CN117170151A - Dimming module, dimming device and manufacturing method - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention discloses a dimming module, a dimming device and a manufacturing method. One embodiment of the dimming module comprises: the first substrate, first electrode, dimming layer, second electrode and the second substrate of range upon range of setting in proper order, wherein, the dimming layer includes: a plurality of liquid crystal cells disposed independently of one another, the liquid crystal cells comprising: a liquid crystal molecule, a dye molecule, and a shell that encapsulates the liquid crystal molecule and the dye molecule; and a filling layer covering the liquid crystal cell. The dimming module provided by the embodiment of the invention avoids black spots or white spots caused by accumulation or dispersion of liquid crystal molecules, and has a wide application prospect.

Description

Dimming module, dimming device and manufacturing method

Technical Field

The invention relates to the technical field of display. And more particularly, to a dimming module, a dimming device and a manufacturing method.

Background

The dye liquid crystal dimming device has the advantages of light weight, flexibility, privacy prevention and the like, better meets the requirements of hyperbolic and light weight of a sunroof and a side window of a passenger car, is simple and gray black, is more high-end to be displayed, brings more intelligent and comfortable driving experience to a user, and is extremely easy to cause defects such as black spots, white spots and the like.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention aims to provide a dimming module, a dimming device and a manufacturing method, which are used for solving at least one of the problems in the prior art.

In order to achieve the above purpose, the invention adopts the following technical scheme:

the first aspect of the present invention provides a dimming module, the dimming module comprising:

a first substrate, a first electrode, a dimming layer, a second electrode and a second substrate which are sequentially laminated,

wherein, the dimming layer includes:

a plurality of liquid crystal cells disposed independently of one another, the liquid crystal cells comprising: a liquid crystal molecule, a dye molecule, and a shell that encapsulates the liquid crystal molecule and the dye molecule; and

and a filling layer covering the liquid crystal unit.

Further, the direction from the first substrate to the second substrate is a first direction, and the thickness of the filling layer in the first direction is greater than the distance between any two liquid crystal units in the first direction.

Further, the shell is a sphere, and the thickness of the filling layer is 2-10 times of the diameter of the shell.

Further, the first substrate or the second substrate is a flexible substrate.

Further, the dimming module further comprises an encapsulation layer, wherein the encapsulation layer at least covers one or more of a surface of the filling layer close to the first electrode, a surface of the filling layer close to the second electrode and a plurality of sides of the filling layer extending along the first direction.

Further, the dimming layer further comprises a plurality of supporting units arranged in the filling layer,

a first distance between a surface of the support unit close to the first substrate side and a surface of the support unit close to the second substrate side is smaller than or equal to a second distance between a surface of the filling layer close to the first substrate side and a surface of the filling layer close to the second substrate side, and the first distance is larger than or equal to a maximum distance between the two liquid crystal units farthest in a first direction.

Further, the hardness of the supporting unit is larger than that of the filling layer, the supporting unit is a sphere, and the diameter of the supporting unit is larger than that of the shell;

or alternatively

The mass percentage of the liquid crystal unit is 50-90%, the mass percentage of the supporting unit is 1-5%, and the mass percentage of the filling layer is 10-45%.

A third aspect of the present invention provides a method for manufacturing a dimming module according to the first aspect of the present invention, the method including:

sequentially forming a first electrode, a dimming layer, a second electrode and a second substrate on the first substrate,

wherein forming the dimming layer comprises:

mixing a plurality of liquid crystal units and filling materials which are mutually independent to form a dimming material, wherein the liquid crystal units comprise liquid crystal molecules, dye molecules and a shell wrapping the liquid crystal molecules and the dye molecules; and

And curing the dimming material by utilizing an illumination process.

Further, the dimming layer further comprises a plurality of supporting units arranged in the filling layer,

before the curing of the dimming material with the light process, the method further comprises:

mixing the liquid crystal unit, the filling material and the supporting unit to form the dimming material;

coating a release agent on the inner side surface of the dimming mould; and

pouring the dimming material into the dimming mould;

or alternatively

Before the curing of the dimming material with the light process, the method further comprises:

mixing the liquid crystal unit and the filling material to form the dimming material; and

the dimming material is poured into a dimming mold provided with the supporting unit.

Further, the dimming module further includes an encapsulation layer covering all surfaces of the filling layer, and before the dimming material is cured by the light irradiation process, the method further includes:

pouring the dimming material into a packaging mold made of packaging material, wherein the packaging mold comprises a pouring part for leaking out one surface of the filling layer and a packaging part for packaging the rest surfaces of the filling layer; and

Sealing the poured part of the packaging mold after pouring;

or alternatively

The filler layer is a solid material that cures in response to light irradiation, and the method further comprises, prior to said curing the dimming material with the light irradiation process:

mixing an initiator of the filling material, the filling material and the liquid crystal unit to form the dimming material; and

pouring the dimming material into a dimming mould;

or alternatively

The method further comprises the steps of:

coating the dimming material on the first protective film and drying;

curing the dimming material by utilizing an illumination process so as to form a filling layer covering the liquid crystal unit;

forming a second protective film on the side of the filling layer away from the first protective film

Peeling the first protective film, and attaching the peeled filling layer to the first electrode; and

and stripping the second protective film, and attaching the second electrode to the filling layer on the other side after stripping.

The beneficial effects of the invention are as follows:

according to the technical scheme, the liquid crystal unit is arranged into a core-shell structure, and the liquid crystal molecules and the dye molecules are fixed in the shell, so that the mutually independent liquid crystal unit is formed, black spots or white spot defects caused by accumulation or dispersion of liquid crystal molecules due to flowing are avoided on the basis that the dimming module still has dimming performance, and the liquid crystal unit has a wide application prospect.

Drawings

The following describes the embodiments of the present invention in further detail with reference to the drawings.

