Driving method of LED display screen and related assembly

Abstract

The invention discloses a driving method of an LED display screen and a related component, and relates to the technical field of display, and the driving method comprises the steps: detecting whether external equipment sends dimming data to an LED driving chip or not; when the external equipment does not send dimming data to the LED driving chip, a square wave signal is generated through a timer and a PWM module in the microcontroller to simulate a data clock signal; when an external device sends dimming data to the LED driving chip, a data clock signal is simulated based on the dimming data sent by the external device, and the LED driving chip adjusts the display effect of the LED display screen based on the data clock signal and the dimming data. When dimming data cannot be used for simulating a data clock signal, the data clock signal is simulated through a timer, a PWM module and a square wave signal generated by an interruption mechanism in the microcontroller, it is guaranteed that an LED driving chip continuously receives the data clock signal, and a low-cost and high-efficiency LED display screen driving scheme is achieved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of display technology, and in particular to a driving method of an LED display screen and related components. Background Art

[0002] LED (Light Emitting Diode) display screens are widely used in scenarios such as vehicle-mounted displays because of their advantages such as good display effects, long life, and energy saving. The LED control chip adjusts the display effect of the LED display screen based on the dimming data transmitted by the external device. In order to ensure the accuracy and stability of the display effect of the LED display screen, the LED driver chip needs to use DCLK (Data Clock) to synchronize the transmission and processing of dimming data. In order to ensure that the dimming data can be read and processed by the LED driver chip at the right time, the continuity and accuracy of DCLK must be guaranteed.

[0003] Traditional solutions generally use FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) to generate continuous DCLK, but FPGA is expensive and consumes a lot of power. For LED display driver applications, it has the defects of excess performance, increased design complexity and cost. Summary of the invention

[0004] The purpose of the present invention is to provide a driving method and related components of an LED display screen, which can ensure that the LED driver chip continuously receives a data clock signal, reduce the cost and design complexity, and provide an efficient LED display screen driving solution.

[0005] In order to solve the above technical problems, the present invention provides a driving method of an LED display screen, the method comprising:

[0006] Detecting whether the external device sends dimming data to the LED driver chip; wherein the LED driver chip is used to adjust the display effect of the LED display screen based on the dimming data and the data clock signal;

[0007] When it is determined that the external device has not sent the dimming data to the LED driver chip, triggering a PWM module in the microcontroller to generate a square wave signal based on a timer interrupt generated by a timer, and outputting the square wave signal as a data clock signal to the LED driver chip;

[0008] When it is determined that the external device sends the dimming data to the LED driver chip, the timer and the PWM module are controlled to stop working, and the data clock signal simulated based on the dimming data is output to the LED driver chip, so that the LED driver chip adjusts the display effect of the LED display based on the data clock signal and the dimming data.

[0009] Optionally, before detecting whether the external device sends dimming data to the LED driver chip, the method further includes:

[0010] Determine the target count value and the target clock source of the timer according to the frequency of the required data clock signal; wherein the target count value is the count value when the timer triggers the timer interrupt;

[0011] The clock source of the timer is configured as the target clock source, and the count value of the timer is configured as the target count value.

[0012] Optionally, the triggering of the PWM module in the microcontroller to generate a square wave signal based on a timer interrupt generated by a timer includes:

[0013] The timer is triggered to count based on a preconfigured target clock source, so that the timer triggers a timer interrupt when the count value reaches a preconfigured target count value, and after the timer interrupt is triggered, the count value is restored to an initial value and counting starts again; wherein the PWM module is used to flip the output level when a timer overflow is detected to generate the square wave signal.

[0014] Optionally, detecting whether the external device sends dimming data to the LED driver chip includes:

[0015] Acquire data received by the dimming data receiving end of the LED driver chip; wherein the dimming data receiving end of the LED driver chip is used to receive the dimming data sent by the external device;

[0016] Determine whether the value of the flag bit of the received data is a target value; wherein, when the flag bit of the data is the target value, it is determined that the external device sends the dimming data to the LED driver chip, and when the flag bit of the data is not the target value, it is determined that the external device does not send the dimming data to the LED chip.

