The invention relates to a display device and more particularly, to a circuit arrangement for controlling a backlight source and an operation method thereof.
The invention provides a circuit arrangement for controlling a backlight source and an operation method thereof to improve the issue of backlight flicker.
According to an embodiment of the invention, a circuit arrangement for controlling a backlight source is provided. The circuit arrangement includes a generator. The generator is configured to receive a sync signal and generate a pulse width modulation (PWM) signal synchronous with the sync signal to control the backlight source. The sync signal indicates a frequency of a video including a series of image frames. The sync signal includes a sync period corresponding to a frame of the video. The PWM signal includes a first waveform pattern in a first sub-period of the sync period and a second waveform pattern in a second sub-period of the sync period. Each of the first waveform pattern and the second waveform pattern respectively includes at least one active pulse. The first waveform pattern is substantially identical to the second waveform pattern.
According to an embodiment of the invention, an operation method of a circuit arrangement for controlling a backlight source is provided. The operation method includes: receiving, by a generator, a sync signal indicating a frequency of a video including a series of image frames; and generating, by the generator, a PWM signal synchronous with the sync signal to control the backlight source. The sync signal includes a sync period corresponding to a frame of the video, the PWM signal includes a first waveform pattern in a first sub-period of the sync period and a second waveform pattern in a second sub-period of the sync period, each of the first waveform pattern and the second waveform pattern includes at least one active pulse, and the first waveform pattern is substantially identical to the second waveform pattern.
According to an embodiment of the invention, a circuit arrangement for controlling a backlight source is provided. The circuit arrangement includes a generator. The generator is configured to receive a sync signal and generate a PWM signal synchronous with the sync signal to control the backlight source. The sync signal indicates a frequency of a video including a series of image frames. The sync signal includes a sync period corresponding to a frame of the video. The PWM signal includes a plurality of repeated waveform patterns in a first sub-period and a second sub-period of the sync period. Each of the repeated waveform patterns includes at least one active pulse.
According to an embodiment of the invention, a circuit arrangement for controlling a backlight source is provided. The circuit arrangement includes a generator. The generator is configured to receive a sync signal and generate a PWM signal synchronous with the sync signal to control the backlight source. The sync signal indicates a frequency of a video including a series of image frames. The sync signal includes a sync period corresponding to a frame of the video. The generator at least divides the sync period into a first sub-period and a second sub-period. The PWM signal includes a first waveform pattern in the first sub-period of the sync period and a second waveform pattern in the second sub-period of the sync period. Each of the first waveform pattern and the second waveform pattern includes at least one active pulse.
According to an embodiment of the invention, a circuit arrangement for controlling a backlight source is provided. The circuit arrangement includes a generator. The generator is configured to receive a sync signal and generate a PWM signal synchronous with the sync signal to control the backlight source. The sync signal indicates a frequency of a video including a series of image frames. The sync signal includes a first sync period corresponding to a first frame of the video and a second sync period corresponding to a second frame of the video. The first sync period is longer in time than the second sync period. The PWM signal includes a first waveform pattern in a first sub-period of the first sync period, a second waveform pattern in a second sub-period of the first sync period, and a third waveform pattern in the second sync period. Each of the first waveform pattern, the second waveform pattern and the third waveform pattern includes at least one active pulse. The first waveform pattern is substantially identical to the second waveform pattern.
To sum up, in the circuit arrangement for controlling the backlight source and the operation method thereof provided by the embodiments of the invention, a sync period is at least divided into a first sub-period and a second sub-period. Each of the first waveform pattern in the first sub-period and the second waveform pattern in the second sub-period respectively includes at least one active pulse. The first waveform pattern is substantially identical to the second waveform pattern. If a length of the sync period is too long, the first waveform pattern and the second waveform pattern may achieve an effect of frequency multiplication to prevent human eyes from perceiving the flicker. Thus, the circuit arrangement and the operation method thereof can achieve improving the issue of backlight flicker.
To make the above features and advantages of the invention more comprehensible, embodiments accompanied with drawings are described in detail below.
The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the invention, and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.
