Polymer-stabilized thermotropic liquid crystal device
First Claim
1. A resizable polymer-stabilized, thermotropic liquid crystal device comprisinga transparent substrate;
- a mixture of liquid crystal components coating the substrate and having a clearing point within a typical range of atmospheric temperatures and a freezing point below an expected minimum atmospheric temperature;
a means of defining a thickness of the coating of the mixture of liquid crystal components; and
a stabilizing polymer provided in conjunction with the mixture of liquid crystal components on the substrate that cures under the influence of an external stimulus.
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Abstract
A resizable polymer-stabilized, thermotropic liquid crystal device formulation is used in passive or active light-regulating and temperature-regulating films, materials and devices, including construction materials. Implementations of the device may be composed of five basic elements: one or more transparent substrates, a transparent surface treatment, a liquid crystal mixture, a stabilizing polymer, and spacer beads. The polymer-stabilized liquid crystal is coated and cured on at least one substrate. The transparent surface treatment and the stabilizing polymer network are selected to provide phase separation, curing, and adhesion within the LC mixture. The substrate or substrates may be polarizing or nonpolarizing.
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Citations
37 Claims
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1. A resizable polymer-stabilized, thermotropic liquid crystal device comprising
a transparent substrate; -
a mixture of liquid crystal components coating the substrate and having a clearing point within a typical range of atmospheric temperatures and a freezing point below an expected minimum atmospheric temperature; a means of defining a thickness of the coating of the mixture of liquid crystal components; and a stabilizing polymer provided in conjunction with the mixture of liquid crystal components on the substrate that cures under the influence of an external stimulus. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A method for manufacturing a resizable polymer-stabilized, thermotropic liquid crystal device comprising
providing a transparent substrate; -
coating the substrate with a mixture of liquid crystal components having a clearing point within a typical range of atmospheric temperatures and a freezing point below an expected minimum atmospheric temperature; defining and maintaining a thickness of the mixture of liquid crystal components; applying a stabilizing polymer to the substrate in conjunction with the mixture of liquid crystal components; and curing the stabilizing polymer with an external stimulus to adhere the stabilizing polymer. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37)
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Specification