Display device performing multi-frequency driving

Abstract

A display device that performs multi-frequency driving is provided. The display device includes a display panel and a panel driver, the display panel includes a first partial panel area and a second partial panel area, and the panel driver is configured to drive the display panel. The panel driver determines a first driving frequency for the first partial panel area and a second driving frequency for the second partial panel area. When the first driving frequency and the second driving frequency are different from each other, the panel driver sets a boundary portion including a boundary between the first partial panel area and the second partial panel area, and determines a third driving frequency for the boundary portion to be between the first driving frequency and the second driving frequency.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Example embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a display device, and more particularly, to a display device that performs multi-frequency driving (MFD). Background Art

[0002] It is desirable to reduce power consumption of display devices employed in portable devices such as smart phones, tablet computers, etc. Recently, in order to reduce power consumption of display devices, low-frequency driving technology (which drives or refreshes a display panel at a frequency lower than an input frame frequency of input image data) has been developed.

[0003] However, in the prior art display device to which the low-frequency driving technology is applied, when a still image is not displayed in the entire area of ​​the display panel, or when a still image is displayed in only a partial area (e.g., a portion) of the display panel, the entire area of ​​the display panel is driven at a driving frequency substantially the same as the input frame frequency. Therefore, in this case, the low-frequency driving is not performed, and the power consumption is not reduced. Summary of the invention

[0004] Aspects according to some example embodiments relate to a display device that is capable of reducing power consumption by performing multi-frequency driving (MFD) that drives partial panel areas at different driving frequencies, and is capable of preventing or substantially preventing frequency changes (e.g., frequency differences) between partial panel areas from being perceived (e.g., by a user).

[0005] According to an example embodiment, a display device includes a display panel and a panel driver, the display panel including a first partial panel area and a second partial panel area, and the panel driver is used to drive the display panel. The panel driver is used to further determine a first driving frequency for the first partial panel area and a second driving frequency for the second partial panel area. When the first driving frequency and the second driving frequency are different from each other, the panel driver is used to further set a boundary portion including a boundary between the first partial panel area and the second partial panel area, and to determine a third driving frequency for the boundary portion to be between the first driving frequency and the second driving frequency.

[0006] In an exemplary embodiment, the third driving frequency may gradually decrease in a direction from one of the first partial panel area and the second partial panel area driven at a higher driving frequency of the first driving frequency and the second driving frequency to the other of the first partial panel area and the second partial panel area driven at a lower driving frequency of the first driving frequency and the second driving frequency.

[0007] In example embodiments, the third driving frequency may be gradually decreased per scan line.

[0008] In example embodiments, the third driving frequency may be gradually decreased every N scan lines, where N is an integer greater than 0, eg, equal to or greater than 1.

[0009] In an example embodiment, the boundary reference frequency may be determined to gradually decrease in a direction from one of the first portion panel area and the second portion panel area that is driven at a higher driving frequency of the first driving frequency and the second driving frequency to the other of the first portion panel area and the second portion panel area that is driven at a lower driving frequency of the first driving frequency and the second driving frequency, the line random frequency may be randomly determined with respect to each of a plurality of scanning lines included in the boundary portion, and the third driving frequency may be determined as the sum of the boundary reference frequency and the line random frequency.

[0010] In example embodiments, the display device may be a foldable display device, and a boundary between the first partial panel area and the second partial panel area may correspond to a folding line of the foldable display device.

[0011] In an example embodiment, when a moving image is displayed in a portion of a display panel and a still image is displayed in another portion of the display panel, a first portion of the panel area may be set as a portion of the display panel in which the moving image is displayed, a second portion of the panel area may be set as another portion of the display panel in which the still image is displayed, and a boundary between the first portion of the panel area and the second portion of the panel area may change dynamically.

[0012] In example embodiments, a portion of one of the first partial panel area and the second partial panel area driven at a lower driving frequency of the first driving frequency and the second driving frequency may be set as a boundary portion.

[0013] In example embodiments, the number of scan lines included in the boundary portion may be set by (eg, according to) a boundary portion size parameter.

[0014] In example embodiments, the third driving frequency for the boundary portion may be set by (eg, according to) a boundary portion frequency parameter.

[0015] In an example embodiment, the panel driver may include: a still image detector for receiving input image data at an input frame frequency, for dividing the input image data into first partial image data for a first partial panel area and second partial image data for a second partial panel area, and for determining whether each of the first partial image data and the second partial image data represents a still image.

[0016] In an exemplary embodiment, the still image detector may include: a representative value memory for storing a representative value of a first portion of image data in a previous frame and a representative value of a second portion of image data in a previous frame; and a still image detection block for calculating a representative value of the first portion of image data in a current frame and a representative value of the second portion of image data in the current frame, for determining whether the first portion of image data represents a still image by comparing the calculated representative value of the first portion of image data with a representative value of the first portion of image data stored in the representative value memory, and for determining whether the second portion of image data represents a still image by comparing the calculated representative value of the second portion of image data with a representative value of the second portion of image data stored in the representative value memory.

[0017] In an example embodiment, the panel driver may further include: a driving frequency determiner for determining a first driving frequency for a first portion of the panel area based on whether the first portion of the image data represents a still image, and for determining a second driving frequency for a second portion of the panel area based on whether the second portion of the image data represents a still image.

[0018] In an exemplary embodiment, the driving frequency determiner may include: a flicker lookup table for storing flicker values ​​corresponding to multiple gray levels of image data; and a driving frequency determination block for: when the first portion of the image data does not represent a still image, setting a first driving frequency with an input frame frequency; when the first portion of the image data represents a still image, determining a first flicker value corresponding to the gray level of the first portion of the image data by utilizing the flicker lookup table; when the first portion of the image data represents a still image, setting the first driving frequency with a driving frequency corresponding to the first flicker value; when the second portion of the image data does not represent a still image, setting a second driving frequency with an input frame frequency; when the second portion of the image data represents a still image, determining a second flicker value corresponding to the gray level of the second portion of the image data by utilizing the flicker lookup table; and when the second portion of the image data represents a still image, setting the second driving frequency with a driving frequency corresponding to the second flicker value.

[0019] In an exemplary embodiment, the panel driver may further include: a boundary portion setter for comparing the first driving frequency with the second driving frequency, for setting a portion of one of the first partial panel area and the second partial panel area driven at the lower of the first driving frequency and the second driving frequency as the boundary portion, and for determining a third driving frequency for the boundary portion to be between the first driving frequency and the second driving frequency; a data output unit for outputting the first partial image data and the second partial image data except for the boundary image data for the boundary portion at the first driving frequency and the second driving frequency, respectively, and for outputting the boundary image data for the boundary portion at the third driving frequency; and a data driver for providing a data signal to the display panel based on the first partial image data, the second partial image data, and the boundary image data output from the data output unit.

[0020] In example embodiments, the panel driver may include a scan driver for providing a scan signal to the first partial panel area at a first driving frequency, for providing a scan signal to the second partial panel area at a second driving frequency, and for providing a scan signal to the boundary portion at a third driving frequency.

[0021] In an example embodiment, the scan driver may include: a plurality of stages for generating scan signals for a plurality of scan lines included in a display panel at an input frame frequency; and a plurality of logic gates, respectively connected to the plurality of stages and respectively configured to selectively output the scan signals generated by the plurality of stages in response to a scan output mask signal, so that the scan signals are provided to a first partial panel area, a second partial panel area, and a boundary portion at a first driving frequency, a second driving frequency, and a third driving frequency, respectively.

[0022] In an example embodiment, each of the first partial panel area and the second partial panel area may include a plurality of pixels, and each of the plurality of pixels may include: a driving transistor for generating a driving current; a switching transistor for transmitting a data signal to a source electrode of the driving transistor; a compensation transistor connected to the driving transistor diode; a storage capacitor for storing a data signal transmitted through the switching transistor and the driving transistor connected by the diode; a first initialization transistor for providing an initialization voltage to the storage capacitor and a gate electrode of the driving transistor; a first emission control transistor for connecting a line of a power supply voltage to a source electrode of the driving transistor; a second emission control transistor for connecting a drain electrode of the driving transistor to an organic light emitting diode; a second initialization transistor for providing an initialization voltage to the organic light emitting diode; and an organic light emitting diode for emitting light based on the driving current. At least one transistor selected from the driving transistor, the switching transistor, the compensation transistor, the first initialization transistor, the first emission control transistor, the second emission control transistor, and the second initialization transistor may be implemented with a PMOS transistor, and at least one transistor selected from the remaining transistors of the driving transistor, the switching transistor, the compensation transistor, the first initialization transistor, the first emission control transistor, the second emission control transistor, and the second initialization transistor may be implemented with an NMOS transistor.

[0023] According to an example embodiment, a display device includes a display panel and a panel driver, the display panel including a plurality of partial panel areas, and the panel driver is used to drive the display panel. The panel driver is used to further determine a plurality of driving frequencies respectively used for the plurality of partial panel areas. When the driving frequencies used for two adjacent partial panel areas of the plurality of partial panel areas are different from each other, the panel driver is used to further set a boundary portion including a boundary between the two adjacent partial panel areas, and to determine the driving frequency used for the boundary portion to be between the driving frequencies used for the two adjacent partial panel areas.

[0024] In example embodiments, the driving frequency for the boundary portion may gradually decrease in a direction from one of two adjacent partial panel regions driven at a relatively higher driving frequency to another of the two adjacent partial panel regions driven at a relatively lower driving frequency.

[0025] As described above, in the case where the first driving frequency for the first partial panel area and the second driving frequency for the second partial panel area are different from each other, the display device according to the example embodiment may determine the third driving frequency for the boundary portion including the boundary between the first partial panel area and the second partial panel area to be between the first driving frequency and the second driving frequency. Therefore, even when the first partial panel area and the second partial panel area are driven at different driving frequencies, the frequency change between the first partial panel area and the second partial panel area will not be perceived (for example, by a user). BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0026] Illustrative, non-limiting example embodiments will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0027] Figure 1 is a block diagram illustrating a display device according to example embodiments.

