JP6410501B2 - Polymer liquid crystal display element and method for producing polymer liquid crystal display element - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a polymer liquid crystal display element and a method for producing a polymer liquid crystal display element.

A polymer liquid crystal display element (PNLC (Polymer Network Liquid Crystal)) is a liquid crystal material such as nematic liquid crystal dispersed and arranged in a polymer network structure of a polymer. This polymer liquid crystal display element changes between a light transmission state (transparent) that transmits light and a light scattering state (white turbidity) that scatters light depending on the presence or absence of an electric field.
In addition, a polymer liquid crystal display element injects a material in which a liquid crystal material (for example, nematic liquid crystal) is dispersed in a polymer material (monomer) before polymerization between two glass substrates, and the monomer is polymerized by ultraviolet irradiation. It is a thing. Polymerization of the monomer forms a three-dimensional network polymer network structure. The liquid crystal material is dispersed in the polymer network structure.

  Since the polymer liquid crystal display element does not need to include an alignment film and a polarizing plate, the cost merit is large. Further, since the light transmittance is high, there is an advantage that a bright display can be obtained. This polymer liquid crystal display element is also used in, for example, a camera finder device (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  In the above-described polymer liquid crystal display element, display unevenness may occur between the central portion of the display region and the peripheral portion (region in contact with the sealing material joining two glass substrates). This display unevenness is presumed to occur during polymerization by ultraviolet irradiation, and a technique for improving the display unevenness has been proposed by making the polymer network structure different between the central portion and the peripheral portion of the display region ( For example, see Patent Document 2).

JP 2000-171860 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-311972

By the way, the polymer liquid crystal display element described above generates a polymer crack when a temperature difference occurs. For example, in the test, quenching is performed to a temperature of about −30 [° C.]. At this time, a polymer crack may be generated in which the polymer liquid crystal sealed between the glass substrates is peeled off from the glass substrate.
This polymer crack occurs in the vicinity of the sealing material joining the glass substrates.

  It is an object of the present invention to provide a polymer liquid crystal display element that suppresses the occurrence of polymer cracks in the vicinity of the sealing material and a method for producing the polymer liquid crystal display element.

The polymer liquid crystal display element according to the present invention is formed by a sealing material in an inner region surrounded by the sealing material between the two substrates bonded at a predetermined interval and the two substrates. A polymer network liquid crystal in which liquid crystal is dispersed in a polymer network structure; a blocking member that closes an injection port that communicates with the inner region; and an inner surface side of at least one of the two substrates, along the sealant And the light shielding portion is formed along the inner side of the blocking member, and the thickness of the polymer network liquid crystal in the region corresponding to the light shielding portion corresponds to the light shielding portion. It is thinner than the thickness of the polymer network liquid crystal in the other region except the region to perform, and the light shielding portion is exposed to the polymer network liquid crystal .

According to another aspect, the polymer liquid crystal display element according to the present invention is surrounded by the sealing material between the two substrates bonded at a predetermined interval by the sealing material and the two substrates. A polymer network liquid crystal in which liquid crystal is dispersed in a polymer network structure formed in the inner region, and at least part of the inner surface of at least one of the two substrates along the inner side of the sealing material And suppressing the transmission of electromagnetic waves irradiated to form the polymer network structure, and having a polymerization suppression portion formed with a thickness, and the sealing material is formed in a rectangular ring shape, and the polymerization suppressing portion has a light-shielding property to visible light, is formed over the entire circumference of the rectangular annular, of the polymer network liquid crystal, which is formed in a region corresponding to the polymerization inhibition of the polymer Ttowaku liquid crystal, in the polymerization inhibiting portion than the polymer network liquid crystal is formed in other regions except for the region corresponding to, and density is formed roughly in the polymer network structure, the region corresponding to the polymerization inhibiting unit The thickness of the polymer network liquid crystal is thinner than the thickness of the polymer network liquid crystal in other areas except for the area corresponding to the polymerization suppression part, and the polymerization suppression part is exposed to the polymer network liquid crystal. It is characterized by.

In the method for producing a polymer liquid crystal display element according to the present invention, two substrates are bonded with a sealing material at a predetermined interval, and an inner region surrounded by the sealing material is interposed between the two substrates. In the method of manufacturing a polymer liquid crystal display element in which a polymer material and a liquid crystal material forming a polymer network structure are injected and an electromagnetic wave is applied to polymerize the polymer material, prior to joining the two substrates, 2 At least a part along the inner side of the portion to be joined by the sealing material on the inner surface side of at least one of the substrates, and having a thickness of a polymerization suppression portion that suppresses transmission of the electromagnetic wave The electromagnetic wave irradiation is performed from the side of the substrate on which the polymerization suppression portion is formed, and an injection port for injecting the polymer material and the liquid crystal material is formed in the inner region, and the inner side from the injection port is formed. In the area, After injecting the polymer material and the liquid crystal material, when the injection port is closed with a closing member, the polymerization suppression portion is arranged on the inner surface side of the substrate along the inside of the portion where the closing member is disposed. The thickness of the polymer network liquid crystal in the region corresponding to the polymerization suppression portion is smaller than the thickness of the polymer network liquid crystal in the other region excluding the region corresponding to the polymerization suppression portion, and the polymerization suppression portion It is characterized that you have exposed to the polymer network liquid crystal.

