The present invention relates to a measurement system and a method for measuring a response time of a liquid crystal display (LCD), in particular to a measurement system and a method for measuring the response time of the LCD through dynamically adjusting a convertible voltage range of an analog-digital-converter (ADC) of the LCD.
The response time of a liquid crystal display (LCD) refers to the time it takes for liquid crystals in the LCD to transition, and the response time will directly affect the user's viewing experience. In recent years, the LCDs will specifically mark their own response time. For manufacturers or users, a response time measurement system suitable for product development or product verification is indispensable.
At present, there are instruments on the market that can measure the response time of a display, but their cost is often quite expensive, which is not affordable by the ordinary users. In addition, the accuracy of devices that measure LCD response time cannot be adjusted dynamically. Therefore, a device and a method that can dynamically adjust the accuracy and measure the response time of the LCD are needed.
An embodiment provides a method for measuring a response time of a liquid crystal display (LCD). The method comprises: transmitting a display signal to the LCD to drive the LCD to display images according to the display signal; a photosensitive element sensing variations of brightness of a display panel of the LCD to generate a voltage signal; converting the voltage signal into a digital signal by an analog-to-digital converter (ADC); a reference voltage source providing a reference voltage to the ADC to drive the ADC to dynamically adjust a convertible voltage range of the ADC for any voltage inputted to the ADC according to the reference voltage; transmitting the digital signal to a computer through a transmission interface; and the computer calculating the response time of the LCD according to the digital signal.
Another embodiment provides a measurement system for measuring a response time of a liquid crystal display (LCD). The LCD displays images according to a display signal. The measurement system comprises a photosensitive element, an analog-to-digital converter (ADC), a reference voltage source, and a transmission interface. The photosensitive element senses variations of brightness of a display panel of the LCD to generate a voltage signal. The ADC converts the voltage signal into a digital signal. The reference voltage source provides a reference voltage to the ADC to drive the ADC to dynamically adjust a convertible voltage range of the ADC for any voltage inputted to the ADC according to the reference voltage. The transmission interface transmits the digital signal to a computer to trigger the computer to calculate the response time of the LCD according to the digital signal.
In another embodiment, the measurement system further comprises an amplifying circuit for amplifying the voltage signal into an amplified voltage signal. The ADC converts the amplified voltage signal into the digital signal.
These and other objectives of the present invention will no doubt become obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art after reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment that is illustrated in the various figures and drawings.
The present invention provides architecture of a system for measuring the response time of a liquid crystal display (LCD), so that users can assemble a suitable measurement system through simple and easily available components.
When the measurement is started, the computer 20 will send a signal to notify the measurement system 100 to start the measurement, and at the same time, the computer 20 would switch the target image to be measured according to the display signal Si, so that the liquid crystals of the display panel 12 start to invert their polarities. The communication between measurement system 100 and computer 20 can be bidirectional or unidirectional, depending on the transmission interface chosen by the user. After the measurement system 100 receives the signal from the computer 20 to start measuring, the measurement system 100 starts to measure the brightness Lu and sends the digital signal D to the computer 20. The termination of the measurement can be actively initiated by the computer 20 to notify the measurement system 100 to stop the measurement. For example, when the computer 20 receives a sufficient amount of data of the digital signal D, it will actively notify the measurement system 100 to terminate the measurement. In addition, the measurement can also be terminated when the measurement system 100 finds that the images of the display panel 12 have no longer changed, and then actively notifies the computer 20 to terminate the measurement.
The following will explain how to select each element of the measurement system 100. First, the maximum brightness that the photosensitive element 110 can detect under different operating voltages will be different. Assuming that the operating voltage range of the photosensitive element 110 is Vsensor_min to Vsensor_max Volts, the maximum brightness that the photosensitive element 110 can detect is Lvsensor_min candelas when the photosensitive element 110 is powered by Vsensor_min volts, and the maximum brightness that the photosensitive element 110 can detect is Lvsensor_max candelas when the photosensitive element 110 is powered by Vsensor_max volts. If the minimum and maximum of the brightness Lu of the display panel 12 are respectively LvLCD_min candelas and LvLCD_max candelas, as long as LvLCD_min and LvLCD_max are between Lvsensor_min and Lvsensor_max (as in Equation 1), then the photosensitive element 110 meets the requirements of the measurement system 100.
