Tektronix, Inc.

Philips Electronics North America Corporation

Technical Visions Inc.

Other

Thomas S Buzak

Kevin J Ilcisin

Paul C Martin

Babar Ali Khan

Jacob Bruinink

Karel E Kuijk

Adrianus Leonardus Burgmans

Petrus Franciscus Bongaerts

Henri R Van Helleputte

Rolf S Vatne

Mark Windsor Roberson

Robert D Hinchliffe

Henri R J R Van Helleputte

Petrus F G Bongaerts

Adrianus L J Burgmans

William W Stein

Dennis W Prince

Duane A Haven

Dana E Whitlow

H Wayne Olmstead

John J Horn

Henri Roger Van Helleputte

Hans J Den Biggelaar

Chemoluminescent illuminators are used to provide night visible game equipment, notably, croquet and bocce. The balls are hollow metal spheres having plural openings and light stick receptors to retain the light stick in the ball. Light emitted from the light stick escapes from the opaque balls through the openings. The interior surface of the sphere may be treated in a variety of ways to increase light scattering within the hollow interior to define an integrating sphere. Different colored illuminators are provided to mark different balls as relating to different players. Wickets preferably comprise elongate chemoluminescent illuminators that are held in proximity to conventional wickets with torsional springs or with loops formed in the wickets. Wicket holders may also be provided to assist with directly supporting the chemoluminescent illuminators that are used as wickets. Stakes and mallets are provided with receptacles to accept chemoluminescent illuminators so as to illuminate the stakes for nighttime visibility.

Day and night croquet and bocce

Chemoluminescent illuminators are used in night visible game equipment, notably, croquet and bocce. Game balls overcome rotational wobble tendencies resulting from perturbations in the rotational moments of inertia. The balls are at least partially transparent or translucent and include a receptacle for receiving a chemoluminescent illuminator. Different colored illuminators are provided to mark different balls as relating to different players. In one embodiment the balls have relatively thin outer walls and internal metallic rings to contribute a majority of the necessary weight and to add differential weighting to equalize the moments of inertia around all three axes. Wickets comprise chemoluminescent illuminators held in proximity to conventional wickets. Wicket holders may assist with supporting the illuminators. Stakes and mallets accept chemoluminescent illuminators to illuminate the stakes.

A plasma addressed display or storage device includes a substrate and at least first and second plasma electrodes on an upper surface of the substrate. The first plasma electrode is connected to an external potential and the second plasma electrode is not ohmically connected to an external potential.

AC palc display device with floating electrode

A PALC panel is operated by driving a channel electrode to a positive voltage relative to the data drive electrode to initiate an AC discharge in the channel and thereafter maintaining a sufficient voltage between the channel electrodes to sustain a DC discharge in the channel.

Method of operating a plasma addressed liquid crystal display device to reduce sputtering

An array of parallel spaced fiber segments is attached to the flat upper surface of a transparent plate. The transparent plate and the fiber segments preferably are made of glass, with the fiber segments bonded to the transparent plate with fused glass frit or by sintering under pressure. The plate and attached fiber segments suitably are embodied in the channel substrate for a plasma-addressed display device, such as a PALC panel.

Liquid crystal display device employing fiber spacers

A flat display device, preferably of the PALC type, in which the plasma channels are formed by etching laterally-spaced slots in a spacer plate, attaching a thin dielectric sheet over the etched spacer plate, and bonding the etched spacer plate to a transparent substrate such that each channel is formed by the portion of the substrate between flanking walls formed by the etched slots in the spacer plate, adjacent flanking walls in the spacer plate, and the overlying portion of the thin dielectric sheet. In a modification, strengthening crossbars are formed between adjacent flanking walls.

Plasma addressed liquid crystal display with glass spacers

A PALC panel which includes a layer of insulating material over the plasma electrodes and in which the cover sheet is spaced from the layer of insulating material at a distance of less than about 50 &mgr;m.

Plasma addressed liquid crystal display device

A PALC panel is operated by increasing the voltage between the channel electrodes to a firing voltage to create a plasma in the channel, reducing the voltage between the channel electrodes to a sustaining voltage to sustain the plasma for an interval during which a selected drive voltage is applied to the data drive electrode to establish an electric field in the layer of electro-optic material, and reducing the voltage between the channel electrodes to a bias voltage, which is insufficient to sustain the plasma but provides an electric field having a component parallel to the cover sheet in the layer of electro-optic material.

Method of operating a plasma addressed liquid crystal (PALC) panel

A channel member for a PALC panel includes a transparent plate having a planar surface and first and second electrodes on the planar surface of the transparent plate. The first electrode has a width in the range 35-90 .mu.m and a height in the range 0.5-30 .mu.m and the second electrode has a width in the range 30-70 .mu.m and a height in the range 0.5-30 .mu.m. A rib is attached to the first electrode and has a width in the range 15-40 .mu.m, a height in the range 80-200 .mu.m and a ratio of height to width of at least about 5:1.

Channel member for a PALC panel

A plasma addressed liquid crystal display panel includes a channel substrate, a cover sheet sealed to the channel substrate and extending over the channels in the channel substrate, helium in the sealed volume defined by the channel substrate and the cover sheet at a partial pressure within the range from about 50 mB to about 350 mB, and a body of a storage material that reversibly absorbs and releases hydrogen, the hydrogen being present at a partial pressure in the sealed volume within the range from about 0.02 mB to about 36 mB.

Plasma addressed liquid crystal display device with integrated source of

An anode in a channel of a PALC display panel is composed of an electrically conductive core and a protective coating made of a material that is electrically conductive and is non-reactive with hydrogen.

Conductive anode for a PALC display panel using hydrogen-doped helium gas

A PALC panel is filled with LC material by creating a partial vacuum in the LC space and a peripheral receiving space inward of an attachment bead which secures the lower substrate assembly to the upper substrate assembly and introducing sufficient LC material into the receiving space to fill the LC space. The receiving space is then sealed. The volume of the receiving space is substantially greater than the volume of the LC space.

PALC display panel with LC receiving space having a volume substantially

A channel subassembly for a PALC display panel comprises a channel member having spaced, substantially parallel, linear channels in its upper surface and a cover sheet (6) attached to the channel member. Islands of transparent conductive material are disposed in a row on a surface of the cover sheet over each channel. The islands in each row are spaced apart along the channel over which they are disposed and are bounded in directions perpendicular to the length of the channel such that they do not extend laterally substantially beyond the channel.

Growing community of inventors

Beaverton, OR, United States of America

Thomas S Buzak