Patent ID: 12249290

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As will be apparent from the foregoing, the present invention provides a number of improvements in the driving of electro-optic displays, especially bistable electro-optic displays, and most especially electrophoretic displays, and in displays and components thereof arranged to carry out the improved method. The various improvements provided by the present invention will primarily be described separately below but it should be noted that a single physical display or component thereof may implement more than one of the improvements provided by the present invention. For example, it will readily be apparent to those skilled in the technology of electro-optic displays that the drift compensation method of the present invention may be implemented in the same physical display as any of the other methods of the present invention.

Part A: Update Buffer Invention

As already mentioned, the update buffer aspect of the present invention provides display controllers and methods for operating a display with the T and F transitions already discussed. In one aspect, this aspect provides a display controller having an update buffer, means for removing from the update buffer pixels which do not require updating during a given transition, means for receiving a list of states that should not be removed from the update buffer, and means to ensure that pixels having listed states are not removed from the update buffer. For example, consider the example given earlier of a controller in which states 1-16 correspond to the normal 16 gray levels, while state 17 denotes a T transition and state 18 an F transition. In this case, the numbers 17 and 18 are sent to the controller. If the controller algorithm recognizes a zero transition where the initial and final states are equal but on the list, the relevant pixel is not removed from the update buffer.

Another aspect of the update buffer invention provides a display controller having an update buffer, and means for removing from the update buffer pixels which do not require updating during a given transition, the controller having at least one special transition having two states associated therewith, means to determine when a pixel is undergoing a special transition immediately after a previous special transition, and means to insert into the update buffer the second state associated with the at least one special transition when a pixel is undergoing a special transition immediately after a previous special transition. For example, consider a modification of the controller discussed in the preceding paragraph in which states 1-16 correspond to the normal 16 gray levels, while states 17 and 19 denote a T transition and state 18 and 20 an F transition. The controller then operates such that if, at any specific pixel, the previous transition was a T-transition, and the next transition is also a T-transition, then the state substituted into the image should be the second state associated with the T transition, namely 19. Thus, the pixel was assigned state 17 for the previous transition but is assigned state 19 for the next transition. In this way the controller will always see special transitions as a change in state the associated pixels will never be flagged and removed from the update pipeline.

As already noted, the update buffer invention also provides a modified algorithm for carrying out the SGU, BPPWWTDS or WWTOPDS drive schemes discussed above to take into account the non-flashing pixels that will be introduced by the partial update mode of the controller. First, the Partial Update Mask (PUM) value for each pixel must be computed according to the known controller algorithm. In the simplest case (standard partial update) the PUM is set to False if and only if the initial and final gray levels in the image buffer are the same. Second, a modified algorithm is used which utilizes the PUM to determine local activity as prescribed by the algorithm. Pseudo-code for two such algorithms is provided below:

First AlgorithmInputs: Initial (initial image pixels), Final (final image pixels), SFT (activity threshold), PUM (pixel update map)For all pixels in any order:If the pixel Initial to Final transition is not white-to-white, apply the standard GL transition.Else, If at least SFT cardinal neighbors (i.e., neighbors sharing a common edge) are not (making an Initial to Final transition from white-to-white OR have PUM=0), apply the F transition.Else, If all four cardinal neighbors have (a Final gray level of white OR have PUM=0), AND at least one cardinal neighbor has (an Initial gray level not white AND PUM=1), apply the T transition.Otherwise use the empty (GL) W->W transition.End

Second Algorithminputs: Initial (initial image pixels), Final (final image pixels), AM (active mask)SFT (activity threshold), PUM (pixel update map)For all pixels in any order:If the pixel Initial to Final transition is not white-to-white, apply the standard GL transition.Else, If the pixel is selected by the AM, apply the F transition.Else, If at least SFT cardinal neighbors (i.e., neighbors sharing a common edge) are not (making an Initial to Final transition from white-to-white OR have PUM=0), apply the F transition.Else, If all four cardinal neighbors have (a Final gray level of white OR PUM=0), AND (at least one cardinal neighbor has (an Initial gray level not white AND PUM=1) OR (at least one cardinal neighbor is selected by the AM), apply the T transition.Otherwise use the empty (GL) W->W transition.End

