PATENT DOCUMENT

Publication Number: US-8987652-B2
Application Number: US-201313738908-A
Country: US
Kind Code: B2

Title: Electronic device with display and low-noise ambient light sensor with a control circuitry that periodically disables the display

Abstract:
An electronic device may be provided that has a display. The display may produce stray light when producing images for a user. The electronic device may have an ambient light sensor for measuring ambient light levels. Ambient light data may be used in adjusting display brightness. The display may be periodically disabled to prevent the stray light from interfering with the ambient light sensor. An integrating analog-to-digital converter may be used in gathering sensor data from the ambient light sensor. Control circuitry may be configured to remove background signals from ambient light sensor data. The background signals may be associated with leakage current that arises due to offset voltages in an operational amplifier in the integrating analog-to-digital converter. The operational amplifier may have an analog autozeroing capability or control circuitry may be used to subtract background data from ambient light sensor data.

Claims:
What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A method of gathering ambient light sensor data in an electronic device having a display, an ambient light sensor, and control circuitry with an integrating analog-to-digital converter, wherein the integrating analog-to-digital converter has an integrating input and wherein the control circuitry has transistor circuitry coupled between the integrating input and the ambient light sensor, the method comprising:
 with the control circuitry, disabling the display for sample periods and enabling the display for hold periods that are interspersed among the sample periods; and 
 during a first set of the sample periods, providing signals from the ambient light sensor to the integrating input through the transistor circuitry; 
 during a second set of the sample periods, using the transistor circuitry to prevent signals from the ambient light sensor from reaching the integrating input; and 
 with the control circuitry, producing an ambient light sensor signal using data gathered by the integrating analog-to-digital converter during the second set of sample periods and the data gathered by the integrating analog-to-digital converter during the first set of sample periods. 
 
     
     
       2. The method defined in  claim 1  wherein producing the ambient light sensor signal comprises:
 with the control circuitry, subtracting the data gathered during the second set of sample periods from the data gathered during the first set of sample periods. 
 
     
     
       3. The method defined in  claim 1  wherein the first set of sample periods and the second set of sample periods each have the same number of sample periods and wherein producing the ambient light sensor data comprises subtracting the data gathered during the second set of sample periods from the data gathered during the first set of sample periods. 
     
     
       4. The method defined in  claim 1  wherein the transistor circuitry includes first, second, third, and fourth transistors, and wherein providing the signals from the ambient light sensor to the integrating input through the transistor circuitry during the first set of sample periods comprises turning on the first and third transistors while turning off the second and fourth transistor. 
     
     
       5. The method defined in  claim 4  wherein using the transistor circuitry to prevent the signals from the ambient light sensor from reaching the integrating input comprises turning off the first and third transistors and turning on the second and fourth transistors. 
     
     
       6. An electronic device, comprising:
 a display; 
 an ambient light sensor that receives ambient light; and 
 control circuitry that periodically disables the display, wherein the control circuitry has an integrating analog-to-digital converter with an integrating input and has transistor circuitry that is controlled by the control circuitry to couple the ambient light sensor to the integrating input. 
 
     
     
       7. The electronic device defined in  claim 6  wherein the integrating analog-to-digital converter has an autozeroing input. 
     
     
       8. The electronic device defined in  claim 6  wherein the transistor circuitry comprises a first transistor coupled between the ambient light sensor and the integrating input. 
     
     
       9. The electronic device defined in  claim 8  wherein the integrating analog-to-digital converter has a positive input and wherein the transistor circuitry comprises a second transistor coupled to the positive input. 
     
     
       10. The electronic device defined in  claim 9  wherein the transistor circuitry further comprises a third transistor coupled between the first transistor and the ambient light sensor. 
     
     
       11. The electronic device defined in  claim 10  further comprising a fourth transistor coupled between the positive input and the ambient light sensor. 
     
     
       12. A method of gathering ambient light sensor data in an electronic device that has a display, an ambient light sensor, and control circuitry with an integrating analog-to-digital converter and transistor circuitry coupled between the ambient light sensor and the integrating analog-to-digital converter, the method comprising:
 with the control circuitry, disabling and enabling the display during respective alternating first and second time periods; 
 during the first time periods, using the control circuitry to configure the transistor circuitry to provide signals from the ambient light sensor to the integrating analog-to-digital converter; and 
 during the second time periods, using the control circuitry to configure the transistor circuitry to gather background signals with the integrating analog-to-digital converter. 
 
