DISPLAY DEVICE, DRIVING METHOD THEREOF, AND DISPLAY EQUIPMENT

A display device, a driving method thereof, and a display equipment are provided. The display device includes a driving module. The present disclosure allows a display panel to maintain a same brightness for image display when the display panel refreshes images at different refresh rates by allowing the refresh rates to correspond to gamma voltages and adjusting the gamma voltages to adjust a brightness of the display panel when a current refresh rate of the display panel changes. Serious flickers of the display device caused by the display device being switched at different refresh rates in a short time can be prevented.

FIELD OF INVENTION

The present disclosure relates to the field of display technologies, and more particularly, to a display device, a driving method thereof, and a display equipment.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

Display devices usually refresh at a certain fixed frequency when displaying, while under some specific conditions, the display devices are required to display at a higher or lower refresh rate. However, an interval time between two frames when displaying at the lower refresh rate is longer than an interval time between two frames when displaying at the higher refresh rate. An overly long interval time will aggravate an impact of electrical leakage of the display devices, and will finally reduce entire brightness of the display devices. Therefore, when the display devices are required to be switched at different refresh rates in a short time, the display devices will have serious flickers due to a brightness difference of the display devices at different refresh rates.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

Technical Problem

The interval time between the two frames when displaying at the lower refresh rate is longer than the interval time between the two frames when displaying at the higher refresh rate. The overly long interval time will aggravate the impact of electrical leakage of the display devices, and will finally reduce the entire brightness of the display devices.

Technical Solution to the Problem

Technical Solution

An embodiment of the present disclosure provides a display device, a driving method thereof, and a display equipment to solve following technical problems in current display devices: when display devices are required to be switched at different refresh rates in a short time, the display devices will have serious flickers due to a brightness difference of the display devices at different refresh rates.

In order to solve the above problems, the present disclosure provides technical solutions as follows.

In a first aspect, the present disclosure provides a display device, which includes a driving module, a display panel, and a power control module;wherein the driving module is configured to send driving signals to the display panel to control the display panel to refresh images at different refresh rates; andthe power control module is configured to provide gamma voltages corresponding to the refresh rates of the display panel to the display panel according to the refresh rates of the display panel to allow the display panel to maintain a default brightness for image display when the display panel refreshes the images at different refresh rates.

In some embodiments, the power control module includes a first control module and a power management module;the driving module is further configured to send enable signals to the first control module when sending the driving signals to the display panel;the first control module is configured to confirm the refresh rates of the display panel according to the enable signals; andthe power management module is configured to provide the gamma voltages corresponding to the refresh rates of the display panel to the display panel according to the refresh rates of the display panel.

In some embodiments, the first control module is further configured to send control signals to the power management module when a current refresh rate of the display panel is switched from a first frequency to a second frequency; andthe power management module is further configured to provide the display panel with a gamma voltage corresponding to the second frequency according to the control signals.

In some embodiments, the power management module includes a storage module configured to store data of the gamma voltages, the storage module includes a first memory device and a second memory device, the first memory device is configured to store data of a first gamma voltage, and the second memory device is configured to store data of a second gamma voltage.

In some embodiments, the power management module is further configured to provide the display panel with the gamma voltage corresponding to the second frequency according to the control signals sent by the first control module when the current refresh rate of the display panel is switched from the first frequency to the second frequency and the gamma voltage corresponding to the second frequency is the first gamma voltage or the second gamma voltage.

In some embodiments, the power management module is further configured to obtain the first gamma voltage from the first memory device and provide the first gamma voltage to the display panel according to the control signals sent by the first control module when the gamma voltage corresponding to the second frequency is the first gamma voltage.

In some embodiments, the power management module is further configured to obtain the second gamma voltage from the second memory device and provide the second gamma voltage to the display panel according to the control signals sent by the first control module when the gamma voltage corresponding to the second frequency is the second gamma voltage.

