PATENT DOCUMENT

Publication Number: US-10777106-B2
Application Number: US-201715717755-A
Country: US
Kind Code: B2

Title: Display quality monitoring and calibration

Abstract:
An electronic device includes a display having a number of pixels, source driving circuitry that drives data to the pixels, and data lines that communicatively couple the source driving circuitry with the pixels. The electronic device also includes quality monitoring and calibration circuitry that identifies degradation in the source driving circuitry, one or more of the data lines, or both. The electronic device may be controlled based at least in part upon identification of the degradation.

Claims:
What is claimed is: 
     
       1. An electronic device, comprising:
 a processor configured to generate image data and provide the image data to a display; and 
 the display, comprising:
 a plurality of pixels; 
 source driving circuitry, configured to receive the image data and cause the display to display visual representations by driving the image data to the plurality of pixels to cause the pixels to emit a desired luminance; and 
 data lines that communicatively couple the source driving circuitry with the plurality of pixels; 
 
 quality monitoring and calibration circuitry, configured to:
 identify degradation in the source driving circuitry, one or more of the data lines, or both, by measuring one or more signals provided through the data lines from the source driving circuitry, the measuring comprising:
 performing a resistance test, wherein the resistance test comprises:
 charging the data lines with a reduced data slewing time by: 
  charging the data lines for a fixed amount of time that is less than an amount of time that would result in a steady charge on the data lines; and 
  determining a resistance variation of the data lines based upon the reduced data slewing time; or 
 
 identifying distances between the data lines by:
 driving a first data line of the data lines at a first voltage; 
 driving a neighboring data line of the first data line at a second voltage different than the first voltage; and 
 calculating a mutual capacitance between a first data line and a neighboring data line, based upon a difference in voltage of the first voltage and the second voltage; and 
 
 
 control circuitry, configured to:
 control the electronic device, based at least in part upon identification of the degradation. 
 
 
 
     
     
       2. The electronic device of  claim 1 , wherein the quality monitoring and calibration circuitry is configured to identify degradation in the source driving circuitry, one or more of the data lines, or both, by identifying line lengths of the data lines by performing a capacitance test, wherein the capacitance test comprises providing a first and a second charge to the data lines and monitoring a difference in charge between providing the first and the second charges. 
     
     
       3. The electronic device of  claim 1 , wherein the quality monitoring and calibration circuitry is configured to attribute the resistance with bonding resistance variation. 
     
     
       4. The electronic device of  claim 1 , wherein the quality monitoring and calibration circuitry is configured to attribute the resistance with degradation of the source driving circuitry. 
     
     
       5. The electronic device of  claim 1 , comprising a non-transitory storage, wherein the processor causes logging of the degradation in the storage. 
     
     
       6. The electronic device of  claim 5 , comprising a non-transitory storage, wherein the processor causes contextual data surrounding the degradation to be logged in the non-transitory storage. 
     
     
       7. The electronic device of  claim 1 , wherein the quality monitoring and calibration circuitry is configured to return the display to a powered off state based upon the degradation. 
     
     
       8. The electronic device of  claim 1 , wherein the quality monitoring and calibration circuitry is configured to adjust a data line time allotted for sending the data to one or more of the data lines to compensate for the degradation. 
     
     
       9. The electronic device of  claim 1 , wherein the quality monitoring and calibration circuitry is configured to adjust a slew rate allotted for reaching a charge to compensate for the degradation. 
     
     
       10. An electronic device-implemented method implemented by quality monitoring and calibration circuitry of the electronic device, comprising:
 identifying degradation in a source driving circuitry of a display of the electronic device, one or more data lines of the display, or both, based at least in part upon:
 identifying distances between the data lines, by the electronic device, by:
 driving a first data line of the one or more data lines at a first voltage; 
 driving a neighboring data line of the first data line at a second voltage different than the first voltage; and 
 calculating a mutual capacitance between a first data line and a neighboring data line, based upon a difference in voltage of the first voltage and the second voltage; or 
 
 a resistance test, performed by the electronic device, that measures a resistance by charging the data lines with a reduced data slewing time by:
 charging the data lines for a fixed amount of time that is less than an amount of time that would result in a steady charge on the data lines; and 
 determining a resistance variation of the data lines based upon the reduced data slewing time; and 
 
 
 controlling the display, based at least in part upon identification of the degradation; 
 wherein the source driving circuitry is configured to cause the display to display visual representations by driving image data to a plurality of pixels of the display to cause the plurality of pixels to emit a desired luminance, wherein the image data is provided to the source driving circuitry from a processor of the electronic device. 
 
     
     
       11. The method of  claim 10 , comprising identifying the degradation using the resistance test and identification of distances between the data lines. 
     
     
       12. The method of  claim 11 , comprising identifying degradation in a source driving circuitry of a display of the electronic device, one or more data lines of the display, or both, based at least in part upon performing a capacitance test by:
 providing a first charge and a second charge to the one or more data lines and monitoring a difference in change between providing the first charge and the second charge, wherein a first charge for a first data line is different than a first charge for a neighboring data line and wherein a second charge for the first data line is different than a second charge for the neighboring data line; 
 identifying line lengths for the one or more data lines based upon the difference in charge; 
 identifying a distance between the first data line and the neighboring data line based upon the mutual capacitance between the first data line and the neighboring data line; and 
 identifying the degradation based upon the line lengths, the distance between the first data line and the neighboring data line, or both. 
 
