Pixel circuit, display panel, display driver chip, and display driving method therefor

Abstract

A pixel circuit (11), a display panel (10), a display driver chip, and a display driving method therefor, which improve low-brightness display performance of display panels (10) with multi-emissive layer structures. The pixel circuit (11) comprises a driver circuit, a light-emitting device (115), and a control circuit (116). The driver circuit is configured for receiving a data signal and providing a drive current to the light-emitting device (115); the light-emitting device (115) comprises a first light-emitting unit and a second light-emitting unit, a first terminal of the first light-emitting unit is coupled to the driver circuit, a second terminal of the first light-emitting unit is coupled to a first terminal of the second light-emitting unit, and a second terminal of the second light-emitting unit is coupled to a power supply voltage terminal; a first terminal of the control circuit (116) is coupled to the first terminal of the second light-emitting unit, a second terminal of the control circuit (116) is coupled to a first voltage terminal, and a control terminal of the control circuit (116) is configured for receiving a control signal; and the control circuit (116) is configured for controlling the first voltage terminal and the first terminal of the second light-emitting unit to be turned on or off under the control of the control signal.

Description

Pixel circuit, display panel, display driver chip and its display driving method

[0001] [Correction 12.09.2025 in accordance with Rule 91] This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202510099146.4, filed on January 21, 2025, entitled “Pixel Circuit, Display Panel, Display Driver Chip and Display Driving Method Thereof”, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0002] This application relates to the field of electronic technology, and in particular to a pixel circuit, a display panel, a display driver chip, and a display driving method thereof. Background Technology

[0003] With the development of display panel technology, display panels are gradually evolving towards higher brightness. Taking organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display panels as an example, in order to achieve higher brightness, the structure of OLED display panels has gradually evolved from a single-emitting-layer structure to a multi-emitting-layer structure. Under the same power consumption, OLED display panels with multi-emitting-layer structures can achieve higher brightness. At the same brightness, OLED display panels with multi-emitting-layer structures can effectively reduce power consumption.

[0004] However, OLED display panels with multi-emitting-layer structures generally suffer from poor low-brightness display performance. Summary of the Invention

[0005] This application provides a pixel circuit, a display panel, a display driver chip, and a display driving method thereof, which improves the low-brightness display effect of an OLED display panel with a multi-emitting layer structure.

[0006] To achieve the above objectives, the embodiments of this application adopt the following technical solutions.

[0007] A first aspect of this application provides a pixel circuit, which includes a driving circuit, a light-emitting device, and a control circuit. The driving circuit receives data signals and provides driving current to the light-emitting device. The light-emitting device includes a first light-emitting unit and a second light-emitting unit. A first terminal of the first light-emitting unit is coupled to the driving circuit, a second terminal of the first light-emitting unit is coupled to the first terminal of the second light-emitting unit, and a second terminal of the second light-emitting unit is coupled to a power supply voltage terminal. A first terminal of the control circuit is coupled to the first terminal of the second light-emitting unit, and a second terminal of the control circuit is coupled to a first voltage terminal. The control terminal of the control circuit receives a control signal. The control circuit controls the conduction or deactivation of the first voltage terminal and the first terminal of the second light-emitting unit under the control of the control signal.

[0008] The pixel circuit provided in this application embodiment adds a control circuit, enabling the pixel circuit to turn on or off the first voltage terminal and the first terminal of the second light-emitting unit under the control of the control circuit. For example, when the first voltage terminal and the first terminal of the second light-emitting unit are off, the first and second light-emitting units can emit light normally under the driving current of the driving circuit. Since the pixel circuit adopts a structure of multiple light-emitting units, the driving current and light-emitting power consumption of the OLED display panel in which the pixel circuit is applied can be effectively reduced at the same brightness. In addition, when the first voltage terminal and the first terminal of the second light-emitting unit are turned on, the voltage value received by the first voltage terminal is transmitted to the first terminal of the second light-emitting unit. The voltage value received by the first voltage terminal can be less than the turn-on voltage of the second light-emitting unit. At this time, only the first light-emitting unit emits light in the pixel circuit, and the second light-emitting unit does not emit light. At this time, the pixel circuit adopts a structure of a single light-emitting unit, which can increase the driving current in low-brightness scenarios with small driving current, improve display uniformity, and improve display effect. Based on this, the pixel circuit provided in this application embodiment is applied to an OLED display panel with a multi-light-emitting layer structure, which can improve the low-brightness display effect of the OLED display panel with a multi-light-emitting layer structure.

[0009] In one possible implementation, the difference between the voltage value received at the first voltage terminal and the voltage value received at the power supply voltage terminal is less than the turn-on voltage of the second light-emitting unit.

[0010] When the first voltage terminal and the first terminal of the second light-emitting unit are turned on, the voltage value received by the first voltage terminal is transmitted to the first terminal of the second light-emitting unit. At this time, the voltage value across the second light-emitting unit is insufficient to turn on the second light-emitting unit, which can prevent the second light-emitting unit from emitting light, thereby increasing the driving current in low-brightness scenes with small driving current, improving display uniformity, and enhancing display effect.

[0011] In one possible implementation, the control signals include a first control signal and a second control signal. The control circuit is configured to: under the control of the first control signal, control the first voltage terminal and the first terminal of the second light-emitting unit to be turned on, transmitting the voltage of the first voltage terminal to the first terminal of the second light-emitting unit, thereby controlling the first light-emitting unit to emit light; and under the control of the second control signal, control the first voltage terminal and the first terminal of the second light-emitting unit to be turned off, thereby controlling the first light-emitting unit and the second light-emitting unit to emit light.

[0012] The control circuit can make only the first light-emitting unit emit light under the control of the first control signal, and make both the first light-emitting unit and the second light-emitting unit emit light under the control of the second control signal. This can reduce light-emitting power consumption while improving the low-brightness display effect of the OLED display panel with a multi-light-emitting layer structure.

[0013] In one possible implementation, the control circuit includes a first transistor, a first terminal of the first transistor coupled to a first terminal of the second light-emitting unit, a second terminal of the first transistor coupled to a first voltage terminal, and a control terminal of the first transistor for receiving control signals.

[0014] The control circuit may include a first transistor, which may be of various types, such as a P-type transistor or an N-type transistor. The transistor may be turned on or off by adjusting the voltage value of the control signal received at the control terminal of the first transistor, thereby controlling the on or off of the first terminal of the first voltage terminal and the first terminal of the second light-emitting unit.

[0015] In one possible implementation, the light-emitting device further includes a third light-emitting unit, with the first end of the third light-emitting unit coupled to the second end of the second light-emitting unit, and the second end of the third light-emitting unit coupled to a power supply voltage terminal.

[0016] In one possible implementation, the light-emitting device further includes a third light-emitting unit, with a first end of the third light-emitting unit coupled to a second end of the first light-emitting unit, and the second end of the third light-emitting unit coupled to the first end of the second light-emitting unit.

[0017] In one possible implementation, the control circuit further includes a ninth transistor, the first terminal of which is coupled to the first terminal of the third light-emitting unit, the second terminal of which is coupled to the second voltage terminal, and the control terminal of which is used to receive a third control signal or a fourth control signal.

[0018] The pixel circuit can employ a greater number of light-emitting units in its light-emitting devices to further reduce the light-emitting power consumption of the OLED display panel. Simultaneously, the pixel circuit can also improve display uniformity and enhance display performance by emitting light only through the first light-emitting unit in low-brightness scenarios, thereby increasing the driving current in such environments.

[0019] In one possible implementation, the driving circuit includes a driving transistor, which includes a first terminal, a second terminal, a bottom gate, and a top gate, with the bottom gate coupled to the first terminal.

[0020] By coupling the bottom gate and the first terminal in the driving transistor, the voltage of the bottom gate and the voltage of the first terminal can be made the same, and the threshold voltage of the top gate of the driving transistor can be kept constant during the reset and emission phases. This eliminates the back-gate effect and reduces excessive brightness caused by ghosting. In addition, the stability of the threshold voltage of the top gate of the driving transistor ensures a stable driving current flowing through the light-emitting device, maintaining a stable operating state of the light-emitting device and improving the display effect.

