Home appliance and display method

Abstract

This application provides embodiments belonging to the field of home appliance technology, offering a home appliance device and display method. The home appliance device includes: a display module comprising: multiple spliced ​​liquid crystal panels; a signal generation module for emitting display signals; a control module for controlling the liquid crystal panels to display images via display interfaces; among the multiple liquid crystal panels, at least two of the liquid crystal panels have display interfaces with different signal transmission speeds; a signal synchronization module determines the emission time of the required display signal for each liquid crystal panel based on the time difference in signal transmission time of different display interfaces; at the emission time, the display signal is sent to the control module, so that when the control module receives the required display signal from any liquid crystal panel, it controls the liquid crystal panel to display an image based on the display signal received via the display interface connected to that liquid crystal panel. This application can improve the flexibility of configuring long strip liquid crystal display panels in home appliances.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to home appliance technology. More specifically, it relates to a home appliance device and a display method. Background Technology

[0002] With the development of intelligent home appliances, the demand for interactive functions between home appliances and users is becoming increasingly prominent. Currently, the main ways for existing home appliances to interact with users include voice interaction, indirect interaction through user terminals (such as mobile phones), and display interaction.

[0003] Among these features, interactive displays can provide users with a better user experience. For example, a refrigerator can have a display screen installed on its door, allowing the refrigerator to provide users with recipe recommendations, visualizations of objects inside the refrigerator, and other functions. However, due to the unique shape and aesthetic requirements of home appliances, most home appliances typically require a long, narrow display screen.

[0004] However, the production and application of elongated displays are limited. If an elongated display is used as a display and interaction module for home appliances, an additional production line for elongated displays needs to be deployed, resulting in higher complexity and lower flexibility in the production of home appliances. Summary of the Invention

[0005] This application provides a home appliance and a display method that can reduce the complexity of home appliance production and improve the flexibility of configuring long strip displays in home appliances.

[0006] In a first aspect, embodiments of this application provide a household appliance, the household appliance comprising:

[0007] The display module includes: multiple spliced ​​LCD panels;

[0008] The signal generation module is used to emit display signals;

[0009] A control module is provided, which is connected to the liquid crystal panels via display interfaces. The control module is used to control the liquid crystal panels to display images via the display interfaces. Among the plurality of liquid crystal panels, at least two liquid crystal panels are connected to display interfaces with different signal transmission speeds.

[0010] A signal synchronization module, wherein the signal receiving end of the signal synchronization module is connected to the signal output end of the signal generating module, and the signal receiving end of the control module is connected to the signal output end of the signal synchronization module; the signal synchronization module is configured as follows:

[0011] Based on the time difference in signal transmission time of different display interfaces, the time for emitting the required display signal for each liquid crystal panel is determined;

[0012] At the specified time of transmission, the display signal is sent to the control module, so that when the control module receives any display signal required by the liquid crystal panel, it controls the liquid crystal panel to display an image based on the display signal through the display interface connected to the liquid crystal panel.

[0013] In the above technical solution, multiple spliced ​​LCD panels can be combined to form LCD panels with flexible shapes. This satisfies the appearance requirements of home appliances for display modules while avoiding the need for additional production lines for elongated displays, thus reducing the complexity of home appliance production and improving production efficiency. After the signal generation module sends a display signal, the signal synchronization module controls the timing of the signal transmission to the control module, enabling the control module to control the multiple LCD panels for synchronous display. This method ensures synchronous display even when at least two LCD panels have different signal transmission speeds at their connected display interfaces, providing flexibility for the multiple LCD panels and thus improving the flexibility of the elongated LCD panels. It also ensures synchronous display of the elongated LCD panels, enhancing the user experience.

[0014] In some embodiments of this application, the display module further includes:

[0015] A backlight panel, the backlight panel being used to provide a backlight source for the plurality of liquid crystal panels;

[0016] The household appliances also include:

[0017] A backlight driving module, wherein the backlight driving module is connected to the control module, and the control module is further configured to:

[0018] The backlight driving module controls the backlight panel to light up, so that the backlight panel provides the backlight source for the plurality of liquid crystal panels.

[0019] In the above technical solution, by having multiple LCD panels share a single backlight, a backlight is ensured at the junction of the multiple LCD panels, thus guaranteeing the overall display effect of the display module and further improving the user experience.

[0020] In some embodiments of this application, the display interfaces to which the plurality of liquid crystal panels are respectively connected include: a reference display interface and other display interfaces, wherein the time difference is the signal transmission time of the other display interfaces, and the signal transmission speed of the other display interfaces is greater than the signal transmission speed of the reference display interface compared to the time difference of the signal transmission time of the reference display interface; determining the emission time of the required display signal for each liquid crystal panel based on the time difference of the signal transmission time of the different display interfaces includes:

[0021] In response to a target instruction for instructing the updating of the display content of the display module, the current time is taken as the time when the liquid crystal panel connected to the reference display interface sends the required display signal;

[0022] The time difference after the current time is taken as the time when the liquid crystal panel connected to the other display interfaces emits the required display signal.

[0023] In the above technical solution, by using the current moment as the time when the LCD panel connected to the reference display interface sends the required display signal, the signal synchronization module can promptly send the display signal to the control module after receiving it, thereby improving the display efficiency of the LCD panel. By using the time difference after the current moment as the time when the LCD panels connected to other display interfaces send the required display signals, it is ensured that the LCD panels connected to other display interfaces can display synchronously with the LCD panel connected to the reference display interface.

