KR20170137011A - Transmittance variable film and method of fabricating the same - Google Patents

Abstract

Disclosed is a transparency adjusting film which does not require formation of a pattern electrode. The film structure includes a first common electrode, a second common electrode on the first common electrode, and a display portion interposed between the first common electrode and the second common electrode, and the display portion includes a first display element, And a binder that couples the first indicator element and the second indicator element, wherein each of the first indicator element and the second indicator element includes a plurality of particles, a fluid surrounding the particles, and a capsule wall surrounding the fluid And at least one of the binder and the capsule wall affects the movement of the particles, thereby controlling the transmissivity of the film.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD [0001] The present invention relates to a variable transmissivity film and a fabrication method thereof,

More particularly, the present invention relates to a variable transmissivity film which can control the transmittance by particle migration without using a pattern electrode, a method of manufacturing the same, and a method of manufacturing the same. Driving method.

In order to realize a particle-migration film through an electric field, an ink containing electrophoretic particles, a capsule containing the ink, and an electrode capable of implementing an electric field in the capsule are required. At this time, in order to control the transmittance in the variable transmissivity film, a pattern electrode is formed which allows the particles to be gathered in one place. However, when such a pattern electrode is used, the decrease in light transmittance by the pattern electrode itself is increased, and it is difficult to produce a film having satisfactory transparency.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a film having transparency which can realize a high transmittance.

Another problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a transparency adjusting film capable of adjusting the transmittance without using a pattern electrode.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a method of manufacturing a transmittance adjusting film and a method of driving the same that can control the transmittance in the absence of an electrode pattern film.

A film according to one aspect of the present invention is provided. The film includes a first common electrode; A second common electrode on the first common electrode; And a display portion interposed between the first common electrode and the second common electrode, wherein the display portion includes a first display element, a second display element, and a second display element that combines the first display element and the second display element Wherein each of the first indicator element and the second indicator element comprises a plurality of particles, a fluid surrounding the particles, and a capsule wall surrounding the fluid, wherein the binder and the capsule wall The permeability of the film can be controlled by affecting at least one of the movement of the particles.

According to one example of the film, the force applied between the electrodes for applying an electric field and the particles is greater than the force applied to the particles by the dielectric polarization of the fluid, so that the film is electrophoretically driven Can operate.

According to another example of the film, by controlling the ratio of the conductivity of the binder to the conductivity of the capsule wall, the position at which the particles gather at a predetermined point can be adjusted.

According to another example of the film, an electric field is applied through at least one of the binder and the capsule wall so that the particles are collected to a predetermined point.

According to another example of the film, the electric field is applied through the binder, and the particles are operable to converge at the corners or sidewalls between the top wall and the sidewall of the capsule wall.

According to another example of the film, the electric field is applied through the capsule wall, and the particles are operable to converge at the center of the upper wall or the lower wall of the capsule wall.

According to another example of the film, the particles are operable to converge at a portion corresponding to an area in contact with the capsule wall and the first transparent electrode.

According to another example of the film, the first common electrode is in direct contact with the capsule wall, and no pattern electrode is interposed between the first common electrode and the capsule wall.

There is provided a pattern-electrode-free film according to an aspect of the present invention. Wherein the film comprises a display interposed between the common electrodes, the display comprising at least one display element and a binder surrounding the display element, the display element comprising a plurality of particles, And a capsule wall surrounding the fluid, wherein a first electric field is formed by applying a first voltage to at least one of the binder and the capsule wall, wherein the first electric field causes the particles to reach a predetermined point And a second electric field is formed by applying a second voltage to at least one of the binder and the capsule wall, and the particles can be dispersed by the second electric field.

1 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a variable transmissivity film according to embodiments of the present invention.
2 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a method of driving a variable transmissivity film according to embodiments of the present invention.
Figs. 3A and 3B show embodiments in which the driving force of the particles is controlled through the change of the conductivity of the wall material and the binder layer.
FIGS. 4 to 5 show photographs of driving microscopes of a transmissivity adjusting film according to embodiments of the present invention.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Embodiments of the present invention are provided to more fully describe the present invention to those skilled in the art, and the following embodiments may be modified in various other forms, The present invention is not limited to the following embodiments. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be more thorough and complete, and will fully convey the concept of the invention to those skilled in the art.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an," and "the" include plural forms unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Also, " comprise "and / or" comprising "when used herein should be interpreted as specifying the presence of stated shapes, numbers, steps, operations, elements, elements, and / And does not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, operations, elements, elements, and / or groups. As used herein, the term "and / or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the listed items.