In some embodiments, the first control module is further configured to send data of the gamma voltage corresponding to the second frequency to the power management module when the current refresh rate of the display panel is switched from the first frequency to the second frequency and the gamma voltage corresponding to the second frequency is different from the first gamma voltage and the second gamma voltage; andthe power management module is further configured to amend the data in the first memory device or the second memory device to the data of the gamma voltage corresponding to the second frequency according to the data of the gamma voltage corresponding to the second frequency sent by the first control module.

In some embodiments, the gamma voltages correspond to refresh rate ranges by one to one.

In a second aspect, the present disclosure further provides a display equipment, which includes a display device, wherein, the display device includes a driving module, a display panel, and a power control module;wherein the driving module is configured to send driving signals to the display panel to control the display panel to refresh images at different refresh rates; andthe power control module is configured to provide gamma voltages corresponding to the refresh rates of the display panel to the display panel according to the refresh rates of the display panel to allow the display panel to maintain a default brightness for image display when the display panel refreshes the images at different refresh rates;wherein the power control module includes a first control module and a power management module;the driving module is further configured to send enable signals to the first control module when sending the driving signals to the display panel;the first control module is configured to confirm the refresh rates of the display panel according to the enable signals; andthe power management module is configured to provide the gamma voltages corresponding to the refresh rates of the display panel to the display panel according to the refresh rates of the display panel.

In some embodiments, the first control module is further configured to send control signals to the power management module when a current refresh rate of the display panel is switched from a first frequency to a second frequency; and the power management module is further configured to provide the display panel with a gamma voltage corresponding to the second frequency according to the control signals.

In some embodiments, the power management module includes a storage module configured to store data of the gamma voltages, the storage module includes a first memory device and a second memory device, the first memory device is configured to store data of a first gamma voltage, and the second memory device is configured to store data of a second gamma voltage.

In some embodiments, the power management module is further configured to provide the display panel with the gamma voltage corresponding to the second frequency according to the control signals sent by the first control module when the current refresh rate of the display panel is switched from the first frequency to the second frequency and the gamma voltage corresponding to the second frequency is the first gamma voltage or the second gamma voltage.

In some embodiments, the power management module is further configured to obtain the first gamma voltage from the first memory device and provide the first gamma voltage to the display panel according to the control signals sent by the first control module when the gamma voltage corresponding to the second frequency is the first gamma voltage.

In some embodiments, the power management module is further configured to obtain the second gamma voltage from the second memory device and provide the second gamma voltage to the display panel according to the control signals sent by the first control module when the gamma voltage corresponding to the second frequency is the second gamma voltage.

In some embodiments, the first control module is further configured to send data of the gamma voltage corresponding to the second frequency to the power management module when the current refresh rate of the display panel is switched from the first frequency to the second frequency and the gamma voltage corresponding to the second frequency is different from the first gamma voltage and the second gamma voltage; and the power management module is further configured to amend the data in the first memory device or the second memory device to the data of the gamma voltage corresponding to the second frequency according to the data of the gamma voltage corresponding to the second frequency sent by the first control module.

In some embodiments, the gamma voltages correspond to refresh rate ranges by one to one.

In a third aspect, the present disclosure further provides a driving method of a display device. The display device includes a driving module, a display panel, and a power control module, and the driving method of the display device includes following steps:S10: the driving module sending driving signals to the display panel to control the display panel to refresh images at different refresh rates; andS20: the power control module providing gamma voltages corresponding to the refresh rates of the display panel to the display panel according to the refresh rates of the display panel to allow the display panel to maintain a default brightness for image display when the display panel refreshes the images at different refresh rates.

Beneficial Effect of the Invention

Beneficial Effect

Beneficial effects of the present disclosure are that by allowing the refresh rates to correspond to the gamma voltages, a displayed brightness of the display panel can be adjusted by adjusting the gamma voltages provided to the display panel when the current refresh rate of the display panel changes. Therefore, a brightness difference of the display panel can be improved when the display panel refreshes the images at a lower refresh rate and a higher refresh rate by improving the displayed brightness when the display panel refreshes the images at the lower refresh rate and/or reducing the displayed brightness when the display panel refreshes the images at the higher refresh rate. The display panel is allowed to maintain a same brightness for image display when the display panel refreshes the images at different refresh rates. Therefore, serious flickers of the display device caused by the display device being switched at different refresh rates in a short time can be prevented.

