100.

1, a tuner 110 selects an RF broadcast signal corresponding to a channel selected by a user from among RF (Radio Frequency) broadcast signals received through an antenna, converts the RF broadcast signal into an intermediate frequency signal or a baseband image / Convert to voice signal. For example, if the RF broadcast signal is a digital broadcast signal, the tuner 110 converts the RF broadcast signal into a digital IF signal (DIF). On the other hand, if the RF broadcast signal is an analog broadcast signal, the tuner 110 converts the RF broadcast signal into an analog baseband video / audio signal (CVBS / SIF). As described above, the tuner 110 may be a hybrid tuner capable of processing a digital broadcasting signal and an analog broadcasting signal.

The digital IF signal DIF output from the tuner 110 is input to the demodulator 120 and the analog baseband video / audio signal CVBS / SIF output from the tuner 110 is input to the controller 160 . The tuner 120 can receive an RF broadcast signal of a single carrier according to an Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) scheme or an RF broadcast signal of a plurality of carriers according to a DVB (Digital Video Broadcasting) scheme.

Although one tuner 110 is shown in the drawing, the present invention is not limited thereto. The video display device 100 may include a plurality of tuners, for example, first and second tuners. In this case, the first tuner may receive the first RF broadcast signal corresponding to the broadcast channel selected by the user, and the second tuner may sequentially or periodically receive the second RF broadcast signal corresponding to the previously stored broadcast channel . The second tuner can convert the RF broadcast signal into a digital IF signal (DIF) or an analog baseband video / audio signal (CVBS / SIF) in the same manner as the first tuner.

The demodulator 120 receives the digital IF signal DIF converted by the tuner 110 and performs a demodulation operation. For example, if the digital IF signal DIF output from the tuner 110 is of the ATSC scheme, the demodulator 120 performs an 8-VSB (8-Vestigal Side Band) demodulation. At this time, the demodulator 120 may perform channel decoding such as trellis decoding, de-interleaving, and Reed-Solomon decoding. For this, the demodulator 120 may include a trellis decoder, a de-interleaver, and a Reed Solomon decoder.

For example, if the digital IF signal DIF output from the tuner 110 is of the DVB scheme, the demodulator 120 performs COFDMA (Coded Orthogonal Frequency Division Modulation) demodulation. At this time, the demodulator 120 may perform channel decoding such as convolutional decoding, deinterleaving, and Reed-Solomon decoding. For this, the demodulator 120 may include a convolution decoder, a deinterleaver, and a Reed-Solomon decoder.

The signal input / output unit 130 may be connected to an external device to perform signal input and output operations, and may include an A / V input / output unit and a wireless communication unit.

The A / V I / O section is composed of an Ethernet terminal, a USB terminal, a CVBS (Composite Video Banking Sync) terminal, a component terminal, an S- video terminal (analog), a DVI (digital visual interface) terminal, , A Mobile High-definition Link (MHL) terminal, an RGB terminal, a D-SUB terminal, an IEEE 1394 terminal, a SPDIF terminal, and a liquid HD terminal. The digital signal input through these terminals may be transmitted to the control unit 150. At this time, the analog signal inputted through the CVBS terminal and the S-video terminal may be converted into a digital signal through an analog-digital converter (not shown) and transmitted to the controller 150.

The wireless communication unit can perform a wireless Internet connection. For example, the wireless communication unit performs wireless Internet access using a WLAN (Wi-Fi), a Wibro (wireless broadband), a Wimax (World Interoperability for Microwave Access), HSDPA (High Speed Downlink Packet Access) can do. In addition, the wireless communication unit can perform short-range wireless communication with other electronic devices. For example, the wireless communication unit can perform near field wireless communication using Bluetooth, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), infrared data association (IrDA), Ultra Wideband (UWB), ZigBee have.

The signal input / output unit 130 may be a video input / output unit for inputting video signals and audio signals provided from external devices such as a digital versatile disk (DVD) player, a Blu-ray player, a game device, a camcorder, Signals and data signals to the controller 150. [ The controller 150 can also transmit video signals, audio signals, and data signals of various media files stored in an external storage device such as a memory device, a hard disk, and the like. In addition, the video signal, audio signal, and data signal processed by the control unit 150 can be output to other external apparatuses.

