Patent Application
20210304649
Embodiments disclosed herein relate to a device and method for display module calibration.
An image displayed on a display panel may experience display mura caused by a voltage drop (which may also be referred to as IR drop) over a power source line of a display panel. A display module may be calibrated to reduce the display mura.
This Summary is provided to introduce in a simplified form a selection of concepts that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This Summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter.
A method for display module calibration is disclosed. In one or more embodiments, a method comprises acquiring measured luminance levels at a measurement point of a display panel area for a plurality of test images displayed on the display area and estimating one or more luminance levels at one or more corresponding luminance estimation points of the display area using the measured luminance levels. The method further comprises determining a correction parameter using the estimated one or more luminance levels.
In one or more embodiments, a device for display module calibration is disclosed. The calibration device comprises a luminance meter and a processing unit. The luminance meter is configured to measure luminance levels at a measurement point of a display area for a plurality of test images displayed in the display area. The processing unit is configured to estimate one or more luminance levels at one or more luminance estimation points of the display area using the measured luminance levels. The processing unit is further configured to determine a correction parameter using the one or more estimated luminance levels.
A non-transitory tangible storage medium is also disclosed. In one or more embodiments, a non-transitory tangible storage medium stores a program. The program, when executed, causes a processing unit to acquire measured luminance levels at a measurement point of a display area for a plurality of test images displayed in the display area and estimate one or more luminance levels at one or more luminance estimation points of the display area using the measured luminance levels. The program further causes the processing unit to determine a correction parameter using the one or more estimated luminance levels.
So that the manner in which the above recited features of the present disclosure can be understood in detail, a more particular description of the disclosure, briefly summarized above, may be had by reference to embodiments, some of which are illustrated in the appended drawings. It is to be noted, however, that the appended drawings illustrate only exemplary embodiments, and are therefore not to be considered limiting of inventive scope, as the disclosure may admit to other equally effective embodiments.
To facilitate understanding, identical reference numerals have been used, where possible, to designate identical elements that are common to the figures. It is contemplated that elements disclosed in one embodiment may be beneficially utilized on other embodiments without specific recitation. The drawings referred to here should not be understood as being drawn to scale unless specifically noted. Also, the drawings are often simplified and details or components omitted for clarity of presentation and explanation. The drawings and discussion serve to explain principles discussed below, where like designations denote like elements.
The following detailed description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the disclosure or the application and uses of the disclosure. Furthermore, there is no intention to be bound by any expressed or implied theory presented in the preceding background, summary, or the following detailed description.
The display panel 1 may comprise a display area 4 in which an image is displayed and gate driver circuitry 5. In one or more embodiments, gate lines 6, source lines 7, and display elements (not illustrated) are disposed in the display area 4. The gate lines 6 may be extended in a horizontal direction, and the source lines 7 may be extended in a vertical direction. In
In one or more embodiments, the display panel 1 further comprises a power source terminal 1a configured to externally receive a power source voltage ELVDD. In various embodiments, the power source voltage ELVDD is delivered to the respective display elements from the power source terminal 1a via power source lines. The display panel 1 may comprise an organic light emitting diode (OLED) display panel. In such embodiments, the display elements each comprises a light emitting element configured to operate on the power source voltage ELVDD to emit light. In other embodiments, display panel 1 may be a different type of display panel in which the power source voltage is delivered to respective display elements, such as a micro light emitting diode (LED) display panel.
In one or more embodiments, each pixel disposed in the display area 4 comprises at least one display element configured to display red (R), at least one display element configured to display green (G), at least one display element configured to display blue (B). Each pixel may further comprise at least one additional display element configured to display a color other than red, green, and blue. The combination of the colors of the display elements in each pixel is not limited to that disclosed herein. For example, each pixel may further comprise a subpixel configured to display white or yellow. The display panel 1 may be configured to be adapted to subpixel rendering (SPR). In such embodiments, each pixel may comprise a plurality of display elements configured to display red, a plurality of display elements configured to display green, and/or a plurality of display elements configured to display blue.
In one or more embodiments, the display driver 2 comprises interface (I/F) circuitry 11, image processing circuitry 12, source driver circuitry 13, and register circuitry 14.