[0024] In some embodiments of this application, the signal generation module includes: a user interaction component, which is used to receive the target instruction triggered by the user through the user interaction component;

[0025] or,

[0026] The signal generation module includes: a state sensing component; the state sensing component is used to sense the operating state of the home appliance and / or the environmental state of the environment in which the home appliance is located; and based on the operating state of the home appliance and / or the environmental state of the environment in which the home appliance is located, to generate the target instruction.

[0027] In the above technical solution, the signal generation module can trigger the target instruction through the user interaction component or the state perception component, thus laying the foundation for updating the display content of the display module.

[0028] In some embodiments of this application, the household appliance further includes:

[0029] A storage module is used for data storage. The storage module includes m data spaces, which are used to store the historical time differences in signal transmission times for different display interfaces. The time difference in signal transmission times for different display interfaces is the latest time difference among the historical time differences.

[0030] After controlling the liquid crystal panel to display an image based on the display signal, the signal synchronization module is further configured to:

[0031] Obtain the time difference of signal transmission time for the different display interfaces in this instance;

[0032] The latest time difference is updated based on the time difference of the signal transmission time.

[0033] In the above technical solution, the latest time difference is updated based on the time difference of the current signal transmission, so that the display signal can be sent based on the updated latest time difference, thus laying the foundation for synchronous display based on time difference.

[0034] In some embodiments of this application, updating the latest time difference based on the time difference of the current signal transmission includes:

[0035] When the number of historical time differences is less than m, the average of the historical time differences and the time difference of the current signal transmission is taken as the latest updated time difference.

[0036] In the above technical solution, the average of the historical time difference and the current signal transmission time difference can be used as the updated latest time difference. This makes the updated latest time difference determined based on the average of multiple historical time differences, thus improving the accuracy of the updated latest time difference. This, in turn, further improves the accuracy of controlling multiple LCD panels to display synchronously based on the updated latest time difference, thereby further improving the user experience.

[0037] In some embodiments of this application, the signal synchronization module is further configured as follows:

[0038] When the number of historical time differences is greater than or equal to m, if the time difference of the current signal transmission time is greater than the maximum value among the historical time differences, or if the time difference of the current signal transmission time is less than the target value, then the average value of the historical time differences is used as the latest updated time difference; the target value is a target multiple of the minimum value among the historical time differences; the target multiple is less than 1.

[0039] In the above technical solution, if the time difference of the current signal transmission is greater than the maximum value of the historical time difference, or if the time difference of the current signal transmission is less than the target value, it indicates that the error of the current signal transmission time difference is large. Therefore, the average value of the historical time difference is used as the latest updated time difference, avoiding the introduction of the current signal transmission time difference to calculate the latest updated time difference, thereby improving the accuracy of the latest updated time difference.

[0040] In some embodiments of this application, the display module includes: an elongated liquid crystal panel formed by splicing two liquid crystal panels, the two liquid crystal panels having different resolutions; the ratio of m to the resolution of the two liquid crystal panels is positively correlated; the ratio is the ratio of the larger resolution to the smaller resolution among the resolutions.

[0041] In the above technical solution, the larger the ratio of the larger resolution to the smaller resolution of the two LCD panels, the greater the difference in resolution between the two LCD panels. Therefore, by allocating more data space, the amount of historical time differences that the storage module can store can be increased. This provides more data support for updating the latest time difference based on historical time differences, thereby further improving the accuracy of the time difference determination. Conversely, the smaller the ratio of the larger resolution to the smaller resolution of the two LCD panels, the smaller the difference in resolution between the two LCD panels. Therefore, by allocating less data space, while ensuring the quantity of historical time differences to guarantee the accuracy of time difference determination, the storage space occupied by the storage module is reduced.

[0042] In some embodiments of this application, the display module further includes:

[0043] The liquid crystal driving component corresponding to the liquid crystal panel is used to drive the liquid crystal panel to display. The liquid crystal driving component is disposed on the edge or back of the liquid crystal panel, but not at the splicing point of the two liquid crystal panels.

[0044] In the above technical solution, by not placing the liquid crystal driving component at the splicing point of the two liquid crystal panels, the influence of the liquid crystal driving component on the display effect of the long strip-shaped liquid crystal panel formed by splicing the liquid crystal panels is avoided, thus further improving the user experience.

[0045] Secondly, this application provides a display method, the household appliance comprising:

[0046] The display module includes: multiple spliced ​​LCD panels;

[0047] The signal generation module is used to emit display signals;

[0048] A control module is provided, which is connected to the liquid crystal panels via display interfaces. The control module is used to control the liquid crystal panels to display images via the display interfaces. Among the plurality of liquid crystal panels, at least two liquid crystal panels are connected to display interfaces with different signal transmission speeds.

[0049] A signal synchronization module, wherein the signal receiving end of the signal synchronization module is connected to the signal output end of the signal generating module, and the signal receiving end of the control module is connected to the signal output end of the signal synchronization module; the display method is applied to the signal synchronization module, and the method includes:

[0050] Based on the time difference in signal transmission time of different display interfaces, the time for emitting the required display signal for each liquid crystal panel is determined;

[0051] At the specified time of transmission, the display signal is sent to the control module, so that when the control module receives any display signal required by the liquid crystal panel, it controls the liquid crystal panel to display an image based on the display signal through the display interface connected to the liquid crystal panel.

[0052] The home appliance and display method provided in this application have similar implementation principles and technical effects to the effects of the first aspect mentioned above, and will not be repeated here. Attached Figure Description

[0053] To more clearly illustrate the implementation methods in the embodiments of this application or related technologies, the accompanying drawings used in the description of the embodiments or related technologies will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the accompanying drawings described below are some embodiments of this application. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings.