[0021] A second aspect of the embodiments of this application provides a display panel, the display panel including a plurality of pixel circuits according to any one of the first aspects, the plurality of pixel circuits being arranged in multiple rows and columns.

[0022] In one possible implementation, the display panel further includes a gate driving circuit, which includes cascaded multi-level gate array driving circuits, with the control terminal of the control circuit in the pixel circuit located in the same row coupled to the output terminal of the same gate array driving circuit.

[0023] The display panel can output control signals to the pixel circuit through the gate array driving circuit to control the light emission of the pixel circuit. This can reduce the light emission power consumption while improving the low brightness display effect of the OLED display panel with a multi-emitting layer structure.

[0024] A third aspect of this application provides a display driver chip for driving a display panel, the display panel including pixel circuitry and the pixel circuitry including control circuitry.

[0025] The display driver chip is used to receive a first instruction representing a first luminous intensity and send a first start control signal, which is used to control the control circuit to turn on. The display driver chip is also used to receive a second instruction representing a second luminous intensity and send a second start control signal, which is used to control the control circuit to turn off, wherein the second luminous intensity is greater than the first luminous intensity.

[0026] A fourth aspect of this application provides a display module, which includes a display driver chip and a display panel, wherein the display driver chip and the display panel are coupled. The display panel includes a display panel as described in the second aspect; and / or, the display driver chip includes a display driver chip as described in the third aspect.

[0027] A fifth aspect of the present application provides an electronic device, which includes a housing and a display module as described in the fourth aspect, the display module being disposed within the housing.

[0028] In one possible implementation, the electronic device further includes a power management integrated circuit (PLC), which is coupled to the control terminals of the control circuits in the multiple pixel circuits. That is, the display panel can output control signals to the pixel circuits via the PLC to control the light emission of the pixel circuits, thereby reducing power consumption while improving the low-brightness display effect of the multi-emitting-layer OLED display panel.

[0029] In one possible implementation, the power management integrated circuit is used to receive a first instruction characterizing a first luminous intensity and send a first control signal, which is used to control the control circuit to turn on. The power management integrated circuit is also used to receive a second instruction characterizing a second luminous intensity and send a second control signal, which is used to control the control circuit to turn off, wherein the second luminous intensity is greater than the first luminous intensity.

[0030] A sixth aspect of this application provides a display driving method applied to an electronic device. The electronic device includes a display driving chip and a display panel. The display panel includes pixel circuits, and the pixel circuits include control circuits. The display driving method includes: the display driving chip receiving a first instruction representing a first luminance, sending a first start control signal to the display panel, and the control circuit being turned on under the control of the first start control signal; and the display driving chip receiving a second instruction representing a second luminance, sending a second start control signal to the display panel, and the control circuit being turned off under the control of the second start control signal, wherein the second luminance is greater than the first luminance.

[0031] In one possible implementation, the pixel circuit further includes a first light-emitting unit and a second light-emitting unit connected in series. The display driving method further includes: after the control circuit is turned on under the control of a first start control signal, it controls the first light-emitting unit to emit light; after the control circuit is turned off under the control of a second start control signal, it controls the first light-emitting unit and the second light-emitting unit to emit light.

[0032] In the driving method provided in this application embodiment, in a first luminous brightness scenario, i.e., a low brightness scenario, a first start control signal is sent to the display panel. This first start control signal can control only a single luminous unit in the display panel, which includes multiple luminous units, to emit light. This can increase the driving current in the low brightness scenario where the driving current is relatively small, improve display uniformity, and enhance the display effect. Furthermore, in a second luminous brightness scenario, i.e., a high brightness scenario, a second start control signal is sent to the display panel. This second start control signal can control multiple luminous units in the display panel, which includes multiple luminous units, to emit light simultaneously. This can effectively reduce the driving current and luminous power consumption of the display panel. Based on this, the display driving method provided in this application embodiment can reduce luminous power consumption while simultaneously improving the low-brightness display effect of the display panel.

[0033] A seventh aspect of this application provides a computer-readable storage medium including computer instructions that, when executed on an electronic device, cause the electronic device to perform a display driving method in any possible implementation of the sixth aspect described above.

[0034] An eighth aspect of the embodiments of this application provides a computer program product that, when run on a computer or processor, causes the computer or processor to execute the display driving method in any possible implementation of the sixth aspect described above.

[0035] It is understood that any of the display panels, display modules, display driver chips, electronic devices, computer-readable storage media or computer program products provided above involve pixel circuits. Therefore, the beneficial effects they can achieve can be referred to the beneficial effects in pixel circuits, and will not be repeated here.

[0036] These or other aspects of this application will become more readily apparent in the following description. Attached Figure Description

[0037] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the structure of an electronic device provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0038] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of another electronic device provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0039] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of the topology of a pixel circuit provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0040] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a display panel provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0041] Figure 5 is an equivalent topology diagram of a light-emitting device provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0042] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of a pixel circuit provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0043] Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of another pixel circuit provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0044] Figure 8 is a schematic diagram of another pixel circuit provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0045] Figure 9A is a schematic diagram of the structure of a light-emitting device provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0046] Figure 9B is a schematic diagram of another light-emitting device provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0047] Figure 9C is a schematic diagram of another light-emitting device provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0048] Figure 10A is a schematic diagram of a driving transistor provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0049] Figure 10B is a schematic diagram of another driving transistor provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0050] Figure 11 is a schematic diagram of another display panel provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0051] Figure 12 is a schematic diagram of a GOA circuit provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0052] Figure 13 is a timing diagram of control signals for a GOA circuit provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0053] Figure 14 is a flowchart of a display driving method provided in an embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0054] The technical solutions of the embodiments of this application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of this application, and not all embodiments.

[0055] In the description of the embodiments of this application, unless otherwise stated, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly specifying the number of indicated technical features. Therefore, a feature defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of that feature. In the description of the embodiments of this application, unless otherwise stated, "multiple" means two or more.

[0056] Furthermore, the term "coupling" is used to refer to electrical connections, including direct connections via wires or terminals or indirect connections via other devices. Therefore, "coupling" should be considered a broad type of electronic communication connection.

[0057] It should be noted that, in this application, the terms "exemplary" or "for example" are used to indicate that something is being described as an example, illustration, or illustration. Any embodiment or design described as "exemplary" or "for example" in this application should not be construed as being more preferred or advantageous than other embodiments or design solutions. Specifically, the use of terms such as "exemplary" or "for example" is intended to present the relevant concepts in a concrete manner.

[0058] This application provides an electronic device, which may be, for example, a foldable electronic device. The electronic device may be, for example, a consumer electronics product, a home electronics product, an in-vehicle electronics product, or a financial electronics product. Consumer electronics products include mobile phones, tablets, laptops, e-readers, personal computers (PCs), personal digital assistants (PDAs), desktop monitors, smart wearable products (e.g., smartwatches, smart bracelets), virtual reality (VR) electronic devices, augmented reality (AR) electronic devices, mixed reality (MR) electronic devices, artificial intelligence (AI) electronic devices, drones, etc. Home electronics products include smart door locks, televisions, refrigerators, and rechargeable small household appliances (e.g., soymilk makers, robot vacuum cleaners), etc. In-vehicle electronics products include in-vehicle navigation systems, in-vehicle digital video discs (DVDs), etc. Financial electronics products include automatic teller machines (ATMs) and self-service electronic devices, etc.

[0059] This application does not impose any special restrictions on the specific form of the above-mentioned electronic device. For the sake of convenience, the following embodiments all use mobile phones as an example for illustration.

[0060] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the structure of an electronic device provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0061] Figure 1 illustrates a schematic diagram using a flat-screen mobile phone as an example, showing the display screen and terminal device.

[0062] The display screen may include a substrate, a driving circuit, and a light-emitting layer. The display screen has pixel circuits fabricated on the substrate and a light-emitting layer connected above the pixel circuits. The light-emitting layer emits light by transmitting signals to the driving circuit.