[0028] Figure 2A It is shown Figure 1 The display device is an example of an inward-folding display device, Figure 2B It is shown Figure 1 The display device is a diagram of an example of an outward-folding display device.

[0029] Figure 3 is a diagram showing an example in which a first partial panel area is set as a portion of a display panel in which a moving image is displayed, and a second partial panel area is set as another portion of the display panel in which a still image is displayed.

[0030] Figure 4 is a circuit diagram illustrating an example of a pixel included in a display device according to example embodiments.

[0031] Figure 5 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a still image detector included in a display device according to example embodiments.

[0032] Figure 6 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a driving frequency decider included in a display device according to example embodiments.

[0033] Figure 7 is a diagram for describing an example in which a boundary portion setter included in a display device sets a boundary portion according to an example embodiment.

[0034] Figure 8 is a diagram for describing an example in which a data output unit included in a display device outputs first partial image data, second partial image data, and boundary image data at different driving frequencies according to an example embodiment.

[0035] Fig. 9 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a scan driver included in a display device according to example embodiments.

[0036] Fig.10 is a timing diagram for describing an example of an operation of a scan driver included in a display device according to example embodiments.

[0037] Fig.11 is a flowchart illustrating a method of operating a display apparatus according to example embodiments.

[0038] Fig.12 Is used to describe Fig.11 A diagram of an example of a method in which the driving frequency for a boundary portion is gradually reduced per scanning line.

[0039] Fig.13 is a flowchart illustrating a method of operating a display apparatus according to example embodiments.

[0040] Fig.14 Is used to describe Fig.13 FIG. 1 is a diagram of an example of a method in which a driving frequency for a boundary portion is gradually reduced every one or more scan lines.

[0041] Fig.15A and Fig. 15B are first and second parts of a flowchart illustrating a method of operating a display device according to example embodiments.

[0042] Fig.16 Is used to describe Fig.15A and Fig. 15B FIG. 1 is a diagram of an example of a method of determining a driving frequency for a boundary portion based on a boundary reference frequency and a line random frequency.

[0043] Fig.17 is a block diagram illustrating a display device according to example embodiments.

[0044] Fig.18 is a diagram for describing an example in which a boundary portion setter included in a display device sets a boundary portion according to an example embodiment.

[0045] Fig.19 is a block diagram illustrating an electronic device including a display device according to example embodiments. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0046] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be explained in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0047] Figure 1 is a block diagram illustrating a display device according to an example embodiment, Figure 2A It is shown Figure 1The display device is an example of an inward-folding display device, Figure 2B It is shown Figure 1 The display device is an example of an outward folding display device, Figure 3 is a diagram showing an example in which a first partial panel area is set as a portion of a display panel in which a moving image is displayed and a second partial panel area is set as another portion of the display panel in which a still image is displayed, Figure 4 is a circuit diagram illustrating an example of a pixel included in a display device according to an example embodiment, Figure 5 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a still image detector included in a display device according to an example embodiment, Figure 6 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a driving frequency decider included in a display device according to an example embodiment, Figure 7 is a diagram for describing an example in which a boundary portion setter included in a display device sets a boundary portion according to an exemplary embodiment, Figure 8 is a diagram for describing an example in which a data output unit included in a display device outputs first partial image data, second partial image data, and boundary image data at different driving frequencies according to an example embodiment.

[0048] Reference Figure 1 The display device 100 according to example embodiments may include a display panel 110 and a panel driver 190 driving the display panel 110. In some example embodiments, the panel driver 190 may include a data driver 120 providing a data signal DS to the display panel 110, a scan driver 130 providing a scan signal SS to the display panel 110, and a controller 140 controlling the operation of the display device 100.

[0049] The display panel 110 may include a first partial panel region (e.g., a first portion of the display panel 110) PPR1 and a second partial panel region (e.g., a second portion of the display panel 110) PPR2. For example, the display panel 110 may be divided into the first partial panel region PPR1 and the second partial panel region PPR2 such that each of the first partial panel region PPR1 and the second partial panel region PPR2 includes two or more scan lines and / or two or more pixel rows connected to the two or more scan lines.

[0050] In some example embodiments, the boundary PPRB between the first partial panel region PPR1 and the second partial panel region PPR2 may have a fixed position within the display panel 110. For example, the display device 100 may be a foldable display device, and the boundary PPRB between the first partial panel region PPR1 and the second partial panel region PPR2 may correspond to a folding line of the foldable display device.

[0051] In the example, Figure 2A As shown in , the display device 100 may be an inward-folding display device 100a including an inward-folding display panel 110a, the inward-folding display panel 110a is folded so that the first partial panel area PPR1a and the second partial panel area PPR2a face each other, and the boundary PPRB between the first partial panel area PPR1a and the second partial panel area PPR2a may have a fixed position corresponding to the folding line FL at which the inward-folding display panel 110a is folded. In another example, as Figure 2B As shown in , the display device 100 may be an outward-folding display device 100b including an outward-folding display panel 110b, the outward-folding display panel 110b is folded so that one of the first partial panel area PPR1b and the second partial panel area PPR2b is located on the front side (e.g., facing the viewer) and the other of the first partial panel area PPR1b and the second partial panel area PPR2b is located on the back side (e.g., facing away from the viewer), and the boundary PPRB between the first partial panel area PPR1b and the second partial panel area PPR2b may have a fixed position corresponding to a folding line FL at which the outward-folding display panel 110b is folded. Although Figure 2A and Figure 2B Examples in which the display device 100 may be a foldable display device 100a and a foldable display device 100b are shown, but in some example embodiments, the display device 100 may be any suitable flexible display device, such as a curved display device, a bent (e.g., bendable) display device, a rollable display device, a stretchable display device, etc. In other example embodiments, the display device 100 may be a flat (e.g., rigid) display device.

[0052] In other exemplary embodiments, the boundary PPRB between the first partial panel region PPR1 and the second partial panel region PPR2 may be dynamically changed. That is, the position of the boundary PPRB between the first partial panel region PPR1 and the second partial panel region PPR2 may be changed according to time. Figure 3As shown in , in the case where a moving image is displayed in a portion of the display panel 110c and a still image is displayed in another portion of the display panel 110c, the first partial panel area PPR1c can be set as a portion of the display panel 110c in which the moving image is displayed, and the second partial panel area PPR2c can be set as another portion of the display panel 110c in which the still image is displayed, so the boundary PPRB between the first partial panel area PPR1c and the second partial panel area PPR2c can be set as the boundary between the moving image and the still image. In this case, when the boundary between the moving image and the still image changes, the boundary PPRB between the first partial panel area PPR1c and the second partial panel area PPR2c can also change.

[0053] The display panel 110 may include a plurality of data lines, a plurality of scan lines, and a plurality of pixels PX connected to the plurality of data lines and the plurality of scan lines. In addition, each of the first partial panel region PPR1 and the second partial panel region PPR2 may include a plurality of pixels PX. In some example embodiments, each pixel PX may include at least one capacitor, at least two transistors, and an organic light emitting diode (OLED), and the display panel 110 may be an OLED display panel. In addition, in some example embodiments, each pixel PX may be a hybrid oxide plycrystalline (HOP) pixel suitable for low-frequency driving capable of reducing power consumption. In the HOP pixel, at least one first transistor may be implemented with a low-temperature polycrystalline silicon (LTPS) p-type metal oxide semiconductor (PMOS) transistor, and at least one second transistor may be implemented with an oxide n-type metal oxide semiconductor (NMOS) transistor.

[0054] For example, Figure 4As shown in FIG. 1 , each pixel PX may include a driving transistor T1 that generates a driving current, a switching transistor T2 that transmits a data signal DS from a data driver 120 to a source (i.e., a source electrode) of the driving transistor T1 in response to a first scanning signal SSP from a scanning driver 130, a compensation transistor T3 that diode-connects the driving transistor T1 (e.g., is diode-connected to the driving transistor T1) in response to a second scanning signal SSN from the scanning driver 130, a storage capacitor CST that stores the data signal DS transmitted through the switching transistor T2 and the diode-connected driving transistor T1, and an initialization voltage VINIT that is supplied to the storage capacitor CST and the gate electrode of the driving transistor T1 in response to a first initialization signal SI from the scanning driver 130. The organic light emitting diode EL includes a first initialization transistor T4 (i.e., a gate electrode), a first emission control transistor T5 that connects the line of the high power supply voltage ELVDD to the source of the driving transistor T1 in response to the emission control signal SEM from the emission driver, a second emission control transistor T6 that connects the drain (i.e., the drain electrode) of the driving transistor T1 to the organic light emitting diode EL in response to the emission control signal SEM from the emission driver, a second initialization transistor (or bypass transistor) T7 that provides the initialization voltage VINIT to the organic light emitting diode EL in response to a second initialization signal (or bypass signal) SB from the scan driver 130, and an organic light emitting diode EL that emits light based on a driving current from the line of the high power supply voltage ELVDD to the line of the low power supply voltage ELVSS.