Elements in the drawings are designated by reference numerals listed below.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

In order to make the purpose, technical solutions, and effects of the present disclosure clearer and more definite, the following further describes the present disclosure in detail with reference to the drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are only used to explain the disclosure, and are not used to limit the disclosure.

The present disclosure is dedicated to following technical problems in current display devices: when display devices are required to be switched at different refresh rates in a short time, the display devices will have serious flickers due to a brightness difference of the display devices at different refresh rates.

A display device, as shown inFIG.1, includes a driving module10, a display panel20, and a power control module30. The display device is a display device equipped with Free Sync (screen adaptive synchronization) technology.

Wherein, the driving module10is connected to the display panel20and the power control module30. The driving module10is configured to send driving signals to the display panel20to control the display panel20to refresh images at different refresh rates. The power control module30is connected to the display panel20. The power control module30is configured to provide gamma voltages corresponding to the refresh rates of the display panel20to the display panel20according to the refresh rates of the display panel20to allow the display panel20to maintain a default brightness for image display when the display panel20refreshes the images at different refresh rates.

It should be noted that the driving module10may be a screen driver board (timer control register, TCON), and the driving module10sends the driving signals to components such as a source driver and a scan driver of the display panel20to control the source driver and the scan driver to drive the display panel20.

It should be noted that the driving module10is further configured to send enable signals to the power control module30when sending the driving signals to the display panel20, and the power control module30confirms the refresh rates of the display panel20according to the enable signals.

A refresh rate refers to a speed at which the images are updated on a screen when the display panel20is working, that is, a number of times of the images displaying on the screen per second. For example, if the images display 60 times per second, the refresh rate is 60 Hz.

It can be understood that by allowing the refresh rates to correspond to the gamma voltages, a displayed brightness of the display panel20can be adjusted by adjusting the gamma voltages provided to the display panel20when a current refresh rate of the display panel20changes. For example, when a refresh rate of the display panel20in an N-th frame is 70 Hz, the power control module30provides a gamma voltage of 10 V to the display panel20, and when the refresh rate of the display panel20in an (N+1)th frame is switched to 60 Hz, the power control module30provides a gamma voltage of 12 V to the display panel20. Therefore, by improving a displayed brightness when the display panel20refreshes the images at a lower refresh rate and/or reducing the displayed brightness when the display panel20refreshes the images at a higher refresh rate, the display panel20is allowed to maintain a same displayed brightness when refreshing the images both at the lower refresh rate and the higher refresh rate. Therefore, serious flickers of the display device caused by the display device being switched at different refresh rates in a short time can be prevented.

As shown inFIG.2, the power control module30includes a first control module31and a power management module32. The first control module31may be a complex programmable logic device (CPLD), and the power management module32may be a power management integrated circuit (PMIC).

Wherein, the driving module10is further configured to send the enable signals to the first control module31when sending the driving signals to the display panel20. The first control module31is configured to confirm the current refresh rate of the display panel20according to the enable signals. The power management module32is configured to provide the gamma voltages corresponding to the refresh rates of the display panel20to the display panel20according to the refresh rates of the display panel20.

As shown inFIG.3, it can be understood that the enable signals sent by the driving module10to the first control module31include first input signals RX and second input signals TX. The first input signals RX represent data enable signals of each row output by a front end to the driving module10, and the second input signals TX represent data enable signals of each row output by the driving module10to the source driver of the display panel20. The current refresh rate of the display panel20can be confirmed according to an interval time between two of the first input signals RX or an interval time between two of the second input signals TX. Therefore, whether the current refresh rate of the display panel20has changed can be detected.

