Image display device

• US 20030063076A1
• Filed: 04/18/2002
• Published: 04/03/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 09/28/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: E Ink Holdings Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Fuji Xerox Company Limited (Xerox Holdings Corp.)
• Inventors: Machida, Yoshinori, Shigehiro, Kiyoshi, Sakamaki, Motohiko, Matsunaga, Takeshi, Suwabe, Yasufumi, Yamaguchi, Yoshiro
• Granted Patent: US 6,956,557 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/204
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2300/0439 Pixel structures
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2300/0473 Use of light emitting or modulating elements having two or more stable states when no power is applied
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2300/06 Passive matrix structure, i.e. with direct application of both column and row voltages to the light emitting or modulating elements, other than LCD or OLED
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2300/08 Active matrix structure, i.e. with use of active elements, inclusive of non-linear two terminal elements, in the pixels together with light emitting or modulating elements
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2310/0248 Precharge or discharge of column electrodes before or after applying exact column voltages
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2310/061 for resetting or blanking
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2310/068 Application of pulses of alternating polarity prior to the drive pulse in electrophoretic displays
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/02 Improving the quality of display appearance
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/0209 Crosstalk reduction, i.e. to reduce direct or indirect influences of signals directed to a certain pixel of the displayed image on other pixels of said image, inclusive of influences affecting pixels in different frames or fields or sub-images which constitute a same image, e.g. left and right images of a stereoscopic display
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/2085 Special arrangements for addressing the individual elements of the matrix, other than by driving respective rows and columns in combination
• 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

The present invention is for providing an image display device capable of preventing deterioration of display sharpness and contrast, and capable of improving display quality. An image display medium has a display substrate, having a first electrode, disposed on an image display surface side, a rear substrate having a plurality of second electrodes facing the display substrate, and two kinds of particle groups having different colors and charge characteristics sealed between the display substrate and the rear substrate movably between the first electrode and the second electrodes by an electric field. Before application of a display drive voltage for executing the image display, a voltage is applied to the image display medium by a voltage applying component so as to generate an electric field for moving the particle groups between the second electrodes to adjacent the second electrodes.

Claims

1. An image display device comprising:

an image display medium with an image display surface, the image display medium including

a display substrate at the image display surface side, the display substrate including a first electrode,

a rear substrate facing the display substrate, the rear substrate including a plane surface and a plurality of second electrodes arranged on the plane surface at predetermined intervals, and

at least two kinds of particles including different colors and charge characteristics, the particles being sealed between the display substrate and the rear substrate, and being movable between the first electrode and the second electrodes when an electric field is generated between the first electrode and the second electrodes by application of a display drive voltage for executing image display; and

a voltage applying component which, before the application of the display drive voltage, applies voltage so as to generate an electric field capable of moving particles that are disposed between adjacent the second electrodes.

2. The image display device of claim 1, wherein the first electrode of the image display medium comprises an electrode group including a plurality of substantially parallel linear electrodes respectively corresponding to one of rows and columns, the plurality of second electrodes comprises an electrode group including a plurality of substantially parallel linear electrodes respectively corresponding to the other of rows and columns, the first electrodes and the second electrodes being arranged in a simple matrix pattern so as to intersect each other in plan view, and

the voltage applying component applies the voltage before the application of the display drive voltage so as to generate an electric field capable of moving particles that are disposed between the lines of the second electrodes.

3. The image display device of claim 1, wherein at least the plurality of second electrodes of the image display medium comprises an electrode group forming an active matrix pattern, the electrode group including a plurality of electrodes respectively corresponding to pixels of the active matrix pattern, and

the voltage applying component applies the voltage before the application of the display drive voltage so as to generate an electric field capable of moving particles that are disposed between the individual electrodes forming the electrode group.

4. The image display device of claim 1, wherein the voltage applying component applies the voltage before the application of the display drive voltage to the second electrodes so as to generate an electric field capable of moving particles at the rear substrate in a direction from an electrode corresponding to a pixel that executes the image display towards an electrode adjacent thereto.

5. The image display device of claim 1, wherein the voltage applying component applies the voltage before the application of the display drive voltage to the second electrodes so as to generate an electric field capable of moving particles at the rear substrate in a direction from an end portion of an electrode corresponding to a pixel that executes the image display towards an electrode adjacent thereto.