It may be desirable to use the algorithm in conjunction with a regional display mode of the controller. A preferred regional update area for an overlaid item is the area of the item plus one pixel all around its periphery; in this one-pixel border area, the special transition for edge ghosting reduction will be applied when the overlaid item is removed. One controller solution involves the following sequence of actions based on a new controller functionality: creating a full screen image combining the initial image with the addition of the item→performing full screen image processing using that image and the previous initial image based on waveform algorithm→make the decision to perform a regional update using the processed new image for the area and location of the item plus one pixel all around.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that the update buffer controllers and methods of the present invention provide a pathway to use the edge and areal ghosting artifact reducing waveform techniques described in the aforementioned US 2013/0194250 on controllers that implement a “partial update” mode. The present invention requires only a small modification of the definition of the waveform states and a modification of the algorithm, without any changes to controller functionality.

Part B: BPPTOPWWTDS Invention

As already mentioned, the BPPTOPWWTDS aspect of the present invention provides a balanced pulse pair/top-off pulse white/white transition drive scheme in which pixels undergoing white-to-white transitions, identified as likely to give rise to edge artifacts, and in a spatio-temporal configuration such that the drive scheme will be efficacious in erasing or reducing the edge artifact, are driven using a waveform which comprises at least one balanced pulse pair and at least one top-off pulse.

A preferred white-to-white waveform for a BPPTOPWWTDS of the present invention is illustrated inFIG.4of the accompanying drawings. As may be seen fromFIG.4, the waveform comprises an initial top-off pulse in the form of a single negative (white-going) frame, followed by two frame of zero voltage, and four successive balanced pulse pairs, each of which comprises a positive (black-going) frame followed immediately by a negative (white-going) one.

The use of a BPPTOPWWTDS of the present invention has been shown to be very effective in significantly reducing all edge artifacts, as illustrated inFIG.5, which should be compared with the similar micrograph shown inFIG.2; it will be seen that essentially no edge artifacts are present on the right side ofFIG.5, in contrast to the very prominent edge artifacts visible on the right side ofFIG.2. As a result, the performance of non-flashy drive schemes aimed at maintaining the background white state lightness level can be significantly improved with observed decrease in white state lightness level of less than 0.5 L* using a BPPTOPWWTDS of the present invention versus over 3L* using a prior art BPPWWTDS after 24 updates at 45° C. as shown inFIG.6.

Preferred embodiments of a BPPTOPWWTDS of the present invention, using only a single top-off pulse, but varying the number of balanced pulse pairs and the location of the top-off pulse relative to the balanced pulse pairs, have been observed to provide a wide range of possible waveform solutions for operating at from 28° C. to 45° C., as illustrated inFIG.7. In this case, acceptable solutions correspond to those resulting in zero delta L* after 24 updates in special low flash mode using the BPPTOPWWTDS. The most significant tuning elements are the location of the top-off pulse relative to the BPP's and the number of BPP's, with a small degree of tunability provided by the location of the BPP's. Locating the top-off pulse closer to the BPP's results in more positive delta L* solutions, with the optimal location being the frame right after the BPPs. For a given BPPTOPWWTDS white-to-white waveform, it has been observed that decreasing the temperature results in more positive delta L*. Although a potential problem could be that the BPPTOPWWTDS could create solutions with too positive a delta L* (meaning that the display becomes whiter and whiter in an uncontrolled manner), it has been possible to avoid this problem by simply increasing the number of BPP's in the white-to-white waveform which results in a less positive delta L*.FIG.7shows that the BPPTOPWWTDS of the present invention can provide good results over the temperature range of 28° C. to 45° C., while still allowing enough tunability to account for module variability experienced in commercial mass production of electrophoretic displays.

