drive controller

Abstract

A drive controller includes a logo determiner configured to determine whether input image data includes a logo, a logo gray value calculator configured to calculate a logo gray value of a logo area corresponding to the logo in response to the input image data including the logo, a light emitting element expected life determiner configured to determine an expected life of a light emitting element corresponding to the logo area, a compensation reference gray value generator configured to determine a compensation reference gray value according to the expected life of the light emitting element corresponding to the logo area, and a logo brightness compensator configured to compare the logo gray value with the compensation reference gray value to determine whether to compensate for brightness of the logo area.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Some exemplary embodiments of the present invention relate to a drive controller, a display device including the drive controller, and a method of driving a display panel using the drive controller. Background Technology

[0002] Typically, a display device includes a display panel and a display panel driver. The display panel displays images based on an input image. The display panel includes multiple gate lines, multiple data lines, and multiple pixels. The display panel driver includes a gate driver, a data driver, and a drive controller. The gate driver outputs gate signals to the gate lines. The data driver outputs data voltages to the data lines. The drive controller controls the gate driver and the data driver.

[0003] Images displayed on a display panel may include logos representing broadcasters, image makers, or image providers. These logos may be displayed in a fixed position within the image for extended periods, and prolonged display in a fixed position can lead to degradation of the light-emitting elements corresponding to the logo's position and a shortened lifespan of those elements.

[0004] The information disclosed in this background section is only intended to enhance the understanding of the background, and therefore, the information discussed in this background section does not necessarily constitute prior art. Summary of the Invention

[0005] Some exemplary embodiments of the present invention relate to a drive controller, a display device including the drive controller, and a method of driving a display panel using the drive controller. For example, some exemplary embodiments of the present invention relate to a drive controller that minimizes or reduces degradation and shortening of the lifespan of a light-emitting element by determining whether to compensate for the brightness of a marker area based on the expected lifespan of the light-emitting element, a display device including the drive controller, and a method of driving a display panel using the drive controller.

[0006] Some exemplary embodiments of the present invention include a drive controller that determines whether to compensate the brightness of a marker area based on the expected lifespan of the light-emitting element in order to minimize degradation of the light-emitting element and shortening of its lifespan.

[0007] Some exemplary embodiments of the present invention also include a display device that includes the drive controller.

[0008] Some exemplary embodiments of the present invention also include a method for driving a display panel using the drive controller.

[0009] According to some exemplary embodiments of the present invention, a drive controller includes a flag determiner, a flag grayscale value calculator, a light-emitting element expected lifetime determiner, a compensation reference grayscale value generator, and a flag brightness compensator. The flag determiner is configured to determine whether input image data includes a flag. The flag grayscale value calculator is configured to calculate the flag grayscale value of the flag region corresponding to the flag when the input image data includes a flag. The light-emitting element expected lifetime determiner is configured to determine the expected lifetime of the light-emitting element corresponding to the flag region. The compensation reference grayscale value generator is configured to determine a compensation reference grayscale value based on the expected lifetime of the light-emitting element corresponding to the flag region. The flag brightness compensator is configured to compare the flag grayscale value with the compensation reference grayscale value to determine whether to compensate the brightness of the flag region.

[0010] According to some example embodiments, the flag determiner may be further configured to compare the grayscale value of the previous frame of the input image data with the grayscale value of the current frame of the input image data to determine a fixed image included in the input image data.

[0011] According to some example embodiments, when a fixed image is maintained during a reference time period, the flag determiner may be further configured to determine that the input image data includes flags.

[0012] According to some example embodiments, when a fixed image is maintained during a reference time period and the size of the fixed image is included within a reference size range, the flag determiner may be further configured to determine that the input image data includes flags.

[0013] According to some example embodiments, the display panel may include multiple display blocks. The light-emitting element expected lifetime determiner may be further configured to extract the expected lifetime of the light-emitting elements of the display block corresponding to the marked area.

[0014] According to some example embodiments, the display panel may include multiple display blocks. The light-emitting element expected lifetime determiner may be further configured to determine the number of display blocks corresponding to the marker area.

[0015] According to some example embodiments, when the number of display blocks corresponding to the marker area is one, the light-emitting element expected lifetime determiner can be further configured to extract the expected lifetime of the light-emitting elements of the display blocks corresponding to the marker area.

[0016] According to some example embodiments, when the number of display blocks corresponding to the marker area is greater than one, the light-emitting element expected lifetime determiner can be further configured to extract the minimum expected lifetime of the light-emitting elements of the display blocks corresponding to the marker area.