[0017] Optionally, also include:

[0018] When a duty cycle adjustment instruction is received, the value of the comparison register corresponding to the timer is adjusted based on the target duty cycle of the data clock signal specified by the duty cycle adjustment instruction to adjust the duty cycle of the square wave signal, thereby adjusting the duty cycle of the data clock signal.

[0019] In order to solve the above technical problems, the present invention also provides a driving system for an LED display screen, comprising:

[0020] A detection module, used to detect whether an external device sends dimming data to an LED driver chip; wherein the LED driver chip is used to adjust the display effect of the LED display screen based on the dimming data and a data clock signal; when it is determined that the external device does not send the dimming data to the LED driver chip, the square wave signal generation module is triggered; when it is determined that the external device sends the dimming data to the LED driver chip, the analog data clock module is triggered;

[0021] The square wave signal generating module is used to trigger the PWM module in the microcontroller to generate a square wave signal based on the timer interrupt generated by the timer, and output the square wave signal as a data clock signal to the LED driver chip;

[0022] The analog data clock module is used to control the timer and the PWM module to stop working, and output the data clock signal simulated based on the dimming data to the LED driver chip, so that the LED driver chip adjusts the display effect of the LED display screen based on the data clock signal and the dimming data.

[0023] In order to solve the above technical problems, the present invention also provides a computer-readable storage medium, on which a computer program is stored. When the computer program is executed by a processor, the steps of any of the above-mentioned driving methods for LED display screens are implemented.

[0024] In order to solve the above technical problems, the present invention also provides a vehicle-mounted display system, including an LED display screen, an LED driver chip and a microcontroller; wherein a computer program is stored in the microcontroller, and when the computer program is executed, the steps of any of the above-mentioned LED display screen driving methods are implemented.

[0025] The beneficial effect of the present invention is to provide a driving method and related components of an LED display screen, including detecting whether an external device sends dimming data to an LED driver chip; when the external device does not send dimming data to the LED driver chip, a square wave signal is generated by a timer and a PWM module in a microcontroller to simulate a data clock signal; when the external device sends dimming data to the LED driver chip, a data clock signal is simulated based on the dimming data sent by the external device, and the LED driver chip adjusts the display effect of the LED display screen based on the data clock signal and the dimming data. When the dimming data cannot be used to simulate the data clock signal, a square wave signal generated by a timer, a PWM module and an interrupt mechanism in the microcontroller simulates the data clock signal, ensuring that the LED driver chip continuously receives the data clock signal, thereby realizing a low-cost and high-efficiency LED display screen driving solution. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0026] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention, the prior art and the drawings required for use in the embodiments are briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative work.

[0027] Figure 1 A flow chart of a driving method of an LED display screen provided by the present invention;

[0028] Figure 2 A schematic structural diagram of a driving system for an LED display screen provided by the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0029] The core of the present invention is to provide a driving method and related components of an LED display screen, which can ensure that the LED driving chip continuously receives a data clock signal, reduce the cost and design complexity, and provide a high-efficiency LED display screen driving solution.

[0030] In order to make the purpose, technical solution and advantages of the embodiments of the present invention clearer, the technical solution in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0031] Please refer to Figure 1 , Figure 1 A flowchart of a driving method of an LED display screen provided by the present invention, the driving method comprising:

[0032] S101: Detect whether an external device sends dimming data to an LED driver chip; wherein the LED driver chip is used to adjust a display effect of an LED display screen based on the dimming data and a data clock signal.

[0033] S102: When it is determined that the external device does not send dimming data to the LED driver chip, trigger the PWM module in the microcontroller to generate a square wave signal based on the timer interrupt generated by the timer, and output the square wave signal to the LED driver chip as a data clock signal.

[0034] S103: When it is determined that the external device sends dimming data to the LED driver chip, the control timer and PWM module stop working, and output the data clock signal simulated based on the dimming data to the LED driver chip, so that the LED driver chip adjusts the display effect of the LED display screen based on the data clock signal and the dimming data.