     
     
       13. The method defined in  claim 12  further comprising:
 with the control circuitry, producing ambient light sensor readings using data corresponding to the signals provided to the integrating analog-to-digital converter during the first time periods. 
 
     
     
       14. The method defined in  claim 13  wherein producing the ambient light sensor readings comprises:
 with the control circuitry, producing ambient light sensor readings using data corresponding to the background signals. 
 
     
     
       15. The method defined in  claim 14  wherein producing the ambient light sensor signals comprises subtracting the data corresponding to the background signals from the data corresponding to the signals provided to the integrating analog-to-digital converter during the first time periods. 
     
     
       16. The method defined in  claim 12  further comprising:
 producing ambient light sensor data using the signals provided from the ambient light sensor to the integrating analog-to-digital converter and the background signals. 
 
     
     
       17. The method defined in  claim 16  wherein producing the ambient light sensor data comprises using the control circuitry to subtract a digital count associated with the background signals from a digital count associated with the signals provided from the ambient light sensor to the integrating analog-to-digital converter. 
     
     
       18. The method defined in  claim 12  further comprising:
 with a feedback circuit in the integrating analog-to-digital converter, autozeroing an operational amplifier in the integrating analog-to-digital converter between one of the first periods and one of the second periods. 
 
     
     
       19. The method defined in  claim 12  wherein the display has a brightness, the method further comprising adjusting the brightness with the control circuitry based on the signals from the ambient light sensor and the background signals. 
     
     
       20. The method defined in  claim 12  wherein the integrating analog-to-digital converter comprises an operational amplifier having an associated offset voltage and wherein the background signals comprises leakage current signals associated with the offset voltage, the method further comprising:
 with the control circuitry, producing ambient light sensor readings by subtracting the leakage current signals from the signals from the ambient light sensor.

