OLED pixel driving circuit and OLED display device

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to the field of display techniques, and in particular to an OLED pixel driving circuit and an OLED display device.

2. The Related Arts

The organic light emitting diode (OLED) provides the advantages of active-luminescent, low driving voltage, high emission efficiency, quick response time, high resolution and contrast, near 180° viewing angle, wide operation temperature range, and capability to realize flexible display and large-area full-color display, and is heralded as the most promising display technology.

The OLED is an electroluminescent device driven by electric current; that is, when a current flows through OLED, the OLED illuminates, and the brightness is determined by the current flowing through the OLED. The majority of known integrated circuit (IC) only transmits the voltage signal, and the pixel driving circuit of the OLED display must accomplish the task of translating the voltage signal into a current signal. The conventional pixel driving circuit usually uses a 2T1C structure, i.e., two thin film transistors (TFT) and a capacitor, to translate the voltage into current.

As shown in FIG. 1 , a conventional 2T1C pixel driving circuit for driving OLED device comprises: a first TFT T 10 , second TFT T 20 , and a capacitor C 10 . The first TFT T 10 is a switching TFT, the second TFT T 20 is a driving TFT, and the capacitor T 10 is a storage capacitor. Specifically, the first TFT T 10 has a gate connected to receive a scan signal Scan, a drain connected to receive a data signal Data, and a source electrically connected to a gate of the second TFT T 20 and to one end of the capacitor C 10 . The second TFT T 20 has a drain connected to receive a voltage OVDD of a power source, and a source connected to receive an anode of the OLED D 10 ; the OLED D 10 has a cathode connected to receive a common ground voltage OVSS; the capacitor C 10 has one end electrically connected to the gate of the second TFT T 20 , and the other end electrically connected to the source of the second TFT T 20 . When the OLED displays, the scan signal Scan controls the first TFT T 10 to be turned on, the data signal Data passes through the first TFT T 10 and enters the gate of the second TFT T 20 and the capacitor C 10 . Then, the first TFT T 10 is cut off. Because of the storage of the capacitor C 10 , the gate voltage of the second TFT T 20 stays at the data signal voltage level so that the second TFT T 20 stays turned on. The driving current flows through the second TFT T 20 to enter the OLED D 10 and drives the OLED D 10 to emit light.

According to the equation calculating the current flowing through the driving TFT and the OLED:

I OLED =K ×( Vgs−Vth ) 2 ;

Wherein I OLED is the current flowing through the driving TFT and the OLED, K is the intrinsic conductive factor, of the driving TFT, Vgs is the voltage difference across the gate and the source of the driving TFT, and Vth is the threshold voltage of the driving TFT. As seen, the size of I OLED is related to the threshold voltage Vth of the driving TFT.

The above conventional OLED pixel driving circuit is simple in structure, and without a compensation function, and therefore has many shortcomings. The most prominent shortcoming is that the non-uniformity of the TFT fabrication process, the threshold voltages of the driving TFTs of all pixels in the OLED display device will be inconsistent. Moreover, due to long operation time, the ageing of the driving TFT will cause voltage drift of the threshold voltage of the driving TFTs, leading to display unevenness.

FIG. 2 shows a known OLED pixel driving circuit with a 3T1C structure, which adds a third TFT T 30 to the conventional OLED pixel driving circuit of FIG. 1 . The third TFT T 30 has a gate connected to a sensing control signal Sense, a source connected to the source of the second TFT T 20 , and a drain connected to an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) and a reference signal Vref. The data signal Data is provided by a digital-to-analog converter (DAC). The 3T1C structured OLED pixel driving circuit can sense the threshold voltage Vth of the driving TFT and compensates the threshold voltage Vth to the data signal Data so as to eliminate the impact of the threshold voltage Vth of the driving TFT on the current I OLED flowing through the OLED, and achieve uniform display and improve image quality. However, the above 3T1C structured OLED pixel driving circuit has the following shortcomings:

1. The reference voltage Vref provides the reference voltage to all the pixels, and the routing leads to reduction of aperture ratio of the pixels.

2. The generation of the reference voltage Vref causes the increase of the number of channels of the driving IC, resulting in increased manufacturing cost.

The object of the present invention is to provide an OLED pixel driving circuit, not only able to compensate, but also to eliminate the impact of the threshold voltage of the driving TFT on the current flowing through the OLED, and achieve uniform display and improve image quality, as well as, improve pixel aperture ratio and reduce the number of channels of the driving IC to reduce manufacturing cost.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an OLED display device, with pixel driving circuit able to compensate, improve display uniformity, improve pixel aperture ratio and reduce manufacturing cost.

