Electrochromic medium capable of producing a pre-selected color
First Claim
1. An electrochromic device, comprising:
- front and rear spaced elements each having front and rear surfaces;
a layer of transparent conductive material disposed on said rear surface of said front element and said front surface of said rear element, and a perimeter sealing member bonding together said front and rear spaced elements in a spaced-apart relationship to define a chamber therebetweenwhere said chamber contains an electrochromic medium, said electrochromic medium comprising at least three electroactive materials, at least two of which are electrochromic, where said medium generally maintains a pre-selected perceived color throughout the normal voltage range of said electrochromic device.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An improved electrochromic device, the device incorporating an electrochromic medium that comprises at least three electroactive materials having absorption spectra that add together such that the color of the electrochromic medium can be pre-selected by individually choosing the concentrations of the at least three electroactive materials. The electrochromic medium generally maintains the pre-selected perceived color throughout its normal range of voltages when used in an electrochromic device. The at least three electroactive materials include at least one electrochemically reducible material (cathodic material), at least one electrochemically oxidizable material (anodic material) and at least one additional electroactive material which may be either an anodic or cathodic material. Thus, there are always three electroactive materials present in the medium, with at least two either being anodic or cathodic materials. The pre-selected color may be chosen from a wide variety of colors and may be, for example, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple. For electrochromic mirrors for motor vehicles, a presently preferred color is gray.
307 Citations
84 Claims
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1. An electrochromic device, comprising:
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front and rear spaced elements each having front and rear surfaces; a layer of transparent conductive material disposed on said rear surface of said front element and said front surface of said rear element, and a perimeter sealing member bonding together said front and rear spaced elements in a spaced-apart relationship to define a chamber therebetween where said chamber contains an electrochromic medium, said electrochromic medium comprising at least three electroactive materials, at least two of which are electrochromic, where said medium generally maintains a pre-selected perceived color throughout the normal voltage range of said electrochromic device. - 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, 24, 73)
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25. An electrochromic device, comprising:
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front and rear spaced elements each having front and rear surfaces; a layer of transparent conductive material disposed on said rear surface of said front element and said front surface of said rear element, and a perimeter sealing member bonding together said front and rear spaced elements in a spaced-apart relationship to define a chamber therebetween where said chamber contains an electrochromic medium, said electrochromic medium comprising at least three electroactive materials, at least two of which are electrochromic, where the redox potentials of all of said electroactive materials that are anodic are within about 200 mV of one another, and wherein the redox potentials of all of said electroactive materials that are cathodic are within about 200 mV of one another. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37)
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38. An electrochromic variable reflectance mirror for automotive vehicles, comprising:
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front and rear spaced elements each having front and rear surfaces; a layer of transparent conductive material disposed on said rear surface of said front element; a reflector disposed on one side of said rear element provided that, if said reflector is on said rear surface of said rear element, then said front surface of said rear element contains a layer of a transparent conductive material; and a perimeter sealing member bonding together said front and rear spaced elements in a spaced-apart relationship to define a chamber therebetween;
where said chamber contains an electrochromic medium, said electrochromic medium comprising at least three electroactive materials, at least two of which are electrochromic, where said medium generally maintains a pre-selected perceived color throughout the normal voltage range of said electrochromic device. - View Dependent Claims (39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 74, 75)
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61. An electrochromic variable reflectance mirror for automotive vehicles, comprising:
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front and rear spaced elements each having front and rear surfaces; a layer of transparent conductive material disposed on said rear surface of said front element; a reflector disposed on one side of said rear element provided that, if said reflector is on said rear surface of said rear element, then said front surface of said rear element contains a layer of a transparent conductive material; and a perimeter sealing member bonding together said front and rear spaced elements in a spaced-apart relationship to define a chamber therebetween; where said chamber contains an electrochromic medium, said electrochromic medium comprising at least three electroactive materials, at least two of which are electrochromic, where the redox potentials of all of said electroactive materials that are anodic are within about 200 mV of one another, and wherein the redox potentials of all of said electroactive materials that are cathodic are within about 200 mV of one another. - View Dependent Claims (62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72)
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76. An electrochromic device, comprising:
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front and rear spaced elements each having front and rear surfaces; a layer of transparent conductive material disposed on said rear surface of said front element and said front surface of said rear element, and a perimeter sealing member bonding together said front and rear spaced elements in a spaced-apart relationship to define a chamber therebetween; and where said chamber contains an electrochromic medium, said electrochromic medium comprising at least three electroactive materials, at least two of which are electrochromic, whose concentrations are chosen to produce a pre-selected perceived color, where said device does not exhibit staging.
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77. An electrochromic device, comprising:
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front and rear spaced elements each having front and rear surfaces; a layer of transparent conductive material disposed on said rear surface of said front element and said front surface of said rear element, and a perimeter sealing member bonding together said front and rear spaced elements in a spaced-apart relationship to define a chamber therebetween; and where said chamber contains an electrochromic medium, said electrochromic medium comprising at least three electroactive materials, at least two of which are electrochromic, wherein said device maintains a transmittance spectrum resulting in color coordinates (D65 /2 degrees) such that C* is between zero and about 22. - View Dependent Claims (78)
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79. An electrochromic device, comprising:
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front and rear spaced elements each having front and rear surfaces; a layer of transparent conductive material disposed on said rear surface of said front element and said front surface of said rear element, and a perimeter sealing member bonding together said front and rear spaced elements in a spaced-apart relationship to define a chamber therebetween; and where said chamber contains an electrochromic medium, said electrochromic medium comprising at least three electroactive materials, at least two of which are anodic electrochromic compounds and at least one is a generally colorless cathodic electroactive compound in two oxidation states. - View Dependent Claims (80, 81)
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82. An electrochromic device, comprising:
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front and rear spaced elements each having front and rear surfaces; a layer of transparent conductive material disposed on said rear surface of said front element and said front surface of said rear element, and a perimeter sealing member bonding together said front and rear spaced elements in a spaced-apart relationship to define a chamber therebetween; and where said chamber contains an electrochromic medium, said electrochromic medium comprising at least three electroactive materials, at least two of which are cathodic compounds and at least one is a generally colorless anodic electroactive compound in two oxidation states. - View Dependent Claims (83, 84)
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Specification