Fig. 1 shows a schematic structure of a related art dimming module;

fig. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of a related art dimming module when a failure occurs;

fig. 3 is a schematic structural diagram of a dimming module according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 4 is a schematic structural diagram of a dimming module according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 5 shows a schematic structural diagram of a dimming module according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 6 is a schematic structural diagram of a dimming module according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 7 is a schematic flow chart of forming a first electrode, a dimming layer, a second electrode and a second substrate on the first substrate in sequence according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a schematic flow chart of a process for fabricating a dimming layer of the dimming module of FIG. 3 according to the present invention;

fig. 9, 10 and 11 are schematic flow diagrams illustrating a process of fabricating a dimming layer of the dimming module of fig. 4 according to the present invention;

fig. 12a and 12b are schematic structural views of a dimming mold for manufacturing a dimming module according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 13 is a schematic flow chart of a process for fabricating a dimming layer of the dimming module of FIG. 5 according to the present invention;

FIG. 14 is a schematic flow chart of a process for fabricating a dimming layer of the dimming module of FIG. 6 according to the present invention;

Fig. 15 is a schematic structural diagram of a dimming mold for manufacturing a dimming module according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 16 is a schematic flow chart of a process for fabricating a dimming layer of a dimming module according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 17 is a schematic view showing the structure of a dimming layer fabricated using the method shown in fig. 16;

fig. 18 is a schematic structural view of a dimming device according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

In order to more clearly illustrate the present invention, the present invention will be further described with reference to examples and drawings. Like parts in the drawings are denoted by the same reference numerals. It is to be understood by persons skilled in the art that the following detailed description is illustrative and not restrictive, and that this invention is not limited to the details given herein.

As for the problems of black spots and white spots which occur in the dimming devices in the related art, the inventors have tried and studied to propose that the main cause of the problems is:

the structure of the dimming device manufactured by using flexible dye liquid crystal in the related art is shown in fig. 1, the dimming device comprises an upper substrate 11, a lower substrate 12, a dye liquid crystal layer 13 between the upper substrate and the lower substrate, and peripheral frame sealing glue 14, wherein two side surfaces of the dye liquid crystal layer 13 are respectively provided with an alignment film 15, and conductive films 16 are respectively arranged between the alignment films 15 and the upper substrate 11 and the lower substrate 12.

As shown in fig. 1, the dye liquid crystal layer is filled with liquid crystal molecules 131 and dye molecules 132, and in an ideal state, the liquid crystal molecules 131 and the dye molecules 132 are orderly arranged in the dye liquid crystal layer 13, but because the liquid crystal molecules 131 and the dye molecules 132 are liquid and have fluidity, under the condition of a high-temperature and high-pressure lamination process, the liquid crystal molecules 131 and the dye molecules 132 can flow in a limited space to cause uneven thickness change of the dye liquid crystal layer 13, as shown in fig. 2, the liquid crystal molecules 131 are accumulated at a position with large thickness of the dye liquid crystal layer 13, black spots are visually formed, and the liquid crystal molecules 131 are few or even none at a position with small thickness of the dye liquid crystal layer 13 are visually formed as white spots.

In order to solve the above problems, an embodiment of the invention provides a dimming module, a dimming device and a manufacturing method.

An embodiment of the present invention proposes a dimming module, as shown in fig. 3, the dimming module 3 includes:

a first substrate 31, a first electrode 32, a dimming layer 33, a second electrode 34, and a second substrate 35 which are sequentially stacked,

wherein the dimming layer 33 includes:

a plurality of liquid crystal cells 330 disposed independently of each other, the liquid crystal cells 330 comprising: a liquid crystal molecule 3301, a dye molecule 3302, and a case 3303 that encloses the liquid crystal molecule 3301 and the dye molecule 3302; and

And a filling layer 331 covering the liquid crystal cell 330.

According to the embodiment of the invention, the liquid crystal unit 330 is arranged into a core-shell structure, and the liquid crystal molecules 3301 and the dye molecules 3302 are fixed in the shell 3303 to form the mutually independent liquid crystal unit 330, so that the liquid crystal molecules 3301 and the dye molecules 3302 can rotate in the shell 3303, and black spots or white spots caused by accumulation or dispersion of flowing of the liquid crystal molecules 3301 are avoided on the basis of ensuring the dimming performance of the dimming module.

In a specific example, the dimming module of the embodiment can be applied to a lamination process, the liquid crystal molecules and the dye molecules are nano-sized, the shell is micro-sized, the shell can block the liquid crystal molecules and the dye molecules, and due to the core-shell structure, even if the thickness of the dimming module is reduced under the pressure of the lamination process, the shell deforms, the shell can still block the flow of the liquid crystal molecules and the dye molecules in the shell, and the liquid crystal molecules are prevented from generating disordered accumulation and dispersion, so that black spots and white spots caused by the flow of the liquid crystal in the lamination process are solved.

In an alternative embodiment, the first substrate 31 or the second substrate 35 is a flexible substrate, and by this arrangement, the wide application of the dimming module can be achieved, and the dimming module can be applied with a curved surface shape with a large bending curvature, that is, the dimming module has good bending performance in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction, such as a sphere, a curved dimming car window, and the dimming module is light and thin and flexible.

In one specific example, the flexible substrate may be an insulating organic transparent substrate composed of one of Polyethersulfone (PES), polyacrylate (PAR), polyetherimide (PEI), polyethylene naphthalate (PEN), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyphenylene sulfide (PPS), polyallylate, polyimide resin (PI), polycarbonate (PC), cellulose Triacetate (TAC), cellulose Acetate Propionate (CAP), or acrylate (acryl), or a combination thereof. In a specific example, the flexible substrate is disposed on both side surfaces of the dimming module in a transparent film structure, and the thickness of the flexible substrate is generally 100-200 μm.

