1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a control circuit that supplies a control signal to an image signal line driving circuit and a scan line driving circuit that drives a liquid crystal panel (the control circuit is hereinafter referred to as timing controller). The invention also relates to a liquid crystal display using the timing controller.
2. Description of the Related Art
In
Referring to
In
Additionally, the image signal line driving circuit is normally cascade-connected, and in which the start pulse (STH) signal is delivered sequentially to an adjacent circuit for picture elements, thus control being made for each scan line.
The scan line driving circuit is likewise normally cascade-connected, and in which the start pulse (STV) signal is sequentially delivered to an adjacent circuit for scan lines, thus control being made for each scan line.
The output signals 4a to 8a are normally generated in the timing controller on the basis of inputted signals 1a to 3a. Therefore, as long as the inputted signals 1a to 3a are loaded into the timing controller in the timing relation necessary for image display, the timing controller can transmit a normal signal to the image signal line driving circuit and the scan line driving circuit under the normal operating conditions.
However, in the case of any drive different from normal one in the circuit arranged on the input side of the timing controller or any malfunction, otherwise due to any problem in characteristics of transmission line up to transmission of the signal inputted to the timing controller, sometimes the inputted signals 1a to 3a may get out of normal timing relation. Moreover, the circuit arranged on the input side of the timing controller may transmit any signal getting out of a predetermined specification of the timing controller due to any mistake or error. In this manner, when the input signals 1a to 3a are inputted in any abnormal timing relation, the output signals 4a to 8a generated in the timing controller may not be outputted normally or unexpected abnormal waveforms may be outputted.
For example, when signals are inputted at the timing of the inputted signals 1b to 3b shown in
In the example shown in
In the Japanese Patent Publication (unexamined) No. 2001-109424 (pages 5 to 8 and 10, FIG. 2),to cope with malfunction in signal due to abnormality in flexible cable for connection between a liquid crystal display control section and a liquid crystal display module, a signal management and control section is arranged in a scanning driver. This arrangement, however, is not a countermeasure to abnormal input signal in the control circuit.
The present invention was made to solve the above-discussed problems and has a first object of obtaining a control circuit capable of preventing a scan line driving circuit from malfunction even when any inputted signal is not in normal timing relation for any cause.
A second object of the invention is to obtain a liquid crystal display provided with such a control circuit.
To accomplish the foregoing objects, a control circuit according to the invention feeds a control signal based on an input signal to an image signal line driving circuit and a scan line driving circuit both for driving a liquid crystal panel. The control circuit includes: a control signal generating section that generates a control signal containing a start pulse for starting operation of a scan line driving circuit; and a protection circuit that normalizes the start pulse generated by the control signal generating section even when said inputted signal is not normal.
As a result, runaway of start pulse due to abnormality in input signal can be prevented at a reasonable cost.
In this Embodiment 1, a protection circuit is disposed on the output side of the conventional timing controller (control signal generating section), and a start pulse (STV) delivered from the timing controller to a scan line driving circuit is forcedly stopped when a certain clock number is counted. In other words, digital signal waveform is forcedly dropped to a low level.
In this regard, a “certain clock number” means an elapsed time calculated by multiplying by a clock number in accordance with a period thereof, and may be set to a length beyond actually achieved (for example, to a width of high level in digital signal waveform). However, setting to any excessively large length may bring about increasing load on the power circuit, and a counter for counting the certain clock number may be unnecessarily large-sized. Therefore, it will be most desirable to set a clock number as small as possible while satisfying the requirement of the length of STV beyond actually achieved.
In
It is desirable that a clock 15 used in the counter 11 is the same one as used for generating STV 13. An output signal 16 of the comparator 12 is a signal to protect the STV. The comparator 12 outputs a signal of low level when a count value 17 being an output of the counter 11 is a value showing a reset state, while outputting a signal of high level when showing any value other than the reset value, i.e., during counting. The output of the comparator 12 and STV 13 pass through AND gate 18 being a logic element, and finally inputted to the scan line driving circuit as a start pulse 19.
For convenience' sake, the start pulse fed from the timing controller to the scan line driving circuit before passing the protection circuit 10 is indicated by STV 13, and the start pulse after passing the protection circuit 10 is indicated by STV 19.
In
Now, operation of the protection circuit is hereinafter described.
Under the normal operation shown in
On the contrary, under the abnormal operation as shown in
Accordingly, the scan line driving circuit minimizes the simultaneous drive of the scan lines even in case of occurrence of any malfunction. Thus, there is no simultaneous drive of a large number of scan lines. As a result, there is no such problem as imposition of any heavy load on the power circuit that drives the liquid crystal display or, in the worst case, occurrence of stop, breakdown or the like in the power circuit. It is possible that, upon the signal returning to the normal timing, the normal display is restored on the liquid crystal display.
When integrating the timing controller and protection circuit into a semiconductor device, the invention can be constituted without increase in cost.
According to this Embodiment 1, by minimizing the runaway of start pulse to the scan line driving circuit due to malfunction for any cause, a large number of scan lines are prevented from being simultaneously driven in the liquid crystal panel. As a result, the power circuit for driving the liquid crystal panel can be prevented from stopping and breakdown.
Further, by integrating into a semiconductor device including the protection circuit, the mentioned advantages can be achieved without increase in cost.
Furthermore, since the power circuit is digitally prevented from being overloaded, it is not required at all to add any circuit acting as a countermeasure to the overload or to increase load drive performance.
In the foregoing Embodiment 1, when the start pulse (STV) on the scan line driving circuit is at high level in digital signal, the scan line driving circuit begins signal processing. It is also preferable that the scan line driving circuit begins signal processing at low level.
In this case, the output signal 16 of the comparator 12 in
In the foregoing Embodiments 1 and 2, the output signal 16 of the comparator starts up simultaneously with (within the same clock as) STV 13, it is also preferable that the output signal 16 starts up a little earlier than STV 13.
In the foregoing Embodiments 1 and 2, STV remaining positive and negative logic is described. The same advantages are also achieved by appropriately selecting the gate located at the final stage, even when the positive and negative logic is inverted in the protection circuit.
In the case of incorporating the protection circuit in
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P2002-296377 | Oct 2002 | JP | national |
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Number | Date | Country |
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20040070580 A1 | Apr 2004 | US |