Electronic paper display device, display panel, and display device

Abstract

An electronic paper display device, a display panel, and a display device. The electronic paper display device comprises: T pixel driving chips; electronic paper comprising K1 rows and K2 columns of display arrays, K1×K2 being equal to T, each display array comprising N×M pixel units, and the pixel driving chips comprising gate GOA signal outputs and M columns of source driving signal outputs; and a gate GOA driving module comprising gate driving signal lines, each gate driving signal line being electrically connected to a gate signal input end of one or more rows of pixel units, each source driving signal output of the pixel driving chips driving source signals of N pixel units, signal input lines of T pixel driving chips being connected end to end in series, external data being serially input into the T pixel driving chips, and the gate driving signal lines driving one or more rows of pixel units at a time to perform a display operation. A display screen having a higher resolution can be driven on the basis of existing driver ICs.

Description

Electronic paper display device, display panel, and display device Technical Field

[0001] The present application belongs to the field of display technology, and specifically relates to an electronic paper display device, a display panel, and a display device. Background Art

[0002] TFT electronic paper display is also a type of active matrix liquid crystal display device. Each pixel on the TFT display is driven by a thin film transistor integrated behind it; each pixel is provided with a corresponding thin film transistor to form a thin film transistor array. The drive of the thin film transistor array is to integrate the gate drive inside the IC into the array substrate (TFT Glass). The electronic paper particles are driven by the driver IC chip to continuously apply the driving waveform voltage to each pixel to achieve the effect of displaying the image. The electronic paper drive waveform is mainly composed of the timing of the TFT gate voltage, source voltage, VCOM voltage and refresh frequency. GOA (Gate On Array) or GIP (Gate In Panel) is to integrate the gate drive inside the IC into the TFT array glass.

[0003] Figure 10 is a schematic diagram of a GOA unit. Each GOA unit functions similarly to a shift register. When cascaded, they can gradually open the gate. Initially, each GOA unit has no output. When the initial trigger signal STP is sent to the first-stage GOA unit, the GOA outputs the first-row gate drive signal G1, which is delayed by one clock pulse width compared to the initial trigger signal STP. The first-row gate drive signal G1 turns on the first-row pixel TFTs, writing the corresponding first-row Source signal into the pixels. Simultaneously, the first-row gate drive signal G1 triggers the next-stage GOA to operate. When the row needs to be closed, the next-stage GOA begins outputting the third-row gate drive signal G3, which acts as feedback to turn off the first-row gate drive signal G1. The final GOA stage is then turned off by the subsequent dummy GOA. This technology presents some challenges when applied to electronic paper panels. For example, the driver IC of the electronic paper first writes the entire graphic data into the IC register. This limits the data size of each write, as well as the number of GOA stages, thus limiting the product resolution. The resolution of a display screen depends on the number of pixels, and the number of pixels that can be driven is limited by the data size of the driver IC. How to break through the IC data size transmission limitation based on the existing driver IC to increase the resolution of a display screen, that is, increase the number of pixels on a display screen, is a problem that needs to be solved.

[0004] Conventional GOA design is based on a certain direction. For the driver IC of LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) products, because the source signal is written when the gate of each row is opened, the number of GOA units can be unlimited.

[0005] To save power, e-paper ICs write the entire graphic data into the IC register at once. For example, if the IC's maximum resolution is 960×1280, the maximum supported image on a single IC is limited to 960×1280. Even if the gate uses GOA, the number of levels cannot exceed 1280.

[0006] How to use an e-paper IC with a fixed maximum resolution to drive an e-paper display with a higher resolution, thus breaking through the limitations of a single IC's maximum supported image resolution, is a challenge that needs to be addressed. For example, how can a driver IC with a maximum resolution of 960×1080 drive a product with a resolution of 2880×2160? Or, how can an e-paper IC with a maximum resolution of 960×1280 drive a product with a resolution of 2880×2560?

[0007] Glossary: ​​EPD is the abbreviation of "electronic paper display" in English, and its Chinese meaning is electronic paper display.

[0008] TFT is the abbreviation of "Thin Film Transistor" in English, which means thin film field effect transistor in Chinese. Each pixel on the TFT display is driven by the thin film transistor integrated behind it.

[0009] ITO is the abbreviation of "Indium Tin Oxide" in English, and its Chinese meaning is indium tin oxide. In this application, electronic paper ITO refers to the conductive film layer material of the transparent conductive film shielding glass mainly composed of ITO (indium tin oxide semiconductor) film.

