Display device and method for driving same

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10062326-B2
Application number	US-201515124202-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 24, 2015
Priority date	Mar 31, 2014
Publication date	Aug 28, 2018
Grant date	Aug 28, 2018

Abstract

Based on the results of detection of characteristics of drive transistors and organic EL elements, a control circuit finds magnitudes of threshold shifts of the drive transistors and the organic EL elements. A power supply voltage control unit sets a value of a low-level power supply voltage to a value lower, by a voltage value corresponding to an average value of the magnitudes of the threshold shifts for all pixels, than a value at an initial point in time. Furthermore, the power supply voltage control unit adjusts a value of a high-level power supply voltage, depending on magnitudes of mobilities obtained by detection of characteristics of the drive transistors.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A display device including a plurality of pixel circuits, each including an electrooptical element whose luminance is controlled by a current, and a drive transistor configured to control a current to be supplied to the electrooptical element, the display device comprising:
a plurality of data lines configured to supply data voltages for grayscale display to the plurality of pixel circuits;
a data line drive circuit configured to apply the data voltages to the plurality of data lines;
an amount-of-threshold-voltage-change obtaining unit configured to find an amount of change in threshold voltage of a target circuit element, at least either one of the drive transistor and the electrooptical element serving as the target circuit element;
a power supply voltage control unit configured to control a value of at least a low-level power supply voltage out of the low-level power supply voltage and a high-level power supply voltage that are supplied to the plurality of pixel circuits; and
a mobility obtaining unit configured to find a mobility of the drive transistor;
wherein in each of the plurality of pixel circuits,
a data voltage supplied by a corresponding data line is provided to a control terminal of the drive transistor,
the high-level power supply voltage is provided to a first conduction terminal of the drive transistor,
a second conduction terminal of the drive transistor is connected to an anode of the electrooptical element, and
the low-level power supply voltage is provided to a cathode of the electrooptical element,

the power supply voltage control unit controls the value of the low-level power supply voltage, depending on the amount of change found by the amount-of-threshold-voltage-change obtaining unit, and
the power supply voltage control unit controls a value Vh of the high-level power supply voltage to satisfy a following expression, depending on the mobility found by the mobility obtaining unit:
Vh>V 1+ V max+(2× I max/β)½

where V1 is a value of the low-level power supply voltage, Vmax is a maximum value of voltages applied between the anode and cathode of the electrooptical element, Imax is a maximum value of currents flowing between the anode and cathode of the electrooptical element, and β is a gain value proportional to the mobility found by the mobility obtaining unit.

2. A display device including a plurality of pixel circuits, each including an electrooptical element whose luminance is controlled by a current, and a drive transistor configured to control a current to be supplied to the electrooptical element, the display device comprising:
a plurality of data lines configured to supply data voltages for grayscale display to the plurality of pixel circuits;
a data line drive circuit configured to apply the data voltages to the plurality of data lines;
an amount-of-threshold-voltage-change obtaining unit configured to find an amount of change in threshold voltage of a target circuit element, at least either one of the drive transistor and the electrooptical element serving as the target circuit element;
a power supply voltage control unit configured to control at least a value of a first power supply voltage, the first power supply voltage being one of a first-level voltage and a second-level voltage, and the first-level voltage and the second-level voltage being supplied to the plurality of pixel circuits; and
a characteristic detecting unit configured to detect a characteristic of the target circuit element and find a threshold voltage of the target circuit element based on results of the detection,
wherein in each of the plurality of pixel circuits,
a data voltage supplied by a corresponding data line is provided to a control terminal of the drive transistor,
the second-level voltage is provided to a first conduction terminal of the drive transistor,
a second conduction terminal of the drive transistor is connected to one electrode of the electrooptical element, and
the first-level voltage is provided to an other electrode of the electrooptical element,

the power supply voltage control unit controls the value of the first power supply voltage, depending on the amount of change found by the amount-of-threshold-voltage-change obtaining unit, and
the amount-of-threshold-voltage-change obtaining unit finds an amount of change in threshold voltage of the target circuit element, based on a threshold voltage found by the characteristic detecting unit.

3. The display device according to claim 2 , wherein the amount-of-threshold-voltage-change obtaining unit finds an amount of change in threshold voltage of the target circuit element, based on a difference between a threshold voltage of the target circuit element at a predetermined reference time and a threshold voltage of the target circuit element at a point in time when characteristic detection by the characteristic detecting unit is performed.

4. The display device according to claim 2 , further comprising a dummy circuit element, drive operation of which is not performed, the dummy circuit element being of a same type as the target circuit element, wherein
the amount-of-threshold-voltage-change obtaining unit finds an amount of change in threshold voltage of the target circuit element, based on a difference between a threshold voltage of the target circuit element found based on the results of the characteristic detection by the characteristic detecting unit and a threshold voltage of the dummy circuit element.

5. The display device according to claim 2 , wherein when values of the amount of change found by the amount-of-threshold-voltage-change obtaining unit are defined as calculated values of change, and one of the first-level voltage and the second-level voltage that is different than the first power supply voltage is defined as a second power supply voltage, and one of an average value of the calculated values of change for the plurality of pixel circuits, an average value of a maximum value and a minimum value of the calculated values of change for the plurality of pixel circuits, and a median of the calculated values of change for the plurality of pixel circuits is defined as a representative value, the power supply voltage control unit sets the value of the first power supply voltage to a value such that a difference between the first power supply voltage and the second power supply voltage is larger, by a voltage value corresponding to the representative value, than a value at a reference time.

6. The display device according to claim 5 , wherein
the amount-of-threshold-voltage-change obtaining unit finds amounts of change in threshold voltages of both the drive transistor and the electrooptical element as target circuit elements, and
the power supply voltage control unit sets the value of the first power supply voltage to a value such that the difference between the first power supply voltage and the second power supply voltage is larger, by a voltage value corresponding to a sum of the representative value for the drive transistors and the representative value for the electrooptical elements, than the value at the reference time.

7. The display device according to claim 2 , wherein when values of the amount of change found by the amount-of-threshold-voltage-change obtaining unit are defined as calculated values of change and one of the first-level voltage and the second-level voltage that is different than the first power supply voltage is defined as a second power supply voltage, the power supply voltage control unit sets the value of the first power supply voltage to a value such that a difference between the first power supply voltage and the second power supply voltage is larger, by a voltage value corresponding to a maximum value of

Assignees

• Sharp Kk

Inventors

• Takizawa Kazuo
• Kishi Noritaka

Classifications

• G09G2330/021

  Power management, e.g. power saving · CPC title

• G09G2330/028

  Generation of voltages supplied to electrode drivers in a matrix display other than LCD · CPC title

• G09G2320/043

  Preventing or counteracting the effects of ageing · CPC title

• G09G3/3291

  in which the data driver supplies a variable data voltage for setting the current through, or the voltage across, the light-emitting elements · CPC title

• G09G3/3233 Primary

  with pixel circuitry controlling the current through the light-emitting element · CPC title