Patents by Inventor Wei H. Yao
Wei H. Yao 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).
-
Patent number: 11348555Abstract: An electronic device may have a display with an array of pixels. The device may have an array of components such as an array of light sensors for capturing fingerprints of a user through an array of corresponding transparent windows in the display. A capacitive touch sensor, proximity sensor, force sensor, or other sensor may be used by control circuitry in the device to monitor for the presence of a user's finger over the array of light sensors. In response, the control circuitry can direct the display to illuminate a subset of the pixels, thereby illuminating the user's finger and causing reflected light from the finger to illuminate the array of light sensors for a fingerprint capture operation. The display may have display driver circuitry that facilitates the momentary illumination of the subset of pixels with uniform flash data while image data is displayed in other portions of the display.Type: GrantFiled: March 29, 2021Date of Patent: May 31, 2022Assignee: Apple Inc.Inventors: Koorosh Aflatooni, Minhyuk Choi, Mohammad Ali Jangda, Sang Y. Youn, Yafei Bi, Jean-Pierre Guillou, Wei H. Yao
-
Patent number: 11295703Abstract: An electronic device may be provided with an ambient light sensor, a display that displays image content, and control circuitry. The control circuitry may adjust a peak allowable brightness of the display based on an ambient light brightness and based on the image content being displayed. For example, the control circuitry may analyze frames of display data to determine an average pixel luminance level. Low average pixel luminance levels correspond to mostly dark image content, whereas high average pixel luminance levels correspond to mostly light image content. When an electronic device is outdoors and displaying mostly dark images with low average pixel luminance levels, the control circuitry may take advantage of the display's maximum achievable brightness to improve readability. When an electronic device is outdoors and displaying mostly light images with high average pixel luminance levels, the control circuitry may scale the maximum allowable brightness down to reduce power consumption.Type: GrantFiled: July 10, 2020Date of Patent: April 5, 2022Assignee: Apple Inc.Inventors: Yang Li, Yingying Tang, Chaohao Wang, Wei H. Yao
-
Patent number: 11217211Abstract: Techniques for implementing and/or operating an electronic device that includes a display panel, which displays an image and includes a first panel section implemented with a lower pixel resolution and a second panel section implemented with a higher pixel resolution, an optical sensor disposed behind the first panel section of the display panel, and image processing circuitry communicatively coupled to the display panel. The image processing circuitry receives source image data corresponding with the image, in which the source image data is indicative of target luminance of a display pixel, determines a pixel resolution surrounding the display pixel, processes the source image based at least in part on the pixel resolution surrounding the display pixel to facilitate determining display image data corresponding with the display pixel, and outputs the display image data to enable the display panel to display the image based on the display image data.Type: GrantFiled: July 14, 2020Date of Patent: January 4, 2022Assignee: Apple Inc.Inventors: Yingying Tang, Chaohao Wang, Wei H. Yao, Christopher E. Glazowski, Woo Shik Jung, Scott R. Johnston
-
Patent number: 11189202Abstract: A system may include an electronic display panel having multiple pixels for depicting image data and processing circuitry that may receive a first error value representative of a first difference between a first electrical signal measured at a first pixel of the multiple pixels and an expected electrical signal for the first pixel. The first electrical signal may be based on a test signal transmitted to the first pixel and the expected electrical signal may correspond to an expected response of the first pixel based on the test signal. The processing circuitry may filter the first error value to generate a first compensated error value and may filter the first error value based on the first compensated error value to generate a second compensated error value, where the second compensated error value may filter one or more effects of spatial crosstalk between one or more pixels near the first pixel.Type: GrantFiled: September 11, 2019Date of Patent: November 30, 2021Assignee: Apple Inc.Inventors: Sun-Il Chang, Baris Cagdaser, Chaohao Wang, Derek Keith Shaeffer, Hyunsoo Kim, Hyunwoo Nho, Injae Hwang, Jesse Aaron Richmond, Jie Won Ryu, Junhua Tan, Kingsuk Brahma, Myung-Je Cho, Myungjoon Choi, Shengkui Gao, Shiping Shen, Wei H. Yao, Yunhui Hou
