E Ink Corporation

Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.

Versum Materials Us, LLC

Richard M Webber

Thomas Henry Whitesides

Richard J Paolini, Jr

Guy Danner

Karl Raymond Amundson

Charles Howie Honeyman

Lan Cao

Russell J Wilcox

Michael D McCreary

John E Ritter

Glen Crossley

Mavyn M Holman

Joseph M Jacobson

Robert Waverly Zehner

Gregg Michael Duthaler

Andrew L Loxley

Michael L Steiner

Craig A Herb

Libing Zhang

Shamus Ford Patry

Justin J Abramson

Katharine Geramita

Rajesh Chebiyam

David Darrell Miller

Alain Bouchard

Jonathan L Zalesky

Timothy J O'Malley, Jr

Jonathan D Albert

George G Harris

Shafiq Fazel

Stephen P Dudek

Michael D Walls

Charles Howard Honeyman

Andrew Y Oleson

Jonathan Kim Nguyen

Eva Chen

Katherine Geramita

Guy M Danner

Shafiq N Fazel

Richard J Paolini

The invention provides materials and methods (including driving methods) for reducing the effects of remnant voltages in electro-optic displays.

Electro-optic displays with reduced remnant voltage

The performance of electro-wetting displays can be improved by: (a) providing a concealment member () which conceals the moving fluid () when that fluid () is confined to a small area; (b) using the moving fluid to cover one or more sections of a filter or reflector having differently-colored sections; (c) moving the moving fluid between the rear surface and a side surface of a microcell; (d) using as a substrate for a moving fluid a substrate resistant to wetting by the fluid but pierced by multiple conductive vias capped with a material wetted by the fluid; and (e) coloring the moving fluid with pigments or nanoparticles.

Electrowetting displays

A laminate comprising a solid electro-optic medium and an electrically conductive layer is tested by passing it over a pair of electrodes at different potentials, with the electrically conductive layer lying on the opposed side of the electro-optic medium from the electrodes. An article which can be tested by this method, and which is useful in the manufacture of electro-optic displays, comprises a layer of a solid electro-optic medium and a release sheet comprising an electrically conductive layer.

Components and testing methods for use in the production of electro-optic displays

An electrophoretic medium comprises a continuous phase and a discontinuous phase. The discontinuous phase comprises a plurality of droplets, each of which comprises a fluid and at least one charged particle disposed within the fluid and capable of moving through the fluid upon application of an electric field to the electrophoretic medium. The continuous phase surrounds and encapsulates the discontinuous phase and comprising a polymeric binder and a salt, the salt having an anion containing at least one fluorine atom and having a water solubility of at least about 0.25 per cent by weight at 25&#xb0; C.

Electrophoretic media, and materials for use therein

An electrophoretic medium has walls defining a microcavity containing an internal phase. This internal phase comprises electrophoretic particles suspended in a suspending fluid and capable of moving therethrough upon application of an electric field to the electrophoretic medium. The average height of the microcavity differs by not more than about 5 &#x3bc;m from the saturated particle thickness of the electrophoretic particle divided by the volume fraction of the electrophoretic particles in the internal phase.

Electrophoretic displays with controlled amounts of pigment

A polyurethane formed from an isocyanate, a polyether diol and a polyester diol, the polyester diol having a molecular weight less than about 2000, or comprising two polyester diol segments connected by a steric hindrance group, each of the polyester diol segments having a molecular weight less than about 2000, the molar ratio of polyether diol to polyester diol being in the range of from about 1:9 to about 9:1. The polyurethane is useful as a lamination adhesive in electro-optic displays, and in components used to form such displays.

Electro-optic display and materials for use therein

A coating of an encapsulated electrophoretic medium is formed on a substrate () by dispersing in a fluid () a plurality of electrophoretic capsules (), contacting at least a portion of a substrate () with the fluid (); and applying a potential difference between at least a part of the portion of the substrate () contacting the fluid () and a counter-electrode () in electrical contact with the fluid (), thereby causing capsules () to be deposited upon at least part of the portion of the substrate () contacting the fluid (). Patterned coatings of capsules containing different colors may be deposited in registration with electrodes using multiple capsule deposition steps. Alternatively, patterned coatings of capsules may be formed by applying a fluid form of an electrophoretic medium to a substrate, and applying a temporally varying voltage between an electrode and the substrate. The process may be repeated to allow for deposition of full color displays.

Processes for the production of electrophoretic displays

An electro-optic display comprises a layer () of a solid electro-optic material, at least one electrode disposed adjacent the layer () of electro-optic material, and a layer () of a lamination adhesive interposed between the layer () of electro-optic material and the electrode, the lamination adhesive () having a higher electrical conductivity in a direction perpendicular to the layer of lamination adhesive than in the plane of the layer.

The image stability of electrophoretic media, comprising a plurality of particles disposed in a fluid and capable of moving through the fluid upon application of an electric field to the medium, can be improved by including in the fluid either a polystyrene or an aggregating diblock copolymer which forms micelle-like structures in the fluid, the diblock copolymer having a first block soluble in the fluid and a second block not swellable by the fluid. In variable transmission electrophoretic media, haze can be reduced by using as the fluid a mixture of a partially hydrogenated aromatic hydrocarbon and a terpene.

Materials for use in electrophoretic displays

A coating of an encapsulated electrophoretic medium is formed on a substrate () by dispersing in a fluid () a plurality of electrophoretic capsules (), contacting at least a portion of a substrate () with the fluid (); and applying a potential difference between at least a part of the portion of the substrate () contacting the fluid () and a counter-electrode () in electrical contact with the fluid (), thereby causing capsules () to be deposited upon at least part of the portion of the substrate () contacting the fluid (). Patterned coatings of capsules containing different colors may be deposited in registration with electrodes using multiple capsule deposition steps. Alternatively, a patterned coating may be deposited upon a substrate containing a conductive layer by varying the conductivity of the conductive layer by radiation exposure or by coating portions of the conductive layer with an insulating layer, typically a photoresist.

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Brookline, MA, United States of America

Richard M Webber