EP1362338B1 - Pixel element for a reflective display device with modifiable image, display device and system using same, method for making same - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention concerns a rotor-type element (1) designed to co-operate with a stator part, having therefor at least an axis of rotation (A) parallel to the view plane, with respect to which it is adapted to pivot along specific axial positions and having at least a localised permanent polarity adapted to co-operate with at least a drive unit (7a, 7b; A, B, C) of said stator part, said element being divided into at least two angular sectors (1a-1f, 10a-10f) with different main shade and said element being a composite element consisting of a section (10) of wires. The inventive method for making said element consists in assembling the wires in contiguous fashion into a strand of wires, said strand being then cut into sections, each section corresponding to a rotary element.

Description

The present invention relates to a constituent element, of pixel type, for a reflective display device, that is to say visible by means of ambient light, and equipped with a possibility of automatically controlling the image. displayed. It also relates to a display device implementing said element and a manufacturing method.

The targeted field is in particular the display on all-size panels and that of the labeling of products for which a definition of the order of mm ² is sufficient.

The present invention also relates to a system implementing this display device including a remote control via a control unit in connection with a communication network.

In the state of the art, there are reflective panels capable of offering several images that consist of cells with several faces of a few cm ² (often columns) and having a portion of printed image that is rotated jointly to reconstruct this image.

• le nombre d'images affichables par panneau est limité ;
• le coût d'exploitation est important car il est nécessaire d'avoir un opérateur sur place pour changer les cellules lorsque l'on veut changer la série d'images et il faut réaliser les cellules à chaque changement (fabrication et impression).

This type of panel has the following drawbacks:

• the number of displayable images per panel is limited;
• the cost of operation is important because it is necessary to have an operator on site to change the cells when we want to change the series of images and cells must be made at each change (manufacturing and printing).

Display systems likely to offer an infinity of images are currently electronic systems with plasma screens and LED screens. These systems are however bulky, fragile and expensive, especially in terms of cost of manufacture and use because they require a constant supply of energy. They are in fact too sophisticated for the intended area of use, in particular because in this area the poster may remain in place for a long period of time, or because the time to move from one image to another It does not need to be fast (on the order of several seconds is enough).

The present invention aims in particular to overcome these disadvantages, namely to provide a reflective display device offering an infinity of reconstitutable images, which is economically viable in the field of display and labeling, which is robust and requiring reduced maintenance, available in all sizes and formal.

It proposes a pixel-type element for a reflective display device with modifiable image, characterized in that it is of rotor type intended to cooperate with a stator part, having for this purpose at least one axis of rotation parallel to the plane of rotation. view, with respect to which it is adapted to pivot in precise axial positions and having at least one localized permanent polarity and adapted to cooperate with at least one exciter of said stator part, said element being divided into at least two angular sectors of main shade different and said element being a composite element consisting of a section of son.

• un réseau de cellules juxtaposées, chaque cellule étant définie par :
  • une partie rotor constituée d'un élément rotatif tel que défini ci-dessus ;
  • une partie stator comprenant au moins un excitateur ;
• des moyens pour commander la partie stator des cellules de manière à faire pivoter sélectivement les éléments rotatifs par rapport à leur axe de rotation respectif pour rendre visible pour chaque cellule un secteur choisi en fonction de sa nuance, l'ensemble des secteurs visibles de toutes les cellules constituant l'image affichée.

It also proposes a reflective display device with modifiable image, characterized in that it comprises:

• a network of juxtaposed cells, each cell being defined by:
  • a rotor part consisting of a rotary element as defined above;
  • a stator part comprising at least one exciter;
• means for controlling the stator portion of the cells so as to selectively rotate the rotary members relative to their respective axis of rotation to make visible for each cell a selected sector according to its shade, all the visible sectors of all the cells constituting the displayed image.

The polarity or polarities of the rotary element may be of the electrostatic type, the associated exciter (s) of the stator part being electrodes.

They may also be of magnetic type, the associated exciter or drivers being conductors fed by a current in one direction or another.

The polarity (s) can be obtained either before mounting the rotary element or by induction after mounting.

