This application claims priority to and the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2013-0032404 filed in the Korean Intellectual Property Office on Mar. 26, 2013, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
1. Field
Embodiments relate to a display device and a driving method thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
A pixel circuit driving an OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) includes a driving transistor. To solve a problem caused by a threshold voltage difference among a plurality of driving transistors constituting a display device, the pixel circuit includes a compensation transistor.
The compensation transistor is diode-connected to the driving transistor and the threshold voltage of the diode-connected driving transistor is charged in a capacitor of the pixel circuit. Since a data voltage is stored along with the threshold voltage in the capacitor, OLED driving current (hereinafter, referred to as driving current) may not be affected by the threshold voltage of the corresponding driving transistor.
The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the invention and therefore it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known in this country to a person of ordinary skill in the art.
A display device according to an embodiment includes a normal pixel including a first driving transistor and a first compensation transistor connected to the gate and drain of the first driving transistor, and a compensation pixel including a second driving transistor and a second compensation transistor connected to the gate and drain of the second driving transistor. The second compensation transistor is opened.
A compensation control signal may be supplied to the gate of the first compensation transistor and the compensation control signal may not be supplied to the gate of the second compensation transistor.
The normal pixel may further include a first capacitor connected to the gate of the first driving transistor and the compensation pixel may further include a second capacitor connected to the gate of the second driving transistor.
The second capacitor may be short-circuited.
The normal pixel may further include a third capacitor connected between the gate and source of the first driving transistor and the compensation pixel may further include a fourth capacitor connected between the gate and source of the second driving transistor.
The compensation pixel may further include a second capacitor having one electrode connected to the gate of the second driving transistor and a fourth transistor connected to the other electrode of the second capacitor and the source of the second driving transistor.
The second capacitor may be short-circuited.
A normal power source voltage supplied to the first driving transistor may be different from a compensation power source voltage supplied to the source of the second driving transistor.
A high level of the compensation power source voltage may be determined in consideration of the threshold voltage of the second driving transistor.
The high level of the compensation power source voltage may correspond to a voltage obtained by subtracting the threshold voltage of the second driving transistor from a high level of the normal power source voltage.
A display device according to an embodiment includes a plurality of scan lines, a plurality of data lines, a compensation control line, a plurality of normal pixels connected to corresponding scan lines from among the plurality of scan lines, corresponding data lines from among the plurality of data lines and the compensation control line, and at least one compensation pixel connected to a corresponding scan line from among the plurality of scan lines and a corresponding data line from among the plurality of data lines, but not to the compensation control line. The display device may further include a first power line supplying a normal power source voltage to the plurality of normal pixels and a second power line supplying a compensation power source voltage to the at least one compensation pixel.
The first power line may be connected to the source of a first driving transistor of each of the plurality of normal pixels and the second power line may be connected to the source of a second driving transistor of the at least one compensation pixel.
When the display device includes two or more compensation pixels, a high level of the compensation power source voltage may be determined based on the threshold voltages of the second driving transistors of the compensation pixels.
The high level of the compensation power source voltage may correspond to a voltage obtained by subtracting a voltage determined based on the threshold voltages of the second driving transistors from a high level of the normal power source voltage.
The normal pixel may include a first driving transistor and a first compensation transistor having a gate connected between the gate and drain of the first driving transistor and connected to the compensation control line, and the at least one compensation pixel may include a second driving transistor and a second compensation transistor opened between the gate and drain of the second driving transistor.
The at least one compensation pixel may include a second capacitor having a first electrode connected to the gate of the second driving transistor, a switching transistor between a second electrode of the second capacitor and a corresponding data line, and having a gate connected to a corresponding scan line, and a third capacitor connected between the gate and source of the second driving transistor.
The second capacitor may be short-circuited.
A compensation power source voltage supplied to the source of the second driving transistor may be different from a normal power source voltage supplied to the source of the first driving transistor.
