PATENT DOCUMENT

Publication Number: US-10319278-B1
Application Number: US-201615251920-A
Country: US
Kind Code: B1

Title: Nonlinear pulse-width-modulated clock generation

Abstract:
Systems and methods are provided for generating a nonlinear clock signal. Such a signal may be used to drive sub-pixels of an electronic display. The electronic display may include a microdriver that drives at least one sub-pixel based at least in part on an image data signal and an emission clock signal. The image data signal specifies a gray level for driving the sub-pixel and the emission clock signal includes a series of pulses of monotonically increasing pulse widths to enable the microdriver to drive the sub-pixel to emit light for a particular amount of time associated with the gray level. An emission timing controller may generate the emission clock signal.

Claims:
What is claimed is: 
     
       1. An electronic display comprising:
 a microdriver configured to drive at least one sub-pixel based at least in part on an image data signal and an emission clock signal, wherein the image data signal specifies a gray level for driving the sub-pixel, and wherein the emission clock signal comprises a series of pulses of monotonically increasing pulse widths to enable the microdriver to drive the sub-pixel to emit light for a particular amount of time associated with the gray level; and 
 an emission timing controller configured to generate the emission clock signal, wherein the emission timing controller comprises:
 a plurality of pulse-generating cells, each of which is respectively configured to generate one of the series of pulses; and 
 combining logic configured to combine the pulses into a single signal to produce the emission clock signal. 
 
 
     
     
       2. The electronic display of  claim 1 , wherein the series of pulses of the emission clock signal increase nonlinearly. 
     
     
       3. The electronic display of  claim 1 , wherein a first pulse-generating cell of the plurality of pulse-generating cells is configured to trigger a start of a first pulse of the series of pulses at a first point in time when a ramp voltage that increases over time reaches a first reference voltage. 
     
     
       4. The electronic display of  claim 3 , wherein the emission timing controller comprises a ramp voltage generator configured to generate the ramp voltage and provide the ramp voltage as a common ramp voltage to at least two of the plurality of pulse-generating cells. 
     
     
       5. The electronic display of  claim 3 , wherein the first pulse-generating cell comprises a ramp voltage generator specific to the first pulse-generating cell that supplies the ramp voltage to the first pulse-generating cell but not to other pulse-generating cells of the plurality of pulse-generating cells. 
     
     
       6. The electronic display of  claim 3 , wherein the first pulse-generating cell is configured to trigger an end of the first pulse at second point in time when the ramp voltage reaches a second reference voltage that is greater than the first reference voltage. 
     
     
       7. The electronic display of  claim 3 , wherein the first pulse-generating cell is configured to trigger an end of the first pulse at second point in time based on a delay circuit used by the first pulse-generating cell. 
     
     
       8. The electronic display of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of pulse-generating cells are connected to one another in a delay-locked loop. 
     
     
       9. The electronic display of  claim 1 , wherein the emission timing controller is configured to generate the emission clock signal based on digital counting circuitry that generates the emission clock signal at least in part by counting edges of a first reference clock. 
     
     
       10. The electronic display of  claim 9 , wherein the emission timing controller is configured to generate the emission clock signal based on digital counting circuitry that generates the emission clock signal at least in part by counting edges of a first reference clock to generate earlier pulses of the series of pulses of the emission clock signal and by counting edges of a second reference clock to generate later pulses of the series of pulses of the emission clock signal, wherein the first reference clock has a higher frequency than the second reference clock. 
     
     
       11. A method comprising:
 generating a first pulse beginning at a first time and ending at a second time in a first pulse-generating cell; 
 generating a second pulse beginning at a third time and ending at a fourth time in a second pulse-generating cell, wherein the third time occurs after the second time and a first pulse width between the first time and the second time is less than a second pulse width between the third time and the fourth time; 
 generating a third pulse beginning at a fifth time and ending at a sixth time in a third pulse-generating cell, wherein the fifth time occurs after the fourth time and the second pulse width is less than a third pulse width between the fifth time and the sixth time; and 
 combining at least the first pulse, the second pulse, and the third pulse to generate a clock signal. 
 
     
     
       12. The method of  claim 11 , comprising using the clock signal to drive a sub-pixel of an electronic display to emit light for a particular amount of time. 
     
     
       13. An electronic device comprising:
 a processor configured to generate image data; and 
 an electronic display configured to receive and display the image data, wherein the electronic display is configured to use the image data to drive a sub-pixel of the electronic display based at least in part on an emission clock signal, wherein the emission clock signal comprises a series of pulses of monotonically increasing pulse widths to enable the sub-pixel to be driven to emit light for a particular amount of time associated with a gray level specified for the sub-pixel in the image data, and wherein the electronic display comprises an emission clock generator that includes a plurality of pulse-generating cells, each of which is respectively configured to generate one of the series of pulses of the emission clock signal. 
 
     
     