     
     
       13. A tangible, non-transitory, machine-readable medium, comprising machine-readable instructions, that when executed by one or more processors of an electronic device, cause the one or more processors of the electronic device to:
 generate image data for display by the electronic device; 
 provide the image data to a display of the electronic device; 
 identify degradation in source driving circuitry of a display, one or more data lines of the display, or both based upon:
 performing a resistance test, wherein the resistance test comprises:
 charging the data lines with a reduced data slewing time by charging the data lines for a fixed amount of time that is less than an amount of time that would result in a steady charge on the data lines; and 
 determining a resistance variation of the data lines based upon the reduced data slewing time; 
 
 identifying distances between the data lines based upon a mutual capacitance between neighboring data lines of the one or more data lines, by:
 driving a first data line of the one or more data lines at a first voltage; 
 driving a neighboring data line of the first data line at a second voltage different than the first voltage; and 
 calculating the mutual capacitance between a first data line and a neighboring data line, based upon a difference in voltage of the first voltage and the second voltage; and 
 
 
 Control the display, based at least in part upon identification of the degradation; 
 wherein the source driving circuitry is configured to cause the display to display visual representations by driving image data to a plurality of pixels of the display to cause the plurality of pixels to emit a desired luminance. 
 
     
     
       14. The machine-readable medium of  claim 13 , comprising instructions to:
 control the display to power off when the degradation breaches a threshold of allowed degradation; 
 control a line time to compensate for added resistance caused by the degradation; 
 control a slew rate to compensate for the degradation when the degradation comprises a slew rate degradation; or 
 any combination thereof.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     This disclosure relates to electronic displays and, more particularly, to techniques to implement quality monitoring and calibration in an electronic display. 
     This section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects of art that may be related to various aspects of the present techniques, which are described and/or claimed below. This discussion is believed to be helpful in providing the reader with background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the present disclosure. Accordingly, it should be understood that these statements are to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art. 
     Many electronic devices include an electronic display that displays visual representations based on received image data. More specifically, the image data may include a voltage that indicates desired luminance (e.g., brightness) of a display pixel. For example, in an organic light emitting diode (OLED) display, the image data (e.g., pixel voltage data) may be input to and amplified by one or more amplifiers of a source driver circuit. The amplified pixel voltage may then be supplied to the gate of a switching device (e.g., a thin film transistor) in a display pixel. Based on magnitude of the supplied voltage, the switching device may control magnitude of supply current flowing into a light-emitting component (e.g., OLED) of the display pixel. 
     From time to time, the systems providing data to the display panel may degrade, causing presentation of artifacts (e.g., dimmer or brighter pixels and/or lines) on the display panel. For example, based upon physical pressure or other external factors, the data lines that carry signals from the source driver to the panel may become damaged (e.g., by cracking). Further, the display panel circuitry (e.g., the source driving circuitry and/or input/output pads) may degrade over time (e.g., due to device aging). These degradations may cause data driving errors. Further, when the data lines/circuitry are used for sensing panel measurements for implementation of panel compensation algorithms, the degradation may result in faulty panel compensation. Accordingly, certain undesirable front-of-screen (FOS) variations may be presented by the display. 
     SUMMARY 
     A summary of certain embodiments disclosed herein is set forth below. It should be understood that these aspects are presented merely to provide the reader with a brief summary of these certain embodiments and that these aspects are not intended to limit the scope of this disclosure. Indeed, this disclosure may encompass a variety of aspects that may not be set forth below. 
     The present disclosure generally relates to electronic displays that monitor for degradation in the display circuitry and provide compensation based upon detected degradation. Generally, an electronic display displays an image frame by controlling luminance of its display pixels based at least in part on image data indicating desired luminance of the display pixels. For example, to facilitate displaying an image frame, an organic light emitting diode (OLED) may display may receive image data, amplify the image data using one or more amplifiers, and supply amplified image data to display pixels. When activated, display pixels may apply the amplified image data to the gate of a switching device (e.g., thin-film transistor) to control magnitude of the supply current flowing through a light-emitting component (e.g., OLED). In this manner, since the luminance of OLED display pixels is based on supply current flowing through their light emitting components, the image frame may be displayed based at least in part on corresponding image data. 
     With this in mind, and to address some of the issues mentioned above, the present techniques provide a system for operating an electronic display to monitor data line capacitance and/or resistance variations, enabling determination of certain degradation characteristics for the display circuitry. For example, reduced data line lengths, degraded source driving circuitry, and other features may be determined based upon the capacitance and/or resistance variations. These determined degradation features may be used to calibrate the display circuitry to counteract or otherwise handle the degradation. Further, the determination of these features may be logged to aid repair of the electronic device by hardware repair technicians. 
     Various refinements of the features noted above may exist in relation to various aspects of the present disclosure. Further features may also be incorporated in these various aspects as well. These refinements and additional features may exist individually or in any combination. For instance, various features discussed below in relation to one or more of the illustrated embodiments may be incorporated into any of the above-described aspects of the present disclosure alone or in any combination. The brief summary presented above is intended only to familiarize the reader with certain aspects and contexts of embodiments of the present disclosure without limitation to the claimed subject matter. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Various aspects of this disclosure may be better understood upon reading the following detailed description and upon reference to the drawings in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic block diagram of an electronic device including a display, in accordance with an embodiment; 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view of a notebook computer representing an embodiment of the electronic device of  FIG. 1 , in accordance with an embodiment; 
