IP Library › Granted Patent US 7,471,369
Granted Patent B2
US 7,471,369 · App. 10/960,232 · Granted Dec 30, 2008

Transmissive or reflective liquid crystal display and process for its manufacture

View Patent ↗
Loading inventors, assignments & file history…
Monitor This Case
Get email alerts when status or documents change.
Order Certified Copies
Most orders are placed with the USPTO same day — all within 24 business hours.
Order via The Patent Place →
Pre-filled with this patent's details
Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 7,471,369
App. No.
10/960,232
Granted
Dec 30, 2008
Kind
B2
Abstract

This invention relates to cholesteric liquid crystal (LC) displays comprising cells of well-defined shape, size and aspect ratio which cells are filled with a liquid crystal composition preferably containing dichroic dye(s), and novel processes for their manufacture.

Claims (40)

1. A liquid crystal display comprising a layer of display cells wherein each of said display cells comprises partition walls and a top opening wherein said top opening is sealed with a top-sealing layer which is on top of a liquid crystal composition filled in said display cell and is formed from a sealing composition having a specific gravity lower than that of the liquid crystal composition.

2. The liquid crystal display of claim 1 wherein said chiral material is a chiral liquid crystal.

3. The liquid crystal display of claim 2 wherein said chiral liquid crystal is a cholesteric liquid crystal.

4. The liquid crystal display of claim 2 wherein said chiral liquid crystal is CB15, CE2, TM74A, BL118 or cyanobiphenyl liquid crystals comprising a chiral side chain.

5. The liquid crystal display of claim 2 wherein said chiral liquid crystal is a mixture of BL061, E454 and C6.

6. The liquid crystal display of claim 2 wherein said chiral liquid crystal is a mixture of E31LV, 4″-(2-methylbutylphenyl)-4′-(2-methylbutyl)-4-biphenyl carboxylate and 4-cyano-4′-(2-methyl)butylbiphenyl.

7. The liquid crystal display of claim 1 wherein said liquid crystal composition further comprises one or more of the following:

a) non-chiral liquid crystals;

b) a chiral additive; or

c) a non-chiral additive.

8. The liquid crystal display of claim 7 wherein said liquid crystal composition comprises about 20 to about 60% by weight of a chiral material.

9. The liquid crystal display of claim 7 wherein said non-chiral liquid crystals are nemetic or smetic liquid crystals.

10. The liquid crystal display of claim 7 wherein said chiral additive is cholesteryl alkyl carbonate, cholesteryl alkenyl carbonate or a derivative thereof.

11. The liquid crystal display of claim 7 wherein said non-chiral additive is a filler, a pigment or a dye.

12. The liquid crystal display of claim 11 wherein said filler is silica.

13. The liquid crystal display of claim 12 wherein said silica is nano silica particles.

14. The liquid crystal display of claim 11 wherein said dye is a dichroic dye.

15. The liquid crystal display of claim 1 further comprising an alignment layer between the layer of display cells and the liquid crystal composition.

16. The liquid crystal display of claim 15 wherein the alignment layer is aligned before the display cells are filled with the liquid crystal composition.

17. The liquid crystal display of claim 15 wherein the alignment layer is photoaligned by a polarized light after the display cells are filled and sealed.

18. The liquid crystal display of claim 1 wherein said top-sealing layer also serves as an alignment layer.

19. The liquid crystal display of claim 18 wherein the top-sealing layer is photoaligned by a polarized light.

20. The liquid crystal display of claim 1 wherein said display cells are formed from the microcup technology.

21. The liquid crystal display of claim 1 wherein said display cells are substantially uniform in size and shape.

22. The liquid crystal display of claim 1 wherein said display cells are non-spherical.

23. The liquid crystal display of claim 1 wherein said display cells have an opening area ranging from about 0.04 to about 100 μm 2 .

24. The liquid crystal display of claim 23 wherein said display cells have an opening area ranging from about 1 to about 25 μm 2 .

25. The liquid crystal display of claim 1 wherein said display cells have an opening having a circular, polygonal, hexagonal, rectangular or square shape.

26. The liquid crystal display of claim 1 wherein said display cells have a depth in the range from about 0.5 to about 10 microns.

27. The liquid crystal display of claim 26 wherein said display cells have a depth in the range from about 2 to about 6 microns.

28. The liquid crystal display of claim 1 wherein said display cells have an opening to wall ratio in the range from about 0.05 to about 20.

29. The liquid crystal display of claim 28 wherein said display cells have an opening to wall ratio in the range from about 0.2 to about 9.

30. The liquid crystal display of claim 11 wherein said dye is a subtractive or additive color system.

31. The liquid crystal display of claim 1 wherein the display is multi-color and wherein color filters are laminated or coated onto the display.

32. The liquid crystal display of claim 31 wherein said filters are red, green, and blue color filters.

33. The liquid crystal display of claim 1 wherein said liquid crystal composition is partially filled in each of said display cells.

34. The liquid crystal display of claim 33 wherein said partially filled liquid crystal composition is in contact with said sealing layer.

35. The liquid crystal display of claim 1 wherein said sealing composition comprises a thermoplastic or thermoset precursor.

36. The liquid crystal display of claim 1 wherein said sealing composition is a UV curable composition.

37. The liquid crystal display of claim 1 comprising multiple layers of display cells.

Assignments (1)
CHANGE OF NAME Recorded Jul 7, 2014
From: SIPIX IMAGING, INC.
To: E INK CALIFORNIA, LLC
Reel/Frame 033280/0408 →