Display apparatus

• Main Authors: Bhaskaran, Harish, Broughton, Ben, Holliday, Richard, Hosseini, Peiman
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 28.07.2020
• Subjects: BLASTING; 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; FUNCTIONAL FEATURES OR DETAILS OF LIGHTING DEVICES OR SYSTEMSTHEREOF; HEATING; LIGHTING; MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; NON-LINEAR OPTICS; OPTICAL ANALOGUE/DIGITAL CONVERTERS; OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS, OR APPARATUS; OPTICAL LOGIC ELEMENTS; OPTICS; PHYSICS; STRUCTURAL COMBINATIONS OF LIGHTING DEVICES WITH OTHERARTICLES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; TECHNIQUES OR PROCEDURES FOR THE OPERATION THEREOF; WEAPONS

A display apparatus includes an optically opaque layer and one or more stacks of additional layers provided on the optically opaque layer. Each stack has an optically switchable layer. A plurality of switching elements are located on a side of the optically opaque layer opposite to the one or more stacks. Each switching element is operable to apply a signal, for example an electrical signal or a thermal signal, through the optically opaque layer to a switchable portion of the optically switchable layer and thereby change an appearance of the switchable portion when viewed from a viewing side of the display apparatus. The surface area of the optically opaque layer on the viewing side is at least 10% larger than the total surface area of the switchable portions on the viewing side.