Display driver integrated circuit and display driving method

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a display driver integrated circuit and a display driving method. The display driver integrated circuit is adapted to drive a display panel of an electronic device. The display driver integrated circuit includes an image processing circuit, a timing controller, and a data driving circuit. The image processing circuit is configured to generate an output image based on time information, a background image, and an original time indication image. The timing controller is coupled to the image processing circuit and configured to receive the output image. The data driving circuit is coupled to the timing controller and configured to receive the output image and generate data voltages according to the output image. The data driving circuit drives the display panel according to the data voltages related to the output image.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure generally relates to a driver circuit, and more specifically to a display driver integrated circuit and a display driving method. Background Technology

[0002] Traditional image-driven methods for providing real-time time information process large amounts of image data. Especially when the device's central processing unit (CPU) is operating in sleep or power-saving mode, the display driver continues to consume more power to process the large amounts of image data, thus the device still consumes a significant amount of power during sleep or power-saving mode cycles. Furthermore, due to the high data storage requirements of the device or display driver, it is not possible to effectively reduce the cost of the device or display driver. Summary of the Invention

[0003] This disclosure relates to a display driver integrated circuit capable of providing effective display driving functions and a display driving method.

[0004] The display driver integrated circuit of this disclosure includes an image processing circuit, a timing controller, and a data driving circuit. The display driver integrated circuit is adapted to drive a display panel of an electronic device. The image processing circuit is configured to generate an output image based on time information, a background image, and an original time indication image. The timing controller is coupled to the image processing circuit. The timing controller is configured to receive the output image and generate a processed output image. The data driving circuit is coupled to the timing controller. The data driving circuit is configured to receive the processed output image and generate a data voltage based on the processed output image. The data driving circuit drives the display panel according to the data voltage.

[0005] The display driving method for driving a display panel of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes the following steps: an image processing circuit generates an output image based on time information, a background image, and an original time indication image; a timing controller receives the output image and generates a processed output image; a data driving circuit receives the processed output image and generates a data voltage based on the processed output image; and the data driving circuit drives the display panel based on the data voltage.

[0006] Based on the above, the display driver integrated circuit and display driving method disclosed herein can produce various display effects using a small amount of display data.

[0007] To make the above content easier to understand, several embodiments accompanying the drawings will be described in detail below. Attached Figure Description

[0008] The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of this disclosure, and are incorporated in and form a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate exemplary embodiments of this disclosure and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of this disclosure.

[0009] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of a display driver integrated circuit according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0010] Figure 2 This is a flowchart of a display driving method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0011] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of a display driver integrated circuit according to another embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0012] Figure 4A This is a schematic diagram of a time indication image according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0013] Figure 4B This is a schematic diagram of a background image according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0014] Figure 4C This is a schematic diagram of the output image according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0015] Figure 5A This is a schematic diagram of a time indication image according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0016] Figure 5B This is a schematic diagram of a mask image according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0017] Figure 6A This is a schematic diagram of a rotated time indicator image according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0018] Figure 6B This is a schematic diagram of a rotated mask image according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0019] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of a stacked output image according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0020] Figure 8A This is a schematic diagram of a rotated and stacked time indication image according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0021] Figure 8B This is a schematic diagram of a rotated and stacked time indication image including a shadow image according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0022] Figure 8C This is a schematic diagram of a rotated and stacked time indication image including a shadow image according to another embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0023] Figure 8D This is a schematic diagram of an output image with special effects according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0024] [Explanation of Symbols]

[0025] 10, 30: Electronic devices;

[0026] 100, 300: Display driver integrated circuits;

[0027] 110, 310: Image processing circuits;

[0028] 112, 312: Positioning units;

[0029] 113, 313: Mask generation unit;

[0030] 116, 316: Image stacking units;

[0031] 120, 320: Timing controllers;

[0032] 130, 330: Data drive circuits;

[0033] 190, 390: Display panel;

[0034] 311: Scaling unit;

[0035] 314: Rotating unit;

[0036] 315: Special Effects Generation Unit;

[0037] 370: Storage unit;