[0017] According to some example embodiments, when the expected lifetime of the light-emitting element corresponding to the marker area is large, the compensation reference grayscale value generator can be further configured to set the compensation reference grayscale value to large. When the expected lifetime of the light-emitting element corresponding to the marker area is small, the compensation reference grayscale value generator can be further configured to set the compensation reference grayscale value to small.

[0018] According to some example embodiments, when the expected lifetime of the light-emitting element corresponding to the marker area is less than the minimum preset expected lifetime, the compensation reference gray value generator can be further configured to set the compensation reference gray value to the minimum preset reference gray value.

[0019] According to some example embodiments, when the expected lifetime of the light-emitting element corresponding to the marker area is greater than the maximum preset expected lifetime, the compensation reference gray value generator can be further configured to set the compensation reference gray value to the maximum preset reference gray value.

[0020] According to some example embodiments, when the grayscale value of the marker is equal to or greater than the compensation reference grayscale value, the marker brightness compensator can be further configured to operate the marker brightness compensation to reduce the brightness of the marker area. When the grayscale value of the marker is less than the compensation reference grayscale value, the marker brightness compensator can be further configured not to operate the marker brightness compensation to reduce the brightness of the marker area.

[0021] According to some exemplary embodiments of the present invention, a display device includes a display panel, a drive controller, and a data driver. The display panel is configured to display an image based on an input image data. The drive controller is configured to generate a data signal based on the input image data. The drive controller includes a flag determiner, a flag grayscale value calculator, a light-emitting element expected lifetime determiner, a compensation reference grayscale value generator, and a flag brightness compensator. The flag determiner is configured to determine whether the input image data includes a flag. The flag grayscale value calculator is configured to calculate the flag grayscale value of the flag region corresponding to the flag when the input image data includes a flag. The light-emitting element expected lifetime determiner is configured to determine the expected lifetime of the light-emitting element corresponding to the flag region. The compensation reference grayscale value generator is configured to determine a compensation reference grayscale value based on the expected lifetime of the light-emitting element corresponding to the flag region. The flag brightness compensator is configured to compare the flag grayscale value with the compensation reference grayscale value to determine whether to compensate the brightness of the flag region. The data driver is configured to convert the data signal into a data voltage and output the data voltage to the display panel.

[0022] According to some example embodiments, the drive controller and the data driver can form an integrated driver.

[0023] According to some example embodiments, when the expected lifetime of the light-emitting element corresponding to the marker area is large, the compensation reference grayscale value generator can be further configured to set the compensation reference grayscale value to large. When the expected lifetime of the light-emitting element corresponding to the marker area is small, the compensation reference grayscale value generator can be further configured to set the compensation reference grayscale value to small.

[0024] According to some example embodiments, when the expected lifetime of the light-emitting element corresponding to the marker area is less than the minimum preset expected lifetime, the compensation reference gray value generator can be further configured to set the compensation reference gray value to the minimum preset reference gray value.

[0025] According to some example embodiments, when the expected lifetime of the light-emitting element corresponding to the marker area is greater than the maximum preset expected lifetime, the compensation reference gray value generator can be further configured to set the compensation reference gray value to the maximum preset reference gray value.

[0026] According to some example embodiments, when the grayscale value of the marker is equal to or greater than the compensation reference grayscale value, the marker brightness compensator can be further configured to operate the marker brightness compensation to reduce the brightness of the marker area. When the grayscale value of the marker is less than the compensation reference grayscale value, the marker brightness compensator can be further configured not to operate the marker brightness compensation to reduce the brightness of the marker area.

[0027] According to some exemplary embodiments of the present invention, a method includes: determining whether input image data includes a marker; when the input image data includes a marker, calculating a marker grayscale value for a marker region corresponding to the marker; determining the expected lifetime of a light-emitting element corresponding to the marker region; determining a compensation reference grayscale value based on the expected lifetime of the light-emitting element corresponding to the marker region; comparing the marker grayscale value with the compensation reference grayscale value to compensate for the brightness of the marker region; generating a data signal based on the input image data with the compensated brightness of the marker region; converting the data signal into a data voltage; and outputting the data voltage to a display panel.

[0028] According to some example embodiments, when the grayscale value of the marker is equal to or greater than the compensation reference grayscale value, the brightness of the marker area can be reduced. When the grayscale value of the marker is less than the compensation reference grayscale value, the brightness of the marker area does not need to be reduced.

