Patent Grant
9272537
The methods and systems disclosed herein relate to displaying information from computer systems. More specifically, techniques for displaying information on electronic paper are disclosed.
One of the most common methods of displaying information via electronic devices is with a standard printer and paper. The printer receives data from a computer, and then uses ink to embed, or print, text and images onto a sheet of paper. The printed information is permanent and cannot be easily altered or disposed of outside of physically destroying the paper itself. Furthermore, the amount of ink that a printer can store is finite and must be replenished regularly. Thus, the use of a printer requires users to purchase and dispose of a large quantity of resources.
Another method that has gained wide acceptance in recent years is the use of an electronic reader or “e-reader”. An e-reader functions by displaying text and images on a screen of limited size on the device. The information displayed by the screen is dictated by a document interpreter and renderer, which sends instruction to a driver to change the state of the pixels displayed on the screen. The electronics are fixed to the display screen, meaning that the device has a rigid form factor and cannot be resized or reshaped. Further, the electronics used to display the information add significant cost to the display. The e-readers are also incapable of displaying multiple pages of information simultaneously.
According to embodiments of the subject matter disclosed in this application, electronic paper (also known as “e-paper”) is used as an alternative method for displaying information, in the form of text and images from a computer source. As used herein, e-paper describes a physical medium with a flexible form in which information can be displayed by altering a status of a number of pixels on it. The e-paper can be printed by being passed through a printer, which uses a print head to impose a field, such as a magnetic or electrical field, on the paper to cause pixels to transition from one stable state to another stable state. Unlike traditional paper, the display on e-paper can be reset by altering the status of the pixels, making it possible to erase information and re-use sheets of e-paper.
Although some embodiments have been described in reference to particular implementations, other implementations are possible according to some embodiments. Additionally, the arrangement and order of circuit elements or other features illustrated in the drawings or described herein need not be arranged in the particular way illustrated and described. Many other arrangements are possible according to some embodiments.
In each system shown in a figure, the elements in some cases may each have a same reference number or a different reference number to suggest that the elements represented could be different or similar. However, an element may be flexible enough to have different implementations and work with some or all of the systems shown or described herein. The various elements shown in the figures may be the same or different. Which one is referred to as a first element and which is called a second element is arbitrary.
In the description and claims, the terms “coupled” and “connected,” along with their derivatives, may be used. It should be understood that these terms are not intended as synonyms for each other. Rather, in particular embodiments, “connected” may be used to indicate that two or more elements are in direct physical or electrical contact with each other. “Coupled” may mean that two or more elements are in direct physical or electrical contact. However, “coupled” may also mean that two or more elements are not in direct contact with each other, but yet still co-operate or interact with each other.
An embodiment is an implementation or example of the inventions. Reference in the specification to “an embodiment,” “one embodiment,” “some embodiments,” or “other embodiments” means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiments is included in at least some embodiments, but not necessarily all embodiments, of the inventions. The various appearances “an embodiment,” “one embodiment,” or “some embodiments” are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiments.
Not all components, features, structures, characteristics, etc. described and illustrated herein need be included in a particular embodiment or embodiments. If the specification states a component, feature, structure, or characteristic “may”, “might”, “can” or “could” be included, for example, that particular component, feature, structure, or characteristic is not required to be included. If the specification or claim refers to “a” or “an” element, that does not mean there is only one of the element. If the specification or claims refer to “an additional” element, that does not preclude there being more than one of the additional element.
The computer 102 may be linked to an electronic printer (or “e-printer”) 104, which may be capable of executing instructions provided by the computer 104. The e-printer 104 can accept a blank e-paper 106 and proceed to transfer (or “print”) the information obtained from the computer onto the e-paper 106 for display. The e-printer 104 then provides the printed e-paper 108 as the output.
It is to be understood that the block diagram of
The document interpreter and renderer 202 may be configured to obtain information from the computer 102 and process the information to create a bitmap. The bitmap is then transmitted to the e-paper driver 204, which may be connected to the document interpreter and renderer 202, directly or remotely. In one embodiment, the information may be processed in the computer 102 to create the bitmap, which can then be passed to the printing system 200.
