KR20060007642A - Multi-panel display and method of driving the same - Google Patents

Abstract

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a multi-panel display and a driving method thereof having a multi-panel and simplifying a driving circuit.

A multi-panel display device of the present invention comprises: a plurality of display panels to which data lines are commonly connected; And a data driver for time division of data and supplying the data lines.

Description

Multi-Panel Display and Method of Driving the Same             

1 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing an organic electroluminescent cell.

2 is a circuit diagram illustrating an organic electroluminescent display.

3 is a driving waveform diagram of the organic electroluminescent display of FIG. 2.

4 is a block diagram showing the structure of a conventional multi-panel display.

5 is a block diagram showing the structure of another conventional multi-panel display.

6 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a multi-panel organic electroluminescent display device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a driving waveform diagram of the multi-panel organic electroluminescent display of FIG. 6.

8 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a multi-panel organic electroluminescent display device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

9 is a block diagram illustrating a multi-panel organic electroluminescent display device according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating an example in which the multi-panel type organic electroluminescent display shown in FIG. 9 is applied to a folder type mobile phone.

<Brief description of symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

40, 44: data driver 41, 45: display panel

42, 46: scan driver 43, 47: timing controller

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an organic electroluminescent display device, and more particularly, to a multi-panel display device having a multi-panel and a simplified driving circuit, and a driving method thereof.

Recently, various flat panel displays have been developed to reduce weight and volume, which are disadvantages of cathode ray tubes. As flat panel displays, liquid crystal displays (hereinafter referred to as "LCDs"), field emission displays (FEDs), plasma display panels (hereinafter referred to as PDPs), and electroluminescence (Electro-luminescence: referred to as "EL") There is a display device.

PDP is most advantageous for large screen because of its relatively simple structure and manufacturing process, but it has the disadvantages of low luminous efficiency, low luminance and high power consumption. LCD is mainly used as a display device of notebook computers, but demand is increasing. However, large screens are difficult and power consumption is large due to the backlight unit. In addition, LCD has a disadvantage of high light loss and a narrow viewing angle due to optical elements such as a polarizing filter, a prism sheet, and a diffusion plate. In contrast, the EL display device is roughly classified into an inorganic EL and an organic EL, and has advantages of fast response speed and high luminous efficiency, luminance, and viewing angle. In addition, the organic EL display element can display an image with a high luminance of tens of thousands [cd / m 2] at a voltage of about 10 [V].

The organic EL display device includes a display panel in which organic EL cells (hereinafter referred to as "OLED cells") are arranged in a matrix form.

1 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing an organic EL cell.

As shown in FIG. 1, the OLED cell includes an anode 2 made of a transparent conductive material on a glass substrate 1, a hole injection layer 3 stacked thereon, a light emitting layer 4 made of an organic material, and an electron injection layer 5. ) And a metal cathode 6.

When a current flows between the anode 2 and the cathode 6, holes in the hole injection layer 3 and electrons in the electron injection layer 5 respectively advance toward the light emitting layer 4 and are combined in the light emitting layer 4. Accordingly, the light emitting layer 4 is excited and transitioned by the combination of electrons and holes, and as a result, visible light is emitted.

FIG. 2 is a circuit diagram showing an organic EL display device, and FIG. 3 is a driving waveform diagram of the organic EL display device shown in FIG.

Referring to FIG. 2, an organic EL display device includes data lines DL1 to DLm and scan lines SL1 to SLn intersecting each other, and an OLED cell 10 formed at each intersection thereof and arranged in a matrix. do.

In addition, the constant current source 11 for supplying current to the data lines DL1 to DLm, and the switch elements 12 and 13 for supplying a base voltage and a scan high voltage to each of the scan lines SL1 to SLn. ).

The switch elements 12 and 13 connected to the scan lines SL1 to SLn sequentially supply the scan pulse SCAN from the first scan line SL1 to the nth scan line SLn as shown in FIG. 3. Then, the scan line SLi (where i is any one of 1 to n) is selected. To this end, the switch elements 12 connected to the base voltage source GND are turned on in response to the first control signal T1 to select the scan voltage SCAN of the base voltage selected by the scan line SL1 to SLn). The data pulse DATA is applied to the data lines DL1 to DLm as a positive current in synchronization with the scan pulse SCAN. At this time, the switch elements 13 connected to the scan high voltage source Vhigh are turned on in response to the second control signal T2 to supply the scan pulse of the scan high voltage to the unselected scan line. The OLED cell 10 emits light while current flows due to a forward bias when a data current is supplied to the data lines DL1 to DLm and a base voltage is applied to the scan lines SL1 to SLn.