The term “couple (or connect)” herein (including the claims) are used broadly and encompass direct and indirect connection or coupling means. For example, if the disclosure describes a first apparatus being coupled (or connected) to a second apparatus, then it should be interpreted that the first apparatus can be directly connected to the second apparatus, or the first apparatus can be indirectly connected to the second apparatus through other devices or by a certain coupling means. Moreover, elements/components/steps with same reference numerals represent same or similar parts in the drawings and embodiments. Elements/components/notations with the same reference numerals in different embodiments may be referenced to the related description.
In the embodiment illustrated in
In the embodiment illustrated in
In step S420, the PWM control circuit 341 may at least divide each of the video frame periods into a first period and a second period. Based on a design requirement, a first period includes a part or all of a data period of each of the video frame periods, and a second period includes a part or all of a blanking period of each of the video frame periods.
For instance, according to the data enablement signal DE in the sync signal, the video frame period F5 is at least divided into a first period P51 and a second period P52, the video frame period F6 is at least divided into a first period P61 and a second period P62, the video frame period F7 is at least divided into a first period P71 and a second period P72, and the video frame period F8 is at least divided into a first period P81 and a second period P82. Lengths of the first periods P51, P61, P71 and P81 of the video frame periods F5 to F8 are equal to one another. The first period P51 includes a data period of the video frame period F5, and the second period P52 includes a blank period of the video frame period F5. The first period P61 includes a data period of the video frame period F6, and the second period P62 includes a blank period of the video frame period F6. The first period P71 includes a data period of the video frame period F7, and the second period P72 includes a blank period of the video frame period F7. The first period P81 includes a data period of the video frame period F8, and the second period P82 includes a blank period of the video frame period F8.
In step S430, the PWM control circuit 341 may generate the PWM signal BL3. A frequency of the PWM signal BL3 in the first periods is different from a frequency of the PWM signal BL3 in the second periods, but a duty ratio of the PWM signal BL3 in the first periods is equal to a duty ratio of the PWM signal BL3 in the second periods. For instance, the frequency of the PWM signal BL3 in the first period P51 is different from the frequency of the PWM signal BL3 in the second period P52, but the duty ratio of the PWM signal BL3 in each duty cycle of the first period P51 is equal to the duty ratio of the PWM signal BL3 in each duty cycle of the second period P52.
In the embodiment illustrated in
The backlight driving circuit 342 is coupled to the PWM control circuit 341 to receive the PWM signal BL3. In step S440, the backlight driving circuit 342 drives the backlight source 350 of the display panel 330 according to the PWM signal BL3, thereby driving the backlight source 350 to provide the backlight 351 to the display panel 330.
Based on the above, by the generator 340 and the operation method thereof provided by the present embodiment, each video frame period is at least divided into the first period and the second period. The lengths of the first periods of different video frame periods are equal to one another. If the length of each video frame period is changed, the lengths of the second periods are changed along therewith, but the lengths of the first periods are not. The frequency of the PWM signal BL3 in the first periods is different from the frequency of the PWM signal BL3 in the second periods, but the duty ratio of the PWM signal BL3 in each first period is equal to the duty ratio of the PWM signal BL3 in each second period. Thus, with the backlight source 350 being driven/controlled to provide compensation light (i.e., the backlight 351) in the second periods, the average backlight brightness in different video frame periods F5 to F8 may tend to be approximately equal to one another. In other words, the generator 340 and the operation method thereof may achieve improving the issue of backlight flicker.
