Patent Application
20130235039
This disclosure generally relates to information handling systems, and more particularly relates to a system and method for providing a multi-mode embedded display.
As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option is an information handling system. An information handling system generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements can vary between different applications, information handling systems can also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information can be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in information handling systems allow for information handling systems to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, information handling systems can include a variety of hardware and software components that can be configured to process, store, and communicate information and can include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
A mobile device, such as a notebook, tablet, or smart cellular telephone, may comply with different display standards. The display standards can include a mobile industry processor interface (MIPI) display serial interface (DSI) display standard, a low voltage differential signaling (LVDS) display standard, an embedded DisplayPort (eDP) display standard, a red green blue (RGB) display standard, a high definition multimedia interface (HDMI) display standard, and the like. The mobile device can include a source device, such as System on a Chip (SoC), to provide display data to a display panel in the mobile device. The display interface connectivity of the SoC can be based on different display sizes, resolutions, color depth, refresh rates, display connection topologies, and the like. The SoC can include forty pins dedicated to display interfaces, package size, and power requirement. The SoC design can have separate sets of electrical display interface pins for each of the different display standards. For example, the SoC can have a first set of pins for eDP display panel and a second set of pins for MIPI DSI display panel.
It will be appreciated that for simplicity and clarity of illustration, elements illustrated in the Figures have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements are exaggerated relative to other elements. Embodiments incorporating teachings of the present disclosure are shown and described with respect to the drawings presented herein, in which:
The use of the same reference symbols in different drawings indicates similar or identical items.
The following description in combination with the Figures is provided to assist in understanding the teachings disclosed herein. The following discussion will focus on specific implementations and embodiments of the teachings. This focus is provided to assist in describing the teachings and should not be interpreted as a limitation on the scope or applicability of the teachings. However, other teachings can certainly be utilized in this application.
The eDP display system 100 includes a source device 102, an eDP panel connector 104, and an eDP display 106. The source device 102 includes a transmitter 108. The source device 102 is in communication with the eDP panel connector 104, which in turn is in communication with the eDP display 106. The source device 102 can be a System on a Chip (SoC) device, which can be low power and compact for use in a mobile device. The mobile device can be a notebook, a tablet, a smart cellular telephone, and the like.
The eDP display 106 may be a display panel that can support different display resolutions such as wide super extended graphics array plus (WSXGA+), wide quad XGA (WQXGA), 4K×2K, and the like. The source device 102 can have direct communication with the eDP panel connector 104 via a hot plug detect communication bus. When the information handling system or mobile device is powered on, the source device 102 can determine whether an auxiliary channel is present between the source device and the panel connector 104. The source device 102 can then select an eDP operational mode from pre-configured display format parameters, and can bring up main links of the source device in the eDP operational mode. If the auxiliary channel is present, the source device 102 can retrieve extended display identification data (EDID) information from the eDP display 106 via the eDP panel connector 104. The source device 102 can utilize the EDID information while sending display data to the eDP display 106.
The source device 102 can utilize AC coupling signaling to transmit display data to the panel connector 104 and to the eDP display 106. The source device 102 can receive the display data from a processor of the mobile device via a communication bus, and can utilize the transmitter 108 to send the display data to the eDP panel connector 104 via a communication bus. In an embodiment the communication bus between the processor of the mobile device and the transmitter 108, as well as the communication bus between transmitter 108 and the eDP panel connector 104 can both be nine bit communication buses. The eDP panel connector 104, can then transmit the display data to the eDP display 106 with a specific resolution as defined in information associated with the display data. During the eDP operational mode, the source device 102 can utilize one or more eDP main link lanes to send the display data to the eDP display 106.
The MIPI display system 100 can utilize direct current (DC) coupled signaling to transmit the display data signals from the MIPI panel connector 204 to the MIPI display 206. However, as stated above the transmitter 108 of the source device 102 utilizes AC coupled signaling. Thus, the level shifter 202 can be used to change the signaling from being AC coupled to DC coupled. Therefore, the transmitter 108 of the source device 102 can communicate display data as a common mode AC signal to the receiver 208 of the level shifter. The receiver 208 can then transmit the display data to the transmitter 210 of the level shifter 202 to boost a voltage of the display data signal from a voltage having a swing around zero to a voltage having a swing above zero with a top voltage at a desired DC voltage for the MIPI display 206.
