Method and device for partially refreshing an arbitrary position on an electronic shelf label

Abstract

A method and apparatus for partially refreshing an arbitrary position on an electronic shelf label. The method includes dividing pixel position areas of a target picture on the electronic shelf label so that pixels not requiring refreshing are located in the same position area and pixels with the same pixel change request are located in the same position area; determining codes for each position area and driving waveforms corresponding to the codes; and refreshing the pixels of the target picture in accordance with the driving waveforms. This allows for partial refreshing of an arbitrary position on an electronic shelf label.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] Related Applications This application claims priority from a Chinese patent application with application number 202310093181.6 filed on January 12, 2023, and the entire contents of the above patent application are incorporated herein by reference. The present application relates to the technical field of electronic screens, and in particular to a method and apparatus for partial refreshing of any position of an electronic shelf label. [Background technology]

[0002] This section is intended to provide a background or context to the claimed embodiments of the present application. Nothing contained in this section is admitted to be prior art.

[0003] An electronic paper screen is a display screen manufactured using electrophoretic display technology. Specifically, it can display images by applying a driving voltage to each pixel point using a control circuit on a TFT (Thin Film Transistor) substrate. As a reflective display screen, an electronic paper screen can retain the current image for a long time after refreshing without requiring continuous refreshing, resulting in low power consumption. Due to its many features, such as low power consumption, wide viewing angle, high contrast, and eye friendliness, electronic paper screens are increasingly being applied in many fields, including electronic shelf labels, e-books, and signage.

[0004] However, conventional electronic shelf labels are unable to realize partial refreshing of any position within the display area, and therefore, currently, there is no technical means for realizing partial refreshing of any position on an electronic shelf label. Summary of the Invention

[0005] An embodiment of the present application provides a method for realizing partial refresh of an arbitrary position of an electronic shelf label, the method including: dividing position areas of pixels of a target picture on the electronic shelf label so that pixels that do not need to be refreshed are located in the same position area and pixels that have the same pixel change request are located in the same position area; determining codes for each position area and driving waveforms corresponding to the codes; and refreshing the pixels of the target picture in accordance with the driving waveforms.

[0006] An embodiment of the present application provides an apparatus for realizing partial refresh of an arbitrary position on an electronic shelf label, the apparatus including: a position area delimiting module that delimits position areas of pixels of a target picture on the electronic shelf label so that pixels that do not require refreshing are located in the same position area and pixels that have the same pixel change request are located in the same position area; a code and driving waveform determination module that determines a code for each position area and a driving waveform corresponding to the code; and a refresh module that refreshes the pixels of the target picture in accordance with the driving waveform.

[0007] An embodiment of the present application further provides a computer device including a memory, a processor, and a computer program stored in the memory and executable by the processor, wherein when the processor executes the computer program, the method for partially refreshing an arbitrary position of an electronic shelf label described above is realized.

[0008] An embodiment of the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon, which, when executed by a processor, realizes the method for partially refreshing an arbitrary position of an electronic shelf label.

[0009] An embodiment of the present application further provides a computer program product including a computer program, which, when executed by a processor, realizes the method for partially refreshing an arbitrary position of an electronic shelf label.

[0010] In an embodiment of the present application, the pixel position areas of the target picture on the electronic shelf label are divided so that pixels that do not need to be refreshed are located in the same position area and pixels with the same pixel change request are located in the same position area, a code for each position area and a driving waveform corresponding to the code are determined, and the pixels of the target picture are refreshed according to the driving waveform. In the above refresh procedure, a driving command is shared between full-screen refresh and partial refresh, eliminating the need to set a driving command for partial refresh separately, allowing partial refresh at any position and enabling flexible partial refresh.

