JP5023640B2 - Connection structure, image display device and image display system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a connection structure for electrically connecting a display medium and a writing device, and an image display device and an image display system for writing an image on the display medium through the connection structure.

  In recent years, electronic paper that can be used in the same way as printed paper by storing images such as still images, illustrations, and characters electronically on a portable display medium, and can be stored and erased many times has been developed. Attention has been paid. Such electronic paper is used for writing and erasing images while being electrically connected to a writing device or the like by a cable and a connector.

  However, when a connection is made with a connector, connection failure is likely to occur due to oxidation and corrosion of the electrode. In addition, when the number of contacts increases, the electrode area becomes smaller, and contact failure is likely to occur due to deposits such as dust.

Therefore, a connection method without contact can be considered. For example, the transmission side coil and the reception side coil are concentrically arranged and inductively coupled, and a signal is transmitted wirelessly (see, for example, Patent Document 1), or the distance between the transmitter pad and the receiver pad is increased. A method is known in which a signal is transmitted by capacitive coupling between pads that are provided and faced to each other (see, for example, Patent Document 2).
JP 2005-228981 A JP 2005-535116 A

  An object of the present invention is to provide a connection structure, an image display device, and an image display system that enable stable signal transmission from a writing device to an image display device.

  In order to achieve the above object, one embodiment of the present invention provides the following connection structure, image display device, and image display system.

[1] A plurality of transmission circuits which are provided on the writing device side and transmit signals, which individually process a plurality of signals, and a plurality of transmission coils or a plurality of transmission circuits connected to each of the plurality of transmission circuits A transmitter having electrodes, and when receiving the signal, the signal is received by non-conduction through the protective layer covered with a water-repellent film that contacts the signal radiation surface of the transmitter and the protective layer; A plurality of receiving coils or a plurality of receiving electrodes that receive a plurality of signals from the writing device supplied to the display medium for each signal by electromagnetic induction or electrostatic coupling, and the plurality of coils or the plurality of electrodes A connection structure comprising: a reception unit having a reception circuit having a plurality of amplifiers for individually amplifying reception signals .

[2] The image display device according to [1], wherein the protective layer is made of a rubber-based material.

[3] The connection structure according to [1], wherein the protective layer is a layer made of PDMS (polydimethylsiloxane).

[ 4 ] The connection structure according to any one of [1] to [3], wherein the water-repellent film is a film made of an amorphous fluororesin.

[5] A display medium and a signal received non- conducting from the writing device are supplied to the display medium, and a plurality of receptions are received for each of the signals by electromagnetic induction or electrostatic coupling. A receiving circuit having a coil or a plurality of receiving electrodes and a plurality of amplifiers for individually amplifying signals received by the plurality of coils or the plurality of electrodes, and a receiving unit having a protective layer covering the surface of the receiving circuit. The protective layer is covered with a water-repellent film that contacts the signal radiation surface of the transmitter of the writing device.

[ 6 ] The image display device according to [ 5 ], the reception circuit of the image display device, a plurality of transmission circuits that individually process a plurality of signals, and a plurality of transmission circuits connected to each of the plurality of transmission circuits An image display system comprising: a writing device that transmits the signal to the image display device by electromagnetically or electrostatically coupling a transmission unit having a plurality of transmission coils or a plurality of transmission electrodes .

According to the connection structure of the first aspect, the distance between the transmission unit and the reception unit is made constant by the protective layer, and thereby signal transmission can be stabilized. In addition, adhesion of dust and the like can be prevented, and a signal can be transmitted by non-conduction.

According to the connection structure of the second aspect, the material can be selected from a wide range.
According to the connection structure of the third aspect, PDMS can provide adhesion to the electrode pad, elasticity, high insulation, and the like.
According to the connection structure of the fourth aspect, it is possible to prevent adhesion of dust and the like .

According to the image display device of the fifth aspect, signal transmission between the writing device and the image display device can be stably performed by non-conduction. Moreover, adhesion of dust etc. can be prevented.

According to the image display system of the sixth aspect , signal transmission from the writing device to the image display device can be stably performed by non-conduction.

[First Embodiment]
(Image display system configuration)
FIG. 1 shows an image display system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The image display system 10 includes an image display device 1 and a writing device 2 that writes information to the image display device 1.

(Configuration of image display device)
The image display apparatus 1 is a toner system in which a plurality of cells 15 each enclosing a group of negatively charged white particles and a group of positively charged black particles are arranged vertically and horizontally so that a pixel is formed for each cell 15. A sheet-like display medium 11, a row electrode driving circuit 12 that applies a voltage to the row electrode, a column electrode driving circuit 13 that applies a voltage to the column electrode, and a receiving unit 14 that receives a signal from the writing device 2. It is prepared for.

