U.S. patent number 10,515,576 [Application Number 13/451,018] was granted by the patent office on 2019-12-24 for data transmission method and display driving system.
This patent grant is currently assigned to NOVATEK MICROELECTRONICS CORP.. The grantee listed for this patent is Po-Chuan Chang-Chian, Chun-Yi Chou, Ching-Chun Lin, Chih-Wei Tang, Wing-Kai Tang. Invention is credited to Po-Chuan Chang-Chian, Chun-Yi Chou, Ching-Chun Lin, Chih-Wei Tang, Wing-Kai Tang.
United States Patent |
10,515,576 |
Chang-Chian , et
al. |
December 24, 2019 |
Data transmission method and display driving system
Abstract
A data transmission method applied in a display, which includes
a display panel, is provided. The data transmission method includes
the following steps of: providing a host controller and n display
drivers, n is a natural number greater than 1; providing a
communication link under mobile industry processor interface
(MIPI), connecting the host controller to the n display drivers;
determining n virtual channel values Vc1-Vcn corresponding to the
respective n display drivers; employing the host controller for
providing a command with a virtual channel parameter through the
communication link under MIPI; when the virtual channel parameter
corresponds to an i.sup.th virtual channel values Vci, an i.sup.th
display driver executing corresponding operations in response to
the command, while the rest n-1 display drivers ignoring the
command, wherein i is a natural number smaller than or equal to
n.
Inventors: |
Chang-Chian; Po-Chuan (Hsinchu,
TW), Chou; Chun-Yi (Hsinchu, TW), Tang;
Wing-Kai (Hsinchu, TW), Lin; Ching-Chun (New
Taipei, TW), Tang; Chih-Wei (Baisha Township, Penghu
County, TW) |
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Chang-Chian; Po-Chuan
Chou; Chun-Yi
Tang; Wing-Kai
Lin; Ching-Chun
Tang; Chih-Wei |
Hsinchu
Hsinchu
Hsinchu
New Taipei
Baisha Township, Penghu County |
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A |
TW
TW
TW
TW
TW |
|
|
Assignee: |
NOVATEK MICROELECTRONICS CORP.
(Hsinchu, TW)
|
Family
ID: |
47712318 |
Appl.
No.: |
13/451,018 |
Filed: |
April 19, 2012 |
Prior Publication Data
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Document
Identifier |
Publication Date |
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US 20130044088 A1 |
Feb 21, 2013 |
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Foreign Application Priority Data
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Aug 19, 2011 [TW] |
|
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100129803 A |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G09G
3/20 (20130101); G09G 2370/10 (20130101); G06F
3/1431 (20130101); G09G 2370/08 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
G09G
3/20 (20060101); G06F 3/14 (20060101) |
Field of
Search: |
;345/204,699 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
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201608820 |
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Oct 2010 |
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CN |
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101937325 |
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Jan 2011 |
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CN |
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200710781 |
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Mar 2007 |
|
TW |
|
Other References
Chinese Office Action dated Nov. 4, 2014. cited by applicant .
Office Action issued by USPTO dated Jun. 5, 2014 for U.S. Appl. No.
13/492,212. cited by applicant .
U.S. Office Action dated Feb. 13, 2015 for U.S. Appl. No.
13/492,212. cited by applicant .
Chinese Office Action dated Jul. 17, 2015. cited by applicant .
USPTO Office Action dated Jul. 30, 2015, in a related U.S. Appl.
No. 13/492,212. cited by applicant.