       14. The electronic device of  claim 13 , wherein the electronic device comprises a fitness band, a watch, a slate electronic device, a handheld electronic device, a mobile phone, a notebook computer, a desktop computer, or any combination thereof.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     This disclosure relates to systems and methods for generating a pulse-width-modulated clock signal, such as a nonlinear pulse-width-modulated clock signal useful for driving sub-pixels of 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. 
     Electronic displays are found in many electronic devices. Electronic displays may include a matrix of pixels, each of which includes sub-pixels of component colors. In one example, each pixel may include red, green, and blue sub-pixels. To generate pixels of particular colors, each sub-pixel may be driven to emit a particular amount of light. The human eye integrates the light from the sub-pixels and interprets the mix of light as a particular color. For example, a mix of light from red, green, and blue sub-pixels in a pixel may cause the pixel to appear to be white. The relative brightness of the sub-pixels may be programmed using image data. The image data may specify some specific level of brightness of each sub-pixel. This may be referred to as a gray level. 
     The human eye may notice relatively small changes in the amount of light emitted at relatively low gray levels. For relatively higher gray levels, however, a greater amount of change in brightness may take place before the human eye notices a change in brightness. As such, if the sub-pixels are driven to emit light for specific amounts of time based on a clock signal, a linear step change between gray levels may be unsuitable to achieve all of the gray levels used for displaying image data. Thus, a linear clock signal may be unsuitable to produce enough gray levels to display image data. 
     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. 
     This disclosure provides systems and methods for generating a nonlinear pulse-width-modulated (PWM) emission clock signal sufficient to drive sub-pixels of an electronic display to all desired gray levels. Indeed, the emission clock signal may enable sub-pixels to be driven for shorter periods of time at low gray levels and for comparatively longer periods of time at higher gray levels. For example, an emission clock generator may include circuitry that includes a number of pulse-generating cell circuits, each of which may emit a pulse that starts and ends at different particular points in time. For example, a first pulse-generating cell may generate a pulse from a time t 0  to t 1 , a second pulse-generating cell may generate a pulse from a later time t 2  to t 3 , and so forth. These pulses may be combined (e.g., using some combination logic, such as an OR gate). The resulting combined signal may be a non-linear PWM clock signal. The pulse timing may be defined for certain sub-pixel colors to effectively provide a gamma encoding of image data to be displayed via the sub-pixel. That is, by designing the circuitry to cause the pulse-generating cells to emit the pulses at particular points in time (e.g., t 0 , t 1 , t 2 , t 3 , and so forth), the resulting emission clock may provide a nonlinear gamma encoding for the various gray levels. That is, by selecting pulses of relatively short duration for the early pulses and pulses of relatively longer duration for the later pulses, the amount of light emitted by a sub-pixel that is driven based on the emission clock signal may be perceptible by the human eye. Additionally or alternatively, pulses of the different pulse widths and start times may be generated by cells of a delay-locked loop (DLL) and combined to form the emission clock signal. 
     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 block diagram of components of an electronic device that may include a micro light emitting diode (μ-LED) display, in accordance with an embodiment; 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the electronic device in the form of a fitness band, in accordance with an embodiment; 
         FIG. 3  is a front view of the electronic device in the form of a slate, in accordance with an embodiment; 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective view of the electronic device in the form of a notebook computer, in accordance with an embodiment; 
         FIG. 5  is a block diagram of a μ-LED display that employs micro-drivers (μDs) to drive μ-LED sub-pixels with control signals from row drivers (RDs) and data signals from column drivers (CDs), in accordance with an embodiment; 
         FIG. 6  is a block diagram schematically illustrating an operation of one of the micro-drivers (μDs), in accordance with an embodiment; 
         FIG. 7  is a timing diagram illustrating an example operation of the micro-driver (μD) of  FIG. 6 , in accordance with an embodiment; 
         FIG. 8  is an example of an emission clock signal (EM_CLK) generated by an emission clock generator, in accordance with an embodiment; 
         FIG. 9  is a block diagram of circuitry that may be included in the emission clock generator to produce pulses of varying duration and start time, which are combined together to form the emission clock signal (EM_CLK), in accordance with an embodiment; 
         FIG. 10  is a diagram of circuitry that may appear in the emission clock generator, which generates the different pulses by comparing a ramp voltage to different reference voltages, in accordance with an embodiment; 
         FIG. 11  is a diagram of circuitry that may appear in the emission clock generator, which uses a ramp voltage and a delay cell to generate the pulses, in accordance with an embodiment; 
         FIG. 12  is a diagram of circuitry that may be used to generate the ramp voltage, in accordance with an embodiment; 
         FIG. 13  is a plot showing the ramp voltage output by the circuitry of  FIG. 12 , in accordance with an embodiment; 
         FIG. 14  is a diagram of circuitry that may used to generate a segmented ramp voltage, in accordance with an embodiment; 
         FIG. 15  is a plot showing the segmented ramp voltage output by the circuitry of  FIG. 14 , in accordance with an embodiment; 
         FIG. 16  is a diagram of circuitry that may appear in the emission clock generator, which uses multiple ramp voltages and a delay circuit to generate the pulses of the emission clock signal (EM_CLK), in accordance with an embodiment; 
         FIG. 17  is a timing diagram illustrating the generation of different pulses using the circuitry of  FIG. 16 , in accordance with an embodiment; 
         FIG. 18  is a plot illustrating the use of different phases of a multi-phase clock signal to produce multiple ramp voltages at different times for generating multiple phases of the emission clock signal (EM_CLK), in accordance with an embodiment; and 