  The row electrode drive circuit 12 is a circuit that applies a voltage supplied from the power supply circuit 23 to a corresponding row electrode based on a timing signal and a selection signal from the drive control unit 22, and is configured by one or a plurality of drive ICs. be able to.

  The column electrode drive circuit 13 is a circuit that applies the voltage supplied from the power supply circuit 23 to the corresponding column electrode based on the timing signal and the image signal from the drive control unit 22, and is configured by one or a plurality of drive ICs. be able to.

  The receiving unit 14 is configured by a circuit that receives signals from the writing device 2 in a non-contact manner.

(Configuration of writing device)
The writing device 2 includes an image storage unit 21 that stores image data to be written on the sheet-like display medium 11, and a row electrode drive circuit 12 and a column electrode drive circuit based on the image data stored in the image storage unit 21. 13, a drive control unit 22 that performs display control on the image display device 1, a power supply circuit 23 that supplies power to the row electrode drive circuit 12 and the column electrode drive circuit 13 of the image display device 1, and a drive control unit And a transmission unit 24 that outputs a signal from the image display device 1 to the image display device 1 by electromagnetic induction. The power supply circuit 23 and the image display device 1 are connected via a connector or the like (not shown).

  The image storage unit 21 includes a semiconductor memory, a hard disk (HD), and the like.

  The drive control unit 22 includes a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, a timing signal generation circuit, and the like. The CPU controls the row electrode drive circuit 12 and the column electrode drive circuit 13 according to a control program stored in the ROM, and applies a voltage between the electrodes corresponding to the pixels based on the image data from the image storage unit 21. It is configured. Note that the image storage unit 21 may input image data via a recording medium such as a CD-ROM or a rewritable flash memory, or a network such as a LAN (Local Area Network).

  The power supply circuit 23 generates a first alternating voltage (for example, 200 Hz to 10 kHz, ± 200 V) when performing initialization, and performs a second alternating voltage when performing color display of the rear substrate of the image display device 1. When generating a voltage (for example, 200 Hz, ± 200 V) and performing color display using white particles and black particles, the circuit generates a DC voltage.

  The first alternating voltage is applied to all the pixels to adhere the white particle group to one substrate side and the black particle group to the other substrate side. The second alternating voltage is used to apply the color of the colored layer on the back substrate to a pixel to be displayed and move particles present in the pixel to surrounding pixels. The DC voltage is used when, for example, + 200V or -200V is applied and two-color display is performed using white particles and black particles.

  The transmission unit 24 is arranged to face the reception unit 14 and is configured to radiate a signal from the drive control unit 22 to the reception unit 14 by electromagnetic induction.

(Configuration of sheet-like display medium)
FIG. 2 shows a sheet-like display medium. The sheet-shaped display medium 11 holds the translucent surface substrate 16, the back substrate 17, the front substrate 16 and the back substrate 17 so as to face each other, and the space between the substrates 16, 17 is the substrates 16, 17. A partition member 18 made of an insulating material such as a thermosetting resin, a thermoplastic resin, an electron beam curable resin, a photocurable resin, or rubber that forms a plurality of cells 15 that are partitioned in a direction parallel to the cell 15 and enclosed in the cells 15 As shown in FIG. 2, the front end surface of the partition member 18 and the surface substrate 16 are composed of two particle groups composed of white particles 19 </ b> A and black particles 19 </ b> B having different charging characteristics. Are joined together.

  The surface substrate 16 includes a surface substrate member 161 made of a transparent glass substrate or the like, a plurality of transparent strip-like column electrodes 162 made of indium tin oxide (ITO) or the like formed on the surface substrate member 161, and a column electrode 162. And a dielectric film 163 made of polycarbonate or the like for protecting the particles 19A and 19B and stabilizing the charging characteristics of the particles 19A and 19B.

  The back substrate 17 includes a back substrate member 171 made of epoxy resin or the like, a plurality of strip-like row electrodes 172 made of copper or the like formed on the back substrate member 171, and the row electrodes 172, and the particles 19A and 19B. A dielectric film 173 made of polycarbonate or the like that stabilizes the charging characteristics is laminated.

(Configuration of receiver and transmitter)
FIG. 3 shows an outline of the reception unit and the transmission unit. The receiving unit 14 includes an IC receiving circuit 31, a protective layer 32 that covers the surface of the receiving circuit 31, and a water repellent film 33 that covers the surface of the protective layer 32.

