TWI598607B - Level shifter and detection method for shorted output of level shifter end thereof - Google Patents

Description

Potential converter and short circuit detection method thereof

The invention relates to a short circuit detection method for a circuit output terminal, in particular to a potential converter and a short circuit detection method thereof.

Please refer to FIG. 4. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing the relative relationship between the potential converter and other components in the panel according to a comparative embodiment of the present invention. The current level shifter 1' (level shifter) of the gate driver on array (GOA) can be connected to the panel driving circuit 2' via a wire on array (WOA) or through the panel driving circuit 2 'The periphery of the substrate is placed, and then connected to other components to drive the pixel array 5' to provide the corresponding image. The panel driving circuit 2' has, for example, a gate driving circuit or a source driving circuit. The potential converter 1' is used to convert the level of the input signal (for example, the phase pulse signal, the start pulse signal, etc. required by the gate driving circuit) received by the potential converter 1' to the circuit requiring the signal. During the manufacturing process of the factory, it is inevitable that suspended particles will fall on the wires on the substrate. When there are suspended particles between the wires, when the circuit starts to operate or there is an Electrostatic Discharge (ESD), it may cause a short circuit between the output terminals of the potential converter 1' due to the suspended particles. ). Lightly causes the electronic components to overheat, which in turn causes the electronic components to burn out or melt the wires on the substrate, and may even cause danger in use.

The invention provides a potential converter and an output short-circuit detecting method thereof for detecting whether a short circuit occurs at an output end of the circuit converter.

The invention discloses a method for detecting short-circuit of an output terminal of a potential converter, and the method is suitable for a potential converter. The potential converter is electrically coupled to the panel driving circuit. The potential converter has a plurality of outputs. In the detection time interval, a first output end and a second output end are defined in the output end. The output short circuit detection method is included in the detection time interval, and the second output terminal is turned on to the reference end via the voltage dividing resistor. And the potential converter provides a test signal at the first output. And comparing the voltage level of the second output with the threshold voltage to produce a comparison result. The voltage at the second output is associated with the impedance between the first output and the second output.

The invention discloses a potential converter, wherein the potential converter has a plurality of output modules, at least one test module and a comparison module. The output module is electrically coupled to the panel driving circuit via a plurality of output terminals. Each of the at least one test module is electrically coupled to one of the output terminals. Each of the at least one test module includes a voltage dividing resistor. Each of the at least one test module is configured to selectively conduct the electrically coupled at least one output terminal to the reference end via the voltage dividing resistor. The comparison module is electrically coupled to at least one of the output terminals and receives the threshold voltage. The comparison module is configured to provide a comparison result between the voltage level of at least one of the output terminals and the threshold voltage. The comparison result is used to indicate whether the equivalent impedance between at least two of the outputs is within a preset range. Wherein, in the detection time interval, the first output end and the second output end are defined in the output end. One of the output modules is used to provide a test signal to the first output. The test module electrically coupled to the second output terminal is configured to conduct the second output end to the reference end via one of the at least one voltage dividing resistor.

In summary, the present invention provides a potential converter and an output short-circuit detecting method thereof. During the detection time interval, the second output terminal is electrically connected to the reference terminal via the resistor, and the potential converter is provided with a test signal at the first output terminal to determine the voltage level of the second output terminal according to the current output. Whether there is a short circuit between the first output end and the second output end. By using a potential converter and an output short-circuit detecting method thereof according to the present invention, it is possible to detect whether there is a short circuit between the output terminals of the potential converter.

The above description of the disclosure and the following description of the embodiments of the present invention are intended to illustrate and explain the spirit and principles of the invention, and to provide further explanation of the scope of the invention.

The detailed features and advantages of the present invention are set forth in the Detailed Description of the Detailed Description of the <RTIgt; </ RTI> <RTIgt; </ RTI> </ RTI> </ RTI> <RTIgt; The objects and advantages associated with the present invention can be readily understood by those skilled in the art. The following examples are intended to describe the present invention in further detail, but are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.