         FIG. 19  is a diagram of circuitry that may appear in the emission clock generator, which uses a series of delay cells to produce the pulses of the emission clock signal (EM_CLK), 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 the existence of additional embodiments that also incorporate the recited features. 
     A clock emission signal for an electronic display may be a nonlinear pulse-width-modulated (PWM) clock signal. The clock emission signal may have pulses that vary, allowing the electronic display to drive sub-pixels of the electronic display to all desired gray levels. In short, the emission clock signal may enable the sub-pixels to be driven for shorter periods of time at lower gray levels and for comparatively longer periods of time at higher gray levels. This allows the emission clock to provide a nonlinear gamma encoding for the various gray levels. That is, by selecting pulses of relatively short duration for the early pulses and pulses of relatively longer duration for the later pulses, the amount of light emitted by a sub-pixel that is driven based on the emission clock signal may be perceptible by the human eye. 
     An emission clock generator may include circuitry that generates the emission clock signal in any suitable number of ways. For example, an emission clock generator may include circuitry that includes a number of pulse-generating cell circuits, each of which may emit a pulse that starts and ends at different particular points in time. For example, a first pulse-generating cell may generate a pulse from a time t 0  to t 1 , a second pulse-generating cell may generate a pulse from a later time t 2  to t 3 , and so forth. These pulses may be combined (e.g., using some combination logic, such as an OR gate). The resulting combined signal may be a non-linear PWM clock signal. Additionally or alternatively, pulses of the different pulse widths and start times may be generated by cells of a delay-locked loop (DLL) and combined to form the emission clock signal. The emission clock signal may be used to drive sub-pixels of a micro-LED display. 
     Suitable electronic devices that may include a micro-LED (μ-LED or u-LED) display are discussed below with reference to  FIGS. 1-4 . One example of a suitable electronic device  10  may include, among other things, processor(s) such as a central processing unit (CPU) and/or graphics processing unit (GPU)  12 , storage device(s)  14 , communication interface(s)  16 , a μ-LED display  18 , input structures  20 , and an energy supply  22 . The blocks shown in  FIG. 1  may each represent hardware, software, or a combination of both hardware and software. The electronic device  10  may include more or fewer components. It should be appreciated that  FIG. 1  merely provides one example of a particular implementation of the electronic device  10 . 
     The CPU/GPU  12  of the electronic device  10  may perform various data processing operations, including generating and/or processing image data for display on the display  18 , in combination with the storage device(s)  14 . For example, instructions that can be executed by the CPU/GPU  12  may be stored on the storage device(s)  14 . The storage device(s)  14  thus may represent any suitable tangible, computer-readable media. The storage device(s)  14  may be volatile and/or non-volatile. By way of example, the storage device(s)  14  may include random-access memory, read-only memory, flash memory, a hard drive, and so forth. 
     The electronic device  10  may use the communication interface(s)  16  to communicate with various other electronic devices or components. The communication interface(s)  16  may include input/output (I/O) interfaces and/or network interfaces. Such network interfaces may include those for a personal area network (PAN) such as Bluetooth, a local area network (LAN) or wireless local area network (WLAN) such as Wi-Fi, and/or for a wide area network (WAN) such as a long-term evolution (LTE) cellular network. 
     Using pixels containing an arrangement of pixels made up of μ-LEDs, the display  18  may display images generated by the CPU/GPU  12 . The display  18  may include touchscreen functionality to allow users to interact with a user interface appearing on the display  18 . Input structures  20  may also allow a user to interact with the electronic device  10 . For instance, the input structures  20  may represent hardware buttons. The energy supply  22  may include any suitable source of energy for the electronic device. This may include a battery within the electronic device  10  and/or a power conversion device to accept alternating current (AC) power from a power outlet. 
     As may be appreciated, the electronic device  10  may take a number of different forms. As shown in  FIG. 2 , the electronic device  10  may take the form of a fitness band  30 . The fitness band  30  may include an enclosure  32  that houses the electronic device  10  components of the fitness band  30 . A strap  30  may allow the fitness band  30  to be worn on the arm or wrist. The display  18  may display information related to the operation of the fitness band  30 . Additionally or alternatively, the fitness band  30  may operate as a watch, in which case the display  18  may display the time. Input structures  20  may allow a person wearing the fitness band  30  navigate a graphical user interface (GUI) on the display  18 . 
     The electronic device  10  may also take the form of a slate  40 . Depending on the size of the slate  40 , the slate  40  may serve as a handheld device, such as a mobile phone, or a tablet-sized device. The slate  40  includes an enclosure  42  through which several input structures  20  may protrude. The enclosure  42  also holds the display  18 . The input structures  20  may allow a user to interact with a GUI of the slate  40 . For example, the input structures  20  may enable a user to make a telephone call. A speaker  44  may output a received audio signal and a microphone  46  may capture the voice of the user. The slate  40  may also include a communication interface  16  to allow the slate  40  to connect via a wired connection to another electronic device. 
     A notebook computer  50  represents another form that the electronic device  10  may take. It should be appreciated that the electronic device  10  may also take the form of any other computer, including a desktop computer. The notebook computer  50  shown in  FIG. 4  includes the display  18  and input structures  20  that include a keyboard and a track pad. Communication interfaces  16  of the notebook computer  50  may include, for example, a universal service bus (USB) connection. 