Description:
This application claims priority to U.S. provisional patent application No. 61/736,755 filed Dec. 13, 2012, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND  
     This relates generally to electronic devices and, more particularly, to electronic devices with displays and ambient light sensors. 
     Electronic devices often include displays. For example, portable devices such as cellular telephones and tablet computers are often provided with touch screen displays. 
     Ambient light sensors are sometimes provided in devices with displays to allow the devices to monitor ambient lighting conditions. A user of a portable device may often move between dim and bright lighting environments such as when transitioning between indoor and outdoor environments. Ambient light sensor readings may be taken in this type of device so that automatic display brightness adjustments may be made. When an increase in ambient light level is detected, control circuitry within the device may automatically increase the brightness of the display in the device to compensate for the additional glare and brightness associated with a bright ambient environment. This allows a user to view content on the display without interruption. Similarly, when a decrease in ambient light level is detected, the control circuitry within the device may automatically lower display brightness to a level that is appropriate for dim ambient lighting conditions. 
     Challenges arise when mounting ambient light sensors in an electronic device. If care is not taken, stray light from a display may interfere with ambient light sensor measurements. 
     It would therefore be desirable to be able to provide improved ambient light monitoring schemes for electronic devices. 
     SUMMARY  
     An electronic device may be provided that has a display. The display may produce stray light when displaying images for a user. The electronic device may have an ambient light sensor for measuring ambient light levels. Ambient light data may be used in adjusting display brightness. The display may be periodically disabled to prevent the stray light from interfering with the ambient light sensor. 
     An integrating analog-to-digital converter may be used in gathering sensor data from the ambient light sensor. The integrating analog-to-digital converter may include an integrator and an associated analog-to-digital converter that digitizes output from the integrator. The integrator may have an operational amplifier with a negative input and a positive input. 
     Transistor circuitry may be used to selectively couple the ambient light sensor to the integrator. During time periods in which the display is disabled, the transistor circuitry may be configured to electrically couple the ambient light sensor to the negative input. During other time periods, the transistor circuitry may be configured to gather background signals. The background signals may be associated with leakage current due to a voltage offset between the positive and negative terminals. 
     Control circuitry may be configured to remove the background signals from ambient light data. The control circuitry may subtract the background signals from the ambient light data or the operational amplifier may have an analog autozeroing capability that minimizes the voltage offset. 
     Further features, their nature and various advantages will be more apparent from the accompanying drawings and the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an illustrative electronic device of the type that may be provided with display and ambient light sensor structures in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic view of an illustrative electronic device of the type that may be provided with display and ambient light sensor structures in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 3  is a cross-sectional side view of a portion of an electronic device having a display and an ambient light sensor in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 4  is a timing diagram of display control signals in an electronic device showing how a display may have active periods and blanking periods in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 5  is a circuit diagram of illustrative ambient light sensor signal processing circuitry in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 6  is a circuit diagram of illustrative ambient light sensor circuitry of the type shown in  FIG. 5  with additional components to enhance performance in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIGS. 7 and 8  are timing diagrams showing control signals of the type that may be provided to transistors in the ambient light sensor circuitry of  FIG. 6  in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 9  is a flow chart of illustrative steps involved in operating an electronic device having ambient light sensor circuitry of the types shown in  FIGS. 5 and 6  for gathering ambient light sensor data in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 10  is a circuit diagram of ambient light sensor circuitry with autozeroing circuitry in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 11  is a timing diagram showing when autozeroing operations may be performed when using circuitry of the type shown in  FIG. 10  in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 12  is a flow chart of illustrative steps involved in performing autozeroing operations when gathering ambient light sensor measurements in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 13  is a timing diagram showing how digital ambient light sensor signals may be gathered by collecting digital data from an integrating analog-to-digital converter during both display blanking intervals and active display periods in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 14  is a flow chart of illustrative steps involved in processing sensor signals gathered using an approach of the type shown in  FIG. 13  in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 15  is a flow chart of illustrative steps involved in gathering and using ambient light sensor signals in real time in an electronic device in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     An illustrative electronic device that may be provided with a display and ambient light sensor circuitry is shown in  FIG. 1 . Electronic devices such as device  10  of  FIG. 1  may be cellular telephones, media players, other handheld portable devices, somewhat smaller portable devices such as wrist-watch devices, pendant devices, or other wearable or miniature devices, gaming equipment, tablet computers, notebook computers, desktop computers, televisions, computer monitors, computers integrated into computer displays, or other electronic equipment. 