[0010] Summary of the Invention

[0011] The technical problem to be solved by the present application is to avoid the disadvantage of the prior art that a large area of ​​pixel electrodes is left blank, which leads to abnormal display of the screen, and to provide an electronic paper with a small area of ​​pixel electrodes.

[0012] The technical solution of the present application to solve the above-mentioned technical problems is an electronic paper display device, comprising: electronic paper, T pixel driver chips, and a gate GOA driver module; the electronic paper includes a display array with K1 rows and K2 columns, the pixel driver chip drives the display array, K1 multiplied by K2 equals T, and each display array includes N multiplied by M pixel units; the pixel driver chip includes a gate GOA signal output and M columns of source drive signal outputs; the gate GOA signal is electrically connected to the gate GOA driver module; the gate GOA driver module includes gate drive signal lines, each gate drive signal line is electrically connected to the gate signal input end of one or more rows of pixel units; each source drive signal output of the pixel driver chip drives the source signal of N pixel units; the signal input lines of the T pixel driver chips are connected in series, and external data is serially input into the T pixel driver chips; each gate drive signal line drives one or more rows of pixel units to perform a display operation.

[0013] The pixel driving chips are distributed above and below the display array, K1 is equal to 2: each pixel driving chip drives the adjacent display array, and the source signal input end of each pixel unit is electrically connected to a source driving signal line.

[0014] The pixel driver chip outputs a gate GOA signal which is electrically connected to the gate GOA driver module.

[0015] The series connection order of the pixel driver chips is to surround the display array in series.

[0016] The pixel driving chips are distributed above and below the display array. Two or more source driving signals pass through each pixel unit, and the source signal input end of each pixel unit is electrically connected to one of the source driving signal lines.

[0017] The source signal line output by the pixel driving chip is connected to the source signal of the display array through the hole.

[0018] The electronic paper display device further includes a graphics driver module; the graphics driver module includes a serial data output interface and an image data input interface, and the graphics driver module converts external input image data into serial data output.

[0019] The electronic paper display device further includes a wireless communication module, which is electrically connected to the graphic drive module, and image data is obtained through the wireless communication module.

[0020] The technical solution of the present application to solve the above technical problem may also be a display panel including the electronic paper display device.

[0021] The technical solution of the present application to solve the above technical problem may also be a display device, including the display panel.

[0022] One of the beneficial effects of the technical solution in this application is that an electronic paper pixel driver chip with a smaller maximum resolution can be used to drive a product with a larger resolution, breaking through the problem that the resolution of the electronic paper product is limited by the resolution of the pixel driver chip.

[0023] One of the beneficial effects of the technical solution of this application is that the multi-chip combination driving method not only improves the product resolution, but also simplifies the driving wiring, reducing the need to wire the driving signals of each chip to each area when multiple chips are driven. While reducing wiring costs, it also saves space occupied by wiring, which cannot improve the efficiency of space utilization. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0024] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of an electronic paper display device according to an embodiment 1;

[0025] FIG2 is a second schematic diagram of the electronic paper display device according to the first embodiment;

[0026] FIG3 is a schematic diagram of a second embodiment of an electronic paper display device;

[0027] FIG4 is a second schematic diagram of an electronic paper display device according to Embodiment 2;

[0028] FIG5 is a schematic diagram of a third embodiment of an electronic paper display device;

[0029] FIG6 is a second schematic diagram of the electronic paper display device according to the third embodiment;

[0030] FIG7 is a schematic diagram of an electronic paper display device according to a fourth embodiment;

[0031] FIG8 is a schematic diagram of a TFT driving unit of a single pixel in the prior art;

[0032] FIG9 is a schematic diagram of a connection between a pixel driving chip and a pixel in the prior art;