[0011] In order to more clearly explain the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application or the prior art, the following will briefly describe the drawings that need to be used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art. Of course, the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present application, and those skilled in the art can obtain other drawings based on these drawings without making inventive efforts. In the drawings, [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic diagram of an electronic shelf label control system according to an embodiment of the present application; [Figure 2] 1 is a flowchart of a method for partially refreshing an arbitrary position of an electronic shelf label in an embodiment of the present application. [Figure 3] 1 is a picture of a three-color electronic shelf label before and after refreshing in an embodiment of the present application; [Figure 4] 10 is a code mapping mode of color change of an electronic shelf label in an embodiment of the present application. [Figure 5] 10 shows a code mapping mode of color changes corresponding to three position pixels in an embodiment of the present application. [Figure 6] 10 shows a driving waveform for partial refresh of an electronic shelf label in an embodiment of the present application. [Figure 7] 1 is a flowchart of a partial refresh of an arbitrary position in an embodiment of the present application; [Figure 8]1 is a schematic diagram of an apparatus for partially refreshing an arbitrary position of an electronic shelf label in an embodiment of the present application; DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0013] In order to clarify the objectives, technical means and advantages of the embodiments of the present application, the embodiments of the present application will be described in more detail below with reference to the drawings, where the exemplary embodiments of the present application and the description thereof are for interpreting the present application but are not intended to limit the present application.

[0014] First, the concept of the present application will be explained.

[0015] Full Screen Refresh: Refreshes every pixel on the screen.

[0016] Partial Refresh: Refresh only some of the pixels on the screen.

[0017] The electronic shelf label proposed in the embodiments of the present application belongs to an electronic shelf label control system. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the electronic shelf label control system in the embodiments of the present application, which includes a server, a network, a base station, and an electronic shelf label. The server stores and processes data and controls the refreshing of pictures (which may include, for example, pixels) on the electronic shelf label. The network transmits data between the server and the base station. The base station transmits control commands and picture data to the electronic shelf label. The electronic shelf label displays picture information (corresponding to image data). The picture data is processed by specific software on the server, then transmitted to the base station via the network, and sent from the base station to the specified electronic shelf label, where it is finally displayed on the electronic shelf label. Based on this system, a detailed solution for partially refreshing an arbitrary position on an electronic shelf label is provided below. Note that the text on the electronic shelf label in FIG. 1 is merely an illustrative example for understanding and is not limited to this specification.

[0018] FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a method for partially refreshing an arbitrary position of an electronic shelf label in an embodiment of the present application;

[0019] Step 201: dividing the pixel location area of ​​the target picture on the electronic shelf label so that pixels that do not need to be refreshed are located in the same location area and pixels that have the same pixel change request are located in the same location area; Step 202: determining the code of each location area and the driving waveform corresponding to the code; Step 203 of refreshing the pixels of the target picture according to the driving waveform.

[0020] In one embodiment, the same pixel change request means having the same pixel color change request. However, if there are other pixel change requests, this solution may also be adopted.

[0021] In one embodiment, delimiting the location area of ​​the pixel of the target picture in the electronic shelf label can be performed by, for example: Obtaining a current picture and a target picture of an electronic shelf label; comparing data of the same position in the current picture and the target picture one by one to determine pixels that do not need to be refreshed and pixels that have the same pixel change request; Dividing pixels that do not need to be refreshed into identically positioned regions; and dividing pixels having the same pixel change request into the same location region.

[0022] Specifically, the electronic shelf label management system in the server loads the current picture and the target picture of the electronic shelf label from the server's hard disk, and a comparison program built into the electronic shelf label management system compares data (which may include, for example, pixels) at the same positions in the current picture and the target picture one by one to determine pixels that do not need to be refreshed and pixels that require a change in color for the same pixel. For example, by comparing the RGB color data of pixels that correspond to the same positions one by one, pixels that do not need to be refreshed and pixels that require a change in color for the same pixel are determined.

[0023] In one embodiment, determining the code for each location area and the drive waveform corresponding to the code may include, for example, determining a code for each location area based on the pixel change request, such that location areas that have the same pixel color after the change are determined as the same code, and location areas where pixels that do not need to be refreshed are located are individually coded; The method may also include determining a drive waveform corresponding to each type of code so that the drive waveform corresponding to the code of the positional region where the pixels not requiring refreshing are located matches the reference voltage waveform.

[0024] In one embodiment, the drive waveform includes a charge balance phase, a node activation phase, and a color formation phase.

[0025] Specific examples are given below to illustrate specific applications of the methods in this application.

[0026] The driving IC for electronic shelf labels supports four 2-bit codes: 00, 01, 10, and 11. Two-color and three-color electronic shelf labels can be coded using 00, 01 and 00, 01, 10. In this embodiment, code 11 is used as the data protection code, and pixels in the picture that do not need to be refreshed are individually coded. By also using a specific driving waveform, partial refreshing of any position on the electronic shelf label can be achieved.

