Circular Display Driver Segmentation for Power Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional wearable devices with circular screens face issues in displaying content intended for rectangular smartphone screens, leading to unnecessary power consumption as some content areas are not displayed, resulting in inefficient use of the limited circular screen space.
Innovation Solution
An electronic device with a display driving unit that identifies the shape of content and the display, determines a first area for display and a second area for non-display, and deactivates drivers corresponding to the second area, thereby optimizing power usage by only activating drivers for the content area on the circular screen.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Use of energy by moving object
If the display driving unit activates all drivers for the rectangular content area on a circular display, then the content can be fully rendered, but unnecessary power consumption occurs in regions not visible on the circular screen
Solution Approach 1:
The display area is segmented into a first area (within the circular display boundary) and a second area (outside the circular boundary). The controller selectively activates drivers only for the first area, dividing the display region to match the circular geometry and avoid powering unnecessary pixels.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the display are treated differently: the first area (circular region) is actively driven and powered, while the second area (rectangular corners) is deactivated. This local differentiation ensures power is consumed only where visually useful content can be displayed.
2Productivity
If the display driving unit deactivates drivers for the non-display area, then power consumption is reduced, but the content area utilization becomes inefficient
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts driver activation based on the geometric relationship between the rectangular content area and circular display boundary. The controller identifies which portions of the content area fall within the visible circular region and selectively activates only those drivers, optimizing the match between content and display geometry.
3Reliability
If the display driving unit activates all drivers for rectangular content, then complete content coverage is achieved, but power is wasted in areas not visible on the circular screen
Solution Approach 1:
The controller extracts and excludes the second area (rectangular corners outside the circular boundary) from active driver control. By taking out the non-visible portion from the active display region, the system prevents power waste while maintaining complete display of all visible content within the circular boundary.
Data Source
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AI summary
An electronic device and a method for controlling the electronic device are provided. The electronic device includes a substantially circular or oval display, a processor configured to generate content, a display driving unit comprising display driving circuitry including a first driver and a second driver, wherein the display driving unit is configured to control driving of the display, to identify a shape of an area of content which is displayed in the display, to identify the shape of the display, to determine a first area of the display in which the content is to be displayed, to determine a second area of the display in which the content is not to be displayed based on at least a result of the identification, to deactivate at least part of the display driving unit, corresponding to the second area, while activating the display driving unit corresponding to the first area.