Color display devices

• US 8,649,084 B2
• Filed: 09/02/2011
• Issued: 02/11/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 09/02/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: E Ink Corporation (E Ink Holdings Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: SiPix Imaging, Inc. (E Ink Holdings Incorporated)
• Inventors: Wang, Xiaojia, Lin, Craig, Sprague, Robert
• Primary Examiner(s): TRA, TUYEN Q
• Application Number:
  US13/225,184
• Publication Number:
  US 20130057942A1
• Time in Patent Office: 893 Days
• Field of Search: 359/296, 345/107
• US Class Current: 359/296
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/167 by electrophoresis
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/16762 having three or more electrodes per pixel
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/1681 having two or more microcells partitioned by walls, e.g. of microcup type
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2300/0452 Details of colour pixel setup, e.g. pixel composed of a red, a blue and two green components
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2300/08 Active matrix structure, i.e. with use of active elements, inclusive of non-linear two terminal elements, in the pixels together with light emitting or modulating elements
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/344 based on particles moving in a fluid or in a gas, e.g. electrophoretic devices electrophoretic devices per se G02F1/167

Abstract

The present invention is directed to a color display comprising an electrophoretic fluid comprising two types of pigment particles of contrasting colors and carrying opposite charge polarities dispersed in a clear and colorless solvent, wherein said electrophoretic fluid is sandwiched between a common electrode and a plurality of colored sub-pixel electrodes or colored pixel electrodes.

Claims

1. A color display comprising

i) an electrophoretic fluid comprising black and white particles carrying opposite charge polarities dispersed in a clear and colorless solvent, and

ii) a plurality of pixels;

wherein;

a) each of said pixels comprises two sub-pixels,

b) each of said sub-pixels is sandwiched between a common electrode on a viewing side and at least two colored sub-pixel electrodes,

c) among the sub-pixel electrodes at least one is red, one is green and one is blue, and

d) each of said pixels displays white color by moving the white particles to be near or at the common electrode, displays black color by moving the black particles to be near or at the common electrode, displays red color by moving the black and white particles away to expose the red sub-pixel electrode, displays green color by moving the black and white particles away to expose the green sub-pixel electrode and displays blue color by moving the black and white particles away to expose the blue sub-pixel electrode.

2. The display of claim 1, wherein the sub-pixel electrodes are rectangular or square in shape.

3. The display of claim 1, wherein the sub-pixel electrodes are of an irregular shape.

4. The play of claim 1, wherein the sub-pixel electrodes are coated with a colored layer.

5. The display of claim 1, wherein the sub-pixel electrodes are on a thin film transistor backplane.

6. The display of claim 1, wherein said electrophoretic fluid is contained within individual display cells.

7. The display of claim 6, wherein the display cells are microcups.

8. The display of claim 6, wherein the display cells are microcapsules.

9. The display of claim 6, wherein the display cells and the sub-pixel electrodes are aligned.

10. The display of claim 1, wherein the display cells and the sub-pixel electrodes are unaligned.

11. play of claim 1, which comprises more than four sub-pixel electrodes in a pixel.