KR100930138B1 - Method of driving display device, driving device, display device and electronic device - Google Patents

Abstract

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a driving method, a driving device, a display device, and an electronic device capable of significantly shortening a display switching time in a particle moving display device.

In driving by the display device of the watch, the display device is provided with an intermediate color driving step, so that the display switching is performed based on the difference in the display color in the intermediate state which is not saturated in the display panel during this intermediate color driving. By performing the intermediate color driving in this way, it is possible to significantly shorten the display switching time especially when the frequency of rewriting is high, such as when a continuous rewriting operation is required continuously, and lower power consumption than when saturation driving is always performed. You can also do

Description

DRIVE METHOD FOR A DISPLAY DEVICE, DRIVE DEVICE, DISPLAY DEVICE, AND ELECTRONIC DEVICE}

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a particle transfer type display device, and more particularly to a driving method, a drive device, a display device, and an electronic device.

In recent years, various particle transfer type display apparatuses including an electrophoretic display device (Patent Document 1) have been developed. Here, the electrophoretic display device moves electrophoretic particles (pigments, etc.) by applying an electric field, and the display color is determined according to the color of the particles close to the viewing direction surface side, the color of the solution in which the particles are dispersed, and the like. In such a particle transfer type display device, the display is conventionally performed by moving the particles until the particle migration is completed and becomes saturated. In the example of the electrophoretic display device, a request for display rewriting occurred, and a time of about 2 seconds was required until the drawing process was performed to become saturated.

[Patent Document 1] Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2006-267982

[Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 8-68875

As described above, in the conventional drive of the particle transfer type display device including the electrophoretic display device, it was a problem to take a saturation drive and give a gentle impression when the drawing takes time and the display is switched. For example, at the initial setting, there are various settings such as time alignment, world time zone setting, timer setting, selection of time display format such as 12 hours / 24 hours display, and selection of shape and thickness of index display. The frequency of display switching is very high at the time of carrying out, and the user must wait until display switching is completed and the next operation is possible.

For reference, in the case of driving the liquid crystal panel (Patent Document 2), since the reaction speed is fast at several 10 m seconds, the setting change of various items can be performed quickly. In addition, regarding the time display, the second display which requires the display switching every second can also be displayed, and the fast forward correction of the time can also be performed by continuously pressing the operation button.

However, in the particle transfer type display device, because of the structure of moving the particles, the reaction speed is slow and the reaction speed equivalent to that of the liquid crystal panel is not preferable.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a driving method of a display device, a driving device of a display device, a display device, and an electronic device that can significantly reduce the display switching time in a particle transfer display device.

A driving method of a display device of the present invention is a driving method of a display device in which a charged particle is moved by an electric field to display the medium, and the intermediate color driving is performed such that the particles are brought into an intermediate state other than a saturated state in which the particles are saturated. In the intermediate color driving step, the display is switched by moving the particles to cause a difference in display color.

In addition, the driving device of the display device of the present invention is a driving device of a display device that moves a charged particle by applying an electric field to perform display, and moves the particles by moving the particles to cause a difference in display color. It is characterized by including the intermediate color drive part which makes it into intermediate states other than this saturated saturated state.

According to these inventions, display switching is performed based on the difference in the display colors in the intermediate state during the intermediate color driving. Here, the display switching from the saturated color (saturated color) to the intermediate color or the display switching from the intermediate color to the intermediate color to the intermediate color is shorter than the case of the display switching from the saturated color to the saturated color. In addition, it is possible to observe each of the displays before and after the display switching by switching the display from one intermediate color to the other half of the gray level distinguishable from this.

Thereby, display switching time can be shortened significantly compared with the case of the display switching by the conventional saturation drive, and it can also be low power consumption compared with the case of always performing saturation drive. In particular, when the display needs to be changed continuously or when the display is frequently rewritten, such as when the time is corrected, when the list is displayed, or when an item is selected from among a large number of choices for setting. The effect can be increased.

Here, in the case of displaying the seconds or displaying the information that needs to be switched every second in addition to the second, even if the saturation driving time required for saturation is longer than one second, It is possible to perform the display and the display to be switched every second. Since the second display is the basic performance of the watch, the present invention is applied to the watch, and the effect is outstanding.

In addition, the "particle moving display device" includes a powder moving type display device such as a charged toner type display device and an electron powder display device and an electrophoretic display device.

In the driving method of the display device of the present invention, a saturation driving process is provided to bring the particles into the saturation state, and the saturation driving process is performed after the intermediate color driving process to bring the particles in the intermediate state into the saturation state. It is desirable to.

In addition, the drive device of the display device of the present invention includes a saturation drive unit for bringing the particles into the saturation state, and the saturation drive unit performs display rewrite processing after the display rewrite process by the intermediate color drive unit to cause the particles in the intermediate state. It is preferable to bring the above saturated state.

Here, since the movement distance of the particles is changed by limiting the electric field application time in the intermediate color drive to the electric field application time in the saturation drive, the neutral color drive and the saturation drive can be realized respectively.

According to these inventions, the display of the intermediate state in which the display color is switched by the intermediate color driving becomes saturated by the saturation driving, and the reflectance is maximized. Thereby, the visibility at the time of changing display and maintaining a display state can be made high, performing display switching in a short time.

In the driving method of the display device of the present invention, in at least one of the intermediate color driving step and the saturation driving step, a pulse that is changed between a first potential and a second potential different from each other is applied to one electrode and is further applied to the display color. Therefore, it is preferable to apply either one of the first potential and the second potential to the other electrode.

Here, when driving the electrophoretic display device of the system which moves the charged particle between these electrodes between the opposing electrodes, the said "one electrode" and the said "other electrode" are respectively "opposed" It corresponds to one electrode "and" the other electrode which opposes. "

In addition, in the driving apparatus of the display device of the present invention, a power source, a first potential generating unit for generating a first potential of two different potentials from the power source, and a second potential of the two potentials from the power source. It is preferable to include a second potential generator and a pulse generator for generating a pulse that changes between the two potentials.

According to this invention, when a pulse is applied to one electrode, and when this pulse is a 1st electric potential, the electric field of a predetermined direction will generate | occur | produce between this one electrode and the other electrode to which the 2nd electric potential was applied, and conversely When this pulse is at the second potential, an electric field in the opposite direction is generated between this one electrode and the other electrode to which the first potential is applied. For this reason, bidirectional display switching is performed in parallel by time division from one color to the other color and from the other color to one color. In this way, the display switching in each direction is time-divided, so that natural display can be performed as if the display switching in both directions was performed simultaneously even with one power supply (one power supply).

In addition, when a signal (pulse) in phase and coin phase applied to one electrode is applied to the other electrode, the display color is maintained because no voltage gradient is generated between these electrodes.

In this case, if two power supplies (both power supplies) are provided, 0 V is applied to one electrode, and either the positive potential or the negative potential is applied to the other electrode according to the display color. It is possible to simultaneously perform the operation, but the circuit configuration is enlarged by requiring two booster circuits or the like. For this reason, especially in small apparatuses, such as a clock, it is advantageous to set it as one power supply (one power supply). In addition, it is possible to reduce the power consumption by not increasing the step-up circuit or the like. In addition, the breakdown voltage of a transistor or the like for switching the potential is also completed at about half of the conventional example. While there is such an advantage, the time for display switching with one power supply becomes long.

From the above, in the present invention, which is one power source and requires a long display switching time, the above-mentioned effect of shortening the display switching time can be made remarkable.

In the drive method of the display device of the present invention, it is preferable to start the next display rewrite process by the display switching request during one display rewrite process in the saturation drive step.

Further, it is preferable that the drive device of the display device of the present invention includes a display change request generation portion that transmits a display change request to either the intermediate color drive portion or the saturation drive portion during one display rewrite process by the saturation drive portion.

According to this invention, when the display switching request occurs, the time required for the display switching can be further shortened by performing the next display rewriting process from the intermediate state before the saturation state without waiting for the saturation state.

Here, the effect can be enlarged when the display switching start and the display switching end occur continuously, for example, when the operation button is battered.