     A block diagram of the architecture of the μ-LED display  18  appears in  FIG. 5 . In the example of  FIG. 5 , the display  18  uses an RGB display panel  60  with pixels that include red, green, and blue μ-LEDs as sub-pixels. Support circuitry  62  thus may receive RGB-format video image data  64 . It should be appreciated, however, that the display  18  may alternatively display other formats of image data, in which case the support circuitry  62  may receive image data of such different image format. In the support circuitry  62 , a video timing controller (TCON)  66  may receive and use the image data  64  in a serial signal to determine a data clock signal (DATA_CLK) to control the provision of the image data  64  in the display  18 . The video TCON  66  also passes the image data  64  to serial-to-parallel circuitry  68  that may deserialize the image data  64  signal into several parallel image data signals  70 . That is, the serial-to-parallel circuitry  68  may collect the image data  64  into the particular data signals  70  that are passed on to specific columns among a total of M respective columns in the display panel  60 . As such, the data  70  is labeled DATA[ 0 ], DATA[ 1 ], DATA[ 2 ], DATA[ 3 ] . . . DATA[M−3], DATA[M−2], DATA[M−1], and DATA[M]. The data  70  respectively contain image data corresponding to pixels in the first column, second column, third column, fourth column . . . fourth-to-last column, third-to-last column, second-to-last column, and last column, respectively. The data  70  may be collected into more or fewer columns depending on the number of columns that make up the display panel  60 . 
     As noted above, the video TCON  66  may generate the data clock signal (DATA_CLK). An emission timing controller (TCON)  72  may generate an emission clock signal (EM_CLK). Collectively, these may be referred to as Row Scan Control signals, as illustrated in  FIG. 5 . These Row Scan Control signals may be used by circuitry on the display panel  60  to display the image data  70 . 
     In particular, the display panel  60  shown in  FIG. 5  includes column drivers (CDs)  74 , row drivers (RDs)  76 , and micro-drivers (μDs or uDs)  78 . Each uD  78  drives a number of pixels  80  having μ-LEDs as sub-pixels  82 . Each pixel  80  includes at least one red μ-LED, at least one green μ-LED, and at least one blue μ-LED to represent the image data  64  in RGB format. Although the μDs  78  of  FIG. 5  is shown to drive six pixels  80  having three sub-pixels  82  each, each μD  78  may drive more or fewer pixels  80 . For example, each μD  78  may respectively drive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, or more pixels  80 . 
     A power supply  84  may provide a reference voltage (VREF)  86  to drive the μ-LEDs, a digital power signal  88 , and an analog power signal  90 . In some cases, the power supply  84  may provide more than one reference voltage (VREF)  86  signal. Namely, sub-pixels  82  of different colors may be driven using different reference voltages. As such, the power supply  84  may provide more than one reference voltage (VREF)  86 . Additionally or alternatively, other circuitry on the display panel  60  may step the reference voltage (VREF)  86  up or down to obtain different reference voltages to drive different colors of μ-LED. 
     To allow the μDs  78  to drive the μ-LED sub-pixels  82  of the pixels  80 , the column drivers (CDs)  74  and the row drivers (RDs)  76  may operate in concert. Each column driver (CD)  74  may drive the respective image data  70  signal for that column in a digital form. Meanwhile, each RD  76  may provide the data clock signal (DATA_CLK) and the emission clock signal (EM_CLK) at an appropriate to activate the row of μDs  78  driven by the RD  76 . A row of μDs  78  may be activated when the RD  76  that controls that row sends the data clock signal (DATA_CLK). This may cause the now-activated μDs  78  of that row to receive and store the digital image data  70  signal that is driven by the column drivers (CDs)  74 . The μDs  78  of that row then may drive the pixels  80  based on the stored digital image data  70  signal based on the emission clock signal (EM_CLK). 
     A block diagram shown in  FIG. 6  illustrates some of the components of one of the μDs  78 . The μD  78  shown in  FIG. 6  includes pixel data buffer(s)  100  and a digital counter  102 . The pixel data buffer(s)  100  may include sufficient storage to hold the image data  70  that is provided. For instance, the μD  78  may include enough pixel data buffer(s)  100  to store image data  70  for three sub-pixels  82  at any one time (e.g., for 8-bit image data  70 , this may be 24 bits of storage). It should be appreciated, however, that the pixel data buffer(s)  100  may include more or fewer buffers, depending on the data rate of the image data  70  and the number of sub-pixels  82  included in the image data  70 . Thus, in some embodiments, the pixel data buffer(s)  100  may include as few buffers as to hold image data for one sub-pixel  82  or as many as suitable (e.g., 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, and so forth). The pixel data buffer(s)  100  may take any suitable logical structure based on the order that the column driver (CD)  74  provides the image data  70 . For example, the pixel data buffer(s)  100  may include a first-in-first-out (FIFO) logical structure or a last-in-first-out (LIFO) structure. 
     When the pixel data buffer(s)  100  has received and stored the image data  70 , the RD  76  may provide the emission clock signal (EM_CLK). A counter  102  may receive the emission clock signal (EM_CLK) as an input. The pixel data buffer(s)  100  may output enough of the stored image data  70  to output a digital data signal  104  represent a desired gray level for a particular sub-pixel  82  that is to be driven by the μD  78 . The counter  102  may also output a digital counter signal  106  indicative of the number of edges (only rising, only falling, or both rising and falling edges) of the emission clock signal (EM_CLK)  98 . The signals  104  and  106  may enter a comparator  108  that outputs an emission control signal  110  in an “on” state when the signal  106  does not exceed the signal  104 , and an “off” state otherwise. The emission control signal  110  may be routed to driving circuitry (not shown) for the sub-pixel  82  being driven, which may cause light emission  112  from the selected sub-pixel  82  to be on or off. The longer the selected sub-pixel  82  is driven “on” by the emission control signal  110 , the greater the amount of light that will be perceived by the human eye as originating from the sub-pixel  82 . 
     A timing diagram  120 , shown in  FIG. 7 , provides one brief example of the operation of the μD  78 . The timing diagram  120  shows the digital data signal  104 , the digital counter signal  106 , the emission control signal  110 , and the emission clock signal (EM_CLK) represented by numeral  122 . In the example of  FIG. 7 , the gray level for driving the selected sub-pixel  82  is gray level 4, and this is reflected in the digital data signal  104 . The emission control signal  110  drives the sub-pixel  82  “on” for a period of time defined as gray level 4 based on the emission clock signal (EM_CLK). Namely, as the emission clock signal (EM_CLK) rises and falls, the digital counter signal  106  gradually increases. The comparator  108  outputs the emission control signal  110  to an “on” state as long as the digital counter signal  106  remains less than the data signal  104 . When the digital counter signal  106  reaches the data signal  104 , the comparator  108  outputs the emission control signal  110  to an “off” state, thereby causing the selected sub-pixel  82  no longer to emit light. 