[0038] 380: Ambient light sensor;

[0039] 410, 510, 710, 720, 730, 740, 810: Time indication images;

[0040] 411, 421: Reference points;

[0041] 412: Clock hand pattern;

[0042] 420: Background image;

[0043] 511: District 1;

[0044] 512: Second District;

[0045] 520: Mask image;

[0046] 521: First grayscale area;

[0047] 522: Second grayscale area;

[0048] 610: Rotated time indicator image;

[0049] 611: Local magnified area / magnified region;

[0050] 612: Clock hand pattern / coverage area;

[0051] 613: Boundary / gradient region;

[0052] 620: Rotated mask image;

[0053] 621: Local magnified area;

[0054] 622: Coverage area;

[0055] 623: Boundary;

[0056] 750, 840: Output image;

[0057] 820, 830: Shaded images;

[0058] S210, S220, S230, S240: Steps;

[0059] (Xb, Yb) and (Xh, Yh): coordinates. Detailed Implementation

[0060] It should be understood that other embodiments and structural changes may be utilized without departing from the scope of this disclosure. Furthermore, it should be understood that the wording and terminology used herein are for illustrative purposes and should not be considered limiting. The use of “including,” “comprising,” or “having,” and variations thereof herein is intended to encompass the items listed thereafter and their equivalents and additional items. Unless otherwise limited, the terms “connected,” “coupled,” and “mounted,” and variations thereof are used extensively herein and encompass both direct and indirect connections, couplings, and mounts.

[0061] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. (Refer to...) Figure 1The electronic device 10 includes a display driver integrated circuit 100 and a display panel 190. The display driver integrated circuit 100 is coupled to the display panel 190 and is used to drive the display panel 190. The display driver integrated circuit 100 includes an image processing circuit 110, a timing controller 120, and a data driving circuit 130. The image processing circuit 110 is coupled to the timing controller 120 and is used to generate an output image based on time information, a background image, and an original time indication image. The timing controller 120 is further coupled to the data driving circuit 130 to receive the output image and generate a processed output image based on the output image, and to provide the processed output image and related drive control signals to the data driving circuit 130. The data driving circuit 130 is further coupled to the display panel 190 and is used to generate a data voltage based on the processed output image and related drive control signals, so as to drive the display panel 190 through the data voltage. In this embodiment, the original time indication image is used to indicate hour, minute, or second information, such as an image of the hour hand, minute hand, or second hand, and the term "original" means that it is an image that has not undergone any image processing (e.g., scaling or cropping). The background image may be an analog clock pattern, such as including the numbers 1 to 12 arranged clockwise.

[0062] In embodiments of this disclosure, the electronic device 10 may be a display device, but this disclosure is not limited thereto. In embodiments of this disclosure, the display driver integrated circuit 100 may be a display driver integrated chip and may also integrate other circuits (e.g., touch driving circuits and / or fingerprint sensing circuits). In embodiments of this disclosure, the display panel 190 may be a light-emitting diode (LED) display panel, a micro LED display panel, an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display panel, a liquid crystal display (LCD) panel, or other types of display panels, and includes a plurality of pixel units arranged in an array.

[0063] In embodiments of this disclosure, the image processing circuit 110 includes a positioning unit 112, a mask generation unit 113, and an image stacking unit 116. The image stacking unit 116 is coupled to the positioning unit 112 and the mask generation unit 113. In embodiments of this disclosure, the positioning unit 112 can obtain an original time indication image and a background image from a frame buffer, and the mask generation unit 113 can obtain the original time indication image from the frame buffer. In embodiments of this disclosure, the positioning unit 112 can be used to transform the coordinates of a reference point in a first input image input to the positioning unit 112 into the coordinates of an image stacking position in the background image. The mask generation unit 113 can generate a mask image based on a second input image input to the mask generation unit. The image stacking unit 116 can use the mask image to process a third input image input to the image stacking unit to generate a processed input image, and stack the processed input image on the background image according to the coordinates of the image stacking position to generate an output image. In embodiments of this disclosure, the first input image and the second input image may be the same as the original time indication image or the scaled time indication image and correspond to time information.