The presence of the top-off pulse in the BPPTOPWWTDS of the present invention renders the drive scheme somewhat DC imbalanced, and (as discussed in several of the aforementioned MEDEOD applications), DC imbalanced drive schemes are known to potentially cause significant display reliability issues and significant changes in drive scheme performance. However, as already noted significant reduction in edge artifacts in electrophoretic displays can be achieved using just one top-off pulse in the BPPTOPWWTDS white-to-white waveform, resulting (typically) in a mild DC imbalance of just one white-going frame. Usage reliability experiments using a special low flash mode that make use of such a BPPTOPWWTDS have been conducted, and the results are shown inFIG.8. As shown in that Figure, after over 50,000 updates (estimated to correspond to about one year of e-reader usage), only slight shifts in gray levels of between +0.2L* and −1.2L* were visible, and these slight shifts could be due to other known factors such as so-called display fatigue. These results after over 50,000 updates also show variations in white state and dark state 30 second transient drifts of less than 0.5L*. These results show that BPPTOPWWTDS with one top-off pulse used in special low flash modes aimed at reducing edge artifacts and maintaining background white state do not cause reliability issues. This is due to the drive scheme being only slightly DC imbalanced and being used on the display in such a way that the potential effects of DC imbalance are contained.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that the BPPTOPWWTDS of the present invention can significantly extend the temperature range over which electrophoretic displays can operate without producing image defects, be enabling such displays to operate for a large number of updates at the temperature range of about 30 to 45° C. without being subject to the type of image defects to which prior art displays are subject, thus rendering displays using the drive scheme more attractive to users.

Part C: Overlay Invention

As already mentioned, the overlay aspect of the present invention provides a method for overlaying an item (an icon, menu, etc.) over existing text or image content followed by a removal of the item, and differs from standard partial updates drive schemes in that only the pixels in the region of the item perform transitions (including self transitions) in order to avoid text thinning/fading for text that overlaps with the item and to avoid seeing the text outside that area flashing on to itself. In a simple form of the present invention a regional update is performed in the area of the overlaid item. Preferred variants of the overlay method can allow for transparent areas within the overlaid item.

In the preferred variant of the overlay method discussed above with reference toFIGS.11A-11C and12A-12C, the algorithm used can be summarized as follows:For a given pixel with a given gray level in the current image:IF Mask determines that this pixel must perform a non-empty self transition to update to the next image, set pixel state on the next image to gray level state with non-empty self transition;ELSE set pixel state on next image to gray level state with empty self transition.

In driving modes that involve 16 gray levels plus special states required for special algorithms (for example, the “balanced pulse pair white/white transition drive scheme” and the “white/white top-off pulse drive scheme” described in the aforementioned US 2013/0194250), the five-bit drive scheme solution described above cannot be applied to all 16 gray levels because a five-bit drive scheme does not provide enough additional states. The five-bit drive scheme solution may be applied only to a restricted number of gray levels. For example, if the algorithm requires two special states then two gray levels must be dropped from the algorithm, so that, for example, the algorithm might be applied to gray levels 1→14 only. Such a variant of the overlay method could still be effective is reducing text thinning/fading since most of the gray levels in text are with gray levels 1→14. However, in some other scenarios, restricting the process to certain gray levels might not work well enough.

In such cases, where selective partial updates are needed for all existing gray levels, a “controller-spoofing” method can be used in conjunction with the algorithm described above. In such a controller-spoofing method, all the pixels requiring empty self transitions as determined by a mask are set to one same special empty state with empty self transition (for example state 2). That processed image is then sent to the controller using a special mode that has a fully empty waveform in order to set the states inside the controller as desired by the algorithm without actually updating the pixels of the display. The second image is then displayed with the use of the special empty state 2. Once it is desired to not do empty self transitions for pixels currently in state 2, or to do other transitions to other gray levels, another processed image needs to be sent to the controller with an empty waveform in order to reset all the pixels currently in state 2 to their original states. Therefore, this solution could result in latency issues as it requires sending to the controller two additional processed images with empty waveforms.

