Claims
- 1-13 (Canceled)
- 14 A process for the preparation of an electrophoretic display, which process comprises the steps of:
a) filling the microcups with a dispersion of a thermoplastic precursor in an electrophoretic fluid which fluid comprises charged pigment particles dispersed in a dielectric solvent wherein said thermoplastic precursor has a specific gravity lower than that of the dielectric solvent and the charged pigment particles; and b) sealing the filled microcups by hardening a supernatant layer formed from said thermoplastic precursor at the top of the electrophoretic fluid.
- 15 The process of claim 14 wherein the hardening is accomplished by solvent evaporation, interfacial reaction, moisture, heat, radiation or a combination thereof.
- 16 The process of claim 15 wherein the hardening is accomplished by UV radiation.
- 17 The process of claim 14 wherein said thermoplastic precursor is immiscible with the dielectric solvent.
- 18 A process for the preparation of an electrophoretic display, which process comprises the steps of:
a) filling the microcups with an electrophoretic fluid which comprises charged pigment particles dispersed in a dielectric solvent; b) sealing the filled microcups by overcoating onto said electrophoretic fluid a composition comprising a thermoplastic precursor which has a specific gravity lower than that of said dielectric solvent and the charged pigment particles, and c) hardening said thermoplastic precursor composition.
- 19 The process of claim 18 wherein the hardening is accomplished by solvent evaporation, interfacial reaction, moisture, heat, radiation or a combination thereof.
- 20 The process of claim 18 wherein said thermoplastic precursor is immiscible with the dielectric solvent.
- 21 A process for the manufacture of an electrophoretic display, which process comprises the steps of:
a) preparing microcups; b) filling the microcups with an electrophoretic fluid which comprises charged pigment particles dispersed in a dielectric solvent; and c) sealing the filled microcups with a thermoplastic precursor which has a specific gravity lower than that of the dielectric solvent and the charged pigment particles.
- 22 The process of claim 21 wherein said thermoplastic precursor is immiscible with the dielectric solvent.
- 23 The process of claim 21 wherein the filling and sealing of the microcups is accomplished by filling the microcups with a dispersion of the thermoplastic precursor in the electrophoretic fluid and hardening a supernatant layer formed from said thermoplastic precursor at top of the electrophoretic fluid.
- 24 The process of claim 23 wherein the hardening is accomplished by solvent evaporation, interfacial reaction, moisture, heat, radiation or a combination thereof.
- 25 The process of claim 21 wherein the sealing is accomplished by overcoating onto said electrophoretic fluid a composition comprising the thermoplastic precursor and hardening said thermoplastic precursor composition.
- 26 The process of claim 25 wherein the hardening is accomplished by solvent evaporation, interfacial reaction, moisture, heat, radiation or a combination thereof.
- 27 The process of claim 21 wherein said microcups are prepared by embossing a layer of a thermoplastic or thermoset precursor with a male mold.
- 28 The process of claim 21 wherein said microcups are prepared by imagewise exposing a layer of a radiation curable material and removing the unexposed areas.
- 29 A process for the manufacture of a multi-color electrophoretic display, which process comprises the steps of:
a) preparing microcups; b) laminating the microcups with a layer of positive photoresist; c) imagewise exposing the positive photoresist to selectively open the microcups in a predetermined area; d) filling the opened microcups with an electrophoretic fluid which comprises white charged pigment particles dispersed in a dielectric solvent of a first color; e) sealing the filled microcups with a thermoplastic precursor which has a specific gravity lower than that of the dielectric solvent and the charged pigment particles; f) repeating steps c) to e) in different areas to generate groups of microcups filled with electrophoretic fluids of different colors; and g) removing residual positive photoresist, if any.
- 30 The process of claim 29 wherein the filling and sealing of the microcups is accomplished by filling the microcups with a dispersion of the thermoplastic precursor in the electrophoretic fluid and hardening a supernatant layer formed from said thermoplastic precursor at top of the electrophoretic fluid.
- 31 The process of claim 30 wherein the hardening is accomplished by solvent evaporation, interfacial reaction, moisture, heat, radiation or a combination thereof.
- 32 The process of claim 30 wherein said thermoplastic precursor is immiscible with said dielectric solvent.
- 33 The process of claim 29 wherein the sealing is accomplished by overcoating onto said electrophoretic fluid a composition comprising the thermoplastic precursor and hardening said thermoplastic precursor composition.
- 34 The process of claim 33 wherein the hardening is accomplished by solvent evaporation, interfacial reaction, moisture, heat, radiation or a combination thereof.
- 35 The process of claim 33 wherein said thermoplastic precursor is immiscible with the dielectric solvent.
- 36 The process of claim 29 wherein said microcups are prepared by embossing a layer of a thermoplastic or thermoset precursor with a male mold.
- 37 The process of claim 29 wherein said microcups are prepared by imagewise exposing a layer of a radiation curable material and removing the unexposed areas.
RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/518,488, filed on Mar. 3, 2000, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
Continuations (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09518488 |
Mar 2000 |
US |
Child |
10444760 |
May 2003 |
US |