This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. ยง119(a) of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2011-0003913, filed on Jan. 14, 2011, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference for all purposes.
1. Field
The following description relates to a backlight driving circuit and a display apparatus using the same, and, as an example, to a backlight driving circuit which uses a light-emitting module of a display as a backlight unit (BLU) to display an image, and a display apparatus using the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
A liquid crystal display (LCD) is currently widely used but does not self-emit light. Therefore, a LCD panel includes a backlight unit (BLU) that projects backlight onto the LCD.
The BLU includes a light-emitting unit that generates backlight and a light guide plate that uniformly transmits backlight, which is emitted from a light-emitting module, to a surface of a display panel. The light-emitting unit includes the light-emitting module, the light-emitting module being disposed to efficiently project the backlight onto the LCD. In addition, the light-emitting unit includes a backlight driving circuit that drives the light-emitting module. For example, instead of a conventional cold cathode fluorescent lamp (CCFL), a light-emitting diode (LED), which has high luminance and a long lifespan, attracts attention as a light-emitting device of the BLU.
If a final output terminal or the light-emitting module short-circuits with ground in the backlight driving circuit, parts of the backlight driving circuit may be damaged by an excessive short-circuit current. Therefore, in order to prevent the damage to the parts of the backlight driving circuit, the short-circuit of the backlight driving circuit is to be sensed to control a current flowing in the backlight driving circuit.
As a method of sensing whether the backlight driving circuit has short-circuited, a high side current sensing method is used to connect a short-circuit sensing resistor to an output terminal of a DCDC converter in series and measure a voltage value of the short-circuit sensing resistor. Here, a voltage value of a flowing current is sensed to sense whether the backlight driving circuit has short-circuited, by using a method of sensing the voltage value of the short-circuit sensing resistor and amplifying the sensed voltage value through an amplifier. However, since the voltage value applied to the short-circuit sensing resistor of the output terminal of the DCDC converter is hundreds of volts, an additional high voltage amplifier is required to lower the voltage value.
In other words, since the high side current sensing method uses the DCDC converter, the short-circuit sensing resistor, and the additional high voltage amplifier, additional cost is incurred.
In one general aspect, there is provided a backlight driving circuit that provides backlight to a display panel of a display apparatus, the backlight driving circuit including a power supply unit configured to supply power, a converter configured to convert a voltage of the supplied power, and output the converted voltage, a light-emitting module supplied with the outputted voltage from the converter, the light-emitting module being configured to provide the backlight, a switch connected to an output terminal of the light-emitting module, the switch being configured to control an operation of the light-emitting module, a feedback resistor connected to an output terminal of the switch, the feedback resistor being configured to sense a voltage of a current flowing in the light-emitting module, a short-circuit sensing resistor connected between a ground of the power supply unit and a ground of the feedback resistor, and a short-circuit sensor configured to sense a voltage value of a current applied to the feedback resistor or the short-circuit sensing resistor according to whether the switch is switched on or off, thereby determining whether the backlight driving circuit is short-circuited.
The general aspect of the backlight driving circuit may further provide that the short-circuit sensor is further configured to sense the voltage value of the current applied to the short-circuit sensing resistor to determine whether the backlight driving circuit is short-circuited if the switch is switched off.
The general aspect of the backlight driving circuit may further provide that the short-circuit sensor is further configured to determine that the backlight driving circuit is short-circuited if the switch is switched off, and the voltage value of the current applied to the short-circuit sensing resistor and sensed by the short-circuit sensor is less than a particular value.
The general aspect of the backlight driving circuit may further provide that the short-circuit sensor is further configured to determine that the backlight driving circuit is short-circuited if the switch is switched off, and the voltage value of the current applied to the short-circuit sensing resistor and sensed by the short-circuit sensor is less than the particular value, and sensed for a preset time.
The general aspect of the backlight driving circuit may further provide that the preset time is 80 msec.
The general aspect of the backlight driving circuit may further provide that the short-circuit sensor is further configured to sense the voltage value of the current applied to the feedback resistor to determine whether the backlight driving circuit is short-circuited if the switch is switched on.
