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:
Sep. 15, 2020
Filed:
May. 17, 2018
Cardinal CG Company, Eden Prairie, MN (US);
James Clark Switzer, III, Prairie Du Sac, WI (US);
Keith James Burrows, Mineral Point, WI (US);
CARDINAL CG COMPANY, Eden Prairie, MN (US);
Abstract
The invention provides an elastomeric optical device having a first optical state and a second optical state. The device is transparent when in the first optical state and is translucent or opaque when in the second optical state. The device comprises, in sequence, an optional substrate, a first transparent electrode, an optional dielectric layer, an elastomer layer, and a second transparent electrode. In some embodiments, the second transparent electrode comprises an electrically-conductive polymer, transparent electrically-conductive nanoparticles, or both. In such embodiments, the second transparent electrode is configured to compress the elastomer layer in response to an electric field between the first and second transparent electrodes, such that when the elastomeric optical device is in the second optical state the elastomer layer is compressed between the first and second transparent electrodes. One or both of the elastomer layer and the second transparent electrode has one or more non-uniformity features.