阅读说明：本技术 可变光透射装置的驱动方法 (Method for driving variable light transmission device ) 是由 K·拉达瓦茨 R·J·小保利尼 S·J·特尔弗 L·依再克 S·K·萨伊尼斯 P·C·B· 于 2020-04-30 设计创作，主要内容包括：一种可变光透射装置,具有包含带电粒子的至少一个电泳介质层。施加具有由载波和调制器波形的叠加形成的波形的电场使得装置能够从关闭状态切换到打开状态,其中打开状态比关闭状态具有更高的光透射。结果,该装置使用户能够选择所需的光学状态。(A variable light transmission device has at least one electrophoretic medium layer containing charged particles. Applying an electric field having a waveform formed by the superposition of the carrier and the modulator waveform enables the device to switch from an off state to an on state, wherein the on state has a higher light transmission than the off state. As a result, the device enables the user to select a desired optical state.)

1. A method of operating a variable light transmission device, the method comprising:

providing a variable light transmission device comprising at least one electrophoretic medium layer comprising charged particles, wherein the electrophoretic medium layer is arranged between two electrodes;

applying an electric field across the electrophoretic medium layer such that the charged particles move causing the variable light transmission device to switch from an initial optical state to a final optical state, wherein the final optical state has a higher percentage of light transmission than the initial optical state, and wherein the waveform of the applied electric field is a superposition of a carrier waveform and a modulator waveform, wherein the carrier waveform has an amplitude V₁Sum frequency ω₁Wherein the modulator waveform has an initial amplitude V₂Sum frequency ω₂In which V is₁From about 30V to about 180V, omega₁From about 50Hz to about 1000Hz, wherein V₂From about 3V to about 60V, omega₂From about 0.1Hz to about 10Hz, wherein V₁Greater than V₂And omega₁Greater than omega₂And wherein the amplitude of said modulator waveform is variable and decreases from an initial amplitude value at the start of application of the waveform to said variable light transmission device to a final amplitude value at the completion of application of the waveform to said variable light transmission device.

2. The method of operating a variable light transmission device according to claim 1, wherein the final amplitude value of the modulator waveform is zero.

3. The method of operating a variable light transmission device according to claim 1, wherein the final amplitude value of the modulator waveform is from 0.1V to 3V.

4. The method of operating a variable light transmission device according to claim 1, wherein the type of waveform of the electric field applied to the variable light transmission device is selected from the group consisting of square wave, sine wave, triangular wave and sawtooth type.

5. The method of operating a variable light transmission device according to claim 1, wherein the type of the waveform of the electric field applied to the variable light transmission device is represented by equation 1

Wherein, t_totalIs the total drive time for applying a drive waveform to switch the variable light transmission device, and wherein t is the time elapsed from the initial application of the waveform.

6. The method of operating a variable light transmission device according to claim 1, wherein the type of the waveform of the electric field applied to the variable light transmission device is represented by equation 2

Wherein, t_totalIs the total drive time for applying a drive waveform to switch the variable light transmission device, and wherein t is the time elapsed from the initial application of the waveform.

7. The method of operating a variable light transmission device according to claim 1, wherein the type of the waveform of the electric field applied to the variable light transmission device is represented by equation 3

Wherein, t_totalIs the total drive time for applying a drive waveform to switch the variable light transmission device, and wherein t is the time elapsed from the initial application of the waveform.

8. The method of operating a variable light transmission device according to claim 1, wherein the type of the waveform of the electric field applied to the variable light transmission device is represented by equation 4

Wherein, t_totalIs the total drive time for applying a drive waveform to switch the variable light transmission device, and wherein t is the time elapsed from the initial application of the waveform.

9. The method of operating a variable light transmission device according to claim 1, wherein the initial amplitude V of the modulator waveform₁From about 80V to about 140V, and a frequency ω₁From about 70Hz to about 110 Hz.

10. The method of operating a variable light transmission device according to claim 1, wherein the initial amplitude V of the modulator waveform₂From about 10V to about 30V, and a frequency ω₂From about 0.5Hz to about 5 Hz.