Such organic EL displays have been applied in many fields as flat panel displays together with LCDs due to the advantages of low power consumption and high brightness.

4 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a display device having a bidirectional panel as an example of a conventional multi-panel display device.

Referring to Fig. 4, a conventional display device having a bidirectional panel includes an LCD module 20 and an organic EL display module 21.

The LCD module 20 of the display device having the bidirectional panel includes a thin film transistor (TFT) for each of the pixel regions defined by the data lines DL11 to DL1m and the gate lines GL11 to GL1n and their intersections. And a gate pulse supplied to the liquid crystal display panel 22 having the liquid crystal cell, the data driver 26 supplying data pulses to the data lines DL11 to DL1m, and the gate lines GL11 to GL1n. The gate driver 28 and the timing controller 24 for controlling the data driver 26 and the gate driver 28 are provided.

The TFT supplies the data on the data lines DL11 to DL1m to the liquid crystal cell in response to the gate pulses from the gate lines GL11 to GL1n.

In addition, the organic EL display module 21 of the display device having the bidirectional panel includes data lines DL21 to DL2m and scan lines SL21 to SL2n intersecting each other, and OLED cells arranged in a matrix at each intersection thereof. An organic EL display panel 23, a data driver 27 for supplying data pulses to the data lines DL21 to DL2m, and a scan driver 29 for supplying scan pulses to the scan lines SL21 to SL2n; And a timing controller 25 for controlling the data driver 27 and the scan driver 29.

The OLED cell emits light while current flows while data pulses are supplied to the data lines DL21 to DL2m in synchronization with the scan pulses from the scan lines SL12 to SL2n.

As such, when the LCD module 20 and the organic EL display module 21 are used as a display device having a bidirectional panel, there is a need to control each of the driving circuits separately because the optimum conditions of voltage, current, and control signal are different. As a result, the circuit cost and power consumption are large.

Another example of a display device having a conventional multi panel is illustrated in FIG. 5.

The display device having the bidirectional panel of FIG. 5 includes a first organic EL display module 30 and a second organic EL display module 31.

Referring to FIG. 5, the first and second organic EL display modules 30 and 31 of the display device having the bidirectional panel may include the crossing data lines DL11 to DL2m and scan lines SL11 to SL2n. And an OLED cell formed at each intersection thereof and arranged in a matrix type.

The first organic EL display module 30 of the display device having the bidirectional panel includes a first data driver 36 for supplying data pulses to the data lines DL11 to DL1m of the first organic EL display panel 32; The first scan driver 38 for supplying the scan pulse to the scan lines SL11 to SL1n and the first timing controller 34 for supplying control signals to the first data driver 36 and the first scan driver 38. It includes.

Further, the second organic EL display module 31 of the display device having the bidirectional panel is the second data driver 37 for supplying data pulses to the data lines DL21 to DL2m of the second organic EL display panel 33. And a second timing controller for supplying control signals to the second scan driver 39 and the second data driver 37 and the second scan driver 39 to supply scan pulses to the scan lines SL21 to SL2n. 35).

However, even when the first and second organic EL display modules are used as a display device having a conventional bidirectional panel as shown in Fig. 5, the cost is high and power is increased by driving the first and second display panels with separate driving circuits. In addition to the increased consumption, the volume of the interactive panel-type display device was disadvantageous.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a multi-panel display device and a driving method thereof having a multi-panel and simplifying a driving circuit.

In order to achieve the above object, a multi-panel display device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention includes a plurality of display panels to which data lines are commonly connected; And a data driver for time division of data and supplying the data lines.

A multi-panel display device according to an embodiment of the present invention includes N display panels, where N is a positive integer; N / n display panel groups in which data lines of n display panels (where n is a positive integer less than N) are commonly connected; And a data driver for time-dividing data into each of the N / n display panel groups.

The display panel may be an organic electroluminescent display panel.

The plurality of display panels have respective scan lines.

The apparatus may further include a scan driver configured to independently drive the scan lines corresponding to each of the plurality of display panels.

The scan driver may include: an ad scan driver positioned at one side of the display panel to drive predetermined scan lines of the scan lines; An even scan driver positioned on the other side of the display panel and driving the remaining scan lines of the scan lines.

