This Non-provisional application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(a) on Patent Application No(s). 097127819 filed in Taiwan, Republic of China on Jul. 22, 2008, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a display module and a driving method thereof.
2. Related Art
The display devices have been developed from the conventional cathode ray tube (CRT) display device to the current liquid crystal display (LCD) device, organic light emitting diode (OLED) display device, and E-paper display device. The sizes and weights of the current display devices are greatly reduced and the current display devices are widely used in communication, information, and consumer electronic products.
The first stage latch unit 123 receives an image signal S02 according to the shift register signals SR1˜SRN. The image signal S02 includes a plurality of image data and is stored in the first stage latch unit 123. The second stage latch unit 124 captures the image signal S02 to the second stage latch unit 124 according to a latch enabling signal S03. The level shift unit 125 converts the image signal S02 stored in the second stage latch unit 124 into a plurality of display signals, and the display signals are transmitted to the LCD panel 11 via the corresponding data lines D11˜D1m so as to show a display image.
However, the current display device tends to be lighter, thinner compacter. If the data driving circuit 12 and scan driving circuit 13 in the display module can be integrated to decrease the number of elements under the current structure of display device, the display device may provide more space or be even lighter so as to further lower down the production cost. Therefore, it is an important subject to provide a display module and a driving method thereof for decreasing the number of the driving elements.
In view of the foregoing, the present invention is to provide a display module and a driving method thereof with fewer number of driving elements.
To achieve the above, the present invention discloses a display module including a scan line, a data line, a driving circuit, and a level converting circuit, which has at least one first driving unit and at least one second driving unit that is electrically connected to the first driving unit. A non-DC signal is transmitted between the first driving unit and the second driving unit for controlling the first driving unit and/or the second driving unit. The first driving unit outputs a first driving signal to the scan line and the second driving unit outputs a second driving signal to the level converting circuit. The level converting circuit is electrically connected to the driving circuit and the data line, and outputs a display signal to the data line according to the second driving signal.
To achieve the above, the present invention discloses a driving method of a display module having a scan line, a data line, a driving circuit, a level converting circuit. The driving circuit includes at least one first driving unit and at least one second driving unit. The driving method of the display module includes the steps of transmitting a non-DC signal between the first driving unit and the second driving unit; outputting a first driving signal to the scan line from the first driving unit; outputting a second driving signal from the second driving unit, wherein the non-DC signal controls the first driving unit and the second driving unit; and outputting a display signal to the data line from the level converting circuit according to the second driving signal.
To achieve the above, the present invention discloses a display module including a scan line, a data line, a driving circuit, and a level converting circuit. The driving circuit includes at least one first driving unit and at least one second driving unit connected to the first driving unit. A non-DC signal is transmitted between the first driving unit and the second driving unit for controlling the first driving unit and/or the second driving unit. The first driving unit outputs a first driving signal to the level converting circuit and the second driving unit outputs a second driving signal to the data line. The level converting circuit is electrically connected to the driving circuit and the scan line, and outputs a scanning signal to the scan line according to the first driving signal.
To achieve the above, the present invention discloses a driving method of a display module having a scan line, a data line, a driving circuit, and a level converting circuit. The driving circuit includes at least one first driving unit and at least one second driving unit. The driving method includes the steps of transmitting a non-DC signal between the first driving unit and the second driving unit; outputting a first driving signal from the first driving unit; outputting a second driving signal to the data line from the second driving unit, wherein the non-DC signal controls the first driving unit and the second driving unit; and outputting a scanning signal to the scan line from the level converting circuit according to the first driving signal.
To achieve the above, the present invention discloses a display module including a scan line, a data line, a driving circuit, and a level converting circuit. The driving circuit has at least one first driving unit and at least one second driving unit electrically connected to the first driving unit. A non-DC signal is transmitted between the first driving unit and the second driving unit for controlling the first driving unit and/or the second driving unit. The first driving unit outputs a first driving signal and the second driving unit outputs a second driving signal. The level converting circuit includes a level converting unit and a bypass unit connected to the level converting circuit in parallel. The level converting circuit is electrically connected to the driving circuit and the scan line is electrically connected to the data line. The level converting unit or the bypass unit is selected for the first driving signal to pass through according to a selecting signal for outputting a scanning signal to the scan line or outputting the display signal to the data line. Alternatively, the level converting unit or the bypass unit is selected for the second driving signal to pass through according to the selecting signal for outputting the scanning signal to the scan line or outputting the display signal to the data line.