[0055] At least the first one of the driving transistor T1, the switching transistor T2, the compensating transistor T3, the first initialization transistor T4, the first emission control transistor T5, the second emission control transistor T6, and the second initialization transistor T7 can be implemented with a PMOS transistor, and at least the second one of the driving transistor T1, the switching transistor T2, the compensating transistor T3, the first initialization transistor T4, the first emission control transistor T5, the second emission control transistor T6, and the second initialization transistor T7 can be implemented with an NMOS transistor. That is, at least one transistor selected from the driving transistor T1, the switching transistor T2, the compensating transistor T3, the first initialization transistor T4, the first emission control transistor T5, the second emission control transistor T6, and the second initialization transistor T7 can be implemented with a PMOS transistor, and at least one transistor selected from the remaining transistors of these transistors can be implemented with an NMOS transistor. For example, as Figure 4As shown in , the compensation transistor T3, the first initialization transistor T4, and the second initialization transistor T7 can be implemented with NMOS transistors, and the other transistors T1, T2, T5, and T6 can be implemented with PMOS transistors. In this case, the second scan signal SSN applied to the compensation transistor T3, the first initialization signal SI applied to the first initialization transistor T4, and the second initialization signal SB applied to the second initialization transistor T7 can be high-level valid signals suitable for NMOS transistors. In this case, because the transistor T3 and the transistor T4 directly connected to the storage capacitor CST and the transistor T7 directly connected to the organic light emitting diode EL are implemented with NMOS transistors, the leakage current from the parasitic capacitor of the storage capacitor CST and / or the organic light emitting diode EL can be reduced, and thus the pixel PX can be suitable for low-frequency driving. Although Figure 4 An example of implementing the compensation transistor T3, the first initialization transistor T4, and the second initialization transistor T7 with NMOS transistors is shown, but the configuration of each pixel PX according to example embodiments is not limited to Figure 4 In other example embodiments, the display panel 110 may be a liquid crystal display (LCD) panel or the like.

[0056] The data driver 120 may generate a data signal DS based on the output image data ODAT and the data control signal DCTRL received from the controller 140, and may provide the data signal DS to a plurality of pixels PX through a plurality of data lines. In some example embodiments, the data control signal DCTRL may include, but is not limited to, an output data enable signal, a horizontal start signal, and a load signal. In some example embodiments, the data driver 120 and the controller 140 may be implemented with a single integrated circuit, and the integrated circuit may be referred to as a timing controller embedded data driver (TED). In other example embodiments, the data driver 120 and the controller 140 may be implemented with separate integrated circuits.

[0057] The scan driver 130 may provide a scan signal SS to a plurality of pixels PX through a plurality of scan lines based on a scan control signal SCTRL received from the controller 140. In some example embodiments, the scan driver 130 may sequentially provide the scan signal SS to the plurality of pixels PX on a row-by-row basis. Furthermore, in some example embodiments, the scan control signal SCTRL may include, but is not limited to, a scan start signal FLM, a scan clock signal SCLK, and a scan output mask signal SSOM. In some example embodiments, the scan driver 130 may be integrated with or formed in a peripheral portion of the display panel 110. In other example embodiments, the scan driver 130 may be implemented with one or more integrated circuits.

[0058] The controller (e.g., timing controller (TCON)) 140 may receive input image data IDAT and a control signal CTRL from an external host (e.g., a graphics processing unit (GPU) or a graphics card). In some example embodiments, the control signal CTRL may include, but is not limited to, a vertical synchronization signal, a horizontal synchronization signal, an input data enable signal, a main clock signal, etc. The controller 140 may generate a data control signal DCTRL, a scan control signal SCTRL, and output image data ODAT based on the control signal CTRL and the input image data IDAT. The controller 140 may control the operation of the data driver 120 by providing the output image data ODAT and the data control signal DCTRL to the data driver 120, and may control the operation of the scan driver 130 by providing the scan control signal SCTRL to the scan driver 130.

[0059] The panel driver 190 of the display device 100 according to example embodiments may perform a multi-frequency driving (MFD) that drives the first partial panel region PPR1 and the second partial panel region PPR2 of the display panel 110 at different first driving frequencies DF1 and second driving frequencies DF2, respectively. In the case where the first driving frequency DF1 for the first partial panel region PPR1 and the second driving frequency DF2 for the second partial panel region PPR2 are different from each other, the panel driver 190 may set a boundary portion including a boundary PPRB between the first partial panel region PPR1 and the second partial panel region PPR2, and may determine a third driving frequency DF3 for the boundary portion to be between the first driving frequency DF1 and the second driving frequency DF2. In order to perform these operations, in some example embodiments, the panel driver 190 may include a still image detector 150, a driving frequency determiner 160, a boundary portion setter 170, and a data output unit 180. In some example embodiments, as Figure 1As shown in FIG. 1 , the still image detector 150, the driving frequency determiner 160, the boundary portion setter 170, and the data output unit 180 may be included in the controller 140. However, the locations of the still image detector 150, the driving frequency determiner 160, the boundary portion setter 170, and the data output unit 180 may not be limited to inside the controller 140.

[0060] The still image detector 150 may receive input image data IDAT at an input frame frequency IFF, may divide the input image data IDAT into first partial image data PDAT1 for a first partial panel region PPR1 and second partial image data PDAT2 for a second partial panel region PPR2, and may determine whether each of the first partial image data PDAT1 and the second partial image data PDAT2 represents a still image. In some example embodiments, the still image detector 150 may determine whether the first partial image data PDAT1 represents a still image by comparing the first partial image data PDAT1 in a previous frame with the first partial image data PDAT1 in a current frame, and may determine whether the second partial image data PDAT2 represents a still image by comparing the second partial image data PDAT2 in the previous frame with the second partial image data PDAT2 in the current frame.

[0061] For example, Figure 5As shown in , the still image detector 150 may include a representative value memory 152 and a still image detection block 154. The representative value memory 152 may store a representative value of the first partial image data PDAT1 in the previous frame and a representative value of the second partial image data PDAT2 in the previous frame. The still image detection block 154 may calculate a representative value of the first partial image data PDAT1 in the current frame and a representative value of the second partial image data PDAT2 in the current frame, and may determine whether the first partial image data PDAT1 represents a still image by comparing the calculated representative value of the first partial image data PDAT1 with the representative value of the first partial image data PDAT1 stored in the representative value memory 152, and may determine whether the second partial image data PDAT2 represents a still image by comparing the calculated representative value of the second partial image data PDAT2 with the representative value of the second partial image data PDAT2 stored in the representative value memory 152. The still image detection block 154 may output the first partial image data PDAT1 and the second partial image data PDAT2 to the driving frequency determiner 160, and may also output a first still image determination signal SSIF1 indicating whether the first partial image data PDAT1 indicates a still image and a second still image determination signal SSIF2 indicating whether the second partial image data PDAT2 indicates a still image. The still image detection block 154 may store the calculated representative value of the first partial image data PDAT1 and the calculated representative value of the second partial image data PDAT2 in the current frame in the representative value memory 152 for use in a subsequent frame.

[0062] The driving frequency determiner 160 may determine the first driving frequency DF1 for the first partial panel area PPR1 according to whether the first partial image data PDAT1 represents a still image, and may determine the second driving frequency DF2 for the second partial panel area PPR2 according to whether the second partial image data PDAT2 represents a still image. That is, the driving frequency determiner 160 may set the first driving frequency DF1 for the first partial panel area PPR1 according to whether the first partial image data PDAT1 represents a still image, and may set the second driving frequency DF2 for the second partial panel area PPR2 according to whether the second partial image data PDAT2 represents a still image. In some example embodiments, when the first partial image data PDAT1 does not represent a still image (and / or represents a moving image), the driving frequency determiner 160 may determine the first driving frequency DF1 for the first partial panel area PPR1 as the input frame frequency IFF; when the first partial image data PDAT1 represents a still image, the driving frequency determiner 160 may determine the first driving frequency DF1 for the first partial panel area PPR1 as a frequency lower than the input frame frequency IFF. In addition, when the second partial image data PDAT2 does not represent a still image (and / or represents a moving image), the driving frequency determiner 160 may determine the second driving frequency DF2 for the second partial panel area PPR2 as the input frame frequency IFF; when the second partial image data PDAT2 represents a still image, the driving frequency determiner 160 may determine the second driving frequency DF2 for the second partial panel area PPR2 as a frequency lower than the input frame frequency IFF. In addition, in the case where each of the first partial image data PDAT1 and the second partial image data PDAT2 represents a still image, the driving frequency determiner 160 may determine the flicker value according to the grayscale (and / or brightness) of each of the first partial image data PDAT1 and the second partial image data PDAT2, and may determine the first driving frequency DF1 and the second driving frequency DF2 according to the flicker value.

[0063] For example, Figure 6As shown in , the driving frequency determiner 160 may include a flicker lookup table (LUT) 162 and a driving frequency decision block 164. The flicker lookup table 162 may store flicker values ​​corresponding to respective gray levels of image data (e.g., first partial image data PDAT1 and second partial image data PDAT2). Here, the flicker value may represent a level of flicker perceived by a user. The driving frequency decision block 164 may determine (e.g., set) the first driving frequency DF1 as the input frame frequency IFF in response to a first still image determination signal SSIF1 indicating that the first partial image data PDAT1 does not represent a still image. In response to the first still image determination signal SSIF1 indicating that the first partial image data PDAT1 represents a still image, the driving frequency decision block 164 may determine a first flicker value corresponding to the gray level of the first partial image data PDAT1 by using the flicker lookup table 162, and may determine the first driving frequency DF1 as the driving frequency corresponding to the first flicker value. According to example embodiments, the operations of determining the flicker value and determining the driving frequency may be performed on a pixel-by-pixel basis, a segment-by-segment basis, and / or a partial panel region-by-partial panel region basis. For example, the first partial image data PDAT1 may be divided into a plurality of segments, the flicker value of each segment may be determined, the driving frequency of each segment may be determined, and the first driving frequency DF1 may be determined as the maximum driving frequency among the determined driving frequencies. That is, the first driving frequency DF1 may be set to the highest determined driving frequency among the determined driving frequencies of the plurality of segments from the first partial image data PDAT1. In addition, the driving frequency decision block 164 may determine the second driving frequency DF2 as the input frame frequency IFF in response to the second still image determination signal SSIF2 indicating that the second partial image data PDAT2 does not represent a still image. In response to the second still image determination signal SSIF2 indicating that the second partial image data PDAT2 indicates a still image, the driving frequency decision block 164 may determine a second flicker value corresponding to the grayscale of the second partial image data PDAT2 by using the flicker lookup table 162, and may determine the second driving frequency DF2 as a driving frequency corresponding to the second flicker value. The driving frequency decision block 164 may output the first partial image data PDAT1 and the second partial image data PDAT2, and may also output a first driving frequency signal SDF1 and a second driving frequency signal SDF2, wherein the first driving frequency signal SDF1 indicates a first driving frequency DF1 for the first partial panel region PPR1, and the second driving frequency signal SDF2 indicates a second driving frequency DF2 for the second partial panel region PPR2.

