Patent Grant
11398197
This disclosure relates to electro-optic devices and methods and, more particularly, to methods and circuitry for driving electro-optic displays.
Signs are an emerging application of electro-optic displays. Such signs are usually characterized by large dimensions in comparison with common electro-optic displays, such as those used in portable reader and other display devices, and relatively infrequent updates of the displayed information. Techniques for driving such displays include a tiled active matrix and direct drive on the back of the printed circuit board of the display device. Both methods have drawbacks.
Because of the large pixel count of such display devices, the active matrix approach requires high frequency drivers which are expensive and consume a large amount of power. Furthermore, due to the large distances involved, transmission line effects become significant and require local driver circuitry.
Direct drive displays alleviate some of these issues by mounting the electronics on the back of the printed circuit board and distributing the electronics across the display device. The direct driver circuitry communicates with a host to receive update information. The local driver then generates the signals to update each directly driven pixel in its region via a dedicated wire. For a large display, a large number of such local drivers is required, and the drivers must be individually mounted and wired.
The inventor has recognized that advantageous operation of a display device is obtained by using several iterations of a process including a scan phase followed by a global drive phase. In the scan phase, the state of each pixel of the display device is set to either “enabled” or “disabled”, during which time a global drive generator is inactive. The scan can be performed in one scan frame using a long frame time, thereby allowing the use of inexpensive electronic drivers. Then, in the global drive phase, a global drive signal is sent to the display device. Only the subset of enabled pixels is affected by the global drive signal, which causes the enabled pixels to perform a transition to a desired display state. Because the drive signal is global, only a single drive circuit is required to provide a complex voltage sequence. The sequence of the scan phase followed by the global drive phase is then repeated up to the number of unique transitions required to update the display device.
In one implementation, all pixels are first enabled and receive a drive signal that transitions all pixels to an initial display state. Then, in succession each display state is set by applying respective drive signals to respective subsets of pixels of the display device. In another implementation, the pixels of each subset of pixels are transitioned to the initial display state during the global drive phase and prior to applying the drive signal for each unique transition. In yet another implementation, all possible transitions between optical states are performed without transitioning the pixels to an initial display state.
The method applies but is not limited to display devices that have large enough pixels that blooming artifacts induced by asynchronous updates of adjacent pixels are not significant to quality, and display devices that can be updated slowly without regard to transition appearance. The time required to perform an update is not a significant issue for an electronic signage application where updates are infrequently. Examples of such electronic signage include but are not limited to menu board signs, hotel welcome signs, event schedules, airport signs, train station signs, etc.
According to a first aspect of the disclosed technology, a method for operating a display device including pixels comprises enabling a first subset of pixels of the display device, the first subset of pixels corresponding to a first display state; transitioning the enabled first subset of pixels to the first display state; and repeating the enabling and the transitioning for a second subset of pixels corresponding to a second display state.
According to a second aspect of the disclosed technology, a display system comprises a display device including a display medium, a common electrode on a first surface of the display medium and pixel electrodes on a second surface of the display medium, the pixel electrodes defining pixels of the display device; pixel circuitry configured to enable a first subset of pixels of the display device, the first subset of pixels corresponding to a first display state; a drive circuit configured to transition the enabled subset of pixels to the first display state; and a control circuit configured to control the pixel circuitry and the drive circuit to repeat the enabling and the transitioning for a second subset of pixels corresponding to a second display state.
According to a third aspect of the disclosed technology, a display system comprises a display device including a display medium having two or more stable states and pixel electrodes defining pixels of the display device; and a pixel circuit associated with each of the pixels of the display device, each pixel circuit including: a first transistor configured to receive a pixel enable voltage on the source and a select voltage on the gate; a holding capacitor coupled between the drain of the first transistor and a reference voltage; and a second transistor having the gate coupled to the drain of the first transistor, the source coupled to the pixel electrode of the associated pixel and the drain coupled to the reference voltage.
Various aspects and embodiments of the technology will be described with reference to the following figures. It should be appreciated that the figures are not necessarily drawn to scale. Items appearing in multiple figures are indicated by the same reference number in all of the figures in which they appear.
The term “electro-optic”, as applied to a material or a display, is used herein in its conventional meaning in the imaging art to refer to a material having first and second display states differing in at least one optical property, the material being changed from its first to its second display state by application of an electric field to the material. Although the optical property is typically color perceptible to the human eye, it may be another optical property, such as optical transmission, reflectance, luminescence or, in the case of displays intended for machine reading, pseudo-color in the sense of a change in reflectance of electromagnetic wavelengths outside the visible range.