  The protective layer 32 is made of PDMS (Polydimethylsiloxane), natural rubber, styrene rubber, butyl rubber, nitrile rubber, chloroprene rubber, ethylene / propylene rubber, chlorosulfonated polyethylene rubber, acrylic rubber, urethane rubber, silicone rubber, fluorine rubber. , A layer made of perfluoroelastomer or the like. The thickness is, for example, 100 μm, but is preferably 100 μm or more. The rubber hardness is preferably 20 to 90 ° Hs. In the case of using fluorine-containing fluororubber and perfluoroelastomer, the water repellent film 33 is unnecessary.

  In the present embodiment, PDMS is used as the protective layer 32, which is colorless and transparent and has excellent characteristics such as adhesion to a substrate and the like, elasticity, and high insulation.

  The water repellent film 33 is a fluorine-containing film having water repellency / oil repellency, coating properties, corrosion resistance, heat resistance, product resistance, and the like. For example, an amorphous fluororesin can be used. There is Cytop "CYTOP" (Asahi Glass Co., Ltd., registered trademark). The water repellent film 33 is provided with a thickness of 1 μm, for example, and the contact angle is 90 ° or more.

  The transmission unit 24 is provided on a lid 25 that is supported on the main body 201 of the writing device 2 together with the drive control unit 22 so as to be openable and closable by a rotation shaft 26. The transmission unit 24 is disposed at a part facing the reception unit 14. The transmitter 24 is not necessarily provided on the lid 25, and may be configured as a unit separated from the main body 201 of the writing device 2 and connected to the main body 201 by a cable or the like.

  FIG. 4 shows a circuit configuration of the receiving unit and the transmitting unit in FIG. The reception circuit 31 includes a plurality of reception coils 311 provided at predetermined intervals on the surface of the package of the reception unit 14 or in the vicinity of the surface, and a plurality of amplifiers 312 connected to the reception coils 311. . The output terminal of each amplifier 312 is connected to the input terminals of the row electrode driving circuit 12 and the column electrode driving circuit 13. In FIG. 4, the transmitter 24 and the receiver 14 are separated from each other for easy understanding, but in actuality, they are used in close contact as shown in FIG. 3.

  Note that the number of amplifiers 312 corresponding to the number of signal lines of the row electrode driving circuit 12 and the column electrode driving circuit 13 is required. Further, a waveform shaping circuit and a threshold setting circuit are inserted between the amplifier 312 and the row electrode drive circuit 12 and the column electrode drive circuit 13 as necessary.

  The transmission unit 24 includes a plurality of transmission ICs 241 as transmission circuits connected to the drive control unit 22, and a plurality of transmission coils 242 connected to each of the transmission ICs 241 and arranged to face the reception coil 311. It is configured with. The transmission coil 242 is provided on the surface of the package of the transmission unit 24 or in the vicinity of the surface in the package.

(Operation of image display system)
When writing an image on the image display device 1, the user sets the image display device 1 at a predetermined position on the writing device 2. Next, when the lid 25 of the writing device 2 is closed, as shown in FIG. 3, the transmission unit 24 and the reception unit 14 face each other, and the transmission coil 242 moves up and down on the reception coil 311 through the protective layer 32 and the water repellent film 33. It will be in a state of overlapping. At this time, since the surface (lower surface) of the transmission unit 24 is in close contact with the surface of the water repellent film 33, the distance between the transmission unit 24 and the reception unit 14 is kept constant by the protective layer 32 and the water repellent film 33.

  Here, when a signal is sent from the drive control unit 22, each transmission IC 241 is driven, a current corresponding to the signal flows through the transmission coil 242 connected thereto, and a magnetic field corresponding to a signal change is applied to each transmission coil 242. It occurs in the transmission coil 242. Since the reception coil 311 is inductively coupled to the transmission coil 242, an induction magnetic field is generated in the reception coil 311 due to the magnetic field generated in the transmission coil 242. The induced magnetic field generated in each receiving coil 311 is amplified by each amplifier 312 and applied to the row electrode driving circuit 12 and the column electrode driving circuit 13.

  When performing two-color display using the white particles 19A and the black particles 19B, the drive control unit 22 controls the power supply circuit 23 based on the image data stored in the image storage unit 21 to generate a DC voltage, and A timing signal and a selection signal are output to the electrode driving circuit 12, and a timing signal and an image signal are output to the column electrode driving circuit 13. The row electrode drive circuit 12 sequentially applies a selection voltage to the row electrodes 172 based on the timing signal and the selection signal from the drive control unit 22. The column electrode drive circuit 13 applies a positive or negative voltage corresponding to the image data to the column electrode 162 for a predetermined time in synchronization with the voltage application to the row electrode 172. As a result, an image is formed on the sheet-like display medium 11. The display contents are retained even when the power is turned off.

  Note that, as the distance between the transmission coil 242 and the reception coil 311 becomes shorter, inductive coupling with a non-target coil is more likely to occur, and interference occurs. In order to avoid this, it is only necessary to change the use frequency and modulation frequency for each coil and provide a band pass filter that passes only the necessary frequency band for each reception circuit 31.

(Effects of the first embodiment)
According to the first embodiment, the following effects are obtained.
(A) Since the protective layer 32 is provided on the surface of the receiving circuit 31 of the image display device 1, the distance between the transmitting unit 24 and the receiving circuit 31 of the writing device 2 can be made constant. Transmission can be stabilized.
(B) By providing the water-repellent film 33 on the surface of the protective layer 32, it is possible to prevent signal deterioration due to foreign matter adhesion.
(C) Since signal transmission is performed by inductive coupling of the transmission coil 242 and the reception coil 311, the reception unit 14 of the image display device 1 can be configured without an electrode pad or the like. Thereby, it is possible to prevent contact failure. In addition, since no electrode pad or the like is required, no contact failure due to contamination or corrosion of the electrode pad or the like occurs, and measures against the contamination or corrosion become unnecessary.

[Second Embodiment]
FIG. 5 shows a transmission unit and a reception unit of the image display system according to the second embodiment of the present invention. This embodiment is configured to perform signal transmission by electrostatically coupling the receiving unit 14 and the transmitting unit 24 in the first embodiment, and other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment. It is. In FIG. 5, the transmitter 24 and the receiver 14 are separated from each other for easy understanding, but in actuality, they are used in close contact as shown in FIG. .

  As shown in FIG. 5, the receiving unit 14 of the second embodiment is configured to include an IC receiving circuit 50, the protective layer 32, and the water repellent film 33 described above.

  The receiving circuit 50 includes a plurality of electrode pads 51 serving as receiving electrodes based on a surface of the package of the receiving circuit 50 or a wiring pattern provided in the package at regular intervals according to the number of signal lines, and each of the electrode pads 51. And a plurality of amplifiers 52 connected to each other. The output terminal of each amplifier 52 is connected to the row electrode drive circuit 12 and the column electrode drive circuit 13.

  The transmission unit 24 includes the transmission IC 241 as a transmission circuit and a plurality of electrode pads 243 as transmission electrodes connected to the transmission IC 241. The electrode pad 243 is disposed so as to overlap the electrode pad 51 of the receiving unit 14 when the image display device 1 is set in the writing device 2. The electrode pad 243 is provided on the surface of the package of the transmitter 24 or in the vicinity of the surface in the package, and the surface on the protective layer 32 side becomes a signal radiation surface.

  The operations of the reception unit 14 and the transmission unit 24 configured as described above will be described. First, when an image is written on the sheet-like display medium 11, the user sets the sheet-like display medium 11 at a predetermined position of the writing device 2. Next, when the lid 25 of the writing device 2 is closed, as shown in FIG. 5, the transmission unit 24 and the reception unit 14 face each other, and the electrode pad 243 and the electrode pad 51 are moved up and down via the protective layer 32 and the water repellent film 33. It will be in the state which adhered to. At this time, the distance between the transmission unit 24 and the reception unit 14 is kept constant by the protective layer 32 and the water repellent film 33.

  Here, when a signal is sent from the drive control unit 22, each of the transmission IC 241 is driven, and the output voltage of each transmission IC 241 is applied to each electrode pad 243. Since each electrode pad 243 and each electrode pad 51 are electrostatically coupled so as to form a pair, signal transmission from the electrode pad 243 to the electrode pad 51 is performed by electrostatic coupling. A signal that has been dielectrically applied to the electrode pad 51 is amplified by each amplifier 52 and then applied to the row electrode drive circuit 12 and the column electrode drive circuit 13. As a result, a signal from the writing device 2 is applied to the row electrode drive circuit 12 and the column electrode drive circuit 13, and an image is written on the sheet-like display medium 11.

(Effect of the second embodiment)
According to the second embodiment, since signal transmission is performed from the writing device 2 to the image display device 1 by electrostatic coupling between the electrode pad 243 and the electrode pad 51, it is possible to perform signal transmission by non-conduction. . In addition, the same effects as those of the first embodiment can be obtained.