[0064] In embodiments of this disclosure, the image processing circuit 110 can generate an output image with time indication information by stacking a time indication image with a background image. The image processing circuit 110 can use less image data than storing multiple complete output images that change differently over time. Therefore, the electronic device 10 or the display driver integrated circuit 100 can have lower data storage requirements and can efficiently drive the display panel 190 to display an image screen with time information.

[0065] Figure 2 This is a flowchart of a display driving method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. (Refer to...) Figure 1 and Figure 2 The display driving method in the embodiment can be applied to Figure 1 The display driver integrated circuit 100 is shown. Additionally, in one embodiment of this disclosure, the display driving method of the embodiment can also be applied to... Figure 3 The image shows the display driver integrated circuit 300. However, the following description uses... Figure 1The display driver integrated circuit 100 shown is an example. In step S210, the image processing circuit 110 generates an output image based on time information, a background image, and an original time indication image. In step S220, the timing controller 120 receives the output image and generates a processed output image and associated drive control signals. In step S230, the data driving circuit 130 receives the processed output image and associated drive control signals and generates a data voltage based on the processed output image and associated drive control signals. In step S240, the data driving circuit 130 drives the display panel 190 according to the data voltage. Therefore, the display driver integrated circuit 100 can effectively drive the display panel 190 to display an image with time information. Furthermore, the related circuit features, implementation details, and related technical features of the display driver integrated circuit 100 can be based on the above. Figure 1 The description of the embodiments provides sufficient teaching, suggestions and implementation details, and will not be repeated hereafter.

[0066] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of a display driver integrated circuit according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. (Refer to...) Figure 3 The electronic device 30 includes a display driver integrated circuit 300, an ambient light sensor 380, and a display panel 390. The display driver integrated circuit 300 is coupled to the ambient light sensor 380 and the display panel 390 and is used to drive the display panel 390. The display driver integrated circuit 300 includes an image processing circuit 310, a timing controller 320, a data driving circuit 330, and a storage unit 370. The image processing circuit 310 is coupled to the timing controller 320, the storage unit 370, and the ambient light sensor 380. The timing controller 320 is further coupled to the data driving circuit 330. The data driving circuit 330 is further coupled to the display panel 390. It should be noted that the display driver integrated circuit 300 may be coupled to the central processing unit of the electronic device 30, and the image processing circuit 310 generates output images when the central processing unit of the electronic device 30 is operating in sleep mode or power-saving mode.

[0067] In embodiments of this disclosure, the image processing circuit 310 includes a scaling unit 311, a positioning unit 312, a mask generation unit 313, a rotation unit 314, a special effects generation unit 315, and an image stacking unit 316. The scaling unit 311 is coupled to the storage unit 370, the positioning unit 312, and the mask generation unit 313. The rotation unit 314 is coupled to the positioning unit 312, the mask generation unit 313, the special effects generation unit 315, and the image stacking unit 316. The special effects generation unit 315 is further coupled to the image stacking unit 316 and the ambient light sensor 380. The image stacking unit 316 is coupled to a timing controller 320.

[0068] In embodiments of this disclosure, the storage unit 370 may be a frame buffer in the display driver integrated circuit 300, but this disclosure is not limited thereto. In another embodiment of this disclosure, an external memory device located outside the display driver integrated circuit 300 of the electronic device 30 may be used to perform similar functions of the storage unit 370 of this disclosure. In embodiments of this disclosure, the storage unit 370 may store at least one time indication image and a background image for the image processing circuit 310 to read, and the scaling unit 311 may obtain the original time indication image by accessing the storage unit 370. The scaling unit 311 may change the image size of the original time indication image to produce a scaled time indication image. In one embodiment of this disclosure, the scaling unit 311 may perform an affine transformation on the original time indication image to change the image size of the original time indication image, thereby producing a scaled time indication image. In other words, the storage unit 370 may store an original time indication image with a lower data volume. In addition, the image size corresponding to the data volume of the original time indication image stored in the storage unit may be smaller than the actual image size to be displayed by the display panel 390. Additionally, the scaling unit 311 can be used to change the image size of the background image to produce a scaled background image.

