Claims
- 1. A display device comprising a front panel and a back panel with a light control material therebetween, wherein one of the panels has a rigid substrate and the other of the panels has a flexible substrate.
- 2. The display of claim 1, wherein the rigid substrate is a glass substrate and the flexible substrate is a plastic substrate.
- 3. The display of claim 2, wherein the glass substrate has a thickness from 0.2 mm to 1 mm.
- 4. The display of claim 1, wherein the rigid substrate and the flexible substrate are both plastic substrates.
- 5. The display of claim 1, wherein the flexible substrate is opaque.
- 6. The display of claim 5, wherein the flexible substrate is black.
- 7. The display of claim 5, wherein the back panel includes the flexible substrate, an opaque material layer, and a transparent layer.
- 8. The display of claim 7, wherein the flexible substrate includes the opaque material layer and the transparent layer.
- 9. The display of claim 8, wherein the opaque material layer and the transparent layer are both polymer material layers.
- 10. The display of claim 7, wherein the flexible substrate includes the transparent layer but does not include the opaque material layer.
- 11. The display of claim 10, wherein the opaque material layer is a metallic layer.
- 12. The display of claim 10, wherein the opaque material includes a conductive ink.
- 13. The display of claim 1, wherein one of the panels includes protrusions for supporting the substrates in a spaced-apart relationship.
- 14. The display of claim 13, wherein the protrusions include posts.
- 15. The display of claim 13, wherein the protrusions include ribs.
- 16. The display of claim 13, wherein the one of the panels includes a plurality of wells surrounded by ridges.
- 17. The display of claim 13, wherein the protrusions have straight sides.
- 18. The display of claim 13, wherein the protrusions have tapered sides.
- 19. The display of claim 13, wherein the protrusions are chemically and physically integral with the one of the panels.
- 20. The display of claim 13, wherein the protrusions are made of a curable resin.
- 21. The display of claim 1, further comprising spacers for supporting the substrates in a spaced-apart relationship.
- 22. The display of claim 1, wherein the flexible substrate includes driving electronics embedded therein.
- 23. The display of claim 22, wherein the driving electronics include microstructure elements.
- 24. The display of claim 22, wherein the driving electronics include thin film transistors.
- 25. The display of claim 1, wherein one of the panels includes a sealant ring thereupon.
- 26. The display of claim 1, wherein the panels include respective front and back electrode arrays on the substrates.
- 27. The display of claim 26, wherein one of the electrode arrays includes transparent electrodes, and the other of the electrode arrays includes opaque electrodes.
- 28. The display of claim 27, wherein the transparent electrodes include indium tin oxide electrodes.
- 29. The display of claim 27, wherein the transparent electrodes include silver or an alloy thereof.
- 30. The display of claim 27, wherein the opaque electrodes include metal electrodes.
- 31. The display of claim 27, wherein one of the electrode arrays is a row electrode array, and the other of the arrays is a column electrode array.
- 32. The display of claim 1, wherein one of the panels includes an outer-shell protective layer
- 33. The display of claim 32, wherein the protective layer functions as a moisture barrier.
- 34. The display of claim 32, wherein the outer protective layer functions as an oxygen barrier
- 35. The display of claim 32, wherein the outer protective layer is a metallic film.
- 36. The display of claim 32, wherein the one of the panels also includes an internal protective layer.
- 37. The display of claim 36, wherein the internal protective layer includes an acrylic hard coat layer
- 38. The display of claim 36, wherein the internal protective layer includes polymer material.
- 39. The display of claim 36, wherein the internal protective layer functions as a thermal protective layer during laser ablation.
- 40. The display of claim 1, wherein the flexible substrate includes a metal foil layer laminated to a plastic film.
- 41. The display of claim 40, wherein the metal foil layer has a thickness of 25 to 75 microns.
- 42. The display of claim 40, wherein the plastic film has a thickness of 50 to 200 microns
- 43. The display of claim 40, further comprising a primer layer between the metal foil layer and the plastic film.
- 44. The display of claim 43, wherein the primer layer includes an acrylic coating.
- 45. The display of claim 43, wherein the primer layer has a thickness of 1 to 5 microns.
- 46. The display of claim 1, wherein the light control material is a light emitting material.
- 47. The display of claim 46, wherein the light emitting material includes a hole transport material.
- 48. The display of claim 47, wherein the hole transport material has a thickness from 100 to 500 Angstroms.
- 49. The display of claim 47, wherein the light emitting material further includes an electron transport material.
- 50. The display of claim 49, wherein the electron transport material has a thickness from 100 to 500 Angstroms.
- 51. The display of claim 47, wherein the light emitting material does not include an electron transport material.
- 52. The display of claim 47, wherein the light emitting material further includes an emitter.
- 53. The display of claim 52, wherein the emitter has a thickness from 50 to 100 Angstroms.
- 54. The display of claim 46, wherein the light emitting material includes a semiconductor material.
- 55. The display of claim 46, wherein the light emitting material includes an organic compound.
- 56. The display of claim 46, wherein the light emitting material includes a light emitting polymer.
- 57. The display of claim 56, wherein the light emitting polymer has a thickness from 20 to 60 nm.
- 58. The display of claim 46, further comprising anodes and cathodes on respective opposite sides of the light emitting material.
- 59. The display of claim 1, wherein the light control material is a liquid crystal material.
- 60. The display of claim 59, wherein the liquid crystal material includes a cholesteric liquid crystal material.
- 61. The display of claim 59, wherein the liquid crystal material includes a twisted nematic liquid crystal material.
- 62. The display of claim 59, wherein the liquid crystal material includes a zero field multistable cholesteric liquid crystal mix.
- 63. The display of claim 59, wherein the panels include respective alignment layers.
Parent Case Info
[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/300,682, filed Jun. 25, 2001, which is incorporated by reference in its entirety.
Provisional Applications (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
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60300682 |
Jun 2001 |
US |