Intermittent Display Error Detection via Optical Sensing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing display systems face challenges in detecting intermittent display errors, such as infrequent dimming, blanking, or flashing, which are difficult to validate due to their rarity and faintness, especially in mission-critical applications where any error is unacceptable.
Innovation Solution
An intermittent display issue monitoring system that includes a processor, memory, and a sensor system to detect changes in light levels, using a microcontroller and light sensors with programmable gain amplifiers and offset adjustment circuits to accurately capture and log intermittent errors, allowing for extended monitoring and validation of display system integrity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If manual monitoring methods are used to detect intermittent display errors, then the system complexity is low, but the detection precision and reliability are insufficient due to the infrequent and faint nature of the errors
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual visual inspection with an automated optical sensing system. A sensor captures images of the display, and a processor analyzes these images to detect intermittent errors objectively, eliminating human subjectivity and fatigue while maintaining system feasibility through standardized imaging equipment.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary imaging system between the display and the detector. Instead of directly monitoring display output, the system captures images through a sensor and analyzes them through multiple processing stages including differential calculation and threshold comparison, enabling reliable detection of subtle intermittent errors.
2Reliability
If extended monitoring is implemented to capture intermittent errors occurring less than once a day, then the detection reliability improves, but the time required for validation increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements continuous automated monitoring that operates without interruption over extended periods. The system continuously captures display images and analyzes them in real-time, ensuring that intermittent errors occurring at any frequency are captured and validated efficiently without manual intervention gaps.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary image capture and preprocessing continuously, preparing data in advance for analysis. By maintaining a continuous stream of captured images and pre-processing them with differential calculations, the system is ready to immediately identify and validate intermittent errors when they occur, reducing overall validation time.
3Measurement precision
If automated image analysis is used to detect faint intermittent errors, then the measurement precision improves, but the computational complexity and processing requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the image analysis process into distinct computational stages: capturing reference images, calculating differential values between reference and test images, computing absolute values of differentials, and comparing against thresholds. This segmentation allows complex analysis to be broken into manageable, efficient processing steps that can be implemented systematically.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transforms the detection problem by changing parameters from direct luminance comparison to differential absolute value analysis. By calculating the absolute difference between reference and test image luminance values, the system enhances sensitivity to faint intermittent errors while maintaining computational efficiency through standardized mathematical operations.
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
Effectively detects and validates intermittent display errors, even those occurring infrequently and briefly, enabling timely repair or replacement of faulty components in critical systems, ensuring flawless operation.
Implementation Method 1
a sensor system to detect changes in light levels
Data Source
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AI summary
A system to detect intermittent failures of a display system including a display and a display processing system is provided. The system may include, but is not limited to, a sensor system configured to capture a light level of the display, and a processor configured to cause the display processing system to generate the static image on the display, determine, when the display is displaying the static image, a baseline light level of the display, validate an existence of an intermittent display error when the light level of the display is greater than the baseline light level by a first predetermined amount or when the light level of the display is less than the baseline light level by a second predetermined amount at least once over the predetermined amount of time, determine a recurrence rate, and associate an error type with each instance.