Please refer to FIG. 1. FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of a potential converter according to an embodiment of the invention. The potential converter 1 has a plurality of output modules, a plurality of test modules and a comparison module 16. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the output modules 12_1~12_M and the test modules 14_1~14_M are described for illustration. The output modules 12_1~12_M are electrically coupled to the panel driving circuit 2 via the plurality of output terminals N1 to NM. The panel driving circuit 2 is electrically coupled between the potential converter 1 and the pixel array 5. In order to facilitate the subsequent description, the panel driving circuit 2 and the pixel array 5 are defined herein as the panel end 20. However, this definition is not intended to limit the relative position of each component. The test modules 14_1~14_M are electrically coupled to one of the output terminals N1~NM, respectively. Specifically, the test module 14_1 is electrically coupled to the output terminal N1, and the test module 14_2 is electrically coupled to the output terminal N2. The comparison module 16 is electrically coupled to the output terminals N2~NM. Where M is a positive integer greater than one. In another embodiment, the comparison module 16 is electrically coupled to the output terminal N1 except for the electrical coupling output terminals N2 N NM. The panel driving circuit 2 has, for example, a gate driving circuit or a source driving circuit, and does not limit the position of the gate driving circuit or the source driving circuit.

Briefly, the output modules 12_1~12_M are, for example, output stage circuits of the potential converter 1. The test modules 14_1~14_M respectively have voltage dividing resistors (not shown in FIG. 1), and the test modules 14_1~14_M are used to selectively conduct the electrically coupled output terminals N1~NM to the reference end via the voltage dividing resistors. . More specifically, the test module 14_1 selectively turns the output terminal N1 to the reference terminal by having a voltage dividing resistor, and the test module 14_2 selectively outputs the output terminal by having a voltage dividing resistor. N2 is turned on to the reference end, and when it can be deduced later, it will not be described again. The reference terminal has, for example, a predetermined voltage level. In an embodiment, the reference terminal is, for example, a ground terminal. The comparison module 16 is configured to provide a comparison result between the voltage levels of the output terminals N1 N NM and a threshold voltage. The comparison result is used to indicate whether the equivalent impedance between at least two of the output terminals N1 N NM is within a preset range. In the detection time interval, the first output end and the second output end are defined in the output terminals N1~NM, one of the output modules provides a test signal to the first output end, and the second output end is electrically coupled. The test module conducts the second output to the reference terminal via a voltage dividing resistor. See the detailed description for details.

Please refer to FIG. 2 for more specific description of the potential converter 1. FIG. 2 is a schematic circuit diagram of a potential converter according to an embodiment of the invention. For simplicity of description, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the output modules 12_1 and 12_2 and the test modules 14_1 and 14_2 are described as an example. The remaining output modules have a circuit structure similar to that of the output modules 12_1, 12_2, and the remaining test modules have a structure similar to that of the test modules 14_1, 14_2, and those of ordinary skill in the art after reading this specification The implementation of other output modules and other test modules can be derived from the related description of FIG. 2, and details are not described herein.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the output module 12_1 has a transistor T1 and a transistor T2. One end of the transistor T1 is for receiving the first reference voltage VB1, the other end of the transistor T1 is electrically coupled to the output terminal N1, and the control end of the transistor T1 is for receiving the output control voltage V11. One end of the transistor T2 is for receiving the second reference voltage VB2, the other end of the transistor T2 is electrically coupled to the output terminal N1, and the control end of the transistor T2 is for receiving the output control voltage V21. In this embodiment, the transistor T1 is, for example, a P-type doped thin film transistor (TFT), and the transistor T2 is, for example, an N-type doped thin film transistor, and the output control voltages V11 and V21 are, for example, The output produced by the other circuit parts of the potential converter. The first reference voltage VB1 is higher than the second reference voltage VB2. The above is merely an example and is not limited to this. As shown in the figure, the output module 12_2 has a circuit structure similar to that of the output module 12_1, and details are not described herein.