In another alternative embodiment, the first substrate 31 or the second substrate 35 is a rigid substrate. By way of example, the rigid substrate may be a rigid material such as glass or quartz, and by this arrangement, the dimming module of the present embodiment can also be applied to dimming scenes requiring hardness. Illustratively, the first substrate and the second substrate are optical glass, and the glass thickness is generally 0.3-0.7 mm. In this embodiment, because the first substrate and the second substrate have relatively high rigidity, the formed dimming module can be bent to a certain extent only, and the dimming module can be suitable for manufacturing dimming vehicle windows, dimming building windows, or high-speed rail glass, etc. which are bent to a certain extent in a plane or in a single direction and have requirements on strength.

That is, the dimming module of the embodiment can be applied to both flexible dimming scenes and rigid dimming scenes, and the dimming module under the two scenes can effectively avoid black spots or white spots, and has good dimming performance and wide application performance.

In the present embodiment, the light modulation layer 33 is a thin film capable of controlling the amount of transmitted light by varying an applied voltage, and in a specific example, the first electrode 32 and the second electrode 34 form an electric field, and the liquid crystal molecules 3301 and the dye molecules 3302 are deflected, thereby realizing a change in light transmittance. As shown in fig. 1, the related art dimming module is further provided with an alignment film between the substrate and the dimming layer 33, the alignment film being provided for the purpose of a member for aligning liquid crystal molecules 3301 included in the liquid crystal layer in a desired direction.

Unlike the dimming module shown in fig. 1, the dimming module 3 of the embodiment of the present invention eliminates the alignment film structure disposed between the substrate and the dimming layer 33, since the liquid crystal cells 330 of the present embodiment are of a core-shell structure, after the first electrode 32 and the second electrode 34 form an electric field, the liquid crystal molecules 3301 and the dye molecules 3302 of each liquid crystal cell 330 can deflect in the housing 3303, and in this structure, as shown in fig. 4, a plurality of mutually independent liquid crystal cells 330 can be orderly arranged without structural design of the alignment film, thereby effectively simplifying the overall structure of the dimming module.

In this embodiment, the liquid crystal molecules 3301 and the dye molecules 3302 are independent from the case 3303, as shown in fig. 3, one liquid crystal unit 330 includes the liquid crystal molecules 3301 and the dye molecules 3302, and in the case 3303, the accumulation or dispersion of the liquid crystal molecules 3301 is not caused, so that an optimal dimming effect can be achieved.

Further, in an alternative embodiment, the housing 3303 is a sphere, and when the sphere of the liquid crystal unit 330 is configured to form a stacked structure in the filling layer 331 on the basis of realizing mutual independence of the plurality of liquid crystal units 330, the liquid crystal units 330 can flow uniformly between the filling layers 331, so that uniform arrangement of the liquid crystal units 330 at different positions is further realized, and the dimming effect is ensured.

In a specific example, the housing 3303 of the present embodiment is a polymer resin, such as PMMA, or the like. By way of example, the liquid crystal cell 330 may be prepared by a suspension polymerization method. In addition, the filling layer in the embodiment is solid, so that the liquid crystal unit can be further fixed, disordered accumulation and dispersion of liquid crystal molecules can be more effectively avoided, and black spots and white spots caused by liquid crystal flowing in a lamination process can be further solved.

It should be noted that, the number of dye molecules and liquid crystal molecules in the housing of the present embodiment is illustrated as an example, as shown in fig. 3, one dye molecule and one liquid crystal molecule are disposed in one housing, and in practical application, since the dye molecules and the liquid crystal molecules are nano-sized, a plurality of dye molecules and liquid crystal molecules can be disposed in one housing, and the number of the present embodiment is only illustrated as an example.

In an alternative embodiment, the fill layer 331 is a gel material that is solid in response to light irradiation. In this embodiment, the filling layer 331 is used as a thicker film layer in the dimming module, which limits the bending performance of the dimming module, and the filling material in this embodiment is a gel material, which can be applied to various flexible bending scenes. The gel material of the embodiment is in a semi-solid state between solid and liquid states in an initial state, so that the gel material can be applied to various flexible bending scenes, and can be formed into a shape with high bending curvature, such as a sphere, by using processes such as pouring or coating, and the gel material becomes solid after being irradiated by light, and has good compression resistance. In one specific example, the gel material used for the fill layer 331 is OCR glue (acrylate, vinyl silicone, etc.).

In an alternative embodiment, as shown in fig. 4, the light modulation layer 33 further includes a plurality of supporting units (ball space) 332 disposed in the filling layer 331, and considering that the filling layer 331 is a gel material, the light modulation module is solid after curing, but in order to achieve flexibility, the surface hardness of the light modulation module is not high, so the present embodiment uses the supporting units 332 to support the filling layer 331 by providing the supporting units 332 in the filling layer 331, so as to maintain the thickness of the device.

Further, in an alternative embodiment, as shown in fig. 4, a direction from the first substrate to the second substrate is a first direction X, that is, a stacking direction of each film layer of the dimming module is the first direction.

In the first direction X, a first distance d1 between a surface of the support unit 332 near the first substrate 31 and a surface of the filling layer 331 near the first substrate 31 and a surface of the support unit near the second substrate 35 is equal to or less than a second distance d2 between a surface of the filling layer 331 near the first substrate 31 and a surface of the support unit near the second substrate 35, and the first distance d1 is equal to or greater than a maximum distance d3 between the two liquid crystal units 330 farthest in the first direction.

In this embodiment, the second distance d2 between the surface of the filling layer 331 near the first substrate 31 and the surface near the second substrate 35 is the thickness of the filling layer 331 in the first direction X, and the maximum distance d3 between the two liquid crystal units 330 with the farthest distance in the first direction is: a distance between a surface where a vertical distance between the liquid crystal cell near the first substrate 31 and the first substrate 31 is smallest and a surface where a vertical distance between the liquid crystal cell near the second substrate 35 and the second substrate 35 is smallest.

