US 2010/0060623 A1Published application

Drive method for an electrophoretic cell and an electrophoretic device

AssigneeKoninklijke Philips Electronics N.V.

InventorsMartinus Hermanus Wilhelmus Maria Van Delden, Sander Jurgen Roosendaal, Patrick John Baesjou, Alwin Rogier Martijn Verschueren, Franciscus Paulus Maria Budzelaar

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Abstract

The present invention relates to a drive method for an electrophoretic cell and a device adapted to implement the method. The cell comprises a first storage electrode (24), a second storage electrode (22), a first target area electrode (28), a second target area electrode (30), a first type of particle (32) and a second type of particles (33), said second type of particles being of opposite polarity to the first type of particles. An area (31) extending between the target area electrodes (28, 30) is a target area. The method comprises a reset phase (110), wherein said first and second type of particle are reset to determined reset positions, a first write phase (120), wherein the first type of particles are moved to and/or from the storage electrodes and change in amount in said target area (31), a second write phase (140) similar to the first write phase but for the second type of particles, and a spread phase (150) so that the particles in said target area (31) distribute and mix. The method allows for short distance movements and two particle type in the same cell can be written comparatively fast.

Claims18

Dependent claims

A drive method for an electrophoretic cell (20), said cell comprising a first storage electrode (24), a second storage electrode (22), a first target area electrode (28), a second target area electrode (30), a first type of particles (32) and second type of particles (33), said second type of particles being of opposite charge polarity to the first type of particles, said target area electrodes (28, 30) and an area extending between said target area electrodes (28, 30) being a target area (31), each of said storage electrodes (22, 24) being located outside said target area (31), said method comprising:

in a reset phase (110), applying electrode control signals so that said first and second type of particles are reset to determined reset positions in said cell;
in a first write phase (120), applying electrode control signals so that the first type of particles (32) are moved to and/or from one of the storage electrodes (22, 24) and thereby change in amount in said target area (31) and the amount of the second type of particles is retained in the target area;
in a second write phase (140), applying electrode control signals so that the second type of particles (33) are moved to and/or from one of the storage electrodes (22, 24) and thereby change in amount in said target area (31) and the amount of the first type of particles is retained in the target area;
and
in a spread phase (150), applying electrode control signals so that the first and second type of particles (32, 33) which are positioned in said target area (31), distribute and mix in said target area.

2 more elements

An electrophoretic device comprising at least one electrophoretic cell (20), said cell comprising a first storage electrode (24), a second storage electrode (22), a first target area electrode (28), a second target area electrode (30), a first type of particles (32) and second type of particles (33), said second type of particles being of opposite charge polarity to the first type of particles, said target area electrodes (28, 30) and an area extending between said target area electrodes (28, 30) being a target area (31), each of said storage electrodes (22, 24) being located outside said target area (31), said device further comprising a controller for controlling electrode potentials of said at least one electrophoretic cell (20), said controller being adapted to:

in a reset phase (110), applying electrode control signals so that said first and second type of particles are reset to determined reset positions in said cell;
in a first write phase (120), applying electrode control signals so that the first type of particles (32) are moved to and/or from one of the storage electrodes (22, 24) and thereby change in amount in said target area (31) and the amount of the second type of particles is retained in the target area;
in a second write phase (140), applying electrode control signals so that the second type of particles (33) are moved to and/or from one of the storage electrodes (22, 24) and thereby change in amount in said target area (31) and the amount of the first type of particles is retained in the target area;
and
in a spread phase (150), applying electrode control signals so that the first and second type of particles (32, 33) which are positioned in said target area (31), distribute and mix in said target area.

2 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 12/516,814Filed 27 Nov 2007
Priority: EP 06125051.030 Nov 2006
Published: 11 Mar 2010
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification16 codes

G09G 3/3446
Based on particles moving in a fluid or in a gas, e.g. electrophoretic devices: with more than two electrodes controlling the modulating element
G02F 1/16761
Electrodes: side-by-side arrangement of working electrodes and counter-electrodes
G02F 1/16762
Electrodes: having three or more electrodes per pixel
G09G 3/2011
Display of intermediate tones: by amplitude modulation