A driving method and system for increasing the gray scale level of electrowetting e-paper display

Abstract

This invention relates to a driving method and system for increasing grayscale levels in electrowetting electronic paper displays. Assuming an existing driver chip can achieve a maximum data bit count of m for digital-to-analog conversion, to achieve conversion with more bits, if the target data bit count for grayscale level restoration is n, it is split into (h+1) m-bit data + k values ​​and output in different subframes. The first m-bit data corresponds to the lower m bits of the n-bit data, and its value is output in the first subframe. For the i-th bit in the n-bit data (i>m), depending on whether this bit is 0 or 1, the corresponding value is calculated using 2. i‑m‑1 Output 2 per subframe i‑m‑1 m bits of data, all 0s or all 1s; output the grayscale level data corresponding to the k value using one subframe, and combine all subframes to output (h+2) subframes, forming 2... n This method and system enables the display of higher grayscale levels by overcoming the bit depth limitation of the digital-to-analog converter in the driver chip. It can utilize existing driver chips to achieve higher grayscale display effects on electrowetting electronic paper.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of electrowetting electronic paper displays, and more specifically to a driving method and system for increasing the grayscale levels of electrowetting electronic paper displays. Background Technology

[0002] Electrowetting electronic paper displays are passive light-emitting displays. The deformation and contact angle of the ink on the substrate are controlled by the voltage between the ink and the insulating substrate. The grayscale level is determined by the voltage, and the voltage is provided by the output of the driver chip. Therefore, the output of the driver chip is closely related to the grayscale level of the display.

[0003] However, since electrowetting electronic paper displays are an emerging research area, their supporting technologies are still immature. Furthermore, in the early stages of research, they were mainly applied to text display, with low requirements for grayscale levels. Therefore, there are virtually no dedicated driver chips for electrowetting electronic paper, especially those for high grayscale displays. However, electrowetting electronic paper displays are now developing towards "high color quality," "video playback," and "low power consumption," and low grayscale levels no longer meet display quality requirements. Therefore, a method to achieve high grayscale displays using existing driver chips is crucial. Existing driver chips mainly support pulse width modulation and pulse amplitude modulation, but each method alone can only achieve a maximum of 64 grayscale levels. Therefore, to overcome the limitations of driver chips and achieve higher grayscale levels and further improve the grayscale of electrowetting electronic paper, a driving method that improves the grayscale of electronic paper displays is needed. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The purpose of this invention is to provide a driving method and system for increasing the grayscale levels of electrowetting electronic paper displays. This method and system can utilize existing driving chips to achieve higher grayscale display effects for electrowetting electronic paper.

[0005] To achieve the above objectives, the technical solution adopted by this invention is: a driving method for increasing grayscale levels in electrowetting electronic paper displays. Assuming that the maximum number of data bits that an existing driver chip can achieve for analog-to-digital conversion is m, to achieve conversion with more bits than m, if the target number of data bits for grayscale level restoration is n (n>m), it is split into (h+1) m-bit data + k values, where k≥0, and output sequentially in different subframes. The first m-bit data corresponds to the lower m bits of the n-bit data, and its value is retained and output within the first subframe time. For the i-th bit in the n-bit data (i>m), if this bit is 0, then 2... i-m-1 Output 2 per subframe i -m-1 If there are m bits of 0 data, and this bit is 1, then use 2. i-m-1 Output 2 per subframe i-m-1m bits of all-1 data; output the grayscale level data corresponding to a value of k in one subframe, and combine all subframes to output (h+2) subframes, forming 2... n This allows for the creation of various grayscale levels, thereby overcoming the limitations of the digital-to-analog conversion bit depth in driver chips and enabling higher grayscale display.

[0006] Furthermore, the value of k is: in,

[0007] Furthermore, the value of h is:

[0008] Furthermore, the voltage amplitude of the first subframe is determined as follows: based on the electro-optical response characteristic curve of the electrowetting electronic paper display, i.e., the LV curve, the effective brightness range is determined according to the vertical axis brightness L, and the effective brightness range is evenly divided and mapped to the horizontal axis voltage V to determine 2. m The 2 corresponding to the brightness m The magnitude of the voltage, i.e.

[0009] Furthermore, the first subframe's 2 m The magnitude of the voltage is The second subframe to the 2nd n-m-1 Each subframe has two voltage amplitude values, namely V1 and V2. The last subframe outputs the k value.

[0010] Furthermore, the driving chip adopts a PAM modulation driving chip, with a maximum output of 2. m Different voltage amplitudes are output to the display screen according to the driving waveform.

[0011] Furthermore, 2 n The grayscale levels are distinguished based on the cumulative energy of the driving voltage on the display screen over time. This is achieved by superimposing the different energies formed by the different voltage amplitudes of all subframes. n Gray levels.

[0012] The present invention also provides a driving system for increasing the grayscale levels of electrowetting electronic paper displays, comprising:

[0013] Processor; and

[0014] The memory stores executable instructions that, when executed by the processor, implement the aforementioned driving method.