To achieve the above, the present invention discloses a driving method of the display module, which includes a scan line, a data line, a driving circuit, and a level converting circuit. The driving circuit has at least one first driving unit and at least one second driving unit. The level converting circuit has a level converting unit and a bypass unit connected to each other in parallel. The driving method includes the steps of transmitting a non-DC signal between the first driving unit and the second driving unit; outputting a first driving signal from the first driving unit; outputting a second driving signal from the second driving unit, wherein the non-DC signal controls the first driving unit and the second driving unit; selecting the level converting unit or the bypass unit for the first driving signal to pass through according to a selecting signal for outputting a scanning signal from the level converting circuit to the scan line or outputting the display signal from the level converting circuit to the data line; and selecting the level converting unit or the bypass unit for the second driving signal to pass through according to the selecting signal for outputting the scamning signal from the level converting circuit to the scan line or outputting the display signal from the level converting circuit to the data line.
As mentioned above, the display module and the driving method thereof of the present invention disclose that the display module with the driving circuit and the level converting circuit may be used to process the scanning signal and display signal for generating display images. Compared to the prior art, the display device of the present invention not only integrates the traditional scan driving circuit and data driving circuit, it may further be a simpler structure that can process the scanning signal and the display signal simultaneously. Therefore, the display module and the driving method thereof of the present invention may have a decreased number of driving elements for saving space so as to reduce the production cost.
The invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description and accompanying drawings, which are given for illustration only, and thus are not limitative of the present invention, and wherein:
The present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description, which proceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein the same references relate to the same elements.
The display module of the present invention may be a non-volatile display module, which is a display module having at least two steady states that can last at least several tens of milliseconds after the power is removed. The optical modulation material in the display module may include an electrophoretic liquid, an electric moisture material, a cholesterol liquid crystal, or a nematic liquid crystal.
The driving circuit 21 includes at least one first driving unit and at least one second driving unit. In the embodiment, the driving circuit 21 has a plurality of first driving units 211 and a plurality of second driving units 212 for example. The first driving unit 211 is electrically connected to the second driving unit 212. Each of the first driving units 211 and second driving units 212 may have, for example but not limited to, the same or different circuit structures.
When the display module 2 is driven, the first driving unit 211 outputs first driving signals A11˜A1m to the corresponding scan lines S21˜S2m and the second driving unit 211 outputs the second driving signals A21˜A2n to the level converting circuit 22. The level converting circuit 22 further receives an output enabling signal OE1 and outputs display signals A31˜A3n to the data lines D21˜D2n according to the second driving signals A21˜A2n and the output enabling signal OE1. In the embodiment, the level converting circuit 22 may be a sample-and-hold circuit or a level shift circuit.
As shown in
The shift register unit 213 receives at least one input signal. In the embodiment, the shift register unit 213 is electrically connected to the signal transmission line IM. The signal transmission line IM receives an input signal A41. However, the user may orderly input the driving signal and the image signal to the shift register unit 213 according to the connections in the panel. The method for transmitting and receiving the signal is not limited herein. Moreover, the input signal A41 may be generated from the external circuit or the inner part of the display module 2 (e.g. the driving circuit 21), and the method for generating the signals is not limited herein.
During time t01˜t02, the shift register unit 213 receives a clock signal CK and the input signal A41 according to the clock signal CK. The operation of the shift register unit 213 will be detailed described hereinafter.
The shift register unit 213 starts to receive the input signal A41 according to the clock signal CK at time t01. After the shift register unit 213 receives the input signal A41, the driving data B11 is temporarily stored in the register R1 and the driving data B12 is temporarily stored in the register R2, and so forth. With the clock signal CK, the driving data B11˜B1m and the image data B21˜B2n are stored in the registers R1˜Ri. Meanwhile, the level shift unit 214 may be turned off by an input enabling signal OE2, and the driving data B11˜B1m and the image data B21˜B2n are not outputted to the scan lines S21˜S2m and the data lines D21˜D2n.