         FIG. 3  is a front view of a hand-held device representing another embodiment of the electronic device of  FIG. 1 , in accordance with an embodiment; 
         FIG. 4  is a front view of another hand-held device representing another embodiment of the electronic device of  FIG. 1 , in accordance with an embodiment; 
         FIG. 5  is a front view of a desktop computer representing another embodiment of the electronic device of  FIG. 1 , in accordance with an embodiment; 
         FIG. 6  is a front view of a wearable electronic device representing another embodiment of the electronic device of  FIG. 1 , in accordance with an embodiment; 
         FIG. 7  is a circuit diagram illustrating a portion of an array of pixels of the display of  FIG. 1 , in accordance with an embodiment; 
         FIG. 8  is a schematic diagram illustrating a cross-section of display circuitry, in accordance with an embodiment; 
         FIG. 9  is a flowchart illustrating a process for detecting degradation in a display and calibrating the display based upon the degradation, in accordance with an embodiment; 
         FIG. 10A  is a flowchart illustrating a process for using differing charges on a data/sensing line to detect degradation, in accordance with an embodiment; 
         FIG. 10B  is a flowchart illustrating a process for using varied charges on neighboring lines to detect degradation, in accordance with an embodiment; 
         FIG. 11  is a schematic diagram illustrating circuitry for implementing the processes of  FIGS. 10A and 10B , in accordance with an embodiment; 
         FIG. 12  is a flowchart illustrating a process for using line resistance to determine degradation, in accordance with an embodiment; 
         FIG. 13  is a schematic diagram illustrating circuitry for implementing the process of  FIG. 12 , in accordance with an embodiment; 
         FIG. 14  is a schematic diagram illustrating circuitry for compensation based upon detected degradation, in accordance with an embodiment; 
         FIG. 15  is a schematic diagram illustrating COF testing using an external stimulus, in accordance with an embodiment; and 
         FIG. 16  is a schematic diagram illustrating COF testing using on-chip (source driver) stimulus, in accordance with an embodiment. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     One or more specific embodiments of the present disclosure will be described below. These described embodiments are only examples of the presently disclosed techniques. Additionally, in an effort to provide a concise description of these embodiments, all features of an actual implementation may not be described in the specification. It should be appreciated that in the development of any such actual implementation, as in any engineering or design project, numerous implementation-specific decisions must be made to achieve the developers&#39; specific goals, such as compliance with system-related and business-related constraints, which may vary from one implementation to another. Moreover, it should be appreciated that such a development effort might be complex and time consuming, but may nevertheless be a routine undertaking of design, fabrication, and manufacture for those of ordinary skill having the benefit of this disclosure. 
     When introducing elements of various embodiments of the present disclosure, the articles “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to mean that there are one or more of the elements. The terms “comprising,” “including,” and “having” are intended to be inclusive and mean that there may be additional elements other than the listed elements. Additionally, it should be understood that references to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” of the present disclosure are not intended to be interpreted as excluding additional embodiments that also incorporate the recited features. 
     Present embodiments relate to improved display circuitry. More specifically, the current embodiments describe techniques and circuits that may detect and/or calibrate for display circuitry degradation. 
     Turning first to  FIG. 1 , an electronic device  10  according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may include, among other things, a processor core complex  12  having one or more processor(s), memory  14 , nonvolatile storage  16 , a display  18 , input structures  22 , an input/output (I/O) interface  24 , network interfaces  26 , and a power source  28 . Further, display quality monitoring and/or calibration circuitry  29  may utilize data line charging to detect and/or calibrate for degradation characteristics in the circuitry of the display  18 , as will be discussed in more detail below. 
     The degradation characteristics may be logged (e.g., by storing the characteristics in the storage  16  and/or transferring the characteristics to an external system via the network interface  26 ). Further, additional contextual data surrounding the degradation characteristics may also be logged. For example, a location (e.g., particular panel portion, particular data line numbers, etc.) may be logged. Further, historical degradation and/or degradation trends may be logged. Additionally, electronic device  10  or electronic device  10  sub-component temperatures and/or other variables may be logged. 
     Device repair may be aided by logging the degradation characteristics and/or the surrounding contextual data. For example, a technician may be able to ascertain particular degraded components, their locations, and other pertinent information that may be useful in repair of the electronic device  10 . Further, this logged information may be used by the device manufacturer to enhance future revisions of the products or aid in the development of new products, by identifying strengths and/or potential improvements to the designed circuitry. 
     The various functional blocks shown in  FIG. 1  may include hardware elements (including circuitry), software elements (including computer code stored on a computer-readable medium) or a combination of both hardware and software elements. It should be noted that  FIG. 1  is merely one example of a particular implementation and is intended to illustrate the types of components that may be present in electronic device  10 . 
     By way of example, the electronic device  10  may represent a block diagram of a notebook computer  30 A depicted in  FIG. 2 , a handheld device  30 B depicted in  FIG. 3 , a handheld device  30 C depicted in  FIG. 4 , a desktop computer  30 D depicted in  FIG. 5 , a wearable electronic device  30 E depicted in  FIG. 6 , or similar devices. It should be noted that the processor core complex  12  and/or other data processing circuitry may be generally referred to herein as “data processing circuitry.” Such data processing circuitry may be embodied wholly or in part as software, firmware, hardware, or any combination thereof. Furthermore, the data processing circuitry may be a single contained processing module or may be incorporated wholly or partially within any of the other elements within the electronic device  10 . 