[0069] In embodiments of this disclosure, the positioning unit 312 can receive a scaled time indication image (first input image) and a background image from the scaling unit 311, and can determine the position of the scaled time indication image in the background image. The positioning unit 312 can transform the coordinates of a reference point in the scaled time indication image into the coordinates of the image stacking position in the background image. Since the image size (width * height of pixels) of the scaled time indication image may differ from the image size of the background image, coordinate transformation is performed. For example, the image size of the scaled minute hand image is 32 pixels (width) * 240 pixels (height), and the image size of the background image is 480 pixels (width) * 480 pixels (height). Since the coordinates (Xh, Yh) of the reference point of the scaled minute hand image are transformed into the coordinates (Xb, Yb) of the center of the background image, coordinate transformation is required. The image stacking position can be a preset position. In embodiments of this disclosure, the mask generation unit 313 may receive a scaled time indication image (second input image) from the scaling unit 311 and may generate a mask image based on the scaled time indication image.

[0070] In embodiments of this disclosure, the rotation unit 314 may receive a coordinate-transformed time indication image and a background image from the positioning unit 312 and a mask image from the mask generation unit 313. Additionally, the rotation unit 314 may further receive time information from the central processing unit of the electronic device 30. The time information may be used to represent real-time time information, such as 7:30 AM or 7:30:22 AM. The coordinate-transformed time indication image may be a clock hand image (e.g., an hour hand image, a minute hand image, or a second hand image), and the clock hand pattern in the coordinate-transformed time indication image may be rotated by the rotation unit 314 by a rotation angle corresponding to the current time information to point in a direction related to the current time. In embodiments of this disclosure, the rotation unit 314 may rotate the coordinate-transformed time indication image by a rotation angle corresponding to the time information to generate a rotated time indication image, and may also rotate the mask image by the same rotation angle corresponding to the time information to generate a rotated mask image, such that the clock hand pattern in the rotated time indication image points in a specific direction corresponding to the time information (current time). In one embodiment of this disclosure, the rotation unit 314 may determine the rotation angle using a lookup table, but this disclosure is not limited thereto. For example, if the current time is 00:00 AM, the (scaled) hour hand image and the (scaled) minute hand image may be rotated by 0 degrees, and if the current time is 7:30 AM, the hour hand image may be rotated 195 degrees clockwise and the minute hand image may be rotated 180 degrees clockwise.

[0071] In embodiments of this disclosure, the special effects generation unit 315 generates a shadow image that is output to the image stacking unit 316 based on a time-indicated rotation image. The special effects generation unit 315 can determine the transparency of the shadow image based on ambient light information and determine the displacement between the shadow image and the time-indicated rotation image based on time information. In embodiments of this disclosure, the special effects generation unit 315 can receive ambient light information from an ambient light sensor 380. Therefore, the special effects generation unit 315 can generate a shadow image that mimics actual shadow changes.

[0072] In embodiments of this disclosure, the image stacking unit 316 receives a rotated time-indicating image (third input image) and a rotated mask image from the rotation unit 314, and a background image and a shadow image from the special effects generation unit 315. The image stacking unit 316 can process the rotated time-indicating image using the rotated mask image to generate a processed time-indicating image, and stacks the processed time-indicating image and the shadow image on the background image to generate an output image with real-time time information based on the coordinates of the image stacking position.

[0073] Therefore, when the central processing unit of electronic device 30 operates in sleep mode or power-saving mode, display driver integrated circuit 300 can read at least one original time indication image with a clock pointer pattern not associated with real-time time information from storage unit 370 at once, and read a background image from storage unit 370 at once, and rotate the original time indication image based on real-time time information to produce (e.g., periodically (e.g., per second, per minute, or per hour)) an output image with real-time time information. Thus, when the central processing unit of electronic device 30 operates in sleep mode or power-saving mode, electronic device 30 or display driver integrated circuit 300 can have lower data storage space requirements and can effectively drive display panel 390 to display an image screen with time information.