|
Primary Examiner: Chang; Kent W
Assistant Examiner: Shah; Sujit
Attorney, Agent or Firm: JCIPRNET
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A data transmission method applied in a display, the display
comprising a display driving system and a single display panel, the
display driving system having a host controller and n display
drivers, wherein the n display drivers are for driving the single
display panel having n panel regions, each of the panel regions
respectively configured to be coupled to and driven by a
corresponding one of the n display drivers, and n is a natural
number greater than 1, the data transmission method comprising:
providing a communication link under mobile industry processor
interface (MIPI) between the host controller and the n display
drivers; determining n virtual channel values Vc1, Vc2, . . . , and
Vcn corresponding to the respective n display drivers; receiving a
control command via the communication link under MIPI from the host
controller, wherein the control command comprises a virtual channel
parameter; configuring an i.sup.th display driver among the n
display drivers to drive an i.sup.th panel region among the n panel
regions according to the control command when the virtual channel
parameter of the control command indicates an i.sup.th virtual
channel value Vci among the n virtual channel values, wherein i is
a natural number smaller than or equal to n; configuring the
remaining n-1 display drivers among the n display drivers to
disregard the control command when the virtual channel parameter of
the control command indicates the i.sup.th virtual channel value
Vci; and configuring the n display drivers with a virtual
broadcasting value, wherein the virtual channel parameter of the
control command further corresponds to the virtual broadcasting
value for achieving broadcasting operation on all of the n display
drivers; wherein the virtual channel parameter of the control
command corresponds to a first virtual channel value Vc1 among the
n virtual channel values when the control command corresponds to an
indication command of a tearing effect event.
2. The data transmission method according to claim 1, further
comprising: determining the virtual broadcasting value; and the n
display drivers operating according to the control command when the
virtual channel parameter of the control command indicates the
virtual broadcasting value.
3. The data transmission method according to claim 1, wherein the
control command corresponds to a data transmission request command,
and the i.sup.th display driver sends a response confirmation
signal, capable of having the host controller noticed whether a
data transmission operation indicated by the data transmission
request command is achieved, in response to the data transmission
request command.
4. The data transmission method according to claim 1, wherein the
control command corresponds to a read request command, and the
i.sup.th display driver sends a response confirmation signal,
capable of having the host controller noticed whether a data
transmission operation indicated by the read request command is
achieved, in response to the read request command.
5. The data transmission method according to claim 1, wherein when
the host controller is in a system idle state, the i.sup.th display
driver sends a response confirmation signal.
6. The data transmission method according to claim 1, wherein the
control command corresponds to an address configuration command for
a random access memory (RAM), wherein, the i.sup.th display driver
comprises a RAM, and the i.sup.th display driver has the RAM
configured with a data storage space in response to the address
configuration command.
7. The data transmission method according to claim 6, wherein the
control command further corresponds to a data write command, and
the i.sup.th display driver has transmission data provided by the
host controller written into the data storage space in response to
the data write command.
8. The data transmission method according to claim 1, wherein the
control command corresponds to a command defined in a display
command set.
9. The data transmission method according to claim 1, wherein the
control command corresponds to an indication command of a tearing
effect event, and the i.sup.th display driver sends a response
confirmation signal, capable of providing notice to the host
controller as to whether to provide display data corresponding to a
next frame, in response to the indication command.
10. A display driving system applied in a display, the display
comprising the display driving system and a single display panel,
the display driving system comprising: a host controller, providing
a control command via a communication link under mobile industry
processor interface (MIPI), wherein the control command comprises a
virtual channel parameter; and n display drivers for driving the
single display panel having n panel regions, each of the panel
regions respectively being coupled to and driven by a corresponding
one of the n display drivers, corresponding to n respective virtual
channel values Vc1, Vc2, . . . , and Vcn, wherein n is a natural
number greater than 1, wherein, an i.sup.th display driver among
the n display drivers configured to drive an i.sup.th panel region
among the n panel regions according to the control command when the
virtual channel parameter of the control command indicates an
i.sup.th virtual channel value Vci among the n virtual channel
values, wherein i is a natural number smaller than or equal to n;
and the remaining n-1 display drivers among the n display drivers
configured to disregard the control command when the virtual
channel parameter of the control command indicates the i.sup.th
virtual channel value Vci; wherein the n display drivers are
further configured with a virtual broadcasting value, and the
virtual channel parameter of the control command further
corresponds to the virtual broadcasting value for achieving
broadcasting operation on all of the display drivers; wherein the
virtual channel parameter of the control command corresponds to a
first virtual channel value Vc1 among the n virtual channel values
when the control command corresponds to an indication command of a
tearing effect event.
11. The display driving system according to claim 10, wherein the n
display drivers operate according to control command when the
virtual channel parameter of the control command indicates the
virtual broadcasting value.
12. The display driving system according to claim 10, wherein the
control command corresponds to a data transmission request command,
and the i.sup.th display driver sends a response confirmation
signal, capable of having the host controller noticed whether a
data transmission operation indicated by the data transmission
request command is achieved, in response to the data transmission
request command.
