Organic light emitting diode display panel driving apparatus and display panel driving method

Abstract

This invention relates to an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display panel driving apparatus and a display panel driving method. The display panel driving apparatus includes: a storage device storing compensation data for sub-pixels; and a timing controller for compensating image data to be output through the sub-pixels. The timing controller includes: a first data loading unit loading first data as a part of the compensation data from the storage device; a second data loading unit loading second data as the remaining part of the compensation data from the storage device; and a data compensation unit compensating image data using the first data during a first time period comprising n frames, and compensating image data using both the first and second data during a second time period following the first time period. The second data loading unit loads the second data when outputting image data compensated by the first data. The startup time of the OLED display device can be reduced by performing compensation only by loading a predetermined portion of the compensation data.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to a display panel driving device, and more specifically, to an organic light-emitting diode display panel driving device. Background Technology

[0002] Organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display devices include self-emissive organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), which have the advantages of fast response speed, high luminous efficiency, high brightness and wide viewing angle.

[0003] An organic light-emitting diode (OLED), as a self-emissive device, comprises an anode electrode, a cathode electrode, and an organic compound layer formed between them. The organic compound layer consists of a hole injection layer (HIL), a hole transport layer (HTL), an emission layer (EML), an electron transport layer (ETL), and an electron injection layer (EIL). When a power supply voltage is applied to the anode and cathode electrodes, holes in the hole transport layer (HTL) and electrons in the electron transport layer (ETL) move towards the emission layer (EML) to form excitons, resulting in visible light being emitted by the emission layer (EML).

[0004] Organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display devices arrange sub-pixels, each comprising an OLED and a thin-film transistor (TFT), in a matrix configuration. The brightness of the input image, implemented by the sub-pixels, is adjusted based on the grayscale value of the image data. The TFT controls the pixel current flowing through the OLED based on the voltage applied between its gate and source electrodes. The luminous intensity of the OLED is determined by the pixel current, and the image brightness is determined by the luminous intensity of the OLED.

[0005] Organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display devices suffer from uneven brightness between sub-pixels due to various reasons. For example, due to variations in the manufacturing process of the transistor substrate, characteristics such as the threshold voltage (Vth) and mobility (k) of the driving transistor are expressed differently in each sub-pixel. Even when the same data voltage (VDATA) is applied to each sub-pixel, deviations in the current flowing through the OLED result, leading to the inability to achieve uniform brightness.

[0006] As another example, because the driving transistor or organic light-emitting diode deteriorates over time, the driving characteristics of the sub-pixels change. Therefore, even if the same data voltage (VDATA) is applied to each sub-pixel, uniform brightness cannot be achieved due to the deviation of the current flowing through the organic light-emitting diode.

[0007] To address this issue, organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display devices pre-store compensation data in a storage device such as flash memory to compensate for the image data to be output to each sub-pixel. Then, when the power is turned on, the compensation data is loaded from the flash memory and used to compensate for the image data, thereby achieving uniform brightness.

[0008] To prevent the user from recognizing the loading and image data compensation actions, the organic light-emitting diode display device needs to complete the loading and compensation actions within the short startup time spent on power-on and displaying the image on the display panel.

[0009] However, as Figure 1 As shown, with the increase in resolution of organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display devices such as Ultra High Definition (UHD), the size of the compensation data for each subpixel also increases. Therefore, the time for loading the compensation data inevitably increases, which may lead to problems such as increased startup time of OLED display devices or failure to display a normal image within the predetermined startup time. Summary of the Invention

[0010] The present invention is intended to solve the above-mentioned problems. The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide an organic light-emitting diode display panel driving device and a display panel driving method that can reduce the startup time of an organic light-emitting diode display device by performing compensation by loading only a predetermined portion of the compensation data.

[0011] In addition, another technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide an organic light-emitting diode display panel driving device and display panel driving method that can prevent users from recognizing the image quality degradation that may occur due to only using partial compensation data to compensate for image data.

