E-ink screen refresh methods, systems, and e-ink screen display devices

Abstract

This application relates to the field of e-ink screen driver technology, and discloses an e-ink screen refresh method, system, and e-ink screen display device. The e-ink screen refresh method includes: acquiring first refresh data and refresh state; under the condition that the first current grayscale and the first target refresh grayscale are consistent, converting the refresh state of each first pixel to be refreshed into second refresh data, so as to perform layer fusion based on the second refresh data; determining the remaining refresh frame number of each first pixel to be refreshed in the process of fusion between the handwriting layer and the background layer based on the second refresh data; determining whether each first pixel to be refreshed has been refreshed completely based on the remaining refresh frame number; and stopping the fusion of the handwriting layer and the background layer when all first pixels to be refreshed have been refreshed completely. This e-ink screen refresh method can effectively suppress over-refreshing / under-refreshing and improve the refresh speed of the e-ink screen device.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of e-ink screen driving technology, and in particular to an e-ink screen refresh method, system and e-ink screen display device. Background Technology

[0002] E-ink displays, with their bistable characteristics, ultra-low power consumption, and paper-like display advantages, are widely used in various devices such as readers, electronic price tags, smart wearables, and industrial control displays. Currently, most e-ink display drivers in the industry use a global frame counter to manage the refresh timing. A single counter outputs a unified drive signal to synchronously refresh all pixel areas of the display screen. While this driving method is simple in structure and easy to implement, it has significant technical flaws. The global synchronous refresh mode uses a homogeneous control strategy and cannot adaptively adjust the refresh frame rate. In partial update scenarios, the device still needs to perform a full-screen refresh operation, which not only affects the image update speed but also generates a large number of invalid refresh behaviors. This prevents the same screen from applying different refresh modes, thus limiting the refresh speed of e-ink display devices. Summary of the Invention

[0003] In view of this, the embodiments of this application provide an e-ink screen refresh method, system and e-ink screen display device, which can effectively improve the problems of e-ink screens being unable to apply different refresh modes and limiting the refresh speed of e-ink screen display devices.

[0004] In a first aspect, embodiments of this application provide an e-ink screen refresh method, including: The first refresh data of each pixel in the background layer of the e-ink screen and the refresh state of each pixel in the handwriting layer are obtained. The first refresh data includes the first current grayscale and the first target refresh grayscale of each pixel. Under the condition that the first current grayscale and the first target refresh grayscale of all pixels in the background layer are consistent, based on the first refresh data of all first pixels to be refreshed in the background layer, the refresh state of each first pixel to be refreshed in the handwriting layer is converted into second refresh data, so as to merge the handwriting layer and the background layer based on the second refresh data. The first pixel to be refreshed is the pixel at the same position in the handwriting layer and the background layer, and the refresh state is the target refresh grayscale of the first pixel to be refreshed in the handwriting layer. The second refresh data includes the target refresh frame number and target refresh direction of the first pixel to be refreshed in the background layer. The step of converting the refresh state of each first pixel to be refreshed in the handwriting layer into the second refresh data includes: The refresh state of each first pixel to be refreshed in the handwriting layer is used as the second target refresh grayscale of the first pixel to be refreshed in the background layer; The target refresh frame number is obtained by looking up the refresh frame number mapping table to determine the refresh frame number required to refresh the first current grayscale of the first pixel to be refreshed in the background layer to the second target refresh grayscale. Determine the refresh direction for refreshing the first current grayscale to the second target refresh grayscale, and obtain the target refresh direction; The remaining number of refresh frames for each of the first pixels to be refreshed during the fusion process of the handwriting layer and the background layer is determined based on the second refresh data. Based on the remaining refresh frames, determine whether each of the first pixels to be refreshed has been refreshed. If all the first pixels to be refreshed have been refreshed, stop merging the handwriting layer with the background layer.

[0005] In a first possible embodiment of the first aspect, the merging of the handwritten layer with the background layer based on the second refresh data includes: All the first pixels to be refreshed are refreshed synchronously according to the target refresh direction of each first pixel to be refreshed; The refresh of the first pixel to be refreshed stops when the number of refreshed frames for each first pixel to be refreshed equals the corresponding target number of refresh frames.

[0006] In a second possible embodiment of the first aspect, determining the number of remaining refresh frames for each of the first pixels to be refreshed during the fusion process of the handwriting layer and the background layer based on the second refresh data includes: When the first pixel to be refreshed is refreshed for the first time, the target refresh frame number is taken as the remaining refresh frame number of the first pixel to be refreshed; Obtain the number of refresh frames for each of the first pixels to be refreshed during the fusion process of the handwriting layer and the background layer; The remaining refresh frame count is obtained by calculating the difference between the target refresh frame count and the number of refreshed frames for each of the first pixels to be refreshed.

[0007] In a third possible embodiment of the first aspect, determining whether each of the first pixels to be refreshed has been refreshed based on the remaining number of refresh frames includes: If the remaining refresh frames of the first pixel to be refreshed are zero, it is determined that the first pixel to be refreshed has been refreshed. If the remaining refresh frame count of the first pixel to be refreshed is not zero, it is determined that the first pixel to be refreshed has not been refreshed.

