WO2005050603A1

WO2005050603A1 - Chained led module

Info

Publication number: WO2005050603A1
Application number: PCT/JP2003/014761
Authority: WO
Inventors: Shinya Ishida
Original assignee: Shinya Ishida
Priority date: 2003-11-19
Filing date: 2003-11-19
Publication date: 2005-06-02
Also published as: AU2003284582A1

Abstract

A chained LED module for realizing simplification, larger size, reduction in weight and thickness, and flexibility in the screen constitution of an LED video display. Each pixel constituting a display screen is provided with a pixel unit and the pixel units are linked like a string by means of signal lines. In order to simplify the circuitry of the pixel unit and to decrease the number of signal lines between the pixel units, each LED lamp is assigned a plurality of lighting control slots such that the time width is multiplied in the frame period, and the total lighting time width in the frame period is controlled by controlling the lighting/unlighting in the lighting control slots of different time widths.

Description

LED-shaped LED module Technical field Akira

An object of the present invention is to provide an LED image display device with reduced cost, larger size, lighter and thinner, and more flexibility in screen configuration. And LED modules connected by signal lines. Background art

Each pixel of a full-color image display device using LED lamps is composed of three LED lamps, each of which emits three primary colors (R, B, G), and these LED lamps are used for image generation devices such as TV cameras. The luminance is controlled by the luminance data received every frame cycle from the. In a conventional full-color image display device, this brightness control

It is performed by the following pulse width modulation (PWM * • Pulse Width Modulation) method based on the luminance data corresponding to the LED lamp.

(1) Each LED lamp is assigned one lighting control slot whose position and time width are fixed in advance in each frame cycle.

(2) The brightness of each LED lamp in each frame period is controlled by adjusting the lighting time width in the above lighting control slot corresponding to each LED lamp.

(3) The above-mentioned lighting time width in each lighting control slot is converted into brightness data so that the maximum brightness corresponds to the lighting control slot time width and the minimum brightness (brightness 0) corresponds to the time width 0. It is generated by switching (PWM).

■ The conventional full-color video device controlled by the pulse width modulation method described above includes, for each LED lamp, a PWM circuit for generating a lighting time width from given luminance data, and a PWM circuit for each frame period. A luminance data transfer circuit is required to supply luminance data to the WM circuit. In a conventional LED full-color image device, these circuits are the biggest factors that increase the cost of the entire device.

In order to reduce the cost, some efforts have been made to share these circuits among multiple LED lamps.

1a in FIG. 1 is a typical example of a conventional image display device using an LED lamp. As shown in the figure, this conventional video display device is divided by a plurality of LED modules 1b. The LED module 1b has 16 (rows) and 16 (columns) pixels 1c per module.

FIG. 2 is a circuit diagram of a circuit for one of the three primary colors of the LED module b. Actually, similar circuits are provided for the other two colors.

The £ 0 lamp 21 is divided into groups for each row in order to optimize luminous efficiency and reduce the number of drive drivers, and is selected and time-divisionally driven for each row group. The driven LED lamp group is called a time division group). Each time-sharing group is numbered GO, G 1 · · -G15 with the same number as the line number. That is, the lamp unit 2b is divided into row-wise time-division groups GO, G 1 ··· G15, and 16 row and column drivers with addresses 0 ... 15; CO, C 1, ---Driven by C15, DO, Dl,---D15 (Lamp unit 2b, i row, j column LED lamps are pushed by i row, j column driver C i, D j • Driven by a pull method).