The term “gray state” is used herein in its conventional meaning in the imaging art to refer to a state intermediate two extreme optical states of a pixel, and does not necessarily imply a black-white transition between these two extreme states. For example, several of the E Ink patents and published applications referred to below describe electrophoretic displays in which the extreme states are white and deep blue, so that an intermediate “gray state” would actually be pale blue. Indeed, as already mentioned, the change in optical state may not be a color change at all. The terms “black” and “white” may be used hereinafter to refer to the two extreme optical states of a display, and should be understood as normally including extreme optical states which are not strictly black and white, for example the aforementioned white and dark blue states, or any other colors. The term “monochrome” may be used hereinafter to denote a drive scheme which only drives pixels to their two extreme optical states with no intervening gray states.
Numerous patents and applications assigned to or in the names of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and E Ink Corporation describe various technologies used in encapsulated electrophoretic and other electro-optic media. Such encapsulated media comprise numerous small capsules, each of which itself comprises an internal phase containing electrophoretically-mobile particles in a fluid medium, and a capsule wall surrounding the internal phase. Typically, the capsules are themselves held within a polymeric binder to form a coherent layer positioned between two electrodes. The technologies described in these patents and applications include:
The inventor has recognized that advantageous operation of a display device is obtained by using several iterations of a process including a scan phase followed by a global drive phase. In the scan phase, the state of each pixel of the display device is set to either “enabled” or “disabled”, during which time a global drive generator is inactive. The scan can be performed in one scan frame using a long frame time, thereby allowing the use of inexpensive electronic drivers. Then, in the global drive phase, a global drive signal is sent to the display device. Only the subset of enabled pixels is affected by the global drive signal, which causes the enabled pixels to perform a transition to a desired display state. Because the drive signal is global, only a single drive circuit is required to provide a complex voltage sequence. The sequence of the scan phase followed by the global drive phase is then repeated up to the number of unique transitions required to update the display device.
In one implementation, all pixels are first enabled and receive a drive signal that transitions all pixels to an initial display state. Then, in succession each display state is set by applying respective drive signals to respective subsets of pixels of the display device. In another implementation, the pixels of each subset of pixels are transitioned to the initial display state during the global drive phase and prior to applying the drive signal for each unique transition. In yet another implementation, all possible transitions between optical states are performed without transitioning the pixels to an initial display state.
The method applies but is not limited to display devices that have large enough pixels that blooming artifacts induced by asynchronous updates of adjacent pixels are not significant to quality, and display devices that can be updated slowly without regard to transition appearance. The time required to perform an update is not a significant issue with electronic signage where updates are infrequently. Examples of such electronic signage include but are not limited to menu board signs, hotel welcome signs, event schedules, airport signs, train station signs, etc.
In some implementations, all pixels in the display are updated to a next display state. In some implementations, only a portion of the pixels in the display are updated to a next display state. For example, when a train departure schedule is updated to add another train departure at the bottom of the list; only those pixels displaying the new train departure are enabled and transitioned to the next display state. In another example, when a new color such as red is added to an image being displayed, only pixels having red as a next display state are enabled and transitioned.
An example of a display system 110 suitable for incorporating embodiments and aspects of the present disclosure is shown in
The disclosed technology relates to so-called “bistable” display devices. The term “bistable” is used herein in its conventional meaning in the art to refer to displays including display elements having first and second display states differing in at least one optical property, and such that after any given element has been driven by an addressing pulse, to assume either its first or second display state. After the addressing pulse has terminated, the display state will persist for at least several times the duration of the addressing pulse required to change the state of the display element. It is known that some particle-based electrophoretic displays capable of gray scale are stable not only in black and white states but also in their intermediate gray states, and this is true of some other types of electro-optic displays. This type of display is properly called “multi-stable” rather than bistable, although for convenience the term “bistable” may be used herein to cover both bistable and multi-stable displays. The same is true of particle-based displays having two or more colored pigment particles where different color states are stable. The term bistable may refer to different color states that are persist for at least several times the duration of the addressing pulse required to change the state of the display element after the addressing pulse is terminated.
Bistable electro-optic displays act, to a first approximation, as impulse transducers, so that the final display state of a pixel depends not only upon the electric field applied and the time for which the electric field is applied, but also on the display state of the pixel prior to the application of the electric field. Furthermore, at least in the case of many particle-based electro-optic displays, the impulses necessary to change a given pixel through equal changes in gray level are not necessarily constant. These problems can be reduced or overcome by driving all pixels of the display device to an initial display state, such as white, before driving the required pixels to other display states.
A cross-sectional view of an example display architecture of display device 126 is shown in
Other electrode arrangements may be utilized within the scope of the disclosed technology. The electric field applied to each pixel of the electro-optic layer 210 is controlled by varying the voltage applied to the associated pixel electrode relative to the voltage applied to the common electrode.
