PORTABLE MICRODISPLAY SYSTEM

• US 20020158823A1
• Filed: 05/10/1999
• Published: 10/31/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 10/31/1997
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kopin Corporation
• Original Assignee: Kopin Corporation
• Inventors: HERRMANN, FREDERICK P., GALE, RONALD P., ONG, HIAP L., TSAUR, BOR-YEU, POMBO, STEPHEN A., JACOBSEN, JEFFREY, LO, JASON, BUMGARDNER, RODNEY, ZAVRACKY, MATTHEW, FAN, JOHN C.C., RICHARD, ALAN, CHERN, WEN-FOO
• Granted Patent: US 7,242,383 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/87
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1616 with folding flat displays, e.g. laptop computers or notebooks having a clamshell configuration, with body parts pivoting to an open position around an axis parallel to the plane they define in closed position
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1626 with a single-body enclosure integrating a flat display, e.g. Personal Digital Assistants [PDAs]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/163 Wearable computers, e.g. on a belt
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1632 External expansion units, e.g. docking stations
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1637 Details related to the display arrangement, including those related to the mounting of the display in the housing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1656 Details related to functional adaptations of the enclosure, e.g. to provide protection against EMI, shock, water, or to host detachable peripherals like a mouse or removable expansions units like PCMCIA cards, or to provide access to internal components for maintenance or to removable storage supports like CDs or DVDs, or to mechanically mount accessories mounting of accessories to a computer display G06F1/1607; display hoods G06F1/1603; cooling arrangements for portable computers G06F1/203
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1662 Details related to the integrated keyboard
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1686 the I/O peripheral being an integrated camera
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1698 the I/O peripheral being a sending/receiving arrangement to establish a cordless communication link, e.g. radio or infrared link, integrated cellular phone details of antennas disposed inside a computer H01Q1/2266
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2310/0235 Field-sequential colour display
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2310/024 Scrolling of light from the illumination source over the display in combination with the scanning of the display screen
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2310/08 Details of timing specific for flat panels, other than clock recovery
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/041 Temperature compensation
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/0633 by amplitude modulation of the brightness of the illumination source
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/064 by time modulation of the brightness of the illumination source
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2330/021 Power management, e.g. power saving
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/3406 Control of illumination source illumination devices structurally associated with liquid crystal cells G02F1/1336
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/3413 Details of control of colour illumination sources
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/3659 the addressing of the pixel involving the control of two or more scan electrodes or two or more data electrodes, e.g. pixel voltage dependant on signal of two data electrodes
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/30 using solid-state colour display devices

Abstract

An active matrix color crystal display has an active matrix circuit, a counterelectrode panel and an interposed layer of liquid crystal. The active matrix display is located in a portable microdisplay system that has a display computer that generates images to be displayed on the liquid crystal display and connected to the active matrix liquid crystal display. A data link transmits data at a rate of speed of greater than 200 Mbytes per second in series for at least a portion between the display computer and the active matrix liquid crystal display. In a preferred embodiment, the display system has a randomizing device that alternates the amplifier through which an analog video signal passes.

Claims

1. A method of displaying an image comprising the steps of:

providing a matrix liquid crystal display;

writing an image to the display;

clearing the image from the display;

flashing a light source; and

repeating the steps of writing, clearing and flashing to produce a second image.

2. The method of displaying an image of claim 1 further comprising the steps of allowing the liquid crystal image to rotate towards an equilibrium prior to flashing the light source.

3. The method of displaying an image of claim 2 wherein the flashing of the light source ends before the writing of the next image.

4. The method of displaying an image of claim 2 wherein the flashing of the light source continues for a specific time period of the writing of the next image.

5. The method of displaying an image of claim 1 wherein the matrix liquid crystal display is an active matrix liquid crystal display having a plurality of pixel electrodes, a counterelectrode and an interposed liquid crystal.

6. The method of displaying an image of claim 5 wherein the step of clearing the image from the display comprises the step of intializing the pixel electrodes to a set voltage.

7. The method of displaying an image of claim 6 wherein the flash ends a set time period after the step of intializing the pixel electrodes to a set voltage.

8. The method of displaying an image of claim 1 wherein the clearing the image is varying the voltage of the counterelectrode.

9. The method of displaying an image of claim 8 wherein the flash ends a set time period after the step of varying of the counterelectrode.

10. A method of controlling a liquid crystal in a display comprising the following steps:

providing an active matrix circuit having an array of transistor circuits formed in a first plane, each transistor circuit being connected to a pixel electrode in an array of pixel electrodes, and a counterelectrode panel extending in a second plane that is parallel to the first plane, such that the counterelectrode panel receives an applied voltage;

switching the applied voltage to the counterelectrode panel after every subframe.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein the voltage of the counterelectrode varies by twice the amplitude as the video.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein the liquid crystal is driven black and the pixel electrodes are initialized to a clear state.

14. The method of claim 12 further comprising the steps of:

repeating the setting, rotating, flashing and driving for each color subframe of the image; and

sensing the properties of the liquid crystal; and

heating the liquid crystal between frames when required.

15. The method of claim 12 further comprising the step of repeating the setting, rotating, flashing and driving for each color subframe of the image at a rate of over 165 subframes per second.

16. The method of claim 13 further comprising the steps of:

repeating the setting, rotating, flashing and driving for each color subframe of the image at a rate of over 165 subframes per second; and

sensing the properties of the liquid crystal; and

heating the liquid crystal between frames when required.

17. The method of claim 16 further comprising the steps of:

providing a portable display system having a housing carrying the liquid crystal display; and

operating at least at 15 MHz a memory card reader located within the housing for displaying video on the display from a memory card that docks with the card reader.

12. A method of writing an image to a liquid crystal display comprising the steps of:

providing an active matrix liquid crystal display having a plurality of pixel electrodes, a counterelectrode and an interposed liquid crystal

setting a voltage to each pixel electrode;

allowing the liquid crystal to rotate towards an equilibrium; and

flashing a backlight; and

initializing the pixel electrodes to a set voltage.