[0027] FIG. 3 shows pictures before and after the refresh of a three-color electronic shelf label in an embodiment of the present application. (a) in FIG. 3 is the picture before the refresh of the electronic shelf label, i.e., the current picture. (b) in FIG. 3 is the picture after the refresh of the electronic shelf label, i.e., the target picture. Comparing (a) and (b) in FIG. 3 shows that the color information displayed by most pixels in the picture remains unchanged before and after the refresh, while the color information of only a small portion of pixels in the picture changes before and after the refresh. For ease of explanation, three positional regions, A, B, and C, in (a) in FIG. 3 and three corresponding positional regions, A', B', and C', in (b) in FIG. 3 are shown. Here, AA' represents a pixel whose color remains unchanged before and after the refresh, i.e., a pixel that does not require refreshing, and BB' and CC' represent pixels whose color has changed before and after the refresh, i.e., pixels with the same pixel change request. In the example of this specification, BB' changed from white to red (shown as gray in FIG. 3(b)), and CC' changed from red (shown as gray in FIG. 3(b)) to white. The above steps position pixels that do not need to be refreshed in the same location area, and position pixels with the same pixel change request in the same location area. This reduces the effort required to separate the location areas of many pixels that do not need to be refreshed, thereby improving the efficiency of partial refresh of any position of the electronic shelf label. Furthermore, all pixels in the location area of ​​pixels that do not need to be refreshed do not require subsequent refresh operations, thereby saving power consumption. Note that the text in the electronic shelf label in FIG. 3 is merely an illustrative example for understanding and is not limited to this specification.

[0028] Figure 4 shows a code mapping of color changes in an electronic shelf label in an embodiment of the present application. A corresponding code is determined based on the color changes of pixels before and after refreshing. For example, if white → black and red → black, the code is 00; if black → white and red → white, the code is 01; if black → red and white → red, the code is 10; and if black → black, white → white, and red → red, the code is 11. In this way, pixels that do not require refreshing are individually coded. Note that the above pixel color changes and corresponding codes are merely illustrative examples for understanding, and possible pixel color changes and corresponding codes are not limited to this specification.

[0029] 5 shows the code mapping pattern corresponding to pixels with the same pixel change request at three positions in an embodiment of the present application: AA' is white → white and corresponds to code 11, BB' is white → red and corresponds to code 10, and CC' is red → white and corresponds to code 01.

[0030] FIG. 6 shows driving waveforms for partial refresh of an electronic shelf label in an embodiment of the present application. For example, the driving waveforms include eight groups, where Group 1 corresponds to the charge balance stage, Groups 2 to 5 correspond to the activation stage, and Groups 6 to 8 correspond to the coloring stage. The driving waveforms support debugging of VCOM, Code 00, Code 01, Code 10, and Code 11. In FIG. 6, the horizontal axis represents time, and one time unit (hour) corresponds to one frame. In FIG. 6, the vertical axis represents voltage, which corresponds to four voltages: VSL -15V, VCOM 0V, VSHR 5V, and VSH 15V. The numbers in FIG. 6 represent the number of frames maintained at a voltage, and x + a number (e.g., x50) represents the number of repetitions of the waveform in that group. For example, by debugging driving waveforms corresponding to three colors—black, white, and red—the electronic shelf label can display the color information of the corresponding picture at each pixel. The driving waveform for Code 11 above is consistent with VCOM. In this way, for pixels that require a pixel change, the corresponding color refresh can be achieved by the driving waveform. For pixels that do not require a refresh, the driving waveform is consistent with VCOM, so the driving voltage for driving the movement of electronic ink in the pixel is always zero, and the pixel remains static (i.e., not refreshed) during the refresh of the electronic shelf label. Note that the above pixel color changes and corresponding codes are merely exemplary explanations for understanding, and the possible pixel color changes and corresponding codes are not limited to this specification.

[0031] Through the above steps, the positional areas where pixels that do not need to be refreshed are located are individually coded, and the drive waveform corresponding to the code of the positional area where pixels that do not need to be refreshed are located matches the reference voltage waveform. As a result, when refreshing the electronic shelf label, the drive command is shared between full-screen refresh and partial refresh, and there is no need to set a drive command for partial refresh separately. Partial refresh can be achieved at any position, making partial refresh more flexible.

