Display device and method of controlling a display device

Abstract

The present invention relates to a display device (1) and method of controlling the display device. The display device comprises a display screen (10) configured to display multiple pieces of information in different screen areas of the display screen, wherein one or more pieces of information have a higher priority than other pieces of information. The display device further comprises a detection unit (20) configured to detect if one or more of the different screen areas of the display screen are defective and a display control unit (30) configured to control the arrangement of the multiple pieces of information on the display screen and, in case one or more screen areas are detected as defective, to reorganize the arrangement of the multiple pieces of information on the display screen depending on the priority of the information intended to be displayed in said one or more defective screen areas.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The present invention relates to a display device and method of controlling a display device.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] The latest display technologies include TFT-LCDs (Thin Film Transistor - Liquid Crystal Displays), which are active matrix displays that control light transmission via liquid crystal arrays from a separate backlight unit. These displays can ultimately present an image by varying the illumination of pixels. Essential parameters of the image quality depend on the pixel density as well as on the type of pixel illumination. Therefore, alternative methods to backlit TFT-LCDs have been developed, including self-illuminating display technologies such as OLEDs (Organic Light Emitting Diodes) and µLEDs (Microscopic Light Emitting Diodes), where the pixels are self-illuminating, eliminating the need for homogeneous light distribution from a backlight unit.

[0003] In addition, modern displays typically include touch sensors to enable interaction between the user and the display. These touch sensors come in various implementations, from resistive touch sensors to capacitive sensors on or in the LCD layer structure. The density of the touch interaction nodes is usually matched to the user's input requirements and is typically correlated to the pixel density of the TFT-LCD.

[0004] Today's display systems typically consist of a lighting unit, a touch unit, and a TFT matrix unit. Various technologies are used to integrate these components, making the devices slimmer, lighter, or providing alternative form factors.

[0005] The existing problems of today's display technologies in terms of usability in case of failure are drastic. The complexity of today's display technologies is increasing due to increasing technologization, i.e., the user's increasing need for interaction with the display, combined with increased aesthetics and the desire for light, simple and thin technologies that simultaneously satisfy a wide variety of usage conditions. This means that a large number of components can drastically limit normal use. However, since the user is becoming increasingly dependent on the display unit, including in the area of patient monitoring for taking decisive actions, sudden unusual use of the display unit can have serious consequences.

[0006] US 2018 / 0095601 Al discloses a touch sensitive processing method adaptable to a touch sensitive processing apparatus for detecting defects of a touch panel in an electronic system. The method comprises: connecting, by an interconnection network of the touch sensitive processing apparatus, second touch sensitive electrodes with a detecting circuit of the apparatus, respectively, connecting, by the interconnection network, at least one touch sensitive electrode with a drive circuit of the apparatus; having the drive circuit emit a drive signal via the at least one touch sensitive electrode; having the detecting circuit detect the drive signal via the second touch sensitive electrodes; calculating a phase shift between each neighboring pair of second touch sensitive electrodes receiving the drive signal; and determining at least one second touch sensitive electrode of the pair is faulty when the phase shift is larger than a phase shift threshold and reporting information related to the defect to a host.SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0007] It is an object of the present invention to provide a display device and a corresponding method of controlling the display device that continue to enable display and interaction on the display device, in particular to protect the user from incorrect input or even physical damage caused an action following a wrong display.

[0008] In a first aspect of the present invention a display device is presented comprising: a display screen configured to display multiple pieces of information in different screen areas of the display screen, wherein one or more pieces of information have a higher priority than other pieces of information; a detection unit configured to detect if one or more of the different screen areas of the display screen are defective; and a display control unit configured to control the arrangement of the multiple pieces of information on the display screen and, in case one or more screen areas are detected as defective, to reorganize the arrangement of the multiple pieces of information on the display screen depending on the priority of the information intended to be displayed in said one or more defective screen areas.

