Patent ID: 8154562

Claim:
A method for improving digital-signal-generated grayscale resolution of a monochrome visual display unit, to which digital signals from an image source are supplied over n-bit-wide RGB channels, comprising: generating with an encoding device of the image source n-bit-wide RGB color signals for transmission of an input m-bit-wide grayscale signal over the RGB channels, m being larger than n, the encoding device being configured to form each of the RGB color signals from the bit values of n−1 bit locations (D 9 , D 8 , . . . , D 3 ) of the input m-bit-wide grayscale signal, such that the bit values of the n−1 bit locations of each of the R color signal, the G color signal and the B color signal match to the bit values of n−1 bit locations (D 9 , D 8 , . . . , D 3 ) of the input m-bit-wide grayscale signal, and that the bit value of the only remaining one bit location of each of the R color signal, the G color signal, and the B color signal match to the bit value of only one of the remaining bit values of m−(n−1) bit locations (D 2 , D 1 , D 0 ) of the input m-bit-wide grayscale signal, wherein all of the remaining bit values m−(n−1) bit locations (D 2 , D 1 , D 0 ) of the input m-bit-wide grayscale signal are used among each of the R color signal, the G color signal, and the B color signal; generating with a decoding device of the monochrome visual display unit an output m-bit-wide grayscale signal from the received n-bit-wide RGB color signals, the decoding device being configured to form bit values for n−1 bit locations of the output m-bit-wide grayscale signal from the bit values of n−1 bit locations of the n-bit-wide RGB color signals according to a processing rule, and to supplement these n−1 bit locations by the respective bit value of the remaining bit locations of the respective n-bit-wide RGB color signal; and displaying with the monochrome visual display unit the output m-bit-wide grayscale signal.