LIQUID CRYSTAL ALPHA-NUMERIC ELECTRO-OPTIC IMAGING DEVICE

• US 3,622,224 A
• Filed: 08/20/1969
• Issued: 11/23/1971
• Est. Priority Date: 08/20/1969
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Joseph J. Wysocki, Robert W. Madrid
• Original Assignee: Joseph J. Wysocki, Robert W. Madrid
• Inventors: Wysocki, Joseph J., Madrid, Robert W.
• Primary Examiner(s): Schonberg, David
• Assistant Examiner(s): Miller, Paul R.
• Application Number:
  US04/851,708
• Time in Patent Office: 825 Days
• Field of Search: 350/150,160
• US Class Current: 349/83
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/1347 Arrangement of liquid crystal layers or cells in which the final condition of one light beam is achieved by the addition of the effects of two or more layers or cells
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/13731 based on a field-induced phase transition G02F1/13781 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G09F 9/35 being liquid crystals G09F9/302 takes precedence; liquid crystal materials C09K19/00; liquid crystal panels comprising a number of electrodes in a single cell per se G02F1/13
• CPC Class Codes: G09F 9/46 in which the desired character is selected from a number of characters arranged one behind the other
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 21/08 Output circuits

Abstract

An imaging system having a multiplanar series of alphanumeric images in conjunction with an electro-optic imaging cell suitable for displaying one or more of the images.

Claims

1. A multiplanar electro-optic display device comprising:

a layer of electro-optic material, a multiplanar plurality of substantially transparent electrodes in specific desired image configurations on one side of said layer of electro-optic material, said multiplanar plurality of electrodes stacked adjacent one another seriatim on said one side of the layer of electro-optic material, without other layers of electro-optic material between electrodes in said stacked plurality of electrodes, and a full area substantially transparent electrode on the opposite side of said layer of electro-optic material.

2. The display device of claim 1 additionally comprising means for electrically activating at least one of said electrodes in image Configuration to produce a desired optical image in the electro-optic layer.

3. The display device of claim 1 additionally comprising means for electrically activating at least one of said electrodes in image configuration and the full area electrode on the opposite side of said layer of electro-optic material to produce an imagewise electrical field across said layer of electro-optic material and thereby produce a desired optical image in said layer.

4. The display device of claim 3 wherein said means for electrically activating the device comprises means to activate the full area electrode and means to selectively activate any one of or combination of the electrodes in image configuration.

5. The display device of claim 3 wherein said means for electrically activating the device comprises means for providing electrical fields of substantially constant field strengths between the full area electrode and any one of the electrodes in image configuration.

6. The display device of claim 2 wherein said device additionally comprises image enhancing means comprising a pair of polarizers on opposite sides of said multiplanar device.

7. The display device of claim 6 wherein said polarizers are plane polarizers and the respective planes of polarization of said polarizers are substantially crossed.

8. The display device of claim 2 wherein the electro-optic material comprises a liquid crystalline material.

9. The display device of claim 8 wherein said liquid crystalline material comprises a material selected from the group consisting of:

cholesteric liquid crystalline materials, smectic liquid crystalline materials, nematic liquid crystalline materials, and mixtures thereof.

10. The device of claim 8 wherein said liquid crystalline material is a racemic mixture comprising cholesteric liquid crystalline materials.

11. The display device of claim 2 wherein said layer of electro-optic material is of a thickness not greater than about 7 mils.

12. The display device of claim 2 additionally comprising a substantially transparent electrode in complementary background configuration coplanar with an electrode among the multiplanar plurality of electrodes defining the desired image configurations, with said complementary coplanar background and image electrodes electrically insulated from one another.

13. The display device of claim 12 wherein each electrode among the multiplanar plurality of electrodes defining desired image configurations is accompanied by a substantially transparent electrode in complementary background configuration coplanar with said electrode defining the desired image configuration, with said complementary coplanar background and image electrodes electrically insulated from one another.

14. The display device of claim 13 wherein the means for electrically activating the device comprises means to activate the full area electrode and means to selectively activate any one or combination of the electrodes in image and background configurations.

15. The display device of claim 14 wherein said means for electrically activating the device comprises means for providing an electrical field of substantially constant field strength between the full area electrode and any one of the electrodes in image or background configuration.

16. The display device of claim 2 wherein the full area electrode on the opposite side of the layer of electro-optic material comprises:

a substantially transparent electrode defining a desired image configuration and a substantially transparent electrode in complementary background configuration coplanar with the electrode defining a desired image configuration, with said complementary image and background electrodes electrically insulated from one another.

17. The display device of claim 13 wherein the full area electrode on the opposite side of the layer of electro-optic material comprises:

a substantially transparent electrode defining a desired image configuration and a substantially transparent electRode in complementary background configuration coplanar with the electrode defining a desired image configuration, with said complementary image and background electrodes electrically insulated from one another.

18. The display device of claim 16 additionally comprising means for electrically activating at least one of said electrodes in image configuration among the multiplanar plurality of electrodes, and means for electrically activating both complementary coplanar background and image electrodes which comprise the full area electrode on the opposite side of the layer of electro-optic material to produce an imagewise electrical field across said layer of electro-optic material thereby producing a desired optical image in said layer.

19. The display device of claim 17 wherein said means for electrically activating the device comprises means to selectively activate any one or combination of the electrodes in image configuration among the multiplanar plurality of electrodes on said one side of the layer of electro-optic material, and means to selectively activate either portion of the complementary coplanar background and image electrodes which comprise the full area electrode on the opposite side of said layer of electro-optic material.

