# US 7,612,787 B2 · Method and device for operating a display afflicted with wear > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 7,612,787 B2 - Document ID: US7612787B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 10/579,634 - Filed: 2004-11-13 - Published: 2007-06-28 - Granted: 2009-11-03 - Earliest claimed: 2003-11-24 - Assignees: Ingenieurbuero Kienhoefer GmbH - Inventors: Carsten Kienhoefer - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US7612787B2 ## CPC - G09G 3/22: using controlled light sources - G09G 3/2003: {Display of colours (specific for liquid crystal displays G09G3/3607)} - G09G 3/28: using luminous gas-discharge panels, e.g. plasma panels - G09G 2320/0242: Compensation of deficiencies in the appearance of colours - G09G 2320/0285: using tables for spatial correction of display data - G09G 2320/043: Preventing or counteracting the effects of ageing - G09G: ARRANGEMENTS OR CIRCUITS FOR CONTROL OF INDICATING DEVICES USING STATIC MEANS TO PRESENT VARIABLE INFORMATION (arrangements for transferring data between digital computers and displays G06F3/14; static indicating arrangements comprising an association of a number of separate sources or light control cells G09F9/00; static indicating arrangements comprising integral associations of a number of light sources H01J, H01K, H10H, H05B33/12; scanning, transmission or reproduction of documents or the like, e.g. facsimile transmission, details thereof H04N1/00) ## Abstract The invention concerns a display (1) afflicted with wear, and to a method for operating a display (1) of this type. In conjunction with the problems associated with the burning in of non-moving images or image elements in wear-afflicted displays, particularly plasma displays, and with the problems associated with the wear-characteristics, which differ in the individual primary colors red, green and blue, of the phosphorous cells of a display (1) of this type whereby resulting in a shift in the color temperature of the image reproduction, the invention provides that the latest pixel wear values (R*, G*, B*) are written into a memory element (3), whereby pixel correction values are determined by means of a logic element (2), which is assigned to this memory element (3), and corrected pixel values R′, G′, B′ are generated from these pixel correction values and are applied to the display (1) for homogenizing the individual pixel wear values. According to the invention, a two-stage memory element having a volatile and a non-volatile memory (5 and 6) is used that stores the enormous volumes of data resulting from this context. The inventive solution also works with at least two temporally decoupled cycles for determining the pixel wear values and for determining the pixel correction values. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A process for operating a wear-afflicted display having defined pixels, comprising: assigning each pixel a memory address in a memory element to record an operating time of each pixel, the pixel being integrated over the operating time and operating intensity to determine a pixel wear value (Rint, Gint, Bint); storing the pixel wear value for each pixel in the form of a non-volatile stored pixel wear value (Rvn, Gvn, Bvn) in a non-volatile memory for each of the three basic colors including red, green, and blue; obtaining the non-volatile stored pixel wear value (Rvn, Gvn, Bvn) as a sum of the most significant bits integrated over the operating time of the pixel of a pixel wear value (Rvf, Gvf, Bvf) that is volatile stored in a volatile memory, wherein the less significant bits of the volatile stored pixel wear value (Rvf, Gvf, Bvf) are retained unchanged in the volatile memory and the most significant bits of the volatile stored pixel wear values (Rvf, Gvf, Bvf) are transferred to the non-volatile stored pixel wear values (Rvn, Gvn, Bvn). ### Claim 2 A process for operating a wear-afflicted display having defined pixels, comprising: Assigning each pixel a memory address in a memory element to record an operating time of each pixel, the pixel being integrated over the operating time and operating intensity to determine a pixel wear value (Rint, Gint, Bint); Storing the pixel wear value for each pixel in the form of a non-volatile stored wear value (Rvn, Gvn, Bvn) in a non-volatile memory for each of the three basic colors including red, green, and blue; Obtaining the non-volatile stored pixel wear value (Rvn, Gvn, Bvn) as a sum of the most significant bits integrated over the operating time of the pixel of a pixel wear value (Rvf, Gvf, Bvf) that is volatile stored in a volatile memory, Wherein a correction value (Rkor, Gkor, Bkor) for correcting the respective pixel signal (R, G, B) that is individual to each pixel is stored in the same memory cell (Rvf, Gvf, Bvf) of the volatile memory as the volatile stored pixel wear value (Rvf, Gvf, Bvf), and a characteristic that is proportional to the respective pixel wear values is stored in addition to or alternatively the pixel wear values. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The process of claim 1, further comprising carrying out a complete transmission of the data that are retained in the volatile memory to the non-volatile memory when the display is turned off. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The process of claim 1, further comprising rewriting the data that are retained in the non-volatile memory into the volatile memory when the display is turned on. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The process of claim 1, further comprising operating the display first with uncorrected pixel data and then, after the data is completely rewritten from the non-volatile memory into the volatile memory, operating the display with corrected pixel data (R′, G′, B′) when the display is turned on. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The process of claim 1, wherein one or several SDRAM components are used as the volatile memory. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The process of claim 1, wherein at least one of flash components, MRAM, FRAM, FeRAM, RRAM, and PCM components is used as the non-volatile memory. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The process of claim 1, wherein respectively recorded volume of data is reduced by one of reducing the accuracy of the recorded pixel wear values (Rint, Gint, Bint) or that of the characteristics that are proportional to the recorded pixel wer values (Rint, Gint, Bint), and storing a difference value between the respective pixel wear value (Rint, Gint, Bint) and a predeterminable maximum pixel wear value. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) The process of claim 1, wherein the intensity of the individual pixels is increased or decreased separately for each of the basic colors red, green, and blue, in dependence upon at least one of respective individually stored pixel wear values (Rint, Gint, Bint) and characteristics that are proportional to the stored pixel wear values (Rint, Gint, Bint). ### Claim 10 (depends on 9) The process of claim 9, wherein the increase or decrease of the intensity of the individual pixels is carried out one of automatically, interactively, and manually in dependence upon predetermined threshold values. ### Claim 11 (depends on 9) The process of claim 9, further comprising generating a correction image for the display from the stored pixel wear values or from characteristics that are proportional to the stored pixel wear values, whose indication on the display equalizes individually different pixel wear values with a general wear level. ### Claim 12 (depends on 11) The process of claim 11, further comprising indicating the correction image on the display is carried out one of automatically, interactively, and manually at predeterminable times in dependence upon predetermined threshold values of the pixel wear value or the characteristics that are proportional to the pixel wear values. ### Claim 13 (depends on 11) The process of claim 11, further comprising operating selected pixels separately to accelerate an equalization of pixel wear values (R*, G*, B*). ### Claim 14 (depends on 1) The process of claim 1, further comprising adding pixel correction data (Rkor, Gkor, Bkor) predetermined by a logic element respectively to the red, green, and blue pixel data (R, G, B), and operating the display with correspondingly corrected pixel data (R′, G′, B′). ### Claim 15 (depends on 14) The process of claim 14, wherein the pixel correction data (Rkor, Gkor, Bkor) are determined with the logic element one of by evaluating the recorded pixel wear data (Rint, Gint, Bint), based on characteristics dependent from the recorded pixel wear data (Rint, Gint, Bint), and by wear characteristic fields stored separately for each of the three basic colors. ### Claim 16 (depends on 15) The process of claim 15, further comprising generating the pixel correction values (Rkor, Gkor, Bkor) at defined time intervals. ### Claim 17 (depends on 15) The process of claim 15, wherein determining the pixel correction data (Rkor, Gkor, Bkor) is carried out in dependence upon at least one of an individual phosphorous characteristic of the display, an overall brightness of the display, an overall brightness of the display in the basic colors red, green, and blue, an operating temperature of the display and a color temperature of the display. ### Claim 18 (depends on 14) The process of claim 14, wherein the display is a master display, the memory element is upgraded in a first step with the volatile and the non-volatile memory, and the display is then additionally operated initially uncorrected with a defined image and is evaluated with regard to the individual wear characteristic of the display, and the individual pixel wear values ((Rint, Gint, Bint) are transmitted to the memory elements, the correction data (Rkor, Gkor, Bkor) are determined by means of the logic element(s) that are upgraded if necessary, and are then operated with the corrected image values (R′, G′, B′) to equalize the wear on the display at the individual pixels. ### Claim 19 (depends on 1) The process of claim 1, further comprising scaling graphic data shown on the display by an adaptation of one of a respectively represented resolution to a format of a physical resolution of the display or by deinterlacing. ### Claim 20 (depends on 1) The process of claim 1, wherein the adaptation of different width-to-height ratio of the video source and the display is integrated in the logic element as well as in the process. ### Claim 21 (depends on 15) The process of claim 15, wherein the