11. The method of operating a variable light transmitting device according to claim 1, wherein the charged particles of the electrophoretic medium layer of the variable light transmitting device comprise titanium dioxide.

12. The method of operating a variable light transmission device according to claim 1, wherein the total drive time for applying the waveform is from about 1s to about 100 s.

13. The method of operating a variable light transmission device according to claim 1, wherein a total drive time from a start of applying a waveform to a completion of applying a waveform to the variable light transmission device is from about 5s to about 90 s.

14. The method of operating a variable light transmission device according to claim 1, wherein the reduction in the amplitude value of the modulator waveform from the initial amplitude value to the final amplitude value is performed in 2 or more consecutive steps.

15. The method of operating a variable light transmission device according to claim 1, wherein the reduction in the amplitude value of the modulator waveform from the initial amplitude value to the final amplitude value is performed in 5 or more consecutive steps.

16. The method of operating a variable light transmission device according to claim 1, wherein the reduction in the amplitude value of the modulator waveform from the initial amplitude value to the final amplitude value is performed in 10 or more consecutive steps.

17. The method of operating a variable light transmission device according to claim 1, wherein the reduction in the amplitude value of the modulator waveform from the initial amplitude value to the final amplitude value is performed in 100 or more consecutive steps.

18. The method of operating a variable light transmission device according to claim 1, wherein the total percent transmission of the final optical state of the variable light transmission device is from about 30% to about 95%.

19. The method of operating a variable light transmission device according to claim 1, wherein the total percent transmission of the final optical state of the variable light transmission device is from about 40% to about 90%.

20. The method of operating a variable light transmitting device according to claim 1, wherein the percent haze of the final optical state of the variable light transmitting device is from about 5% to about 20%.

Background

The present invention relates to a method of operating a variable light transmission device. In particular, the present invention relates to a driving method for switching a particle-based electro-optical device between optical states using an electric field. The variable light transmission device can modulate light and can be used in mirrors, windows, and the like. They may modulate the amount of light or other electromagnetic radiation that passes through them. For example, as described below, the present invention may be used to provide windows that can modulate infrared radiation to control the temperature within a building. In particular, the present invention relates to variable light transmission devices that use particle-based electrophoretic media to control light modulation. Examples of electrophoretic media that may be incorporated into various embodiments of the present invention include, for example, the electrophoretic media described in U.S. patent nos. 7,116,466 and 7,327,511, U.S. patent application publication nos. 2014/0055841, 2017/0351155, US2011/0199671, and U.S. patent application having serial No. 62/784,897 (filed on 26.12.2019), the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

Particle-based electrophoretic displays, in which a plurality of charged particles move through a suspending fluid under the influence of an electric field, have been the subject of intensive research and development for many years. Such displays have attributes of good brightness and contrast, wide viewing angles, state bistability, and low power consumption compared to liquid crystal displays.

The terms "bistable" and "bistability" are used herein in their conventional sense in the art to refer to displays comprising display elements having first and second display states differing in at least one optical property such that, after any given element is driven to assume its first or second display state using an addressing pulse of finite duration, that state will last at least several times (e.g. at least 4 times) the minimum duration of the addressing pulse required to change the state of that display element after the addressing pulse has terminated. It is shown in published U.S. patent application No.2002/0180687 that some particle-based electrophoretic displays that support gray scale can be stabilized not only in their extreme black and white states, but also in their intermediate gray states, as well as some other types of electro-optic displays. This type of display is properly referred to as "multi-stable" rather than bi-stable, but for convenience the term "bi-stable" may be used herein to cover both bi-stable and multi-stable displays.

As mentioned above, electrophoretic media require the presence of a suspending fluid. In most prior art electrophoretic media, the suspending fluid is a liquid, but the electrophoretic medium can be produced using a gaseous suspending fluid. When such gas-based electrophoretic media are used in a direction that allows the particles to settle, such as in signs where the media are arranged in a vertical plane, such gas-based electrophoretic media are susceptible to the same type of problems due to the same settling of particles as liquid-based electrophoretic media. In fact, the problem of particle settling in gas-based electrophoretic media is more severe than in liquid-based electrophoretic media, because the lower viscosity of gaseous suspending fluids allows faster settling of the electrophoretic particles compared to liquids.

