Suspended particle device electronic control processes
First Claim
1. A system for use with at least one Suspended Particle Device (SPD), the SPD having a variable opacity, the system comprising:
- a controller connected to the at least one SPD and comprising means controlling the opacity of the at least one SPD;
the controller having means to determine that the SPD is to be set to a specific opacity value at different times;
wherein there is stored within the controller a first lookup table providing a mapping between opacity values and drive values giving rise to opacity values.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A scalable apparatus and a network environment dynamically changes the light transparency of a single SPD device, a small number of SPD devices or thousands of such SPD devices installed in windows in automobiles, aircraft, trains, marine vehicles, residential homes, commercial buildings and skyscrapers. A scalable apparatus and a network environment dynamically changes the light transparency of a single SPD device or thousands of such SPD devices in the presentation of a multi-media special effects display. Textual messages, graphical images and simulated motion effects are driven. Such scalable apparatus being capable of driving and using several operational parameters of SPD materials such as frequency range, AC voltage and temperature so as to provide fine control of SPD characteristics such as switching speed and power consumption.
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Citations
46 Claims
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1. A system for use with at least one Suspended Particle Device (SPD), the SPD having a variable opacity, the system comprising:
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a controller connected to the at least one SPD and comprising means controlling the opacity of the at least one SPD; the controller having means to determine that the SPD is to be set to a specific opacity value at different times; wherein there is stored within the controller a first lookup table providing a mapping between opacity values and drive values giving rise to opacity values. - View Dependent Claims (3, 4, 5, 6)
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2. A system for use with at least one Suspended Particle Device (SPD), the SPD having a variable opacity, the system comprising:
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a controller connected to the at least one SPD and controlling the opacity of the at least one SPD; the controller having means by which an external device or system may command the controller to set the SPD to a specific opacity value; wherein there is stored within the controller a first lookup table providing a mapping between opacity values and drive values giving rise to opacity values. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 24, 25, 26, 31, 32)
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23. A method for use with a system with at least one SPD, the SPD having a variable opacity, the system comprising at least one controller connected to the SPD and comprising means controlling the opacity of the SPD;
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wherein the at least one controller comprises a network interface which is in communication with at least one other network interface; at least one master controller issuing commands to the at least one controller; the method comprising the step of; the at least one controller receiving a command from the master controller to set the SPD to a specific opacity; and the at least one controller modulating a frequency of applied electrical signals to the SPD through a variable range or vary a voltage in order to set the SPD to the specific opacity.
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27. A system for use with at least one SPD, the SPD having a variable opacity, the system comprising:
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a controller connected to the at least one SPD and comprising means controlling the opacity of the at least one SPD; the controller having means by which it may determine a specific opacity to set the at least one SPD; wherein the controller applies a first operating frequency until the SPD switches to the specific opacity then switches to a second frequency to maintain the SPD at that opacity. - View Dependent Claims (29)
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28. A method for use with a system having at least one SPD, the SPD having a variable opacity, the system comprising a controller connected to the SPD and comprising means controlling the opacity of the SPD;
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wherein the controller has a means by which it may determine a specific opacity to set the at least one SPD; the method comprising the step of; applying a first operating frequency until the SPD switches to the specific opacity then switches to a second frequency to maintain the SPD at that opacity. - View Dependent Claims (30)
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33. A system for use with at least one SPD, the SPD having a variable opacity, the system comprising:
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a controller connected to the at least one SPD and controlling the opacity of the at least one SPD; wherein the controller automatically changes the opacity of the at least one SPD based upon the physical orientation of the SPD device on the earth, the latitude and longitude of the SPD device, the day of the year and the time of the day.
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34. A system for use with at least one SPD, the SPD having a variable opacity, the system comprising:
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at least one controller connected to the at least one SPD and comprising means controlling the opacity of the at least one SPD; the at least one controller further comprises a network interface which is communicatively coupled to a multiplicity of controllers having network interfaces; wherein at least one of the multiplicity of controllers is connected to at least one sensor from which sensor data is read; the sensor data interpreted by the at least one controller to effect the opacity of the at least one SPD. - View Dependent Claims (35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44)
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45. A system for use with at least one SPD, the SPD having a variable opacity, the system comprising:
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at least one controller connected to the at least one SPD and comprising means controlling the opacity of the at least one SPD; wherein the at least one controller further comprises a network interface which is communicatively coupled to a multiplicity of controllers having network interfaces; the at least one controller receiving a command from one of the multiplicity of controllers to set the SPD to a specific opacity; and the at least one controller modulating a frequency of applied electrical signals to the SPD through a variable range or vary a voltage in order to set the SPD to the specific opacity.
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46. A method for use with a system with at least one SPD, the SPD having a variable opacity, the system comprising at least one controller connected to the SPD and comprising means controlling the opacity of the SPD;
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wherein the at least one controller further comprises a network interface which is communicatively coupled to a multiplicity of controllers having network interfaces; the method comprising the step of; the at least one controller receiving a command from one of the multiplicity of controllers to set the SPD to a specific opacity; and the at least one controller modulating a frequency of applied electrical signals to the SPD through a variable range or vary a voltage in order to set the SPD to the specific opacity.
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Specification