13. The display driving system according to claim 10, wherein the
control command corresponds to a read request command, and the
i.sup.th display driver sends a response confirmation signal,
capable of having the host controller noticed whether a data
transmission operation indicated by the read request command is
achieved, in response to the read request command.
14. The display driving system according to claim 10, wherein when
the host controller is in a system idle state, the i.sup.th display
driver sends a response confirmation signal.
15. The display driving method according to claim 10, wherein the
control command corresponds to an address configuration command for
a random access memory (RAM), the i.sup.th display driver comprises
a RAM, and the i.sup.th display driver has the RAM configured with
a data storage space in response to the address configuration
command.
16. The display driving system according to claim 15, wherein the
control command further corresponds to a data write command, and
the i.sup.th display driver has transmission data provided by the
host controller written into the data storage space in response to
the data write command.
17. The display driving system according to claim 10, wherein the
control command corresponds to a command defined in a display
command set.
18. The display driving system according to claim 10, wherein the
control command corresponds to an indication command of a tearing
effect event, and the i.sup.th display driver sends a response
confirmation signal, capable of providing notice to the host
controller as to whether to provide display data corresponding to a
next frame, in response to the indication command.
19. A data transmission method applied in a display, the display
comprising a display driving system and a single display panel, the
display driving system having a host controller and n display
drivers, wherein the n display drivers are for driving the single
display panel having n panel regions, each of the panel regions
respectively being coupled to and driven by a corresponding one of
the n display drivers, and n is a natural number greater than 1,
the data transmission method comprising: providing a communication
link under mobile industry processor interface (MIPI) between the
host controller and the n display drivers; determining n virtual
channel values Vc1, Vc2, . . . , and Vcn corresponding to the
respective n display drivers; receiving a control command via the
communication link under MIPI from the host controller, wherein the
control command comprises a virtual channel parameter; configuring
an i.sup.th display driver among the n display drivers to drive an
i.sup.th panel region among the n panel regions according to the
control command when the virtual channel parameter of the control
command indicates an i.sup.th virtual channel value Vci among the n
virtual channel values, wherein i is a natural number smaller than
or equal to n; and configuring the remaining n-1 display drivers
among the n display drivers to disregard the control command when
the virtual channel parameter of the control command indicates the
i.sup.th virtual channel value Vci; wherein after the step of
receiving the control command via the communication link is
performed, there is a first turnaround period in which a master
position of the communication link under MIPI is switched from the
host controller to the i.sup.th display driver, and there is a
second turnaround period occurring after the first turnaround
period, wherein in the second turnaround period the master position
of the communication link under MIPI is switched from the i.sup.th
display driver back to the host controller; wherein the virtual
channel parameter of the control command corresponds to a first
virtual channel value Vc1 among the n virtual channel values when
the control command corresponds to an indication command of a
tearing effect event.
20. A display driving system applied in a display, the display
comprising the display driving system and a single display panel,
the display driving system comprising: a host controller, providing
a control command via a communication link under mobile industry
processor interface (MIPI), wherein the control command comprises a
virtual channel parameter; and n display drivers for driving the
single display panel having n panel regions, each of the panel
regions respectively being coupled to and driven by a corresponding
one of the n display drivers, corresponding to n respective virtual
channel values Vc1, Vc2, . . . , and Vcn, wherein n is a natural
number greater than 1, wherein, an i.sup.th display driver among
the n display drivers is configured to drive an i.sup.th panel
region among the n panel regions according to the control command
when the virtual channel parameter of the control command indicates
an i.sup.th virtual channel value Vci among the n virtual channel
values, wherein i is a natural number smaller than or equal to n;
and the remaining n-1 display drivers among the n display drivers
are configured to disregard the control command when the virtual
channel parameter of the control command indicates the i.sup.th
virtual channel value Vci; wherein after the step of receiving the
control command via the communication link is performed, there is a
first turnaround period in which a master position of the
communication link under MIPI is switched from the host controller
to the i.sup.th display driver, and there is a second turnaround
period occurring after the first turnaround period, wherein in the
second turnaround period the master position of the communication
link under MIPI is switched from the i.sup.th display driver back
to the host controller; wherein the virtual channel parameter of
the control command corresponds to a first virtual channel value
Vc1 among the n virtual channel values when the control command
corresponds to an indication command of a tearing effect event.