With reference to
After the level shift unit 214 converts the output driving signal into the first driving signals A11˜A1m according to the output enabling signal OE2, it outputs the first driving signals A11˜A1m to the corresponding scan lines S21˜S2m. Then the level shift unit 214 converts the image signal into the second driving signals A21˜A2n, after that it outputs the second driving signals A21˜A2n to the level converting circuit 22. After the level converting circuit 22 converts the second driving signals A21˜A2n into the display signals A31˜A3n according to the output enabling signal OE1, it outputs the display signals A31˜A3n to the corresponding data lines D21˜D2n. The display signals A31˜A3n have different levels according to the images that are desired to be shown and this is not limited in the figure.
With reference to
As shown in
Additionally, in practice, at least a part of the driving circuit 21 and level converting circuit 22 is disposed on an integrated circuit (IC) chip by single crystal semiconductor manufacturing process, or is disposed on the same substrate with the pixel units 2311˜23mn by poly-crystal manufacturing process or amorphous crystal manufacturing process. The amorphous silicon manufacturing process may be an amorphous silicon thin film transistor manufacturing process or an organic thin film transistor manufacturing process. The manufacturing process may also be a combination of manufacturing processes. For example, the driving circuit 21 may be disposed in an IC chip by single crystal semiconductor manufacturing process, and the level converting circuit 22 and the pixel units 2311˜23mn are disposed on the same substrate by poly-crystal manufacturing process or amorphous crystal manufacturing process.
With reference to
Step S11 is to transmit a non-DC signal between the first driving unit and the second driving unit. Step S12 is to output a first driving signal to the scan line from the first driving unit. Step S13 is to output a second driving signal from the second driving unit. The non-DC signal controls the first driving unit and the second driving unit. Step S14 is to output a display signal to the data line from the level converting circuit according to the second driving signal.
The driving control method is illustrated in the previous embodiment; therefore a detailed description thereof is omitted herein. It is noted that the above-mentioned steps are not limited to this order, which can be adjusted according to the actual needs.
The driving circuit 31 has at least one first driving unit and at least one second driving unit. In the embodiment, the driving circuit 31 includes a plurality of first driving units 311 and a plurality of second driving units 312 for example. The first driving units 311 are electrically connected to the second driving units 312. Each of the first and second driving units 311 and 312 may have the same or different circuit structures, respectively, and it is not limited herein.
As shown in
Additionally, in practice, at least a part of the driving circuit 31 and level converting circuit 32 is disposed in an IC chip by single crystal semiconductor manufacturing process, or is disposed on the same substrate with the pixel units 3311˜33mn by poly-crystal manufacturing process or amorphous crystal manufacturing process. The amorphous manufacturing process may be an amorphous silicon thin film transistor manufacturing process or an organic thin film transistor manufacturing process. It may also be the combination of manufacturing processes, for example, the driving circuit 31 is disposed in an IC chip by single crystal semiconductor manufacturing process, and the level converting circuit 32 and the pixel units 3311˜33mn are disposed on the same substrate by poly-crystal manufacturing process or amorphous crystal manufacturing process.
When the display module 3 is driven, the first driving unit 311 outputs the first driving signals A11˜A1m to the level converting circuit 22 and the second driving unit 312 outputs the second driving signals A21˜A2n to the corresponding data lines D21˜D2n. The level converting circuit 32 further receives an output enabling signal OE3 and outputs scanning signals A61˜A6m to the scan lines S21˜S2n according to the first driving signals A11˜A1m and the output enabling signal OE3.
With reference to
Step S21 is to transmit a non-DC signal between the first driving unit and the second driving unit. Step S22 is to output a first driving signal from the first driving unit. Step S23 is to output a second driving signal to the data line from the second driving unit. The non-DC signal controls the first driving unit and the second driving unit. Step S24 is to output a scanning signal to the scan line according to the first driving signal.
The control method is illustrated in the previous embodiment; therefore a detailed description thereof is omitted herein. It is noted that the above-mentioned steps are not limited to this; the order of the steps may be adjusted according to actual needs.
