Electronic paper display apparatus and driving method thereof

An electronic paper display apparatus and a driving method thereof are provided. The electronic paper display apparatus includes an electronic paper display panel and a control chip. The control chip is coupled to the electronic paper display panel. The control chip is configured to generate a clock signal and simulate a driving signal according to the clock signal and panel control data. The control chip drives the electronic paper display panel by utilizing the clock signal and the driving signal.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the priority benefit of Taiwan application serial no. 104144596, filed on Dec. 31, 2015. The entirety of the above-mentioned patent application is hereby incorporated by reference herein and made a part of this specification.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field of the Invention

The invention relates to a display apparatus and a driving method thereof and more particularly relates to an electronic paper display apparatus and a driving method thereof.

Description of Related Art

To improve the quality of electronic paper display apparatus, how to drive the electronic paper display panel with a proper driving chip is an important issue that needs to be addressed. The conventional processor chip is unable to directly drive the electronic paper display panel and needs to be additionally coupled to a conversion chip integrated with timing control (TCON) in order to output the driving signal required by the electronic paper display panel. However, the SOCs (system on chip) that are currently available in the market are lack of such timing control chips that can directly drive the electronic paper display panel. For this reason, it is required to additionally design the conversion chip integrated with timing control for the electronic paper display panel, such that the outputted driving signal can conform to the interface of the electronic paper display panel. The additional design of the conversion chip integrated with timing control will raise the production cost of the electronic paper display apparatus. Moreover, the electronic paper display panel requires a stable clock signal. The conventional processor chip needs to process system operations from time to time, which may sometimes interfere with the sending of the clock signal and make it difficult to control the timing of the clock signal. In view of the above, several embodiments of the invention are provided as follows.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention provides an electronic paper display apparatus and a driving method of the electronic paper display apparatus for improving the display quality and reducing the complexity of circuit design.

An electronic paper display apparatus of the invention includes an electronic paper display panel and a control chip coupled to the electronic paper display panel to generate a clock signal. The control chip simulates a driving signal according to the clock signal and panel control data and drives the electronic paper display panel with the clock signal and the driving signal.

In an embodiment of the invention, the control chip includes a display controller and a data transmission interface. The display controller generates the clock signal and outputs the panel control data according to the clock signal. The data transmission interface is coupled to the display controller. The data transmission interface simulates the driving signal according to the panel control data to drive the electronic paper display panel.

In an embodiment of the invention, the display controller is a liquid crystal display (LCD) controller.

In an embodiment of the invention, the driving signal includes a control signal and control data.

In an embodiment of the invention, the electronic paper display apparatus further includes a signal conversion circuit coupled to the control chip and the electronic paper display panel. The signal conversion circuit receives the driving signal and converts the driving signal to a panel driving signal that conforms to a signal transmission interface of the electronic paper display panel to drive the electronic paper display panel.

In an embodiment of the invention, the electronic paper display apparatus further includes a system module coupled to the control chip to transmits the panel control data to the control chip.

In an embodiment of the invention, the system module further transmits an operation signal to the control chip. The control chip generates the control signal according to the operation signal.

In an embodiment of the invention, the electronic paper display apparatus further includes a storage module coupled to the control chip to store the panel control data.

In an embodiment of the invention, the control chip includes a processor coupled to the storage module and the system module. The processor receives the panel control data and stores the panel control data in the storage module.

In an embodiment of the invention, the control chip includes an access circuit coupled to the storage module to read the panel control data.

According to a driving method of an electronic paper display apparatus of the invention, an electronic paper display panel in the electronic paper display apparatus is driven by a control chip. The driving method includes: generating a clock signal; simulating a driving signal according to the clock signal and panel control data; and driving the electronic paper display panel with the clock signal and the driving signal.

In an embodiment of the invention, the control chip includes a display controller and a data transmission interface. The display controller generates the clock signal and simulates the driving signal by the data transmission interface according to the clock signal and the panel control data.