According to the polymer liquid crystal display element according to the present invention, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of polymer cracks in the vicinity of the sealing material.
According to the method for producing a polymer liquid crystal display element according to the present invention, a polymer liquid crystal display element that suppresses the occurrence of polymer cracks in the vicinity of the sealing material without performing electromagnetic wave irradiation in multiple times is produced. can do.

It is the top view which showed typically the liquid crystal cell which is one Embodiment of the polymer liquid crystal display element which concerns on this invention. It is sectional drawing which shows the cross section along the II-II line | wire in FIG. It is a schematic diagram explaining the process of irradiating a liquid crystal cell with an ultraviolet-ray. It is a graph which shows the level of the scattering degree of the polymer network liquid crystal in the direction along the II-II line in FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the parting frame superimposed on a liquid crystal cell. It is a schematic diagram which shows the optical path of the single-lens reflex camera provided with the liquid crystal cell. It is a schematic diagram which shows the example of a display which appeared as a part to which a liquid crystal cell is scattered. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view corresponding to FIG. 2 showing a liquid crystal cell in which black resists are formed on both glass substrates. It is a top view equivalent to FIG. 1 which shows the example by which the black resist was formed only in the part along the inner side of the sealing material formed in the rectangular ring shape, (A) is the part corresponding to the four corners of the rectangular ring shape of a sealing material. A liquid crystal cell in which a black resist is formed along the inner side of the liquid crystal cell, and (B) is a black resist formed along the inner side of a portion corresponding to two opposing sides extending in the horizontal direction of the rectangular sealing material in the figure. A liquid crystal cell is shown. It is a top view equivalent to FIG. 1 which shows the liquid crystal cell in which the black resist was formed in the part along the inner side of the sealing material, and the part along the inner side of the closure member. It is sectional drawing which shows the cross section along the XI-XI line in FIG.

<Structure of liquid crystal cell>
Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 is a plan view schematically showing a liquid crystal cell 100 which is an embodiment of a polymer liquid crystal display element according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a cross section taken along line II-II in FIG. It is sectional drawing shown.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the liquid crystal cell 100 includes, for example, two rectangular flat glass substrates 10 and 20 (an example of a substrate) joined by a sealing material 30 formed in a rectangular ring shape and two sheets. And the polymer network liquid crystal 60 formed in the inner region R0 surrounded by the sealing material 30 between the glass substrates 10 and 20. The glass substrates 10 and 20 are joined in parallel by the sealing material 30 at an interval t1 in the thickness direction of the glass substrates 10 and 20.
In FIG. 1, the description of the injection port for injecting the polymer material (monomer) before the polymer network structure 61 of the polymer network liquid crystal 60 is polymerized and the liquid crystal material 62 into the inner region R0 is omitted. .

Each of the glass substrates 10 and 20 is formed of a transparent glass plate, for example, soda glass, quartz glass, borosilicate glass, or normal plate glass. Each glass substrate 10 and 20 is used in the thickness range of about 0.3 to 1.1 [mm].
In the present embodiment, the interval t1 between the two glass substrates 10 and 20 is set to 8 [μm], for example, but is not limited to this interval. For example, 4-10 [μm] is applied to this interval. If the thickness of the polymer network liquid crystal 60 enclosed between the glass substrates 10 and 20 is thin, the degree of scattering decreases and it is difficult to obtain a clear image. On the other hand, when the thickness of the polymer network liquid crystal 60 is large, power consumption required for driving increases.

  A transparent counter electrode 40 made of an ITO (Indium-Tin-Oxide) film is formed on the inner surface 11 of the glass substrate 10. The ITO film is formed by a vacuum deposition method, a sputtering method, a CVD method, etc., and then formed into a desired shape by an etching method. In order to obtain a high voltage, the thickness of the ITO film is formed to a thickness of 100-500 [Å], for example, and is set to a low sheet resistance value of about 10-500 [Ω].

The counter electrode 40 is formed with a black resist 70 (an example of a light shielding portion and a polymerization suppression portion) along the inner edge 31 of the sealing material 30 over the entire circumference. Note that the sealing material 30 and the black resist 70 do not have to be in contact with each other, and there may be a gap between the sealing material 30 and the black resist 70.
The black resist 70 is formed by, for example, a photolithography method. The black resist 70 has a width W (see FIG. 1) of, for example, 0.3-2.5 [mm] and a thickness t2 (see FIG. 2) of, for example, 1.7 [μm]. If the thickness t2 of the black resist 70 is too thin, cracks are likely to occur, and if the thickness t2 is too thick, the cell gap becomes thick and nonuniformity occurs in the degree of scattering due to the gap, resulting in poor display quality such as display unevenness. Invite.
Therefore, the thickness t2 of the black resist 70 is set to a value that does not cause cracks and does not cause deterioration in display quality. Note that the width W and the thickness t2 of the black resist 70 are not limited to these values.

The black resist 70 suppresses the transmission of ultraviolet rays L (see FIG. 3). This ultraviolet ray L is an electromagnetic wave that forms the polymer network structure 61 by irradiating the monomer. That is, the black resist 70 exhibits a function of suppressing transmission of electromagnetic waves in a wavelength band (wavelength range of 350 to 400 [nm]).
The black resist 70 in the present embodiment also blocks transmission of visible light (band in the wavelength range of 380-780 [nm]).

