Compensating organic light emitting device displays for color variations

• US 7,027,015 B2
• Filed: 08/31/2001
• Issued: 04/11/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 08/31/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Tahoe Research Limited (f/k/a Learndale Limited) (Vector Capital Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Inventors: Booth, Lawrence A. Jr., Kwasnick, Robert F.
• Primary Examiner(s): WU, XIAO MIN
• Application Number:
  US09/945,031
• Publication Number:
  US 20030043088A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,684 Days
• Field of Search: 345/82, 345/83, 345/81, 345/76, 345/77, 345/204, 345/205, 315/169.1, 315/169.3, 313/506, 313/500
• US Class Current: 345/83
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/043 Preventing or counteracting the effects of ageing
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/0666 for control of colour parameters, e.g. colour temperature
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/3208 organic, e.g. using organic light-emitting diodes [OLED]

Abstract

An organic light emitting device display may be compensated for color variations between sub-pixels of the same expressed color. This may be done initially upon manufacture of the display and may be continued and updated in the course of the display'"'"'s lifetime to compensate for differential effects of aging on different expressed sub-pixels. In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, the display may be driven to achieve a color gamut that substantially all of the pixels are capable of achieving.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

over the lifetime of an organic light emitting device display, determining a first color gamut that a substantial portion of the sub-pixels of an expressed color of the organic light emitting device display are able to achieve;

adjusting the drive current to the sub-pixels to achieve the first color gamut;

subsequently determining that a substantial portion of said sub-pixels can no longer achieve said first color gamut;

over the lifetime of an organic light emitting device display, determining a second color gamut that a substantial portion of the sub-pixels of an expressed color of the organic light emitting device display are able to achieve even though they cannot achieve the first color gamut any longer; and

adjusting the drive current to the sub-pixels to achieve the second color gamut.

2. The method of claim 1 including determining a first color gamut that all of the subpixels of an expressed color gamut can achieve and adjusting the device current to achieve that color gamut.

3. The method of claim 1 including maintaining said first color gamut substantially constant by mixing a first or second subpixel color with an expressed color pixel to adjust the color of the expressed color pixel.

4. The method of claim 1 including mixing colors of a tricolor color space to achieve said first color gamut.

5. An article comprising a medium storing instructions that, if executed, enable a processor-based system to:

over the lifetime of an organic light emitting device display, determine a first color gamut that a substantial portion of the sub-pixels of an expressed color of the organic light emitting device display are able to achieve;

adjust the drive current to the sub-pixels to achieve the first color gamut;

subseciuently determine that a substantial portion of said sub-pixels can no longer achieve said first color gamut;

over the lifetime of an organic light emitting device display, determine a second color gamut that a substantial portion of the sub-pixels of an expressed color of the organic light emitting device display are able to achieve even though they cannot achieve the first color gamut any longer; and

adjust the drive current to the sub-pixels to achieve the second color gamut.

6. The article of claim 5 further storing instructions that enable the processor-based system to determine a first color gamut that all of the sub-pixels of an expressed color gamut can achieve and adjust the drive current to achieve that color gamut.

7. The article of claim 5 further storing instructions that enable the processor-based system to maintain said gamut substantially constant by mixing a first or second sub-pixel color with an expressed color pixel to adjust the color of the expressed color pixel.

8. The article of claim 5 further storing instructions that enable the processor-based system to mix colors of a tri-color space to achieve said first color gamut.

9. An electrical system for an organic light emitting device display comprising:

a drive circuit to drive the pixels of said display;

a processor coupled to said drive circuit; and

a storage coupled to said processor, said storage storing instructions that enable the processor to, over the lifetime of the organic light emitting device display, determine a first color gamut that a substantial portion of the sub-pixels of an expressed color gamut of the organic light emitting device display are able to achieve, adjust the drive current to the sub-pixels to achieve that first color gamut, subseciuently determine that a substantial portion of said sub-pixels can no longer achieve said first color gamut, determine a second color gamut that a substantial portion of the sub-pixels of an expressed color gamut of the organic light emitting device display are able to achieve even though they cannot achieve the first color gamut any longer, and adjust the drive current to the sub-pixels to achieve that second color gamut.

10. The system of claim 9 wherein said storage stores instructions that enable the system to determine a color gamut that all of the sub-pixels of an expressed color gamut can achieve and adjust the drive current to achieve that color gamut.

11. The system of claim 9 wherein said storage stores instructions that enable the system to maintain the gamut substantially constant by mixing a first or second sub-pixel color with an expressed color pixel to adjust the color of the expressed color pixel.

12. The system of claim 9 wherein said storage stores instructions that enable the system to mix colors of a ti-color color space to achieve said color gamut.

13. A display comprising:

a plurality of organic light emitting sub-pixels of at least three colors;

a drive circuit to drive said sub-pixels to emit light;

a controller to control said drive circuit to, over the lifetime of the organic light emitting device display, determine a first color gamut that a substantial portion of the sub-pixels of an expressed color gamut of said display are able to achieve and adjust the drive current to the sub-pixels to achieve that first color gamut;

subsecuently determine that a substantial portion of said sub-pixels can no longer achieve said first color gamut; and

determine a second color gamut that a substantial portion of the sub-pixels of an expressed color gamut of said display are able to achieve and adjust the drive current to the sub-pixels to achieve that second color gamut even though they cannot achieve the first color gamut any longer.

14. The display of claim 13 wherein said sub-pixels include conjugated polymers.

15. The display of claim 13 wherein said sub-pixels include a film including small molecules.

16. The display of claim 13 wherein said display includes sub-pixels in the form of a stacked layer.

17. The display of claim 13 including a substrate wherein said sub-pixels are distributed side-by-side across said substrate.

18. The display of claim 13 wherein said controller determines a color gamut that all of the sub-pixels of an expressed color gamut can achieve and adjusts the drive current to achieve that color gamut.