Lvsensor_min≤LvLCD_min≤LvLCD_max≤Lvsensor_max (Equation 1)
In addition, the working voltage of the photosensitive element 110 only needs to reach VLCD_max volts, which is corresponding to LvLCD_max candelas. When the photosensitive element 110 is powered by VLCD_max volts, the maximum brightness that it can detect is LvLCD_max candelas, and the potential of the voltage signal Vs output by the photosensitive element 110 will also be equal to VLCD_max volts.
The key point of choosing the ADC 130 is a voltage extraction range and a sampling frequency of the ADC 130, and a digital resolution of the ADC 130 and a reference voltage used by the ADC 130 could be derived from the voltage extraction range of the ADC 130. It is assumed that a voltage range of the voltage signal Vs output by the photosensitive element 110 is Vs_min to Vs_max volts, and the voltage extraction range of the ADC 130 is VADC_min to VADC_max volts. Where, Vs_min is the minimum of the voltage signal Vs, Vs_max is the maximum of the voltage signal Vs, VADC_min is the minimum input voltage that the ADC 130 is rated to extract, and VADC_max is the maximum input voltage that the ADC 130 is rated to extract. As long as Vs_min and vs_max are between VADC_min and VADC_max (as in Equation 2), it means that the voltage extraction range of the ADC 130 meets the requirements of the measurement system 100.
VADC_min≤Vs_min≤Vs_max≤VADC_max (Equation 2)
For different ADCs 130, they have different digital resolutions. For example, the digital resolution of the ADC 130 may be 8-bit, 10-bit, 12-bit, 16-bit, and so on. How to decide which digital resolution ADC 130 to use depends on the minimum brightness of the display panel 12 to be tested. Assuming that the minimum brightness of the display panel 12 to be tested is LV LCD LCD_min candelas, the second lowest brightness of the display panel 12 is LvLCD_second_min candelas, and the values of the voltage signal Vs output by the photosensitive element 110 are VLCD_min and VLCD_second_min volts when the values of brightness are LvLCD_min and LvLCD_second_min respectively, the difference between VLCD_min and VLCD_second_min is ΔVLCD_min (as in Equation 3).
ΔVLCD_min=VLCD_min−VLCD_second_min (Equation 3)
LvLCD_min is the lowest brightness of the display panel 12 and is detected when all pixels of the display panel 12 have the minimum grayscale value; LvLCD_second_min is the second lowest brightness of the display panel 12 and is detected when all pixels of the display panel 12 have the second lowest grayscale value. For example, in a system in which the display signal Si comprises eight-bit grayscale data, the range of the grayscale values of the display signal Si is 0 to 255, a total of 256 grayscales, and the minimum grayscale value and the second lowest grayscale value can be 0 and 1 respectively.
Assuming that the selected ADC 130 has a digital resolution of N bits, and the resolution of the ADC 130 is represented by ResolutionADC, then the relationship between ResolutionADC and N is as follows:
Assuming that the above difference ΔVLCD_min accounts for the ratio of ADC voltage range VADC_min to VADC_max is Resolutionmin, then Resolutionmin can be expressed by the following Equation 5:
When Resolutionmin is greater than the resolution ADC of the ADC 130, that is, when the following Equation 6 is satisfied, it means that the digital resolution of the ADC 130 meets the requirements of the measurement system 100.