The signal input / output unit 130 may be connected to a set top box, for example, a set top box for IPTV (Internet Protocol TV) through at least one of the various terminals described above to perform signal input and output operations. For example, the signal input / output unit 130 can transmit a video signal, an audio signal, and a data signal processed by the settop box for IPTV to the controller 150 so as to enable bidirectional communication, Signals to IPTV set-top boxes. Here, the IPTV may include ADSL-TV, VDSL-TV, FTTH-TV, etc. classified according to the transmission network.

The digital signal output from the demodulation unit 120 and the signal output unit 130 may include a stream signal TS. The stream signal TS may be a signal in which a video signal, an audio signal, and a data signal are multiplexed. For example, the stream signal TS may be an MPEG-2 TS (Transprt Stream) multiplexed with an MPEG-2 standard video signal, a Dolby AC-3 standard audio signal, or the like. Here, the MPEG-2 TS may include a header of 4 bytes and a payload of 184 bytes.

The interface unit 140 may receive an input signal for power control, channel selection, screen setting, etc. from the external input device 200, or may transmit the signal processed by the control unit 160 to the external input device 200 . The interface unit 140 and the external input device 200 may be connected by wire or wirelessly.

As an example of the interface unit 140, a sensor unit may be provided, and the sensor unit is configured to sense the input signal from a remote controller, for example, a remote controller.

The network interface unit (not shown) provides an interface for connecting the video display device 100 to a wired / wireless network including the Internet network. The network interface unit 230 may include an Ethernet terminal or the like for connection with a wired network and may be a WLAN (Wireless LAN) (Wi-Fi), a Wibro (Wireless) broadband), Wimax (World Interoperability for Microwave Access), and HSDPA (High Speed Downlink Packet Access) communication standards.

A network interface unit (not shown) can access a predetermined web page via a network. That is, it is possible to access a predetermined web page through a network and transmit or receive data with the server. In addition, content or data provided by a content provider or a network operator can be received. That is, it can receive contents such as a movie, an advertisement, a game, a VOD, a broadcast signal, and related information provided from a content provider or a network provider through a network. In addition, the update information and the update file of the firmware provided by the network operator can be received. It may also transmit data to the Internet or a content provider or network operator.

Also, the network interface unit (not shown) can select and receive a desired application among the applications open to the public via the network.

The control unit 150 may control the overall operation of the image display device 100. [ More specifically, the control unit 150 is configured to control generation and output of an image. For example, the controller 150 may control the tuner 110 to tuning an RF broadcast signal corresponding to a channel selected by the user or a previously stored channel. Although not shown in the figure, the controller 150 may include a demultiplexer, an image processor, a voice processor, a data processor, an OSD (On Screen Display) generator, and the like. In addition, the control unit 150 may include a CPU, a peripheral device, and the like in hardware.

The control unit 150 may demultiplex the stream signal TS, for example, the MPEG-2 TS into a video signal, a voice signal, and a data signal.

The control unit 150 may perform image processing, e.g., decoding, on the demultiplexed video signal. In more detail, the control unit 150 decodes an MPEG-2 standard-encoded video signal using an MPEG-2 decoder, and encodes the video signal in accordance with a DMB (Digital Multimedia Broadcasting) scheme or an H It is possible to decode the encoded video signal of the .264 standard. In addition, the controller 150 may perform image processing such that the brightness, tint, and color of the image signal are adjusted. The image signal processed by the control unit 150 may be transmitted to the display unit 170 or may be transmitted to an external output device (not shown) through an external output terminal.

The control unit 150 may perform speech processing, e.g., decoding, on the demultiplexed speech signal. More specifically, the control unit 150 decodes an MPEG-2 standard-encoded audio signal using an MPEG-2 decoder, and uses an MPEG 4 decoder to decode an MPEG 4 bit sliced arithmetic coding Decodes the encoded voice signal, and decodes the encoded voice signal of the AAC (Advanced Audio Codec) standard of MPEG 2 according to the satellite DMB scheme or DVB-H using the AAC decoder. In addition, the controller 150 may process a base, a treble, a volume control, and the like. The voice signal processed in the control unit 150 may be transmitted to the audio output unit 180, for example, a speaker, or may be transmitted to an external output device.