[0012] To address the aforementioned technical problems, an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display panel driving device according to one aspect of the present invention is characterized by comprising: a storage device for storing compensation data for compensating sub-pixels included in an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display panel; and a timing controller for loading the compensation data from the storage device to compensate image data to be output through the sub-pixels; the timing controller comprising: a first data loading unit for loading first data as a part of the compensation data from the storage device; a second data loading unit for loading second data as the remaining part of the compensation data from the storage device; and a data compensation unit for compensating the image data using the first data during a first time period comprising n frames, and for compensating the image data using the first data and the second data during a second time period following the first time period; the second data loading unit loads the second data when outputting image data compensated by the first data.

[0013] To address the aforementioned technical problem, an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display panel driving method according to another aspect of the present invention includes: a step of loading first data as a part of the compensation data from a storage device storing compensation data for compensating sub-pixels included in the OLED display panel; a step of using the first data to compensate image data and outputting it during a first time period comprising n frames; a step of loading second data as the remaining part of the compensation data from the storage device during the output of image data compensated by the first data; and a step of using the first data and the second data to compensate the image data and outputting it during a second time period following the first time period.

[0014] According to the present invention, when the organic light-emitting diode display device is turned on, the timing controller may not load all the compensation data stored in the storage device, but only load a portion of the compensation data to compensate for the image data of n frames. Therefore, the time required to load the compensation data can be reduced, thereby reducing the startup time of the organic light-emitting diode display device.

[0015] Furthermore, according to the present invention, when the organic light-emitting diode display device is turned on, the most significant bit (MSB) data in the compensation data can be loaded first as partial compensation data, and the image data can be compensated using the MSB data. Therefore, the image quality degradation that may occur due to the use of partial compensation data to compensate the image data can be minimized.

[0016] Furthermore, according to the present invention, when the organic light-emitting diode display device is turned on, the initial image data is compensated using MSB data in the interval where initial image data such as identifiers that are not regular image data is displayed, and in the interval where regular image data is displayed, the least significant bit (LSB) data is further loaded, and all compensation data is used to compensate for the regular image data. Therefore, the image quality degradation that may occur when displaying the initial image data can be minimized and recognized by the user. Attached Figure Description

[0017] Figure 1 This is a conceptual diagram illustrating the increase in loading time of compensation data as the resolution of an organic light-emitting diode display device increases.

[0018] Figure 2 This is a diagram illustrating the configuration of an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display device, including an OLED display panel driving device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0019] Figure 3 It is shown schematically. Figure 2 The block diagram shown illustrates the configuration of the timing controller.

[0020] Figure 4 This is a diagram illustrating an example of the storage of first and second data loaded from the storage device by a timing controller.

[0021] Figure 5 This is a conceptual illustration of how the initial display time of the image data compensation and display method of the present invention is shortened compared to the initial display time of the image data compensation and display method of the prior art.

[0022] Figure 6 This is a flowchart illustrating an embodiment of the organic light-emitting diode display panel driving method of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0023] Throughout this specification, the same reference numerals denote substantially the same constituent elements. In the following description, detailed descriptions of structures and functions known in the technical field of this invention may be omitted unless they are relevant to the core structure of the invention.

[0024] The advantages and features of the present invention, as well as the methods for achieving these advantages and features, will become apparent from the detailed embodiments described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed below and can be implemented in various different ways. These embodiments are only intended to complete the disclosure of the invention and to fully inform those skilled in the art of the scope of the invention, which is defined solely by the scope of the claims.

[0025] The shapes, sizes, ratios, angles, quantities, etc. disclosed in the accompanying drawings used to illustrate embodiments of the present invention are exemplary, and therefore the present invention is not limited to the matters illustrated.

[0026] When using terms such as "comprising," "having," or "consisting of" as mentioned in this specification, additional parts may be added unless "only" is used. Unless otherwise expressly stated, the use of the singular to express constituent elements includes the use of the plural.

[0027] When interpreting constituent elements, even without additional explicit documentation, it is interpreted as including the margin of error.

[0028] When the positional relationship is described, for example, if the positional relationship between two parts is described as "on top of", "above", "below", "beside", etc., then unless "adjacent" or "direct" is used, there may be more than one other part between the two parts.

[0029] The terms "first," "second," etc., can be used to describe various constituent elements, but these constituent elements are not limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one constituent element from another. Therefore, the "first constituent element" mentioned below can also be a "second constituent element" within the technical concept of this invention.

