Abstract: A method and an apparatus provide an optical switching system (10) which provides independent of viewing angle two system optical transmission states of substantially contaminant-free light. The system includes first and second light gates (12 and 12') of which each has associated therewith contaminant light intensity patterns (48 and 66) with points of local maxima (54, 56, 58, 60, 68, and 70) and local minima (62 and 72) in two system optical transmission states. The contaminant light intensity patterns are oriented so that the points of local maxima and minima of the contaminant light intensity patterns of one of the light gates generally align with the respective points of local minima and maxima of the contaminant light intensity patterns of the other light gate. The alignment of contaminant light intensity patterns blocks the transmission of contaminant light in two system optical transmission states, and thereby provides improved viewing angle performance.

Abstract: An active matrix assembly for a liquid crystal display device utilizing an MIS (metal-insulator-semiconductor) transistor array is provided. The active matrix assembly includes a transparent substrate, a first thin layer of silicon disposed thereon, an insulating film on the first silicon layer and a second thin layer of silicon disposed on the insulating film. The layers are selectively etched for forming a gate and the silicon layers are doped for forming a MOS transistor for a display element of the device. The two silicon layers and insulating material intersect to form capacitors with the upper electrode of the storage capacitor being the driving electrode for the liquid crystal. An active matrix assembly constructed and arranged in accordance with the invention permits 90 percent or more of incident light coming from above to pass therethrough.

Abstract: There is provided a transparent substratum structure for use in the construction of large-size liquid crystal displays, consisting of a triple layer structure of a thick transparent sheet, a resilient elastic layer, and a thin glass plate bonded to said elastic layer. The sheets may be bonded by a transparent elastic glue, and the thin glass plate is generally about 0.1 to 0.6 mm thick.There are also provided large-size back-to-back twin liquid crystal display panels consisting of two outer transparent thick sheets and two thin glass sheets separated by a thin elastic transparent layer with liquid crystal layers between said thick and thin plates, forming an integrated structure, with a polarizer between the thin glass plates, in addition to the resilient layer.

Abstract: A liquid crystal device for continuous rotation of the selective polarization of monochromatic light is provided by a cholesteric mixture with positive dielectric anisotrophy contained between a pair of glass plates which are conductive on the surface in contact with the mixture and have received a surface treatment to provide planar orientation for the mixture. A voltage is applied between the two glass plates and an input light polarizer is applied to one of the two glass plates. The device preferably uses a cholesteric mixture comprising cholesteryl chloride (31.2%), cholesteryl oleyl carbonate (47.7%) and cholesteryl nonanoate (21.1%) and is advantageously employed in laboratory polarization rotators and colored display units.

Abstract: A two-electrode nematic liquid crystal display (LCD) device with inherent storage effect is described. The described storage effect LCD device, which can properly operate without refresh circuitry, can be of either the homogeneous or twisted nematic type. In accordance with the invention, the liquid crystal material-to-substrate anisotropic surface anchoring force is set sufficiently weak by surface treatment techniques, to prevent the restoration of the device to its quiescent state once the device has been driven temporarily to its active state by a temporary increase in an applied electric field.

Abstract: The drive has a manual coarse/fine focusing device using a gear drive and additional fine focusing using a motor. The latter is effected through an eccentric cam, rotatingly supported in a guide plate and coupled with the motor. A ball bearing rigidly joined with the object holder and the microscope stage rests on the eccentric cam. During operation of the motor, only the ball bearing and, thus, the microscope stage are raised or lowered; the gear drive for manual focusing remains stationary.

Abstract: The LED backlighting panel includes a roughened flat surface area and side edges with holes therein for receiving light emitting diodes that are supplied from a direct current power source which can have an adjustable duty cycle to provide a backlighting panel that has a minimal power consumption in a liquid crystal display (LCD) module.

Abstract: A multiplexable liquid crystal cell having two substrates 1 and 3 which are spaced from each other and form between each other a cell space filled with liquid-crystal substance. Strip electrodes 2 are arranged on one substrate 1 while picture electrodes 4 are arranged on the other substrate 3 opposite the strip electrodes 2. An insulating layer 7 is arranged on the picture electrodes 4, said layer in its turn bearing a connecting contact 6 which leads to the data line 5.

Abstract: A liquid crystal adaptive lens system wherein the index of refraction profile of the liquid crystal is controlled electrically to bring entering light to focus.

Abstract: A device for separating a shorter-wavelength component of a combination-wavelength beam from an orthoganally polarized, longer wavelength component. A combination beam generator produces such a beam which is directed into a positive uniaxial crystal having an input face, an output face, and a pair of parallel faces. Each of the faces is parallel to the crystal axis. The beam enters the crystal through the input face in a predetermined orientation and impinges on the pair of parallel faces at angles greater than the critical angle of the shorter component wavelength and less than the critical angle of the longer component wavelength. The shorter wavelength component is internally reflected on the pair of parallel faces until it exits from the output face. The longer wavelength component is partially externally transmitted at each point of reflection of the shorter wavelength components.

