Masking Non-Functioning Pixels via Surrounding Brightness Adjustment
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Solution Overview
Problem
The manufacturing of display screens is hindered by non-functioning pixels, such as bright and dark pixels, which lead to reduced yields and increased costs due to strict quality control standards, causing defective screens to be discarded or relegated to lower quality applications.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that mask non-functioning pixels by increasing the brightness of surrounding pixels, effectively reducing the visual perception of dark pixels through a process that estimates the lost brightness and distributes additional brightness to adjacent pixels, using a display controller and timing controller to adjust pixel values in real-time or pre-calibrated settings.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If strict quality control standards are applied to detect and reject displays with non-functioning pixels, then display quality and reliability are improved, but manufacturing yield decreases and production costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent converts the harmful effect of non-functioning pixels into a beneficial solution by using surrounding functioning pixels to compensate for the defective ones. Through brightness adjustment algorithms, the display controller increases the brightness of neighboring pixels to mask the visual impact of dead or stuck pixels, thereby allowing displays that would normally be rejected to be sold as high-quality consumer grade products
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the brightness parameter of surrounding pixels dynamically based on the presence and location of non-functioning pixels. The display controller adjusts luminance values in real-time or through pre-calibrated lookup tables, modifying the optical output parameters to compensate for defective pixels and maintain overall display quality
2Reliability
If additional processing methods such as laser etching are applied to fix non-functioning pixels, then pixel reliability is improved, but manufacturing complexity and costs increase substantially
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the problem of non-functioning pixels from the manufacturing process entirely by shifting the solution to the display operation phase. Instead of physically modifying defective pixels through complex laser etching processes during manufacturing, the system detects defective pixels and compensates for them through software-based brightness adjustment, eliminating the need for additional manufacturing equipment and processes
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces mechanical/physical fixing methods (laser etching, electrical rework) with an optical/electronic solution. The display controller uses digital signal processing and brightness adjustment algorithms to compensate for defective pixels, substituting complex mechanical repair processes with simple software-based optical compensation
3Reliability
If displays with non-functioning pixels are rejected or relegated to lower quality applications, then quality control standards are maintained, but waste increases and production costs rise
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transforms displays that would normally be considered defective waste into valuable consumer grade products. By implementing brightness compensation algorithms, displays with non-functioning pixels achieve visual quality comparable to perfect displays, allowing them to be utilized in high-quality applications rather than being discarded or downgraded
Solution Approach 2:
The patent recovers value from displays that would otherwise be discarded or relegated to lower-tier applications. Through pixel-level brightness adjustment, the system recovers the functional utility of displays with defective pixels, allowing them to meet consumer grade quality standards and be sold at higher value
Data Source
AI summary
A technique for masking a non-functioning pixel in a display screen includes receiving pixel values for driving pixels on the display screen with an image, identifying a sub-set of the pixel values associated with surrounding pixels that are adjacent to the non-functioning pixel in the display screen, and adjusting the pixel values of the sub-set to increase brightness of the surrounding pixels to compensate for lost brightness due to the non-functioning pixel to thereby mask visual perception of the non-functioning pixel.