Here, one display rewrite process refers to a process of inputting a drive signal required for rewriting (rewriting) a display to a display body. When display rewriting is repeated, a plurality of display rewriting processes are performed in sequence. In addition, depending on the display body, a plurality of drive signals are required for one display rewrite process. This display rewriting process is performed every time a display switching request occurs, for example, when the operation button is pressed and the screen display is switched, or when the display time is counted down while the timer is in use.

In the driving method of the display device of the present invention, it is preferable to start the intermediate color driving step by maintaining the operation by the operation member for generating the display switching request for a predetermined time.

Moreover, the drive apparatus of the display apparatus of this invention is equipped with the operation detection part which detects the operation state by the operation member which generate | occur | produces a display switching request, The said intermediate color drive part said operation that the operation by the said operation member was hold | maintained for predetermined time. When detected by the detection unit, it is preferable to start the display rewriting process.

According to the present invention, since the time of holding operation of the operation member is counted and the user decides to perform item selection, time correction, etc. continuously when the predetermined time and the holding operation continue, the intermediate color driving is started. Interlocking can start halftone driving timely, and the user can observe the change of setting.

In the driving method of the display device of the present invention, when an operation by an operation member that generates a display switching request is maintained during one display rewriting process in the intermediate color driving process, the display rewriting process by the intermediate color driving process is performed. Subsequently, when the operation by the operation member is released during one display rewriting process in the intermediate color driving process, it is preferable to shift from the intermediate color driving process to the saturation driving process.

Moreover, the drive apparatus of the display apparatus of this invention is equipped with the operation detection part which detects the operation state by the operation member which generate | occur | produces a display switching request, The said intermediate color drive part said operation that operation by the said operation member was hold | maintained for predetermined time. When detected by the detection unit, the display rewrite process is performed, and during the one display rewrite process, when the operation by the operation member is held, the display rewrite process is continued, and the saturation drive unit is the one by the intermediate color drive unit. It is preferable to perform the display rewrite process when the operation by the operation member is released during the display rewrite process.

According to this invention, while the operation is being maintained, display rewriting is continuously performed quickly by the intermediate color driving, and when the holding operation is released, it is determined that the user wants to finish item selection or time correction, and performs the saturation driving process. As a result, more timely driving in conjunction with user operation can be realized.

In the driving method of the display device of the present invention, the operation by the operation member that generates the display switching request is shorter than the saturation time required for one display rewriting process of the saturation driving process from the time of the previous operation by the operation member. When performed at a time interval, it is preferable to stop the display rewrite process during the process and to perform the display rewrite process by the intermediate color driving process.

Moreover, the drive apparatus of the display apparatus of this invention is equipped with the operation detection part which detects the operation state by the operation member which generate | occur | produces a display switching request, and the said intermediate color drive part is before the operation by the said operation member by the said operation member. When it is detected by the operation detection unit that the operation performed at a time interval shorter than the saturation time required for one display rewrite process from the saturation drive unit from the operation time, it is preferable to stop the display rewrite process in the process and perform the display rewrite process. .

According to this invention, when the time interval of the operation by the operation member is shorter than the saturation time, since the user judges that the user wants to continuously perform display rewriting, the intermediate color driving is performed, so that the operation member is repeated at short intervals. The display rewriting can be quickly performed in synchronization with the operation (battering when the operation member is a push button).

Incidentally, the saturation time refers to the time required for moving the particles until saturation, that is, the time required for one display rewriting process of the saturation driving step.

In the driving method of the display device of the present invention, when the operation by the operation member that generates the display switching request is repeatedly performed at a time interval shorter than the saturation time required for one display rewriting process of the saturation driving step, It is preferable to perform the display rewriting process by the said intermediate color drive process one by one based on the number of times of operation of an operation member.

In addition, in the drive device of the display device of the present invention, an operation detection unit that detects an operation state by an operation member that generates a display switching request, and an operation by the operation member are required for one display rewrite process of the saturation drive unit. And an operation number storage section for storing the number of repetitions when the operation detection section detects that the repetition has been performed at a time interval shorter than the saturation time. The intermediate color drive unit has a number based on the number of operations stored in the operation number storage section. It is preferable that the display rewrite process is performed sequentially, and the operation number storage section resets the number of stored operations after the number of display rewrite processes based on the number of operations by the intermediate color driver.

In this invention, when the time interval of the operation by the operation member is shorter than the saturation time, it is determined that the user intends to continuously perform display rewriting, and the intermediate color driving is the same as the invention of the above structure, but the present invention In this case, the display rewriting process by driving the intermediate colors is not synchronized with the operation of the operation member. The display rewriting process by halftone driving in the present invention is repeated by the number based on the number of operations without being interrupted by the operation of the operation member. That is, in the configuration in which the time required for halftone driving and saturation driving takes longer than the time interval of the operation by the operation member, the operation can be reliably operated as many as the number of operations and the transition of the display state when the operation member is battered. It becomes possible for the user to confirm.

In the driving method of the display device of the present invention, it is preferable that the intermediate color driving process is started at a predetermined time or when predetermined conditions are established, and then the transition from the intermediate color driving process to the saturation driving process at a predetermined time or when predetermined conditions are established. Do.

According to the present invention, since the halftone driving process is automatically started without the user's operation, and thereafter, the halftone driving process is automatically transferred from the halftone driving process to the saturation driving process. In addition, the above-mentioned shortening of the display switching can be exhibited even at a predetermined time such as a wipe operation at the time of screen transition or an on-time animation operation or when a predetermined condition is established.

In the driving method of the display device of the present invention, it is preferable to increase or decrease at least one of the electric field application time in the intermediate color driving process and the electric field application time in the saturation driving process in accordance with the temperature at the time of driving.

According to this invention, it can respond to the temperature characteristic of particle movement. Specifically, in the case where the moving speed of the particles is lower than the normal temperature, the reflectance equivalent to the normal temperature can be realized by making the electric field application time longer than the normal temperature at the low temperature, and the display of the display switching process or the changed It is possible to reliably and quickly present the display.

The driving method and driving apparatus of the present invention described above can be applied to various particle moving display devices, for example, electrophoretic display devices (electrophoretic displays), charging toner type display devices, electromagnetic fluid display devices, and the like.

Moreover, as an example of the structure of a charged toner type display device, there existed what sealed the conductive toner and microparticles | fine-particles between a pair of board | substrate to which the charge transport member was apply | coated.

Further, as an example of the configuration of the electromagnetic fluid display device, there are those in which an electromagnetic fluid having an intermediate property between the fluid and the powder is enclosed between the substrates, and two kinds of electron powders that are different in color and repel each other during charging. Indication is performed by the fluid.

The display device of the present invention is driven by the above-described method of driving the display device or by the above-mentioned driving device of the display device.

According to the present invention, since it is driven by the above-mentioned driving method and driving apparatus, it can exhibit the same effect | action and effect as the above-mentioned.

It is preferable that the display apparatus of this invention is an electrophoretic display device.

The electrophoretic display device has a higher reflectance compared to other types of display devices, and has a wide range of gray scales (density ranges) of displayable intermediate colors. That is, visual observation of the difference between the color of the intermediate color of a certain gradation and the intermediate color of another gradation is easy, and is especially suitable as an application example of the present invention.

In addition, since the electrophoretic display device has a characteristic that the initial response when the electric field application is started is high, it reaches a short time until the color concentration sufficient for the display change (response, reaction) to appear after the electric field application starts. Also from this characteristic, the electrophoretic display device is particularly suitable as an application example of the present invention.

In addition, the electrophoretic display device has a two-particle system having two particles different in color and charged to the government, or a one-particle system having one particle and displaying two colors with the color of the particle and the color of the solution. There is this. In addition, the display color of the electrophoretic display device is not limited to two colors, and color display is also possible by each particle of RGB.

In the display system according to the particle movement direction of the electrophoretic display device, a vertical movement system in which particles are moved between electrodes provided opposite to the front and back sides of the viewing direction, or a partition wall partitioning each pixel. And horizontally moving particles for moving the particles to the side portions of the partition walls or the planar portions of the pixels.