In this embodiment, in order to ensure effective support of the support unit 332, the thickness of the support unit 332 in the first direction is designed. The supporting unit 332 is disposed in the filling layer 331, so that the thickness of the supporting unit 332 is equal to or less than the thickness of the filling layer 331, and preferably, the thickness of the supporting unit 332 of the present embodiment is equal to the thickness of the filling layer 331, thereby achieving optimal supporting performance. Also, since the liquid crystal cells 330 are stacked in the filling layer 331, the thickness of the supporting unit 332 of the present embodiment is greater than the maximum distance of the stacked liquid crystal cells 330, further ensuring the supporting performance.

In an alternative embodiment, the hardness of the supporting unit 332 is greater than that of the filling layer 331, which can further enhance the supporting effect of the supporting unit 332. In one specific example, the material of the support unit 332 is PMMA resin.

In this embodiment, the supporting units 332 are also spheres, and can be uniformly distributed in the filling layer 331 during the manufacturing process, and in an alternative embodiment, a first distance d1 between a surface of the supporting units 332 near the first substrate 31 and a surface of the supporting units 332 near the second substrate 35 is a diameter of the supporting units 332, where the diameter of the supporting units 332 is greater than the diameter of the housing 3303 and less than the thickness of the filling layer 331, so that the supporting units 332 are used to support the filling layer 331, and the function of maintaining the thickness of the device is achieved.

In an alternative embodiment, the liquid crystal unit 330 is 50 to 90wt%, the supporting unit 332 is 1 to 5wt%, and the filling layer 331 is 10 to 45wt%. Through this arrangement, the liquid crystal unit 330 and the supporting unit 332 can be completely immersed in the filling layer 331, and exemplary materials of the filling layer 331 are transparent glue, such as OCR glue, which can be solid after being illuminated, and the dimming module has good fluidity, and good hardness after being cured, and can be applied to various flexible bending scenes.

Based on the above embodiments, the dimming module of the embodiment of the present invention can also be applied to dimming scenes with requirements on rigidity. In an alternative embodiment, the fill layer 331 is a solid material that cures in response to light irradiation. By utilizing the characteristic of larger rigidity of the solid material, as shown in fig. 5, the supporting unit 332 can be omitted, so that the whole structure of the dimming module 3 is simplified, and the cured filling layer 331 does not affect the molecular deflection of the liquid crystal unit 330 due to the core-shell structure of the liquid crystal unit 330, that is, the liquid crystal molecules 3301 and the dye molecules 3302 can deflect freely in the shell 3303, so that the dimming module has good rigidity performance and good dimming performance.

In a specific example, the filling layer 331 may be an organic transparent resin material such as PMMA resin, PC resin, PET resin, or the like. For example, the filling layer 331 has better rigidity, and can be directly formed into a curved dimming module during manufacturing, so as to be applied to bending applications.

In an alternative embodiment, the solid state material of the present embodiment has a hardness that is less than the hardness of the first substrate or less than the hardness of the second substrate. That is, although the materials of the filling layer and the first substrate are the same, the polymerization degrees of the two are different, that is, the hardness of the material of the filling layer is smaller than that of the first substrate, so that the filling layer has good fluidity and flexibility, and can be manufactured into various flexible scenes.

In an alternative embodiment, the thickness of the filling layer 331 in a first direction from the first substrate 31 to the second substrate 35 is greater than the distance between any two of the liquid crystal cells in the first direction. That is, the thickness of the filling layer 331 in the first direction is greater than the arrangement thickness of the liquid crystal cells. Illustratively, the thickness d2 of the filling layer 331 is greater than the maximum distance d3 between the two liquid crystal cells 330 farthest in the first direction, and in a specific example, the maximum distance d3 is: a distance between a surface where a vertical distance between the liquid crystal cell near the first substrate 31 and the first substrate 31 is smallest and a surface where a vertical distance between the liquid crystal cell near the second substrate 35 and the second substrate 35 is smallest. With this arrangement, it is ensured that the liquid crystal cell 330 can be completely disposed in the liquid crystal cell 330 to form a good protective performance for the liquid crystal cell 330 with the filling layer 331.

In an alternative embodiment, the thickness of the fill layer 331 is 2-10 times the diameter of the housing 3303. In this embodiment, as shown in fig. 5, in the first direction, considering that when the number of arrangement layers of the liquid crystal cells 330 in the first direction is small, light leakage occurs due to light passing between the liquid crystal cells 330 with larger intervals, so as to affect the dimming performance of the dimming module, the thickness of the filling layer 331 and the diameter of the liquid crystal cells 330 are designed to have a corresponding relationship, and the thickness of the filling layer 331 is set to be 2-10 times the diameter of the housing 3303, so that the liquid crystal cells 330 form at least two layers of arrangement in the filling layer 331.

In another specific example, when the liquid crystal cells 330 form a two-layer arrangement in the filling layer 331, the liquid crystal cells 330 in the first layer and the liquid crystal cells 330 in the second layer are arranged in a staggered manner. As shown in the triangle frame line in fig. 5, in this structure, two liquid crystal cells 330 of the second layer are arranged at the gap above the liquid crystal cells 330 of the first layer, and even if light passes through the gap of the liquid crystal cells 330 of the first layer, the light enters the liquid crystal cells 330 of the second layer, thereby avoiding the occurrence of light leakage.

Similarly, as the number of stacked layers of the liquid crystal cell 330 increases, the probability of light leakage decreases. For example, the diameter of the liquid crystal unit 330 is 10-30 μm, the thickness of the filling layer 331 in the first direction is 30-100 μm, and when the filling layer is provided with the supporting unit, the thickness of the supporting unit 332 is the same as the thickness of the filling layer 331, so that the dimming module has flexibility, supportability and good dimming performance.

