APPEARANCE-MODIFYING DEVICE, AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING SUCH A DEVICE

• Main Authors: ROOSENDAAL, Sander, J, CNOSSEN, Gerard, OVERSLUIZEN, Gerrit, KRAAN, Thomas, C, VERSCHUEREN, Alwin, R., M, VAN KOOYK, Raymond, J., L, DE BOER, Dirk, K., G
• Format: Patent
• Language: English; French; German
• Published: 09.03.2011
• Subjects: DEVICES OR ARRANGEMENTS, THE OPTICAL OPERATION OF WHICH ISMODIFIED BY CHANGING THE OPTICAL PROPERTIES OF THE MEDIUM OF THEDEVICES OR ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE CONTROL OF THE INTENSITY,COLOUR, PHASE, POLARISATION OR DIRECTION OF LIGHT, e.g.SWITCHING, GATING, MODULATING OR DEMODULATING; FREQUENCY-CHANGING; NON-LINEAR OPTICS; OPTICAL ANALOGUE/DIGITAL CONVERTERS; OPTICAL LOGIC ELEMENTS; OPTICS; PHYSICS; TECHNIQUES OR PROCEDURES FOR THE OPERATION THEREOF

An appearance-modifying device (10; 30), for modifying the visual appearance of a surface covered thereby, comprising: first (11) and second (12) oppositely arranged optically transparent substrates; a spacer structure (13; 32) spacing apart the first (11) and second (12) substrates in such a way that a space between the first (11) and second (12) substrates is divided into a plurality of cells (15, 16; 31a-c). The appearance-modifying device further has, in each cell (15, 16; 31a-c), an optically transparent fluid (19) having a plurality of particles (20) dispersed therein, the particles being moveable in the fluid (19) through application of an electric field; and first (17a, 18a; 33) and second (17b, 18b; 32) electrodes arranged to simultaneously, by application of a voltage across the electrodes, control a distribution of the particles (20) within each of a plurality of the cells (15, 16; 31a-c) from a first, dispersed state in which an appearance of the surface covered by the appearance-modifying device is determined by optical properties of the particles (20), to a second state in which the particles (20) are concentrated adjacent to at least one of the first (17a, 18a; 33) and second (17b, 18b; 32) electrodes in such a way that the appearance-modifying device (10; 30) becomes optically transparent.