A number of patents and applications assigned to or in the name of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), inteinck corporation, inteinck california llc and related companies describe various techniques for encapsulated and microcell electrophoresis and other electro-optic media. Encapsulated electrophoretic media comprise a plurality of microcapsules, each microcapsule itself comprising an internal phase containing electrophoretically-mobile particles in a fluid medium, and a capsule wall surrounding the internal phase. Typically, the capsules themselves are held in a polymeric binder to form a coherent layer between two electrodes. In microcell electrophoretic displays, the charged particles and fluid are not encapsulated within microcapsules, but rather are held within a plurality of cavities formed within a carrier medium, typically a polymer film. The techniques described in these patents and applications include:

(a) electrophoretic particles, fluids, and fluid additives; see, e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,002,728 and 7,679,814;

(b) capsule, adhesive and packaging process; see, e.g., U.S. patent nos. 6,922,276 and 7,411,719;

(c) microcell structures, wall materials, and methods of forming microcells; see, e.g., U.S. patent nos. 7,072,095 and 9,279,906;

(d) a method for filling and sealing a microcell; see, e.g., U.S. patent nos. 7,144,942 and 7,715,088;

(e) films and sub-assemblies comprising electro-optic material; see, e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,982,178 and 7,839,564;

(f) backsheets, adhesive layers, and other auxiliary layers and methods for use in displays; see, e.g., U.S. patent nos. 7,116,318 and 7,535,624;

(g) color formation and color adjustment; see, e.g., U.S. patent nos. 7,075,502 and 7,839,564;

(h) a method for driving a display; see, e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,012,600 and 7,453,445;

(i) an application for a display; see, e.g., U.S. patent nos. 7,312,784 and 8,009,348; and

(j) non-electrophoretic displays, as described in U.S. patent No.6,241,921 and U.S. patent application publication No. 2015/0277160; and applications of packaging and microcell technology other than displays; see, for example, U.S. patent application publication nos. 2015/0005720 and 2016/0012710.

Many of the aforementioned patents and applications recognize that the walls surrounding discrete microcapsules in an encapsulated electrophoretic medium can be replaced by a continuous phase, thereby producing a so-called polymer-dispersed electrophoretic display, wherein the electrophoretic medium comprises a plurality of discrete droplets of electrophoretic fluid and a continuous phase of polymeric material, and the discrete droplets of electrophoretic fluid within such polymer-dispersed electrophoretic displays can be considered capsules or microcapsules, even if no discrete capsule film is associated with each individual droplet; see, for example, 2002/0131147, supra. Accordingly, for the purposes of this application, such polymer-dispersed electrophoretic media are considered to be a subclass of encapsulated electrophoretic media.

A related type of electrophoretic display is the so-called "microcell electrophoretic display". In microcell electrophoretic displays, the charged particles and suspending fluid are not encapsulated within microcapsules, but rather are held within a plurality of cavities formed within a carrier medium, typically a polymer film. See, for example, international application publication No. wo 02/01281, and published U.S. application serial No.2002/0075556, both assigned to Sipix Imaging, inc.

Although electrophoretic media are typically opaque (because, for example, in many electrophoretic media, the particles substantially block the transmission of visible light through the display) and operate in a reflective mode, many electrophoretic displays can be made to operate in a so-called "shutter mode" in which one display state is substantially opaque and one display state is light-transmissive. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,130,774 and 6,172,798, and U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,872,552, 6,144,361, 6,271,823, 6,225,971, and 6,184,856. A dielectrophoretic display similar to an electrophoretic display but relying on a change in electric field strength may operate in a similar mode; see U.S. patent No.4,418,346. Other types of electro-optic displays can also operate in the shutter mode.