[0064] The boundary portion setter 170 may compare the first driving frequency DF1 represented by the first driving frequency signal SDF1 with the second driving frequency DF2 represented by the second driving frequency signal SDF2, and when the first driving frequency DF1 and the second driving frequency DF2 are different from each other, the boundary portion setter 170 may set the boundary portion including the boundary PPRB between the first partial panel region PPR1 and the second partial panel region PPR2, and may determine the third driving frequency DF3 for the boundary portion to be between the first driving frequency DF1 and the second driving frequency DF2. In some example embodiments, the boundary portion setter 170 may set a portion of one of the first partial panel region PPR1 and the second partial panel region PPR2 that is driven at a lower driving frequency of the first driving frequency DF1 and the second driving frequency DF2 as the boundary portion.

[0065] For example, Figure 7 As shown in FIG. , the first partial panel area PPR1 includes the 1st to 1280th scan lines SL1, SL2, ..., SL1280 (and / or 1280 pixel rows connected to the 1st to 1280th scan lines SL1, SL2, ..., SL1280) and the second partial panel area PPR2 includes the 1281st to 2560th scan lines SL1281, ..., SL1290, SL1291, SL1292, ..., SL2560 (and / or 1280 pixel rows connected to the 1281st to 2560th scan lines SL1281, ..., SL1290, SL1291, SL1292, ... , SL2560), the first driving frequency DF1 for the first partial panel area PPR1 is approximately 120Hz, and the second driving frequency DF2 for the second partial panel area PPR2 is approximately 15Hz, the boundary portion setter 170 may set a portion of the second partial panel area PPR2 driven at a relatively low second driving frequency DF2 (for example, the 1281st to 1290th scan lines SL1281, ..., SL1290 (and / or the 10 pixel rows connected to the 1281st to 1290th scan lines SL1281, ..., SL1290)) as the boundary portion BP. The boundary portion setter 170 may determine the third driving frequency DF3 for the boundary portion BP to be higher than approximately 15Hz and lower than approximately 120Hz. Although Figure 7 An example in which the boundary portion BP includes 10 scan lines SL1281, . . . , SL1290 is shown, but the size of the boundary portion BP and / or the number of scan lines included in the boundary portion BP may not be limited to Figure 7In some example embodiments, the size of the boundary portion BP and / or the number of scan lines included in the boundary portion BP may be set or updated by the boundary portion parameter PBP. For example, the controller 140 may store the boundary portion size parameter as the boundary portion parameter PBP, and the number of scan lines included in the boundary portion BP may be set by the boundary portion size parameter.

[0066] In some example embodiments, the boundary portion setter 170 may determine a third driving frequency DF3 for the boundary portion BP such that the third driving frequency DF3 may gradually decrease in a direction from one of the first partial panel region PPR1 and the second partial panel region PPR2 that is driven at a higher driving frequency of the first driving frequency DF1 and the second driving frequency DF2 to the other of the first partial panel region PPR1 and the second partial panel region PPR2 that is driven at a lower driving frequency of the first driving frequency DF1 and the second driving frequency DF2. Here, the term "gradually decreases" means that the third driving frequency includes one or more values ​​between the value of the first driving frequency DF1 and the value of the second driving frequency DF2, and is applied in the boundary portion BP in approximately descending order from a position adjacent to one of the first partial panel region PPR1 and the second partial panel region PPR2 that is driven at a higher driving frequency of the first driving frequency DF1 and the second driving frequency DF2 to a position adjacent to the other of the first partial panel region PPR1 and the second partial panel region PPR2 that is driven at a lower driving frequency of the first driving frequency DF1 and the second driving frequency DF2. Figure 7In the example of, the third driving frequency DF3 for the boundary portion BP may be gradually reduced from the 1281st scan line SL1281 of the first partial panel area PPR1 driven at a relatively high first driving frequency DF1 close to (e.g., closer to) the 1290th scan line SL1290 of the second partial panel area PPR2 driven at a relatively low second driving frequency DF2 close to (e.g., closer to). In the example, the third driving frequency DF3 for the boundary portion BP may be gradually reduced per scan line. In another example, the third driving frequency DF3 for the boundary portion BP may be gradually reduced per N scan lines, where N is an integer greater than 0 (e.g., equal to or greater than 1). In other example embodiments, the third driving frequency DF3 for the boundary portion BP may be substantially (e.g., approximately) reduced from the first partial panel area PPR1 driven at a relatively high first driving frequency DF1 to the second partial panel area PPR2 driven at a relatively low second driving frequency DF2. However, the third driving frequency DF3 for two directly adjacent scan lines included in the boundary portion BP may be appropriately increased or decreased. In addition, in some example embodiments, the third driving frequency DF3 for the boundary portion BP may be determined based on the boundary portion parameter PBP. For example, the controller 140 may store the boundary portion frequency parameters (including frequency interval parameters, frequency variation parameters, etc.) as the boundary portion parameter PBP, and may determine or set the third driving frequency DF3 based on the boundary portion frequency parameters.

[0067] The data output unit 180 may output the first partial image data PDAT1 and the second partial image data PDAT2 except the boundary image data BDAT for the boundary portion BP at the first driving frequency DF1 and the second driving frequency DF2, respectively, as the output image data ODAT provided to the data driver 120, and may output the boundary image data BDAT for the boundary portion BP at the third driving frequency DF3. Therefore, the first partial panel region PPR1 except the boundary portion BP may be driven at the first driving frequency DF1, the second partial panel region PPR2 except the boundary portion BP may be driven at the second driving frequency DF2, and the boundary portion BP may be driven at the third driving frequency DF3.

[0068] For example, Figure 7 and Figure 8As shown in, when the input image data IDAT is received at an input frame frequency IFF of approximately 120 Hz, the first driving frequency DF1 for the first partial panel area PPR1 is determined to be approximately 120 Hz, and the second driving frequency DF2 for the second partial panel area PPR2 is determined to be approximately 15 Hz, the boundary portion setter 170 can set a portion of the second partial panel area PPR2 (for example, the 1281st to 1290th scan lines SL1281, ..., SL1290) as a boundary portion BP, and can determine the third driving frequency DF3 for the boundary portion BP to be higher than approximately 15 Hz and lower than approximately 120 Hz. In addition, in an example, the boundary part setter 170 may set the third driving frequency DF3-1 for the first part of the boundary part BP (e.g., the 1281st scan line SL1281 to the 1285th scan line SL1285) to about 60 Hz, and may set the third driving frequency DF3-2 for the second part of the boundary part BP (e.g., the 1286th scan line SL1286 to the 1290th scan line SL1290) to about 30 Hz. In this case, the controller 140 may receive 120 frames of data FDAT as input image data IDAT in about 1 second at an input frame frequency IFF of about 120 Hz, and the data output unit 180 of the controller 140 may output the first partial image data PDAT1 120 times and the second partial image data PDAT2 15 times in about 1 second, so that the first partial image data PDAT1 and the second partial image data PDAT2 except the boundary image data BDAT may be output at the first driving frequency DF1 and the second driving frequency DF2 of about 120 Hz and about 15 Hz. Therefore, during eight frames, the data output unit 180 may output the first partial image data PDAT1 8 times, and may output the second partial image data PDAT2 1 time. In addition, the data output unit 180 may output the first boundary image data BDAT1 for the first portion of the boundary portion BP 60 times within about 1 second, so that the first boundary image data BDAT1 may be output at the third driving frequency DF3-1 of about 60 Hz; and the data output unit 180 may output the second boundary image data BDAT2 for the second portion of the boundary portion BP 30 times within about 1 second, so that the second boundary image data BDAT2 may be output at the third driving frequency DF3-2 of about 30 Hz. Therefore, during eight frames, the data output unit 180 may output the first boundary image data BDAT1 4 times, and may output the second boundary image data BDAT2 2 times.

[0069] The data driver 120 may receive the first partial image data PDAT1, the second partial image data PDAT2, and the boundary image data BDAT at the first driving frequency DF1, the second driving frequency DF2, and the third driving frequency DF3, respectively, and may provide the data signal DS to the display panel 110 based on the first partial image data PDAT1, the second partial image data PDAT2, and the boundary image data BDAT. Since the first partial image data PDAT1, the second partial image data PDAT2, and the boundary image data BDAT are received at the first driving frequency DF1, the second driving frequency DF2, and the third driving frequency DF3, respectively, the data driver 120 may provide the data signal DS to the first partial panel region PPR1 at the first driving frequency DF1, may provide the data signal DS to the second partial panel region PPR2 at the second driving frequency DF2, and may provide the data signal DS to the boundary portion BP at the third driving frequency DF3. In addition, the scan driver 130 may provide the scan signal SS to the first partial panel region PPR1 at the first driving frequency DF1, may provide the scan signal SS to the second partial panel region PPR2 at the second driving frequency DF2, and may provide the scan signal SS to the boundary portion BP at the third driving frequency DF3. Therefore, the first partial panel region PPR1 may be driven at the first driving frequency DF1, the second partial panel region PPR2 may be driven at the second driving frequency DF2, and the boundary portion BP may be driven at the third driving frequency DF3 between the first driving frequency DF1 and the second driving frequency DF2.