In one or more embodiments, the interface circuitry 11 is configured to forward image data received from the host 20 to the image processing circuitry 12. The interface circuitry 11 may be further configured to provide accesses to the register circuitry 14 and the non-volatile memory 3. In other embodiments, the interface circuitry 11 may be configured to process the image data received from the host 20 and send the processed image data to the image processing circuitry 12.
The image processing circuitry 12 may be configured to apply image processing to the image data received from the interface circuitry 11. In one or more embodiments, the image processing comprises IR drop correction to correct display mura that potentially results from a voltage drop over the power source lines that deliver the power source voltage ELVDD to the respective display elements from the power source terminal 1a. An effect of the voltage drop may depend on the position in the display panel 1 and a total current of the display panel 1. In such embodiments, the IR drop correction may be based on the position of a pixel of interest and the total current of the display panel 1. The total current may be a total sum of the currents that flow through all the display elements of the display panel 1. The total current of the display panel 1 may be calculated based on image data associated with one frame image displayed on the display panel 1. In one or more embodiments, the IR drop correction is performed to compensate the effect of the voltage drop.
In one or more embodiments, the correction parameters 15 used for the IR drop correction are stored in the register circuitry 14. The correction parameters 15 may represent a correlation of the position of the pixel of interest and the total current of the display panel 1 with a correction amount for the image data associated with the pixel of interest in the IR drop correction. The correction parameters 15 may be forwarded from the non-volatile memory 3 and stored in the register circuitry 14, for example, at startup or reset of the display module 10. In various embodiments, the image processing circuitry 12 is configured to receive the correction parameters 15 from the register circuitry 14 and perform the IR drop correction based on the received correction parameters 15.
In one or more embodiments, the source driver circuitry 13 is configured to drive the source lines 7 of the display panel 1 based on a processed image data generated through the image processing by the image processing circuitry 12. This achieves displaying a desired image on the display panel 1.
Properties of the display panel 1 and a non-illustrated power management IC (PMIC) configured to supply the power source voltage ELVDD to the display panel 1 may vary among display modules 10 due to manufacturing variations. To address such manufacturing variations, in one or more embodiments, each display module 10 is calibrated. In this calibration, correction parameters 15 may be suitably calculated for each display module 10.
In one or more embodiments, as illustrated in
The main unit 42 may be configured to determine the correction parameters 15, for example, through a software process. In some embodiments, the main unit 42 may be configured to calculate the correction parameters 15 using the luminance level and the color coordinates determined by the luminance meter 41. In one or more embodiments, the main unit 42 comprises interface circuitry 43, a storage device 44, a processing unit 45, and interface circuitry 46.
In one or more embodiments, the interface circuitry 43 is configured to acquire the luminance level at the measurement point 51 measured by the luminance meter 41. In embodiments where the luminance meter 41 is configured to generate a luminance value indicative of the measured luminance level at the measurement point 51, the interface circuitry 43 may be configured to receive the luminance value from the luminance meter 41. The interface circuitry 43 may be further configured to supply control data to the luminance meter 41 to control the same.
In one or more embodiments, the storage device 44 is configured to store various data used for determining the correction parameters 15. Examples of the various data may include the measured luminance level, parameters used in the calculation of the correction parameters 15 and intermediate data generated in the calculation. In various embodiments, calibration software 47 may be installed on the storage device 44, and the storage device 44 may be used as a non-transitory tangible storage medium to store the calibration software 47. The calibration software 47 may be provided for the calibration device 40 in the form of a computer program product recorded in a computer-readable recording medium 48, or in the form of a computer program product downloadable from a server.
In one or more embodiments, the processing unit 45 is configured to execute the calibration software 47 to determine the correction parameters 15. In various embodiments, the processing unit 45 is configured to generate the correction parameters 15 based on the luminance level of the display panel 1 measured by the luminance meter 41. The processing unit 45 may be configured to generate test image data 49 corresponding to one or more test images to be displayed on the display panel 1 when the luminance level of the display panel 1 is measured. The processing unit 45 may be further configured to supply the generated test image data 49 to the display driver 2. The processing unit 45 may be further configured to generate a control data to control the luminance meter 41. In such embodiments, the luminance meter 41 may be configured to measure the luminance level of the display panel 1 under control of the control data.
