JP2003344878A - Electrochromic light control glass - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electrochromic light control glass which prevents the unevenness of color and has the improved design flexibility too. <P>SOLUTION: The electrochromic light control glass is constituted in such a manner that a material having a light control function and/or a transparent conductive body is attached to the respective one side surfaces of two sheets of glass plates 1, 2, the attached surfaces are arranged facing to each other, electrolyte for light control is disposed between the surfaces and the light control is performed by energizing. Therein, electrodes 3, 4 disposed on the periphery of the inner side surfaces of the glass plates 1, 2 and electric wires 9, 10 supplying the outside electric source to the electrodes are disposed and one part of the electrodes 3, 4 are cut out near the part where the electric wire of the electrodes is connected. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an electrochromic light control glass.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Electrochromic light control glass is
Transparent conductive film (ITO: Indium / T) deposited on a glass plate
In-Oxide and SnO ₂ are generally known), electrodes (silver, copper, etc.) around the inner side surface (adhesion surface of transparent conductive film) of two glass plates arranged so as to face each other. Conductive pastes, foils, boards are commonly known) installed. Tungsten oxide is further adhered onto the transparent conductive film of one of the two glass plates, a sealant is provided around the two glass plates, and an electrolyte is provided on the inner peripheral side of the sealant. Is enclosed. To that electrolyte,
By energizing through the electrodes installed on each glass plate, the reaction between the electrolyte and the tungsten oxide causes the electrolyte and the tungsten oxide to be colored and decolored (hereinafter also referred to as “driving”).

The electrode, the sealant, and the electrolyte have different color tones / hues, and the difference in color tone / hue is clearly visible in the appearance of the electrochromic light control glass.

[0004]

Since the electrochromic light control glass is supplied with electricity from an external power source through an electric wire for driving, it is necessary to join the electric wire and the electrode. The conductor used for the electrode is an electrically low resistance material such as silver or copper, and its resistance value is lower than the resistance value of the transparent conductive film adhered to almost the entire surface of the glass plate, so it is easy to make the entire circumference of the electrode. Electric current can be passed, and the transparent conductive film can be turned on from the entire circumference of the electrode. However, in the vicinity of the joint between the electric wire and the electrode, the electrode arranged around the glass plate is supplied with the external power the earliest, so that the electrode is colored more quickly. In a large-sized electrochromic light control glass, it was not possible to prevent the color spots that occur over the entire electrochromic light control glass. In addition, the conventional electrochromic light control glass has an opaque electrode, a sealant, and an electrolyte and has a different color tone / hue in appearance, and therefore, it looks uneven and lacks in design.

An object of the present invention is to provide a new electrochromic light control glass which can solve the above-mentioned problems that the prior art has.

[0006]

According to the present invention, a material having a light control function and / or a transparent conductor is attached to one side surface of each of two glass plates, and the attached surfaces are faced inwardly and in between. In the electrochromic dimming glass, in which a dimming electrolyte is arranged and which is dimmed by energizing, an electrode arranged around the inner side surface of the glass plate and coloring or decoloring the dimming electrolyte. An electrochromic light control glass comprising an electric wire for supplying an external power source to the electrode so that a part of the electrode is cut out in the vicinity of a portion of the electrode to which the electric wire is connected. provide. In addition, the sealing material that joins the electrodes and the two glass plates to each other is not visible in appearance by the dark color hiding layer disposed on the outer surface and / or the inner surface of each of the two glass plates. The above-mentioned electrochromic light control glass hidden in the above is provided. Furthermore, the peripheral end of the dimming electrolyte is concealed by the dark color concealing layer disposed on the outer surface and / or the inner surface of each of the two glass plates so as to be invisible from the outside. An electrochromic light control glass is provided.

In the present invention, "a part of the electrode is notched" means that the electrode is discontinuous when viewed in the circumferential direction or the band width of the band-shaped electrode is partially narrowed. Such forms are included. The form of the notch is not particularly limited as long as it serves to drive the electrochromic light control glass uniformly. According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of color spots in a large electrochromic light control glass or the like and improve the design.

[0008]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The present invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the drawings. A schematic configuration of a general electrochromic light control glass (hereinafter also referred to as "ECW") will be described with reference to FIG. Note that FIG. 1 is a schematic exploded perspective view in a state in which the dimming electrolyte and the dark color hiding layer are removed. On the inner surface of the two inorganic glass plates 1 and 2,
Electrodes 3 and 4 are provided around each of them. Further, transparent conductive films 5 and 6 are provided on the inner surfaces of the two inorganic glass plates 1 and 2 over substantially the entire surfaces thereof. Tungsten oxide 7 is further attached to the inner surface of one (upper side in the figure) glass plate 1.