[0032] 7 is a flowchart of a partial refresh at any position in an embodiment of the present application, including steps such as code initialization, picture data transmission, screen power-on, screen refresh, and screen power-off. The refresh flow and refresh instructions may be the same as or similar to, for example, a full-screen refresh. In the code initialization stage, it is necessary to read a driving waveform having a data protection code (for example, the driving waveform illustrated in FIG. 6). In the image processing stage, it is necessary to transmit picture data coded according to the data protection rule (for example, the code illustrated in FIG. 4).

[0033] To summarize the above embodiments, partial refreshing of any position on an electronic shelf label can be achieved by individually encoding data for pixels in a picture that do not require refreshing and using a specific driving waveform. While the embodiments illustrate a three-color electronic shelf label (black, white, and red), in actual applications, partial refreshing of any position can also be achieved in this manner for two-color electronic shelf labels (black, white, red / black, white, yellow), four-color electronic shelf labels (black, white, red, yellow / blue, white, red, yellow), and multi-color electronic shelf labels; no specific limitations are imposed here. Note that the black and white of the two-color black and white described above are merely illustrative and may be used for electronic shelf labels of other two colors. Similarly, the black, white, red, yellow, and blue of the three-color black, white, red / black, white, yellow / blue, white, red, yellow are also merely illustrative and may be used for electronic shelf labels of other colors. The codes corresponding to pixels with the same pixel change request can be adjusted based on the actual requirements, and no specific limitations are imposed here. Various driving waveform patterns are available, and any of them can achieve color changes before and after refreshing; no specific limitations are imposed here.

[0034] The embodiment of the present application further provides an apparatus for partial refreshing of an arbitrary position of an electronic shelf label, the principle of which is similar to the method for partial refreshing of an arbitrary position of an electronic shelf label, and detailed description thereof will be omitted here.

[0035] FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of an apparatus for partially refreshing an arbitrary position of an electronic shelf label in an embodiment of the present application, which includes a position area delimiting module 801 that delimits position areas of pixels of a target picture on the electronic shelf label so that pixels that do not need to be refreshed are located in the same position area and pixels that have the same pixel change request are located in the same position area, a code and driving waveform determination module 802 that determines codes and driving waveforms corresponding to the codes of each position area, and a refresh module 803 that refreshes the pixels of the target picture in accordance with the driving waveforms.

[0036] In one embodiment, the position region dividing module specifically obtains the current picture and the target picture of the electronic shelf label, compares the data at the same position in the current picture and the target picture one by one, determines the pixels that do not need to be refreshed and the pixels that have the same pixel change request, and divides the pixels that do not need to be refreshed into the same position region and divides the pixels that have the same pixel change request into the same position region.

[0037] In one embodiment, the code and driving waveform determination module specifically determines the code for each location area based on the pixel change request, so that location areas that have the same pixel color after the change in the pixel change request are coded with the same code, and location areas where pixels that do not need to be refreshed are individually coded, and determines the driving waveforms corresponding to each type of code so that the driving waveforms corresponding to the codes of the location areas where pixels that do not need to be refreshed are consistent with the reference voltage waveform.

[0038] In one embodiment, the drive waveform includes a charge balance phase, a node activation phase, and a color formation phase.

[0039] In one embodiment, the same pixel change request is a same pixel color change request.

[0040] An embodiment of the present application further provides a computer device including a memory, a processor, and a computer program stored in the memory and executable by the processor, wherein when the processor executes the computer program, the method for partially refreshing an arbitrary position of an electronic shelf label described above is realized.

[0041] An embodiment of the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon, which, when executed by a processor, realizes the method for partially refreshing an arbitrary position of an electronic shelf label.

[0042] An embodiment of the present application further provides a computer program product including a computer program, which, when executed by a processor, realizes the method for partially refreshing an arbitrary position of an electronic shelf label.

[0043] It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the embodiments of the present application may be provided as a method, a system, or a computer program product. Therefore, the present application may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment, or an embodiment combining software and hardware. The present application may also take the form of a computer program product embodied on one or more computer-usable storage media (including, but not limited to, magnetic disk memory, CD-ROM, optical memory, etc.) containing computer-usable program code.