On the other hand, the test module 14_1 has a voltage dividing resistor Rd1 and a test switch SW1. The voltage dividing resistor Rd1 and the test switch SW1 are connected in series between the output terminal N1 and the reference terminal. In this embodiment, the reference terminal is a ground terminal, and the two ends of the voltage-dividing resistor Rd1 are electrically coupled to the output terminal N1 and one end of the test switch SW1, and the other end of the test switch SW1 is electrically coupled to the reference terminal. In another embodiment, the two ends of the test switch SW1 are electrically coupled to the output end N1 and one end of the voltage dividing resistor Rd1, and the other end of the voltage dividing resistor Rd1 is electrically coupled to the reference end. The test module 14_2 has a circuit structure similar to that of the test module 14_1, and details are not described herein again.

The comparison module 16 is electrically coupled to the output terminal N2. In this embodiment, the comparison module has a comparator 162. One of the input terminals of the comparator 162 is electrically coupled to the output terminal N2, and the other input terminal of the comparator is electrically coupled to the threshold voltage Vth. The comparator 162 generates a comparison output voltage Vj according to the voltage level of the output terminal N2 and the threshold voltage, and compares the output voltage Vj to indicate whether the voltage level of the output terminal N2 is greater than the threshold voltage Vth. By appropriately setting the threshold voltage Vth, the comparison output voltage Vj is used to indicate whether the output terminal N2 is short-circuited with other outputs. The relevant details will be detailed later.

In a detection time interval, the test switch SW1 is not turned on, the test switch SW2 is turned on, and the output terminal N2 is electrically coupled to the ground through the voltage dividing resistor Rd2. At this time, the potential converter 1 supplies a test signal to the output terminal N1. For the output terminal N1 and the output terminal N2, the panel terminal 20 forms an equivalent resistance Re between the output terminal N1 and the output terminal N2. Therefore, the voltage level of the output terminal N2 should be the voltage difference between the output terminal N1 and the ground terminal based on the voltage dividing value of the equivalent resistance Re and the voltage dividing resistor Rd. The test signal is, for example, a certain voltage signal. In an embodiment, when the potential converter 1 is to provide a test signal to the output terminal N1, the potential converter 1 adjusts the output control voltage V21 to conduct the crystal T2 to supply the second reference voltage VB2 to the output terminal N1. Since the second reference voltage VB2 is an off-the-shelf voltage in the system and has a relatively low voltage level, the second reference voltage VB2 can be supplied to the desired output by simply turning on the transistor in the output stage circuit. Therefore, in this embodiment, the test signal can be provided in a relatively simple manner, without additional wiring or voltage adjustment, and can reduce the energy consumption required for the test. In another embodiment, when the potential converter 1 is to provide a test signal to the output terminal N1, the potential converter 1 adjusts the output control voltage V11 to conduct the crystal T1 to supply the first reference voltage VB1 to the output terminal N1. The voltage level of the test signal is not limited here.

In an embodiment, when the potential converter 1 supplies the test signal to one of the output terminals, the potential converter 1 does not provide a signal to the other output terminal, in other words, the output mode of the other end of the equivalent resistance Re is electrically coupled. The group temporarily disabled and did not provide a signal. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, when the potential converter 1 supplies the test signal to the output terminal N1, the transistor T3 and the transistor T4 in the output module 12_2 are not turned on, so that the output module 12_2 exhibits a high output. The state of the impedance. At this time, it is not directly affected by the output control voltages V21 and V22.

In an ideal case, the equivalent resistance Re should have a normal resistance value. In an embodiment, the equivalent resistance Re of the ideal case is about 30K ohms, the resistance of the voltage dividing resistor Rd2 is 100K ohms, and the test signal is a certain voltage signal (for example, a voltage close to the reference voltage VB1), And the voltage level of the test signal is minus 9 volts (Volt, V). At this time, the voltage level of the output terminal N2 is about 6.9 volts.

