Highlight color twisting ball display
First Claim
1. A spheroidal ball having a center point and comprising a plurality of segments arrayed substantially parallel to one another, each segment being adjacent to at least one other segment and to no more than two other segments, each segment adjacent to exactly one other segment being an exterior segment, each segment adjacent to exactly two other segments being an interior segment, adjacent segments being adjoined to one another at substantially planar interfaces, each segment having an optical modulation characteristic, the optical modulation characteristics of adjacent segments being different from one another, the plurality of segments including:
- a central segment including the center point of the ball, the central segment being an interior segment and having a thickness;
a first interior segment adjacent to the central segment, the first interior segment having a thickness less than the central segment thickness;
a second interior segment adjacent to the central segment and situated opposite the first interior segment with respect to the central segment, the second interior segment having a thickness less than the central segment thickness;
a first exterior segment; and
a second exterior segment;
the ball having an anisotropy for providing an electrical dipole moment, the electrical dipole moment rendering the ball electrically responsive such that when the ball is rotatably disposed in a nonoscillating electric field while the electrical dipole moment of the ball is provided, the ball tends to rotate to an orientation in which the electrical dipole moment aligns with the field.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A multisegmented, highlight color ball for an electrical twisting ball display device made up of spheroidal balls rotatably disposed in an elastomer substrate. The ball is composed of segments arrayed substantially parallel to one another, each segment being adjacent to at least one other segment and to no more than two other segments, adjacent segments being adjoined to one another at substantially planar interfaces. Each segment has an optical modulation characteristic, the optical modulation characteristics of adjacent segments being different from one another. The segments include: a central segment having a thickness; a first interior segment, situated adjacent to the central segment and having a thickness less than the central segment thickness; a second interior segment, situated opposite the first interior segment with respect to the central segment and having a thickness less than the central segment thickness; a first exterior segment; and a second exterior segment. The central segment can be of a background color; the first interior segment can be of a foreground color; the second interior segment can be of a highlight color; and the exterior segments can be transparent. The ball has an anisotropy for providing an electrical dipole moment, the electrical dipole moment rendering the ball electrically responsive such that when the ball is rotatably disposed in a nonoscillating electric field while the electrical dipole moment of the ball is provided, the ball tends to rotate to an orientation in which the electrical dipole moment aligns with the field. Also disclosed are: an apparatus made up of a substrate in which are disposed the aforementioned balls, together with electrodes to facilitate a rotation of balls rotatably disposed therein; and a method for using this apparatus.
583 Citations
27 Claims
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1. A spheroidal ball having a center point and comprising a plurality of segments arrayed substantially parallel to one another, each segment being adjacent to at least one other segment and to no more than two other segments, each segment adjacent to exactly one other segment being an exterior segment, each segment adjacent to exactly two other segments being an interior segment, adjacent segments being adjoined to one another at substantially planar interfaces, each segment having an optical modulation characteristic, the optical modulation characteristics of adjacent segments being different from one another, the plurality of segments including:
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a central segment including the center point of the ball, the central segment being an interior segment and having a thickness; a first interior segment adjacent to the central segment, the first interior segment having a thickness less than the central segment thickness; a second interior segment adjacent to the central segment and situated opposite the first interior segment with respect to the central segment, the second interior segment having a thickness less than the central segment thickness; a first exterior segment; and a second exterior segment; the ball having an anisotropy for providing an electrical dipole moment, the electrical dipole moment rendering the ball electrically responsive such that when the ball is rotatably disposed in a nonoscillating electric field while the electrical dipole moment of the ball is provided, the ball tends to rotate to an orientation in which the electrical dipole moment aligns with the field. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. Apparatus comprising:
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a substrate having a surface; a plurality of spheroidal balls disposed in the substrate, each ball having three observable aspects, each aspect being associated with a color observable by an observer situated favorably to observe the substrate surface, the aspects including a first aspect associated with a background color, the background color being any first color, a second aspect associated with a foreground color, the foreground color being any second color different from the first color, and a third aspect associated with a highlight color, the highlight color being any third color different from the first and second colors, each ball having an anisotropy for providing an electrical dipole moment, the electrical dipole moment rendering the ball electrically responsive such that when the ball is rotatably disposed in an electric field while the electrical dipole moment of the ball is provided, the ball tends to rotate to an orientation in which the electrical dipole moment aligns with the field; and means for producing an electric field to facilitate a rotation of a ball rotatably disposed in the substrate (said ball for which the rotation is facilitated hereinafter being referred to as "the rotation-facilitated ball") so as to present, to the observer situated favorably to observe the substrate surface, any one of the three aspects of the rotation-facilitated ball, thereby rendering observable to the observer the color with which the presented aspect is associated. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A method comprising the steps of:
providing light from a light source incident on a modulating device comprising a plurality of electrically anisotropic spheroidal balls disposed in a substrate having a surface, each ball of the plurality having three observable aspects, each aspect being associated with a color observable by an observer situated favorably to observe the substrate surface, the aspects including a first aspect associated with a background color, the background color being any first color, a second aspect associated with a foreground color, the foreground color being any second color different from the first color, and a third aspect associated with a highlight color, the highlight color being any third color different from the first and second colors; applying an electric field in a vicinity of a ball rotatably disposed in the substrate, thereby facilitating a rotation of the ball so as to present, to the observer situated favorably to observe the substrate surface, any one of the three aspects of the ball for which the rotation is facilitated; and modulating with the modulating device at least a portion of the light incident on the modulating device, so as to provide a modulated light. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. In an apparatus comprising a plurality of electrically anisotropic spheroidal balls rotatably disposed in a substrate having a surface, each ball having a center point and comprising five (5) segments arrayed substantially parallel to one another, each segment being adjacent to at least one other segment and to no more than two other segments, each segment adjacent to exactly one other segment being an exterior segment, each segment adjacent to exactly two other segments being an interior segment, adjacent segments being adjoined to one another at substantially planar interfaces, the five segments including
a central segment including the center point of the ball, the central segment being an interior segment and having a thickness, the central segment being of a background color, the background color being any first color, a first interior segment adjacent to the central segment, the first interior segment having a thickness less than the central segment thickness, the first interior segment being of a foreground color, the foreground color being any second color different from the first color, a second interior segment adjacent to the central segment and situated opposite the first interior segment with respect to the central segment, the second interior segment having a thickness less than the central segment thickness, the second interior segment being of a highlight color, the highlight color being any third color different from the first and second colors, a first transparent exterior segment, and a second transparent exterior segment, the apparatus having an array of addressable elements, each array element including at least one ball of the plurality, a method comprising the steps of: -
selecting an array element; selecting a color from among the background, foreground, and highlight colors; and applying an electric field in a vicinity of the selected array element, thereby influencing balls of the selected array element to rotate so as to present a preferred aspect to an observer situated favorably to observe the substrate surface in the vicinity of the array element, the preferred aspect being associated with the selected color. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27)
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Specification