     As shown in  FIG. 8 , the emission TCON  72  may include at least one emission clock generator (EM_CLK generator)  130 . As may be appreciated, the emission TCON  72  may include multiple emission clock generators  130 , which may be used to produce multiple phases of the emission clock signal (EM_CLK). The emission clock signals (EM_CLK) may be provided to the row drivers (RDs)  76 . As discussed above, the emission clock signals (EM_CLK) may be provided by the row drivers (RDs)  76  to the micro drivers (μDs)  78  to drive individual sub-pixels  82  for specified amounts of time. The longer a particular sub-pixel  82  is driven, the greater the amount of light that is emitted by that sub-pixel  82 . The light emitted by the sub-pixel  82  may be integrated by the human eye; as such, a sub-pixels  82  driven for a longer period of time may appear brighter and may contribute more of the light of the particular color that is emitted by that sub-pixel  82 . The emission clock signal (EM_CLK) may provide a nonlinear gamma encoding for the various gray levels that the sub-pixels  82  may be driven to. By providing pulses of relatively short duration for the early pulses and pulses of relatively longer duration for the later pulses of the emission clock signal, changes in gray level for the amount of light emitted by a sub-pixel  82  that is being driven may be perceptible by the human eye. 
     The emission clock generator  130  thus may generate a nonlinear pulse-width-modulated (PWM) clock signal. Moreover, the particular pulse widths for each pulse of the emission clock signal (EM_CLK) may be generated to provide the gamma encoding that is particular to a particular color of sub-pixel. In one example, one emission clock generator  130  may generate a first emission clock signal (EM_CLK) having pulse widths that provide the desired gamma encoding for driving red sub-pixels  82 . A second emission clock generator  130  may generate a second emission clock signal (EM_CLK) having different pulse widths to produce a desired gamma encoding for driving green or blue sub-pixels  82 . 
     The pulses of the emission clock signals (EM_CLK) may have a relatively wide dynamic range between the shortest pulse at the start of one emission clock signal (EM_CLK) (e.g., the shortest pulse of the emission clock signal used for driving the red sub-pixels  82 ) and the longest pulse at the end of one of the emission clock signals (EM_CLK) (e.g., the longest pulse of the emission clock signal used for driving the green or blue sub-pixels  82 ). The emission clock signal (EM_CLK) used for driving the red sub-pixel  82  may have a first pulse (corresponding to a gray level 1) as rapid as 10 ns. On the other hand, an emission clock signal (EM_CLK) used for the driving green or blue sub-pixels  82  may have a longest emission clock pulse (corresponding to a highest gray level) that may take up to 10-20% of a frame update rate (e.g., on the order of milliseconds). 
     One way that the emission clock generator  130  may generate the emission clock signal (EM_CLK) may be a digital counting approach, but this may be relatively costly due to the wide dynamic range. To generate the emission clock signal (EM_CLK) using a digital counting approach, a high-frequency reference clock that is at least as fast as the shortest pulse of the emission clock signal (EM_CLK) may be counted. Pulses may be generated when certain total amounts of rising or falling edges of high-frequency reference clock signal have passed. A digital lookup table (LUT) may store 255 nonlinear counting numbers for 8-bit data the 255 gray levels represented by the emission clock signal (EM_CLK) in (for a bit digital image data). The shortest pulse (gray level 1) for an emission clock used for driving the blue or green sub-pixels  82  to may be on the order of 1 μs. As such, a reference clock frequency of approximately 80 MHz may be used. For driving the red sub-pixels  82 , the shortest emission clock signal pulse (gray level 1) may be on the order of 10 ns. As such, the reference clock signal used to generate an emission clock signal for a red pixel may have a frequency of greater than 1 GHz. Since this may consume a substantial amount of energy, for higher gray levels, a lower-resolution reference clock signal may be used instead. For example, to generate the pulses for relatively lower gray levels, the emission clock generator  130  may count the pulses of a 1 GHz reference clock, while, for higher gray levels, pulses from a 100 MHz reference clock may be used. 
     As may be appreciated, using a digital pulse counting technique may cause the emission clock generator  130  to consume a substantial amount of power, given the high dynamic range between the shortest possible emission clock pulses that may be used by the display  18  and the longest possible emission clock pulses that may be used by the display  18 . Thus, the following discussion will describe various other circuitry that may appear in the emission clock generator  130  to generate the emission clock signal (EM_CLK). 
       FIG. 9  is a block diagram representing circuitry that may be used to produce the emission clock signal (EM_CLK). Specifically, the emission clock generator  130  may include some number of pulse-generating cells  132 . In the example shown in  FIG. 9 , the emission clock generator  130  generates 255 pulses, thereby providing an emission clock signal (EM_CLK) with enough pulses for 1 pulse per gray level when 8-bit image data is used by the display  18 . It should be appreciated, however, that the emission clock generator  130  may include more or fewer pulse-generating cells  132 . For example, when half-rate counting is used by the micro-drivers (μDs)  78 , meaning both rising and falling edges of the emission clock signals (EM_CLK) are counted, the same resolution of image data may be represented using an emission clock signal (EM_CLK) with fewer pulses. Under those circumstances, the emission clock generator  130  may include fewer pulse-generating cells  132 . 
     Each pulse-generating cell  132  generates a pulse that starts and ends at a different time. For example, the first pulse-generating cell  132  may generate a pulse that starts at time t 0  and ends at time t 1 , the second pulse-generating cell  132  generates a pulse that starts at time t 2  and ends at time t 3 , and so forth. The individual pulses emitted by the pulse-generating cells  132  are combined together using any suitable form of combine logic  134  to produce the total emission clock signal (EM_CLK). Thus, the combine logic  134  may represent any logic that can sum the outputs of the pulse-generating cells  132 . For example, the combine logic  134  may represent an OR gate or a tree of OR gates. 