To achieve the above object, the present invention provides an OLED pixel driving circuit, comprising: a first thin film transistor (TFT), a second TFT, a third TFT, a fourth TFT, a capacitor, an OLED, and a switch, a DAC and an ADC disposed in a driving IC, operation states of the OLED pixel driving circuit comprising a display mode and a sense mode;

the switch being controlled by a switch signal, comprising a first pin, a second pin, and a third pin;

the first TFT having a gate connected to a scan signal, a drain connected to a power source, and a source connected to a drain of the second TFT, a gate of the fourth TFT, and an end of the capacitor; the second TFT having a gate connected to the scan signal, and a source connected to a common ground voltage; the fourth TFT having a drain connected to a power source voltage, and a source connected to an anode of the OLED; the OLED having a cathode connected to the common ground voltage; the capacitor having the other end connected to the source of the fourth TFT; the third TFT having a gate connected to the scan signal in the display mode and connected to the sensing control signal in the sense mode, a source connected to the source of the fourth TFT, and a drain connected to the first pin of the switch; the first TFT having an impedance ratio to an impedance of the second TFT;

the switch having the second pin connected to the DAC, and the third pin connected to the ADC;

in the display mode, the switch signal controlling the switch to connect the first pin and the second pin, and the DAC providing the data signal;

in the sense mode, the DAC first providing a low voltage signal, and then the switch signal controlling the switch to connect the first pin and the third pin so that the ADC sensing a threshold voltage of the fourth TFT.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, in the display mode, the data signal has a voltage not higher than a threshold voltage of the OLED; the first TFT and the second TFT perform voltage division on the power source voltage so that the gate of the fourth TFT has a voltage higher than the sum of the threshold voltage of the OLED and the threshold voltage of the fourth TFT.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the threshold voltage of the OLED is 9V-11V.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, in the display mode, the scan signal first provides a high voltage pulse and then maintains at low voltage; the common ground voltage always stays at low voltage; the data signal stays at a high voltage from a rising edge of the high voltage pulse of the scan signal;

in the sense mode, the scan signal first provides a high voltage pulse and then maintains at low voltage; the sensing control signal first provides a high voltage pulse synchronized with the high voltage pulse of the scan signal and then maintains at low voltage.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, in the sense mode, the common ground voltage first provides a high voltage pulse synchronized with the high voltage pulse of the sensing control signal and then maintains at low voltage.

The present invention also provides an OLED display device, which comprises an OLED pixel driving circuit; the OLED pixel driving circuit further comprising: a first thin film transistor (TFT), a second TFT, a third TFT, a fourth TFT, a capacitor, an OLED, and a switch, a DAC and an ADC disposed in a driving IC, operation states of the OLED pixel driving circuit comprising a display mode and a sense mode;

the switch being controlled by a switch signal, comprising a first pin, a second pin, and a third pin;

the first TFT having a gate connected to a scan signal, a drain connected to a power source, and a source connected to a drain of the second TFT, a gate of the fourth TFT, and an end of the capacitor; the second TFT having a gate connected to the scan signal, and a source connected to a common ground voltage; the fourth TFT having a drain connected to a power source voltage, and a source connected to an anode of the OLED; the OLED having a cathode connected to the common ground voltage; the capacitor having the other end connected to the source of the fourth TFT; the third TFT having a gate connected to the scan signal in the display mode and connected to the sensing control signal in the sense mode, a source connected to the source of the fourth TFT, and a drain connected to the first pin of the switch; the first TFT having an impedance ratio to an impedance of the second TFT;

the switch having the second pin connected to the DAC, and the third pin connected to the ADC;

in the display mode, the switch signal controlling the switch to connect the first pin and the second pin, and the DAC providing the data signal;

in the sense mode, the DAC first providing a low voltage signal, and then the switch signal controlling the switch to connect the first pin and the third pin so that the ADC sensing a threshold voltage of the fourth TFT.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, in the display mode, the data signal has a voltage not higher than a threshold voltage of the OLED; the first TFT and the second TFT perform voltage division on the power source voltage so that the gate of the fourth TFT has a voltage higher than the sum of the threshold voltage of the OLED and the threshold voltage of the fourth TFT.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the threshold voltage of the OLED is 9V-11V.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, in the display mode, the scan signal first provides a high voltage pulse and then maintains at low voltage; the common ground voltage always stays at low voltage; the data signal stays at a high voltage from a rising edge of the high voltage pulse of the scan signal;

in the sense mode, the scan signal first provides a high voltage pulse and then maintains at low voltage; the sensing control signal first provides a high voltage pulse synchronized with the high voltage pulse of the scan signal and then maintains at low voltage.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, in the sense mode, the common ground voltage first provides a high voltage pulse synchronized with the high voltage pulse of the sensing control signal and then maintains at low voltage.