[Third Embodiment]
FIG. 6 shows an image display apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention. In the present embodiment, the row electrode driving circuit 12 and the column electrode driving circuit 13 are not provided on the image display device 1 side, but these circuits or their functions are provided on the writing device 2 side, and display information from the writing device 2 is displayed. The receiving unit 14 shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 is applied to a so-called passive type image display device 100 that selects a row electrode and a column electrode together.

  The image display device 1 in FIG. 6 includes two receiving units 60A and 60B, column electrodes 162-1 to 162-n are connected to the receiving unit 14A, and row electrodes 172-1 to 172 are connected to the receiving unit 14B. -N is connected. Although not shown, there are also two transmitters corresponding to the receivers 60A and 60B on the writing device 2 side. Specifically, the configuration is such that two transmission units 24 shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 are provided.

  In the passive image display device 1, a large number of signal lines are connected to the receiving units 60A and 60B. By applying the configuration of the receiving unit 14 shown in FIGS. Can respond.

[Other embodiments]
The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from or changing the technical idea of the present invention.

  For example, the sheet-like display medium 11 may be optical writing type electronic paper. In this case, connection to a pair of opposing full-surface electrodes is targeted. Further, the sheet-like display medium 11 is not limited to the toner system, and can be applied to an image display apparatus that needs to be connected to the writing device 2. Other sheet-like display media include an electrophoresis system, a liquid crystal display, and the like. There are display methods. The present invention can also be applied to a display device that does not use a sheet-like display medium (electronic paper).

1 is a block diagram showing an image display system according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is sectional drawing which shows the sheet-like display medium of FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the outline of the transmission part of FIG. 1, and a receiving part. It is a circuit diagram which shows the circuit of the transmission part of FIG. 3, and a receiving part. It is a circuit diagram which shows the transmission part and receiving part of the image display system which concern on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram of the image display apparatus which concerns on the 3rd Embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1,100 Image display apparatus 2 Writing apparatus 10 Image display system 11 Sheet-like display medium 12 Row electrode drive circuit 13 Column electrode drive circuit 14 Receiver 15 Cell 16 Surface substrate 17 Rear substrate 18 Partition member 19A White particle 19B Black particle 20 Adhesive layer 21 Image storage unit 22 Drive control unit 23 Power supply circuit 24 Transmission unit 25 Cover 26 Rotating shaft 31 Reception circuit 32 Protective layer 33 Water-repellent film 50 Reception circuit 51 Electrode pad 52 Amplifiers 60A and 60B Reception unit 161 Surface substrate member 162 Electrode 163 Dielectric film 171 Back substrate member 172 Row electrode 173 Dielectric film 201 Main body 241 Transmission IC
242 Transmission coil 243 Electrode pad 311 Reception coil 312 Amplifier

Claims (6)

A plurality of transmission circuits that are provided on the writing device side and transmit signals, and that individually process a plurality of signals, and a plurality of transmission coils or a plurality of transmission electrodes connected to each of the plurality of transmission circuits Having a transmitter,
When the signal is received, the signal is received by non-conduction through the protective layer coated with a water-repellent film and in contact with the signal radiation surface of the transmitter, and is supplied to the display medium. A plurality of receiving coils or a plurality of receiving electrodes for receiving a plurality of signals from the input device for each of the signals by electromagnetic induction or electrostatic coupling, and a plurality of individually amplifying the received signals by the plurality of coils or the plurality of electrodes And a receiving section having a receiving circuit having a plurality of amplifiers.   The connection structure according to claim 1, wherein the protective layer is made of a rubber-based material.   The connection structure according to claim 1, wherein the protective layer is a layer made of PDMS (polydimethylsiloxane).   The connection structure according to claim 1, wherein the water repellent film is a film made of an amorphous fluororesin. A display medium;
A plurality of receiving coils or a plurality of receiving electrodes for receiving a plurality of signals from the writing device for each of the signals by electromagnetic induction or electrostatic coupling, supplying a signal received non- conducting from the writing device to a display medium And a receiving circuit having a plurality of amplifiers for individually amplifying received signals by the plurality of coils or electrodes and a receiving unit having a protective layer covering the surface of the receiving circuit ,
The image display device according to claim 1, wherein the protective layer is covered with a water repellent film that is in contact with a signal emission surface of a transmitter of the writing device. An image display device according to claim 5;
A transmission unit having a plurality of transmission circuits for individually processing a plurality of signals and a plurality of transmission coils or a plurality of transmission electrodes connected to each of the plurality of transmission circuits in the reception circuit of the image display device And a writing device for transmitting the signal to the image display device through electromagnetic induction or electrostatic coupling.

Images