Pixtronix, Incorporated

Snaptrack Incorporated

Other

Qualcomm Incorporated

Sharp Corporation, Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha

Jasper Lodewyk Steyn

Richard S Payne

Roger W Barton

Jignesh Gandhi

Nesbitt W Hagood

John Fijol

Nesbitt Ward Hagood, Iv

Joyce H Wu

Mark B Andersson

Timothy J Brosnihan

Stephen R Lewis

Eugene E Fike, Iii

Abraham McAllister

Gianni Taraschi

Asahi Yamato

Takeshi Hara

Teruo Sasagawa

Tsutomu Kobayashi

Patrick F Brinkley

Wilhelmus Adrianus De Groot

Javier Villarreal

Jianru Shi

Cait Ni Chleirigh

Junghun Chae

Elif Selin Mungan

The invention provides for an interface device that measures strain on a specific area of the printed circuit board. The measurements are converted into an electrical signal and sent for processing. The processing results in the apparatus performing a desired function. The interface device includes a printed circuit board. The printed circuit board comprises a plurality of layers, including a conductive layer. The interface device further includes a strain sensing device. The strain sensing device is mounted on the printed circuit board and includes a substrate, a strain sensing element, and associated circuitry. In some instances, the strain sensing device includes one strain sensing element and in other instances multiple strain sensing elements can also be used. In one embodiment, the strain sensing device can include a piezoresistive strain gage combined with signal conditioning circuitry such that a single electronic component can be mounted on the printed circuit board for reduced cost and improved signal-to-noise performance. In operation, a user or another device applies force on the printed circuit board in the area of the strain sensing device. The strain sensitive element deforms in response to the applied force or strain on the printed circuit board. The deformation results in the change of resistance or conductivity of the strain sensitive element. The associated circuitry, which can be a signal conditioning circuit, converts the change in resistance or conductivity into a digital signal. Once the conversion occurs, the associated circuitry uses the conductive layer of the printed circuit board to communicate the digital signal to either the processor or the processing circuit of the electronic apparatus. The processor or processing circuit receives the digital signal and responds by performing a desired action. In one instance the interface device may be used to measure the magnitude of the force applied by a finger pressing on the touch screen of an electronic apparatus such as a cell phone. The magnitude of the applied force can then be used to control, the operation of the cell phone. A high magnitude force would result in a higher strain being sensed and can cause the apparatus to operate in one way, whereas a low magnitude force would result in a lower strain being sensed and can cause the apparatus to operate in another way, e.g., in a mobile phone environment where an application is used to draw a picture, a light force applied to the touch screen could be processed to result in a thin line being drawn and a stronger force could be processed to result in a wider line being drawn. In another instance the interface device may be used to measure the magnitude of the force applied to a control toggle on the steering wheel of a car. The toggle may be used to control the intensity of the sound emitted from the audio system in the car. A high magnitude force could be processed to cause the intensity of the sound to change rapidly whereas a low magnitude force could be processed to cause the intensity of the sound to change slowly.

Input interface device with semiconductor strain gage

This disclosure provides systems, methods and apparatus for an electromechanical systems (EMS) assembly. The EMS assembly includes a substrate, an anchor disposed on the substrate, and a suspended planar body supported over the substrate by the anchor. The suspended planar body includes at least one depression extending out of a plane of the suspended planar body and protruding towards the substrate. The suspended planar body also includes a substantially horizontal portion corresponding to a gap in the at least one depression. An extent of the gap is up to 20% of a length of the suspended planar body.

Electromechanical system structures with ribs having gaps

A method of operating a display including loading image data to pixels in multiple rows of pixels in an array of pixels during a data loading phase, actuating the pixels in the multiple rows during an update phase, and illuminating at least one lamp during an lamp illumination phase to illuminate the actuated pixels to form an image on the display, in which each of the loading, actuating and illuminating phases partially overlap in time.

Circuits for controlling display apparatus

A display apparatus incorporating electromechanical light modulators and a layer of material including apertures corresponding to the electromechanical light modulators that results in the display apparatus having lower power-consumption.

MEMS-based display apparatus

This disclosure provides systems, methods and apparatus including devices that include layers of passivation material covering at least a portion of an exterior surface of a thin film component within a microelectromechanical device. The thin film component may include an electrically conductive layer that connects via an anchor to a conductive surface on a substrate. The disclosure further provides processes for providing a first layer of passivation material on an exterior surface of a thin film component and for electrically connecting that thin film component to a conductive surface on a substrate. The disclosure further provides processes for providing a second layer of passivation material on any exposed surfaces of the thin film component after release of the microelectromechanical device.

Passivated microelectromechanical structures and methods

The invention relates to methods and apparatus for forming images on a display utilizing a control matrix to control the movement of MEMs-based light modulators.

