Integrated Biometric Sensor Driving Unit for Electronic Devices
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing electronic devices lack an efficient and integrated solution for measuring biometric information such as blood pressure, oxygen saturation, and heart rate, which are essential for user health monitoring, due to the complexity and cost of separate sensor driving units.
Innovation Solution
An electronic device is designed with a display module having a first area with high transmittance and a second area with lower transmittance, where a first sensor (PPG sensor) measures biometric information and a second sensor (pressure sensor) is positioned to surround the first sensor, both driven by a unified driving unit that includes a biometric information calculator, allowing for simultaneous measurement and calculation of user data.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If separate sensor driving units are used for first sensor and second sensor, then measurement precision of biometric information is improved, but device complexity and manufacturing cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines separate driving units for the first sensor (PPG sensor) and second sensor (pressure sensor) into a single integrated driving unit. This driving unit includes a display panel driver, an input sensor driver, a first sensor driver, and a second sensor driver all integrated together, along with a biometric information calculator. This merging reduces device complexity and manufacturing cost while maintaining the capability to accurately measure biometric information through both sensors simultaneously.
2Reliability
If separate sensor driving units are used for first sensor and second sensor, then reliability of sensor operation is improved, but ease of manufacture deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent integrates multiple sensor driving functions into a single driving unit that can reliably control both the first PPG sensor and the second pressure sensor. The integrated driving unit includes dedicated driver circuits for each sensor type while sharing common control logic and power management, ensuring reliable operation while simplifying the manufacturing process and reducing assembly complexity.
3Measurement precision
If display panel has high transmittance in second area for first sensor, then measurement precision of first sensor is improved, but display visibility in that area deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The display panel is designed with different transmittance characteristics in different areas: the first area (display area) maintains normal transmittance for good display visibility, while the second area (sensor area) has higher transmittance to allow sufficient light passage for the PPG sensor to accurately measure biometric information. This local differentiation of optical properties resolves the contradiction between display quality and sensor performance.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This configuration simplifies the manufacturing and design of the driving unit, reduces costs, and enables accurate and efficient measurement of biometric information, enhancing user health monitoring capabilities.
Implementation Method 1
the light receiver may be a photodiode or a camera module
Implementation Method 2
the light receiver may be a photodiode or a camera module
Implementation Method 3
a second area having a transmittance higher than that of the first area
Data Source
AI summary
An electronic device includes: a display module including a display panel and an input sensor disposed on the display panel, the display panel having a first area including a plurality of pixels and a second area having a transmittance higher than that of the first area; a first sensor disposed below the display module, overlapping the second area, and configured to measure a first signal having biometric information of a user; a second sensor disposed to surround the first sensor, overlapping the first area, and configured to measure a second signal applied from the user; and a driving unit connected to the display module, the first sensor, and the second sensor, the driving unit configured to drive the first sensor and the second sensor together with the display module.