[0063] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the structure of another electronic device provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0064] As shown in Figure 2, the electronic device 1 includes a display module and a drive controller 30. The drive controller 30 is coupled to the display module and receives image signals RGB and control signals CTRL. The drive controller 30 outputs image data signals DATA that match the interface specifications of the display module based on the image signals RGB. The drive controller 30 also outputs data control signals DCS. The drive controller 30 may include, for example, a system-on-chip (SOC).

[0065] The display module includes, for example, a display panel 10 and a display driver 20. The display driver 20 is coupled to, for example, a drive controller 30, receives signals output by the drive controller 30, and provides display signals to the display panel 10.

[0066] For example, the display driver 20 receives a data control signal DCS and an image data signal DATA from the driver controller 30. The display driver 20 converts the image data signal DATA into a data signal and outputs the data signal to multiple data signal lines DL1-DLm. The data signal is an analog voltage corresponding to the grayscale value of the image data signal DATA. The display driver 20 is also used to output scan control signals SCS required for display to the display panel 10, such as a clock signal CLK, a start signal STV, and a reset signal RST. The display driver 20 may include, for example, a display driver integrated circuit (DDIC).

[0067] In one possible embodiment, the display panel 10 is a liquid crystal display (LCD). Based on this, the electronic device 1 also includes a backlight unit (BLU) located on the back of the LCD panel. The backlight unit can provide a light source to the LCD panel, enabling each sub-pixel in the LCD panel to emit light for image display.

[0068] In another possible embodiment, the display panel 10 is a self-emissive display module such as an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display module, an active-matrix organic light-emitting diode (AMOLED) display module, a mini organic light-emitting diode (Mini-OLED) display module, a micro light-emitting diode (Micro-LED) display module, a micro organic light-emitting diode (Micro-OLED) display module, or a quantum dot light-emitting diode (QLED) display module. In this case, the display panel 10 can be a rigid display panel or a flexible display panel.

[0069] The brightness of the display panel 10 does not change continuously, but rather according to predefined brightness levels, which are the grayscale levels of the display panel 10. There is a correspondence between grayscale values ​​and brightness; lower grayscale levels have lower brightness, and higher grayscale levels have higher brightness. In one possible example, the display panel 10 may have 256 grayscale levels, i.e., grayscale 0 to 255, with each grayscale level corresponding to a brightness. The brightness corresponding to each grayscale level is predefined. For example, if the maximum brightness of the display panel 10 is 256 nits, each grayscale level can be defined as corresponding to 1 nit, linearly distributed from grayscale 0 to 255, i.e., 1 to 256 nits correspond to grayscale 0 to 255 respectively. Of course, grayscale values ​​and brightness can also have other correspondences, such as 0 grayscale corresponding to 0.5 nits, 1 grayscale corresponding to 1 nit, or non-linearly distributing 256 nits to grayscale 0 to 255, etc. This embodiment does not limit this.

[0070] For any of the above-described display panels 10, the display panel 10 includes an active display area (AA) and a non-display area BB located around the active display area AA. The active display area AA is used to display images and includes multiple sub-pixels (SPs). Each sub-pixel is provided with a pixel circuit 11, which receives data signals provided by the display driver 20. The non-display area BB includes a driving circuit 12, which receives scan control signals SCS provided by the display driver 20.

[0071] In this application, the pixel circuits 11 are described using a matrix arrangement as an example. Pixel circuits 11 arranged in a row along the horizontal direction X are called the same row pixel circuits 11, and pixel circuits 11 arranged in a row along the vertical direction Y are called the same column pixel circuits 11.

[0072] In some embodiments, the pixel circuit 11 typically includes a driving circuit composed of multiple transistors and a light-emitting unit. The driving circuit generates a driving current to drive the light-emitting unit to emit light, thereby realizing the light emission of the pixel circuit 11.

[0073] In some embodiments, the electronic device 1 further includes a power management integrated circuit (PMIC) for supplying power to the display driver 20 and the drive controller 30.

[0074] In some embodiments, the electronic device 1 further includes a mid-frame, on which the display panel 10 is disposed and supported.

[0075] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of the topology of a pixel circuit provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0076] In some embodiments, as shown in FIG3, the pixel circuit 11 includes a first node initialization circuit 111, a writing and threshold compensation circuit 112, a light emission control circuit 113, and a light emission unit 114. The pixel circuit 11 shown in FIG3 is only an illustration and is not intended to limit anything.

[0077] In this embodiment, the first power supply voltage terminal ELVDD is used as a high-level power supply voltage terminal and the second power supply voltage terminal ELVSS is used as a low-level power supply voltage terminal for illustration, but it is not limited to this.

[0078] In some embodiments, continuing to refer to FIG3, the first node initialization circuit 111 includes a fourth transistor M4 and a third transistor M3; the write and threshold compensation circuit 112 includes a second transistor M2, a first transistor M1, a third transistor M3, and a storage capacitor Cst; and the light-emitting control circuit 113 includes a fifth transistor M5 and a sixth transistor M6. The first transistor M1 is a driving transistor, and the remaining transistors are switching transistors. The first node initialization circuit 111 and the write and threshold compensation circuit 112 share the third transistor M3. The light-emitting unit 114 is, for example, an OLED.

[0079] In the following description, the control terminal of a transistor can be, for example, the gate of the transistor, and the first terminal and the second terminal of the transistor can be the source and drain of the transistor, respectively. This is explained here and will not be further explained below.

[0080] The control terminal of the fourth transistor M4 is coupled to the initialization scan signal terminal SC, the first terminal of the fourth transistor M4 is coupled to the initialization voltage terminal Vinit, and the second terminal of the fourth transistor M4 is coupled to the fourth node N4.

[0081] The control terminal of the third transistor M3 is coupled to the compensation scan signal terminal SB, the first terminal of the third transistor M3 is coupled to the fourth node N4, and the second terminal of the third transistor M3 is coupled to the first node N1.

[0082] The control terminal of the second transistor M2 is coupled to the write scan signal terminal SX, the first terminal of the second transistor M2 is coupled to the data voltage terminal Vdata, and the second terminal of the second transistor M2 is coupled to the third node N3.

[0083] The control terminal of the first transistor M1 is coupled to the first node N1, the first terminal of the first transistor M1 is coupled to the third node N3, and the second terminal of the first transistor M1 is coupled to the second node N2. The second node N2 is also coupled to the fourth node N4.

[0084] One end of the storage capacitor Cst is coupled to the first node N1, and the other end of the storage capacitor Cst is coupled to the first power supply voltage terminal ELVDD.

[0085] The control terminal of the fifth transistor M5 is coupled to the light emission control signal terminal EM, the first terminal of the fifth transistor M5 is coupled to the first power supply voltage terminal ELVDD, and the second terminal of the fifth transistor M5 is coupled to the third node N3.

[0086] The control terminal of the sixth transistor M6 is coupled to the light-emitting control signal terminal EM, the first terminal of the sixth transistor M6 is coupled to the second node N2, and the second terminal of the sixth transistor M6 is coupled to the anode of the light-emitting unit 114. The cathode of the light-emitting unit 114 is coupled to the second power supply voltage terminal ELVSS.

[0087] For example, in pixel circuit 11, the third transistor M3 and the fourth transistor M4 are IGZO TFTs, which are N-type transistors and are turned on under the control of a high-level signal. The third transistor M3 and the fourth transistor M4 can also be other types of transistors, which are not limited in this embodiment. The first transistor M1, the second transistor M2, the fifth transistor M5, and the sixth transistor M6 are LTPS TFTs, which are P-type transistors and are turned on under the control of a low-level signal.

[0088] The initialization scan signal terminal SC of pixel circuit 11 is coupled to the initialization scan signal line SCL; the compensation scan signal terminal SB of pixel circuit 11 is coupled to the compensation scan signal line SBL; the write scan signal terminal SX of pixel circuit 11 is coupled to the write scan signal line SXL; the light emission control signal terminal EM of pixel circuit 11 is coupled to the light emission control scan signal line EML; and the data voltage terminal Vdata of pixel circuit 11 is coupled to the data signal line DL. The voltages of the initialization voltage terminal Vinit, the first power supply voltage terminal ELVDD, and the second power supply voltage terminal ELVSS can be provided by a voltage generator in the electronic device.

