Introduction

CircuitPython displayio driver for epaper driven by UC8253 driver IC

Dependencies

This driver depends on:

• Adafruit CircuitPython

Please ensure all dependencies are available on the CircuitPython filesystem. This is easily achieved by downloading the Adafruit library and driver bundle or individual libraries can be installed using circup.

• 3.7" 416x240 Monochrome Black/White eInk / ePaper - Bare Display - UC8253 Chipset
• 3.7" 416x240 Tri-Color Red / Black / White eInk - Bare Display - UC8253 Chipset

Purchase one from the Adafruit shop

Installing from PyPI

On supported GNU/Linux systems like the Raspberry Pi, you can install the driver locally from PyPI. To install for current user:

pip3 install adafruit-circuitpython-uc8253

To install system-wide (this may be required in some cases):

sudo pip3 install adafruit-circuitpython-uc8253

To install in a virtual environment in your current project:

mkdir project-name && cd project-name
python3 -m venv .venv
source .env/bin/activate
pip3 install adafruit-circuitpython-uc8253

Installing to a Connected CircuitPython Device with Circup

Make sure that you have circup installed in your Python environment. Install it with the following command if necessary:

pip3 install circup

With circup installed and your CircuitPython device connected use the following command to install:

circup install adafruit_uc8253

Or the following command to update an existing version:

circup update

Usage Example

import time

import board
import busio
import displayio
from fourwire import FourWire

import adafruit_uc8253

displayio.release_displays()

# This pinout works on a MagTag with the newer screen and may need to be altered for other boards.
spi = busio.SPI(board.EPD_SCK, board.EPD_MOSI)  # Uses SCK and MOSI
epd_cs = board.EPD_CS
epd_dc = board.EPD_DC
epd_reset = board.EPD_RESET
epd_busy = board.EPD_BUSY

display_bus = FourWire(spi, command=epd_dc, chip_select=epd_cs, reset=epd_reset, baudrate=1000000)
time.sleep(1)

display = adafruit_uc8253.UC8253(
    display_bus, width=240, height=416, busy_pin=epd_busy, rotation=0, vcom_cdi=0x97
)

g = displayio.Group()

pic = displayio.OnDiskBitmap("/display-ruler-1280x720.bmp")
t = displayio.TileGrid(pic, pixel_shader=pic.pixel_shader)
g.append(t)

display.root_group = g

display.refresh()

print("refreshed")

time.sleep(display.time_to_refresh + 5)
# Always refresh a little longer. It's not a problem to refresh
# a few seconds more, but it's terrible to refresh too early
# (the display will throw an exception when if the refresh
# is too soon)
print("waited correct time")

# Keep the display the same
while True:
    time.sleep(10)

Documentation

API documentation for this library can be found on Read the Docs.

For information on building library documentation, please check out this guide.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please read our Code of Conduct before contributing to help this project stay welcoming.