US-12626635-B2 - Electronic device display with real-time mode switching

US12626635B2US 12626635 B2US12626635 B2US 12626635B2US-12626635-B2

Abstract

An electronic device may include a display, a display driver integrated circuit for controlling the display, and a system processor for running one or more applications on the electronic device. The display may be operated in at least a video mode and a command mode. In the video mode, the system processor operates as the primary timing circuit while the display driver integrated circuit operates as the secondary timing circuit. In the command mode, the display driver integrate circuit operates as the primary timing circuit while the system processor operates as the secondary timing circuit. The system processor may be configured to switch between video mode and the command mode without turning off the electronic device and without turning off the display driver integrated circuit. If desired, the display can be temporarily turned off during a mode switching event to hide potential front of screen artifacts.

Inventors

Xiaofeng Wang
Yafei Bi

Assignees

APPLE INC.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20220812

Claims (20)

1 . An electronic device operable in a first mode and a second mode, comprising: a display having an array of pixels; a display driver integrated circuit that sends control and data signals to the display; and control circuitry that runs one or more applications on the electronic device and that is coupled to the display via the display driver integrated circuit, wherein: in the first mode, the control circuitry controls the timing of the display while the display driver integrated circuit operates as a secondary timing component; in the second mode, the display driver integrated circuit controls the timing of the display while the control circuitry operates as the secondary timing component; and the control circuitry switches between the first mode and the second mode without turning off the electronic device and by: turning off the display; and sending a mode switch command to the display driver integrated circuit during a period of time that the display is turned off.
2 . The electronic device of claim 1 , further comprising: a flexible printed circuit coupled between the control circuitry and the display, wherein the display driver integrated circuit is mounted on the flexible printed circuit.
3 . The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the control circuitry switches between the first mode and the second mode without turning off the display driver integrated circuit.
4 . The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the control circuitry adjusts a duration of the period of time that the display is turned off when the electronic device is switching between the first mode and the second mode.
5 . The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the control circuitry switches from the first mode to the second mode by: turning off the display; sending the mode switch command directing the display driver integrated circuit to switch from the first mode to the second mode; receiving a tearing effect signal from the display driver integrated circuit; and in response to receiving the tearing effect signal, sending new image data to the display driver integrated circuit and turning on the display to output the new image data.
6 . The electronic device of claim 5 , wherein the control circuitry switches from the second mode to the first mode by: turning off the display; sending an additional mode switch command directing the display driver integrated circuit to switch from the second mode to the first mode; sending timing information to the display driver integrated circuit; waiting for the display driver integrated circuit to synchronize with the control circuitry using the timing information; and turning on the display after the display driver integrated circuit has synchronized with the control circuitry using the timing information.
7 . The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the control circuitry switches from the second mode to the first mode by: turning off the display; sending an additional mode switch command directing the display driver integrated circuit to switch from the second mode to the first mode; sending timing information to the display driver integrated circuit; waiting for the display driver integrated circuit to synchronize with the control circuitry using the timing information; and turning on the display after the display driver integrated circuit has synchronized with the control circuitry using the timing information.
8 . A method of operating an electronic device, comprising: using a display to present a visual output; using a display driver integrated circuit to control the display; deactivating the display for a period of time; and using control circuitry to: run one or more applications on the electronic device; operate the electronic device in a first mode during which the control circuitry controls the timing of the display while the display driver integrated circuit operates as a secondary timing device; operate the electronic device in a second mode during which the display driver integrated circuit controls the timing of the display while the control circuitry operates as the secondary timing device; and switch between the first and second modes without turning off the electronic device and while the display is deactivated.
9 . The method of claim 8 , further comprising using the control circuitry to switch from the first mode to the second mode by: deactivating the display for the period of time; sending a command directing the display driver integrated circuit to switch from the first mode to the second mode; receiving a tearing effect signal from the display driver integrated circuit; and in response to receiving the tearing effect signal, sending new image data to the display driver integrated circuit and reactivating the display to output the new image data.
10 . The method of claim 9 , further comprising using the control circuitry to switch from the second mode to the first mode by: deactivating the display for the period of time; sending a command directing the display driver integrated circuit to switch from the second mode to the first mode; sending timing information to the display driver integrated circuit; waiting for the display driver integrated circuit to synchronize with the control circuitry using the timing information; and reactivating the display after the display driver integrated circuit has synchronized with the control circuitry using the timing information.
11 . The method of claim 8 , further comprising using the control circuitry to switch from the second mode to the first mode by: deactivating the display for the period of time; sending a command directing the display driver integrated circuit to switch from the second mode to the first mode; sending timing information to the display driver integrated circuit; waiting for the display driver integrated circuit to synchronize with the control circuitry using the timing information; and reactivating the display after the display driver integrated circuit has synchronized with the control circuitry using the timing information.
12 . The method of claim 8 , further comprising: using the control circuitry to adjust the period of time during which the display is deactivated.
13 . A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing one or more programs that are executed by one or more processors of an electronic device, wherein the electronic device comprises a display coupled to a display driver integrated circuit, the one or more programs including instructions for: presenting a visual output with the display; operating the display in a video mode during which the one or more processors controls the timing of the display while the display driver integrated circuit operates as a secondary timing module; operating the display in a command mode during which display driver integrated circuit controls the timing of the display while the one or more processors operates as the secondary timing module; and switching between the video mode and the command mode without turning off the electronic device, wherein the instructions for switching between the video mode and the command mode comprise instructions for: presenting a black screen with the display for a period of time; and switching between the video mode and the command mode during the period of time that the black screen is presented.
14 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 13 , wherein the instructions for switching between the video mode and the command mode further comprise instructions for: sending a mode switch command to the display driver integrated circuit during the period of time that the black screen is presented; waiting for the display to complete switching between the video mode and the command mode; and after the display has completed switching between the video mode and the command mode, presenting the visual output with the display.
15 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 13 , wherein the instructions for switching between the video mode and the command mode further comprise instructions for adjusting the period of time during which the black screen is presented.
16 . The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the display comprises a liquid crystal display or an organic light-emitting diode display.
17 . The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the display has a rectangular shape or a non-rectangular shape with curved portions.
18 . The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the display is a planar display or a curved display.
19 . The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the display is a head-up display or a head-mounted display.
20 . The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the display comprises a holographic display.