[0054] Figure 1 This application provides a structural schematic diagram of a household appliance.

[0055] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the structure of a display module provided in this application;

[0056] Figure 3 A schematic diagram illustrating the mounting position of a liquid crystal driving assembly provided in this application;

[0057] Figure 4 A flowchart illustrating a display method provided in this application;

[0058] Figure 5 A structural schematic diagram of another household appliance provided in this application;

[0059] Figure 6 A structural schematic diagram of yet another household appliance provided in this application;

[0060] Figure 7 A structural schematic diagram of yet another household appliance provided in this application;

[0061] Figure 8 A structural schematic diagram of yet another household appliance provided in this application;

[0062] Figure 9 A structural schematic diagram of yet another household appliance provided in this application;

[0063] Figure 10 A structural schematic diagram of yet another household appliance provided in this application;

[0064] Figure 11 A schematic diagram illustrating the process for obtaining the time difference after the first power-on of a home appliance, as provided in this application;

[0065] Figure 12 This is a schematic diagram of a time difference update process provided for this application. Detailed Implementation

[0066] To make the objectives, implementation methods and advantages of this application clearer, the exemplary implementation methods of this application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings of the exemplary embodiments of this application. Obviously, the described exemplary embodiments are only some embodiments of this application, and not all embodiments.

[0067] It should be noted that the brief descriptions of terms in this application are only for the convenience of understanding the embodiments described below, and are not intended to limit the embodiments of this application. Unless otherwise stated, these terms should be understood in their ordinary and common meaning.

[0068] Furthermore, the terms “comprising” and “having”, and any variations thereof, are intended to cover but not exclusively include, for example, a product or device that includes a series of components is not necessarily limited to those that are explicitly listed, but may include other components that are not explicitly listed or that are inherent to such product or device.

[0069] As home appliances become increasingly intelligent, interactive smart applications are becoming more and more widespread. Among these, display technology is a widely used interactive technology. Taking white goods as an example, appliances such as washing machines, refrigerators, air conditioners, and ovens can be equipped with displays to improve the convenience of interaction between the appliances and users.

[0070] Currently, the common driving method is a central processing unit (CPU) and thin-film transistor (TFT). Liquid crystal displays (LCDs) are generally custom-made for consumer electronics products. Due to the unique shape and aesthetic requirements of white goods and other home appliances, most home appliances typically require a long, narrow display screen.

[0071] However, elongated displays are rarely used in the display industry. If elongated displays were used as the display and interaction module for home appliances, the display components required for them, such as LCD glass, would necessitate new mold making and production line restarts, significantly increasing the cost of the home appliances. Furthermore, the need to deploy additional production lines for elongated displays would result in higher complexity and lower efficiency in the production of home appliances.

[0072] Considering the aforementioned problems with existing home appliances, this application proposes a home appliance that achieves a strip-shaped display effect without requiring a strip-shaped display screen. This method satisfies the aesthetic requirements of home appliances for strip-shaped displays while avoiding the need for additional production lines for such displays, thus reducing the complexity of home appliance production and improving production efficiency.

[0073] The technical solutions of this application will be described in detail below with reference to specific embodiments. The following specific embodiments can be combined with each other, and the same or similar concepts or processes may not be described again in some embodiments.

[0074] Figure 1 This is a structural diagram of a household appliance provided in this application. Figure 1 As shown, the home appliance may include, for example, a signal generation module, a signal synchronization module, a control module, and a display module.

[0075] For example, the home appliance provided in this application can be any of the following: a washing machine, a refrigerator, an air conditioner, an oven, etc., that can be configured with a display module.

[0076] The aforementioned display module may include multiple spliced ​​LCD panels.

[0077] Optionally, this application does not limit the shape formed by splicing the multiple LCD panels. For example, the multiple LCD panels can be spliced ​​into a long strip LCD panel to meet the appearance requirements of home appliances for long strip displays. Alternatively, in some embodiments, the multiple LCD panels can also be spliced ​​into LCD panels of other shapes.

[0078] It should be understood that Figure 1 The accompanying drawings are merely illustrative examples of a display module comprising two liquid crystal panels. The display module may also include three or more liquid crystal panels; this application does not limit its scope to this.

[0079] In addition, optionally, the resolutions of the various liquid crystal panels can be different or the same. The sizes of the different liquid crystal panels can be the same or different, and this application does not impose any limitations on this.

[0080] For example, for any of the aforementioned liquid crystal panels, components such as a liquid crystal layer and a glass substrate (the liquid crystal layer is typically sandwiched between two glass substrates) are included. Optionally, the liquid crystal panel can be any existing type of liquid crystal panel. For example, taking a 3.5-inch liquid crystal panel as an example, two 3.5-inch liquid crystal panels can be spliced ​​together to form a long strip-shaped liquid crystal panel.

[0081] The aforementioned signal generation module can be used to emit display signals.

[0082] For example, taking the above-mentioned display module as including a touch component, the signal generation module can, for example, respond to a touch operation triggered by the user through the touch component, generate the above-mentioned display signal and output the display signal to the signal synchronization module.

[0083] Alternatively, the implementation of the signal generation module emitting the display signal can refer to any existing device capable of emitting display signals. This application does not limit the implementation of the signal generation module.

[0084] The signal output terminal of the aforementioned signal generation module can be connected to the signal receiving terminal of the signal synchronization module. The signal output terminal of the signal synchronization module can be connected to the display signal receiving terminal of the control module. The control module can be connected to the LCD panel of the display module via display interfaces (each display interface corresponds to one LCD panel).