A driving method of a multi-panel display device according to the present invention includes the steps of connecting data lines in common in a plurality of display panels; Time-dividing data and supplying the data lines.

In the driving method of a multi-panel display device according to the present invention, the data lines of N display panels (where N is a positive integer) are common to n display panels (n is a positive integer less than N). Providing N / n display panel groups by connecting to each other; And time-dividing data into each of the N / n display panel groups.

The method may further include scanning any one of the plurality of display panels in response to the time-divided data.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 to 10.

6 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a multi-panel type organic EL display device according to a first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 7 is a drive waveform diagram of the multi-panel type organic EL display device shown in FIG.

Referring to FIG. 6, the multi-panel type organic EL display device according to the first embodiment of the present invention includes a plurality of display panels 41A to 41I in which data lines DL1 to DLm are shared.

The multi-panel type organic EL display device includes a data driver 40 for supplying data pulses in common to the data lines DL1 to DLm shared by the plurality of display panels 41A to 41I.

In addition, the multi-panel type organic EL display device independently supplies scan pulses 42A to 41I corresponding to the plurality of display panels 41A to 41I having respective scan lines SLA1 to SLIn. And a timing controller 43 for controlling the data driver 40 and the plurality of scan drivers 42A to 42I.

Referring to FIG. 7, the data driver 40 of the multi-panel type organic EL display device divides data into the plurality of display panels 41A to 41I to time-share the data lines of the plurality of display panels 41A to 41I. The data pulses are supplied to DL1 to DLm).

The timing controller 43 of the multi-panel type organic EL display device controls a control signal to the first scan driver 42A that supplies scan pulses to all the scan lines SLA1 to SLAn of the first organic EL display panel 41A. CS1) is supplied. When the control signal CS1 is applied to the first scan driver 42A, the first scan driver 42A receives the nth scan line SLAn from the first scan line SLA1 of the first organic EL display panel 41A. The scan pulses are sequentially supplied until to select a scan line (SLAi: i is any one of 1 to n) in which data is displayed. During the time when the scan pulse is supplied to all the scan lines SLA1 to SLAn of the first organic EL display panel 41A, the data driver 40 may share the shared data lines of the first organic EL display panel 41A. The data pulses are supplied to DL1 to DLm).

Next, the timing controller 43 of the multi-panel type organic EL display device supplies a second scan pulse to the scan lines SLB1 to SLIn of the second to ninth organic EL display panels 41B to 41I. The control signals CS2 to CS9 are sequentially supplied to each of the ninth to ninth scan drivers 42B to 42I. When signals CS2 to CS9 for controlling the second to ninth scan drivers 42B to 42I are sequentially applied to the second to ninth scan drivers 42B to 42I, the second to ninth scan drivers 42B to 42I. 42I) sequentially supplies scan pulses to all connected scan lines SLB1 to SLIn to select a scan line on which data is displayed.

The data driver 40 of the multi-panel type organic EL display device may be configured during a period in which a scan pulse is supplied to the scan lines SLB1 to SLIn corresponding to each of the second to ninth organic EL display panels 41B to 41I. The data pulse is supplied to the shared data lines DL1 to DLm of each of the second to ninth organic EL display panels 41B to 41I.

8 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a multi-panel type organic EL display device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 8, the plurality of display panels 45A to 45I of the multi-panel type organic EL display device includes a plurality of display panel groups 48A to 48C having data lines DL11 to DL3m shared for each column. And a plurality of data drivers 44A to 44C which supply data pulses to the data lines DL11 to DL3m shared to each of the plurality of display panel groups 48A to 48C.

In addition, the multi-panel type organic EL display device includes a plurality of display panels 45A to 45I having respective scan lines SLA1 to SLIn, and corresponds to each of the plurality of display panels 45A to 45I. And a plurality of scan drivers 46A to 46I for independently supplying scan pulses to the respective scan lines SLA1 to SLIn, and a plurality of data drivers 44A to 44C and a plurality of scan drivers 46A to 46I. Is provided with a timing controller 47.

The first data driver 44A of the multi-panel type organic EL display device divides data into a plurality of display panels 45A to 45C of the first display panel group 48A so that the first display panel group 48A is shared. The data pulses are supplied to the data lines DL11 to DL1m.