Encapsulated or microcell electrophoretic displays are generally not plagued by the aggregation and settling failure modes of conventional electrophoretic devices and provide further benefits such as the ability to print or coat the display on a variety of flexible and rigid substrates. The use of the word "printing" is intended to include all forms of printing and coating, including, but not limited to: pre-metered coating such as repair die coating, slot or extrusion coating, slide or stack coating, curtain coating; roll coating such as knife roll coating, forward and reverse roll coating; coating a concave surface; dip coating; spraying; meniscus coating; spin coating; brushing; air knife coating; a screen printing process; an electrostatic printing process; a thermal printing process; an ink jet printing process; electrophoretic deposition; and other similar techniques. Thus, the resulting display may be flexible. In addition, because the display media can be printed (using a variety of methods), the display itself can be inexpensively manufactured.

One potentially important market for electrophoretic media is windows with variable light transmission. As the energy performance of buildings and vehicles becomes more and more important, electrophoretic media may be used as a coating on windows to enable the proportion of incident radiation that is transmitted through the window to be controlled electronically by changing the optical state of the electrophoretic medium. The effective implementation of such "variable transmittance" ("VT") techniques in buildings is expected to provide the following benefits: (1) reducing unwanted thermal effects during hot days, thereby reducing the energy required for cooling, the size of air conditioning equipment, and peak power demand; (2) increasing the use of natural light, thereby reducing energy and peak power demand for lighting; and (3) increase comfort to the user by increasing thermal and visual comfort. It is expected that greater benefits will result in automobiles where the ratio of glass surface to enclosed volume is significantly greater than in typical buildings. In particular, efficient implementation of VT technology in automobiles is expected to provide not only the above-mentioned benefits, but also the following: (1) improved driving safety, (2) reduced glare, (3) enhanced mirror performance (by using an electro-optic coating on the mirror), and (4) improved ability to use a heads-up display. Other potential applications of VT technology include privacy glass and glare protection in electronic devices.

The present invention relates to a method of operating a variable light transmission device having a particle-based electrophoretic medium.

Disclosure of Invention

In one aspect, various embodiments of the present invention provide a method of operating a variable light transmission device using a waveform applied at an initial optical state of the device to drive the device to a final optical state, wherein the device has a higher percentage transmission at the final optical state than at the initial optical state. The variable light transmission device comprises at least one electrophoretic medium layer comprising charged particles, wherein the electrophoretic medium layer is arranged between two electrodes. The method comprises the following steps: an electric field is applied across the electrophoretic medium layer such that the charged particles move, causing the variable light transmission device to switch from an initial optical state to a final optical state, wherein the final optical state has a higher percentage of light transmission than the initial optical state. The waveform of the applied electric field is a superposition of the carrier waveform and the modulator waveform. The carrier waveform having an amplitude V₁Sum frequency ω₁And the modulator waveform has an initial amplitude V₂Sum frequency ω₂In which V is₁From about 30V to about 180V, omega₁From about 50Hz to about 1000Hz, and V₂From about 3V to about 60V, omega₂From about 0.1Hz to about 10 Hz. V₁Greater than V₂And omega₁Greater than omega₂. The amplitude of the modulator waveform is variable and decreases from an initial amplitude value at the beginning of application of the waveform to the variable light transmission device to a final amplitude value at the completion of application of the waveform to the variable light transmission device. The final amplitude value of the modulator waveform may be 0V. The final amplitude value of the modulator waveform may also be above zero V and from about 0.1V to about 3V.

In another aspect, the type of waveform of the electric field applied to the variable light transmission device is selected from the group consisting of square wave, sine wave, triangle wave, and sawtooth wave types.

In another aspect, the total drive time for applying the waveform is from about 1s to about 100 s. The reduction of the amplitude value of the modulator waveform from the initial amplitude value to the final amplitude value may be performed in 2 or more consecutive steps, 5 or more steps, 10 or more steps, 100 or more steps, and 200 or more steps.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is an example of a plot of the amplitude of the modulator waveform decreasing linearly in 5 steps over time (from 21V to 0V over 30 s).

Fig. 2A is a schematic diagram of the variable light transmission device at an initial optical state (off state).

Fig. 2B is a schematic diagram of the variable light transmission device in a final optical state (open state).