     In the example of  FIG. 1 , device  10  includes a display such as display  14 . Display  14  has been mounted in a housing such as housing  12 . Housing  12 , which may sometimes be referred to as an enclosure or case, may be formed of plastic, glass, ceramics, fiber composites, metal (e.g., stainless steel, aluminum, etc.), other suitable materials, or a combination of any two or more of these materials. Housing  12  may be formed using a unibody configuration in which some or all of housing  12  is machined or molded as a single structure or may be formed using multiple structures (e.g., an internal frame structure, one or more structures that form exterior housing surfaces, etc.). 
     Display  14  may be a touch screen display that incorporates a layer of conductive capacitive touch sensor electrodes or other touch sensor components (e.g., resistive touch sensor components, acoustic touch sensor components, force-based touch sensor components, light-based touch sensor components, etc.) or may be a display that is not touch-sensitive. Capacitive touch screen electrodes may be formed from an array of indium tin oxide pads or other transparent conductive structures. 
     Display  14  may include an array of display pixels formed from liquid crystal display (LCD) components, an array of electrophoretic display pixels, an array of plasma display pixels, an array of organic light-emitting diode display pixels, an array of electrowetting display pixels, or display pixels based on other display technologies. The brightness of display  14  may be adjustable. For example, display  14  may include a backlight unit formed from a light source such as a lamp or light-emitting diodes that can be used to increase or decrease display backlight levels and thereby adjust display brightness. Display  14  may also include organic light-emitting diode pixels or other pixels with adjustable intensities. In this type of display, display brightness can be adjusted by adjusting the intensities of drive signals used to control individual display pixels. 
     To prevent light that is produced by display  14  from interfering with the process of gathering ambient light sensor signals in device  10 , the backlight unit or the individual light-producing display pixels in display  14  can be disabled whenever the ambient light sensor is enabled. The periods of time in which display  14  is directed to cease production of light (through its display pixels and/or backlight) are sometimes referred to as disable periods, inactive periods, blanking periods, or blanking intervals. The periods of time in which display  14  is being actively used to display images to a user are sometimes referred to as enable periods or active periods. 
     Display  14  may be protected using a display cover layer such as a layer of transparent glass or clear plastic. Openings may be formed in the display cover layer. For example, an opening may be formed in the display cover layer to accommodate a button such as button  16 . An opening may also be formed in the display cover layer to accommodate ports such as speaker port  18 . 
     In the center of display  14 , display  14  may contain an array of active display pixels. This region is sometimes referred to as the active area of the display. A rectangular ring-shaped region surrounding the periphery of the active display region may not contain any active display pixels and may therefore sometimes be referred to as the inactive area of the display. The display cover layer or other display layers in display  14  may be provided with an opaque masking layer in the inactive region to hide internal components from view by a user. 
     A schematic diagram of device  10  is shown in  FIG. 2 . As shown in  FIG. 2 , electronic device  10  may include control circuitry such as storage and processing circuitry  40 . Storage and processing circuitry  40  may include one or more different types of storage such as hard disk drive storage, nonvolatile memory (e.g., flash memory or other electrically-programmable-read-only memory), volatile memory (e.g., static or dynamic random-access-memory), etc. Processing circuitry in storage and processing circuitry  40  may be used in controlling the operation of device  10 . The processing circuitry may be based on a processor such as a microprocessor and other suitable integrated circuits. With one suitable arrangement, storage and processing circuitry  40  may be used to run software on device  10  such as internet browsing applications, email applications, media playback applications, operating system functions, software for capturing and processing images, software implementing functions associated with gathering and processing sensor data, software that makes adjustments to display brightness and touch sensor functionality, etc. 
     Input-output circuitry  32  may be used to allow input to be supplied to device  10  from a user or external devices and to output to be provided from device  10  to the user or external devices. 
     Input-output circuitry  32  may include wired and wireless communications circuitry  34 . Communications circuitry  34  may include radio-frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry formed from one or more integrated circuits, power amplifier circuitry, low-noise input amplifiers, passive RF components, one or more antennas, and other circuitry for handling RF wireless signals. Wireless signals can also be sent using light (e.g., using infrared communications). 
     Input-output circuitry  32  may include input-output devices  36  such as button  16  of  FIG. 1 , joysticks, click wheels, scrolling wheels, a touch screen such as display  14  of  FIG. 1 , other touch sensors such as track pads or touch-sensor-based buttons, vibrators, audio components such as microphones and speakers, image capture devices such as a camera module having an image sensor and a corresponding lens system, keyboards, status-indicator lights, tone generators, key pads, and other equipment for gathering input from a user or other external source and/or generating output for a user. 