In an embodiment of the invention, the display controller is a liquid crystal display (LCD) controller.

In an embodiment of the invention, the driving signal includes a control signal and control data.

In an embodiment of the invention, the step of driving the electronic paper display panel with the clock signal and the driving signal further includes: converting the driving signal to a panel driving signal that conforms to a signal transmission interface of the electronic paper display panel by a signal conversion circuit to drive the electronic paper display panel.

In an embodiment of the invention, the driving method further includes: transmitting the panel control data to the control chip by a system module.

In an embodiment of the invention, the step of transmitting the panel control data to the control chip by the system module further includes: transmitting an operation signal to the control chip by the system module. The control chip generates the clock signal according to the operation signal.

In an embodiment of the invention, the driving method further includes: storing the panel control data by a storage module.

In an embodiment of the invention, the control chip includes a processor to receive the panel control data and store the panel control data in the storage module.

In an embodiment of the invention, the step of storing the panel control data by the storage module includes: receiving the panel control data and storing the panel control data in the storage module.

Based on the above, the control chip of the electronic paper display apparatus according to the embodiments of the invention simulates the driving signal according to the clock signal and the panel control data and drives the electronic paper display panel with the clock signal and the driving signal, so as to improve the display quality and reduce the complexity of the circuit design.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

The term “couple” used throughout this specification (including the claims) may refer to any direct or indirect connection means. For example, if it is described that a control chip is coupled to an electronic paper display panel, it should be understood that the control chip may be directly connected to the electronic paper display panel or indirectly connected to the electronic paper display panel through other devices, wires, or certain connection means. Moreover, elements/components/steps with the same reference numerals represent the same or similar parts in the figures and embodiments where appropriate. Descriptions of elements/components/steps with the same reference numerals or terms in different embodiments may be reference for one another.

FIG. 1is a schematic diagram of an electronic paper display apparatus according to all embodiment of the invention. Please refer toFIG. 1. In this embodiment, an electronic paper display apparatus100includes a control chip110and an electronic paper display panel120. The control chip110is configured to generate a clock signal CLK and simulate a driving signal DS1according to the clock signal CLK and panel control data. The control chip110is coupled to the electronic paper display panel120. The control chip110drives the electronic paper display panel120with the clock signal CLK and the driving signal DS1. Specifically, in this embodiment, the control chip110is capable of generating the clock signal CLK stably and simulating the driving signal DS1according to the generated clock signal CLK and the panel control data.

In this embodiment, the control chip110simulates the driving signal DS1according to the clock signal CLK and the panel control data that is preset in the control chip110. For example, the panel control data may include a plurality of pieces of digital information, and the control chip110combines the digital information according to the clock signal CLK and then simulates the driving signal DS1that is to be directly outputted to the electronic paper display panel120.

Specifically,FIG. 2is a schematic diagram of the control chip in the embodiment ofFIG. 1. Please refer toFIG. 1andFIG. 2. In this embodiment, the control chip110includes a display controller111and a data transmission interface112. The display controller111is configured to output the clock signal CLK to the electronic paper display panel120and output panel control data PD to the data transmission interface112according to the clock signal CLK. The data transmission interface112simulates and outputs the driving signal DS1with the panel control data PD. In this embodiment, the data transmission interface112may be a data port for receiving the panel control data PD outputted by the display controller111to simulate the driving signal DS1. The driving signal DS1may serve as a panel driving signal to be directly inputted to the electronic paper display panel120for controlling the electronic paper display panel120. For example, the panel control data PD may include information of a control signal and information of control data. Therefore, the panel control data PD outputted by the display controller111may be outputted through four or eight data pins by the data transmission interface112to simulate and output the driving signal DS1, which includes the control signal and the control data, required by the electronic paper display panel120. For example, the driving signal DS1including the control signal may be simulated and outputted by using four data pins, or the driving signal DS1including the control data may be simulated and outputted by using eight data pins.

