Transmissive electrophoretic display with vertical electrodes

An electrophoretic display comprising:

• a generally planar light-transmissive rear window;
• a generally planar light-transmissive front window;
• a plurality of cells located between the rear and front windows, each cell having a front wall generally parallel to the planar front window, a rear wall generally parallel to the planar rear window, four side walls generally perpendicularly to the rear and front windows and having generally rounded interior corners, and a center post located generally at the center of and extending generally perpendicularly to the planar rear and front windows, and each cell containing charged light-absorbing pigment particles in a light-transmissive fluid;
• and
• a backlight located behind the rear window for passing light through the rear window and the cells to the front window for observation by a viewer of the display;
• and wherein the four side walls of each cell form a collecting electrode substantially non-obstructive to light for removing pigment particles in the cells from the path of light when the rear window is illuminated from behind so that light can reach the front window without significant attenuation, and wherein the center post of each cell forms a counter electrode substantially non-obstructive to light and cooperative with the collecting electrode for distributing the pigment particles in the cells to substantially block the path of light when the rear window is illuminated from behind so that the light is significantly attenuated before reaching the front window.

An electrophoretic display comprising:

• a generally planar light-transmissive rear window;
• a generally planar light-transmissive front window;
• a plurality of cells located between the rear and front windows, each cell having a front wall generally parallel to the planar front window, a rear wall generally parallel to the planar rear window, four side walls generally perpendicularly to the rear and front windows, and three spaced-apart parallel plates oriented generally perpendicularly to the planar rear and front windows, and each cell containing charged light-absorbing pigment particles in a light-transmissive fluid;
• a collecting electrode within each cell and comprising the four side walls and the center one of said three plates within said each cell, the collecting electrode being substantially non-obstructive to light for removing pigment particles in the cells from the path of light when the rear window is illuminated from behind so that light can reach the front window without significant attenuation;
• a counter electrode within each cell and comprising the other two of said three plates within said each cell, the counter electrode being substantially non-obstructive to light and cooperative with the collecting electrode for distributing the pigment particles in the cells to substantially block the path of light when the rear window is illuminated from behind so that the light is significantly attenuated before reaching the front window;
• and
• a backlight located behind the rear window for passing light through the rear window and the cells to the front window for observation by a viewer of the display.