The e-paper driver 204 may power top electrodes 206 and bottom electrodes 208 to form the image on the e-paper 210. The top electrodes 206 and bottom electrodes 208 may be arranged in linear arrays. Through external or internal means, the e-paper 210 can be moved between the top electrodes 206 and bottom electrodes 208, to write the displayed information. The top electrodes 206 and bottom electrodes 208 may be replaced by other types of printheads that serve to alter the display of the e-paper 210.
The substrate 402 may contain within itself a number of microscopic capsules 404, each of which may carry two or more visible states. These capsules 404 may be acted upon by an e-printer 104 to alter their associated visible states. The capsules 404 may contain white dye particles 406 and black (or colored) dye particles 408 suspended in a liquid such as an oil. The microscopic capsules 404 may be as small as 100 microns wide, in some embodiments.
The microscopic capsules 404 may be produced through a variety of microencapsulation methods, some of which may be available commercially. One embodiment of a method may be to form an oil-in-water emulsion, in which the oil is a solution containing white titanium dioxide particles and carbon black particles. Within the emulsion, the oil may take the form of microscopic droplets. A coating material, such as a borate or a natural gum, can be added into the emulsion, where it may interact with the oil droplets by forming a wall or membrane around them.
Another embodiment of microencapsulation may include a nozzle that can spray a liquid solution containing the white and black dye particles. The nozzle may be rotating or vibrating so that as the liquid is dispersed through the air, it breaks into droplets, which can interact with a coating material to form the microcapsules.
It is to be understood that the aforementioned methods describe only a few ways that the microscopic capsules 404 may be produced. Other embodiments, including capsules that utilize solid (as opposed to liquid) cores, may be possible.
The capsules 404 may be embedded onto the substrate 402 through a variety of means. They may be sprayed, brushed, or coated onto the substrate 402 along with an adhesive.
The white dye particles 406 may have a first charge, e.g. positive, while the black (or colored) dye particles 408 may have an opposite charge, e.g., negative. In this embodiment, an applied electrical charge forces the positively and, negatively charged particles may migrate to opposing sides of the capsule 404, resulting in a pixel on the e-paper 400 displaying either black or white.
In some embodiments, a second substrate 410 is disposed over the first substrate 402 to help contain the capsules 404. The second substrate may be composed of the same material as the first substrate 402, or a different material altogether. The second substrate 410 is substantially transparent to allow the capsules to be viewed, although contact transparency may suffice. Embodiments of the second substrate 402 may include clear polypropylene or polycarbonate.
It is to be understood that the drawing of
In yet another embodiment, an electro-wetting process is used in which the capsules 404 are replaced with electrodes, each of which contains an oil/water interface whose shape can be controlled by an applied voltage. When no voltage is present, the colored oil forms a film over the electrode, resulting in a dark or colored pixel display. If a voltage is applied, the water acts upon the oil and shifts it aside, exposing the reflective surface of the electrode to light. This may result in a translucent or white pixel display.
An opposite electrical charge may be imposed on opposing electrodes 504 and 506, changing the visual status of the pixels. For example, in a leftmost capsule 512, the white negatively charged particles 508 will migrate toward the positively charged upper electrode 504, while the darker positively charged particles 510 will migrate toward the negatively charged lower electrode 506. The outcome of this is a white pixel, as viewed from a first side 513.
In the schematic 500, another upper electrode 504A is negatively charged, and an opposing bottom electrode 506A is positively charged. As a result, the dark positively-charged particles 510 may migrate upward in a second capsule 514, showing a dark pixel display, as viewed from the first side 513. A layer of insulation 515 may be located between individual electrode regions 504 and 504A and 506 and 506A, allowing different charges to be imposed.
The middle capsule 516 in this embodiment is acted upon by two opposing sets of electrodes. In this scenario, the white 508 and dark particles 510 do not uniformly migrate in a particular direction. However, as the capsules 512, 514, and 516 may be much smaller in size than the area of the electrodes acting upon them, e.g., the pixel size, indefinite capsules 516 may not be noticeable.