[0008] In a fourth possible embodiment of the first aspect, the method further includes, before the handwritten layer is merged with the background layer: If the first current grayscale and the first target refresh grayscale of all pixels in the background layer are inconsistent, the pixels are refreshed from the first current grayscale to the first target refresh grayscale. Update the first refresh data for each pixel in the background layer.

[0009] In a fifth possible embodiment of the first aspect, the first refresh data is stored in the memory of the e-ink screen, the memory including a first cache block and a second cache block, and the step of obtaining the first refresh data for each pixel in the background layer of the e-ink screen includes: Read the first current grayscale value stored in the first cache block and the first target refresh grayscale value stored in the second cache block; The logical semantic roles of the first cache block and the second cache block are swapped. The first cache block stores the next target refresh grayscale of the pixel, and the second cache block stores the next current grayscale of the pixel.

[0010] In a sixth possible embodiment of the first aspect, during the fusion process of the handwritten layer and the background layer, the method further includes: If the first current grayscale and the first target refresh grayscale of a second pixel to be refreshed are inconsistent in the background layer, the second pixel to be refreshed is refreshed from the first current grayscale to the first target refresh grayscale. The second pixel to be refreshed is a pixel in the background layer other than the first pixel to be refreshed. Update the first refresh data of the second pixel to be refreshed in the background layer.

[0011] Secondly, embodiments of this application provide an e-ink screen refresh system, including: The data acquisition module is used to acquire the first refresh data of each pixel in the background layer of the e-ink screen and the refresh status of each pixel in the handwriting layer. The first refresh data includes the first current grayscale and the first target refresh grayscale of each pixel. The state transition module is used to convert the refresh state of each first pixel to be refreshed in the handwriting layer into second refresh data based on the first refresh data of all first pixels to be refreshed in the background layer, under the condition that the first current grayscale and the first target refresh grayscale of all pixels in the background layer are the same. The first pixel to be refreshed is a pixel at the same position in the handwriting layer and the background layer, and the refresh state is the target refresh grayscale of the first pixel to be refreshed in the handwriting layer. The second refresh data includes the target refresh frame number and target refresh direction of the first pixel to be refreshed in the background layer. The state transition module is further configured to use the refresh state of each first pixel to be refreshed in the handwriting layer as the second target refresh grayscale of the first pixel to be refreshed in the background layer; determine the refresh frame number to refresh the first current grayscale of the first pixel to be refreshed in the background layer to the second target refresh grayscale by looking up the refresh frame number mapping table, and obtain the target refresh frame number; determine the refresh direction to refresh the first current grayscale to the second target refresh grayscale, and obtain the target refresh direction. The layer blending module is used to blend the handwriting layer with the background layer based on the second refresh data, determine the remaining refresh frame number of each first pixel to be refreshed in the process of blending the handwriting layer with the background layer based on the second refresh data, determine whether each first pixel to be refreshed has been refreshed based on the remaining refresh frame number, and stop blending the handwriting layer with the background layer when all first pixels to be refreshed have been refreshed.

[0012] In a first possible embodiment of the second aspect, it further includes: The background layer refresh module is used to refresh the pixels from the first current grayscale to the first target refresh grayscale before the handwriting layer is merged with the background layer, under the condition that the first current grayscale and the first target refresh grayscale of all pixels in the background layer are inconsistent; and to update the first refresh data of each pixel in the background layer.

[0013] Thirdly, embodiments of this application provide an e-ink display device, which includes a processor and a memory. The memory stores a computer program, and the processor executes the computer program to implement the above-described e-ink refresh method.

[0014] The embodiments of this application have the following beneficial effects: An e-ink screen refresh method according to this embodiment includes: acquiring first refresh data of each pixel in the background layer of the e-ink screen and refresh state of each pixel in the handwriting layer, wherein the first refresh data includes a first current grayscale and a first target refresh grayscale of each pixel; under the condition that the first current grayscale and the first target refresh grayscale of all pixels in the background layer are consistent, based on the first refresh data of all first pixels to be refreshed in the background layer, converting the refresh state of each first pixel to be refreshed in the handwriting layer into second refresh data, so as to merge the handwriting layer and the background layer based on the second refresh data; determining the remaining refresh frame number of each first pixel to be refreshed in the merging process of the handwriting layer and the background layer based on the second refresh data; determining whether each first pixel to be refreshed has been refreshed completely based on the remaining refresh frame number, and stopping the merging of the handwriting layer and the background layer under the condition that all first pixels to be refreshed have been refreshed completely.

[0015] Based on the above scheme, this e-ink screen refresh method abandons the redundant storage mode of the global frame counter. The background layer only retains the necessary first refresh data, and the handwriting layer is driven by the refresh state and expands the number of frames as needed. This can improve the pixel-level data stream compression rate, which greatly reduces the processing bandwidth and required storage space. Moreover, it can perform different processing on the pixels of the background layer and the handwriting layer, dynamically calculate the second refresh data required for the handwriting layer to be merged into the background layer, effectively suppress over-refreshing / under-refreshing, and improve the refresh speed of the e-ink screen device. Attached Figure Description

[0016] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application, the accompanying drawings used in the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. It should be understood that the following drawings only show some embodiments of this application and should not be regarded as a limitation of the scope. For those skilled in the art, other related drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0017] Figure 1 This paper illustrates a first flowchart of an embodiment of the e-ink screen refresh method of this application. Figure 2 The diagram shows the FPGA-based driving principle of the e-ink screen according to an embodiment of this application; Figure 3 This paper illustrates a second flowchart of the e-ink screen refresh method according to an embodiment of this application. Figure 4 A schematic diagram of an e-ink screen refresh system according to an embodiment of this application is shown.