[0085] Among the aforementioned plurality of liquid crystal panels, at least two liquid crystal panels may have display interfaces with different signal transmission speeds. Alternatively, for example, two liquid crystal panels among the plurality of liquid crystal panels may have display interfaces with the same signal transmission speed. It should be understood that this application does not limit whether there are two liquid crystal panels among the plurality of liquid crystal panels whose display interfaces have the same signal transmission speed.

[0086] Considering that home appliances can display different content using different LCD panels and that different LCD panels have different display requirements, multiple types of LCD panels can be spliced ​​together to form a long, narrow LCD panel. Different types of LCD panels typically have different signal transmission speeds for their connected display interfaces.

[0087] For example, taking a high-speed display interface as an example, this display interface can be, for example, a Red Green Blue (RGB) interface, a Mobile Industry Processor Interface (MIPI) interface, or a Low Voltage Differential Signaling (LVDS) display interface, which are all display interfaces that can be used by home appliances. Taking a low-speed display interface as an example, this display interface can be, for example, a Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI), a 6-wire SPI (Quad SPI, QSPI), or an 8080 display interface, etc.

[0088] The signal transmission speeds of the display interfaces connected to the two LCD panels are different, and the signal transmission speed of the display interface connected to the first LCD panel is higher than that of the display interface connected to the second LCD panel. This indicates that if the two display interfaces receive display signals at the same time, the first LCD panel displays the content faster than the second LCD panel. In other words, when the first LCD panel has already displayed the content of the display signal, the second LCD panel has not yet displayed the content of the display signal. That is, the displays of the first LCD panel and the second LCD panel are not synchronized.

[0089] The aforementioned control module can be used to control the LCD panel to display images via a display interface.

[0090] The aforementioned signal synchronization module can determine the transmission time of the required display signal for each LCD panel based on the time difference in signal transmission between different display interfaces. At this transmission time, the signal synchronization module can send the display signal to the control module, so that when the control module receives the required display signal from any LCD panel, it can control the LCD panel to display an image based on the display signal connected to that LCD panel through the display interface.

[0091] In other words, this transmission time is the moment when the signal synchronization module sends the aforementioned display signal to the control module. The timing of the transmission of the display signals required by the different LCD panels allows these multiple LCD panels to display synchronously.

[0092] For example, the display signal emitted by the LCD panel with a slower transmission speed from the connected display interface can be emitted before the display signal emitted by the LCD panel with a faster transmission speed from the connected display interface. This allows the control module to receive the display signal from the low-speed display interface first and control the corresponding LCD panel to display through that low-speed interface. Then, the control module receives the display signal from the high-speed display interface and controls the corresponding LCD panel to display through that high-speed interface, thus enabling the LCD panels connected to the high-speed and low-speed display interfaces to display synchronously.

[0093] Optionally, the signal synchronization module described above can be any chip with processing capabilities. In some embodiments, the signal synchronization module can be independent of the control module. Alternatively, the signal synchronization module can be integrated into the control module, and this application does not limit this.

[0094] For example, the control module described above may include a Central Processing Unit (CPU) or a Microcontroller Unit (MCU). Taking a control module including an MCU as an example, the control module may include multiple MCUs. For instance, the number of MCUs included in the control module may be the same as the number of LCD panels, meaning each MCU can be connected to a corresponding LCD panel through its own display interface.

[0095] In this embodiment, multiple spliced ​​LCD panels can be combined to form a flexible LCD panel, satisfying the appearance requirements of home appliances for display modules while avoiding the need for additional production lines for elongated displays. This reduces the complexity of home appliance production and improves production efficiency. After the signal generation module sends a display signal, the signal synchronization module controls the timing of the signal transmission to the control module, enabling the control module to control the multiple LCD panels for synchronous display. This method ensures synchronous display even when at least two LCD panels have different signal transmission speeds at their connected display interfaces, providing flexibility for the elongated LCD panels and improving user experience.

[0096] The structure of the above display module is illustrated below:

[0097] As one possible implementation, the multiple liquid crystal panels can share a single backlight panel. For example, the display module may further include a backlight panel. This backlight panel can be used to provide a backlight source for the multiple liquid crystal panels. For example, the display module may include a single backlight panel.

[0098] The appliance may also include: a backlight driver module.

[0099] The backlight driver module can be connected to the aforementioned control module.

[0100] For example, the backlight driving module can be connected to the control module via electrical connection or other means.

[0101] The control module can also control the backlight panel to light up through the backlight driving module, so that the backlight panel provides a backlight source for the aforementioned multiple liquid crystal panels.

[0102] For example, taking the above display module as including two liquid crystal panels, Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a display module provided in this application. Figure 2 As shown, the display module may include two liquid crystal panels, and the two liquid crystal panels share a backlight.

[0103] In this embodiment, by sharing a backlight panel among multiple LCD panels, a backlight source is ensured at the junction of the multiple LCD panels, thus guaranteeing the overall display effect of the display module and further improving the user experience.

[0104] As another possible implementation, each of the multiple liquid crystal panels can also correspond to a backlight panel.

[0105] As one possible implementation, the display module may further include a liquid crystal driving component corresponding to the liquid crystal panel. This liquid crystal driving component may be located at the edge or back of the liquid crystal panel, but not at the junction of two liquid crystal panels.

[0106] For example, Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the mounting position of a liquid crystal driving assembly provided in this application. Figure 3 As shown, the liquid crystal driving assembly can be installed at any of positions 1, 2, and 3. Furthermore, position 4 is the junction of two liquid crystal panels; therefore, the liquid crystal driving assembly is not located at position 4.