Each cell can be likened to a "Micro Electro Mechanical System" (MEMS) of the family of actuator components. The operation is based on the controlled command of electric or magnetic fields selectively rotating the rotating elements of the cells on the desired hue, by a phenomenon of repulsion and / or attraction of polarity (s). With electrostatic polarities, the operation requires a supply of energy mainly in tension at the time of the image change. With magnetic polarities, current operation requires a low energy input.

A material having for example an electrostatic or magnetic remanence capacity may be used to maintain the orientation of the rotors.

• chaque partie visible de cellule peut être équivalente à un pixel de quelques mm² : on supprime ainsi les opérations d'impression et on peut réaliser une infinité d'images ;
• les cellules peuvent être commandées à distance : on peut supprimer complètement les interventions sur place et réaliser des mises à jour en temps réel et des animations ; le dispositif peut être installé sur un véhicule mobile ;
• on peut diviser un panneau en autant de zones que l'on souhaite et mettre en place des bandes d'étiquetage avec adressage de position d'image.
• Le dispositif peut être de faible épaisseur et peut s'adapter sur les supports d'affichage existants ; il peut avoir n'importe quelle forme.

The present invention notably offers the following advantages:

• each visible part of the cell can be equivalent to a pixel of a few mm ² : one thus suppresses the printing operations and one can realize an infinity of images;
• the cells can be controlled remotely: the on-site interventions can be completely removed and real-time updates and animations can be made; the device can be installed on a mobile vehicle;
• it is possible to divide a panel into as many areas as desired and to set up labeling strips with image position addressing.
• The device can be thin and can adapt to existing display media; he can have any form.

The polarity of the rotating element can be located in one of the sectors. Another sector (preferably diametrically opposed) may carry an opposite polarity to particularly balance the system and facilitate rotation.

The rotating element may have only two sectors, so only two shades, which is sufficient for use in the field of labeling for example. In this case, one of the sectors will be provided with a polarity and a stator with an exciter will be sufficient to rotate the rotary element in two positions (attraction or repulsion of the polarity).

Advantageously, each wire corresponds to a sector.

According to a particularly advantageous exemplary embodiment, the rotor part is a section of wire divided into six equal sectors longitudinally, two diametrically opposite sectors are polarized in opposite directions and the other four sectors are neutral. We can thus have for the sectors the basic colors of the hexachrome. The stator part consists of two exciters. The various possible combinations of the repulsion system and the attraction of the polarities make it possible to rotate the section in the six axial positions. The colors of the sectors may also be colors chosen according to mercenary criteria (for example the colors corresponding to a mark).

In a particularly advantageous embodiment according to the invention, because inexpensive, the sections are obtained by cutting a strand son tinted. In addition, naturally charged fibers such as chitosan® (positively charged) or PVC (negatively charged) can advantageously be used for the yarns to obtain in a simple manner one or more electrostatic polarities. There are also magnetically polarized wires. The son can come from the spinning industry whose cost prices are advantageous.

Using this type of technique, it is also conceivable to make son with peripheral fibers of varying hues (meandering) to increase the definition of the display device in particular as a function of the angle of view.

To allow the free rotation of the rotating element in its cell, it will for example be housed in a capsule filled with a non-viscous liquid with a density substantially equal to that of the rotary element, or the rotary member will have a hollow core to be mounted axially collar, or it will be provided with a guipure preventing contact with the inner wall of the capsule.

The rotors can be advantageously assembled by a chain encapsulation in flexible tubes twisted into rosaries or threaded in a collar. They may also be housed in a molded or machined substrate, said substrate containing, for example, an array of conductive wires forming the electrodes of the stator parts of the cells.

Different embodiments for the stator part of the cells are possible, for example an electrode matrix, or direct electrode components, or else using a mixture of these two techniques.

• au moins un site émetteur avec :
  • des moyens de contrôle et de traitement de données permettant notamment de concevoir une affiche et de transcrire ladite affiche en une série de données image ;
  • des moyens de transmission desdites données images via un réseau de communication ;
• au moins un site récepteur avec un dispositif d'affichage selon l'invention.

The present invention also relates to a remote display system characterized in that it comprises:

• at least one sender site with:
  • control and data processing means making it possible in particular to design a poster and to transcribe said poster into a series of image data;
  • means for transmitting said image data via a communication network;
• at least one receiving site with a display device according to the invention.

