Method of driving a display panel, display apparatus performing the same, method of determining a correction value applied to the same, and method of correcting grayscale data

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9761184-B2
Application number	US-201414173599-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 5, 2014
Priority date	Sep 11, 2013
Publication date	Sep 12, 2017
Grant date	Sep 12, 2017

Abstract

A method of driving a display panel includes generating corrected grayscale data utilizing a grayscale correction value of a reference pixel including m×n pixels, “m” and “n” being natural numbers greater than zero, and driving M×N pixels of the display panel based on the corrected grayscale data, “M” and “N” being natural numbers greater than zero. “M” is greater than “m” and “N” is greater than “n.”

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method of driving a display panel, the method comprising:
receiving grayscale data to drive the display panel;
retrieving, from a memory, a fixed grayscale correction value of a reference pixel comprising m×n pixels based on the grayscale data, “m” and “n” being natural numbers greater than zero;
determining grayscale correction values for each of the m×n pixels utilizing the fixed grayscale correction value; and
correcting the grayscale data by applying the grayscale correction values directly to the grayscale data to generate corrected grayscale data; and
driving M×N pixels of the display panel based on the corrected grayscale data, “M” and “N” being natural numbers greater than zero, “M” being greater than “m,” and “N” being greater than “n”;
retrieving, from the memory, a fixed grayscale correction value of a determined pixel among m×n pixels of at least one peripheral reference pixel adjacent to the reference pixel,
wherein:
the fixed grayscale correction value of the reference pixel corresponds to a determined pixel among the m×n pixels of the reference pixel;
the grayscale correction values for each of the m×n pixels in the reference pixel are determined based on an interpolation scheme utilizing the fixed grayscale correction value of the determined pixel of the reference pixel and the fixed grayscale correction value of the determined pixel of the at least one peripheral reference pixel; and
“m” is equal to “n”.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the interpolation scheme comprises a linear interpolation scheme between grayscales and a spatial interpolation scheme between pixels.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the fixed grayscale correction value of the determined pixel of the reference pixel is retrieved from the memory in response to grayscale data of the determined pixel of the reference pixel being equal to a sample grayscale of a plurality of sample grayscales, the memory comprising fixed grayscale correction values of reference pixels stored respectively corresponding to the plurality of sample grayscales.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein:
the fixed grayscale correction value of the determined pixel of the reference pixel is retrieved from the memory in response to grayscale data of the determined pixel of the reference pixel being not equal to a sample grayscale of a plurality of sample grayscales, the memory comprising fixed grayscale correction values of reference pixels stored respectively corresponding to the plurality of sample grayscales; and
the grayscale correction value for the determined pixel of the reference pixel is determined based on an interpolation scheme utilizing at least one grayscale correction value of at least one sample grayscale stored in the memory, the at least one grayscale correction value being approximate to the grayscale data of the determined pixel of the reference pixel.

5. A display apparatus, comprising:
a display panel comprising M×N pixels, “M” and “N” being natural numbers greater than zero;
a storage part configured to store grayscale correction values of a reference pixel respectively corresponding to a plurality of sample grayscales, the reference pixel comprising m×n pixels, “m” and “n” being natural numbers greater than zero;
a data correction part configured to:
receive grayscale data;
retrieve, from the storage part, a fixed grayscale correction value of the reference pixel based on the grayscale data;
determine grayscale correction values for each of the m×n pixels utilizing the fixed grayscale correction value;
correct the grayscale data by applying the grayscale correction values directly to the grayscale data to generate corrected grayscale data; and
retrieve, from the storage part, a fixed grayscale correction value of a determined pixel among m×n pixels of at least one peripheral reference pixel adjacent to the reference pixel; and

a data driving part configured to generate data voltages for the M×N pixels based on the corrected grayscale data, “M” being greater than “m,” and “N” being greater than “n,”
wherein:
the fixed grayscale correction value of the reference pixel corresponds to a determined pixel among the m×n pixels of the reference pixel;
determination of the grayscale correction values for each of the m×n pixels in the reference pixel is based on an interpolation scheme utilizing the fixed grayscale correction value of the determined pixel of the reference pixel and the fixed grayscale correction value of the determined pixel of the at least one peripheral reference pixel; and
“m” is equal to “n”.

6. The display apparatus of claim 5 , wherein the interpolation scheme comprises a linear interpolation scheme between grayscales and a spatial interpolation scheme between pixels.

7. The display apparatus of claim 5 , wherein the data correction part is configured to retrieve the fixed grayscale correction value of the determined pixel of the reference pixel in response to grayscale data of the determined pixel of the reference pixel being equal to a sample grayscale of the plurality of sample grayscales.

8. The display apparatus of claim 5 , wherein the data correction part is configured to:
retrieve the fixed grayscale correction value of the determined pixel of the reference pixel in response to grayscale data of the determined pixel of the reference pixel being not equal to a sample grayscale of the plurality of sample grayscales; and
determine the grayscale correction value for the determined pixel of the reference pixel based on an interpolation scheme utilizing at least one grayscale correction value of at least one sample grayscale stored in the storage part, the at least one grayscale correction value being approximate to the grayscale data of the determined pixel of the reference pixel.

9. The display apparatus of claim 5 , further comprising:
a light-source part comprising at least one light-source configured to provide the display panel with light.

10. The display apparatus of claim 9 , wherein at least one of the display panel and the light-source part comprises a Mura defect.

11. A method of correcting grayscale data, the method comprising:
obtaining a plurality of sample grayscale images displayed via a display panel;
generating a sample unit image utilizing one of the plurality of sample grayscale images, a resolution of the sample unit image being lower than a resolution of the one sample grayscale image;
determining a luminance representative value of a reference pixel utilizing the one sample unit image;
generating a gamma curve of the reference pixel;
determining a luminance correction value of the reference pixel utilizing the luminance representative value;
determining a grayscale correction value of the reference pixel corresponding to the luminance correction value utilizing the gamma curve of the reference pixel;
storing the grayscale correction value of the reference pixel in a memory as fixed data; and
applying the grayscale correction value of the reference pixel to the grayscale data of a pixel of the display panel to generate corrected grayscale data,
wherein the reference pixel is m×n pixels of the sample grayscale image, “m” and “n” being natural numbers greater than zero, and
wherein generating the corrected grayscale data comprises:
obtaining a grayscale correction value of a determined pixel among the m×n pixels of the reference pixel and a grayscale correction value of a determined pixel among m×n pixels of at least one peripheral reference pixel adjacent to the reference pixel;
determining a grayscale correction value of each of the m×n pixels in the reference pixel based on an interpolation scheme utilizing

Assignees

• Samsung Display Co Ltd

Inventors

• Kim Hee-Joon
• Yoo Byoung-Seok
• Lee Jeong-Woon
• Moon Hoi-Sik

Classifications

• G09G3/006 Primary

  Electronic inspection or testing of displays and display drivers, e.g. of LED or LCD displays (testing individual LED's G01R31/2635; testing lamps G01R31/44; testing of optical features of LCD displays G02F1/1309) · CPC title

• G09G2330/10

  Dealing with defective pixels · CPC title

• G09G3/3648

  using an active matrix (G09G3/367 - G09G3/3696 take precedence) · CPC title

• G09G3/3611

  Control of matrices with row and column drivers · CPC title

• G09G3/20

  for presentation of an assembly of a number of characters, e.g. a page, by composing the assembly by combination of individual elements arranged in a matrix {no fixed position being assigned to or needed to be assigned to the individual characters or partial characters} · CPC title