The general aspect of the backlight driving circuit may further provide that the short-circuit sensor is further configured to determine that the backlight driving circuit is short-circuited if the switch is switched on, and the voltage value of the current applied to the feedback resistor and sensed by the short-circuit sensor is less than a particular value.
The general aspect of the backlight driving circuit may further provide that the short-circuit sensor is further configured to determine that the backlight driving circuit is short-circuited if the switch is switched on, and the voltage value of the current applied to the feedback resistor and sensed by the short-circuit sensor is less than the particular value, and sensed for a preset time.
The general aspect of the backlight driving circuit may further provide that the short-circuit sensor is further configured to determine whether the voltage value of the current applied to the feedback resistor and sensed by the short-circuit sensor is less than the particular value only if the preset time is greater than a time for which the switch is switched on, and the switch is switched on when the switch is repeatedly switched on and off.
The general aspect of the backlight driving circuit may further provide that the preset time is 80 msec.
The general aspect of the backlight driving circuit may further provide that the short-circuit sensor includes a first comparator configured to compare the voltage value of the current applied to the feedback resistor with a first reference voltage value, a second comparator configured to compare the voltage value of the current applied to the short-circuit sensing resistor with a second reference voltage value, a mode selector configured to select a mode according to whether the switch is switched on or off, and output a comparison result of one of the first and the second comparators according to the selected mode, a timing counter configured to determine whether the comparison result output from the mode selector is maintained for a preset time, and a signal generator configured to sense whether the backlight driving circuit is short-circuited by using the comparison result of the one of the first and second comparators output from the mode selector selected according to whether the switch is switched on or off, and generate a short-circuit sensing signal configured to protect a device of the backlight driving circuit if it is sensed that the backlight driving circuit is short-circuited.
In another aspect, there is provided a display apparatus, including an image processor configured to process a signal of an input image, a display panel configured to display the image having the processed signal, and a backlight driving circuit configured to provide backlight to the display panel, the backlight driving circuit including a power supply unit configured to supply power, a converter configured to convert a voltage of the supplied power, and output the converted voltage, a light-emitting module supplied with the outputted voltage from the converter, the light-emitting module being configured to provide the backlight, a switch connected to an output terminal of the light-emitting module, the switch being configured to control an operation of the light-emitting module, a feedback resistor connected to an output terminal of the switch, the feedback resistor being configured to sense a voltage of a current flowing in the light-emitting module, a short-circuit sensing resistor connected between a ground of the power supply unit and a ground of the feedback resistor, and a short-circuit sensor configured to sense a voltage value of a current applied to the feedback resistor or the short-circuit sensing resistor according to whether the switch is switched on or off, thereby determining whether the backlight driving circuit is short-circuited.
Other features and aspects may be apparent from the following detailed description, the drawings, and the claims.
Throughout the drawings and the detailed description, unless otherwise described, the same drawing reference numerals will be understood to refer to the same elements, features, and structures. The relative size and depiction of these elements may be exaggerated for clarity, illustration, and convenience.
The following detailed description is provided to assist the reader in gaining a comprehensive understanding of the methods, apparatuses, and/or systems described herein. Accordingly, various changes, modifications, and equivalents of the systems, apparatuses and/or methods described herein will be suggested to those of ordinary skill in the art. Also, descriptions of well-known functions and constructions may be omitted for increased clarity and conciseness.
The power supply unit 110 provides power to the light-emitting module 130 of the backlight driving circuit 100. Here, the power supply unit 110 may provide power as alternating current (AC) power or direct current (DC) power.
The DCDC converter 120 converts a voltage of the power input from the power supply unit 110 and provides the converted voltage to the light-emitting module 130. For example, the DCDC converter 120 converts the voltage applied from the power supply unit 110 into a rated voltage of the light-emitting module 130 in order to drive the light-emitting module 130 at the rated voltage. The general aspect includes a DCDC converter, but is not limited thereto.
