The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
May. 14, 2019
Filed:
Feb. 23, 2012
Kevin R. Schaffer, Woodbury, MN (US);
David Scott Thompson, West Lakeland, MN (US);
Zhaohui Yang, North Oaks, MN (US);
Encai Hao, Woodbury, MN (US);
Audrey A. Sherman, St. Paul, MN (US);
Michael A. Meis, Stillwater, MN (US);
William J. Bryan, Mahtomedi, MN (US);
John A. Wheatley, Lake Elmo, MN (US);
Joseph W. Woody, St. Paul, MN (US);
Steven D. Solomonson, Shoreview, MN (US);
Matthew S. Stay, Minneapolis, MN (US);
Mikhail L. Pekurovsky, Bloomington, MN (US);
Kevin R. Schaffer, Woodbury, MN (US);
David Scott Thompson, West Lakeland, MN (US);
Zhaohui Yang, North Oaks, MN (US);
Encai Hao, Woodbury, MN (US);
Audrey A. Sherman, St. Paul, MN (US);
Michael A. Meis, Stillwater, MN (US);
William J. Bryan, Mahtomedi, MN (US);
John A. Wheatley, Lake Elmo, MN (US);
Joseph W. Woody, St. Paul, MN (US);
Steven D. Solomonson, Shoreview, MN (US);
Matthew S. Stay, Minneapolis, MN (US);
Mikhail L. Pekurovsky, Bloomington, MN (US);
3M INNOVATIVE PROPERTIES COMPANY, St. Paul, MN (US);
Abstract
This application describes a front-lit reflective display assembly including a reflective display and an illumination article for front-lighting the display when the article is optically coupled to a light source. The illumination article includes a variable index light extraction layer optically coupled to a lightguide. The variable index light extraction layer has first and second regions, the first region comprising nanovoided polymeric material, the second region comprising the nanovoided polymeric material and an additional material, the first and second regions being disposed such that for light being transported at a supercritical angle in the lightguide, the variable index light extraction layer selectively extracts the light in a predetermined way based on the geometric arrangement of the first and second regions. Front-lit reflective display devices including the front-lit reflective display assembly optically coupled to a light source are also described.