Specifically, the first control module31is further configured to send control signals CMD to the power management module32when the current refresh rate of the display panel20is switched from a first frequency to a second frequency. The power management module32is further configured to provide the display panel20with a gamma voltage corresponding to the second frequency according to the control signals CMD.

As shown inFIG.3,FIG.3is a schematic signal diagram of the enable signals and the control signals CMD when switching the refresh rates according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. A position indicated by the arrow inFIG.3is when the first control module31detects that the current refresh rate of the display panel20is switched from the first frequency to the second frequency. At this time, the first control module31starts to send the control signals CMD to the power management module32.

As shown inFIG.4, the power management module32includes a storage module321configured to store data of the gamma voltages. The storage module321includes a first memory device A and a second memory device B, the first memory device A is configured to store data of a first gamma voltage GM1, and the second memory device B is configured to store data of a second gamma voltage GM2.

It can be understood that the first memory device A and the second memory device B may be used to store different data of the gamma voltages. The power control module30can timely adjust the gamma voltages provided to the display panel20when the display panel20switches the current refresh rate by storing the data of the gamma voltages in the first memory device A and the second memory device B in advance.

In an embodiment, the power management module32is further configured to provide the display panel20with the gamma voltage corresponding to the second frequency according to the control signals CMD sent by the first control module31when the current refresh rate of the display panel20is switched from the first frequency to the second frequency and the gamma voltage corresponding to the second frequency is the first gamma voltage GM1or the second gamma voltage GM2.

It can be understood that when the display panel20switches the current refresh rate and a refresh rate after switching corresponds to one of the gamma voltages stored in the first memory device A or the second memory device B, a corresponding gamma voltage can be obtained directly from a corresponding memory device according to the control signals CMD, and the gamma voltage provided to the display panel20can be directly switched by delaying one frame to finish.

Wherein, the power management module32is further configured to obtain the first gamma voltage GM1from the first memory device A and provide the first gamma voltage GM1to the display panel20according to the control signals CMD sent by the first control module31when the gamma voltage corresponding to the second frequency is the first gamma voltage GM1.

The power management module32is further configured to obtain the second gamma voltage GM2from the second memory device B and provide the second gamma voltage GM2to the display panel20according to the control signals CMD sent by the first control module31when the gamma voltage corresponding to the second frequency is the second gamma voltage GM2.

As shown inFIG.5,FIG.5is a schematic signal diagram of the gamma voltages provided by the power management module32according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The first frequency corresponding to the first gamma voltage GM1and the second frequency corresponding to the second gamma voltage GM2are taken as an example. A position indicated by the arrow inFIG.5is when the first control module31detects that the current refresh rate of the display panel20is switched from the first frequency to the second frequency. At this time, the first control module31sends the control signals CMD to the power management module32to control the power management module32to switch the gamma voltage provided to the display panel20from the first gamma voltage GM1to the second gamma voltage GM2.

In another embodiment, the first control module31is further configured to send data of the gamma voltage corresponding to the second frequency to the power management module32when the current refresh rate of the display panel20is switched from the first frequency to the second frequency and the gamma voltage corresponding to the second frequency is different from the first gamma voltage GM1and the second gamma voltage GM2. The power management module32is further configured to amend the data in the first memory device A or the second memory device B to the data of the gamma voltage corresponding to the second frequency according to the data of the gamma voltage corresponding to the second frequency sent by the first control module31.

It can be understood that when the display panel20switches the current refresh rate and the refresh rate after switching corresponds to a gamma voltage that is different from the gamma voltage stored in the first memory device A or the second memory device B, the power management module32does not have data of the gamma voltage corresponding to the refresh rate after switching. At this time, the first control module31transmits the data of the gamma voltage corresponding to the refresh rate after switching to the power management module32. At a same time, the control signals CMD are used to control the power management module32to amend the data in the first memory device A or the second memory device B and control the power management module32to switch the gamma voltage provided to the display panel20to the gamma voltage corresponding to the refresh rate after switching. The above switching action can be completed by delaying two frames.