As shown in FIG. 3, one lighting control slot SSi is provided in the frame period T f corresponding to each time division group Gi (i = 0, 1, 2,..., 15). Since the point and light control slots have a one-to-one correspondence with the time division groups, the same numbers are assigned to the corresponding time division groups. In terms of the circuit, the lighting control slot SSi has a structure in which the row driver C i is kept on so that the time-division group Gi of the i-th row is selected. 'As described above, the brightness control for the time division group selected in each lighting control slot is performed by controlling the ratio of the lighting time to the astigmatic time based on the brightness data in the corresponding lighting control slot 內. Is The luminance data is 8-bit data supplied for each frame period from an image generation device or the like. 2a in FIG. 2 is a row buffer memory for storing luminance data for one frame and one row of LED lamps. As shown in the figure, the row buffer memory 2a is composed of 16 registers 2i having an 8-bit width and holding luminance data of 16 LED lamps constituting each row. The transfer of the luminance data to each of the registers 2 i constituting the row buffer memory 2 a is performed by a shift & latch method. That is, the input and output of each of the above registers are connected to each other, and a 16-stage shift register having an 8-bit width in which storage contents are shifted to the next stage by a common port is formed. The 16 luminance data corresponding to the 16 registers are sequentially shifted in from the input terminal 2c of the shift register by the above-mentioned common clock in the order of the depth of the register, and the predetermined data is stored in all stages. The data is latched and fixed at the set timing. The output end 2 d of each row buffer memory is connected to the input end of the row buffer memory of the next adjacent LED module, and each LED module as a whole of the video display device (Fig. 1, la). One shift register is configured by Yule's row buffer memory. That is, the input and output of the row buffer memory are interconnected between adjacent modules so as to constitute one shift register even among a plurality of LED modules constituting the entire image display device. Then, the brightness data can be transferred from the input end of the shift register configured as described above to the row buffer memories of all the LED modules constituting the display screen by the shift & latch method.

The lighting time width control in each lighting control slot is performed by the lighting time control unit 2e in the LED module. The main circuit elements of the lighting control unit are one counter circuit 2f and 16 comparators 2'k. The counter circuit 2f generates a time width number sequentially from 0 to 255 based on the reference clock. The output of each of the 16 comparators 2 k is connected to each column driver, and reads out 16 luminance data corresponding to each LED lamp from the row buffer memory, and the time width number from the counter circuit 2 f And keeps each output on until they match. In the frame period, the row selection circuit 2 g sequentially selects each row, and the above-described operation in one lighting control slot is repeated 16 times while changing the selection target. That is, in the conventional LED module, among the circuit components, the row buffer memory 2a and the lighting control unit 2e are commonly used in each row.

As described above, in the conventional system, the LED lamp is finally driven by the lighting time control unit 2e and the row buffer memory 2a. These circuits control the lighting of multiple LED lamps that make up each row, and are shared by multiple rows. That is, when the pixels of the entire image display device are considered as rows and columns, each pixel is more closely connected to the signal line between adjacent rows, while each pixel is connected to each LED module. In order to update the installed row buffer memory using the shift-and-latch method, connections are also made in the column direction. In the conventional system, it is necessary to provide wiring up, down, left, and right between the LED lamp and the control circuit. At the same time, in order to simultaneously satisfy the distance restrictions on the wiring between the control circuit and the LED lamp, the entire screen is divided into LED modules in 1b units as shown in Fig. 1, and the lighting time control unit and row buffer memory are used. It is also necessary to disperse control circuits such as these over the entire screen. That is, the first problem with the video display device using the conventional LED module is that many complicated circuits such as a lighting control unit and a row buffer memory must be distributed and arranged on the entire display surface. However, it is necessary to provide a large number of wires between each LED lamp and these control circuits in a mesh pattern vertically and horizontally.

In order to cope with the complicated wiring structure, in the conventional LED module, it is necessary to assemble the control circuit and the LED lamp integrally on the printed circuit board. Furthermore, as shown in Fig. 1, they must be arranged without any gaps, and a number of signal lines must be connected between adjacent LED modules. To arrange a large number of LED modules without gaps, a frame for fixing them is necessary. The frame requires considerable strength and size, and is a major obstacle to reducing the overall weight and thickness of the equipment. Also, the frame installed behind the LED module will cover the signal lines running behind the module, making it extremely difficult to remove the signal line connectors when replacing the module. In addition, since the frame is installed at the rear of the LED module, the module must be pulled out from the entire surface. During maintenance, it is necessary to secure access to the front and rear surfaces by scaffolding. For example, it is attached to a building wall, and its length and width reach about 1 Om For large display devices, it is necessary to open a hole in the wall behind the video display device and provide a special room for maintenance, and at the same time, secure access means such as a gondola on the front surface, which is a major cost issue. ing.

