SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR OPTIMIZING FRAME RATE AND RESOLUTION FOR DISPLAYS

• US 20130100176A1
• Filed: 10/16/2012
• Published: 04/25/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 10/21/2011
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Snaptrack Incorporated (Qualcomm, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm MEMS Technologies Incorporated (Qualcomm, Inc.)
• Inventors: Lewis, Alan G., Cummings, William J., Thompson, Peter A., Fisher, Karen T.
• Application Number:
  US13/653,262
• Publication Number:
  US 20130100176A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/690
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2300/0452 Details of colour pixel setup, e.g. pixel composed of a red, a blue and two green components
• 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 2310/0205 Simultaneous scanning of several lines in flat panels
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2310/0218 with collection of electrodes in groups for n-dimensional addressing
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2310/06 Details of flat display driving waveforms
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/0428 Gradation resolution change
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/0435 Change or adaptation of the frame rate of the video stream
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/0457 Improvement of perceived resolution by subpixel rendering
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/06 Colour space transformation
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/2074 using sub-pixels
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/3466 based on interferometric effect
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/02 characterised by the way in which colour is displayed details of colour display specific for CRTs G09G1/28; specific for flat matrix panels other than liquid crystal displays G09G3/2003; specific for liquid crystal displays G09G3/3607

Abstract

This disclosure describes systems, methods, and apparatus for increasing the frame rate of a display, while maintaining or improving image resolution. In one aspect, displays may include a plurality of pixels arranged along segment lines and common lines, and the common lines may be associated with one or more colors. In one implementation, one set of common lines is written independently of the other common lines, and at least one other set of common lines is written simultaneously. The resolution is preserved by the independent writing of one set of common lines, while the frame rate is increased by the line multiplication of another set of common lines.

Claims

1. A color display, comprising

a plurality of common lines;

a plurality of segment lines;

a plurality of electromechanical display elements, wherein each electromechanical display element is in electrical communication with one of said plurality of common lines and one of said plurality of segment lines, wherein substantially all of the electromechanical display elements along a first set of one or more common lines include electromechanical display elements configured to display a first color, and wherein substantially all of the electromechanical display elements along a second set of two or more common lines include electromechanical display elements configured to display a second color; and

driver circuitry configured to;

simultaneously apply a first plurality of data signals across a plurality of segment lines;

apply a first write waveform across only the first set of one or more common lines to selectively control the state of electromechanical display elements in electrical communication with the first set of one or more common lines;

simultaneously apply a second plurality of data signals across a plurality of segment lines; and

simultaneously apply second write waveforms across the second set of two or more common lines to selectively control the state of electromechanical display elements in electrical communication with the second set of two or more common lines,

wherein the second set of two or more common lines includes more common lines than the first set of one or more common lines.

2. The display of claim 1, wherein the first set of one or more common lines includes only one common line, and wherein the second set of common lines includes exactly two common lines.

3. The display of claim 1, wherein the first set of one or more common lines includes only one common line, and wherein the second set of common lines includes exactly four common lines.

4. The display of claim 1, wherein the first set of one or more common lines includes exactly two common lines, and wherein the second set of common lines includes exactly eight common lines.

5. The display of claim 1, wherein the second color is substantially red or substantially blue.

6. The display of claim 5, wherein the first color is substantially green.

7. The display of claim 1, wherein the driver circuitry is configured to apply said first write waveform before applying said second write waveforms.

8. The display of claim 1, wherein the driver circuitry is configured to apply said second write waveforms before applying said first write waveform.

9. The display of claim 1, wherein the electromechanical display elements include bistable display elements which exhibit hysteresis, and wherein the driver circuitry is configured to apply data signals having a variance which is less than a width of a hysteresis window of said electromechanical display elements.