The electrophoretic display device may be a segment drive method or a dot matrix drive method.

An electronic device of the present invention is characterized by comprising the driving device of the display device described above.

According to the present invention, the same operation and effect as described above can be exhibited in order to provide the above-described driving device.

An electronic device of the present invention is characterized by including a timekeeping section and a time information display section that displays time-keeping information revealed by the time-keeping section.

According to the present invention, the electronic device is configured as a clock or has a clock function. Since the display can be switched in a short time as described above, the display of seconds, which is the basic performance of the clock, can be realized. That is, the application to a clock can increase the effect which can switch display in a short time.

In addition, in a clock equipped with various functions such as an alarm, world time, timer, etc., it is possible to quickly change settings on these various setting screens and the like.

According to the present invention, the display switching time in the particle transfer display device can be significantly shortened.

EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiment of this invention is described with reference to drawings.

In addition, about description after 2nd Embodiment, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected about the structure same as 1st Embodiment, and description is abbreviate | omitted or simplified.

[First Embodiment]

EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION The 1st Embodiment of this invention is described with reference to drawings.

[One. Overall configuration]

1 is an external plan view of a watch 1 as an electronic device of the present embodiment.

The watch 1 is configured as a digital display type electronic wrist watch, and the electrophoretic display panel visually recognized from the exterior case 10, the band 12, and the opening 11 having a rectangular opening 11 in front. 30 is provided. 11 A of cover glasses are provided in the opening 11, and operation buttons 131-134 are provided in the side surface of the exterior case 10. As shown in FIG.

[2. Configuration of Electrophoresis Display Module]

2 is a plan view briefly showing the configuration of the electrophoretic display module 3. The electrophoretic display module 3 generally includes an electrophoretic display panel 30 and a control circuit board 40, which are connected to each other by a wiring member C made of an anisotropic conductive film (ACF) or the like. . In the state accommodated in the outer case 10, the electrophoretic display panel 30 and the control circuit board 40 are folded and polymerized at the portion of the wiring member C.

2-1. Configuration of Control Circuit Board]

The control circuit board 40 includes a controller 425 for controlling the power supply 420, which is the driving source of the clock 1, and the entire clock 1, the driver IC 426 and the switch element 427 of the display panel 30. ) And a crystal oscillation circuit element 428 are mounted. In addition, although the power supply 420 is a primary battery in this embodiment, it may be a secondary battery and other power supply devices.

The driver IC 426 and the wiring member C are not shown in detail, but are connected to each other.

2-2. Configuration of Electrophoretic Display Panel]

The display panel 30 is provided with the hour display unit 30H, the minute display unit 30M, and the second display unit 30S, respectively, by the number composed of seven segments. In addition, between the hour display section 30H and the minute display section 30M, a colon (:) display section 30C is provided by two segments, and the " m " and " s " displayed at the time of operation of the chronograph function. Each segment is also installed. When these segments do not need to be distinguished in particular, these are collectively called the segment 300.

In addition, the display panel 30 is provided with a background display electrode 390 for displaying a background which is an area excluding all the segments 300 from the entire display area.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the display panel 30 in the III-III line of FIG. 2.

The display panel 30 includes a display substrate 31, a transparent substrate 32, an electrophoretic layer 33 provided between the display substrate 31, and the transparent substrate 32, and has a rectangular shape in plan view. It is arranged in the exterior case 10.

The segment electrode 310 corresponding to each segment 300 is provided on the surface (opposing surface of the transparent substrate 32) of the display substrate 31, and the transparent substrate 32 side is provided at both ends of the longitudinal direction. Electrodes 321 and 322 which are connected to the electrodes of the electrodes are provided respectively.

The adhesive (adhesive layer) AD is provided on the surface of the segment electrode 310, and the some microcapsule 330 is adhere | attached. These microcapsules 330 constitute the electrophoretic layer 33.

On the rear surface of the display substrate 31, the segment electrode 310, the background display electrode 390, and the electrodes 321 and 322 formed on the surface of the display substrate 31 are connected to the control circuit board through the wiring member C (FIG. 2). A wiring 312 conducting to 40 is formed. The wiring 312 and each electrode are connected by a via 314 penetrating the display substrate 31 in the thickness direction.

On the other hand, a transparent common electrode 320 made of indium tin oxide (ITO) or the like is provided on the rear surface of the transparent substrate 32 (the surface facing the display substrate 31). This common electrode 320 is provided over the entire back surface of the transparent substrate 32, and serves as a common electrode of each segment electrode 310 to which a voltage is applied between each segment electrode 310, respectively. Conductive members 321A and 322A are interposed between the common electrode 320 and each of the electrodes 321 and 322.

In addition, the transparent substrate 32, the microcapsule 330, and the display are made of the moisture resistant sheet 32A provided on the front surface side of the transparent substrate 32 and the moisture resistant sheet 31A provided on the back surface side of the display substrate 31. The board | substrate 31 etc. are sealed.

[3. Display by electrophoresis]

4 is a schematic diagram illustrating the electrophoretic layer 33 in the display panel 30. The electrophoretic layer 33 is formed by densely arranging a plurality of microcapsules 330, and an electrophoretic particle dispersion 331 in which a plurality of charged particles are dispersed is enclosed in each microcapsule 330. In the electrophoretic particle dispersion 331, black electrophoretic particles (hereinafter referred to as black particles: 331A) and white electrophoretic particles (hereinafter referred to as white particles: 331B) are dispersed to form a two-color powder-based electric Youngdong is composed. These black particles 331A and white particles 331B are pigments charged at different polarities. In this embodiment, the black particles 331A are charged to negative (part), and the white particles 331B are positive (positive). ) Is playing.

That is, when the segment electrode 310 is at the high level potential (H potential) and the common electrode 320 is at the low level potential (L potential), the segment electrode 310 is directed from the common electrode 320 to the segment electrode 310 by the potential difference. An electric field is generated, the negatively charged black particles 331A move to the segment electrode 310 side, and the positively charged white particles 331B move to the common electrode 320 side. When the white particles 331B are saturated as close to the common electrode 320 as possible, the display on the display panel 30 becomes white.

In contrast to this white display, when the segment electrode 310 is set at the low level potential (L potential) and the common electrode 320 is switched to the high level potential (H potential), the direction of the electric field is reversed. When the black particles 331A are saturated as close as possible to the common electrode 320, the display on the display panel 30 becomes black. In the example of FIG. 1, each number and colon of "12:00" are respectively displayed in black.

In addition, by adjusting the movement amounts of the black particles 331A and the white particles 331B in accordance with the electric field application time, the intermediate color display of the color tone between black and white is also possible.

In addition, when the display color is maintained, the electric field is stopped. By stopping the application of the electric field, the positions of the black particles 331A and the white particles 331B do not ideally change, and the display colors are maintained because the black particles 331A and the white particles 331B remain at the positions. .

[4. Configuration of Drive Control Unit]

5 is a block diagram showing the electrical configuration of the control circuit board 40 (FIG. 2). The control circuit board 40 functions as a driving device of the display panel 30 with a drive control section 61 mounted on the control controller 425 and a display driver 62 mounted on the driver IC 426 (FIG. 2). do.

The drive control unit 61 supplies power to each of the circuit elements 425 to 428 from the input / output unit 611 which performs input / output to the display driver 62, the timekeeping unit 612 which acquires time information, and the power supply 420. The voltage control unit 613 to be supplied, the operation detection unit 614 that detects the operation state of the operation buttons 131 to 134, the control unit 615 and the storage unit 616 that control the operation of the units 611 to 614. Has

The time display unit 612 clocks time by counting the oscillation pulses of the crystal oscillation circuit element 428, and the time display unit 612 controls the input / output unit 611 through the control unit 615.

In addition, the display driver 62 applies a driving signal to the display panel 30 to apply a voltage between the common electrode 320 and the segment electrode 310 of the display panel 30. Here, the display driver 62 applies a drive signal of a predetermined potential to each of the segment electrodes 310 based on the time information acquired by the timekeeping section 612.

