Claims
- 1. A system of components including an ultra violet filter and a separate functional component for controlling light transmission, said separate functional component comprising:a film containing electrically controllable elements dispersed in a medium and configured to control light transmission, said electrically controllable elements being subject to photoreduction degradation and comprised of polarizing particles or liquid crystals associated with dichroic dyes; and two transparent layers positioned on opposite sides of said film with each transparent layer being configured to include at least one electrically conducting layer portion, wherein at least one of the two transparent layers is further configured to permit oxygen to permeate there through and into said film so as to slow down the photoreduction degradation occurring relative to said electrically controllable elements to add to the slow down of photoreduction degradation for the electrically controllable elements provided by the ultra violet filter.
- 2. The system according to claim 1, wherein the medium includes at least one polymer of the polyurethane family or the polyvinyl alcohol family prepared in a solvent in a proportion by weight of at least 15% and no greater than 50% with respect to said solvent.
- 3. The system according to claim 1, wherein the system is included as part of a display screen.
- 4. The system according to claim 1, wherein the system includes further components forming a multiple glazing unit having two plates, with the functional component having one side thereof laminated on a first inside surface of one of the two plates that faces a second inside surface on the other one of the two plates and having a polycarbonate film covering a second side thereof opposite to the first side, said polycarbonate film being in contact with a gas layer that is formed between the polycarbonate film and the second inside surface.
- 5. The system according to claim 1, wherein the electrically controllable elements are formed as polarizing particles dispersed in said medium.
- 6. The system according to claim 5, wherein the polarizing particles are further formed as droplets having a diameter of at least 0.5 μm and no greater than 3.0 μm.
- 7. The system according to claim 5, wherein the polarizing particles are further formed as droplets having a diameter of at least 1.0 μm and no greater than 2.5 μm.
- 8. The system according to claim 6, wherein the percentage by weight of the droplets with respect to the medium excluding any solvents is at least 150% and no greater than 200%.
- 9. The system according to claim 1, wherein the at least one of the transparent layers that is further configured to slow down the process of photoreduction degradation includes a sheet of a polymer material in contact with the electrically conducting layer portion, said sheet having an oxygen permeability of at least 10 cm3/cm2/mm/s/cmHg×10−10 or greater according to the ASTM-D1434 standard.
- 10. The system according to claim 9, wherein the polymer material is a polycarbonate.
- 11. The system according to claim 9, wherein the oxygen permeability is at least 20 cm3/cm2/mm/s/cmHg×10−10 or greater according to the ASTM-D1434 standard.
- 12. The system according to claim 9, wherein the oxygen permeability is at least 40 cm3/cm2/mm/s/cmHg×10−10 or greater according to the ASTM-D1434 standard.
- 13. The system according to claim 9, wherein the sheet is configured to receive oxygen from a renewable oxygen source.
- 14. The system according to claim 9, wherein the system includes further components configured together to form a glazing unit with the sheet being a substrate carrying the film and the two transparent layers to provide for easy assembly into the glazing unit.
- 15. The system according to claim 1, wherein the electrically controllable elements are liquid crystals associated with dichroic dyes dispersed in said medium.
- 16. The system according to claim 15, wherein the liquid crystals are formed as droplets dispersed in said medium with the dichroic dyes being dissolved within said droplets.
- 17. The system according to claim 15 wherein the dichroic dyes include diazoquinone derivatives or anthraquinone derivatives.
- 18. The system according to claim 15, wherein the percentage by weight of the dichroic dyes with respect to the liquid crystals is at least 0.1% and no greater than 3.0%.
- 19. The system according to claim 15, wherein the percentage by weight of the dichroic dyes with respect to the liquid crystals is at least 0.5% and no greater than 2.0%.
- 20. The system according to claim 15, wherein the liquid crystals are in the form of droplets with a diameter of at least 1.0 μm and no greater than 2.5 μm.
- 21. The system according to claim 15, wherein the film includes a polyurethane latex medium configured to contain the liquid crystals in the form of droplets having a diameter of approximately 2.5 μm.
- 22. The system according to claim 15, wherein the film includes a polyvinyl alcohol medium configured to contain the liquid crystal in the form of droplets having a diameter of approximately 1.0 μm.
- 23. The system according to claim 15, wherein the liquid crystals are in the form of droplets with a diameter of at least 0.5 μm and no greater than 3.0 μm.
- 24. The system according to claim 23 wherein the percentage by weight of the droplets with respect to the medium excluding any solvents is at least 150% and no greater than 200%.
- 25. A multiple-glazing unit including an ultra violet filter, two rigid substrates, an internal gas layer, and a supporting configuration to maintain a functional component for controlling light transmission in the intermediate gas layer, said functional component comprising:a film containing electrically controllable elements dispersed in a medium and configured to control light transmission, said electrically controllable elements being subject to photoreduction degradation and comprised of polarizing particles or liquid crystals associated with dichroic dyes; and two transparent layers positioned on opposite sides of said film with each transparent layer being configured to include at least one electrically conducting layer portion, wherein at least one of the two transparent layers is further configured to slow down the photoreduction degradation occurring relative to said electrically controllable elements to add to the slow down of photoreduction degradation for the electrically controllable elements provided by the ultra violet filter.
