JP2006201603A - Electrophoresis light intensity adjusting element and imaging apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electrophoretic light intensity adjusting element making desired light intensity adjustment, and an imaging apparatus. <P>SOLUTION: Columnar translucent sections 9 which transmit light between a transparent substrate 1 and a transparent second substrate 2 arranged to face the first substrate are provided in such a manner that both ends come into contact with the first substrate 1 and the second substrate 2, and three or more electrodes are installed side by side to at least either of the first substrate 1 and the second substrate 2, and thereby, the movable area of the opaque electrophoretic particles 15 is limited, and the controllability of the opaque charged electrophoretic particles 15 is improved. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an electrophoretic light amount adjusting element and an imaging apparatus that adjust light amount, and more particularly, to an apparatus that performs light amount adjustment by moving charged electrophoretic particles out of an effective region using electrophoresis.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, for example, an imaging apparatus such as a digital camera has been provided with an electrophoretic light amount adjusting element as a diaphragm, and the amount of light incident on the imaging unit is adjusted by the electrophoretic light amount adjusting element. Here, as such an electrophoretic light amount adjusting element, a transparent first substrate, a transparent second substrate disposed to face the first substrate, and a space between the first substrate and the second substrate are filled. Insulating transparent liquid, and a plurality of opaque charged electrophoretic particles dispersed in the insulating transparent liquid.

  The electrophoretic light quantity adjusting element uses electrophoresis to move the charged electrophoretic particles out of the effective area so as to be in a transmitting state, and the charged electrophoretic particles are dispersed in the effective area so as to be in a dimmed state. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).

JP 2002-214666 A

  By the way, in such a conventional electrophoretic light quantity adjusting element, when the region where the opaque charged electrophoretic particles can be moved is wide, the distribution of the opaque charged electrophoretic particles cannot be satisfactorily performed, resulting in a sparse distribution.

  If the distribution of the opaque charged electrophoretic particles is sparse in this way, the incident light is transmitted through the gaps of the opaque charged electrophoretic particles and scattered, and as a result, the desired light amount adjustment cannot be performed. There's a problem.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of such a current situation, and an object thereof is to provide an electrophoretic light amount adjusting element and an imaging apparatus capable of adjusting a desired light amount.

  The present invention includes a transparent first substrate, a transparent second substrate disposed opposite to the first substrate, an insulating transparent liquid filled between the first substrate and the second substrate, In an electrophoretic light amount adjusting element comprising a plurality of opaque charged electrophoretic particles dispersed in the insulating transparent liquid, the electrophoretic light amount adjusting element is provided so that both ends thereof are in contact with the first substrate and the second substrate, and light is transmitted therethrough. A columnar light-transmitting portion and three or more electrodes arranged in parallel on at least one of the first substrate and the second substrate are provided.

  As in the present invention, columnar light-transmitting portions that transmit light are provided between a transparent second substrate disposed opposite to the first substrate so that both ends are in contact with the first substrate and the second substrate. At the same time, by arranging three or more electrodes on at least one of the first substrate and the second substrate, the region in which the opaque charged electrophoretic particles can be moved is restricted, and the controllability of the opaque charged electrophoretic particles is improved. Thus, a desired light amount adjustment is possible.

  The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an electrophoretic light amount adjusting element according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The electrophoretic light amount adjusting element includes a transparent first substrate 1, a first substrate 1, and A second substrate 2 arranged opposite to the first substrate 2 with a predetermined gap, and a first electrode 3, a second electrode 4, a third electrode 5, and a second electrode arranged on opposite sides of the first and second substrates 1 and 2, respectively. A four electrode 6, a fifth electrode 7, and a sixth electrode 8 are provided. In the present embodiment, the insulating layer 11 is disposed so as to cover the first to sixth electrodes 3 to 8.

  Between the first and second substrates 1 and 2, a gap support 13 that keeps the gap between the substrates and a columnar light-transmitting portion (hereinafter referred to as a normal light-transmitting portion) 9 that always transmits light are disposed. In addition, a transparent insulating liquid 14 is filled in the space formed by the first and second substrates 1 and 2, the gap support 13, and the normally transparent portion 9, and the insulating liquid 14 is filled in the insulating liquid 14. The opaque charged electrophoretic particles 15 are dispersed.

