Micro-valve pump light valve display
First Claim
1. A flat panel display device for recreating images in pixels, comprising:
- a transparent substrate structure defining a plurality of non-conductive transparent viewing areas forming said pixels;
a plurality of drops of a dielectric fluid movably contained within said substrate structure;
holding electrodes for establishing an electric field effective to retain said drops at a location adjacent said viewing areas; and
switching electrodes between said holding electrodes and said viewing areas for establishing an electric field effective to accelerate said drops from said location adjacent said viewing areas to a location within said viewing areas to form said images.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A flat panel display incorporates a plurality of micro-pump light valves (MLV'"'"'s) to form pixels for recreating an image. Each MLV consists of a dielectric drop sandwiched between substrates, at least one of which is transparent, a holding electrode for maintaining the drop outside a viewing area, and a switching electrode from accelerating the drop from a location within the holding electrode to a location within the viewing area. The sustrates may further define non-wetting surface areas to create potential energy barriers to assist in controlling movement of the drop. The forces acting on the drop are quadratic in nature to provide a nonlinear response for increased image contrast. A crossed electrode structure can be used to activate the pixels whereby a large flat panel display is formed without active driver components at each pixel.
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Citations
14 Claims
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1. A flat panel display device for recreating images in pixels, comprising:
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a transparent substrate structure defining a plurality of non-conductive transparent viewing areas forming said pixels; a plurality of drops of a dielectric fluid movably contained within said substrate structure; holding electrodes for establishing an electric field effective to retain said drops at a location adjacent said viewing areas; and switching electrodes between said holding electrodes and said viewing areas for establishing an electric field effective to accelerate said drops from said location adjacent said viewing areas to a location within said viewing areas to form said images. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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- 10. A pixel in a flat panel display, comprising a micro-pump light valve using a dielectric fluid drop and having a non-conductive transparent viewing area, a holding electrode, and a switching electrode therebetween for causing said drop to move between said viewing area and said holding electrode, wherein a non-wetted surface is disposed between said switching electrode and said fluid drop for cooperating with an electrical field established by said switching electrode to generate a potential energy gradient effective for accelerating said drop between said holding electrode and said viewing area.
Specification