[0018] Explanation of key component symbols: 200 - E-ink screen refresh system; 210 - Data acquisition module; 220 - State transition module; 230 - Layer blending module; 240 - Background layer refresh module. Detailed Implementation

[0019] The technical solutions in the embodiments of this application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of this application, and not all embodiments.

[0020] The components of the embodiments of this application described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings can be arranged and designed in a variety of different configurations. Therefore, the following detailed description of the embodiments of this application provided in the drawings is not intended to limit the scope of the claimed application, but merely to illustrate selected embodiments of the application. All other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of this application without inventive effort are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0021] In the following text, the terms "comprising," "having," and their cognates, which may be used in various embodiments of this application, are intended only to indicate a particular feature, number, step, operation, element, component, or combination thereof, and should not be construed as primarily excluding the presence of one or more other features, numbers, steps, operations, elements, components, or combinations thereof, or adding the possibility of one or more combinations thereof. Furthermore, the terms "first," "second," "third," etc., are used only for distinguishing descriptions and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance.

[0022] Unless otherwise specified, all terms used herein (including technical and scientific terms) shall have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which the various embodiments of this application pertain. Terms (such as those defined in a generally used dictionary) shall be interpreted as having the same meaning as in the context of the relevant technical field and shall not be interpreted as having an idealized or overly formal meaning, unless clearly defined in the various embodiments of this application.

[0023] The following detailed description of some embodiments of this application is provided in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Unless otherwise specified, the following embodiments and features can be combined with each other.

[0024] The following describes the e-ink screen refresh method using specific examples.

[0025] Figure 1 A flowchart of an e-ink screen refresh method according to an embodiment of this application is shown. Exemplarily, the e-ink screen refresh method includes the following steps: S110, obtain the first refresh data of each pixel in the background layer of the e-ink screen and the refresh status of each pixel in the handwriting layer. The first refresh data includes the first current grayscale and the first target refresh grayscale of each pixel.

[0026] In this embodiment, the background layer refers to the main display image input by the MIPI (Mobile Industry Processor Interface), which is a regular refreshed full-screen grayscale image, while the handwriting layer is a local interactive image dynamically issued by the main controller, such as handwriting.

[0027] As an example, when a handwriting layer does not exist, simply refresh each pixel in the background layer from the first current grayscale to the first target refresh grayscale. When a handwriting layer exists, the background layer and the handwriting layer need to be merged.

[0028] In one implementation, the first current grayscale value that needs to be displayed by the current background layer and the first target refresh grayscale value that needs to be refreshed are first obtained, such as... Figure 2 The diagram shows the driving schematic of an e-ink screen based on an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array). The first refresh data is stored in the e-ink screen's memory, which can be connected to the memory, such as PSRAM (External Display Memory Cache), via a MIPI block (MIPI-DSI Interface Block). The memory is divided into two cache blocks, including a first cache block and a second cache block.

[0029] In one embodiment, the first current grayscale stored in the first cache block and the first target refresh grayscale stored in the second cache block are read; the logical semantic roles of the first cache block and the second cache block are swapped, the next target refresh grayscale of the pixel is stored in the first cache block, and the next current grayscale of the pixel is stored in the second cache block.

[0030] In this embodiment, when the logical semantic role of the first cache block is to store the first current grayscale value, and the logical semantic role of the second cache block is to store the first target refresh grayscale value, the MIPI block can read the first current grayscale value from the first cache block and the first target refresh grayscale value from the second cache block. After reading the first current grayscale value and the first target refresh grayscale value, the semantic roles of the first cache block and the second cache block can be swapped. That is, the logical semantic role of the first cache block is changed to storing the next target refresh grayscale value, and the logical semantic role of the second cache block is to storing the current grayscale value, and this process is repeated cyclically.

[0031] In one implementation, since only one memory is divided into a first cache block and a second cache block, the MIPI block's state machine is roughly divided into three stages: The first stage writes the first target refresh grayscale to be refreshed into the second cache block; the second stage simultaneously reads the first and second cache blocks to obtain the first refresh data for each pixel in the background layer; the third stage swaps the logical semantic roles of the first and second cache blocks, and the next first stage writes the next target refresh grayscale into the first cache block. The final output is a complete background layer, where each pixel contains an independent first current grayscale and a first target refresh grayscale, which are then sent to the proc block (ProcessingBlock, image processing module).

[0032] In this embodiment, the background layer adopts a grayscale to grayscale full refresh mode. Regardless of the difference between the initial grayscale and the target grayscale, the proc block executes the complete drive timing according to the preset uniform waveform refresh frame number. The white waveform automatically calls the positive voltage pulse sequence, and the black waveform automatically calls the negative voltage pulse sequence.

[0033] In one implementation, the handwriting layer is distinct from the wavetable of the background layer. The elements of each frame of the wavetable of the handwriting layer are consistent, but the number of frames required to refresh from different gray levels to black or white is different. In contrast, the elements of each frame of the wavetable of the background layer are different, but the number of frames required to refresh is fixed.