[0030] The term "at least one" should be understood to include all combinations that can be derived from more than one related item. For example, "at least one of the first item, the second item, and the third item" can mean not only each of the first item, the second item, and the third item, but also all combinations of two or more of the first item, the second item, and the third item.

[0031] Each feature of the various embodiments of the present invention may be combined or integrated with each other in part or in whole, and may be linked and driven in various technical ways. Each embodiment may be implemented independently of each other or together in an associated relationship.

[0032] Hereinafter, embodiments of this specification will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0033] Figure 2 This is a diagram illustrating the configuration of an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display device including an OLED display panel driving device, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0034] Figure 2The illustrated organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display device 100 is an electronic device that includes the OLED display panel driving device of the present invention. For example, it can be various display devices that use the voltage of a battery or external power source as the operating voltage. In one embodiment, the OLED display device 100 can be a vehicle display device mounted in an automobile.

[0035] Reference Figure 2 The organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display device 100 of the present invention includes: an OLED display panel 110 connected to a plurality of gate lines GL and a plurality of data lines DL, and a plurality of sub-pixels SP arranged in a matrix; and an OLED display panel driving device 115 for driving the OLED display panel 110. The OLED display panel driving device 115 includes: a gate driving circuit 120 for driving the plurality of gate lines GL; a data driving circuit 130 for supplying data voltage through the plurality of data lines DL; and a display panel control device 160 for controlling the gate driving circuit 120 and the data driving circuit 130.

[0036] In particular, such as Figure 2 The display panel control device 160 of the present invention may include a timing controller 140 and a storage device 150.

[0037] The display panel 110 displays images based on scan signals transmitted from the gate drive circuit 120 via a plurality of gate lines GL and data voltages transmitted from the data drive circuit 130 via a plurality of data lines DL.

[0038] In one embodiment, the organic light-emitting diode display panel 110 can be implemented as a top-emission mode, a bottom-emission mode, or a dual-emission mode.

[0039] The organic light-emitting diode display panel 110 can have a plurality of pixels arranged in a matrix, each pixel can be composed of sub-pixels SP of different colors (e.g., white sub-pixels, red sub-pixels, green sub-pixels and blue sub-pixels), and each sub-pixel SP can be defined by a plurality of data lines DL and a plurality of gate lines GL.

[0040] A sub-pixel SP may include a thin-film transistor (TFT), an organic light-emitting diode (OLED), and a storage capacitor electrically connected to the OLED and used to maintain voltage, all formed in the region where a data line DL intersects with a gate line GL. An image can be displayed by controlling the current flowing through the OLEDs configured in each sub-pixel SP.

[0041] The gate driving circuit 120 is controlled by the timing controller 140. The gate driving circuit 120 sequentially outputs scan signals to a plurality of gate lines GL disposed on the organic light-emitting diode display panel 110, thereby controlling the driving timing of a plurality of sub-pixels SP.

[0042] In one embodiment, the gate driving circuit 120 may include at least one gate driving integrated circuit (GDIC), and may be located on only one side of the organic light-emitting diode display panel 110 or on both sides, depending on the driving method. In another embodiment, the gate driving circuit 120 may also be embedded in the bezel area of ​​the organic light-emitting diode display panel 110 and implemented as a gate in panel (GIP) configuration.

[0043] The gate driving circuit 120 includes one or more gate driving integrated circuits (GDICs), which can be mounted on the gate film. One side of the gate film can be electrically connected to the organic light-emitting diode display panel 110. In addition, wiring for electrically connecting the gate driving integrated circuits (GDICs) and the organic light-emitting diode display panel 110 can be arranged on the upper part of the gate film.

[0044] The data driving circuit 130 receives image data DATA from the timing controller 140 and converts the received image data DATA into an analog data voltage. Then, according to the timing of the scan signal applied through the gate line GL, it outputs the data voltage to each data line DL, so that each sub-pixel SP connected to the data line DL displays a light emission signal with a brightness corresponding to the data voltage.

[0045] The data driving circuit 130 may include at least one source drive integrated circuit (SDIC). The source drive integrated circuit (SDIC) may be connected to the bonding pad of the organic light-emitting diode display panel 110 or directly disposed on the organic light-emitting diode display panel 110 by means of tape-automated bonding (TAB) or chip-on-glass (COG).