For instance,
Referring to
In the embodiment illustrated in
The second PWM signal generating circuit 630 is coupled to the period defining circuit 610 to receive the second enablement signal 612. The second PWM signal generating circuit 630 may generate the second PWM signal 631 according to the second enablement signal 612 in the second periods. The second PWM signal generating circuit 630 may determine a duty ratio of the second PWM signal 631 in the second periods according to the duty ratio parameter DR. In the embodiment illustrated in
The superimposing circuit 640 is coupled to the first PWM signal generating circuit 620 to receive the first PWM signal 621. The superimposing circuit 640 is coupled to the second PWM signal generating circuit 630 to receive the second PWM signal 631. The superimposing circuit 640 may superimpose the first PWM signal 621 and the second PWM signal 631 to obtain the PWM signal BL3, as illustrated in
In the embodiment illustrated in
In the embodiments described above, the backlight source 350 is controlled/driven by the generator 340 and the operation method thereof in a synchronous manner, and thus, the issue of motion blur may be effectively improved. The generator 340 and the operation method thereof may be applied to the backlight control of variable vertical sync signals or fixed vertical sync signals. By the generator 340 and the operation method thereof, each video frame period may be at least divided into the first period and the second period. The lengths of the first periods of different video frame periods are equal to one another. If the length of each video frame period is changed, the lengths of the second periods are changed along therewith, but the lengths of the first periods are not. The frequency of the PWM signal BL3 in the first periods is different from the frequency of the PWM signal BL3 in the second periods, but the duty ratio of the PWM signal BL3 in each first period is equal to the duty ratio of the PWM signal BL3 in each second period. Thus, with the backlight source 350 being driven/controlled to provide compensation light (i.e., the backlight 351) in the second periods, the average backlight brightness in different video frame periods may tend to be approximately equal to one another. In other words, the generator 340 and the operation method thereof may achieve improving the issue of backlight flicker.
In step S1020, the generator 340 may generate the PWM signal BL3 synchronous with the sync signal to control the backlight source 350. The generator 340 may at least divide the sync period into a first sub-period and a second sub-period. The PWM signal BL3 includes a first waveform pattern in a first sub-period of the sync period and a second waveform pattern in a second sub-period of the sync period. Each of the first waveform pattern and the second waveform pattern includes at least one active pulse. The first waveform pattern is substantially identical to the second waveform pattern.
In another present embodiment, the PWM signal BL3 includes a plurality of repeated waveform patterns in the first sub-period and the second sub-period of the sync period. Each of the repeated waveform patterns includes at least one active pulse.
In yet another embodiment, the sync signal includes a first sync period corresponding to a first frame of the video and a second sync period corresponding to a second frame of the video. The first sync period is longer in time than the second sync period. The PWM signal includes the first waveform pattern in the first sub-period of the first sync period, the second waveform pattern in the second sub-period of the first sync period, and a third waveform pattern in the second sync period. Each of the first waveform pattern, the second waveform pattern and the third waveform pattern includes at least one active pulse. The first waveform pattern is substantially identical to the second waveform pattern.
In step S1030, the generator 340 may drive the backlight source 350 of the display panel 330 according to the PWM signal BL3, thereby driving the backlight source 350 to provide the backlight 351 to the display panel 330. Step S1030 illustrated in
In the present embodiment, the PWM control circuit 341 of the generator 340 may receive the sync signal from the scaler circuit 340 (i.e., the video processing circuit). The PWM control circuit 341 may check the frequency (or the period) of the sync signal. When the frequency of the sync signal is lower than a threshold frequency (or when the period of the sync signal is greater than a threshold period), the PWM control circuit 341 multiplies the frequency of the sync signal to generate a multiplied sync signal. The threshold frequency may be determined based on a design requirement. When the frequency of the sync signal is higher than the threshold frequency, the PWM control circuit 341 serves the sync signal as the multiplied sync signal. The PWM control circuit 341 may generate the PWM signal BL3 according to the multiplied sync signal. The backlight driving circuit 342 is coupled to the PWM control circuit 341 to receive the PWM signal BL3. The backlight driving circuit 342 may drive the backlight source 350 of the display panel 330 according to the PWM signal BL3.
The PWM modulation control circuit 341 may check a time length of the sync period. When the time length of the sync period exceeds a rated time length, the PWM control circuit 341 may at least divide the sync period into the first sub-period and the second sub-period. The rated time length may be determined based on a design requirement. A duty ratio of the PWM signal BL3 in the first sub-period is equal to a duty ratio of the PWM signal BL3 in the second sub-period. The frequency of the PWM signal BL3 in the first sub-period is equal to the frequency of the PWM signal BL3 in the second sub-period.
