Sheet-shaped display, sphere-like resin body, and micro-capsule

• US 6,661,563 B2
• Filed: 01/30/2001
• Issued: 12/09/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 01/31/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Inventors: Takahashi, Toru, Takezawa, Satoshi, Hayashi, Naoyuki, Sawatari, Norio, Takei, Fumio, Fukuda, Makoto, Ozaki, Mitsuo
• Primary Examiner(s): Sugarman, Scott J.
• Assistant Examiner(s): HANIG, RICHARD E
• Application Number:
  US09/771,688
• Publication Number:
  US 20010046081A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,043 Days
• Field of Search: 359/296, 359/298, 345/105, 345/107, 428/402
• US Class Current: 359/296
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/00 Devices or arrangements for the control of the intensity, colour, phase, polarisation or direction of light arriving from an independent light source, e.g. switching, gating or modulating; Non-linear optics
• CPC Class Codes: G09F 9/372 the positions of the elements being controlled by the application of an electric field
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/254 Polymeric or resinous material
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/2982 Particulate matter [e.g., sphere, flake, etc.]
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/2984 Microcapsule with fluid core [includes liposome]
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/2985 Solid-walled microcapsule from synthetic polymer

Abstract

Provisions of a large screen, thin sheet-like display device capable of realizing usages just like paper, a sphere-like resin body made of two semispheres capable of being manufactured easily, and a microcapsule containing electrophoretic particles capable of being manufactured easily. The sheet-like display device 10 has a sheet-like display layer 12 and at least one layer 14 containing an element for activating the sheet-like display layer, the layers being integrally formed. The sphere-like resin body has first and second portions made of resins, the absolute value of a difference between both the solubility parameters δ1 and δ2 of the resins being |δ1−δ2|≧0.2. The phoretic particle-containing microcapsule has a resin shell in which phoretic particles are contained in a core. The diameter of the core is in a range from 10 μm to 200 μm and the circumferential length L of the microcapsule is in a range of (4.1×T)≦L≦(20.1×T) where T is a Martin diameter of the microcapsule.

Claims

1. A sheet-like display devices comprising:

a flexible sheet-like display layer; and

at least one flexible electric layer formed integrally with said sheet-like display layer, said electric layer including at least one electric function component for activating said display layer and a pair of electrode layers having a sheet-like electrolytic or dielectric layer between the electrode layers and supplying electrical power necessary to drive said display device.

2. The sheet-like display device according to claim 1, wherein said electric layer includes an input/output element providing signal input/output.

3. The sheet-like display device according to claim 1, wherein said electric function component includes at least one component selected from a group consisting a driver circuit component, a control circuit component, a communication circuit component, and an acoustic signal conversion element component.

4. The sheet-like display device according to claim 1, wherein said sheet-like display layer includes a pair of opposing electrode layers, at least one of the opposing electrode layers being transparent, and a display layer sandwiched between the opposing electrode layers, a display operation being performed by changing optical characteristics of the display layer.

5. The sheet-like display device according to claim 4, wherein said display layer includes microcapsules each containing electrophoretic particles sealed together with dielectric liquid, and a display operation can be performed by changing the optical characteristics by changing a distribution state of the electrophoretic particles in the microcapsule with a control voltage applied between the opposing electrodes.

6. The sheet-like display device according to claim 4, wherein said display layer includes microcapsules each containing a sphere-like body rotatable in accordance with a direction of an applied electric field, and a display operation can be performed by changing the optical characteristics by changing a rotary position of the sphere-like body with a control voltage applied between the opposing electrodes.

7. The sheet-like display device according to claim 4, wherein said display layer includes a liquid crystal display layer having liquid crystal compound sealed in micro holes formed in polymer material.

8. The sheet-like display device according to claim 4, wherein said display layer includes a layer capable of changing optical characteristics and presenting an electroluminescence phenomenon by a current flowing between the opposing electrodes.

9. The sheet-like display device according to claim 4, wherein said display layer includes a layer capable of changing the optical characteristics and presenting an electrochromism phenomenon by a current flowing between the opposing electrodes.

10. The sheet-like display device according to claim 4, wherein said display layer contains particles whose positions change with a magnetic field.

11. The sheet-like display device according to claim 1, wherein said sheet-like display layer includes a display layer and one electrode layer, and can perform a display operation by changing optical characteristics of said display layer with an electric field applied between said electrode layer and a predetermined write electrode or with a current flowing between said electrode layer and a predetermined write electrode.

