Electronic device having display device for sync brightness control and operating method thereof

• US 9,990,903 B2
• Filed: 01/05/2014
• Issued: 06/05/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 07/05/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Wistron Corporation
• Original Assignee: Wistron Corporation
• Inventors: Chou, Sheng-Jung, Tseng, Sheng-Kai
• Primary Examiner(s): Lu, William
• Application Number:
  US14/147,573
• Publication Number:
  US 20150009122A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,612 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1671 Special purpose buttons or auxiliary keyboards, e.g. retractable mini keypads, keypads or buttons that remain accessible at closed laptop G06F1/1666 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04897 Special input arrangements or commands for improving display capability
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/14 Digital output to display device ; Cooperation and interconnection of the display device with other functional units
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/0606 Manual adjustment
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/0626 for control of overall brightness
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/10 Intensity circuits

Abstract

An electronic device having a display device for sync brightness control includes a brightness key, an embedded controller, a storage unit, a processing unit, a peripheral controlling circuit and BIOS. The storage unit stores an operating system and a brightness application. The processing unit executes the brightness control application in the operating system. The peripheral controlling circuit receives a request from the brightness key. The BIOS acquires the request from the peripheral controlling circuit and send an event to notify a brightness user interface of the operating system, so that the brightness user interface notifies a driver in the operating system and sends a brightness adjusting command to the brightness control application according to the event. The brightness control application notifies the embedded controller to adjust the brightness of the display device according to the brightness adjusting command.

Claims

1. An electronic device having a display device for synchronized brightness control, the electronic device comprising:

an embedded controller, electrically connected to the display device, and having a low pin count bus;

a storage unit, configured to store an operating system and a brightness control application;

a processing unit, electrically connected to the storage unit and configured to execute the brightness control application in the operating system;

a south bridge circuit, electrically connected to the embedded controller;

an external brightness key, electrically connected to the embedded controller and the south bridge circuit, wherein after the external brightness key is triggered, the external brightness key sends a request to the embedded controller, and the south bridge circuit has a serial communication interface configured to receive the request from the external brightness key;

a basic input/output system, electrically connected to the south bridge circuit and the processing unit, wherein the embedded controller notifies the basic input/output system of the request via the south bridge circuit, and the basic input/output system sends an event to notify a brightness user interface of the operating system, so that when the operating system receives the event triggered through the external brightness key, the brightness user interface of the operating system notifies a driver in the operating system and the brightness control application simultaneously, the low pin count bus of the embedded controller receives notification from the brightness control application, and the embedded controller directly sends a pulse width modulated signal to the display device without going through the south bridge circuit, so as to adjust the brightness of the display device, wherein when the driver in the operating system is notified by the brightness user interface, the processing unit records a log file in the storage unit.

2. The electronic device according to the claim 1, wherein the display device is a flat display panel.

3. An operating method of an electronic device having an external brightness key, an embedded controller, a south bridge circuit, a basic input/output system, and a display device for synchronized brightness control, the operating method comprising:

(a) executing a brightness control application in an operating system;

(b) after the external brightness key is triggered, using the external brightness key to send a request to the embedded controller, wherein the south bridge circuit has a serial communication interface configured to receive the request from the external brightness key, and the embedded controller notifies the basic input/output system of the request via the south bridge circuit; and

(c) using the basic input/output system to acquire the request from the south bridge circuit, and send an event to notify a brightness user interface of the operating system, so that when the operating system receives the event triggered through the external brightness key, the brightness user interface of the operating system notifies a driver in the operating system and the brightness control application simultaneously, a low pin count bus of the embedded controller receives notification from the brightness control application, and the embedded controller directly sends a pulse width modulated signal to the display device without going through the south bridge circuit, so as to adjust the brightness of the display device, wherein when the driver in the operating system is notified by the brightness user interface, a log file is recorded.

4. An electronic device, comprising:

a display device;

a storage unit configured to store an operating system and a brightness control application;

a processing unit configured to execute the brightness control application and a driver in the operating system;

an external brightness key directly connected to the south bridge circuit, and the south bridge circuit coupled to the processing unit through a basic input/output system, wherein when the operating system receives an event triggered by the external brightness key, the operating system notifies the driver and the brightness control application simultaneously, so that the driver complies with a certification requirement as to the operating system; and

an embedded controller having a low pin count bus for receiving notification from the brightness control application when the operating system notifies the driver and the brightness control application simultaneously, so that the embedded controller directly sends a pulse width modulated signal to the display device without going through the south bridge circuit, so as to adjust the brightness of the display device, wherein when the driver in the operating system is notified by the brightness user interface, the processing unit records a log file in the storage unit.