The driving circuit 41 includes at least one first driving unit and at least one second driving unit. In the embodiment, the driving circuit 41 has a plurality of first driving units 411 and a plurality of second driving units 412 for example. The first driving unit 411 is electrically connected to the second driving unit 412. Each of the first and second driving units 411 and 412 may have the same or different circuit structures and this is not limited herein.
As shown in
Additionally, in practice, at least a part of the driving circuit 41 and the level converting circuit 42 is disposed in an IC chip by single crystal semiconductor manufacturing process, or is disposed on the same substrate with the pixel units 4311˜43mn by poly-crystal manufacturing process or amorphous crystal manufacturing process. It may also be a combination of manufacturing processes. For example, the driving circuit 41 is disposed in an IC chip by single crystal semiconductor manufacturing process, and the level converting circuit 42 and the pixel units 4311-43mn are disposed on the same substrate by poly-crystal manufacturing process or amorphous crystal manufacturing process.
When the display module 4 is driven, the first driving unit 411 outputs the first driving signals A11˜A1m to the level converting circuit 42 and the second driving unit 412 outputs the second driving signals A21˜A2n to the level converting circuit 42, The level converting circuit 42 further receives an output enabling signal OE4, outputs the scanning signals A71˜A7m to the scan lines S21˜Smn and outputs the display signals A81˜A8n to the data lines D21˜D2m according to the output enabling signal OE4.
With reference to
The level converting unit 421 or the bypass unit 422 is selected by the level converting circuit 42 for the first driving signals A11˜A1m to pass through according to a selecting signal S31 for outputting the scanning signals A71˜A7m to the scan lines S21˜S2m or outputting the display signals A81˜A8n to the data lines D21˜D2n. Alternatively, the level converting unit 421 or the bypass unit 422 is selected for the second driving signals A21˜A2m to pass through according to the selecting signal for outputting the scanning signals A71˜A7m to the scan lines S21˜S2m or outputting the display signals A81˜A8n to the data lines D21˜D2n. In the embodiment, the level converting circuit 42 makes the first driving signals A11˜A1m pass through the bypass unit 422 and the second driving signals A21˜A2m pass through the level converting unit 421 according to the selecting signal S31.
Moreover, the alignment of the scan lines S21˜S2n and data lines D21˜D2m of the display module 21 connecting the driving circuit 22 is not limited in the first embodiment. Those skilled in the art may align the scan lines S21˜S2n and the data lines D21˜D2m in the form as shown in
Step S31 is to transmit a non-DC signal between the first driving unit and the second driving unit. Step S32 is to output a first driving signal from the first driving unit. Step S33 is to output a second driving signal from the second driving unit, where the non-DC signal controls the first driving unit and the second driving unit. Step S34 is to select the level converting unit or the bypass unit by the level converting circuit for the first driving signal to pass through according to a selecting signal for outputting a scanning signal to the scan line or outputting the display signal to the data line. Step S35 is to select the level converting unit or the bypass unit by the level converting circuit for the second driving signal to pass through according to the selecting signal for outputting the scanning signal to the scan line or outputting the display signal to the data line.
The control method has been illustrated in the previous embodiment; therefore a detailed description is omitted herein. It is noted that the above-mentioned steps are not limited to this order, which can be adjusted according to the actual needs.
Furthermore, the alignments of the scan lines S21˜S2n of the display module 2 connecting the driving circuit 22 and the data lines D21˜D2m of the display module 2 connecting the level converting circuit 22 are not limited in the first embodiment. Those skilled in the art may align the scan lines S21˜S2n with the data lines D21˜D2m in the form as shown in
To sum up, the present invention discloses the driving circuit, display device, and control method thereof that use the driving circuit having the shift register unit and level shift unit to enable the display module to display images. Compared to prior art, other than integrating the conventionally scan driving circuit and the data driving circuit, the display device of the present invention may further use a driving circuit with a simpler structure and process the scanning signal and display signal simultaneously. Therefore, the driving circuit, display device, and control method thereof in the present invention may decrease the number of elements for saving space, so as to reduce the production cost.
Although the invention has been described with reference to specific embodiments, this description is not meant to be construed in a limiting sense. Various modifications of the disclosed embodiments, as well as alternative embodiments, will be apparent to persons skilled in the art. It is, therefore, contemplated that the appended claims will cover all modifications that fall within the true scope of the invention.
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