[0089] Referring again to Figure 2, taking the compensation scan signal line SBL in the scan signal lines as an example, Figure 2 illustrates the coupling of a row of pixel circuits 11 with the same compensation scan signal line SBL. The same row of pixel circuits 11 can also be coupled to multiple compensation scan signal lines SBL. For example, the left half of the pixel circuits 11 in a row is coupled to one compensation scan signal line SBL, and the right half is coupled to another row of compensation scan signal lines SBL. Similarly, Figure 2 illustrates the coupling of the same column of pixel circuits 11 with the same data signal line DL. The same column of pixel circuits 11 can also be coupled to multiple data signal lines DL. For example, the upper half of the pixel circuits 11 in a column is coupled to one data signal line DL, and the lower half is coupled to another data signal line DL.

[0090] The driving circuit 12 receives a scan control signal SCS from the driving controller 30. In response to the scan control signal SCS, the driving circuit 12 can output scan signals to the scan signal lines. The scan signal lines include, for example, initialization scan signal lines SCL1-SCLn, compensation scan signal lines SBL1-SBLn, write scan signal lines SXL1-SXLn, and light emission control scan signal lines EML1-EMLn. In response to the scan control signal SCS, the driving circuit 12 can output initialization scan signals to the initialization scan signal lines SCL1-SCLn, compensation scan signals to the compensation scan signal lines SBL1-SBLn, write scan signals to the write scan signal lines SXL1-SXLn, and light emission control signals to the light emission control scan signal lines EML1-EMLn.

[0091] For example, the driving circuit 12 may be an array substrate gate driver (GOA) and / or an array substrate emission circuit (EOA). The EOA outputs emission control signals to the emission control scan signal lines EML1-EMLn, and the GOA outputs initialization scan signals to the initialization scan signal lines SCL1-SCLn, compensation scan signals to the compensation scan signal lines SBL1-SBLn, and write scan signals to the write scan signal lines SXL1-SXLn. For example, the first array substrate gate driver circuit GOA1 outputs initialization scan signals to the initialization scan signal lines SCL1-SCLn, the second array substrate gate driver circuit GOA2 outputs compensation scan signals to the compensation scan signal lines SBL1-SBLn, and the third array substrate gate driver circuit GOA3 outputs write scan signals to the write scan signal lines SXL1-SXLn.

[0092] Taking OLED display panels as an example, in order to achieve higher brightness, the structure of OLED display panels has gradually evolved from a single-layer structure to a tandem structure. At the same light-emitting power consumption, the tandem structure can achieve higher brightness. At the same brightness, the tandem structure can effectively reduce light-emitting power consumption.

[0093] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a display panel provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0094] In some embodiments, as shown in FIG4, the display panel 10 includes an array substrate and light-emitting devices disposed on the array substrate. The light-emitting devices include a plurality of light-emitting units 114. The array substrate includes a substrate and a first node initialization circuit 111, a write and threshold compensation circuit 112, and a light-emitting control circuit 113 disposed on the substrate.

[0095] The light-emitting device includes a first electrode layer, a first light-emitting layer, a charge generation layer (CGL), a second light-emitting layer, and a second electrode layer sequentially disposed on an array substrate.

[0096] The first and second light-emitting layers are used to emit light of the same color. Taking the first light-emitting layer as an example, the first light-emitting layer includes an organic light-emitting layer. The first light-emitting layer may also include at least one of a hole injection layer, a hole transport layer, an electron blocking layer, an electron transport layer, and an electron injection layer. The organic light-emitting layer in the first and second light-emitting layers can be used to emit light of the same color or to emit light of different colors.

[0097] For example, the first electrode layer serves as the anode of the light-emitting device, and the second electrode layer serves as the cathode. A relatively high potential is applied to the first electrode layer, and a relatively low potential is applied to the second electrode layer. Holes are injected from the first electrode layer into the first light-emitting layer, and electrons are injected from the second electrode layer through the conductive connection layer into the first light-emitting layer. The energy generated by the recombination of holes and electrons in the first light-emitting layer can excite it to emit light. Similarly, holes are injected from the first electrode layer through the conductive connection layer into the second light-emitting layer, and electrons are injected from the second electrode layer into the second light-emitting layer. The energy generated by the recombination of holes and electrons in the second light-emitting layer can excite it to emit light. Both the second electrode layer and the conductive connection layer are transparent conductive layers. Light of the same color emitted by the first and second light-emitting layers is superimposed and emitted from the second electrode layer side.

[0098] The light-emitting device may include more light-emitting layers, with a charge-generating layer disposed between adjacent light-emitting layers. Figure 4 is only an illustration and is not intended to be limiting.

[0099] Figure 5 is an equivalent topology diagram of a light-emitting device provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0100] As shown in Figure 5, the light-emitting device is equivalent to a first light-emitting unit OLED1 and a second light-emitting unit OLED2 connected in series, with OLED1 and OLED2 connected in series via CGL. The first light-emitting unit OLED1 has a first parasitic capacitance C1, and the second light-emitting unit OLED2 has a second parasitic capacitance C2.

[0101] Since the light-emitting device includes a first light-emitting unit OLED1 and a second light-emitting unit OLED2 connected in series, it is equivalent to the light-emitting device including a first parasitic capacitor C1 and a second parasitic capacitor C2 connected in series. When there is a difference in capacitance between the first parasitic capacitor C1 and the second parasitic capacitor C2, during the light-emitting stage, the parasitic capacitor with the smaller rechargeable capacity completes charging and emits light earlier, resulting in a larger luminous current for the corresponding light-emitting device and excessive brightness. The greater the difference in rechargeable capacity between the first parasitic capacitor C1 and the second parasitic capacitor C2, the longer the duration of excessive brightness and the brighter the apparent brightness difference. However, during the initial fabrication, it is difficult to completely resolve the differences between the first parasitic capacitor C1 and the second parasitic capacitor C2 in the light-emitting device through design and process. Furthermore, it is impossible to predict the potential differences between the first parasitic capacitor C1 and the second parasitic capacitor C2 during subsequent use. The brightness difference between the first light-emitting unit OLED1 and the second light-emitting unit OLED2 will cause a severe ghosting problem in the display panel 10 during display. Moreover, in low-brightness scenarios, the peak luminous current of the light-emitting device is smaller, and after current shunting, the current charging the first parasitic capacitor C1 and the second parasitic capacitor C2 is even smaller. With a fixed difference in the rechargeable capacity of the first parasitic capacitor C1 and the second parasitic capacitor C2, the smaller the charging current, the greater the difference in the charging time between the first parasitic capacitor C1 and the second parasitic capacitor C2, and the longer the duration of excessive brightness, which in turn exacerbates the low-brightness ghosting phenomenon. Moreover, display panels 10, including the aforementioned light-emitting devices, generally suffer from problems such as uneven low grayscale display, uneven dirt mura, severe flicker, and high power consumption.

[0102] To address the aforementioned issues, several structural optimization schemes for pixel circuits have been proposed, such as the scheme shown in Figure 6. Figure 6 illustrates a schematic diagram of a pixel circuit, which includes a driving circuit, a first light-emitting unit OLED1, and a second light-emitting unit OLED2. A seventh transistor M7 is added between the anode and charge generation layer of the first light-emitting unit OLED1. The control terminal of the seventh transistor M7 receives a conduction level signal Vs, and the seventh transistor M7 is used to control the emission of one or two OLEDs.

[0103] In low-brightness scenarios, the control terminal of the seventh transistor M7 receives the conduction level signal Vs and turns on. At this time, the first light-emitting unit OLED1 is short-circuited, and only the second light-emitting unit OLED2 emits light. Conversely, in other scenarios, such as high-brightness scenarios, the control terminal of the seventh transistor M7 does not receive the conduction level signal Vs, meaning the seventh transistor M7 is off. In this case, both the first and second light-emitting units OLED1 emit light simultaneously. Therefore, this pixel circuit can bypass the first light-emitting unit OLED1, avoiding excessive brightness caused by differences in OLED capacitor charging.