It is also extremely difficult to take protective measures to protect the LED lamp body or the control circuits distributed behind the video display device from the elements. Usually, the entire screen is covered with glass, but such large glass is very expensive. In addition, frames and other mechanisms for opening and closing such fragile and heavy objects themselves require strength and weight, and are very large.

The second problem is the lack of flexibility regarding the display screen configuration. That is, in the conventional video display device, the LED lamp is fixedly arranged on a rectangular or flat printed board of each LED module. For this reason, the display screen of a video display device that can be configured with these LED modules is limited to a flat and rectangular screen. Therefore, the spatial arrangement of the lamps and the flexibility of deployment are lacking. It will be difficult to do.

The third problem is that it is difficult to cope with an increase in the size of the display device. In a conventional display device in which various control circuits, such as a row buffer and a lighting time control unit, are installed for each LED module, due to the restriction of the wiring distance between such a control circuit and the LED lamp, LE ′ It is necessary to keep the pitch of the D lamp arrangement below a certain level, which is a major obstacle to increasing the size of this type of display device. Disclosure of the invention In the present invention, a simple control circuit (hereinafter, referred to as a pixel cut) is provided for each pixel constituting a display screen, and those pixel units are connected in a string by a signal line. In order to simplify the pixel unit circuit and reduce the number of signal lines between the pixel units, a plurality of lighting control slots are assigned to each LED lamp so that the time width becomes twice as long within the frame period. By controlling lighting and non-lighting in lighting control slots with different time widths, the total lighting time width within the frame period is controlled. With these mechanisms, complicated circuits such as lighting time control units and row buffers, which are bottlenecks in conventional LED display devices, and a matrix-like wiring structure are eliminated. This enables the realization of an LED image display device that also has Brief Description of Drawings

Fig. 1 shows the configuration of a conventional LED video device composed of a conventional LED module.

Figure 2 shows the circuit configuration of a conventional LED module.

Fig. 3 shows the assignment of lighting control slots in a conventional LED module. Figure 4 shows the configuration of the cascading LED module.

FIG. 5 illustrates a brightness control method using a pulse width modulation method.

FIG. 6 illustrates a brightness control method using the multi-slot method.

FIG. 7 is a circuit diagram of the pixel unit.

FIG. 8 shows the configuration of the selection control shift register.

FIG. 9 shows the configuration of the lighting control shift register. FIG. 10 shows a lighting control cycle provided in a frame period and its configuration. FIG. 11 is a time chart in the lighting control cycle.

FIG. 12 illustrates the internal state of the selection control shift register at the time of initial setting.

FIG. 13 illustrates the internal state of the selection control shift register in the lighting control slots ri and j. BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

The LED module according to the present invention is composed of 256 pixels, and these pixels are composed of three lamps of green, red and blue and a pixel unit. In FIG. 4, these pixel units are described as PU0, PU1,... -PU255. As shown in the figure, adjacent pixel units are connected by signal lines, the entire pixel unit is connected in a string, and the rightmost lamp unit is connected to the control unit CU. It is connected.

Also, as shown in the figure, these LED lamps are divided into 12 lamp groups (4 pixel units) from the end where the control unit CU is connected, and i is a lamp group. The numbers and j are numbers indicating the arrangement order within the lamp group, and serial numbers are assigned like L i and j. This numbering reflects the arrangement of the three primary color lamps, and in each lamp group, j = 0, 3, 6, 9 are green LED lamps, j = l, 4, 7, 10 are red LED lamps, j is = 2, 5, 8, and 11 are blue LED lamps. In these LED lamps, LED lamps having the same arrangement number in each lamp group (768712 = 64) form 12 time-division groups. That is, in this LED module, In order to enhance the luminous efficiency, the LED lamps are divided into time division groups as described above, and are driven in a time division manner for each time division group.

The configuration of the time division group divided by the arrangement number is as follows.