One end of a lead wire (electric wire) 9 is joined to the electrode 3 of one glass plate 1, and one end of a lead wire (electric wire) 10 is joined to the electrode 4 of the other glass plate 2. . The other ends of the lead wires 9 and 10 are connected to a drive power source (external power source) 11. As the driving power source 11,
For example, the one in which the positive electrode and the negative electrode of the DC power supply are switched between when the ECW is colored and when it is decolored can be adopted.

FIG. 2 is a schematic sectional view of a first example of the ECW of the present invention. The hatching is omitted. As shown in FIG. 2, on the inner surface of the two glass plates 1 and 2, black ceramic paste (dark color hiding layer) 1
3 is provided. A peripheral adhesive sealant 12 is provided around the two glass plates 1 and 2. The electrolyte 8 is enclosed on the inner peripheral side of the peripheral adhesive sealant 12.

The black ceramic paste 13 is composed of a peripheral end of the electrolyte 8, which is a part of the structure that controls driving, and the electrodes 3 and 4.
And hide them so that they cannot be seen visually.
Although not shown, the black ceramic paste 13 may be provided on the outer surface of each of the two glass plates 1 and 2, or may be provided on both the inner surface and the outer surface. When this ECW (for example, a large ECW) is viewed from the outside, the periphery is covered with the black ceramic paste 13, and the in-plane drive portion and the black ceramic paste 13 can be clearly seen in two tones.

The mechanism by which color spots occur during driving will be described below. When the electrode 3 has a positive polarity and the electrode 4 has a negative polarity, the space between the electrodes 3 and 4 is the vertical direction in the figure (the thickness direction of the ECW).
Current flows through. At this time, since the resistance value in the vertical direction in the figure of the intermediate layer between the electrodes 3 and 4 is smaller than the resistance value in the layer in the layers of the electrodes 3 and 4 in the horizontal direction (the surface direction of the glass plate) in the figure, Most of the electric current is the lead wires 9 and 1 of the electrodes 3 and 4.
Flows in the vertical direction in the figure near the part where 0 is joined. For this reason, the portion is colored rapidly and darkly near the portion where the lead wires 9 and 10 are joined, but the coloring is delayed at the portion apart from the portion where the lead wires 9 and 10 are joined. As a result, color spots occur.

Therefore, in the first example of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 3 (a), the electrode 3 of the one glass plate 1 is notched so as to have a quadrangular ring shape near the joint of the lead wire 9. It is shaped. In addition, the electrode 4 of the other glass plate 2
Has a rectangular ring shape that is cut out so as to be interrupted near the joint portion of the lead wire 10. The cutout positions of the electrodes 3 and 4 are displaced when viewed in the circumferential direction.

That is, as shown in FIG. 3B, the electrode 3 is cut out at a position closer to one side (left side in the figure) from the center of the glass plate on the lower side of the square ring shape, and the electrode 4 Is cut out at a position closer to the other side (right side in the figure) from the center of the glass plate on the lower side of the square ring shape. As a whole, the electrodes 3 and 4 are cut out alternately in the circumferential direction, and are not cut out at the same position in the circumferential direction. Then, the lead wires 9 and 10 are joined to the respective end portions of the electrodes 3 and 4 which overlap each other when viewed in the circumferential direction. Note that, in FIG. 3B, the electrodes 3 and 4 are deviated for clarity. In FIG. 3 (b),
Indicates a site for measuring color responsiveness in the test described below.
Notch size (interruption size) of square ring-shaped electrodes 3 and 4
W1 can be, for example, a lower limit of 0.5 cm or more, more preferably 1 cm or more, and an upper limit of less than a dimension corresponding to W2, preferably 3 cm or less, more preferably 2 cm or less. be able to.

Next, a second example of the ECW of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 4 (a), also in this example, the electrode 3 of one glass plate 1 has a rectangular ring shape cut out so as to be interrupted near the joint of the lead wire 9, and the other glass plate 2 The electrode 4 has a square ring-shaped lead wire 10
It has a notched shape so as to be interrupted near the joint. In this example, the positions of the notches of the electrodes 3 and 4 are the same when viewed in the circumferential direction.

