Patents by Inventor Yafei Bi

Yafei Bi 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: 10474860
    Abstract: An electronic device may include a display and a biometric image sensor configured for biometric image sensing. The electronic device may also include a display driver coupled to the display. The display driver may include first and second memories and a processor configured to alternatingly read respective illumination pattern data from the first and second memories to drive the display during biometric image sensing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 29, 2017
    Date of Patent: November 12, 2019
    Assignee: APPLE INC.
    Inventors: Mohammad Yeke Yazdandoost, Yafei Bi, Kingsuk Brahma, Giovanni Gozzini, Mohammad Jangda
  • Publication number: 20190340998
    Abstract: Systems, methods, and apparatus to transition a display device between operating modes using a single dedicated pin of a circuit connected to the display device. The dedicated pin can receive a packet signal corresponding to an operating mode for the display device, and the circuit can thereafter cause the display device to transition into the desired operating mode in response to receiving the packet signal. The operating mode can be a low power on mode where an interface connected to the circuit is deactivated and at least some circuitry of the display device is throttled or powered off. The display device can be driven in an all black state while in the low power on mode, thereby allowing the display device to more quickly transition out of the low power on mode compared to when the display device is completely off.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 15, 2019
    Publication date: November 7, 2019
    Inventors: Yafei Bi, Lei He, Mohammad B. Vahid Far, Mir B. Ghaderi, Venu Madhav Duggineni, Vanessa C. Heppolette, Joshua P. De Cesare, Hyuck-Jae Lee
  • Patent number: 10467964
    Abstract: An electronic device comprises a display and a controller. The controller is configured to determine a change in a refresh rate of the display from a first frequency to a second frequency. The controller is also configured to selectively generate a control signal configured to control emission of a light emitting diode of a display pixel of the display based on the first frequency.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 11, 2016
    Date of Patent: November 5, 2019
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Vasudha Gupta, Chin-Wei Lin, Yafei Bi, Hung Sheng Lin, Jean-Pierre Simon Guillou, Tsung-Ting Tsai, Sang Y. Youn
  • Patent number: 10467985
    Abstract: 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: Grant
    Filed: December 17, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 5, 2019
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Koorosh Aflatooni, Minhyuk Choi, Mohammad Ali Jangda, Sang Y. Youn, Yafei Bi, Jean-Pierre Guillou, Wei Y. Yao
  • Patent number: 10460642
    Abstract: Systems, methods, and devices are provided to reduce noise present in sensing circuits used for calibrating light emitting diodes (e.g., organic light emitting diodes) in electronic display devices. Such a system may include a display that renders image data using self-emissive pixels. Values on the pixels may be sensed using a current source that outputs a current and a comparator that receives the current. The comparator changes states when a voltage signal output by the capacitor crosses a first threshold voltage or a second threshold voltage. A controller receives a first time when the comparator component changes states based on the voltage signal, receives a second time when the comparator component changes states based on the voltage signal, determines a current value based on the first time and the second time, and calibrates a pixel based on the current value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 30, 2016
    Date of Patent: October 29, 2019
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Hung Sheng Lin, Jiayi Jin, Wei H. Yao, Hyunwoo Nho, Guangmao Xing, Weijun Yao, Xiaofeng Wang, Yafei Bi, Haifeng Li
  • Patent number: 10438535
    Abstract: A display device may include a plurality of pixels that display image data on a display, a digital-to-analog converter that outputs a voltage that corresponds to a luminance value to be depicted on a first pixel, and a circuit that amplifies the voltage and outputs an amplified voltage to the first pixel. The circuit may include a capacitor that receives the voltage via the digital-to-analog converter and an amplifier coupled to the capacitor. The amplifier generates the amplified voltage based on the voltage stored the capacitor. The circuit also include switches that couple a first terminal of the capacitor to an output of the amplifier during a first amount of time and couples a second terminal of the capacitor to the output of the amplifier after the first amount of time expires.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 6, 2017
    Date of Patent: October 8, 2019
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Derek K. Shaeffer, Jesse A. Richmond, Kenichi Ueno, Kingsuk Brahma, Mohammad B. Vahid Far, Shingo Hatanaka, Yafei Bi
  • Publication number: 20190279552
    Abstract: 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: Application
    Filed: September 20, 2017
    Publication date: September 12, 2019
    Inventors: Derek K. Shaeffer, Hopil Bae, Yafei Bi, Wei H. Yao, Xiaofeng Wang
  • Patent number: 10395589
    Abstract: Methods, systems, and apparatuses for controlling an emission of the light emitting devices are described herein. The light emitting devices may be light emitting diode (LED) devices including ?LED devices or organic LED (OLED) devices. Emission control of the LED may be performed using a micro-scale driving circuit (e.g., ?Driver) containing drive transistors for constant current driving of the light emitting devices. One embodiment provides for a display driver hardware circuit comprising a thin film transistor (TFT) backplane and an integrated circuit to switch and drive a plurality of LED devices, the integrated circuit including emission logic to generate an emission pulse to an LED device, the emission logic including comparator logic having a relaxed comparator offset, the comparator logic to compare a voltage from a storage capacitor on the TFT backplane to a reference voltage to control a length of the emission pulse provided by the emission logic.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 25, 2016
