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:
Jan. 27, 1981
Filed:
May. 31, 1979
Karl-Heinz Walter, Grafing, DE;
Siemens Aktiengesellschaft, Berlin & Munich, DE;
Abstract
A liquid crystal cell, which has two carrier plates spaced apart to form a cavity for receiving a liquid crystal layer, the plates on a surface facing the liquid crystal layer being provided with electrodes so that a portion of the liquid crystal layer is switchable between different operating states, is characterized by an improvement consisting of providing at least one of the facing surfaces of the carrier plates with means for orienting strip-like zones of the liquid crystal layer adjacent the surface with different orientations, each of the strip-like zones having a width of approximately 5 .mu.m and the striplike zones being alternately substantially homogeneously oriented and substantially homeotropically oriented. One embodiment of forming the cell is to provide parallel strips of orienting material with adjacent strips being of different types of orienting material. These strips may be applied directly on a flat surface of the carrier plate or the carrier plate may be mechanically shaped to have a waveshaped cross section or profile with the flanks of the various wave-shaped crests being treated with different orienting material. In utilizing the device, the application of an electrical field may be used to increase or decrease the size of the oriented strip-shaped zone and the zone may be used in a multiplex-type display.