Rewritable thin image display sheet, image display apparatus and image display system

An image display apparatus for displaying an image in a rewritable state on at least either one of the opposite surfaces of an image display sheet including:

• a first transparent layer;
• a second transparent layer disposed apart from said first transparent layer by a given distance;
• an intermediate heat-generation layer disposed between said first and second transparent layers and adapted to generate heat at an arbitrary position thereof;
• a first low-temperature-melting material filled in the space between said intermediate heat-generation layer and said first transparent layer while containing a magnetic powder dispersed therein;
• and a second low-temperature-melting material filled in the space between said intermediate heat-generation layer and said second transparent layer while containing a magnetic powder dispersed therein;
• said image display apparatus comprising:
• heating/melting means for heating a region of said intermediate heat-generation layer corresponding to a pixel to melt said first low-temperature-melting material;
• and
• displacement means for displacing the magnetic powder dispersed in said molten zone of said first low-temperature-melting material, toward said first transparent layer, whereby a given image is displayed on said first transparent layer of said image display sheet in accordance with said displaced magnetic powder on said first transparent layer.

An image display system comprising:

• holding a low-temperature-melting material with a magnetic powder dispersed therein, between a heat-generation layer and a transparent layer which are disposed spaced apart from one another;
• allowing a zone of said low-temperature-melting material corresponding to an image display to be selectively heated and molted by said heat-generation layer;
• and
• displacing the magnetic powder in said molten zone toward said transparent layer so as to display a given image on said transparent layer.