[0033] FIG. 10 is a connection diagram of using multiple pixel driving chips in the prior art. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0034] The following further describes the implementation of the present application in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0035] It should be noted that the following is a description of the preferred embodiments of the present application and does not constitute any limitation to the present application. The description of the preferred embodiments of the present application is merely an illustration of the general principles of the present application. The embodiments described in this application are only a part of the embodiments of the present application, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in this application, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without making any creative work are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0036] In the description of this application, it should be understood that the terms "center", "longitudinal", "transverse", "length", "width", "thickness", "up", "down", "front", "back", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inside", "outside", "clockwise", "counterclockwise", etc., indicating positions or location relationships, are based on the positions or location relationships shown in the accompanying drawings and are only for the convenience of describing this application and simplifying the description. They do not indicate or imply that the devices or components referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operate in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be understood as limiting this application. In addition, the terms "first" and "second", as well as technical features numbered with Arabic numerals 1, 2, 3, etc., and numbers such as "A" and "B", are used for descriptive purposes only and are for the convenience of explanation only. They do not represent a temporal or spatial order relationship and should not be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of the technical features indicated. Therefore, features defined as "first" and "second", as well as features numbered with Arabic numerals 1, 2, 3, etc., may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of such features. In the description of this application, “several” means two or more, unless otherwise clearly defined.

[0037] Figure 8 shows a schematic diagram of a TFT driver unit for a single pixel in the prior art. The figure shows four pixel units, each equipped with a corresponding thin-film transistor (TFT). The TFT includes three terminals: source, gate, and drain. The TFT operates like a single switch. Each TFT requires two control pins: a gate pin and a source pin. As shown in Figure 8, the gate pins of a row are electrically connected via conductor G1; the source pins of a column are electrically connected via conductor D1. Each pixel unit is controlled by selecting the gate pin of a row and operating the source pins of the pixels in that row.

[0038] As shown in Figure 9, when driving multiple pixels, pixel driver chips in the prior art are limited by the number of data bits they can support, resulting in a limit to the maximum number of images a single pixel driver chip can support. How can a driver IC with a maximum resolution of 960×1080 be used to drive a product with a resolution of 2880×2160? The conventional approach is to use two 960×1080 driver ICs to drive a 2880×2160 product. As shown in Figure 10, multiple pixel driver chips are used, each driving a pixel. Each pixel driver chip is wired to control the gate and source pins of each pixel in the driving area. This requires separate wiring for each driven area. For a 960×1080 pixel area, 960 electrical lines are required for row driving and 1080 lines for column driving. These same lines are required for each adjacent pixel area, and wiring each area increases wiring costs and consumes space, making space inefficient.

[0039] As shown in Figures 1 and 2, an embodiment of an electronic paper display device includes: electronic paper, T pixel driver chips, and a gate GOA driver module; the electronic paper includes a display array with K1 rows and K2 columns, the pixel driver chip drives the display array, K1 times K2 equals T, and each display array includes N times M pixel units; the pixel driver chip includes N rows of gate drive signal outputs and M columns of source drive signal outputs; it includes N gate drive signal lines, each gate drive signal line is connected in series with T rows of pixel units; each source drive signal of the pixel driver chip drives the source signals of N pixel units; the signal input lines of the T pixel driver chips are connected in series end to end, and external data is serially input into the T pixel driver chips; each time the gate drive signal line drives one or more rows of pixel units to perform a display operation, the gate GOA driver module includes a gate GOA driver module L and a gate GOA driver module R, the gate GOA driver module L is located on the left side of the display array, and the gate GOA driver module R is located on the right side of the display array.

[0040] As shown in Figures 1 and 2, in an embodiment of an electronic paper display device, T is 6, K1 is 3, and K2 is 2. If all six pixel driver chips have a maximum resolution of 960×1080, they can drive six 960×1080 display arrays, increasing the resolution by six times. For ease of illustration, Figure 1 does not show the 960×1080 pixels in a single display array; instead, it symbolically displays 4×5 pixels.

[0041] As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the pixel driver chip outputs a gate GOA signal that is electrically connected to the gate GOA driver module. The gate GOA driver module outputs a gate drive signal to drive T rows of pixel units in the K1 row and K2 column display array. Therefore, each gate drive signal line can be controlled by the gate drive signal output of a gate GOA driver module. In the K1 row and K2 column display array, the source drive signals for the M columns of M pixel units in each display array are still output separately by each pixel driver chip.

[0042] The embodiments shown in Figures 1, 2, and 7 address the resolution limitations of GOA in electronic paper products. Using the designs shown in Figures 1, 2, and 7, three pixel driver ICs are placed at the top and bottom of the display area, driving the top and bottom halves of the display area, respectively. This allows for a maximum gate count of twice that of the pixel driver ICs. If a single pixel driver IC has 1080 gate levels, the maximum gate count for the target area can be 1080 x 2 = 2160.

[0043] As shown in Figure 1, the first row is lit when the gate drive signal is valid. For the pixel unit, two rows of pixel units are driven. As shown in Figure 2, the second row is lit when the gate drive signal is valid. For the pixel unit, another two rows of pixel units are driven.

