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:
Aug. 22, 2000
Filed:
Sep. 11, 1998
Bunsen Fan, Peekskill, NY (US);
Other;
Abstract
A structure and apparatus is described which utilizes the intrinsic self-assembling or aligning process of liquid crystal (LC) molecules to form an ordered structure, such as a structure having nematic or cholesteric ordering. The invention includes subtracting a constituent from a structure that includes a liquid crystal, to form a `mold` or polymer matrix on a molecular level. By adding and/or subtracting materials to or from the mold, a liquid crystal-like structure may be obtained. This structure includes all or at least some non-LC material, while exhibiting some LC characteristic. The liquid crystal-like structure overcomes the drawbacks of LCs such as temperature sensitivity and mechanical instability.