Electrophoretic display panel and associated methods for blinking displayed characters
First Claim
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1. An electrophoretic display apparatus adapted to display a plurality of written character lines with at least one selected character of said written character lines blinking in a manner visible to a user of said apparatus, comprising:
- a fluid-tight envelope;
an electrophoretic fluid contained within said envelope;
a matrix of row and column electrodes passing through said envelope and said fluid, said row and column electrodes defining row and column electrode intersections;
a plurality of anode segments passing through said envelope, wherein each displayed character area of said written character lines is defined by at least one of said anode segments and a corresponding group of said row and column electrode intersections;
supply means for supplying individual voltages to said at least one anode segments and said corresponding group of said row and column electrode intersections to write characters to said display;
control means coupled to said supply means, for controlling the magnitude, timing and duration of said individual voltages supplied by said supply means to cause written characters to remain continuously visible to said user while simultaneously causing a selected one of said written characters to blink when said control means repeatedly causes said supply means to apply a first potential bias of a given polarity between a group of row and column intersections and an associated anode segment corresponding to said selected one of said written characters, said first potential bias being applied for a duration of time which is sufficient enough to erase said selected one of said written characters and a second potential bias of a polarity opposite to said given polarity, between said group of row and column intersections and said associated anode segment for a duration of time sufficient to rewrite said selected one of said written characters.
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Abstract
A tetrode type electrophoretic display includes local anode lines electrically grouped into groups having the width of a character. In operation, the local anode may be used to blink selected characters by applying appropriate voltages to the various electrodes of the display in the proper sequence. Sequencing is controlled by a computer and associated software.
158 Citations
16 Claims
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1. An electrophoretic display apparatus adapted to display a plurality of written character lines with at least one selected character of said written character lines blinking in a manner visible to a user of said apparatus, comprising:
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a fluid-tight envelope; an electrophoretic fluid contained within said envelope; a matrix of row and column electrodes passing through said envelope and said fluid, said row and column electrodes defining row and column electrode intersections; a plurality of anode segments passing through said envelope, wherein each displayed character area of said written character lines is defined by at least one of said anode segments and a corresponding group of said row and column electrode intersections; supply means for supplying individual voltages to said at least one anode segments and said corresponding group of said row and column electrode intersections to write characters to said display; control means coupled to said supply means, for controlling the magnitude, timing and duration of said individual voltages supplied by said supply means to cause written characters to remain continuously visible to said user while simultaneously causing a selected one of said written characters to blink when said control means repeatedly causes said supply means to apply a first potential bias of a given polarity between a group of row and column intersections and an associated anode segment corresponding to said selected one of said written characters, said first potential bias being applied for a duration of time which is sufficient enough to erase said selected one of said written characters and a second potential bias of a polarity opposite to said given polarity, between said group of row and column intersections and said associated anode segment for a duration of time sufficient to rewrite said selected one of said written characters. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A method of operating an electrophoretic display to display a plurality of written character lines with at least one selected character of said display blinking in a manner visible to the user of said apparatus, said display being of the type including a fluid-tight envelope, an electrophoretic fluid contained within said envelope, a matrix of row and column electrodes passing through said envelope and said fluid, and plurality of anode segments passing through said envelope, wherein each displayed character area of said display is defined by at least one of the anode segments and by a corresponding group of row and column electrode intersections, said method comprising the steps of:
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(a) supplying individual voltages to selected row and column intersections and to said anode segments to fully write characters to said display; (b) selecting one of said characters written to said display for blinking; (c) applying a first potential bias of a given polarity between a group of row and column intersections, said group corresponding to a displayed character area occupied by the character selected during said selecting step, and at least one associated anode segment long enough to erase the selected character; (d) applying a second potential bias of an opposite polarity between said associated anode segment and said group of row and column intersections for a period of time sufficient to rewrite the selected character to said displayed character area; (e) sequentially alternating between steps (c) and (d) until a different character is selected for blinking. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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Specification