Detailed Description

Herein, the terms "final optical state", "open state", and light transmission state are used interchangeably and refer to a state in which the film has a relatively high light transmission. The terms "initial optical state," "off-state," and opaque are used interchangeably and refer to a state in which the film has a lower light transmittance than the on-state.

For convenience, the term "light" is generally used herein, but the term should be broadly construed to include electromagnetic radiation at non-visible wavelengths.

In the variable light transmission device of the present invention, the transparent state (final optical state or on-state) is caused by field-dependent aggregation of the electrophoretic particles; such field-dependent focusing may take the form: the electrophoretic particles move to the side walls of the droplets (whether the droplets are present in a polymer-dispersed medium, or in capsules or microcells), or "link", i.e. form clusters of electrophoretic particles within the droplets, or possibly in other ways. Regardless of the exact type of focusing that is achieved, such field-dependent focusing of the electrophoretic particles causes the particles to occupy only a small portion of the viewable area of each drop when viewed from a direction perpendicular to the viewing surface through which the electrophoretic medium is viewed by an observer. Thus, in the light transmissive state (or final optical state or on state), a major portion of the visible area of each droplet is free of electrophoretic particles and light can pass therethrough. Induced Charge Electroosmosis (ICEO) phenomena may be involved in the case where the electrophoretic particles move from an off-state (or initial optical state), in which the electrophoretic particles are relatively uniformly dispersed in the viewing area of each droplet (see fig. 2A), to an on-state or final optical state (see fig. 2B), in which the particles are focused to the sidewalls of the droplets by the application of an electric field. This phenomenon has been described in the art (see the article by Squires and Bazant, "Induced-charge electro-osmosis" j. fluid mech.2004,509, 217-252).

In the off state, the relatively uniform distribution of particles across the viewing area of a droplet of an electrophoretic device (fig. 2A) impedes light transmission through the device. In contrast, the accumulation of electrophoretic particles near the droplet sidewalls of an electrophoretic device (fig. 2B) allows more light to pass through the device.

Icoo is a second order phenomenon that occurs when polarizable particles experience an electric field in the presence of an electrolyte. Induced particle motion depends on the square of the applied voltage and not on the polarity of the applied electric field, and can therefore be driven by an Alternating Current (AC) field. In this case, the particle velocity is inversely proportional to the AC frequency. The ICEO-mediated formation of the granular tissue and hence the open state is facilitated by applying a relatively high frequency AC field (typically at least 50Hz) to the electrophoretic medium and by using a high voltage (typically at least about 30V). In contrast, the dispersion of the electrophoretic particles into the suspending fluid is facilitated by applying a low frequency field (typically less than 50Hz) to the electrophoretic medium, resulting in the formation of an off state. This state may be due to normal electrophoretic particle switching or to ICEO induced flow at these low frequencies. Normal electrophoretic particle switching does not require high voltages. In general, a voltage in the range of 5-20V is sufficient.

In other words, to facilitate the on state of the device, it is advantageous to use a high frequency, high voltage waveform to vary the operating voltage and waveform. Conversely, low frequency and low voltage waveforms favor the off state. These wave-shaped variations can be coupled with patterned electrodes or various conductive particle materials (e.g., doped metal or semiconductor materials such as those described in us patent 7,327,511) to optimize the response in both directions.

Another concern with variable light transmission devices that include capsules is particle size. In the present application, "particle size" refers to visual non-uniformity caused by a variety of factors, such as clusters of colored binder or clumps/layers of capsules, capsule filling variability, voids, thickness variations, and coating defects including pinholes. These non-uniformities can reduce visibility when viewed through the device in the open state by the user. The term "grain size" originates from film photography, where silver agglomerates are known to exist in early silver salt films, making the developed photograph appear "grainy".

The variable light transmission device comprising microcapsules consists of microscopic regions differing in the amount of coating and the degree of multilayers. If these devices are driven to their darkest state, the user can consider the difference in coating weight and filler as particle size. One way to reduce the amount of particles in an encapsulated electrophoretic medium is to apply a driving method according to various embodiments of the present invention.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, for variable light transmission devices containing encapsulated electrophoretic media, the grain size can be significantly improved by utilizing a driving method that includes applying a waveform to the device having an initial optical state until the thin film is switched to a final optical state, the initial state having a lower percentage of transmission than the final state.