In this embodiment, the driving of the electronic paper display panel120requires a stable clock signal, and in order to prevent that the driving chip interferes with the timing of sending the clock signal when the driving chip executes other system works, in this embodiment, the control chip110may be a system on a chip (SOC) and at least provide a single chip IC for the driving function and operation function of a liquid crystal display panel. The display controller111is a liquid crystal display (LCD) controller capable of outputting the clock signal CLK stably and outputting the panel control data PD to the data transmission interface112according to the clock signal CLK. The data transmission interface112simulates the driving signal DS1with the panel control data PD. The aforementioned display controller111may also be applied to other types of panels and a liquid crystal display. The aforementioned electronic paper display panel may also be a panel that adopts the same driving method as a conventional electronic paper display panel.

In other words, in this embodiment, the control chip110does not use the LCD driving function thereof but uses the driving signal DS1simulated with the clock signal CLK and the panel control data PD to drive the electronic paper display panel120. The driving signal DS1may directly serve as the panel driving signal to drive the electronic paper display panel120. Moreover, the timing that the processor sends the driving signal may be easily interfered with. In order to prevent the display quality from being affected by such interference, the invention does not drive the electronic paper display panel120with the driving signal, which the control chip110already has for driving liquid crystal. The aforementioned driving signal in the control chip110for driving liquid crystal may be a vertical sync signal (Vsync) and a horizontal sync signal (Hsync), for example.

FIG. 3is a schematic diagram of the electronic paper display apparatus according to another embodiment of the invention. Please refer toFIG. 3. In this embodiment, a control chip310includes a display controller311and a data transmission interface312. The display controller311is configured to output a clock signal CLK to an electronic paper display panel320and output panel control data PD to a data transmission interface312according to the clock signal CLK. The data transmission interface312simulates and outputs a driving signal DS1with the panel control data PD. It should be noted that, in this embodiment, the electronic paper display apparatus300further includes a signal conversion circuit330. The signal conversion circuit330is configured to receive the driving signal DS1outputted by the data transmission interface312and convert the driving signal DS1to a driving signal DS2that conforms to a signal transmission interface of the electronic paper display panel320.

Specifically, in this embodiment, it is assumed that the driving signal simulated by the display controller311and the data transmission interface312for driving the liquid crystal display apparatus does not conform to the interface of the electronic paper display panel320and thus cannot be used directly for driving the electronic paper display panel320. Therefore, in addition to simulating the driving signal with the clock signal CLK generated by the display controller311and the preset panel control data PD, the signal conversion circuit330is further disposed between the data transmission interface312and the electronic paper display panel320. In other words, the signal conversion circuit330is capable of converting the driving signal DS1simulated by the data transmission interface312by signal conversion to the panel driving signal DS2that conforms to the signal transmission interface of the electronic paper display panel320for driving the electronic paper display panel320.

FIG. 4is a schematic diagram of the electronic paper display apparatus according to another embodiment of the invention. Please refer toFIG. 4. In this embodiment, an electronic paper display apparatus400further includes a system module440and a storage module450. A control chip410further includes a processor413and an access circuit414. In this embodiment, the system module440is coupled to the processor413for inputting the panel control data PD to the processor413. The processor413may store the received panel control data PD to the storage module450. A display controller411may directly read the panel control data PD in the storage module450through the access circuit414. Moreover, the system module440is further configured to input an operation signal CS to the display controller411. The display controller411may determine the timing of the clock signal CLK according to a content of the operation signal CS.

Specifically, first, the system module440may output the operation signal CS to the display controller411according to a user's setting or external operation control to determine the timing of the clock signal CLK and may input the panel control data PD according to a requirement of use. Furthermore, the control chip410may receive the panel control data PD by the processor413and store the received panel control data PD in the storage module450. Next, the control display controller411may read the panel control data PD stored in the storage module450according to the clock signal CLK through the access circuit414. Then, the control display controller411outputs the panel control data PD to the data transmission interface412according to the clock signal CLK. At last, the driving signal DS1is simulated and outputted according to the panel control data PD by the data transmission interface412.

