e-paper

Abstract

This product provides an electronic paper that can reduce power consumption compared to conventional devices while maintaining a battery connection. [Solution] The power supply control unit controls the interlocking switch unit when it is time to supply power, to energize the connection from the battery to the main circuit and the connection from the battery to the power storage unit, and then, at a predetermined power supply termination timing, to disconnect the connection from the battery to the main circuit and the connection from the battery to the power storage unit; the control unit controls the communication unit to perform the communication with the server and the display unit to rewrite the display image when the connection from the battery to the main circuit is energized; and the power storage unit charges using the power from the battery when the connection from the battery to the power storage unit is energized.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure relates to electronic paper, and more particularly to battery - rechargeable electronic paper.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, electronic paper is known as an image display device that can be rewritten multiple times and has low power consumption (see, for example, Patent Document 1). Generally, an electronic paper displays a display image based on image data acquired from an external server on a display unit. Although the power consumption during image display of the electronic paper is almost zero, when changing the display content of the image, it consumes power for processes such as acquiring image data from an external server and rewriting the display image.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] In such an electronic paper, it is known to connect a mobile battery to supply power. When a mobile battery is connected to an electronic paper, during the standby mode where the display screen is not being rewritten, since the power consumption of the electronic paper is low, the control unit of the mobile battery may erroneously determine that it is in a disconnected state from the electronic paper.

[0005] In this case, as a result of the output of the mobile battery automatically turning OFF (no power supply), the electronic paper also becomes in a power - OFF (no power supply) state, and there has been a situation where the electronic paper cannot resume operation on its own.

[0006] To solve this problem, one could consider a method that prevents the mobile battery's output from automatically turning off, keeping it constantly outputting power. However, in this case, the mobile battery's capacity would be depleted in a few days due to self-consumption, requiring it to be recharged each time, which is impractical.

[0007] This disclosure has been made in consideration of the circumstances described above, and its purpose is to provide electronic paper that can reduce power consumption compared to conventional methods while maintaining a battery connection. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] This disclosure includes a communication unit that communicates with an external server, a display unit that displays an image based on image data received from the server through the communication by rewriting the display image, a control unit that controls the communication unit and the display unit, and a power supply control unit that controls the supply of power from an external battery to the main circuit constituting the communication unit, the display unit and the control unit, wherein the power supply control unit includes a power storage unit, an interlocking switch unit that switches between a powered state and a powered-off state using the power stored in the power storage unit, a timing unit that measures time, and a power supply timing storage unit that stores a predetermined power supply timing, wherein when the power supply timing is reached, the power supply control unit controls the interlocking switch unit to power the battery The present invention provides an electronic paper characterized in that the connection to the main circuit is energized, the connection from the battery to the power storage unit is energized, and then at a predetermined power supply termination timing, the connection from the battery to the main circuit is disconnected, and the connection from the battery to the power storage unit is disconnected, the control unit controls the communication unit to perform the communication with the server when the connection from the battery to the main circuit is energized, and controls the display unit to rewrite the display image on the display unit, and the power storage unit charges using the power from the battery when the connection from the battery to the power storage unit is energized. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] According to this disclosure, when a predetermined power supply timing is reached, the interlocking switch unit is controlled to energize the connection from the battery to the main circuit and the connection from the battery to the power storage unit. Then, at a predetermined power supply termination timing, the connection from the battery to the main circuit is disconnected. The power storage unit charges using the battery's power when the connection from the battery to the power storage unit is energized. This makes it possible to realize an electronic paper that can reduce power consumption compared to conventional designs while maintaining the battery connection. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0010] [Figure 1] This block diagram shows the schematic configuration of the electronic paper system in this disclosure. [Figure 2] Figure 1 is a block diagram illustrating the schematic configuration of an electronic paper display. [Figure 3] Figure 2 is a block diagram showing the schematic configuration of the electronic paper when the interlocking switch of the power supply control unit is turned OFF. [Figure 4] Figure 1 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing of the power supply control unit and main circuit of the electronic paper. Figure 4(A) shows the processing of the power supply control unit, and Figure 4(B) shows the processing of the main circuit unit in conjunction with the power supply control unit. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0011] Furthermore, preferred embodiments of this disclosure will be described.

[0012] In the electronic paper according to this disclosure, the power supply termination timing may be the timing at which the communication between the communication unit and the server and the rewriting of the display image of the display unit are completed, or the timing at which the charging of the power storage unit is completed.

[0013] In this way, the power supply termination timing is when communication between the communication unit and the server and the rewriting of the display image in the display unit are completed, or when charging of the power storage unit is completed. Therefore, it is possible to realize an electronic paper that consumes less power than conventional models while maintaining the battery connected.

[0014] In the electronic paper according to this disclosure, the control unit may, when the connection from the battery to the main circuit is energized, control the communication unit to check whether or not there is an update to the image data on the server, and if there is an update to the image data, receive the updated image data from the server, and cause the display unit to rewrite the display image based on the updated image data received from the server.

[0015] In this way, when the connection from the battery to the main circuit is powered, the control unit controls the communication unit to check whether there are any image data updates on the server. If there are image data updates, it receives the updated image data from the server and causes the display unit to rewrite the display image based on the updated image data received from the server. Thus, an electronic paper system can be realized that rewrites the display image at the same time as power is supplied to the main circuit unit.

[0016] In the electronic paper according to this disclosure, the power supply control unit further comprises a charge amount detection unit for detecting the charge amount of the energy storage unit and a storage unit for storing a predetermined charge amount threshold, and the power supply control unit may, when the connection from the battery to the main circuit is disconnected, cause the charge amount detection unit to detect the charge amount of the energy storage unit, and when the charge amount becomes less than the charge amount threshold, control the interlocking switch unit to energize the connection from the battery to the main circuit and energize the connection from the battery to the energy storage unit.

[0017] In this way, when the connection from the battery to the main circuit is in an open state, the power supply control unit causes the charge amount detection unit to detect the charge amount of the power storage unit. When the charge amount becomes smaller than the charge amount threshold value, the interlocking switch unit is controlled to make the connection from the battery to the main circuit in an energized state and the connection from the battery to the power storage unit in an energized state. Therefore, an electronic paper that can reduce power consumption more than before while maintaining the state of connecting the battery can be realized.

[0018] In the electronic paper according to this disclosure, the main circuit includes a schedule storage circuit that stores a schedule of the time when the display unit rewrites a display image, and the control unit may rewrite the power supply timing stored in the power supply timing storage unit based on the schedule.

[0019] In this way, the control unit rewrites the power supply timing stored in the power supply timing storage unit based on the schedule of the time when the display image is rewritten. Therefore, an electronic paper that can reduce power consumption more than before while maintaining the state of connecting the battery can be realized.

[0020] In the electronic paper according to this disclosure, the display unit includes color particles that move by applying a predetermined writing voltage from the battery, and the control unit may display the image by applying the writing voltage to the color particles based on the image data to the display unit.

[0021] In this way, in an electronic paper that can reduce power consumption more than before while maintaining the state of connecting the battery, the display unit includes color particles that move by applying a predetermined writing voltage from the battery, and the control unit can realize an electronic paper that displays an image by applying a writing voltage to the color particles based on image data to the display unit.

[0022] Hereinafter, this disclosure will be described in more detail with reference to the drawings. Note that the following description is illustrative in all respects and should not be construed as limiting this disclosure.

[0023] (Embodiment 1) <Configuration of Electronic Paper System 100> Next, based on FIG. 1, the electronic paper system 100 according to Embodiment 1 of this disclosure will be described. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the schematic configuration of the electronic paper system 100 of this disclosure.

[0024] As shown in FIG. 1, the electronic paper system 100 is composed of an electronic paper 1 and a server 2 connected via a wireless or wired network 3, and a battery 4 connected to the electronic paper 1 via a charging cable 5.

[0025] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the schematic configuration of the electronic paper 1 in FIG. 1.

[0026] The electronic paper 1 includes a control unit 10, a touch panel 11, a timer 12, a communication unit 13, a memory unit 14, an image processing unit 15, an image signal output unit 16, and a power supply control unit 17. The control unit 10, the touch panel 11, the timer 12, the communication unit 13, the memory unit 14, the image processing unit 15, and the image signal output unit 16 will be collectively referred to as the "main circuit unit".

[0027] As shown in FIG. 2, the electronic paper 1 of this disclosure is characterized in that the battery 4 is not directly connected to the main circuit unit, but is connected to the main circuit unit via the power supply control unit 17 and the charging cable 5.

[0028] Hereinafter, each component of the electronic paper 1 will be described.

[0029] The control unit 10 comprehensively controls the electronic paper 1 and consists of at least one CPU (Central Processing Unit), at least one SoC (System on a Chip), at least one RAM (Random Access Memory), at least one ROM (Read-only memory), at least one control circuit, various interface circuits, etc.

[0030] The control unit 10 monitors and controls all loads, including detection by each sensor, motor, clutch, touch panel 11, etc., in order to control the operation of the entire electronic paper 1.

[0031] The touch panel 11 includes a display unit 111 and an operation unit 112. Furthermore, the electronic paper 1 may not have a touch panel function and may only have a mechanical operating unit 112.

[0032] The display unit 111 is the part that displays various types of information. The display unit 111 includes color particles (not shown) that move when a predetermined writing voltage is applied from the battery 4. The color particles are, for example, charged organic or inorganic particles, and a predetermined display image is displayed on the display unit 111 by performing electrophoresis, moving and rotating in a dispersion liquid (not shown) in response to a writing voltage applied between two electrodes (not shown).

[0033] Furthermore, the display method of the display unit 111 is not limited to electrophoresis; for example, it may be a particle rotation method that rotates charged particles or a magnetophoresis method that moves particles using magnetism, or it may use liquid crystal or EL elements.

[0034] The control unit 112 consists of a touch panel and displays images based on image data acquired from the server 2, and receives commands from the user via the touch panel.

[0035] Timer 12 is the part that measures and counts time, and obtains the time, for example, from an internal clock or via network 3. Timer 12 measures, for example, the time it takes to acquire image data from server 2.

[0036] The communication unit 13 is the part that communicates with an external server 2 via the network 3 and receives image data.

[0037] The memory unit 14 is an element or storage medium that stores information and control programs necessary to realize the various functions of the electronic paper 1. For example, semiconductor elements such as RAM and ROM, storage media such as hard disks, flash memory units, and SSDs (Solid State Drives) can be used.

[0038] Furthermore, the data may be stored in different devices, such as a hard disk drive for the data storage area and a flash memory unit for the program storage area.

[0039] The memory unit 14 stores, for example, a threshold voltage value that determines the charging timing of the energy storage unit 174, and a set time that determines the power supply timing for supplying power to the main circuit unit.

[0040] The image processing unit 15 is the part that converts image data into appropriate electrical signals and processes them to make them suitable for output such as enlargement and reduction.

[0041] The image signal output unit 16 is the part that outputs the image signal to be output to the display unit 111.

[0042] The power supply control unit 17 is the part that controls the power supplied from the battery 4 to the main circuit. The power supply control unit 17 includes a switch control unit 170, an interlocking switch unit 171, a voltage monitoring unit 172, a timing unit 173, and a power storage unit 174.

[0043] The following describes each component of the power supply control unit 17.

[0044] The switch control unit 170 monitors the remaining voltage value of the energy storage unit 174 and controls the interlocking switch unit 171. The switch control unit 170 consists of at least one CPU, at least one SoC, at least one RAM, at least one ROM, at least one control circuit, various interface circuits, and so on.

[0045] The interlocking switch unit 171 is a switch that electrically switches the ON / OFF status of the connection of the battery 4's charging cable 5. The interlocking switch unit 171 switches the ON / OFF of the power supply to the main circuit unit and the charging of the energy storage unit 174 in a synchronized manner.

[0046] The voltage monitoring unit 172 is the part that monitors whether the voltage of the energy storage unit 174 has fallen below a predetermined voltage threshold.

[0047] The timekeeping unit 173 is the part that measures time, and obtains the time, for example, through an internal clock or a network.

[0048] The power storage unit 174 is the part that holds the power used to drive the power supply control unit 17. For the energy storage unit 174, for example, a supercapacitor or the like can be used.

[0049] Figure 3 is a block diagram showing the schematic configuration of the electronic paper 1 in Figure 2 when the interlocking switch unit 171 of the power supply control unit 17 is turned OFF.

[0050] When the interlocking switch unit 171 is turned OFF, the power supplied from the battery 4 to the main circuit unit and the power storage unit 174 is cut off, and the battery 4 enters a dormant state. If the charging cable 5 is a USB cable, the battery 4 will automatically switch between sleep and operating states depending on the connection status to the main circuit, using the USB PD (Power Delivery) function. Furthermore, power is supplied from the energy storage unit 174 to the voltage monitoring unit 172 and the timing unit 173.