     The pulse-generating cells  132  may use any suitable circuitry to generate individual pulses at specific points and time. One example of such circuitry is shown in  FIG. 10 .  FIG. 10  illustrates one particular implementation of the emission clock generator  130  that uses a common ramp voltage generator  140  to generate a common ramp voltage  142  that is used by the pulse-generating cells  132 . In particular, the pulse-generating cells  132  shown in  FIG. 10  may use the ramp voltage  142  to determine when to start and stop the individual pulses that the pulse-generating cells  132  respectively emit. In the example of  FIG. 10 , any suitable circuitry to generate reference voltages, such as a voltage resistor ladder  144 , may be used. 
     In the voltage resistor ladder  144  shown in  FIG. 10 , there are  510  reference voltages, 2 for each pulse-generating cell  132 . In the example of the first pulse-generating cell  132 , the ramp voltage  142  that is produced by the ramp voltage generator  140  enters two comparators  146  and  148 . A first reference voltage V 1 A is the reference voltage to the comparator  148 , and a second reference voltage V 1 , which is higher than the first reference voltage V 1 A, is the reference voltage supplied to the comparator  146 . 
     While the ramp voltage  142  is less than both V 1 A and V 1 , the output of the comparator  148  will be a logical low and the output of the comparator  146  will be a logical low. An inverter  150  that receives the output of the comparator  146  thus may output a logical high signal. An AND gate  152  that receives the output of the comparator  148  and the inverter  150  thereby outputs a logical low signal as long as the ramp voltage  142  is less than both V 1 A and V 1 . The reference voltage V 1 A may be selected so the ramp voltage  142  will reach V 1 A at a time t 0 . This causes the comparator  148  to emit a logical high signal at time t 0 . Thus, while the ramp voltage  142  is greater than V 1 A but less than V 1 , the output of the inverter  150  remains high, and the AND gate  152  starts to emit a logic high signal at t 0 . The reference voltage V 1  may be selected such that the ramp voltage  142  reaches the reference voltage V 1  at a t 1 . As such, when the ramp voltage  102  crosses the threshold of the reference voltage V 1  at time t 1  the comparator  146  may output a logic high signal, which is inverted by the inverter  150 , causing the inputs to the AND gate  152  to be a logical high from the comparator  148 , but a logical low from the inverter  150 , thereby causing the output of the AND gate  152  to return to a logical low at time t 1 . 
     Similar circuitry may be used in the other pulse-generating cells  132 , with different reference voltages selected to be reached by the ramp voltage  142  at different times. For example, a second pulse-generating cell  132 , which emits a pulse that starts a time t 2  and ends at time t 3 , may use reference voltages V 2 A and V 2 . 
     Another example of circuitry that may appear in the emission clock generator  130  is shown in  FIG. 11 . In the example of  FIG. 11 , a fewer reference voltages may be involved. As in the circuitry discussed above with reference to  FIG. 10 , any suitable reference-voltage-generating circuitry may be used, including a voltage resistor ladder  160 . The voltage resistor ladder  160  may include one reference voltage per pulse-generating cell  132 . 
     An example of circuitry that may be used by the pulse-generating cells  132  example of  FIG. 11  is shown in the first pulse-generating cell  132 . The first pulse-generating cell  132  has a comparator  162  with the voltage V 1  as its reference voltage. The reference voltage V 1  may be designed (e.g., in the design of the voltage resistor ladder  160 ) so that the ramp voltage  142  reaches V 1  at a time t 0 . When the ramp voltage  142  reaches the reference voltage V 1  at time t 0 , the comparator voltage  162  may emit a logical high signal. The logical high signal may enter a delay circuit  164  and an XOR logic gate  166 . The delay circuit  164  may delay the passing of the logical high signal, and thus continue to output a logical low signal, until time t 1 . As such, between the time that the comparator  162  emits the logical high pulse at time t 0  and when the delay circuit emits a logical high signal at time t 1 , the XOR logic gate  166  may emit a pulse. 
     The delay circuit  164  may delay the arrival of the received pulse from the comparator  162  to the second input of the XOR logic gate  166  using in any suitable way. One example of the delay circuit  164 , shown in close view in  FIG. 11 , uses a grounded capacitor CD 1  that is disposed between two inverters  168  and  170 . Depending on the value of the capacitor CD 1 , the amount of delay between receipt of the high pulse and the passing on of the high pulse may be tuned. As may be appreciated, the pulse-generating cells  132  of the emission clock generator  130  of  FIG. 11  thus may emit pulses at certain specific times and for specific durations based on their respective reference voltages (e.g., V 1 , V 2 , etc.) and the capacitance values of their respective delay circuits  164 . 
     The ramp voltage generator  140  represented as a block diagram in  FIGS. 10 and 11  may include any suitable circuitry to generate a desired ramp voltage  142 . The ramp voltage generator  140  may generate a single-slope ramp voltage, as in the example described by  FIGS. 12 and 13 , or a segmented ramp voltage, as in the example described by  FIGS. 14 and 15 . It should be appreciated that the examples of  FIGS. 12-15  are meant to be non-exhaustive examples of ramp voltage generators  140 . Indeed, any suitable ramp voltage circuitry that generates any suitable ramp voltage—whether the ramp voltage is linear (e.g., single-slope), segmented (e.g., multi-slope), or some nonlinearly shaped ramp voltage. 
     The example of the ramp voltage generator  140  shown in  FIG. 12  includes a current source  170  that generates a substantially constant reference current I 0 . The reference current I 0  feeds into a capacitor Cr. A buffer  172  outputs the voltage on the node between the current source  170  and the capacitor Cr. The output of the buffer  172  is the ramp voltage  142 . 
     A plot  180  of  FIG. 13  represents an example of the linear ramp voltage  142  that is output by the ramp voltage generator  140  of  FIG. 12 . An ordinate  182  represents increasing voltage and an abscissa  184  represents increasing time. A curve  186  illustrates the substantially constant slope of the ramp voltage  142 . This may be due to the substantially constant reference circuit I 0  feeding into the capacitor Cr shown in the circuitry of  FIG. 12 . 