The present invention further provides an OLED pixel driving circuit, which comprises: a first thin film transistor (TFT), a second TFT, a third TFT, a fourth TFT, a capacitor, an OLED, and a switch, a DAC and an ADC disposed in a driving IC, operation states of the OLED pixel driving circuit comprising a display mode and a sense mode;

the switch being controlled by a switch signal, comprising a first pin, a second pin, and a third pin;

the first TFT having a gate connected to a scan signal, a drain connected to a power source, and a source connected to a drain of the second TFT, a gate of the fourth TFT, and an end of the capacitor; the second TFT having a gate connected to the scan signal, and a source connected to a common ground voltage; the fourth TFT having a drain connected to a power source voltage, and a source connected to an anode of the OLED; the OLED having a cathode connected to the common ground voltage; the capacitor having the other end connected to the source of the fourth TFT; the third TFT having a gate connected to the scan signal in the display mode and connected to the sensing control signal in the sense mode, a source connected to the source of the fourth TFT, and a drain connected to the first pin of the switch; the first TFT having an impedance ratio to an impedance of the second TFT;

the switch having the second pin connected to the DAC, and the third pin connected to the ADC;

in the display mode, the switch signal controlling the switch to connect the first pin and the second pin, and the DAC providing the data signal;

in the sense mode, the DAC first providing a low voltage signal, and then the switch signal controlling the switch to connect the first pin and the third pin so that the ADC sensing a threshold voltage of the fourth TFT.

wherein in the display mode, the data signal having a voltage not higher than a threshold voltage of the OLED; the first TFT and the second TFT performing voltage division on the power source voltage so that the gate of the fourth TFT having a voltage higher than the sum of the threshold voltage of the OLED and the threshold voltage of the fourth TFT;

wherein the threshold voltage of the OLED being 9V-11V.

wherein in the display mode, the scan signal first providing a high voltage pulse and then maintaining at low voltage; the common ground voltage always staying at low voltage; the data signal staying at a high voltage from a rising edge of the high voltage pulse of the scan signal;

in the sense mode, the scan signal first providing a high voltage pulse and then maintaining at low voltage; the sensing control signal first providing a high voltage pulse synchronized with the high voltage pulse of the scan signal and then maintaining at low voltage;

wherein in the sense mode, the common ground voltage first providing a high voltage pulse synchronized with the high voltage pulse of the sensing control signal and then maintaining at low voltage.

Compared to the known techniques, the present invention provides the following advantages. The present invention provides an OLED pixel driving circuit with a 4T1C structure and using a switch. The first pin of the switch is connected to the drain of the third TFT, the second pin is connected to the DAC, and the third pin is connected to the ADC. By the switch signal controlling the switch, the first pin and the second pin are connected to enter the display mode, and by the switch signal controlling the switch, the first pin and the third pin are connected to enter the sense mode, so that the ADC senses the threshold voltage of the fourth TFT, converted by ADC and used for data compensation in the display mode. As such, the invention is able to compensate and to eliminate the impact of the threshold voltage of the driving TFT on the current flowing through the OLED to achieve uniform display without additional reference voltage and routing, as well as, to improve pixel aperture ratio and reduce the number of channels of the driving IC to reduce manufacturing cost. The invention also provides an OLED display device, comprising the OLED pixel driving circuit, able to compensate improve display uniformity and pixel aperture ration, and reduce production cost.

To make the technical solution of the embodiments according to the present invention, a brief description of the drawings that are necessary for the illustration of the embodiments will be given as follows. Apparently, the drawings described below show only example embodiments of the present invention and for those having ordinary skills in the art, other drawings may be easily obtained from these drawings without paying any creative effort. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing a conventional OLED pixel driving circuit with 2T1C structure;

FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing a known OLED pixel driving circuit with 3T1C structure and able to compensate;

FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing an OLED pixel driving circuit provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic view showing the circuit connection in the display mode of the OLED pixel driving circuit provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic view showing the timing sequence in the display mode of the OLED pixel driving circuit provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a schematic view showing the circuit connection in the sense mode of the OLED pixel driving circuit provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a schematic view showing the timing sequence in the sense mode of the OLED pixel driving circuit provided by an embodiment of the present invention.

To further explain the technique means and effect of the present invention, the following uses preferred embodiments and drawings for detailed description.