According to another embodiment, a method of driving a display device including a plurality of normal pixels and at least one compensation pixel includes: turning on a first compensation transistor connected to the gate and drain of a first driving transistor of each of the plurality of normal pixels during a predetermined period; transmitting data voltages respectively corresponding to the plurality of normal pixels and the at least one compensation pixel; and the plurality of normal pixels and the at least one compensation pixel emitting lights according to the data voltages corresponding thereto. A second compensation transistor connected to the gate and drain of a second driving transistor of the at least one compensation pixel is opened.
Transmitting the data voltages may include transmitting a corresponding data voltage through a first capacitor connected to the gate of the first driving transistor of each of the plurality of normal pixels; and transmitting a corresponding data voltage to the gate of the second driving transistor of the at least one compensation pixel.
Emitting light according to the data voltages may include supplying a normal power source voltage at a high level applied to the source of the first driving transistor; and supplying a compensation power source voltage at a high level applied to the source of the second driving transistor. The high level of the normal power source voltage may be different from the high level of the compensation power source voltage.
A difference between the high level of the normal power source voltage and the high level of the compensation power source level may be determined based on the threshold voltage of the second driving transistor.
In the following detailed description, only certain exemplary embodiments have been shown and described, simply by way of illustration. As those skilled in the art would realize, the described embodiments may be modified in various different ways, all without departing from the spirit or scope of the disclosure. Accordingly, the drawings and description are to be regarded as illustrative in nature and not restrictive. Like reference numerals designate like elements throughout the specification.
Throughout this specification and the claims that follow, when it is described that an element is “coupled” to another element, the element may be “directly coupled” to the other element or “electrically coupled” to the other element through a third element. In addition, unless explicitly described to the contrary, the word “comprise” and variations such as “comprises” or “comprising”, will be understood to imply the inclusion of stated elements but not the exclusion of any other elements.
A pixel circuit, a display device including the pixel circuit and a method for driving the same according to an exemplary embodiment will now be described with reference to the attached drawings.
The pixel PX is connected to a data line Dj and a scan line Si, a data voltage VD[j] is supplied to the pixel PX through the data line Dj and a scan signal S[i] is supplied to the pixel PX through the scan line Si.
A source of the driving transistor T1 is provided with a first power source voltage ELVDD(t), a gate thereof is connected to a first electrode of the capacitor C1, and a drain thereof is connected to the anode of the OLED.
A gate of the switching transistor T2 is connected to the scan line Si and the scan signal S[i] is applied thereto through the scan line Si. A first terminal of the switching transistor T2 is connected to the data line Dj and a second terminal of the switching transistor T2 is connected to a second electrode of the capacitor C1 and a first electrode of the capacitor C2.
When the switching transistor T2 is turned on by the scan signal S[i], the data voltage VD[j] is distributed to the capacitors C1 and C2 through the data line Dj and stored therein.
A gate of the compensation transistor T3 receives a compensation control signal GC(t), and a source and drain of the compensation transistor T3 are connected between the gate and drain of the driving transistor T1.
The cathode of the OLED is provided with a second power source voltage ELVSS(t)) and emits light according to driving current IDS flowing through the driving transistor T1.
The operation of the pixel will now be described with reference to signal waveforms of
Referring to
When the second power source voltage ELVSS(t) rises to the high level at time T0, driving current IDS does not flow through the OLED. For example, when the second power source voltage ELVSS(t) rises to the level of the first power source voltage ELVDD(t) at time T0, the driving current IDS does not flow because the source voltage and drain voltage of the driving transistor T1 become equal to each other.
The scan signal S[i] falls to the low level and the switching transistor T2 is turned on at a time T1. Since the switching transistor T2 and the compensation transistor T3 are P-type channel transistors, they are turned on by a low-level signal. Accordingly, the switching transistor T2 is turned on when the scan signal S[i] is at the low level and the compensation transistor T3 is turned on when the compensation control signal GC(t) is at the low level.