The control unit 150 may perform signal processing on the analog baseband video / audio signal (CVBS / SIF). Here, the analog baseband video / audio signal CVBS / SIF input to the controller 150 may be an analog baseband video / audio signal output from the tuner 110 or the signal input / output unit 130. The signal-processed video signal is displayed through the display unit 170, and the signal-processed audio signal is output through the audio output unit 180.

The control unit 150 may perform data processing, for example, decoding, on the demultiplexed data signal. Here, the data signal may include electronic program guide (EPG) information including broadcast information such as a start time and an end time of a broadcast program broadcasted on each channel. The EPG information includes, for example, TSC-PSIP (ATSC-Program and System Information Protocol) information in the ATSC scheme and DVB-SI information (DVB-SI information) in the DVB scheme. The ATSC-PSIP information or the DVB-SI information may be included in the header (4 bytes) of the MPEG-2 TS.

The controller 150 may perform a control operation for the OSD process. In more detail, the control unit 150 may include at least one of a video signal and a data signal, or an OSD for displaying various information in graphic or text form based on an input signal received from the external input device 200. [ Signal can be generated. The OSD signal may include various data such as a user interface screen of the image display device 100, a menu screen, a widget, and an icon.

The storage unit 160 may store a program for signal processing and control of the controller 150 or may store a video signal, a voice signal, and a data signal. The storage unit 160 may be a flash memory, a hard disk, a multimedia card micro type, a card type memory (for example, SD or XD memory), a random access (RAM), static random access memory (SRAM), read-only memory (ROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM) Or at least one storage medium.

The display unit 170 may convert a video signal, a data signal, an OSD signal, etc. processed by the controller 150 into an RGB signal to generate a driving signal. Thus, the display unit 170 outputs an image. The display unit 170 may be a plasma display panel (PDP), a liquid crystal display (LCD), a thin film transistor-liquid crystal display (TFT-LCD), an organic light emitting diode A light emitting diode (OLED), a flexible display, a three-dimensional display (3D display), and an electronic ink display (e-ink display). The display 180 may also be implemented as a touch screen to perform the functions of an input device.

The audio output unit 180 outputs the audio signal processed by the control unit 150, for example, a stereo signal or a 5.1-channel signal. The audio output unit 180 may be implemented by various types of speakers.

On the other hand, a photographing unit (not shown) for photographing a user can be further provided. The photographing unit (not shown) may be implemented by a single camera, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and may be implemented by a plurality of cameras. The image information photographed by the photographing unit (not shown) is input to the control unit 270. [

In order to detect the user's gesture, a sensing unit (not shown) having at least one of a touch sensor, a voice sensor, a position sensor, and an operation sensor may be further included in the image display device 100 have. The signal sensed by the sensing unit (not shown) may be transmitted to the controller 150 through the user input interface unit 140.

The control unit 150 may detect the gesture of the user by combining the images photographed by the photographing unit (not shown) or sensed signals from the sensing unit (not shown).

The power supply unit (not shown) supplies power to the entire video display device 100. Particularly, it is possible to supply power to a control unit 150 that can be implemented in the form of a system on chip (SOC), a display unit 170 for displaying an image, and an audio output unit 180 for audio output .

To this end, the power supply unit (not shown) may include a converter (not shown) for converting AC power to DC power. Meanwhile, for example, when the display unit 170 is implemented as a liquid crystal panel having a plurality of backlight lamps, an inverter (not shown) that can perform PWM operation for variable luminance or dimming driving is further provided It is possible.

The external input device 200 is connected to the interface 140 via a wired or wireless network and transmits an input signal generated according to a user input to the interface 140. The external input device 200 may include a remote controller, a mouse, a keyboard, and the like. The remote controller can transmit an input signal to the interface unit 140 through Bluetooth, RF communication, infrared communication, UWB (Ultra Wideband), ZigBee, or the like. The remote controller can be implemented as a space remote controller. The spatial remote control device can detect an operation of the main body in a space and generate an input signal.