Time harm 'j gnolep 0 Lo ,. LL ₂ , o L es, o Time division group 1 Lo, LL ₂ , ι Time division group 1 1 Lo, u L i, L ₂ , Lea, ι ι In this time division group configuration, one lamp Reflecting that the number of LED lamps included in the group is a multiple of 3 (green, red, blue), only the LED lamps of the same color belong to the temporary division group, and the time division groups 0, 3 , 6, and 9 are green LED lamp groups, time division groups 1, 4, 7, and 10 are red LED lamp groups, and time division groups 2, 5, 8, and 11 are blue LED lamp groups.

The brightness of each LED lamp is controlled by 8-bit brightness data, that is, over 256 levels, using the double slot method described below.

The double slot method is a brightness control method newly devised in the present invention in order to simplify the pixel unit as much as possible and to minimize the number of signal lines connecting the pixel units.

In the double slot method, a plurality of lighting control slots whose time width is set to double in each frame period are assigned to each LED lamp, and lighting and non-lighting within each lighting control slot are performed. By controlling, the brightness is controlled. As described above, in contrast to this double-slot method, in the conventional pulse width modulation method, one lighting control slot is assigned to each LED lamp for each frame period, and Luminance control is performed by generating a time width pulse corresponding to the luminance data in the 0 light control slot. Figures 5 and 6 illustrate the differences between these two methods. For simplicity of explanation, the brightness data is set to 4 bits in both figures, and therefore, the brightness is controlled over 0 to 15 steps. In FIG. 5, which is a pulse width modulation method, a pulse having a time width of 10 is generated in a lighting control slot having a time width of 15 corresponding to a luminance data value of 10 (binary Zl 010). On the other hand, in Fig. 6 of the double-slot method, four lighting control slots R0 to R3 with time widths of 1, 2, 4, and 8 are set, and the same luminance data 10 (binary) is set. For the display / 1010), a pulse that is turned on in the lighting control slots R1 and R3 is generated, and the total lighting time width is 10 as in the pulse width modulation method.

As shown in the above example, the number of lighting control slots (RO, R1, R2, -Rn) in each frame is set equal to the number of bits of luminance data in the double slot method.

Further, since the time width of lighting control slot R i is set to ^2? Times between width when the lighting control slot R 0 of the minimum duration, the lighting control slot R i is the relative R0 2 ' It can be considered as weighted. On the other hand, each bit bi (i = 0, 1, · · · n) of the luminance data is also the least significant bit b. Has a weight of 2 for Therefore, it is only necessary to associate each bit of the luminance data with a lighting control slot having the same weight, and to control ON / OFF of the LED lamp in each lighting control slot by the corresponding bit of the luminance data. In addition, a lighting time width corresponding to the luminance data can be generated. In other words, the multi-slot method enables luminance control without a complicated control circuit such as a PWM circuit. FIG. 7 is a circuit diagram of the pixel unit. As shown in the figure, the main circuit elements of the Pikuse Ruyunitto the three primary color LED lamps; reflect P _g, P _r, a P _b (role to be described _{_{later; L g, L r, L}} b and latch Chirejisuta And a latch register; _Sg , Sr, and Sb (referred to as a selection register to reflect the role described later). These latch registers latch input d as an internal state at the rising edge of clock c when input e is on, and the new internal state is reflected on output q. When input e is off, the internal state does not change regardless of the state of clock c and input d, and therefore output q does not change.

LED lamp L _g As shown in the circuit diagram is driven by the corresponding lighting control register P _s Oyo Pi select register S _g. The same applies to the LED lamps _Lr and Lb, which are driven by the corresponding registers Pr and Sr and Pb and Sb, respectively. Further, when the DS I is on, select register S _s, S _r, by S _b, input data from the input signal DD I is configured shift register which is shifted by the click-locking signal CLI, D DO Is the output of the shift register. Similarly, when the input signal DS I is off, lighting control register P _g, P _r, the P _b, the shift register input data of the input signal DD I is shifted by the clock signal CL I consists, The output signal DDO is the output of this shift register.

The output signals DS〇, CLO, and DDO of the pixel unit are paired with the corresponding input signals DS I, CLI, DDI, and these input / output signals are the corresponding signals between adjacent pixel units. They are connected by comrades. The input signals DSI, CLI, and DDI of the rightmost pixel unit are connected to the output signals DS, CL, and DD of the control unit, respectively (hereinafter, the pixel units interconnected in this manner). In two units, the selection register and lighting control register for driving the LED lamp L j are denoted as Sij Pi and j, respectively.)