     Sensor circuitry such as sensors  38  of  FIG. 2  may include an ambient light sensor for gathering information on ambient light levels, proximity sensor components (e.g., light-based proximity sensors and/or proximity sensors based on other structures), accelerometers, gyroscopes, magnetic sensors, and other sensor structures. 
     A cross-sectional side view of electronic device  10  is shown in  FIG. 3 . As shown in  FIG. 3 , display  14  may have display structures  44  such as a liquid crystal display module, an organic light-emitting diode display layer, or other display structures that include an array of active display pixels  70 . Optional backlight  90  may be used to provide structures such as liquid crystal display pixels with backlight illuminations. 
     During operation of display  14 , light from display pixels  70  (sometimes referred to as display pixel light or display light) may be observed by a user such as viewer  84  who is viewing display  14  in direction  86 . 
     Display structures  44  may be formed from one or more display layers and may sometimes be referred to as display layers  44  or display  44 . A display cover layer may be formed over display structures  44  using a clear glass layer, a layer of transparent plastic, or other cover layer material. A layer of ink (e.g., black ink or white ink or ink of other colors) may be formed on the underside of the display cover layer in a rectangular ring shape surrounding rectangular display pixel array  70  (as an example). 
     To make ambient light measurements, device  10  may include one or more ambient light sensors such as ambient light sensors  78 . An ambient light sensor may, for example, be formed in location A under a portion of an inactive region of display  14  (e.g., under an ambient light sensor window formed by creating an opening in an opaque masking layer on the underside of a display cover layer). If desired, display  44  and/or backlight  90  may be at least somewhat transparent to ambient light (e.g., display structures  44  may be less than 1% or more than 1% transparent, may be less than 0.5% transparent, may be less than 0.25% transparent, etc.). This allows an ambient light sensor to be located in position B between display structures  44  and backlight  90  or in position C under backlight  90 . In general, ambient light sensors  78  may be located at any suitable positions within device  10 . One or more photodiodes, phototransistors, or other light detecting components may be used in forming ambient light sensors  78 . 
     Control circuitry  40  may generate control signals that enable and disable display  14 . When display  14  is enabled, display pixels  70  and backlight  90  may generate display images for viewing by user  84  in direction  86  ( FIG. 3 ). When display  14  is disabled, display pixels  70  and backlight  90  are dark and do not emit light. The periods of time in which display  14  is disabled in this way may sometimes be referred to as display blanking periods or display blanking intervals. With one illustrative configuration, control circuitry  40  may produce a display blanking period for each frame of data that is displayed on display  14 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 4 , control circuitry  40  may generate a SYNC control signal (or associated signals such as true and complements of the SYNC signal). This type of control signal may be used to control display  14  and the circuitry that is used in processing the ambient light sensor signals from ambient light sensor  78 . 
     For example, display  14  may be disabled whenever SYNC is high (i.e., the high SYNC signal periods TI of FIG.  4  may correspond to display blanking periods in which it is desired to measure ambient light intensity because no interfering display light is being emitted by display  14 ). Because ambient light intensity is being measured during the display blanking periods, these periods may sometimes be referred to as sample periods or ambient light sensor signal sample periods. 
     Whenever SYNC is low, display  14  may be enabled and producing light (i.e., the low SYNC periods TH of  FIG. 4  may correspond to periods of time in which display  14  is active and emitting light signals that have the potential to interfere with ambient light sensor readings). 
     It may be desirable to integrate ambient data from multiple ambient light sensor sampling periods to ensure that measured signals are accurate. For example, it may be desirable to integrate over N blanking periods to produce a single ambient light sensor reading, where the value of N may be 5-100, more than 2, more than 10, less than 200, less than 100, 10-70, or other suitable number. By integrating ambient light signal samples over multiple blanking periods, the impact of noise in any given blanking period is reduced, allowing device  10  to accurately measure relatively low ambient light levels. When integrating across multiple blanking periods, signal integrating circuitry in control circuitry  40  may hold the current value of the integrated ambient light signal whenever ambient light sensor signal integration has been paused during periods TH to avoid interference from stray light. The active display periods TH between sample periods (blanking periods) TI may therefore sometimes be referred to as hold periods. 
       FIG. 5  is a circuit diagram of illustrative circuitry that may be used in gathering and processing ambient light sensor data from an ambient light sensor (sensor  78 ). As shown in  FIG. 5 , control circuitry  40  may include control circuitry  100 , integrating analog-to-digital converter  102 , and transistor circuitry  104 . 
     Integrating analog-to-digital converter  102  may have integrator  106  and analog-to-digital converter  128 . Integrator  106  may include an operational amplifier such as operational amplifier  108 . Operational amplifier  108  may have an integrating input such as input  112  (sometimes referred to as a negative input or current integration node) and may have a reference input (sometimes referred to as a positive input) such as input  114 , which is coupled to reference voltage source Vref. Capacitor  116  may be coupled in a feedback path between output  110  of operational amplifier  108  and negative input  112 . Control circuitry  100  may close reset switch  118  by asserting switch control signal SC on line  120 . For example, circuitry  100  may close switch  118  following completion of integration operations to obtain an ambient light sensor reading when it is desired to clear the currently integrated data value from integrator  106  in preparation for starting another integration operation. Analog-to-digital converter  128  converts analog data on operational amplifier output  110  to digital data on input  130  of control circuitry  100 . 
