# US 8,788,890 B2 · Devices and methods for bit error rate monitoring of intra-panel data link > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 8,788,890 B2 - Document ID: US8788890B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 13/204,214 - Filed: 2011-08-05 - Published: 2013-02-07 - Granted: 2014-07-22 - Earliest claimed: 2011-08-05 - Assignees: Apple Inc. - Applicants: Taesung Kim; Paolo Sacchetto - Inventors: Taesung Kim; Paolo Sacchetto - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US8788890B2 ## CPC - G09G 3/006: {Electronic inspection or testing of displays and display drivers, e.g. of LED or LCD displays (testing individual LED's G01R31/2635; testing lamps G01R31/44; testing of optical features of LCD displays G02F1/1309)} - G09G 3/20: for presentation of an assembly of a number of characters, e.g. a page, by composing the assembly by combination of individual elements arranged in a matrix {no fixed position being assigned to or needed to be assigned to the individual characters or partial characters} - G09G 3/3275: Details of drivers for data electrodes - G09G 3/3685: {Details of drivers for data electrodes} - G09G 2330/12: Test circuits or failure detection circuits included in a display system, as permanent part thereof - G09G 2370/08: Details of image data interface between the display device controller and the data line driver circuit - 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 Devices and methods for monitoring a bit error rate of an intra-panel data link (e.g., a chip-on-glass (COG) data link) between a timing controller and a display driver circuitry, according to an embodiment. The timing controller may send test data over a data link to the display driver circuitry. The test data may include a known or predictable stream of data. The display driver circuitry may receive the test data via the data link and detect bit errors based at least partly on the test data. An indication of the bit errors may be displayed on an array of pixels of the display or provided to the timing controller via a separate back channel data link. ## Claims ### Claim 1 An electronic display comprising: a timing controller configured to transmit test data over at least one data link, wherein the test data comprises a known or predictable stream of data, wherein the timing controller comprises pseudorandom binary sequence generating circuitry to generate the pseudorandom binary sequence; and display driver circuitry configured to receive the test data via the at least one data link and detect bit errors associated with the at least one data link based at least in part on the test data, wherein the display driver circuitry comprises pseudorandom binary sequence check circuitry configured to detect the bit errors associated with the at least one data link based at least in part on the test data. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The electronic display of claim 1, wherein the test data comprises a pseudorandom binary sequence. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The electronic display of claim 1, wherein the test data comprises 8b10b-encoded data. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The electronic display of claim 1, wherein the at least one data link comprises a chip-on-glass interconnection. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The electronic display of claim 1, comprising an array of pixels configured to be programmed by the display driver circuitry, wherein the display driver circuitry is configured to provide an indication of the bit errors by programming the array of pixels to cause the indication of the bit errors to be displayed on the array of pixels. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The electronic display of claim 1, comprising a single wire interface configured to provide an indication of the bit errors from the display driver circuitry to the timing controller via a different data link from the at least one data link. ### Claim 7 An electronic device comprising: an electronic display configured to, upon receipt of a control signal, operate in a bit error rate test mode and detect a bit error rate associated with one of a plurality of intra-display chip-on-glass data links when operating in the bit error rate test mode, wherein the electronic display is configured to display an indication of the bit error rate on the electronic display when the electronic display is operating in the bit error rate test mode; and data processing circuitry configured to issue the control signal to the electronic display to cause the electronic display to operate in the bit error rate test mode. ### Claim 8 (depends on 7) The electronic device of claim 7, wherein the data processing circuitry is configured to provide image data to the electronic display and the electronic display is configured to display the image data when the electronic display is not operating in the bit error rate test mode. ### Claim 9 (depends on 7) The electronic device of claim 7, wherein the electronic display is configured to provide an indication of the bit error rate to the data processing circuitry when the electronic display is operating in the bit error rate test mode. ### Claim 10 An electronic display comprising: a timing controller comprising: bit error rate test mode determination circuitry configured to generate a bit error rate test mode enable signal based at least in part on a corresponding control signal from a host processor; and a plurality of transmitters each associated with a respective one of a plurality of intra-display unidirectional data links, each of the plurality of transmitters comprising: physical transmission circuitry configured to transmit data over the associated intra-display unidirectional data link; and bit error rate test mode selection circuitry configured to cause the physical transmission circuitry to transmit either image data or test data depending on the bit error rate test mode enable signal; and a plurality of data drivers each respectively associated with one of the plurality of intra-display unidirectional data links and one of the plurality of transmitters, and configured to program a respective one of a plurality of active display segments of the electronic display, each of the plurality of data drivers comprising: a physical receiver configured to receive the data from the one of the plurality of transmitters over the associated intra-display unidirectional data links; bit error detection circuitry configured to detect bit errors of the associated data link based at least in part on the data when the data comprises test data; counter circuitry configured to hold a count of the detected bit errors; and bit error display circuitry configured to receive the count of the detected bit errors and output a display control signal configured to cause an indication of the count of the detected bit errors of the associated data link to be programmed on the associated one of the plurality of active display segments of the electronic display. ### Claim 11 (depends on 10) The electronic display of claim 10, wherein each of the plurality of transmitters comprises protocol framing circuitry configured to frame the data to identify whether the data comprises the test data and wherein each of the plurality of data drivers comprises protocol decoding circuitry