Just as two different shift registers are configured in each pixel unit according to the on / off state of the DSI, two different shift registers are configured in accordance with the on / off state of the control unit output signal DS as well as the entire module. . That is, when signal DS is on, select register S in each pixel unit. ,. , S. , "'· ·

• S 63, u is selected, and a 3 X 256 = 768-bit shift register is configured, in which the input signal DD is shifted by the clock signal CL (Figure 8). Similarly, when the signal DS is off, the lighting control register P in each pixel unit. ,. , Ρ. , · · ·

• Pes, u is selected, and the input signal DD is shifted by the clock signal CL to form a 76-bit shift register (Fig. 9). Hereinafter, the shift register formed by the selection register of each pixel unit when the signal DS is on is referred to as a selection control shift register, and the shift register formed by the lighting control register of each pixel unit when the signal DS is off. The register is called a lighting control shift register. The signal DS (and thus the DSI of each pixel unit) is also a signal that controls the lighting and non-lighting of all lamps. That is, when the signal DS is on, the selection control shift register is selected, the input data from the input signal DD is shifted into each selection register according to the clock signal CL, and each LED lamp is turned on by the corresponding selection register and lighting control register. Lighting control is performed according to the content of. When the signal DS is off, all the LED lamps are set to non-lighting by the AND gates G _g , Gr and G _b , and at the same time, the lighting control shift register is selected and the input signal DD according to the clock signal CL Input data is shifted into each lighting control register. 3 As shown in Fig. 10, one frame period of this LED module is divided into eight lighting control cycles, which have different time widths and are numbered 0, 1, ..., 7 I have. The lighting control cycle i is 1 two lighting control slots, each one of the lighting control data update slot corresponding to each time division group (r., R, r _2, by · · · · r Mr. In order to implement the brightness control by the above-mentioned double-slot method, the time width of each lighting control slot is set to the minimum time width of the lighting control slot included in lighting control cycle 0. Each lighting control cycle is set so as to successively increase the number of times, that is, if the time width of the lighting control slot ri, 3 is represented by t)), t (ri, ₅ ) = 2 '· t (ro, It is set to be.

In addition, in order to secure white balance, the time width of each lighting control slot is set to a different time width depending on the corresponding time division group even within the same lighting control cycle (details will be described later).

The operation of the entire LED module in each lighting control cycle can be divided into two basic operations: 1) lighting control data update operation, ohio, and 2) time-division driving operation in 12 lighting control slots.

① Lighting control data update operation

Fig. 11 is a time chart for one lighting control cycle (lighting control cycle i). As shown in the figure, during the lighting control data update operation, the signal DS is kept off, and all the lamps of the module are turned off. At the same time, the lighting control shift register is selected from the two shift registers, and the control unit synchronizes with the clock CL, shifts the following lighting control data into the same shift register, and controls all lighting controls. 4 Update the control register. The lighting control shift register is updated with the lighting control data obtained by rearranging and editing the brightness data of each LED lamp according to the bit position and the arrangement order of the LED lamps. That is, 8-bit luminance data of 768 LED lamps Lj in one frame period;

, C i, j, 0, C i, j, l, C i, j, 2 * C i, j, 7)

(i = 0 ·--63, j = 0 · · · 1 1, c is the least significant bit, c i, 7 is the most significant bit)

The lighting control data (768 bits each) that is shifted into the shift register in the lighting control data update slot in each lighting control cycle 0, 1, · · · 7 is as follows.