- 26. The multiple-glazing unit according to claim 25, wherein the ultra violet filter includes a polymer sheet.
- 27. The multiple-glazing unit according to claim 26, wherein the polymer sheet is made of one of PVB, PU, or EVA and is laminated to one of the rigid substrates or to an additional rigid substrate or is a polymer sheet between the functional component and one of the rigid substrates.
- 28. A laminated glazing unit including an ultra violet filter and two outermost rigid substrates that sandwich at least one internal sheet carrying a functional component for controlling light transmission, said functional component comprising:a film containing electrically controllable elements dispersed in a medium and configured to control light transmission, said electrically controllable elements being subject to photoreduction degradation and comprised of polarizing particles or liquid crystals associated with dichroic dyes; and two transparent layers positioned on opposite sides of said film with each transparent layer being configured to include at least one electrically conducting layer portion, wherein at least one of the two transparent layers is further configured to slow down the photoreduction degradation occurring relative to said electrically controllable elements to add to the slow down of photoreduction degradation for the electrically controllable elements provided by the ultra violet filter.
- 29. The system according to claim 28, wherein the internal sheet is made of an oxygen permeable material and is positioned next to at least one of the transparent layers.
- 30. A system of components including an ultra violet filter and a separate functional component for controlling light transmission, said separate functional component comprising:a film containing electrically controllable elements dispersed in a medium and configured to control light transmission, said electrically controllable elements being subject to photoreduction degradation and comprised of polarizing particles or liquid crystals associated with dichroic dyes; and two transparent layers positioned on opposite sides of said film with at least one of the transparent layers being configured to include an electrically conducting doped metal oxide sub-layer and a non-photocatalytic dielectric barrier sub-layer, wherein said non-photocatalytic dielectric barrier sub-layer is positioned closer to said film than said metal oxide sub-layer and includes one of Si3N4, AlN, or SiON configured to add to the slow down of the photoreduction degradation for the electrically controllable elements provided by the ultra violet filter.
- 31. A system of components including an ultra violet filter and a separate functional component for controlling light transmission, said separate functional component comprising:a film containing electrically controllable elements dispersed in a medium and configured to control light transmission, said electrically controllable elements being subject to photoreduction degradation and comprised of polarizing particles or liquid crystals associated with dichroic dyes; and two transparent layers positioned on opposite sides of said film with at least one of the transparent layers being configured to include an electrically conducting doped metal oxide sub-layer and a non-photocatalytic dielectric barrier sub-layer, wherein the non-photocatalytic dielectric barrier sub-layer has a thickness of less than 5 nm, is positioned closer to said film than said metal oxide sub-layer, and includes one of Si3N4, AlN, or SiON configured to add to the slow down of the photoreduction degradation for the electrically controllable elements provided by the ultra violet filter.
- 32. A system of components including an ultra violet filter and a separate functional component for controlling light transmission, said separate functional component comprising:a film containing electrically controllable elements dispersed in a medium and configured to control light transmission, said electrically controllable elements being subject to photoreduction degradation and comprised of polarizing particles or liquid crystals associated with dichroic dyes; and two transparent layers positioned on opposite sides of said film with at least one of the transparent layers being configured to include an electrically conducting doped metal oxide sub-layer and a non-photocatalytic dielectric barrier sub-layer, wherein the non-photocatalytic dielectric barrier sub-layer has a thickness of at least 0.5 nm and no greater than 3.0 nm, is positioned closer to said film than said metal oxide sub-layer, and includes one of Si3N4, AlN, or SiON configured to add to the slow down of the photoreduction degradation for the electrically controllable elements provided by the ultra violet filter.
- 33. A system of components including an ultra violet filter and a separate functional component for controlling light transmission, said separate functional component comprising:a film containing electrically controllable elements dispersed in a medium and configured to control light transmission, said electrically controllable elements being subject to photoreduction degradation; and two transparent layers positioned on opposite sides of said film with each transparent layer being configured to include at least one electrically conducting layer portion, wherein at least one of the two transparent layers further includes a completely metallic sub-layer configured to add to a slow down of the photoreduction degradation occurring relative to said electrically controllable elements.
- 34. The system according to claim 33 wherein said completely metallic sub-layer is a monolayer of silver or gold.
- 35. A double-glazing unit including an ultra violet filter and two outer rigid substrates that sandwich at least one internal sheet carrying a separate functional component for controlling light transmission and at least one intermediate gas layer, said separate functional component comprising:a film containing electrically controllable elements dispersed in a medium and configured to control light transmission, said electrically controllable elements being subject to photoreduction degradation and comprised of polarizing particles or liquid crystals associated with dichroic dyes; and two transparent layers positioned on opposite sides of said film with each transparent layer being configured to include at least one electrically conducting layer portion, wherein at least one of the two transparent layers is further configured to slow down the photoreduction degradation occurring relative to said electrically controllable elements to add to the slow down of photoreduction degradation for the electrically controllable elements provided by the ultra violet filter.
Priority Claims (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
Kind |
98 07277 |
Jun 1998 |
FR |
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Parent Case Info
This application is a Continuation of application Ser. No. 09/328,388 Filed on Jun. 9, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,486,928.
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Continuations (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09/328388 |
Jun 1999 |
US |
Child |
10/196361 |
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US |