[0104] However, in this design, the junction between one end of the newly added seventh transistor M7 and the second light-emitting unit OLED2 is at the charge generation layer. Under the current process design, the contact area between one end of the seventh transistor M7 and the charge generation layer is relatively small. In low-brightness scenarios, when the first light-emitting unit OLED1 is short-circuited, the driving current of the driving circuit may become excessive. Excessive driving current may burn out the contact points, leading to display abnormalities.

[0105] Furthermore, many optimization solutions for display panels rely on the development of display driver chip functions or long-term optimization and adjustment of timing voltages. When the chip functions are not supported or are immature, extensive code debugging is extremely time-consuming. In cases where display effect issues are severe, code optimization may not be able to resolve the problem. Additionally, many process optimization solutions require precise process control; otherwise, regional differences will exist, resulting in variations in the display effect across different areas of the entire display panel.

[0106] Based on this, the present application provides a pixel circuit that adds a control circuit. The control circuit can control multiple light-emitting units to emit light simultaneously, or only some light-emitting units to emit light, thereby reducing light-emitting power consumption while improving the low-brightness display effect of the OLED display panel with a multi-light-emitting layer structure.

[0107] The pixel circuits provided in the embodiments of this application will be further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0108] Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of another pixel circuit provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0109] This application provides a pixel circuit 11, which includes a driving circuit, a light-emitting device 115, and a control circuit 116.

[0110] The driving circuit is used to receive data signals and provide driving current to the light-emitting device 115.

[0111] For example, the driving circuit may include the first node initialization circuit, the writing and threshold compensation circuit, and the light emission control circuit shown in Figure 3. The principle of the driving circuit can be referred to the relevant description in Figure 3, and will not be repeated here.

[0112] For example, in addition to the 6T1C architecture shown in Figure 3, where "T" represents a transistor and "C" represents a storage capacitor, the driving circuit can also be in other forms, such as 7T1C, 8T1C, 9T2C, and 9T3C. The embodiments of this application do not limit the specific structure of the driving circuit.

[0113] The light-emitting device 115 includes a first light-emitting unit and a second light-emitting unit. The first end of the first light-emitting unit is coupled to the driving circuit, the second end of the first light-emitting unit is coupled to the first end of the second light-emitting unit, and the second end of the second light-emitting unit is coupled to the power supply voltage terminal.

[0114] The first terminal of the control circuit 116 is coupled to the first terminal of the second light-emitting unit, and the second terminal of the control circuit 116 is coupled to the first voltage terminal. The control terminal of the control circuit 116 is used to receive control signals. The control circuit 116 is used to control the conduction or de-conduction of the first voltage terminal and the first terminal of the second light-emitting unit under the control of the control signals.

[0115] For example, the first light-emitting unit can be an OLED, the first end of the first light-emitting unit can be the anode of the OLED, and the second end of the first light-emitting unit can be the cathode of the OLED. The second light-emitting unit can also be an OLED, the first end of the second light-emitting unit can be the anode of the OLED, and the second end of the first light-emitting unit can be the cathode of the OLED.

[0116] For example, a control circuit 116 is added to the pixel circuit 11, so that the pixel circuit 11 can turn on or off the first voltage terminal and the first terminal of the second light-emitting unit under the control of the control circuit 116.

[0117] For example, when the first voltage terminal and the first terminal of the second light-emitting unit are turned off, the first light-emitting unit and the second light-emitting unit can emit light normally under the driving current of the driving circuit. At this time, since the pixel circuit 11 adopts a structure of multiple light-emitting units, the driving current of the driving circuit can be effectively reduced under the same brightness, and the light-emitting power consumption of the display panel in which the pixel circuit is applied can be effectively reduced.

[0118] For example, when the first voltage terminal and the second terminal of the second light-emitting unit are turned on, the voltage value received by the first voltage terminal can be transmitted to the first terminal of the second light-emitting unit. The voltage value received by the first voltage terminal can be less than the turn-on voltage of the second light-emitting unit. At this time, only the first light-emitting unit emits light in the pixel circuit, and the second light-emitting unit does not emit light. In addition, in low-brightness scenes, the driving current provided by the driving circuit is relatively small. At this time, since the pixel circuit adopts a single light-emitting unit structure, the driving current in low-brightness scenes can be increased, improving display uniformity and enhancing display effect.

[0119] Optionally, the difference between the voltage value received at the first voltage terminal and the voltage value received at the power supply voltage terminal is less than the turn-on voltage of the second light-emitting unit.

[0120] For example, the first voltage terminal is used to receive a first voltage signal, which can be a signal with a fixed voltage value, such as a signal with a voltage value of 2V. Alternatively, the first voltage signal can also be a signal with a varying voltage value, such as a signal with a voltage value greater than 2V.

[0121] For example, the power supply voltage terminal can be the low-level power supply voltage terminal ELVSS.

[0122] Assuming the first voltage signal is represented by "V1" and the turn-on voltage of the second light-emitting unit is represented by "Vth", then the first voltage signal, ELVSS, and turn-on voltage satisfy: V1-ELVSS<Vth.

[0123] When the first voltage terminal and the first terminal of the second light-emitting unit are connected, the voltage value received by the first voltage terminal is transmitted to the first terminal of the second light-emitting unit. At this time, the voltage value across the second light-emitting unit is insufficient to turn on the second light-emitting unit, so the second light-emitting unit can not emit light.

[0124] Optionally, the control signal includes a first control signal and a second control signal. The control circuit 116 is configured to: under the control of the first control signal, control the first voltage terminal and the first terminal of the second light-emitting unit to be turned on, transmitting the voltage of the first voltage terminal to the first terminal of the second light-emitting unit, thereby controlling the first light-emitting unit to emit light; and under the control of the second control signal, control the first voltage terminal and the first terminal of the second light-emitting unit to be turned off, thereby controlling the first light-emitting unit and the second light-emitting unit to emit light.

[0125] For example, the control circuit 116 may include a switch that is turned on under the control of a first control signal to connect a first voltage terminal and a first terminal of the second light-emitting unit, thereby transmitting the voltage of the first voltage terminal to the first terminal of the second light-emitting unit and controlling the first light-emitting unit to emit light. The switch may also be turned off under the control of a second control signal to control the first and second light-emitting units to emit light simultaneously.

[0126] Figure 8 is a schematic diagram of another pixel circuit provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0127] As shown in Figure 8, OLED1 represents the first light-emitting unit, OLED2 represents the second light-emitting unit, Vc represents the control signal, and V1 represents the first voltage signal. The control circuit 116 may include an eighth transistor M8. The first terminal of the eighth transistor M8 is coupled to the first terminal of the second light-emitting unit, the second terminal of the eighth transistor M8 is coupled to the first voltage terminal, and the control terminal of the eighth transistor M8 is used to receive the control signal.

[0128] For example, the eighth transistor M8 can be a P-type low-temperature polysilicon transistor, an N-type low-temperature polysilicon transistor, a P-type oxide transistor, or an N-type oxide transistor.

[0129] Taking the eighth transistor M8 as an N-type oxide transistor as an example, in a high-brightness scenario, |Vc| is less than |Vth|, where Vth is the threshold voltage of the eighth transistor M8. In this case, the eighth transistor M8 is off, and the first light-emitting unit OLED1 and the second light-emitting unit OLED2 emit light simultaneously. In a low-brightness scenario, |Vc| is greater than |Vth|. In this case, the eighth transistor M8 is on, the second light-emitting unit OLED2 does not emit light, and the first light-emitting unit OLED1 emits light. Here, Vc is a high-level signal.