  In the present embodiment, the normally transparent portion 9 has a substantially cylindrical shape, and is disposed at the center of the electrophoretic light amount adjusting element as shown in FIG. Are arranged concentrically around the normally transparent portion 9. Further, the gap support 13 is disposed in the periphery of the electrophoretic light amount adjusting element.

  Here, in the present embodiment, the diameter of the normally transparent portion 9 is 1 mm, which is very large compared to the wavelength of transmitted light (several hundred nm), and passes through the normally transparent portion 9 having such a diameter. At this time, scattering of transmitted light does not occur.

  Further, when the opaque charged electrophoretic particles 15 are dispersed along the first substrate 1 in order to minimize the amount of light transmitted by providing such a normally transparent portion 9, the moving range of the opaque charged electrophoretic particles 15 is achieved. However, as shown in FIG. 3, the opaque charged electrophoretic particles are densely packed. As a result, light does not leak from the gaps between the opaque charged electrophoretic particles 15 and a good image can be obtained.

  Here, the normally transparent portion 9 only needs to be substantially transparent to light having a desired wavelength, and the material thereof is not particularly limited. For example, the material may be an inorganic material such as glass or an organic material such as a photoresist, and the shape may be any shape that prohibits the movement of the opaque charged electrophoretic particles 15, and is not particularly limited. Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the shape may be a columnar shape or a polygonal column shape as long as both ends of the first substrate 1 and the second substrate 2 are in contact with each other.

  On the other hand, the electrodes are arranged on both the first substrate 1 and the second substrate 2 as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 9 described later, and the first substrate 1 and the second substrate as shown in FIG. 7 described later. 2 may be arranged on one facing surface side. Moreover, the same electrode may be arrange | positioned in the area | region which the 1st board | substrate 1 and the 2nd board | substrate 2 oppose as shown in FIG. 1, and the 1st, 3rd and 5th electrode 3 is shown in FIG. , 5 and 7 may be arranged so that the second, fourth and sixth electrodes 4, 6 and 8 face each other.

  1 and 2 show an example of an electrophoretic light amount adjusting element in which six electrodes are arranged. However, the number of electrodes is not particularly limited, and there are at least three or more non-transparent charged electrophoretic particles depending on the driving voltage. It is sufficient if 15 can be conveyed.

  In the present embodiment, the first to sixth electrodes 3 to 8 are arranged in parallel and electrically connected at equal intervals. For example, a voltage whose phase is shifted at equal intervals in a three-electrode cycle is applied. When applied, the first electrode 3 and the fourth electrode 6, the second electrode 4 and the fifth electrode 7, and the third electrode 5 and the sixth electrode 8 are electrically connected. The number of electrode intervals may be three or more electrode intervals. More preferably, they are electrically connected at intervals of four. And a drive signal is simplified by setting it as the structure which applies the same electric potential to several electrodes.

  On the other hand, the interval between the plurality of electrodes arranged in parallel is not particularly limited, and the electrodes may be arranged so as not to contact each other. However, when the distance between the electrodes is not less than half and not more than four times the distance between the first substrate 1 and the second substrate 2, the maximum electric field strength in the region into which the insulating liquid 14 and the opaque charged electrophoretic particles 15 are injected. The ratio between the value and the minimum value tends to be small, and the response of the opaque charged electrophoretic particles 15 tends to be stable.

  In addition, when these electrodes are provided in the region where the normally transparent portion 9 is provided, the transmittance of the normally transparent portion 9 is reduced, so that the region where the normally transparent portion 9 is provided. It is preferable not to provide it.

  Incidentally, the drive waveform shown in FIG. 4 is applied to the electrode having such a configuration, for example, the drive waveform shown in Ch1 is the first electrode 3, the drive waveform shown in Ch2 is in the second electrode 4, and the drive waveform shown in Ch3 is the third. A drive waveform indicated by Ch4 was applied to the electrode 5, a drive waveform indicated by Ch5 was applied to the fifth electrode 7, and a drive waveform indicated by Ch6 was applied to the sixth electrode 8, respectively. As a result, the opaque charged electrophoretic particles 15 dispersed throughout the device were transported to the periphery of the device and became translucent.

