The present disclosure relates to backlight control circuits, and particularly to backlight control circuits employing modulation pulse signals to adjust brightness of a display.
Liquid crystal displays (LCDs) have the advantages of portability, low power consumption, and low radiation and been widely used in various portable information products such as notebooks, personal digital assistants (PDAs), video cameras, and the like. A typical LCD includes an LCD panel, a backlight for illuminating the LCD panel, and a backlight control circuit for controlling the backlight.
Referring to
The scalar circuit 12 includes a processing circuit 120, a pulse generating circuit 121, and an integral circuit 122.
Referring to
The integral circuit 122 is configured to calculate and obtain a DC voltage according to the PWM signal, and provide the DC voltage to the LED 14 for adjusting the brightness of the LED 14.
Normally, the number of brightness level of the brightness adjusting menu is set large enough to adjust the brightness of the backlight precisely. The brightness of the backlight changes one level when the brightness adjusting button is pressed down once. Thus, a user needs to press the brightness adjusting button many times until the brightness of the backlight satisfies the user. For example, if the number of brightness level is equal to 50 and if brightness level of the backlight needs to be adjusted from level 1 to level 48, then the user needs to press the brightness adjusting button 47 times. Therefore the backlight control circuit 10 for adjusting the backlight is inefficient.
It is desired to provide a new backlight control circuit which can overcome the above-described deficiency.
In an exemplary embodiment, a backlight control circuit for changing a brightness of a light source includes a coarse adjusting circuit and a fine adjusting circuit. The coarse adjusting circuit is configured to coarsely adjust a DC voltage according to one received coarse adjusting signal. The fine adjusting circuit is configured to finely adjust the DC voltage according to one received fine adjusting signal. A change of the DC voltage generated by the coarse adjusting circuit is greater than another change of the DC voltage generated by the fine adjusting circuit.
Other novel features and advantages will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
Reference will now be made to the drawings to describe various embodiments of the present disclosure in detail.
Referring to
In one embodiment, the scalar circuit 22 includes a coarse adjusting circuit 26, a fine adjusting circuit 27, and an adder 28. The coarse adjusting circuit 26 is configured to receive the coarse adjusting signal from the coarse adjusting button 21 and coarsely adjust the DC voltage according to the coarse adjusting signal. The fine adjusting circuit 27 is configured to receive the fine adjusting signal from the fine adjusting button 23 and finely adjust the DC voltage according to the fine adjusting signal.
In one embodiment, the coarse adjusting circuit 26 includes a coarse adjusting processing circuit 261, a coarse adjusting pulse generating circuit 262, a first integral circuit 263, and an amplifier 264. The coarse adjusting processing circuit 261 receives the coarse adjusting signal from the coarse adjusting button 21 and generates a coarse brightness level according to the coarse adjusting signal and a pre-stored current brightness level, then provides the coarse brightness level to the coarse adjusting pulse generating circuit 262. The coarse adjusting pulse generating circuit 262 generates a coarse PWM signal according to the received coarse brightness level and a number of the coarse brightness level of a coarse adjusting menu such that a duty ratio of the coarse PWM signal is equal to a ratio of coarse brightness level to the number of the coarse brightness level. For example,
The first integral circuit 263 is configured to calculate and generate the coarse adjusting DC voltage according to the coarse PWM signal and provide the coarse adjusting DC voltage to the amplifier 264.
The amplifier 264 is configured to generate 5 times or 10 times coarse adjusting DC voltage, in one embodiment, and provide the 5 times or 10 times coarse adjusting DC voltage to the adder 28. In an alternative embodiment, the voltage outputted from the amplifier 264 can be adjusted to provide a predetermined number or range of coarse voltage adjustments. For example, the brightness may be set to change one level each time the coarse adjusting button 21 is pressed causing the coarse adjusting DC voltage to correspondingly change 0.1 volts. If the amplifier 264 amplifies the coarse adjusting DC voltage 10 times, the amplifier 264 may make the coarse adjusting DC voltage change 1.0 volts each time the coarse adjusting button is pressed.
The fine adjusting circuit 27 includes a fine adjusting processing circuit 271, a fine adjusting pulse generating circuit 272, and a second integral circuit 273. The fine adjusting processing circuit 271 receives the fine adjusting signal from the fine adjusting button 23 and generates a fine brightness level according to the fine adjusting signal, and provides the fine brightness level to the fine adjusting pulse generating circuit 272. The fine adjusting pulse generating circuit 272 generates a fine PWM signal according to the received fine brightness level and a number of the fine brightness level of a fine adjusting menu. A duty ratio of the fine PWM signal is equal to a ratio of fine brightness level to a number of the fine brightness level.
The second integral circuit 273 is configured to calculate and generate the fine adjusting DC voltage according to the fine PWM signal and provide the fine adjusting DC voltage to the adder 28.