[0074] Figure 4A This is a schematic diagram of a time indication image according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 4B This is a schematic diagram of a background image according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 4C This is a schematic diagram of the output image according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. (Refer to...) Figure 3 and Figures 4A to 4C The position arrangement unit 312 can obtain, for example Figure 4A The time indication image 410 is shown, and a background image 420 is obtained. The time indication image 410 can be the original time indication image or a scaled time indication image. The time indication image 410 may include a clock hand pattern 412 and a reference point 411 (center of the hand). The background image 420 may include a reference point 421 with coordinates of the image stacking position. The reference point 421 may be the center of the background, but this disclosure is not limited thereto. In embodiments of this disclosure, the coordinates (Xh, Yh) of the reference point 411 of the time indication image 410 can be transformed into the reference point 421 (Xb, Yb) represented in the background image 420, and the transformed reference point coordinate information is provided to the image stacking unit 316. Therefore, assuming no image rotation or special effects, the image stacking unit 316 can stack the time indication image 410 on the background image 420 according to the coordinates of the image stacking position of the reference point 421 to produce, as shown in the image stacking unit 316. Figure 4C The output image shown. Figure 4C In the image, reference point 411 overlaps with reference point 421, so that the clock hand pattern 412 can be displayed in the correct position in the output image.

[0075] Figure 5A This is a schematic diagram of a time indication image according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 5B This is a schematic diagram of a mask image according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. (Refer to...) Figure 3 , Figure 5A and Figure 5BThe mask generation unit 313 can generate a mask based on the (scaled) time-indicating image 510, such as... Figure 5B The mask image 520 is shown. In embodiments of this disclosure, the time indicator image 510 may include a first region 511 (also referred to as the coverage region, meaning that the image of the first region 511 can cover the background image) and a second region 512 (referred to as the transmission region, meaning that the image of the second region 512 can be visually transmitted, and in other words, the human eye can see a portion of the background image covered by the second region 512). The pixels of the first region 511 of the time indicator image 510 may have gray values ​​within a first grayscale range, and the first region 511 of the time indicator image 510 may correspond to a clock hand pattern. The pixels of the second region 512 of the time indicator image 510 may have gray values ​​within a second grayscale range. In one embodiment of this disclosure, taking the pixel data of the time indicator image 510 represented by 8-bit grayscale values ​​from 0 to 255 as an example, the first grayscale range may be from grayscale value 0 to grayscale value 254, and the second grayscale range may be grayscale value 255, but this disclosure is not limited to this.

[0076] In embodiments of this disclosure, the mask image 520 may include a first grayscale region 521 and a second grayscale region 522. The mask generation unit 313 may determine the grayscale value of the first grayscale region 521 corresponding to the covered area based on the pixel data of the first region 511 of the time indication image 510, and determine the grayscale value of the second grayscale region 522 corresponding to the transmitted region based on the pixel data of the second region 512 of the time indication image 510. The first grayscale region 521 of the mask image 520 may correspond to the first region 511 of the time indication image 510 having a first grayscale range, and the second grayscale region 522 of the mask image 520 may correspond to the second region 512 of the time indication image 510 having a second grayscale range. In one embodiment of this disclosure, the grayscale value of the first grayscale region 521 of the mask image 520 may be 255, and the grayscale value of the second grayscale region 522 of the mask image 520 may be 0, but this disclosure is not limited thereto.

[0077] Figure 6A This is a schematic diagram of a rotated time indication image according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 6B This is a schematic diagram of a rotated mask image according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. (Refer to...) Figure 3 , Figure 6A and Figure 6B The rotation unit 314 can receive (scaled) a time indication image and a mask image from the positioning unit 312 and the mask generation unit 313. The rotation unit 314 can rotate the time indication image and the mask image by a rotation angle corresponding to the time information to generate a time indication image, a mask image, and a mask image. Figure 6A The rotated time indicator image 610 shown and as Figure 6BThe image shown is a rotated masked image 620. In embodiments of this disclosure, the image stacking unit 316 may receive a rotated time-indicating image 610 and a rotated masked image 620. The rotated time-indicating image 610 includes a coverage area 612, a transmission area (which is a large portion of the magnified area 611), and a gradient area 613, and the rotated masked image 620 also includes a corresponding area. The gradient area 613 is generated only when a rotation unit is present and rotation is performed.

