JP2001034193A - Tape-like electronic display - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a tape-like flexible display. SOLUTION: The flexible display 1 is larger in length by at least one digit than the width of the display and is in a roll form. The display 1 is, for example, a rotary element display and has perforations to enable a user to disconnect or tear the display to plural sub-displays. The display 1 can also be cut by using a thermal cutting manipulation in such a manner that the cut parts are thermally fused.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] The present invention relates to an electronic display.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A typical display device, such as a cathode ray tube (CRT) or liquid crystal display (LCD) device, has a rigid structure. That is, these displays have a mechanically rigid structure that cannot be easily changed in size and shape after manufacture. For example, it is not easy to adjust a flat LCD device, which is usually rectangular, to a cylindrical shape. In addition, changing the size of the display often results in destruction of the entire display device, so the overall size of such a display cannot be easily adjusted.

[0003]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is based on the size, shape,
Provided is a tape-shaped flexible display device whose display unit can be customized by a user.

[0004]

In one aspect of the invention, the display is a rotating element display having a physically flexible structure.

In one aspect of the invention, the display has a substantially rectangular shape and the width of the display is at least an order of magnitude less than the length of the display.

In one aspect of the invention, the display has a stable display pattern.

In one aspect of the invention, the display has a user-customizable display pattern.

In one aspect of the invention, the display is powered from ambient energy.

In one aspect of the invention, the display is powered by ambient light.

In one aspect of the invention, the display includes an adhesive portion so that the display can adhere to the surface.

In one aspect of the invention, the display includes perforations so that the display can be processed to a custom size.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the display includes a display separating unit for separating the two display units from each other.

The present invention also provides a method for making a custom sized display. A series of display devices are provided, and a sub-display size smaller than the series of displays is selected. Next, the display connected in series is
Divided into two different operable sub-displays,
At least one of the sub-displays has a desired sub-display size.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the serially connected display is divided into at least two sub-displays in which a cut portion of the display is heat sealed using a thermal cutting method.

In one embodiment of the present invention, a continuous display is divided by cutting or tearing the display along the perforations of the display.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the displays connected in series are divided by cutting the display at a display isolation unit that separates at least two display units from each other.

[0017] These and other aspects of the invention are apparent from the detailed description provided below.

[0018]

FIG. 1 shows a display 1 according to the present invention. The display is flexible and its width W is at least an order of magnitude smaller than the length L of the display 1. The thickness T of the display 1 is also at least an order of magnitude smaller than the width W of the display. The display 1 may be of any type as long as it has a desired size and flexible characteristics, but a low-power reflective display such as a rotating element display, a liquid crystal display (LCD), or an electrophoretic display is preferable. The most preferred displays are the rotating elements disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,126,854, 4,143,103 and 5,604,027, or gyricon displays, all of which are disclosed in U.S. Pat. And quoted here. Like some electrophoretic displays and LCDs, rotating element displays are bistable displays. This means that the display does not require power to display a given display, but only energy to change the display.

The display 1 also supplies power to the display 1 to generate a desired image.
With the controller 2 that drives the. However, the controller 2 is not essential. The controller 2 includes or is connected to a power supply such as a battery or a peripheral energy power supply (for example, a solar cell). Controller 2 also includes a display driver circuit to drive display 1 as desired. Details regarding the display driver circuit are not described here because they are known in the art and depend on the type of display 1.

The controller 2 can be implemented, at least in part, as a single special purpose integrated circuit such as an ASIC, or as an array of ASICs. AS
The IC consists of a main or central processor section, each of which is responsible for overall system level control, and a separate individual dedicated to performing calculations, functions and other processes for various different applications under the control of the central processor section. With sections. The controller 2 may also be implemented using a plurality of individual dedicated programmable integrated circuits or other electronic circuits and elements, for example, hardware-integrated electronic circuits and logic circuits such as discrete element circuits and programmable logic elements. Can be. The controller 2 also preferably includes other devices, such as volatile or non-volatile storage elements, conducting devices, and / or other circuits or components necessary to perform the desired input / output or other functions. The controller 2 may be incorporated in the display 1 or may be separated from the display 1 and connected by wire or wirelessly.