-
Patent number: 11158259Abstract: An apparatus receives current image frame data and data relating to at least one previous image frame for an electronic display. One or more parameters related to hysteresis of transistors in the electronic display are sensed. A correlation device, such as a look-up table, receives the sensed parameter or parameters and the data relating to one or more image frames, and uses this information, at least in part, to output an appropriate compensation signal for the current image frame data. The compensated current image frame data may then be supplied to the electronic display to reduce or eliminate the effects of hysteresis on the displayed image.Type: GrantFiled: November 3, 2020Date of Patent: October 26, 2021Assignee: Apple Inc.Inventors: Chaohao Wang, Chih-Wei Yeh, Chin-Wei Lin, Hung Sheng Lin, Hyunwoo Nho, Injae Hwang, Jie Won Ryu, Junhua Tan, Paolo Sacchetto, Rui Zhang, Shengkui Gao, Sun-Il Chang, Wei H. Yao, Howard H. Tang
-
Publication number: 20210241720Abstract: An electronic device may have a display with an array of pixels. The device may have an array of components such as an array of light sensors for capturing fingerprints of a user through an array of corresponding transparent windows in the display. A capacitive touch sensor, proximity sensor, force sensor, or other sensor may be used by control circuitry in the device to monitor for the presence of a user's finger over the array of light sensors. In response, the control circuitry can direct the display to illuminate a subset of the pixels, thereby illuminating the user's finger and causing reflected light from the finger to illuminate the array of light sensors for a fingerprint capture operation. The display may have display driver circuitry that facilitates the momentary illumination of the subset of pixels with uniform flash data while image data is displayed in other portions of the display.Type: ApplicationFiled: March 29, 2021Publication date: August 5, 2021Inventors: Koorosh Aflatooni, Minhyuk Choi, Mohammad Ali Jangda, Sang Y. Youn, Yafei Bi, Jean-Pierre Guillou, Wei H. Yao
-
Patent number: 11004391Abstract: An electronic device includes an electronic display having an active area comprising a pixel. The electronic device also includes processing circuitry configured to receive image data and predict a change in threshold voltage associated with a transistor of the pixel based at least in part on the image data. Furthermore, the processing circuitry is configured to adjust the image data to generate adjusted image data based at least in part on the predicted change in threshold voltage.Type: GrantFiled: May 7, 2020Date of Patent: May 11, 2021Assignee: Apple Inc.Inventors: Hei Kam, Junhua Tan, Wei H. Yao, Shihchang Chang, Derek K. Shaeffer, Chaohao Wang, Hyunwoo Nho, Yun Wang, Baris Cagdaser, Majid Gharghi, Yongjun Li, Aida Raquel Colon-Berrios, Mohammad Reza Esmaeili Rad, Hyunsoo Kim, Alex H. Pai, Hsin-Ying Chiu, Jiun-Jye Chang, Ching-Sang Chuang, Xin Lin
-