     In the electronic device  10  of  FIG. 1 , the processor core complex  12  and/or other data processing circuitry may be operably coupled with the memory  14  and the nonvolatile storage  16  to perform various algorithms. Such programs or instructions executed by the processor core complex  12  may be stored in any suitable article of manufacture that may include one or more tangible non-transitory computer-readable media at least collectively storing the instructions or routines, such as the memory  14  and the nonvolatile storage  16 . The memory  14  and the nonvolatile storage  16  may include any suitable articles of manufacture for storing data and executable instructions, such as random-access memory, read-only memory, rewritable flash memory, hard drives, and optical discs. Also, programs (e.g., an operating system) encoded on such a computer program product may also include instructions that may be executed by the processor core complex  12  to enable the electronic device  10  to provide various functionalities. 
     The display  18  may be a liquid crystal display (LCD) and/or may include pixels such as organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs), micro-light-emitting-diodes (μ-LEDs), or any other light emitting diodes (LEDs). Further, the display  18  is not limited to a particular pixel type, as the circuitry and methods disclosed herein may apply to any pixel type. Accordingly, while particular pixel structures may be illustrated in the present disclosure, the present disclosure may relate to a broad range of lighting components and/or pixel circuits within display devices. 
     Compensation circuitry may alter display data that is fed to the display  18 , prior to the display data reaching this display  18  (or a pixel portion of the display  18 ). This alteration of the display data may effectively compensate for non-uniformities of the pixels of the display  18 . For example, non-uniformity that may be corrected using the current techniques may include: neighboring pixels that have similar data, but different luminance, color non-uniformity between neighboring pixels, pixel row inconsistencies, pixel column inconsistencies, etc. The compensation circuitry may be part of the processor core complex  12 , could be software executed by the processor core complex  12 , could be part of the display  18  circuitry (e.g., the display pipeline), etc. 
     The input structures  22  of the electronic device  10  may enable a user to interact with the electronic device  10  (e.g., pressing a button to increase or decrease a volume level). The I/O interface  24  may enable electronic device  10  to interface with various other electronic devices, as may the network interfaces  26 . The network interfaces  26  may include, for example, interfaces for a personal area network (PAN), such as a Bluetooth network, for a local area network (LAN) or wireless local area network (WLAN), such as an 802.11x Wi-Fi network, and/or for a wide area network (WAN), such as a 3 rd  generation (3G) cellular network, 4 th  generation (4G) cellular network, or long term evolution (LTE) cellular network. The network interface  26  may also include interfaces for, for example, broadband fixed wireless access networks (WiMAX), mobile broadband Wireless networks (mobile WiMAX), asynchronous digital subscriber lines (e.g., 15SL, VDSL), digital video broadcasting-terrestrial (DVB-T) and its extension DVB Handheld (DVB-H), ultra Wideband (UWB), alternating current power lines, and so forth. 
     In certain embodiments, the electronic device  10  may take the form of a computer, a portable electronic device, a wearable electronic device, or other type of electronic device. Such computers may include computers that are generally portable (such as laptop, notebook, and tablet computers) as well as computers that are generally used in one place (such as conventional desktop computers, workstations and/or servers). In certain embodiments, the electronic device  10 , in the form of a computer, may be a model of a MacBook®, MacBook® Pro, MacBook Air®, iMac®, Mac® mini, or Mac Pro® available from Apple Inc. By way of example, the electronic device  10 , taking the form of a notebook computer  30 A, is illustrated in  FIG. 2  in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure. The depicted computer  30 A may include a housing or enclosure  32 , a display  18 , input structures  22 , and ports of an I/O interface  24 . In one embodiment, the input structures  22  (such as a keyboard and/or touchpad) may be used to interact with the computer  30 A, such as to start, control, or operate a GUI or applications running on computer  30 A. For example, a keyboard and/or touchpad may allow a user to navigate a user interface or application interface displayed on display  18 . 
       FIG. 3  depicts a front view of a handheld device  30 B, which represents one embodiment of the electronic device  10 . The handheld device  34  may represent, for example, a portable phone, a media player, a personal data organizer, a handheld game platform, or any combination of such devices. By way of example, the handheld device  34  may be a model of an iPod® or iPhone® available from Apple Inc. of Cupertino, Calif. 
     The handheld device  30 B may include an enclosure  36  to protect interior components from physical damage and to shield them from electromagnetic interference. The enclosure  36  may surround the display  18 , which may display indicator icons  39 . The indicator icons  39  may indicate, among other things, a cellular signal strength, Bluetooth connection, and/or battery life. The I/O interfaces  24  may open through the enclosure  36  and may include, for example, an I/O port for a hard wired connection for charging and/or content manipulation using a standard connector and protocol, such as the Lightning connector provided by Apple Inc., a universal service bus (USB), or other similar connector and protocol. 
     User input structures  22 , in combination with the display  18 , may allow a user to control the handheld device  30 B. For example, the input structure  40  may activate or deactivate the handheld device  30 B, the input structure  22  may navigate user interface to a home screen, a user-configurable application screen, and/or activate a voice-recognition feature of the handheld device  30 B, the input structures  22  may provide volume control, or may toggle between vibrate and ring modes. The input structures  22  may also include a microphone may obtain a user&#39;s voice for various voice-related features, and a speaker may enable audio playback and/or certain phone capabilities. The input structures  22  may also include a headphone input may provide a connection to external speakers and/or headphones. 
       FIG. 4  depicts a front view of another handheld device  30 C which represents another embodiment of the electronic device  10 . The handheld device  30 C may represent, for example, a tablet computer, or one of various portable computing devices. By way of example, the handheld device  30 C may be a tablet-sized embodiment of the electronic device  10 , which may be, for example, a model of an iPad® available from Apple Inc. of Cupertino, Calif. 