In an alternative embodiment, as shown in fig. 6, the dimming module further includes an encapsulation layer 36, wherein the encapsulation layer 36 covers at least one or more of a surface of the filling layer 331 adjacent to the first electrode 32, a surface of the filling layer 331 adjacent to the second electrode 34, and a plurality of sides of the filling layer 331 extending along the first direction.

In this embodiment, the packaging layer 36 encapsulates each surface of the dimming module, and in the manufacturing process, the packaging layer 36 is used as a packaging mold, so that both the manufacturing process and the overall structure of the dimming module are achieved.

The dimming module of the embodiment of the invention has the following advantages:

1. in the embodiment, the liquid crystal unit is arranged into a core-shell structure, the core is a liquid crystal molecule and a dye molecule, and the shell wraps the liquid crystal molecule and the dye molecule, so that the liquid crystal molecule and the dye molecule can deflect freely in the shell, the flow of the liquid crystal molecule and the dye molecule is effectively prevented, the stacking or the dispersion of the liquid crystal molecule is avoided, the black spot or the white spot defect of the dimming module is solved, and the dimming function of the liquid crystal unit is ensured.

2. The liquid crystal unit is arranged in the filling layer, has flexibility and can resist certain pressure after solidification, and can be well matched with the combining process of the dimming module, so that the defects of black spots and white spots of the dimming module during the combining process are overcome.

3. The dimming module of the embodiment has flexibility, can be cut at will, and meets the requirement of multiple sizes.

4. The dimming module of the embodiment has simple structure and simple device manufacturing process, and can be widely applied.

Another embodiment of the present invention provides a method for manufacturing each dimming module according to the above embodiment of the present invention, where the method includes:

a first electrode 32, a dimming layer 33, a second electrode 34 and a second substrate 35 are sequentially formed on the first substrate 31,

wherein forming the dimming layer 33 includes:

mixing a plurality of liquid crystal cells 330 and a filling material which are arranged independently of each other to form a dimming material, wherein the liquid crystal cells 330 comprise liquid crystal molecules 3301, dye molecules 3302 and a shell 3303 which wraps the liquid crystal molecules 3301 and the dye molecules 3302; and

and curing the dimming material by utilizing an illumination process.

The manufacturing method of the embodiment adopts simple process steps, does not increase complicated cost and steps, and the dimming module formed by the manufacturing method of the embodiment has flexibility and can resist certain pressure after solidification, can better match the combination process of the dimming module, and solves the problems of black spots and white spots of the dimming module in the combination process.

In a specific example, as shown in fig. 7, "forming the first electrode 32, the dimming layer 33, the second electrode 34, and the second substrate 35 on the first substrate 31 in this order" includes:

s701, the first electrode 32 is formed on the first substrate 31. Illustratively, the first electrode 32, which is formed of, for example, ITO, is formed on the first substrate by using a sputtering mode of a sputtering apparatus. In a specific example, the first electrode 32 may be patterned into a predetermined pattern shape. The first electrode 32 is illustratively an ITO conductive material such as PET, PC, or the like.

S702, forming a second electrode 34 on the second substrate 35. The process of forming the second electrode 34 is the same as that of forming the first electrode 32, and will not be described here again.

S703, the dimming layer 33 is formed on the first electrode 32.

S704, fixing the surface of the second electrode 34 away from the second substrate 35 with the dimming layer 33.

Taking the structure shown in fig. 3 as an example of the dimming layer 33, in an alternative embodiment, as shown in fig. 8, forming the dimming layer 33 includes:

s801, a plurality of liquid crystal cells 330 and a filler, which are disposed independently of each other, are mixed to form a dimming material.

The dimming layer 33 in this embodiment includes a liquid crystal unit 330 and a filling layer 331, where the liquid crystal unit 330 includes liquid crystal molecules 3301, dye molecules 3302, and a housing 3303 that encapsulates the liquid crystal molecules 3301 and the dye molecules 3302. By way of example, the liquid crystal cell 330 may be prepared by a suspension polymerization method. The light-adjusting material formed after mixing has good fluidity, and can be applied to various scenes with shape requirements.

In a specific example, the proportions of the liquid crystal unit 330, the supporting unit 332 (BS), and the filler material are in order: the liquid crystal unit 33050-90 wt%, BS 1-5 wt% and the filler 10-45 wt%, and the liquid crystal unit 330 and the supporting unit 332 are completely immersed in the filler having good fluidity of transparent adhesive water.

S802, the dimming material is coated on the first electrode 32, and the surface of the dimming material away from the first electrode 32 is fixed with the second electrode 34. Illustratively, the dimming material is thin coated on the first electrode 32 by a roll-to-roll process, and then pressed with the second electrode 34. Because the dimming material of the embodiment has good fluidity, various shapes can be formed, so that the thickness of the formed dimming module is uniform.

S803, curing the dimming material by utilizing an illumination process. The dimming mould formed after solidification can realize the design of various shapes such as curved surfaces and the like and has good pressure resistance.

Taking the structure of the dimming layer 33 as shown in fig. 4 as an example, the dimming layer 33 further includes a plurality of supporting units 332 disposed in the filling layer 331, and in an alternative embodiment, as shown in fig. 9, before the dimming material is cured by the light irradiation process, the method further includes:

S901, mixing the liquid crystal unit 330, the filling material, and the supporting unit 332 to form the dimming material. Illustratively, the proportions of liquid crystal cell 330, support cell 332 (BS) and filler material are, in order: the liquid crystal cell 33050-90 wt%, BS 1-5 wt%, and filler 10-45 wt%, and the liquid crystal cell 330 and the supporting cell 332 are completely immersed in the filler having good fluidity.

S902, the dimming material is coated on the first electrode 32, and the surface of the dimming material away from the first electrode 32 is fixed with the second electrode 34. Illustratively, the dimming material is thin coated on the first electrode 32 by a roll-to-roll process, and then pressed with the second electrode 34.