Although the terms first, second, etc. are used herein to describe various elements, regions and / or regions, it should be understood that these elements, components, regions, layers and / Do. These terms are not intended to be in any particular order, up or down, or top-down, and are used only to distinguish one member, region or region from another member, region or region. Thus, the first member, region or region described below may refer to a second member, region or region without departing from the teachings of the present invention.

The concept of " contacting "herein is a concept involving direct contact and indirect contact. For example, if the first and second configurations are "in contact ", it may mean that the third configuration intervenes between the first and second configurations (i.e., indirect contact) It may mean that there is no intervening structure between the structure and the second structure (i.e., direct contact).

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings schematically showing ideal embodiments of the present invention. In the figures, for example, variations in the shape shown may be expected, depending on manufacturing techniques and / or tolerances. Accordingly, embodiments of the present invention should not be construed as limited to any particular shape of the regions illustrated herein, including, for example, variations in shape resulting from manufacturing.

1 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a variable transmissivity film according to embodiments of the present invention.

1, the variable transmissivity film may include a display unit 120 including a first common electrode 110, display elements 210 and 220 and a binder 230, and a second common electrode 130 have.

The first common electrode 110 transmits a current from a driving unit (not shown) and can function as a substrate of the display unit 120. That is, the display unit 120 may be positioned on the first common electrode 110, and the display unit 120 may be supported by the first common electrode 110. The first common electrode 110 may be formed as a transparent electrode.

More specifically, the first common electrode 110 may be in direct contact with the display portion 120. For example, the first common electrode 110 may directly contact the capsule wall W of the display elements 210 and 220 of the display unit 120. In another example, the first common electrode 110 may be in direct contact with the binder 230 of the display portion 120. For example, the first common electrode 110 may be in direct contact with a binder positioned between the first display element 210 and the second display element 220. More specifically, the first common electrode 110 may be in direct contact with the protruding portion A of the binder located below the side of the capsule wall W. The movement of the particles P can be controlled by applying an electric field through the protruding portion A, which will be described later in more detail.

The display unit 120 may be interposed between the first common electrode 110 and the second common electrode 130. The display unit 120 may include a first display element 210, a second display element 220, and a binder 230. Wherein at least one of the first display element 210 and the second display element 220 includes a plurality of particles P, a fluid M surrounding the particles P, And may include a capsule wall W. The binder 230 may serve as a binder for joining the first display element 210 and the second display element 220 together. In an alternative embodiment, the binder 230 may also function to collect the particles P distributed within the first display element 210 and / or the second display element 220 . In other words, since the binder 230 affects the movement of the particles P, the transmissivity of the film can be controlled.

The first display element 210 and the second display element 220 may be embodied in a capsule structure. In this case, the capsule structure may comprise at least one electrophoretic mobility particle, a fluid M surrounding the particle (i.e., a suspension fluid), and a capsule wall W surrounding the fluid M. The color of the particles can be charged with (+) polarity or (-) polarity and can have one color or multiple colors. The fluid may comprise suitable dielectric solvents such as hydrocarbons, fatty oils, paraffin oils, silicone fluids, aromatic hydrocarbons, halogenated solvents, and perfluorinated solvents, and may optionally be formed of air. Although the figure shows the form of a circular capsule as an example of a display element, the technical idea of the present invention is not limited thereto, and the display element may be embodied as a microcup, a microchannel, or a microcontainer having any shape .

The second common electrode 130 transmits a current from the driving unit and can function as a cover of the display unit 120. That is, the display unit 120 positioned below the second common electrode 130 and the display unit 120 supported by the first common electrode 110 may be covered with the second common electrode 130. The second common electrode 130 may be formed as a transparent electrode. The second common electrode 130 may be formed opposite to the first common electrode 110. A plurality of display elements between the first common electrode 110 and the second common electrode 130 can be simultaneously controlled by the first common electrode 110 and the second common electrode 130. [

For example, the second common electrode 130 may be in direct contact with the display unit 120. For example, the second common electrode 130 may be in direct contact with the capsule wall W of the display element. In another example, the second common electrode 130 may be in direct contact with the binder 230 of the display portion 120. For example, the second common electrode 130 may be in direct contact with the binder 230 located between the first display element 210 and the second display element 220. More specifically, the second common electrode 130 may be in direct contact with the protruding portion A of the binder 230 located on the side of the capsule wall W. [ When a voltage is applied between the first common electrode 110 and the second common electrode 120, electric field concentration may occur in the protruding portion A, As shown in Fig.

