This application claims priority to Taiwan Application Serial Number 108103924, filed Jan. 31, 2019, which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.
The present disclosure relates to a pixel circuit, particularly including at least two light emitting elements for displaying the same pixel structure.
Micro LED Display is a micro LED array structure with self-luminous display characteristics. The advantages of Micro LED include high brightness, low power consumption, small size, high resolution and color saturation. Compared with other light emitting diodes, Micro LED not only has higher luminous efficiency and longer life, but also is not easily affected by the environment, so that Micro LED is more stable and can avoid image sticking.
However, because the volume of the Micro LED is extremely small, it is easy to cause a short circuit or an open circuit due to the influence of particles, so that the display panel has bright/dark spots or has an abnormal temperature. Therefore, it is an important discussion in the industry that detecting and repairing the miniature light emitting element, such as Micro LED, to ensure the circuit is normal.
One aspect of the present disclosure is a pixel circuit. The pixel circuit includes a first lighting circuit, a second lighting circuit and a compensation circuit. The first lighting circuit comprises a first light emitting element and a first transistor switch. The first light emitting element receives a first driving current from a driving circuit when the first transistor switch is turned on. The second lighting circuit comprises a second light emitting element and a second transistor switch. The second light emitting element receives a second driving current from the driving circuit when the second transistor switch is turned on. The compensation circuit is electrically connected to the first light emitting element and the second light emitting element. When the first light emitting element and the second light emitting element are driven by the first driving current and the second driving current, the compensation circuit provides a compensation current to the first light emitting element or the second light emitting element according to a difference in impedance between the first light emitting circuit and the second light emitting circuit.
Another aspect of the present disclosure is a pixel circuit repair method. The pixel circuit repair method comprises the following steps. Turning on a first transistor switch of a first lighting circuit so that a first light emitting element is driven by a first driving current. Detecting a first detection voltage of the first lighting circuit. Turning on a second transistor switch of a second lighting circuit and turning off the first transistor switch of the first lighting circuit so that a second light emitting element is driven by a second driving current. Detecting a second detection voltage of the second lighting circuit. Providing a compensation current to the first light emitting element of the second light emitting element through a compensation circuit according to a difference in impedance between the first light emitting circuit and the second light emitting circuit.
Another aspect of the present disclosure is a pixel circuit. The pixel circuit comprises a first lighting circuit, a second lighting circuit, a detection circuit and a compensation circuit. The first lighting circuit comprises a first light emitting element and a first transistor switch. When the first transistor switch is turned on, the first light emitting element receives a first driving current from a driving circuit. The second lighting circuit comprises a second light emitting element and a second transistor switch. When the second transistor switch is turned on, the second light emitting element receives a second driving current from the driving circuit. The detection circuit is electrically connected to the first lighting circuit and the second lighting circuit, and configured to detect a first detection voltage of the first lighting circuit and a second detection voltage of the second lighting circuit. The compensation circuit is electrically connected to the first lighting circuit and the second lighting circuit, and configured to provide a compensation current to the first light emitting element or the second light emitting element according to the first detection voltage and the second detection voltage.
It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are by examples, and are intended to provide further explanation of the disclosure as claimed.
The present disclosure can be more fully understood by reading the following detailed description of the embodiment, with reference made to the accompanying drawings as follows:
For the embodiment below is described in detail with the accompanying drawings, embodiments are not provided to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Moreover, the operation of the described structure is not for limiting the order of implementation. Any device with equivalent functions that is produced from a structure formed by a recombination of elements is all covered by the scope of the present disclosure. Drawings are for the purpose of illustration only, and not plotted in accordance with the original size.
It will be understood that when an element is referred to as being “connected to” or “coupled to”, it can be directly connected or coupled to the other element or intervening elements may be present. In contrast, when an element to another element is referred to as being “directly connected” or “directly coupled,” there are no intervening elements present. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes an associated listed items or any and all combinations of more.
Referring to
The second lighting circuit 120 includes a second light emitting element L2 and a second transistor switch T2. In some embodiments, the second light emitting element L2 and the second transistor switch T2 are connected in series with each other. The second transistor switch T2 is electrically connected between the driving circuit 130 and the second light emitting element L2, so that when the second transistor switch T2 is turned on, the second light emitting element L2 receives a second driving current I2 from the driving circuit 130.
In this embodiment, the light generated by the first light emitting element L1 and the second light emitting element L2 is used to display the same pixel. The first light emitting element L1 and the second light emitting element L2 may be micro LEDs, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. The driving current I0 provided by the driving circuit 130 can be divided into the first driving current I1 and the second driving current I2. When anyone of the first light emitting element L1 and the second light emitting element L2 is damaged, the drive current I0 provided by the driving circuit 130 flows only through the normal one of the first light emitting element L1 and the second light emitting element L2.
