1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a compensation circuit and method, and in particular certain embodiments of the present invention relate to an overdriving circuit and method for source drivers to overdrive thin film transistors (TFTs) in a liquid crystal display (LCD) module.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As a result of smaller volume and less power consumption, flat-panel displays, such as liquid crystal displays (LCDs), have been gradually replacing cathode ray tube (CRT) displays and becoming the mainstream in the field of display devices, for example, LCD monitors, LCD televisions, and so forth. However, because of the characteristics of the molecules of the liquid crystal material, a motion blur phenomenon occurs when LCD devices are used to display high speed dynamic images or videos.
There are two common methods familiar to those skilled in the art to eliminate the motion blur phenomenon. The first method is referred to as “capacitance coupling” and the second method is referred to as “overdriving”. According to the capacitance coupling method, a circuit can be altered to meet the requirement mentioned above, but it is unable to compensate for a rising signal and a falling signal at the same time. Further, the circuit under the capacitance coupling method can not compensate for each pixel. On the other hand, the overdrive method requires more complex circuitry than the capacitance coupling circuitry. The overdrive method requires frame buffers and does not have the limitations of the capacitance coupling method. The overdrive method can use unmodified control circuits and driving circuits.
Referring to
However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that overdriving is limited for some “from-to” value pairs shown in the LUT of
One of the methods for solving the foregoing problem is to employ 9-bit source drivers, so that the gray scale of a pixel not only can be overdriven to values higher than 255 for desired gray scale values from 240 to 255, but also can be overdriven to the values lower than 0 for desired gray scale values from 16 to 0. This is because the 9-bit source driver can provide 29=512 values for the use of 256 gray scales. The extra bit can be used to transmit the compensation data for those gray scale values smaller than 16 and/or higher than 240. However, each 9-bit source driver requires a 9-bit digital-to-analog converter (DAC) which complicates the design of the circuit, makes the die size larger, increases operating voltage, and increases the cost of the chip.
Certain embodiments of the present invention are directed to an overdriving circuit in which source drivers overdrive a LCD module. The overdriving circuit includes first threshold detection logic, second threshold detection logic, and a selection logic. According to one embodiment of the present invention, the first threshold detection logic receives gray scale data from an overdriving timing controller, compares the gray scale data to a first predetermined gray scale value, and outputs a first control signal. The second threshold detection logic receives the gray scale data. compares the gray scale data to a second and third predetermined gray scale values, and outputs a second control signal. The selection logic receives the gray scale data, receives a plurality of gray scale compensation data, and outputs one of the received data based on the first control signal, the second control signal and a third control signal.
Certain embodiments of the present invention relate to an overdriving method for source drivers to overdrive a LCD module, comprising: receiving gray scale data from an overdriving timing controller; comparing the gray scale data with a first predetermined gray scale value, and then outputting a first control signal; comparing the gray scale data with a second and third predetermined gray scale values, and then outputting a second control signal, wherein the second control signal is at logical high when the gray scale data is larger than the second predetermined gray scale value or when the gray scale data is smaller than the third predetermined gray scale value, and wherein the second control signal is otherwise at logical low; and selecting the output data from the gray scale data and a plurality of gray scale compensation data.
Some embodiments of the present invention will be described in greater details herein However, it should be noted that the present invention can be practiced in a wide range of other embodiments besides those explicitly described, and the scope of the present invention is expressly not limited except as specified in the accompanying claims.
Moreover, some details are not drawn in order to make the illustrations concise and to provide a clear description for easier understanding of the present invention.
Referring to
A second threshold detection logic 230 receives the same gray scale data, and receives a second and third predetermined gray scale values designated “2nd Threshold Value” and “3rd Threshold Value.” The second threshold detection logic 230 compares the gray scale data with the second and third predetermined gray scale values, and then outputs a second control signal OD_Ctrl2 according to the results of the comparisons. For example, the second threshold detection logic 230 outputs a second control signal OD_Ctrl2, such as logic “1”, when the gray scale data is larger than the second predetermined gray scale value or smaller than the third predetermined gray scale value, otherwise it outputs an inactive signal, such as logic “0”. For example, given 8-bit gray scale data, the second and the third predetermined gray scale values can be respectively set to 240 and 16, and therefore the second threshold detection logic 230 outputs logic “1” when the gray scale data is larger than 240 or is smaller than 16; otherwise, the second threshold detection logic 230 outputs “0” when the gray scale data is between the values 16 and 240. The second threshold detection logic 230 includes a second comparator 232, a third comparator 234, and an OR gate 236. The second comparator 232 compares the gray scale data with the second predetermined gray scale value, and then outputs a first logical high signal (i.e., logic “1”) if the gray scale data is larger than the second predetermined gray scale value. The third comparator 234 compares the gray scale data with the third predetermined gray scale value, and then outputs a second logical high signal if the gray scale data is smaller than the third predetermined gray scale value. The OR gate 236 receives the outputs of the second and the third comparators 232, 234, executes a logical “OR” operation, and outputs the result as the second control signal OD_Ctrl2. In this embodiment, the second and the third predetermined gray scale values could be built-in or stored in the second threshold detection logic 230. The second control signal OD_Ctrl2 can be used to control the final output data.