As described above, the electrophoretic medium layer is capable of exhibiting an on-state and an off-state, wherein the selection of the optical state is driven by an electric field applied to the electrodes. The electric field waveform applied to the device in the initial optical state of the film to drive the final optical state is a superposition of two simpler waveforms (a) a carrier waveform and (b) a modulator waveform, wherein the modulator waveform has an initial amplitude that decreases over the period of time that the waveform is applied to the variable light transmission device. Thus, the term "initial amplitude" of the modulator waveform is used throughout this disclosure to indicate that the value is the amplitude at the time the waveform is initially applied to the variable light transmitting device. The more general term "amplitude" of the modulator waveform is also used, which may include all amplitude values of the applied modulator waveform, not just the original amplitude values. The term final amplitude of the modulator waveform is used to indicate the amplitude of the modulator waveform at the time of terminating the application of the waveform to the variable optical transmission device to bring the device to its on state.

In this context, the amplitude of the carrier waveform is denoted by V₁Expressed in volts (V). Frequency of carrier waveform is represented by ω₁Expressed in hertz (Hz). For initial amplitude of modulator waveformV₂Expressed in volts (V). Frequency of modulator waveform is represented by omega₂Expressed in hertz (Hz). T is the total drive time for applying the drive waveform to switch the variable light transmission device_totalExpressed in units of seconds(s).

The waveform applied in the initial optical state of the device to drive the final optical state can be represented by one of equations 1-4 provided below. These equations correspond to the amplitude of the modulator waveform decreasing from the maximum initial amplitude value to the final amplitude value in a linear manner over time. In this embodiment, the final amplitude value is reached when application of the waveform on the variable light transmission device is terminated and the device is in its on state. Equation 1 corresponds to a square wave, equation 2 corresponds to a sine wave, equation 3 corresponds to a triangle wave, and equation 4 corresponds to a sawtooth wave. Other types of waveforms may also be applied. The term "linear" as used herein to describe the reduction in amplitude of the modulator waveform over time includes any reduction over time in a step-wise (digitized) manner. By way of illustration, fig. 1 provides an example of a linear stepwise amplitude reduction over time in 5 steps.

Equations 1-4 indicate that the waveform is the result of the superposition of a carrier AC waveform represented by a first factor of the equation and a modulator AC waveform represented by a second factor of the equation. The term t in the equation is the elapsed time from the initial application of the waveform in seconds(s). Expression formula|sin(ω₁t) | and | sin (ω)₂t) | corresponds to the absolute value of the sine value. Sin is the sine of the number following the symbol. The Floor function is a function that takes a real number as an input and gives the largest integer less than or equal to the real number as an output.

In one embodiment, the electric field waveform applied in the initial optical state of the device to drive the device to the final optical state is a superposition of the carrier waveform and the modulator waveform, wherein the modulator waveform decreases over time from an initial amplitude (when the superposition waveform is applied to the device) to a final amplitude (when the application of the superposition waveform to the device is terminated), wherein the final amplitude is zero volts. In another embodiment, the final amplitude is greater than zero volts. The final amplitude value of the modulator waveform may be from about 0.01V to about 4V, or from about 0.1V to about 3V.

In one embodiment, the electric field waveform applied in the initial optical state of the device to drive the final optical state is a superposition of the carrier waveform and the modulator waveform, wherein the modulator waveform decreases in a non-linear manner over time from an initial amplitude (when the superimposed waveform is applied to the device) to a final amplitude (when the application of the superimposed waveform to the device is terminated). The non-linear reduction in amplitude of the modulator waveform over time may be chosen to be described by any non-linear mathematical equation (amplitude versus time), such as an exponential function, power law, or any other expression. As with the linear approach, the reduction may be performed in a step-wise fashion, and the final amplitude of the modulator waveform (upon completion of the application of the amplitude to the device) may be zero volts or a value greater than zero volts. The final amplitude value of the modulator waveform may be from about 0.01V to about 4V, or from about 0.1V to about 3V.

