Color electrophoretic displays using same polarity reversing address pulse

• US 10,242,630 B2
• Filed: 05/26/2017
• Issued: 03/26/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 05/14/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: E Ink Holdings Incorporated
• Original Assignee: E Ink Holdings Incorporated
• Inventors: Telfer, Stephen J., Slominski, Luke M., Yezek, Lee, Crounse, Kenneth R., Kruse, J. Ryan, Hoogeboom, Christopher L., Feick, Jason D., Miller, David Darrell, Bull, Stephen, Bouchard, Alain, Herb, Craig A., Ladavac, Kosta, Lattes, Ana L., Morrison, Jennifer M., Paolini, Jr., Richard J., Regan, Michael Thomas
• Primary Examiner(s): Boddie, William
• Assistant Examiner(s): Schnirel, Andrew B
• Application Number:
  US15/606,058
• Publication Number:
  US 20170287407A1
• Time in Patent Office: 669 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/167 by electrophoresis
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/1685 Operation of cells; Circuit arrangements affecting the entire cell
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 2001/1678 characterised by the composition or particle type
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2310/06 Details of flat display driving waveforms
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2310/068 Application of pulses of alternating polarity prior to the drive pulse in electrophoretic displays
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/344 based on particles moving in a fluid or in a gas, e.g. electrophoretic devices electrophoretic devices per se G02F1/167

Abstract

An electrophoretic display comprising a fluid including a first species of particles and a charge control agent disposed between first and second electrodes. When a first addressing impulse have an electrical polarity is applied to the medium, the first species of particles move in one direction relative to the electric field, but when a second addressing impulse, larger than the first addressing impulse but having the same electrical polarity, is applied to the medium, the first species of particles move in the opposed direction relative to the electric field.

Claims

1. An electrophoretic display capable of rendering multiple different colors, the display comprising an electrophoretic medium including a fluid, the fluid comprising first, second, and third species of particles, and charge control agents, the display further comprising first and second electrodes disposed on opposed sides of the electrophoretic medium, wherein upon application of a first addressing impulse to the electrophoretic medium a portion of the particles move towards the first electrode, but upon application of a second addressing impulse, larger than, but of the same polarity as the first addressing impulse, the same portion of the particles move towards the second electrode wherein the second and third species of particles have colors different from the first species of particles and from each other, the second and third species of particles bear charges of opposite polarities and the first species of particles bears a charge of the same polarity as the third species of particles, such that when the first addressing impulse is applied in one direction, one surface of the electrophoretic medium displays the color of the third species of particle, when the first addressing impulse is applied in the opposed direction, said one surface of the display displays a mixture of the colors of the first and second particles, while when the second addressing impulse is applied in said one direction, said one surface displays a mixture of the colors of the first and third particles, and when the second addressing impulse is applied in the opposed direction, said one surface displays the color of the second particles.

2. The electrophoretic medium according to claim 1, wherein the fluid is uncolored.

3. The electrophoretic medium according to claim 2, wherein the second and third species of particles are white and black.

4. The electrophoretic medium according to claim 1, wherein, upon application of a third addressing impulse greater than the second addressing impulse, the first, second and third particles all travel in the same direction relative to the electric field.

5. The electrophoretic medium according to claim 4, wherein the fluid is dyed with a color different from the colors of the first, second and third species of particles.

6. The electrophoretic medium according to claim 5, wherein one of the species of particles is white and the colors of the other two species of particles and the dyed fluid are selected from yellow, cyan and magenta, in any order.

7. The electrophoretic medium according to claim 1, wherein the particles and the fluid are confined within a plurality of capsules or microcells.

8. The electrophoretic medium according to claim 1, wherein the particles and the fluid are present as a plurality of discrete droplets surrounded by a continuous phase comprising a polymeric material.

9. An electronic book reader, portable computer, tablet computer, cellular telephone, smart card, sign, watch, shelf label or flash drive incorporating the electrophoretic display according to claim 1.

10. An electrophoretic medium comprising a fluid and first, second and third species of particles disposed in the fluid, the first species of particles bearing charges of one polarity, and the second and third species of particles bearing charges of the opposite polarity, such that when a first addressing impulse is applied to the electrophoretic medium, the first and third species of particles move in one direction relative to the electric field and the second species of particles move in the opposed direction relative to the electric field, but when a second addressing impulse, larger than the first addressing impulse but of the same polarity, is applied to the electrophoretic medium, the first species of particles move in said one direction relative to the electric field, while the second and third species of particles move in said opposed direction relative to the electric field.

11. The electrophoretic medium according to claim 10, wherein the second species of particles bears a polymeric surface treatment and the third species of particles bears either no polymeric surface treatment or a polymeric surface treatment having a lower mass coverage per unit area of the particle surface than the second species of particles.

12. An electrophoretic medium comprising a fluid, dyed a first color, and first, second and third species of particles disposed in the fluid, the first species of particles being light-scattering, and bearing charges of one polarity, while the second and third species of particles are non-light scattering, are of second and third colors respectively different from the first color and from each other, and bear charges of the opposite polarity, the characteristics of the first, second and third species of particles being such that the particle-particle interactions are less between the particles of the first species and the particles of the second species than between the particles of the first species and the particles of the third species, such that when a first addressing impulse is applied to the electrophoretic medium, the first and third species of particles move in one direction relative to the electric field and the second species of particles move in the opposed direction relative to the electric field, but when a second addressing impulse, larger than the first addressing impulse but of the same polarity is applied to the electrophoretic medium, the first species of particles move in said one direction relative to the electric field, while the second and third species of particles move in said opposed direction relative to the electric field, and when a third addressing impulse, larger than the second addressing impulse but of the same polarity is applied to the electrophoretic medium, the first species of particles move in said opposed direction relative to the electric field, while the second and third species of particles continue to move in said opposed direction relative to the electric field.