4-1. Display Driver Part]

6 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of the display driver 62 for driving the display panel 30. The display driver 62 is connected to the L potential generator 621 that generates the L potential (first potential; 0 V in the present embodiment) and the boost circuit unit 620, and the H potential (second potential; in the present embodiment). An H potential generating unit 622 for generating + 15V), a pulse generating unit 623 for generating pulses by the potentials generated by the potential generating units 621 and 622, and a display panel 30 in accordance with the display state. And a display control unit 624 for switching the potential output to the control panel or controlling the driving period (field application time).

In addition, the booster circuit unit 620 boosts the voltage (for example, 1.5V) supplied from the power supply 420 to an H potential (15V in the present embodiment).

The display driver 62 is a common electrode terminal 628 connected to the common electrode 320 as a plurality of output terminals of the driver IC 426, and a plurality of segment electrodes respectively corresponding to the segments 300. Terminals 629 ₁ to 629 _n , and outputs to these terminals are controlled by the display control unit 624.

The display control unit 624 causes the saturation drive unit 625 to saturate the particles 331A and 331B in the display panel 30, and the particles 331A and 331B to be in an intermediate state other than the saturation state. A neutral color drive unit 626 and a display change request generation unit 627 for generating a display change request.

[5. Display Panel Driving Process]

Next, the driving process of the display panel 30 will be described.

5-1. Saturation Drive Process]

7 shows a part of the saturation drive step performed by the saturation drive unit 625. Here, COM denotes the potential of the driving pulse transmitted from the display driver 62 to change between the L potential and the H potential in the common electrode COM, and SEG1 and SEG2 are respectively displayed in the display color from the display driver 62. An example of the drive signal transmitted along with and applied to the segment electrode 310 (FIG. 3) is shown.

7 shows the density of the display color in the display panel 30.

In the saturation drive step, one display rewrite is performed between the 10 half-waves (5 pulses) of COM shown in FIG. In this embodiment, the half-wave of COM is 0.25 seconds. The driving period T1 in which 10 sets of half-waves of COM are set as one set becomes the time required for one display rewriting (saturation time).

SEG1 becomes an H potential here, and a voltage is applied between SEG1 and COM when COM is an L potential (W1-W5). As a result, the white particles 331B move to the front side of the display panel 30, and the black particles 331A move to the back side of the display panel 30, respectively, and are saturated. The display color changes from black to white to show.

On the other hand, SEG2 becomes L potential here, and voltage is applied between SEG2 and COM when COM is H potential (B1-B5). As a result, the black particles 331A move to the front side of the display panel 30, the white particles 331B move to the back side of the display panel 30, respectively, and become saturated, and the display color is changed from white to black. .

Although not shown in FIG. 7, pulse signals in phase and coin phase with COM are applied to the segment electrode 310 (FIG. 3) corresponding to the segment maintaining the display color. As a result, no voltage is applied to the segment, and the display color is maintained as black or white. In addition, SEG1 and SEG2 also become the same pulse signal as COM when maintaining the display color of the segment to which these SEG1 and SEG2 are applied.

In this embodiment, display of the hour display unit 30H and the minute display unit 30M in the normal time display mode is performed by the saturation drive process as shown in FIG. 7. In the present embodiment, as shown in Fig. 1, the second is displayed at the time of the hour, but when the time is other than that, the time is displayed by saturating the hour and the minute, and the time in the hour display section 30H and the minute display section 30M is displayed. Segments are displayed in black or white, depending on the number displayed.

5-2. Medium Drive Process]

FIG. 8 shows a part of the intermediate color driving process performed by the intermediate color driver 626 (FIG. 6). In this intermediate color driving process, the driving period (field application time) in one display rewriting operation is shorter than in the case of the saturation driving process of FIG. Specifically, the half wavelength of COM in the half-color driving process is 0.125 seconds, which is 1/2 of the half wavelength of COM in the saturation driving process. The driving period for which one set of four half-waves (2 pulses, 0.5 second) of COM is the time required for one display rewriting in half-color driving.

In addition, the wavelength of COM shown here is an example, In this embodiment, setting the half wavelength of COM in an intermediate color driving process in about 0.005 second (5 ms) or more and about 0.005 second (5 ms) unit, for example. It is possible. In addition, in this embodiment, the half wavelength in the intermediate color driving process can be set to about 0 seconds or more and about 0.6 seconds or less at normal temperature. Here, as an example of setting the half wavelength to 0 seconds, one of the half wavelengths may be set to 0 seconds and the other to 0.05 seconds, for example. In this case, when the entire screen of the display panel 30 is drawn in white (or light gray) or black (or dark gray), the drawing time can be shortened, which is useful. That is, in this case, bidirectional drawing of drawing in white (or light gray) and drawing in black (or dark gray) is not performed alternately by time division, but drawing in one direction is performed continuously. That is, the operation of drawing in two directions by time division and the operation of drawing in one direction instead of time division may be performed appropriately by the pulse waveform of COM shown in FIG.

In this embodiment, the electric field application time in the intermediate color driving process and the electric field application time in the saturation driving process are increased or decreased in accordance with the temperature at the time of driving. In the comparison of the contrast resulting from the movement of the particles 331A and 331B within the same time, the contrast at low temperature is lower than the contrast at normal temperature, so the pulse of COM in one driving period (T1, etc.) Increase the number or lengthen the half-wave. In this way, the total electric field application time (driving period) is extended to ensure the same reflectance as at normal temperature. The total electric field application time in the saturation drive process (FIG. 7) of this embodiment is 2.5 second at normal temperature, but is set to 5 second which is twice that at 0 degreeC.

In addition, in this embodiment, even if a change in the use conditions such as the ambient temperature occurs, the COM in one driving period (T1, etc.) so as to obtain a difference in the intermediate colors visible to the naked eye and to feel that the response to the operation is appropriate. The number of pulses can be selected from 1 to 6000.

In addition, the total electric field application time can be suitably determined according to an applied voltage, a particle diameter, or the like.

In the example shown in FIG. 8, SEG1 represents the potential when the display color is continuously changed from the black direction to the white direction, from the white direction to the black direction, and again from the black direction to the white direction, and COM is the L potential and SEG1. At this H potential, writing (W1 to W4) in the white direction is performed. In addition, recording (B1, B2) in the black direction is performed when COM is at the H potential and SEG1 is at the L potential. The density of the display color in the segment to which such SEG1 was applied is shown by a solid line.

On the other hand, SEG2 represents a potential when the display color is continuously changed from the white direction to the black direction, from the black direction to the white direction, and again from the white direction to the black direction, where COM is the H potential and SEG2 is the L potential. At the time of writing in the black direction (B1 to B4), and when COM is at the L potential and SEG2 is at the H potential, writing in the white direction (W1, W2) is performed. The density of the display color in the segment to which such SEG2 was applied is shown by a broken line.

Here, in each segment to which such SEG1 and SEG2 are applied, the display color is not saturated (black or white) but remains in the middle state by one display rewriting, and the display color is neutral (gray), Display switching (display rewriting) is enabled based on the difference in the display color (difference in concentration) in the segment of SEG2.

That is, the display color rewritten in the driving period T1 of FIG. 8 is light gray (light gray) closer to the white side in black and white, as indicated by the white circle (○) at the completion of the white recording W2 for SEG1. In SEG2, as shown by the black circle (●) at the completion of black recording B2, the black and white become dark gray (dark gray) closer to the black side. Such light gray and dark gray can be visually discriminated, and display switching is performed based on this color difference.

Similarly to this driving period T1, in the driving period T2, the dark gray indicated by the black circle? At the completion of the black recording B2 by SEG1 and the white circle at the completion of the white recording W2 by SEG2 are indicated. The display switching is performed based on the difference in color from the light gray indicated.

In the driving period T3, the display colors of the white recording W4 completion time (white circle (○)) by SEG1 and the black recording B4 completion time (black circle (●)) by SEG2 are respectively light gray. And dark gray, and display switching is performed based on the difference between the colors of these light grays and dark grays.