[0029] Based on the method of driving the controller, display device, and driving the display panel, a compensation reference grayscale value can be determined according to the expected lifespan of the light-emitting element corresponding to the marker area. When the marker grayscale value of the marker area is equal to or greater than the compensation reference grayscale value, the brightness of the marker area can be compensated. When the marker grayscale value of the marker area is less than the compensation reference grayscale value, the brightness of the marker area does not need to be compensated.

[0030] Therefore, the compensation reference gray value can be determined based on the expected lifespan of the light-emitting element corresponding to the marking area, and the brightness of the marking area can be compensated based on the compensation reference gray value, thereby minimizing or reducing the degradation of the light-emitting element and the shortening of its lifespan. Attached Figure Description

[0031] The above and other features and characteristics of embodiments of the inventive concept will become more apparent from the description of some exemplary embodiments of the inventive concept in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

[0032] Figure 1 This is a block diagram illustrating some example embodiments of a display device according to a concept of the present invention;

[0033] Figure 2 This illustrates some example embodiments. Figure 1 A concept diagram of the display panel;

[0034] Figure 3 This illustrates some example embodiments. Figure 1 A block diagram of the drive controller;

[0035] Figure 4 This illustrates some example embodiments. Figure 3 A graph showing the operation of the light-emitting element expected lifetime determiner;

[0036] Figure 5 This illustrates some example embodiments. Figure 3 The curve of the operation of the compensation reference grayscale generator;

[0037] Figure 6 This illustrates some example embodiments. Figure 3 A flowchart of the operation of the sign brightness compensator;

[0038] Figure 7 This is a conceptual diagram illustrating a display panel of a display device according to some example embodiments of the present invention;

[0039] Figure 8 This is a block diagram illustrating a drive controller for a display device according to some example embodiments;

[0040] Figure 9 This illustrates some example embodiments. Figure 8 A flowchart of the operation of the light-emitting element expected lifetime determiner; and

[0041] Figure 10 This is a block diagram illustrating some example embodiments of a display device according to a concept conceived in the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0042] In the following description, some exemplary embodiments of the inventive concept will be explained in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0043] Figure 1 This is a block diagram illustrating some example embodiments of a display device according to a concept conceived in the present invention.

[0044] refer to Figure 1 The display device includes a display panel 100 and a display panel driver. The display panel driver includes a drive controller 200, a gate driver 300, a gamma reference voltage generator 400, and a data driver 500.

[0045] The display panel 100 has a display area for displaying images and a peripheral area adjacent to the display area.

[0046] The display panel 100 includes multiple gate lines GL, multiple data lines DL, and multiple pixels P connected to the gate lines GL and the data lines DL. The gate lines GL extend in a first direction D1, and the data lines DL extend in a second direction D2 that intersects the first direction D1.

[0047] The drive controller 200 receives input image data IMG and input control signal CONT from an external device. The input image data IMG may include red, green, and blue image data. The input image data IMG may also include white image data. The input image data IMG may also include magenta, yellow, and cyan image data. The input control signal CONT may include a master clock signal and a data enable signal. The input control signal CONT may further include a vertical synchronization signal and a horizontal synchronization signal.

[0048] The drive controller 200 generates a first control signal CONT1, a second control signal CONT2, a third control signal CONT3, and a data signal DATA based on the input image data IMG and the input control signal CONT.

[0049] The drive controller 200 generates a first control signal CONT1 based on the input control signal CONT for controlling the operation of the gate driver 300, and outputs the first control signal CONT1 to the gate driver 300. The first control signal CONT1 may include a vertical start signal and a gate clock signal.

[0050] The drive controller 200 generates a second control signal CONT2 based on the input control signal CONT for controlling the operation of the data driver 500, and outputs the second control signal CONT2 to the data driver 500. The second control signal CONT2 may include a horizontal start signal and a load signal.

[0051] The drive controller 200 generates a data signal DATA based on the input image data IMG. The drive controller 200 outputs the data signal DATA to the data driver 500.

[0052] The drive controller 200 generates a third control signal CONT3 based on the input control signal CONT for controlling the operation of the gamma reference voltage generator 400, and outputs the third control signal CONT3 to the gamma reference voltage generator 400.

[0053] refer to Figures 3 to 6 The structure and operation of the drive controller 200 will be described in more detail.

[0054] The gate driver 300 generates a gate signal for driving the gate line GL in response to a first control signal CONT1 received from the drive controller 200. The gate driver 300 outputs the gate signal to the gate line GL. For example, the gate driver 300 can sequentially output the gate signal to the gate line GL. For example, the gate driver 300 can be mounted in the peripheral area of ​​the display panel 100. For example, the gate driver 300 can be integrated into the peripheral area of ​​the display panel 100.