     Turning to  FIG. 5 , a computer  30 D may represent another embodiment of the electronic device  10  of  FIG. 1 . The computer  30 D may be any computer, such as a desktop computer, a server, or a notebook computer, but may also be a standalone media player or video gaming machine. By way of example, the computer  30 D may be an iMac®, a MacBook®, or other similar device by Apple Inc. It should be noted that the computer  30 D may also represent a personal computer (PC) by another manufacturer. A similar enclosure  36  may be provided to protect and enclose internal components of the computer  30 D such as the display  18 . In certain embodiments, a user of the computer  30 D may interact with the computer  30 D using various peripheral input devices, such as the input structures  22  (e.g., mouse and/or keyboard), which may connect to the computer  30 D via a wired and/or wireless I/O interface  24 . 
     Similarly,  FIG. 6  depicts a wearable electronic device  30 E representing another embodiment of the electronic device  10  of  FIG. 1  that may be configured to operate using the techniques described herein. By way of example, the wearable electronic device  30 E, which may include a wristband  44 , may be an Apple Watch® by Apple, Inc. However, in other embodiments, the wearable electronic device  30 E may include any wearable electronic device such as, for example, a wearable exercise monitoring device (e.g., pedometer, accelerometer, heart rate monitor), or other device by another manufacturer. The display  18  of the wearable electronic device  30 E may include a touch screen, which may allow users to interact with a user interface of the wearable electronic device  30 E. 
     The display  18  for the electronic device  10  may include a matrix of pixels that contain light emitting circuitry. Accordingly,  FIG. 7  illustrates a circuit diagram including a portion of a matrix of pixels of the display  18 . As illustrated, the display  18  may include a display panel  60 . Moreover, the display panel  60  may include multiple unit pixels  62  (here, six unit pixels  62 A,  62 B,  62 C,  62 D,  62 E, and  62 F are shown) arranged as an array or matrix defining multiple rows and columns of the unit pixels  62  that collectively form a viewable region of the display  18 , in which an image may be displayed. In such an array, each unit pixel  62  may be defined by the intersection of rows and columns, represented here by the illustrated gate lines  64  (also referred to as “scanning lines”) and data lines  66  (also referred to as “source lines”), respectively. Additionally, power supply lines  68  may provide power to each of the unit pixels  62 . The unit pixels  62  may include, for example, a thin film transistor (TFT) coupled to a LED, whereby the TFT may be a driving TFT that facilitates control of the luminance of a display pixel  62  by controlling a magnitude of supply current flowing into the LED (e.g., an OLED) of the display pixel  62  or a TFT that controls luminance of a display pixel by controlling the operation of a liquid crystal. 
     Although only six unit pixels  62 , referred to individually by reference numbers  62   a - 62   f , respectively, are shown, it should be understood that in an actual implementation, each data line  66  and gate line  64  may include hundreds or even thousands of such unit pixels  62 . By way of example, in a color display panel  60  having a display resolution of 1024×768, each data line  66 , which may define a column of the pixel array, may include 768 unit pixels, while each gate line  64 , which may define a row of the pixel array, may include 1024 groups of unit pixels with each group including a red, blue, and green pixel, thus totaling 3072 unit pixels per gate line  64 . By way of further example, the panel  60  may have a resolution of 480×320 or 960×640. In the presently illustrated example, the unit pixels  62  may represent a group of pixels having a red pixel ( 62 A), a blue pixel ( 62 B), and a green pixel ( 62 C). The group of unit pixels  62 D,  62 E, and  62 F may be arranged in a similar manner. Additionally, in the industry, it is also common for the term “pixel” may refer to a group of adjacent different-colored pixels (e.g., a red pixel, blue pixel, and green pixel), with each of the individual colored pixels in the group being referred to as a “sub-pixel.” 
     The display  18  also includes a source driver integrated circuit (IC)  90 , which may include a chip, such as a processor or application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), that controls various aspects (e.g., operation) of the display  18  and/or the panel  60 . For example, the source driver IC  90  may receive image data  92  from the processor core complex  12  and send corresponding image signals to the unit pixels  62  of the panel  60 . The source driver IC  90  may also be coupled to a gate driver IC  94 , which may provide/remove gate activation signals to activate/deactivate rows of unit pixels  62  via the gate lines  64 . Additionally, the source driver IC  90  may include a timing controller (TCON) that determines and sends timing information/image signals  96  to the gate driver IC  94  to facilitate activation and deactivation of individual rows of unit pixels  62 . In other embodiments, timing information may be provided to the gate driver IC  94  in some other manner (e.g., using a controller that is separate from the source driver IC  90 ). Further, while  FIG. 7  depicts only a single source driver IC  90 , it should be appreciated that other embodiments may utilize multiple source driver ICs  90  to provide timing information/image signals  96  to the unit pixels  62 . For example, additional embodiments may include multiple source driver ICs  90  disposed along one or more edges of the panel  60 , with each source driver IC  90  being configured to control a subset of the data lines  66  and/or gate lines  64 . 
     In operation, the source driver IC  90  receives image data  92  from the processor core complex  12  or a discrete display controller and, based on the received data, outputs signals to control operation (e.g., light emission) of the unit pixels  62 . When the unit pixels  62  are controlled by the source driver IC  90 , circuitry within the unit pixels  62  may complete a circuit between a power source  98  and light emitting elements of the unit pixels  62 . Additionally, to measure operating parameters of the display  18 , measurement circuitry  100  may be positioned within the source driver IC  90  to read various voltage and current characteristics of the display  18 , as discussed in more detail below. 
     The measurements from the measurement circuitry  100  (or other information) may be used to determine offset data for individual pixels (e.g.,  62 A-F). The offset data may represent non-uniformity between the pixels, such as: neighboring pixels that have similar data, but different luminance, color non-uniformity between neighboring pixels, pixel row inconsistencies, pixel column inconsistencies, etc. Further, the offset data may be applied to the data controlling the pixels (e.g.,  62 A-F), resulting in compensated pixel data that may effectively remove these inconsistencies. In some embodiments, the external compensation circuitry may include one or more of the source driver IC  90  and the measurement circuitry  100  or may be coupled to one or more of the source driver IC  90  and the measurement circuitry  100 . 