A pixel electrode 50 is formed on the inner surface 21 of the glass substrate 20. The pixel electrode 50 includes a transparent wiring part 51 made of an ITO film, a transparent insulating layer 52, and a transparent pixel electrode part 53 made of an ITO film in order from the side closer to the inner surface 21 of the glass substrate 20. .
The ITO film is the same as the ITO film of the counter electrode 40, and is formed into a desired shape by an etching method after being formed by a vacuum deposition method, a sputtering method, a CVD method, or the like. In order to obtain a high voltage, the thickness of the ITO film is formed to a thickness of 100-500 [Å], for example, and is set to a low sheet resistance value of about 10-500 [Ω].

For example, a resin such as a thermosetting acrylic resin or a polyimide resin is applied to the insulating layer 52. The insulating layer 52 may be an ultraviolet curable layer in addition to the thermosetting layer. The insulating layer 52 is formed by using these resins to have a desired thickness by a printing method, a spin method, or the like, and performing a heat curing process or an ultraviolet curing process. It is preferable to apply a screen printing method for a thermosetting material and a photolithography method for an ultraviolet curable material.
Note that the shape of the insulating layer 52 is formed by a photolithography method when the positional accuracy of the arrangement is strictly required.

  For example, a thermosetting epoxy resin or an acrylic resin is applied to the sealing material 30. Further, the sealing material 30 is blended with insulating glass balls or glass fibers as spacers (not shown). The glass balls and the glass fibers are formed with a predetermined particle size, thereby maintaining a predetermined distance between the glass substrates 10 and 20.

In the polymer network liquid crystal 60, the liquid crystal material 62 is mixed with the polymer material (monomer) before polymerization, and the monomer is polymerized, so that the liquid crystal material 62 is dispersed in the three-dimensional network polymer network structure 61. Is.
As the monomer, an ultraviolet curable acrylic resin is applied, and in particular, those containing an acrylic monomer and an acrylic oligomer that are polymerized by irradiation with ultraviolet light L (see FIG. 3) are used.
As the liquid crystal material 62, nematic liquid crystal, smectic liquid crystal, cholesteric liquid crystal, or the like is applied.

<Manufacturing process of liquid crystal cell>
As an example, liquid crystal cell 100 in the present embodiment is manufactured by the following manufacturing process (manufacturing method).
That is, first, the counter electrode 40 is formed on the inner surface 11 (see FIG. 2) of one glass substrate 10 by vacuum vapor deposition, sputtering, CVD, or the like. The counter electrode 40 is formed in a desired shape by an etching method. Further, a black resist 70 is formed on the inner surface 11 side of the glass substrate 10 along a portion along the inside of the portion to be joined by the sealing material 30. The black resist 70 is formed in a rectangular ring shape with a thickness t2 over the entire circumference of the sealing material 30 by photolithography.
The pixel electrode 50 is also formed on the inner surface 21 of the other glass substrate 20 by vacuum deposition, sputtering, CVD, or the like.

A sealing material 30 is formed on the entire portion of the glass substrate 10 along the outside of the black resist 70 by a screen printing method or the like. At this time, the sealing material 30 is formed with a gap between it and the black resist 70. However, the sealing material 30 may be formed in contact with the black resist 70.
Next, the inner surfaces 11 and 21 of the two glass substrates 10 and 20 are opposed to each other, and the two glass substrates 10 and 20 are overlapped with each other through the sealing material 30 and heated in a pressurized state, whereby a sealing material is obtained. 30 is cured, and both glass substrates 10 and 20 are bonded to each other with a predetermined interval t1.
At this time, a glass ball or glass fiber blended in the sealing material 30 is sandwiched between the glass substrates 10 and 20, and the glass substrates 10 and 20 are maintained at a predetermined interval.

Next, the monomer and the liquid crystal material 62 are injected into the inner region R0 between the two glass substrates 10 and 20 surrounded by the sealing material 30 from an injection port (not shown) in a vacuum atmosphere.
FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating a process of irradiating the liquid crystal cell 100 with the ultraviolet light L. As shown in FIG. 3, in the liquid crystal cell 100, the glass substrate 10 on which the black resist 70 is formed is disposed on the side close to the mercury lamp 310. In this state, ultraviolet rays L are emitted from the mercury lamp 310. The emitted ultraviolet light L is reflected by the reflecting mirror 320. The reflected ultraviolet light L is irradiated in parallel to the liquid crystal cell 100 from the glass substrate 10 side.
The irradiation conditions of the ultraviolet light L are performed by heating to a temperature higher than the nematic-isotropic phase transition temperature. For example, the temperature is 20-40 [° C.], the intensity is 20-80 [mW / cm ² ], and the time is 30-120. Within the range of [seconds], it is appropriately set in consideration of reliability and display characteristics.