[0055] The gamma reference voltage generator 400 generates a gamma reference voltage VGREF in response to a third control signal CONT3 received from the drive controller 200. The gamma reference voltage generator 400 provides the gamma reference voltage VGREF to the data driver 500. The gamma reference voltage VGREF has a value corresponding to the level of the data signal DATA.

[0056] According to some example embodiments, the gamma reference voltage generator 400 may be located in the drive controller 200 or the data driver 500.

[0057] The data driver 500 receives a second control signal CONT2 and a data signal DATA from the drive controller 200, and receives a gamma reference voltage VGREF from the gamma reference voltage generator 400. The data driver 500 uses the gamma reference voltage VGREF to convert the data signal DATA into a data voltage of analog type. The data driver 500 outputs the data voltage to the data line DL.

[0058] Figure 2 It is shown Figure 1 A concept diagram of the display panel 100.

[0059] refer to Figure 1 and Figure 2The display panel 100 may include a plurality of display blocks BL01 to BL32. Although the display panel 100 includes 32 display blocks BL01 to BL32 located in a 4x8 matrix, embodiments of the present invention may not be limited to this number of display blocks. Each of the display blocks BL01 to BL32 may include a plurality of pixels P. Each pixel P may include a light-emitting element.

[0060] exist Figure 2 For example, a logo representing a broadcasting company, image maker, or image provider could be located in the eighth display block BL08.

[0061] Figure 3 It is shown Figure 1 Block diagram of the drive controller 200. Figure 4 It is shown Figure 3 A graph showing the operation of the light-emitting element expected lifetime determiner 230. Figure 5 It is shown Figure 3 The curve of the operation of the compensation reference grayscale generator 240. Figure 6 It is shown Figure 3 The flowchart shows the operation of the brightness compensator 250.

[0062] refer to Figures 1 to 6 The drive controller 200 may include a flag determiner 210, a flag grayscale value calculator 220, a light-emitting element expected lifespan determiner 230, a compensation reference grayscale value generator 240, and a flag brightness compensator 250.

[0063] The flag determiner 210 can determine whether a flag is included in the input image data IMG.

[0064] For example, flag determiner 210 can compare the grayscale value of the previous frame of the input image data IMG with the grayscale value of the current frame of the input image data IMG to determine the fixed image included in the input image data IMG. For example, flag determiner 210 can use local block summation to determine the fixed image. Local block summation refers to the sum of the grayscale values ​​of each display block in a frame.

[0065] For example, when a fixed image is held for a reference time period, the flag determiner 210 can determine that a flag is included in the input image data IMG. For example, the reference time period could be ten frames. Here, when a fixed image is held for ten frames, the flag determiner 210 can determine that the fixed image is a flag. Although the reference time period is ten frames in this example embodiment, embodiments based on the present invention are not limited to this. The reference time period can be appropriately set to determine the flag.

[0066] For example, when a fixed image is maintained during a reference time period and the size of the fixed image is within the reference size range, the marker determiner 210 can determine that a marker is included in the input image data IMG. For example, the reference size range can be set or predefined to correspond to the size of a general marker area. Therefore, when the fixed image is larger than the maximum value of the reference size range or smaller than the minimum value of the reference size range, the fixed image may not be determined as a marker.

[0067] When the input image data IMG includes a sign, the sign grayscale calculator 220 calculates the sign grayscale value of the sign region corresponding to the sign.

[0068] The light-emitting element expected lifetime determiner 230 can determine the expected lifetime of the light-emitting element corresponding to the marked area.

[0069] For example, the drive controller 200 can store the expected lifespan of the light-emitting elements of display blocks BL01 to BL32 respectively. For example, each display block can have one expected lifespan. For example, the expected lifespan of each display block can be the minimum of the expected lifespans of the light-emitting elements in the display block. For example, the expected lifespan of each display block can be the average of the expected lifespans of the light-emitting elements in the display block. Figure 4 As shown, the expected lifetime of the light-emitting element may be inversely proportional to the light-emitting time of the light-emitting element. The drive controller 200 can calculate the light-emitting time of the light-emitting element and store the expected lifetime of the light-emitting element. Additionally, the expected lifetime of the light-emitting element may be inversely proportional to the brightness of the light-emitting element. The drive controller 200 can store the expected lifetime of the light-emitting element based on the light-emitting time and the brightness of the light-emitting element.

[0070] According to some example embodiments, the display panel 100 may be an organic light-emitting display panel that includes organic light-emitting elements. The light-emitting elements may be organic light-emitting elements. For example, the light-emitting element may be an organic light-emitting diode (OLED).

