Programmable window: a device for controlling the opacity of small-scale areas within a large scale transparent membrane

• US 20060107616A1
• Filed: 10/11/2005
• Published: 05/25/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 10/08/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• Original Assignee: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• Inventors: Ratti, Carlo, Biderman, Assaf, Ramos, Martin
• Granted Patent: US 7,796,322 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 52/750
• CPC Class Codes: E04B 1/00 Constructions in general; Structures which are not restricted either to walls, e.g. partitions, or floors or ceilings or roofs scaffolds, shutterings E04G; structures specially adapted for buildings for special purposes, general layout of buildings, e.g. modular co-ordination, E04H
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/172 based on a suspension of orientable dipolar particles, e.g. suspended particles displays
• CPC Class Codes: G09F 19/22 Advertising or display means on roads, walls or similar surfaces, e.g. illuminated
• CPC Class Codes: G09F 19/226 External wall display means; Facade advertising means
• CPC Class Codes: G09F 19/227 on windows
• 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 2300/088 using a non-linear two-terminal element
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2310/0208 using active addressing
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2310/0267 Details of drivers for scan electrodes, other than drivers for liquid crystal, plasma or OLED displays
• 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 3/34 by control of light from an independent source

Abstract

Natural lighting profiles are affected in a building facade and internal transparent membrane using a transparent sheet having one or more pixel elements, wherein each of the pixel elements is capable of being driven to control opacity (by shading). A programmable controller is used to send control commands to control opacity of the pixel elements, wherein the percentage of light transmitted through the display panel forming part of the facade is controlled via the controller.

Claims

1. A display system used in a building facade comprising:

a display panel placed as part of said facade comprising one or more pixels, each of said one or more pixels capable of being individually driven to control opacity,

wherein voltage supplied to each pixel is controlled to vary the shading of that pixel, resulting in a variance of the percentage of light transmitted through said display panel forming part of said facade.

2. A display system as per claim 1, wherein said display system is used in environmental control with lighting levels controlled in a non-uniform manner within an architectural space.

3. A display system used in a building facade comprising:

a display panel placed as part of said facade comprising one or more pixels, each of said one or more pixels capable of being individually driven to control opacity; and

a controller programmable to drive each of said one or more pixels to control the shading of said pixel,

wherein percentage of light transmitted through said display panel forming part of said facade is controlled by said controller.

4. A display system used in a building facade, as per claim 3, wherein said pixel comprises two transparent layers with suspended particles held between said transparent layers.

5. A display system used in a building facade, as per claim 3, wherein said suspended particles become induced dipoles in the presence of an electric field, said electric field controllable via said controller.

6. A display system used in a building facade, as per claim 3, wherein said pixels comprise a layer of suspended particles sandwiched between layers of transparent glass.

7. A display system used in a building facade, as per claim 3, wherein each of the pixels are driven using a dual MOSFET totem topology.

8. A display system used in a building facade, as per claim 3, wherein each pixel in said display system is allocated a specific service time, with the duration of said service time defining a time period over which an effective AC drive is adjusted to produce a required transparency level.

9. A display system as per claim 3, wherein said display system is used in environmental control with lighting levels controlled in a non-uniform way within an architectural space.

10. A display system used in a building facade comprising:

a display panel placed as part of said facade comprising a matrix of one or more pixels under direct drive, with each element in the matrix being independently driven to control opacity of that element; and

a controller programmable to drive each of said one or more pixels to control the shading of said pixel,

wherein percentage of light transmitted through said display panel forming part of said facade is controlled by said controller.

11. A display system used in a building facade, as per claim 10, wherein each element in said matrix comprises two transparent layers with suspended particles held between said transparent layers.

12. A display system used in a building facade, as per claim 10, wherein said suspended particles become induced dipoles in the presence of an electric field, said electric field controllable via said controller.

13. A display system used in a building facade, as per claim 10, wherein each element in said matrix comprises a layer of suspended particles sandwiched between layers of transparent glass.

14. A display system used in a building facade, as per claim 10, wherein each of the pixels is driven using a dual MOSFET totem topology.

15. A display system used in a building facade, as per claim 10, wherein each element in said matrix is allocated a specific service time, with the duration of said service time defining a time period over which an effective AC drive is adjusted to produce a required transparency level.

16. A display system used in a building facade comprising:

a display panel placed as part of said facade comprising a matrix comprising one or more pixel elements with common anode rows and common cathode columns, each assigned an independent gating element; and

a controller programmable to drive each of said one or more pixels to control the shading of said pixel,

wherein percentage of light transmitted through said display panel forming part of said facade is controlled by said controller.

17. A display system used in a building facade, as per claim 16, wherein each element in said matrix comprises two transparent layers with suspended particles held between said transparent layers.

18. A display system used in a building facade, as per claim 16, wherein said suspended particles become induced dipoles in the presence of an electric field, said electric field controllable via said controller.

19. A display system used in a building facade, as per claim 16, wherein each element in said matrix comprises a layer of suspended particles sandwiched between layers of transparent glass.

20. A display system used in a building facade, as per claim 16, wherein elements in the matrix are driven using a dual MOSFET totem topology.

21. A display system implemented in a building facade for environmental control with lighting levels that are controlled in a non-uniform way within an architectural space, said display system comprising:

a display panel placed as part of said facade comprising a display array comprising a plurality of pixel elements driven via multi-line addressing; and

a controller programmable to drive said display array to control the shading of elements of said array, wherein a column in said display array is handled by said controller at any given time,

wherein percentage of light transmitted through said display system forming part of said facade is controlled by said controller.

22. A method to affect natural lighting profiles in a building facade comprising:

implementing a display panel of a facade using one or more pixel elements, each of said one or more pixels capable of being driven to control opacity;

receiving control commands to control opacity of at least one pixel element;

controlling each of said one or more pixels to control the shading of said pixel according to said received control commands, and

wherein percentage of light transmitted through said display panel forming part of said facade is controlled based on said control commands.

23. A method to affect natural lighting profiles in a building facade, as per claim 22, wherein each pixel element comprises two transparent layers with suspended particles held between said transparent layers.

24. A method to affect natural lighting profiles in a building facade, as per claim 22, wherein said suspended particles become induced dipoles in the presence of an electric field, said electric field controllable via said controller.

25. A method to affect natural lighting profiles in a building facade, as per claim 22, wherein each element in said matrix comprises a layer of suspended particles sandwiched between layers of transparent glass.

26. A method to affect natural lighting profiles in a building facade, as per claim 22, wherein each of the pixels is driven using a dual MOSFET totem topology.