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E Ink is awarded 30th US patent

JANUARY 28--E Ink Corporation (Cambridge, MA; www.eink.com), developer and marketer of electronic-ink technology, has been awarded its 30th US patent in paper-like electronic displays and related technologies.
Jan. 28, 2003
2 min read

JANUARY 28--E Ink Corporation (Cambridge, MA; www.eink.com), developer and marketer of electronic-ink technology, has been awarded its 30th United States patent in the area of paper-like electronic displays and related technologies; the company has more than 150 applications pending. Paper-like electronic displays enabled by E Ink's technology are ideal for mobile environments because they are bright with high contrast, can be read in any lighting condition, including direct sunlight, and can be seen at any viewing or illumination angle--just like paper. In addition to being very easy to read, electronic-ink displays are thinner, lighter, and consume dramatically less power than traditional liquid-crystal display (LCD) technologies and new organic light-emitting displays (OLEDs).

E Ink has been awarded several US patents that fundamentally cover this technology, including #6,392,785 for an encapsulated electrophoretic display having nonspherical cavities in a polymer matrix. Two recent patents with broad applicability to the display field are #6,422,687 for reflective electronic displays made from an electronic ink that contains microcapsules, and #6,504,524 for addressing bistable displays by updating just pixels that change between images. A recent European patent EP1118039 is for a microencapsulated electrophoretic display with a frontlight or backlight.

Electronic ink displays are currently being developed for hand-held devices, wearables, and signage. In addition, E Ink and other partners are continuing research and development into next-generation color as well as flexible displays for applications such as smartcards and electronic paper. E Ink's electronic-ink technology represents a broad display technology platform like LCDs, but enables applications that go far beyond where LCDs can go.

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