display comprises a plasma pulse generator, in which the corrected pixel values (R′, G′, B′) determined by the logic element are allocated to the plasma pulse generator and an individual brightness control of the pixels of the display is carried out for each pixel by the plasma pulse generator. ### Claim 22 (depends on 15) The process of claim 15, wherein the display comprises a plasma pulse generator, in which the pixel correction values (Rkor, Gkor, Bkor) determined by the logic element are allocated to this plasma generator, while the pixel data (R, G, B) are supplied unchanged to an RGB graphic data input of the display and an individual brightness control of the pixels of the display is carried out for each pixel by the plasma pulse generator. ### Claim 23 (depends on 1) The process of claim 1 operated in combination with at least one of image shifting, brightness reduction of stills, and the use of inverse images, while the process is operated by a control circuit connected downstream. ### Claim 24 (depends on 14) The process of claim 14, wherein the logic element directly processes multiplexed data. ### Claim 25 (depends on 1) The process of claim 1, wherein controls for limiting the maximum brightness of the display are taken into consideration in that the process receives information from a control mechanism of the display and reproduces this mechanism and carries out the control on its own. ### Claim 26 (depends on 14) The process of claim 14, wherein the display is activated less within a first operating time at least by sections with the aid of the corrected pixel values (R′, G′, B′) and is increasingly more frequently activated at a subsequent operating time with the aid of the corrected pixel values (R′, G′, B′). ### Claim 27 (depends on 26) The process of claim 26, wherein selected pixels are increasingly more frequently activated within the first operating time. ### Claim 28 (depends on 14) The process of claim 14, wherein a process for gamma correction is applied in the logic element and integrated into the process. ### Claim 29 A wear-afflicted display, comprising: a plurality of pixels; a logic element connected to the display; and a memory element, including a volatile memory and a non-volatile memory, wherein the logic element is configured to determine a pixel wear value (Rint, Gint, Bint) that is individual to each of the plurality of pixels, the pixel wear value (Rint, Gint, Bint) being stored in the volatile memory for each basic color including red, green, and blue, the pixel wear value (Rint, Gint, Bint) representing one of an operating time and an operating intensity of a respective pixel (R, G, B) of the display, and wherein a non-volatile stored pixel wear value (Rint, Gint, Bint) corresponds to a sum of the most significant bits of the volatile stored pixel wear value (Rint, Gint, Bint) integrated over the operating time of the pixel, and wherein the logic element is further configured to determine a pixel correction value (Rkor, Gkor, Bkor) that is individual to each pixel, the pixel correction value (Rkor, Gkor, Bkor) being stored in the volatile memory for each basic color red, green, and blue, for the correction of the respective pixel signal (R, G, B), wherein the pixel wear value (Rint, Gint, Bint) and the pixel correction value (Rkor, Gkor, Bkor) being stored in a same memory cell (Rvf, Gvf, Bvf) of the volatile memory, and wherein characteristics that are proportional to the respective pixel wear values are stored in addition to or alternatively to the pixel wear values. ### Claim 30 (depends on 29) The display of claim 29, further comprising a plasma pulse generator configured to control a brightness of the display, based on the pixel correction values (Rkor, Gkor, Bkor) determined based on the pixel wear values (Rint, Gint, Bint) recorded in the memory element or the characteristic corresponding thereto are forwarded to the plasma pulse generator, while otherwise unchanged graphic data (R, G, B) are applied at an RGB input of the display. ### Claim 31 (depends on 29) The display of claim 29, wherein in the case in which display technologies are used, in which individual colors have different wear characteristics, selected colors are applied with a relatively higher color and/or light component in comparison with other colors. ### Claim 32 (depends on 29) The display of claim 29, wherein the logic of a graphic controller is integrated in the logic element so that the volatile memory for a graphic controller and the logic element are jointly usable. ### Claim 33 A wear-afflicted display comprising: a plurality of pixels; a logic element connected to the display; and a memory element, including a volatile memory and a non-volatile memory, wherein the logic element is configured to determine a pixel wear value (Rvn, Gvn, Bvn), the pixel wear value (Rvn, Gvn, Bvn) being non-volatile stored in the non-volatile memory for each basic color including red, green, and blue, wherein the non-volatile stored pixel wear value (Rvn, Gvn, Bvn) corresponds to a sum of the most significant bits of a volatile stored pixel wear value (Rvn, Gvn, Bvn) integrated over the operating time of the pixel, and wherein the less significant bits of the volatile stored pixel value (Rvf, Gvf, Bvf) are retained unchanged in the volatile memory.