The capacitors C1 and C2 are connected to the data line Dj through the switching transistor T1 turned on at T1 at which the data voltage VD[j] is at the low level. Accordingly, the voltage of a node N1 to which the capacitors C1 and C2 are connected decreases to the low level and the voltage of a node N2 also decreases according to the voltage decrease at the node N1.
Upon decrease of the first power source voltage ELVDD(t) to the low level at a time T2, the driving transistor T1 is reversely biased when the voltage of the node N2 corresponds to the low level. Then, charges accumulated between the anode and cathode of the OLED are discharged.
The data voltage VD[j] rises to the high level at a time T3, the voltage of the node N1 rises through the turned on switching transistor T1 and the voltage of the node N2 also rises according to the voltage rise at the node N1. While
A reset operation of discharging charges accumulated in the OLED is performed in a period from the time T2 to a time T4 at which the first power source voltage ELVDD(t) rises to the high level.
The compensation control signal GC(t) falls to the low level and the compensation transistor T3 is turned on at a time T5. Accordingly, the gate and drain of the driving transistor T1 are connected (diode-connected) and thus the driving transistor T1 operates as a diode. The first power source voltage ELVDD(t) is applied to the source of the driving transistor T1 and a voltage ELVDD(t)+Vth corresponding to the sum of the first power source voltage ELVDD(t) and the threshold voltage Vth (Vth being a negative voltage) of the driving transistor T1 is applied to the gate and drain of the driving transistor T1, i.e., the node N2.
Accordingly, the threshold voltage of the driving transistor T1 is distributed to the capacitors C1 and C2 and stored therein. The distribution ratio depends on the capacitance ratio of the capacitor C1 to the capacitor C2.
The scan signal S[i] rises to the high level at a time T6. While
Plural scan signals may be sequentially supplied to plural scan lines of the display device in a scan period from a time T7 to a time T9. For example, as shown in
Upon termination of the scan period, the second power source voltage ELVSS(t) falls to the low level and the driving current IDS is supplied to the OLED. Consequently, the OLED emits light according to the driving current IDS.
When the compensation transistor T3 short-circuits in
Referring to
Turn-off of the driving transistor T1 during the emission period may be recognized as a dark dot by a user of the display device. To prevent this, compensation transistors including the short-circuited compensation transistor should be open and/or the first capacitor should be short-circuited.
The compensation pixel PX1 includes a pixel circuit modified to solve a non-emission problem caused by short circuit of the compensation transistor. For example, a compensation transistor T4 of the compensation pixel PX1 is laser-cut to be opened. In addition, the compensation control signal GC(t) is not applied to the compensation transistor T4. In
Since the compensation transistor T4 is open, the compensation control signal GC(t) is not applied thereto and a high-level voltage is not supplied to the gate of the driving transistor T1 during the emission period. Referring to
The driving transistor T1 generates the driving current IDS according to the gate voltage thereof after T10 and the OLED emits light according to the driving current IDS. Although the driving current IDS may be affected by the threshold voltage of the driving transistor T1, the compensation pixel PX1 is not recognized as a dark dot.
The compensation pixel PX2 includes a short-circuited first capacitor C11 and the opened compensation transistor T4. That is, the compensation transistor T4 is open and the first capacitor C11 of the compensation pixel P2 is short-circuited. Then, the data voltage can be directly applied to the gate of the driving transistor T1. Referring to
The threshold voltage of the driving transistor is not compensated according to the compensation pixels illustrated in
For example, a voltage VSUS−Vth obtained by subtracting the threshold voltage Vth (negative voltage) of the driving transistor T1 included in the compensation pixel PX2 illustrated in
Since the data voltage VD[j], VDATA, is applied to the gate of the driving transistor T1 at T8 in
The driving current IDS is proportional to a voltage ((VDATA−VSUS+)−) obtained by subtracting the threshold voltage Vth of the driving transistor T1 from the gate-source voltage of the driving transistor T1 and squaring the resultant voltage. Thus, the driving current (IDS) is not affected by the threshold voltage Vth.