Patent number: 10964275Abstract: A display may have a pixel array such as a liquid crystal pixel array. The pixel array may be illuminated by a backlight unit that includes an array of light-emitting diodes. A backlight brightness selection circuit may select brightness values for the light-emitting diodes. The backlight brightness selection circuit may select the brightness values based on image data, based on brightness values used in previous image frames, based on device information, and/or based on sensor information. The backlight brightness selection circuit may select the backlight brightness levels to mitigate visible artifacts such as flickering and halo. The backlight levels selected by the backlight brightness selection may be modified by a power consumption compensation circuit. The power consumption compensation circuit may estimate the amount of power consumption required to operate the backlight using the target brightness levels and may modify the target brightness levels to meet maximum power consumption requirements.Type: GrantFiled: May 21, 2019Date of Patent: March 30, 2021Assignee: Apple Inc.Inventors: Duane M. Petrovich, Sean C. Chang, Tobias Jung, Pierre-Yves Emelie, Marc Albrecht, Chen Zheng, Andrei E. Toma, Kevin W. Sliech, Mingxia Gu, Wei H. Yao
-
Patent number: 10950182Abstract: The present disclosure relates generally to systems and methods that may reduce a reduction in visual artifacts related to hysteresis of a light emitting diode (LED) electronic display. In one example, an electronic device may include a controller. The controller is may provide a signal to a pixel of a display of the electronic device while at least a portion of the display is turned off. The signal may include a first current and a second current. The first current may be designed to increase an ambient temperature corresponding to the pixel. The second current may be generated as part of an active panel conditioning operation. By applying the first current and the second current, hysteresis settling times from the pixel may improve, therefore improving speeds of sensing and compensation operations of the electronic device.Type: GrantFiled: September 11, 2019Date of Patent: March 16, 2021Assignee: Apple Inc.Inventors: Junhua Tan, Kingsuk Brahma, Jie Won Ryu, Shengkui Gao, Shiping Shen, Majid Gharghi, Hyunwoo Nho, Injae Hwang, Kavinaath Murugan, Sun-Il Chang, Chin-Wei Lin, Hyunsoo Kim, Rui Zhang, Jesse Aaron Richmond, Yun Wang, Hung Sheng Lin, Alex H. Pai, Chaohao Wang, Wei H. Yao
-
Patent number: 10943541Abstract: Current-voltage shift determination circuitry of a processing core complex coupled to the electronic display determines total current-voltage shift values at a pixel. The current-voltage shift determination circuitry then determines temperature-based current-voltage shift values at the pixel. The current-voltage shift determination circuitry extracts the temperature-based current-voltage shift values from the total current-voltage shift values to determine age-based voltage degradation values. Display compensation circuitry of the processing core complex adjusts display of image data by the pixel based on the age-based voltage degradation values. In this manner, voltage degradation due to pixel aging may be determined separately from current-voltage shift due to temperature, and, as such, be more accurately compensated for, resulting in better display of image data.Type: GrantFiled: August 29, 2019Date of Patent: March 9, 2021Assignee: Apple Inc.Inventors: Junhua Tan, Hsin-Ying Chiu, Sun-Il Chang, Yunhui Hou, Jie Won Ryu, Hyunwoo Nho, Weichuan Yao, Shiping Shen, Injae Hwang, Hyunsoo Kim, Myungjoon Choi, Shengkui Gao, Chaohao Wang, Kingsuk Brahma, Jesse Aaron Richmond, Myung-Je Cho, Changki Min, Wei H. Yao
-
Publication number: 20210056930Abstract: An electronic device may include an electronic display having multiple display pixels. The display pixels may illuminate at a target luminance based at least in part on a first analog voltage signal. The electronic device may also include an electrical bus configured to generate multiple analog voltage signals including the first analog voltage signal, which is output on an output of the electrical bus. The electrical bus may include a digital to analog converter to generate at least some of the analog voltage signals and multiple output buffers to buffer the analog voltage signals. The outputs may be buffered by an output buffer of the output buffers.Type: ApplicationFiled: July 14, 2020Publication date: February 25, 2021Inventors: Jaeyoung Kang, Jesse Aaron Richmond, Mahdi Farrokh Baroughi, Hopil Bae, John T. Wetherell, Kingsuk Brahma, Yuichi Okuda, Shingo Hatanaka, Baris Cagdaser, Myungjoon Choi, Jie Won Ryu, Hyunwoo Nho, Yafei Bi, Wei H. Yao, Henry C. Jen, Derek Keith Shaeffer
-