Amplitude V of the carrier part of the waveform₁From about 30V to about 180V, and the frequency ω of the carrier waveform₁From about 50Hz to about 1000 Hz. Initial amplitude V of the modulator part of the waveform₂From about 3V to about 60V, and the frequency ω of the modulator waveform₂From about 0.1Hz to about 10 Hz. Amplitude V of the carrier part of the waveform₁May be from about 50V to about 150V, or from about 90V to about 140V, and the frequency ω of the carrier waveform₁May be from about 60Hz to about 500Hz, or from 70Hz to 120 Hz. Initial amplitude V of the modulator waveform₂And may be selected from about 5V to about 50V, or from about 10V to about 30V. Frequency omega of modulator waveform₂And may be selected from about 0.5Hz to about 5Hz, or from about 0.8Hz to about 2 Hz. Amplitude V of the carrier part of the waveform₁Initial amplitude V of the modulator part above the waveform₂. Frequency omega of carrier waveform₁Frequency omega higher than the modulator waveform₂. Total drive time (t) for applying a waveform to a variable light transmitting device to switch from an initial optical state to a final optical state_total) And may be from about 1s to about 100s, from about 5s to about 90s, from about 10s to about 60s, or from about 20s to about 40 s.

Typically, the frequencies mentioned here have lower values than the frequencies typically used for such switching to the on-state. This contributes to lower energy consumption of the device, which provides reduced operating costs and/or higher autonomy. In addition, the superposition of the carrier and modulator waveforms benefits from the shorter time required for switching and the higher transmission of lower haze observed in the on state compared to other commonly used waveforms.

As described above, the waveform applied in the initial optical state of the variable light transmission device for the final optical state of the driving device is a superposition of two waveforms, the carrier waveform and the modulator waveform. Amplitude V of the carrier waveform₁Frequency omega of sum carrier waveform₁Each larger than the initial amplitude V of the corresponding modulator waveform₂Sum frequency ω₂. The purpose of applying the carrier square wave portion is to shield the pigment particles, i.e. to concentrate them in the equatorial space of the capsules or droplets of the electrophoretic fluid. The amplitude and frequency of the modulator waveform portion are lower than the amplitude and frequency of the carrier waveform. Thus, while not wanting to be bound by theory, it is believed that the use of a carrier waveform, in addition to the modulator waveform, may improve shadowing by promoting ICEO movement of the particles and focusing the particles in the equatorial space of the capsules or droplets of electrophoretic fluid. Methods according to various embodiments of the invention may facilitate the remixing of the liquid of the capsules or droplets in which the chargeable particles are located and cause them to have been trappedAny such particles trapped in the center of a capsule or droplet can move to an equatorial position. Such particles trapped in the center of the cavity may reduce light transmission and increase the haze of the film in the open state. Thus, the application of a waveform comprising a modulator waveform facilitates an open state with higher transmission and lower haze.

The amplitude of the modulator waveform is derived from the initial amplitude value V when the waveform is applied in the initial optical state of the device₂To a smaller final amplitude value of the modulator waveform at the completion of the waveform application. The reduction in the amplitude of the modulator waveform may be chosen to be linear with time, or it may be exponential with time, or it may be expressed as a function of time by any other mathematical equation. In general, this reduction of the modulator waveform amplitude may be performed in more than 2 steps, or more than 5 steps, or more than 10 steps, or more than 50 steps, or more than 100 steps, or more than 200 steps. The waveform applied to the variable light transmission device may be a square wave, a sine wave, a triangular wave, a sawtooth wave or it may be any other waveform type.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made to the specific embodiments of the invention described above without departing from the scope of the invention. Accordingly, the above description is to be construed in all aspects as illustrative and not restrictive. All of the foregoing published patents, publications and pending applications are herein incorporated by reference in their entirety.

Examples of the invention

Examples are now given, by way of illustration only, to show details of variable light transmission devices made and evaluated in accordance with various embodiments of the present invention.