S903, curing the light modulation material by using an illumination process, thereby forming the light modulation layer 33. The thickness of the dimming layer 33 is, for example, 30 to 100 μm.

The liquid crystal unit 330, the filling material, and the supporting unit 332 are mixed to form the dimming material.

In another alternative embodiment, for the structure shown in fig. 4, as shown in fig. 10, before the curing of the dimming material by the light irradiation process, the method further includes:

S1001, mixing the liquid crystal unit 330, the filling material, and the supporting unit 332 to form the dimming material.

S1002, coating a release agent on the inner side surface of the dimming mould.

S1003, pouring the dimming material into the dimming mould.

Illustratively, the release agent is typically a silicone compound, paraffin wax, or the like. In a specific example, the light adjusting mold adopts a detachable pouring mold, can be in a plane or curved surface shape, and is made of toughened inorganic glass or plastic glass. After defoaming (50 ℃ C. For 30min at 0.4 MPa), curing under UV or heating conditions, and opening the pouring mold to obtain the dimming module, thereby forming the dimming layer 33. The shape of the light modulation layer 33 of the present embodiment is identical to the shape of the pouring mold, and thus can be applied to various shape requirements.

In another specific example, for the structure shown in fig. 4, as shown in fig. 11, before the curing of the dimming material by the light irradiation process, the method further includes:

s1101, mixing the liquid crystal unit 330 and the filling material to form the dimming material. In this embodiment, the proportion of the liquid crystal unit 330 and the filling material is as follows: the liquid crystal cell 33050-90 wt% and the filler 10-45 wt% are used to completely impregnate the liquid crystal cell 330 with the filler having good fluidity.

S1102, pouring the dimming material into a dimming mold provided with the supporting unit 332.

In this embodiment, after the materials of the dimming layer 33 are mixed to form the dimming material, the liquid crystal unit 330, the filling material, and the supporting unit 332 are mixed to form the dimming material.

The light modulation mold used in this step is shown in fig. 12a and 12b, and may be in a planar or curved shape, and made of tempered inorganic glass or plastic glass. In a specific example, an LCD glue coating process or a roll-to-roll glue coating process is used to prepare a flexible film empty box as a dimming mold, and a plurality of support units 332 are directly formed in the empty box, so that glue filling ports are reserved. And (3) placing the dimming mould in a pouring mould, injecting a dimming material into the dimming mould from a glue pouring port, sealing the glue pouring port after defoaming (50 ℃ and 0.4mpa for 30 min), and then curing under the UV or heating condition to obtain the dimming module of the embodiment.

Taking the structure shown in fig. 5 as an example of the dimming layer 33, the filling layer 331 is a solid material that is cured in response to light irradiation, in an alternative embodiment, as shown in fig. 13, before the dimming material is cured by the light irradiation process, the method further includes:

S1301, mixing an initiator of the filling material, the filling material and the liquid crystal unit 330 to form the dimming material;

s1302, coating a release agent on the inner side surface of the dimming mould.

S1303, pouring the dimming material into a dimming mould.

Illustratively, the release agent is typically a silicone compound, paraffin wax, or the like. In a specific example, the light adjusting mold adopts a detachable pouring mold, can be in a plane or curved surface shape, and is made of toughened inorganic glass or plastic glass. Filling material (polymer monomer), initiator of filling material, and dimming material after mixing liquid crystal molecule 3301 are injected into dimming mould, defoamed (50 ℃ 0.4mpa 30 min), cured under UV or heating condition, and the dimming layer 33 of the embodiment of the filling mould is opened. The shape of the light modulation layer 33 of the present embodiment is identical to the shape of the pouring mold, and thus can be applied to various shape requirements. Then, one side of the dimming layer 33 is fixed to the first electrode 32, and the other side surface of the dimming layer is fixed to the second electrode 34, thereby forming the dimming module 3 shown in fig. 5. In a specific example, the polymer monomer may be an organic transparent resin such as PMMA, PC, etc., and the dimming module of the present embodiment does not need the supporting unit 332 because the resin such as PMMA, PC, etc. has a high rigidity.

Taking the structure of the dimming layer 33 as shown in fig. 6 as an example, in an alternative embodiment, as shown in fig. 6, the dimming module 3 further includes an encapsulation layer 36 covering all surfaces of the filling layer 331, and before the dimming material is cured by using the light irradiation process, as shown in fig. 14, the method for forming the dimming layer 33 further includes:

s1401, pouring the dimming material into a packaging mold made of packaging material, wherein the packaging mold comprises a pouring part for leaking out one surface of the filling layer 331 and a packaging part for packaging the rest surfaces of the filling layer 331;

s1402, sealing the poured part of the packaging mold after pouring.

In this embodiment, the dimming mold used in this step is directly used as a part of the dimming layer 33, and may be in a planar or curved shape, and made of tempered inorganic glass or plastic glass, and the structure is shown in fig. 6. In a specific example, an LCD glue coating process or a roll-to-roll glue coating process is used to manufacture a packaging mold as a dimming mold, as shown in fig. 15, the packaging mold can cover all surfaces of the filling layer 331, the packaging mold includes a filling portion 151 that leaks out of one surface of the filling layer 331 and a packaging portion 152 that encapsulates the remaining surfaces of the filling layer 331, a filling port for filling a dimming material is provided on the filling portion 151, the surface of the packaging portion 152 is a closed surface, and the filling material is filled only through the filling port of the filling portion 151, so that the dimming layer 33 formed according to the packaging mold is an integral body. And (3) placing the dimming mould in a pouring mould, injecting a dimming material into the dimming mould from a glue pouring port, sealing the glue pouring port after defoaming (50 ℃ and 0.4mpa for 30 min), and then curing under the UV or heating condition to obtain the dimming module of the embodiment.

The dimming module obtained through the above scheme includes the encapsulation layer 36, in this embodiment, each surface of the dimming module is encapsulated by the encapsulation layer 36, and in the manufacturing process, the encapsulation layer 36 is used as an encapsulation mold, so that both the manufacturing process and the overall structure of the dimming module are achieved.

