Electrophoretic display with single character erasure
First Claim
1. An electrophoretic display comprising:
- (a) a fluid-tight envelope having a portion thereof which is at least partially transparent;
(b) an electrophoretic fluid contained within said envelope, said fluid having pigmented particles suspended therein;
(c) a first plurality of elongated substantially parallel horizontal conductor members disposed within a first plane and contained within said envelope;
(d) a first plurality of elongated substantially parallel vertical conductor members contained within said envelope electrically insulated from said horizontal members and disposed within a second plane, said first and said second planes being substantially parallel, said first plurality of horizontal members and said first plurality of vertical members forming a first matrix with a plurality of intersections when viewed along a line perpendicular to said first and said second planes;
(e) a second plurality of elongated substantially parallel horizontal conductor members disposed within a third plane and contained within said envelope;
(f) a second plurality of elongated substantially parallel vertical conductor members contained within said envelope electrically insulated from said second plurality of horizontal members and disposed within a fourth plane, said third and said fourth planes being substantially parallel, said second plurality of horizontal members and said second plurality of vertical members forming a second matrix with a plurality of intersections when viewed along a line perpendicular to said third and said fourth planes, said second and said third planes being substantially parallel, each of said vertical and horizontal members in said first and second matrices being selectively electrically chargeable to induce movement of said particles within said fluid, said particles being at least partially visible through said transparent portion of said envelope.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A triode type electrophoretic display includes a pair of substantially identical glass faceplates sealed against a peripheral sealing wall to form a fluid-tight envelope for containing an electrophoretic fluid. A first faceplate bears the anode which is composed of a plurality of elongated substantially parallel horizontal conductor members disposed within a first plane and a plurality of elongated substantially parallel vertical conductor members. The horizontal and vertical members are insulated from each other by interstitial insulator strips underlying the vertical members and by a SiO2 layer. The vertical and horizontal members are slotted and grouped into groups so that the area of the intersection of a vertical group and a horizontal group approximates that of a single character. The cathode and grid are formed on the other faceplate in essentially the same manner as the composite anode. By placing the proper voltages on the horizontal and vertical elements of the anode, selective characters may be erased from the display.
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Citations
26 Claims
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1. An electrophoretic display comprising:
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(a) a fluid-tight envelope having a portion thereof which is at least partially transparent; (b) an electrophoretic fluid contained within said envelope, said fluid having pigmented particles suspended therein; (c) a first plurality of elongated substantially parallel horizontal conductor members disposed within a first plane and contained within said envelope; (d) a first plurality of elongated substantially parallel vertical conductor members contained within said envelope electrically insulated from said horizontal members and disposed within a second plane, said first and said second planes being substantially parallel, said first plurality of horizontal members and said first plurality of vertical members forming a first matrix with a plurality of intersections when viewed along a line perpendicular to said first and said second planes; (e) a second plurality of elongated substantially parallel horizontal conductor members disposed within a third plane and contained within said envelope; (f) a second plurality of elongated substantially parallel vertical conductor members contained within said envelope electrically insulated from said second plurality of horizontal members and disposed within a fourth plane, said third and said fourth planes being substantially parallel, said second plurality of horizontal members and said second plurality of vertical members forming a second matrix with a plurality of intersections when viewed along a line perpendicular to said third and said fourth planes, said second and said third planes being substantially parallel, each of said vertical and horizontal members in said first and second matrices being selectively electrically chargeable to induce movement of said particles within said fluid, said particles being at least partially visible through said transparent portion of said envelope. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. In an electrophoretic display having the capacity for displaying character data, the improvement therewith of,
means for selectively erasing at least one display character with an electrostatic charge without erasing other displayed characters said erasing means including a first addressable X-Y matrix for selectively establishing a discrete said electrostatic charge at at least one intersection of said matrix for erasing said at least one displayed character on said display.
- 17. In an electrophoretic display having the capacity for displaying character data, the improvement therewith of means for selectively erasing at least one displayed character with an electrostatic charge without erasing other displayed characters, said erasing means including a first addressable X-Y matrix for selectively establishing a discrete said electrostatic charge at at least one intersection of said matrix, said first addressable X-Y matrix having a first plurality of conductor members in the X-direction and a second plurality of conductor members in the Y-direction insulated from said first plurality, said erasing means further including a second addressable X-Y matrix for selectively establishing discrete electrostatic charges at intersections of said second matrix for writing pixel data on said display.
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24. A method for selectively erasing at least one character from an electrophoretic display comprises the steps of:
(a) imposing a set of voltage levels upon the ordinate and abscissa lines of a first addressable X-Y matrix of conductor members contained within said display such that at at least one selected intersection in said matrix an electrostatic field is created which erases a character displayed on said display proximate to said at least one intersection.
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25. A method for selectively erasing at least one character from an electrophoretic display comprising the steps of:
imposing a set of voltage levels upon the ordinate and abscissa lines of a first addressable X-Y matrix of conductor members contained within said display such that at at least one selected intersection in said matrix an electrostatic field is created which erases a character displayed on said display proximate to said at least one intersection and wherein said display includes a second X-Y matrix having a plurality of intersecting conductor members for writing pixel data at the intersections thereof, said intersections of said second matrix and said intersections of said first matrix having a functional relationship such that when said step of erasing is initiated at an intersection of said first matrix, a predetermined set of pixels of at least one in number are erased at said second matrix if previously in the written state. - View Dependent Claims (26)
Specification