Resolutionmin>ResolutionADC (Equation 6)
A sampling frequency of ADC 130 depends on the response time of display panel 12 and an error acceptable to the user. Assuming that the minimum response time of display panel 12 to be measured is ResponseTimeLCD_fast milliseconds, the sampling frequency of ADC 130 is SampleRateADC Hertz (Hz), and the minimum time interval that the ADC 130 can detect is ΔTADC milliseconds, then ΔTADC can be expressed by the following Equation 7:
Assuming that the maximum error of ADC 130 due to sampling frequency is Errormax percentage (i.e., Errormax%), then Errormax can be expressed by the following Equation 8:
As long as the maximum error Errormax is within the maximum error range acceptable to the user, the ADC 130 can be considered applicable.
When the photosensitive element 110 is powered by VLCD_max volts, the maximum and minimum of the voltage signal Vs output by the photosensitive element 110 are VLCD_max and VLCD_min volts respectively. Assuming that the maximum voltage change of the voltage signal Vs is ΔVLCD_max volts, then ΔVLCD_max can be expressed by the following Equation 9:
ΔVLCD_max=VLCD_max−VLCD_min (Equation 9)
Because the brightness Lu of the display panel 12 will change, the measurement system 100 needs to be able to distinguish the different brightness variations of the brightness Lu. However, if the ADC 130 applies the same resolution ResolutionADC with the maximum voltage change ΔVLCD_max volts and minimum voltage change ΔVLCD_min volts, a problem that the ADC 130 can resolve ΔVLCD_max but could not resolve ΔVLCD_min may happen. To this end, the measurement system 100 may use an amplifying circuit to increase the voltage difference, or select the ADC 130 whose reference voltage can be adjusted, so as to change the accuracy of the measurement system 100 in resolving the voltage signal Vs.
ΔVLCD_min_modify=ΔVLCD_min×AAmplifier (Equation 10)
Where AAmplifier is the gain of amplifying circuit 120, and AAmplifier is greater than 1.
In addition, assuming that the above difference ΔVLCD_min_modify accounted for the ratio of ADC voltage range VADC_min and VADC_max is Resolutionmin_modify, then Resolutionmin_modify can be expressed by the following Equation 11:
As long as Resolutionmin_modify is greater than ResolutionADC, the measurement system 200 can successfully measure the voltage signal Vs and output the digital signal D only by adding the amplifying circuit 120 without changing the photosensitive element 110 and the ADC 130.
In addition, a convertible voltage range of the ADC 130 for any voltage inputted to the ADC 130 may be set according to the reference voltage Vref. In other words, by adjusting the reference voltage Vref, the convertible voltage range of the ADC 130 would be adjusted. The reference voltage Vref may be equal to the upper limit of the convertible voltage range of the ADC 130, and be less than or equal to a maximum value VADC_max of an input voltage that the ADC 130 is rated to extract, as shown in Equation 12 below.
Vref≤VADC_max (Equation 12)
In addition, when the voltage signal Vs output by the photosensitive element 110 is not great enough to exceed the maximum value VADC_max, in order to save energy and improve the accuracy of the analog-to-digital conversion of the voltage signal Vs converted by the ADC 130, the reference voltage Vref may be set lower than VADC_max. When the reference voltage Vref is lowered, the convertible voltage range of the ADC 130 decreases accordingly. Since the bit length of the digital resolution of the ADC 130 does not change, the accuracy of the analog digital conversion of the ADC 130 for its input signal would be improved by narrowing the convertible voltage range of the ADC 130. Therefore, by decreasing the reference voltage Vref, the ADC 130 could resolve a smaller voltage variation of its input signal. For example, when Resolutionmin is less than ResolutionADC, a ratio Resolutionref (see Equation 13) of ΔVLCD_min to the difference between the VADC_min and Vref would be greater than Resolution (Equation 14) by changing the reference voltage Vref, such that the ADC 130, which had insufficient resolution at first, would have sufficient resolution to distinguish the change in brightness Lu of the display panel 12.
