Polarizing fiber-optic faceplate of stacked adhered glass elements in a liquid crystal display

A faceplate apparatus for use in a flat panel screen display for displaying images, said flat panel screen display having a flat panel multilayer structure, said faceplate apparatus comprising:

• mechanically uniform and optically coherent polarizing fiber-optic layer for polarizing visible light them through from said flat panel multilayer structure so as to allow the formation of images within said flat panel multilayer structure, said polarizing fiber-optic layer also for optically resolving said images up from an interior portion of said flat panel multilayer structure to the optical surface of said fiber-optic layer;
• i) wherein said polarizing fiber-optic layer comprises a plurality of stacked and adhered glass elements, each of said glass elements having a width, a thickness and an arbitrary length;
• ii) wherein said thickness of said each of said glass elements is so small as to restrict a predetermined wavelength range of light from passage there through;
• iii) wherein said width of said each of said glass elements is large enough to allow said predetermined wavelength range of light to pass there through so that said polarizing of said polarizing fiber-optic layer is in a direction of said width;
• and
• iv) wherein said length of said each of said glass elements is large enough so as to allow tangible layers of polarizing fiber-optic material to be cut therefrom.

A flat panel screen display for displaying images composed of pixels, said flat panel screen display comprising:

• a) light emitting means for emitting and or reflecting incident light radiation;
• b) first polarizing means situated to receive said light radiation and to polarize said light radiation in a first polarizing direction thus transmitting first polarized radiation
• c) first transparent supporting means for providing support for said screen display and situated to receive and transmit there through said first polarized radiation, said first transparent supporting means coupled to said first polarizing means;
• d) transparent electric field generating means for generating localized electric fields and for transmitting said first polarized radiation, comprised of a plurality of localized output electric field electrodes, said transparent electric field generating means coupled to said first transparent supporting means;
• e) polarity altering layer comprised of a plurality of localized and discrete areas selectively altering said first polarized radiation, each of said areas having a first state and a second state wherein said first state alters the polarity of said first polarized radiation and wherein said second state does not alter the polarity of said first polarized radiation, said polarity altering layer coupled to said transparent electric field generating means, said polarity altering layer for generating said pixels that form said image;
• f) common electrode means for providing a reference electrode for each of said plurality of localized output electric field electrodes such that each of said plurality of localized electric fields is in the direction of said common electrode, said common electrode coupled to said polarity altering layer such that said each of said plurality of localized electric fields traverse through said polarity altering layer;
• and
• g) polarizing fiber-optic means having an outer surface exposed for holding and viewing said image composed of pixels, said polarizing fiber-optic means for polarizing said altered first polarized radiation and for optically resolving said pixels which appear in said polarity altering layer up to the outer surface of said polarizing fiber-optic means, said polarized fiber-optic means polarizing said altered first polarized radiation in a second polarizing direction 90 degrees to that of said first polarizing direction, said polarizing fiber-optic means coupled to said common electrode means, wherein said polarizing fiber-optic means is comprised of a thin layer of glass material, said thin layer of glass material comprising a plurality of stacked and adhered glass plates, each of said glass plates having a width, a thickness and an arbitrary length;
• i) said thickness of said each of said glass plates is so small as to restrict a predetermined wavelength range of light from passage there through;
• ii) said width of said each of said glass plates is large enough to allow said predetermined wavelength range of light to pass there through so that said polarization of said fiber-optic layer is in the direction of said width;
• iii) said length of said each of said glass plates being large enough so as to allow tangible layers of fiber-optic material to be cut therefrom.

In a flat panel screen display for displaying images having a flat panel multilayer structure composed of a light emission device, a first polarizing layer for polarizing said light, a first glass supporting layer coupled to said first polarizing layer, a transistor and electrode matrix layer for generating electric fields coupled to said first glass supporting layer, a liquid crystal layer for selectively altering the polarization of said polarized light, said liquid crystal layer coupled to said transistor and electrode matrix, and a common electrode layer which, with the transistor and electrode layer, sandwiches the liquid crystal layer, within said flat panel screen display the improvement comprising:

• mechanically uniform and optically coherent fiber-optic layer for polarizing visible light there through from said flat panel multilayer structure, said fiber-optic layer also for optically resolving said images up from an interior portion of said flat panel multilayer structure to the optical surface of said fiber-optic layer;
• i) said fiber-optic layer comprising a plurality of stacked and adhered glass elements, each of said glass elements having a width, a thickness and an arbitrary length;
• ii) said thickness of said each of said glass elements is so small as to restrict a predetermined wavelength range of light from passage there through;
• iii) said width of said each of said glass elements is large enough to allow said predetermined wavelength range of light to pass there through so that said polarization of said fiber-optic layer is in the direction of said width;
• iv) said length of said each of said glass elements being large enough so as to allow tangible layers of fiber-optic material to be cut therefrom.

