DISPLAY APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR DRIVING PIXEL THEREOF

• US 20170116948A1
• Filed: 03/03/2016
• Published: 04/27/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 10/26/2015
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: AU Optronics Corporation
• Original Assignee: AU Optronics Corporation
• Inventors: WEN, Chun-Kuei, CHEN, Chun-Yu, HUANG, Yu-Ting, SHIH, Hung-Min
• Application Number:
  US15/059,345
• Publication Number:
  US 20170116948A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/3614 Control of polarity reversal in general
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/3685 Details of drivers for data electrodes

Abstract

A display apparatus and a method for driving pixel thereof are provided. The display apparatus includes a source driver, a plurality of data lines and a plurality of pixels. The source driver receives a polarity signal and a frame switching signal and has a plurality of data channels. The data channels alternately provide a plurality of first pixel voltages with a first drive capability and a plurality of second pixel voltages with a second drive capability according to the polarity signal. Each of the data channels alternatively outputs the corresponding first pixel voltage and the corresponding second pixel voltage. The data lines are coupled to the source driver to receive the first pixel voltages and the second pixel voltages. The pixels are coupled to the data lines to receive the corresponding first pixel voltage or the corresponding second pixel voltage.

Claims

1. A display apparatus, comprising:

a source driver receiving a polarity signal and a frame switching signal and having a plurality of data channels, the plurality of data channels alternately providing a first pixel voltage and a second pixel voltage according to the polarity signal, wherein each of the plurality of data channels alternatively outputs the corresponding first pixel voltage and the corresponding second pixel voltage according to the polarity signal and the frame switching signal, the first pixel voltages have a first drive capability, and the second pixel voltages have a second drive capability;

a plurality of data lines coupled to the source driver, for receiving the first pixel voltages and the second pixel voltages; and

a plurality of pixels respectively coupled to the data lines to receive the corresponding first pixel voltage or the corresponding second pixel voltage.

2. The display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first pixel voltages are higher than a common voltage, the second pixel voltages are lower than the common voltage, and the first drive capability is lower than the second drive capability.

3. The display apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the source driver further comprises:

a first drive capability setting unit coupled to the data channels and receiving the polarity signal, the frame switching signal and a latch signal, to provide a first bias and a second bias to the data channels, wherein the first bias is configured to set the first pixel voltages to have the first drive capability, and the second bias is configured to set the second pixel voltages to have the second drive capability.

4. The display apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the first drive capability setting unit comprises:

a first bias circuit providing the first bias;

a second bias circuit providing the second bias; and

a plurality of first voltage transmission circuits receiving the polarity signal and the frame switching signal, coupled to the first bias circuit, the second bias circuit and the data channels, and each transmitting the first bias and the second bias respectively to two adjacent data channels of the plurality of data channels, according to the polarity signal, the frame switching signal and the latch signal.

5. The display apparatus according to claim 3, wherein each of the data channels comprises:

a latch, receiving and latching a display data and receiving the latch signal to output a latch display data;

a level shifter coupled to the latch providing a to-be-converted display data according to the latch display data;

a digital-to-analog converter coupled to the level shifter and receiving a plurality of gamma voltages and the polarity signal, for converting the to-be-converted display data into a pixel reference voltage; and

an output buffer coupled to the digital-to-analog converter and the first drive capability setting unit, and receiving the pixel reference voltage and the polarity signal to provide the first pixel voltage or the second pixel voltage, when the output buffer receives the first bias, the output buffer providing the first pixel voltage having the first drive capability, and when the output buffer receives the second bias, the output buffer providing the second pixel voltage having the second drive capability.

6. The display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first pixel voltages are greater than a common voltage, the second pixel voltages are lower than the common voltage, the first drive capability is lower than the second drive capability when a frame rate of the display apparatus is greater than or equal to 120 Hertz, and the first drive capability is equal to the second drive capability when the frame rate of the display apparatus is less than 120 Hertz.

7. The display apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the source driver further comprises:

a second drive capability setting unit coupled to the data channels and receiving a frame rate command, the frame switching signal, the polarity signal and a latch signal to provide a third bias and a fourth bias, wherein when the frame rate command sets the frame rate of the display apparatus at greater than or equal to 120 Hertz, the third bias and the fourth bias are transmitted to the data channels to set the first drive capability of the first pixel voltages to be lower than the second drive capability of the second pixel voltages, and when the frame rate command sets the frame rate of the display apparatus at less than 120 Hertz, one of the third bias and the fourth bias is transmitted to the data channels to set the first drive capability of the first pixel voltages to be equal to the second drive capability of the second pixel voltages.

