ELECTROCHROMIC DISPLAY ELEMENT

• US 20110279884A1
• Filed: 05/11/2011
• Published: 11/17/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 05/13/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Inventors: FUJIMURA, Koh, Hirano, Shigenobu, Naijo, Yoshihisa, Yashiro, Tohru
• Granted Patent: US 8,531,754 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 359/270
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/133337 Layers preventing ion diffusion, e.g. by ion absorption
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/1334 based on polymer dispersed liquid crystals, e.g. microencapsulated liquid crystals
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/1525 characterised by a particular ion transporting layer, e.g. electrolyte
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 2001/164 the electrolyte is made of polymers

Abstract

An electrochromic display element including a display substrate, at least one display electrode, a counter electrode, a counter substrate, at least one electrochromic layer in contact with the display electrode, and an electrolyte layer between the electrochromic layer and the counter electrode, wherein the electrolyte layer contains a matrix resin having a three-dimensionally crosslinked structure and a mixture of a liquid crystal compound and an electrolyte, and wherein the mixture of the liquid crystal compound and the electrolyte is dispersed as a continuous phase in the matrix resin.

Claims

1. An electrochromic display element comprising:

a display substrate,

at least one display electrode,

a counter electrode,

a counter substrate,

at least one electrochromic layer in contact with the display electrode, and

an electrolyte layer between the electrochromic layer and the counter electrode,

wherein the electrolyte layer contains a matrix resin having a three-dimensionally crosslinked structure and a mixture of a liquid crystal compound and an electrolyte, and

wherein the mixture of the liquid crystal compound and the electrolyte is dispersed as a continuous phase in the matrix resin.

3. The electrochromic display element according to claim 1, wherein the matrix resin is formed of an ultraviolet ray-curable resin material.

4. The electrochromic display element according to claim 1, wherein the electrochromic layer contains fine conductive particles or fine semiconductor particles carrying an electrochromic compound on surfaces thereof.

5. The electrochromic display element according to claim 3, wherein the electrolyte layer is formed by applying ultraviolet rays through the counter substrate or the display substrate to the mixture of the liquid crystal compound and the electrolyte as well as a polymerizable monomer or oligomer of the matrix resin, to polymerize the polymerizable monomer or oligomer.

2. An electrochromic display element comprising:

a display substrate,

a plurality of display electrodes spaced from each other,

a plurality of electrochromic layers which are respectively in contact with the plurality of the display electrodes,

a counter substrate,

a counter electrode, and

an electrolyte layer between the counter electrode and the display electrode that is located nearest to the counter electrode,

wherein the electrolyte layer contains a matrix resin having a three-dimensionally crosslinked structure and a mixture of a liquid crystal compound and an electrolyte,

wherein the mixture of the liquid crystal compound and the electrolyte is dispersed as a continuous phase in the matrix resin, and

wherein an electrical resistance between one of the display electrodes and the other display electrode or any of the other display electrodes is greater than an electrical resistance of the one of the display electrodes.

6. The electrochromic display element according to claim 2, wherein the matrix resin is formed of an ultraviolet ray-curable resin material.

7. The electrochromic display element according to claim 2, wherein each of the electrochromic layers contains fine conductive particles or fine semiconductor particles carrying an electrochromic compound on surfaces thereof.

8. The electrochromic display element according to claim 6, wherein the electrolyte layer is formed by applying ultraviolet rays through the counter substrate or the display substrate to the mixture of the liquid crystal compound and the electrolyte as well as a polymerizable monomer or oligomer of the matrix resin, to polymerize the polymerizable monomer or oligomer.