According to the technical idea of the present invention, a pattern electrode is not formed between the first common electrode 110 and the display unit 120 for collecting the particles P in one place for controlling the transmittance. The capsule wall W of the display portion 120 and / or the binder 230 function as an electrode that controls the movement of the particles P or collects the particles P in one place. Therefore, a separate process for forming a pattern electrode can be omitted. To this end, the present invention employs a common electrode on the upper and lower surfaces of the display portion. In other words, the present invention is characterized in that the substrate of the display portion 120 is formed on the conductive substrate (not shown) so that the capsule wall W and / or the binder 230 can be driven by the EP of the particles P without a separate pattern electrode. And the electric field is applied to the display unit 120 through the first common electrode 110 and the capsule wall W and / or the binder 230 functioning as an electrode.

According to embodiments of the present invention, the substrate of the film may function as a first common electrode 110 including an electrode, and may be formed by coating a film of a capsule of the display unit 120 on the film to form a single layer . In this case, the first common electrode 110 directly contacts the capsule wall W, and no pattern electrode is interposed between the first common electrode 110 and the capsule wall W. Therefore, the transmittance of the display unit 120 can be adjusted without forming a separate pattern electrode.

In a further embodiment, the pressure in the contact process between the first common electrode 110 and the second common electrode 130 may be adjusted so that the contact area between the first / second common electrode 130 and the capsule wall W Can be adjusted. In this case, the particles P in the display element will act to converge on the portion of the capsule wall W corresponding to the contact area.

2 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a method of driving a variable transmissivity film according to embodiments of the present invention.

The display unit 120 includes at least one display element 210 and 220 and a display unit 220. The display unit 120 includes at least one display element 210, And a binder 230 surrounding the elements 210 and 220. The particles P in the display element of the display unit 120 during the electric driving can be driven in two types according to the dielectric constant and the particle surface charge intensity of the suspension fluid M in which the particles are dispersed, When the dielectric constant is low and the particle surface charge is high, the force acting between the electrode applying the electric field and the particles may be greater than the force exerted by the dielectric polarization of the fluid M on the particles. Therefore, EP (electrophoretic) driving can be performed in which the particles move toward the opposite charge of the charged electric charge according to electric field formation.

As shown in FIG. 2, when the EP driving is performed, it is possible to fabricate a variable transmissivity film by controlling the particle motility through the change of the conductivity of the wall material and the binder layer.

Embodiments for controlling the motility of the particles through changes in the conductivity of the wall material and the binder layer are shown in more detail in Figures 3A and 3B. It should be noted that the embodiment is described based on EP driving (FIG. 2), but the present invention is not limited thereto. Hereinafter, a detailed description of the embodiments will be omitted.

3A and 3B, in the case of a variable transmissivity film according to embodiments of the present invention, an electric field is applied through at least one of the binder 230 and the capsule wall W, P may converge to a predetermined point. More specifically, the capsule wall W and the binder 230 can be driven in two ways depending on the difference in conductivity.

When the first conductivity of the capsule wall W is 1 and the second conductivity of the binder 230 located at the gap between the capsules is 2, the transmittance variable film has a relative size of the first conductivity and the second conductivity Can be driven in two ways.

Third driving scheme (see FIG. 3A): When 1 <2, an electric field may be formed in the binder 230 located in the gap between the capsules. The particles 230 can move to the side portion of the capsule wall W (that is, the portion facing the side wall of the capsule wall W) during the electric driving by performing the function of the electrode.

(See FIG. 3B): In the case of 1> 2, the electric field is formed in the capsule wall W above the display portion 120 which is in contact with (for example, in direct contact with) the first common electrode 110 . That is, the upper part of the capsule wall W performs the function of the electrode, so that the particles P can move to the upper and lower center of the capsule wall W during the electric driving.

Thus, by adjusting the values of 1 and 2 (i.e., by adjusting the ratio of the conductivity of the binder 230 to the conductivity of the capsule wall W), the position at which the particles P gather at a predetermined point is adjusted . For example, when 1/2 > 1, the particles P will be collected at the center of the upper wall or the lower wall of the capsule wall W, since an electric field is applied through the capsule wall W. [ Conversely, when 1/2 < 1, the particles P will be collected at the edge or the center of the side wall between the upper wall and the side wall of the capsule wall W, since the electric field is applied through the binder 230. For example, the particles P may act to converge at a portion corresponding to the region where the capsule wall W and the first common electrode 110 contact.