In one or more embodiments, the interface circuitry 46 is configured to supply the test image data 49 and the correction parameters 15 to the display module 10. The correction parameters 15 may be received by the display driver 2 and then written into the non-volatile memory 3 from the display driver 2.
The display area 4 of the display panel 1 may be segmented into a plurality of regions, and the measurement point 51 may be located in one of the plurality of regions. In various embodiments, luminance levels at the measurement point 51 are measured for a plurality of test images displayed in the display area 4, and the measured luminance levels are used to estimate luminance levels at one or more other locations, which may be hereinafter referred to as luminance estimation points. The luminance estimation points may be located in regions other than the region in which the measurement point 51 is located. In one or more embodiments, the correction parameters 15 are determined based on the estimated luminance levels at the luminance estimation points.
The top region 22 and the bottom region 23 may surround the center region 21. The top region 22 and the bottom region 23 may be in contact with each other at boundaries 24 and 25. The boundary 24 may extend in the +X direction from the edge of the display area 4 to reach the center region 21. The boundary 25 may be located opposite to the boundary 24 across the center region 21. The boundary 25 may extend in the −X direction from the edge of the display area 4 to reach the center region 21.
In one or more embodiments, one or more luminance estimation points are defined in regions other than the region in which the measurement point 51 is defined. In the embodiment illustrated, a luminance estimation point 52 is defined in the top region 22, and a luminance estimation point 53 is defined in the bottom region 23. The luminance estimation point 52 may be located at any location in the top region 22, and the luminance estimation point 52 may be located at any location in the bottom region 23. In various embodiments, luminance levels at the measurement point 51 are measured for a plurality of test images. The test images may be different from each other. The measured luminance levels are then used to estimate the luminance levels at the luminance estimation point 52 and/or the luminance estimation point 53 of an all-white image. The all-white image may be an image in which all the pixels in display area 4 are “white.” In embodiments where an RGB color model is used, grayscale values for red (R), green (G), and blue (B) of a “white” pixel are the maximum grayscale value. In other embodiments, a “white” pixel may be a pixel for which a single grayscale value different from the minimum grayscale value is specified for red, green, and blue.
In one or more embodiments, the correction parameters 15 are determined based on the estimated luminance levels at the luminance estimation points 52 and/or 53. Using estimated luminance levels to determine the correction parameters 15 can eliminate the need for physically measuring luminance levels at multiple locations in the display area 4, and thereby enable a more efficient system. For example, a turn-around-time (TAT) to calculate the correction parameters 15 may be reduced, and the configuration of the luminance meter 41 may be simplified.
In one or more embodiments, at step S11, luminance levels LC2 to LC4 at the measurement point 51 are measured for the second to fourth test images illustrated in
The processing unit 45 may be configured to generate test image data 49 corresponding to the first to fourth test images and supply the same to the display driver 2. In such embodiments, the display driver 2 may be configured to display the first to fourth test images in the display area 4 of the display panel 1 based on the test image data 49 supplied thereto.
In one or more embodiments, at step S12, the luminance levels LT and LB at the luminance estimation points 52 and 53 in a state in which the all-white image is displayed in the display area 4 are estimated based on a luminance estimation model. In one or more embodiments, the luminance levels LT and LB are estimated by applying the luminance estimation model to the luminance levels LC2, LC3, and LC4 at the measurement point 51, which are measured at step S11. In one or more embodiments, the luminance levels LC2, LC3, and LC4 comprise information of the effect of a voltage drop caused by currents flowing through the center region 21, the top region 22, and the bottom region 23, as is understood from the second to fourth test images illustrated in
In embodiments where the luminance level LC1 at the measurement point 51 is not measured for the first test pattern (or the all-white image), the luminance estimation model may be designed to additionally estimate the luminance level LC1 at the measurement point 51. In such embodiments, the luminance levels LT and LB may be estimated based on the estimated luminance level LC1 and the measured luminance levels LC2, LC3, and LC4. In embodiments where the luminance level LC1 at the measurement point 51 is measured at step S11, the luminance levels LT and LB may be estimated by applying the luminance estimation model to the measured luminance levels LC1, LC2, LC3, and LC4.