6. The image display device of claim 1, wherein the voltage applying component applies the voltage before the application of the display drive voltage to the second electrodes so as to generate an electric field capable of moving particles at the rear substrate in a direction towards an electrode corresponding to a pixel that executes the image display from an electrode adjacent thereto.

7. The image display device of claim 1, wherein the voltage applying component applies the voltage before the application of the display drive voltage to the second electrodes so as to generate an electric field capable of moving particles at the rear substrate in a direction towards an electrode corresponding to a pixel that executes the image display from an end portion of an electrode adjacent thereto.

8. The image display device of claim 1, wherein the voltage applying component applies the display drive voltage for executing image display a plurality of times.

9. The image display device of claim 1, wherein the voltage that generates an electric field capable of moving particles that are disposed between adjacent the second electrodes before the application of the display drive voltage to the second electrodes comprises a voltage value substantially the same as a voltage value of the display drive voltage.

10. The image display device of claim 1, wherein at least the plurality of second electrodes of the image display medium comprises an electrode group including a fine electrode pattern that forms a segment pattern, and

the voltage applying component applies the voltage before the application of the display drive voltage so as to generate an electric field capable of moving particles that are disposed between the individual electrodes forming the electrode group.

11. An image display device comprising:

an image display medium with an image display surface, the image display medium including

a display substrate at the image display surface side, the display substrate including a first electrode,

a rear substrate facing the display substrate, the rear substrate including a plane surface and a plurality of second electrodes arranged on the plane surface at predetermined intervals, and

at least two kinds of particles including different colors and charge characteristics, the particles being sealed between the display substrate and the rear substrate, and being movable between the first electrode and the second electrodes when an electric field is generated between the first electrode and the second electrodes; and

a voltage applying component which applies a voltage to the second electrodes so as to generate an electric field capable of moving particles at the rear substrate in a direction from an electrode corresponding to a pixel that executes image display substantially only towards an electrode adjacent thereto, and thereafter applies a display drive voltage for executing the image display to the first and second electrodes.

12. The image display device of claim 11, wherein the first electrode of the image display medium comprises an electrode group including a plurality of substantially parallel linear electrodes respectively corresponding to one of rows and columns, and the plurality of second electrodes comprises an electrode group including a plurality of substantially parallel linear electrodes respectively corresponding to the other of rows and columns, the first electrodes and the second electrodes being arranged in a simple matrix pattern so as to intersect each other in plan view.

13. The image display device of claim 11, wherein at least the plurality of second electrodes of the image display medium comprises an electrode group forming an active matrix pattern, the electrode group including a plurality of electrodes respectively corresponding to pixels of the active matrix pattern.

14. The image display device of claim 11, wherein the voltage applying component applies the display drive voltage for executing image display a plurality of times.

15. The image display device of claim 11, wherein at least the plurality of second electrodes of the image display medium comprises a fine electrode pattern that forms a segment pattern.

16. An image display device comprising:

an image display medium with an image display surface, the image display medium including

a display substrate at the image display surface side, the display substrate including a first electrode,

a rear substrate facing the display substrate, the rear substrate including a plane surface and a plurality of second electrodes arranged on the plane surface at predetermined intervals, and

at least two kinds of particles including different colors and charge characteristics, the particles being sealed between the display substrate and the rear substrate, and being movable between the first electrode and the second electrodes when an electric field is generated between the first electrode and the second electrodes; and

a voltage applying component which applies a voltage to the second electrodes so as to generate an electric field capable of moving particles at the rear substrate in a direction substantially only towards an electrode corresponding to a pixel that executes image display from an electrode adjacent thereto, and thereafter applies a display drive voltage for executing the image display to the first and second electrodes.

17. The image display device of claim 16, wherein the first electrode of the image display medium comprises an electrode group including a plurality of substantially parallel linear electrodes respectively corresponding to one of rows and columns, and the plurality of second electrodes comprises an electrode group including a plurality of substantially parallel linear electrodes respectively corresponding to the other of rows and columns, the first electrodes and the second electrodes being arranged in a simple matrix pattern so as to intersect each other in plan view.

18. The image display device of claim 16, wherein at least the plurality of second electrodes of the image display medium comprises an electrode group forming an active matrix pattern, the electrode group including a plurality of electrodes respectively corresponding to pixels of the active matrix pattern.

19. The image display device of claim 16, wherein the voltage applying component applies the display drive voltage for executing image display a plurality of times.

20. The image display device of claim 16, wherein at least the plurality of second electrodes of the image display medium comprises a fine electrode pattern that forms a segment pattern.