Micropython TFT Display Driver for ILI9341 Chipset

This is a Micropython display driver for SPI TFT displays using the ILI9341 chipset.

The original by @ropod7 has been adapted to be compatible with newer Micropython versions.

This version of the driver also is specifically targeted at the ESP32 and uses one of the machine's two hardware SPI buses.

One of the advantages of ILI9341 powered screens resides in the fact that the ILI9341 includes its own video RAM. Thus, you don't have to rely on your microcontroller memory for drawing and refreshing the screen, since the ILI9341 will take care of it.

The driver has been developed for the most common type of ILI9341 screens, which operate in portrait mode and have a resolution of 240 x 320 pixels.

However, resolution as well as orientation (portrait / landscape) are configurable.

The original author did invest a lot of work in the development of this driver. All credit for the fast drawing functions, font handling, etc. goes to him.

Installing the driver

To use this drivers on the pyboard:

• Copy the python file available under the /ILI9341/ (directory) to your Python Board ** eg: lcd.py, colors.py , registers.py , etc
• Create a images subfolder in the root of your pyboard to store bitmap images. ** also copy the bmp files if you plan to test example script

Consideration for micro SDCard

If you are planing to use some bitmap to be displayed on the TFT (yes, the driver can does it!) then we strongly recommand to use an micro SDCard as storage device.

Indeed, the pyboard embedded memory (inner flash) will immediately be surged with the first image copied on the pyboard.

directory structure

This section will describe the arrangement of the main directories.

• pyboard_drive/ILI9341/ - the place for the pyboard files (to be copied on the Pyboard)
• pyboard_drive/ILI9341/images/ - the place for the pyboard deriver images (OPTIONAL: to be copied on the pyboard)
• pyboard_drive/ILI9341/examples/ - A collection of samples scripts. You do not need to copy them on the pyboard. Learn them to leverage the power of the driver.
• pyboard_drive/ILI9341/wirings/ - A collection of wiring between the PyBoard and various model of TFT Screens (ILI9341 powered)

Resources

• ILI9341 Datasheet Available at Adafruit Industries

About the original author @ropod7

I am just hobbyist in Python and DIY electronics. :)