[0130] Taking the eighth transistor M8 as a P-type low-temperature polysilicon transistor as an example, in a high-brightness scenario, |Vc| is less than |Vth|, where Vth is the threshold voltage of the eighth transistor M8. In this case, the eighth transistor M8 is off, and the first light-emitting unit OLED1 and the second light-emitting unit OLED2 emit light simultaneously. In a low-brightness scenario, |Vc| is greater than |Vth|. In this case, the eighth transistor M8 is on, the second light-emitting unit OLED2 does not emit light, and the first light-emitting unit OLED1 emits light. Here, Vc is a low-level signal.

[0131] Optionally, the light-emitting device may also include a third light-emitting unit, denoted as OLED3.

[0132] As shown in Figure 9A, the first end of the third light-emitting unit OLED3 is coupled to the second end of the second light-emitting unit OLED2, and the second end of the third light-emitting unit OLED3 is coupled to the power supply voltage terminal ELVSS.

[0133] For example, under the control of the first control signal, the control circuit 116 controls the first voltage terminal and the first terminal of the second light-emitting unit OLED2 to be turned on, transmitting the first voltage signal V1 from the first voltage terminal to the first terminal of the second light-emitting unit OLED2, and controlling the first light-emitting unit OLED1 to emit light. At this time, the difference between the first voltage signal V1 received by the first voltage terminal and the voltage value ELVSS received by the power supply voltage terminal is less than the total turn-on voltage of the second light-emitting unit OLED2 and the third light-emitting unit OLED3, that is, the second light-emitting unit OLED2 and the third light-emitting unit OLED3 do not emit light. Under the control of the second control signal, the first voltage terminal and the first terminal of the second light-emitting unit OLED2 are turned off, and the first light-emitting unit OLED1, the second light-emitting unit OLED2, and the third light-emitting unit OLED3 emit light.

[0134] For example, in high-brightness scenarios, the pixel circuit emits light through three light-emitting units, which can effectively reduce the driving current and power consumption of the display panel. In low-brightness scenarios, the pixel circuit reduces the number of light-emitting units, using only one unit to emit light, which can increase the driving current, improve display uniformity, and enhance the display effect.

[0135] As shown in Figure 9B, the first end of the third light-emitting unit OLED3 is coupled to the second end of the first light-emitting unit OLED1, and the second end of the third light-emitting unit OLED3 is coupled to the first end of the second light-emitting unit OLED2.

[0136] For example, under the control of the first control signal, the control circuit 116 controls the first voltage terminal and the first terminal of the second light-emitting unit OLED2 to be turned on, transmitting the first voltage signal V1 of the first voltage terminal to the first terminal of the second light-emitting unit OLED2, thereby controlling the first light-emitting unit OLED1 and the third light-emitting unit OLED3 to emit light. Under the control of the second control signal, the control circuit 116 controls the first voltage terminal and the first terminal of the second light-emitting unit OLED2 to be turned off, thereby controlling the first light-emitting unit OLED1, the second light-emitting unit OLED2, and the third light-emitting unit OLED3 to emit light.

[0137] For example, in high-brightness scenarios, the pixel circuit emits light through three light-emitting units, which can effectively reduce the driving current and power consumption of the display panel. In low-brightness scenarios, the pixel circuit reduces the number of light-emitting units, emitting light only through two units, which can increase the driving current, improve display uniformity, and enhance the display effect.

[0138] Referring to Figure 9C, the first terminal of the third light-emitting unit OLED3 is coupled to the second terminal of the second light-emitting unit OLED2, and the second terminal of the third light-emitting unit OLED3 is coupled to the power supply voltage terminal ELVSS. The control circuit 116 may further include a ninth transistor M9, the first terminal of which is coupled to the first terminal of the third light-emitting unit OLED3, and the second terminal of which is coupled to the second voltage terminal. The control terminal of the ninth transistor M9 is used to input a third control signal or a fourth control signal. The second voltage signal received at the second voltage terminal is denoted as V2, and the control signal received at the control terminal of the ninth transistor M9 is denoted as Va.

[0139] The light-emitting device provided in this application embodiment may also include a greater number of light-emitting units, such as a fourth light-emitting unit, etc., and this application embodiment does not limit this.

[0140] For example, under the control of the third control signal, the control circuit 116 controls the second voltage terminal and the first terminal of the third light-emitting unit OLED3 to be turned on, transmitting the second voltage signal V2 of the second voltage terminal to the first terminal of the third light-emitting unit OLED3, and controlling the first light-emitting unit OLED1 and the second light-emitting unit OLED2 to emit light. Under the control of the fourth control signal, the control circuit 116 controls the second voltage terminal and the first terminal of the third light-emitting unit OLED3 to be turned off, and controls the first light-emitting unit OLED1, the second light-emitting unit OLED2, and the third light-emitting unit OLED3 to emit light. The difference between the voltage value received by the second voltage terminal and the voltage value received by the power supply voltage terminal is less than the turn-on voltage of the third light-emitting unit.

[0141] For example, the control circuit 116 can simultaneously control the conduction or cutoff of the eighth transistor M8 and the ninth transistor M9 to enable different light-emitting units to emit light. In high-brightness scenarios, the pixel circuit emits light through three light-emitting units, which can effectively reduce the driving current and power consumption of the display panel. In low-brightness scenarios, the pixel circuit reduces the number of light-emitting units, and can emit light through only one or two light-emitting units, which can increase the driving current, improve display uniformity, and enhance the display effect.

[0142] Optionally, the control circuit may include a driving transistor, which may include a first terminal, a second terminal, a bottom gate, and a top gate.

[0143] As shown in Figure 10A, the driving transistor can incorporate a bottom gate using bottom shield metal (BSM) technology. The bottom gates of each pixel circuit are interconnected and connected to the power supply voltage VDD outside the display area. This BSM technology also increases the thickness of the semiconductor layer between the bottom gate and the driving transistor, approximately 6 to 7 times the thickness of the gate insulating layer. This increased semiconductor layer thickness reduces the back gate voltage control capability, meaning the driving transistor is affected by the back gate effect even in low-brightness scenes. The back gate effect refers to the transistor's threshold voltage varying with the potential difference between its source and substrate.

[0144] When the pixel circuit includes only the first light-emitting unit, the back-gate effect can increase the lighting speed of low grayscale trailing images. However, when the pixel circuit includes both the first and second light-emitting units, the back-gate effect will exacerbate the problem of excessive brightness in low grayscale trailing images.

[0145] In addition, when the display panel switches gray levels, for example from gray level 255 to gray level 0, the voltage recovery speed of the driving transistor is slower than that of the power supply voltage VDD. When the voltage of the driving transistor is lower than the power supply voltage VDD, the potential difference formed by the back gate causes the threshold voltage of the driving transistor to be positively biased, which may result in the display panel being too bright.

[0146] Therefore, in this embodiment of the application, as shown in FIG10B, the bottom gate of the driving transistor is coupled to the first terminal.

[0147] For example, when the driving transistor is a P-type transistor, the first terminal of the driving transistor is the source, and the second terminal of the driving transistor is the drain. When the driving transistor is an N-type transistor, the first terminal of the driving transistor is the drain, and the second terminal of the driving transistor is the source.

[0148] For example, since the bottom gate of the driving transistor is connected to the first terminal, the VBS of the driving transistor is 0, meaning the voltage between the bottom gate and the first terminal is 0. The threshold voltage of the top gate of the driving transistor remains unchanged during the reset and emission phases, thus eliminating the back-gate effect and reducing excessive brightness in low-grayscale ghosting. Furthermore, the stable threshold voltage of the top gate of the driving transistor ensures a stable driving current flowing through the light-emitting device, maintaining a stable operating state and improving the display effect.

[0149] This application provides a display panel 10, which includes multiple pixel circuits arranged in multiple rows and columns.

[0150] Figure 11 is a schematic diagram of another display panel provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0151] As shown in Figure 11, N pixel circuits are specifically illustrated, namely pixel circuit_1, pixel circuit_2, ..., pixel circuit_N. Pixel circuit_1 includes driving circuit_1, OLED1_1, OLED2_1, and M8_1; pixel circuit_2 includes driving circuit_2, OLED1_2, OLED2_2, and M8_2; and pixel circuit_N includes driving circuit_N, OLED1_N, OLED2_N, and M8_N. The control terminals of M8_1, M8_2, ..., M8_N are connected in parallel and coupled to the same signal source, which is used to output control signals.

