Optical: systems and elements – Optical modulator – Light wave temporal modulation
Reexamination Certificate
2001-01-30
2003-12-09
Sugarman, Scott J. (Department: 2873)
Optical: systems and elements
Optical modulator
Light wave temporal modulation
C345S107000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06661563
ABSTRACT:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is based upon and claims priority of Japanese Patent Applications Nos. 2000-277100, 2000-177368,2000-114024,2000-22217, and 2001-18340, all the contents being incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sheet-like display, a sphere-like resin body, and a microcapsule, and more particularly to a flexible sheet-like display, a sphere-like resin body constituted of two parts, and a microcapsule containing a sphere-like body.
In this specification, the sphere-like body has a shape like a sphere and is a small object capable of rotating in a limited space, this small object including a small object made of two small sphere-like objects coupled together.
2. Description of the Related Art
With recent developments of information societies, so-called multimedia information such as characters, images and sounds is frequently used in various information processing apparatus. Technical advancement of printers for outputting print information to a paper sheet is remarkable. A large quantity of paper used for drafts for manuscripts, conference materials, memorandums for messages and circulares, or the like is dumped after it is used during a temporary short time. Paper used for tickets for vehicles, price tags attached to goods in shops, or the like is also dumped after it is used temporarily and this quantity is not negligible.
Environmental questions resulting from mass consumption of paper are ventilated in public, such as disruption of natural environments typically exhausted forest resources and poison containing chroline compounds formed at garbage furnaces. Under such social environments, reducing the consumption of paper resources is a matter requiring immediate attention. One method of reducing the consumption of paper resources is a reuse of them. The current reuse of paper resources is mainly to utilize used paper as a material of new paper. Another method of reducing the consumption of paper is to supply new reusable resources which can be substituted for paper.
Many display element sheets called electronic sheets, sheet-like displays or the like have been proposed. Such a display element sheet displays a desired image by disposing sheet-like display elements between electrodes and applying an electric field or magnetic field. Following display sheets are mainly known.
(1) A turn-round spherical body distribution type display element sheet in which small sphere-like bodies are distributed in elastomer and an electric field is applied to display a desired image, the sphere-like body having two color portions and being capable of turning round in accordance with the direction of an electric field.
(2) An electrophoretic particle dispersion type display element sheet in which a display layer is formed by dispersing electrophoretic particles in dielectric (electrically insulating) liquid, and the optical characteristics of the display layer are changed by changing the dispersion state of electrophoretic particles by an electric field to display a desired image.
(3) An intra-microcapsule rotor type display element sheet (JP-A-7-343133) in which microcapsules are used each containing a rotator formed by coupling semispheres having different colors and electric characteristics, and an electric field is applied through the microcapsule to rotate the rotor and display a desired image.
(4) An intra-microcapsule electrophoretic particles type display element sheet (JP-A-1-86116, U.S. Pat. No. 2,551,783) in which a microcapsule filled with electrophoretic particles and coloring solvent, and an electric field is applied to the electrophoretic particles via the microcapsule to change the distribution of electrophoretic particles and the optical characteristics of the microcapsule to display a desired image.
(5) A film liquid crystal type display element sheet in which liquid crystal is sandwiched between films.
(6) A display element sheet using a composite film of liquid and polymer, the liquid is smetic liquid with dichronic dyes.
These display element sheets have a memory performance, can store image information at least some period without any power source, and are of a reflection type. These display elements are therefore expected as a substitute for paper. The display element sheet can be formed by coating material on a film with electrodes such as polyethylene terephthalate PET. It is therefore suitable for a sheet-like display which is thin, light and portable.
A sphere-like body rotating type display element is disclosed in the specifications of U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,126,854 and 4,143,103. A sphere-like body made of semispheres having different colors can be formed by coloring half areas of a sphere-like body made of wax with pigment. This manufacture method is described in JP-A-6-226875. With this method, a sphere-like body is manufactured in the following processes. Two types of melted wax are prepared, one type being colored in black with inorganic black pigment and the other type being colored in white with inorganic white pigment. The same amount of white and black wax is supplied to nozzles disposed under and over a rotating disk. Wax on the rotating disk flies away from the rotating disk in the form of wax droplet by a centrifugal force. Wax droplet is cooled through contact with air and solidified. By using a microcapsule containing this sphere-like body and oil, a display element is formed. By holding the display element by a support, an external voltage is applied to display an image.
The sphere-like body manufacture method is complicated because it has many control parameters such as a disc rotation speed, a melted wax temperature and a cooling air temperature. With this manufacture method, it is not necessarily possible to form a spherical body made of perfect semispheres of two colors, and the shape of the sphere-like body is not ideal.
JP-B-50-15115 discloses an electrophoretic particle sealed type display element. This element is formed by sealing dye, dielectric liquid, electrophoretic titanium dioxide particles in a cell. This method is, however, associated with some problems that dye is faded on an electrode and titanium dioxide particles are coagulated. These problems have been solved by JP-A-64-86116 which proposes to seal dye, dielectric liquid and titanium dioxide in a microcapsule.
As a microcapsule preparation method, there are a phase separation method, an interfacial polymerization method, an insolubilization method and the like. For example, JP-A-5-317805 teaches a phase separation method, more particularly a complex coacervation method for gum arabic—gelatin series.
It is desired to prevent leakage of dielectric solution in order to use a sphere-like body which is rotated by electrophoretic particles sealed in a microcapsule-or an electric field. To this end, it is preferable to make the film of a microcapsule thick to increase a rupture strength. However, for example, with the interfacial polymerization method, polymerization occurs only at the interface between an oil phase and a liquid phase so that only a very thin film (near a monomolecular layer) is formed.
If the coacervation method of the phase separation method is adopted, the film of a microcapsule can be made thick. However, in order to harden a film, a temperature is required to be controlled in a minute unit, pH is required to be controlled by dispensing droplets of alkaline solution, and hormaldehyde which is acute toxic substance is required to be added. Further, polymerization reaction by this method is unstable so that there is a possibility that the formed film extinguishes unless pH adjustment and density adjustment are performed continuously.
If a film liquid crystal type display element is used, a thin display device can be obtained. However, as compared to other sheet-like display elements such as an electrophoretic particle dispersion type display element and a microcapsule type display element, a retention performance of displayed information is inferior
Fukuda Makoto
Hayashi Naoyuki
Ozaki Mitsuo
Sawatari Norio
Takahashi Toru
Hanig Richard
Staas & Halsey , LLP
Sugarman Scott J.
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