The image data corresponds to the exciter commands of the cells.

• la figure 1 montre un schéma de principe d'une cellule rotative comportant un élément de type pixel selon un exemple de réalisation de l'invention à six secteurs ;
• la figure 2 illustre le fonctionnement de la cellule de la figure 1;
• la figure 3 montre un mode particulier de réalisation de rotors à base d'un toron de fils encapsulés en chapelet;
• la figure 4 illustre le fonctionnement de la cellule de la figure 3;
• la figure 5 concerne le mode de réalisation des figures 3 et 4 et illustre un moyen d'augmenter la résolution de l'image affichée.

The present invention will be better understood and other advantages will appear in particular in the light of the description which follows, description made with reference to the drawings in which:;

• the figure 1 shows a block diagram of a rotary cell having a pixel-like element according to an exemplary embodiment of the six-sector invention;
• the figure 2 illustrates how the cell of the figure 1 ;
• the figure 3 shows a particular embodiment of rotors based on a strand of encapsulated son rosary;
• the figure 4 illustrates how the cell of the figure 3 ;
• the figure 5 regards the embodiment of the figures 3 and 4 and illustrates a way to increase the resolution of the displayed image.

The figure 1 shows a cell comprising an element 1 of section in circular section and having a central axis of rotation A, forming a rotor portion cooperating with a stator portion which will be described later. The element 1 is divided into six equal angular sectors 1a-1f each having at least on the surface (here in all the material) a specific main shade, the six sectors corresponding, for example, to the basic colors of the hexachrome: cyan, yellow , magenta, black, white and flesh. The element 1 is free to rotate around care axis A. It is here for this purpose housed in a transparent and impervious capsule 2 filled with a non-viscous liquid of density substantially equal to that of the rotating element. In addition, to allow the rotation of the element 1, one of the sectors, 1 b on the figure 1 , is polarized positively permanently and another sector, the 1st on the figure 1 , is negatively biased permanently, thus forming an electrostatic torque. The stator part consists of a substrate of opaque material 5 shaped by molding and defining a housing with a visibility window 6 to receive the capsule 2 while allowing its rotation with respect to the axis A. The window 6 is dimensioned to leave visible globally only the selected sector of the rotary element corresponding to a chosen main shade. Two exciters, here independent electrodes 7a and 7b, are formed in the substrate 5 opposite the capsule 2 and arranged at about 120 ° to each other in a plane located opposite the plane of view of to be located advantageously at the rear of the cell. The electrodes are sufficiently close, or even in contact with the capsule 2, so that they can interact with the positive charge of the sector 1b and with the negative charge diametrically opposite the sector of the rotary element 1.

• première position : les deux électrodes sont polarisées positives : par un phénomène de répulsion/attraction de charges, le secteur chargé + de l'élément rotatif se place à l'opposé à 120° des deux électrodes et le secteur chargé - entre les deux électrodes à mi-chemin;
• deuxième position : les deux électrodes sont polarisées négatives : le secteur chargé + de l'élément rotatif se place à mi-chemin entre les deux électrodes et le secteur chargé - se place automatiquement à l'opposé ;
• troisième et quatrième positions : les électrodes 7a et 7b sont polarisées sélectivement négativement attirant en face d'elle la charge + de l'élément rotatif et repoussant à l'opposé la charge -;
• cinquième et sixième positions : comme pour les troisième et quatrième positions mais avec une polarisation positive sélective des électrodes.

The operation of the cell is as follows (with reference to figure 2 ): the electrodes 7a, 7b can be polarized positive, negative or neutral. From left to right on the figure 2 are represented the six possible positions:

• first position: the two electrodes are positive polarized: by a phenomenon of repulsion / attraction of charges, the charged sector + of the rotary element is placed opposite to 120 ° of the two electrodes and the charged sector - between the two electrodes half-way;
• second position: the two electrodes are negative polarized: the charged sector + of the rotating element is placed midway between the two electrodes and the charged sector - is automatically placed at the opposite;
• third and fourth positions: the electrodes 7a and 7b are selectively biased negatively attracting opposite the load + of the rotating element and pushing back the charge -;
• fifth and sixth positions: as for the third and fourth positions but with selective positive polarization of the electrodes.