21. A data transmission method applied in a display, the display
comprising a display driving system and a single display panel, the
display driving system having a host controller and n display
drivers, wherein the n display drivers are for driving the single
display panel having n panel regions, each of the panel regions
respectively being coupled to and driven by a corresponding one of
the n display drivers, and n is a natural number greater than 1,
the data transmission method comprising: providing a communication
link under mobile industry processor interface (MIPI) between the
host controller and the n display drivers; determining n virtual
channel values Vc1, Vc2, . . . , and Vcn corresponding to the
respective n display drivers; receiving a control command via the
communication link under MIPI from the host controller, wherein the
control command comprises a virtual channel parameter; configuring
an i.sup.th display driver among the n display drivers to drive an
i.sup.th panel region among the n panel regions according to the
control command when the virtual channel parameter of the control
command indicates an i.sup.th virtual channel value Vci among the n
virtual channel values, wherein i is a natural number smaller than
or equal to n; and configuring the remaining n-1 display drivers
among the n display drivers to disregard the control command when
the virtual channel parameter of the control command indicates the
i.sup.th virtual channel value Vci; wherein the virtual channel
parameter of the control command corresponds to a first virtual
channel value Vc1 among the n virtual channel values when the
control command corresponds to an indication command of a tearing
effect event.
22. A display driving system applied in a display, the display
comprising the display driving system and a single display panel,
the display driving system comprising: a host controller, providing
a control command via a communication link under mobile industry
processor interface (MIPI), wherein the control command comprises a
virtual channel parameter; and n display drivers for driving the
single display panel having n panel regions, each of the panel
regions respectively being coupled to and driven by a corresponding
one of the n display drivers, corresponding to n respective virtual
channel values Vc1, Vc2, . . . , and Vcn, wherein n is a natural
number greater than 1, wherein, an i.sup.th display driver among
the n display drivers is configured to drive an i.sup.th panel
region among the n panel regions according to the control command
when the virtual channel parameter of the control command indicates
an i.sup.th virtual channel value Vci among the n virtual channel
values, wherein i is a natural number smaller than or equal to n;
and the remaining n-1 display drivers among the n display drivers
are configured to disregard the control command when the virtual
channel parameter of the control command indicates the i.sup.th
virtual channel value Vci; wherein the virtual channel parameter of
the control command corresponds to a first virtual channel value
Vc1 among the n virtual channel values when the control command
corresponds to an indication command of a tearing effect event.
Description
This application claims the benefit of Taiwan application Serial
No. 100129803, filed Aug. 19, 2011, the subject matter of which is
incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Field of the Invention
The invention relates in general to a data transmission method and
display driving system using the same, and more particularly to a
data transmission method and display driving system applied on a
communication link under mobile industry processor interface
(MIPI).
Description of the Related Art
In the present age, small-sized or medium-sized display have been
widely applied in various kind of electronic products, such as
mobile phones, personal digital assistants (PDA), multi-media
players, GPS navigation devices, and so forth. Generally, a single
display driver is employed in small or medium sized displays for
achieving scan driving and data driving operation of the display
panel.
However, drawbacks, such as the limited data channel numbers and
the incapability for supporting display panels with higher
resolution due to the limited size of the driver IC, rises in
displays employing the present solution of a single display driver.
As such, how to provide a display driving system capable of
supporting more data channel numbers and display panel with higher
resolution has became a prominent object for the industries.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention is directed to a data transmission method and a
display driving system using the same, wherein multiple display
drivers, each of which is configured with a virtual channel value,
have been applied in the data transmission method and the display
driving system for driving a display panel. The data transmission
method and the display driving system directed to by the invention
further employ a host controller for providing a command, with
virtual channel address capability, under mobile industry processor
interface (MIPI), so as to address and accordingly drive the
multiple display drivers. Thus, in comparison to conventional
display driving solution employing a single display driver, the
data transmission method and display driving system using the same,
directed to by the invention, are advantageously capable of
supporting higher amount of data driving channels and display
panels with higher resolution.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, a data
transmission method, applied in a display having a host controller
and n display drivers, wherein n is a natural number greater than
1. The data transmission method includes the steps of: providing a
communication link under mobile industry processor interface (MIPI)
between the host controller and the n display drivers; determining
n virtual channel values Vc1, Vc2, . . . , and Vcn corresponding to
the respective n display drivers; receiving a control command via
the communication link under MIPI from the host controller, wherein
the control command comprises a virtual channel parameter; an
i.sup.th display driver among the n display drivers operating
according to the control command when the virtual channel parameter
of the control command indicates an i.sup.th virtual channel values
Vci among the n virtual channel values, wherein i is a natural
number smaller than or equal to n; and the rest n-1 display drivers
among the n display drivers discarding the control command when the
virtual channel parameter of the control command indicates the
i.sup.th virtual channel values Vci.