Abstract: In an objective lens drive apparatus for driving a body to be driven including an objective lenses in the focusing direction along the optical axis and in the tracking direction perpendicular to the optical axis, there is provided an adjuster for allowing the center of a driving force exerted on the body in the tracking direction to coincide with the center of gravity of the body or to shift the center of gravity farther away from the objective lenses from the driving force along the optical axis of the objective lenses.

Abstract: A liquid crystal cell (100) includes a chiral additive in the liquid crystal material (106) to operate the cell as a rapid starting, high-speed variable optical retarder. The cell is fabricated so that the surface noncontacting directors (116 and 118) of the opposed surfaces of the director alignment layers (112 and 112') of the electrode structures (102 and 104) are tilt-biased in opposite directions. This surface contacting director configuration induces rapid surface noncontacting director (120a, 120b, 120c, 120d, 120e) relaxation without optical bounce when the cell is switched from the field aligned ("ON") state to the partly relaxed ("OFF") state. The chiral additive prevents an inactive cell from relaxing to the splayed topological state, thereby enabling switching operation without a warm-up delay and preventing the surface of the cell from having a mottled appearance when it remains unused.

Abstract: A light source apparatus comprises one laser oscillator, at least one other laser oscillator, a light converter for converting a laser beam emitted from the other laser oscillator into a ring-shaped laser beam, and a reflecting mirror for passing a laser light beam emitted from the one laser oscillator through the center hole of the mirror and for reflecting the ring-shaped laser beam from the other laser oscillator via the light converter, the laser beam reflected by the reflecting mirror being coaxial with and being overlapped with the laser beam transmitted through the mirror from the one laser oscillator.

Abstract: A liquid crystal device including a ferroelectric liquid crystal disposed between plates treated to enforce a particular ferroelectric molecular orientation to the plates. The devices employ along or in combination non-planar boundary conditions, polar boundary conditions, boundaries with multiple physical states, intrinsic spontaneous splay distortion of the polarization orientation field, combined ferroelectric and dielectric torques, layers tilted with respect to the plates. The plates are spaced by a distance sufficiently small to ensure unwinding of the helix typical in a bulk of the material to form either monostable, bistable or multistable states which exhibit novel electro-optic properties. The liquid crystal is responsive to an externally applied electric field, temperature or the like to make a light valve or other electro-optical device.

Abstract: A fluorescent liquid crystal display device having a display area which comprises means for causing external excitation of the fluorescent liquid crystal display device, a fluorescent material which emits visible fluorescence, a liquid crystal material mixed with the fluorescent material, first means for preventing the propagation of the visible fluorescence toward a display area of the fluorescent liquid crystal display device while not being activated by the excitation means, and/or second means for enhancing the propagation of the visible fluorescence toward the display area of the same while being activated by the excitation means.

Abstract: A guest-host type liquid crystal display device not requiring the use of external polarizers, comprises: at least two guest-host type liquid crystal cells which are superimposed one upon another, two of which are constructed in a manner that the liquid crystal molecules contained in these two cells and located close to the boundary between the two cells are aligned in a direction parallel to the plane of the boundary, but that the direction of alignment of the molecules in one of these two cells is perpendicular to that in the other cell when a voltage is applied to both cells, or alternatively when no voltage is applied to both cells, or alternatively when a voltage is applied to only one of these two cells.

Abstract: An electric remote control mirror apparatus comprising boss portion mounted on a mirror body fixing the mirror, a concave surface formed at the portion integrally formed with the mirror housing for receiving the mirror body, a pivot connection being composed of the boss portion and the concave surface, a pressure applying member having the surface to be connected to the inner surface of the boss portion and the end portion to be connected to the portion of the mirror housing by passing through the boss portion, a coil spring for pressing the member to the boss portion, thereby to surely support the mirror body within the mirror housing, wherein the rotating resistance of the pivot connection can be easily and precisely adjustable, the rotation of the mirror body around the pivot axis is prevented thereby to avoid vibration and change of inclination of the mirror body.

Abstract: There discloses a liquid-crystal display device which is effective for the display of images particularly in a TV set and in which the liquid-crystal layer contains a dopant in a specific range of quantity and insulating layer is treated with an alkoxysilane coupling agent containing a glycidoxy group.

Abstract: This invention discloses a keyboard switch with display function composed of two transparent sheets constituting a pressure operable switch and placed on a display unit. The upper of two transparent sheets is provided with an unflat top surface for avoiding unnecessary reflection.

Abstract: A rear view mirror head for vehicles, especially automotive vehicles such as small trucks, comprises a mirror head body constituted by a unitary, resilient dish-shaped molding of a tough, weather-resistant organic polymer composition, preferably an ABS resin, which presents about its front side peripheral formations for supporting a reflecting mirror plate with an edge gasket of the plate adhered thereto and comprises a backwardly hollowed narrow ear-shaped portion the hollow of which opens to the front side of the molding and has fitted into it rigid ear-reinforcing arms of angled brackets of which rigid base portions extend over and are fixed to areas of the front side adjacent to the hollowed portion of the molding. The resin of the molding can be of an electroplatable type having a stiffening decorative metal coating plated onto at least the outside surfaces.