[0107] Optionally, the display module may include multiple LCD panels, each of which may correspond to a separate LCD driving component.

[0108] The aforementioned liquid crystal driving component can be used to drive a liquid crystal panel for display.

[0109] For example, the liquid crystal driving component described above can be an integrated circuit (IC). Optionally, the specific implementation of the liquid crystal driving component driving the liquid crystal panel for display can refer to any existing liquid crystal driving IC, which will not be described in detail here.

[0110] By omitting the location of the liquid crystal driving component at the junction of the two liquid crystal panels, the impact of the liquid crystal driving component on the display effect of the elongated liquid crystal panel formed by splicing the liquid crystal panels is avoided, thus further improving the user experience.

[0111] The following section provides a detailed explanation of how the signal synchronization module determines the timing of signal transmission for each LCD panel based on the time difference between signal transmission times of different display interfaces:

[0112] Taking the display interfaces to which the aforementioned multiple LCD panels are connected respectively as including a reference display interface and other display interfaces, and the time difference being the signal transmission time of the other display interfaces compared to the signal transmission time of the reference display interface (the signal transmission speed of the other display interfaces is greater than the signal transmission speed of the reference display interface), as a possible implementation, the signal synchronization module may, for example, respond to a target instruction used to instruct the updating of the display content of the display module, and take the current time as the time when the LCD panel connected to the reference display interface emits the required display signal.

[0113] Therefore, the signal synchronization module can send the display signal required by the LCD panel connected to the reference display interface to the control module at the current moment, so that when the control module receives the display signal required by the LCD panel connected to the reference display interface, it can control the LCD panel connected to the reference display interface to display based on the display signal required by the LCD panel connected to the reference display interface.

[0114] The signal synchronization module can use the time difference after the current time as the time when the LCD panel connected to the other display interfaces needs to emit the display signal.

[0115] Therefore, the signal synchronization module can send the display signal required by the LCD panel connected to the other display interface to the control module at a time difference after the current time, so that when the control module receives the display signal required by the LCD panel connected to the other display interface, it can control the LCD panel connected to the other display interface to display based on the display signal required by the LCD panel connected to the other display interface.

[0116] By using the current moment as the time when the LCD panel connected to the reference display interface sends the required display signal, the signal synchronization module can promptly send the display signal to the control module after receiving it, thus improving the display efficiency of the LCD panel. Furthermore, by using the time difference after the current moment as the time when the LCD panels connected to other display interfaces send the required display signals, it ensures that the LCD panels connected to other display interfaces can display synchronously with the LCD panel connected to the reference display interface.

[0117] In some embodiments, the signal generating module may include, for example, a user interaction component.

[0118] For example, the aforementioned user interaction components may include at least one of the following: touch components, physical buttons, and touch keys.

[0119] The aforementioned target instruction can be triggered by the user through this user interaction component. In other words, this user interaction component can be used to receive target instructions triggered by the user through the user interaction component.

[0120] For example, taking a signal generation module that includes a touch component as an example, a user can trigger the aforementioned target instruction by touching the touch component. It should be understood that this application does not limit the touch method of the touch component. For example, the touch component can be a capacitive touch component, etc.

[0121] Taking a signal generation module that includes a physical button as an example, a user can trigger the aforementioned target command by pressing the physical button. Taking a signal generation module that includes a touch button as an example, a user can trigger the aforementioned target command by clicking the touch button.

[0122] Alternatively, in some embodiments, taking the signal generation module as an example, which includes a state-aware component, the target instruction can be automatically triggered by the state-aware component.

[0123] For example, a state-aware component can be used to sense the operating status of a home appliance and / or the environmental conditions of the environment in which the appliance is located. Then, the state-aware component can generate the aforementioned target instructions based on the operating status of the home appliance and / or the environmental conditions of the environment in which the appliance is located.

[0124] For example, taking an oven as an example, the aforementioned status sensing component could be a temperature sensor. This temperature sensor could automatically trigger the target command when the temperature inside the oven changes, causing the display module to update the displayed temperature inside the oven.

[0125] Alternatively, if the aforementioned home appliance also includes a voice interaction module and / or a communication module, the target command can be triggered by the user through the voice interaction module or the communication module. For example, if the home appliance includes a communication module, this module can communicate with a user terminal (or communicate through a user terminal via the cloud). Therefore, the user can trigger the target command through the user terminal. The home appliance can receive the target command through the communication module.

[0126] In this embodiment, the signal generation module can trigger the target instruction through the user interaction component or the state awareness component, thus laying the foundation for updating the display content of the display module.

[0127] In some embodiments, the time difference for signal transmission of the different display interfaces can be pre-stored in the signal synchronization module (or other modules of the home appliance with storage capabilities). For example, when the home appliance is first powered on, the signal synchronization module can read the time difference pre-stored in the signal synchronization module as the time difference for signal transmission of the different display interfaces, and determine the time of emission of the display signals required by each liquid crystal panel based on the time difference.

[0128] In some embodiments, the time difference between signal transmission times for the different display interfaces is the latest time difference from historical time differences. Furthermore, in some embodiments, the home appliance can update the latest time difference based on the current signal transmission time difference. For example, as a possible implementation, the home appliance may further include a storage module.

[0129] The storage module can be used for data storage. For example, it may include m data spaces. These data spaces can be used to store historical time differences in signal transmission times for different display interfaces. The aforementioned time differences in signal transmission times for different display interfaces can be, for example, the latest time difference from the historical time differences.