In an alternative embodiment, as shown in fig. 16, the method further comprises:

s1601, the light modulation material is coated on the first protective film 3331 and dried. In this embodiment, the mass percentages of the liquid crystal unit 330, the supporting unit 332 (ball spacer) and the filling material are as follows: the liquid crystal unit 330 is 50-90 wt%, the supporting unit 332 is 1-5 wt%, and the filling material is 10-45 wt%, and the liquid crystal unit 330 and the supporting unit 332 are completely immersed in the filling material with good fluidity, and the light modulation material is cured by using an illumination process, so that a filling layer 331 covering the liquid crystal unit 330 is formed.

S1602, a second protective film 3332 is formed on a side of the filling layer 331 away from the first protective film 3331. In a specific example, the material of the first protective film and the second protective film may be PET, PE, or the like.

In a specific example, when the filling layer is made of a solidified material, the first protective film and the second protective film are release films, and the solidified material is used for being sticky, so that the first protective film and the second protective film can be connected with the filling layer in a bonding and pressing mode to protect the filling layer.

In another specific example, when the filling layer is made of a solid material, the filling layer prepared by the pouring process is not adhesive, and the second protective film of the embodiment may cover the other side of the filling layer to protect the filling layer.

S1603, peeling off the first protective film 3331, and attaching the peeled off filling layer 331 to the first electrode 32; and

s1604, the second protective film 3332 is peeled off, and the second electrode 34 is bonded to the filling layer 331 on the other side after the peeling off.

In this embodiment, the thickness of the light modulation layer 33 is 30 to 100. Mu.m. In an alternative embodiment, the thickness of the first protective film 3331 peeled off first is smaller than the thickness of the second protective film 3332 peeled off later, so that the peeling off phenomenon of the second protective film 3332 and the attached layer structure can be avoided. The thickness of the first protective film and the second protective film is, for example, 20 to 80 μm. Illustratively, the two protective films may be made of PET, PE, or the like.

In this embodiment, as shown in fig. 17, the dimming layer 33 and the electrodes on both sides are separate members. When in subsequent use, the dimming module is attached to the first electrode 32 and the second electrode 34, so as to obtain the dimming module according to the embodiment of the invention.

The manufacturing method of the embodiment adopts simple process steps, does not increase complicated cost and steps, and the dimming module formed by the manufacturing method of the embodiment has flexibility and can resist certain pressure after solidification, can better match the combination process of the dimming module, and solves the problems of black spots and white spots of the dimming module in the combination process.

It should be noted that, the principle and the process of the preparation method provided in this embodiment are similar to those of the dimming module, and the relevant parts can be referred to the above description, which is not repeated here.

Another embodiment of the present invention provides a dimming device applying each dimming module of the above embodiment of the present invention, as shown in fig. 18, the dimming device includes:

a first glass 181 disposed on a side close to the first substrate 31;

a first connection layer 182 disposed between the first glass 181 and the first substrate 31;

a second glass 183 disposed on a side close to the second substrate 35;

a second connection layer 184 disposed between the second glass 183 and the second substrate 35; and

a third connection layer 185 connecting the first connection layer 182 and the second connection layer 184;

the first connection layer 182, the second connection layer 184 and the third connection layer 185 cover the entire surface of the dimming module 3.

In this embodiment, the first glass 181 and the second glass 183 are transparent members, and are respectively disposed on two side surfaces of the dimming module, and the first glass 181 and the second glass 183 are exemplary plate glasses with high light transmittance.

As shown in fig. 18, the dimming device of the present embodiment has a three-dimensional shape with a curved surface, and in the actual process, the first glass 181, the second glass 183 and the dimming module 3 may be formed in advance to have a curved surface structure protruding to one surface side, and the curvatures of the first glass 181, the second glass 183 and the dimming module 3 are the same.

In a specific example, the first glass 181 and the second glass 183 may be inorganic glass or plexiglass. As the resin glass, for example, polycarbonate and acrylic can be used. When the first glass 181 and the second glass 183 are inorganic glasses, a light control device having excellent heat resistance and damage resistance can be produced. When plexiglass is used for the first glass 181 and the second glass 183, the light control device can be made lightweight. In another specific example, the first glass 181 and the second glass 183 may be subjected to a surface treatment such as hard coating.

In this embodiment, the first connection layer 182 is used to connect the first glass 181 and the first substrate 31 of the dimming module. The second connection layer 184 is a member that connects the second glass 183 and the second substrate 35 of the dimming module 3.

The third connection layer 185 is a member that makes the first connection layer 182 protrude from the surface of the dimming module and the second connection layer 184 protrude from the surface of the dimming module 3, so that the sidewall of the dimming module 3 can be covered, and the first connection layer 182, the second connection layer 184 and the third connection layer 185 are used to cover the whole surface of the dimming module 3, thereby protecting the dimming module 3. In another embodiment, the first connection layer 182 and the third connection layer 185 are integrally designed, or the first connection layer 182 and the second connection layer 184 are integrally designed, which can also form a comprehensive protection for the dimming module 3.

In one specific example, the material of the first, second, and third tie layers 182, 184, 185 is PVB (polyvinyl butyral) resin. In another specific example, the materials of the first connection layer 182, the second connection layer 184, and the third connection layer 185 are not limited to the PVB described above, and EVA (ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer), COP (cyclic olefin polymer), and the like may be used.

As shown in fig. 18, the dimming device of the present embodiment is of a laminated structure, and an exemplary dimming device of the present embodiment can be formed by a lamination process, and the dimming device of the present embodiment applied to a dimming module is disposed between a first glass and a second glass by a lamination process, so that the flow of liquid crystal molecules and dye molecules can be prevented by using a housing of a liquid crystal unit, and the problems of black spots and white spots caused by the flow of liquid crystal when the dimming device is formed by the lamination process can be solved.