[0071] The light-emitting element expected lifetime determiner 230 can determine the display block corresponding to the marking area (e.g., Figure 2 The expected lifespan of the BL08 light-emitting element.

[0072] The compensation reference grayscale generator 240 can determine the compensation reference grayscale value based on the expected lifetime of the light-emitting element corresponding to the mark area.

[0073] like Figure 5As shown, in response to a relatively high or large expected lifetime of the light-emitting element corresponding to the marker area (e.g., greater than a threshold amount or expected lifetime), the compensation reference grayscale value generator 240 may set the compensation reference grayscale value to be high (e.g., higher than a set or predetermined level or threshold). According to some example embodiments, the compensation reference grayscale value generator 240 may set the compensation reference grayscale value (e.g., along a set or predetermined curve) to be proportional to the expected lifetime or to increase linearly with increasing expected lifetime. Accordingly, when the expected lifetime of the light-emitting element corresponding to the marker area is relatively low, the compensation reference grayscale value generator 240 may set the compensation reference grayscale value to be proportionally relatively low.

[0074] When the expected lifetime of the light-emitting element is relatively high, the compensation reference grayscale value can be set proportionally relatively high, allowing for a relatively low target for brightness reduction in the marked area. Conversely, when the expected lifetime of the light-emitting element is relatively low, the compensation reference grayscale value can be set relatively low, allowing for a relatively high target for brightness reduction in the marked area. Even when the expected lifetime of the light-emitting element is relatively low, a large compensation reference grayscale value may not reduce the brightness of the marked area, thus accelerating the degradation of highly degraded light-emitting elements and potentially further shortening the expected lifetime of light-emitting elements with short expected lifetimes.

[0075] When the expected lifetime of the light-emitting element corresponding to the mark area is less than the minimum preset expected lifetime LTMIN, the compensation reference gray value generator 240 can set the compensation reference gray value to the minimum preset reference gray value CGMIN.

[0076] When the compensation reference grayscale value is set to less than the minimum preset reference grayscale value CGMIN because the expected lifespan of the light-emitting element is relatively short, the brightness of the relatively dark sign may decrease, making it impossible to display the sign to the user, and consequently, the display quality may deteriorate.

[0077] When the expected lifetime of the light-emitting element corresponding to the marker area is greater than the maximum preset expected lifetime LTMAX, the compensation reference gray value generator 240 can set the compensation reference gray value to the maximum preset reference gray value CGMAX.

[0078] When the compensation reference grayscale value is set higher than the maximum preset reference grayscale value CGMAX because the expected lifespan of the light-emitting element is large, it may not reduce the brightness of very bright signs, which may rapidly degrade the light-emitting element corresponding to the sign area and may relatively quickly shorten the expected lifespan of the light-emitting element corresponding to the sign area.

[0079] The sign brightness compensator 250 can compare the sign grayscale value with the compensation reference grayscale value to determine whether to compensate the brightness of the sign area (operation S100).

[0080] like Figure 6 As shown, when the grayscale value of the marker is equal to or greater than the compensation reference grayscale value, the marker brightness compensator 250 can operate the marker brightness compensation to reduce the brightness of the marker area (operation S200). When the grayscale value of the marker is less than the compensation reference grayscale value, the marker brightness compensator 250 may not operate the marker brightness compensation to reduce the brightness of the marker area (operation S300).

[0081] Here, the compensation reference grayscale value can be generated by the compensation reference grayscale value generator 240 based on the expected lifetime of the light-emitting element. Therefore, when the expected lifetime of the light-emitting element is relatively low, the sign brightness compensator 250 determines whether to compensate the brightness of the sign area based on the relatively low compensation reference grayscale value. When the expected lifetime of the light-emitting element is relatively high, the sign brightness compensator 250 determines whether to compensate the brightness of the sign area based on the relatively high compensation reference grayscale value.

[0082] According to some example embodiments, a compensation reference grayscale value can be determined based on the expected lifetime of the light-emitting element corresponding to the marking area. When the grayscale value of the marking area is equal to or greater than the compensation reference grayscale value, the brightness of the marking area can be compensated. When the grayscale value of the marking area is less than the compensation reference grayscale value, the brightness of the marking area does not need to be compensated.

[0083] Therefore, the compensation reference gray value can be determined based on the expected lifespan of the light-emitting element corresponding to the marking area, and the brightness of the marking area can be compensated based on the compensation reference gray value, thereby minimizing or reducing the degradation of the light-emitting element and the shortening of its lifespan.