In another variant of the overlay method, a device controller function is provided which accepts the mask described above and places pixels on the update buffer according to this mask instead of the partial update logic that it would normally perform. One shortcoming of this approach is the need for a mask of the opaque part of the overlaid item. This, however, is not an unrealistic requirement since the rendering engine for the graphic user interface of a electro-optic display must have such a mask available to it, but the use of such a mask does require a greater amount of data handling and increases system complexity.

An alternative to this mask-based approach is to determine the list of pixels with self-transitions that should be refreshed based on the activity of neighboring pixels, i.e., the mask is inferred from the image data, and subsequent steps implement the approach as if it were mask-based. For example, one algorithm may be defined as:For a given pixel with a given gray level in the current image:IF it is determined from the next image that this pixel is performing a self-transition to update to the next image AND IF at least one of its cardinal neighbors (i.e., neighbors sharing a common edge) is not performing a self-transition;THEN set pixel state on the next image to gray level state with non-empty self-transitionELSE set pixel state on next image to gray level state with empty self-transition.

Such an algorithm should be applied in a non-recursive manner in order to avoid a propagation effect, i.e., setting a pixel to perform a non-empty self transition as determined from this algorithm would not trigger setting its cardinal neighbors with self transitions to perform non-empty self transitions. For example, if a feature contains several columns of pixels that are performing self transitions in an image sequence while an icon is being overlaid and dismissed multiple times on top of that feature, this algorithm would trigger the columns of pixels at the edge of the feature to perform non-empty self transitions. Such an approach should result in reducing most of the visible text thinning/fading as blooming typically affects only the immediate cardinal neighbors.

The algorithm described above is general in the sense that it is applied to all gray levels, including white, and thus in a partial update mode in which the background white state is not intended to flash, some white pixels in the background may perform white→white transitions depending on the activity of their neighboring pixels. For example, if a long black line is written on the display, all the neighboring pixels around the black line would perform white→white transitions, resulting in lines and geometric features with uniform thicknesses, thus avoiding the issue of non-uniform line thickness which has plagued prior art partial update drive schemes. However, the pixels performing white→white transitions may induce the formation of edge artifacts around them. Therefore, desirably such a drive method would be applied in conjunction with a display mode designed to reduce edge artifacts in order to avoid the formation of those artifacts. Another variation of this method would except certain gray levels; for example, the method could be applied to all gray levels except white, thus avoiding the aforementioned edge artifact problem.

In the method just above, as in the mask-based method previous described, a five-bit drive scheme may be used if only 16 gray levels are required. If additional special states exist in the drive scheme, the method may be applied to most but not all of the gray levels, for example gray levels 1→14 of 16. As with the mask-based approach, this drive scheme would solve most of the text thinning/fading issues. If it is necessary to apply the method to all existing states, then the implementation of this method would require resetting the states inside the controller as described previously with the use of two additional empty display updates.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that the method of the present invention can reduce or eliminate problems such as text thinning and fading encountered in prior art partial update drive schemes, while maintaining the low-flash characteristics of a partial update drive scheme for electro-optic displays. The present method is compatible with novel drive scheme algorithms that result in low-flash, high image quality display performance, thus rendering displays using the drive scheme very attractive to users.

Part D: Drift Compensation Invention

As already mentioned, the drift compensation aspect of the invention provides a method of driving a bistable electro-optic display having a plurality of pixels each capable of displaying two extreme optical states, in which, after the display has been left undriven for a period of time, successive refresh pulses are applied to proportions of the background pixels to reverse at least partially the effects of drift.

The drift compensation method may be regarded as a combination of a specially designed waveform with an algorithm and (desirably) a timer to actively compensate for the background white state (or other) drift as seen in some electro-optic and especially electrophoretic displays. The special waveform is applied to selected pixels in the background white state when a triggering event occurs that is typically based on a timer in order to drive the white state reflectance up slightly in a controlled manner.