The PWM control circuit 341 may check a time length of the sync period (for example, the sync period Psync1 illustrated in
In step S1020, the PWM control circuit 341 may generate the PWM signal BL3 synchronous with the sync signal (for example, the vertical sync signal Vsync1 or the data enablement signal DE) to control the backlight source 350. A duty ratio of the PWM signal BL3 in the first period SP11 is equal to a duty ratio of the PWM signal BL3 in the second period SP12, and a frequency of the PWM signal BL3 in the first period SP11 is equal to a frequency of the PWM signal BL3 in the second period SP12. In step S1030, the backlight driving circuit 342 drives the backlight source 350 of the display panel 330 according to the PWM signal BL3, thereby driving the backlight source 350 to provide the backlight 351 to the display panel 330.
When the time length of the sync period Psync1 exceeds the rated time length, the PWM control circuit 341 may apply the frequency multiplication operation on the PWM signal BL3 in the sync period Psync1, thereby preventing the human eyes from perceiving the flicker of the backlight source 350. Thus, the generator 340 and the operation method thereof may achieve improving the issue of backlight flicker.
Referring to
The PWM signal generating circuit 1220 is coupled to the frequency checking circuit 1210 to receive the multiplied sync signal. The PWM signal generating circuit 1220 may generate the PWM signal BL3 to the backlight driving circuit 342 according to the multiplied sync signal Vsync2. The PWM signal generating circuit 1220 may determine the duty ratio of the PWM signal according to the duty ratio parameter DR. The duty ratio parameter DR may be determined based on a design requirement. In addition, the PWM signal generating circuit 1220 may further determine the time of delay TD according to the delay parameter DL, i.e., determine the phase of the PWM signal BL3. The PWM signal generating circuit 1220 may be any type of PWM signal generating circuit/element. For example, the PWM signal generating circuit 1220 may be a PWM signal generating circuit that is well known in this field or any other PWM signal generating circuit.
The PWM control circuit 341 may at least divide the first sub-period SP11 into a third sub-period SP111 and a fourth sub-period SP112 according to the multiplied sync signal Vsync2 and in the same way, may at least divide the second sub-period SP12 into sub-periods SP121 and SP122. Each of the rest of the video frames F11, F12, F13, F14 and F15 illustrated in
The period defining circuit 610 is coupled to the frequency checking circuit 1210 to receive the multiplied sync signal Vsync2. According to a timing of the vertical sync signal Vsync2, the period defining circuit 610 may generate a first enablement signal 611 and a second enablement signal 612, wherein the third sub-period SP111 and the sub-period SP121 are defined by the first enablement signal 611, and the fourth sub-period SP112 and the sub-period SP122 are defined by the second enablement signal 612. The period defining circuit 610, the first enablement signal 611 and the second enablement signal 612 illustrated in
The first PWM signal generating circuit 620 is coupled to the period defining circuit 610 to receive the first enablement signal 611. The first PWM signal generating circuit 620 may generate the first PWM signal 621 in the third sub-period SP111 and the sub-period SP121 according to the first enablement signal 611 and determine a duty ratio of the first PWM signal 621 in the third sub-period SP111 and the sub-period SP121 according to the duty ratio parameter DR. The first PWM signal generating circuit 620 may further determine the time of delay TD of a pulse of the first PWM signal 621 in the third sub-period SP111 according to the delay parameter DL, i.e., determine the phase of the first PWM signal 621. The first PWM signal generating circuit 620 and the first PWM signal 621 illustrated in
The second PWM signal generating circuit 630 is coupled to the period defining circuit 610 to receive the second enablement signal 612. The second PWM signal generating circuit 630 may generate the second PWM signal 631 in the fourth sub-period SP112 and the sub-period SP122 according to the second enablement signal 612 and determine the duty ratio of the second PWM signal 631 in the fourth sub-period SP112 and the sub-period SP122 according to the duty ratio parameter DR. The frequency of the second PWM signal 631 is different from the frequency of the first PWM signal 621. The second PWM signal generating circuit 630 and the second PWM signal 631 illustrated in
The superimposing circuit 640 is coupled to the first PWM signal generating circuit 620 to receive the first PWM signal 621. The superimposing circuit 640 is coupled to the second PWM signal generating circuit 630 to receive the second PWM signal 631. The superimposing circuit 640 may superimpose the first PWM signal 621 and the second PWM signal 631 to obtain the PWM signal BL3. The superimposing circuit 640 and the PWM signal BL3 illustrated in
In the embodiment illustrated in
Based on different design demands, the blocks of the generator 340, the PWM control circuit 341, the backlight driving circuit 342, the frequency checking circuit 1210, the PWM signal generating circuit 1220, the period defining circuit 610, the first PWM signal generating circuit 620, the second PWM signal generating circuit 630 and/or the superimposing circuit 640 may be implemented in a form of hardware, firmware, software (i.e., programs) or in a combination of many of the aforementioned three forms.