[0070] In the prior art case where the first partial panel area PPR1 and the second partial panel area PPR2 are driven with different first driving frequencies DF1 and second driving frequencies DF2 and the boundary portion BP is not set, the user perceives a frequency change at the boundary PPRB between the first partial panel area PPR1 and the second partial panel area PPR2. However, in the display device 100 according to the example embodiment, when the first driving frequency DF1 and the second driving frequency DF2 for the first partial panel area PPR1 and the second partial panel area PPR2 are different from each other, the third driving frequency DF3 for the boundary portion BP may be determined to be between the first driving frequency DF1 and the second driving frequency DF2. Therefore, even when the first partial panel area PPR1 and the second partial panel area PPR2 are driven with different first driving frequencies DF1 and second driving frequencies DF2, the frequency change at the boundary PPRB between the first partial panel area PPR1 and the second partial panel area PPR2 will not be perceived by the user.

[0071] Fig. 9 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a scan driver included in a display device according to an example embodiment, Fig.10 is a timing diagram for describing an example of an operation of a scan driver included in a display device according to example embodiments.

[0072] Reference Figure 1 , Figure 7 , Figure 8 , Fig. 9 and Fig.10 , the scan driver 130 included in the display device 100 according to the example embodiment may provide a scan signal SS to the first partial panel region PPR1 at a first driving frequency DF1, may provide a scan signal SS to the second partial panel region PPR2 at a second driving frequency DF2, and may provide a scan signal SS to the boundary portion BP at a third driving frequency DF3. To perform these operations, the scan driver 130 may include a plurality of stages 131, 132, 133, 134, ... and a plurality of logic gates 136, 137, 138, 139, ... respectively connected to the plurality of stages 131, 132, 133, 134, ...

[0073] The plurality of stages 131 , 132 , 133 , 134 , . . . may generate a plurality of intermediate scanning signals ISS1 to ISS2560 respectively corresponding to the plurality of scanning lines SL1 to SL2560 included in the display panel 110 at an input frame frequency IFF based on the scanning start signal FLM and the scanning clock signal SCLK.

[0074] The plurality of logic gates 136, 137, 138, 139, ... may selectively output the plurality of intermediate scanning signals ISS1 to ISS2560 generated by the plurality of stages 131, 132, 133, 134, ... as the plurality of scanning signals SS1 to SS2560 in response to the scan output mask signal SSOM, respectively. That is, the plurality of logic gates 136, 137, 138, 139, ... may selectively output the plurality of scanning signals SS1 to SS2560 in response to the scan output mask signal SSOM and the plurality of intermediate scanning signals ISS1 to ISS2560 generated by the plurality of stages 131, 132, 133, 134, ..., respectively. In some example embodiments, as Fig. 9 As shown in , the plurality of logic gates 136, 137, 138, 139, ... may be, but are not limited to, a plurality of OR gates that perform an OR operation on the plurality of intermediate scanning signals ISS1 to ISS2560 and the scan output mask signal SSOM. For example, each logic gate (e.g., 136) may output a corresponding scan signal (e.g., SS1) having a low level when the corresponding intermediate scanning signal (e.g., ISS1) and the scan output mask signal SSOM both have a low level.

[0075] For example, Figure 7 , Figure 8and Fig.10 As shown in, when the first driving frequency DF1 for the first partial panel area PPR1 is determined to be substantially the same as the input frame frequency IFF of about 120 Hz, the second driving frequency DF2 for the second partial panel area PPR2 is determined to be about 15 Hz, the third driving frequency DF3-1 for the first part of the boundary part BP (for example, the 1281st scan line SL1281 to the 1285th scan line SL1285) is set to about 60 Hz and the third driving frequency DF3-2 for the second part of the boundary part BP (for example, the 1286th scan line SL1286 to the 1290th scan line SL1290) is set to about 30 Hz, a plurality of stages 131, 132, 133, 134, ... can generate a plurality of intermediate scanning signals ISS1 to ISS2560 at the input frame frequency IFF of about 120 Hz, and the 1st logic gate to the 1280th logic gate can generate a plurality of intermediate scanning signals ISS1 to ISS2560 at the input frame frequency IFF of about 120 Hz in response to the scan output mask signal SSOM. The first driving frequency DF1 outputs the 1st scan signal SS1 to the 1280th scan signal SS1280, the 1281st logic gate to the 1285th logic gate can output the 1281st scan signal to the 1285th scan signal SS1281, ..., SS1285 at the third driving frequency DF3-1 of about 60 Hz related to the first part of the boundary part BP in response to the scan output mask signal SSOM, the 1286th to the 1290th logic gate can output the 1286th scan signal to the 1290th scan signal SS1286, ..., SS1290 at the third driving frequency DF3-2 of about 30 Hz related to the second part of the boundary part BP in response to the scan output mask signal SSOM, and the 1291st logic gate to the 2560th logic gate can output the 1291st scan signal SS1291 to the 2560th scan signal SS2560 at the second driving frequency DF2 of about 15 Hz in response to the scan output mask signal SSOM. Therefore, the first partial panel region PPR1 may be driven at the first driving frequency DF1, the second partial panel region PPR2 may be driven at the second driving frequency DF2, and the boundary portion BP may be driven at third driving frequencies DF3-1 and DF3-2 between the first driving frequency DF1 and the second driving frequency DF2.

[0076] Fig.11 is a flowchart illustrating a method of operating a display device according to an example embodiment, Fig.12 Is used to describe Fig.11 A diagram of an example of a method in which the driving frequency for a boundary portion is gradually reduced per scanning line.

[0077] Reference Figure 1 and Fig.11, the display device 100 according to an example embodiment may receive input image data IDAT at an input frame frequency IFF (S210). The still image detector 150 may divide the input image data IDAT into first partial image data PDAT1 for the first partial panel region PPR1 and second partial image data PDAT2 for the second partial panel region PPR2 (S220), and may determine whether each of the first partial image data PDAT1 and the second partial image data PDAT2 represents a still image (S230).

[0078] The driving frequency determiner 160 may determine the first driving frequency DF1 for the first partial panel area PPR1 according to whether the first partial image data PDAT1 represents a still image, and may determine the second driving frequency DF2 for the second partial panel area PPR2 according to whether the second partial image data PDAT2 represents a still image (S240). For example, when the first partial image data PDAT1 does not represent a still image (and / or represents a moving image), the driving frequency determiner 160 may determine the first driving frequency DF1 for the first partial panel area PPR1 as the input frame frequency IFF; when the first partial image data PDAT1 represents a still image, the driving frequency determiner 160 may determine the first driving frequency DF1 for the first partial panel area PPR1 as a frequency lower than the input frame frequency IFF. In addition, when the second partial image data PDAT2 does not represent a still image (and / or represents a moving image), the driving frequency determiner 160 may determine the second driving frequency DF2 for the second partial panel area PPR2 as the input frame frequency IFF; when the second partial image data PDAT2 represents a still image, the driving frequency determiner 160 may determine the second driving frequency DF2 for the second partial panel area PPR2 as a frequency lower than the input frame frequency IFF.

[0079] The boundary part setter 170 may compare the first driving frequency DF1 with the second driving frequency DF2 (S250). When the first driving frequency DF1 and the second driving frequency DF2 are substantially the same (S250: Yes), the boundary part BP may not be set, the first partial panel area PPR1 may be driven at the first driving frequency DF1, and the second partial panel area PPR2 may be driven at the second driving frequency DF2 (S255). That is, in this case, the first partial panel area PPR1 may be driven at the first driving frequency DF1, and the second partial panel area PPR2 may be driven at the second driving frequency DF2 (S255), wherein the first driving frequency DF1 is substantially the same as the second driving frequency DF2.

[0080] When the first driving frequency DF1 and the second driving frequency DF2 are different from each other (S250: No), the boundary portion setter 170 may set a boundary portion BP including a boundary PPRB between the first partial panel region PPR1 and the second partial panel region PPR2 (S260), and may determine a third driving frequency DF3 for the boundary portion BP to be between the first driving frequency DF1 and the second driving frequency DF2 (e.g., the boundary portion setter 170 may determine the third driving frequency DF3 that gradually decreases per scan line associated with the boundary portion BP) (S270). In some example embodiments, as Fig.12 As shown in , the boundary portion setter 170 can determine the third driving frequency DF3 for the boundary portion BP so that the third driving frequency DF3 can gradually decrease per scanning line in a direction from one of the first partial panel area PPR1 and the second partial panel area PPR2 driven with the higher driving frequency of the first driving frequency DF1 and the second driving frequency DF2 to the other of the first partial panel area PPR1 and the second partial panel area PPR2 driven with the lower driving frequency of the first driving frequency DF1 and the second driving frequency DF2.