The video display device 100 receives at least one of digital broadcasting of the ATSC system (8-VSB system), digital broadcasting of the DVB-T system (COFDM system), digital broadcasting of the ISDB-T system (BST- And can be implemented as a fixed digital broadcasting receiver as much as possible. In addition, the video display device 100 may be a terrestrial DMB type digital broadcasting, a satellite DMB type digital broadcasting, an ATSC-M / H type digital broadcasting, a DVB-H type (COFDM type) digital broadcasting, Link Only) type digital broadcasting, or the like. Also, the video display device 100 may be implemented as a digital broadcast receiver for cable, satellite communication, and IPTV.

Also, the video display device described above can be applied to a mobile terminal. The mobile terminal may be a mobile phone, a smart phone, a laptop computer, a digital broadcasting terminal, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a portable multimedia player (PMP), a navigation device, a slate PC, tablet PCs, ultrabooks, and the like.

When a video display device is used as a mobile terminal, a wireless communication unit may be added.

The wireless communication unit may include one or more modules for enabling wireless communication between the mobile terminal 100 and the wireless communication system or between a mobile terminal and a network in which the mobile terminal is located. For example, the wireless communication unit may include at least one of a broadcast receiving module, a mobile communication module wireless Internet module, a short distance communication module and a location information module.

The broadcast receiving module receives broadcast signals and / or broadcast-related information from an external broadcast management server through a broadcast channel.

The broadcast channel may include a satellite channel and a terrestrial channel. The broadcast management server may refer to a server for generating and transmitting broadcast signals and / or broadcast related information, or a server for receiving broadcast signals and / or broadcast related information generated by the broadcast management server and transmitting the generated broadcast signals and / or broadcast related information. The broadcast signal may include a TV broadcast signal, a radio broadcast signal, a data broadcast signal, and a broadcast signal in which a data broadcast signal is combined with a TV broadcast signal or a radio broadcast signal.

The broadcast-related information may refer to a broadcast channel, a broadcast program, or information related to a broadcast service provider. The broadcast-related information may also be provided through a mobile communication network. In this case, it may be received by the mobile communication module 112.

The broadcast-related information may exist in various forms. For example, an EPG (Electronic Program Guide) of DMB (Digital Multimedia Broadcasting) or an ESG (Electronic Service Guide) of Digital Video Broadcast-Handheld (DVB-H).

For example, the broadcast receiving module may be a Digital Multimedia Broadcasting-Terrestrial (DMB-T), a Digital Multimedia Broadcasting-Satellite (DMB-S), a Media Forward Link Only (DVF-H), a Digital Video Broadcast- , Integrated Services Digital Broadcast-Terrestrial (ISDB-T), or the like. Of course, the broadcast receiving module may be configured to be suitable for other broadcasting systems as well as the digital broadcasting system described above.

The broadcast signal and / or broadcast related information received through the broadcast receiving module may be stored in a memory.

The mobile communication module transmits and receives radio signals to and from at least one of a base station, an external terminal, and a server on a mobile communication network. The wireless signal may include various types of data depending on a voice call signal, a video call signal or a text / multimedia message transmission / reception.

The mobile communication module is configured to implement a video communication mode and a voice communication mode. The video call mode refers to a state of talking while viewing a video of the other party, and the voice call mode refers to a state in which a call is made without viewing the other party's video. In order to implement the video communication mode and the voice communication mode, the mobile communication module is configured to transmit and receive at least one of voice and image.

The wireless Internet module refers to a module for wireless Internet access, and may be built in or enclosed in the mobile terminal 100. Examples of the wireless Internet technology include a wireless LAN (WLAN), a wireless fidelity (WiFi) direct, a DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance), a Wibro (Wireless broadband), a Wimax (World Interoperability for Microwave Access), HSDPA Can be used.