[0034] For example, in an e-ink screen, grayscale is defined as follows: 0 gray is equivalent to the whitest, 15 gray is equivalent to the blackest, 13 gray appears blacker than 8 gray, 15 gray is the blackest, and 0 gray is the whitest. The higher the grayscale value, the darker the image. Particle characteristics are that black particles are positively charged, and white particles are negatively charged. Handwritten images have only two refresh directions: gray to black or gray to white. For example, refreshing from 8 gray to black (15 gray) requires 5 frames of positive voltage, meaning a 5-frame refresh rate in the forward direction, attracting positively charged black particles to the surface, making the pixel black. Refreshing from 13 gray to white (0 gray) requires 8 frames of negative voltage, in the reverse direction, attracting negatively charged white particles to the surface, making the pixel white. The background layer has only one mode: refreshing from gray to gray, refreshing from 0 gray to 15 gray, and refreshing from 8 gray to 9 gray all require the same number of frames.

[0035] By demonstrating the difference between these two refresh modes, it can be observed that for background layer-driven refresh, the conditions are the known current grayscale of the first pixel and the first target refresh grayscale to be displayed, which is sufficient to complete the refresh. For handwriting layer-driven refresh, the conditions are the known refresh direction and refresh frame number, which are sufficient to complete the refresh.

[0036] In another embodiment, before the handwriting layer is merged with the background layer, under the condition that the first current grayscale and the first target refresh grayscale of all pixels in the background layer are inconsistent, the pixels are refreshed from the first current grayscale to the first target refresh grayscale, and the first refresh data of each pixel in the background layer is updated.

[0037] In this embodiment, at the end of each frame refresh, the first current grayscale of the pixel is actively updated to the first target refresh grayscale to truly reflect the current pixel state of the background layer; then the next target refresh grayscale of the next frame is preloaded as the new target for subsequent refreshes. This closed-loop update ensures the continuity of grayscale state updates.

[0038] S120, under the condition that the first current grayscale and the first target refresh grayscale of all pixels in the background layer are consistent, based on the first refresh data of all first pixels to be refreshed in the background layer, the refresh state of each first pixel to be refreshed in the handwriting layer is converted into second refresh data, so as to merge the handwriting layer and the background layer based on the second refresh data.

[0039] As an example, during the merging of the background layer and the handwriting layer, the handwriting layer has higher priority than the background layer, meaning that the refresh state of the handwriting layer will cover the background layer.

[0040] In one implementation, the HWL block (Hand Write Lite block, handwritten sub-image processing module) is used to process each pixel in the handwritten layer. The refresh state is the target refresh grayscale of the first pixel to be refreshed in the handwritten layer. The refresh state includes, but is not limited to, blacking out, whiteing out, and transparency. Through agreement with the main controller, it is determined whether each pixel in the handwritten layer is blacked out, whitened out, or transparent (i.e., the background layer is displayed). A total of 2 bits represent the refresh state of a pixel, such as 01 indicating blacking out (15 gray) and 10 indicating whitening (0 gray). It also includes the starting position and size of each pixel. The HWL block sends layers synchronously with the MIPI block, that is, every time the MIPI block sends a large image, the HWL block also sends a large image. The merging of the handwritten layer and the background layer is equivalent to pasting the handwritten layer onto the background layer. The proc block is used to merge the handwritten image and the MIPI image. Its function is equivalent to the pixel process in the Glider project. The difference is that the handwritten layer needs to be expanded to a format that is consistent with the background layer, that is, the current grayscale, the grayscale to be refreshed, and the refresh frame number. Because of the addition of the handwriting layer, the refresh mode of the first pixel to be refreshed changes from the background layer refresh mode to the handwriting layer refresh mode, meaning that the number of refresh frames for each first pixel to be refreshed is different.

[0041] For example, the first pixel to be refreshed is the pixel at the same position on both the handwriting layer and the background layer. Due to the addition of the handwriting layer, the original uniform waveform refresh frame rate mode for the first pixel to be refreshed becomes the refresh mode for each handwriting layer. Therefore, it is necessary to determine the second refresh data for the first pixel to be refreshed. The second refresh data includes the target refresh frame rate and target refresh direction of the first pixel to be refreshed in the background layer.

[0042] In one embodiment, such as Figure 3 As shown, determining the second refresh data includes the following steps: S121, take the refresh state of each first pixel to be refreshed in the handwriting layer as the second target refresh grayscale of the first pixel to be refreshed in the background layer.

[0043] In this embodiment, the first current grayscale of each first pixel to be refreshed in the original background layer is first used as the fusion basis, that is, starting from the first current grayscale, the first pixel to be refreshed is converted into the refresh state in the handwriting layer.

[0044] S122, by looking up the refresh frame number mapping table, determine the refresh frame number to refresh the first current grayscale of the first pixel to be refreshed in the background layer to the second target refresh grayscale, and obtain the target refresh frame number.

[0045] For example, a refresh frame count mapping table is used to store the minimum number of driving frames required for grayscale pair mapping. For instance, from grayscale 15 to grayscale 0, it corresponds to 8 refresh frames; from grayscale 2 to grayscale 0, it corresponds to 2 refresh frames. The target refresh frame count can be obtained simply by looking up the minimum number of driving frames required to go from the first current grayscale to the second target refresh grayscale in the refresh frame count mapping table.