    Date of Patent: August 27, 2019
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Mohammad B. Vahid Far, Wei H. Yao, Yafei Bi
  • Patent number: 10388201
    Abstract: Electronic devices and methods pertain to reducing artifacts resulting from a thermal profile preexisting a boot up of an electronic device are disclosed. Scanning driving circuitry of the electronic device scans at least a portion of one or more pixels of an active area of a display using a boot up scan before a boot up sequence of at least a portion of an electronic device completes. The results of the boot up scan are stored in local buffers and transferred to one or more processors upon connection to the one or more processors. The results of the boot up scan cause the one or more processors to modify image data to reduce or eliminate artifacts that may result during boot up due to thermal profiles or other parameters that may cause artifacts.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 6, 2017
    Date of Patent: August 20, 2019
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Sun-Il Chang, Hyunwoo Nho, Hung Sheng Lin, Junhua Tan, Jie Won Ryu, Kingsuk Brahma, Jesse A. Richmond, Mohammad B. Vahid Far, Yafei Bi
  • Publication number: 20190244555
    Abstract: Systems and methods are provided for differential sensing (DS), difference-differential sensing (DDS), correlated double sampling (CDS), correlated-correlated double sampling (CDS-CDS) and/or programmable capacitor matching to reduce display panel sensing noise. An electronic device may include one or more processors that generate image data according to sensing operations. The one or more processors may reference a sensing pattern as part of sensing operations. Applying test sensing signals based on the sensing pattern may help reduce error associated with sensing operations.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 19, 2019
    Publication date: August 8, 2019
    Inventors: Hung Sheng Lin, Shengkui Gao, Hyunwoo Nho, Chin-Wei Lin, Mohammad B. Vahid Far, Jie Won Ryu, Kingsuk Brahma, Junhua Tan, Sun-II Chang, Shinya Ono, Jesse Aaron Richmond, Yafei Bi, Derek K. Shaeffer, Myungjoon Choi, Shiping Shen
  • Publication number: 20190237001
    Abstract: A display device may include a processor that may receive image data, such that the image data may include gray level data and display brightness value (DBV) data for a first pixel of a display. The processor may then determine a gain compensation factor associated with the first pixel based on a correction spatial map, a brightness adaptation lookup table (LUT), the gray level data, and the DBV data. The processor may then determine an offset compensation factor associated with the first pixel based on the correction spatial map, the brightness adaptation lookup table (LUT), the gray level data, and the DBV data. The processor may generate compensated gray level data by applying the gain compensation factor and the offset compensation factor to the gray level data and transmit the compensated gray level data to pixel driving circuitry associated with the first pixel.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 14, 2018
    Publication date: August 1, 2019
    Inventors: Hung Sheng Lin, Soojin Park, Bhadrinarayana L. Visweswaran, Chieh-Wei Chen, Anshi Liang, Marc Albrecht, Pierre-Yves Emelie, Sean C. Chang, Hyunwoo Nho, Mohammad Hajirostam, Myung-Je Cho, Shengkui Gao, Wei H. Yao, Yafei Bi
  • Publication number: 20190228740
    Abstract: 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: Application
    Filed: December 17, 2018
    Publication date: July 25, 2019
    Inventors: Koorosh Aflatooni, Minhyuk Choi, Mohammad Ali Jangda, Sang Y. Youn, Yafei Bi, Jean-Pierre Guillou, Wei Y. Yao
  • Patent number: 10360827
    Abstract: An electronic device includes one or more unit pixels and threshold voltage (Vth) sensing circuitry. The threshold voltage sensing circuitry senses Vth of the one or more unit pixels, by: sampling a charge of a capacitor of the one or more unit pixels, transitioning from the sampling, and reading out the threshold voltage based upon a change in the charge of the capacitor, such that an operation of the one or more unit pixels may be modified based upon the threshold voltage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 22, 2016
    Date of Patent: July 23, 2019
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Yafei Bi, Xiaofeng Wang, Haifeng Li, Mohammad B. Vahid Far, Hopil Bae, Hung Shen Lin, Hyunwoo Nho, Wei H. Yao
  • Patent number: 10360826
    Abstract: An electronic device includes one or more unit pixels with a first node, a second node, and a third node. The device includes light-emitting-diode (LED) voltage (Vled) sensing circuitry, that senses Vled of the one or more unit pixels, by: sampling a charge of a capacitor of the one or more unit pixels, transitioning from the sampling, and reading out the Vled based upon a change in the charge of the capacitor, such that an operation of the unit pixel may be modified based upon the Vled.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 22, 2016
    Date of Patent: July 23, 2019
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Yafei Bi, Xiaofeng Wang, Haifeng Li, Mohammad B. Vahid Far, Hopil Bae, Hung Shen Lin, Hyunwoo Nho, Wei H. Yao
  • Patent number: 10359885
