EL display device and method for driving EL display device

1. An electroluminescent (EL) display device comprising:

a display screen including a plurality of pixels arranged in rows and columns;

a first gate signal line and a second gate signal line which are disposed for each of the rows of the plurality of pixels;

a gate driver circuit which outputs a first control voltage to the first gate signal line and a second control voltage to the second gate signal line;

a current generating circuit which supplies a current to the plurality of pixels of the display screen;

a current amount obtaining circuit which obtains a magnitude of a current flowing through the display screen; and

a control voltage generating circuit which generates the first control voltage output by the gate driver circuit to the first gate signal line,

wherein each of the plurality of pixels includes:

an EL element;

a driving transistor which supplies a driving current to the EL element;

a first switching transistor disposed in a path of the driving current, the first switching transistor having a voltage applied across a channel and adjusted based on the first control voltage supplied from the first gate signal line; and

a second switching transistor which switches between a conducting state and a non-conducting state based on the second control voltage supplied from the second gate signal line, the second switching transistor applying a video signal to the driving transistor,

wherein the current amount obtaining circuit obtains the magnitude of the current flowing through the display screen by performing an operation on video data input to the display screen, the operation being performed on the video data before the video data is input to the display screen,

wherein, when the current amount obtaining circuit detects the magnitude of the current increases, the control voltage generating circuit decreases a magnitude of the first control voltage, which is output by the gate driver circuit to the first gate signal line, in order to increase the voltage applied across the channel of the first switching transistor to thereby decrease current flowing through the EL element and lower a peak luminance of light emission, and

wherein, when the current amount obtaining circuit detects the magnitude of the current decreases, the control voltage generating circuit increases the magnitude of the first control voltage, which is output by the gate driver circuit to the first gate signal line, in order to decrease the voltage applied across the channel of the first switching transistor to thereby increase the current flowing through the EL element and increase the peak luminance of light emission.

2. The EL display device according to claim 1 ,

wherein the second control voltage includes an on-voltage for turning on the second switching transistor, and a plurality of off-voltages for turning off the second switching transistor.

3. The EL display device according to claim 1 , wherein the current amount obtaining circuit is between a voltage source and the first switching transistor.

4. The EL display device according to claim 3 , wherein the current amount obtaining circuit includes a current detecting resistor and a differential amplifier for detecting a voltage generated across the current detecting resistor due to the current flowing through the display screen.

5. The EL display device according to claim 4 , wherein

the differential amplifier generates a voltage value by amplifying the current flowing through the plurality of pixels by a predetermined amount according to the current flowing through the plurality of pixels, and

the current amount obtaining circuit further includes a third switching and a second amplifier that adjust the voltage value generated by the differential amplifier to match the first control voltage in a subsequent stage.

6. The EL display device according to claim 5 , wherein

an increase in the current flowing through the plurality of pixels increases an output voltage of the second amplifier of the current amount obtaining circuit, and

a decrease in the current flowing through the plurality of pixels decreases an output voltage of the second amplifier of the current amount obtaining circuit.

7. The EL display device according to claim 1 , wherein

the display screen is divided into a plurality of sections,

the current amount obtaining circuit obtains the magnitude of the current flowing through the display screen for each of the plurality of sections, and

the control voltage generating circuit adjusts the magnitude of the first control voltage for each of the plurality of sections based on the output result from the current amount obtaining circuit for each respective one of the plurality of sections.

8. The EL display device according to claim 7 , wherein each of the plurality of sections includes a plurality of pixel rows.

9. The EL display device according to claim 7 , wherein each of the plurality of sections includes a pixel row.

10. The EL display device according to claim 7 , wherein each of the plurality of sections includes a pixel.

11. A method for driving an electroluminescent (EL) display device including a display screen including a plurality of pixels arranged in rows and columns, each of the plurality of pixels including an EL element, a driving transistor which supplies a current to the EL element, and a switching transistor disposed in a path of the current flowing through the EL element, the method comprising:

obtaining a magnitude of a current flowing through the display screen by performing an operation on video data input to the display screen, the operation being performed on the video data before the video data is input to the display screen; and

varying a magnitude of the current by adjusting a value of a voltage applied to a gate terminal of the switching transistor,

wherein, when the magnitude of the current increases, the magnitude of the first control voltage, which is applied to the gate terminal of the switching transistor, is decreased in order to increase a voltage applied across a channel of the switching transistor to thereby decrease current flowing through the EL element and lower a peak luminance of light emission, and

wherein, when the magnitude of the current decreases, the magnitude of the first control voltage, which is applied to the gate terminal of the switching transistor, is increased in order to decrease the voltage applied across the channel of the switching transistor to thereby increase the current flowing through the EL element and increase the peak luminance of light emission.

12. The method according to claim 11 ,

wherein the EL display device includes a current amount obtaining circuit, and

in the varying, the voltage applied to the gate terminal of the switching transistor is varied based on the obtained magnitude of the current.

13. The method according to claim 11 ,

wherein the EL display device includes a current amount obtaining circuit, and

in the obtaining, the current amount obtaining circuit obtains the magnitude of the current flowing through the display screen to vary, in the varying, the value of the voltage applied to the gate terminal of the switching transistor.