[0046] S123, determine the refresh direction to refresh the first current grayscale to the second target refresh grayscale, and obtain the target refresh direction.

[0047] In this embodiment, the target refresh direction is determined by the relative size of the first current grayscale and the second target refresh grayscale: if the second target refresh grayscale is less than the first current grayscale (e.g., 15→0), the target refresh direction is reverse refresh; if the second target refresh grayscale is greater than the first current grayscale (e.g., 0→15), the target refresh direction is forward refresh.

[0048] For example, in one implementation, one of the first pixels to be refreshed in the handwritten layer is white. In a complete case, it takes 8 frames to refresh (i.e., it takes 8 frames to refresh from 15 gray to 0 gray). When blending with the background layer, the current gray level of the corresponding first pixel to be refreshed in the current background layer can be obtained. Suppose it is 2 gray. Then the actual refresh situation is 2 gray to 0 gray. If it is still refreshed for 8 frames, it will lead to over-refreshing. Therefore, here the number of frames to be refreshed is updated by looking up the table and changing 8 frames to 2 frames, which can avoid over-refreshing.

[0049] In another embodiment, all first pixels to be refreshed are refreshed synchronously according to the target refresh direction of each first pixel to be refreshed; until the number of refreshed frames of each first pixel to be refreshed is equal to the corresponding target refresh frame number, then the refresh of the first pixels to be refreshed is stopped.

[0050] In this embodiment, when the handwriting layer and the background layer are merged, each refresh treats all existing first pixels to be refreshed as a group of pixels to be refreshed, and refreshes them synchronously. Each refresh counts as one refresh frame. At this time, the refreshed frame count of the first pixel to be refreshed is incremented by one, and the remaining refresh frame count is decremented by one, until the refreshed frame count of the first pixel to be refreshed equals the corresponding target refresh frame count, at which point the refresh of the first pixel to be refreshed stops. By refreshing each first pixel to be refreshed according to the target refresh direction and updating it to the corresponding target refresh frame count, the effect of the handwriting layer covering the background layer can be achieved.

[0051] The first pixel to be refreshed is only generated when the handwriting layer is updated. The initial refresh time for each first pixel to be refreshed will vary, but as soon as a first pixel to be refreshed is generated, the fusion of the handwriting layer and the background layer will begin, and the refresh process will start. Furthermore, the target refresh frame count for each first pixel to be refreshed is determined by its current grayscale value in the background layer. Therefore, the target refresh frame count for each first pixel to be refreshed will also vary. Thus, it is necessary to determine whether the refresh of a first pixel to be refreshed is complete based on its already refreshed frame count. When the already refreshed frame count of each first pixel to be refreshed equals its corresponding target refresh frame count, it can be determined that the first pixel to be refreshed is complete. At this point, the refresh of that first pixel to be refreshed is stopped. When the already refreshed frame count of each first pixel to be refreshed is less than its corresponding target refresh frame count, the first pixel to be refreshed is not complete. The remaining unrefreshed first pixels to be refreshed need to continue refreshing until the already refreshed frame count of all first pixels to be refreshed equals their corresponding target refresh frame count, thus completing the fusion of the handwriting layer and the background layer.

[0052] S130, based on the second refresh data, determine the number of remaining refresh frames for each first pixel to be refreshed during the fusion process of the handwriting layer and the background layer.

[0053] As an example, it is also possible to determine whether each first pixel to be refreshed has been refreshed based on the remaining number of refresh frames for each first pixel to be refreshed. First, during the process of blending the handwriting layer and the background layer, it is necessary to determine the remaining number of refresh frames for each first pixel to be refreshed from the first current grayscale to the second target refresh grayscale.

[0054] In one embodiment, when the first pixel to be refreshed is refreshed for the first time, the target refresh frame number is used as the remaining refresh frame number of the first pixel to be refreshed; the number of refreshed frames of each first pixel to be refreshed during the fusion process of the handwriting layer and the background layer is obtained; the difference between the target refresh frame number and the number of refreshed frames of each first pixel to be refreshed is calculated to obtain the remaining refresh frame number.

[0055] In this embodiment, during the refresh process of each first pixel to be refreshed, one frame is refreshed, which means the remaining refresh frame count of the first pixel to be refreshed is reduced by one. The remaining refresh frame count refers to the number of driving frames that the first pixel to be refreshed needs to execute to complete its second target refresh grayscale transition. The initial value is determined by the target refresh frame count, and it decreases by 1 with each driving frame. When it decreases to 0, the refresh of the first pixel to be refreshed is completed.

[0056] S140: Determine whether each first pixel to be refreshed has been refreshed based on the remaining refresh frames. If all first pixels to be refreshed have been refreshed, stop merging the handwriting layer with the background layer.

[0057] In one embodiment, if the remaining refresh frame count of the first pixel to be refreshed is zero, it is determined that the first pixel to be refreshed has been refreshed; if the remaining refresh frame count of the first pixel to be refreshed is not zero, it is determined that the first pixel to be refreshed has not been refreshed.

[0058] In this embodiment, when the remaining refresh frame count of each first pixel to be refreshed is equal to zero, it can be determined that the first pixel to be refreshed has been refreshed. At this time, the first pixel to be refreshed is not refreshed. When the refreshed frame count of each first pixel to be refreshed is greater than zero, the first pixel to be refreshed has not been refreshed. The remaining unrefreshed first pixels to be refreshed need to be refreshed until the remaining refresh frame count of all first pixels to be refreshed is equal to zero, and the handwriting layer and the background layer are merged.

