Electroplating light shutter employing plating surfaces having differing resistivities

Claim 1

A LIGHT SHUTTER COMPRISING AT LEAST ONE CELL INCLUDING: SPACED TRANSPARENT ELEMENTS OF RELATIVELY LOW ELECTRICAL CONDUCTIVITY HAVING FACING SURFACES DEFINING A SPACE THEREBETWEEN, MEANS OPERATIVELY RELATED TO SAID ELEMENTS TO CONFINE SAID SPACE TO FORM A CHAMBER, SPACED APPROXIMATELY PARALLEL STRIPS OF LIGHT-PERMEABLE ELECTRICALLY CONDUCTIVE MATERIAL ON ONE OF SAID FACING SURFACES, LIGHTPERMEABLE ELECTRICALLY CONDUCTIVE MATERIAL EXTENDING OVER THE SECOND FACING SURFACE, THE CONDUCTIVE MATERIAL ON SAID SECOND SURFACE BEING SUBSTANTIALLY UNINTERRUPTED BUT CONSTITUTING AN ELECTRICAL CONDUCTOR OF HIGHER SURFACE RESISTIVITY THAN THAT OF THE CONDUCTIVE STRIPS ON THE FIRST OF SAID SURFACES, AN ELECTROLYTE IN SAID CHAMBER FOR ELECTROCHEMICALLY INTERACTING WITH SAID ELECTRICALLY CONDUCTIVE MATERIAL ON SAID FACING SURFACES, AND ELECTRICAL CONTACTS EXTENDING INTO SAID CHAMBER, SAID CONTACTS BEING SPACED BY SAID APPROXIMATELY PARALLEL STRIPS, SAID CONTACTS AND STRIPS BEING SO RELATED IN SAID CHAMBER THAT CURRENT WILL FLOW BETWEEN ADJACENT LOW RESISTIVITY STRIPS ALONG PATHS THROUGH SAID ELECTROLYTE AND THROUGH PORTIONS OF SAID HIGH RESISTIVITY MATERIAL SO AS TO FORM LIGHT-ABSORBING LAYERS AT SAID FACING SURFACES UPON APPLICATION OF AN ELECTRICAL BETWEEN SAID CONTACTS.