Abstract: A refreshed electro-optic display comprising a plurality of individually addressed display elements which may be arranged in a matrix form is characterised in that the memory for refreshing is derived from the display elements themselves. Each display element is refreshed by sensing by one or a plurality of sensors the state of a physical property of the element to detect whether or not it has been selected to be operated and by feeding a control signal in an individual feedback loop from the sensor to open an electronic gate, to apply an electrical potential to the element, when sensed to be operated, to keep it in the operated state. The physical property sensed may be the electrical capacitance or resistance of the display elements, the state of light emission or modulation from them or the state of charge storage within them. Preferably a voltage is developed which depends on the state of the property.

Abstract: An electro-optic display system comprises a plurality of display elements each capable of producing an optical display signal in response to electrical operating energy, a separate channel to each of said display elements, each of said channels incorporating a photosensitive element for the purpose of opening the channel in which that photosensitive element is incorporated for a given period to enable electrical operating energy to be applied during the given period via that channel to an appropriate one of said display elements, a generator of electromagnetic radiation signals arranged to irradiate in response to electrical control signals selected ones of said photosensitive elements and a generator of electrical control signals arranged to feed electrical control signals to said generator of electromagnetic radiation signals. The display elements may be arranged in a straight line which may be one row or column of a matrix array of the elements.