[0044] The present application will be described with reference to flowcharts and / or block diagrams of methods, apparatuses (systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of the present application. It should be understood that each flow and / or block in the flowcharts and / or block diagrams, and combinations of flows and / or blocks in the flowcharts and / or block diagrams, can be realized by computer program instructions. By providing these computer program instructions to a processor of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, an embedded processor, or other programmable data processing device to create a facility, the instructions, executed by the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing device, generate an apparatus for implementing the functions specified in one or more flows in the flowcharts and / or one or more blocks in the block diagrams.

[0045] These computer program instructions may be stored in a computer-readable memory that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing device to operate in a particular manner, creating an article of manufacture that includes an instruction apparatus where the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory implement the functions specified in one or more flows of the flowcharts and / or one or more blocks of the block diagrams.

[0046] These computer program instructions may be loaded into a computer or other programmable data processing device and cause the computer or other programmable device to perform a series of operational steps to produce a computer-implemented process, and the instructions executing on the computer or other programmable device may provide steps for implementing the functions specified in one or more processes in the flowcharts and / or one or more blocks in the block diagrams.

[0047] The above specific examples further illustrate the objectives, technical means and beneficial effects of the present application. However, it should be understood that the above are merely specific examples of the present application and are not intended to limit the scope of the claims of the present application. Any amendments, equivalent replacements, improvements, etc. made within the spirit and principles of the present application are all included in the scope of the claims of the present application.

Claims

1. Dividing pixel position areas of the target picture on the electronic shelf label so that pixels that do not need to be refreshed are located in the same position area and pixels that have the same pixel change request are located in the same position area; determining a code for each location area and a driving waveform corresponding to the code; and refreshing pixels of a target picture according to a driving waveform.

2. Delimiting the location area of ​​the pixel of the target picture in the electronic shelf label includes: Obtaining a current picture and a target picture of an electronic shelf label; comparing data of the same position in the current picture and the target picture one by one to determine pixels that do not need to be refreshed and pixels that have the same pixel change request; Dividing pixels that do not need to be refreshed into identically positioned regions; 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising partitioning pixels with the same pixel change request into co-located regions.

3. Determining the code of each position area and the driving waveform corresponding to the code includes: determining a code for each location area based on the pixel change request so that location areas that will have the same pixel color after the change in response to the pixel change request are coded with the same code, and location areas where pixels that do not require refreshing are located are coded separately; The method of claim 1, further comprising determining a drive waveform corresponding to each type of code so that the drive waveform corresponding to the code of the location area where the pixels not requiring refresh are located matches the reference voltage waveform.

4. 10. The method of claim 1, wherein the driving waveform includes a charge balancing phase, a node activation phase, and a coloring phase.

5. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the same pixel change request is a same pixel color change request.

6. a position area division module for dividing a position area of ​​pixels of a target picture on an electronic shelf label so that pixels not requiring refresh are located in the same position area and pixels having the same pixel change request are located in the same position area; a code and driving waveform determination module for determining a code and a driving waveform corresponding to the code for each position area; a refresh module for refreshing pixels of a target picture according to a driving waveform.

7. The location region delimiter module: Obtaining a current picture and a target picture of the electronic shelf label; Compare the data of the same position in the current picture and the target picture one by one to determine pixels that do not need to be refreshed and pixels that have the same pixel change request; Pixels that do not need to be refreshed are divided into areas of the same position, 7. The device according to claim 6, wherein pixels having the same pixel change request are divided into the same location region.

8. The code and drive waveform determination module determining a code for each position area based on the pixel change request so that the position areas that will have the same pixel color after the change in response to the pixel change request are coded with the same code, and the position areas in which pixels that do not require refreshing are located are coded separately; 7. The device according to claim 6, wherein the drive waveforms corresponding to the codes of the positional regions where pixels not requiring refresh are located are determined so that the drive waveforms corresponding to the codes of the positional regions coincide with the reference voltage waveforms.

9. 7. The device of claim 6, wherein the driving waveform includes a charge balancing phase, a node activation phase, and a coloring phase.

10. 7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the same pixel change request is a same pixel color change request.

11. A computing device including a memory, a processor, and a computer program stored in the memory and executable by the processor, A computer apparatus, characterized in that when the processor executes the computer program, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 5 is implemented.

12. A computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon a computer program which, when executed by a processor, implements the method according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

13. A computer program product comprising a computer program which, when executed by a processor, implements the method of any one of claims 1 to 5.

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