[0044] In some embodiments of the electronic paper display device not shown in the accompanying drawings, the pixel driver chips are distributed above and below the display array, and K1 is equal to 2: each pixel driver chip drives the adjacent display array, and each pixel unit serially transmits a source drive signal.

[0045] The pixel driver chip outputs a gate GOA signal which is electrically connected to the gate GOA driver module.

[0046] As shown in the embodiment of the electronic paper display device of FIG1 and FIG2 , the series connection order of the pixel driving chips is to surround the display array in series.

[0047] In the embodiment of the electronic paper display device shown in Figures 1 and 2, the gate GOA driver module uses GOA technology and is directly mounted on the TFT substrate. Because the GOA unit only provides signals in a unidirectional, row-by-row manner, the new design requires placing the GOA starting unit at the junction of the upper and lower display areas. The upper GOA unit provides signals row-by-row from the center upwards, while the lower GOA unit provides signals row-by-row from the center downwards.

[0048] As shown in the embodiments of the electronic paper display device in Figures 3 to 4, the pixel driver chip is distributed below or on the lower side of the display array, each pixel unit has two or more source drive signals passing through, and the source signal input end of each pixel unit is electrically connected to one of the source drive signal lines.

[0049] As shown in the embodiment of the electronic paper display device of FIG. 3 to FIG. 4 , the source signal line output by the pixel driving chip is connected to the source signal of the display array through the hole.

[0050] In Figure 3, the gate GOA driver module includes two modules: the gate GOA driver module for odd rows and the gate GOA driver module for even rows. These modules drive the odd and even rows, respectively. The source drive signals from the odd-numbered pixel driver chips 11, 13, and 15 drive the odd rows; the source drive signals from the even-numbered pixel driver chips 12, 14, and 16 drive the even rows. In Figure 3, the first and second rows of the display array are driven. In Figure 4, the third and fourth rows of the display array are driven.

[0051] As shown in the embodiments of the electronic paper display device in Figures 5 to 6, the pixel driver chip is distributed on the upper or lower side of the display array, each pixel unit has two or more source drive signals passing through, and the source signal input end of each pixel unit is electrically connected to one of the source drive signal lines.

[0052] In Figure 5 , the source drive signals of the odd-numbered pixel driver chips 11 drive the odd-numbered rows of the first, second, and third columns; the source drive signals of the even-numbered pixel driver chips 12 drive the even-numbered rows of the fourth, fifth, and third columns. In Figure 5 , the gate GOA driver module simultaneously drives the first and second rows of the display array, and the differently filled color blocks in the figure are driven by different pixel driver chips. In Figure 6 , the second row of gate drive signal outputs from the gate GOA driver module simultaneously drives the third and fourth rows of the display array, and the differently filled color blocks in the figure are driven by different pixel driver chips.

[0053] The electronic paper display device in the embodiment of FIG. 1 to FIG. 7 further includes a graphics driver module; the graphics driver module includes a serial data output interface and an image data input interface, and the graphics driver module converts external input image data into serial data output.

[0054] In some embodiments of the electronic paper display device not shown in the drawings, a wireless communication module is further included. The wireless communication module is electrically connected to the graphic driving module, and image data is obtained through the wireless communication module.

[0055] In some embodiments of a display panel not shown in the drawings, the electronic paper display device described above is included.

[0056] In some embodiments of a display device not shown in the drawings, the display device includes the above-mentioned display panel.

[0057] In the embodiment of the electronic paper display device shown in Figures 3 and 4, the left and right GOA units drive odd and even rows, respectively. IC1 is connected to S1 / S3 / S5…S1919 and synchronized with the GOA timing of odd rows. IC2 is connected to S2 / S4 / S6…S1920 and synchronized with the GOA timing of even rows. S1 / S3 / S5…S1919 are connected only to pixels in odd rows, while S2 / S4 / S6…S1920 are connected only to pixels in even rows. S1 / S2 drive the first column of pixels, S3 / S4 drive the second column of pixels, and S1919 / S1920 drive the 960th column of pixels. In this way, IC1 and IC2 jointly drive a display area with a resolution of 960×2560.

