Electronic paper driving method and device
By dynamically integrating a balanced voltage into the electronic paper driving method, the problem of excessively long invalid driving time in the prior art is solved, thereby improving the refresh rate and display response performance of electronic paper.
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Applications(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- ANHUI YUTU TECH CO LTD
- Filing Date
- 2026-01-14
- Publication Date
- 2026-05-05
AI Technical Summary
In existing electronic paper driving technologies, the excessively long invalid driving time caused by the AC driving strategy affects the refresh rate and becomes a bottleneck for user experience and performance expansion in electronic paper applications that require frequent screen updates.
An electronic paper driving method is proposed, which dynamically integrates a balancing voltage in two consecutive frames of image data and applies a balancing voltage to prevent liquid crystal polarization only once when the same gray level is displayed continuously, thereby reducing the invalid driving time during each frame refresh process.
Without compromising display quality, the refresh rate and dynamic display response performance of electronic paper have been improved, and the single screen refresh time has been reduced by approximately 40%.
Smart Images
Figure CN121982995A_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] This invention relates to the field of display technology, and more particularly to an electronic paper driving method and apparatus. Background Technology
[0002] Electronic paper display panels typically consist of millions of microcapsules or microcup structures, encapsulating charged pigment particles and a dispersion medium. Under the influence of an applied electric field, particles with different electrical charges move in a directional manner, thus achieving the display of brightness (e.g., black and white) of pixels. The core of driving such display panels is the thin-film transistor (TFT) array substrate and its associated driving circuitry. A typical driving process employs a line-by-line scanning method: the gate driving circuit sequentially outputs an enable voltage to each scan line to turn on the TFT switches of that line; simultaneously, the source driving circuit, based on the display data, applies a driving voltage of specific polarity and amplitude to each pixel unit in the enabled line via data lines. This voltage charges the pixel capacitor, thereby creating an electric field within the pixel unit that drives the movement of the pigment particles, completing the update of the display state of the pixels in that line. This process proceeds line by line until the entire screen is refreshed.
[0003] To ensure the long lifespan and display stability of electronic paper, it is essential to prevent irreversible polarization or residual image phenomena in liquid crystal or electrophoretic materials due to prolonged exposure to the DC component of a unidirectional electric field. To this end, existing technologies generally employ a strategy known as AC drive or voltage balancing. Specifically, when refreshing a single frame, regardless of whether the target display state is white (W) or black (B), the driving circuit, after applying the main driving voltage pulse to achieve the target grayscale, typically applies a balancing voltage pulse of opposite polarity and equal or similar duration. For example... Figure 1 As shown, when displaying white, a positive voltage pulse is first applied to drive the white display, followed by a negative voltage pulse to balance it; the reverse is true when displaying black.
[0004] While this driving timing, which includes complete positive and negative voltage pulses in each refresh cycle, effectively prevents material polarization, its significant drawback is that the time period used to apply the reverse balancing voltage does not directly contribute to the final display effect of the image, essentially representing an ineffective driving time. This means that a considerable proportion of the total time required for the electronic paper to complete a full-screen refresh is spent on balancing operations, severely limiting the refresh rate of the electronic paper. Slow refresh rates have become a key bottleneck affecting user experience and performance expansion of electronic paper in applications requiring frequent image updates. Summary of the Invention
[0005] To address the technical problems existing in the background art, the present invention proposes an electronic paper driving method and apparatus.
[0006] The present invention proposes an electronic paper driving method, comprising the following steps: Obtain the image data of the Nth frame and the N+1th frame to be displayed; Based on the image data of the Nth frame, determine whether the target pixel's target display state in the Nth frame is the first gray level or the second gray level; Based on the image data of the (N+1)th frame, it is determined that the target display state of the target pixel in the (N+1)th frame is the first gray level or the second gray level; When refreshing the Nth frame, a first driving timing sequence is generated and applied to the target pixel based on the target display state of the target pixel in the Nth frame. The first driving timing sequence includes a first polarity voltage for driving the display. When refreshing the N+1th frame, a second driving timing sequence is generated and applied to the target pixel according to the target display state of the target pixel in the N+1th frame. The second driving timing sequence includes a second polarity voltage for driving the display. The first driving timing sequence and the second driving timing sequence are configured such that, for the same target pixel, when continuously displaying the first gray level or continuously displaying the second gray level, the balancing voltage used to prevent liquid crystal polarization is applied only once during the refresh process of the Nth frame and the N+1th frame.