According to a second aspect of the invention, a display driving
system, applied in a display with a display panel, is provided. The
display driving system includes a host controller and n display
drivers, wherein n is a natural number greater than 1. The host
controller provides a control command via a communication link
under mobile industry processor interface (MIPI), wherein the
control command comprises a virtual channel parameter. The n
display drivers correspond to n respective virtual channel values
Vc1, Vc2, . . . , and Vcn. An i.sup.th display driver among the n
display drivers operates according to the control command when the
virtual channel parameter of the control command indicates an
i.sup.th virtual channel values Vci among the n virtual channel
values, wherein i is a natural number smaller than or equal to n.
The rest n-1 display drivers among the n display drivers discarding
the control command when the virtual channel parameter of the
control command indicates the i.sup.th virtual channel values
Vci.
The invention will become apparent from the following detailed
description of the preferred but non-limiting embodiments. The
following description is made with reference to the accompanying
drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a display driving system of a display
according to an embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 2 is a flow chart of the display driving system according to
the present embodiment of the invention when the control command
cmd is a data transmission request command.
FIG. 3 is a flow chart of the display driving system according to
the present embodiment of the invention when the control command
cmd is an indication command of a tearing effect event.
FIG. 4 is a flow chart of the display driving system according to
the present embodiment of the invention when the control command
cmd is an address configuration command of a random access memory
and a data write command.
FIG. 5 is a flow chart of the display driving system according to
the present embodiment of the invention when the host controller
100 operates in a system idle state.
FIG. 6 is a flow chart of the data transmission method according to
the present embodiment of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The display driving system according to the present embodiment of
the invention employs multiple display drivers for driving a
display panel, wherein each of the display drivers is configured
with a virtual channel value for the purpose of addressing.
Referring to FIG. 1, a block diagram of a display employing a
display driving system according to an embodiment of the invention
is shown. The display 1 includes a display driving system 10 and a
display panel 20. For example, the display panel 20 includes n
panel regions A1, A2, . . . , and An, each of which corresponds to
a same area and resolution, wherein n is a natural number greater
than 1. In an example, n is equal to 3 and the display panel
corresponds to a resolution of 1920 by 1080, so that each of the n
panel regions A1 to A3 corresponds to a resolution of 640 by
1080.
The display driving system 10 includes a host controller 100 and n
display drivers 110_1, 110_2, . . . , and 110_n. The host
controller 110 includes a host controller 100 and n display drivers
110_1, 110_2, . . . , and 110_n. The host controller 100 provides a
control command cmd via a communication link under mobile industry
processor interface (MIPI) 120, wherein the control command cmd
comprises a virtual channel parameter. For example, the control
command cmd is defined in a display command set (DCS), such as a
data transmission request command, a read request command, an
indication command of a tearing effect event, an address
configuration command for a random access memory, or a data write
command.
The n display drivers 110_1 to 110_n respectively determine n
virtual channel values Vc1, Vc2, . . . , and Vcn. In an example, n
is equal to 3, and the virtual channel values Vc1 to Vc3
respectively correspond to values of 1, 2, and 3.
When the virtual channel parameter of the control command cmd
corresponds to an i.sup.th virtual channel value Vci among the n
virtual channel values Vc1 to Vcn, the display driver 110_i,
corresponding to the i.sup.th virtual channel value Vci, operates
in response to the control command cmd, while the rest n-1 display
drivers accordingly discard the control command cmd, wherein i is a
natural number smaller than or equal to n. As such, the display
driving system 10 according to the present embodiment of the
invention is capable of addressing the control command cmd,
provided via the communication link under MIPI 120, by means of
configuring the aforementioned virtual channel parameter, so as to
have the n display drivers 110_1 to 110_n properly driven.