[0130] For example, after controlling the LCD panel to display an image based on the display signal, the signal synchronization module can also obtain the time difference of signal transmission time for different display interfaces. Then, the signal synchronization module can update the latest time difference based on the current signal transmission time difference.

[0131] Optionally, the signal synchronization module can, for example, obtain the time required for the control module to send the display signal to the LCD panel for display through each display interface, i.e., the signal transmission time of each display interface. Then, based on the signal transmission time of each display interface, the signal synchronization module can obtain the time difference of the signal transmission time of different display interfaces in this instance.

[0132] Then, in some embodiments, the signal synchronization module can, for example, replace the latest time difference in the historical time difference with the time difference of the current signal transmission time, so as to update the latest time difference based on the time difference of the current signal transmission time.

[0133] Alternatively, in some embodiments, the signal synchronization module may also update the latest time difference based on the determination of the number of historical time differences.

[0134] For example, the signal synchronization module can determine whether the number of historical time differences in the above storage module is less than the number m of the above data spaces.

[0135] If the number of historical time differences is less than m, it means that the storage module can continue to store more time differences. Optionally, the signal synchronization module can, for example, use the average of the historical time differences and the time difference of the current signal transmission as the updated latest time difference when the number of historical time differences is less than m.

[0136] The signal synchronization module can also store the updated latest time difference in the available data space among the above m data spaces.

[0137] Using the above method, the average of the historical time difference and the current signal transmission time difference can be used as the updated latest time difference. This ensures that the updated latest time difference is determined based on the average of multiple historical time differences, thus improving the accuracy of the updated latest time difference. This, in turn, further improves the accuracy of controlling multiple LCD panels to display synchronously based on the updated latest time difference, thereby further improving the user experience.

[0138] In some embodiments, if the number of historical time differences is greater than or equal to m, the signal synchronization module may, for example, further determine the latest time difference update result based on the relationship between the time difference of the current signal transmission and the historical time differences.

[0139] For example, the signal synchronization module can use the average of historical time differences as the latest updated time difference when the time difference of the current signal transmission is greater than the maximum value of historical time differences, or when the time difference of the current signal transmission is less than the target value.

[0140] The target value mentioned above can be a target multiple of the minimum value among historical time differences. This target multiple is less than 1.

[0141] For example, the target multiple could be 0.1. That is, when the time difference of the current signal transmission is less than 0.1 times the minimum historical time difference, the signal synchronization module can use the average of the historical time differences as the latest updated time difference.

[0142] If the time difference of the current signal transmission is greater than the maximum value in the historical time difference, or if the time difference of the current signal transmission is less than the target value, it indicates that the error of the current signal transmission time difference is large. Therefore, the average value of the historical time difference is used as the latest updated time difference, avoiding the use of the current signal transmission time difference to calculate the latest updated time difference, thereby improving the accuracy of the latest updated time difference.

[0143] In some embodiments, if the current signal transmission time difference is less than or equal to the maximum historical time difference, and the current signal transmission time difference is greater than or equal to the target value, it indicates that the error of the current signal transmission time difference is small. For example, the signal synchronization module can replace the maximum historical time difference with the current signal transmission time difference. Then, the signal synchronization module can use the current signal transmission time difference and the average of the remaining historical time differences (i.e., historical time differences excluding the maximum historical time difference) as the updated latest time difference.

[0144] In some embodiments, the number m of the aforementioned data space may be related, for example, to the resolution between the liquid crystal panels included in the display module.

[0145] For example, taking the above-mentioned display module as an example, which includes a long strip-shaped liquid crystal panel formed by splicing two liquid crystal panels, the resolutions of the two liquid crystal panels may be different. The number m of the data space is, for example, positively correlated with the ratio of the resolutions of the two liquid crystal panels.

[0146] The ratio mentioned above is the ratio of the larger resolution to the smaller resolution. In other words, the larger the ratio, the more data space m can be; the smaller the ratio, the fewer data space m can be.

[0147] For example, if the ratio of the larger resolution to the smaller resolution is between 1 and 10, the value of m could be 100. If the ratio is between 10 and 20, the value of m could be 200. If the ratio is between 20 and 30, the value of m could be 300.

[0148] In this embodiment, the larger the ratio of the larger resolution to the smaller resolution of the two liquid crystal panels, the greater the difference in resolution between the two liquid crystal panels. Therefore, by allocating more data space, the amount of historical time differences that the storage module can store can be increased. This provides more data support for updating the latest time difference based on historical time differences, thereby further improving the accuracy of the time difference determination. Conversely, the smaller the ratio of the larger resolution to the smaller resolution of the two liquid crystal panels, the smaller the difference in resolution between the two liquid crystal panels. Therefore, by allocating less data space, while ensuring the quantity of historical time differences to guarantee the accuracy of time difference determination, the storage space occupied by the storage module is reduced.

[0149] Figure 4 This is a flowchart illustrating a display method provided in this application. Figure 4 As shown, the method may include the following steps:

[0150] S401. Based on the time difference in signal transmission time of different display interfaces, determine the time when each LCD panel needs to send the display signal.

[0151] S402. At the time of issuance, a display signal is sent to the control module so that when the control module receives a display signal required by any LCD panel, it controls the LCD panel to display an image based on the display signal through the display interface connected to the LCD panel.

[0152] The display method provided in this application embodiment is applied to the signal synchronization module in the home appliance as described in any of the foregoing embodiments. Its implementation principle and technical effect are similar, and will not be repeated here.