[0152] Optionally, the display panel 10 also includes a gate driving circuit, which includes cascaded multi-stage GOA circuits 12. The control terminal of the control circuit in the pixel circuit 11 located in the same row is coupled to the output terminal of the same GOA circuit 12. That is, the signal source in Figure 11 can be a gate driving circuit.

[0153] Figure 12 is a schematic diagram of a GOA circuit provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0154] Figure 12 illustrates an n-level GOA circuit, namely GOA_1, GOA_2, GOA_3, ..., GOA_n. GOA_1 outputs control signal out_1, GOA_2 outputs control signal out_2, GOA_3 outputs control signal out_3, and GOA_n outputs control signal out_n. out_1 to out_n correspond to the first to the nth row of pixel circuits, respectively. That is, one row of control signals can control one row of pixel circuits. Furthermore, one row of control signals can also control two rows of pixel circuits. For example, control signal out_1 can correspond to the first and second row of pixel circuits, control signal out_2 can correspond to the third and fourth row of pixel circuits, and so on. Control signal out_n can correspond to the (2n-1)th and 2nth row of pixel circuits.

[0155] Referring again to Figure 12, after receiving the start signal STV, the first clock signal CLK_1, the second clock signal CLK_2, the gate high voltage VGH, and the gate low voltage VGL generated by the peripheral driving circuit, GOA_1 responds by generating control signals out_1 to out_n for sequential output. GOA_1 is coupled to the start signal line, and the other GOAs are coupled to the outputs of the preceding GOAs. The control signals output by the preceding GOAs serve as the start signals for the next GOA. For example, the input of GOA_2 is coupled to the output of GOA_1, and the control signal out_1 output by GOA_1 serves as the input signal of GOA_2. Alternatively, the input of GOA_3 is coupled to the output of GOA_2, and the control signal out_2 output by GOA_2 serves as the input signal of GOA_3. In addition, each level of GOA is connected to the first clock signal CLK_1 and the second clock signal CLK_2 in a fixed order. For example, GOA_1 is connected to the first clock signal CLK_1 and the second clock signal CLK_2; GOA_2 is connected to the second clock signal CLK_2 and the first clock signal CLK_1; GOA_3 is connected to the first clock signal CLK_1 and the second clock signal CLK_2, and so on.

[0156] Figure 13 is a timing diagram of the control signals for the GOA circuit in Figure 12.

[0157] Figure 13 shows the timing diagram of the start signal STV, the first clock signal CLK_1, the second clock signal CLK_2, and control signals out_1 to out_n. The control signals are square wave signals that switch between high and low voltages. The high voltage value of the control signal is equal to the high voltage value of the gate signal (VGH1), and the low voltage value is equal to the low voltage value of the gate signal (VGL1). The interval between each row of control signals can be 1H, 2H, 4H, or any equal time. The gate drive circuit can output positive voltage pulse waveforms row by row to control the control circuit.

[0158] This application provides a display driver chip for driving a display panel. The display panel includes pixel circuits, and the pixel circuits include control circuits.

[0159] The display driver chip is used to receive a first instruction representing a first luminous intensity and send a first start control signal, which is used to control the control circuit to turn on. The display driver chip is also used to receive a second instruction representing a second luminous intensity and send a second start control signal, which is used to control the control circuit to turn off, wherein the second luminous intensity is greater than the first luminous intensity.

[0160] For example, the first luminous brightness is less than the preset brightness, and the second luminous brightness is greater than or equal to the preset brightness. The first luminous brightness can be understood as the brightness in low brightness mode, and the second luminous brightness can be understood as the brightness in high brightness mode. The preset brightness is the critical dividing value between low brightness and high brightness, and the value of the preset brightness is not limited in the embodiments of this application.

[0161] In one possible example, the preset brightness value can range from 5 nits to 20 nits. For example, the preset brightness can be 5 nits, 10 nits, 12 nits, or 20 nits. A reasonable preset brightness value can reduce power consumption while improving the display effect at low brightness levels.

[0162] For example, the first and second instructions can be provided, for instance, by the drive controller 30 in the electronic device 1. In one possible example, the user or the CPU adjusts the brightness of the electronic device 1, and the drive controller 30 determines the brightness requirement based on the touch position.

[0163] For example, when the brightness requirement is less than the preset brightness, the drive controller 30 sends a first instruction to the display driver chip. The display driver chip receives the first instruction and sends a first start control signal to the display panel. The first start control signal can control the GOA circuit in the display panel to output a positive voltage pulse waveform, which is the first control signal.

[0164] For example, when the brightness requirement is greater than or equal to the preset brightness, the drive controller 30 sends a second instruction to the display driver chip. The display driver chip receives the second instruction and sends a second start control signal to the display panel. The second start control signal can control the GOA circuit in the display panel not to output a signal, that is, to maintain a low level. This low-level signal is the second control signal.

[0165] This application provides a display module, which includes the display driver chip and display panel described above, and the display driver chip and display panel are coupled together.

[0166] This application provides an electronic device that may include a power management integrated circuit (PLC), and the PLC is coupled to the control terminals of control circuits in multiple pixel circuits. Specifically, the signal source in Figure 11 can be the PLC.

[0167] For example, a power management integrated circuit can also be called a power integrated circuit (IC) or a power management unit (PMU). A PMIC is used to manage and convert electrical energy for use by loads. Power management integrated circuits typically include functions such as voltage regulation, switching mode conversion, and current regulation, providing stable voltage for various loads and optimizing power consumption.

[0168] Optionally, the power management integrated circuit is used to receive a first instruction characterizing a first luminous intensity and send a first control signal, the first control signal being used to control the control circuit to turn on. The power management integrated circuit is also used to receive a second instruction characterizing a second luminous intensity and send a second control signal, the second control signal being used to control the control circuit to turn off, the second luminous intensity being greater than the first luminous intensity.

[0169] In this embodiment, the power management integrated circuit is coupled to the control terminal of the control circuit in the multiple pixel circuits. The power management integrated circuit can provide a stable high voltage value, i.e., a first control signal, to the control terminal of the control circuit. This high voltage value can be greater than the turn-on voltage of the transistor. The power management integrated circuit can also provide a stable low voltage value, i.e., a second control signal, to the control terminal of the control circuit.

[0170] Applied to the aforementioned electronic devices, this application also provides a display driving method, as shown in FIG14, which illustrates a flowchart of a display driving method. The method includes the following steps.

[0171] S1401, The display driver chip receives a first instruction representing the first luminous brightness, sends a first start control signal to the display panel, and the control circuit is turned on under the control of the first start control signal.

[0172] S1402, The display driver chip receives a second instruction representing the second luminous brightness, sends a second start control signal to the display panel, and the control circuit is turned off under the control of the second start control signal, so that the second luminous brightness is greater than the first luminous brightness.

[0173] Optionally, the display driving method further includes: after the control circuit is turned on under the control of the first start control signal, it controls the first light-emitting unit to emit light.

[0174] In some embodiments, in a first luminous brightness scenario, i.e. a low brightness scenario, a first start control signal is sent to the display panel. The first start control signal can control only a single luminous unit in the display panel, which includes multiple luminous units, to emit light. This can increase the driving current in the low brightness scenario where the driving current is small, improve display uniformity, and enhance the display effect.

[0175] Optionally, the display driving method further includes: after the control circuit is turned off under the control of the second start control signal, controlling the first light-emitting unit and the second light-emitting unit to emit light.

[0176] In some embodiments, in the second luminous brightness scenario, i.e. the high brightness scenario, a second start control signal is sent to the display panel. The second start control signal can control multiple light-emitting units in the display panel, which includes multiple light-emitting units, to emit light simultaneously, which can effectively reduce the driving current and luminous power consumption of the display panel.

[0177] Based on this, the driving method provided in this application embodiment can reduce light-emitting power consumption while improving the low-brightness display effect of the display panel.