Alternative embodiments are possible, in particular one could have magnetic polarities instead of positive and negative charges and associated drivers as exciters and addressing appropriate currents in one direction or another.

On the figure 1 , the rotary element 1 is shown in section perpendicular to its axis of rotation A. According to the invention, corresponding to the embodiment shown in FIG. figure 3 , the rotating element is a composite element consisting of a section 10 of a few mm 2 in length which has been obtained by cutting a strand of six son 10a-f assembled side by side longitudinally in hexagon to form at its periphery six sectors. angular. The soul of the strand is hollow. Each wire is itself made of a set of tinted fibers and then coated with a waterproofing layer 11a-f. In this example, two opposite permanent charges are provided: one here corresponds to the yarn 10a based on naturally positively charged fibers (for example chitosan®), the other to the yarn 10d which is diametrically opposed to it and which is based on naturally negatively charged fibers (eg PVC). On the figure 3 is also shown a method of assembling stretches 10 in the course of using initially a transparent impervious material tube into which a liquid 13 (which allows as explained above the free rotation of the section 10) and a section 10, and said material is twisted to form an aligned capsule chain 14.

According to a possible embodiment, a display device according to the invention comprises rows of beads housed in a complementarily shaped substrate and a network of conductive wires forming independent point electrodes, for example molded in said substrate, to form the parts stators cooperating with the encapsulated rotors. The substrate may thus contain an array of conductive wires arranged in a grid pattern forming the electrodes of the stator portion of each cell.

The device further comprises control means comprising addressing means for controlling all of the stator portions of the cells so as to selectively rotate the rotatable members with respect to said axis to make visible for each cell a selected sector according to its shade, the set of visible sectors of all cells constituting the displayed image. An optional means for receiving data representative of one or more images can be provided, either via a communication network or via a data reader, said receiving means operating in connection with the control means of the stator parts of the cells.

• au moins un site émetteur avec :
  • des moyens de contrôle et de traitement de données permettant notamment de concevoir une affiche et de transcrire ladite affiche en une série de données image ;
  • des moyens de transmission desdites données images via un réseau de communication ;
• au moins un site récepteur avec un dispositif d'affichage selon l'intention muni de moyens de réception appropriés.

According to the invention, there is also provided a remote display system comprising:

• at least one sender site with:
  • control and data processing means making it possible in particular to design a poster and to transcribe said poster into a series of image data;
  • means for transmitting said image data via a communication network;
• at least one receiving site with an intention display device provided with appropriate receiving means.

This advantageously makes it possible to remotely manage the one or more display devices, for example to program them in advance, on several sites simultaneously, to create animations, etc. The communication network may be a telecommunication network, wired, wireless or a local network.

• les trois premières positions correspondant à la polarisation positive sélective de l'une des électrodes conduisant à faire tourner le rotor pour amener la charge négative en face de l'électrode polarisée ; et
• les trois dernières positions correspondant à la polarisation positive sélective de deux électrodes conduisant à faire tourner le rotor pour amener la charge négative à mi-chemin entre les deux électrodes polarisées.

The figure 4 illustrates an alternative embodiment of a six sector rotor. The stator part here comprises three electrodes A, B and C arranged at 120 ° from each other around the rotor and being able to be polarized in a positive or neutral manner. From left to right of the figure we see the six possible positions of the rotor:

• the first three positions corresponding to the selective positive polarization of one of the electrodes leading to rotate the rotor to bring the negative charge in front of the polarized electrode; and
• the last three positions corresponding to the selective positive polarization of two electrodes leading to rotate the rotor to bring the negative charge halfway between the two polarized electrodes.

On the figure 5 is represented an alternative embodiment of the section 10 of the figure 3 to perfect the definition of the display device. It consists in providing for example in each wire (10a) two peripheral portions (10a 'and 10a ") whose fibers have the hue of the adjacent wire (respectively 10b and 10f) to have only one hue in the field of visibility (symbolized by dots) and possibly expand it.

It goes without saying that other alternative embodiments are also possible, for example the production of substantially submillimetric cells, by exploiting the technical potentialities offered by the micro-actuator component industry.