The short-range communication module is a module for short-range communication. As a short range communication technology, Bluetooth ™, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), Infrared Data Association (IrDA), Ultra Wideband (UWB), ZigBee, Near Field Communication (NFC) Direct or the like may be used.

The location information module is a module for acquiring the location of the mobile terminal, and representative examples thereof include a Global Position System (GPS) module or a Wireless Fidelity (WiFi) module.

On the other hand, in a case where a display unit and a sensor (hereinafter, referred to as 'touch sensor') that detects a touch operation form a mutual layer structure (hereinafter referred to as a 'touch screen'), the display unit may be used as an input device . The touch sensor may have the form of, for example, a touch film, a touch sheet, a touch pad, or the like.

The touch sensor may be configured to convert a change in a pressure applied to a specific portion of the display portion or a capacitance occurring in a specific portion of the display portion into an electrical input signal. The touch sensor can be configured to detect not only the position and area where the touch object is touched on the touch sensor but also the pressure at the time of touch. Here, the touch object may be a finger, a touch pen, a stylus pen, a pointer, or the like as an object to which a touch is applied to the touch sensor.

If there is a touch input to the touch sensor, the corresponding signal (s) is sent to the touch controller. The touch controller processes the signal (s) and then transmits the corresponding data to the controller. Thus, the control unit can know which area of the display unit is touched or the like.

Hereinafter, a case where the display unit 170 is an organic light emitting diode (OLED) display device will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram illustrating an organic light emitting diode (OLED) display device to which an image processing apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention is applied.

2, an OLED display according to an embodiment of the present invention includes an image processing unit 210, a timing control unit 220, a data driving unit 230, a scan driving unit 240, and a display panel 250 do.

The image processor 210 receives a vertical synchronization signal, a horizontal synchronization signal, a data enable signal, a clock signal, and red, green, and blue signals RGB (hereinafter referred to as RGB) from the outside. The image processor 210 converts RGB signals RGB into red, green, blue, and white signals RGBW (hereinafter referred to as RGBW), and outputs the RGB signals to the timing controller 220. The image processing unit 210 varies the gamma voltage to implement the peak luminance according to the average image level using the RGB signals (RGB) included in one frame data supplied from the outside. The image processing unit 210 processes the frame data received from the outside in various ways, and a detailed description thereof will be omitted because it is a known technique.

The timing controller 220 receives a vertical synchronization signal, a horizontal synchronization signal, a data enable signal, a clock signal, and an RGBW signal RGBW from the image processing unit 210. [

The timing controller 220 controls the operation timings of the data driver 230 and the scan driver 240 using timing signals such as a vertical synchronization signal, a horizontal synchronization signal, a data enable signal, and a clock signal. The timing controller 220 can determine the frame period by counting the data enable signal of one horizontal period so that the vertical synchronizing signal and the horizontal synchronizing signal supplied from the outside can be omitted. The control signals generated by the timing controller 220 include a gate timing control signal GDC for controlling the operation timing of the scan driver 240 and a data timing control signal DDC for controlling the operation timing of the data driver 230. [ ). The gate timing control signal GDC includes a gate start pulse, a gate shift clock, a gate output enable signal, and the like. The data timing control signal DDC includes a source start pulse, a source sampling clock, a source output enable signal, and the like.

The data driver 230 samples and latches the RGBW signal RGBW supplied from the timing controller 220 in response to the data timing control signal DDC received from the timing controller 220 and converts the RGBW signal RGBW into parallel data system data . The data driver 230 converts the RGBW signal RGBW into analog data according to the gamma voltage when converting the RGBW signal into data of a parallel data system. At this time, the conversion of the digital data into the analog data is performed by a digital to analog converter (DAC) included in the data driver 230. The data driver 230 supplies the image signal DATA converted through the data lines DL1 to DLn to the subpixels SPr, SPg, SPb, and SPw included in the display panel 150. [

The scan driver 240 is responsive to the gate timing control signal GDC supplied from the timing controller 220 to enable the transistors of the subpixels SPr, SPg, SPb, SPw included in the display panel 250 to operate The scan signal is sequentially generated while shifting the level of the signal by the swing width of the gate drive voltage. The scan driver 240 supplies the scan signals generated through the scan lines SL1 to SLm to the subpixels SPr, SPg, SPb, and SPw included in the display panel 250. [

The display panel 250 is formed of an organic light emitting display panel including subpixels (SPr, SPg, SPb, SPw) arranged in a matrix form. The subpixels SPr, SPg, SPb and SPw include a red subpixel SPr, a green subpixel SPg, a blue subpixel SPb and a white subpixel SPw, .