[0007] Preferably, when the target pixel is in the first grayscale in the Nth frame, the first driving timing omits applying the first type of balancing voltage corresponding to the first grayscale; when the target pixel is in the first grayscale in the N+1th frame, the second driving timing applies the first type of balancing voltage.
[0008] Preferably, when the target pixel is in the second grayscale in the Nth frame, the first driving timing applies a second type of balancing voltage corresponding to the second grayscale; when the target pixel is in the second grayscale in the N+1th frame, the application of the second type of balancing voltage is omitted in the second driving timing.
[0009] Preferably, the first grayscale is white, and the polarity of the first type of balancing voltage is opposite to the polarity of the voltage used to drive the display to white.
[0010] Preferably, the absolute value of the amplitude of the first type of balanced voltage is equal to the absolute value of the amplitude of the voltage used to drive the white display.
[0011] Preferably, the second grayscale is black, and the polarity of the second type of balancing voltage is opposite to the polarity of the voltage used to drive the display of black.
[0012] Preferably, the absolute value of the amplitude of the second type of balanced voltage is equal to the absolute value of the amplitude of the voltage used to drive the display to black.
[0013] The present invention provides an electronic paper driving device, comprising: The image data acquisition module is used to receive and buffer consecutive Nth frame image data and N+1th frame image data; The pixel state determination module is used to determine the target display state of the target pixel in two consecutive frames based on the image data of the Nth frame and the image data of the N+1th frame. The timing control module is used to generate a first driving timing control signal based on the target display state of the target pixel in the Nth frame, and to generate a second driving timing control signal based on the target display state of the target pixel in the N+1th frame. The gate driving module is used to select the pixel rows on the display panel line by line in response to the first driving timing control signal or the second driving timing control signal. The source drive module is used to apply a corresponding drive voltage to the target pixel in the selected pixel row in response to the first drive timing control signal or the second drive timing control signal. The timing control module is configured such that when the output of the pixel state judgment module indicates that the target pixel displays the same gray level in two consecutive frames, the source drive module is controlled to apply a balancing voltage to the target pixel only once during the refresh process of the Nth and N+1th frames to prevent liquid crystal polarization.
[0014] Preferably, the timing control module is further configured as follows: When the target pixel is in the first gray level in the target display state of the Nth frame, the first driving timing control signal does not contain the first type of balanced voltage command corresponding to the first gray level. When the target pixel is in the first grayscale in the N+1 frame, the second driving timing control signal contains the first type of balanced voltage command.
[0015] Preferably, the timing control module is further configured as follows: When the target pixel is in the second grayscale in the Nth frame, the first driving timing control signal contains the second type of balanced voltage command corresponding to the second grayscale. When the target pixel is in the second grayscale in the N+1 frame, the second type of balanced voltage command is not included in the second drive timing control signal.
[0016] The proposed electronic paper driving method and apparatus in this invention, through an innovative alternating complementary timing sequence, dynamically integrates a balancing voltage stage to prevent liquid crystal polarization within a continuous screen refresh cycle. While ensuring that the net voltage effect acting on the display material reaches balance, thereby maintaining display stability and material lifespan, it effectively reduces the ineffective driving time during a single screen refresh. This improves the refresh rate and dynamic display response performance of electronic paper without affecting display quality. Attached Figure Description
[0017] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the timing of electronic paper driving technology in the prior art; Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the driving timing of the Nth frame image data in one embodiment of the electronic paper driving method proposed in this invention; Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the driving timing of the N+1 frame image data in one embodiment of the electronic paper driving method proposed in this invention. Figure 4 This is a flowchart illustrating the electronic paper driving method proposed in this invention. Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the device architecture of an electronic paper driving device proposed in this invention. Detailed Implementation
[0018] Reference Figures 2-5 The present invention proposes an electronic paper driving method, comprising the following steps: Obtain the image data of the Nth frame and the N+1th frame to be displayed.
