Device for controlling display device, method of controlling display device, display device, and electronic apparatus

1. A control device for an electrophoretic display device that includes a plurality of first electrodes respectively provided for pixels, a second electrode disposed opposite the plurality of first electrodes, and an electro-optical material comprising electrophoretic particles in a dispersion medium disposed between the plurality of first electrodes and the second electrode, the control device comprising:

an image acquisition part that designates an image by assigning a gray level value of each of the pixels, and acquires first image data which is represented by four different gray levels;

a parameter acquisition part that receives a detected temperature from a temperature sensor;

a color reduction part that sets a number of gray levels with which the image is to be displayed by the pixel according to the detected temperature received by the parameter acquisition part, such that when the detected temperature is greater than a predetermined threshold the color reduction part generates second image data in which the image is represented by two different gray levels; and

a write part that changes the gray level of the pixel to one of the two different gray levels designated by the second image data,

wherein the control device displays the image using the four gray levels by applying an electric field to the electrophoretic particles when the detected temperature is equal to or less than the predetermined threshold and displays the image using the two gray levels by applying the electric field to the electrophoretic particles when the detected temperature is greater than the predetermined threshold.

2. The control device for a display device according to claim 1 , wherein the color reduction part reduces the number of gray levels from four to two with an increase in the temperature.

3. The control device for a display device according to claim 1 , wherein the parameter acquisition part acquires data indicative of the number of gray levels to be displayed by the pixel, and the color reduction part decides the number of gray levels to be displayed by the pixel to be the gray level number indicated by the data acquired by the parameter acquisition part.

4. The control device for a display device according to claim 1 , wherein

the color reduction part has a dither matrix of arrayed threshold values;

for color-reduction to two gray levels, the color reduction part generates the second image data with two gray levels according to a comparison result between the gray level values designated for each of the pixels by the first image data and the threshold values in the dither matrix respectively corresponding to the pixels.

5. The control device for a display device according to claim 1 , wherein the write part performs a first write operation of applying a first voltage to the first electrode of the pixel a plurality of times, when changing the gray level of the pixel in a direction from a second gray level to a first gray level, and performs a second write operation of applying a second voltage having a polarity different from the first voltage to the first electrode of the pixel a plurality of times, when changing the gray level of the pixel in a direction from the first gray level to the second gray level.

6. A method for controlling an electrophoretic display device that includes a plurality of first electrodes respectively provided for pixels, a second electrode disposed opposite the plurality of first electrodes, and an electro-optical material comprising electrophoretic particles in a dispersion medium disposed between the plurality of first electrodes and the second electrode, the method comprising:

designating an image by assigning a gray level value of each of the pixels, and acquiring first image data which is represented by four different gray levels;

receiving a detected temperature from a temperature sensor;

setting a number of gray levels with which the image is to be displayed by the pixel according to the detected temperature received by the parameter acquisition part, such that when the detected temperature is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold, the number of gray levels is set to four different gray levels and when the detected temperature is greater than the predetermined threshold, the number of gray levels is set to two different gray levels;

generating second image data which is represented by the two different gray levels from the first image data; and

changing the gray level of the pixel to a gray level of the two different gray levels designated by the second image data.

7. An electrophoretic display device including a plurality of first electrodes respectively provided for pixels, a second electrode disposed opposite the plurality of first electrodes, and an electro-optical material comprising electrophoretic particles in a dispersion medium disposed between the plurality of first electrodes and the second electrode, the display device comprising:

an image acquisition part that designates an image by assigning a gray level value of each of the pixels, and acquires first image data which is represented by four different gray levels;

a parameter acquisition part that receives a detected temperature from a temperature sensor;

a color reduction part that sets a number of gray levels with which the image is to be displayed by the pixel according to the detected temperature received by the parameter acquisition part, such that when the detected temperature is greater than a predetermined threshold the color reduction part generates second image data in which the image is represented by two different gray levels; and

a write part that changes the gray level of the pixel to one of the two different gray levels designated by the second image data,

wherein the control device displays the image using the four gray levels by applying an electric field to the electrophoretic particles when the detected temperature is equal to or less than the predetermined threshold and displays the image using the two gray levels by applying the electric field to the electrophoretic particles when the detected temperature is greater than the predetermined threshold.

8. An electronic apparatus comprising the display device recited in claim 7 .