  Further, the first electrode 3, the third electrode 5, the fifth electrode 7, the second electrode 4, the fourth electrode 6, and the sixth electrode 7 were set to the same potential, and 20V was applied to one side and -20V was applied alternately to the other. However, the opaque charged electrophoretic particles 15 were uniformly dispersed, and the element was in a light shielding state. Further, when the drive voltage was gradually reduced to make all the electrodes 0 V, the dispersion was more uniform.

  As described above, the normally transparent portion 9 is provided so that both ends thereof are in contact with the first substrate 1 and the second substrate 2, and at least one of the first substrate 1 and the second substrate 2 is provided in parallel. Thus, in the present embodiment, by arranging six electrodes in parallel on the first substrate 1 and the second substrate 2, respectively, it is possible to limit the movable region of the opaque charged migrating particles 15, The controllability of the opaque charged electrophoretic particles 15 can be improved. As a result, a desired light amount can be adjusted. As a result, incident light is not scattered and a good image can be obtained.

  The first substrate 1 and the second substrate 2 may be substantially transparent to light having a desired wavelength, and the material and shape thereof are not particularly limited. For example, the material may be a glass inorganic material or an organic material such as PET, and the shape may be flat.

  The gap support 13 is not particularly limited as long as the gap between the substrates can be kept constant. In addition, the first substrate 1 and the second substrate 2 may be supported at a plurality of points. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the first substrate 1 and the second substrate 2 are arranged on the outer peripheral portion of the electrophoretic light amount adjusting element to prevent leakage of the insulating liquid 14. It may have a sealing function to prevent.

  The insulating liquid 14 may be any liquid that is substantially transparent to light having a desired wavelength. For example, silicon oil or isoparaffin may be used. Further, an additive for maintaining charging and dispersion of the opaque charged electrophoretic particles 15 may be dissolved.

  The opaque charged electrophoretic particles 15 may be any particles that are substantially opaque to light of a desired wavelength and that are charged in the insulating liquid 14 and maintain dispersion. Further, the shape is not particularly limited as long as the size is filled between the first substrate 1 and the second substrate 2.

  FIG. 5 shows the configuration of an image pickup apparatus using an electrophoretic light amount adjusting element. This image pickup apparatus includes an electrophoretic light amount adjusting element 21, a lens 16, and a lens device 22 including a drive signal generating device 19. The image pickup unit 23 includes the image pickup device 17 and the image processing device 18, and the communication device 24 includes the communication signal generation device 20.

  In the imaging apparatus having such a configuration, the light transmitted through the electrophoretic light amount adjusting element 21 and the lens 16 reaches the imaging element 17, and after being A / D converted by the imaging element 17, the image processing apparatus 18 performs the A / D conversion. Image processing is performed to obtain imaging information. The imaging information is input to the communication signal generator 20 of the communication device 24 and transmitted to a remote unit (not shown). It should be noted that imaging information can be obtained immediately under appropriate conditions by integrating the imaging unit 23 and the communication device 24 in this way.

  Here, when the electrophoretic light amount adjusting element 21 is installed on the optical axis of the lens 16, an appropriate optical design is required. Therefore, in this image pickup apparatus, the image pickup device 17 and the image processing device 18 are used as the light amount measuring means, and the drive signal generating device 19 is driven according to the light amount measured by the light amount measuring means, and the electrophoretic light amount adjusting element 21. To control.

  That is, in the present embodiment, the opaque charged electrophoretic particles 15 are collected in a part of the electrophoretic light amount adjusting element 21 or dispersed and transmitted in a region other than the normally light transmitting portion 9 of the electrophoretic light amount adjusting element 21. The amount of light is adjusted. Note that the region where the opaque charged electrophoretic particles 15 are collected may be in the peripheral portion of the element or on a part of the electrodes.

  In the present embodiment, circular electrodes having different radii are arranged concentrically around the normally transparent portion 9 arranged at the center of the element as shown in FIG. 2 described above. As shown in FIG. 6, the electrodes may be arranged substantially perpendicular to the tangential direction of the substantially columnar normally transparent portion 9.