[0046] In one embodiment, each source driver integrated circuit (SDIC) can also be integrated into the organic light-emitting diode display panel 110. Alternatively, each source driver integrated circuit (SDIC) can be implemented as a chip-on-film (COF) circuit. In this embodiment, each source driver integrated circuit (SDIC) can be mounted on a circuit film and electrically connected to the data lines DL of the organic light-emitting diode display panel 110 via the circuit film.

[0047] The data driving circuit 130 includes one or more source driver integrated circuits (SDICs), which can be mounted on the source film. One side of the source film can be electrically connected to the organic light-emitting diode display panel 110. In addition, wiring for electrically connecting the source driver integrated circuits (SDICs) and the organic light-emitting diode display panel 110 can be arranged on the upper part of the source film.

[0048] The timing controller 140 supplies control signals to the gate drive circuit 120 and the data drive circuit 130, controlling their operation. Specifically, the timing controller 140 controls the gate drive circuit 120 to output a scan signal according to the timing implemented in each frame, transmitting externally received image data DATA to the data drive circuit 130, thereby controlling the data drive circuit 130 to output the data voltage corresponding to the image data DATA to the data line DL.

[0049] At this time, the timing controller 140 can receive timing signals, including vertical synchronization signal Vsync, horizontal synchronization signal Hsync, data enable signal (DE), master clock MCLK, etc., from the external host system 200 along with the image data DATA.

[0050] The host system 200 can be one of the following: a television (TV) system, a set-top box, a navigation system, a personal computer (PC), a home theater system, a mobile device, or a wearable device.

[0051] Therefore, the timing controller 140 uses the timing signals received from the host system 200 to generate control signals and transmits them to the gate drive circuit 120 and the data drive circuit 130.

[0052] For example, the timing controller 140 outputs gate control signals, including Gate Start Pulse (GSP), Gate Clock (GCLK), Gate Output Enable (GOE), etc., to the gate drive circuit 120 to control the gate drive circuit 120.

[0053] Here, the gate start pulse GSP controls the timing of the start of operation of at least one gate driver integrated circuit (GDIC) constituting the gate drive circuit 120. Additionally, the gate clock GCLK, as a clock signal common to the at least one gate driver integrated circuit (GDIC), controls the shift timing of the scan signal. Furthermore, the gate output enable signal GOE specifies the timing information of the at least one gate driver integrated circuit (GDIC).

[0054] Additionally, the timing controller 140 outputs data control signals, including a source start pulse (SSP), a source sampling clock (SCLK), and a source output enable signal (SOE), to the data driver circuit 130 to control the data driver circuit 130. Here, the source start pulse (SSP) controls the timing of data sampling for at least one source driver integrated circuit (SDIC) constituting the data driver circuit 130. The source sampling clock (SCLK) is a clock signal that controls the timing of data sampling from at least one source driver integrated circuit (SDIC). The source output enable signal (SOE) controls the output timing of at least one source driver integrated circuit (SDIC).

[0055] In addition, the timing controller 140 loads compensation data from the storage device 150 and uses the loaded compensation data to compensate for the image data DATA to be output through each sub-pixel SP.

[0056] Therefore, compensation data can be stored in the storage device 150. In one embodiment, the compensation data stored in the storage device 150 may be compensation data for compensating for the degradation of the organic light-emitting diodes or driving transistors of each sub-pixel SP. In this case, the compensation data may be initial compensation data or real-time compensation data updated based on sensing data acquired by the sensing circuit included in the data driving circuit 130.

[0057] In another embodiment, the compensation data stored in the storage device 150 may be compensation data for compensating for deviations in characteristics such as the threshold voltage (Vth) and mobility (k) of the driving transistor caused by deviations in the manufacturing process of the transistor substrate.

[0058] In the above embodiments, the storage device 150 may be a flash memory.

[0059] In particular, the timing controller 140 of the present invention can load only the first data, which is a part of the compensation data, when loading compensation data from the storage device 150 when the organic light-emitting diode display panel driving device 115 is turned on, instead of loading all the compensation data. As a result, the total startup time of the organic light-emitting diode display device 100 can be reduced.

[0060] The following is for reference Figure 3 The configuration of a timing controller according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in more detail.

[0061] Figure 3 This is a block diagram schematically illustrating the configuration of a timing controller according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0062] like Figure 3 As shown, a timing controller 140 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a first data loading unit 310, a second data loading unit 320, a memory 330, and a data compensation unit 340. Furthermore, the data compensation unit 340 may include a pre-compensation data generation unit 342, a compensation data recovery unit 344, and a compensation data processing unit 346.

[0063] The first data loading unit 310 connects to the storage device 150 when the organic light-emitting diode display panel driving device 115 is turned on, and loads the first data D1, which is part of the compensation data, from the storage device 150. The reason why the timing controller 140 of the present invention loads only the first data D1, which is part of the compensation data, using the first data loading unit 310 when the organic light-emitting diode display panel driving device 115 is turned on is as follows.

[0064] As the resolution of the OLED display device 100 increases, the size of the compensation data also increases. Consequently, when loading all the compensation data, the loading time of the compensation data increases, leading to an increase in the startup time of the OLED display device 100. Therefore, in this invention, to reduce the loading time of the compensation data and the startup time of the OLED display device 100, when the OLED display panel 110 is turned on, the timing controller 140 does not load all the compensation data stored in the storage device 150, but only loads a portion of the compensation data first, thereby using only the loaded portion of the compensation data to compensate for the image data DATA.

[0065] In one embodiment, the first data D1 may be MSB (Most Significant Bit) data consisting of a predetermined number of bits in the compensation data. For example, if the compensation data consists of 8 bits, the first data loading unit 310 may load 4 bits from the most significant bit in the compensation data as the first data D1.

[0066] In this invention, the first data loading unit 310 loads only the MSB data consisting of a predetermined number of bits in the compensation data first because, compared with LSB (Least Significant Bit) data, MSB data has a greater impact on the compensation of image data DATA. Therefore, by loading MSB data first for compensation, the image quality degradation that may occur due to using only a portion of the compensation data for compensation can be minimized.

[0067] In one embodiment, the first data loading unit 310 can store the first data D1 loaded from the storage device 150 into the memory 330. The first data loading unit 310 can also transfer the first data D1 to the second data loading unit 320.

[0068] The second data loading unit 320 connects to the storage device 150 and loads second data D2, which is the remaining portion of the compensation data, from the storage device 150. That is, the second data loading unit 320 can load the remaining portion of the compensation data stored in the storage device 150, excluding the first data D1 loaded by the first data loading unit 310, as the second data D2. For this purpose, the second data loading unit 320 receives the first data D1, which was loaded first by the first data loading unit 310, from the first data loading unit 310, thereby specifying the portion that the second data loading unit 320 needs to load from the compensation data.

[0069] In one embodiment, if the first data D1 is MSB data consisting of a predetermined number of bits, the second data D2 may be LSB data other than MSB data in the compensation data. The second data loading unit 320 may store the second data D2 loaded from the storage device 150 into the memory 330.

[0070] On the other hand, in the above embodiment, the second data loading unit 320 can access the storage device 150 and load the second data D2 from the storage device 150 during the display of image data DATA compensated by the first data D1. As described above, according to the present invention, by loading the second data D2 during the display of image data DATA compensated by the first data D1 loaded earlier, the startup time of the organic light-emitting diode display device 100 can be minimized.

[0071] The memory 330 stores first data D1 loaded by the first data loading unit 310 and second data D2 loaded by the second data loading unit 320. In one embodiment, the first data D1 and the second data D2 in the memory 330 are stored as follows: Figure 4The shown shapes are distinguished and recorded, so that the data compensation unit 340 can compensate for the image data DATA using only the first data D1, or can compensate for the image data DATA using both the first data D1 and the second data D2.

[0072] In the above embodiments, the timing controller 140 is described with memory 330 included, but this is only an example. In another embodiment, the timing controller 140 may not include memory 330. The first data loading unit 310 may directly transmit the first data D1 to the data compensation unit 340, and the second data loading unit 320 may also directly transmit the second data D2 or the first data D1 and the second data D2 to the data compensation unit 340.

[0073] Refer again Figure 3 The data compensation unit 340 compensates for image data DATA using first data D1 during a first time period (hereinafter referred to as "first time period") including n frames after the organic light-emitting diode display panel driving device 115 is turned on, and compensates for image data DATA using first data D1 and second data D2 during a second time period after the first time period (i.e., the time period after n frames, hereinafter referred to as "second time period").

[0074] Therefore, such as Figure 3 As shown, the data compensation unit 340 of the present invention includes a pre-compensation data generation unit 342, a compensation data recovery unit 344, and a compensation data processing unit 346.

[0075] The pre-compensation data generation unit 342 generates pre-compensation data PCD using first data D1 stored in memory 330. In one embodiment, the pre-compensation data generation unit 342 can generate pre-compensation data by combining the first data D1 with a number of bits corresponding to the number of bits in the second data D2, including zero padding. For example, if the compensation data consists of 8 bits and the first data D1 is a 4-bit MSB data, the pre-compensation data generation unit 342 can generate 8-bit pre-compensation data PCD by appending 4 zeros to the 4 bits corresponding to the MSB data.

[0076] The compensation data recovery unit 344 can recover compensation data using the first data D1 and the second data D2, and generate the recovered compensation data RCD. In one embodiment, the compensation data recovery unit 344 can generate the recovered compensation data RCD by combining the bit values ​​of the first data D1 with the bit values ​​corresponding to the second data D2. For example, when the compensation data consists of 8 bits and the second data D2 is LSB data consisting of 4 bits, the compensation data recovery unit 344 can generate the recovered compensation data RCD consisting of 8 bits by combining the 4 bit values ​​corresponding to the MSB data with the 4 bit values ​​corresponding to the LSB data.

[0077] The compensation data processing unit 346 uses the pre-compensation data generated by the pre-compensation data generation unit 342 to compensate the image data DATA and display it, or uses the restored compensation data RCD generated by the compensation data restoration unit 344 to compensate the image data DATA and display it.

[0078] In one embodiment, the compensation data processing unit 346 may use pre-compensation data PCD to compensate image data DATA during a first time period after the organic light-emitting diode display panel driving device 115 is turned on, and use restored compensation data RCD to compensate image data DATA during a second time period.

[0079] In particular, as described above, while the compensation data processing unit 346 compensates for and displays the image data DATA using the pre-compensation data PCD generated using the first data D1, the second data loading unit 320 loads the second data D2, and the compensation data restoration unit 344 generates restored compensation data RCD using the first data D1 and the second data D2. Afterwards, the compensation data processing unit 346 compensates for and displays the image data DATA using the restored compensation data RCD generated by the compensation data restoration unit 344.

[0080] According to the above embodiment, during the first time period after the organic light-emitting diode display panel driving device 115 is turned on, the image data DATA compensated using pre-compensation data PCD can be the initial image data including logo data, and during the second time period, the image data DATA compensated using restored compensation data RCD can be normal image data. Here, normal image data refers to the actual image data that needs to be output by the organic light-emitting diode display panel 110.

[0081] Figure 5 A diagram conceptually illustrates the reduction in initial display time of the image data compensation and display method of the present invention compared to the initial display time of the image data compensation and display method of the prior art.

[0082] like Figure 5As shown, in the existing method, image data DATA is compensated using all compensation data after loading all compensation data and then displayed, thus increasing the initial display time. However, in the present invention, during the first period after the organic light-emitting diode display panel driving device 115 is turned on, the initial image data compensated by pre-compensation data PCD generated using the first data D1 is displayed. During the display of the initial image data compensated by the pre-compensation data PCD, the second data D2 is additionally loaded. Afterwards, regular image data compensated by restored compensation data RCD generated using the first data D1 and the second data D2 is displayed. Therefore, the initial display time can be shortened.

[0083] Furthermore, according to the present invention, when the organic light-emitting diode display device 100 is turned on, during the period of displaying initial image data, initial image data compensated by MSB data is displayed, and during the period of displaying regular image data, regular image data fully compensated by both MSB data and LSB data is displayed. Therefore, it has the effect of minimizing the image quality degradation that may occur during the initial image data display and being recognized by the user.

[0084] The following is for reference Figure 6 The organic light-emitting diode display panel driving method of the present invention will be described.

[0085] Figure 6 This is a flowchart illustrating an embodiment of the organic light-emitting diode display panel driving method of the present invention. Figure 6 The organic light-emitting diode display panel driving method shown can be derived from... Figure 3 The timing controller shown is executed.

[0086] like Figure 6 As shown, the timing controller 140 can be connected to the storage device 150 which stores compensation data for compensating sub-pixels, and load the first data D1 as part of the compensation data from the storage device (S600).

[0087] In one embodiment, the compensation data stored in the storage device 150 may be compensation data used to compensate for the degradation of the organic light-emitting diodes or driving transistors of each sub-pixel SP. In this case, the compensation data may be initial compensation data or real-time compensation data updated based on sensing data acquired by the sensing circuit included in the data driving circuit 130.

[0088] In another embodiment, the compensation data stored in the storage device 150 may be compensation data for compensating for deviations in characteristics such as the threshold voltage (Vth) and mobility (k) of the driving transistor caused by deviations in the manufacturing process of the transistor substrate.

[0089] The reason why the timing controller 140 of the present invention only loads the first data D1 as part of the compensation data when the organic light-emitting diode display panel driving device 115 is turned on is as follows.

[0090] As the resolution of the OLED display device 100 increases, the size of the compensation data also increases. Consequently, when loading all the compensation data, the loading time of the compensation data increases, leading to an increase in the startup time of the OLED display device 100. Therefore, in this invention, to reduce the loading time of the compensation data and the startup time of the OLED display device 100, when the OLED display panel 110 is turned on, the timing controller 140 does not load all the compensation data stored in the storage device 150, but only loads a portion of the compensation data first, thereby using only the loaded portion of the compensation data to compensate for the image data DATA.

[0091] In one embodiment, in S600, the timing controller 140 can load MSB data consisting of a predetermined number of bits from the compensation data stored in the storage device 150 as first data D1. For example, if the compensation data consists of 8 bits, the timing controller 140 can load 4 bits from the most significant bit in the compensation data as first data D1.

[0092] In this invention, the timing controller 140 loads only the MSB data consisting of a predetermined number of bits in the compensation data first because, compared with LSB data, MSB data has a greater impact on the compensation of image data DATA. Therefore, by loading MSB data first for compensation, the image quality degradation that may occur due to using only a portion of the compensation data for compensation can be minimized.

[0093] Subsequently, timing controller 140 generates pre-compensation data PCD using the first data D1 (S610). In one embodiment, timing controller 140 can generate pre-compensation data PCD by combining the first data D1 loaded in S600 with a predetermined number of bits for zero padding. In this case, the predetermined number can be a value corresponding to the difference between the number of bits in the compensation data and the number of bits in the first data. For example, if the compensation data consists of 8 bits and the first data D1 is a 4-bit MSB data, timing controller 140 can generate 8-bit pre-compensation data PCD by appending 4 zeros to the 4 bits corresponding to the MSB data.

[0094] Subsequently, the timing controller 140 compensates for the image data DATA using pre-compensation data during a first time period comprising n frames and displays it, then accesses the storage device 150 and loads the second data from the storage device 150 as the remaining portion of the compensation data (S620). In one embodiment, if the first data D1 is MSB data consisting of a predetermined number of bits, the second data D2 may be LSB data other than MSB data in the compensation data.

[0095] As described above, the timing controller 140 can access the storage device 150 and load the second data D2 from the storage device 150 during the display of image data DATA compensated by the first data D1. As described above, according to the present invention, by loading the second data D2 during the display of image data DATA compensated by the first data D1, the startup time of the organic light-emitting diode display device 100 can be maximized.

[0096] In one embodiment, the image data DATA compensated using the first data D1 during the first time period may be initial image data including logo data.

[0097] Subsequently, the timing controller 140 uses the first data D1 and the second data D2 to recover the compensation data, thereby generating the recovered compensation data (S630). In one embodiment, the timing controller 140 can generate the recovered compensation data RCD by combining the bit values ​​of the first data D1 with the bit values ​​corresponding to the second data D2. For example, when the compensation data consists of 8 bits and the second data D2 is LSB data consisting of 4 bits, the timing controller 140 can generate the recovered compensation data RCD consisting of 8 bits by combining the 4 bit values ​​corresponding to the MSB data with the 4 bit values ​​corresponding to the LSB data.

