Patent ID: 8553314
Filing Date: 2013-10-08
Classification: G02B

Abstract:
1. A display device having at least one electrically controllable display element, comprising: a first liquid comprising a non-polar fraction and at least one further liquid comprising an electrically conductive or polar fraction, wherein said first and said at least further liquid are spatially separated from another and wherein the fractions are immiscible; a plurality of fluidically closed volumes, wherein each contains one of the further liquids comprising an electrically conducting or polar fraction, and the first liquid comprising a non-polar fraction and is subdivided into a first and at least one second subvolume which are fluidically connected, wherein said first subvolume is configured to be visible and the non-polar fraction is provided in said second subvolume when said electrically conducting or polar fraction is located in said first subvolume and vice versa; and at least one voltage source which is supplied to an electrode array and which is adapted to selectively intersperse at least one of said visible subvolume with an electric field and thereby to vary the surface tension of the electrically conducting polar liquid fraction; wherein said first visible subvolume of each of said plurality of fluidically closed volumes are flat having dimensions which are selected such that the respective electrically conducting or polar liquid fraction in a de-energized state of the respective electrode array is forced into the respective second subvolume due to the Young-Laplace-pressure; and wherein a first set of said flat visible subvolumes are stacked upon another set of said flat visible subvolumes along their shortest dimension and the second subvolumes pass through the another set of said flat visible first subvolumes which are underlying the respective flat visible first subvolume which is associated with the respective second subvolume.