[0009] In a second aspect of the present invention a method of controlling a display device, the display device comprising a display screen configured to display multiple pieces of information in different screen areas of the display screen, wherein one or more pieces of information have a higher priority than other pieces of information, is presented, the method comprising: detecting if one or more of the different screen areas of the display screen are defective; controlling the arrangement of the multiple pieces of information on the display screen; and reorganizing in case one or more screen areas are detected as defective, the arrangement of the multiple pieces of information on the display screen depending on the priority the information intended to be displayed in said one or more defective screen areas.

[0010] In yet further aspects of the present invention, there are provided a computer program which comprises program code means for causing a computer to perform the steps of the method disclosed herein when said computer program is carried out on a computer as well as a non-transitory computer-readable recording medium that stores therein a computer program product, which, when executed by a processor, causes the method disclosed herein to be performed.

[0011] Preferred embodiments of the invention are defined in the dependent claims. It shall be understood that the claimed method, computer program and medium have similar and / or identical preferred embodiments as the claimed device, in particular as defined in the dependent claims and as disclosed herein.

[0012] The present invention is based on the idea to reorganize certain image content, in particular critical image content, displayed on the display device at certain positions. Functionally non-existent or mal-functioning component blocks of the display device may be excluded from the display and user interaction in order not only to continue to enable display and interaction on the usage-limited display system, but also to protect the user from incorrect input or even physical damage.

[0013] In more detail, the present invention introduces a mechanism to ensure that certain display segments, e.g., display segments that are displaying critical or essential content, are maintained even when an error is detected in a display component relevant to the display of such display content (herein also referred to as "image content"). This is particularly important for display devices that are exposed to harsh environmental conditions or that display critical content, such as patient monitors used in out-of-hospital settings. The present invention thus ensures the display of critical or essential image content despite defects in components necessary for display and user interaction, thereby ensuring continued operation in the presence of such defects.

[0014] An "error" and a "defective" screen area shall herein be understood in the sense that a screen area (or any component of the display device required for displaying information in this screen area) is completely defective and cannot display any information at all or can only display information and / or provide human-machine interface with insufficient quality making it impossible or very difficult to read, understand and / or interact with the displayed information. For instance, in case of a patient monitor, it is important that a user (e.g. a physician, nurse, caregiver, etc.) can quickly and easily read and understand the information that is displayed on the display screen.

[0015] The display device according to the present invention comprises a display screen, a detection unit and a display control unit. The display screen may include at least one actively controllable pixel matrix and an illumination unit (one or more lighting elements or lighting areas), a cover glass (cover element), and a touch sensor (touch sensor elements or touch sensor areas). The detection unit and the display control unit may be implemented by a common or separate elements, e.g. one or more processors, controllers, electronic circuitry, etc.

[0016] According to an embodiment, the display control unit is configured to reorganize the arrangement of the multiple pieces of information on the display screen such that pieces of information having a higher priority than other pieces of information are displayed on non-defective screen areas. This ensures that information having higher priority, e.g. in case of a patient monitor vital signs (e.g. SpO2 (arterial blood oxygen saturation), HR (heart rate), RR (respiration rate)), is continued to be displayed in a non-defective screen area (or segment) of the display screen.

[0017] According to another embodiment, the display control unit is configured to reorganize the arrangement of the multiple pieces of information on the display screen such that pieces of information having a lower priority than other pieces of information are not displayed or are displayed with screen areas of reduced size. This enables that space of the display screen is made available for the display of information having a higher priority. In case of a patient monitor, information having lower priority may, e.g., be respiratory waveforms or plethysmography waveforms, which may thus be omitted or displayed in a smaller display area so that vital signs with higher priority can still be displayed although the screen area in which those vital signs are originally displayed are defective.

[0018] The display control unit may further be configured to reorganize the arrangement of the multiple pieces of information on the display screen only if pieces of information having a higher priority than other pieces of information have been or are intended to be displayed on a defective screen area. Thus avoids permanent changes of the display but ensures that only in case of critical situations a reorganization of the display is made.

[0019] There are many ways of detecting if one or more of the different screen areas of the display screen are defective. One option is that the detection unit is configured to detect a screen area as defective if said screen area is not able to display information or can only display information with insufficient quality. This may be automatically known to the display device or may be automatically detected. Alternatively, a user may provide user input to indicate such a defective screen area, i.e., in an embodiment the detection unit is configured to detect a screen area as defective based on user input.

[0020] There are generally different elements of the display device that may cause a defect. Thus, depending on which sources of defects shall be detected, the detection unit may be configured to detect one or more of a defect of one or more lighting elements or lighting areas of the display screen; one or more touch sensor elements or touch sensor areas of the display screen; a cover element, in particular a cover glass, of the display screen; and one or more pixels of the display screen.

[0021] In an embodiment the detection unit is configured to detect a defect of one or more lighting elements or lighting areas of the display screen, in particular one or more LEDs or LED areas of a backlighting unit of the display screen, by detecting performance or power consumption in a power supply line connected to one or more LEDs or LED areas.

[0022] In another embodiment the detection unit is configured to detect a defect of one or more touch sensor elements or touch sensor areas of the display screen by carrying out a self-test routine of the touch sensor elements or touch sensor areas of the display screen, in particular by testing for open or closed circuits of the touch sensor elements and evaluating the response of the testing.

[0023] In another embodiment the detection unit is configured to detect a defect of a cover element, in particular a cover glass, of the display screen by evaluating the capacitive field behavior of touch sensor elements or touch sensor areas of the display screen.

[0024] In another embodiment the detection unit is configured to detect one or more of a defect of one or more pixels of the display screen by detecting performance or power consumption in a power supply line connected to one or more pixels of the display screen.

[0025] The detection unit may further be configured to regularly detect if one or more of the different screen areas of the display screen are defective. In other embodiments, no regular detection is performed, but the detection is performed at random intervals or whenever any indications are found that may indicate a defect or upon instruction of a user or every time the display device is switched on.

[0026] According to the present invention, the reorganization depends on the priority of the information intended to be displayed in said one or more defective screen areas. There are different embodiments to detect this priority. In an embodiment, the display control unit is configured to determine the priority of the different pieces of information based on the information itself, e.g., from an information element or metadata carried with the information. In another embodiment the display control unit is configured obtain the priority of the different pieces of information from an external database. The display control unit may contact the external database holding, e.g., a list of different pieces of information that may be displayed on the display device and the corresponding priority. In still another embodiment, the display control unit is configured to allow a user to enter the priority of the different pieces of information, i.e., a user may prescribe which pieces of information are more important or more necessary for a certain application than other pieces of information.

[0027] In a preferred embodiment the display device is a patient monitor, wherein the display screen is configured to display physiological information of a patient including one or more of one or more physiological signals, vital signs and vital sign related information. In such application, but also in general, the information to be displayed may be any kind of information in any visual / recognizable form, such as text and / or image information (e.g. waveforms, statistics, diagrams, medical images, etc.).BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0028] These and other aspects of the invention will be apparent from and elucidated with reference to the embodiment(s) described hereinafter. In the following drawings: Fig. 1 shows a schematic diagram of an embodiment of a display device according to the present invention. Fig. 2 shows a schematic diagram of an embodiment of a display screen. Fig. 3 shows a flowchart of a first embodiment of a method according to the present invention. Fig. 4 shows a flowchart of a second embodiment of a method according to the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

[0029] Fig. 1 shows a schematic diagram of an embodiment of a display device 1 according to the present invention. The display device 1 comprises a display screen 10, a detection unit 20 and a display control unit 30.

[0030] The display screen 10 is configured to display multiple pieces of information in different screen areas of the display screen. The display screen 10 may generally be any kind of screen on which any kind of information can be displayed in any form. Exemplary embodiments of the display screen as used in medical applications include: display of a portable patient monitor, defibrillator monitor, ECG monitor, capnograph, pulse oximeter, blood pressure monitor, glucometer, temperature monitor, ultrasound device, ventilator monitor, anesthesia monitor, or other monitors commonly used in hospitals or out-of-hospital applications such as ambulances. The display device and the display screen may, however, be used in non-medical applications as well, such as a monitor of a machine in an industrial application (e.g. showing parameters and / or measurements of an automated machine, a display of a vehicle, ship or airplane showing movement-related information, etc.) or in consumer electronics applications such as common mobile phones.

[0031] The display screen 10 is connected to the detection unit 20, e.g. a processor or electronic circuitry adapted to detect certain defects, which may obtain (receive or retrieve) information of the display screen 10 and is configured to detect if one or more of the different screen areas of the display screen 10 are defective.

[0032] The result of the detection is obtained by the display control unit 30, e.g. a controller or processor or direct peripheral control unit, which is configured to control the arrangement of the multiple pieces of information on the display screen and, in case one or more screen areas are detected as defective, to reorganize the arrangement of the multiple pieces of information on the display screen depending on the priority of the information intended to be displayed in said one or more defective screen areas. The display control unit 30 thus processes functional parameters of the display screen 10 and may cause a segmentation of the pixel matrix of the display screen and perform continuous functional tests of the display screen to be evaluated to trigger the segmentation.

[0033] The detection unit 20 and the display control unit 30 may be separate components but may alternatively be combined in a common component that is coupled with the display screen 10.

[0034] In an example, the patient monitor displays vital signs and vital sign related information of a patient, such as heart rate, oxygen saturation, respiration rate, blood pressure and body temperature. Exemplary high priority screen areas can be indicated, which are critical in clinical environments. In an example, a high priority screen area indicates a warning ("Low SP02 < 90"), another high priority screen area indicates the current SpO2 value, and another high priority screen area indicates an acknowledgement button to be pressed by the user to acknowledge that the user has taken notice of this potentially critical health status of the patient.

[0035] Under the exemplary assumption that the high priority screen area indicating an acknowledgement button is defective, as detected by the detection unit 20, the display control unit 30 reorganizes the arrangement of the information that is supposed to be displayed in this high priority screen area to a different screen area, because this information has - in this exemplary situation - a higher priority than other information, e.g., the respiration waveform or the blood pressure values. Hence, this information may be shifted to another screen area. This provides that the user can still see and actuate the "Acknowledge" button and safe und uninterrupted use of the patient monitor is warranted.

[0036] The shifted display element (the button "Acknowledge") may be displayed with the same size and same resolution, or the size and / or resolution may be changed, in particular reduced, compared to the original standard display. This may also be dependent on how much empty space is available on the display and / or if other display elements are removed or reduced in size.

[0037] Fig. 2 shows a schematic diagram of an embodiment of a display screen 10. In this embodiment the display screen 10 comprises a cover element (cover glass) 11, a touch sensor 12 (touch screen), a TFT-LCD display 13 and a lighting element 14. The structure of the display screen 10 shown in Fig. 2 can vary depending on the design. Individual layers can either be connected and arranged in a common layer, or additional layers such as the coatings may be additionally provided.

[0038] According to the present invention, the display device 100 is designed to eliminate one or more defects of lighting elements or lighting areas of the display screen, touch sensor elements or touch sensor areas of the display screen, a cover element, in particular a cover glass, of the display screen and pixels of the display screen. Implementation examples for correcting one or more of these errors are described below; other conceivable display errors can be resolved using the same or similar approaches.

[0039] The cover element 11 is typically a standard cover glass 11, but may also comprise materials such as acrylic, polycarbonate, Gorilla glass, Dragontrail glass, sapphire glass, and chemically strengthened glass. It may further have coatings such as anti-glare, anti-reflective, oleophobic and / or antimicrobial coatings. Any breakage or damage to the cover glass 11 can be detected and a potential safety risk and impairment of the use of the display screen 10 can be avoided by reorganizing the image content.

[0040] For this purpose, monitoring elements and circuit logic may be implemented with respect to the touch sensor 12 (described in detail below), the response behavior of which allows conclusions to be drawn about the state of the cover glass 11. For example, a partial breakage of the cover glass 11 leads to a change in the capacitive field behavior and even to a possible non-functioning of the touch sensor 12, whereby these areas of misbehavior are hidden by a correction of the display image and safe use is ensured. This means that a broken or defective cover glass 11 no longer necessarily leads to a loss of relevant information on the display screen 10 or to an increased safety risk for the user. The detection of individual defective zones and the subsequent reorganization of the display content by restricting the display to functional areas ensures that the safe use of the display screen 10 is maintained and that the display content can be fully evaluated.

[0041] Here, the system response of the touch screen 12 in the display may be used for the technical implementation. Typically, cover glasses 11 are used only for display screens 10 that have implemented capacitive touch technologies. This allows the capacitive response of the touch screen 12 to be used with a test routine (but for detecting glass deviations) which is described in more detail below.

[0042] In the event of glass breakage or other surface damage, not only can the image content be reorganized, but the backlighting can be reduced at the same time. Glass damage or severe surface contamination can cause a change in the dielectric constant or capacitance value of each node, allowing the defect to be localized.

[0043] As an additional feature, in the case of small cracks, for example, the user can be prompted to manually select which segmented quadrants show no defect or crack. This cross-checking with the user ensures reliable detection of glass defects, even with small field value changes.

[0044] The threshold at which a display screen 10 reorganization is performed when a touch sensor defect is detected depends on the situation and the evaluation of the display image and the glass defect. For example, if the defect and the erroneous display coincide with an area defined as critical, reorganization of the image content is initiated because safe interaction with the display content is deemed essential. For example, if a broken glass is located in the high priority screen area indicating an acknowledgement button, it would be inadvisable for the user to operate a patient monitor properly. By changing the display of this button to a non-defective area, the button can be displayed correctly and completely, thus maintaining safe operation of the display device.

[0045] The touch sensor 12 may be a resistive touch sensor, capacitive touch sensor, surface acoustic wave (SAW) touch sensor, infrared touch sensor, optical imaging touch sensor, acoustic pulse recognition (APR) touch sensor, dispersive signal technology (DST) touch sensor, force-sensing touch sensor. Further, the touch sensor 12 may be localized on or in the respective LCD layer structure (TFT-LCD display 13), although the density of the touch interaction nodes is always adapted to the user's input requirements and typically correlates with the pixel density of the TFT-LCD. The handling of defects of the touch sensor 12 is described in more detail below with respect to Fig. 4.

[0046] In the embodiment shown in Fig. 2, the display screen 10 may, as an exemplary implementation, comprise a TFT-LCD display 13, i.e., an active matrix display that regulates the light transmission via liquid crystal arrangements from a generally separate background unit. In essence, these matrix displays generate an image by varying the illumination of pixels.

[0047] A possible TFT pixel defect or production damage can be detected and bypassed by reorganizing the image content. For this purpose, depending on the granularity of the TFT to be evaluated, monitoring elements and circuit logic may be implemented that allow conclusions to be drawn about the functionality of the TFT. Furthermore, one type of implementation may allow manual selection of faulty image zones. Zones with defective pixels are excluded from the display. The other elements of the display are also adapted to the restricted display.

[0048] A technical implementation is given by the system response of the TFT-LCD. Similar to the detection of defects in the lighting unit, defects within the transistor matrix can be detected by the power consumption according to certain applied patterns. To check the functionality, test images are placed on the display and the power consumption is evaluated.

[0049] If the values are locally outside a defined range, depending on the assessment of criticality, this can lead to a reorganization of the image content in order to maintain the visualization of the content that is considered critical. In the case of defective TFT pixels, this may not only result in a reorganization of the image content, but also in a corresponding reduction of the background illumination in order to save energy and to guide the user to functional areas by increasing the contrast at the edges of the functional area. The granularity can be set at any level, even down to individual pixels.

[0050] In addition, the user may be prompted to manually select which segmented quadrants contain defects, or the user may provide such a user input without being prompted to do so. For example, the user may indicate single pixel defects that are located in critical areas but are not routinely inspected individually due to system limitations or settings. This cross-check with the user ensures reliable detection, even of small pixel defects that may not be routinely checked.

[0051] The threshold at which the detection of a TFT-LCD defect causes a reorganization of the display image to be performed depends on the situation and the assessment of the displayed image and the TFT defect. For example, if the defect and the displayed image content partially coincide with an area defined as critical, a reorganization of the image content is escalated because a safe interpretation with the display content is judged to be essential for the user. For example, if a pixel defect were to occur in the high priority screen area indicating the SpO2 value, the user would no longer be able to confidently make an accurate assessment of the oxygen saturation. By moving the display element containing the oxygen saturation value to a non-defective TFT area, operation is maintained. On the other hand, failures that occur partially on waveforms may be considered uncritical if trending and interpretation can still be performed.

[0052] As shown in Fig. 2, the display screen 10 further comprises a lighting element 14, which may also be implemented as lighting area(s) or backlight unit. An embodiment for eliminating defective backlighting is explained with reference to Fig. 3 showing a flowchart of a first embodiment of a method 100 of controlling a display screen according to the present invention. The method 100 is initiated in an event 101 of an LED failure but could also be initiated in a standardized manner at certain times, as well as by user input.

[0053] In a first step 102, all LED zones are checked on their functionality. A first query 110 checks if any LED zone contains defective LEDs. If the answer is "no", the method 100 is terminated 106, if it is "yes", a second query 120 checks the criticality of the content. If the content is not critical, the method 100 is again terminated 106, if the content is critical, the next step 103 of checking where to place the critical content on the functioning LED zones is initiated. The next step 104 modifies content on identified functioning LED zones to create space for critical content from defect LED zones. In a last step 105 critical content is placed on identified and / or prepared functioning (non-defective) LED zones, which terminates the method 106.

[0054] The step 102 and the queries 110, 120 detect if one or more of the different screen areas of the display screen 10 are defective, and the steps 103, 104, 105 control and reorganize the arrangement of the multiple pieces of information on the display screen depending on the priority of the information.

[0055] In general, patient monitors are used to monitor and record vital signs and to sound alarms. Due to the decentralized implementation of the background lighting, safety-relevant display contents can be regrouped in case of failure of individual LEDs. This requires the implementation of monitoring elements and circuit logic. Depending on the required granularity, this circuit logic can detect the failure of individual LEDs in LED strips (e.g. edge-lit backlight technologies) or multiple LED zoners in a backlight matrix. This means that a partial failure of the display does not necessarily lead to a loss of relevant information on the display unit. The detection of individual defective LEDs and the subsequent reorganization of the display content by restricting the display to sufficiently backlit areas ensures that the safe use of the display is maintained while the display content can be assessed without restriction. Other considerations include announcing INOP (inoperative) in addition to mitigating risk, deciding whether critical amount of death LED zones lead to escalation, and whether the system has predefined areas with critical content, such as alarm banners.

[0056] According to an embodiment, the technical implementation of the correction of LED backlight failures can take place via performance recording and evaluation of the lighting unit with arbitrary granularity. In conventional backlit TFT-LCDs (Liquid Crystal Displays), for example, the light strip consists of several light emitting diodes (LEDs) connected in series and in parallel strip configurations. If a power drop is detected in one of the parallel strips, depending on the criticality (priority) assessment, this can result in a reorganization of the image content to maintain the visualization of the content considered critical. Similarly, depending on the granularity, it can be implemented within a matrix of LEDs in mini-LED backlight units. The performance degradation of individual quadrants results in a reorganization of the image content depending on the threshold and criticality.

[0057] The threshold situation at which a reorganization of the display image might be initiated when a backlight failure is detected, depends on the situation and the evaluation of the display image and the failure. For example, if the defect and an insufficiently illuminated area coincide with an area defined as critical, a reorganization of the image content is initiated because maintaining the display content is judged to be essential. As another example, insufficient contrast may lead to incorrect interpretations.

[0058] Fig. 4 shows a flowchart of a second embodiment of a method 200 of controlling a display device according to the present invention. Again, the method 200 is initiated in an event 201 of touch sensor malfunctioning but could also be initiated in a standardized manner at certain times as well as by user input.

[0059] In a first step 202 a touch self-test routine is initiated. The first query 210 checks whether any touch zone comprises defect nodes and a second query 220 if the screen content is critical concerning user touch input. If the answer to any of the queries 210, 220 is "no" the method 200 is terminated 206. Otherwise, the next step 203 of checking where to place critical content and the adaptation of the LED zones is initiated. The subsequent step 204 is to modify the content on the identified functioning touch areas to create space for critical content from LED zones. In a last step 205, critical content is placed on identified and / or prepared functioning touch screen and / or LED zones.

[0060] In a further embodiment, non-functionality of the superimposed touch sensor can be corrected. For this purpose, monitoring elements and circuit logic may be implemented with respect to the touch sensor. Depending on the required granularity, this circuit logic can detect the failure of individual touch sensor pixels. Partial non-functionality of the touch sensor leads to a reorganization of the image content, depending on the evaluation of the image content displayed in non-functioning touch fields. In addition, the partial failure of the touch sensor and the subsequent reorganization of the image content can lead to a corresponding adjustment of the backlighting, not only to guide the user, but also to reduce power consumption and unnecessary stress on the backlight unit. This means that a partial failure of the display does not necessarily lead to a loss of relevant information on and ability to interact with the display unit.

[0061] Accordingly, a self-test routine for detecting touch sensor defects of the display screen 10 is implemented. This involves testing each node on the touch screen for open or closed circuits and checking the response. If a value is outside a set range, which may vary locally depending on the assessment of criticality, a reorganization of the image content may occur to maintain the display of the content deemed critical. In case of a malfunction of the touch panel, the self-test routine can lead not only to a reorganization of the image content, but also to a corresponding reduction of the backlight to save energy and to guide the user to functional areas. The granularity, i.e. the size of the squares used to determine the threshold, can be chosen at will, even down to individual nodes.

[0062] According to an embodiment the display screen comprises self-luminous pixels, whereby the segmentation of the display screen can be selected to any screen areas having one or more pixels, depending on the assessment of the functionality of the peripheral control unit.

[0063] A further embodiment of the invention is characterized in that the display screen is backlit and the frequent self-testing of the detection unit of the backlighting leads to a segmentation of the display screen.

[0064] According to another implementation of the display device the display control unit or the detection unit regularly tests the function of the pixel matrix of the display screen and, in the event of partial errors in the TFT-LCD cell, leads to a segmentation of the active TFT matrix and adjusts the image content to the selected display segments, whereby the controlled LEDs can be adjusted at the same time.

[0065] In a further embodiment, the display control unit or the detection unit regularly tests the function of the pixel matrix of the display unit and, in the event of partial errors in the TFT-LCD cell, leads to a segmentation of the active TFT matrix and adapts the image content to the selected display segments, whereby the controlled LEDs can be adjusted at the same time.

[0066] According to another implementation the display screen comprises a touch sensor for interaction with the user, wherein the display control unit or the detection unit regularly tests the function of the touch sensor and, in the event of partial errors of the touch sensor cell, leads to a segmentation of the active TFT matrix and to a dynamic adaptation of the image content to the selected display segments, wherein an adjustment of the controlled LEDs can take place at the same time, in order to both guide the user and to ensure evaluation reliability.

[0067] An embodiment of the invention is further characterized in that the display screen comprises a cover glass, whereby the peripheral control unit regularly tests the touch sensor function and, in the event of partial failures of the touch sensor cell, leads to a segmentation of the active TFT matrix and to a central adaptation of the image content to the selected display segments, whereby the controlled LEDs can be simultaneously adjusted in order to both guide the user and to ensure the reliability of the assessment.

[0068] According to another embodiment, one or more of the tests or checks described herein, for the same or different components of the display screen, can be executed, subsequently or simultaneously.

[0069] The present invention can favorably be implemented in any patient monitor and leads to an increase of durability, user safety and satisfaction. It provides a safety routine that makes it possible to continue using displays in a wide variety of monitor designs, even with partial defects, and to maintain operation. Thus, the present invention enables the implementation of a robust display, e.g. for critical care patient monitoring used under harsh conditions, or even system monitoring displays in an aircraft cockpit. The invention can also be applied to highly stressed displays. In the field of consumer electronics, e.g. mobile phones, which are exposed to daily and heavy use, the invention can enable further, albeit limited, use, e.g. even in case of partial glass breakage.

[0070] In addition, the present invention also provides the potential for device monitoring and early detection of system maintenance requirements through routine parameter recording. The transmitted parameters of the display can be used to draw conclusions about impending failures of other displays of the same design, or fluctuations in performance can be used to predict the likelihood of impending failures.

Claims

1. Display device (1) comprising: - a display screen (10) configured to display multiple pieces of information in different screen areas of the display screen, wherein one or more pieces of information have a higher priority than other pieces of information; - a detection unit (20) configured to detect if one or more of the different screen areas of the display screen are defective; and - a display control unit (30) configured to control the arrangement of the multiple pieces of information on the display screen and, in case one or more screen areas are detected as defective, to reorganize the arrangement of the multiple pieces of information on the display screen depending on the priority of the information intended to be displayed in said one or more defective screen areas.

2. Display device according to claim 1, wherein the display control unit (30) is configured to reorganize the arrangement of the multiple pieces of information on the display screen such that pieces of information having a higher priority than other pieces of information are displayed on non-defective screen areas.

3. Display device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the display control unit (30) is configured to reorganize the arrangement of the multiple pieces of information on the display screen such that pieces of information having a lower priority than other pieces of information are not displayed or are displayed with screen areas of reduced size.

4. Display device according to claim 1, wherein the display control unit (30) is configured to reorganize the arrangement of the multiple pieces of information on the display screen only if pieces of information having a higher priority than other pieces of information have been or are intended to be displayed on a defective screen area.

5. Display device according to any preceding claim, wherein the detection unit (20) is configured to detect a screen area as defective if said screen area is not able to display information or can only display information with insufficient quality or to detect a screen area as defective based on user input.

6. Display device according to any preceding claim, wherein the detection unit (20) is configured to detect one or more of a defect of: - one or more lighting elements or lighting areas of the display screen; - one or more touch sensor elements or touch sensor areas of the display screen; - a cover element, in particular a cover glass, of the display screen; and - one or more pixels of the display screen.

7. Display device according to any preceding claim, wherein the detection unit (20) is configured to detect a defect of one or more lighting elements or lighting areas of the display screen, in particular one or more LEDs or LED areas of a backlighting unit of the display screen, by detecting performance or power consumption in a power supply line connected to one or more LEDs or LED areas.

8. Display device according to any preceding claim, wherein the detection unit (20) is configured to detect a defect of one or more touch sensor elements or touch sensor areas of the display screen by carrying out a self-test routine of the touch sensor elements or touch sensor areas of the display screen, in particular by testing for open or closed circuits of the touch sensor elements and evaluating the response of the testing.

9. Display device according to any preceding claim, wherein the detection unit (20) is configured to detect a defect of a cover element, in particular a cover glass, of the display screen by evaluating the capacitive field behavior of touch sensor elements or touch sensor areas of the display screen.

10. Display device according to any preceding claim, wherein the detection unit (20) is configured to detect one or more of a defect of one or more pixels of the display screen by detecting performance or power consumption in a power supply line connected to one or more pixels of the display screen.

11. Display device according to any preceding claim, wherein the detection unit (20) is configured to regularly detect if one or more of the different screen areas of the display screen are defective.

12. Display device according to any preceding claim, wherein the display control unit (30) is configured to determine the priority of the different pieces of information based on the information itself or to obtain the priority of the different pieces of information from an external database or to allow a user to enter the priority of the different pieces of information.

13. Display device according to any preceding claim, wherein the display device (1) is a patient monitor; and wherein the display screen (10) is configured to display physiological information of a patient including one or more of one or more physiological signals, vital signs and vital sign related information.

14. Method of controlling a display device (1), the display device comprising a display screen (10) configured to display multiple pieces of information in different screen areas of the display screen, wherein one or more pieces of information have a higher priority than other pieces of information, the method comprising: - detecting if one or more of the different screen areas of the display screen are defective; - controlling the arrangement of the multiple pieces of information on the display screen; and - reorganizing in case one or more screen areas are detected as defective, the arrangement of the multiple pieces of information on the display screen depending on the priority the information intended to be displayed in said one or more defective screen areas.

15. Computer program comprising program code means for causing a computer to carry out the steps of the method as claimed in claim 14 when said computer program is carried out on the computer.

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