The saturation drive step and the intermediate color drive step described above are appropriately switched to each other as described later. In the present embodiment, when a new display switching request occurs during saturation in the saturation drive process, the control signal is transmitted to the saturation drive unit 625 (FIG. 6) by the display switching request generation unit 627 (FIG. 6). Is sent to perform the following display processing.

That is, when a display switching request occurs in the saturation drive process of FIG. 7, it is possible to stop the display process during rewriting and to perform a new display process by the saturation drive process.

[6. Display panel drive example]

Next, the drive example of the display panel 30 at the time of operating the various functions which the clock 1 has, respectively is shown.

6-1. Time correction]

9-12 show the time display at the time of performing time correction, and FIG. 13, 14 shows the switching of the drive process performed at the time of the operation of FIGS.

13 and 14 show the driving process (upper part of the figure), the operation state of the operation button 131 (interruption of the figure), and the display state of the display panel 30 (lower part of the figure), respectively.

Incidentally, each of the saturation driving steps shown in Figs. 13 and 14 means one display rewriting process corresponding to the saturation time T1 shown in Fig. 7, respectively. In addition, each intermediate color driving process shown in Figs. 13 and 14 means one display rewriting process according to, for example, T1 shown in Fig. 8, respectively.

When starting time correction, for example, the operation button 133 is operated to enter the time correction mode (Fig. 9A). At this time, the seconds display unit 30S is reset at "00" seconds. Then, by operating the operation button 134 or the like, the minute display unit 30M is set as a correction target, and the minute is counted up one by one by pressing the operation button 131, for example.

Here, when the operation which presses the operation button 131 is detected by the operation detection part 614 (FIG. 5) that the operation (long press) hold | maintained for a predetermined time, for example, 1 second, the drive control by the drive control part 61 Is shifted from the saturation drive step S1 to the intermediate color drive step S2 (Fig. 13), and the display of the minute display section 30M is counted up in gray color (the intermediate state at the lower end in Fig. 13).

In addition, the display switching request includes the timing at which the operation button 131 is pressed, the timing at which the saturation driving process S11 is switched from the saturation driving process S11 to the intermediate color driving process S12, and the display rewriting time of the half-color driving when the operation button 131 is held (e.g., For example, they generate | occur | produce in the timing which T1, T2, or T3 of FIG. 8 passes, respectively. The display switch request is transmitted from the display switch request generation unit 627 (FIG. 6) to the saturation drive unit 625 (FIG. 6).

If the operation of the operation button 131 is released (off) during display rewriting by the half color drive step S2, the count up is stopped and the process shifts from the half color drive step S2 to the saturation drive step S3 (Fig. 13). Thereby, the display of the minute display part 30M is displayed in black (saturation state in the lower stage of FIG. 13) which is saturated color.

In the example of FIG. 13, after the saturation drive step S3, the operation button 131 is pressed again with the waiting time (the time when the button is not pressed). At this time, the display rewriting process (count up) is started in the saturation drive step S4 of FIG. 13D and the operation by the operation button 131 is held for a predetermined second, thereby driving the intermediate color drive step S5 of FIG. 13E. This is done. Here, since the operation of the operation button 131 is maintained during the display rewrite process of the intermediate color drive process S5, the display rewrite process of the intermediate color drive is continued in the following intermediate color drive process S6. Then, the operation of the operation button 131 is released during the display rewriting process of the intermediate color drive step S6, so that the count up is stopped and the saturation drive step S7 is performed.

By appropriately performing the operation (long press) of the operation button 131 as shown in Figs. 13A to 13G, the number of the minute display unit 30M is counted up while the count up is counted up. For example, as shown in FIG. 9 (B), the display of the minute display unit 30M is displayed in gray color (middle state). At this time, the display of the minute display unit 30M indicates “25”.

Since the saturation drive process is performed after removing the operation button 131, after a long press, the number of the minute display unit 30M is displayed in black (saturated state), for example, as shown in Fig. 10C. At this time, the display of the minute display unit 30M indicates “28”.

Subsequently, the operation button 131 is battered four times to count up the minutes as shown in Figs. 10D, 11E, 12F, 12G, and the desired 32 minutes. The drive control at the time of correction is demonstrated with reference to FIG. 14 shows an example in which the operation button 131 is battered four times after an appropriate waiting time after the saturation drive step S7.

Here, the operation detection part 614 (FIG. 5) detects the time interval which the operation button 131 was pressed by the timing of the reference signal of the predetermined period in the drive control part 61. As shown in FIG. That is, the operation detection unit 614 detects the operation intervals M1, M2, M3 of the operation button 131 shown in FIG. When this operation interval M1 is shorter than the saturation time T1 (FIG. 7) required for the display rewrite process of the saturation drive process, the display rewrite process of the saturation drive process S11 of FIG. 10D for drawing "29" is stopped. The drive control by the drive control unit 61 shifts to the display rewrite process (medium color drive step S12) that draws "30" in Fig. 11E.

In other words, when the operation of the operation button 131 is performed at a time interval M1 shorter than the saturation time from the one previous operation (at the time of the first operation), the intermediate color driving step S12 is started.

In the example of FIG. 14, since the second and third operation intervals M2 and the third and fourth operation intervals M3 are also shorter than the saturation time T1, the display rewriting process for drawing "31" following the intermediate color driving process S12 ( Display rewriting process (medium color drive process S14) which draws intermediate color drive process S13 and "32" is performed, respectively. In this embodiment, the display rewriting process of the intermediate color driving process is performed in synchronization with the operation of the operation button 131, and the operation intervals M2 and M3 of the operation button 131 are predetermined required for the display rewriting process of the intermediate color driving process. It is shorter than time (T1, T2, T3 in FIG. 8). For this reason, the display rewriting process in intermediate color drive process S12, S13 is interrupted by operation of the operation button 131, and the following display rewriting process is performed. The display state of the minute display part 30M from the saturation drive step S11 to the intermediate color drive step S14 is an intermediate state (gray color).

If the operation detection unit 614 detects that the operation button 131 is not operated during the display rewriting process of the intermediate color driving process, the saturation driving process S15 is performed. By this saturation drive S15, the number displayed in gray in the intermediate color drive step S14 is displayed in black in saturation as shown in Fig. 12H. In addition, the display of the minute display part 30M becomes black after the saturation time T1 from the time of the intermediate color drive process S14.

6-2. Down counter timer]

Next, Fig. 15 shows a display state when the down counter timer is operated. Here, the timer for 3 minutes is running and the remaining time is displayed every 10 seconds. After the start of the timer, the display of the minute display unit 30M and the second display unit 30S is rewritten as shown in FIGS. 15A and 15B, respectively, and the minute display unit ( Both the display of 30M and the display of the second display unit 30S are displayed in black by saturation driving. Then, from the saturation drive step to the intermediate color drive step 10 seconds before the remaining time, a countdown is performed to rewrite the display every second from "10" second to "00" second. Fig. 16 shows an example of halftone driving during this countdown. In this countdown, display rewriting is required every second, so that a half-color driving process (drive periods T1, T2, etc.) is performed by four pulses having a half-wave length of 0.125 seconds. In the driving period T1, a process of rewriting the display color in the white direction is performed, and in the driving period T2, a process of rewriting the display color in the black direction is performed. In the countdown from "10" second to "00" second, the intermediate color driving process shown in the driving period T1 or the like is repeated 10 times, and the last display of "00" second is performed by the saturation driving process.

6-3. Every hour notification]

Fig. 17 shows the display state when notifying every hour (0: 0 or 12: 0). In the present embodiment, the display of seconds is not normally performed, and the time display is performed only in hours and minutes. However, from 11:59:57 seconds three seconds before the time shown in Fig. 17A, through (B) state ( The seconds are displayed on the seconds display portion 30S by the half-color drive until the on-time of C) is reached. The driving example at this time is the same as that in Fig. 16, and the display rewriting of the second display unit 30S is performed every second. Then, when it is 1 second in time, the process shifts from the intermediate color driving process to the saturation driving process, and the display on the second display portion 30S is drawn to the same white color as the background color and erased.

In addition, not only the display of the second display portion 30S but also the display of the hour display portion 30H and the display of the minute display portion 30M are rewritten in FIG. Fig. 17C shows the display state in the intermediate color before the display state in the saturated color.