  When the electrodes are arranged in this way, the opaque charged electrophoretic particles 15 migrate in a direction substantially perpendicular to the electrodes 3 to 6, so the opaque charged electrophoretic particles 15 are not only in the centrifugal direction of the element but also in the circumferential direction. It can move and the uneven distribution of particles can be prevented. In the configuration of FIG. 6, an electrode group including the first electrode 3, the second electrode 4, the third electrode 5, and the fourth electrode 6 is repeatedly and periodically arranged in the circumferential direction of the element opening. The angle formed by the tangential direction of the normally transparent portion 9 of the first to fourth electrodes 3 to 6 is preferably 70 ° to 110 °, and more preferably 80 ° to 100 °.

  Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of the electrophoretic light amount adjusting element according to the present embodiment. In FIG. 7, the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 1 denote the same or corresponding parts.

  In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, a light shielding portion 10 is provided in a part of a region different from the normally light transmitting portion 9. Then, the opaque charged electrophoretic particles 15 are moved to a position facing the light shielding portion 10 to make the electrophoretic light amount adjusting element 21 transparent, and the opaque charged electrophoretic particles 15 are moved to a region other than the light shielding portion 10 to adjust the electrophoretic light amount. The element 21 can be put in a light shielding state.

  That is, when the light transmitting state is set, the opaque charged electrophoretic particles 15 are collected in the light blocking portion 10 as shown in FIG. 8A, and when the light blocking state is set, the state shown in FIG. Further, the opaque charged electrophoretic particles 15 are dispersed in a portion other than the light-transmitting portion 9 other than the light-shielding portion 10 to adjust the amount of transmitted light.

  And by comprising in this way, the difference of the transmitted light amount of a light transmission state and a light-shielding state is stabilized more. Further, by disposing the light-shielding part 10 and the normally light-transmitting part 9 at a constant interval, the moving distance of the opaque charged electrophoretic particles 15 can be made constant. As a result, the response of the electrophoretic light quantity adjusting element 21 Speed can be stabilized.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram showing another configuration of the electrophoretic light amount adjusting element according to the present embodiment. In this electrophoretic light amount adjusting element, the first to sixth electrodes 3 to 8 are the first substrate 1. And the second substrate 2 are alternately arranged. That is, the first electrode 3, the third electrode 5, and the fifth electrode 7 are arranged on the first substrate 1, and the second electrode 4, the fourth electrode 6, and the sixth electrode 8 are arranged on the second substrate 2, respectively. ing. Further, a light shielding unit 10 is provided on the first substrate 1. The light shielding unit 10 may be provided on both the first substrate 1 and the second substrate 2.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described according to examples.

Example 1
In the present embodiment, an electrophoretic light amount adjusting element having the cross-sectional configuration shown in FIG. 1 and including the first to sixth electrodes 3 to 8 arranged as shown in FIG. 2 is manufactured and driven as follows. Went. The size of the manufactured element is 5 mm in diameter, 0.43 mm in thickness, and the diameter of the normally transparent part is 1 mm.

  First, an ITO film is formed on glass having a thickness of 0.2 mm as the first substrate 1 and the second substrate 2, and is patterned into a shape shown in FIG. 2 by photolithography and etching to form the first to sixth electrodes 3-8. After that, an epoxy resin was applied as the insulating layer 11.

  Next, the gap support 13 and the normally transparent portion 9 were formed on the first substrate 1. In this example, the gap support 13 and the normally transparent portion 9 were made of the same material and simultaneously by the same process. That is, after the photosensitive epoxy resin was applied to the first substrate 1, exposure and wet development were performed to form the gap support 13 and the normally transparent portion 9 having a height of 30 μm.

  Next, an insulating liquid 14 and opaque charged electrophoretic particles 15 were filled in the space formed by the first substrate 1, the gap support 13, and the normally transparent portion 9. In this example, isoparaffin was used as the insulating liquid 14 and a mixture of polystyrene and carbon having an average particle diameter of about 4 μm was used as the opaque charged electrophoretic particles 15. At this time, the opaque charged electrophoretic particles 15 in isoparaffin showed a positively charged polarity.

  Next, the second substrate 2 was placed on the first substrate 1 while being aligned, and the peripheral portion of the element was bonded with an adhesive.

  Then, the drive signal generator 19 shown in FIG. 5 is connected to the electrophoretic light amount adjustment element 21 created in this way, and the drive waveform shown in FIG. I let you.