Description

This application claims priority to. U.S. provisional patent application No. 63/243,623, filed Sep. 13, 2021, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. BACKGROUND This relates generally to electronic devices and, more particularly, to electronic devices with displays. Electronic devices such as computers and cellular telephones have displays. A display typically includes an array of display pixels controlled by a timing controller integrated circuit. One or more processors such as an applications processor in an electronic device can communicate with the timing controller integrated circuit to establish a mode of operation for the display. The display can be operated in a plurality of modes. In one mode, the applications processor serves as the master device that determines the overall timing behavior of the display while the timing controller acts as the slave device. In another mode, the timing controller acts as the master device while the applications processor acts as the slave device. To switch between the different modes of operation, the electronic device needs to be turned off and then initialized to the new mode upon power on. Power cycling the electronic device to switch between the different modes may be inefficient. SUMMARY An electronic device may include a display having an array of pixels for displaying images for a viewer. The electronic device may further include control circuitry and a display driver integrated circuit for controlling the display. The control circuitry may include one or more processors coupled to the display via a flexible printed circuit. The display driver integrated circuit may be mounted on the flexible printed circuit. The electronic device may be operable in a first (video) mode and a second (command) mode. In the video mode, the processor such as an application processor or a system processor is configured as the primary (master) timing device while the display driver integrated circuit is configured as the secondary (slave) timing device. In the command mode, the display driver integrated circuit is configured as the primary timing device while the processor is configured as the secondary timing device. The electronic device can switch between the video mode and the command mode in real time without having to turn off the electronic device and/or the display driver integrated circuit. To switch from the video mode to the command mode in real time, the processor may turn off the display, send a mode selection command directing the display driver integrated circuit to switch from the video mode to the command mode, receive a tearing effect signal from the display driver integrated circuit, and, in response to receiving the tearing effect signal, send new image data to the display driver integrated circuit and turn on the display to output the new image data. To switch from the command mode to the video mode in real time, the processor may turn off the display, send a mode selection command directing the display driver integrated circuit to switch from the command mode to the video mode, send timing information to the display driver integrated circuit, wait for the display driver integrated circuit to synchronize with the processor using the timing information, and turn on the display after the display driver integrated circuit has synchronized with the control circuitry using the timing information. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an illustrative electronic device having a display in accordance with some embodiments. FIG. 2 is a diagram of an illustrative display panel coupled to a display driver integrated circuit in accordance with some embodiments. FIG. 3 is diagram showing illustrative display modes in accordance with some embodiments. FIG. 4 is a flow chart of illustrative operations for switching from a display video mode to a display command mode in accordance with some embodiments. FIGS. 5A and 5B are timing diagrams illustrating the behavior of a system processor and a display panel when switching from the video mode to the command mode in accordance with some embodiments. FIG. 6 is a flow chart of illustrative operations for switching from a display command mode to a display video mode in accordance with some embodiments. FIGS. 7A and 7B are timing diagrams illustrating the behavior of a system processor and a display panel when switching from the command mode to the video mode in accordance with some embodiments. DETAILED DESCRIPTION An illustrative electronic device of the type that may be provided with a display is shown in FIG. 1. Electronic device 10 may be a computing device such as a laptop computer, a computer monitor containing an embedded computer, a tablet computer, a cellular telephone, a media player, or other handheld or portable electronic device, a smaller device such as a wrist-watch device, a pendant device, a headphone or earpiece device, a device embedded in eyeglasses or other