Electron emission display (EED) device with variable expression range of gray level

• US 7,522,131 B2
• Filed: 04/21/2005
• Issued: 04/21/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 04/29/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Samsung SDI Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Samsung SDI Company Limited
• Inventors: Kang, Mun-Seok
• Primary Examiner(s): DHARIA, PRABODH M
• Application Number:
  US11/110,897
• Publication Number:
  US 20050243029A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,461 Days
• Field of Search: 345204-211, 345/74.1, 345/98, 345/55, 345/75.1, 345 87- 89, 345/75.2, 345 76- 83, 345690-693, 313/495, 348/536, 348505-507, 348636-639, 348/555, 348/194, 348/E9.029
• US Class Current: 345/74.1
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/2014 by modulation of the duration of a single pulse during which the logic level remains constant
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/22 using controlled light sources
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/18 Timing circuits for raster scan displays specially adapted for television H04N ; synchronisation between the display unit and other display units, videodisc player G09G5/12

Abstract

An Electron Emission Display (EED) device, adapted to of adjust a pulse width of data signal according to an active pulse width of a horizontal synchronization signal, includes: a scan driver, a data driver; an EED panel displaying display data; a reference signal memory adapted to store a lookup table of active pulse widths of horizontal synchronization signals defined by a system clock and reference signals corresponding to the active pulse widths of the horizontal synchronization signals; a reference signal referring unit adapted to output a reference signal in accordance with the lookup table stored in the reference signal memory; and a gray level signal generator adapted to count the reference signal and output a gray level signal to the data driver, the data driver outputting video data corresponding to the gray level signal to data electrode lines of the EED panel.

Claims

1. An Electron Emission Display (EED) device comprising:

a scan driver;

a data driver;

an EED panel adapted to display a display data signal according to a scan signal of the scan driver, the display data signal obtained by modulating a pulse width of video data from the data driver;

a reference signal memory adapted to store a lookup table of active pulse widths of horizontal synchronization signals defined by a system clock and reference signals corresponding to the active pulse widths of the horizontal synchronization signals, the lookup table being arranged to store values to expand an expression range of gray levels beyond a predetermined number of grayscale levels;

a reference signal referring unit adapted to output a reference signal in accordance with the lookup table stored in the reference signal memory;

a gray level signal generator adapted to count the reference signal and output a gray level signal to the data driver; and

a synchronization signal counter adapted to examine the active pulse width of a horizontal synchronization signal;

wherein the data driver outputs the display data signal corresponding to the gray level signal and the video data to data electrode lines of the EED panel; and

wherein the synchronization signal counter is adapted to count the horizontal synchronization signal based on the system clock and to output an active pulse width value of the horizontal synchronization signal to the reference signal referring unit.

2. The EED device of claim 1, wherein the reference signal memory includes a lookup table adapted to store waveform data of the reference signals corresponding to the active pulse widths of the horizontal synchronization signals.

3. The EED device of claim 2, wherein the lookup table is adapted to store waveform data of the reference signals whose 1-pulse cycles are adjusted to correspond to the active pulse widths of the horizontal synchronization signals.

4. The EED device of claim 3, wherein the 1-pulse cycles are multiples of a clock pulse width of the system clock.

5. The EED device of claim 2, wherein the lookup table is adapted to store waveform data of the reference signals whose pulse widths have been adjusted to correspond to the active pulse widths of the horizontal synchronization signals.

6. The EED device of claim 5, wherein the pulse widths represented by the waveform data of the reference signals are multiples of a pulse width of the system clock.

7. The EED deivce of claim 1, wherein the reference signal memory includes a lookup table adapted to store offset pointers of reference signals corresponding to the active pulse widths of the horizontal synchronization signals with respect to the system clock.

8. The EED device of claim 7, wherein the offset pointers of the reference signals represent rising and falling time points of the reference signals with respect to the system clock.

9. The EED device of claim 8, wherein the offset pointers are set at every multiple of a pulse width of the system clock.

10. The EED device of claim 1, wherein the data driver comprises:

a shift register adapted to sequentially store serial video data of one horizontal line;

a latch register adapted to convert the serial video data into parallel video data; and

a modulation comparator adapted to compare the parallel video data of the latch register with the gray level signal of the gray level signal generator and to output the Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) display data signal to data electrode lines upon the parallel video data coinciding with the gray level signal.

11. A method of driving an Electron Emission Display (EED) which displays a display data signal on an EED panel according to scan signal of a scan driver, the display data signal being obtained by modulating a pulse width of a video data at a data driver, the method comprising:

creating a lookup table of active pulse widths of horizontal synchronization signals and reference signals corresponding to the active pulse widths of the horizontal synchronization signals based on a system clock, the lookup table being arranged to store values to expand an expression range of gray levels beyond a predetermined number of grayscale levels;

examining an active pulse width of a horizontal synchronization signal;

generating a reference signal in accordance with the lookup table stored in a reference signal memory according to the active pulse width of the horizontal synchronization signal;

counting the reference signal to generate a gray level signal; and

outputting the display data signal corresponding to a pulse width of the gray level signal and the video signal to data electrode lines of the EED panel;

wherein examining of the active pulse width of the horizontal synchronization signal includes counting the horizontal synchronization signal, based on the system clock, to calculate an active pulse width value.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein creating of the lookup table comprises storing offset pointers of reference signals corresponding to the active pulse widths of the horizontal synchronization signals in the lookup table with respect to rising and falling time points of the reference signals according to the system clock.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein outputting the display data signal comprises:

sequentially storing serial video data of one horizontal line in a shift register;

storing the serial video image data received from the shift register as parallel video data in a latch register;

comparing the parallel, video data of the latch register and the gray level signal; and

outputting the Pulse Width Modulated (PWM) display data signal to data electrode lines upon the parallel video data coinciding with the gray level signal.

12. The method of 11, wherein creating of the lookup table comprises storing waveform data of reference signals corresponding to the active pulse widths of the horizontal synchronization signals in the lookup table according to the system clock.