When the line associated with the output terminal N1 and the output terminal N2 is short-circuited in the panel end 20, the resistance of the equivalent resistance Re is lowered, so that the equivalent resistance has a short-circuit resistance value. In theory, the normal resistance value will be greater than the short circuit resistance value. In one embodiment, the resistance of the equivalent resistance Re in the short circuit condition is about 1K ohm, the resistance of the voltage dividing resistor Rd2 is 100K ohms, the test signal is a certain voltage signal, and the voltage level of the test signal is negative 9 Volt, V. At this time, the voltage level of the output terminal N2 is approximately 8.9 volts.

From the above, when a similar test signal and the voltage dividing resistor Rd2 are provided, the voltage level of the output terminal N2 is different between the ideal case and the short circuit condition. According to the voltage level of the output terminal N2, it can be determined whether there is a short circuit in the current panel end 20 associated with the output terminal N1 and the output terminal N2. By setting the voltage level of the threshold voltage Vth, the comparison output voltage of the comparator 162 can be used to correspondingly indicate the voltage level of the output terminal N2. In practice, the accuracy of the detection can be adjusted correspondingly by adjusting the voltage level of the test signal, the resistance of each voltage dividing resistor, and the voltage level of the threshold voltage Vth. More specifically, in the above-mentioned embodiments, the potential converter and the detecting method provided by the present invention can detect at least an equivalent resistance of 1 K ohm. If the rigor of the detection condition is to be increased again, that is, for example, when the equivalent resistance is 5K ohms, it is determined that the voltage is short, and the voltage level of the test signal, the resistance of each voltage dividing resistor, and the threshold voltage Vth can be adjusted. The voltage level adjusts the voltage level of each output in different situations correspondingly to match the desired test accuracy. In one embodiment, the resistance of each voltage dividing resistor is greater than the normal resistance value.

The detection time interval is, for example, a period of time during system startup, that is, when the system is powered on, the detection process as described above is performed to ensure that there is no short circuit between the output terminals of the potential converter. In an embodiment, when the above detection process is completed and there is no short circuit between the output terminals of the potential converter, the system further provides a clock signal to the potential converter to complete the boot process. In an embodiment, the system provides relevant signals to the potential converter according to a certain time sequence during the booting process. The correlation signal is, for example, a relative high voltage level or a relatively low voltage level, or the related signal may also be, for example, a user-defined activation signal, which is not limited herein. When the potential converter receives the relevant signal, it will correspondingly activate the partial circuit in the potential converter. In this embodiment, the system provides a clock signal to the potential converter at the end of the boot process, so that the potential converter starts to operate according to the clock signal after starting each partial circuit, and completes the boot process. When it is judged that there is a short circuit between the output terminals of the potential converter, the system is, for example, more capable of a short circuit protection function. The short circuit protection function is, for example, a forced shutdown, or notifying the user or the maintenance personnel via the communication module. The short-circuit protection function should be designed by those who have ordinary knowledge in the technical field after reading this manual. The short-circuit protection function is not limited here.

Referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 again, in an embodiment, in the first time segment in the detection time interval, the output terminal N2 is electrically coupled to the reference terminal via a corresponding voltage dividing resistor. The potential converter 1 supplies a test signal to the output terminal N1 at an appropriate point in time. In the first time zone, it is determined whether both the output terminal N1 and the output terminal N2 are short-circuited. In the second time segment in the detection time interval, the output terminal N3 is electrically coupled to the reference terminal via a corresponding voltage dividing resistor. The potential converter 1 supplies a test signal to the output terminal N2 at an appropriate point in time. In the second time zone, it is determined whether both the output terminal N2 and the output terminal N3 are short-circuited. The first time period described above precedes, for example, the second time period. Follow-ups are like this. In other words, in this embodiment, it is judged whether or not a short circuit is between adjacent output terminals.

