Display Controller Ink Rendering Engine Bypasses Processor
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing devices require the processor and operating system to be awake for note-taking with a stylus, leading to power consumption and delay issues, as they need to be activated before rendering display ink strokes, which affects battery life and user experience.
Innovation Solution
A display controller with an ink rendering engine bypasses the processor, allowing display ink strokes to be rendered independently while the device is in a low power state, using a bypass rendering path that captures and renders ink strokes without relying on the processor, enabling instantaneous note-taking with reduced power consumption.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the processor and operating system are kept awake to enable note-taking with a stylus, then the device can render display ink strokes immediately, but power consumption increases and battery life decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the rendering function into two independent parts: the processor handles general computing tasks while the display controller handles ink stroke rendering independently. This segmentation allows the display controller to operate autonomously during sleep mode, eliminating the need to keep the processor awake for note-taking functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The display controller acts as an intermediary between the digitizer and the display panel, capturing ink stroke data and rendering it directly without requiring processor intervention. This intermediary role enables the display controller to bridge the gap between stylus input and visual output during processor sleep states.
2Ease of operation
If the processor is woken up to render display ink strokes, then ink strokes can be displayed, but latency increases due to processor startup and operating system initialization
Solution Approach 1:
The display controller performs preliminary rendering actions by capturing and processing ink stroke data immediately upon detection, before the processor becomes operational. This preliminary action ensures that ink strokes are rendered as soon as possible without waiting for processor startup, significantly reducing latency.
Solution Approach 2:
The ink stroke rendering function is extracted from the processor and assigned to the display controller. This extraction eliminates the dependency on processor startup for rendering operations, allowing the display controller to handle ink strokes independently and immediately.
3Use of energy by moving object
If the processor remains in sleep mode during inking sessions, then power consumption is reduced, but the device cannot render ink strokes without display controller autonomy
Solution Approach 1:
The display controller is designed with multi-functionality, handling both display output and ink stroke rendering tasks. This universal capability allows the display controller to autonomously manage rendering operations during processor sleep states, enabling power savings without sacrificing rendering functionality.
Data Source
AI summary
A device includes a digitizer in communication with a touch sensor and configured to generate touchscreen data indicative of an ink stroke, a processor configured to generate image data for rendering on a display panel, and a display controller configured to receive the image data and to generate pixel control signals for the display panel from the image data. The display controller includes a memory to store frame data derived from the image data by the display controller, and an ink rendering engine configured to generate ink image data from the touchscreen data while the processor resides in a sleep mode. The ink rendering engine is coupled to the memory to store the ink image data in the memory as the frame data such that the pixel control signals direct the display panel to render the ink stroke while the processor remains in the sleep mode.