Liquid crystal device having spacers and manufacturing method thereof
AssigneeMinolta Co., Ltd.
InventorsKenji Nishiguchi, Masakazu Okada, Kiyofumi Hashimoto
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Abstract
Disclosed is a liquid crystal light modulating element comprising a pair of substrates and a liquid crystal modulating layer interposed between the substrates. The liquid crystal modulating layer mainly comprises (1) a liquid crystal material for light modulation, (2) a plurality of spacers for maintaining a gap between the substrates, and (3) a plurality of resin structural nodules for supporting and adhering said pair of substrates. The resin structural nodules are arranged within a light modulating region based on a predetermined principle or a predetermined pattern.
Claims24
A liquid crystal light modulation element comprising:
- a pair of substrates at least one of which is transparent;
- and
- a liquid crystal modulating layer interposed between said substrates, said liquid crystal modulating layer being provided with a liquid crystal material for light modulation, a plurality of spacers of a first predetermined size for maintaining a gap between said substrates, and a plurality of resin structural nodules each of which has a second predetermined size in a range from two times to two hundred times the first predetermined size, a main component of each resin structural nodule being a thermoplastic high molecular material, said resin structural nodules being arranged within a light modulating region based on a predetermined principle to support and adhere said pair of substrates.
A method for manufacturing a light modulation element, said method comprising the steps of:
- (a) arranging spacers on at least one of a pair of substrates to provide a desired gap between said substrates, and forming resin structural nodules of a thermoplastic high molecular material which are thicker than a thickness of a light modulation layer on at least one of said substrates within a light modulating region based on a predetermined arrangement principle;
- (b) overlaying one of said substrates on the remaining one of said substrates, heating said pair of substrates including said resin structural nodules to a temperature above a softening temperature of said thermoplastic high molecular material, and applying pressure on said pair of overlaid substrates;
- and
- (c) cooling said heated pair of substrates to a temperature less than the softening temperature of said thermoplastic high molecular material, thus forming a plurality of supporting resin structural nodules each having a size in a range from two times to two hundred times a size of said spacers.
A liquid crystal light modulation element comprising:
- a pair of substrates at least one of which is transparent and at least one of which is flexible;
- and
- a liquid crystal modulating layer interposed between said substrates, said liquid crystal modulating layer being provided with a liquid crystal material for light modulation, a plurality of spacers for maintaining a gap between said substrates at a predetermined size, and a plurality of resin structural nodules, a main component of each resin structural nodule is a thermoplastic high molecular material, said resin structural nodules being arranged within a light modulating region based on a predetermined principle to support and adhere said pair of substrates.
A method for manufacturing a light modulation element, said method comprising the steps of:
- (a) providing a pair of substrates at least one of which is flexible;
- (b) arranging spacers on at least one of said substrates to provide a desired gap between said substrates, and forming resin structural nodules of a thermoplastic high molecular material which are thicker than a thickness of a light modulation layer on at least one of said substrates within a light modulating region based on a predetermined arrangement principle;
- (c) overlaying one of said substrates on the remaining one of said substrates, heating said pair of substrates including said resin structural nodules to a temperature above a softening temperature of said thermoplastic high molecular material, and applying pressure on said pair of overlaid substrates;
- and
- (d) cooling said heated pair of substrates to a temperature less than the softening temperature of said thermoplastic high molecular material.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.