20. The display device of claim 19 wherein said means for electrically activating the device comprises means for providing electrical fields of substantially constant field strengths between any electrode on said one side of the layer of electro-optic material and any electrode on the opposite side of said layer of electro-optic material.

21. The display device of claim 17 additionally comprising on the opposite side of the layer of electro-optic material a multiplanar plurality of substantially transparent electrodes in specific desired image configurations and substantially transparent electrodes in complementary background configurations coplanar with each electrode defining a desired image configuration, with said complementary image and background electrodes electrically insulated from one another, and said multiplanar plurality of electrodes are stacked adjacent one another on said opposite side of the layer of electro-optic material, without other layers of electro-optic material between electrodes in said stacked plurality of electrodes.

22. The display device of claim 21 wherein the means for electrically activating the device comprise means for providing an electrical field between any electrode or combination of electrodes on said one side of the layer of electro-optic material and any electrode or combination of electrodes on the opposite side of said layer of electro-optic material.

23. The display device of claim 22 wherein said means for electrically activating the device comprises means for providing electrical fields of substantially constant field strengths between any electrode or combination of electrodes on said one side of the layer of electro-optic material and any electrode or combination of electrodes on the opposite side of said layer of electro-optic material.

24. The display device of claim 1 wherein said full area electrode is also in a desired image configuration and the area of said full area electrode is at least coextensive with the area of any one of or combination of the electrodes in image configuration among the multiplanar plurality of electrodes.

25. The display device of claim 24 additionally comprising means for electrically activating at least one of said electrodes in image configuration and the full area electrode on the opposite side of said layer of electro-optic material to produce an imagewise electrical field across said layer of electro-optic material and thereby produce a desired optical image in said layer.

26. An imaging method comprising:

providing a multiplanar electro-optic display device comprising a layer of electro-optic material, a multiplanar plurality of substantially transparent electrodes in specific desired image configurations on one sIde of said layer of electro-optic material, said multiplanar plurality of electrodes stacked adjacent one another seriatim on said one side of the layer of electro-optic material, without other layers of electro-optic material between electrodes in said stacked plurality of electrodes, and a full area substantially transparent electrode on the opposite side of said layer of electro-optic material; and

providing in operative electrical connection with said device means for electrically activating the device wherein said means comprises means to activate the full area electrode and means to selectively activate any one of or combination of the electrodes in image configuration; and

electrically activating the full area electrode and at least one of the electrodes in image configuration to produce an imagewise electrical field across the layer of electro-optic material and thereby produce a desired optical image in said layer.

27. The method of claim 26 wherein said device additionally comprises image enhancing means comprising a pair of polarizers on opposite sides of said multiplanar device.

28. The method of claim 27 wherein said polarizers are plane polarizers and the respective planes of polarization of said polarizers are substantially crossed.

29. The method of claim 26 wherein the electro-optic material comprises a liquid crystalline material.

30. The method of claim 29 wherein said liquid crystalline material comprises a material selected from the group consisting of:

cholesteric liquid crystalline materials, smectic liquid crystalline materials, nematic liquid crystalline materials, and mixtures thereof.

31. The method of claim 30 wherein the electro-optic material comprises cholesteric liquid crystalline material, and the field strength of the imagewise electrical field is sufficient to produce a cholesteric-nematic phase transition in said electro-optic material in imagewise configuration.

32. The method of claim 26 wherein said layer of electro-optic material is of a thickness not greater than about 7 mils.

33. The method of claim 26 wherein said means for electrically activating the device comprises means for providing electrical fields of substantially constant field strengths between the full area electrode and any one of the electrodes in image configuration.

34. The method of claim 26 wherein:

each electrode among the multiplanar plurality of electrodes defining desired image configurations is accompanied by a substantially transparent electrode in complementary background configuration coplanar with said electrode defining the desired image configuration, with said complementary coplanar background and image electrodes electrically insulated from one another; and

wherein the means for electrically activating the device comprises means to activate the full area electrode and means to selectively activate any one or combination of the electrodes in image and background configurations.

35. The method of claim 34 wherein:

the full area electrode on the opposite side of the layer of electro-optic material comprises;

a substantially transparent electrode defining a desired image configuration and a substantially transparent electrode in complementary background configuration coplanar with the electrode defining a desired image configuration, with said complementary image and background electrodes electrically insulated from one another; and

wherein said means for electrically activating the device additionally comprises means to selectively activate either portion of the complementary coplanar background and image electrodes which comprise the full area electrode on the opposite side of the layer of electro-optic material.

36. The method of claim 35 wherein:

the device additionally comprises on the opposite side of the layer of electro-optic material a multiplanar plurality of substantially transparent electrodes in specific desired image configurations and substantially transparent electrodEs in complementary background configurations coplanar with each electrode defining a desired image configuration, with said complementary image and background electrodes electrically insulated from one another, and said multiplanar plurality of electrodes stacked adjacent one another seriatim on said opposite side of the layer of electro-optic material, without other layers of electro-optic material between electrodes in said stacked plurality of electrodes; and

wherein the means for electrically activating the device comprises means for providing an electrical field between any electrode or combination of electrodes on said one side of the layer of electro-optic material and any electrode or combination of electrodes on the opposite side of said layer of electro-optic material.

37. The method of claim 26 wherein said full area electrode is also in a desired image configuration and the area of said full area electrode is at least coextensive with the area of any one of or combination of the electrodes in image configuration among the multiplanar plurality of electrodes.