In other words, the timing controller 47 of the multi-panel type organic EL display device is provided to the first scan driver 46A which supplies scan pulses to all the scan lines SLA1 to SLAn of the first organic EL display panel 45A. The control signal CS11 is supplied. When the control signal CS11 is applied to the first scan driver 46A, the first scan driver 46A receives the nth scan line SLAn from the first scan line SLA1 of the first organic EL display panel 45A. The scan pulses are sequentially supplied until to select a scan line SLAi (where i is one of 1 to n). During the time when the scan pulses are supplied to all the scan lines SLA1 to SLAn of the first organic EL display panel 45A, the first data driver 44A performs the first organic EL display panel of the first display panel group 48A. The data pulse is supplied to the shared data lines DL11 to DL1m of 41A.

Then, the timing controller 47 of the multi-panel type organic EL display device includes the scan lines SLB1 to SLCn of each of the second and third organic EL display panels 45B and 45C of the first display panel group 48A. The control signals CS12 and CS13 are sequentially supplied to the second and third scan drivers 46B and 46C for supplying the scan pulses to each other. When the signals CS12 and CS13 controlling the second and third scan drivers 46B and 46C are sequentially applied to the second and third scan drivers 46B and 46C, the second and third scan drivers 46B, 46C sequentially supplies scan pulses to all connected scan lines SLB1 to SLCn to select a scan line on which data is displayed.

The first data driver 44A during the time that the scan pulse is supplied to the scan lines SLB1 to SLCn of the second and third organic EL display panels 45B and 45C of the first display panel group 48A. Supplies data pulses to the data lines DL11 to DL1m shared to the second and third organic EL display panels 45B and 45C of the first display panel group 48A.

In the same manner, the timing controller 47 of the multi-panel type organic EL display device controls all of the fourth to ninth organic EL display panels 45D to 45I of the second and third display panel groups 48B and 48C. The control signals CS21 to CS33 are supplied to the fourth to ninth scan drivers 46D to 46I for supplying scan pulses to the scan lines SLD1 to SLIn. When the control signals CS21 to CS33 are applied to the fourth to ninth scan drivers 46D to 46I, the fourth to ninth scan drivers 46D to 46I are the fourth to ninth organic EL display panels 45D to The second and third data drivers 44B and 44C correspond to the second and third display panel groups 48B and 48C during the time when the scan pulse is applied to all the scan lines SLD1 to SLIn of 45I). The data pulse is supplied to each of the shared data lines DL21 to DL3m.

As described above, when the display panel groups share the respective data lines, the luminance may be reduced due to the increase in the number of panels sharing the data lines.

9 is a block diagram illustrating a bidirectional panel type organic EL display device according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 9, the bidirectional panel type organic EL display device according to the third embodiment of the present invention includes a first organic EL display module 60 and a second organic EL display module 61.

The first organic EL display panel 62 of the first organic EL display module 61 includes first scan lines SL11 to SL1n that cross the data lines DL1 to DLm.

In addition, the second organic EL display panel 63 of the second organic EL display module 61 may include second scan lines crossing the data lines DL1 to DLm extending from the first organic EL display panel 62. (SL21 to SL2n).

The first organic EL display module 60 includes a first scan driver 64 for supplying scan pulses to the first scan lines SL11 to SL1n, and the second organic EL display module 61 has a second scan. The second scan driver 65 supplies scan pulses to the lines SL21 to SL2n.

The bidirectional panel type organic EL display device includes a data driver 66a, a data driver 66a, and a first and a first pulse to supply data pulses to the data lines DL1 to DLm of the first and second display panels 60 and 61. And a timing controller 66b integrated with the data driver 66a for controlling the second scan drivers 64 and 65.

The data driver 66a of the bidirectional panel type organic EL display device supplies data supplied to the data lines DL1 to DLm shared by the first organic EL display panel 62 and the second organic EL display panel 63. Supply by time division method.

The timing controller 66b of the bidirectional panel type organic EL display device controls a control signal to the first scan driver 64 that supplies scan pulses to all the scan lines SL11 to SL1n of the first organic EL display panel 62. The data driver 66a shares the first organic EL display panel 62 while the CS1 is supplied and the scan pulse is supplied to all the scan lines SL11 to SL1n of the first organic EL display panel 62. The data pulse is supplied to the data lines DL1 to DLm.

In addition, the timing controller 66b supplies the control signal CS2 to the second scan driver 65 which supplies the scan pulse to all the scan lines SL21 to SL2n of the second organic EL display panel 63, and During the time when the scan pulse is supplied to all the scan lines SL21 to SL2n of the second organic EL display panel 63, the data driver 66a may share the shared data lines DL1 to second of the second organic EL display panel 63. Supply a data pulse to DLm).

FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing an example in which the interactive panel type organic EL display device shown in FIG. 9 is applied to a folder type cellular phone.

Referring to FIG. 10, in the folder type cellular phone according to the present invention, the data lines DL1 to DLm of the first organic EL display panel 60 may include a cable (not shown) or a flexible printed circuit (“FPC”). Is connected to the second organic EL display panel 61 through " Hereinafter, assuming that the first organic EL display panel 62 is a display device mounted on the cover of the folder type mobile phone, the second organic EL display panel 63 is pivotally coupled to the folder type mobile phone via the hinge of the cover. It is assumed that the display device is mounted on the main body.

The first scan driver 64 and the second scan driver 65 of the first and second organic EL display modules 60 and 61 shown in FIG. 10 are the first and second display panels 62 and 63 in FIG. 10. Each chip is implemented as chips mounted separately on both sides of the display panels 62 and 63. That is, in FIG. 9, each of the first scan driver 64 and the second scan driver 65 includes the first and second ad scan drivers 64a and 65a and the first and second even scan drivers 64b of FIG. 10. 65b).

When the first left control signal CS1a is supplied from the timing controller 66b, the first eye scan driver 64a disposed on the left side of the first organic EL display panel 62 receives the first organic EL display panel 62. When the scan pulse is supplied to the odd lines among the scan lines SL11 to SL1n, and the first ad scan driver 64b disposed on the right side is supplied with the first right control signal CS1b from the timing controller 66b, Scan pulses are supplied to even lines among the scan lines SL11 to SL1n of the first organic EL display panel 62.

Further, when the second left scan driver 65a disposed on the left side of the second organic EL display panel 63 is supplied with the second left control signal CS2a from the timing controller 66b, the second organic EL display panel ( The scan pulse is supplied to the odd lines among the scan lines SL21 to SL2n of 63 and the second right scan driver 65b disposed on the right side is supplied with the second right control signal CS2b from the timing controller 66b. In this case, scan pulses are supplied to even lines among the scan lines SL21 to SL2n of the second organic EL display panel 63.

If the first and second ad scan drivers 54a and 55a and the first and second even scan drivers 54b and 55b are provided on the left and right sides to supply scan pulses to the scan lines SL11 to SL2n, the wiring length In this case, the waveforms due to the voltage drop of the scan lines SL11 to SL2n are distorted or the image quality is deteriorated.

As described above, when the multi-panel type organic EL display device sharing the data line is implemented, the number of parts can be reduced compared to the case of using the respective data driver and timing controller, thereby lowering power consumption and multi-panel. There is an advantage that can reduce the volume of the display device having a.

As described above, the multi-panel display device and the driving method thereof according to the present invention share the data lines to simplify the driving circuit, thereby reducing power consumption and miniaturizing the entire equipment.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that various changes and modifications can be made without departing from the technical spirit of the present invention. Therefore, the technical scope of the present invention should not be limited to the contents described in the detailed description of the specification but should be defined by the claims.

Claims (9)

A plurality of display panels to which data lines are commonly connected; And a data driver for time-dividing data and supplying the data lines to the data lines. N display panels (where N is a positive integer); N / n display panel groups in which data lines of n display panels (where n is a positive integer less than N) are commonly connected; And a data driver for time-dividing and supplying data to each of the N / n display panel groups. The method according to claim 1 or 2, The display panel of claim 1, wherein the display panel is an organic electroluminescent display panel. The method according to claim 1 or 2, And the plurality of display panels includes respective scan lines. The method of claim 4, wherein And a scan driver configured to independently drive the scan lines corresponding to each of the plurality of display panels. The method of claim 5, The scan driver, An ad scan driver positioned on one side of the display panel to drive predetermined scan lines of the scan lines; And an even scan driver positioned on the other side of the display panel to drive the remaining scan lines of the scan lines. Connecting data lines in common in a plurality of display panels; And time-dividing data into the data lines. N / n display panel groups are formed by connecting data lines of N display panels (N is a positive integer) to n display panels (n is a positive integer less than N) in common. Making a step; And time-dividing data in each of the N / n display panel groups and supplying the data lines to the data lines. The method according to claim 7 or 8, And scanning any one of the plurality of display panels in response to the time-divided data.

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