Refer to FIG. 3 to FIG. 7 . The present invention provides an OLED pixel driving circuit. As shown in FIG. 3 , FIG. 4 and FIG. 6 , the OLED pixel driving circuit comprises: a first thin film transistor (TFT) T 1 , a second TFT T 2 , a third TFT T 3 , a fourth TFT T 4 , a capacitor C 1 , an OLED D 1 , and a switch K, a digital-to-analog converter (DAC) DAC and an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) ADC disposed in a driving IC 10 , wherein the fourth TFT T 4 is the driving TFT directly driving the OLED D 1 .

The OLED pixel driving circuit uses a 4T1C structure, and disposes a switch K, wherein the operation states comprise a display mode and a sense mode.

Specifically, the switch K is control by a switch signal Switch, and comprises a first pin K 1 , a second pin K 2 , and a third pin K 3 .

The first TFT T 1 has a gate connected to a scan signal Scan, a drain connected to a power source OVDD, and a source connected to a drain of the second TFT T 2 , a gate g of the fourth TFT T 4 , and an end of the capacitor C 1 . The second TFT T 2 has a gate connected to the scan signal Scan, and a source connected to a common ground voltage OVSS. The fourth TFT T 4 has a drain connected to a power source voltage OVDD, and a source s connected to an anode of the OLED D 1 . The OLED D 1 has a cathode connected to the common ground voltage OVSS. The capacitor C 1 has the other end connected to the source s of the fourth TFT T 4 . The third TFT T 3 has a gate connected to the scan signal Scan in the display mode and connected to the sensing control signal Sense in the sense mode, a source connected to the source s of the fourth TFT T 4 , and a drain connected to the first pin K 1 of the switch K.

The switch K has the second pin K 2 connected to the DAC DAC, and the third pin K 3 connected to the ADC ADC.

The first TFT T 1 , the second TFT T 2 , the third TFT T 3 , and the fourth TFT T 4 are all low temperature polysilicon (LTPS) TFts, oxide semiconductor TFTs, or amorphous silicon (aSi) TFTs.

It should be noted that the impedance of the first TFT T 1 and the impedance of the second TFT T 2 have a specific ratio relation. When the first TFT T 1 and the second TFT t 2 are both turned on, the two TFTs perform voltage division on the power source voltage OVDD so that the voltage level at the gate g of the 4 fourth TFT T 4 is not affected by the threshold voltage of the OLED D 1 .

Refer to FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 . In the display mode, the switch signal Switch controls the switch K to connect the first pin K 1 and the second pin K 2 , and the DAC DAC provides the data signal Data. The scan signal Scan first provides a high voltage pulse so that the first TFT T 1 , the second TFT T 2 , and the third TFT T 3 are all turned on; at this point, the conductive first TFT T 1 and the second TFT T 2 perform voltage division on the power source voltage OVDD so that the voltage Vg at the gate g of the fourth TFT T 4 is:

Vg =OVDD× R T2 /( R T2 +R T1 );

Wherein R T1 is the impedance of the first TFT T 1 , and R T2 is the impedance of the second TFT T 2 .

The data signal Data stays at a high voltage from a rising edge of the high voltage pulse of the scan signal Scan. The data signal Data is written into the source s of the fourth TFT T 4 through the first pin K 1 and the second pin K 2 of the switch K and the conductive third TFT T 3 , i.e., Vs=V Data (Vs is the voltage at the source s of the fourth TFT T 4 , and V Data is the voltage at the data signal Data.)

Then, the scan signal Scan maintains at low voltage so that the first TFT T 1 , the second TFT T 2 , and the third TFT T 3 are all cut off. Relying on the storage effect of the capacitor C 1 , the OLED D 1 emits light to display.

It should be noted that in the display mode, the common ground voltage OVSS always stays at low voltage; the voltage V Data of the data signal Data is not higher than a threshold voltage Vth− OLED of the OLED D 1 (inside the driving IC 10 , the highest grayscale corresponds to V Data =0V, and the lowest grayscale corresponds to Vth− OLED ); moreover, the range of the threshold voltage Vth− OLED of the OLED D 1 is 9V-11V, and preferably 10V (for an OLED with 3- or 4-layered light-emitting layers). As such, in writing the data signal Data, the voltage Vs at the source s of the fourth TFT T 4 does not make the OLED D 1 emit light. The power source voltage OVDD, after voltage division by the first TFT T 1 and the second TFT T 2 , makes the gate g of the fourth TFT T 4 have a voltage Vg higher than the sum of the threshold voltage Vth− oLED of the OLED D 1 and the threshold voltage Vth of the fourth TFT T 4 . In other words:

Vg =OVDD× R T2 /( R T2 +R T1 )> Vth− OLED +Vth;

As such, after writing the data signal Data, the voltage Vgs between the gate g and the source s of the fourth TFT T 4 is:

Vgs=Vg−Vs =OVDD× R T2 /( R T2 +R T1 )− V Data >Vth;

So that the OLED D 1 can emit light and display normally.