Preparation-variable light transmission device

By reacting polyisobutylene succinimide(s) ((s))11000 from Chevron), 1-limonene, alpha-limonene,5040 dip, Mogul L carbon black (supplied by Cabot Corp.), polystyrene, and 2-hexyldecanoic acid were combined to prepare a non-aqueous inner phase. The internal phase prepared above was then encapsulated by adding the mixture to an aqueous solution of porcine gelatin/gum arabic, followed by the addition of Emperor2000 carbon black with 5 wt.% Kolliphor P188.

After heating, mixing and pH adjustment, the resulting capsules are cooled and then sorted to form a capsule mixture having a size distribution between 20 and 60pm diameter with an average diameter of 30-50 pm.

The capsule slurry was centrifuged and then mixed with an aqueous binder of fish Gelatin (Norland high pure Liquid Gelatin) in a ratio of 1 part by weight binder to 7 parts by weight capsule. A solution of colorant (10 wt% of Emperor2000 carbon black with 5 wt% Kolliphor P188 (Sigma-Aldrich 15759)) was prepared in water and then added to the aqueous binder in a ratio of 1 part colorant to 49 parts binder. The resulting mixture of binder and encapsulated internal phase was bar coated onto a 125 μm thick indium tin oxide coated polyester film. The coated film was dried to produce an about 23 μm thick electrophoretic medium substantially comprising a monolayer of capsules.

The surface of the coated capsule of the coated film is then overcoated with a urethane acrylate based adhesive. After the adhesive layer was added, a 125 μm thick screen printed sheet of indium tin oxide coated polyester film was applied. The resulting assembly was then cured by exposure to ultraviolet light from a CSun ultraviolet lamp. Using the techniques described above, window pixels (i.e., top and bottom light-transmissive electrodes) are constructed.

Test-variable light transmission device

A device constructed as described above is driven with a waveform of the form described above that follows a sequence designed to switch the device from a closed state to an open state. The waveform consists of a superposition of the carrier waveform and the modulator waveform. The amplitude of the carrier waveform is 120V and the frequency is 86Hz, while the amplitude of the modulator waveform is 21V and the frequency is 1 Hz. The waveform was applied to the device for 30 seconds. In example 1, the amplitude of the modulator waveform was reduced from 21V to zero in 5 steps over an application period of 30 seconds. The modulator amplitude applied over time is provided in fig. 1. In example 2, the amplitude of the modulator waveform was reduced from 21V to zero V in 30 steps over an application period of 30 s. In both example 1 and example 2, the reduction of the amplitude of the modulator waveform is performed in a linear manner. That is, in example 1, the initial amplitude (21V) of the modulator waveform is sequentially decreased 5 times, once every 6s (30/5), 4.2V (21/5) each time. In example 2, the initial amplitude (21V) of the modulator waveform is sequentially reduced 30 times, once every 1 second (30/30), 0.70V each (21/30). In contrast, in comparative example a, the modulator waveform was kept constant at 21V for an application period of 30 s. After the waveform is applied, each sample is placed in front of a calibration light source, with an integrating sphere detector on the opposite side of the device. The total percent transmission of light through the device (light transmission intensity as a percentage of the incident light intensity) is determined. Percent haze is also determined, which is defined as the percent of diffuse transmitted light, i.e., light that is scattered in transmission compared to the total transmitted light from a normal collimated light source having an azimuthal angle greater than 2.5 °. Percent haze was determined by a calibrated chopper wheel. Table 1 below shows the results obtained from the evaluation of the above three waveform examples.

TABLE 1

Table 1 shows that as the amplitude of the modulator waveform decreases with time as the waveform is applied to the variable light transmission device to achieve the on state of the device, the percent total transmission increases and the percent haze decreases. Comparative example a, in which a constant amplitude modulator waveform was applied, showed a lower percentage of total transmission and a higher percentage of haze compared to examples 1 and 2.

Although the present invention has been described with respect to square wave ac waveforms, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that other periodic forms (e.g., sine waves, triangular waves, etc.) could be substituted without departing from the spirit of the invention.