LIGHT-EMITTING DEVICE, DRIVING METHOD THEREOF, AND ELECTRONIC APPARATUS

• US 20060279478A1
• Filed: 05/03/2006
• Published: 12/14/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 06/09/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Original Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Inventors: IKEGAMI, Tomio
• Application Number:
  US11/381,465
• Publication Number:
  US 20060279478A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/30
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2300/0842 forming a memory circuit, e.g. a dynamic memory with one capacitor
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2300/0861 with additional control of the display period without amending the charge stored in a pixel memory, e.g. by means of additional select electrodes
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2310/0218 with collection of electrodes in groups for n-dimensional addressing
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/0247 Flicker reduction other than flicker reduction circuits used for single beam cathode-ray tubes
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/0261 in the context of movement of objects on the screen or movement of the observer relative to the screen
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/2025 the sub-frames having all the same time duration
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/22 using controlled light sources
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/325 the data current flowing through the driving transistor during a setting phase, e.g. by using a switch for connecting the driving transistor to the data driver

Abstract

There are provided a light-emitting device and a driving method thereof capable of suppressing an image blur and a flicker. The light-emitting device includes: a display unit in which a plurality of pixel circuits for allowing light-emitting elements to emit light with brightness corresponding to a data signal is arranged; an image acquiring unit for acquiring a first image and a second image corresponding to times different from each other in a frame period of time, respectively; a data-line driving unit for supplying a data signal corresponding to the first image to the pixel circuits belonging to a first group among the plurality of pixel circuits and supplying a data signal corresponding to the second image to the pixel circuits belonging to a second group other than the first group; and a light-emission control unit for allowing the light-emitting elements of the pixel circuits belonging to the first group to emit light in a first period of the frame period of time and allowing the light-emitting elements of the pixel circuits belonging to the second group to emit light in a second period other than the first period of the frame period of time.

Claims

1. A light-emitting device comprising:

a display unit in which a plurality of pixel circuits for allowing light-emitting elements to emit light with brightness corresponding to a data signal is arranged;

an image acquiring unit for acquiring a first image and a second image corresponding to times different from each other in a frame period of time, respectively;

a data-line driving unit for supplying a data signal corresponding to the first image to the pixel circuits belonging to a first group among the plurality of pixel circuits and supplying a data signal corresponding to the second image to the pixel circuits belonging to a second group other than the first group; and

a light-emission control unit for allowing the light-emitting elements of the pixel circuits belonging to the first group to emit light in a first period of the frame period of time and allowing the light-emitting elements of the pixel circuits belonging to the second group to emit light in a second period other than the first period of the frame period of time.

2. The light-emitting device according to claim 1, wherein the display unit is partitioned into a plurality of unit areas of which each includes a predetermined number of pixel circuits belonging to the first group and a predetermined number of pixel circuits belonging to the second group.

3. The light-emitting device according to claim 2, wherein the display unit has a configuration that a plurality of circuit groups, each of which include a predetermined number of pixel circuits arranged in a first direction, are arranged in a second direction intersecting the first direction,

wherein each unit area includes the circuit group belonging to the first group and the circuit group being adjacent to the circuit group and belonging to the second group, and

wherein the light-emission control unit allows the light-emitting elements of the pixel circuits to emit light or extinguish light by supplying a common light-emission control signal to the pixel circuits of one circuit group.

4. The light-emitting device according to claim 1, wherein the display unit has a configuration that a plurality of circuit groups, each of which includes a predetermined number of pixel circuits arranged in a first direction, are arranged in a second direction intersecting the first direction,

wherein the pixel circuits in the odd circuit groups among the plurality of circuit groups belong to the first group and the pixel circuits in the even circuit groups belong to the second group, and

wherein the light-emission control unit allows the light-emitting elements of the pixel circuits to emit light or extinguish light by supplying a common light-emission control signal to the pixel circuits of one circuit group.