[0059] In one implementation, the remaining refresh frames for each first pixel to be refreshed are stored in PSRAM. The HWFblock (Hand Write Full block) is responsible for managing the remaining refresh frames for the complete set of first pixels to be refreshed. The HWFblock includes two read-write loops. The first loop reads the remaining refresh frames for each first pixel to be refreshed from PSRAM and sends it to the proc block. The second loop receives the remaining refresh frames for the first pixels to be refreshed after processing by the proc block and then writes them back to PSRAM. The entire loop repeats sequentially to complete the fusion of the handwritten layer and the background layer.

[0060] In one embodiment, during the fusion process of the handwritten layer and the background layer, if the first current grayscale and the first target refresh grayscale of the second pixel to be refreshed in the background layer are inconsistent, the second pixel to be refreshed is refreshed from the first current grayscale to the first target refresh grayscale. The second pixel to be refreshed is the pixel in the background layer other than the first pixel to be refreshed; the first refresh data of the second pixel to be refreshed in the background layer is updated.

[0061] As an example, if during the merging of the handwritten layer and the background layer, the background layer begins to refresh in the next frame, meaning the first target refresh grayscale of the current background layer begins to change, resulting in a discrepancy between the first current grayscale of the second pixel to be refreshed and the first target refresh grayscale, then the second pixel to be refreshed in the background layer needs to be refreshed. It can be understood that the refresh of the second pixel to be refreshed and the first pixel to be refreshed do not affect each other and can be performed simultaneously.

[0062] In this embodiment, the second pixel to be refreshed still adopts the background layer grayscale to grayscale full refresh mode. Regardless of the difference between the initial grayscale and the target grayscale, the complete driving timing is executed according to the preset unified waveform refresh frame number. The white waveform automatically calls the positive voltage pulse sequence, and the black waveform automatically calls the negative voltage pulse sequence.

[0063] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of an e-ink screen refresh system 200 according to an embodiment of this application is shown. Exemplarily, the e-ink screen refresh system includes: The data acquisition module 210 is used to acquire the first refresh data of each pixel in the background layer of the e-ink screen and the refresh status of each pixel in the handwriting layer. The first refresh data includes the first current grayscale and the first target refresh grayscale of each pixel.

[0064] In one embodiment, the first refresh data is stored in the memory of the e-ink screen. The memory includes a first cache block and a second cache block. The data acquisition module 210 is further used to read the first current grayscale stored in the first cache block and the first target refresh grayscale stored in the second cache block; exchange the logical semantic roles of the first cache block and the second cache block, store the next target refresh grayscale of the pixel in the first cache block, and store the next current grayscale of the pixel in the second cache block.

[0065] The state transition module 220 is used to convert the refresh state of each first pixel to be refreshed in the handwriting layer into second refresh data based on the first refresh data of all first pixels to be refreshed in the background layer, provided that the first current grayscale and the first target refresh grayscale of all pixels in the background layer are consistent. The first pixel to be refreshed is the pixel at the same position in the handwriting layer and the background layer, and the refresh state is the target refresh grayscale of the first pixel to be refreshed in the handwriting layer.

[0066] In one embodiment, the state transition module 220 is further configured to: use the refresh state of each first pixel to be refreshed in the handwriting layer as the second target refresh grayscale of the first pixel to be refreshed in the background layer; determine the refresh frame number to refresh the first current grayscale of the first pixel to be refreshed in the background layer to the second target refresh grayscale by looking up the refresh frame number mapping table, and obtain the target refresh frame number; and determine the refresh direction to refresh the first current grayscale to the second target refresh grayscale, and obtain the target refresh direction.

[0067] The layer blending module 230 is used to blend the handwriting layer and the background layer based on the second refresh data. Based on the second refresh data, it determines the remaining refresh frame count for each first pixel to be refreshed during the blending process. It then determines whether each first pixel to be refreshed has been refreshed completely based on the remaining refresh frame count. If all first pixels to be refreshed have been refreshed completely, the blending of the handwriting layer and the background layer is stopped. In one embodiment, the layer blending module 230 is further used to synchronously refresh all first pixels to be refreshed according to the target refresh direction of each first pixel; until the refreshed frame count of each first pixel to be refreshed equals the corresponding target refresh frame count, at which point the refresh of the first pixels to be refreshed is stopped.

[0068] In one embodiment, the layer blending module 230 is further configured to: when the first pixel to be refreshed is refreshed for the first time, use the target refresh frame number as the remaining refresh frame number of the first pixel to be refreshed; obtain the number of refreshed frames of each first pixel to be refreshed during the blending process of the handwriting layer and the background layer; calculate the difference between the target refresh frame number and the number of refreshed frames of each first pixel to be refreshed to obtain the remaining refresh frame number.

[0069] In one embodiment, the layer blending module 230 is further configured to determine that the first pixel to be refreshed has been refreshed when the remaining refresh frame count of the first pixel to be refreshed is zero; and to determine that the first pixel to be refreshed has not been refreshed when the remaining refresh frame count of the first pixel to be refreshed is not zero.

[0070] In one embodiment, the e-ink screen refresh system 200 further includes a background layer refresh module 240, which is used to refresh the pixels from the first current grayscale to the first target refresh grayscale before the handwriting layer is merged with the background layer, under the condition that the first current grayscale and the first target refresh grayscale of all pixels in the background layer are inconsistent; and update the first refresh data of each pixel in the background layer.

[0071] In one embodiment, the first refresh data is stored in the memory of the e-ink screen. The background layer refresh module 240 is also used to read the first current grayscale stored in the first cache block and the first target refresh grayscale stored in the second cache block; swap the logical semantic roles of the first cache block and the second cache block, store the next target refresh grayscale of the pixel in the first cache block, and store the next current grayscale of the pixel in the second cache block.

[0072] In one embodiment, during the fusion process of the handwriting layer and the background layer, the background layer refresh module 240 is further configured to refresh the second pixel to be refreshed from its first current grayscale to its first target refresh grayscale when the first current grayscale and the first target refresh grayscale of the second pixel to be refreshed in the background layer are inconsistent. The second pixel to be refreshed refers to any pixel in the background layer other than the first pixel to be refreshed; and the first refresh data of the second pixel to be refreshed in the background layer is updated. It can be understood that the system in this embodiment corresponds to the e-ink screen refresh method of the above embodiments, and the options in the above embodiments are also applicable to this embodiment, so they will not be described again here.

[0073] This application also provides an e-ink display device, exemplary of which includes a processor and a memory, wherein the memory stores a computer program, and the processor executes the computer program to enable the e-ink display device to perform the functions of the various modules in the above-described e-ink refresh method or the above-described e-ink refresh system.

[0074] The processor can be an integrated circuit chip with signal processing capabilities. The processor can be a general-purpose processor, including at least one of a Central Processing Unit (CPU), Graphics Processing Unit (GPU), Network Processor (NP), Digital Signal Processor (DSP), Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, or discrete hardware components. The general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or any conventional processor, capable of implementing or executing the methods, steps, and logic block diagrams disclosed in the embodiments of this application.

[0075] Memory can be, but is not limited to, Random Access Memory (RAM), Read Only Memory (ROM), Programmable Read-Only Memory (PROM), Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EPROM), and Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM). Memory is used to store computer programs, and the processor can execute these programs upon receiving execution instructions.

[0076] This application also provides a computer-readable storage medium for storing computer programs used in the aforementioned e-ink display device. For example, the computer-readable storage medium may include, but is not limited to, 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.

[0077] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed apparatus and methods can also be implemented in other ways. The apparatus embodiments described above are merely illustrative. For example, the flowcharts and block diagrams in the accompanying drawings show the architecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementations of apparatus, methods, and computer program products according to various embodiments of this application. In this regard, each block in a flowchart or block diagram may represent a module, segment, or portion of code, which contains one or more executable instructions for implementing a specified logical function. It should also be noted that, as an alternative implementation, the functions marked in the blocks may occur in a different order than those marked in the drawings. For example, two consecutive blocks may actually be executed substantially in parallel, and they may sometimes be executed in reverse order, depending on the functions involved. It should also be noted that each block in the block diagram and / or flowchart, and combinations of blocks in the block diagram and / or flowchart, can be implemented using a dedicated hardware-based system that performs the specified function or action, or using a combination of dedicated hardware and computer instructions.

[0078] In addition, the functional modules or units in the various embodiments of this application can be integrated together to form an independent part, or each module can exist independently, or two or more modules can be integrated to form an independent part.

[0079] If a function is implemented as a software module and sold or used as an independent product, it can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of this application, in essence, or the part that contributes to the prior art, or part of the technical solution, can be embodied in the form of a software product. This computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions to cause a computer device (which may be a smartphone, personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the methods of the various embodiments of this application.

[0080] The above are merely specific embodiments of this application, but the scope of protection of this application is not limited thereto. Any changes or substitutions that can be easily conceived by those skilled in the art within the scope of the technology disclosed in this application should be included within the scope of protection of this application.

Claims

1. A method for refreshing an e-ink screen, characterized in that, include: The first refresh data of each pixel in the background layer of the e-ink screen and the refresh state of each pixel in the handwriting layer are obtained. The first refresh data includes the first current grayscale and the first target refresh grayscale of each pixel. Under the condition that the first current grayscale and the first target refresh grayscale of all pixels in the background layer are consistent, based on the first refresh data of all first pixels to be refreshed in the background layer, the refresh state of each first pixel to be refreshed in the handwriting layer is converted into second refresh data, so as to merge the handwriting layer and the background layer based on the second refresh data. The first pixel to be refreshed is the pixel at the same position in the handwriting layer and the background layer, and the refresh state is the target refresh grayscale of the first pixel to be refreshed in the handwriting layer. The second refresh data includes the target refresh frame number and target refresh direction of the first pixel to be refreshed in the background layer. The step of converting the refresh state of each first pixel to be refreshed in the handwriting layer into the second refresh data includes: The refresh state of each first pixel to be refreshed in the handwriting layer is used as the second target refresh grayscale of the first pixel to be refreshed in the background layer; The target refresh frame number is obtained by looking up the refresh frame number mapping table to determine the refresh frame number required to refresh the first current grayscale of the first pixel to be refreshed in the background layer to the second target refresh grayscale. Determine the refresh direction for refreshing the first current grayscale to the second target refresh grayscale, and obtain the target refresh direction; The remaining number of refresh frames for each of the first pixels to be refreshed during the fusion process of the handwriting layer and the background layer is determined based on the second refresh data. Based on the remaining refresh frames, determine whether each of the first pixels to be refreshed has been refreshed. If all the first pixels to be refreshed have been refreshed, stop merging the handwriting layer with the background layer.