In addition, the display signal Si generally contains data of grayscale values of a plurality of pixels, and the data of the grayscale value of each pixel within a frame period is usually eight bits, representing 0 to 255 therefore a total of 256 gray levels. The greater the grayscale value of the pixel, the greater the brightness the pixel has; the less the grayscale value of the pixel, the less the brightness the pixel has. Taking all pixels of display panel 12 displaying the same grayscale as an example, the grayscale values of the display signal Si within the same frame period will be the same. The greater the grayscale value, the greater the brightness Lu of the display panel 12 will be; conversely, the less the grayscale value, the less the brightness Lu of the display panel 12 will be. In addition, a voltage level of the voltage signal Vs output by the photosensitive element 110 is positively related to the brightness Lu. Therefore, when the range of the grayscale values of the display signal Si is wider, a range of variations of the voltage level of the voltage signal Vs will be greater; and when the range of the grayscale values of the display signal Si is narrower, the range of variations of the voltage level of the voltage signal Vs will be smaller. In order to make the convertible voltage range of the ADC 130 match the range of variations of the voltage level of the voltage signal Vs, the computer 20 may dynamically adjust the reference voltage Vref according to the range of the grayscale values of the display signal Si, and then dynamically adjust the convertible voltage range of the ADC 130. Since the reference voltage Vref is equal to the upper limit of the convertible voltage range of the ADC 130, the upper limit of the convertible voltage range of the ADC 130 (i.e., the reference voltage Vref) can be set according to the maximum of the grayscale values of the display signal Si.
In addition, the transmission interface 150 may be an inter-integrated circuit (IIC or I2C) interface, a universal asynchronous receiver/transmitter (UART) interface, and a serial peripheral interface (SPI), a Universal Serial Bus (USB) interface, but the invention is not limited thereto. In addition, although different transmission interfaces have different transmission speeds, the transmission speed of the transmission interface 150 is not limited in use. For example, if the transmission data rate of the transmission interface 150 is greater than the sampling frequency of the ADC 130, the data may be uploaded to the computer 20 immediately after the ADC 130 receives the data. Even if the transmission data rate of the transmission interface 150 is less than the sampling frequency of the ADC 130, the measurement system 200 may further comprise a storage device 140 to temporarily store the data of the digital signal D. Later, the data of the digital signal D may be read from the storage device 140 and then transmitted to the computer 20.
Step S510: transmitting the display signal Si to the LCD 10 to drive the LCD 10 to display images according to the display signal Si;
Step S512: providing the reference voltage Vref to the ADC 130 to drive the ADC 130 to dynamically adjust the convertible voltage range of the ADC 130 for any voltage inputted to the ADC 130 according to the reference voltage Vref;
Step S520: sensing the brightness Lu of the display panel 12 of the LCD 10 by the photosensitive element 110 to generate the voltage signal Vs;
Step S530: converting the voltage signal Vs into the digital signal D by the ADC 130;
Step S540: transmitting the digital signal D to the computer 20 through the transmission interface 150; and
Step S550: calculating the response time Tr of the LCD 10 by the computer 20 according to the received digital signal D.
In step S530, the voltage signal Vs can be amplified into an amplified voltage signal Va through the amplifying circuit 120, and then the ADC 130 converts the amplified voltage signal Va into a digital signal D. Alternatively, the voltage signal Vs is directly converted to the digital signal D through the ADC 130.
In summary, the measurement system of the present invention may determine a voltage level of the reference voltage provided to the ADC based on the range of the grayscale values of the display signal sent to the LCD, and dynamically adjust the convertible voltage range of the ADC for its input signal. Accordingly, the accuracy of analog-to-digital conversion of the ADC can be adjusted dynamically.
Those skilled in the art will readily observe that numerous modifications and alterations of the device and method may be made while retaining the teachings of the invention. Accordingly, the above disclosure should be construed as limited only by the metes and bounds of the appended claims.
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108145293 | Dec 2019 | TW | national |
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20210183284 A1 | Jun 2021 | US |