Invention Grant
- Patent Title: Transflective, PCM-based display device
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Application No.: US16468829Application Date: 2017-11-03
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Publication No.: US11520172B2Publication Date: 2022-12-06
- Inventor: Harish Bhaskaran , Peiman Hosseini , Ben Broughton
- Applicant: E INK CORPORATION
- Applicant Address: US MA Billerica
- Assignee: E INK CORPORATION
- Current Assignee: E INK CORPORATION
- Current Assignee Address: US MA Billerica
- Agent Brian D. Bean
- Priority: EP16203522 20161212
- International Application: PCT/EP2017/078243 WO 20171103
- International Announcement: WO2018/108385 WO 20180621
- Main IPC: G02F1/01
- IPC: G02F1/01 ; F21V8/00 ; H01L23/34 ; H01L45/00

Abstract:
The invention is notably directed to a transflective display device. The device comprises a set of pixels, wherein each of the pixels comprises a portion of bi-stable, phase change material, hereafter a PCM portion, having at least two reversibly switchable states, in which it has two different values of refractive index and/or optical absorption. The device further comprises one or more spacers, optically transmissive, and extending under PCM portions of the set of pixels. One or more reflectors extend under the one or more spacers. An energization structure is in thermal or electrical communication with the PCM portions, via the one or more spacers. Moreover, a display controller is configured to selectively energize, via the energization structure, PCM portions of the pixels, so as to reversibly switch a state of a PCM portion of any of the pixels from one of its reversibly switchable states to the other. A backlight unit is furthermore configured, in the device, to allow illumination of the PCM portions through the one or more spacers. The backlight unit is controlled by a backlight unit controller, which is configured for modulating one or more physical properties of light emitted from the backlight unit. The invention is further directed to related devices and methods of operation.
Public/Granted literature
- US20200096795A1 TRANSFLECTIVE, PCM-BASED DISPLAY DEVICE Public/Granted day:2020-03-26
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