The monomer sealed in the inner region R0 of the liquid crystal cell 100 that has been irradiated with the ultraviolet light L generates a polymer network structure 61 (see FIG. 2) by polymerization.
Here, the monomer in the region R <b> 1 inside the inner edge 71 (see FIG. 1) of the black resist 70 is irradiated with the ultraviolet rays L through the glass substrate 10 and the counter electrode 40 to generate the polymer network structure 61.
On the other hand, the monomer in the region R2 corresponding to the portion where the black resist 70 is formed (the region where the ultraviolet light L is transmitted while being suppressed on the back side of the black resist 70) is the ultraviolet light L whose transmission is suppressed by the black resist 70. Receive irradiation.
For this reason, the polymer network structure 61 (see FIG. 2) generated in the region R2 has a density of the polymer network structure 61 that is coarser than the polymer network structure 61 generated in the region R1.

  Thus, in the liquid crystal cell 100 shown in FIG. 2, the polymer network liquid crystal 60 formed in the region R2 is formed with a polymer network structure 61 having a density higher than that of the polymer network liquid crystal 60 formed in the other region R1. It has been made.

<Operation and effect of liquid crystal cell>
The portion where the density of the polymer network structure 61 is coarse is relatively more flexible than the portion where the density is dense, and it is easy to absorb the generated strain. Due to the high flexibility of the region R2 along the sealing material 30, the restraining force of the region R2 on the sealing material 30 is reduced. As a result, the uniformity of the degree of scattering in the region R1 inside the region R2 is improved, and the display unevenness is improved.
Further, for example, when a strain that contracts in the polymer network liquid crystal 60 is generated due to a temperature change such as rapid cooling to a temperature of about −30 [° C.], the strain is particularly in the vicinity of the seal material 30. There is a tendency to grow. However, in the liquid crystal cell 100 of the present embodiment, the density of the portion in the vicinity of the sealing material 30, that is, the polymer network structure 61 in the region R2 is rough. Therefore, the polymer network structure 61 in the portion along the sealing material 30 can sufficiently absorb the generated strain.
Therefore, the liquid crystal cell 100 of the present embodiment can suppress the occurrence of polymer cracks due to temperature changes such as rapid cooling in the vicinity of the sealing material 30.

In the liquid crystal cell 100 of the present embodiment, the black resist 70 has a thickness t2 (see FIG. 2). The black resist 70 is formed on the inner surface 11 side of the glass substrate 10. For this reason, the thickness t3 (= t1-t2) of the polymer network liquid crystal 60 in the region R2 is smaller than the thickness t1 of the polymer network liquid crystal 60 in the region R1.
Therefore, for example, when a strain that contracts due to a temperature change such as rapid cooling to about −30 [° C.] occurs, the polymer network liquid crystal 60 in the region R2 is more than the polymer network liquid crystal 60 in the region R1. The absolute amount of contraction is reduced.
Also from this viewpoint, the liquid crystal cell 100 of the present embodiment can suppress the occurrence of polymer cracks due to temperature changes such as rapid cooling in the vicinity of the sealing material 30.

  The black resist 70 can be formed not on the inner surface 11 side of the glass substrate 10 but on the outer surface side. In this case, instead of the black resist 70 having a thickness on the inner surface 11 side of the glass substrate 10, It is necessary to arrange a member to become. However, in the liquid crystal cell 100 of the present embodiment, since the black resist 70 is formed on the inner surface 11 side of the glass substrate 10, a member in place of the black resist 70 is arranged separately from the black resist 70. Increase in cost can be suppressed.

  FIG. 4 is a graph showing, for example, the level of scattering of the polymer network liquid crystal 60 in the direction along the line II-II in FIG. Both ends of the horizontal axis in FIG. 4 correspond to the inner edge 31 of the sealing material 30 (see FIG. 2). The solid line in the figure indicates the degree of scattering of the polymer network liquid crystal 60 in the liquid crystal cell 100 of the present embodiment. The broken lines in the figure indicate the degree of scattering when the black resist 70 is not formed in the liquid crystal cell 100 shown in FIGS.

  As understood from the graph of FIG. 4, the liquid crystal cell 100 of the present embodiment has a degree of scattering in the region R <b> 1 including the central portion of the polymer network liquid crystal 60 as compared with the case where the black resist 70 is not formed. The uniform range of becomes wide. Specifically, in the region R1, the degree of scattering in the region along the inside of the region R2 is improved to the same level as the degree of scattering in the central region, as indicated by the arrow, and the degree of scattering in the region R1 is increased. Uniformity improved.

Accordingly, the peripheral region (region along the inner side of the region R2 out of the region R1) that could not be used because the degree of scattering is lower than the central portion in the region R1 including the central portion is also displayed. Can be used as a region. As a result, when the area that can be used as the viewing area is set to the same size, the size (outer shape) of the liquid crystal cell 100 can be reduced.
Further, in the liquid crystal cell 100, the scattering of the degree of scattering (variation in height) in the region R1 including the central portion (see FIG. 2) excluding the region R2 is reduced, and the uniformity of the degree of scattering is improved.