The compensation circuit 140 is electrically connected between the first lighting circuit 110 and the second lighting circuit 120. When the first light emitting element L1 and the second light emitting element L2 are respectively driven by the first driving current I1 and the second driving current I2, the compensation circuit 140 is configured to selectively provide a compensation current (e.g., the first compensation current L1 or the second compensation current L2) to the first light emitting element L1 or the second light emitting element L2 according to a difference in impedance between the first lighting circuit 110 and the second lighting circuit 120.
In an ideal case, if the first light emitting element L1 and the second light emitting element L2 are the same type of light emitting elements (e.g., light emitting diodes), when the first transistor switch T1 and the second transistor switch T2 are turned on, the first driving current I1 will be same as the second driving current I2. However, in actual situations, the first light emitting element L1 and the second light emitting element L2 may have different impedance due to different process. Alternatively, the first light emitting element L1 and the second light emitting element L2 may have different impedance due to ohmic contact effects, resulting in the first driving current I1 being different from the second driving current I2. In the present disclosure, the compensation circuit 140 calculates a difference between the first driving current I1 and the second driving current I2 according to a difference in impedance between the first light emitting element L1 and the second light emitting element L2, based on voltage divider rule or current divider rule, to provide the compensation current, so that the first light emitting element L1 and the second light emitting element L2 maintain the same brightness. For example, if the first driving current I1 is less than the second driving current I2, the compensation circuit 140 provides the first compensation current L1 to the first light emitting element L1. On the other hand, if the first driving current I1 is larger than the second driving current I2, the second compensation current L2 is provided to the second light emitting element L2.
In some embodiments, the pixel circuit 100 further includes a scan driver 160 and a detection circuit 150. The scan driver 160 is electrically connected to a gate control terminal of the first transistor switch T1 and a gate control terminal of the second transistor switch T2 for controlling the opening and closing of the first transistor switch T1 and the second transistor switch T2. The detection circuit 150 is electrically connected to the first transistor switch T1 and the second transistor switch T2.
As shown in
In some embodiments, the detection circuit 150 is electrically connected to the first node N1 (or the first lighting circuit 110 and the second lighting circuit 120) through the analog-to-digital circuit 151 and the third transistor switch T3. The scan driver 160 is configured to control the opening and closing of the third transistor switch T3 so that the detection circuit 150 can detect the voltage of the first node N1.
In step S220, based on the first detection voltage V1 and the second detection voltage V2, the detection circuit 150 determines whether repair is necessary, according to the states of the first light emitting element L1 and the second light emitting element L2. In some embodiments, the detection circuit 150 determines whether the first detection voltage V1 and the second detection voltage V2 are within the standard voltage range (e.g., a standard voltage is between 2.0-3.5 volts) to confirm whether the first light emitting element L1 and the second light emitting element L2 are working normally state. In the case of the first detection voltage V1 is outside (e.g., higher or lower) the standard voltage range, it represents the first light emitting element L1 works abnormally state (e.g., open circuit or short circuit). Similarly, in the case of the second detection voltage V2 is higher or lower than the standard voltage range, it represents the second light emitting element L2 abnormality.
The pixel circuit 100 will repair the first lighting circuit 110 or the second lighting circuit 120 when the first light emitting element L1 or the second light emitting element L2 is abnormal. In step S250, the first lighting circuit or/and the second lighting circuit are driven by the driving circuit 130. As shown in
If the detection circuit 150 determines that the states of the first light emitting element L1 and the second light emitting element L2 are normal, in order to avoid the impedance values of the first light emitting element L1 and the second light emitting element L2 changing due to the ohmic contact effect, in step S230, the detection circuit 150 establishes corresponding electrical property data for the first light emitting element L1 and the second light emitting element L2, respectively. In some embodiments, the detection circuit 150 generates a first electrical property data according to the first driving current I1 and the first detection voltage V1, and generates a second electrical property data according to the second driving current I2 and the second detection voltage V2. The detection circuit calculates a difference in impedance between the first lighting circuit 110 and the second lighting circuit 120 according to the first electrical property data and the second electrical property data. The method of establishing electrical property data will be explained in the following paragraphs.