The selection logic 240 receives the gray scale data (via a source driver 214) and a plurality of gray scale compensation data, such as Vext_H(−), Vext_H(+), Vext_L(−), and Vext_L(+). The selection logic 240 uses the first and the second control signals OD_Ctrl1, OD_Ctrl2, and a third control signal POL (polarization signal) as its selection signals for selecting one of received data to output as Vout. Herein, the third control signal POL is provided by the overdriving timing controller 212. The selection logic 240 includes a first multiplexer 242, a second multiplexer 244, and a third multiplexer 246. The first multiplexer 242 receives first and second gray scale compensation data, such as Vext_H(−) and Vext_H(+), and uses the third control signal POL as its selection signal. The second multiplexer 244 receives third and fourth gray scale compensation data, such as Vext_L(−) and Vext_L(+), and uses the third control signal POL as its selection signal. Accordingly, when the third control signal POL is logic “0”, the outputs of the first and the second multiplexers 242, 244 are Vext_H(−) and Vext_L(−), respectively; on the contrary, when the third control signal POL is logic “1”, the outputs of the first and the second multiplexers 242, 244 are Vext_H(+) and Vext_L(+), respectively. The third multiplexer 246 receives the outputs of the first and the second multiplexers and the gray scale data, and uses the first and the second control signals OD_Ctrl1, OD_Ctrl2 as its selection signals, S0 and S1. Herein, the third multiplexer 246 outputs the gray scale data when OD_Ctrl2 and OD_Ctrl1 are logic “00” or “01”; if OD_Ctrl2 and OD_Ctrl1 are logic “10”, then the third multiplexer 246 outputs the output of the second multiplexer 244; and if OD_Ctrl2 and OD_Ctrl1 are logic “11”, then the third multiplexer 246 outputs the output of the first multiplexer 242. In this embodiment, the first multiplexer 242 and the second multiplexer 244 are 2×1 multiplexers, and the third multiplexer 246 is a 4×1 multiplexer. The first, second, third, and fourth gray scale compensation data, Vext_H(−), Vext_H(+), Vext_L(−) and Vext_L(+), can correspond to the gray scale levels driven at 0.1 volt (V), 13 V, 5 V, and 7 V, respectively, as default values.
Alternative embodiments of the present invention are possible. The first threshold detection logic 220 of
Referring to
When the gray scale data is larger than 240, such as in T1 (the gray scale data is L255), both OD_Ctrl2 and OD_Ctrl1 are logic “1”, and therefore the Output Status depends upon the POL. The Output Status is equal to the first gray scale compensation data (labeled 1) once the POL is logic “0”. The Output Status is equal to the second gray scale compensation data (labeled 2) when the POL is logic “1”. Similarly, in T4 (the gray scale data is L245), the Output Status is equal to the first gray scale compensation data (labeled 1) when OD_Ctrl2, OD_Ctrl1, and POL are logic “110”,and the Output Status is equal to the second gray scale compensation data (labeled 2) when OD_Ctrl2, OD_Ctrl1, and POL are logic “111”. When the gray scale data is smaller than 16, such as in T2 (the gray scale data is L0), OD_Ctrl2 is logic “1” and OD_Ctrl1 is logic “0”. Thus, the Output Status depends upon the POL. The Output Status is equal to the third gray scale compensation data (labeled 3) when the POL, is logic “0”, and the Output Status is equal to the fourth gray scale compensation data (labeled 4) when the POL is logic “1”. In this embodiment, the first (Vext_H(−)), second (Vext_H(+)), third (Vext_L(−)), and fourth (Vext_L(+)) gray scale compensation data can have the default values of the gray scale values driven at 0.1 volt (V), 13 V, 5 V, and 7 V, respectively.
In accordance with the alternative embodiments of the present invention, either the first or the second predetermined gray scale value can be left out from the circuit design but the steps of generating the first and second control signals (OD_Ctrl1 and OD_Ctrl2, respectively) remain the same. Such embodiments would require corresponding modifications to
The various signals of the present invention are generally “on” (e.g., a logical HIGH, or 1) or “off” (e.g., a logical LOW, or 0). However, the particular polarities of the “on” (e.g., asserted) and “off” (e.g., de-asserted) states of the signals may be adjusted (e.g., reversed) accordingly to meet the design criteria of a particular implementation. Additionally, inverters may be added to change particular polarities of the signals.
Although specific embodiments have been illustrated and described, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various modifications may be made without departing from what at is covered by the appended claims.
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
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20020196218 | Ham | Dec 2002 | A1 |
20060290638 | Kang et al. | Dec 2006 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20080002912 A1 | Jan 2008 | US |