     A segmented ramp voltage  142  may be generated by the example of the ramp voltage generator  140  shown in  FIG. 14 . In the example of  FIG. 14 , multiple current sources (here, current sources  190  and  192 ) produce different respective reference currents (here, Ia and Ib, respectively). It should be appreciated that any suitable number of reference current sources and corresponding reference currents may be used. Using two current sources, as in  FIG. 14 , is meant to be one example, and is not intended to be exhaustive. Switches  194  and  196  may selectively provide the reference current Ia and/or Ib into the capacitor Cr. As the referenced current(s) Ia and/or Ib charge the capacitor Cr, the voltage on the node connected to the capacitor Cr may ramp. A buffer  198  may use the voltage on this node as a reference voltage, outputting a segmented ramp voltage  142 . 
     A plot  210  on  FIG. 15  represents an example of the segmented ramp voltage  142 . An ordinate  212  represents voltage in relation to an abscissa  214 , which represents time. As shown in the plot  210 , there may be three segments  216 ,  218 , and  220 . The segment  216  has the steepest slope and is due to the closing of both switches  194  and  196 , thereby providing a sum of both the references currents Ia and Ib into the capacitor Cr. The segment  218  is slightly less steep and may occur when the switch  194  is closed, but the switch  196  is open, and the reference current Ia feeds into the capacitor Cr. When the reference current Ib is less than the reference current Ia, the slope of the third segment  220 , which includes only the result of the reference current Ib feeding into the capacitor Cr. In this case, the switch  196  is closed and the switch  194  is open. As may be appreciated, by selecting the size of the capacitor Cr and the strengths of the reference currents Ia and Ib, as well as the timing for switching the switches  194  and  196 , a variety of different segmented ramp voltages  142  may be generated. 
       FIG. 16  represents another example of circuitry that may appear in the emission clock generator  130 . In the example of  FIG. 16 , the pulse-generating cells of  132  use different respective ramp voltages generated specifically for that cell  132 . For example, the first pulse-generating cell  132  may include a first current source  230  that generates a first reference current I 1 . The reference current I 1  charges a capacitor C 1  and generates a ramp voltage  232  at the node between the capacitor and the current source  230 . As should be appreciated (and as will be discussed below with reference to  FIG. 17 ) the slope of the ramp voltage  232  may be defined by the selected values of the reference current I 1  and the capacitor C 1 . The ramp voltage  232  enters a comparator  234 , which emits a logically high signal when the ramp voltage  232  exceeds some reference voltage V 0 . The reference voltage V 0  and the ramp voltage  232  may be designed to cause the comparator  234  to emit the logical high signal at time t 0 . The output of the comparator  234  goes to a delay circuit  236  and as one input into an XOR logic gate  238 . The output of the delay circuit  236  is a second input into the XOR logic gate  238 . The delay circuit  236  may be any suitable delay circuit, including the delay circuit described above with reference to  FIG. 11 . Before time T 0 , the comparator  234  outputs a logical low as does the delay circuit  236 . As such, the XOR logic gate  238  also outputs a logical low. At time T 0 , the input of the delay circuit  236  is logically high, put the output of the delay circuit  236  will be logically low until some delay time passes and the logical high signal is allowed through the delay circuit  236 , occurring at time T 1 . Thus, between time T 0  and time T 1 , only one input to the XOR logic gate  238  is a logical high signal. As a result, between time T 0  and T 1 , the XOR logic gate  238  emits a pulse. 
     Similarly, in the second pulse-generating cell  132  shown in  FIG. 16 , a current source  240  generates a different reference current I 2  that charges a different capacitor C 2 . The resulting voltage on the node is a ramp voltage  242 . The values of the reference current I 2  and capacitor C 2  may be selected so that the ramp voltage  242  crosses the threshold of the reference voltage V 0  at a time t 2 . In this way, when a comparator  244  detects that the ramp voltage  242  exceeds the reference voltage V 0 , the comparator  244  emits a logical high signal. The output of the comparator  244  enters a delay circuit  246  and one input of a XOR logic gate  248 . The output of the delay circuit  246  feeds into another input of the XOR logic gate  248 . The delay circuit  246  may be sized to delay the logical high signal from passing through the delay circuit  246  until a time t 3 . Thus, between times t 2  and t 3 , the XOR logic gate  248  emits a logical high pulse. The combined logic  134  of the emission clock generator  130  may combine these pulses into the emission clock signal (EM_CLK). 
     Although the example of  FIG. 16  uses the same reference voltage V 0  for multiple pulse-generating cells  132 , it should be appreciated that different cells may use different reference voltages and/or the ramp voltages of different slopes (e.g.,  232 ,  242 ) may be repeated in further pulse-generating cells  132  with different ramp voltages. For example, the first 3 pulse-generating cells  132  may use the same reference voltage V 0 , but generate 3 different ramp voltages of different slope, while the next 3 pulse-generating cells  132  (i.e., cells  4 ,  5 , and  6 ) may use the same ramp voltages used in the first, second, and third pulse-generating cells  132  respectively, but use reference voltages higher than the reference voltage V 0 . Such a pattern may repeat throughout the pulse-generating cells  132 . Additionally or alternatively, the reference voltages V 0  may be identical through all of the pulse-generating cells  132 , but the slopes of the ramp voltages of each pulse-generating cell  132  may be lower. 
       FIG. 17  illustrates a timing diagram that describes the operation of the emission clock generator  130  described in  FIG. 16 . In  FIG. 17 , a voltage N-time plot  260  is disposed over a signal timing diagram  262 . The slope of the ramp voltage  232  is relatively steep and reaches the reference voltage t 0  at time t 0  causing the cell  1  output to pulse, as shown by a signal  264 . The slope of the ramp voltage  242  is relatively lower, and reaches the reference voltage V 0  at a time t 2 , causing the cell to output to pulse at time t 2 , this is shown by a signal  266 . Another ramp voltage  268  due to a third reference current I 3 , has yet a lower slope. As a result, the ramp voltage  268  reaches V 0  even later, at time t 4 . When the ramp voltage  268  is used in the third pulse-generating cells  132 , the cell  3  output pulses at time t 4 . This is shown by a signal  270 . 