This is because the monomer remaining without being polymerized in the region R2 along the sealing material 30 is sufficiently supplied to the region R1, and the monomer supplied from the region R2 is polymerized in the region R1 including the central portion. The generation of the polymer network structure 61 in R1 is promoted.
In addition, the following effect | action is also included in the improvement of the uniformity of the scattering degree in area | region R1 including a center part. That is, the region R1 including the center is surrounded by the region R2 in which the degree of polymerization proceeds relatively slowly due to the presence of the black resist 70. For this reason, the stress when the polymerization in the region R1 including the central portion proceeds is released to the surrounding region R2 where the polymerization progress is relatively slow. As a result, in the region R1, the polymer network structure 61 having a low residual stress was formed, and the uniformity of the degree of scattering in the region R1 was improved.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a parting frame 110 overlaid on the liquid crystal cell 100. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 5, the liquid crystal cell 100 includes a parting frame 110 that covers only the region R <b> 1 as a viewing area and covers the outside of the viewing area. Then, the region outside the parting line 111 corresponding to the inner edge of the parting frame 110 may be made invisible.
However, in the liquid crystal cell 100 of the present embodiment, the black resist 70 (see FIG. 1) blocks not only the ultraviolet light L but also visible light. Thereby, by setting the inner edge 71 of the black resist 70 as the parting line 111, the black resist 70 can exhibit the function of the parting frame 110. Therefore, the liquid crystal cell 100 according to the present embodiment does not need to be provided with the separate parting frames 110 overlapped.

In the liquid crystal cell 100 of the present embodiment, the black resist 70 applied as an example of the polymerization suppression unit in the polymer liquid crystal display element of the present invention is also an example of a light blocking unit that blocks visible light. In addition, the light-shielding part in the polymer liquid crystal display element of the present invention only needs to block or suppress transmission of at least one of visible light and ultraviolet light L.
The polymerization inhibitor in the present invention is not limited to one that blocks visible light transmission. That is, the polymerization inhibitor in the present invention may be at least one that blocks or suppresses the transmission of electromagnetic waves (for example, ultraviolet rays L) that polymerize the monomer into the polymer network structure.
Therefore, in the case of the liquid crystal cell 100 to which the polymerization suppressing portion or the light shielding portion that does not exhibit the action of blocking visible light is applied, the parting frame 110 is overlapped and used. In this case, the parting frame 110 is set so that the inner edge of the polymerization suppressing part or the light shielding part is located outside the inner edge of the parting frame 110.

The liquid crystal cell 100 of the present embodiment is not limited to the one manufactured by the manufacturing process described above. In other words, the liquid crystal cell 100 only needs to have the structure shown in FIG. 2 regardless of the manufacturing process.
That is, the liquid crystal cell 100 includes two glass substrates 10 and 20, a polymer network liquid crystal 60, and a black resist 70. The polymer network liquid crystal 60 formed in the region R2 corresponding to the black resist 70 It is only necessary that the polymer network structure 61 has a higher density than the polymer network liquid crystal 60 formed in the region R1.

When the liquid crystal cell 100 is manufactured by the manufacturing process described above, the glass substrate 10 on which the black resist 70 is formed is arranged on the side close to the mercury lamp 310 as shown in FIG. In this state, the density of the polymer network structure 61 can be made different between the region R2 along the inner side of the sealing material 30 and the other region R1 only by irradiating the liquid crystal cell 100 with the ultraviolet ray L only once. .
Therefore, according to the manufacturing method of the liquid crystal cell 100 of this Embodiment, it is not necessary to irradiate the liquid crystal cell 100 which has the monomer and the liquid crystal material 62 before superposition | polymerization with the ultraviolet rays L of 2 forms. That is, there is no need to perform two types of irradiation: irradiation in a state where the region R2 along the inner side of the sealing material 30 is shielded, and irradiation in a state where the region R2 along the inner side of the sealing material 30 is exposed.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating an optical path of a single-lens reflex camera 200 including the liquid crystal cell 100. As an example, the liquid crystal cell 100 of the present embodiment may be disposed on an optical path leading to the finder 240 of the single-lens reflex camera 200 as shown in FIG.
In the illustrated single-lens reflex camera 200, light emitted from a subject is reflected by a main mirror 220 through a lens 210. The reflected light forms an image on a focusing plate 280 disposed in front of the pentaprism 230. The imaged light is reflected twice by the pentaprism 230 through the liquid crystal cell 100 disposed above the focus plate 280 and enters the photographer's eyes through the viewfinder 240.
On the back side of the main mirror 220, a sub mirror 250 that guides the light of the subject that has passed through the main mirror 220 to an AF (Auto Focus) sensor 270, and an image sensor 260 such as a CCD or a CMOS that images the subject image are arranged. ing.

The liquid crystal cell 100 disposed between the main mirror 220 and the pentaprism 230 receives a control signal from a control unit (not shown) of the single-lens reflex camera 200 and power from a power source, and the pixel electrode 50 (see FIG. 2). Driven. A portion of the polymer network liquid crystal 60 of the liquid crystal cell 100 to which a voltage is applied by driving transmits light. As a result, the subject image formed on the liquid crystal cell 100 passes through the liquid crystal cell 100 and is visually recognized by a photographer looking into the viewfinder 240.
Further, the portion of the polymer network liquid crystal 60 of the liquid crystal cell 100 where no voltage is applied scatters light. Since the scattered light does not reach the photographer's eyes, the scattered portion is recognized by the photographer as a black portion.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating a display example that appears as a scattering portion of the liquid crystal cell 100. As shown in FIG. 7, the scattered portion includes a distance measuring point display 91 indicating a position measured by the AF sensor 270 (see FIG. 6), a grid 92 that divides the viewing area vertically and horizontally, It is used to display shooting information such as a circle line 93 indicating the central area, shooting mode display 94, white balance display 95, drive mode display 96, AF mode display 97, and compression mode display 98.
Accordingly, the photographer looking through the finder 240 can view the image of the transmitted subject while simultaneously viewing the scattered shooting information and the like.
In the figure, the shooting mode display 94, the white balance display 95, the drive mode display 96, the AF mode display 97, and the compression mode display 98 are displayed horizontally reversed.