One example of a waveform useful in the drift compensation method is shown inFIG.15. This waveform may be as short as 2 frames (about 24 milliseconds with a typical 85 Hz frame rate) and may contain a single white-going top-off pulse (frame 1). The purpose of this waveform is to slightly increase the background white state in a way that is essentially invisible to the user and therefore non-intrusive. The drive voltage of the top-off pulse may be modulated (for example −10V instead of the −15V used in other transitions) in order to control the amount of white state increase.

In the drift compensation method of this invention the waveform ofFIG.15or a similar waveform is applied to selected pixels in the background white state, thus allowing a control white state increase from the update, as illustrated inFIGS.16A and16B. By making use of a designed pixel map matrix (PMM) combined with an algorithm, the percentage of the pixels receiving a top-off pulse at each update is controlled. The algorithm used may be a simplified version of the algorithm described in the aforementioned US 2013/0194250. The special transition shown inFIG.15would correspond to the F W→W transition discussed in this published application.

Drift compensation is applied by requesting a special update to the image currently displayed on the display. The special update calls a separate mode storing a waveform that is empty for all transitions, except for the special transition shown inFIG.15. The waveform algorithm will select the pixels that will receive the top-off pulse using the waveform algorithm described below. PMM_VS, PMM_HS, PMM_Period are the vertical size, horizontal size, and period of the pixel map matrix. An update counter ensures that all the pixels will uniformly receive the same amount of top-off pulses over time. A typical algorithm is as follows.

Waveform algorithm for Active Drift Compensation with TimerInputs: Current (current image pixels), Next (next image pixelsequal to current image pixels), PMM (pixel map matrix)Set Active Mask (i, j) = TRUE if PMM (i mod PMM_VS, j modPMM_HS) ==Update Counter mod PMM_PeriodFor all pixels (i, j) in any order:If the pixel graytone transition is not W->W, apply thestandard transition.Else, if the pixel is selected by Active Mask (i, j), applythe F W->W transition.Otherwise use the standard transition.End

The drift compensation method very desirable incorporates the use of a timer. The special waveform used results in an increase in the background white state lightness. Therefore, if this update was tied to user-requested updates, there would be large variations in white state increase depending on how quickly updates were being requested, i.e., if this special update were applied every time a user requested an update, the white state increase would become unacceptably high if a user turned pages very quickly (such as every one second), as opposed to a user turning pages more slowly (such as every thirty seconds). This would result in the drift compensation method being very sensitive to dwell times between updates and in some cases unacceptably high ghosting would occur due to the background white state being increased too much. The use of a timer decouples drift compensation from user-requested updates. By applying the special update independently of user-requested updates, the drift compensation is more controlled and less sensitive to dwell times.

A timer may be used in the drift compensation method in several ways. A timeout value or timer period may function as an algorithm parameter; each time the timer reaches the timeout value or a multiple of the timer period, it triggers an event that requests the special update described above and resets the timer in the case of the timeout value. The timer may be reset when a full screen refresh (a global complete update) is requested. The timeout value or timer period may vary with temperature in order to accommodate the variation of drift with temperature. An algorithm flag may be provided to prevent drift compensation being applied at temperatures at which it is not necessary.FIG.17is a flow diagram of a drift compensation method implementing the concepts discussed in this paragraph.

Another way of implementing drift compensation is to fix the timer period TIMER_PERIOD (for example, at 60 seconds), and make use of the algorithm PMM and PMM_PERIOD to provide more flexibility as to when the special update is applied. For example, for PMM=[1], PMM_PERIOD=4 and TIMER_PERIOD=60, this is equivalent to applying a top-off pulse to all the background pixels every 4×60 seconds. Other variations may include using the timer information in conjunction with the time since the last user-requested page turn. For example, if the user has not requested page turns for some time, application of top-off pulses may cease after a predetermined maximum time. Alternatively, the top-off pulse could be combined with a user-requested update. By using a timer to keep track of the elapsed time since the last page turn and the elapsed time since the last application of a top-off pulse, one could determine whether to apply a top-off pulse in this update or not. This would remove the constraint of applying this special update in the background, and may be preferable or easier to implement in some cases.