[0019] Based on the image data of the Nth frame, determine whether the target pixel's display state in the Nth frame is the first gray level or the second gray level.
[0020] Based on the image data of frame N+1, determine whether the target pixel's display state in frame N+1 is the first gray level or the second gray level.
[0021] When refreshing the Nth frame, a first driving timing sequence is generated and applied to the target pixel based on the target display state of the target pixel in the Nth frame. The first driving timing sequence includes a first polarity voltage for driving the display.
[0022] Specifically, when the target pixel is in the first gray level in the Nth frame, the first driving timing omits the application of the first type of balancing voltage corresponding to the first gray level; when the target pixel is in the first gray level in the N+1th frame, the second driving timing applies the first type of balancing voltage.
[0023] When refreshing the N+1th frame, a second driving timing sequence is generated and applied to the target pixel based on the target display state of the target pixel in the N+1th frame. The second driving timing sequence includes a second polarity voltage for driving the display.
[0024] Specifically, when the target pixel is in the second grayscale in the Nth frame, the first driving timing applies a second type of balancing voltage corresponding to the second grayscale; when the target pixel is in the second grayscale in the N+1th frame, the second driving timing omits applying the second type of balancing voltage.
[0025] The first driving timing sequence and the second driving timing sequence are configured such that, for the same target pixel, when continuously displaying the first gray level or continuously displaying the second gray level, the balance voltage used to prevent liquid crystal polarization is applied only once during the refresh process of the Nth frame and the N+1th frame.
[0026] In this embodiment, the first grayscale is white, and the polarity of the first type of balancing voltage is opposite to that of the voltage used to drive the display of white. The absolute value of the amplitude of the first type of balancing voltage is equal to the absolute value of the amplitude of the voltage used to drive the display of white.
[0027] In this embodiment, the second grayscale is black, and the polarity of the second type of balancing voltage is opposite to that of the voltage used to drive the display of black. The absolute value of the amplitude of the second type of balancing voltage is equal to the absolute value of the amplitude of the voltage used to drive the display of black.
[0028] Specifically, the first polarity voltage or the second polarity voltage used to drive the display of white is a positive voltage, and the first type of balance voltage is a negative voltage; the first polarity voltage or the second polarity voltage used to drive the display of black is a negative voltage, and the second type of balance voltage is a positive voltage.
[0029] It should be noted that before each refresh, the driving system first determines the frame number attribute of the current image to be refreshed in the continuous playback sequence (i.e., whether it is the Nth frame or the N+1th frame, or more broadly, whether it is an odd-numbered frame or an even-numbered frame). Based on the determination result, the system dynamically selects and applies one of two different driving timing modes.
[0030] When refreshing an odd-numbered frame (e.g., frame N), the first drive timing mode is used. In this mode: For a pixel in the frame that needs to be displayed as white, the source drive circuit applies a positive voltage to drive the display of white during the gate-on period, but omits the negative voltage applied afterward in the conventional timing to balance the positive voltage.
[0031] For a pixel in the frame that needs to be displayed as black, the source drive circuit applies a negative voltage to drive the display of black during gate-on, and then applies a positive voltage to balance the negative voltage.
[0032] When refreshing the next even-numbered frame (e.g., frame N+1), a second driving timing mode complementary to the first mode is used. In this mode: For pixels that need to be displayed as white, apply a positive voltage to drive white, and then apply a negative voltage to balance it.
[0033] For pixels that need to be displayed as black, the positive polarity balancing voltage is omitted after applying the negative polarity voltage that drives black.
[0034] For any pixel that maintains the same display state (e.g., white) in two consecutive frames, the voltage pulses it experiences over the two refresh cycles still include one driving voltage and one reverse balancing voltage. This ensures that the DC component acting on the pixel is zero or minimal over a longer timescale, effectively preventing liquid crystal polarization. However, within a single frame's refresh cycle, the polarization-prevention balancing voltage stage is reduced by one, significantly shortening the completion time of a single frame. Overall, this method redistributes and reuses the anti-polarization time originally required for each frame between consecutive frames, achieving the goal of increasing the refresh rate without compromising display lifespan.