The method of changing the high level of the first power source voltage ELVDD(t) to compensate the threshold voltage of the driving transistor can be applied to the compensation pixel PX1 of
Since the data voltage VD[j], VDATA1, is applied to the gate of the driving transistor T1 and the first power source voltage ELVDD(t) is VSUS−Vth at T8 in
The driving current IDS is proportional to a voltage (VDATA1*(C2/(C1+C2))−VSUS+)−) obtained by subtracting the threshold voltage Vth of the driving transistor T1 from the gate-source voltage of the driving transistor T1 and squaring the resultant voltage, and thus the driving current IDS is not affected by the threshold voltage Vth.
However, VDATA1 is generated as a voltage different from VDATA in consideration of distribution by the capacitors C1 and C2.
A description will be given of a display device according to another exemplary embodiment.
A display device 10 illustrated in
The display device 10 includes a signal controller 100, a scan driver 200, a data driver 300, a compensation driver 400, and a display unit 500.
The signal controller 100 generates a first driving control signal CONT1, a second driving control signal CONT2, and a third driving control signal CONT3 for controlling an operation of displaying an image according to a vertical synchronization signal Vsync for dividing video frames, a horizontal synchronization signal Vsync for dividing lines of a frame, a data enable signal DE for controlling a period in which data voltages are applied to a plurality of data lines D1 to Dm, and a clock signal CLK for controlling a driving frequency. The signal controller 100 receives an image signal ImS, generates image data IDATA and transmits the image data IDATA, along with the first driving control signal CONT1, to the data driver 300.
The data driver 200 samples and holds the image data IDATA according to the first driving control signal CONT1 to convert the image data IDATA into a plurality of data voltages VD[1] to VD[m] and transmits the data voltages VD[1] to VD[m] to the plurality of data lines D1 to Dm.
The scan driver 300 generates scan signals gs1 to gsn corresponding to scan timings respectively corresponding to a plurality of scan lines S1 to Sn as low-level pulses according to the second driving control signal CONT2 and transmits the scan signals gs1 to gsn to the scan lines S1 to Sn.
The compensation driver 400 generates the compensation control signal GC(t) according to the third compensation control signal CONT3 and supplies the compensation control signal GC(t) to a compensation control line GCL.
The display unit 500 includes the plurality of scan line S1 to Sn, the plurality of data line D1 to Dm, the compensation control line GCL, a plurality of normal pixels PX, and a plurality of compensation pixels PX1.
The plurality of scan lines S1 to Sn is arranged in the horizontal direction and the plurality of data lines D1 to Dm is arranged in the vertical direction. The compensation control line GCL is connected to the plurality of normal pixels PX. As shown in
In
The power supply 600, a component of the display device, generates the first power source voltage ELVDD(t) illustrated in
The normal power source voltage ELVDD1(t) is supplied to the plurality of normal pixels PX through a power line ELV1 and the compensation power source voltage ELVDD2(t) is supplied to the plurality of compensation pixels PX1 through a power line ELV2. As shown in
Here, the compensation power source voltage ELVDD2(t) can be determined in consideration of threshold voltages of driving transistors of the compensation pixels PX1 located in the display area 510. For example, the high level of the compensation power source voltage ELVDD2(t) can be determined by subtracting the threshold voltage of a specific compensation pixel, the average of the threshold voltages of the driving transistors of the compensation pixels PX1, a minimum value or a maximum value of the threshold voltages from the voltage VSUS.
By way of summation and review, when a compensation transistor malfunctions, e.g., is short-circuited, a high-level driving voltage that drives the pixel circuit is supplied to the driving transistor. Thus, a pixel having the defective compensation transistor is displayed as a dark spot.
In contrast, as described above, embodiments provide a display device and a driving method thereof that prevents a pixel having a defective compensation transistor from being displayed as a dark spot.
According to exemplary embodiments of the present invention, a display device and a driving method thereof to prevent a pixel having a defective compensation transistor from being displayed as a dark spot are provided by using at least one compensation pixel.
While this invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be practical exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but, on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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10-2013-0032404 | Mar 2013 | KR | national |
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