[0035] In the present invention, the LED driver chip adjusts the display effect of the LED display screen based on the data clock signal and the dimming data. It should be noted that for other clock signals that may be involved in the operation of the LED driver chip (such as grayscale clock signals that may be interrupted during the operation of the LED driver chip), the present invention does not specifically limit the generation process thereof, and can be set according to the actual application scenario.

[0036] The dimming data is used to adjust the brightness and color of the lamp beads in the LED display screen, so that the LED display screen presents different display effects. For example, the external device determines the dimming data corresponding to each moment based on the display effect that needs to be presented by the LED display screen, and sends the dimming data to the LED driver chip through the SPI (Serial Peripheral Interface) interface. The present invention does not impose any special restrictions on the generation method and data content of the dimming data, and can be set according to actual needs.

[0037] Among them, the data clock signal, namely DCLK, is used to synchronize the transmission and processing of dimming data, ensuring that the dimming data can be read and processed by the LED driver chip at the right time, thereby ensuring the display effect of the LED display. The data clock signal is equivalent to the life clock of the LED driver chip, and must be continuously output to the LED driver chip to ensure the normal operation of the LED driver chip.

[0038] The following is a detailed description of the implementation method of providing a continuous and uninterrupted data clock signal to the LED driver chip in the driving method of the LED display screen provided by the present invention.

[0039] When the external device normally sends dimming data to the LED driver chip, the microcontroller directly simulates the data clock signal based on the dimming data, and outputs the data clock signal to the LED driver chip. The LED driver chip reads and processes the dimming data based on the data clock signal, thereby adjusting the display effect of the LED display screen. The present invention does not specifically limit how the microcontroller simulates the data clock signal based on the dimming data. For example, when the external device sends dimming data to the LED driver chip through the SPI interface, the signal output by the SPI interface generally includes an SCLK (Serial Clock) signal, a MOSI (Master Out Slave In) signal, a MISO (Master In Slave Out) signal, and a SS (Slave Select) signal, and the microcontroller can use the SCLK signal as a data clock signal.

[0040] When the external device stops sending dimming data to the LED driver chip (for example, when the external device completes the transmission of all dimming data), the data clock signal can no longer be simulated based on the dimming data, resulting in an interruption in the data clock signal. In other words, from the time the external device stops sending dimming data to the LED driver chip to the time the external device sends dimming data to the LED driver chip next time, the data clock signal is vacant.

[0041] In order to fill the gap during this period, the present invention uses a microcontroller (including but not limited to STM32, ESP32, etc.) with hardware timer and PWM output capability to generate a square wave signal. The microcontroller uses the interrupt mechanism of the timer and combines it with the output capability of the PWM module so that the PWM can output a square wave signal. Finally, the square wave signal output by the PWM module in the microcontroller is used to fill the data clock signal during the dimming data gap, ensuring that the LED driver chip can continuously and uninterruptedly receive the data clock signal, so that the display effect of the LED display can also be guaranteed. After detecting that the external device starts to send dimming data to the LED driver chip, the microcontroller controls the internal timer and PWM module to stop working to simulate the data clock signal based on the newly received dimming data.

[0042] How the PWM module and the timer in the microcontroller cooperate with each other to generate a square wave signal will be described in subsequent embodiments and will not be elaborated here.

[0043] It can be seen that the driving method of the LED display screen provided by the present invention involves detecting whether an external device sends dimming data to the LED driving chip. The specific detection method is described below.

[0044] First, the driving method of the LED display screen provided by the present invention can be executed by the microcontroller itself, and the microcontroller detects whether the external device sends dimming data to the LED driver chip. The present invention does not specifically limit the detection frequency of the microcontroller detecting whether the external device sends dimming data to the LED driver chip, and the detection can be performed in real time or at a preset time interval, and can be set according to actual needs.