[0084] Figure 7 This is a conceptual diagram of a display panel 100A of a display device illustrating some example embodiments of a concept according to the present invention. Figure 8 This is a block diagram illustrating a drive controller 200A for a display device according to some example embodiments. Figure 9 It is shown Figure 8 A flowchart of the operation of the light-emitting element expected lifetime determiner 230A.

[0085] Apart from the structure and operation of the display blocks of the display panel and the expected lifespan determiner of the light-emitting elements, the drive controller, display device, and method for driving the display panel according to this example embodiment are related to... Figures 1 to 6 The drive controller, display device, and method for driving the display panel described in the previous example embodiments are substantially the same. Therefore, the same reference numerals will be used to refer to the same components as those in the previous examples. Figures 1 to 6The components described in the previous example embodiments are the same or similar to those described above, and some repeated descriptions of the above-described components may be omitted.

[0086] refer to Figure 1 and Figures 4 to 9 The display device includes a display panel 100A and a display panel driver. The display panel driver includes a drive controller 200A, a gate driver 300, a gamma reference voltage generator 400, and a data driver 500.

[0087] Display panel 100A may include a plurality of display blocks BL01 to BL64. Although in this example embodiment display panel 100A includes sixty-four display blocks BL01 to BL64 in a four-by-sixteen matrix, embodiments based on the present invention may not be limited to this number of display blocks.

[0088] exist Figure 7 For example, a logo representing a broadcaster, image maker, or image provider may be located in the fifteenth display block BL15 and the sixteenth display block BL16.

[0089] The drive controller 200A may include a sign determiner 210, a sign grayscale value calculator 220, a light-emitting element expected lifespan determiner 230A, a compensation reference grayscale value generator 240, and a sign brightness compensator 250.

[0090] The light-emitting element expected lifetime determiner 230A can determine the expected lifetime of the light-emitting element corresponding to the marked area.

[0091] like Figure 9 As shown, according to some example embodiments, the light-emitting element expected lifetime determiner 230A can determine the number of display blocks corresponding to the marker area (operation S400).

[0092] When the number of display blocks corresponding to the marker area is one, the light-emitting element expected lifespan determiner 230A can extract the expected lifespan of the light-emitting elements of the display blocks corresponding to the marker area (operation S500).

[0093] When the number of display blocks corresponding to the marker area is greater than one, the light-emitting element expected lifespan determiner 230A can extract the minimum expected lifespan of the light-emitting elements of the display blocks corresponding to the marker area (operation S600).

[0094] When Figure 7 As shown, when the flag is located in the fifteenth display block BL15 and the sixteenth display block BL16, the light-emitting element expected lifetime determiner 230A can extract the lower value between the expected lifetime of the light-emitting element in the fifteenth display block BL15 and the expected lifetime of the light-emitting element in the sixteenth display block BL16.

[0095] The compensation reference grayscale generator 240 can determine the compensation reference grayscale value based on the expected lifetime of the light-emitting element corresponding to the mark area.

[0096] like Figure 5 As shown, when the expected lifetime of the light-emitting element corresponding to the marker area is relatively high, the compensation reference grayscale value generator 240 can set the compensation reference grayscale value to be proportionally relatively high (e.g., along a set or predetermined curve or ratio). When the expected lifetime of the light-emitting element corresponding to the marker area is low, the compensation reference grayscale value generator 240 can set the compensation reference grayscale value to be small.

[0097] When the expected lifetime of the light-emitting element corresponding to the mark area is less than the minimum preset expected lifetime LTMIN, the compensation reference gray value generator 240 can set the compensation reference gray value to the minimum preset reference gray value CGMIN.

[0098] When the expected lifetime of the light-emitting element corresponding to the marker area is greater than the maximum preset expected lifetime LTMAX, the compensation reference gray value generator 240 can set the compensation reference gray value to the maximum preset reference gray value CGMAX.

[0099] The sign brightness compensator 250 can compare the sign grayscale value with the compensation reference grayscale value to determine whether to compensate or adjust the brightness of the sign area (operation S100).

[0100] like Figure 6 As shown, when the grayscale value of the marker is equal to or greater than the compensation reference grayscale value, the marker brightness compensator 250 can operate the marker brightness compensation to reduce the brightness of the marker area (operation S200). When the grayscale value of the marker is less than the compensation reference grayscale value, the marker brightness compensator 250 may not operate the marker brightness compensation to reduce the brightness of the marker area (operation S300).