The electrostatic e-paper 602 may contain a number of microscopic capsules, each of which contains within itself a sphere with two or more contrasting colors on its surface. In this embodiment, the sphere features a white hemisphere 608 and a dark hemisphere 610, each carrying an opposite electrical charge. For example, the white hemisphere 608 may have a negative surface charge, while the dark hemisphere 610 may have a positive surface charge.
An opposite electrical charge may be imposed on opposite electrodes 604 and 606, changing the visual display status of the pixels. For example, in a leftmost capsule 612, the sphere will orient itself so that the negatively charged white hemisphere 608 faces the positively charged upper electrode 604, while the positively charged dark hemisphere 610 faces the negatively charged lower electrode 606. The outcome of this is a white pixel, as viewed from a first surface 613.
In schematic 600, another upper electrode 604A is negatively charged, and an opposing bottom electrode 606A is positively charged. As a result, the positively-charged dark hemisphere 610 in a second capsule 614 faces upward, showing a dark pixel display, as viewed from the first surface 613. As discussed with respect to
The middle capsule 616 in this embodiment is acted upon by two opposing sets of electrodes. In this scenario, the sphere does not reach a stable orientation, resulting in a display that may be in a random orientation between the different colors. However, as the capsules 612, 614, and 616 may be much smaller in size than the area of the electrodes acting upon them, e.g., the pixel size, indefinitely oriented capsules 616 may not be noticeable.
In another embodiment, the capsules 612, 614, and 616 are not electrically charged, but magnetized. In this case, the electrodes 206 and 208 would be replaced with magnetic coils or plates that would impose magnetic fields onto the capsules 612, 614, and 616. This would cause the capsules 612, 614, and 616 to re-orient themselves to display the appropriate color.
At block 702, e-paper is passed into the printer to engage the driver. This process may be performed by a set of automated rollers. The e-paper engages the driver so that it is aligned with the printhead. In some embodiments, the top and bottom electrodes are arranged in linear rows perpendicular to the direction vector of the e-paper.
At block 704, instructions are delivered to the driver for pixel alteration. The computer may serve as the source of the instructions for the printing process. The instructions may take the form of a bitmap composed by the document interpreter and renderer, and would define the output of text and images that would be displayed onto the e-paper. In other embodiments, the instructions may take the form of a document description language, such as the postscript language, which is rendered into a bitmap within the printer.
At block 706, the printhead is energized to change the pixel state of the e-paper. For example, the top electrodes and the bottom electrodes may be electrically charged, causing the appropriate dye particles in the e-paper to migrate accordingly to form the image outlined by the bitmap. In another embodiment, the electrodes may cause colored spheres in the e-paper to rotate and orient themselves so that the correct colors are exposed. If the embodiment utilizes electromagnetic coils or plates in lieu of the top electrodes and bottom electrodes, the printhead could induce magnetic fields to re-orient the spheres.
At block 708, the altered e-paper is released as output. The automated rollers may be used, in conjunction with a second optional set, to expel the newly altered e-paper from the printer. If, at any point in time following this stage, the information on the e-paper becomes unnecessary or requires disposal, the e-paper can be put back into the e-printer to be re-used. This would restart the method at block 702.
The process flow diagram of
Although flow diagrams and/or state diagrams may have been used herein to describe embodiments, the inventions are not limited to those diagrams or to corresponding descriptions herein. For example, flow need not move through each illustrated box or state or in exactly the same order as illustrated and described herein.
The inventions are not restricted to the particular details listed herein. Indeed, those skilled in the art having the benefit of this disclosure will appreciate that many other variations from the foregoing description and drawings may be made within the scope of the present inventions. Accordingly, it is the following claims including any amendments thereto that define the scope of the inventions.
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20110298760 | Gila et al. | Dec 2011 | A1 |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20140022625 A1 | Jan 2014 | US |