An end of the light-emitting module 130 is connected to the DCDC converter 120, and an other end of the light-emitting module 130 is connected to the switch 140. Therefore, the light-emitting module 130 provides backlight by using the power supplied from the power supply unit 110. For example, the light-emitting module 130 dims according to whether the switch 140 is switched on or off. The light-emitting module 130 may be a light-emitting diode (LED) module, but is not limited thereto. For example, the light-emitting module 130 may be any type of light-emitting module capable of supplying backlight. In addition, as shown in
The switch 140 is connected to the other end of the light-emitting module 130 to control dimming of the light-emitting module 130. For example, the switch 140 controls the dimming of the light-emitting module 130 according to a pulse width modulation (PWM) signal in order to adjust brightness of a screen displayed in a display apparatus.
The feedback resistor 150 is connected to an end of the switch 140 to sense a voltage of a current flowing in the light-emitting module 130. If the switch 140 is switched on, the feedback resistor 150 is used to sense whether the backlight driving circuit 100 is short-circuited.
The short-circuit sensing resistor 160 is connected to a ground GND of the power supply unit 110 and a ground GND of the feedback resistor 150. If the switch 140 is switched off, the short-circuit sensing resistor 160 is used to sense whether the backlight driving circuit 100 is short-circuited.
The short-circuit sensor 170 senses a voltage applied to the feedback resistor 150 or the short-circuit sensing resistor 160 according to whether the switch 140 is switched on or off, in order to sense whether the backlight driving circuit 100 has short-circuited. An example of the short-circuit sensor 170 will now be described with reference to
The first comparator 171 is connected to an end of the feedback resistor 150 to compare a voltage value vfb of a current applied to the feedback resistor 150 with a first reference voltage value vbias1.
The second comparator 172 is connected to an end of the short-circuit sensing resistor 160 to compare a voltage value vcs of a current applied to the short-circuit sensing resistor 160 with a second reference voltage value vbias2.
The mode selector 173 selects a mode according to whether the switch 140, displayed in
The timing counter 174 counters a timing for which the comparison result output from the mode selector 174 is maintained for a preset time (e.g., 80 msec) or more.
The signal generator 175 senses whether the backlight driving circuit 100 is short-circuited by using the comparison results output from the first and second comparators 171 and 172 which are selected according to whether the switch 140 of
For example, if the switch 140 of
Further, if the preset time is longer than a time that the switch 140 of
Examples of methods of sensing whether the backlight driving circuit 100 is short-circuited according to whether the switch 140 of
As shown in
As shown in
Therefore, as shown in
As shown in
If the voltage value vfb of the feedback resistor 150 rapidly becomes lower than the first reference voltage value vbias1 at a particular time t3 when the switch 140 of
According to teachings above, if it is sensed that a backlight driving circuit is short-circuited, one short-circuit sensing resistor is added between a ground of a power supply unit and a ground of a feedback resistor in order to determine whether the backlight driving circuit is short-circuited. Therefore, an additional high voltage amplifier is not required.
According to teachings above, a backlight driving circuit has been provided that may be applied to a display apparatus including the backlight driving circuit. For example, a display apparatus according to a general aspect may include an image processor that signal-processes an input image; a display panel that displays the signal-processed image; and a backlight driving circuit that provides backlight to the display panel. The backlight driving circuit may be realized as a backlight driving circuit as described above.
Further, according to teachings above, a backlight driving circuit is provided that may sense a voltage applied to a feedback resistor or a short-circuit sensing resistor in order to determine whether the backlight driving circuit has short-circuited, where the feedback resistor is connected to an output terminal of a switch to sense a voltage applied to a light-emitting module according to whether the switch is switched on/off, and the short-circuit sensing resistor is connected to ground of a power supply unit and common ground of the feedback resistor and a DCDC converter, and a display apparatus using the backlight driving circuit.
A number of examples have been described above. Nevertheless, it will be understood that various modifications may be made. For example, suitable results may be achieved if the described techniques are performed in a different order and/or if components in a described system, architecture, device, or circuit are combined in a different manner and/or replaced or supplemented by other components or their equivalents. Accordingly, other implementations are within the scope of the following claims.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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10-2011-0003913 | Jan 2011 | KR | national |