  That is, in FIG. 4, the drive waveform indicated by Ch1 is the first electrode 3, the drive waveform indicated by Ch2 is the second electrode 4, the drive waveform indicated by Ch3 is the third electrode 5, and the drive waveform indicated by Ch4 is the fourth. The drive waveform shown as Ch5 was applied to the fifth electrode 7 and the drive waveform shown as Ch6 was applied to the sixth electrode 8. As a result, the opaque charged electrophoretic particles 15 dispersed throughout the device were transported to the periphery of the device and became translucent.

  Further, the first electrode 3, the third electrode 5, the fifth electrode 7, the second electrode 4, the fourth electrode 6, and the sixth electrode 7 were set to the same potential, and 20V was applied to one side and -20V was applied alternately to the other. However, the opaque charged electrophoretic particles 15 were uniformly dispersed, and the element was in a light shielding state. Further, when the drive voltage was gradually reduced to set all the electrodes to 0 V, they were more uniformly dispersed.

  Further, a light amount measuring device (not shown) (for example, the imaging device 17 and the image processing device 18 shown in FIG. 5) is connected to the drive signal generating device 19 connected to the electrophoretic light amount adjusting element according to the present embodiment, When the drive voltage was selected and applied according to the output of the light quantity measuring device, the light quantity could be adjusted according to the light quantity transmitted through the electrophoretic light quantity adjusting element 21.

  When the electrophoretic light amount adjusting element 21 was attached to the imaging device and driven, a good image could be obtained from a bright place to a dark place. Furthermore, when the communication device 24 was attached to the imaging unit 23, a good image could be obtained from a remote place.

(Example 2)
In the present embodiment, the electrophoretic light amount adjusting element having the cross-sectional configuration shown in FIG. 7 and having electrodes arranged substantially perpendicular to the tangential direction of the substantially columnar normally transparent portion 9 (see FIG. 6) is as follows. Fabricated and driven. The size of the manufactured element is 5 mm in diameter, 0.43 mm in thickness, the inner diameter of the light shielding part 10 is 3 mm, and the diameter of the normally transparent part 9 is 1 mm.

  First, an ITO film is formed on glass having a thickness of 0.2 mm as the first substrate 1 and is patterned into a shape shown in the drawing by photolithography and etching to form first to sixth electrodes 3 to 8, and then An epoxy resin was applied as the insulating layer 11.

  Next, the gap support 13 and the normally transparent portion 9 were formed on the first substrate 1. In this example, the gap support 13 and the normally transparent portion 9 were made of the same material and simultaneously by the same process. That is, after the photosensitive epoxy resin was applied to the first substrate 1, exposure and wet development were performed to form the gap support 13 and the normally transparent portion 9 having a height of 30 μm.

  Next, an insulating liquid 14 and opaque charged electrophoretic particles 15 were filled in the space formed by the first substrate 1, the gap support 13, and the normally transparent portion 9. In this example, isoparaffin was used as the insulating liquid 14 and a mixture of polystyrene and carbon having an average particle diameter of about 4 μm was used as the opaque charged electrophoretic particles 15. At this time, the opaque charged electrophoretic particles 15 in isoparaffin showed a positively charged polarity.

  Next, a glass substrate having a thickness of 0.2 mm and colored light-shielding portion 10 as the second substrate 2 was placed on the first substrate 1, and the peripheral portion of the element was bonded with an adhesive.

  Then, the drive signal generator 19 shown in FIG. 5 is connected to the electrophoretic light amount adjustment element 21 created in this way, and the drive waveform shown in FIG. I let you.

  That is, in FIG. 4, the drive waveform indicated by Ch1 is the first electrode 3, the drive waveform indicated by Ch2 is the second electrode 4, the drive waveform indicated by Ch3 is the third electrode 5, and the drive waveform indicated by Ch4 is the fourth. The drive waveform shown as Ch5 was applied to the fifth electrode 7 and the drive waveform shown as Ch6 was applied to the sixth electrode 8 to the electrode 6. As a result, the non-transparent charged electrophoretic particles 15 dispersed throughout the device were transported to the light shielding portion 10 around the device and became translucent.