As shown inFIG.6,FIG.6is a schematic signal diagram of the gamma voltages provided by the power management module32according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The first frequency corresponding to the first gamma voltage GM1, the second frequency corresponding to a third gamma voltage GM3, and the data in the first memory device A being amended are taken as an example. A position indicated by the arrow inFIG.6is when the first control module31detects that the current refresh rate of the display panel20is switched from the first frequency to the second frequency. At this time, the first control module31sends the control signals CMD and the data of the gamma voltage corresponding to the second frequency to the power management module32to control the power management module32to amend the data in the first memory device A to data of the third gamma voltage GM3and to control the power management module32to switch the gamma voltage provided to the display panel20from the first gamma voltage GM1to the third gamma voltage GM3.

Specifically, the first control module31may be connected to the power management module32by an inter-integrated circuit (I2C) bus, and the first control module31is further configured to transmit the data of the gamma voltages and the control signals CMD to the power management module32by the I2C bus.

It should be noted that if the first control module31directly transmits all the data of the gamma voltages to the power control module30at a same time, the data entering a display area of the display panel20will be always updated due to excessive data transmission, thereby resulting in display images being abnormal. The present disclosure stores two data of the gamma voltages in registers of the power management module32in advance, and meanwhile, the first control module31confirms and transmits the data of the corresponding gamma voltage to the power management module32according to the refresh rate of the display panel20after switching, and timely renews and amends the data in the registers. Therefore, the present disclosure can prevent the above problem.

Specifically, the gamma voltages correspond to refresh rate ranges by one to one, that is, one of the refresh rate ranges corresponds to one of the gamma voltages.

Wherein, each of the refresh rate ranges is different, that is, any two refresh rate ranges do not contain a same refresh rate, and a number of the refresh rates included in each of the refresh rate ranges can be same or different.

It should be noted that one refresh rate range means a collection of the refresh rates in a certain range. For example, a refresh rate range ranging from 50 to 60 Hz means a collection of all refresh rates in the range of 50 to 60 Hz. A general adjusting range of the refresh rates in the display device ranges from 48 to 240 Hz. The adjusting range of the refresh rates may be divided into m refresh rate ranges, such as two refresh rate ranges of 48 to 120 Hz and 121 to 240 Hz.

It can be understood that on the premise of ensuring display quality of the display panel20, a number of the gamma voltages and corresponding data thereof can be reduced by making the gamma voltages correspond to the refresh rate ranges by one to one. Therefore, a burden of data transmission and storage can be reduced.

It should be noted that when the display device is working, a plurality of key refresh rates may be selected from the adjusting range of the refresh rates. The key refresh rates are set as switching threshold values, and two adjacent switching threshold values and the refresh rates in the range thereof are set as one refresh rate range corresponding to one gamma voltage. For example, a first refresh rate range corresponds to the first gamma voltage GM1, and a second refresh rate range corresponds to the second gamma voltage GM2.

As shown inFIG.7, in an embodiment, the power management module32further includes a digital-to-analog converter322(DAC), a low dropout linear regulator323, and a gamma correction module324.

Wherein, the data of the gamma voltages sent by the first control module31through the I2C bus is stored in the storage module321, digital signals output by the storage module321is converted into analog signals by the digital-to-analog converter322, and then the analog signals are input to the low dropout linear regulator323and the gamma correction module324. The low dropout linear regulator323generates gamma reference voltages Vref according to the input analog signals and analog voltages AVDD for gamma correction, then the low dropout linear regulator323outputs common gamma reference voltage Vref to the gamma correction module324, and the gamma correction module324outputs the gamma voltages according to the gamma reference voltages Vref.

It should be noted that adjustment of all gamma voltages may be indirectly controlled by adjusting the low dropout linear regulator323, and each of the gamma voltages may also be adjusted using the gamma correction module324.