Examples of the background white state overtime with and without drift compensation are shown inFIG.18. The lowest curve (similar to that shown inFIG.13) shows the uncorrected background white state over the course of 45 page turns at 30 second intervals. The illustrated drop in white state reflectance would result in substantial text ghosting over time. The center curve shows the result of drift compensation in which 12.5% of the pixels receive the special update every minute, again while 45 page turns occur at 30 second intervals. The upper curve shows a second example of drift compensation in which 100% of the pixels receive the special update every six minutes, using the same sequence of page turns. In both drift compensated cases, the background white state is maintained at a higher level over time which will result in reduced text ghosting and may allow to achieving a higher number of page turns without a full display refresh. In both cases, the special updates have been shown to be invisible to the user. The timer period may be used as another way to control how much white state increase is being applied overall. The improvement in text ghosting is illustrated inFIGS.19A and19B, withFIG.19Ashowing the uncorrected display at the end of the sequence of page turns andFIG.19Bthe display in which 100% of the pixels receive the special update every six minutes.

As indicated previously, the white state drift correction may be tuned by a combination of the pixel map matrix, the timer period, and the drive voltage for the top-off pulse.FIG.20illustrates the tuning of the background white state drift by varying the density of the pixel map matrix from 12.5% to 50% with a fixed timer of three minutes, using the same sequence of page turns as inFIG.18.

As already mentioned, the use of DC imbalanced waveforms is known to have the potential to cause problems in bistable displays; such problems may include shifts in optical states over time that will cause increased ghosting, and in extreme cases may cause the display to show severe optical kickback and even to stop functioning. This is believed to be related to the build up of a remnant voltage or residual charge across the electro-optic layer, and this remnant voltage has a very long decay time. Therefore, it is important to consider the effect of drift compensation on remnant voltage.FIG.21shows curves of remnant voltage against time for an uncorrected pixel and three pixels using different drift compensation methods for the same sequence of page turns as inFIG.20.FIG.21shows that in the worst case, drift compensation results in an increase of remnant voltage of about 100 mV above the baseline. Prior knowledge indicates that remnant voltages within a window of about +250 mV are typical in normal usage. Therefore,FIG.21indicates that drift compensation does not appear to have a significant impact on the remnant voltage, and therefore on display reliability with usage.

As already indicated drift compensation can be applied to dark state drift as well as white state drift. A typical waveform for dark state drift compensation could be simply the inverse of that shown inFIG.15, with a single frame of positive voltage.

From the foregoing it will be seen that the drift compensation method of the present invention provides a means for substantially reducing the effects of drift on a displayed image in a manner which is typically unnoticeable to a user and which does not adversely affect the long term use of the display.

The methods of the present invention may be “tuned” to produce accurate gray levels using any of the techniques described in the aforementioned MEDEOD applications. Thus, for example, the waveform used may include drive pulses having a polarity opposite to that of the waveform as a whole. For example, when a pixel is driven from white to a light gray level, the waveform will typically have an overall black-going polarity. However, to ensure accurate control of the final light gray level, it may be desirable to include at least one white-going pulse in the waveform. Furthermore, for similar reasons, as discussed in the aforementioned MEDEOD applications, it is often desirable to include at least one balanced pulse pair (a pair of drive pulses of substantially equal absolute impulse value, but of opposite polarity) and/or at least one period of zero voltage in the waveform.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that numerous changes and modifications can be made in the specific embodiments of the invention described above without departing from the scope of the invention. Accordingly, the whole of the foregoing description is to be interpreted in an illustrative and not in a limitative sense.