  Next, the drive waveform shown in FIG. 10 was repeatedly applied to the element to drive it. That is, in FIG. 10, the drive waveform indicated by Ch1 is the first electrode 3, the drive waveform indicated by Ch2 is the second electrode 4, the drive waveform indicated by Ch3 is the third electrode 5, and the drive waveform indicated by Ch4 is the fourth. The drive waveform shown as Ch5 was applied to the fifth electrode 7 and the drive waveform shown as Ch6 was applied to the sixth electrode 8. As a result, the opaque charged electrophoretic particles 15 distributed in the light shielding portion were transported to a region around the normal light transmitting portion 9 excluding the normal light transmitting portion 9 and the light shielding portion 10 to be in a light shielding state.

  Further, a light amount measuring device (not shown) (for example, the imaging device 17 and the image processing device 18 shown in FIG. 5) is connected to the drive signal generating device 19 connected to the electrophoretic light amount adjusting element according to the present embodiment, When the drive voltage was selected and applied according to the output of the light quantity measuring device, the light quantity could be adjusted according to the light quantity transmitted through the electrophoretic light quantity adjusting element 21. The ratio between the maximum value and the minimum value of the amount of transmitted light was 9 times.

  Further, when the electrophoretic light quantity adjusting element 21 was attached to the imaging device 23 and driven, a good image could be obtained from a bright place to a dark place. Furthermore, when the communication device 24 was attached to the imaging unit 23, a good image could be obtained from a remote place.

The figure which shows schematic structure of the electrophoretic light quantity adjustment element which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows an example of electrode arrangement | positioning of the said electrophoretic light quantity adjustment element. The figure which shows a state when the opaque charged electrophoretic particle in the said electrophoretic light quantity adjustment element is disperse | distributed along the 1st board | substrate. The figure which shows the voltage waveform applied to the said electrophoretic light quantity adjustment element. The figure which shows schematic structure of the imaging device provided with the said electrophoretic light quantity adjustment element. The figure which shows the other example of electrode arrangement | positioning of the said electrophoretic light quantity adjustment element. The figure which shows schematic structure of the electrophoretic light quantity adjustment element which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. The figure explaining the light quantity adjustment operation | movement of the said electrophoretic light quantity adjustment element. The figure which shows the other structure of the said electrophoretic light quantity adjustment element. The figure which shows the voltage waveform applied to the said electrophoretic light quantity adjustment element.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 1st board | substrate 2 2nd board | substrate 3 1st electrode 4 2nd electrode 5 3rd electrode 6 4th electrode 7 5th electrode 8 6th electrode 9 Normal light transmission part 10 Light-shielding part 11 Insulating layer 12 Opaque layer 13 Gap support body 14 Insulating liquid 15 Opaque charged electrophoretic particles 16 Lens 17 Image sensor 18 Image processing device 19 Drive signal generator 20 Communication signal generator 21 Electrophoretic light quantity adjustment element 22 Lens device 23 Image pickup unit 24 Communication device

Claims (7)

A transparent first substrate, a transparent second substrate disposed opposite to the first substrate, an insulating transparent liquid filled between the first substrate and the second substrate, and the insulating transparent In an electrophoretic light amount adjusting element comprising a plurality of opaque charged electrophoretic particles dispersed in a liquid,
A columnar light-transmitting portion that is provided so that both ends thereof are in contact with the first substrate and the second substrate, and through which light passes,
Three or more electrodes juxtaposed on at least one of the first substrate and the second substrate;
An electrophoretic light amount adjusting element comprising:   2. The electrophoretic light amount adjusting element according to claim 1, wherein the electrodes are arranged concentrically, and the translucent part is arranged at the center of the concentrically arranged electrodes.   The electrophoretic light amount adjusting element according to claim 1, wherein the translucent portion has a substantially cylindrical shape, and the electrode is disposed substantially perpendicular to a tangential direction of the translucent portion.   4. The electrophoretic light amount adjusting element according to claim 1, wherein an interval between the electrodes is not less than half and not more than four times an interval between the first substrate and the second substrate. 5.   A light shielding portion is provided at a position away from the light transmitting portion of at least one of the first substrate and the second substrate by a predetermined distance, and the opaque charged electrophoretic particles are moved to a position facing the light shielding portion to obtain a light transmitting state. The electrophoretic light amount adjustment element according to claim 1, wherein   The electrophoretic light amount adjusting element according to claim 1, wherein the electrode is not disposed in a region where the translucent portion is provided. An imaging apparatus comprising: a lens; and the electrophoretic light amount adjusting element according to claim 1.

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