Here, in the present embodiment, the seconds are displayed only at the time of notifying (appealing) every hour, but the display of every second is also possible by the display panel 30 and the control circuit board 40 having the same configuration as the present embodiment. . That is, it can also be configured to display the current time by hour, minute and second.

6-4. Notification of alarm time coincidence]

18 shows a display state when it is notified that the current time coincides with the alarm time. Here, when the alarm setting time is "8:00" and the current time coincides with this alarm time, as shown in Figs. 18A and 18B, the display color of "8:00" and the display color of the background portion are Repeatedly reversed to dark gray and light gray. This inversion display is performed by the intermediate color driving process, and becomes inverted display until a predetermined time elapses or until an operation button or the like is operated, and then returns from the intermediate color driving process to the saturation driving process.

6-5. Display of Chronograph Function]

19 shows a display state when the chronograph (stop watch) is operated. When it is set as the chronograph mode by operation of the operation button 133 etc., the minute is displayed on the hour display part 30H, and the second is displayed on the minute display part 30M. When the measurement is started by pressing the operation button 131 or the like, the elapsed time counts up, but the display of the one-digit digit counts up to gray color by the intermediate color driving process (Fig. 19 (A)). When the measurement is stopped by operating the operation button 131 or the like (Fig. 19 (B)), the minutes and seconds are displayed in black by the saturation driving process based on the measurement time of the internal counter of the clock.

[7. Effect by this embodiment]

According to this embodiment above, the following effects can be acquired.

(1) In the driving of the display panel 30 of the clock 1, the intermediate panel driving process (Fig. 8, etc.) is provided so that the display panel 30 is in an unsaturated intermediate state at the time of driving the intermediate color. Display switching is performed based on the difference in display colors. By performing such intermediate color driving, the display switching time can be significantly shortened, especially in the case where display switching is necessary continuously, and the power consumption can be lower than that in the case where the saturation driving is always performed.

(2) In addition, when driving the display panel 30, the saturation driving process (Fig. 7) is also performed. Therefore, the display of the intermediate state by the intermediate color driving process becomes saturated in the processing by this saturation driving process and the reflectance This is the maximum. Thereby, visibility at the time of maintaining a display state can be made higher, performing display switching in a short time.

(3) In addition, the driving device of the display panel 30 is constituted by one power supply (one power supply) (Figs. 5 and 6), and time division is performed by driving two potentials of the H potential (+ 15V) and the L potential (0V). In this way, the display switching in both directions from white to black and black to white is performed. This makes it possible to achieve a configuration that is very suitable for the clock 1 that requires portability without increasing the circuit configuration, and to shorten the display switching time in one power supply driving that takes a long display switching time. Can stand out.

(4) When the display switching request generation unit 627 is provided in the display driver 62 (FIG. 6), and a display switching request occurs during the display processing in the saturation driving process and the intermediate color driving process (FIG. 13), Display processing is performed. That is, the time required for display switching can be further shortened by performing the next display process from the intermediate state before the saturated state without waiting until the saturated state.

(5) Counting the time of the maintenance operation of the operation buttons 131 to 134, and when the maintenance operation is continued for about 2 seconds, it is determined that the user wants to continuously select an item, correct the time, etc., and starts halftone driving. Therefore, the intermediate color driving can be started in a timely manner in conjunction with the user's operation, and the user can observe the transition of the setting.

(6) Further, when the holding operation of the operation button is released, it is determined that the user wants to finish the item selection or the time correction, and performs the saturation driving process (S3 in Fig. 13), and the following operation is performed until saturation. In this case, the following display processing is performed based on the display switching request D (S5 and S6 in FIG. 13). This realizes timely driving in conjunction with user operation. That is, the display can be switched in accordance with the battering operation such as the operation buttons 131 to 134, and the user can operate while checking the state of the setting change.

(7) Not only when operating the operation buttons 131 to 134, but also at a predetermined time or when a predetermined condition is established, such as every hour (FIG. 17), or when the alarm setting time and the present time coincide (FIG. 18). Since the halftone driving process is started and then automatically shifts from the halftone driving process to the saturated driving process at a predetermined time or when predetermined conditions are established, the effect of shortening the display switching can be increased.

(8) Even if the saturation drive time (drive period T1 in FIG. 7) necessary to bring the saturation state is longer than 1 second, the drive period T1 in the intermediate color drive process (FIG. 8) is less than 1 second, that is, the intermediate color drive is performed. By doing so, the second display can be performed.

(9) When the operation intervals M1, M2, M3 by the operation button 131 are shorter than the saturation time T1, it is determined that the user wants to continuously perform display rewriting, and the intermediate color driving steps S12, S13, S14 are performed. Therefore, display rewriting can be performed quickly in synchronization with each timing at which the operation button 131 is battered.

[2nd Embodiment]

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 20 to 24. Although the display panel 30 and the control circuit board 40 in the first embodiment were segment drive systems, the display module 5 in this embodiment is a TFT (Thin Film Transistor) display of an active matrix.

The display module 5 is provided with the display panel 50 which is an electrophoretic display device, and the drive device which is not shown in figure. The display panel 50 includes an electrophoretic layer including a microcapsule 330 (FIG. 4) disposed between a transparent substrate provided with a common electrode and a TFT substrate, and detailed description of the structure is omitted. The TFT electrodes are provided with pixel electrodes arranged in a matrix. Then, a voltage is applied between the pixel electrode and the common electrode by switching the TFT in response to the image signal input.

In the clock of the present embodiment, various time displays are possible, and a digital time display using numerals as shown in FIG. 20 is also possible, and a time display showing the hour hand 51 and the minute hand 52 as digital displays as shown in FIG. 21 also becomes possible. have. When the hour hand 51 and the minute hand 52 are displayed, the index 53 is displayed at the peripheral edge part of the display panel 50. In addition, when switching between the display mode of FIG. 20 and the display mode of FIG. 21, a wiping operation is performed, for example, when the screen transitions from FIG. 20 to FIG. 21, the hour hand 51, the minute hand 52, and the angle hand of FIG. The display of the index 53 is erased sequentially (wipe out), and each character of FIG. 20 is drawn sequentially (wipe in).

22 shows a setting screen of various functions of the clock of the present embodiment. Here, the city of the world time is considered to be the setting object, and the city is changed by the operation of the operation buttons 131 and 132. Specifically, the city which added the parallax can be selected by operation of the operation button 131, and the city which subtracted the parallax by the operation of the operation button 132 can be selected.

Other items other than the city of the world time function can be set and changed by the same method.

23 and 24 show driving examples of respective pixels of the display panel 50. The time display in FIG. 20, FIG. 21, and the display at the time of the setting change of FIG. 22 are performed by either the saturation drive process illustrated in FIG. 23, or the intermediate color drive process illustrated in FIG. For example, in the mode for displaying the current time as shown in Figs. 20 and 21, when the saturation drive process is performed and the wipe operation for switching the display shown in Figs. 20 and 21 is performed, the display is displayed at high speed by the intermediate color drive process. By rewriting, a natural wipe operation is realized.

In addition, when changing the city (region) setting or the like as shown in FIG. 22, if the operation button 131 or the like is kept pressed for about 2 seconds, the process shifts from the saturation driving process to the intermediate color driving process, and the cities are fast-forwarded in turn. Is displayed. If the operation button 131 is removed, the saturation drive is returned.

Here, similarly to the first embodiment, the half wavelength of the drive pulse of the common electrode in the saturation drive is 0.25 second, and the half wavelength of the drive pulse of the common electrode in the mid-color drive is 0.125 second, but this embodiment of the TFT display Since the data transfer time from the driver to each pixel electrode is required, the time obtained by adding this data transfer time to the driving period (T1 or the like) becomes the time required for one display rewriting. In this embodiment, the data transfer time is about 0.2 seconds. That is, although the driving periods T1 to T3 are continuously shown in Fig. 24, the data transfer time is actually required for each driving period.

However, considering the driving idea, the driving method is the same in both the first embodiment and the present embodiment. Therefore, this embodiment exhibits the same effects as in the first embodiment.

