Raspberry Pi e-ink Display Module Wiki - DFRobot

DFR0591 2.13 e-ink Display Module for Raspberry Pi 4B/3B+/Zero W

Introduction

This Raspberry Pi e-ink display module comes with a 2.13” screen with a resolution of 250×122, adopting SPI interface to communicate with Raspberry Pi. It leads out the pins on Raspberry Pi, so there would be no conflicts if you need to use the e-ink display and Raspberry Pi’s pins at the same time. The display supports custom font. There are two patch touch switches on the module for expanding more applications. This e-ink display features small size, compact layout, plug and play, and low power consumption. It can provide clear display even in sunlight. When powered off, the e-ink display will continue to display the last screen. Since it will take a long time for the display to refresh fully, we don’t recommend using the product in the application that needs frequent refreshing to display data.

warning_yellow.png NOTE: The e-ink display does not come with fonts chip, but you can download ttf fonts to realize different display effects.

Specification

Overview

DFR0591 2.13 e-ink Display Module for Raspberry Pi 4B/3B+/Zero W Overview

Pinout

DFR0591 2.13 e-ink Display Module for Raspberry Pi 4B/3B+/Zero W Pinout

Tutorial

Preparation

Steps

1. Plug the e-ink display into Raspberry Pi/rock 4se, and enabe the SPI interface of the Raspberry Pi.

2. Install Driver library

To make the e-ink display work properly, we have to install function library. The library provides the driving program of e-ink display and sample code. The library only supports Python at present. We will provide more libraries under users' requirement later.

To integrate Rock 4se, installation is required beforehandlibmraa

Access the /boot/hw_intfc.conf file and modify it as follows

For V1.0, input the following command into Raspberry Pi terminal to download the library (https://github.com/DFRobot/DFRobot_RPi_Display)

git clone https://github.com/DFRobot/DFRobot_RPi_Display

For V2.0, input the following command to download (https://github.com/DFRobot/DFRobot_RPi_Display)

git clone https://github.com/DFRobot/DFRobot_RPi_Display_V2

For V3.0, input the following command to download (https://github.com/cdjq/DFRobot_RPi_Eink_Display)

git clone https://github.com/cdjq/DFRobot_RPi_Eink_Display_V3

3. Download the freetype library.

Make sure that your Raspberry Pi is connected to network before downloading. Open the Raspberry Pi terminal and input the following command to download the library.

python -m pip install freetype-py

4. Run the example program

Enter the examples files under decompress path, and run the example program.

cd DFRobot_RPi_Display/examples/dfrobot_epaper
   python xxx.py

There are 5 example programs in the file: demo_bitmap, demographics, demo_multi_lingual and so on. Replace the xxx with the name of the example program when running the command.

Examples

1. Example program to dispaly image: display_bitmap.py

The screen supports monochrome bitmap, change the file name and file path in display_bitmap.py to display your own picture.

Result:

DFR0591 2.13 e-ink Display Module for Raspberry Pi 4B/3B+/Zero W Result

2. Example program to display geometrical figure: display_geometry.py

The example programs provide the interface functions of line, rectangle, circle, triangle and so on.

Result:

Geometrical figure display

3. display_multiLingual.py

The e-ink screen supports multilingual display, just need to download the ttf library into examples/resources.

Result:

DFR0591 2.13 e-ink Display Module for Raspberry Pi 4B/3B+/Zero W Result

4. display_printString.py

The screen can be refreshed fully or partially, and the font is adjustable.

Result:

DFR0591 2.13 e-ink Display Module for Raspberry Pi 4B/3B+/Zero W Result

5. display_keyResponse.py

Result:

DFR0591 2.13 e-ink Display Module for Raspberry Pi 4B/3B+/Zero W Result

warning_yellow.pngAttention: if you want to alter the customized font and language, you have to download the GPL ttf file from the internet, place it to /DFR0bot_RPi_Display/examples/resources, then call the file in the programs.

Pins Expansion

The expanded pins of the e-ink display match the ones on the Raspberry Pi, refer to the Pinout.

Please note that SPI, P20 and P21 of Raspberry Pi are occupied by the E-ink display.

Calling Functions

Calling fucntions about geometrical figure

Calling functions about bitmap display

Calling functions about font display

Compatibility Test

MCU Work Well
Raspberry Pi 4
Raspberry Pi 3B
Raspberry Pi 3B+
Raspberry Pi Zero W
aspberry Pi 2B+

FAQ

  1. Is it normal that the screen flashes for a long time when refreshing?

Although E-ink display is a very popular type of electronic paper display technology, due to the imaging principle, there are also some defects including screen splash and afterimage issue. After repeatedly turning the page, the ink will remain, which causes the afterimage problem. To deal with that, manufactures designed the full refresh function, however, another issue occurred: the screen will flashes for a while when refreshing fully.

For any questions, advice or cool ideas to share, please visit the DFRobot Forum

Dimension Diagram

DFR0591 2.13 e-ink Display Module for Raspberry Pi 4B/3B+/Zero W Dimension Diagram

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