Energy harvesting electro-optic displays

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11456397-B2
Application number	US-202016815269-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 11, 2020
Priority date	Mar 12, 2019
Publication date	Sep 27, 2022
Grant date	Sep 27, 2022

Abstract

An energy harvesting electrophoretic display is disclosed comprising a photovoltaic cell that converts part of the incident light to electric current or voltage, wherein the electric current or voltage is used for the operation of the electrophoretic display upon the conversion or stored in a storage component to be used for the operation of the electrophoretic display.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An energy harvesting electrophoretic display comprising, in order from the viewing side:
a protective layer;
an electrophoretic display component comprising a first light-transmissive electrode layer, an electrophoretic material layer and a backplane comprising a second electrode layer, the electrophoretic material layer comprising an electrophoretic medium that is compartmentalized in capsules, wherein compartments are separated by light-transmissive gaps, wherein the light-transmissive gaps are light-transmissive beads, and wherein the volume ratio of the capsules to the light-transmissive beads in the electrophoretic material layer is from about 1:20 to about 1:3;
a photovoltaic layer comprising a photovoltaic element;
wherein the capsules comprise electrophoretic particles in a non-polar electrophoretic liquid;
wherein the photovoltaic element absorbs the portion of the incident light to the energy harvesting electrophoretic display that reaches the photovoltaic element via the electrophoretic display component and converts the absorbed light into electric current or voltage;
wherein the generated electric current or voltage is used for the operation of the electrophoretic display upon the conversion or is stored in a storage component to be used for the operation of the electrophoretic display at a later time.

2. The energy harvesting electrophoretic display of claim 1 , wherein the light-transmissive beads have diameter of from about 10 to about 500 μm.

3. The energy harvesting electrophoretic display of claim 1 , wherein % total transmittance of the electrophoretic material layer is from about 5% to about 75%.

4. The energy harvesting electrophoretic display of claim 1 , further comprising a battery in electrical communication with the photovoltaic layer.

5. The energy harvesting electrophoretic display of claim 1 , wherein the second electrode layer comprises an active matrix of pixel electrodes.

Assignees

• E Ink Corp

Inventors

• Telfer Stephen J
• Hertel Dirk
• Paolini Jr Richard J
• Paletsky Benjamin Harris

Classifications

• G02F1/167

  by electrophoresis · CPC title

• G02F1/1677

  Structural association of cells with optical devices, e.g. reflectors or illuminating devices · CPC title

• Y02E10/52

  PV systems with concentrators · CPC title

• H01L31/0543

  Electricity · mapped topic

• H01L31/125 Primary

  Electricity · mapped topic