[0058] In the embodiment of the electronic paper display device shown in Figures 5 and 6, every two rows of gate lines are connected and also connected to the left and right GOA units. For example, GOA unit Gout1 drives the gates of rows 1 / 2, GOA unit Gout2 drives the gates of rows 3 / 4, and GOA unit Gout1280 drives the gates of rows 2559 / 2560. IC1 connects S1 / S3 / S5...S1919, while IC2 connects S2 / S4 / S6...S1920. S1 / S3 / S5...S1919 are connected only to odd-numbered rows of pixels, while S2 / S4 / S6...S1920 are connected only to even-numbered rows of pixels. S1 / S2 drive the first column of pixels, S3 / S4 drive the second column of pixels, and S1919 / S1920 drive the 960th column of pixels. In this way, IC1 and IC2 jointly drive a display area with a resolution of 960×2560. IC3 / IC4 and IC5 / IC6 are connected in the same manner. Compared with the design in Figure 2, the design in Figure 3 can reduce the problem of uneven display caused by signal attenuation at the far end of the gate line.

[0059] By adopting a partitioned driving method with multiple pixel driver chips, the number of gate rows of the GOA type electronic paper panel can be expanded, which can exceed the maximum resolution limit of the IC and keep the IC binding on the same side, reducing the difficulty of the binding process.

[0060] An electronic paper display device, display panel, and display device, wherein the electronic paper display device comprises: T pixel driver chips; the electronic paper comprises a display array comprising K1 rows and K2 columns, where K1 times K2 equals T, and each display array comprises N times M pixel units; the pixel driver chip comprises N rows of gate drive signal outputs and M columns of source drive signal outputs; N gate drive signal lines, each gate drive signal line electrically connected to the gate signal input end of one or more rows of pixel units; each source drive signal output of the pixel driver chip drives the source signal of N pixel units; the signal input lines of the T pixel driver chips are connected end to end in series, and external data is serially input into the T pixel driver chips; each gate drive signal line drives one or more rows of pixel units to perform a display operation. The present invention can break through the resolution limitation of existing driver ICs and drive higher-resolution display screens based on existing driver ICs.

[0061] As shown in Figures 1 to 7, the above are only embodiments of the present application and do not limit the patent scope of the present application. Any equivalent structure or equivalent process transformation made using the contents of the application specification and drawings, or directly or indirectly applied in other related technical fields, are also included in the patent protection scope of the present application.

Claims

1. An electronic paper display device, characterized in that: include: Electronic paper, T pixel driver chips, gate GOA driver modules; The electronic paper includes a display array with K1 rows and K2 columns, and a pixel driving chip drives the display array. K1 times K2 equals T, and each display array includes N times M pixel units. The pixel driver chip includes a gate GOA signal output and M columns of source drive signal output; The gate GOA signal is connected to the gate GOA driving module electrical signal; The gate GOA driving module includes gate driving signal lines, each of which is electrically connected to the gate signal input terminals of one or more rows of pixel units; Each source driving signal output of the pixel driving chip drives a source signal of N pixel units; The signal input lines of T pixel driver chips are connected in series, and external data is input into the T pixel driver chips in series. Each time the gate driving signal line drives one or more rows of pixel units to perform a display operation.

2. The electronic paper display device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The pixel driving chips are distributed above and below the display array, K1 is equal to 2: each pixel driving chip drives the adjacent display array, and the source signal input terminal of each pixel unit is electrically connected to a source driving signal line.

3. The electronic paper display device according to claim 2, characterized in that: The pixel driving chip outputs a gate GOA signal which is connected to the gate GOA driving module electrical signal.

4. The electronic paper display device according to claim 2, characterized in that: The serial connection sequence of the pixel driving chips is to surround the display array in series.

5. The electronic paper display device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The pixel driving chips are distributed above and below the display array, and each pixel unit has Two or more source driving signals pass through, and the source signal input terminal of each pixel unit is electrically connected to one of the source driving signal lines.

6. The electronic paper display device according to claim 5, characterized in that: The source signal line output by the pixel driving chip is connected to the source signal of the display array through the hole.

7. The electronic paper display device according to claim 1, characterized in that: It also includes a graphics driver module; the graphics driver module includes a serial data output interface and an image data input interface, and the graphics driver module converts external input image data into serial data output.

8. The electronic paper display device according to claim 7, characterized in that: It also includes a wireless communication module, which is connected to the graphic drive module by electrical signals, and the image data is obtained through the wireless communication module.

9. A display panel, characterized in that: include: The electronic paper display device according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

10. A display device, characterized in that: Comprising the display panel as claimed in claim 9.

Images