Claims (24)

1. Pixel element (1, 10) for a reflective display device with modifiable image, characterized in that it is of rotor type intended to cooperate with a stator part, having for this purpose at least one rotation axis (A) parallel with the view plane, in relation to which it is suitable for pivoting around precise axial positions and having at least one localized permanent polarity suitable for cooperating with at least one driver (7a, 7b; A, B, C) of said stator part, said element being divided into at least two angular sectors (1a-1f, 10a-10f) having a different main shading and said element being a composite element constituted by a section (10) of wires.
2. Element according to claim 1, characterized in that the wires are assembled side by side in said section, extending along the rotation axis (A).
3. Element according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the section is constituted by six wires assembled in a hexagon.
4. Element according to any one of the previous claims, characterized in that each wire constitutes an angular sector.
5. Element according to any one of the previous claims, characterized by a second opposite polarity.
6. Element according to any one of the previous claims, characterized in that the polarity or polarities are each located in a sector (1a-1f, 10a-10f).
7. Element according to any one of the previous claims, characterized in that the section of wires (10) comprises a wire which is naturally positively charged 1b) constituting a positive electrostatic polarity.
8. Element according to any one of the previous claims, characterized in that the section of wires (10) comprises a wire which is naturally negatively charged 1e) constituting a negative electrostatic polarity.
9. Element according to any one of the previous claims, characterized in that each wire (10a) comprises peripheral fibres having variable shades (tinting) to increase the definition of the display device in particular in relation to the angle of view.
10. Element according to any one of the previous claims, characterized by an electrostatic polarity, the associated driver of the stator part being an electrode.
11. Element according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized by a magnetic polarity, the associated driver of the stator part being a conductor supplied by a current in one direction or another.
12. Element according to any one of the previous claims, characterized in that it is housed in a capsule (2) provided with a transparent window (6).
13. Element according to claim 12, characterized in that each capsule (2; 12) contains a substantially non-viscous fluid (13) of a density substantially equal to that of the rotary element (1, 10) in order to allow the free rotation of the latter.
14. Element according to claim 12, characterized in that it comprises a guipure which prevents contact with the capsule.
15. Element according to any one of the previous claims, characterized in that it is sequentially encapsulated in a twisted flexible tube (14) in the manner of a string of beads.
16. Element according to any one of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that it comprises a hollow core allowing it to be mounted axially in the manner of a string of pearls and ensuring its free rotation.
17. Reflective display device with modifiable image, characterized in that it comprises:

    - a network of juxtaposed cells, each cell being defined by:

    - a rotor part constituted by a rotary element according to any one of claims 1 to 16;

    - a stator part comprising at least one driver;

    - means for controlling the stator part of the cells so as to make the rotary elements selectively pivot with respect to their rotation axis in order to make visible, for each cell, a sector chosen with regard to its shade, the set of visible sectors of all the cells constituting the displayed image.
18. Device according to claim 17, characterized in that as the rotary element is constituted by a section divided into six angular sectors, the stator part comprises two drivers arranged at 120° to one another and on either side of a plane perpendicular to the view plane.
19. Device according to claim 17, characterized in that as the rotary element is constituted by a section divided into six angular sectors, the stator part comprises three drivers arranged at 120° to one another.
20. Device according to one of claims 17 to 19, characterized by an opaque substrate acting as a support to said cells and providing a viewing window to each.
21. Device according to claim 20, characterized in that the substrate contains a network of conductive wires arranged in a grid forming the electrodes of the stator part of each cell, the control means of the stator part comprising addressing means.
22. Device according to any one of claims 17 to 21, characterized in that it comprises means for receiving data representative of one or more images, either via a communication network or via a data reader, said means of reception operating in contact with the control means of the stator parts of the cells.
23. Remote display system characterized in that it comprises:

    at least one transmitter site with:

    - means of control and data processing making it possible in particular to design a display and transcribe said display into a series of image data;

    - means of transmission of said image data via a communication network;

    at least one receiving site with a display device according to claim 22.
24. Method of manufacturing a rotary element according to any one of claims 1 to 16, characterized in that the wires are assembled side by side in a strand of wires, said strand being then cut into sections, each section corresponding to a rotary element.

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