[0178] This application also provides a display driving method applied to an electronic device, which includes a power management integrated circuit and a display panel. The display driving method may include: the power management integrated circuit receiving a first instruction representing a first luminance, and sending a first control signal, the first control signal being used to control a control circuit to be turned on; the power management integrated circuit receiving a second instruction representing a second luminance, and sending a second control signal, the second control signal being used to control the control circuit to be turned off, the second luminance being greater than the first luminance.

[0179] This application also provides an electronic device, which includes a housing and a display module, with the display module disposed within the housing.

[0180] This application also provides an electronic device, including one or more processors and one or more memories. The one or more memories are coupled to the one or more processors, and the one or more memories are used to store computer program code, including computer instructions. When the one or more processors execute the computer instructions, the electronic device performs the aforementioned method steps to implement the display driving method in the above embodiments.

[0181] Embodiments of this application also provide a computer storage medium storing computer instructions. When the computer instructions are executed on an electronic device, the electronic device performs the aforementioned method steps to implement the display driving method in the above embodiments.

[0182] Embodiments of this application also provide a computer program product that, when run on a computer, causes the computer to perform the aforementioned related steps to implement the display driving method executed by the electronic device in the above embodiments.

[0183] In addition, embodiments of this application also provide an apparatus, which may specifically be a chip, component or module. The apparatus may include a connected processor and a memory; wherein the memory is used to store computer execution instructions, and when the apparatus is running, the processor may execute the computer execution instructions stored in the memory to cause the chip to execute the display driving method executed by the electronic device in the above method embodiments.

[0184] In this embodiment, the electronic device, computer storage medium, computer program product or chip are all used to execute the corresponding method provided above. Therefore, the beneficial effects that can be achieved can be referred to the beneficial effects of the corresponding method provided above, and will not be repeated here.

[0185] Through the above description of the embodiments, those skilled in the art will understand that, for the sake of convenience and brevity, only the division of the above functional modules is used as an example. In actual applications, the above functions can be assigned to different functional modules as needed, that is, the internal structure of the device can be divided into different functional modules to complete all or part of the functions described above.

[0186] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed apparatus and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the apparatus embodiments described above are merely illustrative; for instance, the division of modules or units is only a logical functional division, and in actual implementation, there may be other division methods. For example, multiple units or components may be combined or integrated into another device, or some features may be ignored or not executed. Furthermore, the mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed may be through some interfaces; the indirect coupling or communication connection between devices or units may be electrical, mechanical, or other forms.

[0187] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate. A component shown as a unit can be one or more physical units; that is, it can be located in one place or distributed in multiple different locations. Some or all of the units can be selected to achieve the purpose of this embodiment according to actual needs.

[0188] Furthermore, the functional units in the various embodiments of this application can be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit can exist physically separately, or two or more units can be integrated into one unit. The integrated unit can be implemented in hardware or as a software functional unit.

[0189] If the integrated unit is implemented as a software functional unit and sold or used as an independent product, it can be stored in a readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application, essentially or in other words, the parts that contribute to the prior art, or all or part of the technical solutions, can be embodied in the form of a software product. This software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions to cause a device (which may be a microcontroller, chip, etc.) or processor to execute all or part of the steps of the methods described in the various embodiments of this application. The aforementioned storage medium includes various media capable of storing program code, such as USB flash drives, portable hard drives, read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), magnetic disks, or optical disks.

[0190] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of this application, but the scope of protection of this application is not limited thereto. Any variations or substitutions that can be easily conceived by those skilled in the art within the scope of the technology disclosed in this application should be included within the scope of protection of this application. Therefore, the scope of protection of this application should be determined by the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A pixel circuit, characterized in that, The pixel circuit includes: a driving circuit, a light-emitting device, and a control circuit; The driving circuit is used to receive data signals and provide driving current to the light-emitting device; The light-emitting device includes a first light-emitting unit and a second light-emitting unit. A first end of the first light-emitting unit is coupled to the driving circuit. A second end of the first light-emitting unit is coupled to the first end of the second light-emitting unit. A second end of the second light-emitting unit is coupled to a power supply voltage terminal. The first terminal of the control circuit is coupled to the first terminal of the second light-emitting unit, the second terminal of the control circuit is coupled to the first voltage terminal, and the control terminal of the control circuit is used to receive control signals. The control circuit is used to control the conduction or cutoff of the first voltage terminal and the first terminal of the second light-emitting unit under the control of the control signal.

2. The pixel circuit according to claim 1, characterized in that, The difference between the voltage value received at the first voltage terminal and the voltage value received at the power supply voltage terminal is less than the turn-on voltage of the second light-emitting unit.

3. The pixel circuit according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The control signal includes a first control signal and a second control signal; The control circuit is used to control the first voltage terminal and the first terminal of the second light-emitting unit to be turned on under the control of the first control signal, so as to transmit the voltage of the first voltage terminal to the first terminal of the second light-emitting unit and control the first light-emitting unit to emit light. Under the control of the second control signal, the first voltage terminal and the first terminal of the second light-emitting unit are turned off, and the first light-emitting unit and the second light-emitting unit emit light.

4. The pixel circuit according to any one of claims 1-3, characterized in that, The control circuit includes a first transistor; The first terminal of the first transistor is coupled to the first terminal of the second light-emitting unit, the second terminal of the first transistor is coupled to the first voltage terminal, and the control terminal of the first transistor is used to receive the control signal.

5. The pixel circuit according to any one of claims 1-4, characterized in that, The light-emitting device further includes a third light-emitting unit; The first end of the third light-emitting unit is coupled to the second end of the second light-emitting unit, and the second end of the third light-emitting unit is coupled to the power supply voltage terminal.

6. The pixel circuit according to any one of claims 1-5, characterized in that, The driving circuit includes a driving transistor; The driving transistor includes a first terminal, a second terminal, a bottom gate, and a top gate, wherein the bottom gate is coupled to the first terminal.

7. A display panel, characterized in that, It includes multiple pixel circuits as described in any one of claims 1-6, wherein the multiple pixel circuits are arranged in multiple rows and columns.

8. The display panel according to claim 7, characterized in that, The display panel further includes a gate driving circuit, which includes a cascaded multi-stage gate array driving circuit. The control terminal of the control circuit in the pixel circuit located in the same row is coupled to the output terminal of the same gate array drive circuit.

9. A display driver chip, characterized in that, The display driver chip is used to drive the display panel, the display panel includes a pixel circuit, and the pixel circuit includes a control circuit. The display driver chip is used to receive a first instruction characterizing a first luminous brightness and send a first start control signal, the first start control signal being used to control the control circuit to be turned on. The display driver chip is also used to receive a second instruction representing a second luminous intensity and send a second start control signal, the second start control signal being used to control the control circuit to turn off, and the second luminous intensity being greater than the first luminous intensity.

10. A display module, characterized in that, The display module includes a display driver chip and a display panel, wherein the display driver chip and the display panel are coupled. The display panel includes the display panel as described in claim 7 or 8; And / or, The display driver chip includes the display driver chip according to claim 9.

11. An electronic device, characterized in that, The electronic device includes a housing and a display module as described in claim 10, the display module being disposed within the housing.

12. A display driving method, characterized in that, The driving method is applied to an electronic device, the electronic device including a display driver chip and a display panel, the display panel including pixel circuitry, the pixel circuitry including control circuitry, and the display driving method including: The display driver chip receives a first instruction representing a first luminous brightness and sends a first start control signal to the display panel. The control circuit is turned on under the control of the first start control signal. The display driver chip receives a second instruction representing a second luminous intensity and sends a second start control signal to the display panel. The control circuit is turned off under the control of the second start control signal, and the second luminous intensity is greater than the first luminous intensity.

13. The display driving method according to claim 12, characterized in that, The pixel circuit further includes a first light-emitting unit and a second light-emitting unit connected in series, and the display driving method further includes: After the control circuit is turned on under the control of the first start control signal, it controls the first light-emitting unit to emit light. After the control circuit is turned off under the control of the second start control signal, it controls the first light-emitting unit and the second light-emitting unit to emit light.

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