[0078] In embodiments of this disclosure, the rotation unit 314 can rotate the time indication image and the mask image in a manner corresponding to the origin of the image coordinate system or any coordinate point (e.g., the image center or a reference point in the aforementioned image), but this disclosure is not limited thereto. It should be noted that, as Figure 6A As shown in the magnified area 611, the grayscale values ​​of the pixels in the boundary 613 of the clock hand pattern 612 can change due to image rotation. For example... Figure 6B As shown in the magnified area 621, the grayscale value of the pixel in the boundary 623 of the covered area 622 can be changed from grayscale value 255 to grayscale value between grayscale value 1 and grayscale value 254 due to image rotation.

[0079] Image stacking unit 316 generates multiple first coefficients (x / 255) by dividing multiple grayscale values ​​(x) of the rotated mask image 620 by the maximum grayscale value (255), and generates multiple grayscale values ​​of the output image based on the multiple first coefficients, the rotated mask image 620, and the rotated time-indicating image 610. More specifically, image stacking unit 316 obtains multiple second coefficients (1-(x / 255)) by subtracting 1 from each of the multiple first coefficients (x / 255). Image stacking unit 316 multiplies the multiple first coefficients (x / 255) by the multiple grayscale values ​​of the rotated time-indicating image 610 to obtain multiple first values. Image stacking unit 316 multiplies the multiple second coefficients (1-(x / 255)) by the multiple grayscale values ​​of the rotated mask image 620 to obtain multiple second values. The image stacking unit 316 adds the plurality of first values ​​to the plurality of second values ​​respectively to generate the plurality of grayscale values ​​of the output image.

[0080] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the stacking of output images according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. (Refer to...) Figure 3 and Figure 7In embodiments of this disclosure, when the central processing unit of the electronic device 30 operates in sleep mode or power-saving mode, the image processing circuit 310 can obtain multiple original time indication images and a background image from the storage unit 370. The original time indication images may include an hour hand image, a minute hand image, a second hand image, and an image of the center of the hands. Then, the image processing circuit 310 can execute at least a portion of the image scaling process, position arrangement process, mask generation process, and image rotation process described in the above embodiments to generate a... Figure 7 The time indication images 710 to 740 are shown in the figure. Finally, the image processing circuit 310 can perform the stacking process described in the above embodiments to stack the time indication images 710 to 740 sequentially, thereby producing the image shown in the figure. Figure 7 The output image shown is 750.

[0081] Figure 8A This is a schematic diagram of a rotated and stacked time indication image according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 8B This is a schematic diagram of a rotated and stacked time indication image including a shadow image according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 8C This is a schematic diagram of a rotated and stacked time indication image including a shadow image, according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 8D This is a schematic diagram of an output image with special effects according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. (Refer to...) Figure 3 and Figures 8A to 8D In embodiments of this disclosure, prior to the stacking process, the special effects generation unit 315 may receive a time-indicating image 810 (which may be a stacked image of time-indicating images 710 to 740) and generate an output to the image stacking unit 316 as shown in the image. Figure 8B The shadow image 820 shown or as Figure 8C The shadow image 830 is shown. In embodiments of this disclosure, the image stacking unit 316 can determine the transparency of the shadow images 820 and 830 based on ambient light information provided by the ambient light sensor 380, and determine the displacement between the shadow images 820 and 830 and the time indication image 810 based on time information. Figure 8B As shown, the shadow image 820 may have low transparency and a long gap between the shadow image 820 and the time indication image 810. Figure 8B As shown, the shadow image 820 can have high transparency and a short gap between the shadow image 820 and the time indicator image 810. Therefore, the special effects generation unit 315 can generate shadow images 820 and 830 that mimic actual shadow changes, so that the image processing circuit 310 can generate a more realistic output image 840 with real-time time information by stacking the time indicator image 810, the background image, and the shadow image (820 or 830).