As mentioned above, the display 1 is preferably a rotating element display. FIG. 2 shows a partial cross-sectional view of one type of rotating element display. As described in US Pat. No. 5,604,027, the display 1 includes an elastomer 10 surrounding a plurality of rotating elements 11. In this example, the shape of the element 11 is substantially spherical, but the element may have another shape such as a cylindrical shape. Since the plasticizing oil is impregnated in the elastomer 10, the elastomer 10 expands. The expansion of the elastomer 10 forms a depression 13 filled with plasticizing oil around each of the rotating elements 11. By disposing the protective sheet 12 such as a flexible plastic sheet on the top and bottom surfaces of the elastomer 10, the display 1 is provided with mechanical strength and flexibility, and the abrasion resistance is improved.

In this example, the rotating element 11 is optically and electrically anisotropic. That is, in this example, each rotating element 11 has one hemisphere, and has a higher charge than the hemisphere opposed thereto. Thus, when placed in an electric field, such as when addressed, the rotating element 11 rotates in a corresponding recess 13 filled with oil and aligns with the electric field. The rotating element 11 is also darker (eg black) while the other hemisphere is eg white.
It has one hemisphere. Therefore, the rotating element 11 can be selectively rotated to form a desired display image. The rotating element display 1 is a display 1
May include an electrode (not shown) incorporated into the
They may be placed, for example, between the protective sheet 12 and the elastomer 10 interface, or may be glued to the display 1 at desired locations by the user. The electrodes may be thin metal sheets and / or transparent conductors (e.g., indium tin oxide) having the desired shape, e.g. in the form of specific alphanumeric characters, addressing a group of rotating elements 11. A desired image can be formed. Alternatively, the display 1 can be provided with at least one matrix of addressable electrodes similar to that found in conventional active matrix LCDs, so that individual rotating elements 11 or groups of elements 11 can be addressed. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, the controller 2 may change the charge polarity and / or magnitude of the electrodes by conducting to the electrodes, for example, via conductive signal lines, thereby providing The image displayed on the display 1 can be changed by changing the local electric field of each of the rotating elements 11.

When the display 1 is a bistable display having no controller 2, a desired display image such as a character string of a word can be "printed" on the display 1. That is, the display 1 can be placed under a desired electric field pattern, and the display 1 can display an image corresponding to the electric field pattern. An apparatus for performing such "printing" applies a selected portion of the display 1 to a suitable electric field, such as an addressed portion,
To move the rotary element 11 in a desired direction. In this way, a desired display image can be generated, and the display remains on the display 1 even after the electric field is removed. For example, a message of "emergency line-no entry" can be printed on the display 1 and used for a certain period. Later, the display 1 can be "erased" by placing the display 1 in a uniform electric field that places the rotating elements 11 all in the same orientation. The display 1 can then be "printed" with a second message, such as "parade course-off-limits". However, it is not necessary to print the message on the display 1 semi-permanently. Instead, the controller 2 can actively drive the display 1 to display a desired message or other image, and optionally drive the display 1 to change the message or image at a desired speed. .

Since the display 1 is flexible and its width W is preferably at least an order of magnitude smaller than the length L of the display 1, the display 1 can be stored in a roll as shown in FIG. FIG. 3 shows a state in which the display 1 is wound along the length L of the display 1.
Thus, the relatively long but narrow display 1 is easy to store and use. For example, since the display 1 is in a tape shape, as in the case of using a conventional tape,
The display 1 can be arranged in any direction.
For example, the display 1 can be spirally wound around a cylindrical object that is placed on the floor while being suspended between two points and defines a boundary line. Further, the display 1 can be provided with an adhesive material so that the display 1 can be easily adhered to a desired position.

Since the display 1 can be provided in the form of a relatively long tape, the display 1 can be provided with perforations 14 so that the user can make the display 1 a desired size as shown in FIG. The perforations 14 can be formed so that a user can physically tear or cut the display 1 into two or more sub-displays.