    Abstract: Touch induced flicker for variable refresh rate (VRR) displays can be reduced by adjusting one or more voltages. Synchronization of touch sensing operations after an immediate exit can introduce flicker issues into the VRR display. In some examples, the touched induced flicker can be reduced or eliminated by tuning the voltage on a common electrode (Vcom) to a tuning point that reduces a maximum error below a threshold, irrespective of refresh rate. In some examples, touch induced flicker can be reduced or eliminated by monitoring average Vcom, and when the change in average Vcom exceeds a threshold, Vcom can be adjusted to counteract the change in average Vcom due to the variable refresh rate and/or immediate exit. In some examples, touch induced flicker can be reduced or eliminated by applying a direct current (DC) pedestal to pixel gate lines during touch sensing scans.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 14, 2017
    Date of Patent: July 23, 2019
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Kingsuk Brahma, Jie Won Ryu, Hopil Bae, Yafei Bi
  • Publication number: 20190221146
    Abstract: Systems and methods are provided for differential sensing (DS), difference-differential sensing (DDS), correlated double sampling (CDS), and/or programmable capacitor matching to reduce display panel sensing noise. An electronic device may include one or more processors and an electronic display. The one or more processors may generate image data and adjust the image data based at least in part on display sensing feedback. The electronic display may employ sensing circuitry that obtains the display sensing feedback at least in part by applying test data to a pixel of a column of an active area of the display and differentially senses an electrical value of the pixel in comparison to a reference signal from a different column. This reference signal may provide a common mode noise reference, which is removed by the differential sensing and thereby enhances a quality of the sensed electrical value of the pixel.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 21, 2019
    Publication date: July 18, 2019
    Inventors: Hung Sheng Lin, Shengkui Gao, Hyunwoo Nho, Chin-Wei Lin, Mohammad B. Vahid Far, Jie Won Ryu, Kingsuk Brahma, Junhua Tan, Sun-II Chang, Shinya Ono, Jesse A. Richmond, Yafei Bi, Derek K. Shaeffer
  • Patent number: 10277119
    Abstract: A charge pump that can be configured to operate in a first mode and a second mode is disclosed. The charge pump can comprise a charging capacitor coupled to a first node and configured to transfer a first DC voltage to the first node. The charge pump can also comprise a first output node and a second output node coupled to the first node. During the first mode, the first output node can be configured to output a second DC voltage based on the first DC voltage, and the second output node can be configured to output a third DC voltage based on the first DC voltage. During the second mode, the first output node can be configured to output the second DC voltage, and the second output node can be configured to output an AC voltage, the AC voltage being offset by the third DC voltage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 30, 2017
    Date of Patent: April 30, 2019
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Weijun Yao, David A. Stronks, Hopil Bae, Kingsuk Brahma, Wei Hsin Yao, Yafei Bi, Yingxuan Li
  • Patent number: 10269278
    Abstract: Electronic displays, systems, and methods that perform display panel sensing are provided. An electronic device may include processing circuitry that generates image data based at least in part on display panel sensing feedback and an electronic display. The electronic display may display the image data on pixels coupled to one of several sense lines. There may be an odd number of sense lines with common electrical characteristics. The electronic display may obtain display panel sense feedback at least in part by differentially sensing each one of the sense lines with sense lines with common electrical characteristics with another one of the sense lines the common electrical characteristics.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 1, 2017
    Date of Patent: April 23, 2019
    Assignee: APPLE INC.
    Inventors: Hung Sheng Lin, Hyunwoo Nho, Shengkui Gao, Jesse A. Richmond, Jie Won Ryu, Junhua Tan, Kingsuk Brahma, Mohammad B. Vahid Far, Sun-Il Chang, Yafei Bi
  • Patent number: 10262622
    Abstract: This application relates to systems, methods, and apparatus for transitioning a display device between operating modes using a single dedicated pin of a circuit connected to the display device. The dedicated pin can receive a packet signal corresponding to an operating mode for the display device, and the circuit can thereafter cause the display device to transition into the desired operating mode in response to receiving the packet signal. The operating mode can be a low power on mode where an interface connected to the circuit is deactivated and at least some circuitry of the display device is throttled or powered off. The display device can be driven in an all black state while in the low power on mode, thereby allowing the display device to more quickly transition out of the low power on mode compared to when the display device is completely off.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 9, 2016
    Date of Patent: April 16, 2019
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Yafei Bi, Lei He, Mohammad B. Vahid Far, Mir B. Ghaderi, Venu Madhav Duggineni, Vanessa C. Heppolette, Joshua P. De Cesare, Hyuck-Jae Lee
  • Publication number: 20190102599
    Abstract: An electronic device may include a display and a biometric image sensor configured for biometric image sensing. The electronic device may also include a display driver coupled to the display. The display driver may include first and second memories and a processor configured to alternatingly read respective illumination pattern data from the first and second memories to drive the display during biometric image sensing.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 29, 2017
    Publication date: April 4, 2019
    Inventors: Mohammad Yeke Yazdandoost, Yafei Bi, Kingsuk Brahma, Giovanni Gozzini, Mohammad Jangda