<Other embodiments of liquid crystal cell>
(Black resist arrangement example 1)
FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view corresponding to FIG. 2 showing the liquid crystal cell 400 in which the black resist 82 is formed on the inner surface 21 side of the other glass substrate 20 along the inner side of the sealing material 30.
The liquid crystal cell 100 of the embodiment shown in FIG. 2 is obtained by forming the black resist 70 only on one of the two glass substrates 10 and 20, but the polymer liquid crystal display according to the present invention. The element is not limited to this form.

That is, in the liquid crystal cell 400 shown in FIG. 8, a black resist 81 having a thickness t4 and a black resist 82 having a thickness t5 are formed on the inner surfaces 11 and 21 of both glass substrates 10 and 20, respectively. The sum of the thickness t4 and the thickness t5 is equal to the thickness t2 of the black resist 70 in the liquid crystal cell 100 shown in FIG.
According to the liquid crystal cell 400 of this form, the thickness t6 of the polymer network liquid crystal 60 in the region R2 is the same as the thickness t3 of the liquid crystal cell 100 (see FIG. 2).

Similar to the liquid crystal cell 100 (see FIG. 2), the liquid crystal cell 400 improves the uniformity of the degree of scattering in the region R1, and is also due to a temperature change such as rapid cooling in the portion along the inside of the sealing material 30. Generation of polymer cracks can be suppressed.
In the liquid crystal cell 400, the black resists 81 and 82 formed on the glass substrates 10 and 20 respectively block the ultraviolet light L. Therefore, when the liquid crystal cell 400 is manufactured by polymerizing the monomer in the irradiation process of the ultraviolet light L shown in FIG. 3, which glass substrate 10, 20 of both the glass substrates 10, 20 is closer to the mercury lamp 310. You may arrange in.

On the other hand, when the liquid crystal cell 400 is manufactured in a process in which the glass substrate 10 side is always arranged near the mercury lamp 310 and the monomer is polymerized by irradiating the ultraviolet rays L, the glass substrate 20 side The black resist 82 does not need to suppress the transmission of the ultraviolet light L. In this case, a member having a thickness t5 (for example, a member formed of an insulator) for reducing the thickness of the region R2 may be simply provided instead of the black resist 82.
Further, instead of separately providing a member having a thickness t5, only a portion corresponding to the region R2 of the glass substrate 20 may be formed in a shape protruding by the thickness t5 on the inner surface 21 side.

(Black resist arrangement example 2)
In the liquid crystal cells 100 and 400 (see FIGS. 2 and 8) of the above-described embodiment, the black resists 70 and 81 are formed over the entire circumference along the inner side of the sealing material 30. However, the polymer liquid crystal display element is not limited to this form.
FIG. 9 is a plan view corresponding to FIG. 1, showing an example in which the black resist 70 is formed only on a part along the inner side of the rectangular annular seal material 30 on the inner surface 11 side of the glass substrate 10. , (A) is a liquid crystal cell 500 in which a black resist 70 is formed along the inside of the portion corresponding to the four rectangular corners of the sealing material 30, and (B) is the inside of the portion corresponding to the two sides of the sealing material 30. A liquid crystal cell 600 having a black resist 70 formed thereon is shown.

Stress is generated in the polymer network liquid crystal 60 due to a temperature change such as rapid cooling, and the stress is particularly in the portions along the inner side of the sealing material 30 corresponding to the four corners where the contour shape changes greatly. growing.
In the liquid crystal cell 500, as shown in FIG. 9A, the black resist 70 is formed along the inside of the portions corresponding to the four corners of the sealing material 30 where the stress generated by this temperature change increases.

As in the liquid crystal cells 100 and 400 of the above-described embodiments, the portion where the black resist 70 is formed has a higher density of the polymer network structure 61 to improve flexibility and a smaller thickness. The absolute amount of contraction is reduced.
Therefore, the liquid crystal cell 500 of the present embodiment absorbs stress at the portions corresponding to the four corners of the sealing material 30 and reduces the amount of shrinkage, thereby preventing the occurrence of polymer cracks due to temperature changes such as rapid cooling. Can be suppressed.

Further, in the polymer network liquid crystal 60, the stress generated by the temperature change such as rapid cooling becomes large at the portions along the inner sides of the sides 30a, 30b, 30c, 30d of the rectangular sealing material 30.
As shown in FIG. 9B, the liquid crystal cell 600 has a portion corresponding to two opposing sides 30a and 30b extending in the illustrated lateral direction of the rectangular sealing material 30 in which the stress generated by this temperature change increases. A black resist 70 is formed along the inside of the film.

As in the liquid crystal cells 100, 400, and 500 of each of the above-described embodiments, the portion where the black resist 70 is formed increases the density of the polymer network structure 61 to improve flexibility and reduce the thickness. The absolute amount of contraction is reduced.
Therefore, the liquid crystal cell 600 according to the present embodiment absorbs stress at the portions corresponding to the two opposing sides 30a and 30b of the sealing material 30 and reduces the amount of shrinkage, thereby causing a temperature change such as rapid cooling. Generation of polymer cracks can be prevented or suppressed.