Lighting wholesale cycle 0 (C63, 11,., C63, 10,...,..., C0,.,) Lighting control cycle 1 (C63, 11, 1, C 63, 10, 1, ..., C0, 1, 1, C0, 0, 1) point, light control cycle 7 (C63, 11, 7, C63, 10, 7, ...) · · C 0, 1, 7, C 0, 0, 7) Therefore, in the lighting control data update slot in lighting control cycle k, the lighting control data in the order of the number of the corresponding LED lamp;

C 63, 11, k * * * C 0, 2, k, C 0, 1, k, C 0, 0, k

Is continuously shifted into the lighting control shift register from the control unit output signal DD in synchronization with the cut-off signal CL. As a result, at the end of the lighting control data update slot, all 768 lighting control registers P j (i = 0 ·--64, j = 0

1) will be updated with the corresponding lighting control data _ck . The lighting control data shifted in one update is the number of all LED lamps, 5 bits, the update time is 3 x 256 = 768 clocks, and about 76.8 μs when the clock frequency is 10 MHz.

②Time-sharing drive operation

As described above, each lighting control cycle is provided with 12 lighting control slots corresponding to each time division group, and time division group j is selectively driven in lighting control slot〗. In the circuit, the selection of the time division group is realized by selectively turning on the corresponding selection register. In each lighting control slot, the display control signal DS is kept on, whereby the selection control shift register is selected as a shift register, and the selection register corresponding to each time division group is selectively turned on, so that the time division group is turned on. Are sequentially selected and time-division driven. That is;

(i) At the start of the system, as shown in FIG. 12, the selection control shift register includes 64 selection registers S ₆₃ corresponding to the LED lamps of the time division group 11,

11 1, S 62.11, S 61,11 ···-S 0.11 only ON, all other selected registers are initialized to OFF state. This initial setting is realized by shifting a predetermined bit pattern into the selection control shift register at system startup.

(ii) In each lighting control cycle, the input data signal DD is set to ON in the control unit prior to the rising of the first clock signal CL to the selected shift register, and the selected shift register S is turned on at the first rising of the clock signal CL. . ,. After this ON signal is shifted in, it is set to OFF.

(iii) Select register S. ,. After that, the ON signal shifted in is sequentially shifted in the selected shift register by the clock signal CL. 6 Figure 1.3 shows the state of each selected register in the lighting control cycle lighting control slot r ;. That is, the lighting control slot ri, j in a time division group LED lamps 64 corresponding selection of the i register _{_{S 6S, i, S 62,}} i, Se i · · · · S. , J are turned on, and all other selection registers are turned off. The duration of this state is controlled by adjusting the time width of one cycle of the clock signal CL. That is, as shown in Fig. 11, by setting the period of the clock signal CL at the lighting control slot r and i to t (r), the selection register is selectively turned on for t (rui) time. On the other hand, since the signal DS is set to ON, the LED lamps L _k , j (k = 0, 1, ··· 63) belonging to the time-division group; According to the content, it will be selectively driven for t (ri, j) time.

As described above, the time width (= each cycle of the clock signal CL) of each lighting control slot in the same lighting control cycle is set to a different value depending on the corresponding time division group. That is, each time-sharing group is configured to include only lamps of the same color as described above, and the time width of the lighting control slot corresponding to each time-sharing group is set so that white balance can be secured. Different time widths are set depending on the lamp color. The time width of the set lighting control slot is set to three types corresponding to each of the three primary colors. The ratio of each time width is approximately 3: 2: 1 (green: red: blue).

Therefore, each cycle of the clock signal CL is composed of three types of time width cycles, green cycle, red cycle, and blue cycle, each of which has a time width ratio of approximately 3: 2: 1. As described above, among the time division groups of 0—11, 0, 3, 6, and 9 are green, 1, 4, 7, and 10 are red, and 2, 5, 8, and 11 are blue. J = 0, 3, 6, 9 are green cycles, 1, 4, 7, 10 are red cycles, 2, 5, 8, and 11 are blue cycles. The width is set. As shown in FIG. 11, in the present embodiment, the total time width of the 12 lighting control slots of the lighting control cycle CCi is 60 · 2 ′ sec. For example, the time widths of the green cycle, red cycle, and blue cycle in the lighting control cycle 0 with the minimum time width are approximately 7.5 μsec, 5.0 μsec, and 2.5 μsec, respectively.