Refer to FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 . In the sense mode, the scan signal Scan first provides a high voltage pulse so that the first TFT T 1 and the second TFT T 2 are turned on. The conductive first TFT T 1 and the second TFT T 2 perform voltage division on the power source voltage OVDD so that the voltage Vg at the gate g of the fourth TFT T 4 is:

Vg =OVDD× R T2 /( R T2 +R T1 ).

The sensing control signal Sense first provides a high voltage pulse synchronized with the high voltage pulse of the scan signal Scan to turn on the third TFT T 3 . The switch signal Switch maintains the switch K to connect the first pin K 1 and the second pin K 2 , the DAC first provides a low voltage signal written into the source s of the fourth TFT T 4 through the first pin K 1 and the second pin K 2 of the switch K and the conductive third TFT T 3 . At the same time, the common ground voltage OVSS first provides a high voltage pulse synchronized with the high voltage pulse of the sensing control signal Sense to prevent the OLED D 1 from emitting light.

Then, the switch signal Switch controls the switch K to connect the first pin K 1 and the third pin K 3 of the switch K. At this point, because the he voltage Vg at the gate g of the fourth TFT T 4 is Vg=OVDD×R T2 /(R T2 +R T1 ), and the source s is at a lower voltage, the fourth TFT T 4 is conductive. The current flowing through the fourth TFT T 4 enters the ADC ADC through the conductive third TFT T 3 , and the first pint K 1 and the third pin K 3 of the switch K, so that the ADC senses the threshold voltage Vth of the fourth TFT T 4 .

Then, the scan signal Scan, the sensing control signal Sense, and the common ground voltage OVSS all become low voltage and stay at low voltage.

After the ADC ADC senses the threshold voltage Vth of the fourth TFT T 4 (i.e., the driving TFT), the ADC ADC converts the threshold voltage Vth into a digital sensing data and stores the digital sensing data for compensation in the display mode. Since because the threshold voltage Vth of the fourth TFT T 4 (i.e., the driving TFT) in the display mode is compensated, the current flowing through the OLED D 1 is independent of the threshold voltage Vth of the driving TFT, and the impact of the threshold voltage Vth of the driving TFT is eliminated, the display uniformity and the light-emitting efficiency are improved. The OLED pixel driving circuit of the present invention does not need additional reference voltage signal as in the prior art, so as to omit the routing related to reference voltage signal, leading to reducing the number of channels in the driving IC, increasing the aperture ratio of the pixels, and reducing the production cost.

Based on the same structure, the invention also provides an OLED display device, comprising the aforementioned OLED pixel driving circuit. The details will not be repeated here.

In summary, the present invention provides an OLED pixel driving circuit with a 4T1C structure and using a switch. The first pin of the switch is connected to the drain of the third TFT, the second pin is connected to the DAC, and the third pin is connected to the ADC. By the switch signal controlling the switch, the first pin and the second pin are connected to enter the display mode, and by the switch signal controlling the switch, the first pin and the third pin are connected to enter the sense mode, so that the ADC senses the threshold voltage of the fourth TFT, converted by ADC and used for data compensation in the display mode. As such, the invention is able to compensate and to eliminate the impact of the threshold voltage of the driving TFT on the current flowing through the OLED to achieve uniform display without additional reference voltage and routing, as well as, to improve pixel aperture ratio and reduce the number of channels of the driving IC to reduce manufacturing cost. The invention also provides an OLED display device, comprising the OLED pixel driving circuit, able to compensate improve display uniformity and pixel aperture ration, and reduce production cost.

It should be noted that in the present disclosure the terms, such as, first, second are only for distinguishing an entity or operation from another entity or operation, and does not imply any specific relation or order between the entities or operations. Also, the terms “comprises”, “include”, and other similar variations, do not exclude the inclusion of other non-listed elements. Without further restrictions, the expression “comprises a . . . ” does not exclude other identical elements from presence besides the listed elements.

Embodiments of the present invention have been described, but not intending to impose any unduly constraint to the appended claims. Any modification of equivalent structure or equivalent process made according to the disclosure and drawings of the present invention, or any application thereof, directly or indirectly, to other related fields of technique, is considered encompassed in the scope of protection defined by the claims of the present invention.