[0153] The following example, using two LCD panels as an example, illustrates the functionality of this home appliance:

[0154] The display module can consist of two standard-sized LCD panels, such as two 3.5-inch LCD panels, or two panels of different sizes, but the physical dimensions and pixel count can be consistent when combined. Furthermore, such as... Figure 5 As shown, an external touch panel can be added to the LCD module to enhance the touch interaction effect.

[0155] In some embodiments, the LCD module has two LCD panels and two LCD driver ICs, for example... Figure 6 As shown, a single CPU can be used to drive the display interface of two LCD panels. Alternatively, as... Figure 7 As shown, two MCUs can also be used to drive the display interfaces of two LCD panels respectively. Figure 6 and Figure 7As shown, the home appliance may also include physical buttons, a Wi-Fi module, etc. The home appliance can interact with the cloud through the Wi-Fi module.

[0156] like Figure 8 As shown, taking a single CPU driving two display interfaces as an example, or, as... Figure 9 As shown, taking two MCUs driving two LCD panels as an example, if the display signals are not identical, a synchronization signal device (i.e., the aforementioned signal synchronization module) is needed to issue a synchronization signal. Specifically, the trigger signal is connected to the MCU or CPU of the low-speed interface. After receiving the trigger signal, it first issues a low-speed display signal output, and after a delay of t, issues a signal to the MCU or CPU of the high-speed display interface to trigger the high-speed display interface output.

[0157] Figure 10 This is a structural diagram of yet another type of household appliance provided in this application. Figure 9 As shown, the home appliance may include: a signal generating device (i.e., the aforementioned signal generating module), a synchronization signal device (i.e., the aforementioned signal synchronization module), a control device (i.e., the aforementioned control module), a backlight driving device, and a liquid crystal module.

[0158] The LCD module is a module assembled from two LCD panels and a single backlight module.

[0159] A backlight driver provides the backlight source required for the LCD module.

[0160] The control device outputs LCD module driving signals and backlight driving signals; the LCD module driving signals can be SPI (low-speed display signal), QSPI, 8080, RGB, MIPI (high-speed display signal), etc.

[0161] The synchronization signal device synchronizes the signal generated by the signal generator to the control device, thereby controlling the synchronous display of the two screens of the LCD module.

[0162] The signal generating device can be a physical button, touch panel, touch key, sensor, etc.

[0163] When using low-speed or high-speed display signals of the same rate, after the signal generator is activated, the synchronization signal can be directly sent to the drive device, and at the same time, the signal is sent to the LCD module.

[0164] To address the issue of asynchronous refresh between high-speed signals (e.g., MIPI) and low-speed signals (e.g., SPI), we can use the time from the start of data transmission of a screen via low-speed signal to its completion as Tn1, and the time from the start of data transmission of a screen via high-speed signal to its completion as Tn2. We can then calculate the time difference tn = Tn1 - Tn2 between the two signals.

[0165] Optional, such as Figure 11 As shown, before the home appliance is powered on for the first time, a time difference (e.g., the time difference of signal transmission between different display interfaces calibrated through offline experiments), i.e., built-in data t (the aforementioned time difference), can be stored in the home appliance's storage area. After the home appliance is powered on for the first time, the signal synchronization module can first read the built-in data t and output the low-speed display interface first. After the time difference t, the high-speed display interface output will then be executed.

[0166] like Figure 12 As shown, each time the screen display content is updated, the time difference tn between the low-speed signal and the high-speed signal transmitting one screen of data is calculated. In the storage module, m data spaces are determined, and the time difference tn recorded each time is processed to determine whether to place it in this space.

[0167] Specifically, a successive approximation method is used to determine whether the number of data points n in the current data space is greater than m. If n ≤ m, the data is recorded in this storage space, and after calculating t = (t1 + t2 + ... + tn) / n (starting high-speed signal data transmission t after the low-speed signal data transmission starts), the processing program exits.

[0168] When n > m, this data needs to be compared sequentially with the m data in the storage space. If the data is greater than the largest data value in the storage space, it is discarded, and t = (t1 + t2 + ... + tm) / m is calculated before exiting the processing program. If the data is significantly smaller than the smallest data value in the storage space (e.g., one order of magnitude smaller), it is discarded, and t = (t1 + t2 + ... + tm) / m is calculated before exiting the processing program. Otherwise, the maximum value among the m data is replaced with the aforementioned tn, and t = (t1 + t2 + ... + tm) / m is calculated before exiting the processing program.

[0169] In this embodiment, two standard small-sized LCD screens are used to achieve a long strip display effect on home appliances. Furthermore, a synchronous signal scheme is adopted to sample and quantitatively store data (saving storage space), dynamically adjust the sampled data, and accurately calculate the signal arrival time of the two screens, thereby achieving the effect of displaying different signals simultaneously and improving the user experience.

[0170] This application also provides a computer-readable storage medium, which may include various media capable of storing program code, such as a USB flash drive, a portable hard drive, a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a magnetic disk, or an optical disk. Specifically, the computer-readable storage medium stores program instructions, which are used in the methods described in the above embodiments.

[0171] This application also provides a program product including execution instructions stored in a readable storage medium. At least one control module of a home appliance can read the execution instructions from the readable storage medium, and the execution of the execution instructions by the control module causes a display device to implement the display methods provided in the various embodiments described above.

[0172] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of this application, and are not intended to limit them. Although this application has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that modifications can still be made to the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments, or equivalent substitutions can be made to some or all of the technical features therein. Such modifications or substitutions do not cause the essence of the corresponding technical solutions to deviate from the scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application.

