Driving thin film switchable optical devices
First Claim
1. A controller for controlling the optical state of a thin film electrochromic device, the controller comprising:
- circuitry for applying voltage or providing instructions to apply voltage between bus bars on the thin film electrochromic device, wherein the bus bars on the thin film electrochromic device are separated by a distance of at least 30 inches;
a processing component which;
(i) determines that the thin film electrochromic device should transition from a first optical state to a second optical state; and
(ii) provides a first applied voltage between the bus bars of the thin film electrochromic device in response to determining that the thin film electrochromic device should transition from the first optical state to the second optical state,wherein the first applied voltage has a magnitude such that all locations within the area of the thin film electrochromic device between the bus bars experience an effective voltage between a maximum effective voltage that avoids damaging the thin film electrochromic device and a minimum effective voltage of 1 volt that drives the transition from the first optical state to the second optical state, andwherein the first applied voltage is greater than the maximum effective voltage.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Controllers and control methods apply a drive voltage to bus bars of a thin film optically switchable device. The applied drive voltage is provided at a level that drives a transition over the entire surface of the optically switchable device but does not damage or degrade the device. This applied voltage produces an effective voltage at all locations on the face of the device that is within a bracketed range. The upper bound of this range is associated with a voltage safely below the level at which the device may experience damage or degradation impacting its performance in the short term or the long term. At the lower boundary of this range is an effective voltage at which the transition between optical states of the device occurs relatively rapidly. The level of voltage applied between the bus bars is significantly greater than the maximum value of the effective voltage within the bracketed range.
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Citations
36 Claims
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1. A controller for controlling the optical state of a thin film electrochromic device, the controller comprising:
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circuitry for applying voltage or providing instructions to apply voltage between bus bars on the thin film electrochromic device, wherein the bus bars on the thin film electrochromic device are separated by a distance of at least 30 inches; a processing component which; (i) determines that the thin film electrochromic device should transition from a first optical state to a second optical state; and (ii) provides a first applied voltage between the bus bars of the thin film electrochromic device in response to determining that the thin film electrochromic device should transition from the first optical state to the second optical state, wherein the first applied voltage has a magnitude such that all locations within the area of the thin film electrochromic device between the bus bars experience an effective voltage between a maximum effective voltage that avoids damaging the thin film electrochromic device and a minimum effective voltage of 1 volt that drives the transition from the first optical state to the second optical state, and wherein the first applied voltage is greater than the maximum effective voltage. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. A method of controlling the optical state of a thin film electrochromic device, the method comprising:
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(a) determining that the thin film electrochromic device should transition from a first optical state to a second optical state, wherein the bus bars on the thin film electrochromic device are separated by a distance of at least 30 inches; and (b) providing a first applied voltage between the bus bars of the thin film electrochromic device in response to determining that the thin film electrochromic device should transition from the first optical state to the second optical state, wherein the first applied voltage has a magnitude such that all locations within the area of the thin film electrochromic device between the bus bars experience an effective voltage between a maximum effective voltage that avoids damaging the thin film electrochromic device and a minimum effective voltage of 1 volt that drives the transition from the first optical state to the second optical state, and wherein the first applied voltage is greater than the maximum effective voltage. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35)
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36. An apparatus for controlling the optical state of a thin film electrochromic device, the apparatus comprising:
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means for applying voltage or providing instructions to apply voltage between bus bars on the thin film electrochromic device, wherein the bus bars on the thin film electrochromic device are separated by a distance of at least 30 inches; means for determining that the thin film electrochromic device should transition from a first optical state to a second optical state; and means for providing a first applied voltage between the bus bars of the thin film electrochromic device in response to determining that the thin film electrochromic device should transition from the first optical state to the second optical state, wherein the first applied voltage has a magnitude such that all locations within the area of the thin film electrochromic device between the bus bars experience an effective voltage between a maximum effective voltage that safely avoids damaging the thin film electrochromic device and a minimum effective voltage of 1 volt that drives the transition from the first optical state to the second optical state, and wherein the first applied voltage is greater than the maximum effective voltage.
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Specification