2. The e-ink screen refresh method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The step of merging the handwritten layer with the background layer based on the second refresh data includes: All the first pixels to be refreshed are refreshed synchronously according to the target refresh direction of each first pixel to be refreshed; The refresh of the first pixel to be refreshed stops when the number of refreshed frames for each first pixel to be refreshed equals the corresponding target number of refresh frames.

3. The e-ink screen refresh method according to claim 1, characterized in that, Determining the remaining refresh frame count for each of the first pixels to be refreshed during the fusion process of the handwriting layer and the background layer based on the second refresh data includes: When the first pixel to be refreshed is refreshed for the first time, the target refresh frame number is taken as the remaining refresh frame number of the first pixel to be refreshed; Obtain the number of refresh frames for each of the first pixels to be refreshed during the fusion process of the handwriting layer and the background layer; The remaining refresh frame count is obtained by calculating the difference between the target refresh frame count and the number of refreshed frames for each of the first pixels to be refreshed.

4. The e-ink screen refresh method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The step of determining whether each of the first pixels to be refreshed has been refreshed completely based on the remaining refresh frame count includes: If the remaining refresh frames of the first pixel to be refreshed are zero, it is determined that the first pixel to be refreshed has been refreshed. If the remaining refresh frame count of the first pixel to be refreshed is not zero, it is determined that the first pixel to be refreshed has not been refreshed.

5. The e-ink screen refresh method according to claim 1, characterized in that, Before the handwritten layer is merged with the background layer, the method further includes: If the first current grayscale and the first target refresh grayscale of all pixels in the background layer are inconsistent, the pixels are refreshed from the first current grayscale to the first target refresh grayscale. Update the first refresh data for each pixel in the background layer.

6. The e-ink screen refresh method according to claim 5, characterized in that, The first refresh data is stored in the e-ink screen's memory, which includes a first cache block and a second cache block. Obtaining the first refresh data for each pixel in the e-ink screen's background layer includes: Read the first current grayscale value stored in the first cache block and the first target refresh grayscale value stored in the second cache block; The logical semantic roles of the first cache block and the second cache block are swapped. The first cache block stores the next target refresh grayscale of the pixel, and the second cache block stores the next current grayscale of the pixel.

7. The e-ink screen refresh method according to claim 1, characterized in that, During the merging process of the handwritten layer and the background layer, the method further includes: If the first current grayscale and the first target refresh grayscale of a second pixel to be refreshed are inconsistent in the background layer, the second pixel to be refreshed is refreshed from the first current grayscale to the first target refresh grayscale. The second pixel to be refreshed is the pixel to be refreshed in the background layer other than the first pixel to be refreshed. Update the first refresh data of the second pixel to be refreshed in the background layer.

8. An e-ink screen refresh system, characterized in that, include: The data acquisition module is used to acquire the first refresh data of each pixel in the background layer of the e-ink screen and the refresh status of each pixel in the handwriting layer. The first refresh data includes the first current grayscale and the first target refresh grayscale of each pixel. The state transition module is used to convert the refresh state of each first pixel to be refreshed in the handwriting layer into second refresh data based on the first refresh data of all first pixels to be refreshed in the background layer, under the condition that the first current grayscale and the first target refresh grayscale of all pixels in the background layer are the same. The first pixel to be refreshed is a pixel at the same position in the handwriting layer and the background layer, and the refresh state is the target refresh grayscale of the first pixel to be refreshed in the handwriting layer. The second refresh data includes the target refresh frame number and target refresh direction of the first pixel to be refreshed in the background layer. The state transition module is also used to use the refresh state of each first pixel to be refreshed in the handwriting layer as the second target refresh grayscale of the first pixel to be refreshed in the background layer. The target refresh frame number is obtained by looking up the refresh frame number mapping table to determine the refresh frame number required to refresh the first current grayscale of the first pixel to be refreshed in the background layer to the second target refresh grayscale. Determine the refresh direction for refreshing the first current grayscale to the second target refresh grayscale, and obtain the target refresh direction; The layer blending module is used to blend the handwriting layer with the background layer based on the second refresh data, determine the remaining refresh frame number of each first pixel to be refreshed in the process of blending the handwriting layer with the background layer based on the second refresh data, determine whether each first pixel to be refreshed has been refreshed based on the remaining refresh frame number, and stop blending the handwriting layer with the background layer when all first pixels to be refreshed have been refreshed.

9. The e-ink screen refresh system according to claim 8, characterized in that, Also includes: The background layer refresh module is used to refresh the pixels from the first current grayscale to the first target refresh grayscale before the handwriting layer is merged with the background layer, under the condition that the first current grayscale and the first target refresh grayscale of all the pixels in the background layer are inconsistent. Update the first refresh data for each pixel in the background layer.

10. An e-ink display device, characterized in that, The e-ink display device includes a processor and a memory, the memory storing a computer program, and the processor executing the computer program to implement the e-ink refresh method according to any one of claims 1-7.

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