[0035] Consider a static image containing black and white areas that is refreshed twice consecutively. During the first refresh (frame N), the white pixels only experience the positive voltage drive phase, while the black pixels experience both the negative voltage drive and positive voltage balancing phases. In the subsequent second refresh (frame N+1), the same white pixels will experience both the positive voltage drive and negative voltage balancing phases, while the same black pixels will only experience the negative voltage drive phase. For both regions, in the two consecutive refreshes, the driving voltage and the balancing voltage each occur once, resulting in a balanced net voltage effect, but the actual operation time for each refresh is shortened.
[0036] In this embodiment, by determining whether to refresh the Nth frame of image data or the (N+1)th frame of image data, different timing sequences are corresponding to different actions. If the Nth frame of image data is refreshed, only the negative pressure of the white screen and the positive pressure of the black screen are retained. Figure 2 As shown, if the image data of frame N+1 is refreshed, only the positive pressure of the white screen and the negative pressure of the black screen are retained, as follows: Figure 3 As shown, this prevents liquid crystal polarization and reduces refresh time. Figures 1-3 As shown, the first voltage and the second voltage are symmetrical voltages, and the voltage difference between the first voltage and the second voltage is about 40V. This is mainly to make the liquid crystal present the H state. The third voltage and the fourth voltage are also symmetrical voltages, and the voltage difference between the third voltage and the fourth voltage is about 20V. This is to keep the liquid crystal in the fc state (that is, the black state). Example
[0037] The test was conducted on a 6-inch electrophoretic electronic paper with a resolution of 1024×768. The drive timing was tested under white and black screen conditions as follows: Figure 2 and Figure 3 As shown, the test results are compared below:
[0038] Compared with existing technologies, this application optimizes the driving timing to reduce the time to refresh an image without significantly affecting image quality, reducing refresh time by approximately 40%.
[0039] Reference Figures 2-5 The present invention provides an electronic paper driving device, comprising: The image data acquisition module is used to receive and buffer consecutive Nth frame image data and N+1th frame image data; The pixel state determination module is used to determine the target display state of the target pixel in two consecutive frames based on the image data of the Nth frame and the image data of the N+1th frame. The timing control module is used to generate a first driving timing control signal based on the target display state of the target pixel in the Nth frame, and to generate a second driving timing control signal based on the target display state of the target pixel in the N+1th frame. The gate driving module is used to select the pixel rows on the display panel line by line in response to the first driving timing control signal or the second driving timing control signal. The source drive module is used to apply a corresponding drive voltage to the target pixel in the selected pixel row in response to the first drive timing control signal or the second drive timing control signal. The timing control module is configured such that when the output of the pixel state judgment module indicates that the target pixel displays the same gray level in two consecutive frames, the source drive module is controlled to apply a balancing voltage to the target pixel only once during the refresh process of the Nth and N+1th frames to prevent liquid crystal polarization.
[0040] In this embodiment, the timing control module is further configured as follows: When the target pixel is in the first gray level in the target display state of the Nth frame, the first driving timing control signal does not contain the first type of balanced voltage command corresponding to the first gray level. When the target pixel is in the first grayscale in the N+1 frame, the second driving timing control signal contains the first type of balanced voltage command.
[0041] In this embodiment, the timing control module is further configured as follows: When the target pixel is in the second grayscale in the Nth frame, the first driving timing control signal contains the second type of balanced voltage command corresponding to the second grayscale. When the target pixel is in the second grayscale in the N+1 frame, the second driving timing control signal does not contain the second type of balanced voltage command.
[0042] The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention, but the scope of protection of the present invention is not limited thereto. Any equivalent substitutions or modifications made by those skilled in the art within the scope of the technology disclosed in the present invention, based on the technical solution and inventive concept of the present invention, should be covered within the scope of protection of the present invention.
