Patents by Inventor Christopher P. Tann

Christopher P. Tann has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Publication number: 20180350289
    Abstract: A data processing system can store a long-term history of pixel luminance values in a secure memory and use those values to create burn-in compensation values that are used to mitigate burn-in effect on a display. The long-term history can be updated over time with new, accumulated pixel luminance values.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 18, 2018
    Publication date: December 6, 2018
    Inventors: PAUL S. DRZAIC, ROSS THOMPSON, GUY COTE, CHRISTOPHER P. TANN, JERROLD V. HAUCK, YIFAN ZHANG, JEAN-PIERRE GUILLOU, IAN C. HENDRY, VANESSA C. HEPPOLETTE, TAE-WOOK KOH, ARTHUR L. SPENCE
  • Publication number: 20180350313
    Abstract: The disclosure describes procedures for dynamically employing a variable refresh rate at an LCD display of a consumer electronic device, such as a laptop computer, a tablet computer, a mobile phone, or a music player device. In some configurations, the consumer electronic device can include a host system portion, having one or more processors and a display system portion, having a timing controller, a buffer circuit, a display driver, and a display panel. The display system can receive image data and image control data from a GPU of the host system, evaluate the received image control data to determine a reduced refresh rate (RRR) for employing at the display panel, and then transition to the RRR, whenever practicable, to conserve power. In some scenarios, the transition to the RRR can be a transition from a LRR of 50 hertz or above to a RRR of 40 hertz or below.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 14, 2018
    Publication date: December 6, 2018
    Inventors: Prasanna NAMBI, Jason N. GOMEZ, Fenghua ZHENG, Paolo SACCHETTO, Sandro H. PINTZ, Taesung KIM, Christopher P. TANN, Marc ALBRECHT, David W. LUM
  • Patent number: 10068548
    Abstract: Systems and methods for improving perceived image quality of an electronic display, which includes a co-located sub-pixel that controls luminance of a first color component and an offset sub-pixel that controls luminance of a second color component. A display pipeline communicatively coupled to the electronic display determines image data, which indicates target luminance of the first, the second, and a third color component at an image pixel; determines edge parameters, which indicate whether an edge is expected to be present at the offset sub-pixel, based on a difference metric between a first image pixel block around the offset sub-pixel and a second image pixel block offset from the first image pixel block; and determines offset sub-pixel image data by filtering an image pixel group around the offset sub-pixel based at least in part on the edge parameters, wherein the offset sub-pixel image data indicates target luminance of the offset sub-pixel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 5, 2017
    Date of Patent: September 4, 2018
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Jim Chou, Koorosh Aflatooni, Marc Albrecht, Myung-Je Cho, Hyunwoo Nho, Christopher P. Tann, Mahesh B. Chappalli, Guy Côté
  • Patent number: 10056050
    Abstract: The disclosure describes procedures for dynamically employing a variable refresh rate at an LCD display of a consumer electronic device, such as a laptop computer, a tablet computer, a mobile phone, or a music player device. In some configurations, the consumer electronic device can include a host system portion, having one or more processors and a display system portion, having a timing controller, a buffer circuit, a display driver, and a display panel. The display system can receive image data and image control data from a GPU of the host system, evaluate the received image control data to determine a reduced refresh rate (RRR) for employing at the display panel, and then transition to the RRR, whenever practicable, to conserve power. In some scenarios, the transition to the RRR can be a transition from a LRR of 50 hertz or above to a RRR of 40 hertz or below.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 28, 2016
    Date of Patent: August 21, 2018
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Prasanna Nambi, Jason N. Gomez, Fenghua Zheng, Paolo Sacchetto, Sandro H. Pintz, Taesung Kim, Christopher P. Tann, Marc Albrecht, David W. Lum
  • Patent number: 10008145
    Abstract: Systems and methods are provided to perform refresh-rate dependent dithering. One embodiment describes a computing device that includes an image source that generates spatially dithered image data and an electronic display communicatively coupled to the image source. More specifically, the electronic display receives the spatially dithered image data from the image source and determines a refresh rate with which to display an image by comparing a local histogram and an artifact histogram, in which the local histogram describes pixel grayscale distribution of a portion of the image and the artifact histogram describes a pixel grayscale distribution that when displayed will cause a perceivable artifact. Additionally, when the determined refresh rate is less than a threshold refresh rate of the electronic device, the electronic display spatially dithers the image data without temporally dithering the image data and displays the image based at least in part on the spatially dithered image data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 6, 2016
    Date of Patent: June 26, 2018
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Marc Albrecht, Christopher P. Tann
  • Patent number: 9984608
    Abstract: System and method for improving displayed image quality of an electronic display that displays a first image frame by applying a first voltage to a display pixel and a second image frame directly before the first image frame by applying a second voltage to the display pixel. A display pipeline is communicatively coupled to the electronic display and receives first image data corresponding with the first image frame, where the image data includes a first grayscale value corresponding with the display pixel. Additionally the display pipeline determines an inversion balancing grayscale offset based at least in part on the first grayscale value when polarity of the first voltage and polarity of the second voltage are the same and determines magnitude of the first voltage by applying the inversion balancing grayscale offset to the first grayscale value to reduce likelihood of a perceivable luminance spike when displaying the first image frame.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 31, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 29, 2018
    Assignee: APPLE INC.