[0051] <Processing of the power supply control unit and main circuit of the electronic paper> Next, the power supply control unit 17 and the main circuit processing of the electronic paper 1 will be explained based on Figure 4. Figure 4 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing of the power supply control unit 17 and the main circuit section of the electronic paper 1 shown in Figure 1. Figure 4(A) shows the processing of the power supply control unit 17, and Figure 4(B) shows the processing of the main circuit section in conjunction with the power supply control unit 17.

[0052] Figure 4 assumes that the battery 4 is connected to the electronic paper 1. In this case, the battery 4 becomes operational, and in step S1 of Figure 4(A), the switch control unit 170 of the electronic paper 1 starts charging the power storage unit 174 from the battery 4 with the interlocking switch unit 171 turned ON, as shown in Figure 2 (step S1). Furthermore, the control unit 10 also instructs the timing unit 173 to start measuring time.

[0053] Meanwhile, in step S11 of Figure 4(B), power supply to the main circuit section is also started in conjunction with the charging of the energy storage unit 174 in step S1 (step S11).

[0054] Next, in step S2 of Figure 4(A), the energy storage unit 174 is charged (step S2). If the capacity of the energy storage unit 174 is not very large, charging of the energy storage unit 174 will be completed immediately, but the interlocking switch will not be turned OFF until the processes in steps S12 to S14 in Figure 4(B) are completed.

[0055] In step S12 of Figure 4(B), the control unit 10 checks for the presence or absence of image data for rewriting on the server 2 via the communication unit 13 (step S12).

[0056] In the following step S13, the control unit 10 determines whether or not image data is present (step S13).

[0057] If image data exists (if the determination in step S13 is Yes), in step S14, the control unit 10 downloads image data from the server 2 via the communication unit 13 and outputs the image data from the image signal output unit 16 to the display unit 111 to rewrite the displayed image (step S14).

[0058] Once the rewriting of the display image is complete, in step S15, the control unit 10 puts the main circuit unit into standby mode (step S15).

[0059] In the following step S16, the switch control unit 170 turns off the interlocking switch as shown in Figure 3, stopping the power supply from the battery 4 to the main circuit unit (step S16).

[0060] Furthermore, in step S3 of Figure 4(A), charging from the battery 4 to the energy storage unit 174 is also stopped in conjunction with the stopping of power supply from the battery 4 to the main circuit unit in step S16 (step S3).

[0061] At this time, as shown in Figure 3, power is supplied from the energy storage unit 174 to the voltage monitoring unit 172 and the timing unit 173. In addition, the voltage value of the energy storage unit 174 gradually decreases due to natural discharge.

[0062] Next, in step S4, the voltage monitoring unit 172 determines whether the voltage value of the energy storage unit 174 has fallen below a predetermined threshold (step S4).

[0063] If the voltage value of the energy storage unit 174 falls below a predetermined threshold (if the determination in step S4 is below the threshold), the control unit 10 returns to step S1. In this way, the interlocking switch unit 171 is turned ON before the power held in the power storage unit 174 runs out, making it possible to recharge the power storage unit 174 from the battery 4.

[0064] On the other hand, if the voltage value of the energy storage unit 174 is above a predetermined threshold (if the determination in step S4 is above the threshold), in step S5, the control unit 10 determines whether the measurement time of the timing unit 173 has become above a predetermined setting time for setting the power supply timing (step S5).

[0065] If the measurement time of the timing unit 173 exceeds a predetermined set time (if the determination in step S5 is Yes), the control unit 10 returns to step S1. In this way, the interlocking switch unit 171 is turned ON at predetermined set intervals (for example, every 24 hours), enabling periodic power supply from the battery 4 to the main circuit unit, as well as the download of image data from the server 2 and the rewriting of the displayed image.

[0066] On the other hand, if the measurement time of the timing unit 173 is less than a predetermined set time (if the determination in step S5 is No), in step S6, the control unit 10 determines whether or not a predetermined monitoring termination condition has been met (step S6).

[0067] Monitoring termination conditions include, for example, when the battery 4 is removed from the e-paper 1 and the connection is lost.

[0068] If the predetermined monitoring termination conditions are met (i.e., the determination in step S6 is Yes), the control unit 10 terminates the process.

