Programmable window: a device for controlling the opacity of small-scale areas within a large scale transparent membrane

• US 7,796,322 B2
• Filed: 10/11/2005
• Issued: 09/14/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 10/08/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• Original Assignee: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• Inventors: Ramos, Martin, Ratti, Carlo, Biderman, Assaf
• Primary Examiner(s): Chilcot, Jr.; Richard E
• Assistant Examiner(s): Kwiecinski; Ryan D
• Application Number:
  US11/247,936
• Publication Number:
  US 20060107616A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,799 Days
• Field of Search: 359/296, 359/290, 345/107, 252/585
• US Class Current: 359/296
• CPC Class Codes: E04B 1/00 Constructions in general; Structures which are not restricted either to walls, e.g. partitions, or floors or ceilings or roofs scaffolds, shutterings E04G; structures specially adapted for buildings for special purposes, general layout of buildings, e.g. modular co-ordination, E04H
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/172 based on a suspension of orientable dipolar particles, e.g. suspended particles displays
• CPC Class Codes: G09F 19/22 Advertising or display means on roads, walls or similar surfaces, e.g. illuminated
• CPC Class Codes: G09F 19/226 External wall display means; Facade advertising means
• CPC Class Codes: G09F 19/227 on windows
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2300/06 Passive matrix structure, i.e. with direct application of both column and row voltages to the light emitting or modulating elements, other than LCD or OLED
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2300/088 using a non-linear two-terminal element
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2310/0208 using active addressing
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2310/0267 Details of drivers for scan electrodes, other than drivers for liquid crystal, plasma or OLED displays
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/0209 Crosstalk reduction, i.e. to reduce direct or indirect influences of signals directed to a certain pixel of the displayed image on other pixels of said image, inclusive of influences affecting pixels in different frames or fields or sub-images which constitute a same image, e.g. left and right images of a stereoscopic display
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/34 by control of light from an independent source

Abstract

Natural lighting profiles are affected in a building facade and internal transparent membrane using a transparent sheet having one or more pixel elements, wherein each of the pixel elements is capable of being driven to control opacity (by shading). A programmable controller is used to send control commands to control opacity of the pixel elements, wherein the percentage of light transmitted through the display panel forming part of the facade is controlled via the controller.

Claims

1. A method to affect natural lighting profiles in a programmable window made from a single transparent membrane, said method comprising:

forming a matrix comprising a plurality of rows and columns of pixel elements within said single transparent membrane, each pixel element comprising a suspended particle device having two conductive parallel plates having organic particles suspended between, each of said one or more pixels capable of being driven to control opacity;

setting, in a programmable controller, a first degree of shading in a first pixel in said matrix of pixel elements and a second degree of shading in a second pixel in said matrix, said first degree of shading different in value than said second degree of shading;

receiving one or more control commands from said programmable controller to control opacity of said first and second pixel elements in said matrix;

in response to said one or more control commands, independently driving said first and second pixel within said single transparent membrane to said first degree of shading and second degree of shading, respectively,

said independent driving comprising controlling alternating electric field between two conducting parallel plates of each pixel element and controlling a degree of transparency of each pixel according to respective control commands, said first and second degree of transparencies controlled according to strength and duration of the alternating electric field, said control done by addressing a row and column corresponding to each of said first and second pixel and applying an appropriate voltage to create a specific voltage difference at each of said first and second pixel, and

controlling natural light entering said programmable window based on controlling transparency of individual pixels within said single transparent membrane.

2. A method to affect natural lighting profiles in a programmable window made from a single transparent membrane, said method comprising:

forming a matrix comprising a plurality of rows and columns of pixel elements within said single transparent membrane, each pixel element comprising a suspended particle device having two conductive parallel plates having organic particles suspended between, each of said one or more pixels capable of being driven to control opacity;

setting, in a programmable controller, a first degree of shading in a first pixel in said matrix of pixel elements and a second degree of shading in a second pixel in said matrix, said first degree of shading different in value than said second degree of shading;

receiving at least one control command;

said at least one control command identifying a first desired degree of transparency % T1 of said first pixel element and a second degree of transparency % T2 of said second pixel element;

calculating a first desired voltage VRMS_required1 between two conducting parallel plates of said first pixel element to achieve said first degree of transparency and calculating a second voltage VRMS_required2 between two conducting parallel plates of said second pixel element to achieve said second degree of transparency, said calculation based on at least one transformation function, said transformation function dependent on a desired degree of transparency, and

addressing a column and row corresponding to each of said first and second pixel to independently drive them at the first and second desired voltage, wherein said first pixel is independently driven within said single transparent membrane to said first degree of transparency by setting the voltage between conducting plates of said first pixel to VRMS_required1 and said second pixel is independently driven within said single transparent membrane to said second degree of transparency by setting the voltage between conducting plates of said second pixel to VRMS_required2;

controlling natural light entering said programmable window based on controlling transparency of individual pixels within said single transparent membrane.

3. A computer program product to affect natural lighting in a programmable window made from a single transparent membrane, said computer program product comprising a computer readable storage medium having computer readable program code that is executed in conjunction with a computer, said computer readable storage medium comprising:

computer readable program code receiving at least one control command associated with a plurality of rows and columns of pixel elements within said single transparent membrane, said at least one control command identifying a first desired degree of transparency % T1 of a first pixel element within said single transparent membrane and a second degree of transparency % T2 of a second pixel element within said single transparent membrane;

computer readable program code calculating a first desired voltage VRMS_required1 between two conducting parallel plates of said first pixel element to achieve said first degree of transparency and calculating a second voltage VRMS_required2 between two conducting parallel plates of said second pixel element to achieve said second degree of transparency, said calculation based on at least one transformation function, said transformation function dependent on a desired degree of transparency, and

computer readable program code addressing a column and row corresponding to each of said first and second pixel to independently drive them at the first and second desired voltages, wherein said first pixel is independently driven within said single transparent membrane to said first degree of transparency by setting the voltage between conducting plates of said first pixel to VRMS_required1 and said second pixel is independently driven within said single transparent membrane to said second degree of transparency by setting the voltage between conducting plates of said second pixel to VRMS_required2;

computer readable program code controlling natural light entering said programmable window based on controlling transparency of individual pixels within said single transparent membrane.