The electro-optic layer 210 may include any suitable electro-optic medium. In the example of
Aspects of disclosed technology may also be used in connection with microcell type electrophoretic displays and polymer dispersed electrophoretic image displays (PDEPIDs). Moreover, although electrophoretic displays represent a suitable type of display according to aspects of the disclosed technology, other types of displays may also utilize one or more aspects of the disclosed technology. For example, Gyricon displays, electrochromic displays, and polymer dispersed liquid crystal displays (PDLCD) may also take advantage of aspects of the disclosed technology.
A schematic diagram of drive circuitry of a display system 310 in accordance with embodiments is shown in
The display system 310 further includes a transition drive generator 330 connected between common electrode 202 of display device 126 and a reference voltage, such as ground. In the embodiment of
Referring again to
The pixel circuit 320 functions to either enable or disable each pixel of the display device 126 during operation of the display system 310 as described below. In particular, the matrix of pixel electrodes is scanned and each pixel of the display device 126 is either enabled or disabled. The pixels are enabled or disabled in a scanning process. With reference to
The selection of pixels to be enabled is based on the image data for the image to be displayed and, in particular, on the pixels in the image which have a selected display state. For example, all the pixels in the image having a display state of gray level 3 are enabled in a scan phase. The enabling or disabling of each pixel of display device 126 determines whether the pixel will undergo a transition when the transition drive generator 330 is applied to common electrode 202.
By way of example only, the gate voltage of first transistor 340 can be a positive voltage, such as +20 volts, when the column is selected and a negative voltage, such as −20 volts, when the column is not selected. The pixel enable line connected to the source of first transistor 340 may be set to a positive voltage, such as +20 volts, if the pixel is to be enabled and may be set to a negative voltage, such as −20 volts, if the pixel is to be disabled. The address time and voltages are chosen such that the holding capacitor 342 charges to above approximately 95% of the full voltage level, or multiple matrix scan frames can be used to charge holding capacitor 342. The actual voltage on holding capacitor 342 is not important, provided that the voltage is sufficient to turn on second transistor for the given transistor drive signal 344. After a scan is completed, an enabled pixel will have a voltage of approximately +20 volts, in the above example, stored on the holding capacitor 342, whereas a disabled pixel will have a voltage of approximately −20 volts stored on the holding capacitor 342. The holding capacitor 342 is large enough to hold the required voltage level during the global drive phase discussed below. In an alternative approach, the matrix can be rescanned during the global drive phase to recharge the holding capacitor 342.
The second transistor 344 is used to switch the pixel electrode 208 to ground. The holding capacitor 342 controls the gate of the second transistor 344. If the voltage on the gate of the second transistor 344 is high (+20 volts), then a low impedance path to ground is provided for drive voltages that do not exceed 20V minus the threshold voltage of the transistor. If the gate voltage of second transistor 344 provided by the holding capacitor 342 is low (−20 volts), the pixel electrode 208 will have a very high impedance connection to ground, effectively floating the pixel.
A display system 410 in accordance with additional embodiments is shown in the schematic diagram of
In general, operation of the display systems 310 and 410 may be described as including (1) a scan phase in which all pixels of the display device 126 are either enabled or disabled, and (2) a global drive phase in which the enabled pixels are transitioned to a selected display state. Phases (1) and (2) are repeated for a number of display states to produce a desired image. The subset of pixels which are enabled in the scan phase corresponds to pixels having a selected display state in the image to be displayed. The number of display states and thus the number of iterations of phases (1) and (2) depends on the number of gray levels or color levels that can be displayed by the display device.
An example of a display device 510 having a matrix of five columns and five rows of pixels is shown in
Now, an example of operation of the display system is described with reference to
Referring again to
The process now proceeds to the global drive phase in which the enabled pixels are transitioned to the selected display state. In particular, the transition drive generator 330 is enabled and/or connected to common electrode 202 of the display device and a suitable transition drive signal is applied to all the pixels of the display device. However, only those pixels which have been enabled in the scan phase are transitioned to display state 1.
Then the next iteration of the scan phase and the global drive phase is performed. In particular, a scan phase in which all pixels of the display device 510 to be transitioned to display state 2 is performed. The scan phase includes addressing column 1 and enabling the pixels at column 1, rows 2 and 4. Then column 2 is addressed and the pixel at column 2, row 1 is enabled. The scan phase is continued to enable the pixels at column 3, row 5, column 4, rows 1 and 4 and column 5, row 3. Thus, all pixels of display device 510 having display state 2 are enabled. In the global drive phase, the transition drive signal is applied to common electrode 202 of the display device, thereby transitioning the enabled pixels to the display state 2. It will be understood that the transition drive generator 330 (
The iterations of the scan phase and the global drive phase are then repeated for display states 3 and 4 so as to complete the image. As discussed above, in a practical implementation, the display device has a larger number of pixels and may be capable of displaying more or fewer display states. The display states which form the image on display device 510 may be stored in a memory in display control unit 116 (
A flow chart of a method for operating a display device in accordance with embodiments is shown in
In act 610, all pixels are transitioned to an initial display state, such as white or black. The transition of all pixels to the initial display state can be performed by enabling all pixels, as discussed above, and then applying to the common electrode 202 a transition drive signal of sufficient voltage and duration to drive the pixels to the initial display state.