In the following paragraphs, examples are cited for more clearly
having varies operations, achieved with the control command cmd,
illustrated.
Data Transmission Request Command and Read Request Command
In a practical example, the control command cmd is a data
transmission command or a read request command. As such, the
display driver 110_i sends a confirmation signal in response to the
data transmission request command, so as to have the host
controller 100 noticed whether a data transmission operation
indicated by the data transmission request command is achieved. For
example, the operation sequence that the host controller 100
provides the data transmission command and the display driver 110_i
accordingly responds with the confirmation signal is illustrated in
FIG. 2.
More specifically, the sequence, illustrated in FIG. 2, firstly
proceeds to step (a1), in which the host controller 100 provides
the data transmission request command, and the virtual channel
parameter provided with the data transmission request command
indicates the virtual channel value Vci. Next, the sequence
proceeds to step (b1), in which the host controller 100 and the
display driver 110_i enter a bus turnaround period, wherein the
master position of the communication link under MIPI 120, currently
taken by the host controller 100, is switched to the display driver
110_. The sequence then proceeds to step (c1), in which the display
driver 110_i sends the confirmation signal to the host controller
100 via the communication link under MIPI 120. After that, the
sequence proceeds to step (d1), in which the host controller 100
and the display driver 110_i enter the bus turnaround period once
again, so that the master position of the communication link under
MIPI 120, currently taken by the display driver 110_i, is switched
back to the host controller 100.
Indication Command of a Tearing Effect Event
In another practical example, the control command cmd is an
indication command of a tearing effect event, and the virtual
channel parameter accordingly corresponds to the virtual channel
value Vc1 among the n virtual channel values Vc1 to Vcn. As such,
the display driving system 10 could achieve indication and response
of the tearing effect event via the first display driver 110_1.
The display driver 110_1 sends a confirmation signal, indicating
whether the host controller 100 is able to provide display data
corresponding to a next frame, in response to the indication
command of the tearing effect event. For example, the operation
sequence that the host controller 100 provides the indication
command of the tearing effect event and the display driver 110_1
accordingly responds with the confirmation signal is illustrated in
FIG. 3.
More specifically, the sequence, illustrated in FIG. 3, firstly
proceeds to step (a3), in which the host controller 100 provides
the indication command of the tearing effect event, and the virtual
channel parameter of the indication command indicates the virtual
channel value Vc1. The sequence next proceeds to step (b3), in
which the host controller 100 and the display driver 110_1 enter a
bus turnaround period, wherein the master position of the
communication link under MIPI 120, currently taken by the host
controller 100, is switched to the display driver 110_1. The
sequence then proceeds to step (c3), in which the display driver
110_1 sends a confirmation signal ACK or an error report signal to
the host controller 100 via the communication link under MIPI 120.
After that, the sequence proceeds to step (d3), in which the host
controller 100 and the display driver 110_1 enter the bus
turnaround period once again, so that the master position of the
communication link under MIPI 120, currently taken by the display
driver 110_1, is switched back to the host controller 100.
The sequence next proceeds to steps (e3), (f3), (g3), and (h3),
wherein steps (e3), (f3), and (h3), with the control operation of
the host controller 100, the master position of the communication
link under MIPI 120 switched to the display driver 110_1, and then
switched back to the host controller 100, are respectively similar
to steps (a3), (b3), and (d3). In step (g3), the display driver
110_1 provides and sends a confirmation signal of the tearing
effect event back to the host controller 100.
Address Configuration Command for a Random Access Memory and Data
Write Command
In still another practical example, the control command cmd is an
address configuration command for the RAM or a data write command.
For example, each of the display drivers 110_1 to 110_n includes a
RAM (not shown), and the i.sup.th display driver 110_i having data
storage space of its RAM configured in response to the address
configuration command, and having data written into the data
storage space in response to the data write command. For example,
the aforementioned address configuration of memory is executed
under a command mode of the MIPI by the host controller 100 and the
display driver 110_i, so as to achieve data transmission of the
display data.
For example, the address configuration command for the RAM is
defined in the DCS as commands 0x2A and 0x2B, and the data write
command is defined in the DCS as commands 0x2C and 0x3C. The
operation sequence that the host controller 100 provides the
address configuration command for the RAM and the data write
command is illustrated in FIG. 4.