As shown in
In some embodiments, the driving circuit 130 includes a first capacitor C1, a fourth transistor switch T4, and a fifth transistor switch T5. The first terminal of the fourth transistor switch T4 is configured to receive the power supply voltage Vdd through the driving circuit 130, and the second terminal of the fourth transistor switch T4 is electrically connected to the first lighting circuit 110 and the second lighting circuit 120. The first capacitor C1 is electrically connected between the supply voltage Vdd and the gate control terminal of the fourth transistor switch T4. The fifth transistor switch T5 is electrically connected to the gate control terminal of the fourth transistor switch T4 for controlling the fourth transistor switch T4 to be turned on or off. The pixel circuit 100 of the present disclosure is configured to detect and repair the first light emitting element L1 and the second light emitting element L2, and thus may be applied to various types of the driving circuit 130. That is, the circuit structure of the driving circuit 130 is not limited as shown in FIG.
Referring to
In the foregoing embodiment, the compensation circuit 140 provides the compensation current to the first light emitting element L1 or the second light emitting element L2 through the first compensation switch T6 and the second compensation switch T7, respectively. However, in other embodiments, the source driver in the compensation circuit 140 may be electrically connected to the first lighting circuit 110 or the second lighting circuit 120 through a single switch unit. Accordingly, the compensation circuit 140 can selectively provide the compensation current according to the impedance difference between the first lighting circuit 110 and the second lighting circuit 120 to ensure brightness is consistent.
In some embodiments, when the first light emitting element L1 or the second light emitting element L2 is abnormal, as described above, the scan driver 160 turns off the first transistor switch T1 or the second transistor switch T2, so that the driving circuit 130 only drives the normal first light emitting element L1 or the normal second light emitting element L2. At this time, since only one light emitting element generates light, the compensation circuit 140 can increase the current on the normal operating light emitting element to maintain the same brightness.
For example, when the first light emitting element L1 is abnormal, the first transistor switch T1 will be turned off, and the second transistor switch T2 will be turned on. At this time, the compensation circuit 140 turns on the second compensation switch T7, and adjusts the second compensation current to the amount of the first driving current when the first light emitting element L1 is normal. Similarly, when the second light emitting element L2 is abnormal, the first transistor switch T1 will be turned on, and the second transistor switch T2 will be turned off. At this time, the compensation circuit 140 turns on the first compensation switch T6, and adjusts the first compensation current to the amount of the second driving current when the second light emitting element L2 is normal.
Referring to
In some embodiments, the detection circuit 150 can modify the driving current DATA to change the amount of the driving current I0. The detection circuit 150 further detects the voltage of the first node N1 to generate the first electrical property data corresponding to the first lighting circuit 110 and the second electrical property data corresponding to the second lighting circuit 120, respectively. As shown in
In some embodiments, the first electrical property data contain a characteristic curve of the light emitting diode. As shown in
Similarly as shown in
As shown in
I1=I0×Rtotal2/(Rtotal1+Rtotal2)
I2=I0×Rtotal1/(Rtotal1+Rtotal2)
According to the above formula, the detection circuit 150 can confirm the difference between the first driving current I1 and the second driving current I2. If the first driving current I1 is larger than the second driving current I2, the compensation circuit 140 provides the second compensation current L2 to the second light emitting element L2. On the other hand, if the first driving current I1 is less than the second driving current I2, the compensation circuit 140 provides the first compensation current Ir1 to the first light emitting element L1. Accordingly, it is ensured that the current flowing through the first light emitting element L1 is the same as the current flowing through the second light emitting element L2.
Referring to
In some embodiments, as shown in
The seven time segments P01 to P07 shown in
As shown in
In time segment P05, when the first light emitting element L1 is damaged, the first transistor switch T1 will be turned off according to the control signal EM1, and the second transistor switch T2 is turned on, so that only the second light emitting element L2 is driven. Similarly, in the time segment P06, when the second light emitting element L2 is damaged, the second transistor switch T2 will be turned off according to the control signal EM2, and the first transistor switch T1 is turned on, so that only the first light emitting element L1 is driven. In the time segment P07, the first transistor switch T1 and the second transistor switch T2 are both turned off, which means that the first light emitting element L1 and the second light emitting element L2 are both damaged. Therefore, the pixel circuit 100 will stop driving the driving circuit 130 by scanning the signal SCAN.
Accordingly, the present disclosure not only repairs the first lighting circuit 110 or the second lighting circuit 120 by detecting the voltage, but also calculates the difference in impedance between the first lighting circuit 110 and the second lighting circuit 120 according to the amount of the detected voltage, so that the present disclosure may selectively provide the compensation current to ensure that the currents on the first lighting circuit 110 or the second lighting circuit 120 are the same. In this way, it will be ensured that when the first light emitting element L1 and the second light emitting element L2 are simultaneously driven, the generated light may be the same as each other.
It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the structure of the present disclosure without departing from the scope or spirit of the present disclosure. In view of the foregoing, it is intended that the present disclosure cover modifications and variations of this present disclosure provided they fall within the scope of the following claims.
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