[0082] In summary, according to the display driver integrated circuit and display driving method disclosed herein, the display driver integrated circuit can effectively generate a clock image with real-time time information by reading an image with a low data volume from a storage cell, and can effectively reduce the data storage space requirements of the electronic device or the display driver integrated circuit. Furthermore, the display driver integrated circuit can also generate a more realistic clock image with shadow effects.

[0083] It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the disclosed embodiments without departing from the scope or spirit of this disclosure. In view of the foregoing, this disclosure is intended to cover modifications and variations falling within the scope of the claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A display driver integrated circuit for driving a display panel of an electronic device, characterized in that, The display driver integrated circuit includes: An image processing circuit is provided to generate an output image based on time information, a background image, and an original time indication image. The image processing circuit includes a position arrangement unit, a mask generation unit, an image stacking unit, and a rotation unit. The position arrangement unit transforms the coordinates of a reference point in a first input image input to the position arrangement unit into the coordinates of the image stacking position in the background image. The mask generation unit generates a mask image based on a second input image input to the mask generation unit. The image stacking unit is coupled to the positioning unit and the mask generation unit, and processes a third input image input to the image stacking unit using the mask image to generate a processed input image. The processed input image is then stacked on the background image according to the coordinates of the image stacking position to generate the output image. The first and second input images are identical to the original time-indicating image or the scaled time-indicating image, and the third input image is a rotated time-indicating image. The rotation unit is coupled to the position arrangement unit and the mask generation unit, and is used to rotate the first input image and the mask image after coordinate transformation by a rotation angle corresponding to the time information to generate the rotated time indication image and the rotated mask image. The image stacking unit stacks the rotated time indication image on the background image according to the rotated mask image. A timing controller, coupled to the image processing circuit, is used to receive the output image and generate a processed output image; and A data driving circuit, coupled to the timing controller, is used to receive the processed output image and generate a data voltage based on the processed output image. The data driving circuit drives the display panel according to the data voltage.

2. The display driver integrated circuit according to claim 1, characterized in that, Also includes: A storage unit, coupled to the image processing circuit, is used to store at least one time indication image and the background image. The image processing circuit therein obtains the original time indication image and the background image from the storage unit.

3. The display driver integrated circuit according to claim 1, characterized in that, The image processing circuit further includes: A scaling unit, coupled to the positioning unit, is used to change the image size of the original time indication image to produce the scaled time indication image.

4. The display driver integrated circuit according to claim 1, characterized in that, The mask image includes a first grayscale area and a second grayscale area, wherein the first grayscale area of ​​the mask image corresponds to a first area of ​​the second input image having a first grayscale range, and the second grayscale area of ​​the mask image corresponds to a second area of ​​the second input image having a second grayscale range.

5. The display driver integrated circuit according to claim 1, characterized in that, The image stacking unit generates multiple first coefficients by dividing multiple reference gray values ​​of the rotated mask image by the maximum gray value, and the image stacking unit generates multiple first gray values ​​of the output image based on the multiple first coefficients, the rotated mask image, and the rotated time indication image.

6. The display driver integrated circuit according to claim 5, characterized in that, The image stacking unit obtains a plurality of second coefficients by subtracting 1 from the plurality of first coefficients, and the image stacking unit multiplies the plurality of first coefficients by a plurality of second grayscale values ​​of the time-indicated image to obtain a plurality of first values. The image stacking unit multiplies the plurality of second coefficients by a plurality of reference grayscale values ​​of the rotated mask image to obtain a plurality of second values. The image stacking unit adds the plurality of first values ​​to the plurality of second values ​​to generate the plurality of first grayscale values ​​of the output image.

7. The display driver integrated circuit according to claim 1, characterized in that, The image processing circuit further includes: A special effects generation unit is coupled to the rotation unit and the image stacking unit, and is used to generate a shadow image output to the image stacking unit based on the rotation time-indicated image, wherein the transparency of the shadow image is determined based on ambient light information, and the displacement between the shadow image and the rotation time-indicated image is determined based on the time information.