The sequence firstly proceeds to step (a4), in which the host
controller 100 provides the address configuration commands DCS 0x2A
and 0x2B for defining a storage area within the RAM of the display
driver 110_i, wherein the commands DCS 0x2A and 0x2B respectively
having an initial address and a terminal address of the storage
area determined. The sequence next proceeds to step (b4), in which
the host controller 100 provides the data write command DCS 0x2C
for having a first row of display data written into a first row of
storage space within the storage area. The sequence then proceeds
to step (c4), in which the host controller 100 provides the data
write command DCS 0x3C for having the following display data
written into the rest space of the storage area. After that, the
sequence proceeds to step (d4), in which the host controller 100
and the display driver 110_i once again enter the bus turnaround
period.
System Idle State
In a practical example, the host controller 100 operates in a
system idle state, in which, for example, the display 1 is turned
on and no command has ever been provided. In the present situation,
the display driver 110_i sends a confirmation signal, wherein the
parameter i could be any initial value preset in the system. The
host controller 100, for example, determines whether the
communication link under MIPI 120 operates normally according to
the confirmation signal sent by the display driver 110_i. For
example, the operation sequence that the display driver 110_i sends
the confirmation signal under the system idle condition is
illustrated in FIG. 5, wherein steps (a2) to (d2) are respectively
similar to steps (a1) to (d1) illustrated in FIG. 2, and the detail
description is accordingly omitted for conciseness.
Though only the situation that the virtual channel parameter of the
control command cmd is selectively corresponding to each of the
virtual channel values Vc1 to Vcn is illustrated in the present
embodiment, the control command cmd is not limited thereto. In
other example, the virtual channel parameter of the control command
cmd could correspond to other values, so as to have the display
drivers 110_1 to 110_n controlled for other operation. For example,
the n display drivers 110_1 to 110_n are further configured with a
virtual broadcasting value Vcb, and the virtual channel parameter
of the control command cmd could also correspond to the virtual
broadcasting value Vcb for achieving broadcasting operation on all
of the display drivers 110_1 to 110_n.
For example, when the virtual channel value of the control command
cmd corresponds to the virtual broadcasting value Vcb, the n
display drivers 110_1 to 110_n are all enabled and operate
according to the control command cmd. As such, broadcasting
operation among the n display drivers 110_1 to 110_n by the host
controller 110 can be implemented.
Referring to FIG. 6, a flow of the data transmission method
according of the present embodiment is shown. For example, the data
transmission method according to the present embodiment of the
invention includes the following steps. Firstly, the data
transmission method proceeds to step (A), in which the host
controller 100 and the n display drivers 110_1 to 110_n is
provided. The data transmission method next proceeds to step (B),
in which the communication link under MIPI 120 is provided for
connecting the host controller 100 to the n display drivers 110_1
to 110_n. The data transmission method then proceeds to step (C),
in which n virtual channel values Vc1 to Vcn respectively
corresponding to the n display drivers 110_1 to 110_n are
determined. The data transmission method next proceeds to step (D),
in which the host controller 100 provides a control command cmd
with the virtual channel parameter via the communication link under
MIPI 120. When the virtual channel parameter of the control command
cmd indicates the virtual channel value Vci, the data transmission
method proceeds to step (E), in which the display driver 110_i
executes the corresponding operation in response to the control
command cmd, while the rest n-1 display drivers accordingly discard
the control command cmd.
The data transmission method and the display driving system
according to the present embodiment of the invention employ
multiple display drivers, each of which is configured with a
virtual channel value, for driving a display panel. The data
transmission method and the display driving system according to the
present embodiment of the invention further employ a host
controller for providing a command, with virtual channel address
capability, under MIPI, so as to address and accordingly drive the
multiple display drivers. Thus, in comparison to conventional
display driving solution employing a single display driver, the
data transmission method and display driving system according to
the present embodiment of the invention are advantageously capable
of supporting higher amount of data driving channels and display
panels with higher resolution.
While the invention has been described by way of example and in
terms of a preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that the
invention is not limited thereto. On the contrary, it is intended
to cover various modifications and similar arrangements and
procedures, and the scope of the appended claims therefore should
be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such
modifications and similar arrangements and procedures.
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