[0101] According to some example embodiments, a compensation reference grayscale value can be determined based on the expected lifetime of the light-emitting element corresponding to the marking area. When the grayscale value of the marking area is equal to or greater than the compensation reference grayscale value, the brightness of the marking area can be compensated. When the grayscale value of the marking area is less than the compensation reference grayscale value, the brightness of the marking area does not need to be compensated.

[0102] Therefore, the compensation reference gray value can be determined based on the expected lifespan of the light-emitting element corresponding to the marking area, and the brightness of the marking area can be compensated based on the compensation reference gray value, thereby minimizing or reducing the degradation of the light-emitting element and the shortening of its lifespan.

[0103] Figure 10This is a block diagram illustrating some example embodiments of a display device according to a concept conceived in the present invention.

[0104] Apart from the structure of the display panel driver, the drive controller, display device, and method for driving the display panel according to this example embodiment are related to... Figures 1 to 6 The drive controller, display device, and method for driving the display panel described in the previous example embodiments are substantially the same. Therefore, the same reference numerals will be used to refer to the same components as those in the previous embodiments. Figures 1 to 6 The components described in the previous example embodiments are the same or similar to those described above, and some repeated descriptions of the above-described components may be omitted.

[0105] refer to Figures 2 to 6 and Figure 10 The display device includes a display panel 100 and a display panel driver. The display panel driver includes a drive controller 200, a gate driver 300, a gamma reference voltage generator 400, and a data driver 500.

[0106] According to some example embodiments, the drive controller 200 and the data driver 500 can be integrally formed. For example, the drive controller 200, the gamma reference voltage generator 400, and the data driver 500 can be integrally formed. A drive module that includes at least the integrally formed drive controller 200 and data driver 500 can be referred to as an integrated driver ID. For example, the integrated driver ID can be referred to as a timing controller embedded data driver (TED).

[0107] The drive controller 200 may include a sign determiner 210, a sign grayscale value calculator 220, a light-emitting element expected lifespan determiner 230, a compensation reference grayscale value generator 240, and a sign brightness compensator 250.

[0108] The flag determiner 210 can determine whether a flag is included in the input image data IMG.

[0109] When the input image data IMG includes a sign, the sign grayscale calculator 220 calculates the sign grayscale value of the sign region corresponding to the sign.

[0110] The light-emitting element expected lifetime determiner 230 can determine the expected lifetime of the light-emitting element corresponding to the marked area.

[0111] The compensation reference grayscale generator 240 can determine the compensation reference grayscale value based on the expected lifetime of the light-emitting element corresponding to the mark area.

[0112] like Figure 5As shown, when the expected lifetime of the light-emitting element corresponding to the marker area is large, the compensation reference grayscale value generator 240 can set the compensation reference grayscale value to large. When the expected lifetime of the light-emitting element corresponding to the marker area is small, the compensation reference grayscale value generator 240 can set the compensation reference grayscale value to small.

[0113] When the expected lifetime of the light-emitting element corresponding to the mark area is less than the minimum preset expected lifetime LTMIN, the compensation reference gray value generator 240 can set the compensation reference gray value to the minimum preset reference gray value CGMIN.

[0114] When the expected lifetime of the light-emitting element corresponding to the marker area is greater than the maximum preset expected lifetime LTMAX, the compensation reference gray value generator 240 can set the compensation reference gray value to the maximum preset reference gray value CGMAX.

[0115] The sign brightness compensator 250 can compare the sign grayscale value with the compensation reference grayscale value to determine whether to compensate the brightness of the sign area (operation S100).

[0116] like Figure 6 As shown, when the grayscale value of the marker is equal to or greater than the compensation reference grayscale value, the marker brightness compensator 250 can operate the marker brightness compensation to reduce the brightness of the marker area (operation S200). When the grayscale value of the marker is less than the compensation reference grayscale value, the marker brightness compensator 250 may not operate the marker brightness compensation to reduce the brightness of the marker area (operation S300).

[0117] According to some example embodiments, a compensation reference grayscale value can be determined based on the expected lifetime of the light-emitting element corresponding to the marking area. When the grayscale value of the marking area is equal to or greater than the compensation reference grayscale value, the brightness of the marking area can be compensated. When the grayscale value of the marking area is less than the compensation reference grayscale value, the brightness of the marking area does not need to be compensated.

[0118] Therefore, the compensation reference gray value can be determined based on the expected lifespan of the light-emitting element corresponding to the marking area, and the brightness of the marking area can be compensated based on the compensation reference gray value, thereby minimizing or reducing the degradation of the light-emitting element and the shortening of its lifespan.