     It should be appreciated that multiple emission clock signals (EM_CLK) may be provided to the display  18  by the emission TCON  72 . As shown by a plot  280  in  FIG. 18 , which includes an ordinate  288  representing voltage and an abscissa  284  representing time, multiple ramp voltages may be generated for multiple emission clock phases in the circuitry discussed above. Indeed, this may allow for excellent matching between phases of a multiple phases of emission clock signals (EM_CLK) generated by the emission TCON  72 . Indeed, using the circuitry discussed above with reference to  FIGS. 9-17 , ramp voltages may be generated in parallel integrators. The comparators and logic of the circuitry described by  FIGS. 9-17  could be shared to enable the generation of multiple phases of emission clock signals (EM_CLK) by adding switches and suitable logic to generate and route particular pulses to different combined logic  134 , as should be appreciated. In other words, the particular ramp voltage that is applied to a particular cell  132  may be switched over time to enable the pulse-generating cell  132  to operate to generate a pulse for a different phase emission clock signal (EM_CLK). Considering the plot  280  of  FIG. 18, 4  ramp voltages are shown that may be used to generate 4 phases of emission clock signal (EM_CLK). A first ramp voltage  286  may be generated by a first current Ia in a first ramp voltage generator, a second ramp voltage  288  may be generated via a reference current Ib in a second voltage ramp generator  140 , a third ramp voltage  290  may be generated by a third reference current Ic in a third reference voltage generator  140 , and a fourth reference voltage may be generated by a fourth reference current Id in a fourth reference voltage generator  140 . The ramp voltages  286 ,  288 ,  290 , and  292  may be multiplexed into the appropriate pulse-generating cells  132 , and the respective outputs of the pulse-generating cells  132  may also be multiplexed to the appropriate combined logic  134  to generate the 4 phases of emission clock signals (EM_CLK). Additionally or alternatively, multiple copies of the emission clock generators  130  may be included in the emission TCON  72 . 
     Another form of circuitry that may appear in the emission clock generator  130  is a delay-locked loop (DLL). As shown in  FIG. 19 , a reference (e.g., a clock signal)  300  may be an input into a first delay cell  302 , the delay cells  302  may be connected together in a delay-locked loop that continues until the final delay cell  302 , repeating periodically depending on the input reference (CLK) signal  300 . Each delay cell  302  may include an input buffer  304  that receives the reference input signal from the previous delay cell  302 . The signal from the buffer  304  is provided to an RC circuit defined by some resistor R and a capacitor C 1 . In other embodiments, the amount of delay in each delay cell  302  may be any suitable LC circuit or RLC circuit. A clear switch  306  may be used to clear each delay cell  302  to reset the delay-locked loop shown in  FIG. 19  when the emission clock signal (EM_CLK) has been generated. During the emission-clock-generating phase of the operation of the circuitry of  FIG. 9 , the switches  306  are open and the clear voltage Vc is a logical low value. Each delay cell  302  may delay passing on the input signal until sometime specified by the RC circuit of each delay cell  302 . That is, different values of R and/or C may be selected to such that the delay of each delay cell  302  is sized produced for a particular pulse as desired for a particular gray level of the emission clock signal (EM_CLK). 
     To generate the pulses, the input signal of each delay cell  302  enters a buffer  308 , and the output of each delay cell  302  enters an inverter  310 . The resulting outputs of these signals are provided as inputs into a NAND logic gate  312 . By adjusting the amount of delay associated with each delay cell  302 , the pulses output by the NAND logic gate  312  may begin and end at particular points and time (e.g., at t 0  and t 1 , in the case of the first delay cell  302  shown in  FIG. 19 , or from time t 2  to t 3 , as in the case of the second delay cell  302  shown in  FIG. 19 ). OR logic may operate to combine the pulses from each of the NAND gates  312  to produce the emission clock signal (EM_CLK). When the delay has exited the final delay cell  302  of the delay-locked loop (DLL) of  FIG. 19 , the signal may be provided to a comparator  318  that may compare the output signal to the reference signal (CLK)  300 . When the comparator may output the clear voltage signal Vc to reset the delay cells  302 . The delay cells  302  then may reset when the output of the last delay cell  302  exceeds the reference clock (CLK)  300  (e.g., a logic low may propagate through the delay cells  302  thereby resetting the display cells  302  for the next generation of the emission clock signal (EM_CLK). 
     While the disclosure above describes a number of different examples of circuitry that may be used to generate an emission clock signal (EM_CLK), it should be appreciated that the embodiments discussed above are not intended to be exclusive of one another. Indeed, different types of pulse-generating cells  132  may be used in one emission clock generator  130 . Moreover, the capacitors and capacitors reference currents and reference voltages may be adjusted and/or varied as desired to produce pulses that start at any desired time and endure for any desired period. This may allow the emission clock signal (EM_CLK) to generate a substantial variety of pulses that may account for any desired gamma and coding and/or refresh rates. In addition, it should be appreciated that different logic may be used to determine when to start outputting a pulse and when to stop outputting a pulse based on the various pulse-starting signals (e.g., from various of the comparators) and the various pulse-ending signals (e.g., from comparators or delay circuits). Using  FIG. 11  by way of example, while an XOR gate is shown in  FIG. 11 , an XNOR gate may be used instead if the inverse of the signals is provided as inputs to the XNOR gate. Likewise, an AND gate may be used if output of the delay circuit  164  of the example of  FIG. 11  were inverted. It should be appreciated that any suitable logic that can serve as pulse-generating logic based on the pulse-starting signals and pulse-ending signals may be used. 
     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.

Metadata:
Filing Date: 20160830
Publication Date: 20190611
Grant Date: 20190611
Priority Date: 20150925
Inventors: NHO, HYUNWOO
VAHID FAR, MOHAMMAD B.
WANG, XIAOFENG
Assignee: APPLE INC
CPC Classifications: [{"code": "G09G3/32", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G09G2330/028", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G09G2310/08", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G09G3/2003", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G09G3/2018", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G09G3/2022", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G09G3/2018", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G09G2310/08", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}]
Family ID: 66767513