 Hereinafter, the frequency of use of white (W) data among RGBW (red, green, blue, and white) data when converting RGB (red, green, and blue) data into RGBW An image processing apparatus and a method thereof capable of reducing the power consumption of an image display apparatus (e.g., an OLED television) by increasing the power consumption of the image display apparatus will be described. Among the RGBW subpixels, the white subpixel does not use a color filter differently from the R, G, and B subpixels. Therefore, R, G, and B It is more efficient than subpixels. Accordingly, power consumption is increased or decreased depending on how much the white subpixel is used. In the present invention, when RGB (red, green, blue) data is converted into RGBW (red, green, (For example, OLED television) by increasing the frequency of use of white (W) data among white, red, green, blue and white data.

3 is a configuration diagram illustrating an image processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3, in the image processing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention,

A data conversion unit 211 for increasing the frequency of use of white (W) data among the RGBW data when converting the RGB (red, green and blue) data into the RGBW (red, green, blue and white) . The image processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention may represent the image processing unit 210 and the data conversion unit 211 may be included in the image processing unit 210 or may be configured independently.

The data conversion unit 211 converts the minimum color data among the RGB data (the RGB data values) (for example, a color data value having the smallest data value among the RGB subpixels included in one pixel (for example, (White data value) by adding an offset value to the white data, and subtracting the obtained white data from the RGB data, respectively, and the white data has a subtracted value And outputs the converted white data to the timing control unit 220 as the RGBW (red, green, blue and white) data, for example, color data (e.g., red, green and blue data).

The offset value indicates a deviation between the reference white data value and the minimum color data value. The reference value (reference white data value) of the white data may be changed by a designer. That is, the present invention increases the frequency of use of white (W) data by setting an offset value at which a minimum white sub-pixel can be used, Television) is reduced.

The white data (White) can be calculated through Equation (1).

Here, R 'represents a red data value among RGB (red, green and blue) data values, G' represents a green data value among RGB (red, green and blue) data values, and B ' Red, green, blue) data values. Among the RGBW (red, green, blue and white) data, red data is obtained by subtracting the white data value (White) from R ' And the blue data among the RGBW (red, green, blue and white) data is obtained by subtracting the white data value (White) from B '.

When obtaining white data by adding the offset value to the minimum color data value (for example, blue data value) among the RGB data values, the minimum color data value (for example, blue data value) (Negative error) of the (-) component as much as the offset value as shown in FIG. 4 when the offset value is subtracted from the offset value.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a process of converting RGB (red, green, and blue) data into RGBW (red, green, blue, and white) data according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 4, when white data is obtained by adding the offset value to the minimum color data value (for example, blue data value) among the RGB data values, If the offset value is subtracted from a value (for example, a blue data value), an expression error (negative error) of the (-) component may occur by the offset value. Therefore, a method of compensating for the expression error of the (-) component will be described below.

Since the (-) component can not be represented, the data conversion unit 211 diffuses the expression error of the (-) component to adjacent subpixels to express the expression error of the (-) component, ) Compensates for the expression error of the component. For example, the data converter 211 obtains RGBW data for one pixel based on four adjacent pixels for diffusion of the error (negative error) using the above-described image processing method of the present invention, And for the remaining three adjacent pixels, the RGBW data is obtained in consideration of the expression error in the one pixel. For example, the error (expression error) is added to the data value corresponding to the remaining three adjacent pixels, and the RGBW data conversion is performed based on the added data value.

The data converter 211 may distribute the error evenly to the adjacent four pixels or may distribute the error differentially according to the adjacent positions of the adjacent four pixels.