    Inventors: Paolo Sacchetto, Christopher P. Tann, Taesung Kim, Sandro H. Pintz, Marc Albrecht, Chaohao Wang, David S. Zalatimo, Fenghua Zheng, Zhibing Ge
  • Patent number: 9953613
    Abstract: Methods and devices employing circuitry for dynamically adjusting bandwidth control of a display interface are provided. The display interface or image content is dynamically adjusted to support both high-speed image data (e.g., 120 Hz image data) and lower-speed content (e.g., 60 Hz content). For example, in some embodiments, additional pixel pipelines and/or processing lanes may be activated during the rendering of high-speed image data, but not during the rendering of low-speed image data. Additionally or alternatively, high-speed image data, but not low-speed data, may be compressed to render high-speed content over an interface that supports only low-speed content.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 18, 2015
    Date of Patent: April 24, 2018
    Assignee: APPLE INC.
    Inventors: Paolo Sacchetto, David W. Lum, Christopher P. Tann, Guy Cote, Chaohao Wang, Sandro H. Pintz
  • Patent number: 9947277
    Abstract: Methods and devices for reducing the power consumption of a frame buffer and timing controller of an electronic display are provided. By way of example, a method of operating an electronic display includes receiving image data from a processor of the electronic display, storing the image data to a buffer of the electronic display, reading the image data from the buffer to supply the image data to a column driver of the electronic display, determining whether an amount of image data stored in buffer is less than a threshold, and switching from reading the image data from the buffer to reading the image data directly from the processor when the amount of image data stored in buffer is less than the threshold.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 20, 2015
    Date of Patent: April 17, 2018
    Assignee: APPLE INC.
    Inventors: Christopher P. Tann, Sandro H. Pintz, Satish S. Iyengar, David S. Zalatimo
  • Patent number: 9940896
    Abstract: One embodiment of the present disclosure describes an electronic display. The electronic display includes a display driver that write image frames to pixels of the electronic display with a first refresh rate or a second refresh rate, in which the second refresh rate is less than the first refresh rate. Additionally, the electronic display includes a timing controller that receives image frames from an image source, in which one or more of the image frames are configured to be displayed on the display panel to play video content; determines a capture rate of the video content based at least in part on a cadence with which the image frames are received, in which the capture rate describes a rate at which each of the one or more image frames was captured by an image sensor; and instructs the display driver to write the one or more of the image frames at the second refresh when the second refresh rate is an integer multiple of the capture rate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 3, 2015
    Date of Patent: April 10, 2018
    Assignee: APPLE INC.
