Touchscreen Backlight Timing to Eliminate Blanking Flicker
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Solution Overview
Problem
In in-cell touch panels, the time-sharing architecture between backlight and touch signals leads to reduced brightness and screen flickering due to the blanking period where the backlight is inactivated, causing noticeable flicker.
Innovation Solution
A light-emitting element is integrated to emit light during the blanking period using trigger and excitation signals, ensuring continuous illumination by the light source driving unit.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If time-sharing architecture is used between backlight and touch signals, then interference between scanning signals is avoided, but screen brightness decreases and flickering occurs during blanking period
Solution Approach 1:
The frame period is segmented into active period and blanking period, with further segmentation of display periods and touch periods within the active period. This allows independent control of backlight timing for each segment, enabling the backlight to remain active during previously dark blanking periods while maintaining proper signal timing separation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements periodic backlight scanning during the blanking period by generating excitation signals at regular intervals. The light-emitting element is driven in a periodic manner during the blanking period, ensuring continuous illumination without interrupting the touch signal scanning rhythm, thus eliminating flicker while maintaining signal integrity.
2Ease of operation
If backlight is inactivated during blanking period, then touch signal scanning can proceed, but screen flickering becomes noticeable
Solution Approach 1:
The backlight is maintained in a continuous active state throughout the entire frame period, including the blanking period. By generating excitation signals during the blanking period, the patent ensures uninterrupted light emission, eliminating the on-off cycles that cause flicker while allowing touch signal scanning to continue uninterrupted in its designated time slots.
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
Prevents screen flickering by maintaining consistent backlight during the blanking period, enhancing display brightness and user experience.
Implementation Method 1
The light-emitting element overlaps the touchscreen. The light source driving unit is electrically connected to the light-emitting element and the processing unit, wherein the light source driving unit is configured to cause the light-emitting element to emit light according to the plurality of trigger signals during the active period, and to cause the light-emitting element to emit light according to the excitation signal during the blanking period.
Data Source
AI summary
An electronic device and a display method are provided. The electronic device includes a touchscreen, a processing unit, a light-emitting element, and a light source driving unit. The touchscreen displays a frame within a frame period that includes an active period and a blanking period. The active period includes a plurality of display periods and touch periods. The processing unit is electrically connected to the touchscreen and provides a plurality of trigger signals during the active period and an excitation signal during the blanking period. The light-emitting element overlaps the touchscreen. The light source driving unit is electrically connected to the light-emitting element and the processing unit. The light source driving unit causes the light-emitting element to emit light according to the plurality of trigger signals during the active period and causes the light-emitting element to emit light according to the excitation signal during the blanking period.