10. The display of claim 1, wherein the second write waveforms are substantially identical.

11. The display of claim 1, wherein substantially all of the electromechanical display elements along a third set of one or more common lines include electromechanical display elements configured to display a third color, wherein substantially all of the electromechanical display elements along a fourth set of two or more common lines include electromechanical display elements configured to display a fourth color, and wherein the driver circuitry is further configured to, after applying said first and second write waveforms and said first and second plurality of data signals:

simultaneously apply a third plurality of data signals across a plurality of segment lines;

apply a third write waveform across only the third set of one or more common lines to selectively control the state of electromechanical display elements in electrical communication with the third set of one or more common lines;

simultaneously apply a fourth plurality of data signals across a plurality of segment lines; and

simultaneously apply fourth write waveforms across the fourth set of two or more common lines to selectively control the state of electromechanical display elements in electrical communication with the fourth set of two or more common lines,

wherein the fourth set of two or more common lines includes more common lines than the third set of one or more common lines.

12. The display of claim 11, wherein said fourth color is substantially red or substantially blue.

13. The display of claim 11, wherein said third color is substantially the same as said first color.

14. The display of claim 13, wherein said first color is substantially green.

15. The display of claim 11, wherein the driver circuitry is configured to apply said third write waveform before applying said fourth write waveforms.

16. The display of claim 11, wherein the driver circuitry is configured to apply said fourth write waveforms before applying said third write waveform.

17. The display of claim 1, wherein the display comprises a plurality of pixels, each pixel including a plurality of electromechanical display elements, wherein each pixel extends across a plurality of common lines and a plurality of segment lines.

18. The display of claim 17, wherein the driver circuitry is configured to apply a particular write waveform across each of the common lines extending through a first pixel, wherein the write waveform applied to a particular common line extending through the first pixel is simultaneously applied to a common line extending through a second pixel.

19. The display of claim 1, wherein substantially all of the electromechanical display elements along a third set of two or more common lines include electromechanical display elements configured to display a third color, and wherein the driver circuitry is further configured to:

simultaneously apply a third plurality of data signals across a plurality of segment lines;

apply a third write waveform across only the third set of two or more common lines to selectively control the state of electromechanical display elements in electrical communication with the third set of two or more common lines;

wherein the third set of two or more common lines includes more common lines than the second set of two or more common lines.

20. The display of claim 19, wherein the first color is substantially green, the second color is substantially red, and the third color is substantially blue.

21. The display of claim 1, further comprising:

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

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

22. The display of claim 21, further comprising a controller configured to send at least a portion of the image data to the driver circuitry.

23. The display of claim 21, further comprising an image source module configured to send the image data to the processor.

24. The display of claim 21, wherein the image source module includes at least one of a receiver, transceiver, and transmitter.

25. The display of claim 21, further comprising an input device configured to receive input data and to communicate the input data to the processor.

26. A method of driving a color display, the color display comprising a plurality of electromechanical display elements, each electromechanical display element in electrical communication with one of a plurality of segment lines and one of a plurality of common lines, the method comprising:

simultaneously applying a first plurality of data signals across a plurality of segment lines;

applying a first write waveform across only a first set of one or more common lines to selectively control the state of electromechanical display elements in electrical communication with said first set of one or more common lines, wherein substantially all of the electromechanical display elements along said first set of one or more common lines include electromechanical display elements configured to display a first color;

simultaneously applying a second plurality of data signals across a plurality of segment lines; and

simultaneously applying second write waveforms across at least a second set of two or more common lines to selectively control the state of electromechanical display elements in electrical communication with said second set of two or more common lines, wherein substantially all of the electromechanical display elements along said second set of two or more common lines include electromechanical display elements configured to display a second color,

wherein the second set of two or more common lines includes more common lines than the first set of one or more common lines.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein the first set of one or more common lines includes only one common line, and wherein the second set of two or more common lines includes exactly two common lines.

28. The method of claim 26, wherein the first set of one or more common lines includes only one common line, and wherein the second set of two or more common lines includes exactly four common lines.

29. The method of claim 26, wherein the first set of one or more common lines includes exactly two common lines, and wherein the second set of two or more common lines includes exactly eight common lines

30. The method of claim 26, wherein the electromechanical display elements include bistable display elements which exhibit hysteresis, and wherein the variance in the data signals is less than a width of a hysteresis window of said electromechanical display elements.

