Bistable paper white direct view display
First Claim
1. A bistable direct-view display, comprising:
- a background;
an array of electrostatically-actuated bistable micromirrors that switch between two stable states, an open state in which the mirror covers a portion of said background and a closed state in which the mirror uncovers the background;
a plurality of column addressing lines that connect said array of micromirrors into respective columns;
a first plurality of row addressing lines that lie above respective rows of the micromirrors; and
a second plurality of row addressing lines that lie below respective rows of the micromirrors,said micromirrors responding to potential differences between said micromirror and said first or second row addressing lines that produce electrostatic attractive forces to actuate the micromirrors between their two stable states a row at a time.
4 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A thin low power, paper white, direct-view display includes an array of bistable micromirrors that are deflected between two stable states, a dark state in which the mirror covers a portion of the background and a white state in which the mirror uncovers the background. The drive electronics are similar to those used in multiplexed LCDs but are modified in order to drive the micromirrors to one of their two stable states. The micromirrors in the enabled row are attracted up or down with sufficient force to exceed the micromirrors'"'"' bistable threshold and deflect the micromirrors to their dark and white states, respectively. The attractive forces on the micromirrors in the remaining non-enabled rows are insufficient to exceed the micromirrors'"'"' bistable threshold so that the micromirrors remain in their current stable state.
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Citations
30 Claims
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1. A bistable direct-view display, comprising:
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a background; an array of electrostatically-actuated bistable micromirrors that switch between two stable states, an open state in which the mirror covers a portion of said background and a closed state in which the mirror uncovers the background; a plurality of column addressing lines that connect said array of micromirrors into respective columns; a first plurality of row addressing lines that lie above respective rows of the micromirrors; and a second plurality of row addressing lines that lie below respective rows of the micromirrors, said micromirrors responding to potential differences between said micromirror and said first or second row addressing lines that produce electrostatic attractive forces to actuate the micromirrors between their two stable states a row at a time. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A bistable direct-view display, comprising:
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a background; an array of electrostatically-actuated bistable micromirrors that deflect in a known response time between two stable states, an open state in which the mirror covers a portion of said background and a closed state in which the mirror uncovers the background, to produce a direct-view image; a plurality of column addressing lines that electrically connect the respective columns of micromirrors; first and second pluralities of row addressing lines that lie above and below the array of micromirrors, respectively; and a display controller that applies a voltage to one pair of said first and second row addressing lines to enable the micromirrors one row at a time for a period longer than the mirrors'"'"' known response time and drives the column addressing lines between binary voltages to produce attractive electrostatic forces on micromirrors in the enabled row that exceed the mirrors'"'"' bistable threshold and actuate the mirrors between their two stable states to cover and uncover the background, the attractive electrostatic forces on the micromirrors in the remaining non-enabled rows being insufficient to overcome the mirrors'"'"' bistable threshold so that the mirrors remain in their stable state. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A bistable direct-view display, comprising:
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a background; an array of electrostatically-actuated bistable micromirrors that deflect in a known response time between two stable states, an open state in which the mirror covers a portion of said background and a closed state in which the mirror uncovers the background, to produce a direct-view image; a plurality of column addressing lines that electrically connect the respective columns of micromirrors; first and second pluralities of row addressing lines that lie above and below the micromirrors, respectively; and a display controller that a) receives changes in content of the image, b) updates the direct-view image in response to those changes by applying a voltage to a pair of said first and second row addressing lines one row at a time for a period longer than the mirrors'"'"' known response time while simultaneously driving the column addressing lines between binary voltages to produce attractive electrostatic forces on said micromirrors in the enabled row that exceed the micromirror'"'"'s bistable threshold and actuate the micromirrors between their two stable states, the attractive electrostatic forces on the micromirrors in the remaining non-enabled rows being insufficient to overcome the micromirrors'"'"' bistable threshold so that the micromirrors remain in their stable state, and c) once the image is updated, removes power from micromirror array. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24)
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25. A bistable direct-view display, comprising:
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a background; an array of electrostatically-actuated bistable micromirrors, each said micromirror having a hinge whose edges are of unequal length, the longer edge exhibiting a compressive stress when flat such the longer edge wants to snap up or down to relieve the compressive stress thereby causing the hinge to rotate to one of two stable states and deflect the micromirror between one of two stable states, an open state in which the mirror covers a portion of said background and a closed state in which the mirror uncovers said background; a plurality of column addressing lines that connect said array of micromirrors into respective columns; a first plurality of row addressing lines that lie above respective rows of the micromirrors; and a second plurality of row addressing lines that lie below respective rows of the micromirrors, said micromirrors responding to potential differences between said micromirror and said first or second row addressing lines that produce electrostatic attractive forces that cause said hinges to snap to one of their two stables states and deflect the micromirrors between their open and closed states a row at a time. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27)
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28. A bistable direct-view display, comprising:
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a background; an array of electrostatically-actuated micromirrors that deflect between two stable states, an open state in which the mirror covers a portion of said background and a closed state in which the mirror uncovers said background; first and second stops that contact said micromirror in its open and closed states respectively, the Van der Walls forces that occur when the micromirror contacts said stops creating a bistable response; a plurality of column addressing lines that connect said array of micromirrors into respective columns; a first plurality of row addressing lines that lie above respective rows of the micromirrors; and a second plurality of row addressing lines that lie below respective rows of the micromirrors, said micromirrors responding to potential differences between said micromirror and said first or second row addressing lines that produce electrostatic attractive forces to actuate the micromirrors a row at a time between their open and closed states where they contact said first and second stops, respectively. - View Dependent Claims (29, 30)
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Specification