In one embodiment, the adder may include a first memory (not shown), a second memory (not shown), and an addition circuit (not shown). The first memory stores the amplified coarse adjusting DC voltage each time the coarse adjusting button 21 is pressed. The second memory stores the fine adjusting DC voltage each time the fine adjusting button 23 is pressed. The addition circuit is configured to read the fine adjusting DC voltage and the coarse adjusting DC voltage from the first and second memories respectively and sum both voltages together when the coarse adjusting button 21 or the fine adjusting button 23 is pressed. Finally, the adder 28 provides a sum of the fine adjusting DC voltage and the coarse adjusting DC voltage to the LED 24 so as to adjust the brightness of the LED 24.
For example, the coarse brightness level may change one level when the coarse adjusting button 21 is pressed once causing the coarse adjusting DC voltage to change 1.0 volts. The fine brightness level may change one level when the fine adjusting button 23 is once pressed causing the fine adjusting DC voltage to changes 0.1 volt. Thus, one coarse brightness level is approximately equal to ten fine brightness levels. In other words, to obtain a same brightness change, the fine adjusting button 23 needs to be pressed 10 times more than the coarse adjusting button 21.
If a DC voltage for driving the LED 24 needs to be changed 3.5 volts, the user can press the coarse adjusting button 21 three times and the fine adjusting button 23 five times, but in a typical backlight control circuit, the user press adjusting button thirty-five times.
Because the backlight control circuit 20 includes the coarse adjusting circuit 22 for coarsely adjusting the brightness of a display and the fine adjusting circuit 27 for finely adjusting the brightness of the display, the brightness of the backlight can he quickly and precisely adjusted to a desired level.
Referring to
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The scalar circuit 42 includes a coarse adjusting circuit 421, a fine adjusting circuit 422, and a modulation circuit 423.
The coarse adjusting circuit 421 includes a coarse adjusting processing circuit 4210 and a coarse adjusting pulse generating circuit 4211. The coarse adjusting processing circuit 4210 receives the coarse adjusting signal and generates a coarse brightness level according to the coarse adjusting signal and a pre-stored current brightness level, then provides the coarse brightness level to the coarse adjusting pulse generating circuit 4211. The coarse adjusting pulse generating circuit 4211 generates a coarse PWM signal according to the received coarse brightness level and a number of the coarse brightness level. A duty ratio of the coarse PWM signal is equal to a ratio of coarse brightness level to the number of the coarse brightness level.
The fine adjusting circuit 422 includes a fine adjusting processing circuit 4220 and a fine adjusting pulse generating circuit 4221. The fine adjusting processing circuit 4220 receives the fine adjusting signal and generates a fine brightness level according to the fine adjusting signal, and provides the fine brightness level to the fine adjusting pulse generating circuit 4221. The fine adjusting pulse generating circuit 4221 generates a fine PWM signal according to the received fine brightness level and a number of the fine brightness level. A duty ratio of the fine PWM signal is equal to the ratio of the fine brightness level to the number of the fine brightness level.
The modulation circuit 423 is configured to modulate the fine PWM signal and the coarse PWM signal into a mixed PWM signal and provide the mixed PWM signal to the backlight driving, circuit 46. Referring to
In one embodiment, the backlight driving circuit 46 includes a demodulation circuit 461, a first integral circuit 462, an amplifier 463, a second integral circuit 464, and an adder 465. The demodulation circuit 461 is configured to receive the mixed PWM signal U3 and demodulate the mixed PWM signal U3 into the coarse PWM signal and the fine PWM signal.
The first integral circuit 462 is configured to calculate and generate a coarse adjusting DC voltage according to the coarse PWM signal from the demodulation circuit 461 and provide the coarse adjusting DC voltage to the amplifier 463. The amplifier 264 is configured to amplify the coarse adjusting DC voltage and provide the amplified coarse adjusting DC voltage to adder 465.
The second integral circuit 464 is configured to calculate and generate a fine adjusting DC voltage according to the fine PWM signal from the demodulation circuit 461 and provide the fine adjusting DC voltage to the adder 465.
The adder is configured to receive the fine adjusting DC voltage and the amplified coarse adjusting DC voltage and sum them when the coarse adjusting button 41 or the fine adjusting button 43 is pressed. Finally, the adder 28 provides a sum of the fine adjusting DC voltage and the amplified coarse adjusting DC voltage to the LED 44 for adjusting the brightness of the LED 44.
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It is to be understood, however, that even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the embodiments have been set out in the foregoing description, together with details of the structures and functions of the embodiments, the disclosure is illustrative only; and that changes may be made in detail, especially in matters of arrangement of parts within the principles of present disclosure to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2007 1 0075631 | Aug 2007 | CN | national |
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4029991 | Schultz | Jun 1977 | A |
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Number | Date | Country |
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1384415 | Dec 2002 | CN |
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20090039801 A1 | Feb 2009 | US |