Publication number: 20210049962Abstract: An apparatus receives current image frame data and data relating to at least one previous image frame for an electronic display. One or more parameters related to hysteresis of transistors in the electronic display are sensed. A correlation device, such as a look-up table, receives the sensed parameter or parameters and the data relating to one or more image frames, and uses this information, at least in part, to output an appropriate compensation signal for the current image frame data. The compensated current image frame data may then be supplied to the electronic display to reduce or eliminate the effects of hysteresis on the displayed image.Type: ApplicationFiled: November 3, 2020Publication date: February 18, 2021Inventors: Chaohao Wang, Chih-Wei Yeh, Chin-Wei Lin, Hung Sheng Lin, Hyunwoo Nho, Injae Hwang, Jie Won Ryu, Junhua Tan, Paolo Sacchetto, Rui Zhang, Shengkui Gao, Sun-Il Chang, Wei H. Yao, Howard H. Tang
-
Patent number: 10923015Abstract: A display device may include a plurality of pixels that may display image data on a display. The display device may also include a circuit that may receive pixel data including a gray level for at least one pixel of the plurality of pixels. The circuit may then receive an emission clock signal using a clock circuit based on the pixel data, such that the emission clock signal may cause the at least one pixel to receive a current for an amount of time based on the gray level. The circuit may then gate off the clock circuit after the amount of time.Type: GrantFiled: September 20, 2017Date of Patent: February 16, 2021Assignee: Apple Inc.Inventors: Derek K. Shaeffer, Hopil Bae, Yafei Bi, Wei H. Yao, Xiaofeng Wang
-
Publication number: 20210027751Abstract: Techniques for implementing and/or operating an electronic device that includes a display panel, which displays an image and includes a first panel section implemented with a lower pixel resolution and a second panel section implemented with a higher pixel resolution, an optical sensor disposed behind the first panel section of the display panel, and image processing circuitry communicatively coupled to the display panel. The image processing circuitry receives source image data corresponding with the image, in which the source image data is indicative of target luminance of a display pixel, determines a pixel resolution surrounding the display pixel, processes the source image based at least in part on the pixel resolution surrounding the display pixel to facilitate determining display image data corresponding with the display pixel, and outputs the display image data to enable the display panel to display the image based on the display image data.Type: ApplicationFiled: July 14, 2020Publication date: January 28, 2021Inventors: Yingying Tang, Chaohao Wang, Wei H. Yao, Christopher E. Glazowski, Woo Shik Jung, Scott R. Johnston
-
Publication number: 20210020140Abstract: An electronic device may be provided with an ambient light sensor, a display that displays image content, and control circuitry. The control circuitry may adjust a peak allowable brightness of the display based on an ambient light brightness and based on the image content being displayed. For example, the control circuitry may analyze frames of display data to determine an average pixel luminance level. Low average pixel luminance levels correspond to mostly dark image content, whereas high average pixel luminance levels correspond to mostly light image content. When an electronic device is outdoors and displaying mostly dark images with low average pixel luminance levels, the control circuitry may take advantage of the display's maximum achievable brightness to improve readability. When an electronic device is outdoors and displaying mostly light images with high average pixel luminance levels, the control circuitry may scale the maximum allowable brightness down to reduce power consumption.Type: ApplicationFiled: July 10, 2020Publication date: January 21, 2021Inventors: Yang Li, Yingying Tang, Chaohao Wang, Wei H. Yao
-