In a specific example, the dimming device of the present embodiment is a dimming glass, and may be applied to various scenes such as a vehicle-mounted glass, a glass in a building, an engineering glass for engineering projects, and the like, for example, a dimming window (a sunroof, a panoramic sky curtain, and a side window of a passenger car), a building window, a rail traffic window (a high-speed rail, a subway, and the like), and in a specific example, when the dimming device has a shape requirement, for example, an arc-shaped glass of a vehicle-mounted front window, the curvature of each layer structure of the dimming device is the same, and the curvature is the same as that in practical application.

It should be noted that, the principles and manufacturing principles of the dimming device provided in this embodiment are similar to those of the dimming module, and the related parts can be referred to the above description, which is not repeated here.

It is further noted that in the description of the present invention, relational terms such as first and second, and the like are used solely to distinguish one entity or action from another entity or action without necessarily requiring or implying any actual such relationship or order between such entities or actions. Moreover, the terms "comprises," "comprising," or any other variation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements does not include only those elements but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus. Without further limitation, an element defined by the phrase "comprising one … …" does not exclude the presence of other like elements in a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises the element.

It should be understood that the foregoing examples of the present invention are provided merely for clearly illustrating the present invention and are not intended to limit the embodiments of the present invention, and that various other changes and modifications may be made therein by one skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.

Claims (11)

1. A dimming module, the dimming module comprising:

a first substrate, a first electrode, a dimming layer, a second electrode and a second substrate which are sequentially laminated,

wherein, the dimming layer includes:

a plurality of liquid crystal cells disposed independently of one another, the liquid crystal cells comprising: liquid crystal molecules, and dye molecules, and a shell that encapsulates the liquid crystal molecules and the dye molecules; and

and a filling layer covering the liquid crystal unit.

2. The dimming module as recited in claim 1, wherein a direction from the first substrate to the second substrate is a first direction, and a thickness of the filling layer in the first direction is greater than a distance between any two of the liquid crystal cells in the first direction.

3. A dimming module as claimed in claim 2, wherein the housing is a sphere and the thickness of the filling layer is 2-10 times the diameter of the housing.

4. The dimming module as recited in claim 1, wherein the first substrate or the second substrate is a flexible substrate.

5. A dimming module as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising an encapsulation layer covering at least one or more of a surface of the filling layer adjacent to the first electrode, a surface of the filling layer adjacent to the second electrode and a plurality of sides of the filling layer extending in the first direction.

6. The dimming module as recited in claim 5, wherein the dimming layer further comprises a plurality of supporting units disposed in the filling layer,

a first distance between a surface of the support unit close to the first substrate side and a surface of the support unit close to the second substrate side is smaller than or equal to a second distance between a surface of the filling layer close to the first substrate side and a surface of the filling layer close to the second substrate side, and the first distance is larger than or equal to a maximum distance between the two liquid crystal units farthest in the first direction.

7. The dimming module as recited in claim 6, wherein,

the hardness of the supporting unit is greater than that of the filling layer, the supporting unit is a sphere, and the diameter of the supporting unit is greater than that of the shell;

or alternatively

The mass percentage of the liquid crystal unit is 50-90%, the mass percentage of the supporting unit is 1-5%, and the mass percentage of the filling layer is 10-45%.

8. A light modulation device comprising the light modulation module according to any one of claims 1 to 7,

the dimming device includes:

a first glass disposed on a side near the first substrate;

a first connection layer disposed between the first glass and the first substrate;

a second glass disposed on a side near the second substrate;

a second connection layer disposed between the second glass and the second substrate; and

a third connection layer connecting the first connection layer and the second connection layer,

the first connecting layer, the second connecting layer and the third connecting layer cover all surfaces of the dimming module.

9. A method for manufacturing a dimming module, the method comprising:

Sequentially forming a first electrode, a dimming layer, a second electrode and a second substrate on the first substrate,

wherein forming the dimming layer comprises:

mixing a plurality of liquid crystal units and filling materials which are mutually independent to form a dimming material, wherein the liquid crystal units comprise liquid crystal molecules, dye molecules and a shell wrapping the liquid crystal molecules and the dye molecules; and

and curing the dimming material by utilizing an illumination process.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the step of determining the position of the substrate comprises,

the dimming layer further comprises a plurality of support units disposed in the filling layer,

before the curing of the dimming material with the light process, the method further comprises:

mixing the liquid crystal unit, the filling material and the supporting unit to form the dimming material;

coating a release agent on the inner side surface of the dimming mould; and

pouring the dimming material into the dimming mould;

or alternatively

Before the curing of the dimming material with the light process, the method further comprises:

mixing the liquid crystal unit and the filling material to form the dimming material; and

The dimming material is poured into a dimming mold provided with the supporting unit.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the step of determining the position of the substrate comprises,

the dimming module further comprises an encapsulation layer covering all surfaces of the filling layer, and before the dimming material is cured by the illumination process, the method further comprises:

pouring the dimming material into a packaging mold made of packaging material, wherein the packaging mold comprises a pouring part for leaking out one surface of the filling layer and a packaging part for packaging the rest surfaces of the filling layer; and

sealing the poured part of the packaging mold after pouring;

or alternatively

Before the curing of the dimming material with the light process, the method further comprises:

mixing an initiator of the filling material, the filling material and the liquid crystal unit to form the dimming material; and

pouring the dimming material into a dimming mould;

or alternatively

The method further comprises the steps of:

coating the dimming material on the first protective film and drying;

curing the dimming material by utilizing an illumination process so as to form a filling layer covering the liquid crystal unit;

Forming a second protective film on one side of the filling layer away from the first protective film;

peeling the first protective film, and attaching the peeled filling layer to the first electrode; and

and stripping the second protective film, and attaching the second electrode to the filling layer on the other side after stripping.