[0069] On the other hand, if the predetermined monitoring termination conditions are not met (i.e., the determination in step S6 is No), the control unit 10 returns to the determination in step S4.

[0070] In this way, when a predetermined power supply timing is reached, the switch control unit 170 controls the interlocking switch unit 171 to energize the connection from the battery 4 to the main circuit unit and the connection from the battery 4 to the power storage unit 174. Then, at a predetermined power supply termination timing, the connection from the battery 4 to the main circuit unit is disconnected. The power storage unit 174 charges using the power from the battery 4 when the connection from the battery 4 to the power storage unit 174 is energized. This makes it possible to realize an electronic paper 1 that can reduce power consumption compared to conventional methods while maintaining the battery 4 connected.

[0071] Furthermore, when the connection from the battery 4 to the main circuit is powered, the control unit 10 controls the communication unit 13 to communicate with the server 2, and also controls the display unit 111 to rewrite the display image, thereby realizing an electronic paper 1 that rewrites the display image at the same time as power is supplied to the main circuit.

[0072] Preferred embodiments of this invention include combinations of any of the above-described embodiments. In addition to the embodiments described above, various modifications of this invention are possible. These modifications should not be considered outside the scope of this invention. This invention should include the meaning of the claims and equivalents and all variations within that scope. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0073] 1: Electronic paper, 2: Server, 3: Network, 4: Battery, 5: Charging cable, 10: Control unit, 11: Touch panel, 12: Timer, 13: Communication unit, 14: Memory unit, 15: Image processing unit, 16: Image signal output unit, 17: Power supply control unit, 100: Electronic paper system, 111: Display unit, 112: Operation unit, 170: Switch control unit, 171: Interlocking switch unit, 172: Voltage monitoring unit, 173: Timing unit, 174: Energy storage unit

Claims

1. A communications unit that communicates with external servers, A display unit that displays an image based on image data received from the server via the aforementioned communication by rewriting the displayed image, A control unit that controls the communication unit and the display unit, It includes a power supply control unit that controls the supply of power from an external battery to the communication unit, the display unit, and the main circuit constituting the control unit, The power supply control unit comprises a power storage unit, an interlocking switch unit that switches between a powered state and a power-off state using the power stored in the power storage unit, a timing unit that measures time, and a power supply timing storage unit that stores predetermined power supply timings. The power supply control unit, when the power supply timing occurs, controls the interlocking switch unit to energize the connection from the battery to the main circuit and the connection from the battery to the energy storage unit, and then, at a predetermined power supply termination timing, disconnects the connection from the battery to the main circuit and disconnects the connection from the battery to the energy storage unit. When the connection from the battery to the main circuit is energized, the control unit controls the communication unit to perform the communication with the server, and controls the display unit to rewrite the display image on the display unit. The electronic paper is characterized in that the power storage unit charges using the power of the battery when the connection from the battery to the power storage unit is energized.

2. The electronic paper according to claim 1, wherein the power supply termination timing is the timing at which the communication between the communication unit and the server and the rewriting of the display image of the display unit are completed, or the timing at which the charging of the power storage unit is completed.

3. The electronic paper according to claim 1, wherein the control unit, when the connection from the battery to the main circuit is energized, controls the communication unit to check whether or not there is an update to the image data on the server, and if there is an update to the image data, receives the updated image data from the server and causes the display unit to rewrite the display image based on the updated image data received from the server.

4. The power supply control unit further comprises a charge amount detection unit for detecting the charge amount of the energy storage unit and a storage unit for storing a predetermined charge amount threshold, The electronic paper according to claim 1, wherein the power supply control unit, when the connection from the battery to the main circuit is disconnected, causes the charge amount detection unit to detect the charge amount of the energy storage unit, and when the charge amount becomes less than the charge amount threshold, controls the interlocking switch unit to energize the connection from the battery to the main circuit and energize the connection from the battery to the energy storage unit.

5. The main circuit includes a schedule storage circuit that stores a schedule of times when the display unit rewrites the display image. The electronic paper according to claim 1, wherein the control unit rewrites the power supply timing stored in the power supply timing storage unit based on the schedule.

6. The display unit includes color particles that move when a predetermined writing voltage is applied from the battery. The electronic paper according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the control unit displays the image by applying the writing voltage to the color particles based on the image data to the display unit.

Images