In act 620, the pixels in a subset of pixels corresponding to a selected display state are enabled, as described above in connection with
In act 630, the subset of pixels that was enabled in act 620 is transitioned to the selected display state. The transition is performed by enabling the transition drive generator 330 and applying a transition drive signal suitable to transition the subset of pixels from the initial display state to the selected display state. The disabled pixels are not affected by the transition drive signal.
In act 640, a determination is made as to whether the selected display state is the last display state among the available display states of the display device. In the above example, the subset of pixels was transitioned to selected display state 2. Accordingly, selected display state 2 is not the last display state and the process proceeds to act 650. In act 650, the process increments to the next display state, in this case display state 3, and a corresponding subset of pixels. The process then returns to act 620 to perform another iteration of enabling a subset of pixels and transitioning the enabled pixels to the selected display state. It will be understood that the different display states do not need to be processed in any particular order. In addition, it will be understood that a different subset of pixels corresponds to each selected display state. Further, an iteration can be skipped if no pixels are to be in the selected display state. If it is determined in act 640 that the selected display state is the last display state, the process is done, as indicated in block 660.
A flow chart of a method for operating a display device in accordance with additional embodiments is shown in
Referring to
In act 720, the pixels in the subset of pixels that were enabled in act 710 are transitioned to the initial display state. The transition of the subset of pixels to the initial display state can be performed by activating the transition drive generator 330 and applying a suitable transition drive signal to the enabled pixels in the subset of pixels.
In act 730, the enabled set of pixels is transitioned from the initial display state to the selected display state. The transition is performed by the transition drive generator 330 in the manner described above in connection with act 630.
In act 740, a determination is made as to whether the selected display state is the last display state. If the selected display state is not the last display state, the process proceeds to act 750 and increments to the next display state and a corresponding subset of pixels. The process then returns to act 710, and another iteration of the process is performed. If the selected display state is determined in act 740 to be the last display state, the process is done, as indicated in block 760.
A flow chart of a process for operating a display device in accordance with further embodiments is shown in
In act 810, the pixels in a subset of pixels corresponding to a transition from a first display state to a second display state are enabled. Act 810 corresponds to act 620 shown in
In act 820, the enabled subset of pixels is transitioned from the first display state to the second display state. The transition is performed by the transition drive generator 330 which applies a suitable drive signal to transition the enabled pixels from the first display state to the second display state.
In act 830, a determination is made as to whether the transition from the first display state to the second display state is the last transition among the possible transitions. If the transition from the first display state to the second display state is not the last transition, the process proceeds to act 840 and increments to the next transition and the corresponding subset of pixels. The process then returns to act 810 for another iteration of the process. If the transition is determined in act 830 to be the last transition, the process is done, as indicated in block 850.
The above-described embodiments can be implemented in any of numerous ways. One or more aspects and embodiments of the disclosure involving the performance of processes or methods may utilize program instructions executable by a device (e.g., a computer, a processor, or other device) to perform, or control performance of, the processes or methods. Various concepts and features may be embodied as a computer-readable storage medium or multiple computer-readable storage media (e.g., a computer memory, one or more compact discs, floppy disks, compact discs, optical disks, magnetic tapes, flash memories, circuit configurations in field programmable gate arrays or other semiconductor devices, or other tangible computer storage medium) encoded with one or more programs that, when executed on one or more computers or other processors, perform methods that implement one or more of the various embodiments described above. The computer-readable medium or media can be transportable and may be non-transitory media.
When the embodiments are implemented in software, the software code can be executed on any suitable processor or collection of processors. A computer may be embodied in any of a number of forms, such as a rack-mounted computer, a desktop computer, a laptop computer, or a tablet computer, as non-limiting examples. Additionally, a computer may be embedded in a device not generally regarded as a computer but with suitable processing capabilities, including a personal digital assistant, a Smart phone or any other suitable portable or fixed electronic device.
Having thus described at least one illustrative embodiment of the disclosure, various alterations, modifications and improvements will readily occur to those skilled in the art. Such alterations, modifications, and improvements are intended to be part of this disclosure, and are intended to be within the spirit and the scope of the present disclosure. Accordingly, the foregoing description is by way of example only and is not intended to be limiting. The various inventive aspects are limited only as defined in the following claims and the equivalents thereto.
This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 15/165,795, filed on May 26, 2016, which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/167,065, filed May 27, 2015.
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