Patent number: 10885852Abstract: An electronic device includes a display having an active array and a reference array. The active array includes a pixel and the reference array includes a reference pixel. The electronic device also includes processing circuitry communicatively coupled to the display. The processing circuitry is configured to instruct the active array to drive the pixel based at least in part on a set of degradation ratios and gamma tap points for each brightness setting of the display based at least in part on a reconstructed current-voltage curve.Type: GrantFiled: June 4, 2020Date of Patent: January 5, 2021Assignee: Apple Inc.Inventors: Sheng Zhang, Chih-Wei Yeh, Yunhui Hou, Chaohao Wang, Wei H. Yao, Paolo Sacchetto, Derek K. Shaeffer, Henry C. Jen, Shingo Hatanaka, Hasan Akyol, Mahdi Farrokh Baroughi, Hopil Bae
-
Patent number: 10878747Abstract: Methods and systems for compensating a display of an electronic device using internal sensing and external compensation. The external compensation uses a generated compensation map that then is used to compensate for variations that occur outside of display circuitry. The internal sensing compensation is used to compensate for internally sensed parameters (e.g., aging) of the display.Type: GrantFiled: July 9, 2019Date of Patent: December 29, 2020Assignee: Apple Inc.Inventors: Shengkui Gao, Chaohao Wang, Hung Sheng Lin, Hyunsoo Kim, Hyunwoo Nho, Injae Hwang, Jesse Aaron Richmond, Jie Won Ryu, Junhua Tan, Kingsuk Brahma, Myung-Je Cho, Myungjoon Choi, Shiping Shen, Sun-Il Chang, Wei H. Yao, Yi Qiao
-
Publication number: 20200388215Abstract: An electronic device includes an electronic display having an active area comprising a pixel. The electronic device also includes processing circuitry configured to receive image data and predict a change in threshold voltage associated with a transistor of the pixel based at least in part on the image data. Furthermore, the processing circuitry is configured to adjust the image data to generate adjusted image data based at least in part on the predicted change in threshold voltage.Type: ApplicationFiled: May 7, 2020Publication date: December 10, 2020Inventors: Hei Kam, Junhua Tan, Wei H. Yao, Shihchang Chang, Derek K. Shaeffer, Chaohao Wang, Hyunwoo Nho, Yun Wang, Baris Cagdaser, Majid Gharghi, Yongjun Li, Aida Raquel Colon-Berrios, Mohammad Reza Esmaeili Rad, Hyunsoo Kim, Alex H. Pai, Hsin-Ying Chiu, Jiun-Jye Chang, Ching-Sang Chuang, Xin Lin
-
Publication number: 20200348789Abstract: An electronic device may include a display. The display may be formed by an array of light-emitting diodes mounted to the surface of a substrate. The substrate may be a silicon substrate. Circuitry may be located in spaces between the light-emitting diodes. Circuitry may also be located on the rear surface of the silicon substrate and may be coupled to the array of light-emitting diodes using through-silicon vias. The circuitry may include integrated circuits and other components that are attached to the substrate and may include transistors and other circuitry formed within the silicon substrate. Touch sensor electrodes, light sensors, and other components may be located in the spaces between the light-emitting diodes. The substrate may be formed from a transparent material that allows image light to reach a lens and image sensor mounted below the substrate.Type: ApplicationFiled: July 22, 2020Publication date: November 5, 2020Inventors: Wei Chen, Steven P. Hotelling, John Z. Zhong, William C. Athas, Wei H. Yao
-
Patent number: 10825385Abstract: An apparatus receives current image frame data and data relating to at least one previous image frame for an electronic display. One or more parameters related to hysteresis of transistors in the electronic display are sensed. A correlation device, such as a look-up table, receives the sensed parameter or parameters and the data relating to one or more image frames, and uses this information, at least in part, to output an appropriate compensation signal for the current image frame data. The compensated current image frame data may then be supplied to the electronic display to reduce or eliminate the effects of hysteresis on the displayed image.Type: GrantFiled: September 11, 2017Date of Patent: November 3, 2020Assignee: Apple Inc.Inventors: Chaohao Wang, Chih-Wei Yeh, Chin-Wei Lin, Hung Sheng Lin, Hyunwoo Nho, Injae Hwang, Jie Won Ryu, Junhua Tan, Paolo Sacchetto, Rui Zhang, Shengkui Gao, Sun-Il Chang, Wei H. Yao, Howard H. Tang