Referring back to
Referring back to
In one or more embodiments, the thus-calculated correction parameters 15 are written into the non-volatile memory 3 of the display module 10 at step S14. The correction parameters 15 may be forwarded to the display driver 2 and then written into the non-volatile memory 3 from the display driver 2.
To improve the estimation accuracy of the luminance levels LT and LB at the luminance estimation points 52 and 53, the luminance levels LT and LB at the luminance estimation points 52 and 53 may be measured with respect to one or more display modules 10 in a state in which the all-white image is displayed in the display area 4, and the parameters of the luminance estimation model may be generated and/or modified based on the measured luminance levels LT and LB. In one or more embodiments, the estimation of the luminance levels LT and LB and the calculation of the correction parameters 15 may be done for other display modules 10 based on the luminance estimation model with the parameters thus generated or modified.
In one or more embodiments, measurement-based values LT{circumflex over ( )} and LB{circumflex over ( )} used for the generation and/or modification of the parameters of the luminance estimation model may be generated based on the luminance levels LT and LB at the luminance estimation points 52 and 53 actually measured with respect to a plurality of display modules 10. In one or more embodiments, the luminance levels LT and LB at the luminance estimation points 52 and 53 are measured with respect to a plurality of display modules 10, and the average values of the measured luminance levels LT and LB may be used as the measurement-based values LT{circumflex over ( )} and LB{circumflex over ( )}, respectively. In other embodiments, one typical display module 10 may be selected, and the luminance levels LT and LB at the luminance estimation points 52 and 53 measured with respect to the typical display module 10 may be used as the measurement-based values LT{circumflex over ( )} and LB{circumflex over ( )}, respectively.
In one or more embodiments, at step S21, the parameters of the luminance estimation model are provisionally determined. At step S21, the parameters of the luminance estimation model may be determined based on available characteristic values of the display panel 1, for example. Examples of the characteristic values may include light emitting property of the display elements of the display panel 1, resistances of interconnections integrated in the display panel 1, and the voltage level of the power source voltage ELVDD and so forth.
In one or more embodiments, at step S22, the luminance levels LC1, LC2, LC3, and LC4 at the measurement point 51 and the measurement-based values LT{circumflex over ( )} and LB{circumflex over ( )} are acquired for one or more display modules 10. In various embodiments, the luminance level LC2 at the measurement point 51 may be measured in the state in which the second test image is displayed in the display area 4. The luminance level LC3 at the measurement point 51 may be measured in the state in which the third test image is displayed in the display area 4. The luminance level LC4 at the measurement point 51 may be measured in the state in which the fourth test image is displayed in the display area 4. Further, the luminance level LC1 at the measurement point 51 and the luminance levels LT and LB at the luminance estimation points 52 and 53 may be measured in a state in which the first test image, that is, the all-white image, is displayed in the display area 4. In such embodiments, the measurement-based values LT{circumflex over ( )} and LB{circumflex over ( )} used for the generation and/or modification of the parameters of the luminance estimation model may be generated based on the measured luminance levels LT and LB at the luminance estimation points 52 and 53.
In one or more embodiments, at step S23, the luminance levels LT and LB at the luminance estimation points 52 and 53 in the state in which the all-white image is displayed in the display area 4 are estimated based on the luminance estimation model. In various embodiments, the luminance levels LT and LB are estimated by applying the luminance estimation model to the luminance levels LC1, LC2, LC3, and LC4 at the measurement point 51 which are measured at step S22. In embodiments where the luminance estimation model does not rely on the measured luminance level LC1 to estimate the luminance levels LT and LB, the luminance levels LT and LB may be estimated by applying the luminance estimation model to the measured luminance levels LC2, LC3, and LC4 at the measurement point 51.