8. The display driver integrated circuit according to claim 1, characterized in that, The original time indication image is used to indicate hour information, minute information, or second information, and the background image includes an analog clock pattern.

9. The display driver integrated circuit according to claim 1, characterized in that, The image processing circuit receives the time information from the central processing unit of the electronic device.

10. The display driver integrated circuit according to claim 1, characterized in that, The display driver integrated circuit is coupled to the central processing unit of the electronic device, and the image processing circuit is used to generate the output image when the central processing unit is operating in sleep mode or power-saving mode.

11. A display driving method for driving a display panel of an electronic device, characterized in that, include: The image processing circuit generates the output image based on time information, background image, and original time indication image; The timing controller receives the output image and generates a processed output image. The processed output image is received by the data-driven circuit; The data driving circuit generates a data voltage based on the processed output image; as well as The data driving circuit drives the display panel according to the data voltage. The step of generating the output image includes: The coordinates of a reference point in the first input image input to the position arrangement unit are transformed into the coordinates of the image stacking position in the background image by the position arrangement unit; A mask image is generated by a mask generation unit based on a second input image, wherein the first input image and the second input image are the same as the original time indication image or the scaled time indication image; The rotation unit rotates the first input image and the mask image after coordinate transformation by a rotation angle corresponding to the time information to generate a rotated time indication image and a rotated mask image; The third input image is processed by the image stacking unit to produce a processed input image, wherein the third input image is the time-indicated rotation image; and The image stacking unit stacks the processed input image onto the background image according to the coordinates of the image stacking position to generate the output image, wherein the image stacking unit stacks the rotated time indication image onto the background image according to the rotated mask image.

12. The display driving method according to claim 11, characterized in that, Also includes: The image processing circuit obtains the original time indication image and the background image from the storage unit.

13. The display driving method according to claim 11, characterized in that, The step of generating the output image further includes: The scaling unit changes the image size of the original time indication image to produce the scaled time indication image.

14. The display driving method according to claim 11, characterized in that, The mask image includes a first grayscale area and a second grayscale area, wherein the first grayscale area of ​​the mask image corresponds to a first area of ​​the second input image having a first grayscale range, and the second grayscale area of ​​the mask image corresponds to a second area of ​​the second input image having a second grayscale range.

15. The display driving method according to claim 11, characterized in that, The step of generating the output image includes: The image stacking unit generates a plurality of first coefficients by dividing a plurality of reference grayscale values ​​of the rotated mask image by the maximum grayscale value; and The image stacking unit generates a plurality of first grayscale values ​​for the output image based on the plurality of first coefficients, the rotated mask image, and the rotated time indication image.

16. The display driving method according to claim 15, characterized in that, The step of generating the plurality of first grayscale values ​​of the output image includes: The image stacking unit obtains a plurality of second coefficients by subtracting 1 from the plurality of first coefficients; The image stacking unit multiplies the plurality of first coefficients by the plurality of second grayscale values ​​of the time-indicated image to obtain a plurality of first values; The image stacking unit multiplies the plurality of second coefficients by the plurality of reference grayscale values ​​of the rotated mask image to obtain a plurality of second values; and The image stacking unit adds the plurality of first values ​​to the plurality of second values ​​to generate the plurality of first grayscale values ​​of the output image.

17. The display driving method according to claim 11, characterized in that, The step of generating the output image includes: The special effects generation unit generates a shadow image based on the time-indicated rotation image and outputs it to the image stacking unit. The transparency of the shadow image is determined based on ambient light information, and the displacement between the shadow image and the time-indicated image is determined based on the time information.

18. The display driving method according to claim 11, characterized in that, The original time indication image is used to indicate hour information, minute information, or second information, and the background image includes an analog clock pattern.

19. The display driving method according to claim 11, characterized in that, Also includes: The time information is received by the image processing circuit from the central processing unit of the electronic device.

20. The display driving method according to claim 11, characterized in that, The image processing circuitry is used to generate the output image when the central processing unit is operating in sleep mode or power-saving mode.

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