A display device includes: a display panel; an optical detector which includes an optical sensor formed by a thin film transistor for detecting external light and a capacitor connected between a pair of electrodes of the optical sensor; a switch which turns on or off a charging operation of the capacitor; an optical sensor controller which controls the switch to be turned on or off and measures illumination of the external light on the basis of a time period during which the switch is turned off and a voltage of the capacitor becomes a value not more than a threshold value; and a controller which controls brightness of the display panel on the basis of an output of the optical sensor controller, wherein after the optical sensor controller detects a fact that the voltage of the capacitor becomes the value not more than the threshold value, the optical sensor controller turns on the switch after a predetermined time.
1. A display device comprising:
a display panel;
an optical detector which includes an optical sensor formed by a thin film transistor for detecting external light and a capacitor connected between a pair of electrodes of the optical sensor;
a switch which turns on or off a charging operation of the capacitor;
an optical sensor controller which controls the switch to be turned on or off and measures illumination of the external light on the basis of a time period during which the switch is turned off and a voltage of the capacitor becomes a value not more than a threshold value; and
a controller which controls brightness of the display panel on the basis of an output of the optical sensor controller,
wherein after the optical sensor controller detects a fact that the voltage of the capacitor becomes the value not more than the threshold value, the optical sensor controller turns on the switch after a predetermined time.
2. The display device according to claim 1 ,
wherein the pair of electrodes of the optical sensor is a source electrode and a drain electrode.
3. The display device according to claim 2 ,
wherein after the optical sensor controller detects a fact that the voltage of the capacitor becomes the value not more than the threshold value, the optical sensor controller applies a positive bias voltage to a gate electrode of the optical sensor before turning on the switch.
4. The display device according to claim 3 ,
wherein the optical sensor controller sets a time period during which the positive bias voltage is applied to the gate electrode of the optical sensor so as to be proportional to a time period during which the switch is turned off in a precedent process and the voltage of the capacitor becomes the value not more than the threshold value.
5. The display device according to claim 1 ,
wherein the optical sensor controller stores in advance a lower limit value of the time period during which the voltage of the capacitor becomes the value not more than the threshold value, and
wherein in the case where the time period during which the voltage of the capacitor becomes the value not more than the threshold value is shorter than the lower limit value, the optical sensor controller adopts the lower limit value as an illumination measurement value of the external light and turns on the switch after the lower limit value and the predetermined time.
6. The display device according to claim 1 ,
wherein the optical sensor controller stores in advance an upper limit value of the time period during which the voltage of the capacitor becomes the value not more than the threshold value, and
wherein in the case where the voltage of the capacitor does not become the value not more than the threshold value even at the upper limit value, the optical sensor controller adopts the upper limit value as an illumination measurement value of the external light and turns on the switch after the upper limit value and the predetermined time.