In one or more embodiments, at step S24, the parameters of the luminance estimation model are modified based on a comparison of the estimated luminance levels LT and LB with the measurement-based values LT{circumflex over ( )} and LB{circumflex over ( )}. In various embodiments, the parameters of the luminance estimation model may be modified to reduce the differences of the estimated luminance levels LT and LB from the measurement-based values LT{circumflex over ( )} and LB{circumflex over ( )}, respectively. The above-described process to modify the parameters of the luminance estimation model may improve the estimation accuracy of the luminance levels LT and LB.
The display area 4 of the display panel 1 may have different configurations of regions. For example, as illustrated in
The left region 27 and the right region 28 may surround the center region 26. The left region 27 and the right region 28 may be in contact with each other at boundaries 29 and 31. The boundary 29 may extend in the +Y direction from the edge of the display area 4 to reach the center region 26. The boundary 31 may be located opposite to the boundary 29 across the center region 26. The boundary 31 may extend in the −Y direction from the edge of the display area 4 to reach the center region 26.
In one or more embodiments, a luminance estimation point 54 is defined in the left region 27, and a luminance estimation point 55 is defined in the right region 28. In various embodiments, luminance levels at the measurement point 51 measured for a plurality of test images are used to estimate the luminance levels at the luminance estimation points 54 and 55 for an all-white image. In one or more embodiments, the correction parameters 15 are calculated based on the estimated luminance levels at the luminance estimation points 54 and 55.
A display module 10 may be calibrated by using the fifth to seventh test images illustrated in
In embodiments where the luminance level LC1 at the measurement point 51 is not measured for the all-white image, the luminance estimation model may be designed to additionally estimate the luminance level LC1 at the measurement point 51. In such embodiments, the luminance levels LL and LR may be estimated based on the estimated luminance level LC1 and the measured luminance levels LC5, LC6, and LC7.
The correction parameters 15 may be then determined based on the estimated luminance levels LL and LR at the luminance estimation points 54 and 55. The correction parameters 15 may be determined further based on the measured or estimated luminance level LC1 at the measurement point 51. The thus-calculated correction parameters 15 may be written into the non-volatile memory 3 of the display module 10.
In other embodiments, the luminance levels LC2 to LC7 may be measured for the second to seventh test images. In such embodiments, the measured luminance levels LC2 to LC7 may be then used to estimate the luminance levels LT, LB, LL, and LR at the luminance estimation points 52, 53, 54, and 55 in the state where the all-white image is displayed. In such embodiments, the correction parameters 15 may be calculated based on the estimated luminance levels LT, LB, LL, and LR at the luminance estimation points 52, 53, 54, and 55. In embodiments where the luminance level LC1 at the measurement point 51 is measured, the correction parameters 15 may be calculated based on the measured luminance level LC1 at the measurement point 51 and the estimated luminance levels LT, LB, LL, and LR at the luminance estimation points 52, 53, 54, and 55.
Referring to
In embodiments where the luminance level LC1 at the measurement point 51 is measured in the state in which the all-white image is displayed on the display panel 1, the luminance levels LLT, LRT, LLB, and LRB at the luminance estimation points 56, 57, 58, and 59 may be estimated based on the measured luminance level LC1 in addition to the measured luminance levels LC2 to LC7. In embodiments where the second test image illustrated in
In one or more embodiments, the correction parameters 15 may be calculated based on the estimated luminance levels LT, LB, LL, LR, LLT, LRT, LLB, and LRB at the luminance estimation points 52 to 59. In embodiments where the luminance level LC1 at the measurement point 51 is measured in the state in which the all-white image is displayed in the display area 4, the correction parameters 15 may be calculated further based on the measured luminance level LC1 at the measurement point 51. The correction parameters 15 may be calculated to reduce, ideally eliminate, the difference among the luminance levels at the measurement point 51 and the luminance estimation points 52 to 59 in the state in which an all-white image is displayed in the display area 4. The calculation of the correction parameters 15 based on the estimated luminance levels LT, LB, LL, LR, LLT, LRT, LLB, and LRB, and if measured the measured luminance level LC1 may offer a proper IR drop correction for the entire display panel 1.
While various embodiments have been specifically described in the above, a person skilled in the art would appreciate that the technologies disclosed herein may be implemented with various modifications.