[0098] Subsequently, the timing controller 140 compensates for the image data DATA using the recovered compensation data RCD during a second time period following the first time period and outputs it (S640). In one embodiment, the image data DATA compensated using the recovered compensation data RCD during the second time period can be regular image data.

[0099] As described above, according to the present invention, when the organic light-emitting diode display device 100 is turned on, during the period of displaying initial image data, initial image data compensated by MSB data is displayed, and during the period of displaying regular image data, regular image data fully compensated by both MSB data and LSB data is displayed. Therefore, it is possible to minimize the image quality degradation that may occur during the display of initial image data from being recognized by the user.

[0100] Those skilled in the art to which this invention pertains should understand that this invention can be implemented in other specific ways without changing the technical concept or essential features of this invention.

[0101] Therefore, the embodiments described above should be understood as exemplary in all respects and not as limiting. The scope of the invention is not defined by the detailed description provided herein, but by the claims that follow, and the meaning and scope of the claims, as well as all modifications or variations derived from their equivalents, should be interpreted as encompassing the scope of the invention.

Claims

1. An organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display panel driving device, wherein, include: A storage device for storing compensation data for compensating sub-pixels included in an organic light-emitting diode display panel; as well as A timing controller loads the compensation data from the storage device to compensate for the image data to be output through the sub-pixels; The timing controller includes: The first data loading unit loads first data, which is a part of the compensation data, from the storage device; The second data loading unit loads second data from the storage device as the remaining portion of the compensation data; and The data compensation unit uses the first data to compensate the image data during a first time period including n frames, and uses the first data and the second data to compensate the image data during a second time period after the first time period; The second data loading unit loads the second data when outputting image data compensated by the first data.

2. The organic light-emitting diode display panel driving device according to claim 1, wherein, The data compensation unit includes: The pre-compensation data generation unit generates pre-compensation data using the first data; The compensation data recovery unit uses the first data and the second data to recover the compensation data; and The compensation data processing unit compensates the image data using the pre-compensation data during the first time period, and compensates the image data using the restored compensation data during the second time period.

3. The organic light-emitting diode display panel driving device according to claim 2, wherein, The pre-compensation data generation unit generates the pre-compensation data by combining the first data with a number of bits corresponding to the number of bits in the second data and zero-padding. The compensation data recovery unit recovers the compensation data by combining the first data with the second data.

4. The organic light-emitting diode display panel driving device according to claim 1, wherein, The image data compensated using the first data during the first time period is the initial image data including the identification data; The image data compensated using the first data and the second data during the second time period is regular image data.

5. The organic light-emitting diode display panel driving device according to claim 1, wherein, The first data is MSB data consisting of a predetermined number of bits in the compensation data, and the second data is LSB data in the compensation data other than the MSB data.

6. The organic light-emitting diode display panel driving device according to claim 1, wherein, The compensation data includes at least one of the following: compensation data for compensating for the degradation of the organic light-emitting diodes configured in the sub-pixel and the driving transistors for driving the organic light-emitting diodes, and compensation data for compensating for the characteristic deviations of the driving transistors caused by manufacturing process deviations of the transistor substrate.

7. The organic light-emitting diode display panel driving device according to claim 1, wherein, The storage device is a flash memory.

8. A method for driving an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display panel, wherein, include: The step of loading first data as a part of the compensation data from a storage device storing compensation data for compensating sub-pixels included in an organic light-emitting diode display panel; The step of using the first data to compensate for image data and outputting it during a first time period comprising n frames; During the output of image data compensated by the first data, a step of loading second data as the remaining part of the compensated data from the storage device; as well as The step of using the first data and the second data to compensate for the image data and outputting it during a second time period following the first time period.

9. The organic light-emitting diode display panel driving method according to claim 8, wherein, Also includes: The step of generating pre-compensation data by combining the first data with zero-padding and the number of bits corresponding to the number of bits in the second data; as well as The step of combining the bit values ​​of the first data with the second data to recover the compensation data; During the first time period, the pre-compensation data is used to compensate the image data; During the second time period, the recovered compensation data is used to compensate the image data.

10. The organic light-emitting diode display panel driving method according to claim 8, wherein, The first data is MSB data consisting of a predetermined number of bits in the compensation data, and the second data is LSB data in the compensation data other than the MSB data.

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