As shown in FIG. 4B, the electrodes 3 and 4 are
The lower side of the square ring shape is cut out at a position closer to one side (left side in the figure) from the center of the glass plate. Electrodes 3,4
Of the pair of end portions sandwiching the cutout portion, one end portion (end portion near the center of the glass plate) is provided with the lead wires 9 and 10.
Are joined. Also in FIG. 4 (b), the electrodes 3 and 4 are deviated for clarity. Figure 4 (b)
In the figure, ˜ indicates the site of measurement of color responsiveness in the test described below. The cutout dimension (interruption dimension) W1 of the square ring-shaped electrodes 3 and 4 is, for example, 0.5c as a lower limit.
It can be m or more, more preferably about 1 cm or more, and the upper limit thereof can be less than the dimension corresponding to W2, preferably 3 cm or less, more preferably about 2 cm or less.

[0017]

EXAMPLE An ECW having the configuration shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 and having the following specifications was produced (Example 1,
Example 2). The schematic structure of ECW is as follows: transparent conductive film (ITO: resistance 5Ω / □), electrolyte (γ
Lithium iodide in the solvent of butyl lactone is 0.6mo
liquid composition containing 1 / liter), tungsten oxide (film thickness 500 nm), transparent conductive film (ITO: resistance 5Ω /
□) and a transparent inorganic glass plate are laminated in this order. The electrodes were made of silver and had a resistance of 1Ω / □. Regarding the electrode size, the cutout size W1 on the lower side is 1 cm, and the size W2 and W3 from the center of the glass plate to both sides are 30c.
m, and the height H of both sides was 40 cm. For comparison, Example 1 and Example 2 except that there is no notch in the electrode.
An ECW having the same specifications as the one shown in FIG. 5 was also prepared (Comparative Example 1).

[Color Responsiveness Measurement Test] With respect to the above Examples 1, 2 and Comparative Example 1, energization (DC voltage 1.0
The time from the start of V and the current within 0.5 A) to the time when the luminous transmittance reaches the equilibrium state was measured. As a luminosity transmittance meter, 304-made by Asahi Spectra Co., Ltd.
S was used. The results are shown in Table 1.

[0019]

[Table 1]

Decoloring was carried out with a DC voltage of 1.0 V and a current of no limitation. As is clear from Table 1, Example 1
Further, in Example 2, as compared with Comparative Example 1, the difference in color responsiveness depending on the location is small. Due to uneven distribution of luminous transmittance,
The so-called color spot was acceptable in visual observation in Examples 1 and 2. On the other hand, in Comparative Example 1, color spots were strongly felt, and it was difficult to accept.

[0021]

As described in detail above, according to the present invention, it is possible to obtain an electrochromic light control glass which can prevent the occurrence of color spots even when the glass area is wide and improve the design.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of an electrochromic light control glass.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of an electrochromic light control glass according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a view showing an electrode form of the electrochromic light control glass in the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a view showing an electrode form of the electrochromic light control glass in the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a view showing an example of an electrode form of a conventional electrochromic light control glass.

[Explanation of symbols]

1,2: Inorganic glass plate (glass plate) 3, 4: Electrode 5, 6: transparent conductive film (transparent conductor) 7: Tungsten oxide (a material having a light control function) 8: Electrolyte (dimming electrolyte) 9, 10: Lead wire (electric wire) 11: Drive power supply (external power supply) 12: Peripheral adhesive sealant (seal material) 13: Black ceramic paste (dark color hiding layer)

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Takaya Kubo             114-Kamisudacho, Hodogaya-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa             105 (72) Inventor Tomohiro Toya             1178 Shimbashicho, Izumi-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa F-term (reference) 2K001 AA08 BA08 BA20

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A material having a light control function and / or a transparent conductor is attached to one side surface of each of two glass plates,
In the electrochromic dimming glass, in which the adhering surfaces face inward and the dimming electrolyte is arranged between them, and which is dimmed by energization, the electrodes are arranged around the inner surface of the glass plate. , A wire for supplying an external power source to the electrode for coloring or erasing the dimming electrolyte, wherein a part of the electrode is cut out near a portion of the electrode to which the wire is connected. Electrochromic type light control glass. 2. A dark color hiding layer disposed on the outer surface and / or inner surface of each of the two glass plates,
The electrochromic light control glass according to claim 1, wherein a sealing material that joins the electrode and the two glass plates is concealed so as to be invisible when viewed from the outside. 3. A dark color hiding layer disposed on the outer surface and / or inner surface of each of the two glass plates,
The electrochromic light control glass according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the peripheral end of the light control electrolyte is hidden so as not to be visible when viewed from the outside.