[0015] The present invention also provides a computer-readable storage medium storing executable instructions that, when executed by a processor, implement the above-described driving method.

[0016] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects: The present invention overcomes the problem that the grayscale of the display driven by the electrowetting driving chip is limited, and can break through the highest driving grayscale level of the driving chip. It can achieve a higher grayscale display effect of electrowetting electronic paper using the existing driving chip, and has strong practicality and broad application prospects. Attached Figure Description

[0017] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the method implementation process of an embodiment of the present invention;

[0018] Figure 2 The electro-optic response characteristic curve of the electrowetting electronic paper display screen according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0019] Figure 3 This is a driving waveform diagram of an embodiment of the present invention;

[0020] Figure 4 This is an output waveform diagram of an embodiment of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0021] The present invention will be further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments.

[0022] It should be noted that the following detailed descriptions are exemplary and intended to provide further explanation of this application. Unless otherwise specified, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this application pertains.

[0023] It should be noted that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to limit the exemplary embodiments according to this application. As used herein, the singular form is intended to include the plural form as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. Furthermore, it should be understood that when the terms "comprising" and / or "including" are used in this specification, they indicate the presence of features, steps, operations, devices, components, and / or combinations thereof.

[0024] like Figure 1As shown, this embodiment provides a driving method for increasing the grayscale levels of an electrowetting electronic paper display. The implementation process of this method is as follows: Assuming that the maximum number of data bits that the existing driver chip can achieve for digital-to-analog conversion is m, in order to achieve a conversion of more than m bits, if the target number of data bits for grayscale level restoration is n (n>m), that is, the input is n bits of binary data, it is split into (h+1)(k≥0) m bits of data + k value, and output sequentially in different subframes; where the first m bits of data corresponds to the lower m bits of the n bits of data, and its value is retained and output in the first subframe time; for the i-th bit (i>m) in the n bits of data, if this bit is 0, then 2 is used. i-m-1 Output 2 per subframe i-m-1 If the bit is 00…00 (m zeros), then use 2. i-m-1 Output 2 per subframe i-m-1 One 11…11 (m ones); output the grayscale level data corresponding to the value of k in one subframe, and combine all subframes to output (h+2) subframes, forming 2 n This allows for the creation of various grayscale levels, thereby overcoming the limitations of the digital-to-analog conversion bit depth in driver chips and enabling higher grayscale display.

[0025] Specifically, the target number of bits for grayscale level restoration is n, which means converting the desired grayscale levels into n-bit binary data, satisfying: ∑n-bit data = ∑h+1 m-bit data + k value, where the sum of the values ​​before and after the conversion remains unchanged.

[0026] The first m data points remain unchanged;

[0027]

[0028]

[0029] ......

[0031]

[0032] The value of k is: in,

[0033] The value of h is:

[0034] Taking the input of eight-bit binary image data 10010111 as an example, for a single pixel, if the driver chip can achieve a maximum of 6 data bits for digital-to-analog conversion (m=6), the control system will split this data into three parts:

[0035] The first part is the first six bits of the original data, i.e., 010111, which is output in the first subframe;

[0036] The second part consists of m 1s or m 0s after the remaining bits are split. Each m 1s or m 0s is output in a subframe. If the seventh bit is 0, a subframe of 000000 is output. If the eighth bit is 0, it can be split into 111111+111111+2 from the equal values, so two subframes of 111111 are output.

[0037] The third part outputs the value of k. That is, k = 2, and the value of k is converted into the voltage amplitude Vk corresponding to its value.

[0038] After verification, the original eight-bit data 10010111 is converted to decimal as 151, and the output subframe is converted to decimal as: 23 + 63 * 2 + 2 = 151. The data before and after splitting remains consistent.

[0039] The voltage amplitude of the first subframe is determined as follows: Based on the electro-optical response characteristic curve of the electrowetting electronic paper display, i.e., the LV curve, the effective brightness range is determined according to the vertical axis brightness L, and the effective brightness range is evenly divided and mapped to the horizontal axis voltage V to determine 2. m The 2 corresponding to the brightness m The magnitude of the voltage, i.e. In this embodiment, the electro-optical response characteristic curve of the electrowetting electronic paper display screen is as follows: Figure 2 As shown.

[0040] 2 in the first subframe m The magnitude of the voltage is The second subframe to the 2nd n-m-1 Each subframe has two voltage amplitude values, namely V1 and V2. The last subframe outputs the k value. In this embodiment, the driving waveform is as follows: Figure 3 As shown.

[0041] Taking the input eight-bit binary image data 10010111 as an example, the specific output waveform is as follows: Figure 4 As shown.