     From time to time, the systems providing data to the display panel may degrade, causing presentation of artifacts (e.g., dimmer or brighter pixels and/or lines) on the display panel. For example, based upon physical forces or other external factors, the data lines  66  that carry signals from the source driver IC  90  to the pixels  62  may become damaged (e.g., cracking). Further, the display  18  circuitry (e.g., the source driving integrated circuitry  90  and/or input/output pads) may degrade over time (e.g., due to device aging). These degradations may cause data driving errors to the pixels  62 . 
     Further, as mentioned above, the measurement circuitry  100  may read various voltage and current characteristics of the display  18  (e.g., using the data lines  66 ), such that subsequent data provided to the pixels  62  may be adjusted based upon the measurements obtained by the measurement circuitry  100  via the data lines  66 . Accordingly, the data lines  66  may be alternatively referenced as the data/sensing lines  66 . However, when degradation occurs on these data lines  66  and/or other circuitry used by the measurement circuitry  100 , the data compensation for the measurements may be erroneous. 
     For example,  FIG. 8  is a schematic diagram illustrating a cross-section of display  18  circuitry, having a chip on flex (COF)  101  assembly, in accordance with an embodiment. The source driver integrated circuit  90  may include input pads  102  for receiving input data and output pads  104  for providing output data. As illustrated, the input pads  102  may be communicatively coupled with other pads  106 , while output pads  104  may be communicatively coupled with pads  108  that provide driven data to the display  18  panel. The coupling of the input pads  102  and/or output pads  104  may degrade over time (e.g., because they may be susceptible to physical stress, etc.). For example, for soldered connections, corrosion or vibration may be introduced, degrading the soldering. Further, aggressors  110  to the data lines  66  may result in parasitic capacitance on a sensitive trace of the data lines  66 . Further, the slew rate of the source driver integrated circuit  90  may degrade over time. 
     When undetected and untreated, these degradations may cause artifacts to be presented on the display  18  panel. For example, open data lines  66  (e.g., lines where there is a complete break between the pixels  62  and the driver integrated circuit  90 ) may be displayed as a bright or dim line. Further, when the source drive integrated circuit  90  slew rate degrades (e.g., the resistance on the line increases), certain areas of the display  18  panel may appear dimmer than others. 
     Accordingly, returning to  FIG. 7 , the Quality Monitoring and/or Calibration (“QMC”) circuitry  29  may be coupled to the source driver IC  90  and/or the data lines  66  to monitor for degradation in the display  18  circuitry or may be implemented via software executed by a processor of the processor core complex  12 . For example, the QMC circuitry  29  may monitor for data line  66  degradation and/or source driver IC  90  degradation, as will be discussed in more detail below. 
     Turning now to a discussion of the inner-workings of the QMC circuitry  29 ,  FIG. 9  is a flowchart  120  illustrating a process for detecting degradation in a display  18  and calibrating the display  18  based upon the degradation, in accordance with an embodiment. The process  120  includes performing one or more capacitance-based tests on the data lines  66  (block  122 ) and/or one or more resistance-based tests on the data lines  66  (block  124 ).  FIGS. 10A and 10B , discussed below, provide details pertaining to the capacitance-based test and  FIG. 11 , discussed below, provides details pertaining to the resistance-based test. 
     The results of these tests may be used to identify display  18  circuitry and/or data/sensing line degradation characteristics (block  126 ). For example, the tests may be used to determine potential breaks in one or more of the data lines  66 , by determining a length of each of the data lines. Further, a determination of distances between neighboring data lines  66  may be determined, which may further indicate display  18  circuitry degradation/damage. Based upon the determined characteristics, the display  18  may be calibrated (block  128 ), as will be discussed in more detail below, with regard to  FIG. 12 . 
     Turning now to a discussion of the capacitance-based tests,  FIG. 10A  is a flowchart illustrating a process  140  for using differing charges on a data/sensing line to detect degradation, in accordance with an embodiment. In the process  140 , the data/sensing lines  66  are pre-charged with a first voltage (block  142 ). A second voltage is then written to the data/sensing lines (block  144 ). Charges resulting from the pre-charging of block  142  and the writing of the second charge of block  144  or monitored (block  146 ). 
     Based upon the charge differentiation on the data/sensing lines  66  that are caused by the actions of blocks  142  and  144 , the capacitance of the data/sensing lines  66  may be determined. The capacitance may be used to determine degradation characteristics (block  150 ). For example, the capacitance of the lines  66  is proportional to the length of the lines  66 . Accordingly, the capacitance may be used as an index for crack detection (e.g., because the length of the line will change upon cracking). 
     Additional capacitance testing may also be utilized to determined degradation characteristics.  FIG. 10B  is a flowchart illustrating a process  160  for using varied charges on neighboring lines to detect degradation, in accordance with an embodiment. The process  160  may be independent from or used in conjunction with the process  140  of  FIG. 10A . 
     The process  160  begins by driving a first data/sensing line  66  with a first voltage (block  162 ). Neighboring data/sensing lines are driven with a second voltage (block  164 ). Based upon these differing voltages, a mutual capacitance may be derived between the first and neighboring data/sensing lines  66  (block  166 ). Degradation characteristics may be determined based upon the determined mutual capacitance (block  168 ). For example, distances between the data/sensing lines may be determined using the mutual capacitance. 
       FIG. 11  is a schematic diagram illustrating circuitry  180  for implementing the processes of  FIGS. 10A and 10B , in accordance with an embodiment. In the circuitry  180 , the data/sensing lines  66  are pre-charged with a first and second voltages according to blocks  142  and  144  using the driving circuitry  182 . The capacitance of the data/sensing lines  66  are monitored by transferring the data/sensing line  66  charges to the sense amp  184 . The coupling capacitor (Cin) is proportion to the data line length and, thus, can be used as an index for crack detection, according to:
 