5. The light-emitting device according to claim 1, wherein the display unit has a configuration that the plurality of pixel circuits are arranged in a first direction and a second direction intersecting each other, and

wherein the plurality of pixel circuits are partitioned into the groups so that the pixel circuits of the second group are adjacent to the pixel circuits of the first group in the first direction and the second direction.

6. The light-emitting device according to claim 1, wherein the display unit has a configuration that a plurality of circuit groups, each of which includes a predetermined number of pixel circuits arranged in a first direction, are arranged in a second direction intersecting the first direction,

wherein the pixel circuits of the first group in one circuit group among the plurality of circuit groups and the pixel circuits of the first group in a different group adjacent to the one circuit group are connected in common to a first light-emission control line, and the pixel circuits of the second group in the one circuit group and the pixel circuits of the second group in the different circuit group are connected in common to a second light-emission control line, and

wherein the light-emission control unit allows the light-emitting elements of the pixel circuits to emit light or extinguish light by supplying a common light-emission control signal through the first and second light-emission control lines.

7. The light-emitting device according to claim 1, wherein the display unit has a configuration that a plurality of line pairs, each of which includes a scanning line extending in a first direction and a light-emission control line extending in the first direction, are arranged in a second direction intersecting the first direction, and a circuit group including a predetermined number of pixel circuits arranged in the first direction is disposed between the line pairs adjacent to each other in the second direction,

wherein the pixel circuits of the first group in the respective circuit groups are connected to the scanning line and the light-emission control line of the line pair adjacent to one side in the second direction as seen from the circuit group side, and the pixel circuits of the second group are connected to the scanning line and the light-emission control line of the line pair adjacent to the other side in the second direction as seen from the circuit group,

wherein a selection unit for sequentially selecting the scanning lines is further provided,

wherein the data signal output from the data-line driving unit is supplied to the pixel circuits connected to the scanning line selected by the selection unit, and

wherein the light-emission control unit allows the light-emitting elements of the pixel circuits to emit light or extinguish light by supplying a light-emission control signal through the light-emission control lines.

8. The light-emitting device according to claim 7, wherein the data signal is supplied to the pixel circuits through data lines extending in the second direction on an insulating layer covering the scanning lines and the light-emission control lines,

wherein first wiring portions for electrically connecting the pixel circuits to the scanning lines and second wiring portions for electrically connecting the pixel circuits to the light-emission control lines are formed in the same layer as the data lines on the insulating layer, and

wherein the first wiring portions extend in the second direction in the pixel circuits and are electrically connected to the scanning lines through contact holes of the insulating layer, respectively, and the second wiring portions extend in the second direction in the pixel circuits and are electrically connected to the light-emission control lines through contact holes of the insulating layer.

9. The light-emitting device according to claim 1, wherein the data-line driving unit supplies the data signals to the pixel circuits of the first group at the time before the pixel circuits of the first group emit light in the first period, and supplies the data signals to the pixel circuits of the second group at the time before the pixel circuits of the second group emit light in the second period.

10. The light-emitting device according to claim 1, wherein the image acquiring unit comprises:

an intermediate image generator for generating an intermediate image from a first original image and a second original image which should be displayed in the successive frame periods of time; and

a controller for notifying the data-line driving unit of one of a plurality of images including the intermediate image generated by the intermediate image generator as the first image and notifying the data-line driving unit of another image as the second image.

11. An electronic apparatus comprising the light-emitting device according to claim 1.

12. A method of driving a light-emitting device in which a plurality of pixel circuits for allowing light-emitting elements to emit light with brightness corresponding to a data signal is arranged in a matrix shape, the method comprising:

acquiring a first image and a second image corresponding to times different from each other in a frame period of time, respectively;

supplying a data signal corresponding to the first image to the pixel circuits belonging to a first group among the plurality of pixel circuits and supplying a data signal corresponding to the second image to the pixel circuits belonging to a second group other than the first group; and

allowing the light-emitting elements of the pixel circuits belonging to the first group to emit light in a first period of the frame period of time and allowing the light-emitting elements of the pixel circuits belonging to the second group to emit light in a second period other than the first period of the frame period of time.