[0081] For example, Fig.12As shown in , in the case where a moving image is displayed in a first partial panel area PPR1 including the 1st scan line SL1 to the 1280th scan line SL1280 and a still image is displayed in a second partial panel area PPR2 including the 1281st scan line SL1281 to the 2560th scan line SL2560, the first driving frequency DF1 for the first partial panel area PPR1 can be determined to be substantially the same as the input frame frequency IFF of about 120 Hz, and the second driving frequency DF2 for the second partial panel area PPR2 can be determined to be about 1 Hz (which is lower than the input frame frequency IFF). The boundary portion setter 170 can set a portion of the second partial panel area PPR2 (e.g., the 1281st scan line to the 1290th scan line SL1281, ..., SL1290) driven at a relatively low second driving frequency DF2 as a boundary portion BP. In addition, the boundary portion setter 170 may determine the third driving frequency DF3 for the boundary portion BP so that the third driving frequency DF3 may gradually decrease per scanning line from the 1281st scanning line SL1281 of the first partial panel area PPR1 which is close to (e.g., closer to) the first driving frequency DF1 which is relatively high, to the 1290th scanning line SL1290 of the second partial panel area PPR2 which is close to (e.g., closer to) the second driving frequency DF2 which is relatively low. For example, the boundary portion setter 170 may set the third driving frequency DF3 for the 1281st scanning line SL1281 to about 60 Hz, the third driving frequency DF3 for the 1282nd scanning line SL1282 to about 40 Hz, the third driving frequency DF3 for the 1283rd scanning line SL1283 to about 30 Hz, the third driving frequency DF3 for the 1284th scanning line SL1284 to about 24 Hz, and the third driving frequency DF3 for the 1285th scanning line SL1285 to about 40 Hz. The third driving frequency DF3 for the 1286th scan line SL1286 can be set to about 15 Hz, the third driving frequency DF3 for the 1287th scan line SL1287 can be set to about 12 Hz, the third driving frequency DF3 for the 1288th scan line SL1288 can be set to about 6 Hz, the third driving frequency DF3 for the 1289th scan line SL1289 can be set to about 3 Hz, and the third driving frequency DF3 for the 1290th scan line SL1290 can be set to about 2 Hz.

[0082] The panel driver 190 may drive the first partial panel region PPR1 at a first driving frequency DF1, may drive the second partial panel region PPR2 at a second driving frequency DF2, and may drive the boundary portion BP at a third driving frequency DF3 (S290), wherein the third driving frequency DF3 gradually decreases per scan line in a direction from the first partial panel region PPR1 driven at a relatively high first driving frequency DF1 to the second partial panel region PPR2 driven at a relatively low second driving frequency DF2. Therefore, even when the first partial panel region PPR1 and the second partial panel region PPR2 are driven at different first driving frequencies DF1 and second driving frequencies DF2, a frequency change between the first partial panel region PPR1 and the second partial panel region PPR2 will not be perceived (e.g., by a user).

[0083] Fig.13 is a flowchart illustrating a method of operating a display device according to an example embodiment, Fig.14 Is used to describe Fig.13 FIG. 1 is a diagram of an example of a method in which a driving frequency for a boundary portion is gradually reduced every one or more scan lines.

[0084] In addition to the third driving frequency DF3 for the boundary portion BP being gradually decreased every N scanning lines (S275), Fig.13 The method can be used with Fig.11 The method is basically the same as , where N is an integer greater than 0 (for example, equal to or greater than 1). Fig.13 In the method, the boundary portion setter 170 can determine a third driving frequency DF3 for the boundary portion BP so that the third driving frequency DF3 can gradually decrease every N scanning lines in a direction from one of the first partial panel area PPR1 and the second partial panel area PPR2 driven with the higher driving frequency of the first driving frequency DF1 and the second driving frequency DF2 to the other of the first partial panel area PPR1 and the second partial panel area PPR2 driven with the lower driving frequency of the first driving frequency DF1 and the second driving frequency DF2 (S275).

[0085] For example, Fig.14As shown in , in the case where a moving image is displayed in a first partial panel area PPR1 including the 1st scan line SL1 to the 1280th scan line SL1280 and a still image is displayed in a second partial panel area PPR2 including the 1281st scan line SL1281 to the 2560th scan line SL2560, the first driving frequency DF1 for the first partial panel area PPR1 can be determined to be substantially the same as the input frame frequency IFF of about 120 Hz, and the second driving frequency DF2 for the second partial panel area PPR2 can be determined to be about 1 Hz (which is lower than the input frame frequency IFF). The boundary portion setter 170 can set a portion of the second partial panel area PPR2 (e.g., the 1281st scan line to the 1290th scan line SL1281, ..., SL1290) driven at a relatively low second driving frequency DF2 as a boundary portion BP. In addition, the boundary portion setter 170 can determine the third driving frequency DF3 for the boundary portion BP so that the third driving frequency DF3 can gradually decrease with each or more scanning lines from the 1281st scanning line SL1281 (close to the first partial panel area PPR1 driven with the relatively high first driving frequency DF1) to the 1290th scanning line SL1290 (close to the second partial panel area PPR2 driven with the relatively low second driving frequency DF2). For example, the boundary portion setter 170 may set the third driving frequency DF3 for the 1281th scan line SL1281 to the 1284th scan line SL1284 to approximately 60 Hz, may set the third driving frequency DF3 for the 1285th scan line SL1285 to the 1287th scan line SL1287 to approximately 30 Hz, may set the third driving frequency DF3 for the 1288th scan line SL1288 and the 1289th scan line SL1289 to approximately 10 Hz, and may set the third driving frequency DF3 for the 1290th scan line SL1290 to approximately 5 Hz.

[0086] The panel driver 190 may drive the first partial panel region PPR1 at a first driving frequency DF1, may drive the second partial panel region PPR2 at a second driving frequency DF2, and may drive the boundary portion BP at a third driving frequency DF3 (S290), wherein the third driving frequency DF3 gradually decreases for each or more scan lines in a direction from the first partial panel region PPR1 driven at a relatively high first driving frequency DF1 to the second partial panel region PPR2 driven at a relatively low second driving frequency DF2. Therefore, even when the first partial panel region PPR1 and the second partial panel region PPR2 are driven at different first driving frequencies DF1 and second driving frequencies DF2, a frequency change between the first partial panel region PPR1 and the second partial panel region PPR2 is not perceived (e.g., by a user).

[0087] Fig.15A and Fig. 15B are first and second parts of a flowchart illustrating a method of operating a display device according to an example embodiment (eg, Fig.15A and Fig. 15B together to form a complete flowchart), Fig.16 Is used to describe Fig.15A and Fig. 15B FIG. 1 is a diagram of an example of determining a driving frequency for a boundary portion based on a boundary reference frequency and a line random frequency according to a method of FIG.

[0088] In addition to determining a boundary reference frequency (S280) related to the boundary portion BP, determining a line random frequency (S282), and determining a third driving frequency DF3 based on the boundary reference frequency and the line random frequency (S284), Fig.15A and Fig. 15B The method can be used with Fig.11 The method is basically the same. Fig.15A and Fig. 15B In the method, the boundary portion setter 170 can determine a boundary reference frequency that gradually decreases in a direction from one of the first partial panel area PPR1 and the second partial panel area PPR2 driven at the higher of the first driving frequency DF1 and the second driving frequency DF2 to the other of the first partial panel area PPR1 and the second partial panel area PPR2 driven at the lower of the first driving frequency DF1 and the second driving frequency DF2 (for example, the boundary portion setter 170 can determine the boundary reference frequency that gradually decreases for each scanning line) (S280), a line random frequency can be randomly determined with respect to each of the multiple scanning lines included in the boundary portion BP (S282), and the third driving frequency DF3 can be determined as the sum of the boundary reference frequency and the line random frequency (S284).

[0089] For example, Fig.16As shown in , in the case where a moving image is displayed in a first partial panel area PPR1 including the 1st scan line SL1 to the 1280th scan line SL1280 and a still image is displayed in a second partial panel area PPR2 including the 1281st scan line SL1281 to the 2560th scan line SL2560, the first driving frequency DF1 for the first partial panel area PPR1 can be determined to be substantially the same as the input frame frequency IFF of about 120 Hz, and the second driving frequency DF2 for the second partial panel area PPR2 can be determined to be about 1 Hz (which is lower than the input frame frequency IFF). The boundary portion setter 170 can set a portion of the second partial panel area PPR2 (e.g., the 1281st scan line to the 1290th scan line SL1281, ..., SL1290) driven at a relatively low second driving frequency DF2 as a boundary portion BP. In addition, the boundary portion setter 170 may determine the boundary reference frequency BRF gradually decreasing per scanning line associated with the 1281st to 1290th scanning lines SL1281, ..., SL1290 to be about 60 Hz, about 40 Hz, about 30 Hz, about 24 Hz, about 20 Hz, about 15 Hz, about 12 Hz, about 6 Hz, about 3 Hz, and about 2 Hz, and may determine the line random frequency L associated with the 1281st to 1290th scanning lines SL1281, ..., SL1290 to be about 60 Hz, about 40 Hz, about 30 Hz, about 24 Hz, about 20 Hz, about 15 Hz, about 12 Hz, about 6 Hz, about 3 Hz, and about 2 Hz. RF is randomly determined to be about 0 Hz, about -10 Hz, about +10 Hz, about -9 Hz, about +4 Hz, about -9 Hz, about +3 Hz, about -4 Hz, about +1 Hz, and about 0 Hz, and thus the third driving frequency DF3 associated with the 1281st to 1290th scanning lines SL1281, ..., SL1290 may be determined to be about 60 Hz, about 30 Hz, about 40 Hz, about 15 Hz, about 24 Hz, about 6 Hz, about 15 Hz, about 2 Hz, about 4 Hz, and about 2 Hz. Fig.16 In the example of FIG. 1 , the third driving frequency DF3 for the boundary portion BP may be substantially (e.g., approximately) decreased from a first partial panel region PPR1 driven at a relatively high first driving frequency DF1 to a second partial panel region PPR2 driven at a relatively low second driving frequency DF2. However, the third driving frequency DF3 for two directly adjacent scan lines included in the boundary portion BP may be increased or decreased.

[0090] The panel driver 190 may drive the first partial panel region PPR1 at a first driving frequency DF1, may drive the second partial panel region PPR2 at a second driving frequency DF2, and may drive the boundary portion BP at a third driving frequency DF3 (S290), wherein the third driving frequency DF3 is substantially (e.g., approximately) reduced in a direction from the first partial panel region PPR1 driven at a relatively higher first driving frequency DF1 to the second partial panel region PPR2 driven at a relatively lower second driving frequency DF2. Therefore, even when the first partial panel region PPR1 and the second partial panel region PPR2 are driven at different first driving frequencies DF1 and second driving frequencies DF2, a frequency change between the first partial panel region PPR1 and the second partial panel region PPR2 is not perceived (e.g., by a user).