    Inventors: Christopher P. Tann, David S. Zalatimo, Marc Albrecht, Sandro H. Pintz, Satish S. Iyengar
  • Publication number: 20180090084
    Abstract: Devices and methods for useful in providing localized synchronized and/or dynamic in-band internal gamma code adjustment per frame period are provided. By way of example, a display panel includes a data driver, which includes a first DAC configured to provide an internal gamma voltage signal to cause a first adjustment to an image data signal. The first adjustment is configured to selectively adjust the image data signal based at least in part on a refresh rate or a frame rate of the display panel. The data driver includes a second DAC coupled to the first DAC and configured to provide an external gamma voltage signal configured to provide a second adjustment to the image data signal, and an output buffer configured to supply the image data signal to pixels of the display panel, wherein the image data signal comprises the first adjustment and the second adjustment.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 7, 2017
    Publication date: March 29, 2018
    Inventors: Fenghua Zheng, Christopher P. Tann, Sandro H. Pintz, David S. Zalatimo, Jun Qi, Zhibing Ge
  • Publication number: 20180082626
    Abstract: Devices and methods for error diffusion and spatiotemporal dithering are provided. By way of example, a method of operating a display includes receiving a pixel input, a set of pixel coordinates, and a current frame number. A kernel and a particular kernel bit of the kernel is selected from a set of kernels, based upon the pixel input, the pixel coordinates, the frame number, or any combination thereof. A dithered output is determined based at least in part upon the kernel bit. When the display is in a diamond pixel configuration, the dithered output is applied in accordance with a diamond pattern formed by red, blue, or red and blue pixel channels.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 20, 2017
    Publication date: March 22, 2018
    Inventors: Marc Albrecht, Mahesh B. Chappalli, Christopher P. Tann, Jim C. Chou, Guy Cote
  • Publication number: 20180081491
    Abstract: One embodiment describes an electronic display that includes display driver circuitry that displays at least a first image frame and a second image frame on the electronic device using a first display pixel and a second display pixel. A timing controller of the electronic display determines at least a first insertion time for a first intra-frame pause for the first image frame and a second insertion time for a second intra-frame pause for the second image frame, which pause rendering of image data to allow the touch sensing circuitry to detect user interaction. The insertion times for the first and second intra-frame pauses are varied from one another by a determined step size.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 20, 2017
    Publication date: March 22, 2018
    Inventors: Peter F. Holland, Christopher P. Tann, Malcolm D. Gray
  • Publication number: 20180068605
    Abstract: System and method for improving displayed image quality of an electronic display that displays a first image frame by applying a first voltage to a display pixel and a second image frame directly before the first image frame by applying a second voltage to the display pixel. A display pipeline is communicatively coupled to the electronic display and receives first image data corresponding with the first image frame, where the image data includes a first grayscale value corresponding with the display pixel. Additionally the display pipeline determines an inversion balancing grayscale offset based at least in part on the first grayscale value when polarity of the first voltage and polarity of the second voltage are the same and determines magnitude of the first voltage by applying the inversion balancing grayscale offset to the first grayscale value to reduce likelihood of a perceivable luminance spike when displaying the first image frame.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 14, 2017
    Publication date: March 8, 2018
    Inventors: Christopher P. Tann, Taesung Kim, Sandro H. Pintz
  • Patent number: 9830849
    Abstract: One embodiment describes an electronic display that displays image frames with a first refresh rate or a second refresh rate, in which the second refresh rate is lower than the first refresh rate; a display driver that writes the image frames by applying voltage to a display panel; and a timing controller that receives first image data from an image source, in which the first image data describes a first image frame and a first desired refresh rate equal to the second fresh rate; and that instructs the display driver to apply a first set of voltage polarities to the display panel to display first image frame at the first refresh rate and to apply a second set of voltage polarities to the display the first image frame at the second refresh rate when polarity of inversion imbalance accumulated is equal to polarity of the first set of voltage polarities.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 9, 2015
    Date of Patent: November 28, 2017
    Assignee: APPLE INC.
    Inventors: Chaohao Wang, David S. Zalatimo, Lei Zhao, Christopher P. Tann, Paolo Sacchetto, Sandro H. Pintz, Yi Huang, Jun Qi
  • Patent number: 9767726
    Abstract: Systems, methods, and device are provided to provide inversion techniques for dynamic variable refresh rate electronic displays. One embodiment of the present disclosure describes An electronic display including a display panel that display images with varying refresh rates and a timing controller that receives image data from an image source, determines a counter value, and instructs a driver in the electronic display to apply a voltage to the display panel to write an image on the display panel, in which a negative voltage is applied when the counter value is positive and a positive voltage is applied when the counter value is less than or equal to zero. Additionally, the timing controller update the counter value based at least in part on duration the image is displayed on the display panel, wherein the counter value increases when the voltage is positive and decreases when the voltage is negative.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 29, 2015
    Date of Patent: September 19, 2017
    Assignee: APPLE INC.
