Power consumption optimized display update

• US 20070247419A1
• Filed: 04/24/2006
• Published: 10/25/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 04/24/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Snaptrack Incorporated (Qualcomm, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm MEMS Technologies Incorporated (Qualcomm, Inc.)
• Inventors: Sampsell, Jeffrey
• Granted Patent: US 8,049,713 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/108
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2300/06 Passive matrix structure, i.e. with direct application of both column and row voltages to the light emitting or modulating elements, other than LCD or OLED
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2310/0213 controlling the sequence of the scanning lines with respect to the patterns to be displayed, e.g. to save power
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/20 for presentation of an assembly of a number of characters, e.g. a page, by composing the assembly by combination of individual elements arranged in a matrix no fixed position being assigned to or needed to be assigned to the individual characters or partial characters
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/3466 based on interferometric effect

Abstract

Systems and methods for reducing the power consumption necessary for updating a display are provided. The methods include determining a row addressing order based on an attribute of the image data that minimizes the number of column charging transitions necessary to write the image data to the display. In some embodiments, the row-addressing order is determined based on a determination of a whiteness value for the row. In some embodiments, a power-optimized row-addressing order is embedded in image data, allowing a display device to write the image data to the display more efficiently.

Claims

1. A method of writing a display image to a display having an array of pixels, the method comprising:

receiving image data;

deriving a row-addressing order based at least in part on at least some of the stored image data; and

writing the display image to the display by addressing rows in the array of pixels according to the row-addressing order.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the received image data is stored in a frame buffer, and wherein the row-addressing order is derived from an attribute of one or more rows of the image data stored in the frame buffer.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the display is a bi-stable display comprising an array of pixels, said pixels having an actuated state and an un-actuated state.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the pixels in the array comprise interferometric modulator pixels.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein one or more row attributes for the one or more rows is derived from a count of actuated pixels and a count of un-actuated pixels in that row.

6. The method of claim 3, wherein one or more row attributes for the one or more rows is derived from a ratio of actuated pixels to un-actuated pixels in a sub-row of the row.

7. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

prior to creating the display image on the display, sorting the one or more attributes into a numerical order.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein creating the display image on the display comprises addressing the rows in the display according to the numerical order.

9. A method of determining a row-addressing order for an image comprising:

determining one or more row attributes for one or more rows of the data in the image; and

determining, based one or more row attributes, the row-addressing order.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

embedding the row-addressing order in an image file.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein determining the row attributes comprises calculating a ratio of pixels in a first display state to pixels in a second display state for each of the one or more rows of data in the image.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein determining the row-addressing order comprises sorting the determined row attributes.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the image is displayed on a bi-stable display comprising an array of pixels, said pixels having an actuated state and an un-actuated state.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the pixels in the array comprise interferometric modulators.

15. A method of displaying an image on a display comprising:

receiving a image data file, the image data file including a row-addressing order; and

creating the display image on the display by addressing the rows on the display according to the row-addressing order.

16. A display apparatus comprising:

a memory storing image data;

a processor configured to receive said image data and calculate a row-addressing order based on a row attribute for one or more rows of the image data; and

a controller configured to present the image data to a display on a row-by-row basis according to the calculated row-addressing order.

17. The display apparatus of claim 16, wherein the memory is a frame buffer.

18. The display apparatus of claim 16, wherein the row attribute is the number of released pixels in the rows of the image data.

19. The display apparatus of claim 16, wherein the row attribute comprises a first value for a first part of the row and a second value for a second part of the row.

20. The display apparatus of claim 16, wherein the first part of the row is a left half of the row, and the second part of the row is a right half of the row.

21. The display apparatus of claim 16, wherein the processor is further configured to store the calculated row-addressing order in the memory.

22. The display apparatus of claim 16, further comprising:

a processor that is configured to communicate with said display, said processor being configured to process image data; and

a memory device that is configured to communicate with said processor.

23. The display apparatus as recited in claim 22, further comprising a driver circuit configured to send at least one signal to said display.

24. The apparatus as recited in claim 22, further comprising a controller configured to send at least a portion of said image data to said driver circuit.

25. The apparatus as recited in claim 22, further comprising an image source module configured to send said image data to said processor.

26. The apparatus as recited in claim 25, wherein said image source module comprises at least one of a receiver, transceiver, and transmitter.

27. The apparatus as recited in claim 22, further comprising an input device configured to receive input data and to communicate said input data to said processor.

28. A display apparatus comprising:

means for receiving image data;

means for deriving an addressing order based at least in part on one or more attributes of the image data; and

means for presenting the processed image data to a display in accordance with the derived addressing order.

29. The display apparatus of claim 28, wherein the storing means is a frame buffer.

30. The display apparatus of claim 28, wherein the processing means comprises a system processor.

31. The display apparatus of claim 28, wherein the processing means comprises a driver controller.

32. The display apparatus of claim 28, wherein the presenting means comprises an array driver.

33. A system for displaying data on an array of interferometric modulators comprising:

a server configured to calculate an addressing order for image data,; and

a client device comprising a display and configured to receive the image data and the calculated addressing order from the server, and to display the image data on the array by addressing the array according to the addressing order.

34. The system of claim 33, wherein the addressing order is a row-addressing order.

35. The system of claim 33, wherein the addressing order is a pixel-addressing order.

36. The system of claim 33, wherein the server if further configured to embed the calculated addressing order in the image data.

37. The system of claim 36, wherein the calculated addressing order is embedded in an image header for the image data.

38. The system of claim 36, wherein the calculated addressing order is embedded in a body of the image data.

39. The system of claim 33, wherein the server is a headend system in a telecommunications network.