12. The sheet-like display device according to claim 11, wherein said display layer includes a layer dispersed with electrophoretic particles capable of moving under an electric field applied between said electrode layer and the predetermined write electrode, and a display operation can be performed by changing the optical characteristics by changing a distribution state of the electrophoretic particles in said display layer with a control voltage applied between said electrode layer and the predetermined write electrode.

13. The sheet-like display device according to claim 11, wherein said display layer includes a layer distributed with sphere-like bodies capable of being turned over in accordance with an electric field applied between said electrode layer and the predetermined electrode, and a display operation can be performed by changing the optical characteristics by changing configuration of the sphere-like bodies with control voltages applied across said electrode layer and the predetermined write electrode.

14. The sheet-like display device according to claim 11, wherein said display layer includes a further layer capable of presenting electrochromism phenomenon in accordance with a current flowing between said electrode layer and the predetermined write electrode.

15. A sheet-like display device comprising:

(a) a flexible sheet-like display layer comprising a pair of electrode layers having a sheet-like electrolytic or dielectric layer between the electrode layers and supplying electrical power necessary to drive said display device;

(b) a flexible sheet-like power source layer; and

(c) a circuit layer including at least a portion of at least one of a driver circuit and a control circuit, said layers (a), (b) and (c) being integrally formed.

16. The sheet-like display device according to claim 15, wherein said circuit layer (c) includes a layer including at least a portion of a communication circuit.

17. A sheet-like display device comprising:

(a) a flexible sheet-like display layer;

(b) a flexible sheet-like power source layer comprising a pair of electrode layers having a sheet-like electrolytic or dielectric layer between the electrode layers and supplying electrical power necessary to drive said display device; and

(c) an acoustic signal conversion layer capable of converting an acoustic signal into an electric signal, converting an electric signal into an acoustic signal, or performing both conversions, said layers (a), (b) and (c) being integrally formed.

18. The sheet-like display device according to claim 17, further comprising (d) a layer including at least a portion of at least one of a driver circuit and a control circuit, said layers (a), (b), (c) and (d) being integrally formed.

19. The sheet-like display device according to claim 17, further comprising (e) a layer including at least a portion of at least one of a driver circuit, and a control circuit and at least a portion of a communication circuit, said layers (a), (b), (c) and (e) being integrally formed.

20. The sheet-like display device according to claim 17, wherein said flexible sheet-like display layer (a) includes a display layer dispersed with microcapsules, each microcapsule having a shell made of resin in which together with dielectric liquid, particles capable of moving under an electric field or a magnetic field, or a core including a sphere-like body capable or rotating under an electric field or a magnetic field, the sphere-like body having semispheres of different colors and different electromagnetic characteristics.

21. A method for manufacturing a sheet-like display device, comprising:

preparing a flexible base; and

laminating on the flexible base a flexible sheet-like display layer and at least one flexible layer including an element layer for activating the sheet-like display layer and a pair of electrode layers having a sheet-like electrolytic or dielectric layer between the electrode layers and supplying electrical power necessary to drive said display device.

22. The method for manufacturing a sheet-like display device according to claim 21, wherein said step (b) includes a step of forming a display layer dispersed with microcapsules on the base, each microcapsule having a shell made of resin in which together with dielectric liquid, particles capable of moving under an electric field or a magnetic field, or a core including a sphere-like body capable of rotating under an electric field or a magnetic field, the sphere-like body having semisphere of different colors and different electromagnetic characteristics.

23. The method for manufacturing a sheet-like display device according to claim 22, further comprising:

adding a monomer dispersion liquid to liquid dispersed with the cores, depositing a shell made of polymerized monomers on a surface of each core to form said microcapsule, before said step (b) laminating.

24. The method for manufacturing a sheet-like display device according to claim 22, wherein said laminating includes a step of coating an adhesion layer on the base, dispersing the microcapsule on the adhesion layer and a forming a common electrode layer covering the microcapsules.

25. A microcapsule having a shell made of resin in which together with dielectric liquid, particles capable of moving under an electric field or a magnetic field, or a core including a sphere-like body having semispheres of different colors and different electromagnetic characteristics, capable of rotating under an electric field or a magnetic field, wherein a diameter of the core is in a range from 10 μ

m to 200 μ

m and a circumferential length L of the microcapsule is in a range of (4.1×

T)≦

L≦

(20.1×

T) where T is a Martin diameter of the microcapsule.