     Control circuitry  100  may process the data on data input  130  and may produce control signals on control signal outputs such as outputs  120 ,  122 ,  124 , and  126 . Control signals on control line  120  may be used to reset integrator  106 . Control signals on output  126  may be used to periodically disable (blank) display  14  so that ambient light sensor measurements may be made using ambient light sensor  78 . Control signals such as gate control signals S 0  and S 1  on respective control signal output lines  122  and  124  may be applied to the gates of the transistors in transistor circuitry  104  to control the transistors (e.g., to turn on and off the transistors and thereby configure transistor circuitry  104  appropriately during different periods of operation). 
     Transistor circuitry  104  may include transistors for controlling the routing of ambient light sensor current to integrator  106 . For example, when it is desired to integrate the current flowing through ambient light sensor  78 , signal S 0  may be taken high to turn on transistor M 0  and form a signal path between sensor  78  and integrating node  112  while signal S 1  may be taken low to turn off transistor M 1  and place the path between input  114  and sensor  78  in an open circuit condition. 
     Operational amplifier  108  may exhibit an offset voltage Vos between terminals  112  and  114 . This offset voltage may cause a leakage current Ilk to flow between terminals  112  and  114  through transistors M 0  and M 1  and path  140 . The leakage current Ilk is integrated by integrator  106  and can represent an undesired background signal that is a source of potential error in using integrator  102  to digitize the ambient light sensor signal from ambient light sensor  78 . 
     One way in which the contribution of leakage Ilk can be removed from the ambient light signal involves making two different sets of measurements. During the first set of measurements, transistor circuitry  104  may be configured so that ambient light sensor signal Is and leakage current Ilk are measured (e.g., for a number of intervals TI). During the second set of measurements, transistor circuitry  104  may be configured so that leakage current Ilk is measured (e.g., for a number of intervals TI). The leakage current data can then be subtracted to produce data for the ambient light sensor signal Is. 
     During time periods TI in which it is desired to measure Is and Ilk, transistor circuitry  104  may be configured so that transistor M 0  is closed and transistor M 1  is open. In this configuration, the signal being integrated by integrator  106  is proportional to the amount of ambient light received by ambient light sensor  78  (i.e., signal Is) plus the value of leakage current Ilk. During the time periods TI in which it is desired to measure Ilk, transistor circuitry  104  can be configured so that transistor M 0  is open (off) and transistor M 2  is closed (on). In this configuration, the current from ambient light sensor  78  is shunted to reference voltage node Vref without integration on node  112 . 
     During time periods TH, display  14  is enabled and may produce stray light that strikes sensor  78 . To help minimize signal contributions from stray light, transistor circuitry  104  may be provided with additional transistors such as transistors M 2  and M 3  of  FIG. 6 . Transistor M 2  may be controlled by control circuitry  100  using control signal S 2 . Transistor M 3  may be controlled by control circuitry  100  using control signal S 3 . 
       FIGS. 7 and 8  show how control circuitry  100  may take signals S 0  and S 2  high and may take signals S 1  and S 3  low during integration periods TI in which it is desired to measure ambient light sensor signals. This turns transistors M 1  and M 3  off and turns transistors M 0  and M 2  on to allow signal current Is from ambient light sensor  78  to be integrated on node  112 . As described in connection with  FIG. 4 , control circuitry  100  turns display  14  off during time periods TI, so there is no stray light contribution from display  14  that might otherwise affect ambient light sensor measurement accuracy. When it is desired to measure leakage current Ilk during a subsequent set of TI intervals, signals S 0  and S 2  may be taken low and signals S 1  and S 3  may be taken high to shunt current from sensor  78  to Vref. 
     During time periods such as time periods TH in which it is desired to prevent sensor signals from sensor  78  from reaching integrator input  112 , control circuitry  100  takes signals S 0  and S 2  low and takes signals S 1  and S 3  high. The ratio of the ON resistance of transistor M 3  to the OFF resistance of transistor M 2  may be about 10 −6  (as an example), so any current from sensor  78  will pass through transistor M 3  rather than passing through transistors M 2  and M 0  to integrating node  112 . The presence of transistors M 2  and M 3  therefore helps prevent signal contributions from sensor  78  from affecting the integrated signal on integration node  112  during time periods in which it is desired to block signals from sensor  78 . 
     Illustrative steps involved in subtracting background signal measurements from the integrated signal measurements of periods TI using circuitry of the type shown in  FIG. 6  are shown in  FIG. 9 . At step  130 , ambient light sensor signals are measured for N sampling periods TI. During each sampling period TI, control circuitry  100  asserts signals S 0  and S 2  while deasserting signals S 1  and S 3 . Display  14  is disabled temporarily to remove stray light by asserting signal DISPLAY BLANKING on line  126 . The value of N may be, for example, 2-100, 20-100, etc. In intervening periods TH, transistor circuitry  104  is configured to shunt sensor current to Vref and to prevent sensor current from reaching integrating node  112 . After N sample periods TI and N intervening sample periods TH, the integrated signal value of the signals on integration node  112  is produced on integrator output  110  and is digitized by analog-to-digital converter  128  and received by control circuitry  100 . This value represents a combined ambient light and background signal measurement. 