31. The method of claim 26, wherein the method further comprises:

after applying said first and second write waveforms and said first and second plurality of data signals, simultaneously applying a third plurality of data signals across a plurality of segment lines;

applying a third write waveform across only a third set of one or more common lines to selectively control the state of electromechanical display elements in electrical communication with said third set of one or more common lines;

simultaneously applying a fourth plurality of data signals across a plurality of segment lines; and

simultaneously applying fourth write waveforms across at least a fourth set of two or more common lines to selectively control the state of electromechanical display elements in electrical communication with said fourth set of two or more multiple common lines,

wherein the fourth set of two or more common lines includes more common lines than the third set of one or more common lines.

32. The method of claim 31, wherein substantially all of the electromechanical display elements along said third set of one or more common lines include electromechanical display elements configured to display a third color, and wherein substantially all of the electromechanical display elements along said fourth set of two or more common lines include electromechanical display elements configured to display a fourth color.

33. The method of claim 32, wherein the first and third colors are substantially green.

34. The method of claim 33, wherein the second and fourth colors are substantially red or substantially blue.

35. The method of claim 26, wherein the color display comprises a plurality of pixels, each pixel including a plurality of electromechanical display elements, wherein each pixel extends across a plurality of common lines and a plurality of segment lines, and wherein a first common line of the first set of one or more common lines extends through a first pixel, and wherein a second common line of the second set of two or more common lines extends through a second pixel, wherein said first pixel is adjacent to said second pixel.

36. The method of claim 26, comprising:

simultaneously applying a third plurality of data signals across a plurality of segment lines;

applying a third write waveform across only a third set of two or more common lines to selectively control the state of electromechanical display elements in electrical communication with the third set of two or more common lines, wherein substantially all of the electromechanical display elements along said third set of two or more common lines include electromechanical display elements configured to display a third color;

wherein the third set of two or more common lines includes more common lines than the second set of two or more common lines.

37. The method of claim 36, wherein the first color is substantially green, the second color is substantially red, and the third color is substantially blue.

38. A computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, cause a computer to perform a method of driving a color display, the color display comprising a plurality of electromechanical display elements, each electromechanical display element in electrical communication with one of a plurality of segment lines and one of a plurality of common lines, the method comprising:

simultaneously applying a first plurality of data signals across a plurality of segment lines;

applying a first write waveform across only a first set of one or more common lines to selectively control the state of electromechanical display elements in electrical communication with said first set of one or more common lines, wherein substantially all of the electromechanical display elements along said first set of one or more common lines include electromechanical display elements configured to display a first color;

simultaneously applying a second plurality of data signals across a plurality of segment lines; and

simultaneously applying second write waveforms across at least a second set of two or more common lines to selectively control the state of electromechanical display elements in electrical communication with said second set of two or more common lines, wherein substantially all of the electromechanical display elements along said second set of two or more common lines include electromechanical display elements configured to display a second color,

wherein the second set of two or more common lines includes more common lines than the first set of one or more common lines.

39. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 38, wherein the instructions cause a computer to perform a method of driving a color display further comprising:

after applying said first and second write waveforms and said first and second plurality of data signals, simultaneously applying a third plurality of data signals across a plurality of segment lines;

applying a third write waveform across only a third set of one or more common lines to selectively control the state of electromechanical display elements in electrical communication with said third set of one or more common lines;

simultaneously applying a fourth plurality of data signals across a plurality of segment lines; and

simultaneously applying fourth write waveforms across at least a fourth set of two or more common lines to selectively control the state of electromechanical display elements in electrical communication with said fourth set of two or more common lines,

wherein the fourth set of two or more common lines includes more common lines than the third set of one or more common lines.

40. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 39, wherein substantially all of the electromechanical display elements along said third set of one or more common lines include electromechanical display elements configured to display a third color, wherein substantially all of the electromechanical display elements along said fourth set of two or more common lines include electromechanical display elements configured to display a fourth color.

41. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 38, wherein the method comprises:

simultaneously applying a third plurality of data signals across a plurality of segment lines;

applying a third write waveform across only a third set of two or more common lines to selectively control the state of electromechanical display elements in electrical communication with the third set of two or more common lines, wherein substantially all of the electromechanical display elements along said third set of two or more common lines include electromechanical display elements configured to display a third color;

wherein the third set of two or more common lines includes more common lines than the second set of two or more common lines.

42. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 41, wherein the first color is substantially green, the second color is substantially red, and the third color is substantially blue.

43. A display comprising:

a plurality of electromechanical display elements, each electromechanical display element in electrical communication with one of a plurality of segment lines and one of a plurality of common lines;

means for simultaneously applying a first plurality of data signals across a plurality of segment lines;

means for applying a first write waveform across a first set of one or more common lines to selectively control the state of electromechanical display elements in electrical communication with said first set of one or more common lines, wherein substantially all of the electromechanical display elements along said first set of one or more common lines include electromechanical display elements configured to display a first color;

means for simultaneously applying a second plurality of data signals across a plurality of segment lines; and

means for simultaneously applying second write waveforms across at least a second set of two or more common lines to selectively control the state of electromechanical display elements in electrical communication with said second set of two or more common lines, wherein substantially all of the electromechanical display elements along said second set of two or more common lines include electromechanical display elements configured to display a second color,

wherein the second set of two or more common lines includes more common lines than the first set of one or more common lines.

44. The display of claim 43, further comprising:

means for simultaneously applying a third plurality of data signals across a plurality of segment lines after applying said first and second write waveforms and said first and second plurality of data signals;

means for applying a third write waveform across a third set of one or more common lines to selectively control the state of electromechanical display elements in electrical communication with said third set of one or more common lines, wherein substantially all of the electromechanical display elements along said third set of one or more common lines include electromechanical display elements configured to display a third color;

means for simultaneously applying a fourth plurality of data signals across a plurality of segment lines; and

means for simultaneously applying fourth write waveforms across at least a fourth set of two or more common lines to selectively control the state of electromechanical display elements in electrical communication with said fourth set of two or more common lines, wherein substantially all of the electromechanical display elements along said fourth set of two or more common lines include electromechanical display elements configured to display a fourth color,

wherein the fourth set of two or more common lines includes more common lines than the third set of one or more common lines.

45. The display of claim 44, wherein the first and third colors are substantially the same.

46. The display of claim 45, wherein the second and fourth colors are substantially red or substantially blue.

47. The display of claim 43, comprising:

means for simultaneously applying a third plurality of data signals across a plurality of segment lines;

means for applying a third write waveform across only a third set of two or more common lines to selectively control the state of electromechanical display elements in electrical communication with the third set of two or more common lines, wherein substantially all of the electromechanical display elements along said third set of two or more common lines include electromechanical display elements configured to display a third color;

wherein the third set of two or more common lines includes more common lines than the second set of two or more common lines.

48. The display of claim 47, wherein the first color is substantially green, the second color is substantially red, and the third color is substantially blue.

49. In a display having a set of red common lines, a set of green common lines, and a set of blue common lines, a method of writing a frame comprising:

writing image data using more write cycles for green common lines than for at least one of red and blue common lines.

50. The method of claim 49, the method further comprising:

writing image data in separate write cycles to substantially all of the set of green common lines;

writing image data in combined simultaneous write cycles to at least some of said set of blue common lines and/or said set of red common lines.

51. The method of claim 50, comprising writing image data in combined simultaneous write cycles to substantially all of said set of blue common lines and said set of red common lines.

52. The method of claim 50, comprising writing image data in combined simultaneous write cycles to at least some of said set of red common lines, and not writing image data to substantially all of the set of blue common lines in said frame.

53. The method of claim 50, comprising writing image data in combined simultaneous write cycles to at least some of said set of blue common lines, and not writing image data to substantially all of the set of red common lines in said frame.

54. The method of claim 50, wherein for each incoming frame, substantially all the green data is written to the display, and substantially half of the red data or substantially half of the blue data is written to the display.

55. The method of claim 54, further comprising alternating between writing substantially half of the red data and substantially half of the blue data with each incoming frame.

56. The method of claim 49, comprising writing image data using more write cycles for green common lines than for red common lines, and writing image data using more write cycles for red common lines than for blue common lines.