As described above, according to embodiments of the present invention, a first electric field is formed by applying a first voltage to at least one of the binder 230 and the capsule wall W, (P) can be collected at a predetermined point. A second electric field in a direction different from the first electric field is formed by applying a second voltage in a direction different from the first voltage to at least one of the binder 230 and the capsule wall W, The particles P can be dispersed. Therefore, the transmittance control of the display portion 120 can be achieved without using a separate pattern electrode (i.e., a dot-like electrode formed on the common electrode to collect the particles in one place).

4 to 5 are photographs of a driving microscope of a transmissivity adjusting film according to embodiments of the present invention.

Figs. 4A and 4B show driving micrographs of the embodiment of Fig. 3A (i.e., the transmittance adjusting film when the binder 230 performs the function of the electrode in the EP driving method). As shown in FIG. 5A, before the voltage is applied between the first common electrode and the second common electrode (or when the first voltage is applied), the particles in the display element are dispersed and the transmittance of the film is low. However, after a voltage is applied between the first common electrode and the second common electrode (or when a second voltage different from the first voltage is applied), the particles in the display element, as shown in Fig. 5B, For example, a portion of the binder or the side wall portion of the capsule wall that extends into the space between the capsule wall and the common electrode), thereby increasing the transparency of the film.

FIGS. 5A and 5B show a driving microscope photograph of the embodiment of FIG. 3B (that is, the film for adjusting the transmittance in the case where the capsule wall W performs the function of the electrode in the EP driving method). As shown in FIG. 5A, before the voltage is applied between the first common electrode and the second common electrode (or when the first voltage is applied), the particles in the display element are dispersed and the transmittance of the film is low. However, after a voltage is applied between the first common electrode and the second common electrode (or when a second voltage different from the first voltage is applied), the particles in the display element, as shown in Fig. 5B, So that the transmittance of the film is increased.

For a clear understanding of the present invention, the shape of each portion of the accompanying drawings is to be understood as exemplary. It should be noted that the present invention can be modified into various shapes other than the shapes shown. Like numbers referenced in the drawings may refer to like elements.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Will be clear to those who have knowledge of.

Claims (9)

As a film,
A first common electrode;
A second common electrode on the first common electrode; And
And a display portion interposed between the first common electrode and the second common electrode,
Wherein the display portion includes a first display element, a second display element, and a binder that couples the first display element and the second display element,
Wherein each of the first indicator element and the second indicator element comprises a plurality of particles, a fluid surrounding the particles, and a capsule wall surrounding the fluid,
Wherein at least one of the binder and the capsule wall influences the movement of the particles, thereby controlling the permeability of the film. The method according to claim 1,
Characterized in that the force applied between the electrodes for applying an electric field and the particles is greater than the force exerted by the dielectric polarization of the fluid on the particles so that the film operates in an electrophoretic (EP) . The method of claim 2,
Wherein a position at which the particles gather to a predetermined point is adjusted by adjusting a ratio of the conductivity of the binder to the conductivity of the capsule wall. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein an electric field is applied through at least one of the binder and the capsule wall such that the particles are collected to a predetermined point. The method of claim 4,
The electric field is applied through the binder,
Said particles being operative to converge at the edge or sidewall center of the upper wall and sidewall of said capsule wall. The method of claim 4,
The electric field is applied through the capsule wall,
Said particles being operative to converge towards the center of the upper or lower wall of said capsule wall. The method of claim 6,
Wherein the particles act to converge at a portion corresponding to a region in which the capsule wall and the first common electrode are in contact. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the first common electrode is in direct contact with the capsule wall and no pattern electrode is interposed between the first common electrode and the capsule wall. As a pattern-electrode-free film,
And a display portion interposed between the common electrodes,
Wherein the display portion includes at least one display element and a binder surrounding the display element,
Wherein the indicator element comprises a plurality of particles, a fluid surrounding the particles, and a capsule wall surrounding the fluid,
Wherein a first electric field is formed by applying a first voltage to at least one of the binder and the capsule wall, the particles are collected at a predetermined point by the first electric field,
Wherein a second electric field is formed by applying a second voltage to at least one of the binder and the capsule wall, and the particles are dispersed by the second electric field.

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