Claims
1. An electronic paper driving method, characterized in that, Includes the following steps: Obtain the image data of the Nth frame and the N+1th frame to be displayed; Based on the image data of the Nth frame, determine whether the target pixel's target display state in the Nth frame is the first gray level or the second gray level; Based on the image data of the (N+1)th frame, it is determined that the target display state of the target pixel in the (N+1)th frame is the first gray level or the second gray level; When refreshing the Nth frame, a first driving timing sequence is generated and applied to the target pixel based on the target display state of the target pixel in the Nth frame. The first driving timing sequence includes a first polarity voltage for driving the display. When refreshing the N+1th frame, a second driving timing sequence is generated and applied to the target pixel according to the target display state of the target pixel in the N+1th frame. The second driving timing sequence includes a second polarity voltage for driving the display. The first driving timing sequence and the second driving timing sequence are configured such that, for the same target pixel, when continuously displaying the first gray level or continuously displaying the second gray level, the balancing voltage used to prevent liquid crystal polarization is applied only once during the refresh process of the Nth frame and the N+1th frame.
2. The electronic paper driving method according to claim 1, characterized in that, When the target pixel is in the first gray level in the Nth frame, the first driving timing omits the application of the first type of balancing voltage corresponding to the first gray level; when the target pixel is in the first gray level in the N+1th frame, the second driving timing applies the first type of balancing voltage.
3. The electronic paper driving method according to claim 1, characterized in that, When the target pixel is in the second grayscale in the Nth frame, the first driving timing applies a second type of balancing voltage corresponding to the second grayscale; when the target pixel is in the second grayscale in the N+1th frame, the second driving timing omits applying the second type of balancing voltage.
4. The electronic paper driving method according to claim 2, characterized in that, The first grayscale is white, and the polarity of the first type of balancing voltage is opposite to the polarity of the voltage used to drive the display to white.
5. The electronic paper driving method according to claim 2, characterized in that, The absolute value of the amplitude of the first type of balanced voltage is equal to the absolute value of the amplitude of the voltage used to drive the white display.
6. The electronic paper driving method according to claim 3, characterized in that, The second grayscale is black, and the polarity of the second type of balancing voltage is opposite to the polarity of the voltage used to drive the display of black.
7. The electronic paper driving method according to claim 3, characterized in that, The absolute value of the amplitude of the second type of balanced voltage is equal to the absolute value of the amplitude of the voltage used to drive the display to black.
8. An electronic paper driving device, characterized in that, include: The image data acquisition module is used to receive and buffer consecutive Nth frame image data and N+1th frame image data; The pixel state determination module is used to determine the target display state of the target pixel in two consecutive frames based on the image data of the Nth frame and the image data of the N+1th frame. The timing control module is used to generate a first driving timing control signal based on the target display state of the target pixel in the Nth frame, and to generate a second driving timing control signal based on the target display state of the target pixel in the N+1th frame. The gate driving module is used to select the pixel rows on the display panel line by line in response to the first driving timing control signal or the second driving timing control signal. The source drive module is used to apply a corresponding drive voltage to the target pixel in the selected pixel row in response to the first drive timing control signal or the second drive timing control signal. The timing control module is configured such that when the output of the pixel state judgment module indicates that the target pixel displays the same gray level in two consecutive frames, the source drive module is controlled to apply a balancing voltage to the target pixel only once during the refresh process of the Nth and N+1th frames to prevent liquid crystal polarization.
9. The electronic paper driving device according to claim 8, characterized in that, The timing control module is further configured to: When the target pixel is in the first gray level in the target display state of the Nth frame, the first driving timing control signal does not contain the first type of balanced voltage command corresponding to the first gray level. When the target pixel is in the first grayscale in the N+1 frame, the second driving timing control signal contains the first type of balanced voltage command.
10. The electronic paper driving device according to claim 9, characterized in that, The timing control module is further configured to: When the target pixel is in the second grayscale in the Nth frame, the first driving timing control signal contains the second type of balanced voltage command corresponding to the second grayscale. When the target pixel is in the second grayscale in the N+1 frame, the second type of balanced voltage command is not included in the second drive timing control signal.