    Inventors: Christopher P. Tann, Taesung Kim, Sandro H. Pintz
  • Patent number: 9761202
    Abstract: This application relates to performing seamless video transitions at a display panel when a video stream changes resolution and/or scale. The video stream can be provided by a host device to a timing controller (TCON). When a parameter of the video stream is going to change, the host device can cause the TCON to enter a panel self refresh (PSR) mode. During the PSR mode, the TCON can drive the display panel using an image frame stored in a memory of the TCON. Additionally, during the PSR mode, the host device can adjust a scaler and/or resolution associated with the TCON. Once the host device has finished adjusting the TCON, the TCON can exit the PSR mode and the host device can provide a new data stream to the TCON without any apparent display artifacts being output by the display panel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 4, 2016
    Date of Patent: September 12, 2017
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Christopher P. Tann, Ruchi Wadhawan
  • Patent number: 9743036
    Abstract: Systems and methods for controlling operation of an electronic display are provided. One embodiment describes an electronic display, which includes a display driver that writes image frames to pixels of the electronic display with a first refresh rate or a second refresh rate; and a timing controller that receives a plurality of image frames from an image source, in which the plurality of image frames are displayed on the electronic display to play video content; detects a cadence with which the plurality of image frames are received from the image source; and, based at least in part on the cadence of the plurality of image frames, instructs the display driver to write each of the plurality of image frames either as a single image frame at the first refresh rate or an image frame at the first refresh rate followed by a repeat of the image frame at the second refresh rate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 17, 2015
    Date of Patent: August 22, 2017
    Assignee: APPLE INC.
    Inventors: Christopher P. Tann, Chaohao Wang, David S. Zalatimo, Marc Albrecht, Paolo Sacchetto, Sandro H. Pintz, Satish S. Iyengar
  • Patent number: 9727185
    Abstract: One embodiment describes an electronic display. The electronic display includes display driver circuitry that displays at least a first image frame and a second image frame on the electronic device using a first display pixel and a second display pixel. The electronic display also includes touch sensing circuitry that detects user interaction with the electronic display. A timing controller of the electronic display determines at least a first insertion time for a first intra-frame pause for the first image frame and a second insertion time for a second intra-frame pause for the second image frame. The first and second intra-frame pauses are periods where the display driver circuitry is pauses rendering of image data to allow the touch sensing circuitry to detect user interaction. The insertion times for the first and second intra-frame pauses are varied from one another.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 6, 2015
    Date of Patent: August 8, 2017
    Assignee: APPLE INC.
    Inventors: Chaohao Wang, Paolo Sacchetto, Sandro H. Pintz, Christopher P. Tann, Jun Jiang, Lu Zhang
  • Patent number: 9652816
    Abstract: Systems, apparatuses, and methods for adjusting the frame refresh rate used for driving frames to a display. A display pipeline is configured to drive a display using a reduced frame refresh rate in certain scenarios. The reduced frame refresh rate may be specified in frame packets which contain configuration data for processing corresponding frames. The display pipeline may drive idle frames to the display to generate the reduced frame refresh rate. When a touch event is detected, the display pipeline may override the reduced frame refresh rate and instead utilize a standard frame refresh rate until all of the frames corresponding to stored frame packets have been processed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 29, 2014
    Date of Patent: May 16, 2017
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Peter F. Holland, Brijesh Tripathi, Joshua P. de Cesare, Arthur L. Spence, Christopher P. Tann, Paolo Sacchetto
  • Patent number: 9620081
    Abstract: Systems, apparatuses, and methods for synchronizing backlight adjustments to frame updates in a display pipeline. A change in the ambient light is detected and as a result, backlight settings are adjusted. To offset a reduction in the backlight, the color intensity in the frames is increased. While the change in ambient light is detected asynchronously, the adjustment to the backlight settings and color intensity is synchronized to a frame update via a virtual channel for the auxiliary channel of the display interface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 4, 2014
    Date of Patent: April 11, 2017
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Brijesh Tripathi, Peter F. Holland, Marc Albrecht, Christopher P. Tann