8. The display apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the second drive capability setting unit comprises:

a third bias circuit providing the third bias;

a fourth bias circuit providing the fourth bias; and

a plurality of second voltage transmission circuits coupled to the third bias circuit, the fourth bias circuit and the data channels, wherein each of the second voltage transmission circuits transmits the third bias and the fourth bias respectively to two adjacent data channels of the plurality of data channels according to the polarity signal, the frame switching signal and the latch signal when the frame rate command sets the frame rate of the display apparatus at greater than or equal to 120 Hertz, and the second voltage transmission circuits transmit one of the third bias and the fourth bias to the data channels when the frame rate command sets the frame rate of the display apparatus at less than 120 Hertz.

9. The display apparatus according to claim 7, wherein each of the data channels comprises:

a latch, receiving and latching a display data and receiving the latch signal to output a latch display data;

a level shifter coupled to the latch providing a to-be-converted display data according to the latch display data;

a digital-to-analog converter coupled to the level shifter and receiving a plurality of gamma voltages and the polarity signal, for converting the to-be-converted display data into a pixel reference voltage; and

an output buffer coupled to the digital-to-analog converter and the second drive capability setting unit, and receiving the pixel reference voltage and the polarity signal providing the first pixel voltage or the second pixel voltage, when the output buffer receives the third bias, the output buffer providing the first pixel voltage having the first drive capability, and when the output buffer receives the fourth bias, the output buffer providing the second pixel voltage having the second drive capability.

10. The display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein in a first frame period, the data channels provide the first pixel voltages to the pixels through a plurality of first data lines of the data lines respectively according to the polarity signal and the frame switching signal, and the data channels provide the second pixel voltages to the pixels through a plurality of second data lines of the data lines respectively according to the polarity signal and the frame switching signal, and in a second frame period following the first frame period, the data channels provide the second pixel voltages to the pixels through the first data lines respectively according to the polarity signal and the frame switching signal, and the data channels provide the first pixel voltages to the pixels through the second data lines respectively according to the polarity signal and the frame switching signal, wherein the first data lines are different from the second data lines.

11. The display apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the first data lines and the second data lines are a plurality of odd data lines and a plurality of even data lines respectively.

12. The display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the pixels to which each of the data lines is coupled are located in two columns of pixels, and the pixels to which the data lines correspond are located in different rows and are not adjacent to each other.

13. The display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the pixels to which each of the data lines is coupled are located in four columns of pixels, the pixels located in the same row among the pixels to which the data lines correspond are adjacent to each other, and the pixels located in different rows among the pixels to which the data lines correspond are not adjacent to each other.

14. The display apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a plurality of multiplexers coupled between the data channels and the data lines, for transmitting the first pixel voltages and the second pixel voltages to the data lines, wherein the multiplexers are respectively formed of a plurality of transistors.

15. A pixel driving method comprising:

providing a plurality of data channels through the source driver to alternately provide a plurality of first pixel voltages and a plurality of second pixel voltages, wherein each of the data channels alternatively outputs the corresponding first pixel voltage and the corresponding second pixel voltage according to a polarity signal and a frame switching signal, the first pixel voltages have a first drive capability, and the second pixel voltages have a second drive capability; and

providing a plurality of data lines to transmit the first pixel voltages and the second pixel voltages to the pixels.

16. The pixel driving method according to claim 15, wherein the first pixel voltages are greater than a common voltage, the second pixel voltages are lower than the common voltage, and the first drive capability is lower than the second drive capability.

17. The pixel driving method according to claim 15, wherein the first pixel voltages are greater than a common voltage, the second pixel voltages are lower than the common voltage, the first drive capability is lower than the second drive capability when a frame rate of the display apparatus is greater than or equal to 120 Hertz, and the first drive capability is equal to the second drive capability when the frame rate of the display apparatus is less than 120 Hertz.

18. The pixel driving method according to claim 15, wherein the step of providing the data lines to transmit the first pixel voltages and the second pixel voltages to the pixels comprises:

in a first frame period, providing, via the data channels, the first pixel voltages to the pixels through a plurality of first data lines of the data lines respectively according to the polarity signal and the frame switching signal, and providing, via the data channels, the second pixel voltages to the pixels through a plurality of second data lines of the data lines respectively according to the polarity signal and the frame switching signal; and

in a second frame period following the first frame period, providing, via the data channels, the second pixel voltages to the pixels through the first data lines respectively according to the polarity signal and the frame switching signal, and providing, via the data channels, the first pixel voltages to the pixels through the second data lines respectively according to the polarity signal and the frame switching signal, wherein the first data lines are different from the second data lines.

19. The pixel driving method according to claim 18, wherein the first data lines and the second data lines are a plurality of odd data lines and a plurality of even data lines respectively.

20. The pixel driving method according to claim 15, wherein the pixels to which each of the data lines is coupled are located in two columns of pixels, and the pixels to which the data lines correspond are located in different rows and are not adjacent to each other.

21. The pixel driving method according to claim 15, wherein the pixels to which each of the data lines is coupled are located in four columns of pixels, the pixels located in the same row among the pixels to which the data lines correspond are adjacent to each other, and the pixels located in different rows among the pixels to which the data lines correspond are not adjacent to each other.