[0091] Fig.17 is a block diagram illustrating a display device according to an example embodiment, Fig.18 is a diagram for describing an example in which a boundary portion setter included in a display device sets a boundary portion according to an example embodiment.

[0092] Reference Fig.17 , the display device 300 according to example embodiments may include a display panel 310 and a panel driver 390 driving the display panel 310. In some example embodiments, the panel driver 390 may include a data driver 320, a scan driver 330, and a controller 340. In addition, in some example embodiments, the controller 340 may include a still image detector 350, a driving frequency determiner 360, a boundary portion setter 370, and a data output unit 380. In addition to the fact that the display panel 310 may include three or more partial panel regions PPR1, PPR2, PPR3, and PPR4 and the boundary portion setter 370 may set at least one boundary portion including boundaries PPRB1, PPRB2, and / or PPRB3 between adjacent two panel regions among the three or more partial panel regions PPR1, PPR2, PPR3, and PPR4, Fig.17 The display device 300 may have Figure 1 The display device 100 has similar operation and similar configuration.

[0093] For example, Fig.18As shown in , in the case where a moving image is displayed in a first portion of the display panel 310, a still image is displayed in a second portion of the display panel 310, a moving image is displayed in a third portion of the display panel 310, and a still image is displayed in a fourth portion of the display panel 310, the panel driver 390 may set the first portion of the display panel 310 in which the moving image is displayed as a first partial panel region PPR1, may set the second portion of the display panel 310 in which the still image is displayed as a second partial panel region PPR2, may set the third portion of the display panel 310 in which the moving image is displayed as a third partial panel region PPR3, and may set the fourth portion of the display panel 310 in which the still image is displayed as a fourth partial panel region PPR4. In some example embodiments, the number and positions of the partial panel regions PPR1, PPR2, PPR3, and PPR4 of the display panel 310 set by the panel driver 390 may be dynamically changed according to the number and positions of the moving images and the still images.

[0094] The driving frequency determiner 360 may determine the first to fourth driving frequencies DF1, DF2, DF3, and DF4 for the first to fourth partial panel areas PPR1, PPR2, PPR3, and PPR4, respectively. For example, the driving frequency determiner 360 may determine the first driving frequency DF1 of the first partial panel area PPR1 for displaying a moving image to be substantially the same as the input frame frequency IFF, may determine the second driving frequency DF2 of the second partial panel area PPR2 for displaying a still image to be lower than the input frame frequency IFF, may determine the third driving frequency DF3 of the third partial panel area PPR3 for displaying a moving image to be substantially the same as the input frame frequency IFF, and may determine the fourth driving frequency DF4 of the fourth partial panel area PPR4 for displaying a still image to be lower than the input frame frequency IFF.

[0095] When the driving frequencies for two adjacent partial panel areas among the first to fourth partial panel areas PPR1, PPR2, PPR3 and PPR4 are different from each other, the boundary portion setter 370 can set the boundary portions BP1, BP2 and BP3 of the boundaries PPRB1, PPRB2 and PPRB3 between two adjacent partial panel areas among the first to fourth partial panel areas PPR1, PPR2, PPR3 and PPR4, and the driving frequencies for the boundary portions BP1, BP2 and BP3 can be set between the driving frequencies of the two adjacent partial panel areas among the first to fourth partial panel areas PPR1, PPR2, PPR3 and PPR4.

[0096] For example, Fig.18As shown in, the boundary portion setter 370 can set a portion of the second partial panel area PPR2 as the first boundary portion BP1 between the first partial panel area PPR1 and the second partial panel area PPR2, can set another portion of the second partial panel area PPR2 as the second boundary portion BP2 between the second partial panel area PPR2 and the third partial panel area PPR3, and can set a portion of the fourth partial panel area PPR4 as the third boundary portion BP3 between the third partial panel area PPR3 and the fourth partial panel area PPR4. In addition, the boundary portion setter 370 can set the fifth driving frequency DF5 for the first boundary portion BP1 to be higher than the second driving frequency DF2 for the second partial panel area PPR2 and lower than the first driving frequency DF1 for the first partial panel area PPR1, can set the sixth driving frequency DF6 for the second boundary portion BP2 to be higher than the second driving frequency DF2 for the second partial panel area PPR2 and lower than the third driving frequency DF3 for the third partial panel area PPR3, and can set the seventh driving frequency DF7 for the third boundary portion BP3 to be higher than the fourth driving frequency DF4 for the fourth partial panel area PPR4 and lower than the third driving frequency DF3 for the third partial panel area PPR3. In some example embodiments, the boundary portion setter 370 may set the fifth driving frequency DF5 for the first boundary portion BP1 to gradually decrease in the direction from the first partial panel region PPR1 to the second partial panel region PPR2, may set the sixth driving frequency DF6 for the second boundary portion BP2 to gradually decrease in the direction from the third partial panel region PPR3 to the second partial panel region PPR2, and may set the seventh driving frequency DF7 for the third boundary portion BP3 to gradually decrease in the direction from the third partial panel region PPR3 to the fourth partial panel region PPR4. Therefore, even when two adjacent partial panel regions among the first to fourth partial panel regions PPR1, PPR2, PPR3, and PPR4 are driven at different driving frequencies, the frequency change between two adjacent partial panel regions among the first to fourth partial panel regions PPR1, PPR2, PPR3, and PPR4 will not be perceived (e.g., by a user).

[0097] Fig.19 An electronic device including a display device according to example embodiments.

[0098] Reference Fig.19, the electronic device 1100 may include a processor 1110, a memory device 1120, a storage device 1130, an input / output (I / O) device 1140, a power supply 1150, and a display device 1160. The electronic device 1100 may also include a plurality of ports for communicating with a video card, a sound card, a memory card, a universal serial bus (USB) device, other electrical devices, and the like.

[0099] The processor 1110 may perform various suitable computing functions or tasks. The processor 1110 may be an application processor (AP), a microprocessor, a central processing unit (CPU), etc. The processor 1110 may be coupled to other components via an address bus, a control bus, a data bus, etc. In addition, in some example embodiments, the processor 1110 may also be coupled to an expansion bus (such as a peripheral component interconnect (PCI) bus).

[0100] The memory device 1120 may store data for operation of the electronic device 1100. For example, the memory device 1120 may include at least one nonvolatile memory device (such as an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM) device, an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM) device, a flash memory device, a phase change random access memory (PRAM) device, a resistive random access memory (RRAM) device, a nano floating gate memory (NFGM) device, a polymer random access memory (PoRAM) device, a magnetic random access memory (MRAM) device, a ferroelectric random access memory (FRAM) device, etc.) and / or at least one volatile memory device (such as a dynamic random access memory (DRAM) device, a static random access memory (SRAM) device, a mobile dynamic random access memory (mobile DRAM) device, etc.).

[0101] The storage device 1130 may be a solid state drive (SSD) device, a hard disk drive (HDD) device, a CD-ROM device, etc. The I / O device 1140 may be an input device (such as a keyboard, a keypad, a mouse, a touch screen, etc.) and / or an output device (such as a printer, a speaker, etc.). The power supply 1150 may provide power for the operation of the electronic device 1100. The display device 1160 may be coupled to other components via a bus or other communication link.

[0102] In the case where the first driving frequency for the first partial panel area and the second driving frequency for the second partial panel area are different from each other, the display device 1160 according to the example embodiment may determine the third driving frequency for the boundary portion including the boundary between the first partial panel area and the second partial panel area to be between the first driving frequency and the second driving frequency. Therefore, even when the first partial panel area and the second partial panel area are driven at different driving frequencies, the frequency change between the first partial panel area and the second partial panel area will not be perceived (e.g., by a user).

[0103] The subject matter of the present disclosure may be applied to any suitable display device 1160 and any suitable electronic device 1100 including the display device 1160. For example, the subject matter of the present disclosure may be applied to mobile phones, smart phones, wearable electronic devices, tablet computers, televisions (TVs), digital TVs, 3D TVs, personal computers (PCs), home appliances, laptop computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), portable multimedia players (PMPs), digital cameras, music players, portable game consoles, navigation devices, etc.

[0104] When a statement such as "at least one of..." or "selected from at least one of..." follows a list of elements, the statement modifies the entire list of elements and does not modify the individual elements of the list. In addition, when describing embodiments of the present invention, the use of "may" refers to "one or more embodiments of the present invention." In addition, the term "exemplary" is intended to represent an example or illustration. It will be understood that when an element or layer is referred to as being "on" another element or layer, "connected to" another element or layer, "bonded to" another element or layer, or "adjacent to" another element or layer, the element or layer may be directly on the other element or layer, directly connected to the other element or layer, directly bonded to the other element or layer, or directly adjacent to the other element or layer, or one or more intermediate elements or layers may be present. In contrast, when an element or layer is referred to as being "directly on" another element or layer, "directly connected to" another element or layer, "directly bonded to" another element or layer, or "immediately adjacent to" another element or layer, there are no intermediate elements or layers.

[0105] As used herein, the terms "substantially", "about" and similar terms are used as approximate terms rather than as degree terms, and are intended to explain the inherent deviations of measured values ​​or calculated values ​​that will be recognized by those of ordinary skill in the art. In addition, any numerical ranges listed here are intended to include all subranges of the same numerical precision included in the listed range. For example, the range of "1.0 to 10.0" is intended to include all subranges between the listed minimum value 1.0 and the listed maximum value 10.0 (and including the listed minimum value 1.0 and the listed maximum value 10.0), that is, with a minimum value equal to or greater than 1.0 and a maximum value equal to or less than 10.0, such as 2.4 to 7.6 as an example. Any maximum numerical limit listed here is intended to include all lower numerical limits included therein, and any minimum numerical limit listed in this specification is intended to include all higher numerical limits included therein. Therefore, the applicant reserves the right to modify this specification (including claims) to explicitly list any subranges included in the scope explicitly listed here. All such ranges are intended to be inherently described in this specification so that any such subranges modified to be explicitly listed will meet the requirements.