  The arrangement of the black resist 70 along the inner side of the sealing material 30 is limited to the inner side of the portion corresponding to the two opposing sides 30a and 30b extending in the illustrated horizontal direction shown in FIG. 9B. Absent. For example, inside a portion corresponding to two opposing sides 30c and 30d extending in the vertical direction in the figure, inside a portion corresponding to any one side 30a (or any one side of 30b, 30c, and 30d) , Inside the portion corresponding to any two adjacent sides (longitudinal and lateral sides) 30a and 30c (or 30a and 30d, 30b and 30c, 30b and 30d), respectively A black resist 70 may be formed along.

(Black resist arrangement example 3)
FIG. 10 is a plan view corresponding to FIG. 1, showing a liquid crystal cell 100 in which a black resist 70 is formed on a portion along the inner side of the sealing material 30 and a portion along the inner side of the closing member 35. FIG. It is sectional drawing which shows the cross section along the XI-XI line.
In the description of the liquid crystal cell 100 of the above-described embodiment, the description regarding the injection port for injecting the monomer before polymerization and the liquid crystal material 62 into the inner region R0 is omitted, but FIG. 10 leads to the inner region R0. The inlet 34 is clearly shown.

  The injection port 34 is a portion where the sealing material 30 is not formed. Then, after the monomer and the liquid crystal material 62 are injected into the inner region R0, the injection port 34 is closed by a closing member 35 formed of, for example, a thermosetting resin. The closing member 35 in a state of closing the injection port 34 is cured by heating and fixed to the injection port 34.

By the way, when the polymer network liquid crystal 60 is formed by irradiating the liquid crystal cell 100 with the ultraviolet rays L, the region R4 relatively close to the injection port 34 in the inner region R0 is shown in FIG. The distance between the glass substrates 10 and 20 (strictly speaking, the distance between the counter electrode 40 and the pixel electrode 50; hereinafter the same) t1 (see FIG. 2) is narrower than the region R3 that is relatively far from 34. The tendency to become is recognized.
That is, a spacer formed of glass is blended in the sealing material 30, and when both the glass substrates 10 and 20 are joined by the sealing material 30, both the glass substrates 10 are formed in a portion where the sealing material 30 is formed. , 20 is maintained at the interval t1.

However, since the sealing material 30 is not formed at the injection port 34, when the polymer network liquid crystal 60 contracts due to a temperature change, in the region R4 close to the injection port 34 that is not supported by the spacer of the sealing material 30, glass is used. The space between the substrates 10 and 20 is narrower than the interval t1.
The injection port 34 is closed by a closing member 35. The closing member 35 is made of resin and has a lower rigidity than the glass spacer blended in the sealing material 30, and therefore the closing member 35 is made of the sealing material 30. Compared to the above, the strength to support the glass substrates 10 and 20 is weak.

Further, between the two glass substrates 10 and 20, before the glass substrates 10 and 20 are joined by the sealing material 30, in order to maintain the interval between the glass substrates 10 and 20 at the interval t1, a predetermined value is used. A large number of insulating spherical spacers 63 (see FIG. 11 described later) having a particle diameter (a diameter corresponding to the interval t1) are arranged. However, since the spacer 63 is made of resin, its rigidity is lower than that of the glass spacer blended in the sealing material 30.
Therefore, the resin spacer 63 disposed in the inner region R <b> 0 is also weaker in supporting the glass substrates 10 and 20 than the sealing material 30.
For the above reason, in the region R4 close to the injection port 34 that is not supported by the spacer of the sealing material 30, the space between the glass substrates 10 and 20 is narrower than the interval t1 (see FIG. 2). If there is a difference in the distance between the glass substrates 10 and 20, the thickness of the polymer network liquid crystal 60 injected therein is different, and the degree of scattering by the polymer network liquid crystal 60 becomes non-uniform.

The liquid crystal cell 100 shown in FIG. 10 is not only on the inner surface 11 (see FIG. 11) side of the glass substrate 10, but also on the inner side of the sealing member 30 as well as on the inner side of the closing member 35. A black resist 70 is formed.
At this time, in the inner region R0, as shown in FIG. 11, the resin spacer 63 (between the glass substrates 10 and 20 before the glass substrates 10 and 20 are bonded with the sealing material 30 (see FIG. 10). A diameter d = t1 (see FIG. 2)) is arranged. The spacer 63 is sandwiched between the black resist 70 formed in a portion along the inner side of the closing member 35 and the inner surface 21 of the other glass substrate 20.

  The space between the glass substrates 10 and 20 is maintained at the interval t1 by the resin spacer 63. However, in the portion along the inner side of the closing member 35, the diameter d of the resin spacer 63 is set to the diameter d (= t1) of the black resist 70. The thickness t2 is added and becomes larger than the interval t1. However, when the glass substrates 10 and 20 are joined by the sealing material 30, the glass substrates 10 and 20 are pressurized so as to be parallel. Thereby, the resin spacer 63 sandwiched between the black resist 70 and the inner surface 21 of the other glass substrate 20 is deformed so as to be crushed. As a result, the portion along the inner side of the closing member 35 is maintained at the interval t1 between the glass substrates 10 and 20.