 V OUT= V TEST× C IN/ C SENSE
 
     Further, differing voltages may be driven to neighboring data/sensing lines  66 , as discussed in blocks  162  and  164  of  FIG. 10B . This enables determination of a distance between the neighboring lines  66 . 
     Turning now to a discussion of the resistance-based test,  FIG. 12  is a flowchart illustrating a process  200  for using line resistance to determine degradation, in accordance with an embodiment. The resistance-based test may be useful when the degradation does not completely open the data/sensing lines  66  (e.g., when a crack does not sever a data/sensing line  66 ). 
     The process  200  begins by reducing a data slewing time (e.g., time allowed to reach a steady voltage) during charging of the data/sensing lines  66 . As may be appreciated, the slew rate may be defined as the change of voltage per unit of time. To reduce the data slewing time, the data/sensing lines  66  may be charged for a fixed amount of time less than a time used to reach a steady voltage on the data/sensing lines  66 . By reducing the data slewing time, the amount of charge on the data/sensing lines  66  is dependent on the resistance of the data/sensing lines  66 . 
     Accordingly, the resistance variation on the data/sensing lines  66  may be determined based upon the reduced data slewing time (block  204 ). This resistance value provides an indication of degradation between the source driving integrated circuitry  90  and the data/sensing lines  66  (block  206 ). For example, internal resistance variations of the source driver IC  90  caused by degradation of the source driver IC  90  may be detected. Further, bonding resistance variation (e.g., at pads between the source driver IC  90  and the data/sensing lines  66 ) may be identified. 
       FIG. 13  is a schematic diagram illustrating circuitry  220  for implementing the process of  FIG. 12 , in accordance with an embodiment. By reducing the data slewing time (block  202  of  FIG. 12 ), the adjusted current (ISLEW) of the amplifier can be characterized according to:
 