In terms of the hardware form, the blocks of the generator 340, the PWM control circuit 341, the backlight driving circuit 342, the frequency checking circuit 1210, the PWM signal generating circuit 1220, the period defining circuit 610, the first PWM signal generating circuit 620, the second PWM signal generating circuit 630 and/or the superimposing circuit 640 may be implemented in logical circuits on an integrated circuit. Related functions of the generator 340, the PWM control circuit 341, the backlight driving circuit 342, the frequency checking circuit 1210, the PWM signal generating circuit 1220, the period defining circuit 610, the first PWM signal generating circuit 620, the second PWM signal generating circuit 630 and/or the superimposing circuit 640 may be implemented in the hardware form by using hardware description languages (e.g., Verilog HDL or VHDL) or other suitable programming languages. For example, the related functions of the generator 340, the PWM control circuit 341, the backlight driving circuit 342, the frequency checking circuit 1210, the PWM signal generating circuit 1220, the period defining circuit 610, the first PWM signal generating circuit 620, the second PWM signal generating circuit 630 and/or the superimposing circuit 640 may be implemented in one or more controllers, micro-controllers, microprocessors, application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) and/or various logic blocks, modules and circuits in other processing units.
In terms of the software form and/or the firmware form, the related functions of the generator 340, the PWM control circuit 341, the backlight driving circuit 342, the frequency checking circuit 1210, the PWM signal generating circuit 1220, the period defining circuit 610, the first PWM signal generating circuit 620, the second PWM signal generating circuit 630 and/or the superimposing circuit 640 may be implemented as programming codes. For example, the generator 340, the PWM control circuit 341, the backlight driving circuit 342, the frequency checking circuit 1210, the PWM signal generating circuit 1220, the period defining circuit 610, the first PWM signal generating circuit 620, the second PWM signal generating circuit 630 and/or the superimposing circuit 640 may be implemented by using general purpose programming languages (e.g., C, C++ or Assembly) or other suitable programming languages. The programming codes may be recorded/stored in recording media. The aforementioned recording media include a read only memory (ROM), a storage device and/or a random access memory (RAM). The programming codes may be accessed from the recording medium and executed by a computer, a central processing unit (CPU), a controller, a micro-controller or a microprocessor to accomplish the related functions. As for the recording medium, a non-transitory computer readable medium, such as a tape, a disk, a card, a semiconductor memory or a programming logic circuit, may be used. In addition, the programs may be provided to the computer (or the CPU) through any transmission medium (e.g., a communication network or radio waves). The communication network is, for example, the Internet, wired communication, wireless communication or other communication media.
Based on the above, in the circuit arrangement and the operation method thereof provided by the embodiments of the invention, a sync period can be at least divided into a first sub-period and a second sub-period. Each of the first waveform pattern in the first sub-period and the second waveform pattern in the second sub-period respectively includes at least one active pulse. The first waveform pattern in the first sub-period is substantially identical to the second waveform pattern in the second sub-period. If the length of the sync period is too long, the first waveform pattern and the second waveform pattern can achieve an effect of frequency multiplication to prevent the human eyes from perceiving the flicker of the backlight source. Thus, the circuit arrangement and the operation method thereof can achieve improving the issue of backlight flicker.
It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the structure of the disclosed embodiments without departing from the scope or spirit of the disclosure. In view of the foregoing, it is intended that the disclosure cover modifications and variations of this disclosure provided they fall within the scope of the following claims and their equivalents.
This application is a continuation-in-part application of and claims the priority benefit of a prior application Ser. No. 15/828,396, filed on Nov. 30, 2017, now pending. The entirety of the above-mentioned patent application is hereby incorporated by reference herein and made a part of this specification.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 15828396 | Nov 2017 | US |
Child | 16163593 | US |