Multiple iris raster

Claim 2

A multiple iris raster comprising; a first transparent nonconductive plate forming one boundary of the raster, a second transparent nonconductive plate spaced from the first plate and forming the other boundary of the raster, a transparent nonconductive fluid held between said first and second plates, a plurality of dipole particles in said fluid, a plurality of spaced parallel electrodes secured to said first plate with means for connection to an external circuit, a plurality of spaced parallel electrodes secured to said second plate and positioned at right angles to the electrodes in the first plate with means for connection to an external circuit, a plurality of conductive pins secured in the first and second plates, each pin positioned along said electrodes and in contact therewith, each of said pins mounted normal to the surface of said plates and each pin in one plate mounted opposite to a pin in the other plate, and threshold means consisting of an opaque mask mounted at each of the pin positions on one of the plates to prevent the passage of light through the raster below a selected voltage.

Claim 3

A multiple iris raster as claimed in claim 1 wherein each of said conductive electrodes in the first and second plates is connected through a resistor to a common conductor to ground.

Claim 4

A raster as claimed in claim 1 wherein said conductive electrodes in the first plate are sequentially connected to a signal source of alternating current at the same time said conductive electrodes in the second plate are sequently connected to the same signal source but having a reversed polarity.

Claim 5

A raster as claimed in claim 1 wherein said dipole particles have a length which is about one-third the wavelength of visible light and a diameter which is less than one-tenth of said wavelength.

Claim 6

A raster as claimed in claim 1 wherein said pins extend only part of the distance through the plates and are not in contact with the fluid.

Claim 7

A raster as claimed in claim 1 wherein said pins extend all the way through the plates and make contact with the fluid between the plates.

Claim 8

A raster as claimed in claim 1 wherein said first and second plates are substantially flat and parallel to each other and thereby define a fluid chamber having parallel surfaces.

Claim 9

A raster as claimed in claim 1 wherein said dipole particles are elongated optically active dichroic crystals formed by precipitation from a liquid solution.

Claim 10

A raster as claimed in claim 1 wherein said dipole particles are made of Herapathite.

Claim 11

A raster as claimed in claim 1 wherein said dipole particles are made of assymetric metal particles.

Claim 12

A raster as claimed in claim 1 wherein said pins are spaced along said electrodes at a distance equal to the distance between the electrodes on the other plate.

Claim 13

A multiple iris raster comprising a first transparent nonconductive plate forming one boundary of the raster, a second transparent nonconductive plate spaced from the first plate and forming the other boundary of the raster, a transparent nonconductive fluid held between said first and second plates, a plurality of dipole particles in said fluid a layer of transparent plastic material on the fluid side of each of the transparent plates between the plates and the fluid, a plurality of electrically conductive dipoles permanently aligned normal to the plate faces and carried within the plastic layers, a plurality of spaced parallel electrodes secured to the first plate with means for connection to an external circuit, a plurality of spaced parallel electrodes secured to the second plate and positioned at right angles to the electrodes in the first plate with means for connection to an external circuit, said electrically conductive dipoles within the plastic layers providing a capacitive path to control the electric field in the dipole layer between the plates, and a threshold means to prevent passage of the light through the raster below a selected voltage.

Claim 14

A multiple iris raster comprising a first transparent nonconductive plate forming one boundary of the raster, a second transparent nonconductive plate spaced from the first plate and forming the other boundary of the raster, a transparent nonconductive fluid held between said first and second plates, a plurality of dipole particles in said fluid a layer of transparent plastic material on the fluid side of each of the transparent plates between the plates and the fluid, a plurality of electrically conductive dipoles permanently aligned normal to the plate faces and carried within the plastic layers, a plurality of spaced parallel electrodes secured to the first plate with means for connection to an external circuit, a plurality of spaced parallel electrodes secured to the second plate and positioned at right angles to the electrodes in the first plate with means for connection to an external circuit, said electrically conductive dipoles within the plastic layers providing a capacitive path to control the electric field in the dipole layer between the plates, and a threshold means to prevent passage of the light through the raster below a selected voltage.