As shown inFIG.8, based on the above display device, the present disclosure further provides a driving method of the display device. The display device includes the driving module10, the display panel20, and the power control module30, and the driving method of the display device includes following steps.S10: The driving module10sending the driving signals to the display panel20to control the display panel20to refresh the images at different refresh rates; andS20: the power control module30providing the gamma voltages corresponding to the refresh rates of the display panel20to the display panel20according to the refresh rates of the display panel20to allow the display panel20to maintain the default brightness for image display when the display panel20refreshes the images at different refresh rates.

Wherein, the power control module30includes the first control module31and the power management module32.

The step S10includes a following step: the driving module10sending the enable signals to the first control module31when sending the driving signals to the display panel20.

The step S20includes following steps:S21: the first control module31confirming the current refresh rate of the display panel20according to the enable signals; andS22: the power management module32providing the gamma voltages corresponding to the refresh rates of the display panel20to the display panel20according to the refresh rates of the display panel20.

Specifically, the step S21includes a following step:S211: the first control module31sending the control signals CMD to the power management module32when the current refresh rate of the display panel20is switched from the first frequency to the second frequency.

The step S22includes a following step:S221: the power management module32providing the display panel the gamma voltage corresponding to the second frequency according to the control signals CMD.

Specifically, the power management module32includes the storage module321configured to store the data of the gamma voltages. The storage module321includes the first memory device A and the second memory device B, the first memory device A is configured to store the data of the first gamma voltage GM1, and the second memory device B is configured to store the data of the second gamma voltage GM2.

In an embodiment, the step S221includes a following step: the power management module32providing the display panel20the gamma voltage corresponding to the second frequency according to the control signals CMD sent by the first control module31when the current refresh rate of the display panel20is switched from the first frequency to the second frequency and the gamma voltage corresponding to the second frequency is the first gamma voltage GM1or the second gamma voltage GM2.

Wherein, the power management module32obtains the first gamma voltage GM1from the first memory device A and provides the first gamma voltage GM1to the display panel20according to the control signals CMD sent by the first control module31when the gamma voltage corresponding to the second frequency is the first gamma voltage GM1.

The power management module32obtains the second gamma voltage GM2from the second memory device B and provides the second gamma voltage GM2to the display panel20according to the control signals CMD sent by the first control module31when the gamma voltage corresponding to the second frequency is the second gamma voltage GM2.

In an embodiment, the step S211includes a following step: the first control module31sending the data of the gamma voltage corresponding to the second frequency to the power management module32when the current refresh rate of the display panel20is switched from the first frequency to the second frequency and the gamma voltage corresponding to the second frequency is different from the first gamma voltage GM1and the second gamma voltage GM2.

The step S211further includes a following step: the power management module32amending the data in the first memory device A or the second memory device B to the data of the gamma voltage corresponding to the second frequency according to the data of the gamma voltage corresponding to the second frequency sent by the first control module31.

Specifically, the gamma voltages correspond to the refresh rate ranges by one to one.

Based on a same inventive concept, an embodiment of the present disclosure further provides a display equipment, which includes the display device mentioned above. A structure and beneficial effects of the display equipment is same as the display device. The display device has been described in detail in the above embodiments, so it will not be iterated herein for the sake of conciseness.

Beneficial effects of the present disclosure are that by allowing the refresh rates to correspond to the gamma voltages, the displayed brightness of the display panel20can be adjusted by adjusting the gamma voltages provided to the display panel20when the current refresh rate of the display panel20changes. Therefore, the brightness difference of the display panel20can be improved when the display panel20refreshes the images at the lower refresh rate and the higher refresh rate by improving the displayed brightness when the display panel20refreshes the images at the lower refresh rate and/or reducing the displayed brightness when the display panel20refreshes the images at the higher refresh rate. The display panel20is allowed to maintain the same brightness for image display when the display panel20refreshes the images at different refresh rates. Therefore, serious flickers of the display device caused by the display device being switched at different refresh rates in the short time can be prevented.

It can be understood that for a person of ordinary skill in the art, equivalent replacements or changes can be made according to the technical solution of the present disclosure and its inventive concept, and all these changes or replacements should fall within the protection scope of the claims attached to the present disclosure.