Thus, in the portion along the inner side of the closing member 35, the liquid crystal cell 100 with the resin spacer 63 sandwiched between the black resist 70 and the inner surface 21 of the other glass substrate 20 is subjected to a temperature change such as rapid cooling. Works. At this time, the portion along the inner side of the closing member 35 has a reaction force acting on the deformed resin spacer 63 instead of being supported by the sealing material 30 to return the deformation to the original state. receive.
For this reason, in the inner region R0, the distance between the glass substrates 10 and 20 in the region R4 relatively close to the injection port 34 is larger than the interval between the glass substrates 10 and 20 in the region R3 relatively far from the injection port 34. The tendency to become narrower is also suppressed. Thereby, the nonuniformity of the thickness of the polymer network liquid crystal 60 injected between the glass substrates 10 and 20 is suppressed, and the uniformity of the degree of scattering by the polymer network liquid crystal 60 is improved.
The embodiments described above are merely examples of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to these embodiments.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10,20 ... Glass substrate (an example of board | substrate), 11 ... Inner surface, 30 ... Sealing material, 60 ... Polymer network liquid crystal, 61 ... Polymer network structure, 62 ... Liquid crystal material, 70 ... Black resist (An example of a light-shielding part, superposition | polymerization suppression) Part), 100 ... liquid crystal cell (an example of polymer liquid crystal display element), t1 ... interval, t2 ... thickness, R0 ... inner region, R1, R2 ... region

Claims (8)

Two substrates bonded at a predetermined interval by a sealing material;
A polymer network liquid crystal in which a liquid crystal is dispersed in a polymer network structure formed in an inner region surrounded by the sealing material between the two substrates;
A blocking member that blocks the inlet leading to the inner region;
A light-shielding portion provided on the inner surface side of at least one of the two substrates and along the sealing material,
The light shielding portion is formed along the inside of the closing member ;
The thickness of the polymer network liquid crystal in the region corresponding to the light shielding portion is thinner than the thickness of the polymer network liquid crystal in the other region excluding the region corresponding to the light shielding portion,
The polymer liquid crystal display element , wherein the light shielding portion is exposed to the polymer network liquid crystal .   The polymer liquid crystal display element according to claim 1, wherein the light shielding portion blocks or suppresses transmission of at least one of visible light and ultraviolet light. Two substrates bonded at a predetermined interval by a sealing material;
A polymer network liquid crystal in which a liquid crystal is dispersed in a polymer network structure formed in an inner region surrounded by the sealing material between the two substrates;
On the inner surface side of at least one of the two substrates, the transmission of electromagnetic waves irradiated to form the polymer network structure on at least a part along the inner side of the sealing material is suppressed, and the thickness A polymerization inhibitor formed with a thickness,
The sealing material is formed in a rectangular ring shape,
The polymerization inhibitor has a light shielding property with respect to visible light, and is formed over the entire circumference of the rectangular ring,
Among the polymer network liquid crystals, the polymer network liquid crystal formed in a region corresponding to the polymerization suppression unit is more polymerized than the polymer network liquid crystal formed in other regions excluding the region corresponding to the polymerization suppression unit. The network structure is densely formed ,
The thickness of the polymer network liquid crystal in the region corresponding to the polymerization suppression portion is thinner than the thickness of the polymer network liquid crystal in other regions excluding the region corresponding to the polymerization suppression portion,
The polymer liquid crystal display element , wherein the polymerization inhibitor is exposed to the polymer network liquid crystal . The polymer liquid crystal display element according to claim 1, wherein the light-shielding portion also functions as a parting frame. The polymer liquid crystal display element according to claim 3, wherein the polymerization suppression unit also functions as a parting frame. 6. The polymer liquid crystal display device according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of spacers are arranged in the inner region. Two substrates are bonded with a sealant at a predetermined interval,
Injecting a polymer material and a liquid crystal material forming a polymer network structure into an inner region surrounded by the sealing material between the two substrates,
In the method for producing a polymer liquid crystal display element that irradiates an electromagnetic wave for polymerizing the polymer material,
Prior to the bonding of the two substrates, the electromagnetic wave is transmitted to at least part of the inner surface of at least one of the two substrates along the inside of the portion to be bonded by the sealing material. Forming a polymerization inhibiting part having a thickness,
Irradiation of the electromagnetic wave is performed from the side of the substrate on which the polymerization inhibitor is formed,
An inlet for injecting the polymer material and the liquid crystal material is formed in the inner region,
When the polymer material and the liquid crystal material are injected from the inlet into the inner region, and then the inlet is closed with a closing member,
Forming the polymerization suppression portion on the inner surface side of the substrate along the inner side of the portion where the blocking member is disposed ;
The thickness of the polymer network liquid crystal in the region corresponding to the polymerization suppression portion is thinner than the thickness of the polymer network liquid crystal in other regions excluding the region corresponding to the polymerization suppression portion,
The polymerization suppression unit, method for producing a polymer liquid crystal display element characterized that you have exposed to the polymer network liquid crystal. The method for producing a polymer liquid crystal display element according to claim 7 , wherein the polymerization inhibitor has a light shielding property against visible light.

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