A computer system comprising:

• a) central processing means for computing;
• and
• b) flat panel screen display means for displaying images thereon, said flat panel screen display means communicatively coupled to said central processing means, said flat panel displays means comprising;
• i) a flat panel multilayer structure comprising a light emission device, a first polarizing layer for polarizing said light, a first glass supporting layer coupled to said first polarizing layer, a transistor and electrode matrix layer for generating electric fields coupled to said first glass supporting layer, a liquid crystal layer for selectively altering the polarization of said polarized light, said liquid crystal layer coupled to said transistor and electrode matrix, and a common electrode layer which, with the transistor and electrode layer, sandwiches the liquid crystal layer and allows said electric fields to be generated through said liquid crystal layer;
• and
• ii) mechanically uniform and optically coherent fiber-optic layer for polarizing visible light there through from said flat panel multilayer structure so as to allow the formation of images within said flat panel screening display means, said fiber-optic layer also for optically resolving said images from an interior portion of said flat panel multilayer structure to the optical surface of said fiber-optic layer;
• wherein said fiber-optic layer comprises a plurality of stacked and adhered glass elements, each of said glass elements having a width, a thickness and an arbitrary length;
• wherein said thickness of said each of said glass elements, is so small as to restrict a predetermined wavelength range of visible light from passage there through;
• wherein said width of said each of said glass elements is large enough to allow said predetermined wavelength range of visible light to pass there through so that said polarization of said fiber-optic layer is in the direction of said width;
• and
• wherein said length of said each of said glass elements is large enough so as to allow tangible layers of fiber-optic material to be cut therefrom.

A method of reducing the problems of parallax and off axis viewing distortion such as contrast aberrations by using a faceplate apparatus for use in a flat panel screen display, said display having a multilayer screen structure, said structure having a liquid crystal layer, said method comprising the steps of:

• a) providing a mechanically uniform and optically coherent polarizing fiber-optic layer that provides for polarization;
• wherein said polarizing fiber-optic layer comprises a plurality of stacked and adhered glass elements, each of said glass elements having a width, a thickness and an arbitrary length;
• wherein said thickness of said glass element is so small as to restrict a predetermined wavelength range of light from passage there through;
• wherein said width of said glass element is large enough to allow said predetermined wavelength range of light to pass there through so that said polarization of said fiber-optic layer is in the direction of said width;
• wherein said length of said glass element is large enough so as to allow tangible layers of fiber-optic material to be cut therefrom;
• b) polarizing visible light which passes from said flat panel multilayer structure through said polarizing fiber-optic layer so as to allow the formation of images within said flat panel multilayer structure;
• and
• c) optically resolving said images up from said liquid crystal layer to the outer optical surface of said polarizing fiber-optic layer so as to reduce off axis viewing distortion and parallax.

A flat panel display apparatus comprising:

• a first polarizing layer disposed to receive light and for polarizing said light in an arbitrary direction;
• a polarity altering layer disposed to receive light from said first polarizing layer, said polarity altering layer selectively polarizing or not polarizing portions of said light received from said first polarizing layer in order to generate an image;
• and
• a single uniform layer coupled to receive light from said polarity altering layer through a first surface and oriented such that a second surface is presented for visualization, said single uniform layer both polarizing said light received from said polarity altering layer so as to form said image and also optically resolving said image from said polarity altering layer onto said second surface of said single uniform layer to reduce parallax, wherein said single uniform layer comprises a plurality of mechanically fused glass members wherein each member comprises a width oriented along a first axis and a thickness oriented along a second axis and wherein said thickness is of a dimension to restrict light of a predetermined wavelength from passing therethrough in a direction of said first axis and wherein said width is of a dimension to allow said light of said predetermined wavelength to pass therethrough in a direction of said second axis.