     At step  132 , background signals are integrated for N sample periods TI and N hold periods TH while transistor circuitry  104  is being configured to prevent ambient light sensor current from ambient light sensor  78  from reaching integrating node  112 . During each of the N sample periods TI and each of the N hold periods TH, control circuitry  100  deasserts signals S 0  and S 2  while asserting signals S 1  and S 3 . During hold periods TH, display  14  is enabled by deasserting the signal DISPLAY BLANKING on line  126 , so that display  14  presents images to the user of device  10 . After N sample periods TI and N hold periods TH, the integrated signal value of the signals on integration node  112  is produced on integrator output  110  and is digitized by analog-to-digital converter  128  and received by control circuitry  100 . This value represents a background signal measurement. 
     The signals gathered during the integration operations of step  130  are proportional to the amount of ambient light received by sensor  78  and have a leakage current contribution Ilk due to the presence of offset voltage Vos across operational amplifier terminals  112  and  114  of operational amplifier  108 . The signals gathered during the integration operations of step  132  are proportional to the leakage current contribution Ilk due to offset voltage Vos. During the operations of step  134 , control circuitry  100  can process the signals from steps  130  and  132  to produce ambient light sensor data. In particular, a digital version of the signal integrated during step  132  may be subtracted from a digital version of the signals integrated during step  130  to remove leakage current contributions to the ambient light sensor measurement. 
     If desired, integrating analog-to-digital converter  102  may be provided with an autozeroing operational amplifier such as autozeroing operational amplifier  108  of  FIG. 10 . As shown in  FIG. 10 , autozeroing operational amplifier  108  has an autozeroing control input  138 . Feedback control circuit  136  is coupled between operational amplifier output  110  and autozeroing control input  138 . Feedback control circuit  136  may include autozeroing feedback circuitry such as a feedback circuit based on a level shifter or digital control circuit. When it is desired to autozero operational amplifier  108  to remove (zero out) the offset voltage Vos that would otherwise appear between terminals  112  and  114 , control circuitry  100  can assert signals S 0 , S 1 , and S 3  and can deassert signal S 2 . This diverts current from sensor  78  through transistor M 3  and electrically couples terminals  112  and  114 . When terminals  112  and  114  are shorted together, the output on node  110  is driven to A*Vos by operational amplifier  108 , where A is the gain of operational amplifier  108  and Vos is the offset between terminals  112  and  114 . This allows feedback control circuitry  136  to feed back signals from node  110  to autozeroing input  138  to remove the offset voltage Vos. 
       FIG. 11  is an illustrative timing diagram showing how this type of autozeroing operation (which may sometimes be referred to as an analog autozeroing operation) may be performed during a time period TAW between respective ambient light sensor signal measurement periods Ti and Ti+1. 
     Illustrative steps involved in performing ambient light sensor measurements of ambient light in the vicinity of device  10  using circuitry of the type shown in  FIG. 10  are shown in  FIG. 12 . 
     At step  142 , control circuitry  100  may gather an ambient light sensor signal from autozeroing integrating analog-to-digital converter  102 . For example, during signal acquisition period Ti, integrating node  112  of integrator  106  may be used to integrate the ambient light sensor current Is from ambient light sensor  78 . Signals may be integrated for any suitable number of integration periods TI during signal acquisition period Ti. During each integration period TI, control circuitry  100  may disable display  14  to prevent stray light signals from affecting ambient light measurements while controlling transistor circuitry  104  to allow ambient light sensor signals to reach node  112  (e.g., by asserting signals S 0  and S 2  while deasserting signals S 1  and S 3 ). During periods TH in which display  14  is enabled, transistor circuitry  104  may be configured to prevent sensor current from reaching integrating node  112 . 
     During the operations of step  144 , the signals that were acquired on integrating node  112  are digitized by analog-to-digital converter  128  and received by control circuitry  100 . 
     To ensure that subsequent measurements (e.g., measurements made during integration periods TI in measurement period Ti+1) are accurate, autozeroing operations with feedback control circuitry  136  may be performed at step  146  (e.g., during an autozeroing time period such as time period TAW of  FIG. 11 ). This process may be repeated continuously, as indicated by line  148 . For example, after autozeroing operations are performed at step  146 , control can loop back to step  142 , so that integrating node  112  of integrator  106  may be used to integrate the ambient light sensor current Is from ambient light sensor  78  during signal acquisition period Ti+1. 
     In configurations in which analog-to-digital converter  128  has sufficient accuracy (e.g., 10 bits of accuracy), digital data processing operations may be performed to remove background signals without performing the analog autozeroing operations of  FIG. 12 . In this type of configuration, feedback control circuitry  136  can be omitted from control circuitry  40  of  FIG. 10  (e.g., measurements may be performed using circuitry of the type shown in  FIG. 6 ). 
     As shown in the timing diagram of  FIG. 13 , during time periods TI ambient light sensor signals and leakage current signals are both present, so digital data may be acquired that is proportional to both ambient light level signal Is and leakage current Ilk. During time periods TH, only leakage current signals Ilk are present, so the digital data that is acquired will be proportional to leakage current Ilk. 
     As an example, control circuitry  100  can use the output of analog-to-digital converter  128  to maintain a digital count d_int that is incremented during periods TI in accordance with equation 1 while maintaining a digital count d_hold that is incremented during periods TH in accordance with equation 2.
 