Systems and methods for a display having an array of pixels, a substrate, and a control matrix formed on the substrate are described. The array of pixels includes mechanical light modulators that can be referred to as micro-electro-mechanical or MEMS light modulators. The MEMS light modulators may be shutter-based light modulators, and an array of apertures may be formed on the substrate corresponding spatially to the shutters in the array of shutter-based light modulators. Each modulator is configured to be driven from a-light-blocking state to a-light-transmissive state through a movement direction. The array of light modulators are arranged to reduce the correlations in movement directions of neighboring pixels, thereby reducing the amplitude of acoustic emissions from the display.

Systems and methods for MEMS light modulator arrays with reduced acoustic emission

This application relates to a display including a first layer of material including a first aperture having at least one side, a first substrate separated from the first layer of material by a gap, where the first substrate is arranged to pass through a portion of light emitted from a light source into the gap. The display further includes a movable shutter arranged within the gap, where the shutter is movable to at least a first position and a second position, to obstruct passage of the portion of light through the first aperture at the first position. The movable shutter has a first edge, and in the first position, the movable shutter is aligned with the first aperture such that the first edge extends a first length past the at least one side of the first aperture.

Alignment methods in fluid-filled MEMS displays

This disclosure provides systems, methods and apparatus for providing relatively thinner and less stiff compliant beams for a shutter assembly. A protective coating is deposited and patterned over the shutter assembly before it is released from a sacrificial mold over which the shutter assembly is formed. Because some primary surfaces of the compliant beams are in contact with the sacrificial mold, these primary surfaces are not coated with the protective coating. Therefore, when the shutter assembly is finally released, the resulting compliant beams are relatively thinner and less stiff providing a reduction in an actuation voltage used to operate the shutter assembly. In some instances, the protective coating is patterned into discontinuous segments before release.

Low-voltage MEMS shutter assemblies

This invention relates to MEMS display apparatus and methods for assembly thereof that include a plurality of light modulators having components substantially surrounded in a liquid that reduces the effects of stiction and improves the optical and electromechanical performance of the display apparatus. The invention also relates to methods for aligning components of a MEMS display to establish a correspondence between the plurality of light modulators and a plurality of apertures to regulate the transmission of light through the apparatus.

A display apparatus includes a plurality of electromechanical systems (EMS) devices disposed on a first surface defined by a face of a substrate. Each EMS device includes a component which is movable in a plane that is substantially parallel to the first surface. The apparatus also includes a second surface positioned proximate to the substrate such that the plurality of EMS devices are located between the first surface and the second surface. In addition, each EMS device includes at least one anti-stiction projection positioned between the movable component and the second surface.

Display apparatus with stiction reduction features

This disclosure provides systems, methods and apparatus for forming electromechanical systems (EMS) displays where the area of a substrate occupied by a pixel circuit can be reduced if portions of the pixel circuit can be built in three dimensions. In some aspects, certain EMS displays can incorporate structures that are substantially normal to the surface of a substrate. Incorporating circuit components, such as transistors, into such structures, can reduce the area they occupy within the plane of the substrate. In some aspects, the components of a transistor can be fabricated directly into a MEMS anchor that supports a light modulator or a portion of an actuator over the substrate. In some other aspects, the transistor can be fabricated on one or more sidewalls of any MEMS structure.

Thin-film transistors incorporated into three dimensional MEMS structures

This disclosure provides systems, methods and apparatus for a multi-state shutter assembly. The multi-state shutter assembly can be used in an electronic display. The shutter assembly can include a movable light obstructing component. The shutter assembly also can include first and second actuators configured to move the light obstructing component between three states, including a fully light obstructive state, a substantially transmissive state, and a partially transmissive state. At least one of the three states is a neutral state in which both the first and second actuators are in an unactuated state. The shutter assembly also can include a controller configured to control the first and second actuator to selectively move the light obstructing component into each of the three states.

Multi-state shutter assembly for use in an electronic display

This invention relates to methods of manufacturing fluid-filled MEMS displays, where the fluid is sealed in the display assembly and substantially surrounds the moving components of the display to reduce the effects of stiction and to improve the optical and electromechanical performance of the display.

Methods for manufacturing fluid-filled MEMS displays

This disclosure provides systems, methods and apparatus for enabling a display to have a faster switching rate and an increased aperture ratio by using looped electrical interconnects with a reduced footprint. In one aspect, a display apparatus includes an array of display elements and a high-aspect ratio electrical interconnect connected to at least one display element in the array of display elements, wherein the high-aspect ratio electrical interconnect forms a loop that defines a closed boundary.

Growing community of inventors

Winchester, MA, United States of America

Jasper Lodewyk Steyn