[0119] According to some example embodiments, the degradation of light-emitting elements and the shortening of their lifespan can be minimized or reduced.

[0120] Electronic or electrical devices and / or any other related devices or components according to embodiments of the invention described herein can be implemented using any suitable hardware, firmware (e.g., application-specific integrated circuits), software, or a combination of software, firmware, and hardware. For example, various components of these devices may be formed on an integrated circuit (IC) chip or on a discrete IC chip. Furthermore, various components of these devices may be implemented on a flexible printed circuit film, a tape-on-a-package (TCP), a printed circuit board (PCB), or formed on a substrate. Additionally, various components of these devices 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 to perform the various functions described herein. The computer program instructions are stored in memory that can be implemented in the computing device using standard memory devices such as, for example, random access memory (RAM). The computer program instructions may also be stored in other non-transitory computer-readable media such as, for example, CD-ROMs or flash drives. Furthermore, those skilled in the art will recognize that the functionality of various computing devices may be combined or integrated into a single computing device, or the functionality of a particular computing device may be distributed across one or more other computing devices, without departing from the spirit and scope of the exemplary embodiments of the invention.

[0121] The foregoing is illustrative of the inventive concept and should not be construed as limiting it. Although some exemplary embodiments of the inventive concept have been described, those skilled in the art will readily understand that many modifications can be made to the exemplary embodiments without substantially departing from the novel teachings and advantages of the inventive concept. Therefore, all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the inventive concept as defined in the claims. In the claims, the clause "means plus function" is intended to cover structures described herein that perform the detailed functions, and not only structural equivalents but also equivalent structures. Therefore, it should be understood that the foregoing is illustrative of embodiments of the inventive concept and should not be construed as limiting to the specific exemplary embodiments disclosed, and is intended to include modifications to the disclosed exemplary embodiments and other exemplary embodiments within the scope of the appended claims. The inventive concept is defined by the appended claims, including equivalents of the claims.

Claims

1. A drive controller, comprising: A flag determiner is configured to determine whether the input image data includes a flag. A grayscale calculator is configured to calculate the grayscale value of a marker region corresponding to the marker in response to the input image data including the marker; A light-emitting element expected lifetime determiner is configured to determine the expected lifetime of the light-emitting element corresponding to the marked area; A compensation reference grayscale value generator is configured to determine a compensation reference grayscale value based on the expected lifetime of the light-emitting element corresponding to the marked area; as well as A sign brightness compensator is configured to compare the sign grayscale value with a compensation reference grayscale value to determine whether to compensate the brightness of the sign area. Wherein, when the expected lifetime of the light-emitting element corresponding to the marked area is relatively high, the compensation reference gray value is set to be proportionally relatively high, and Wherein, when the expected lifetime of the light-emitting element corresponding to the marked area is relatively low, the compensation reference gray value is set to be proportionally relatively low.

2. The drive controller according to claim 1, wherein, The flag determiner is further configured to compare the grayscale value of the previous frame of the input image data with the grayscale value of the current frame of the input image data to determine the fixed image included in the input image data.

3. The drive controller according to claim 2, wherein, The flag determiner is further configured to determine that the input image data includes the flag in response to maintaining the fixed image during a reference time period.

4. The drive controller according to claim 3, wherein, The flag determiner is further configured to determine that the input image data includes the flag in response to maintaining the fixed image during the reference time period and the size of the fixed image being within a reference size range.

5. The drive controller according to claim 1, wherein, The light-emitting element expected lifetime determiner is further configured to extract the expected lifetime of the light-emitting element of the display block corresponding to the marked area among a plurality of display blocks of the display panel.

6. The drive controller according to claim 1, wherein, The light-emitting element expected lifetime determiner is further configured to determine the number of display blocks corresponding to the marked area among a plurality of display blocks of the display panel.

7. The drive controller according to claim 6, wherein, The light-emitting element expected lifetime determiner is further configured to extract the expected lifetime of the light-emitting element of the display block corresponding to the marker area in response to the number of display blocks corresponding to the marker area being one.

8. The drive controller according to claim 6, wherein, The light-emitting element expected lifetime determiner is further configured to extract the minimum expected lifetime of the light-emitting elements of the display blocks corresponding to the marker area in response to the number of display blocks corresponding to the marker area being greater than one.

9. The drive controller according to claim 1, wherein, The compensation reference grayscale generator is further configured to set the compensation reference grayscale value to the minimum preset reference grayscale value in response to the expected lifetime of the light-emitting element corresponding to the marker region being less than a minimum preset expected lifetime.

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