Display control method, display control device and program

• US 9,076,409 B2
• Filed: 04/28/2011
• Issued: 07/07/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 05/19/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: E Ink Corporation (E Ink Holdings Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Inventors: Yamada, Yusuke
• Primary Examiner(s): Tung, Kee M
• Assistant Examiner(s): McCulley, Ryan D
• Application Number:
  US13/097,022
• Publication Number:
  US 20110285725A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,531 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/0257 Reduction of after-image effects
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/40 characterised by the way in which both a pattern determined by character code and another pattern are displayed simultaneously, or either pattern is displayed selectively, e.g. with character code memory and APA, i.e. all-points-addressable, memory

Abstract

A display control method for controlling display of characters in a display section equipped with a plurality of pixels, includes: acquiring character data; and displaying a character according to the character data in a character display region of the display section. The character corresponding to the character data is displayed in the character display region by using a plurality of pixel groups each having a predetermined shape.

Claims

1. A display control method for controlling display of characters in a display section equipped with a plurality of pixels, the method comprising:

acquiring character data; and

displaying a character according to the character data in a character display region of the display section,

wherein the character corresponding to the character data is displayed in the character display region by using a plurality of pixel groups each having a predetermined shape,

wherein prior to displaying the character according to the character data, an erasing process is performed on each of the plurality of pixel groups previously used to display previous character data, wherein each of the plurality of pixel groups is preliminarily displayed with a gradation level which is different from a gradation level at which the character data is to be displayed, such that any of the pixel groups that are not used for displaying the character data already have a generated afterimage generated by the different gradation level, wherein the erasing process is performed only on the plurality of pixel groups which were used to display previous character data without being performed on all the plurality of pixels in the display section, and

wherein any afterimage generated upon erasing the previous character data is combined with the afterimage generated by displaying the pixel groups with the different gradation level during the erasing process in order to display the character data in the character display region.

2. A display control method according to claim 1, wherein

the character display region has a plurality of partial regions each including a plurality of the pixel groups for displaying a character, and

during displaying the character according to the character data in the character display region of the display section, one of the characters corresponding to the character data is displayed in one of the plurality of partial regions.

3. A display control method according to claim 1, wherein adjacent two of the pixel groups are separated from each other by providing pixels therebetween that are not used for displaying a character.

4. A display control method according to claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of pixel groups has a display segment configuration.

5. A display control method according to claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of pixel groups has a dot configuration.

6. A display control device for controlling display of characters in a display section equipped with a plurality of pixels, the display control device comprising:

a character acquisition section that acquires character data; and

a display control section that displays a character according to the character data acquired by the character acquisition section in a character display region of the display section,

the display control section using a plurality of pixel groups each having a predetermined shape to display a character corresponding to the character data acquired by the character acquisition section in the character display region,

wherein prior to displaying the character according to the character data, an erasing process is performed on each of the plurality of pixel groups previously used to display previous character data, wherein each of the plurality of pixel groups is preliminarily displayed with a gradation level which is different from a gradation level at which the character data is to be displayed, such that any of the pixel groups that are not used for displaying the character data already have a generated afterimage generated by the different gradation level, wherein the erasing process is performed only on the plurality of pixel groups which were used to display previous character data without being performed on all the plurality of pixels in the display section, and

wherein any afterimage generated upon erasing the previous character data is combined with the afterimage generated by displaying the pixel groups with the different gradation level during the erasing process in order to display the character data in the character display region.

7. A non-transitory computer-readable medium encoded with a computer program rendering a computer to function as

a character acquisition device that acquires character data;

and

a display control device that displays a character according to the character data acquired by the character acquisition device in a character display region of a display section,

the display control device using a plurality of pixel groups each having a predetermined shape to display a character corresponding to the character data acquired by the character acquisition device,

wherein prior to displaying the character according to the character data, an erasing process is performed on each of the plurality of pixel groups previously used to display previous character data, wherein each of the plurality of pixel groups is preliminarily displayed with a gradation level which is different from a gradation level at which the character data is to be displayed, such that any of the pixel groups that are not used for displaying the character data already have a generated afterimage generated by the different gradation level, wherein the erasing process is performed only on the plurality of pixel groups which were used to display previous character data without being performed on all the plurality of pixels in the display section, and

wherein any afterimage generated upon erasing the previous character data is combined with the afterimage generated by displaying the pixel groups with the different gradation level during the erasing process in order to display the character data in the character display region.