Patent ID: 8199075

Claim:
A method of controlling elements in an illuminated display having multiple elements arranged in rows and columns, the method including, for each driving cycle, the steps of determining a nominal control potential to be applied to a control electrode of a current control means of an element with reference to a respective first reference potential, the first reference potential being the potential at a circuit node at which the element is connected to a power supply line, the nominal control potential corresponding to a control potential that is required for causing a current through the current control means and a light emitting means of the element to emit a desired amount of light when no voltage drop on the power supply line is present; interrupting the current through the current control means of the elements connected to the same power supply line during applying the control potentials to the control electrodes of the current control means associated with the elements; retaining the control potential in each individual element with reference to the corresponding first reference potential; enabling the current through the current control means after the control potentials to all of the elements connected to the same power supply line have been applied, after re-establishing the current flow, increasing, continuously or in steps, the supply potential of the supply line, starting from a start value that is insufficient for causing the desired current flow through all of the elements; measuring the current through the supply line while increasing the supply potential; and terminating increasing the supply potential when, in the event of a further increase of the supply potential, the change in the current through the supply line in steady state is below a predetermined value.