Portable electronic device with an integrated switchable mirror

#The present invention is related to switchable mirrors and their integration into portable electronic devices, such as cellular telephones, sometimes called cell or mobile phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), personal music/video players, such as MP3 players and IPods, and the like. Switchable mirrors might also be integrated into larger electronic devices, such as laptop computers.

#Such portable and in most cases, handheld, electronic devices are becoming more and more common in modern society as their ease of use and functionalities increase. For example, some current cell phones, while no larger than one's palm, operate more like pocket-size computers. Besides voice communications, other functions of such telephones include the ability to send and receive e-mail, to “surf the Web” (i.e., to access the WorldWide Web), to manage schedules with personal calendars, to take and send digital photographs, to act as a platform for games, and other activities. Future projected functions of portable electronic devices include the wireless reception of television and music signals, the so-called mobile media. Of course, the merger of functions often blurs the terminology of a particular device. Whether a combination of cellular telephone and a personal digital assistant is called a cellular telephone with PDA features or a PDA with cell phone features is often a reflection of marketing rather than a weighing of device functions.

#The miniaturization of portable electronic devices and their increased functionalities have furthermore allowed the introduction into consumer society of devices which were never intended as such. For example, GPS (Global Positioning Satellite) devices were developed originally for the military, but as sizes and costs declined, such devices appeared in the outdoor recreation market. Today GPS features are found in a myriad of handheld devices, such as cell phones, to guide the user to selected locations, such as a desired restaurant.

#FIG. 1 is a representation of a portable electronic device with a switchable mirror, according to one embodiment of the present invention;

#FIG. 2 is an exploded detailed view of the elements of a flat screen display with switchable mirror, according to one embodiment of the present invention; and

#FIG. 3 is detailed view of switchable mirror covering a flat screen display partially, according to another embodiment of the present invention.

#As stated above, portable electronic devices employing a flat screen display, typically a liquid crystal display, or LCD, have become ubiquitous. Indeed, to conduct many businesses, a laptop computer and a cellular telephone have become necessities. By integrating an electrically controlled switchable mirror with the flat-screen display of a portable electronic device, the portable electronic device provides the user with a convenient and inconspicuous on-demand mirror. The user of such a device can check his or her appearance after using a cellular telephone, for example, without carrying a separate mirror. For normal operations of the device, the mirror switches to its transparent state so that the display is visible.

#There are different switchable mirror technologies which have been recently developed. Early practical switchable mirror are based on hydrogen-induced phase transition in rare earth metals. Subsequently significant progress toward lower-cost, greater reliability and improved performance switchable mirrors has been made by transition metal-based switchable mirrors, or TMSM. Thin films of an active transition metal material, bonded to glass substrates, can switch reversibly between reflecting and transparent states, either by exposure to hydrogen or by application of an electric current. The TMSM film is laminated between electrodes with other electrolytes. In many cases, the active film can also be one of electrodes. These types of devices are also known as electrochromic devices.

#Another development in switchable mirrors is based on lithium ion insertion that is even more stable and potentially lower cost than TMSM. As such, large-scale application, such as building windows, of this technology is now being contemplated. Of course, the present invention uses switchable mirrors configured to switch electrically on a far smaller scale.