[0045] As a specific embodiment, the external device sends dimming data to the dimming data receiving end of the LED driver chip, and the port of the microcontroller is also connected to the dimming data receiving end of the LED driver chip, so that the microcontroller obtains the data received by the dimming data receiving end of the LED driver chip. For example, the external device for sending dimming data is connected to the dimming data receiving end of the LED driver chip through the SPI interface, and the microcontroller is also connected to the dimming data receiving end of the LED driver chip to receive the data received by the dimming data receiving end of the LED driver chip, and determines whether the LED driver chip receives the dimming data sent by the external device by detecting whether the flag bit of the data is the target value. Specifically, after the microcontroller obtains the data received by the dimming data receiving end of the LED driver chip, it determines whether the value of the flag bit of the data is the target value. When the flag bit of the data is the target value, it is determined that the external device has sent the dimming data to the LED driver chip, and when the flag bit of the data is not the target value, it is determined that the external device has not sent the dimming data to the LED chip.

[0046] In summary, the present invention provides a driving method for an LED display screen, including detecting whether an external device sends dimming data to an LED driver chip; when the external device does not send dimming data to the LED driver chip, a square wave signal is generated by a timer and a PWM module in a microcontroller to simulate a data clock signal; when the external device sends dimming data to the LED driver chip, a data clock signal is simulated based on the dimming data sent by the external device, and the LED driver chip adjusts the display effect of the LED display screen based on the data clock signal and the dimming data. When the dimming data cannot be used to simulate the data clock signal, a square wave signal generated by a timer, a PWM module, and an interrupt mechanism in the microcontroller simulates the data clock signal, ensuring that the LED driver chip continuously receives the data clock signal, thereby realizing a low-cost, high-efficiency LED display screen driving solution. Compared with FPGA, the power consumption of a microcontroller is lower, especially in the application of low-frequency LED display screen driving, which can more effectively reduce energy consumption and extend the battery life of the device.

[0047] Based on the above embodiments:

[0048] The following introduces the specific implementation method of generating square wave signals by the timer and PWM module in the microcontroller.

[0049] The present invention proposes a solution based on the combination of software and hardware, which utilizes the cooperation of a timer and a PWM module inside a microcontroller. After the count value of the timer reaches a target count value, its count value overflows, triggering a timer interrupt; when the timer overflows, the PWM module changes the output level to generate a square wave signal that can simulate a data clock signal, so that the microcontroller outputs a stable square wave signal without relying on an external clock chip.

[0050] Specifically, when the microcontroller detects that the external device does not send dimming data to the LED driver chip, it triggers the timer to count based on the pre-configured target clock source. When the count value reaches the pre-configured target count value, the timer triggers a timer interrupt, restores the count value to the initial value, and then restarts counting. The PWM module flips the output level every time it detects a timer overflow to generate a square wave signal.

[0051] It can be seen that the square wave signal generated by the PWM module in the microcontroller is equivalent to the data clock signal when the external device does not send dimming data. The frequency of the data clock signal is consistent with the frequency of the square wave signal, and the duty cycle of the data clock signal is consistent with the duty cycle of the square wave signal.

[0052] Furthermore, the frequency of the square wave signal generated by the PWM module is related to the clock source of the timer, the target count value (i.e., the automatic reload value) when the timer interrupt is triggered, and the pre-divider of the timer. Therefore, before detecting whether the external device sends dimming data to the LED driver chip, the microcontroller first determines the target count value and the target clock source of the timer according to the frequency of the required data clock signal. Then the microcontroller configures the clock source of the timer as the target clock source and the count value of the timer as the target count value. The pre-divider is also pre-configured according to the above steps, and the present invention will not elaborate on this.

[0053] When the frequency of the data clock signal needs to be adjusted, the above steps of determining the target count value, the target clock source and the pre-divider need to be performed again. In other cases, it is not necessary to repeat the above steps each time before executing the driving method of the LED display screen.