[0173] For ease of explanation, the above description has been provided in conjunction with specific embodiments. However, the above exemplary discussion is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the embodiments to the specific forms disclosed above. Various modifications and variations can be obtained based on the above teachings. The selection and description of the above embodiments are for the purpose of better explaining the principles and practical applications, thereby enabling those skilled in the art to better utilize the described embodiments and various different variations of embodiments suitable for specific use considerations.

Claims

1. A household appliance, characterized in that, The household appliances include: The display module includes: multiple spliced ​​LCD panels; The signal generation module is used to emit display signals; A control module is provided, which is connected to the liquid crystal panels via display interfaces. The control module is used to control the liquid crystal panels to display images via the display interfaces. Among the plurality of liquid crystal panels, at least two liquid crystal panels are connected to display interfaces with different signal transmission speeds. A signal synchronization module, wherein the signal receiving end of the signal synchronization module is connected to the signal output end of the signal generating module, and the signal receiving end of the control module is connected to the signal output end of the signal synchronization module; the signal synchronization module is configured as follows: Based on the time difference in signal transmission time of different display interfaces, the time for emitting the required display signal for each liquid crystal panel is determined; At the specified time of transmission, the display signal is sent to the control module, so that when the control module receives any display signal required by the liquid crystal panel, it controls the liquid crystal panel to display an image based on the display signal through the display interface connected to the liquid crystal panel.

2. The household appliance according to claim 1, characterized in that, The display module further includes: A backlight panel, the backlight panel being used to provide a backlight source for the plurality of liquid crystal panels; The household appliances also include: A backlight driving module, wherein the backlight driving module is connected to the control module, and the control module is further configured to: The backlight driving module controls the backlight panel to light up, so that the backlight panel provides the backlight source for the plurality of liquid crystal panels.

3. The household appliance according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The display interfaces to which the plurality of liquid crystal panels are respectively connected include: a reference display interface and other display interfaces. The time difference is the signal transmission time of the other display interfaces. Compared with the time difference of the signal transmission time of the reference display interface, the signal transmission speed of the other display interfaces is greater than the signal transmission speed of the reference display interface. Determining the emission time of the required display signal for each liquid crystal panel based on the time difference of the signal transmission times of the different display interfaces includes: In response to a target instruction for instructing the updating of the display content of the display module, the current time is taken as the time when the liquid crystal panel connected to the reference display interface sends the required display signal; The time difference after the current time is taken as the time when the liquid crystal panel connected to the other display interfaces emits the required display signal.

4. The household appliance according to claim 3, characterized in that, The signal generation module includes: a user interaction component, which is used to receive the target command triggered by the user through the user interaction component; or, The signal generation module includes: a state sensing component; the state sensing component is used to sense the operating state of the home appliance and / or the environmental state of the environment in which the home appliance is located; and to generate the target instruction based on the operating state of the home appliance and / or the environmental state of the environment in which the home appliance is located.

5. The household appliance according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The household appliances also include: A storage module is used for data storage. The storage module includes m data spaces, which are used to store the historical time differences in signal transmission times for different display interfaces. The time difference in signal transmission times for different display interfaces is the latest time difference among the historical time differences. After controlling the liquid crystal panel to display an image based on the display signal, the signal synchronization module is further configured to: Obtain the time difference of signal transmission time for the different display interfaces in this instance; The latest time difference is updated based on the time difference of the signal transmission time.

6. The household appliance according to claim 5, characterized in that, The step of updating the latest time difference based on the time difference of the current signal transmission includes: When the number of historical time differences is less than m, the average of the historical time differences and the time difference of the current signal transmission is taken as the latest updated time difference.

7. The household appliance according to claim 6, characterized in that, The signal synchronization module is also configured to: When the number of historical time differences is greater than or equal to m, if the time difference of the current signal transmission time is greater than the maximum value among the historical time differences, or if the time difference of the current signal transmission time is less than the target value, then the average value of the historical time differences is used as the latest updated time difference. The target value is a target multiple of the minimum value among the historical time differences; the target multiple is less than 1.

8. The household appliance according to claim 5, characterized in that, The display module includes: an elongated LCD panel formed by splicing two LCD panels, the two LCD panels having different resolutions; the ratio of m to the resolution of the two LCD panels is positively correlated; the ratio is the ratio of the larger resolution to the smaller resolution.

9. The household appliance according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The display module further includes: The liquid crystal driving component corresponding to the liquid crystal panel is used to drive the liquid crystal panel to display. The liquid crystal driving component is disposed on the edge or back of the liquid crystal panel, but not at the splicing point of the two liquid crystal panels.

10. A display method, characterized in that, Home appliances include: The display module includes: multiple spliced ​​LCD panels; The signal generation module is used to emit display signals; A control module is provided, which is connected to the liquid crystal panels via display interfaces. The control module is used to control the liquid crystal panels to display images via the display interfaces. Among the plurality of liquid crystal panels, at least two liquid crystal panels are connected to display interfaces with different signal transmission speeds. A signal synchronization module, wherein the signal receiving end of the signal synchronization module is connected to the signal output end of the signal generating module, and the signal receiving end of the control module is connected to the signal output end of the signal synchronization module; the display method is applied to the signal synchronization module, and the method includes: Based on the time difference in signal transmission time of different display interfaces, the time for emitting the required display signal for each liquid crystal panel is determined; At the specified time of transmission, the display signal is sent to the control module, so that when the control module receives any display signal required by the liquid crystal panel, it controls the liquid crystal panel to display an image based on the display signal through the display interface connected to the liquid crystal panel.

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