It should be noted that, in this embodiment, the electronic paper display apparatus400does not use the processor413to determine output of the driving signal. The processor413is configured only to receive and store the panel control data PD in the storage module450. The electronic paper display apparatus400directly reads the panel control data PD in the storage module450by the display controller411and simulates the driving signal DS1with the clock signal CLK set by the operation signal CS and the panel control data PD by using the data transmission interface412.

It should also be noted that, in this embodiment, it is assumed that the driving signal DS1may be directly used for driving the electronic paper display panel420without using the data transmission interface412to convert the driving signal DS1to the driving signal DS2. The data transmission interface412may directly output to control the electronic paper display panel420. However, provided that the driving signal DS1cannot be directly used for driving the electronic paper display panel420, the signal conversion circuit430is required between the data transmission interface412and the electronic paper display panel420. The signal conversion circuit430is configured to convert the driving signal DS1to the panel driving signal DS2that conforms to the signal transmission interface of the electronic paper display panel420.

In addition, in this embodiment, the system module440may be a system circuit that is combined with the control chip410in the electronic paper display apparatus400. The system module440may be operated by the user and generate the operation signal CS, so as to set the clock signal CLK or the panel control data PD in the control chip410. The invention is not intended to limit a method of operating the system circuit. In this embodiment, the processor413may be a central processing unit (CPU), a programmable microprocessor for general or special use, a digital signal processor (DSP), other similar devices, or a combination of the foregoing, for example. Nevertheless, the invention is not intended to limit the type of the processor413. The storage module450and the access circuit414may be a memory module and a DMA (direct memory access) circuit respectively. The memory module may be a SRAM (static random access memory) or a DRAM (dynamic random access memory). Nevertheless, the invention is not intended to limit the type of the memory module.

Besides, in this embodiment, implementations, details of the devices, and configuration relationship of the control chip and the electronic paper display panel shown inFIG. 4can be understood sufficiently from the teaching, suggestion, and illustration of the previous embodiments. Thus, details thereof are not repeated hereinafter.

FIG. 5is a flowchart showing a driving method of the electronic paper display apparatus according to an embodiment of the invention. Please refer toFIG. 1andFIG. 5. The driving method of the electronic paper display apparatus of this embodiment is at least applicable to the electronic paper display apparatus100ofFIG. 1. In Step S510, the control chip110generates the clock signal CLK. Then, in Step S520, the control chip110simulates the driving signal DS1according to the clock signal CLK and the panel control data set in the control chip110. Further, in Step S530, the control chip110drives the electronic paper display panel120with the clock signal CLK and the driving signal DS1. Thus, by following the steps described above, the control chip110outputs the clock signal CLK and the driving signal stably to drive the electronic paper display panel120.

Besides, in this embodiment, implementations, details of the devices, and configuration relationship of the control chip and the electronic paper display panel shown inFIG. 5can be understood sufficiently from the teaching, suggestion, and illustration of the previous embodiments. Thus, details thereof are not repeated hereinafter.

To conclude the above, the invention utilizes the control chip of the display panel to drive the electronic paper display apparatus. The clock signal is generated by the display controller in the control chip, and the driving signal for the electronic paper display panel is simulated according to the clock signal and the preset panel control data and directly outputted to the electronic paper display panel, so as to provide the driving signal without the processor in the control chip. Therefore, it is not required to additionally design a conversion chip integrated with timing control (TCON) for the electronic paper display panel. Interference with the timing of the driving signal provided by the processor can be eliminated to prevent the display quality of the electronic paper display panel from being affected. According to the invention, the timing of the clock signal and the panel control data can be set based on the requirement of use, such that the production cost of the electronic paper display apparatus is reduced and the electronic paper display apparatus can render favorable display quality and provide multiple operation functions.