ESP-IDF-InkPlate Library Version 0.9.7

(February 7th, 2023)

A branch named idf-v5.0-support has been created some time ago to permit changes related to ESP-IDF V5.0. Please note that you can try to use it if required. Testing is ongoing to merge it with the upcoming new version.

(June 21st, 2022)

Added support for idf.py development, as provided by tajnymag.

(April 27th, 2022)

Version 0.9.6:

• Added MCP presence detection. With chips shortage issues, some Inkplate devices (Inkplate-10, Inkplate-6PLUS) may have their second MCP chip missing. The mcp_ext.is_present() method can be used to check its availability. Log information messages are produced indicating if MCPs are detected as present or not.

Version 0.9.5:

• Corrected issue with PlatformIO Espressif32 version 3.3.0 (wifi_interface_t vs esp_interface_t)
• Added InkPlate-6PLUS support: Screen, Touch Screen, Front Light. INKPLATE_6PLUS must be defined to compile for this device. For the TouchScreen class, TouchPositions has been defined as an array of 2 entries to minimize the potential of bad methods parameters.
• Some code refactoring in drivers.
• I2C speed lowered to 100Khz instead of 1Mhz (Wire class). This to respect I2C hardware limitation related to the PullUp resistors in used with Inkplate devices.
• Added Inkplate::lightSleep() and Inkplate::deepSleep() methods, calling the InkplatePlatform class methods
• InkplatePlatform::light_sleep() and InkplatePlatform::deep_sleep() methods modified to get gpio number and level as parameters
• Inkplate::begin() method now allows for one parameter to enable/disable the SDCard initialization. Disabled by default.
• For the InkPlate-6PLUS, the Inkplate::begin() method takes a second paremeter: a handler function pointer to process touch_screen interrupts.
• Added RTC PCF85063 support.

(March 4, 2021)

Version 0.9.4: Added PressKeys class in support of the Buttons Extended Case as described here. To be used, at compile time, EXTENDED_CASE must be #defined. The TouchKeys class will then not be included.

(March 2, 2021)

Version 0.9.3: Change required by ESP-IDF Version 4.2 for the SD Card support. Thanks to Yuki Mizuno for the supplied patch.

A porting effort to the ESP-IDF framework for the e-Radionica InkPlate software that can be find here.

--> Work in progress. It is usable, but testing remains to be completed. <--

Look in the examples folder for ready-made applications. This library is conform to the PlatformIO IDE extension. All examples can be compiled using PlatformIO.

Information about the modifications is located in file CHANGES.md

ESP-IDF configuration specifics for InkPlate devices

An InkPlate application requires some functionalities to be properly set up within the ESP-IDF. The following elements have been done for this project and can be used as a reference for other projects:

• PSRAM memory management: The PSRAM is an extension to the ESP32 memory that offers 4MB+4MB of additional RAM. The first 4MB is readily available to integrate into the dynamic memory allocation of the ESP-IDF SDK. To do so, some parameters located in the sdkconfig file must be set accordingly. This must be done using the menuconfig application that is part of the ESP-IDF. The following command will launch the application (the current folder must be the main folder of EPub-InkPlate):

  $ idf.py menuconfig

  The application will show a list of configuration aspects. To configure PSRAM:

  • Select Component Config > ESP32-Specific > Support for external, SPI-Connected RAM
  • Select SPI RAM config > Initialize SPI RAM during startup
  • Select Run memory test on SPI RAM Initialization
  • Select Enable workaround for bug in SPI RAM cache for Rev 1 ESP32s
  • Select SPI RAM access method > Make RAM allocatable using malloc() as well

  Leave the other options as they are.

• ESP32 processor speed: The processor must be run at 240MHz. The following line in platformio.ini request this speed:

  board_build.f_cpu = 240000000L

  You can also select the speed in the sdkconfig file:

  • Select Component config > ESP32-Specific > CPU frequency > 240 Mhz

• FAT Filesystem Support: If the application requires the usage of the micro SD card. This card must be formatted on a computer (Linux or Windows) with a FAT 32 partition. The InkPlate6Ctrl class requires this in its current configuration. The following parameters must be adjusted in sdkconfig:

  • Select Component config > FAT Filesystem support > Max Long filename length > 255
  • Select Number of simultaneously open files protected by lock function > 5
  • Select Prefer external RAM when allocating FATFS buffer

• Flash memory partitioning (optional): the file partitions.csv contains the table of partitions definition for the 4MB flash memory, required to support the largest applications size in an OTA context. The partitions OTA_0 and OTA_1 have been set to be 1.3MB in size. In the platformio.ini file, the line board_build.partitions=... is directing the use of these partitions configuration.