[0054] Similarly, the duty cycle of the square wave signal generated by the PWM module is related to the value of the comparison register corresponding to the timer. By adjusting the value of the comparator register, the duration of the high level of the square wave signal can be changed, thereby changing the duty cycle of the square wave signal, that is, the data clock signal. Generally, it is not necessary to change the duty cycle of the data clock signal during the driving process of the LED driver chip, and the duty cycle of the square wave signal, that is, the data clock signal, can be fixed to 50%. If the duty cycle of the data clock signal is to be adjusted dynamically, the microcontroller can adjust the value of the comparison register corresponding to the timer based on the target duty cycle of the data clock signal specified by the duty cycle adjustment instruction when receiving the duty cycle adjustment instruction, so as to adjust the duty cycle of the square wave signal, thereby adjusting the duty cycle of the data clock signal.

[0055] In summary, the driving method of the LED display screen provided by the present invention enables the microcontroller to output a stable square wave signal to simulate the data clock signal without relying on an external clock chip. In addition, the software simulation solution of the microcontroller reduces the complexity of the hardware design. By adjusting the parameters related to the timer and PWM module, the frequency and duty cycle of the data clock signal can be flexibly changed to meet the needs of different types of LED driver chips.

[0056] In addition, the microcontroller can not only generate square wave signals to simulate data clock signals, but also expand other functions (for example, the microcontroller transmits different grayscale data to the LED driver chip to achieve brightness adjustment and color conversion of the LED display, etc.), and has high overall scalability.

[0057] Please refer to Figure 2 , Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the structure of a driving system of an LED display screen provided by the present invention, the driving system comprising:

[0058] The detection module 201 is used to detect whether the external device sends dimming data to the LED driver chip; wherein the LED driver chip is used to adjust the display effect of the LED display screen based on the dimming data and the data clock signal; when it is determined that the external device does not send dimming data to the LED driver chip, the square wave signal generation module 202 is triggered; when it is determined that the external device sends dimming data to the LED driver chip, the analog data clock module 203 is triggered;

[0059] A square wave signal generating module 202, used for triggering a PWM module in a microcontroller to generate a square wave signal based on a timer interrupt generated by a timer, and outputting the square wave signal as a data clock signal to an LED driver chip;

[0060] The analog data clock module 203 is used to control the timer and PWM module to stop working, and output the data clock signal simulated based on the dimming data to the LED driver chip, so that the LED driver chip adjusts the display effect of the LED display screen based on the data clock signal and the dimming data.

[0061] For a detailed introduction to a driving system for an LED display screen provided by the present invention, please refer to the embodiment of the driving method for an LED display screen described above, and the present invention will not be elaborated herein.

[0062] The present invention also provides a computer-readable storage medium, on which a computer program is stored, and when the computer program is executed by a processor, the steps of any of the above-mentioned driving methods for an LED display screen are implemented.

[0063] For a detailed introduction to the computer-readable storage medium provided by the present invention, please refer to the above-mentioned embodiment of the driving method of the LED display screen, and the present invention will not be elaborated here.

[0064] The present invention also provides a vehicle-mounted display system, comprising an LED display screen, an LED driving chip and a microcontroller; wherein a computer program is stored in the microcontroller, and when the computer program is executed, the steps of any of the above-mentioned driving methods of the LED display screen are implemented.

[0065] In this embodiment, the vehicle display system includes an LED display screen, an LED driver chip, and a microcontroller. The microcontroller is used to use the internal timer and PWM to generate a square wave signal to simulate a data clock signal to fill the gap when the external device does not provide dimming data to the LED driver chip; when the external device provides dimming data to the LED driver chip, the dimming data is used to simulate the data clock signal. The LED driver chip is used to adjust the display effect of the LED display screen based on the dimming data and the data clock signal.

[0066] For a detailed introduction to the vehicle-mounted display system provided by the present invention, please refer to the embodiment of the driving method of the above-mentioned LED display screen, and the present invention will not be elaborated here.

[0067] In this specification, each embodiment is described in a progressive manner, and each embodiment focuses on the differences from other embodiments. The terms "comprises", "comprising" or any other variants thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, so that a process, article or device including a series of elements includes not only those elements, but also other elements not explicitly listed, or also includes elements inherent to such process, article or device. In the absence of further restrictions, an element defined by the statement "comprising a ..." does not exclude the presence of other identical elements in the process, article or device including the element.