[0042] In this embodiment, the driving chip is a PAM modulation driving chip, which can output a maximum of 2 m Different voltage amplitudes are used, and the corresponding amplitude is output to the display screen according to the driving waveform. Therefore, the traditional driving method can only reach a maximum of 2. m Grayscale levels. 2 n The grayscale levels are distinguished based on the cumulative energy of the driving voltage on the display screen over time. This is achieved by superimposing the different energies formed by the different voltage amplitudes of all subframes. n Gray levels.

[0043] It should be noted that the electrowetting display unit and quantum dot light-emitting unit used in this embodiment are both passive driving structures, but the solution of the present invention is also applicable to active device structures and can achieve the same expected results.

[0044] It should be noted that electrowetting is also known as electrohumidification, and the improvements to the electrowetting display device in this embodiment also apply to the electrohumidification display device.

[0045] It should be noted that the driver chips used in this embodiment are UC8420 and UC8430, but other driver chips can also be used in this invention.

[0046] It should be noted that this embodiment uses an electrowetting electronic paper display screen, but the solution of the present invention is also applicable to other display screen driving solutions.

[0047] This embodiment also provides a driving system for increasing the grayscale levels of electrowetting electronic paper displays, including:

[0048] Processor; and

[0049] The memory stores executable instructions that, when executed by the processor, implement the aforementioned driving method.

[0050] This embodiment also provides a computer-readable storage medium storing executable instructions, which, when executed by a processor, implement the above-described driving method.

[0051] Those skilled in the art will understand that embodiments of this application can be provided as methods, systems, or computer program products. Therefore, this application can take the form of a completely hardware embodiment, a completely software embodiment, or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects. Furthermore, this application can take the form of a computer program product embodied on one or more computer-usable storage media (including but not limited to disk storage, CD-ROM, optical storage, etc.) containing computer-usable program code.

[0052] This application is described with reference to flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of this application. It will be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions can be provided to a processor of a general-purpose computer, special-purpose computer, embedded processor, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, generate instructions for implementing the flowchart... Figure 1 One or more processes and / or boxes Figure 1A device that provides the functions specified in one or more boxes.

[0053] These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable storage medium that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing device to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable storage medium produce an article of manufacture including instruction means, which are implemented in a process Figure 1 One or more processes and / or boxes Figure 1 The function specified in one or more boxes.

[0054] These computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing equipment to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable equipment to produce a computer-implemented process, thereby providing instructions that execute on the computer or other programmable equipment for implementing the process. Figure 1 One or more processes and / or boxes Figure 1 The steps of the function specified in one or more boxes.

[0055] The above description is merely a preferred embodiment of the present invention and is not intended to limit the invention in any other way. Any person skilled in the art may make changes or modifications to the above-disclosed technical content to create equivalent embodiments. However, any simple modifications, equivalent changes, and modifications made to the above embodiments based on the technical essence of the present invention without departing from the scope of the present invention shall still fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A driving method for increasing grayscale levels in electrowetting electronic paper displays, characterized in that, The existing driver chip can achieve a maximum of m data bits for digital-to-analog conversion, and the target number of data bits for grayscale level restoration is n, where n>m. This is split into (h+1) m-bit data bits + k values, where k≥0, and output sequentially in different subframes. The first m-bit data corresponds to the lower m bits of the n-bit data, and its value is retained and output within the first subframe. For the i-th bit in the n-bit data, where i>m, if this bit is 0, then... Subframe output m bits of 0 data, if this bit is 1, then use Subframe output m bits of all-1 data; output the grayscale level data corresponding to a value of k in one subframe, and combine all subframes to output (h+2) subframes, forming 2 n Gray level; The value of k is: ,in, = ; The value of h is: ; The voltage amplitude of the first subframe is determined as follows: Based on the electro-optical response characteristic curve of the electrowetting electronic paper display, i.e., the LV curve, the effective brightness range is determined according to the vertical axis brightness L, and the effective brightness range is evenly divided and mapped to the horizontal axis voltage V to determine 2. m The 2 corresponding to the brightness m The magnitudes of the voltages, namely V1, V2, V3, ..., V2 m ; 2 in the first subframe m The voltage amplitudes are V1, V2, V3, ..., V2 m The second subframe to the 1st Each subframe has two voltage amplitudes, V1 and V2. m The last subframe outputs the k value; 2 n The grayscale levels are distinguished based on the cumulative energy of the driving voltage on the display screen over time. This is achieved by superimposing the different energies formed by the different voltage amplitudes of all subframes. n Gray levels.

2. The driving method for increasing grayscale levels in electrowetting electronic paper display according to claim 1, characterized in that, The driver chip is a PAM modulation driver chip, with a maximum output of 2. m Different voltage amplitudes are output to the display screen according to the driving waveform.

3. A driving system for increasing grayscale levels in electrowetting electronic paper displays, characterized in that, include: processor; as well as A memory storing executable instructions that, when executed by the processor, implement the driving method as described in claim 1 or 2.

4. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The storage medium stores executable instructions, which, when executed by a processor, implement the driving method as described in claim 1 or 2.

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