When the offset value is set, the data converter 211 may set an offset value for each pixel differently as shown in FIG. 5, since the error value that can be diffused to neighboring pixels may vary depending on data of neighboring pixels.

5 is an exemplary view illustrating an error diffusion process according to an embodiment of the present invention.

5, when the offset value of the first pixel 1 is set to the color data having the smallest data value among the R, G and B data of the first pixel 1, the offset value of the pixel corresponding to the color data The data of the pixels 2, 3, and 4 adjacent to the pixels 2, 3, and 4 may be compared with each other to set a value to which the error diffusion is possible as the offset value. The data conversion unit 211 converts the minimum data among the data of the adjacent pixels 2, 3, 4 into the data of the adjacent pixels 2, 3, 4, (For example, 3), as the offset value.

The data converter 211 may set a maximum value of the offset value in order to reduce the expression error of the (-) component generated by the offset value. For example, since the offset value is set differently according to the minimum data value among the RGB data, the data conversion unit 211 converts the offset value to the predetermined maximum value Or less.

The data conversion unit 211 may alternate the positions of the pixels for performing RGBW data conversion according to the embodiment of the present invention for each frame in order to minimize image deterioration as shown in FIG.

6 is a view illustrating another exemplary error diffusion process according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 6, one pixel per four pixels performs the RGBW data conversion using the white data value to the maximum, and the remaining three pixels perform the RGBW data conversion as already known.

As described in detail above, the image processing apparatus and the image processing method according to embodiments of the present invention are capable of converting RGB (red, green, and blue) data into RGBW (red, green, It is possible to reduce power consumption and image quality deterioration of a video display device (for example, an OLED television) by increasing the frequency of use of white (W) data among data (red, green, blue and white)

It will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. Therefore, the embodiments disclosed in the present invention are intended to illustrate rather than limit the scope of the present invention, and the scope of the technical idea of the present invention is not limited by these embodiments. The scope of protection of the present invention should be construed according to the following claims, and all technical ideas falling within the scope of the same shall be construed as falling within the scope of the present invention.

210: image processor 211:

Claims (10)

1. An image processing apparatus for converting RGB (red, green, and blue) data values into RGBW data values corresponding to RGBW (red, green, blue and white) subpixels contained in one pixel,
And a data conversion unit for converting the RGB data value into the RGBW data value by increasing the frequency of use of the white (W) data value among the RGBW data values when the RGB data value is converted into the RGBW data value The image processing apparatus characterized in. The data conversion apparatus according to claim 1,
The white data value is obtained by adding the minimum color data value and the offset value in the RGB data value, the white data value is subtracted from the RGB data value, and the white data value is subtracted from the color data having the subtracted value Values and the converted white data value as the RGBW data, and the offset value indicates a deviation between the reference white data value and the minimum color data value. The data conversion apparatus according to claim 2,
And compensates a negative error occurring when subtracting the offset value from the minimum color data value. The data conversion apparatus according to claim 3,
Adding the error to the data value corresponding to the pixels adjacent to the subpixel corresponding to the minimum color data value to compensate for the negative error and adding the error to the adjacent pixels based on the added data value And performs RGBW data conversion on the image data. The data conversion apparatus according to claim 4,
And distributes the error evenly to the adjacent pixels. The data conversion apparatus according to claim 4,
And distributes the error in a differential manner according to the adjacent positions of the adjacent pixels. The data conversion apparatus according to claim 3,
Wherein a value obtained by dividing a minimum data value among the data values of the adjacent pixels by the number of adjacent pixels is set as the offset value. The data conversion apparatus according to claim 3,
And sets the offset value to be equal to or smaller than the preset maximum value if the offset value is greater than a preset maximum value. The data conversion apparatus according to claim 3,
Wherein the RGBW data conversion is performed while alternating the positions of the pixels including the RGBW subpixels. 1. An image processing method for converting RGB (red, green, and blue) data values into RGBW data values corresponding to RGBW (red, green, blue and white) subpixels contained in one pixel,
And converting the RGB data value to the RGBW data value by increasing the frequency of use of the white (W) data value among the RGBW data values when converting the RGB data value into the RGBW data value. / RTI >

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