[Third Embodiment]

Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 25 to 30. As shown in FIG. 25, the watch of this embodiment becomes a ring-shaped bracelet and a watch, and the display panel 70 which has flexibility is provided along the outer peripheral part of the annular case 71. As shown in FIG. The display panel 70 in this embodiment is an electrophoretic display device of the same segment driving method as in the first embodiment, and the driving method is the same as in the first embodiment, but the clock of this embodiment is approximately 360 degrees. And a function of displaying an animation on the display panel 70 having a large screen. In addition, the display module 7 including the display panel 70 and the driving device 80 (FIG. 26) is accommodated between the case 71 and the cover glass 72.

26 shows the display module 7. Since the structure of the display panel 70 and the drive device 80 is substantially the same as that of the display panel 30 and the control circuit board 40 (FIG. 2) of the first embodiment, description thereof is omitted. Moreover, operation buttons 73 and 74 (FIG. 30) are provided in the case 71, and the operation by such operation buttons 73 and 74 is each detectable by the touch sensor 827, respectively.

FIG. 27 shows a state in which most of the segment electrodes 310 provided in the display panel 70 are displayed in black. Along with the circumferential direction of the display panel 70 (the longitudinal direction in FIG. 27), numbers representing hour digits, ten minute digits, and one minute digits, characters representing time codes, and the like are distributed and arranged.

In the normal mode in which time display is performed, each digit of the hour digit, the ten minute digit, and the one digit representing the current time is highlighted in black or white according to the background color, and the other numbers and the like are displayed in a neutral color.

The clock of the present embodiment has a function of displaying an animation at every hour. For example, 10 seconds before every hour, the display is switched from the normal mode to the animation display mode. At this time, the process shifts from the saturation driving process to the intermediate color driving process.

This animation is comprised from a series of images of (A)-(S) shown to FIGS. 28-29, and display rewriting is performed at high speed by the intermediate color drive process. As shown in such an image, at least one degree is switched at a timing at which the display colors such as numbers and letters indicating time have shifted appropriately.

The half-color driving process according to this animation display is the same as in FIG. The animation ends at the hour, and 12: 00 indicating the hour is displayed by the saturation drive (Fig. 29 (S)).

30 shows a screen of the city setting correction mode according to the world time function. By pressing the operation button 74, the time difference is added, and a number representing the time difference and the time zone (indicated by the phonic code here) are highlighted in black against the white of the background color. Further, by pressing the operation button 73, the time difference is subtracted, and the numbers and time zones representing the time difference are highlighted in black. In the example of FIG. 30, the parallax is added by operation of the operation button 74 from (A) state which shows parallax +1, and it will be in (B) and (C) states. Here, by long-pressing the operation button 74 for about 2 seconds, it shifts from saturation drive to half-color drive, and the selected city is switched continuously. In addition, since the next display process is started by the generation of the display switching request even before the saturation state, the city can be changed quickly by changing the selection of the city.

According to the present embodiment, the same effects as in the first embodiment are obtained.

Modifications of the Invention

In addition, the structure of this invention is not limited to each above embodiment, A various change is possible in the range which does not deviate from the summary of this invention.

31 shows a modification of the drive control when the operation button 131 is battered. In this example, similarly to FIG. 14 of the first embodiment, the operation button 131 is intermittently beaten four times after the waiting time after the saturation drive step S7. In this example, however, unlike the case of FIG. 14, the display rewriting process of the intermediate color driving process is not synchronized with the operation of the operation button 131.

In this example, the number of operations of the operation button 131 detected by the operation detection unit 614 (FIG. 5) is stored in the storage unit 616 (FIG. 5). Then, when the operation by the operation button 131 is performed at a time interval M1 shorter than the saturation time T1 (for example, FIG. 7), the number of operations (here The number obtained by subtracting one from four times, i.e., three times, is repeated for display rewriting processing (processing of T1, T2, or T3 in FIG. 8).

That is, the display rewriting process in the intermediate color driving steps S22, S23, and S24 is repeated by the number based on the number of operations of the operation button 131 without being interrupted by the operation of the operation button 131. When the display rewriting process (medium color driving step S24) corresponding to the last (fourth) of the battering ends, the saturation driving step S15 is performed by the drive control unit 61.

The storage unit 616 resets the number of operations after the display rewrite process of the intermediate color driving process S24.

According to the structure of this example, display rewriting can be performed reliably as many times as the operation button 131 was battered, and the user can confirm the transition of the display state when the operation button 131 is battered.

32 shows a modification other than when the operation button 131 is battered. In the first embodiment, when the operation button 131 is battered at short time intervals, the display rewriting process is performed by the intermediate color driving processes S12 to S14. However, as shown in FIG. You may perform by S34.

FIG. 33 shows an example of the intermediate color driving process, in which one display rewrite is performed with twice the 0.25 second pulse half wavelength and one set of the two half wavelengths as compared with FIG. Also in this case, since the display can be visually seen by the difference in the display color determined in each driving period T1 to T3, such a driving method is also possible. However, since the half wavelength is long, it is thought that the display is switched by the resolution of the visual acuity. Therefore, the pulse half wavelength should be as short as possible to move the particles.

In each of the above examples, the width of the driving pulse is constant, and the application time of the H potential and the application time of the L potential are the same, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and the pulse width is changed according to driving conditions, characteristics of the display device, and the like. Alternatively, the application time of the H potential may be different from the application time of the L potential.

In the second embodiment, the hour hand 51 and the minute hand 52 are drawn on the display panel 50 (FIG. 20), but instead of expressing the hour hand 51 and the minute hand 52 in a digital display in this manner, It is also conceivable to provide an analog display hour hand, minute hand, and the like (instructions) on the display panel, and drive these instructions by the drive wheel train to perform visual display by analog display. In this case, the display which combined the analog time display by a guide | line and the digital display on a display panel is attained. In addition, the guide may be provided on a rotating shaft that penetrates the display panel in the thickness direction, and the drive wheel rows connected to the rotating shaft may be disposed on the rear side of the display panel.

Although the best structure, method, etc. for implementing this invention are disclosed by the above description, this invention is not limited to this. That is, although the present invention is mainly illustrated and described in particular with respect to specific embodiments, the embodiments, embodiments, shapes, materials, quantities, and the like described above with respect to the embodiments described above without departing from the technical scope and scope of the present invention. Other modifications can be made by those skilled in the art in other detailed configurations.

Therefore, the base material which limited the shape, material, etc. which were disclosed above was described as illustration in order to facilitate understanding of this invention, and since it does not limit this invention, it is a part of limitation of such shape, material, etc. Or description by the name of a member except all limitation is contained in this invention.

1 is an external view of a watch according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a plan view of a display module according to the embodiment;

3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line III-III of FIG. 2.

4 is a schematic diagram showing an electrophoretic layer of a display panel in the embodiment;

Fig. 5 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of a control circuit board in the above embodiment.

6 is a block diagram of a display driver in the embodiment;

Fig. 7 is a diagram showing an example of drive waveforms of the display panel in the above embodiment (saturation drive step).

Fig. 8 is a diagram showing an example of drive waveforms of a display panel in the above embodiment (medium color driving step).

9 is a diagram illustrating a display state in time correction mode.

10 is a diagram illustrating a display state in time correction mode.

11 is a diagram illustrating a display state in time correction mode.

12 is a diagram illustrating a display state in time correction mode.

It is a figure which shows switching of the drive process in time correction mode (long press).

It is a figure which shows switching of the drive process in time correction mode (battering).

15 is a diagram illustrating a display state when a down counter timer is operated.

Fig. 16 is a diagram showing an example of drive waveforms of the display panel in the above embodiment (medium color driving step).

Fig. 17 is a diagram illustrating a display state at the time of notification every hour.

18 is a diagram illustrating a display state at the time of an alarm time notification.

Fig. 19 shows a display state during chronograph operation.

20 is an external view (visual display mode) of a clock according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 21 is an external view (different time display mode) of the clock.

Fig. 22 is a diagram illustrating a screen for performing various settings in the clock.