As mentioned above, the advantages of the LED module according to the present invention are;

(1) A full-color cascading LED module can be realized with a simple pixel cut circuit and three signal lines connecting them. Therefore, the system can be greatly simplified and lightened. Also, by covering this string-shaped module with, for example, a transparent resin and finishing it in a tube shape, it is possible to easily protect the module from the weather. Furthermore, since the module structure is a flexible string, it is easy to lay along a complex surface shape, for example, and the display surface can be easily processed into various three-dimensional shapes.

(2) In each frame period, lighting control data update slots (eight) are the only time zones that are not subject to lighting control (non-lighting time zones). As described above, the time width of each lighting control data update slot is 76.8 μsec (10 MHz), so the total time width of the non-lighting time zone is 8 x 76.8 = 61.44 μsec, which is only about 2% of the frame period. That is, high luminous efficiency is realized while maintaining white balance. Another big advantage is that even if the number of LED lamps stored in one module increases, the problem related to the update speed of the lighting control shift register does not occur as in the conventional system. . For example, 10 24 pixels (number of lamps 8

3072), the non-lighting time period slightly increases to 8%, but the module can be realized by the same control method and circuit as described in this embodiment. Industrial applicability

As described above, the LED module according to the present invention is useful for reducing the cost, increasing the size, and reducing the thickness and weight of a full-color LED image device. It also plays an effective role in realizing an LED image display device whose display screen has a shape other than a rectangular plane.

Claims

The scope of the claims

1. An LED module composed of a plurality of LED lamps whose brightness is controlled based on the brightness data given for each frame cycle, and

Within the frame cycle, multiple lighting control slots are provided for each of the LED lamps, and based on given luminance data, the time ratio of lighting and non-lighting in each of the multiple lighting control slots is determined. Lighting control data is generated, and

The lighting time of each LED lamp is controlled by the lighting control data for each corresponding lighting control slot, and

The LED module, wherein the respective time widths of the plurality of lighting control slots are not equal, or the relationship between the lighting control data and the lighting time width differs depending on each lighting control slot.

2. The time width of a plurality of lighting control slots set within a frame cycle corresponding to each of the LED lamps is set so as to be a multiple of the time width of the minimum time width lighting control slot, and the lighting control is performed. 2. The LED module according to claim 1, wherein the lighting control data corresponding to each slot is 1-bit data for controlling lighting and non-lighting in a corresponding lighting control slot.

3. An LED module composed of multiple LED lamps whose luminance is controlled based on luminance data given for each frame cycle, and

Within the frame period, a plurality of lighting control slots are provided for each of the LED lamps, and based on given luminance data, the plurality of lighting control slots are provided. Lighting control data that determines the time ratio of lighting and non-lighting in each of the

A lighting control register is provided in association with each of the LED lamps. The lighting control registers are configured by interconnecting the inputs and outputs of the lighting control registers, and the respective lighting control data are transmitted through a shift register that operates by a common shift clock. To a lighting control register associated with the corresponding LED lamp, and

A selection register is provided for each LED lamp, and the input and output of these selection registers are connected to each other to form a shift register that operates with a common shift clock. In each of the specified lighting control slots, the input data to the shift register is determined so that each of the LED lamps can determine whether or not it is a lighting control slot previously allocated to itself based on the internal state of the associated selection register. And the common shift clock is controlled, and

Each of the LED lamps receives the internal state of the selection register and the lighting control register associated with each LED lamp for each lighting control slot within the frame period, and sets a time width based on the corresponding lighting control data. LED modular Nore ₀ to either lit or controlled by it so that either one of the non-lighting, characterized

In both the shift register, the shift register constituted by the lighting control register, and the shift register constituted by the selection register, the lighting control register, the input of the selection register, the output signal line, All or part of the common shift clock signal line 4. The LED module according to claim 3, wherein the LED module is shared by being split and used.

5. The selection register is a 1-bit register. For each LED lamp, it is set to ON in the corresponding lighting control slot and OFF in the non-corresponding lighting control slot. The LED module according to claim 3 or claim 4.

6. This LED module is a mixed LED module with different emission colors, and the shift register is configured and controlled by the selection registers so that the selection registers for LED lamps with different emission colors in each lighting control slot are not turned on at the same time. 6. The LED module according to claim 5, wherein the LED module is mounted.