[0106] Any suitable hardware, firmware (e.g., application specific integrated circuit), software, or a combination of software, firmware, and hardware may be utilized to implement the display device and / or any other related device or component according to the embodiments of the present invention described herein. For example, the various components of the display device may be formed on an integrated circuit (IC) chip or on separate IC chips. In addition, the various components of the display device may be implemented on a flexible printed circuit film, a tape carrier package (TCP), a printed circuit board (PCB), or formed on a substrate. In addition, the various components of the display device may be processes or threads that run on one or more processors in one or more computing devices, execute computer program instructions, and interact with other system components for performing the various functions described herein. The computer program instructions are stored in a memory, which may be implemented in a computing device using a standard memory device (such as a random access memory (RAM) as an example). The computer program instructions may also be stored in other non-transient computer-readable media, such as a CD-ROM, a flash drive, etc. as an example. In addition, it should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that, without departing from the scope of the exemplary embodiments of the present invention, the functions of various computing devices may be combined or integrated into a single computing device, or the functions of a specific computing device may be spread over one or more other computing devices.

[0107] The foregoing is an illustration of exemplary embodiments and should not be construed as limiting them. Although several exemplary embodiments have been described, it will be readily appreciated by those skilled in the art that many modifications may be made in the exemplary embodiments without substantially departing from the novel teachings and advantages of the present disclosure. Therefore, all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the present disclosure as defined in the claims and their equivalents. Therefore, it should be understood that the foregoing is an illustration of various exemplary embodiments and should not be construed as being limited to the specific exemplary embodiments disclosed, and modifications to the disclosed exemplary embodiments as well as other exemplary embodiments are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A display device, comprising: The display panel comprises a first panel area and a second panel area; as well as A panel driver for driving the display panel, and comprising: a still image detector for receiving input image data at an input frame frequency, for dividing the input image data into first partial image data for the first partial panel area and second partial image data for the second partial panel area, and for determining whether each of the first partial image data and the second partial image data represents a still image; a driving frequency determiner for determining a first driving frequency for the first partial panel area according to whether the first partial image data represents a still image, and for determining a second driving frequency for the second partial panel area according to whether the second partial image data represents a still image; and a boundary portion setter for comparing the first driving frequency with the second driving frequency, and for setting a portion of one of the first partial panel area and the second partial panel area driven at a lower driving frequency of the first driving frequency and the second driving frequency as a boundary portion when the first driving frequency and the second driving frequency are different from each other, and determining a third driving frequency of the boundary portion to be between the first driving frequency and the second driving frequency, Wherein, when a moving image is displayed in a portion of the display panel and a still image is displayed in another portion of the display panel, the first portion of the panel area is set to the portion of the display panel in which the moving image is displayed, the second portion of the panel area is set to the other portion of the display panel in which the still image is displayed, and the boundary between the first portion of the panel area and the second portion of the panel area changes dynamically.

2. The display device according to claim 1, wherein: The third driving frequency gradually decreases in a direction from one of the first partial panel area and the second partial panel area driven by the higher driving frequency of the first driving frequency and the second driving frequency to the other of the first partial panel area and the second partial panel area driven by the lower driving frequency of the first driving frequency and the second driving frequency.

3. The display device according to claim 2, wherein: The third driving frequency gradually decreases per scanning line.

4. The display device according to claim 2, wherein: The third driving frequency gradually decreases every N scanning lines, where N is an integer greater than 0.

5. The display device according to claim 1, wherein: The boundary reference frequency is determined to gradually decrease in a direction from one of the first partial panel area and the second partial panel area driven at the higher of the first driving frequency and the second driving frequency to the other of the first partial panel area and the second partial panel area driven at the lower of the first driving frequency and the second driving frequency, wherein, with respect to each of a plurality of scan lines included in the boundary portion, a line random frequency is randomly determined, and The third driving frequency is determined as the sum of the boundary reference frequency and the line random frequency.

6. The display device according to claim 1, wherein: The display device is a foldable display device, and The boundary between the first partial panel area and the second partial panel area corresponds to a folding line of the foldable display device.

7. The display device according to claim 1, wherein: The number of scan lines included in the boundary portion is set according to the boundary portion size parameter.

8. The display device according to claim 1, wherein: The third driving frequency for the boundary portion is set according to a boundary portion frequency parameter.

9. The display device according to claim 1, wherein: The still image detector comprises: a representative value memory for storing a representative value of the first portion of image data in a previous frame and a representative value of the second portion of image data in the previous frame; and A still image detection block, for calculating a representative value of the first portion of the image data in a current frame and a representative value of the second portion of the image data in the current frame, for determining whether the first portion of the image data in the current frame represents a still image by comparing the calculated representative value of the first portion of the image data in the current frame with a representative value of the first portion of the image data in the previous frame stored in the representative value memory, and for determining whether the second portion of the image data in the current frame represents a still image by comparing the calculated representative value of the second portion of the image data in the current frame with a representative value of the second portion of the image data in the previous frame stored in the representative value memory.

10. The display device according to claim 1, wherein: The driving frequency determiner comprises: a flicker lookup table for storing flicker values ​​corresponding to a plurality of gray levels of image data; and A driving frequency determination block, used for: when the first portion of the image data does not represent a still image, setting the first driving frequency with the input frame frequency; when the first portion of the image data represents a still image, determining a first flicker value corresponding to the grayscale of the first portion of the image data by utilizing the flicker lookup table; when the first portion of the image data represents a still image, setting the first driving frequency with the driving frequency corresponding to the first flicker value; when the second portion of the image data does not represent a still image, setting the second driving frequency with the input frame frequency; when the second portion of the image data represents a still image, determining a second flicker value corresponding to the grayscale of the second portion of the image data by utilizing the flicker lookup table; and when the second portion of the image data represents a still image, setting the second driving frequency with the driving frequency corresponding to the second flicker value.

11. The display device according to claim 1, wherein: The panel driver further includes: a data output unit for outputting the first partial image data and the second partial image data except for the boundary image data for the boundary portion at the first driving frequency and the second driving frequency, respectively, and for outputting the boundary image data for the boundary portion at the third driving frequency; and A data driver is configured to provide a data signal to the display panel based on the first partial image data, the second partial image data, and the boundary image data output from the data output unit.

12. The display device according to claim 1, wherein: The panel driver further includes: The scan driver is used to provide a scan signal to the first partial panel area at the first driving frequency, to provide a scan signal to the second partial panel area at the second driving frequency, and to provide a scan signal to the boundary portion at the third driving frequency.

13. The display device according to claim 12, wherein: The scanning driver comprises: a plurality of stages for generating scan signals for a plurality of scan lines included in the display panel at an input frame frequency; and A plurality of logic gates are respectively connected to the plurality of stages and are used to selectively output scan signals generated by the plurality of stages in response to a scan output mask signal, so that the scan signals are provided to the first partial panel area, the second partial panel area and the boundary portion at the first driving frequency, the second driving frequency and the third driving frequency, respectively.

14. The display device according to claim 1, wherein: Each of the first partial panel area and the second partial panel area includes a plurality of pixels, and wherein each pixel of the plurality of pixels includes: A driving transistor for generating a driving current; a switching transistor, configured to transmit a data signal to a source electrode of the driving transistor; a compensation transistor connected to the driving transistor diode; a storage capacitor for storing the data signal transmitted by the driving transistor connected through the switching transistor and the diode; a first initialization transistor, configured to provide an initialization voltage to the storage capacitor and a gate electrode of the driving transistor; a first emission control transistor for connecting a line of a power supply voltage to the source electrode of the drive transistor; a second emission control transistor, configured to connect the drain electrode of the driving transistor to the organic light emitting diode; A second initialization transistor, configured to provide the initialization voltage to the organic light emitting diode; and The organic light emitting diode is used to emit light based on the driving current, In which, at least one transistor selected from the driving transistor, the switching transistor, the compensation transistor, the first initialization transistor, the first emission control transistor, the second emission control transistor and the second initialization transistor is implemented by a PMOS transistor, and at least one transistor selected from the remaining transistors of the driving transistor, the switching transistor, the compensation transistor, the first initialization transistor, the first emission control transistor, the second emission control transistor and the second initialization transistor is implemented by an NMOS transistor.

15. A display device, comprising: a display panel, comprising a plurality of partial panel areas; as well as A panel driver for driving the display panel, and comprising: a still image detector for receiving input image data at an input frame frequency, for dividing the input image data into a plurality of image data for the plurality of partial panel areas, and for determining whether each of the plurality of image data represents a still image; a driving frequency determiner for determining a plurality of driving frequencies respectively used for the plurality of partial panel areas according to whether the plurality of image data represents a still image; and a boundary portion setter for setting a portion of one of the two adjacent partial panel areas driven at a lower driving frequency as a boundary portion between the two adjacent partial panel areas when the driving frequencies of two adjacent partial panel areas among the plurality of partial panel areas are different from each other, and determining the driving frequency of the boundary portion to be between the driving frequencies used for the two adjacent partial panel areas, Wherein, when a moving image is displayed in one partial panel area among two adjacent partial panel areas among the multiple partial panel areas and a still image is displayed in another partial panel area among the two adjacent partial panel areas among the multiple partial panel areas, a boundary between the one partial panel area and the other partial panel area changes dynamically.

16. The display device according to claim 15, wherein: The driving frequency for the boundary portion gradually decreases in a direction from one of the two adjacent partial panel areas driven at a relatively higher driving frequency to the other of the two adjacent partial panel areas driven at a relatively lower driving frequency.

Images