 V TEST= I SLEW× T SLEW/ C IN
 
→ V OUT= V TEST× I SLEW× T SLEW/ C SENSE
 
     Turning now to compensation for detected degradation,  FIG. 14  is a schematic diagram illustrating compensation circuitry  240  for compensation based upon detected degradation, in accordance with an embodiment. As illustrated, the compensation circuitry  240  may receive input data  242 , such as a power on status  244 , a channel quality  246  (e.g., the determined degradation characteristics from the processes  140 ,  160 , and/or  200 ), and display mode configurations  248  (e.g., refresh rate settings, brightness, etc.). 
     In one embodiment, the compensation circuitry  240  may request and receive channel quality  246  inputs each time it receives an indication of a display power ON  244  being initiated. Based upon the channel quality, the compensation circuitry  240  may control the display  18  via certain outputs  250 . 
     For example, in certain scenarios, the compensation circuitry  240  may control the display  18  power on process via output  252 . For example, in some embodiments, if a channel is completely open, meaning data will not reach pixels of the channel, the display  18  power on may be cancelled, resulting in the display  18  remaining in an off state. Alternatively, the compensation circuitry  240  may power off certain degraded channels, while powering on other channels. 
     In some embodiments, the compensation circuitry may, based upon channel quality, alter a line time control via line time control output  254  and/or a slew rate via the slew rate control  256 . By adjusting the line time, the compensation circuitry  240  may allow more time for data transmission to the data/sensing lines  66 , in an effort to compensate for degradation on the data/sensing lines  66 . Adjustment of the slew rate may compensate for degraded slew rate of the source driver IC  90 . 
       FIGS. 15 and 16  illustrate embodiments of COF  101  testing.  FIG. 15  is an embodiment  280  of COF testing using an external stimulus  282  (e.g., AV) introduced through test pads  284 . As illustrated in the COF  101  of  FIG. 15 , there may be top and bottom parallel routing in parts of the COF  101 . Even/odd row source driver control may be used to perform a short test. The outer row open/short/gray test may be conducted via the test pads  284 . Further, for the inner rows, inner row sensing may be completed via external stimulus  282  driving. 
       FIG. 16  illustrates an embodiment  300  of COF  101  testing using on-chip (e.g., source driver) stimulus  302 . The embodiment  300  may uses an even/odd separate drive/sense configuration. First, varying levels of stimulus  302  (e.g., ΔV) are stepped through with the source amplifier  304 . The sensing amp  306  may be used to sense via pads  308  (e.g., the inner row pads of pads  308 ). Iterative sensing by the sensing amp  306  may be performed by switching sensed pad pairs coupled to the sensing amp  306 , enabling full pad  308  coverage. 
     The specific embodiments described above have been shown by way of example, and it should be understood that these embodiments may be susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms. It should be further understood that the claims are not intended to be limited to the particular forms disclosed, but rather to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of this disclosure. 
     The techniques presented and claimed herein are referenced and applied to material objects and concrete examples of a practical nature that demonstrably improve the present technical field and, as such, are not abstract, intangible or purely theoretical. Further, if any claims appended to the end of this specification contain one or more elements designated as “means for [perform]ing [a function] . . . ” or “step for [perform]ing [a function] . . . ”, it is intended that such elements are to be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f). However, for any claims containing elements designated in any other manner, it is intended that such elements are not to be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f).

Metadata:
Filing Date: 20170927
Publication Date: 20200915
Grant Date: 20200915
Priority Date: 20170927
Inventors: LIN, HUNG SHENG
RYU, JIE WON
BRAHMA, KINGSUK
NHO, HYUNWOO
CAGDASER, BARIS
TAN, JUNHUA
CHANG, SUN-IL
PANSERI, LUIGI
HWANG, INJAE
RICHMOND, Jesse A.
SAWADA, TOSHIAKI
LEE, HYUCK-JAE
Assignee: APPLE INC
CPC Classifications: [{"code": "G09G3/3275", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G09G3/3275", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G09G2320/043", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G09G2320/0693", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G09G2320/0223", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G09G2310/0291", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G09G2320/0223", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G09G3/3225", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G09G2310/0291", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G09G2330/08", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G09G3/3648", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G09G2310/08", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G09G2330/08", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G09G3/3225", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G09G2330/12", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G09G3/3648", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G09G2330/027", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G09G2320/0693", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G09G2320/043", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G09G2330/12", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G09G3/006", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G09G2320/0223", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G09G3/006", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G09G2320/0693", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G09G3/3648", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G09G2330/027", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G09G2320/043", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G09G3/3275", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G09G2310/0291", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G09G2330/08", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G09G3/3225", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G09G2310/08", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G09G2330/12", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}]
Family ID: 65809025