 d   —   int=k *( Is+Ilk )* t   —   int    (1)
 
 d _hold= k *( Ilk )* t _hold   (2)
 
     In equations 1 and 2, constant k is an analog-to-digital conversion factor, t_int is the length of periods TI and t_hold is the length of periods TH. Control circuitry  100  can subtract a time-weighted version of count d_hold from d_int, to produce corrected ambient light sensor count d_sig of equation 3.
 
 d   —   sig=d   —   int−d _hold*( t int/t _hold)   (3)
 
     The count value d_sig is proportional to the magnitude of the ambient light signal value and can be used by control circuitry  100  in taking actions in device  10 . 
     Illustrative steps involved in gathering ambient light sensor data using a digital counting technique of the type described in connection with  FIG. 11  and equations 1-3 are shown in  FIG. 14 . 
     At step  150 , control circuitry  100  gathers count d_int during a time interval TI in which display  14  is disabled (blanked). Integrating analog-to-digital converter  102  may integrate signal Is and leakage current Ilk during time interval TI. Analog-to-digital converter  128  may digitize the output of integrator  106  to produce a digital value that is processed using equation 1 to produce the d_int. Control circuitry  100  can also gather count d_hold during a time period TH following time period TI by using analog-to-digital converter  128  to digitize the output of integrator  106  after integrating through period TH. Signals may be integrated (counted) across any suitable number of TI and TH periods (e.g., one TI period and one TH period, two TI periods and two TH periods, tens or hundreds of TI and TH periods, etc.). 
     At step  152 , control circuitry  100  may process signals d_int and d_hold using equation 3 to produce an ambient light sensor signal d_sig that has been compensated for leakage current (i.e., a signal for which background signals have been subtracted). The d_int and d_hold values may be reset at step  154  and processing may loop back to the operations of step  150 , as indicated by line  156 . 
       FIG. 15  is a flow chart of illustrative steps involved in gathering and using ambient light sensor data in device  10 . At step  158 , device  10  may gather ambient light sensor data from ambient light sensor  78  using control circuitry  40 . During the operations of step  158 , control circuitry  40  may gather ambient light data for N cycles followed by a subtraction of background data gathered for another N cycles, may gather ambient light data using an autozeroing integrating analog-to-digital converter, may gather digital signals and process those signals to subtract leakage current signals, or may otherwise gather and process ambient light sensor data. 
     At step  160 , control circuitry  40  may use ambient light sensor data from ambient light sensor  78  in controlling the operation of display  14  and other circuitry in device  10 . As an example, control circuitry  40  may dynamically adjust the brightness of display  14 . Circuitry  40  may, for example, increase or decrease brightness in response to real time measurements of corresponding increases and decreases in ambient light level, etc. 
     The operations of steps  158  and  160  may, if desired, be performed continuously, as indicated schematically by line  162 . 
     The foregoing is merely illustrative and various modifications can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the described embodiments. The foregoing embodiments may be implemented individually or in any combination.

Metadata:
Filing Date: 20130110
Publication Date: 20150324
Grant Date: 20150324
Priority Date: 20121213
Inventors: ZHENG DONG
Assignee: APPLE INC
CPC Classifications: [{"code": "G09G3/3406", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G09G3/36", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04N5/58", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G09G2360/144", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G09G2320/0626", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G09G2360/145", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G09G3/3406", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04N5/58", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G09G2320/0626", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G09G3/36", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G09G2360/144", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G09G3/3406", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}]
Family ID: 50929829