Fig. 23 is a diagram showing an example of drive waveforms of a display panel in the above embodiment (saturation drive step).

Fig. 24 is a diagram showing an example of drive waveforms of a display panel in the above embodiment (medium color driving step).

Fig. 25 is an external perspective view of a watch in a third embodiment of the present invention.

26 is a plan view of a display module according to the embodiment;

27 is a plan view of a display panel in the embodiment;

Fig. 28 shows the animation in the above embodiment.

Fig. 29 is a diagram showing animation in the above embodiment.

30 is a diagram illustrating a screen of a city correction mode in the embodiment;

FIG. 31 shows a switchover of a drive process according to a variant of the invention. FIG.

32 illustrates switching of a driving process according to a modification of the present invention.

33 is a diagram showing an example of drive waveforms of a display panel in a modification of the present invention (medium color driving step).

<Description of the symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

1: watch (electronic device),

30, 50, 70: electrophoretic display panel,

32: transparent substrate,

33: electrophoretic layer,

40: control circuit board,

61: drive control unit,

62: display drive unit,

73, 74: operation button (operation member),

80: drive unit,

131-134: operation button (operation member),

300: segment,

310: segment electrode,

320: common electrode,

330: microcapsules,

331A: black particles,

331B: white particles,

420: power,

614: operation detection unit,

616: memory unit (operation number storage unit),

621: L potential generator (first potential generator),

622: H potential generator (second potential generator),

623: pulse generator,

625: saturation drive unit,

626: the intermediate driving unit,

627: display switching request generation unit,

426: driver IC,

D: display switching request,

S1, S3, S4, S7, S15: Saturation drive process,

S2, S5, S6, S12 ~ S14, S22 ~ S24: medium color driving process,

T1 to T3: Driving period.

Claims (21)

As a driving method of a display device which moves a charged particle by applying an electric field to perform display, A half-color driving process for bringing the particles into an intermediate state other than a saturated state in which the movement of the particles is saturated; A saturation drive process to bring said particles into said saturation state, In the intermediate color driving step, the display is switched by moving the particles to cause a difference in display color. The saturation driving process is performed after the intermediate driving process to bring the intermediate state particles into the saturation state, If the operation by the operation member which generates the display switching request is maintained during one display rewrite process in the intermediate color drive process, the display rewrite process by the medium color drive process is continued, And when the operation by the operation member is canceled during one display rewriting process in the half color driving process, the process shifts from the half color driving process to the saturation driving process. As a driving method of a display device which moves a charged particle by applying an electric field to perform display, A half-color driving process for bringing the particles into an intermediate state other than a saturated state in which the movement of the particles is saturated; A saturation drive process to bring said particles into said saturation state, In the intermediate color driving step, the display is switched by moving the particles to cause a difference in display color. The saturation driving process is performed after the intermediate driving process to bring the intermediate state particles into the saturation state, When the operation by the operation member that generates the display switching request is performed at a time interval shorter than the saturation time required for one display rewrite process of the saturation drive process from the previous operation by the operation member, display during processing. The rewriting process is interrupted and the display rewriting process by the said intermediate color drive process is performed. As a driving method of a display device which moves a charged particle by applying an electric field to perform display, A half-color driving process for bringing the particles into an intermediate state other than a saturated state in which the movement of the particles is saturated; A saturation drive process to bring said particles into said saturation state, In the intermediate color driving step, the display is switched by moving the particles to cause a difference in display color. The saturation driving process is performed after the intermediate driving process to bring the intermediate state particles into the saturation state, When the operation by the operation member that generates the display switching request is repeatedly performed at a time interval shorter than the saturation time required for one display rewrite process of the saturation drive process, the number of operations based on the number of operations of the operation member And a display rewriting process by the intermediate color driving step in sequence. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, In at least one of the intermediate color driving step and the saturation driving step, a pulse that is changed between the first potential and the second potential different from each other is applied to one electrode, and the first potential and the first potential according to the display color. A driving method, wherein any one of two potentials is applied to the other electrode. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, And a next display rewrite process is started by a display switching request during one display rewrite process in the saturation drive process. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, And the intermediate color driving step is started by maintaining the operation by the operation member for generating the display switching request for a predetermined time. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, And at least one of an electric field application time in said intermediate color driving process and an electric field application time in said saturation driving process in accordance with the temperature at the time of driving. A drive device for a display device that moves a charged particle by applying an electric field to perform display, A half-color drive unit for moving the particles to cause a difference in display color so that the particles are in an intermediate state other than a saturated state in which the particles are saturated; And a saturation drive to bring said particles into said saturation state, The saturation driving unit performs a display rewriting process after the display rewriting process by the intermediate color driving unit to bring the particles in the intermediate state into the saturation state, And a display change request generation portion for transmitting a display change request to either the intermediate color drive portion or the saturation drive portion during one display rewrite process by the saturation drive portion. A drive device for a display device that moves a charged particle by applying an electric field to perform display, A half-color drive unit for moving the particles to cause a difference in display color so that the particles are in an intermediate state other than a saturated state in which the particles are saturated; An operation detection section for detecting an operation state by the operation member for generating a display switching request, And the intermediate color drive unit starts display rewriting processing when it is detected by the operation detection unit that the operation by the operation member has been held for a predetermined time. A drive device for a display device that moves a charged particle by applying an electric field to perform display, A half-color drive unit for moving the particles to cause a difference in display color so that the particles are in an intermediate state other than a saturated state in which the particles are saturated; And a saturation drive to bring said particles into said saturation state, The saturation driving unit performs a display rewriting process after the display rewriting process by the intermediate color driving unit to bring the particles in the intermediate state into the saturation state, An operation detection section for detecting an operation state by the operation member for generating a display switching request, When the operation detection unit detects that the operation by the operation member has been held for a predetermined time, the intermediate color drive unit performs display rewrite processing, and when operation by the operation member is maintained during one display rewrite process. Continue the display rewriting process, And the saturation drive unit performs display rewrite processing when the operation by the operation member is released during one display rewrite process by the intermediate color drive unit. A drive device for a display device that moves a charged particle by applying an electric field to perform display, A half-color drive unit for moving the particles to cause a difference in display color so that the particles are in an intermediate state other than a saturated state in which the particles are saturated; And a saturation drive to bring said particles into said saturation state, The saturation driving unit performs a display rewriting process after the display rewriting process by the intermediate color driving unit to bring the particles in the intermediate state into the saturation state, An operation detection section for detecting an operation state by the operation member for generating a display switching request, It has been detected by the operation detection unit that the intermediate color driving unit is performed at a time interval shorter than the saturation time required for one display rewrite process of the saturation driving unit from the previous operation by the operation member. And the display rewrite process is interrupted when the display rewrite process is in progress. A drive device for a display device that moves a charged particle by applying an electric field to perform display, A half-color drive unit for moving the particles to cause a difference in display color so that the particles are in an intermediate state other than a saturated state in which the particles are saturated; And a saturation drive to bring said particles into said saturation state, The saturation driving unit performs a display rewriting process after the display rewriting process by the intermediate color driving unit to bring the particles in the intermediate state into the saturation state, An operation detection unit for detecting an operation state by the operation member generating a display switching request, and an operation performed by the operation member repeatedly performed at a time interval shorter than the saturation time required for one display rewrite process of the saturation drive unit; An operation number storage section for storing the number of repetitions when detected by the operation detection section; The intermediate color drive unit sequentially performs display rewrite processing by the number of operations stored in the operation number storage unit; And the operation number storage unit resets the number of operations stored after the display rewrite process of the number based on the number of operations by the intermediate color drive unit. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 12, Power supply, A first potential generating unit generating a first potential from two potentials different from each other from the power source; A second potential generator for generating a second potential of the two potentials from the power source; And a pulse generator for generating a pulse that varies between the two potentials. It is driven by the drive method of the display apparatus in any one of Claims 1-3, or the drive apparatus of the display apparatus in any one of Claims 8-12. The display device according to claim 14 is an electrophoretic display device. An electronic device comprising the drive device for a display device according to any one of claims 8 to 12. delete delete delete delete delete

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