Fault-Tolerant AMLCD Display With Dual Independent Driver Couplet Architecture

Solution Overview

Problem

Existing fault-tolerant Active Matrix Liquid Crystal Displays (AMLCDs) for aircraft cockpits face challenges in maintaining full functionality and data integrity when individual components fail, often resulting in some information loss even with redundancy measures.

Innovation Solution

A fault-tolerant AMLCD system is designed with two pairs of independent gate and source drivers that feed into the display panel from opposite directions, allowing simultaneous driving of pixels by both pairs, ensuring no information loss if one pair fails, with each pair having its own power supply and being capable of driving the panel independently.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If simple redundancy approaches (such as two isolated displays or multiple sections) are used, then fault tolerance is improved, but information loss occurs and the display cannot maintain full functionality

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvefault toleranceVSAvoiddisplay information

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSLoss of information

Solution Approach 1:

The display is divided into multiple independently drivable sections with separate driver circuits. Each section can be controlled by its own gate and source drivers, allowing localized operation even if other sections fail. This segmentation enables the display to maintain functionality while reducing information loss by isolating faults to specific sections rather than the entire display.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The driver circuits are designed with multi-functional capability to drive multiple display sections. The gate and source drivers can operate independently or in combination, allowing any section to function regardless of the operational status of other sections. This universality ensures that the display can adapt to various fault conditions while maintaining full information display capability.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

2Area of stationary object

If driver circuits are designed to drive the entire display, then full coverage is achieved, but a single point of failure can render the entire display unusable

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvedisplay coverageVSAvoidsystem reliability

Core Design Contradiction:

Area of stationary objectVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The display is divided into multiple independently drivable sections with separate driver circuits. Each section can be controlled by its own gate and source drivers, allowing localized operation even if other sections fail. This segmentation enables the display to maintain functionality while reducing information loss by isolating faults to specific sections rather than the entire display.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The system incorporates redundant driver circuits and independent power supplies for each display section before faults occur. This beforehand cushioning ensures that if a fault occurs in one section, the other sections can continue to operate independently, preventing total system failure and maintaining display coverage.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #11Beforehand cushioning (Prior cushioning)

3Reliability

If redundant driver circuits are added to improve fault tolerance, then reliability is improved, but device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvefault toleranceVSAvoiddriver circuit complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The display is divided into multiple independently drivable sections with separate driver circuits. Each section can be controlled by its own gate and source drivers, allowing localized operation even if other sections fail. This segmentation enables the display to maintain functionality while reducing information loss by isolating faults to specific sections rather than the entire display.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The driver circuits are organized in a nested structure where gate drivers and source drivers are hierarchically arranged to control different display sections. This nesting allows for systematic integration of redundant circuits while maintaining manageable complexity through structured organization and shared control mechanisms.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #7Nested doll (Nesting)

Data Source

PatentUS10339882B2Fault-tolerant AMLCD display

Publication Date: 2019.07.02 L3 TECHNOLOGIES INC

AI summary

A fault-tolerant display system includes a TFT panel, a first driver couplet including a first gate driver and a first source driver, and a second driver couplet including a second gate driver and a second source driver. The first gate driver and the second gate driver feed into the LCD panel from opposite directions and the first source driver and the second source driver feed into the LCD panel from opposite directions. The first driver couplet and the second driver couplet each have their own independent power supplies, independent from one another. In this way, individual pixels of the LCD panel are driven simultaneously by two pairs of source drivers and gate drivers, such that if one of the driver pairs fails due to some fault, the other driver pair can continue to drive the LCD panel without loss of information despite the failure of the one driver pair.