The source device 102 can have direct communication with the MIPI panel connector 204 via a hot plug detect communication bus and a display serial interface (DSI) enabled communication bus. When the information handling system or mobile device is powered on, the source device 102 can determine whether an auxiliary channel is present between the source device and the panel connector 204. If the auxiliary channel is not present the source device 102 can determine whether a DSI enabled signal is present on the DSI enabled communication bus. If the DSI signal is present then the source device 102 can determine that the MIPI panel connector 204 and the MIPI display 206 are installed in the information handling system. The source device 102 can then select a MIPI DSI operation mode from pre-configured display format parameters, and can bring up main links of the source device in the MIPI DSI operation mode. During the MIPI operation mode, the source device 102 can map three DSI data channels to eDP main link lanes zero through two, a DSI clock signal to eDP main link lane three, and a hot plug detect signal from the MIPI panel connector to eDP hot plug detect pin.
The source device 102 can receive display data from a processor of the mobile device via a communication bus, and can utilize the transmitter 108 to send the display data to the receiver 208 of the level shifter 202 via a common mode communication signal. The level shifter 202 can then utilize the transmitter 210 to send the display data to the MIPI panel connector 204 via a communication bus. In an embodiment, the communication bus between the processor of the mobile device and the transmitter 108 as well as the communication bus between transmitter 210 and the MIPI panel connector 204 can both be nine bit communication buses.
The MIPI panel connector 204 can then transmit the display data to the MIPI display 206 with a specific resolution. The display resolution for the MIPI DSI display 206 can vary based on a version of the MIPI DSI standard utilized by the source device 102, as shown in
The source device 102 can utilize two communication links or channels for display resolutions in the MIPI display 206 of either HD or wide extended graphics array plus (WXGA+), and for display resolutions in the eDP display 106 of either WUXGA or WQXGA. The HD can have a resolution of 1280×720, the WXGA+ can have a resolution of 1440×900, and the WQXGA can have a resolution of 2560×1600. The source device 102 can utilize three communication links or channels for display resolutions in the MIPI display 206 of either WXGA+ or FHD. The FHD can have a resolution of 1920×1080. The source device 102 can utilize four communication links or channels for display resolutions in the MIPI display 206 of either WSXGA+ or widescreen ultra XGA (WUXGA), and for display resolutions in the eDP display 106 of either WQXGA or 4K×2K. The WSXGA+ can have a resolution of 1680×1050, WUXGA can have a resolution of 1920×1200, and the 4K×2K can have a resolution of 4096×2304.
The source device 102 can have a standard mapping for the eDP operational mode. For example, the lane mapping table 400 shows that the first four main links, pins 3-4, 6-7, 9-10, and 12-13 can be used as data lanes and the fifth main link, pins 15-16, can be mapped as the auxiliary channel in the eDP operational mode. Pin 17 can be used as a hot plug detect bus to determine whether an eDP display panel has been connected to the source 102 in the eDP operational mode. Pins 18-20 can be reserved in the eDP operational mode.
During the MIPI DSI operation mode, a DSI clock lane can be mapped to the eDP main link 3, pins 12-13, which can allow up to three DSI data channels to be mapped in any order to the eDP main link lines 0-2. The DSI enabled signal can be mapped to eDP pin 18 for detection of the MIPI display 206. In an embodiment, a hot plug detect signal may be mapped from the MIPI panel connector to the eDP hot plug detect pin 17. Thus, the source device 102 can use the same set of pins for communicating display data in both the eDP operation mode and the MIPI operation mode.
If the auxiliary transaction is successful, the source device is operated in eDP mode at block 510. If the auxiliary transaction is not successful, a determination is made whether a DSI enabled signal is received from the display interface panel at block 512. If the DSI enabled signal is not received, the flow continues as stated above at block 504. However, if the DSI enabled signal is received, the source device is operated in a DSI mode at block 514.
At block 516, three DSI data channels are mapped to eDP main link lanes zero through two. A DSI clock signal is mapped to eDP main link lane three at block 518. At block 520, a hot plug detect signal from the MIPI panel connector is mapped to eDP hot plug detect pin. At block 522, the user device is powered off.