[0068] The above description of the disclosed embodiments enables those skilled in the art to implement or use the present invention. Various modifications to these embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be implemented in other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention. Therefore, the present invention will not be limited to the embodiments shown herein, but rather to the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A method for driving an LED display screen, characterized in that: include: Detecting whether the external device sends dimming data to the LED driver chip; wherein the LED driver chip is used to adjust the display effect of the LED display screen based on the dimming data and the data clock signal; When it is determined that the external device has not sent the dimming data to the LED driver chip, triggering a PWM module in the microcontroller to generate a square wave signal based on a timer interrupt generated by a timer, and outputting the square wave signal as a data clock signal to the LED driver chip; When it is determined that the external device sends the dimming data to the LED driver chip, the timer and the PWM module are controlled to stop working, and the data clock signal simulated based on the dimming data is output to the LED driver chip, so that the LED driver chip adjusts the display effect of the LED display based on the data clock signal and the dimming data.

2. The driving method of the LED display screen according to claim 1, characterized in that: Before detecting whether the external device sends dimming data to the LED driver chip, the method further includes: Determine the target count value and the target clock source of the timer according to the frequency of the required data clock signal; wherein the target count value is the count value when the timer triggers the timer interrupt; The clock source of the timer is configured as the target clock source, and the count value of the timer is configured as the target count value.

3. The driving method of the LED display screen according to claim 2, characterized in that: The triggering of the PWM module in the microcontroller to generate a square wave signal based on a timer interrupt generated by a timer comprises: The timer is triggered to count based on a preconfigured target clock source, so that the timer triggers a timer interrupt when the count value reaches a preconfigured target count value, and after the timer interrupt is triggered, the count value is restored to an initial value and counting starts again; wherein the PWM module is used to flip the output level when a timer overflow is detected to generate the square wave signal.

4. The driving method of the LED display screen according to claim 1, characterized in that: The detecting whether the external device sends dimming data to the LED driver chip includes: Acquire data received by the dimming data receiving end of the LED driver chip; wherein the dimming data receiving end of the LED driver chip is used to receive the dimming data sent by the external device; Determine whether the value of the flag bit of the received data is a target value; wherein, when the flag bit of the data is the target value, it is determined that the external device sends the dimming data to the LED driver chip, and when the flag bit of the data is not the target value, it is determined that the external device does not send the dimming data to the LED chip.

5. The driving method of the LED display screen according to claim 1, characterized in that: Also includes: When a duty cycle adjustment instruction is received, the value of the comparison register corresponding to the timer is adjusted based on the target duty cycle of the data clock signal specified by the duty cycle adjustment instruction to adjust the duty cycle of the square wave signal, thereby adjusting the duty cycle of the data clock signal.

6. A driving system for an LED display screen, characterized in that: include: A detection module, used to detect whether the external device sends dimming data to the LED driver chip; wherein the LED driver chip is used to adjust the display effect of the LED display screen based on the dimming data and the data clock signal; when it is determined that the external device does not send the dimming data to the LED driver chip, the square wave signal generation module is triggered; When it is determined that the external device sends the dimming data to the LED driver chip, triggering an analog data clock module; The square wave signal generating module is used to trigger the PWM module in the microcontroller to generate a square wave signal based on the timer interrupt generated by the timer, and output the square wave signal as a data clock signal to the LED driver chip; The analog data clock module is used to control the timer and the PWM module to stop working, and output the data clock signal simulated based on the dimming data to the LED driver chip, so that the LED driver chip adjusts the display effect of the LED display screen based on the data clock signal and the dimming data.

7. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that: The computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program, and when the computer program is executed by a processor, the steps of the driving method of the LED display screen according to any one of claims 1 to 5 are implemented.

8. A vehicle-mounted display system, characterized in that: It comprises an LED display screen, an LED driving chip and a microcontroller; wherein the microcontroller stores a computer program, and when the computer program is executed, the steps of the driving method of the LED display screen as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 5 are implemented.

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