configured to identify when the data received from a respective one of the plurality of transmitters comprises the test data based at least in part on the manner in which the data is framed. ### Claim 12 (depends on 10) The electronic display of claim 10, wherein each of the plurality of transmitters comprises test data generation circuitry configured to generate the test data. ### Claim 13 (depends on 12) The electronic display of claim 12, wherein the test data generation circuitry comprises a pseudorandom binary sequence generator. ### Claim 14 (depends on 10) The electronic display of claim 10, wherein the bit error display circuitry of at least one of the plurality of data drivers is configured to output the display control signal, wherein the display control signal is configured to cause the indication of the count of the detected bit errors to be programmed on the associated one of the plurality of active display segments of the electronic display as groups of pixels of a particular color, wherein each of the groups of pixels of the particular color represent at least detected one bit error. ### Claim 15 (depends on 10) The electronic display of claim 10, wherein the bit error display circuitry of at least one of the plurality of data drivers is configured to output the display control signal, wherein the display control signal is configured to cause the indication of the count of the detected bit errors to be programmed on the associated one of the plurality of active display segments of the electronic display as numerals. ### Claim 16 (depends on 10) The electronic display of claim 10, wherein the bit error display circuitry of at least one of the plurality of data drivers is configured to output the display control signal, wherein the display control signal is configured to cause the indication of the count of the detected bit errors to be programmed on the associated one of the plurality of active display segments of the electronic display as a color that changes as the count of the bit errors changes. ### Claim 17 An electronic display comprising: a timing controller configured to transmit two data signals, one of the two data signals comprising test data of a known or predictable value; two outgoing unidirectional data links coupled to the timing controller and respectively configured to carry the two data signals away from the timing controller; two display drivers respectively coupled to the two outgoing unidirectional data links, each display driver being configured to: receive one of the two data signals; determine a bit error rate associated with the one of the two data signals when that data signal comprises the test data; and transmit an indication of the bit error rate to the timing controller; and an incoming unidirectional data link operably coupled to both of the two display drivers, the incoming unidirectional data link configured to carry the indication of the bit error rate from the one of the two display drivers that received the test data to the timing controller. ### Claim 18 (depends on 17) The electronic display of claim 17, wherein the incoming unidirectional data link is configured to carry a lost clock signal from one of the two display drivers to the timing controller when that display driver loses synchronicity with the timing controller. ### Claim 19 (depends on 17) The electronic display of claim 17, wherein each display driver comprises bit error rate count enable circuitry configured to cause that display driver to transmit the indication of the bit error rate upon receipt of a command to do so by the timing controller. ### Claim 20 (depends on 17) The electronic display of claim 17, wherein each display driver comprises bit error rate count enable circuitry configured to cause that display driver to transmit the indication of the bit error rate some period of time after that display driver begins to receive data that comprises the test data. ### Claim 21 A method for quality control for an electronic display comprising: causing the electronic display to enter a bit error rate test mode, wherein, when the electronic display is in the bit error rate test mode, the electronic display causes an indication of a bit error rate associated with an internal data link to be displayed on the electronic display or output digitally through an electronic display interface of the electronic display, or both; determining whether the bit error rate exceeds a threshold by: detecting a digital image of the indication of the bit error rate displayed on the electronic display using a digital imaging device, providing the digital image to an electronic device, and identifying the bit error rate using the electronic device by analyzing the digital image; or receiving the indication of the bit error rate in an electronic device via the electronic display interface of the electronic display and identifying the bit error rate based at least in part on the indication of the bit error rate using the electronic device; and determining to discard or repair the electronic display when the bit error rate exceeds the threshold, wherein determining to discard or repair the electronic display comprises determining in the electronic device whether the bit error rate identified using the electronic device exceeds the threshold. ### Claim 22 An article of manufacture comprising: at least one tangible, non-transitory machine-readable medium including instructions for execution by a processor, the instructions comprising: instructions to issue a request to an electronic display, wherein the request comprises a request to provide an indication of a bit error rate that is determined by the display associated with a data link between a timing controller and a display driver of the electronic display; and instructions to receive the indication of the bit error rate associated with the data link from the electronic display. ### Claim 23 (depends on 22) The article of manufacture of claim 22, wherein the instructions comprise instructions to determine whether the bit error rate associated with the data link exceeds a threshold based at least in part on the indication of the bit error rate. ### Claim 24 (depends on 22) The article of manufacture of claim 22, wherein the instructions comprise instructions to cause one or more programming parameters of the timing controller or the display driver, or both, to vary to tune the data link based at least in part on the indication of the bit error rate associated with the data link received from the electronic display. ### Claim 25 A method comprising: sending a test data signal from a timing controller of an electronic display to a display driver of the electronic display over an internal data link of the electronic display, wherein the test data signal comprises a stream of known or predictable data; receiving the test data signal in the display driver of the electronic display; detecting bit errors in the test data signal using the display driver of the electronic display; and displaying an indication of the bit errors on a display panel of the electronic display using the display driver of the electronic display. ### Claim 26 (depends on 25) The method of claim 25, comprising counting the bit errors using the display driver, wherein displaying the indication of the bit errors comprises displaying a count of the bit errors.