Method and apparatus for optimizing display updates on an interactive display device

• US 9,293,119 B2
• Filed: 01/06/2014
• Issued: 03/22/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 01/06/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NVIDIA Corporation
• Original Assignee: NVIDIA Corporation
• Inventors: Wyatt, David
• Primary Examiner(s): McDowell, Jr., Maurice L
• Application Number:
  US14/148,604
• Publication Number:
  US 20150194137A1
• Time in Patent Office: 806 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3215 Monitoring of peripheral devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3218 of display devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3262 Power saving in digitizer or tablet
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3265 Power saving in display device
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0412 Digitisers structurally integrated in a display
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04166 Details of scanning methods, e.g. sampling time, grouping of sub areas or time sharing with display driving Synchronisation with the driving of the display or the backlighting unit to avoid interferences generated internally G06F3/04184
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04184 Synchronisation with the driving of the display or the backlighting unit to avoid interferences generated internally
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2330/021 Power management, e.g. power saving
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2330/022 in absence of operation, e.g. no data being entered during a predetermined time
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2354/00 Aspects of interface with display user
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2360/08 Power processing, i.e. workload management for processors involved in display operations, such as CPUs or GPUs
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2360/18 Use of a frame buffer in a display terminal, inclusive of the display panel
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/2096 Details of the interface to the display terminal specific for a flat panel suitable for both CRT and flat panel G09G5/006; specific for a CRT G09G1/167
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/393 Arrangements for updating the contents of the bit-mapped memory
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 10/00 Energy efficient computing, e.g. low power processors, power management or thermal management

Abstract

A solution is proposed to perform display updates in a lower power user interface. According to one embodiment, the display panel is placed in the lower possible refresh rate that can be supported. Rendered updates are presented to the displays at the fasted possible pixel rates the communication interface between the rendering component to the display panel can support, and a buffer on the receiving end of the display receives and stores updated frames as they are rendered and transmitted. Subsequent display updates (generated in response to subsequent sensor input, for example) may be created and transmitted as soon as the preceding display frames are buffered. In the meantime, as soon as the update frame is transmitted, the timing controller of the display panel is instructed to interrupt the current refresh period and to immediately rescan the frame.

Claims

1. A method for displaying input in a touch-sensitive display panel, the method comprising:

placing a display panel of a mobile computing device in a low power refresh mode;

rendering a display update in response to detecting a sensor input received in the display panel;

transmitting the display update to the display panel;

buffering the display update in a frame buffer comprised in the mobile computing device; and

interrupting a current refresh period of a timing controller of the display panel by rescanning a current frame displayed in the display panel to include the display update from the frame buffer.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the low power refresh mode comprises a lowest power refresh rate that is supported by the display panel, and further comprising removing the display panel from the low power refresh mode in response to the rescanning the current frame.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the display update is rendered in a processing unit of the mobile computing device.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the transmitting the display update comprises transmitting the display update to the display screen from the processing unit at a fastest pixel rate supported by the display panel.

5. The method according to claim 4, further comprising rendering a next display update in the processing unit, wherein the rendering the next display update is performed after the transmitting the display update.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the rendering the next display update is performed after the buffering the display update is completed.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the processing unit comprises at least one of:

an application processor;

a graphics processing unit (GPU);

a central processing unit (CPU); and

a bridge chipset.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the frame buffer is comprised in the timing controller comprised in the display panel.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein the timing controller comprises a self refreshing timing controller.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein the frame buffer is comprised in a bridge chipset comprised in the mobile computing device and communicatively coupled to the display panel.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein the bridge chipset comprises a self refreshing chipset.

12. A system, comprising:

a display panel comprising;

a display screen;

a sensor configured to detect input on the display screen;

a sensor controller coupled to the sensor array and configured to control an operation of the sensor array;

a timing controller coupled to the display screen and configured to update a display frame corresponding to output displayed on the display screen at a refresh rate comprising a plurality of regular refresh periods; and

a processing unit configured to render a plurality of display updates,

wherein, the display panel is operable to enter into a low refresh state,

wherein, while the display panel is operating in the low refresh state, display updates responsive to sensor input received by the display panel are rendered in the processing unit and buffered in a frame buffer,

further wherein, the system is configured to interrupt a current refresh period of the timing controller of the display panel by rescanning a current frame displayed in the display panel to include the display update from the frame buffer.

13. The system according to claim 12, wherein the system comprises at least one mobile device from a group of mobile devices comprising:

a mobile phone;

a tablet;

a clamshell computing device;

a laptop computer.

14. The system according to claim 12, wherein the processing unit comprises at least one processing unit from a group of processing units comprising:

an application processor;

a graphics processing unit;

a central processing unit;

a bridge chipset.

15. The system according to claim 14, wherein the bridge chipset comprises a self-refreshing bridge chipset.

16. The system according to claim 15, wherein the frame buffer comprises a buffer in the bridge chipset.

17. The system according to claim 12, wherein the frame buffer comprises a buffer in the timing controller.

18. The system according to claim 12, wherein the display screen comprises a liquid crystal display (LCD).

19. The system according to claim 12, wherein each of the display updates are rendered by the processing unit immediately after a preceding update of the plurality of display updates is buffered in the frame buffer.

20. The system according to claim 12, wherein the sensor comprises at least one of the following group of sensor types:

a touch sensor array;

an accelerometer;

a GPU device;

an ambient light sensor;

a motion sensor;

a noise sensing device;

a radio sensor;

a wireless frequency sensor;

a tactile user input sensor; and

a fingerprint sensor.

21. The system according to claim 12, wherein the sensor controller comprises at least one of the following group of sensor types:

a touch controller;

an accelerometer controller;

GPS controller;

an ambient light controller;

a motion controller;

a noise controller;

a radio controller;

a wireless frequency controller;

a tactile user input controller; and

a fingerprint controller.

22. A non-transitory computer readable medium with programmed instructions embodied therein for displaying updated display content responsive to sensor input, the program instructions comprising:

instructions to place a display panel of a mobile computing device in a low power refresh rate;

instructions to render a display update in response to detecting input received in the display panel;

instructions to transmit the display update to the display panel;

instructions to buffer the display update in a frame buffer comprised in the mobile computing device; and

instructions to interrupt a current refresh period of a timing controller of the display panel by rescanning a current frame displayed in the display panel to include the display update from the frame buffer.