In another embodiment, in the first time segment in the detection time interval, the output terminals N2 to NM are electrically coupled to the reference terminal through the corresponding voltage dividing resistors. The potential converter 1 supplies a test signal to the output terminal N1 at an appropriate point in time. The comparison module 16 compares the voltage levels of the output terminals N2 to NM in sequence to determine whether the output terminal N1 is short-circuited with at least one of the output terminals N2 to NM. Then, in the second time segment in the detection time interval, the output terminals N3~NM are electrically coupled to the reference terminal through the corresponding voltage dividing resistors, and the potential converter 1 provides the test signal at an appropriate time point. To the output terminal N2, it is determined whether the output terminal N2 is short-circuited with at least one of the output terminals N3~NM. The follow-up is deduced by analogy and will not be repeated. As described above, in this embodiment, the output terminals N1 to NM are detected in a step-like order to determine whether any of the output terminals N1 to NM are short-circuited. In practice, the output terminals N2~NM can also be detected in the desired order, without necessarily having to be detected in the order of the output terminal N2 and the output terminal NM.

According to the above detection method, the comparison module 16 can further have a many-to-one multiplexer (not shown). Each input end of the multiplexer is electrically coupled to at least a portion of the output terminals N1 N NM , and the output end of the multiplexer is electrically coupled to one of the input ends of the comparator 162 . In other words, the comparator 162 is electrically coupled to each output terminal via the multiplexer, and the comparator 162 selectively receives the voltage level of one of the output terminals N1 N NM via the multiplexer for comparison. . In another embodiment, the comparison module 16 does not have a multiplexer. In this embodiment, the comparison module 16 has, for example, M comparators, each of which is electrically coupled to one of the output terminals N1 N NM, so as to respectively respectively apply voltages to the respective output terminals. The level is compared. In a further embodiment, the comparison module 16 has, for example, M-1 comparators, each of which is electrically coupled to one of the output terminals N2 N NM. In this other embodiment, the associated detection sequence begins at output N1.

According to the above concept, the present invention further provides a method for detecting the short-circuit of the output of the potential converter. Referring to FIG. 3, FIG. 3 is a short-circuit detection of the output of the potential converter according to an embodiment of the invention. Functional block diagram of the method. The output short-circuit detection method of the potential converter is suitable for a potential converter. The potential converter is electrically coupled to the panel driving circuit, and the potential converter has a plurality of outputs. In the detection time interval, two of the plurality of outputs are selected as the first output and the second output. In step S301, in the detection time interval, the second output terminal is only turned on to the reference end via the voltage dividing resistor. And in step S303, the potential converter is provided with a test signal at the first output. And in step S305, the voltage level of the second output terminal and the threshold voltage are compared to generate a comparison result. In an embodiment, after step S305, the short circuit protection function can be enabled according to the comparison result.

In summary, the present invention provides a potential converter and an output short-circuit detecting method thereof. In the detection time interval, the second output terminal is turned on to the reference terminal via the voltage dividing resistor, and the potential converter is provided with a test signal at the first output terminal, according to the voltage level of the second output terminal at this time. It is determined whether there is a short circuit between the first output end and the second output end. According to the present invention, a potential converter and an output short-circuit detecting method thereof can detect whether a short circuit is between the output terminals of the potential converter, and can actively take corresponding measures according to the detection result, instead of just In the past, the panels were passively subjected to overheated working conditions.

Although the present invention has been disclosed above in the foregoing embodiments, it is not intended to limit the invention. It is within the scope of the invention to be modified and modified without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Please refer to the attached patent application for the scope of protection defined by the present invention.