As shown in
According to one aspect, the chipset 710 can be referred to as a memory hub or a memory controller. For example, the chipset 710 can include an Accelerated Hub Architecture (AHA) that uses a dedicated bus to transfer data between first physical processor 702 and the nth physical processor 706. For example, the chipset 710, including an AHA enabled-chipset, can include a memory controller hub and an input/output (I/O) controller hub. As a memory controller hub, the chipset 710 can function to provide access to first physical processor 702 using first bus 704 and nth physical processor 706 using the second host bus 708. The chipset 710 can also provide a memory interface for accessing memory 712 using a memory bus 714. In a particular embodiment, the buses 704, 708, and 714 can be individual buses or part of the same bus. The chipset 710 can also provide bus control and can handle transfers between the buses 704, 708, and 714.
According to another aspect, the chipset 710 can be generally considered an application specific chipset that provides connectivity to various buses, and integrates other system functions. For example, the chipset 710 can be provided using an Intel® Hub Architecture (IHA) chipset that can also include two parts, a Graphics and AGP Memory Controller Hub (GMCH) and an I/O Controller Hub (ICH). For example, an Intel 820E, an 815E chipset, or any combination thereof, available from the Intel Corporation of Santa Clara, Calif., can provide at least a portion of the chipset 710. The chipset 710 can also be packaged as an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC).
The information handling system 700 can also include a video graphics interface 722 that can be coupled to the chipset 710 using a third host bus 724. In one form, the video graphics interface 722 can be an Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP) interface to display content within a video display unit 726. Other graphics interfaces may also be used. The video graphics interface 722 can provide a video display output 728 to the video display unit 726. The video display unit 726 can include one or more types of video displays such as a flat panel display (FPD) or other type of display device.
The information handling system 700 can also include an I/O interface 730 that can be connected via an I/O bus 720 to the chipset 710. The I/O interface 730 and I/O bus 720 can include industry standard buses or proprietary buses and respective interfaces or controllers. For example, the I/O bus 720 can also include a Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus or a high speed PCI-Express bus. In one embodiment, a PCI bus can be operated at approximately 66 MHz and a PCI-Express bus can be operated at more than one speed, such as 2.5 GHz and 4 GHz. PCI buses and PCI-Express buses can be provided to comply with industry standards for connecting and communicating between various PCI-enabled hardware devices. Other buses can also be provided in association with, or independent of, the I/O bus 720 including, but not limited to, industry standard buses or proprietary buses, such as Industry Standard Architecture (ISA), Small Computer Serial Interface (SCSI), Inter-Integrated Circuit (I2C), System Packet Interface (SPI), or Universal Serial buses (USBs).
In an alternate embodiment, the chipset 710 can be a chipset employing a Northbridge/Southbridge chipset configuration (not illustrated). For example, a Northbridge portion of the chipset 710 can communicate with the first physical processor 702 and can control interaction with the memory 712, the I/O bus 720 that can be operable as a PCI bus, and activities for the video graphics interface 722. The Northbridge portion can also communicate with the first physical processor 702 using first bus 704 and the second bus 708 coupled to the nth physical processor 706. The chipset 710 can also include a Southbridge portion (not illustrated) of the chipset 710 and can handle I/O functions of the chipset 710. The Southbridge portion can manage the basic forms of I/O such as Universal Serial Bus (USB), serial I/O, audio outputs, Integrated Drive Electronics (IDE), and ISA I/O for the information handling system 700.
The information handling system 700 can further include a disk controller 732 coupled to the I/O bus 720, and connecting one or more internal disk drives such as a hard disk drive (HDD) 734 and an optical disk drive (ODD) 736 such as a Read/Write Compact Disk (R/W CD), a Read/Write Digital Video Disk (R/W DVD), a Read/Write mini-Digital Video Disk (R/W mini-DVD), or other type of optical disk drive.
Although only a few exemplary embodiments have been described in detail in the exemplary embodiments without materially departing from the novel teachings and advantages of the embodiments of the present disclosure. For example, the methods described in the present disclosure can be stored as instructions in a computer readable medium to cause a processor, such as chipset 710, to perform the method. Additionally, the methods described in the present disclosure can be stored as instructions in a non-transitory computer readable medium, such as a hard disk drive, a solid state drive, a flash memory, and the like. Accordingly, all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the embodiments of the present disclosure as defined in the following claims. In the claims, means-plus-function clauses are intended to cover the structures described herein as performing the recited function and not only structural equivalents, but also equivalent structures.