FIG. 5 shows the display 1 having the display separating section 15 instead of the perforations 14. The display separating unit 15 functions to separate adjacent display units in the display 1, and when the display 1 is cut along the display separating unit 15, during or after the cutting operation, the flowing portion of the display 1, or the like. Part is not damaged and / or does not come off the display 1. For example, the display separator 15 can heat seal the opposing protective sheets 12 of the display 1 to each other without the elastomer 10, the rotating element 11, or any other display components therebetween. Of course, the display separating section 15 can be formed by other methods such as embedding a barrier material in the display 1.
The perforations 14 or the display separation sections 15 can be arranged at arbitrary intervals along the display 1, for example, every 6 inches or every 2 feet. Perforation 1
4 and / or display separator 15 can be configured such that display signal lines or other conductive lines pass through display 1 near or through perforation 14 or display separator 15, thereby disconnecting display 1. The entire display 1 is driven by a single controller 2 unless it is torn or torn. Alternatively, the display units between the perforations 14 or the display separation unit 15 can be driven by the respective controllers 2. The controller 2 can be formed as a part of the display 1. For example, it can be embedded in the display 1 or attached to the outside of the display 1, so that the controller 2 conducts with the display signal line formed on the display 1.

FIG. 6 shows an example of a controller 2 that can be used to drive a sub-display unit formed from a tape-shaped display 1. The controller 2 has a groove 21 in which a contact pin 22 is formed. The width of the groove 21 can be adjusted to the width W of the display 1 so that the display 1 can be accommodated in the groove 21. Cover 24 also has contact pins 22. When the cover 24 is placed on the groove 21, the contact pins 22 engage with the display signal lines or other conductive lines in the display 1, and the display 1 is trapped in the grooves 21. The conduction pins 23 on the cover 24 allow electrical conduction between the control module 25 and the contact pins 22 on the cover 24. Accordingly, the controller 2 can drive the display 1 to conduct the display 1 and generate a desired image. This is just one example of a controller 2 that can be used to drive the display 1. It will be appreciated that other configurations of the controller 2 are possible.

Different types of displays 1 having perforations 14 and / or display separators 15 may be used to allow the display 1 to be divided into two or more sub-displays, The unit 15 is not essential. Alternatively, the display 1 can be cut into two or more sub-displays by a thermal cutting operation. For example, the rotating element display 1 can be separated and the protective sheets 12 in the display 1 can be combined and heated to fuse the protective sheets 12 together. The display 1 can then be cut where the protective sheets 12 have been fused together, and the resulting sub-display is sealed at the cutting edge. Alternatively, the display 1 is cut with a blade heated to a temperature at which the elastomer 10 fuses as the display 1 is cut. The fused elastomer 10 prevents leakage of plasticizing oil and / or other liquids, thus ensuring that the sub-display is fully operable.

It should be noted that the display 1 can be divided into two or more sub-displays at any desired location, especially where the sub-display will be located. The user carries the tape roll of display 1 to the location where one or more displays will be used, cuts one or more sub-displays from the tape, and "prints" a message on the sub-displays, for example
Or a display driver can be attached to the sub-display. In this way, the sub-display need not be formed by a skilled technician in a controlled factory or other industrial facility, but can be formed "on site" by almost anyone.

Although the present invention has been described with respect to particular embodiments, the description of these particular embodiments is for purposes of illustration only and is not intended to limit the scope of the invention. Various modifications and changes may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a display according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a rotating element display.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory view of a roll-shaped display.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view of a display having perforations.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of a display having a display separation unit.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of a controller that can be used in a tape display.

[Description of Signs] 1 display, 2 controller, 10 elastomer, 11 rotating element, 12 protective sheet, 13 dent, 14 perforation, 15 display separating section, 21
Grooves, 22 contact pins, 23 conducting pins, 24 covers.

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) // G09F 9/30 307 G09F 9/30 307 9/37 9/37 Z (72) Inventor Mark D. Weisser United States Palo Alto Greenwood Avenue, California 1144 (72) Inventor Alexander e Silverman United States Menlo Park Partridge Avenue 861 (72) Inventor Matthew E Howard United States San Francisco Castro Street, California 1150 (72) Inventor Brian Tea Price, Palo Alto Cowper Street, California, United States 151 (72) Inventor Edward Aichi Lee United States Palo Alto Silva coat 4392

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A flexible display comprising an addressable display element, which can be provided in roll form, wherein the length of the display is at least an order of magnitude smaller than the width.