1‧‧‧potentiometer
12_1~12_M‧‧‧Output Module
14_1~14_M‧‧‧Test Module
16‧‧‧Comparative Module
162‧‧‧ comparator
2‧‧‧ Panel driver circuit
20‧‧‧ Panel side
N1~NM‧‧‧ output
Rd1, Rd2‧‧‧ voltage resistor
Re‧‧‧ equivalent resistance
SW1, SW2‧‧‧ test switch
T1~T4‧‧‧O crystal
V11, V21, V12, V22‧‧‧ output control voltage
VB1‧‧‧ first reference voltage
VB2‧‧‧ second reference voltage
Vj‧‧‧Comparative output voltage
Vth‧‧‧ threshold voltage

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of a potential converter according to an embodiment of the invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic circuit diagram of a potential converter according to an embodiment of the invention. FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram of a short-circuit detection method of an output terminal of a potential converter according to an embodiment of the invention. 4 is a schematic diagram showing the relative relationship between a potential converter and other components in a panel according to a comparative embodiment of the present invention.

1‧‧‧potentiometer

12_1~12_M‧‧‧Output Module

14_1~14_M‧‧‧Test Module

16‧‧‧Comparative Module

2‧‧‧ Panel driver circuit

N1~NM‧‧‧ output

Claims (10)

An output short-circuit detection method for a potential converter is applicable to a potential converter electrically coupled to a panel driving circuit, the potential converter having a plurality of outputs, in a detection time interval, A first output end and a second output end are defined in the output end, and the output short circuit detecting method includes: in the detecting time interval, the second output end is electrically connected to a reference via a voltage dividing resistor The potential converter is configured to provide a test signal to the first output terminal; and compare the voltage level of the second output terminal with a threshold voltage to generate a comparison result, wherein the voltage of the second output terminal is associated with the first The impedance between the output and the second output. The output short-circuit detecting method of claim 1, wherein the potential converter does not provide an output signal to the second output in the detecting time interval. The output short-circuit detection method of claim 1, wherein after the detection time interval, a clock signal is provided to the potential converter to complete the power-on procedure of the potential converter. A potential converter includes: a plurality of output modules electrically coupled to a panel driving circuit via a plurality of output terminals; at least one test module, each of the at least one test module being electrically coupled Connected to one of the output terminals, each of the at least one test module includes a voltage dividing resistor, and the at least one test module is configured to selectively electrically connect the at least one output terminal electrically coupled thereto The voltage dividing resistor is electrically connected to a reference end; and a comparison module is electrically coupled to at least one of the output terminals for receiving a threshold voltage, and the comparison module is configured to provide the output terminals a comparison result between the voltage level of at least one of the threshold voltages and the threshold voltage, the comparison result being used to indicate whether an equivalent impedance between at least two of the output terminals is within a predetermined range; a first output end and a second output end are defined in the output time range, and one of the output modules is configured to provide a test signal to the first output end. The second output is electrically coupled One test module is used to experience less of the resistors via which the second output terminal conducting to the reference terminal. The potential converter of claim 4, wherein each of the test modules further comprises a test switch, each of the at least one voltage dividing resistor and the test switch being connected in series to one of the output terminals and the reference terminal between. The potential converter of claim 4, wherein the comparison module comprises a comparator, an input of the comparator is electrically coupled to one of the outputs, and the other input of the comparator is To receive the threshold voltage. The potential converter of claim 4, wherein each of the output modules includes a first transistor and a second transistor, the first end of the first transistor is configured to receive a first reference voltage, The second end of the first transistor is electrically coupled to the first end of the second transistor, and the second end of the second transistor is configured to receive a second reference voltage; wherein the second reference voltage is lower than the second reference voltage The first reference voltage is provided to the output terminal electrically coupled to the output module during the detection time interval. The potential converter of claim 4, wherein the first output end and the second output end have an equivalent impedance, and the equivalent impedance and the at least one voltage dividing resistor are in the detecting time interval. In series. The potential converter of claim 8, wherein the equivalent impedance has a normal resistance value or a short circuit resistance value, the normal resistance value being greater than the short circuit resistance value. The potential converter according to claim 9, wherein the resistance value of the voltage dividing resistor is greater than the normal resistance value, and when the equivalent resistance has the short circuit resistance value, the voltage level of the second output terminal and the first output The difference between the voltage levels of the terminals is less than or equal to a predetermined threshold.