US4640592A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Optical display utilizing thermally formed bubble in a liquid core waveguide
Assignee: Canon Inc
•
Filing: 1984-01-16
•
Granted: 1987-02-03
•
Expires: 2004-01-16
Abstract
Abstract An optical device comprises an optical waveguide having, as a basic unit, a core layer of a liquid having a relatively high refractive index and a clad layer having a relatively low refractive index and covering said core layer, and a heat-generating means for heating a part of said core layer to form a vapor bubble in said liquid of said core layer.
Inventors
- 👤 Yukuo Nishimura
- 👤 Toshiaki Asano
- 👤 Nobutoshi Mizusawa
- 👤 Eigo Kawakami
- 👤 Masahiro Haruta
- 👤 Takashi Noma
- 👤 Hiroshi Takagi
- 👤 Mitsunobu Nakazawa
- 👤 Kunitaka Ozawa
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-26 14:48
CPC Classifications
G; G02; G02B; G02B6/00; G02B6/0001; G02B6/0005; G02B6/001; G02B6/02; G02B6/032; G02F; G02F1/00; G02F1/01; G02F1/011; G02F1/0147
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 13
Claim 1
Independent Claim
125 words
An optical device comprising an optical waveguide having, as a basic unit, a core layer of a liquid having a relatively high refractive index and a clad layer having a relatively low refractive index and covering said core layer, heat generating means for heating a part of said core layer to form a vapor bubble in said liquid of said core layer, said heat-generating means being positioned externally of said waveguide and including a plurality of elongated heating members crossing a longitudinal direction of said waveguide, means for selectively heating said heating members, said selective heating means being positioned externally of said waveguide, means for causing light to be incident on said waveguide along said longitudinal direction and cooling means for eliminating said vapor bubble.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
125 words
An optical device comprising an optical waveguide having, as a basic unit, a core layer of a liquid having a relatively high refractive index and a clad layer having a relatively low refractive index and covering said core layer, heat generating means for heating a part of said core layer to form a vapor bubble in said liquid of said core layer, said heat-generating means being positioned externally of said waveguide and including a plurality of elongated heating members crossing a longitudinal direction of said waveguide, means for selectively heating said heating members, said selective heating means being positioned externally of said waveguide, means for causing light to be incident on said waveguide along said longitudinal direction and cooling means for eliminating said vapor bubble.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
140 words
An optical device comprising an optical waveguide panel having a plurality of cylindrical optical waveguides each comprising a basic unit of a core layer of a liquid having a relatively high refractive index and a clad layer having a relatively low refractive index and covering said core layer, heat-generating means for heating a part of said core layer of said optical waveguide to form a vapor bubble in said liquid of said core layer, said heat-generating means being positioned externally of said optical waveguides and including a plurality of elongated heating members crossing a longitudinal direction of said optical waveguides, means for selectively heating said heating members, said selective heating means being positioned externally of said optical waveguides, means for causing light to be incident on said waveguide along said longitudinal direction and cooling means for eliminating said vapor bubble.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
140 words
An optical device comprising an optical waveguide panel having a plurality of cylindrical optical waveguides each comprising a basic unit of a core layer of a liquid having a relatively high refractive index and a clad layer having a relatively low refractive index and covering said core layer, heat-generating means for heating a part of said core layer of said optical waveguide to form a vapor bubble in said liquid of said core layer, said heat-generating means being positioned externally of said optical waveguides and including a plurality of elongated heating members crossing a longitudinal direction of said optical waveguides, means for selectively heating said heating members, said selective heating means being positioned externally of said optical waveguides, means for causing light to be incident on said waveguide along said longitudinal direction and cooling means for eliminating said vapor bubble.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
151 words
An optical device comprising an optical waveguide panel having optical waveguide channels comprising core layers formed by filling a transparent liquid having a relatively high refractive index in parallel channels formed in a combined clad layer of a relatively low refractive index obtained by adhering a transparent flat clad layer having stripe-shaped grooves in a surface therein and a flat clad layer, heat-generating means for heating a part of said core layer to form a vapor bubble in said liquid of said core layer, said heat-generating means being positioned externally of said waveguide channels and including a plurality of elongated heating members crossing a longitudinal direction of said waveguide channels, means for selectively heating said heating members, said selective heating means being positioned externally of said waveguide channels, means for causing light to be incident on said waveguide channel along said longitudinal direction and cooling means for eliminating said vapor bubble.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
151 words
An optical device comprising an optical waveguide panel having optical waveguide channels comprising core layers formed by filling a transparent liquid having a relatively high refractive index in parallel channels formed in a combined clad layer of a relatively low refractive index obtained by adhering a transparent flat clad layer having stripe-shaped grooves in a surface therein and a flat clad layer, heat-generating means for heating a part of said core layer to form a vapor bubble in said liquid of said core layer, said heat-generating means being positioned externally of said waveguide channels and including a plurality of elongated heating members crossing a longitudinal direction of said waveguide channels, means for selectively heating said heating members, said selective heating means being positioned externally of said waveguide channels, means for causing light to be incident on said waveguide channel along said longitudinal direction and cooling means for eliminating said vapor bubble.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
88 words
An optical apparatus comprising an optical waveguide having, as a basic unit, a core layer of a liquid having a relatively high refractive index and a clad layer having a relatively low refractive index and covering said core layer, heat-generating means for heating a part of said core layer to form a vapor bubble in said liquid of said core layer, a light source for supplying light to said optical waveguide, cooling means for eliminating said vapor bubble and a light diffusion layer on a light emission side.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
88 words
An optical apparatus comprising an optical waveguide having, as a basic unit, a core layer of a liquid having a relatively high refractive index and a clad layer having a relatively low refractive index and covering said core layer, heat-generating means for heating a part of said core layer to form a vapor bubble in said liquid of said core layer, a light source for supplying light to said optical waveguide, cooling means for eliminating said vapor bubble and a light diffusion layer on a light emission side.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
18 words
The optical apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising a row-axis drive circuit and a column-axis drive curcuit.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
36 words
The optical apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the row-axis drive circuit is a circuit for selecting said optical waveguide to guide light and the column-axis drive circuit is a circuit for selecting said heat-generating means.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
15 words
The optical apparatus according to claim 6, wherein said heat-generating means is a heating resistor.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
15 words
The optical apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said light source is a light-emitting diode.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
14 words
The optical apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said light source is laser beam.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
US3612653A
Cited
US3653739A
Cited
US4195907A
Cited
GB1558404A
Cited
US4422719A
Cited
US4466697A
Cited
US4519017A
Cited
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1990-02-02 | 1990-08-04 | 1991-02-03 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1994-02-02 | 1994-08-04 | 1995-02-03 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1998-02-02 | 1998-08-04 | 1999-02-03 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |