JP2016062091A - Optical element and display device, electronic equipment and lighting device using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve such a problem that in a well-known optical element, it is difficult to achieve a high transmittance since the transmittance is determined according to the pattern size of a light transmission region, and thereby, luminance of a display device mounting the optical element is decreased.SOLUTION: An optical element employs a structure in which an electrode 250 where electrophoretic particles 141 cohere in a wide viewing field mode is formed into a comb-like shape and light transmission regions 120 of a plurality of columns or a plurality of rows are disposed in the spaces between the comb teeth. By this structure, electrophoretic particles 141 are excluded from regions other than the comb-like electrode and the regions are changed into a transmissive state for light.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an optical element that variably controls the range of the emission direction of transmitted light, and a display device, electronic apparatus, and illumination device using the optical element.

  Display devices such as liquid crystal display devices are used as information display means for various information processing devices such as mobile phones, PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants), ATMs (Automatic Teller Machines), personal computers, and the like.

  In addition, display devices have been required to have various light distribution characteristics as the display becomes larger and more versatile. In particular, from the viewpoint of information leakage, there is a request to limit the visible range so that it does not look into others, or a request to prevent light from being emitted in unnecessary directions. Optical films capable of limiting the visible range (or emission range) have been proposed and put into practical use. However, when viewing the display device from multiple directions at the same time, it is necessary to remove the optical element each time. Therefore, it is desirable to arbitrarily realize a wide visible range and a narrow visible range without taking the trouble of removing the optical element. There is an increasing demand.

In response to this requirement, an optical element that can switch the visible range of a display device between a wide-field mode and a narrow-field mode has been proposed.
In this optical element 600, as shown in FIGS. 17A and 17B, an electrophoretic element 602 is disposed between high-aspect-ratio light-transmitting regions 601 arranged on a substrate independently in a plane. By controlling the dispersion state of the electrophoretic element 602 with an electric field generated by an external voltage, the wide-field mode (see FIG. 17B) and the narrow-field mode (see FIG. 17A) of the emission state of the light 650 are obtained. The two states are arbitrarily realized. For example, an optical device in which a transparent substrate is used, a transparent photosensitive resin layer is applied, exposed, developed, and cured by heating to form a light transmission region 601, and an electrophoretic element 602 is disposed between the light transmission regions 601. It is an element.

  FIG. 18 is a cross-sectional view showing a related art optical element. The optical element 900 includes a transparent substrate 110, another transparent conductive film 123 formed on the surface of the transparent substrate 110, and a plurality of light transmission regions 120 formed on the top surface of the other transparent conductive film 123 and spaced apart from each other. The electrophoretic element 140 disposed between the light transmission regions 120 and another transparent electrode disposed on the light transmission region 120 and provided with a transparent conductive film 125 on a surface in contact with the light transmission region 120. And a substrate 115. This optical element 900 is disclosed in FIG.

US 7,751,667 B2 publication

  However, the related technique disclosed in FIG. 8 of Patent Document 1 has the following problems.

  Since both the transparent conductive film 123 and the transparent conductive film 125 are arranged in a planar shape in the element regions of the transparent substrate 110 and the separate transparent substrate 115, the light is transmitted in both the narrow field mode and the wide field mode. Except for the transmission region 120, the transmission of light in the front direction is blocked (see the narrow field mode in FIGS. 24A and 24B and the wide field mode in FIGS. 25A and 25B). Since the transmittance in the front direction is determined by the pattern size of the light transmissive region, it is difficult to improve the transmittance more than that. As a result, there is a problem that the luminance of the liquid crystal display device equipped with the optical element is lowered.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an optical element that can increase the transmittance in the wide-field mode compared to the narrow-field mode, and can suppress a decrease in luminance in the wide-field mode of the display device equipped with the optical element. There is.

The optical element of the present invention includes a first transparent substrate,
A second transparent substrate that faces the first transparent substrate;
A plurality of light transmission regions arranged separately from each other so as to reach the surface of the second transparent substrate from the surface of the first transparent substrate;
A conductive pattern disposed on a surface of the first transparent substrate in a part of a region sandwiched between adjacent light transmission regions;
A transparent conductive film disposed on a surface of the second transparent substrate with respect to the first transparent substrate;
It has an electrophoretic element which is disposed between the adjacent light transmission regions and which has a specific charge and is made of light-shielding electrophoretic particles and a transmissive dispersion material.

The display device of the present invention includes a display having a display surface for displaying video,
And the optical element disposed on the display surface of the display.

  Moreover, the electronic device of the present invention is characterized in that the display device is equipped as a display means of the electronic device main body.

  Moreover, the illuminating device of this invention has the said optical element and the light source provided in the back surface of the 1st transparent substrate of the said optical element, It is characterized by the above-mentioned.

According to the present invention, in the wide-field mode, the electrophoretic particles are collected in the vicinity of the surface of the conductive pattern arranged only in a part of the region sandwiched between the adjacent light transmission regions, so that other regions can be separated. Since the electrophoretic particles can be excluded, light can be transmitted from both the region where the electrophoretic particles are excluded and the light transmission region, and as a result, the transmittance in the wide-field mode can be improved.
In addition, it is possible to suppress a decrease in luminance of the display device equipped with the optical element.

1 is a diagram illustrating an optical element according to Embodiment 1 in a narrow-field mode, in which FIG. 1A is a longitudinal sectional view showing the optical element cut along a plane orthogonal to the display surface of the optical element, and FIG. (B) is the surface figure which showed the display surface from the normal line direction. FIG. 2A is a diagram illustrating the optical element according to Embodiment 1 in a wide-field mode state, and FIG. 2A is a longitudinal sectional view showing the optical element cut along a plane orthogonal to the display surface of the optical element. (B) is the surface figure which showed the display surface from the normal line direction. FIG. 3A is a cross-sectional view illustrating the manufacturing method of the optical element of Embodiment 1 step by step, and FIG. 3A is a vertical cross-sectional view schematically illustrating a process of forming a conductive pattern on the surface of a transparent substrate, FIG. FIG. 3B is a simplified vertical sectional view showing the process of forming the transparent photosensitive resin layer, FIG. 3C is a simplified vertical sectional view showing the process of exposing the transparent photosensitive resin layer, and FIG. d) is a simplified vertical sectional view showing a step of forming a plurality of light transmission regions spaced from each other, and FIG. 3E is a step of disposing a transparent substrate having a transparent conductive film on the surface of the light transmission region. FIG. 3F is a simplified vertical sectional view showing the step of filling the electrophoretic element. FIG. 4A is a cross-sectional view illustrating another method for manufacturing the optical element of Embodiment 1 step by step, and FIG. 4A is a vertical cross-sectional view schematically illustrating a process of forming a conductive pattern on the surface of a transparent substrate. 4 (b) is a longitudinal sectional view showing a simplified process for forming a transparent photosensitive resin layer, and FIG. 4 (c) is a longitudinal sectional view showing a simplified process for exposing the transparent photosensitive resin layer. 4 (d) is a vertical cross-sectional view showing a simplified process for forming a plurality of light transmission regions spaced from each other, FIG. 4 (e) is a vertical cross-sectional view showing a simplified process for filling an electrophoretic element, FIG. 4F is a vertical cross-sectional view schematically showing a process of disposing a transparent substrate having a transparent conductive film on the surface of the light transmission region. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing still another manufacturing method of the optical element of Embodiment 1 step by step, and FIG. 5A is a longitudinal cross-sectional view schematically showing a process of forming a transparent conductive film on the surface of a transparent substrate; FIG. 5B is a longitudinal sectional view schematically showing the process of forming the transparent photosensitive resin layer on the transparent conductive film, and FIG. 5C is a patterning of the transparent photosensitive resin layer using a mask pattern. FIG. 5D is a vertical cross-sectional view showing a simplified process, and FIG. 5D is a vertical cross-sectional view showing a simplified process for forming a light transmission region, and FIG. 5E is a top view of the light transmission region. FIG. 5 (f) shows a simplified process for filling an electrophoretic element in the gap between the transparent substrate and the other transparent substrate. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view. FIG. 6A is a longitudinal sectional view showing an optical element according to Embodiment 2. FIG. 6A shows the state of the optical element in the narrow-field mode, and FIG. 6B shows the state of the optical element in the wide-field mode. . FIG. 7A is a longitudinal sectional view showing an optical element according to Embodiment 3. FIG. 7A shows the state of the optical element in the narrow field mode, and FIG. 7B shows the state of the optical element in the wide field mode. . FIGS. 8A and 8B are diagrams illustrating the state of aggregation of electrophoretic particles in the wide-field mode of the optical element according to Embodiment 1, in which FIG. 8A is a plan view thereof and FIG. . It is a top view which shows the positional relationship of the light transmissive area | region and electroconductive pattern in the optical element of Embodiment 1, About the example at the time of arrange | positioning the light transmissive area | region where an upper and lower surface becomes a square in Fig.9 (a), FIG. 9B shows an example in which a light transmission region in which the upper and lower surfaces are rectangular is arranged. It is a perspective view which shows the positional relationship of the light transmissive area | region and electroconductive pattern in the optical element of Embodiment 1, About the example at the time of arrange | positioning the light transmissive area | region where an upper and lower surface becomes a square in Fig.10 (a), FIG. 10B shows an example in which light transmission regions whose upper and lower surfaces are rectangular are arranged. It is a top view which shows the positional relationship of the light transmissive area | region and electroconductive pattern in the optical element of Embodiment 1, About other examples at the time of arrange | positioning the light transmissive area | region where an upper and lower surface becomes a square in Fig.11 (a), In FIG. 11B, another example of the case where the light transmission regions whose upper and lower surfaces are rectangular is arranged, and in FIG. 11C, the light transmission region whose upper and lower surfaces are long rectangles is arranged in the width direction. An example in the case of being arranged apart from each other is shown. It is a perspective view which shows the positional relationship of the light transmissive area | region and electroconductive pattern in the optical element of Embodiment 1, About other examples at the time of arrange | positioning the light transmissive area | region where an upper and lower surface becomes a square in FIG. In FIG. 12B, another example of the case where the light transmission regions whose upper and lower surfaces are rectangular is arranged, and in FIG. 12C, the light transmission region whose upper and lower surfaces are long rectangles is arranged in the width direction. An example in the case of being arranged apart from each other is shown. FIG. 13A is a longitudinal sectional view showing an optical element of Embodiment 4, and FIG. 13A shows the state of the optical element in the narrow field mode, and FIG. 13B shows the state of the optical element in the wide field mode. . It is a figure which shows the positional relationship of the light transmissive area | region in the optical element of Embodiment 4, a conductive pattern, and a transparent conductive pattern, Fig.14 (a) is a light transmissive area | region in Embodiment 4, a conductive pattern, and a transparent conductive pattern. The top view which showed arrangement | positioning of FIG. 14, FIG.14 (b) is the perspective view. FIG. 15A is a cross-sectional view of a structure in which a protective cover film is formed on the surfaces of a conductive pattern and a transparent conductive pattern in the optical element of Embodiment 4, and FIG. 15A shows the state of the optical element in the narrow-field mode. 15 (b) shows the state of the optical element in the wide-field mode. FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view of a structure in which a protective cover film is formed on both the conductive pattern and the surface of the transparent conductive pattern and the surface of the transparent conductive film in the optical element of Embodiment 4, and FIG. FIG. 16B shows the state of the optical element in the wide-field mode. FIG. 17A is a longitudinal cross-sectional view showing the operating principle of an optical element according to the related art, FIG. 17A shows the state of the electrophoretic element in the narrow field mode, and FIG. 17B shows the state of the electrophoretic element in the wide field mode. Shows about. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the structure of the optical element of related technology. It is sectional drawing which shows the structure of the display apparatus which provided the optical element in the other embodiment in the display screen. It is sectional drawing which shows the structure of the display apparatus which fixed the optical element in the other embodiment to the display screen. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the structure of the display apparatus which mounts the optical element in the other embodiment inside. It is sectional drawing which shows the structure of the display apparatus which fixed the optical element in the other embodiment inside. It is sectional drawing which shows the structure of the illuminating device which mounts the optical element in the other embodiment. It is a figure which shows the state of the electrophoretic particle in the narrow visual field mode in the optical element of related technology, and Fig.24 (a) is the surface view seen from the normal line direction of the display surface of the optical element about the state of the electrophoretic element, FIG. 24B is a longitudinal sectional view showing the state of the electrophoretic element by cutting the optical element along a plane orthogonal to the display surface of the optical element. FIG. 25A is a diagram showing a state of electrophoretic particles in a wide-field mode in an optical element of related technology, and FIG. 25A is a surface view of the state of the electrophoretic element viewed from the normal direction of the display surface of the optical element; FIG. 25B is a longitudinal sectional view showing the state of the electrophoretic element by cutting the optical element along a plane orthogonal to the display surface of the optical element. FIG. 27 is a cross-sectional view showing a potential state of a conductive pattern and a transparent conductive film in the optical element of Embodiment 1, and FIG. 26A shows a potential state when the narrow-field mode is set, and FIG. FIG. 26C shows a potential state when the surface charge of the electrophoretic particle is (−) and when the surface charge of the electrophoretic particle is (+). The potential state is shown. It is a figure which shows the electronic device in the other embodiment, Fig.27 (a) shows the apparatus input with a touchscreen, FIG.27 (b) has shown about the apparatus input with a touchscreen, a keyboard, and a mouse | mouth. FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a case where a relative position of a conductive pattern and a light transmission region is shifted in the optical element of Embodiment 1. FIG. 29 is a cross-sectional view showing a state of potentials of a conductive pattern, a transparent conductive pattern, and a transparent conductive film in the optical element of Embodiment 4, and FIG. 29A shows the state of the potential when the narrow-field mode is set. FIG. 29B shows a potential state when the surface charge of the electrophoretic particle is (−) and the wide-field mode is set. FIG. 29C shows a wide field of view when the surface charge of the electrophoretic particle is (+). It shows the state of the potential when setting the mode. FIG. 10 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a case where the relative positions of the conductive pattern, the transparent conductive pattern, and the light transmission region are shifted in the optical element of Embodiment 4. It is a top view which shows the positional relationship of the light transmissive area | region and electroconductive pattern in the optical element of Embodiment 1, About the example at the time of arrange | positioning the light transmissive area | region where an upper and lower surface becomes a square in Fig.31 (a), FIG. 31B shows an example in which light transmission regions having upper and lower surfaces that are rectangular are arranged. It is a perspective view which shows the positional relationship of the light transmissive area | region and electroconductive pattern in the optical element of Embodiment 1, About the example at the time of arrange | positioning the light transmissive area | region where an upper and lower surface becomes a square in Fig.32 (a), FIG. 32 (b) shows an example in which light transmission regions whose upper and lower surfaces are rectangular are arranged. It is a figure which shows the positional relationship of the light transmissive area | region, electroconductive pattern, and transparent conductive pattern in the optical element of Embodiment 4, and Fig.33 (a) is a light transmissive area | region in Embodiment 4, a conductive pattern, and a transparent conductive pattern. The top view which showed arrangement | positioning of FIG. 33, and FIG.33 (b) are the perspective views. It is a top view which shows the mode of the movement of the electrophoretic particle in the optical element of Embodiment 1, and has arrange | positioned the linear conductive pattern in the same direction as the direction where the light transmission area | region was located in a line in Fig.34 (a). FIG. 34B shows an example of a case where a linear conductive pattern is arranged in a direction rotated by 45 ° from the direction in which the light transmission regions are arranged in a straight line. It is a top view which shows the mode of the movement of the electrophoretic particle in the optical element of Embodiment 4, and in FIG.35 (a), a linear conductive pattern and transparent conductive in the same direction as the direction where the light transmission area | region was located in a line. In the case where the conductive pattern is arranged, and in FIG. 35B, the linear conductive pattern and the transparent conductive pattern are arranged in a direction rotated by 45 ° from the direction in which the light transmission regions are arranged in a straight line. An example of this is shown.

  Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention (hereinafter referred to as “embodiments”) will be described with reference to the drawings. In the present specification and drawings, the same reference numerals are used for substantially the same components. The shapes depicted in the drawings do not necessarily match actual dimensions and ratios.

[Embodiment 1]
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an optical element 200 according to Embodiment 1 in a state of a narrow field mode. FIG. 1A is a longitudinal cross-sectional view showing the optical element 200 cut along a plane orthogonal to the display surface of the optical element 200. FIG. 1B is a surface view showing the display surface from the normal direction. 2 is a diagram showing the optical element 200 of the first embodiment in a state of wide field mode, and FIG. 2A shows the optical element 200 cut along a plane orthogonal to the display surface of the optical element 200. FIG. 2B is a surface view showing the display surface from the normal direction. Details of the optical element of Embodiment 1 will be described below.

The optical element 200 according to the first embodiment includes a first transparent substrate 110, a second transparent substrate 115 that faces the first transparent substrate 110, and a second transparent substrate from the surface of the first transparent substrate 110. Arranged on the surface of the first transparent substrate 110 at a part of a plurality of light transmission region 120 spaced apart from each other and a region sandwiched between adjacent light transmission regions 120 so as to reach the surface of the substrate 115 The conductive pattern 250, the transparent conductive film 125 disposed on the surface of the second transparent substrate 115 with respect to the first transparent substrate 110, and the electrophoretic element 140 disposed between the adjacent light transmission regions 120. I have.
The light transmission region 120 is a structure (transparent resin pattern) provided so that the lower surface 121 and the upper surface 122 reach the transparent substrate 110 and the second transparent substrate 115, respectively. This point is the same in the following embodiments.
The electrophoretic element 140 is a mixture of light-shielding electrophoretic particles 141 having a specific charge and a transmissive dispersion material 142.
More specifically, the optical element 200 according to the first embodiment includes a first transparent substrate 110, a second transparent substrate 115 that is spaced from the first transparent substrate 110, and a first transparent substrate 110. The transparent conductive film 125 disposed on the surface of the second transparent substrate 115 on the side facing the transparent substrate 110, and the display surface of the optical element 200 in the gap between the first transparent substrate 110 and the transparent conductive film 125 The lower surface 121 abuts against the first transparent substrate 110 and the upper surface 122 is spaced apart from each other in two directions that are parallel to each other and orthogonal to each other, that is, in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction in FIG. A plurality of light transmission regions 120 arranged so as to reach the second transparent substrate 115 and a part of the region sandwiched between the adjacent light transmission regions 120 and a conductive material arranged on the surface of the first transparent substrate 110 Pattern 250 and conductivity Regardless of the pattern 250, and an electrophoretic element 140 disposed so as to fill the gap between the light transmitting region 120 adjacent which are arranged spaced apart.
1A and 1B, in the narrow-field mode, the electric current in the electrophoretic element 140 disposed in the gap between the light transmission regions 120 is obtained by setting the conductive pattern 250 and the transparent conductive film 125 to the same potential. This is realized by dispersing the migrating particles 141 throughout the dispersion material 142 (see FIG. 26A). In contrast, the wide-field mode of FIGS. 2A and 2B is realized by aggregating the electrophoretic particles 141 in the vicinity of the conductive pattern 250. At this time, an electric field is generated between the transparent conductive film 125 and the conductive pattern 250 by setting the relative potential of the conductive pattern 250 with respect to the transparent conductive film 125 to a polarity opposite to the surface charge of the electrophoretic particles 141. The migrating particles 141 are collected in the vicinity of the conductive pattern 250. That is, when the surface charge of the electrophoretic particle 141 is (−), the conductive pattern 250 is the positive electrode (see FIG. 26B), and when the surface charge of the electrophoretic particle 141 is (+), the electroconductive pattern 250 is conductive. The pattern 250 is used as a negative electrode (see FIG. 26C). In short, the relative potential of the transparent conductive film 125 with respect to the conductive pattern 250 is set to the same polarity as the surface charge of the electrophoretic particles 141, and the electrophoretic particles 141 are made conductive. By collecting in the vicinity of the surface of the pattern 250, the electrophoretic particles 141 do not exist in the region where the conductive pattern 250 is not disposed on the surface of the transparent substrate 110.
Here, as shown in FIGS. 25A and 25B, when the transparent conductive film 125 on the transparent substrate 115 side and the transparent conductive film 123 on the transparent substrate 110 side are both arranged in a planar shape in the element region, That is, when the transparent conductive film 123 is disposed on the surface of the transparent substrate 110 so as to include all the regions sandwiched between the adjacent light transmission regions 120, the electrophoretic particles 141 are adjacent in the wide viewing mode. In all the regions sandwiched between the light transmission regions 120 to be agglomerated in the vicinity of the surface of the transparent conductive film 123, the entire region of the surface of the transparent substrate 110 excluding the light transmission region 120 is covered with the electrophoretic particles 141. As a result, all regions other than the light transmission region 120 are in a light-shielded state.
On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B and FIGS. 2A and 2B, a plurality of light transmission regions 120 are arranged on the surface of the transparent substrate 110 so as to be adjacent to each other. In the configuration of the first embodiment in which the conductive pattern 250 is arranged on the surface of the transparent substrate 110 in a part of the region sandwiched between the transmissive regions 120, the narrow-field mode is shown in FIGS. 1 (a) and 1 (b). As described above, the electrophoretic particles 141 are diffused into the electrophoretic element 140 to realize the light shielding property of the space between the adjacent light transmission regions 120. In the wide field mode, as shown in FIGS. As shown in b), the electrophoretic particles 141 pass through the dispersion material 142 by the electric field generated by the transparent conductive film 125 and the conductive pattern 250, and the gap between the first transparent substrate 110 and the transparent conductive film 125. Of the optical element 200 Adjacent light that migrates along a path between light transmission regions 120 that are parallel to the plane of view and perpendicular to each other, that is, in the vertical direction in FIGS. 1B and 2B, respectively. As a result, the conductive patterns 250 are arranged in the vicinity of the surface of the conductive pattern 250 in a part of the region sandwiched between the transmissive regions 120, and as a result, the conductive pattern 250 is arranged between the adjacent light transmissive region 120 patterns. The electrophoretic particles 141 in the absence are removed, for example, as shown in FIG. 2B, so that light can be transmitted.
FIGS. 1A and 1B and FIGS. 2A and 2B show an example in which the light transmission region 120 is arranged in a staggered pattern as a whole, but the light transmission region 120 is shown in FIGS. It is good also as a grid | lattice-like arrangement | positioning as shown to b). 8A and 8B show a wide-field mode in which the electrophoretic particles 141 are aggregated in the vicinity of the conductive pattern 250. FIG.
As described above, the voltage application control means 145 as shown in FIGS. 26A, 26B, and 26C controls the potentials of the conductive pattern 250 and the transparent conductive film 125 so that the narrow-field mode and the wide-field mode are achieved. The mode display can be realized. The voltage application control means 145 adjusts the voltage applied to the conductive pattern 250 and the transparent conductive film 125 according to an external signal, and changes the respective polarities of the conductive pattern 250 and the transparent conductive film 125. It is.

  Hereinafter, the case where the surface charge of the electrophoretic particle is (−) will be described. However, when the surface charge of the electrophoretic particle is (+), it can be dealt with by reversing the polarity of the electrode.

  FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the method of manufacturing the optical element according to the first embodiment. Hereinafter, an outline of an example of a method for producing the optical element of Embodiment 1 will be described.

  The manufacturing method of the optical element of Embodiment 1 includes the following steps.

A step of forming the conductive pattern 250 on the surface of the transparent substrate 110 (see FIG. 3A).
A step of forming a transparent photosensitive resin layer 150 as a negative photoresist film to be the light transmission region 120 (see FIG. 3B).
The process of exposing the transparent photosensitive resin layer 150 by irradiating the transparent photosensitive resin layer 150 with the exposure light 165 through the photomask 160 provided with the mask pattern 161 (refer FIG.3 (c)). At this time, the positions of the photomask 160 and the transparent substrate 110 are controlled so that the position of the conductive pattern 250 overlaps the mask pattern 161.
A step of developing the exposed transparent photosensitive resin layer 150 to form a plurality of light transmission regions 120 spaced apart from each other (see FIG. 3D). Here, the directions of separation are both the left-right direction in FIG. 3D and the direction perpendicular to the paper surface in FIG. 3D, and each light transmission region 120 is formed in an island shape.
The process of arrange | positioning the transparent substrate 115 provided with the transparent conductive film 125 on the surface of the light transmissive area | region 120 (refer FIG.3 (e)).
Then, a step of filling the electrophoretic element 140 in the gap between the conductive pattern 250, the transparent conductive film 125, and the light transmission region 120 (see FIG. 3F).

Among them, the step of disposing another transparent substrate 115 having the transparent conductive film 125 on the surface of the light transmission region 120 (FIG. 3E), the conductive pattern 250, the transparent conductive film 125, and the light transmission region. About the process (FIG.3 (f)) of filling the electrophoretic element 140 in the space | gap between 120, the order may be reversed.
That is, after performing the steps of FIG. 3A to FIG. 3D, as shown in FIG. 4, the step of filling the electrophoretic element 140 between the light transmission regions 120 (FIG. 4E). Next, a step of placing another transparent substrate 115 provided with the transparent conductive film 125 on the surfaces of the light transmission region 120 and the electrophoretic element 140 (FIG. 4F) is performed.

In addition, when the transparent photosensitive resin layer 150 is exposed using the photomask 160 as described above, if the position of the mask pattern 161 is deviated from the conductive pattern 250, the light transmission region 120 is partially conductive. The optical element 950 has a structure in which a part of the sexual pattern 250 is arranged so as to overlap in plan view (see FIG. 28).
Also in this case, a part of the conductive pattern 250 is exposed from the light transmission region 120, in other words, a part of the conductive pattern 250 is seen in a plan view, that is, a method of the display surface of the optical element. Since they are arranged so as to overlap when viewed from the line direction, they are operable.

  Next, the optical element 200 will be described in more detail.

As shown in FIGS. 1A and 2A, the optical element 200 has a transparent substrate 110. The transparent substrate 110 is made of a glass substrate, PET (Poly Ethylene Terephthalate), PC (Poly Carbonate), PEN (Poly Ethylene Naphthalate), or the like.
A conductive pattern 250 is formed on the transparent substrate 110. The conductive pattern 250 is made of a conductive material such as aluminum, chromium, copper, chromium oxide, or carbon nanotube, or a transparent conductive material such as ITO, ZnO, IGZO, or conductive nanowire.
One or more light transmission regions 120 are formed between the conductive patterns 250 on the transparent substrate 110. An electrophoretic element 140, which is a mixture of the electrophoretic particles 141 and the dispersion material 142, is disposed between the light transmission regions 120. The range of 30 [μm] to 300 [μm] is appropriate for the height of the light transmission region 120, and is 60 [μm] in the first embodiment.
The width of the light transmission region 120 is appropriately in the range of 1 [μm] to 150 [μm], and is 20 [μm] in the first embodiment. In addition, the width of the gap between the light transmission regions 120 is appropriately in the range of 0.25 [μm] to 40 [μm], and is 5 [μm] in the first embodiment.
Further, the film thickness of the conductive pattern 250 is reasonable in the range of 10 [nm] to 1000 [nm], and is 300 [nm] in the first embodiment.

  Examples of arrangement of the light transmission region 120 and the conductive pattern 250 are shown in FIGS.

FIGS. 9A and 10A are examples in which the linear conductive pattern 250 is arranged in the same direction as the direction in which the light transmission regions 120 in which the upper and lower surfaces 122 and 121 are square are arranged in a straight line. 9A shows a planar arrangement of the light transmissive region 120 and the conductive pattern 250 as viewed from the normal direction of the upper surface of the light transmissive region 120, and FIG. A state in which the light transmission region 120 and the conductive pattern 250 are viewed from an obliquely upper front side of the upper surface is shown three-dimensionally. As shown in FIG. 9A, the arrangement of the light transmission regions 120 is a staggered arrangement as a whole. In this example, among the regions sandwiched between the plurality of light transmission regions 120 that are spaced apart from each other in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction, as illustrated in FIG. In other words, the conductive pattern 250 is formed every other vertically long partial region formed of a gap formed long in the vertical direction, and the horizontally long partial region formed of a gap formed long in the horizontal direction between the light transmission regions 120. Since the conductive pattern 250 is not formed at all, the area ratio of the conductive pattern 250 to the entire region sandwiched between the light transmission regions 120 is about 1/4. That is, the transparent conductive film 125 on the transparent substrate 115 side and the transparent conductive film 123 on the transparent substrate 110 side are adjacent to each other when compared with the conventional configuration in which the transparent conductive film 125 is disposed in a planar shape over the entire element region. That is, the area of the region sandwiched between the light transmission regions 120 that is covered with the electrophoretic particles 141 in the wide viewing mode can be reduced to about ¼.
9 (b) and 10 (b) are linear conductive patterns in the same direction as the direction in which the light transmission regions 120 in which the upper and lower surfaces 122 and 121 are substantially rectangular with an aspect ratio of 1: 2 are arranged in a straight line. 9B is an example in which the arrangement of the light transmission region 120 and the conductive pattern 250 viewed from the normal direction of the upper surface of the light transmission region 120 is shown in a plan view, and FIG. ) Shows a three-dimensional view of the light transmission region 120 and the conductive pattern 250 as viewed obliquely from the upper front side of the upper surface of the light transmission region 120. As shown in FIG. 9B, the arrangement of the light transmission regions 120 is a staggered arrangement as a whole. Also in this example, among the regions sandwiched between the plurality of light transmission regions 120 that are spaced apart from each other in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction, as illustrated in FIG. In other words, the conductive pattern 250 is formed every other vertically long partial region formed of a gap formed long in the vertical direction, and the horizontally long partial region formed of a gap formed long in the horizontal direction between the light transmission regions 120. Since the conductive pattern 250 is not formed at all, the area ratio of the conductive pattern 250 to the entire region sandwiched between the light transmission regions 120 is about 1/3. That is, the transparent conductive film 125 on the transparent substrate 115 side and the transparent conductive film 123 on the transparent substrate 110 side are adjacent to each other when compared with the conventional configuration in which the transparent conductive film 125 is disposed in a planar shape over the entire element region. This means that the area of the region sandwiched between the light transmission regions 120 that is covered with the electrophoretic particles 141 in the wide field mode can be reduced to about 1/3.

11A and 12A, the linear conductive pattern 250 is arranged in a direction rotated 90 ° from the direction in which the light transmission regions 120 in which the upper and lower surfaces 122 and 121 are square are arranged in a straight line. For example, FIG. 11A shows a planar arrangement of the light transmission region 120 and the conductive pattern 250 viewed from the normal direction of the upper surface of the light transmission region 120, and FIG. 12A shows the light transmission. A state in which the light transmission region 120 and the conductive pattern 250 are viewed from obliquely above the upper surface of the region 120 is shown in a three-dimensional manner. As shown in FIG. 11A, the arrangement of the light transmission regions 120 is a staggered arrangement as a whole. Similar to the above, compared with the conventional configuration in which the transparent conductive film 125 on the transparent substrate 115 side and the transparent conductive film 123 on the transparent substrate 110 side are both arranged in a planar shape over the entire element region, It is apparent that the area of the portion between the adjacent light transmission regions 120 that is covered with the electrophoretic particles 141 in the wide field mode can be greatly reduced. In the example shown in FIGS. 11A and 12A, the conductive pattern 250 that attracts and aggregates the electrophoretic particles 141 is a portion indicated by hatching in FIG. 11A, that is, an adjacent light transmission region. The portion sandwiched by 120 and the portion sandwiched between the transparent substrate 110 and the light transmission region 120 simply electrically connects the conductive pattern 250 of the portion sandwiched between the adjacent light transmission regions 120. It only serves as a means for this. Therefore, even if the linear conductive pattern 250 is arranged in a direction rotated by 90 ° from the direction in which the light transmission regions 120 in which the upper and lower surfaces 122 and 121 are square are aligned, the adjacent light transmission regions The technology of the present invention in which the electrophoretic particles 141 are excluded from other regions by collecting the electrophoretic particles 141 near the surface of the conductive pattern 250 disposed only in a part of the region sandwiched between the regions 120. The idea is followed.
11 (b) and 12 (b), the upper and lower surfaces 122, 121 are linear in a direction rotated by 90 ° from the direction in which the light transmission regions 120 in which the upper and lower surfaces 122, 121 are generally rectangular with an aspect ratio of 1: 2 are aligned. FIG. 11B shows a plan view of the arrangement of the light transmission region 120 and the conductive pattern 250 viewed from the normal direction of the upper surface of the light transmission region 120, and FIG. FIG. 12B shows a three-dimensional view of the light transmission region 120 and the conductive pattern 250 viewed obliquely from the upper front side of the upper surface of the light transmission region 120. As shown in FIG. 11B, the arrangement of the light transmission regions 120 is a staggered arrangement as a whole. Similar to the above, compared with the conventional configuration in which the transparent conductive film 125 on the transparent substrate 115 side and the transparent conductive film 123 on the transparent substrate 110 side are both arranged in a planar shape over the entire element region, It is apparent that the area of the portion between the adjacent light transmission regions 120 that is covered with the electrophoretic particles 141 in the wide field mode can be greatly reduced. In the example shown in FIGS. 11B and 12B, the conductive pattern 250 that attracts and aggregates the electrophoretic particles 141 is a portion indicated by hatching in FIG. 11B, that is, an adjacent light transmission region. The portion sandwiched by 120 and the portion sandwiched between the transparent substrate 110 and the light transmission region 120 simply electrically connects the conductive pattern 250 of the portion sandwiched between the adjacent light transmission regions 120. It only serves as a means for this. Therefore, the linear conductive pattern 250 is arranged in a direction rotated by 90 ° from the direction in which the light transmission regions 120 in which the upper and lower surfaces 122 and 121 are approximately rectangular with an aspect ratio of 1: 2 are arranged in a straight line. However, by collecting the electrophoretic particles 141 in the vicinity of the surface of the conductive pattern 250 disposed only in a part of the region sandwiched between the adjacent light transmission regions 120, the electrophoretic particles 141 are collected from other regions. The technical idea of the present invention to be excluded is followed.

  Further, in FIG. 11C and FIG. 12C, the light transmission regions 120 whose upper and lower surfaces 122 and 121 are long rectangles are arranged apart from each other in the width direction, and the light transmission regions 120 are arranged in a straight line. This is an example in which a linear conductive pattern 250 is arranged in the same direction as the width direction of the light transmission region 120, and the light transmission region 120 viewed from the normal direction of the upper surface of the light transmission region 120 in FIG. FIG. 12C shows a three-dimensional view of the light transmission region 120 and the conductive pattern 250 viewed from diagonally above the top surface of the light transmission region 120. ing. Similar to the above, compared with the conventional configuration in which the transparent conductive film 125 on the transparent substrate 115 side and the transparent conductive film 123 on the transparent substrate 110 side are both arranged in a planar shape over the entire element region, It is apparent that the area of the portion between the adjacent light transmission regions 120 that is covered with the electrophoretic particles 141 in the wide field mode can be greatly reduced. In the example shown in FIGS. 11C and 12C, the conductive pattern 250 that attracts and aggregates the electrophoretic particles 141 is a portion indicated by hatching in FIG. 11C, that is, an adjacent light transmission region. The portion sandwiched by 120 and the portion sandwiched between the transparent substrate 110 and the light transmission region 120 simply electrically connects the conductive pattern 250 of the portion sandwiched between the adjacent light transmission regions 120. It only serves as a means for this. Therefore, the linear conductive pattern 250 is formed in a direction in which the long light transmission regions 120 are linearly arranged, that is, in a direction rotated by 90 ° with respect to the longitudinal direction of the gap formed between the adjacent light transmission regions 120. Even in the arrangement, by collecting the electrophoretic particles 141 near the surface of the conductive pattern 250 arranged only in a part of the area sandwiched between the adjacent light transmission areas 120, it is possible to remove the electrophoretic particles 141 from other areas. The technical idea of the present invention that excludes the electrophoretic particles 141 is followed.

  Note that the visible angle in the narrow-field mode in the AA direction shown in FIGS. 10 and 12 is limited to about ± 30 °.

  31A and 32A, the linear conductive pattern 250 is arranged in a direction rotated by 45 ° from the direction in which the light transmission regions 120 in which the upper and lower surfaces 122 and 121 are square are arranged in a straight line. It is an example. In FIG. 31A, the arrangement of the light transmission region 120 and the conductive pattern 250 viewed from the normal direction of the upper surface 122 of the light transmission region 120 is shown in a plan view, and in FIG. A state in which the light transmission region 120 and the conductive pattern 250 are viewed from diagonally above the upper surface 122 is shown in three dimensions. As shown in FIG. 31A, the arrangement of the light transmission regions 120 is a staggered arrangement as a whole. Similar to the above, compared with the conventional configuration in which the transparent conductive film 125 on the transparent substrate 115 side and the transparent conductive film 123 on the transparent substrate 110 side are both arranged in a planar shape over the entire element region, It is apparent that the area of the portion covered with the electrophoretic particles 141 in the wide field mode among the regions sandwiched between the adjacent light transmission regions 120 can be greatly reduced. In the example shown in FIGS. 31 (a) and 32 (a), the conductive pattern 250 that attracts and aggregates the electrophoretic particles 141 is a portion indicated by hatching in FIG. 31 (a), that is, adjacent light transmission. It is a portion sandwiched between the regions 120. The portion of the conductive pattern 250 sandwiched between the transparent substrate 110 and the light transmission region 120 is simply as a means for electrically connecting the conductive pattern 250 of the portion sandwiched between the adjacent light transmission regions 120. It just works. Therefore, even if the linear conductive pattern 250 is arranged in a direction rotated by 45 ° from the direction in which the light transmission regions 120 in which the upper and lower surfaces 122 and 121 are square are aligned, the adjacent light transmission regions The technology of the present invention in which the electrophoretic particles 141 are excluded from other regions by collecting the electrophoretic particles 141 near the surface of the conductive pattern 250 disposed only in a part of the region sandwiched between the regions 120. The idea is followed.

  31 (b) and 32 (b), the upper and lower surfaces 122, 121 are linear in a direction rotated by 45 ° from the direction in which the light transmission regions 120 in which the upper and lower surfaces 122, 121 are substantially rectangular with an aspect ratio of 1: 2 are aligned. This is an example in which a conductive pattern 250 is arranged. In FIG. 31B, the arrangement of the light transmission region 120 and the conductive pattern 250 viewed from the normal direction of the upper surface 122 of the light transmission region 120 is shown in a plane, and in FIG. A state in which the light transmission region 120 and the conductive pattern 250 are viewed from diagonally above the upper surface 122 is shown in three dimensions. As shown in FIG. 31B, the arrangement of the light transmission regions 120 is a staggered arrangement as a whole. Similar to the above, compared with the conventional configuration in which the transparent conductive film 125 on the transparent substrate 115 side and the transparent conductive film 123 on the transparent substrate 110 side are both arranged in a planar shape over the entire element region, It is apparent that the area of the portion covered with the electrophoretic particles 141 in the wide field mode among the regions sandwiched between the adjacent light transmission regions 120 can be greatly reduced. In the example shown in FIG. 31B and FIG. 32B, the conductive pattern 250 that attracts and aggregates the electrophoretic particles 141 is a portion indicated by hatching in FIG. 31B, that is, adjacent light transmission. It is a portion sandwiched between the regions 120. The portion of the conductive pattern 250 sandwiched between the transparent substrate 110 and the light transmission region 120 is simply as a means for electrically connecting the conductive pattern 250 of the portion sandwiched between the adjacent light transmission regions 120. It just works. Therefore, the linear conductive pattern 250 is arranged in a direction rotated by 45 ° from the direction in which the light transmission regions 120 in which the upper and lower surfaces 122 and 121 are approximately rectangular with an aspect ratio of 1: 2 are arranged in a straight line. However, by collecting the electrophoretic particles 141 in the vicinity of the surface of the conductive pattern 250 disposed only in a part of the region sandwiched between the adjacent light transmission regions 120, the electrophoretic particles 141 are collected from other regions. The technical idea of the present invention to be excluded is followed.

Here, as shown in FIG. 34A, when the linear conductive pattern 250 is arranged in the same direction as the direction in which the light transmission regions 120 are arranged linearly, the position A in FIG. The electrophoretic particles 141 existing in the region defined along the direction in which the light transmissive regions 120 are arranged in a straight line between the adjacent light transmissive regions 120 are attracted to aggregate the electrophoretic particles 141. When moving toward the pattern 250, the region closest to its own position and the region defined by the light transmitting region 120 perpendicular to the direction in which the light transmitting region 120 is arranged in a straight line between the adjacent light transmitting regions 120 and itself The light transmitting region 120 moves along the direction in which the light transmitting region 120 is arranged in a straight line to the position where the region where the light is present joins. Further, the light transmission region 120 is defined as a region defined by crossing the light transmission region 120 between the adjacent light transmission regions 120 in a direction orthogonal to the direction in which the light transmission regions 120 are arranged in a straight line by changing the traveling direction by 90 ° at the above-described merging position. It is necessary to reach the nearest conductive pattern 250 by moving in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the lines are arranged in a straight line.
On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 34B, by arranging the linear conductive pattern 250 in a direction rotated by 45 ° from the direction in which the light transmission regions 120 are arranged in a straight line, in FIG. When the electrophoretic particles 141 existing at the position A move toward the conductive pattern 250 that attracts and aggregates the electrophoretic particles 141, the region where the electrophoretic particles 141 exist is aligned in a direction in which the light transmission regions 120 are arranged in a straight line. Therefore, the time required for collecting the electrophoretic particles 141 near the surface of the conductive pattern 250 can be shortened, and the visible range with good responsiveness can be controlled.
31 and 32 show an example in which the linear conductive pattern 250 is arranged in a direction rotated by 45 ° from the direction in which the light transmission regions 120 are arranged in a straight line, the light transmission region 120 is a straight line. By making the rotation angle of the linear conductive pattern 250 with respect to the direction aligned in a range from 0 ° to 90 ° or less, for the same reason as described above, the responsiveness in the visible range control is improved. obtain. Further, the visible angle in the narrow-field mode in the AA direction shown in each of FIGS. 32A and 32B is limited to about ± 30 °.

  Next, the manufacturing process of the optical element of Embodiment 1 will be described in more detail with reference to FIG.

  First, a conductive pattern 250 is formed on the surface of a transparent substrate 110 made of glass, PET, PC, or PEN (see FIG. 3A), and a transparent photosensitive resin layer 150 is formed thereon (FIG. 3 ( b)). The conductive pattern 250 can be made of a conductive material such as aluminum, chromium, copper, chromium oxide, or carbon nanotube, or a transparent conductive material such as ITO, ZnO, IGZO, or conductive nanowire. 1 uses aluminum.

As a method for forming the transparent photosensitive resin layer 150, for example, any film forming method such as a slit die coater, a wire coater, an applicator, dry film transfer, spray coating, or screen printing can be used. The range of 30 [μm] to 300 [μm] is appropriate for the thickness of the transparent photosensitive resin layer 150, which is 60 [μm] in the first embodiment. The transparent photosensitive resin used for the transparent photosensitive resin layer 150 is, for example, a chemically amplified photoresist (trade name “SU-8”) manufactured by Kayaku Microchem.
The characteristics of this transparent photosensitive resin are as follows.
An epoxy-type negative resist (specifically, a glycidyl ether derivative of bisphenol A novolak) in which a photoinitiator generates an acid by irradiating ultraviolet rays and polymerizes a curable monomer using this protonic acid as a catalyst.
-It has very high transparency in the visible light region.
-The curable monomer contained in the transparent photosensitive resin has a relatively small molecular weight before curing, so that cyclopentanone, propylene glycol methyl ether acetate (PEGMEA), gamma butyl lactone (GBL), isobutyl ketone (MIBK), etc. Since it dissolves very well in a solvent, it is easy to form a thick film.
-Light transmittance is very good even at wavelengths in the near ultraviolet region, so that even a thick film can transmit ultraviolet light.
-Since it has the above features, it is possible to form a high aspect ratio pattern with an aspect ratio of 3 or more.
-Since there are many functional groups in the curable monomer, it becomes a very high-density cross-link after curing, and is very stable both thermally and chemically. For this reason, processing after pattern formation is also facilitated.
Of course, the transparent photosensitive resin layer 150 is not limited to the transparent photosensitive resin (trade name “SU-8”) described here, and any photocuring property may be used as long as it has similar characteristics. Materials may be used.

Subsequently, the transparent photosensitive resin layer 150 is patterned using the mask pattern 161 of the photomask 160 (see FIG. 3C). The light 165 used for this exposure is parallel light. A UV light source is used as a light source, and UV light having a wavelength of 365 [nm] is irradiated as exposure light 165. The exposure amount at this time is appropriately in the range of 50 [mJ / cm ² ] to 1000 [mJ / cm ² ], and in the first embodiment, it is 200 [mJ / cm ² ].

  Development is performed after the exposure, and then thermal annealing is performed under conditions of 120 [° C.] and 30 [min] to form the light transmission region 120 (see FIG. 3D). The refractive index of the light transmission region 120 formed of SU-8 is 1.5 to 1.6. As described above, the conductive pattern 250 is arranged on the surface of the transparent substrate 110 in a part of the region sandwiched between the adjacent light transmission regions 120.

  Subsequently, another transparent substrate 115 including a transparent conductive film 125 is disposed on the light transmission region 120 (see FIG. 3E). Another transparent substrate 115 is fixed by adhering the upper surface of the light transmission region 120 and the transparent conductive film 125 and further bonding and sealing the outer peripheral portion of the transparent substrate 110 with a resin not shown in the drawing. The adhesive used at this time may be either thermosetting or UV curable.

  Finally, the electrophoretic element 140 is filled in the gap between the transparent substrate 110 and the other transparent substrate 115 (see FIG. 3F). The electrophoretic element 140 is a mixture of the electrophoretic particles 141 and the dispersion material 142.

  As already described, the arrangement of another transparent substrate 115 provided with another transparent conductive film 125 shown in FIG. 3E and the space between the light transmission regions 120 shown in FIG. The order of filling the electrophoretic elements 140 may be reversed (see FIG. 4).

  FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing still another manufacturing process of the optical element according to Embodiment 1. Hereinafter, still another manufacturing process of the optical element will be described in detail.

  First, a transparent conductive film 125 is formed on the surface of another transparent substrate 115 made of glass, PET, PC, or PEN (see FIG. 5A), and a transparent photosensitive resin layer 150 is formed thereon (FIG. 5). 5 (b)).

  Subsequently, the transparent photosensitive resin layer 150 is patterned using the mask pattern 161 of the photomask 160 (see FIG. 5C). Development is performed after exposure, and then thermal annealing is performed under conditions of 120 [° C.] and 30 [min] to form the light transmission region 120 (see FIG. 5D).

  Subsequently, the transparent substrate 110 having the conductive pattern 250 is disposed on the light transmission region 120 (see FIG. 5E), and finally, in the gap between the transparent substrate 110 and the other transparent substrate 115. The electrophoretic element 140 is filled (see FIG. 5F). At this time, the position of the transparent substrate 110 is controlled such that at least a part of the conductive pattern 250 is exposed from the light transmission region 120 toward the gap between the light transmission regions 120.

  Note that the arrangement of the transparent substrate 110 having the conductive pattern 250 shown in FIG. 5E and the order of filling the electrophoretic elements 140 into the spaces between the light transmission regions 120 shown in FIG. May be reversed.

[Embodiment 2]
FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the optical element 300 according to the second embodiment. FIG. 6A shows the state of the optical element 300 in the narrow field mode, and FIG. 6B shows the optical element 300 in the wide field mode. It shows about the state. 6 (a) and 6 (b), the same parts as those in FIGS. 1 (a) and 1 (b) are denoted by the same reference numerals as those in FIGS. 1 (a) and 1 (b). Hereinafter, details of the optical element 300 in Embodiment 2 will be described.

As shown in FIG. 6A, in the second embodiment, a protective cover film 130 that covers the conductive pattern 250 is disposed between the transparent substrate 110 on which the conductive pattern 250 is disposed and the light transmission region 120.
The thickness of the protective cover film 130 is appropriately in the range of 10 [nm] to 1000 [nm], and in the second embodiment, is 300 [nm]. The constituent material of the protective cover film 130 is a silicon oxide film, a silicon nitride film, a silicon oxynitride film, or the like. In the second embodiment, a silicon oxide film is used. In FIG. 6, the protective cover film 130 is formed on the entire surface of the transparent substrate 110 on which the conductive pattern 250 is disposed. However, this is not essential, and it is sufficient that the surface of the conductive pattern 250 is covered.
According to the above configuration, since the conductive pattern 250 is covered with the protective cover film 130, contact between the conductive pattern 250 and the electrophoretic element 140 can be prevented, so that the electrophoretic element 140 adheres to the conductive pattern 250. Therefore, it is possible to realize visible range control with good operational stability. In addition to the conventional structure, the protective cover film 130 is added as an environment for holding the electrophoretic element 140, whereby the airtightness is improved and an optical element with good reliability can be realized.

  Other configurations, operations, and effects in the second embodiment are the same as those described in the first embodiment.

[Embodiment 3]
FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the optical element 400 of the third embodiment. FIG. 7A shows the state of the optical element 400 in the narrow field mode, and FIG. 7B shows the optical element 400 in the wide field mode. It shows about the state. 7A and 7B, the same parts as those in FIGS. 1A and 1B and FIGS. 6A and 6B are denoted by the same reference numerals as those in FIGS. Yes.
Hereinafter, details of the optical element 400 in Embodiment 3 will be described.

As shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, in the third embodiment, the conductive pattern 250, the protective cover film 130, and the light transmission region 120 are formed on the transparent substrate 110 as in the second embodiment. On the upper surface of the light transmission region 120, another transparent substrate 115 having a second protective cover film 135 that covers the transparent conductive film 125 is disposed on the surface.
The film thickness of the transparent conductive film 125 and the second protective cover film 135 is appropriately in the range of 10 [nm] to 1000 [nm], and is 300 [nm] in the third embodiment. The constituent material of the protective cover film 130 is a silicon oxide film, a silicon nitride film, a silicon oxynitride film or the like. In the third embodiment, the constituent material is a silicon oxide film, which is the same as the constituent material of the protective cover film 130. In FIG. 7, the second protective cover film 135 is also formed between the transparent conductive film 125 and the light transmission region 120, but this is not essential, and the light transmission region 120 of the transparent conductive film 125 is not included. A region other than the contact region, that is, a region in contact with the electrophoretic element 140 may be covered with the second protective cover film 135.
According to the above configuration, since the contact between the transparent conductive film 125 and the electrophoretic element 140 can be prevented, adhesion of the electrophoretic element 140 to the transparent conductive film 125 does not occur, and as a result, operational stability is further improved. Good visibility range control can be realized. In addition to the structure of the third embodiment, the second protective cover film 135 is added as an environment for holding the electrophoretic element, whereby the airtightness is further improved and a highly reliable optical element can be realized.

  Other configurations, operations, and effects in the third embodiment are as described in the first and second embodiments.

[Embodiment 4]
FIG. 13 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the optical element 600 according to the fourth embodiment. FIG. 13A shows the state of the optical element 600 in the narrow field mode, and FIG. 13B shows the optical element 600 in the wide field mode. It shows about the state. 14A is a plan view showing the arrangement of the light transmission region 120, the conductive pattern 250, and the transparent conductive pattern 280 in the fourth embodiment, and FIG. 14B is a perspective view thereof. is there. 13 (a) and 13 (b) and FIGS. 14 (a) and 14 (b), the same portions as those in FIGS. 1 (a) and 1 (b) are denoted by the same reference numerals as those in FIG. Details of the optical element of Embodiment 4 will be described below.

As shown in FIG. 13A, in the fourth embodiment, the conductive pattern 250 and the transparent conductive pattern 280 are disposed on the first transparent substrate 110, and the conductive pattern 250 and the transparent conductive pattern 280 are interposed. The light transmission region 120 is disposed on the surface. As shown in FIG. 14A, the conductive pattern 250 and the transparent conductive pattern 280 are alternately arranged in a vertically long partial region including a gap formed between the light transmission regions 120 and extending in the vertical direction. It is placed in a place.
That is, the optical element 600 according to the fourth embodiment includes the first transparent substrate 110, the second transparent substrate 115 that faces the first transparent substrate 110, and the second surface from the surface of the first transparent substrate 110. A plurality of light transmission regions 120 spaced apart from each other so as to reach the surface of the transparent substrate 115 and a part of the region sandwiched between the adjacent light transmission regions 120 on the surface of the first transparent substrate 110. The conductive pattern 250 disposed, the transparent conductive pattern 280 disposed on a portion of the surface of the first transparent substrate 110 where the conductive pattern 250 is not disposed, and the second transparent substrate 115 A transparent conductive film 125 disposed on the surface of one transparent substrate 110 and an electrophoretic element 140 disposed between adjacent light transmission regions 120 are provided.
The electrophoretic element 140 is a mixture of light-shielding electrophoretic particles 141 having a specific charge and a transmissive dispersion material 142.
More specifically, the optical element 600 according to the fourth embodiment includes a first transparent substrate 110, a second transparent substrate 115 that is spaced from the first transparent substrate 110, and a first transparent substrate 110. The transparent conductive film 125 disposed on the surface of the second transparent substrate 115 on the side facing the transparent substrate 110, and the display surface of the optical element 600 in the gap between the first transparent substrate 110 and the transparent conductive film 125 The lower surface 121 is in contact with the first transparent substrate 110 and is separated from each other in two directions parallel to each other and perpendicular to each other, that is, in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction in FIG. Are arranged on the surface of the first transparent substrate 110 in a part of a region sandwiched between the plurality of light transmission regions 120 arranged so as to reach the second transparent substrate 115 and the adjacent light transmission regions 120. A conductive pattern 250; A portion of the surface of one transparent substrate 110 where the conductive pattern 250 is not disposed, more precisely, a region where the conductive pattern 250 is disposed is excluded from a region sandwiched between adjacent light transmission regions 120. A gap between the transparent conductive pattern 280 further disposed in a part of the remaining region and the adjacent light transmission regions 120 disposed apart regardless of the presence or absence of the conductive pattern 250 or the transparent conductive pattern 280 The electrophoretic element 140 is arranged so as to be buried.
The film thicknesses of the conductive pattern 250 and the transparent conductive pattern 280 are appropriately in the range of 10 [nm] to 1000 [nm], and in the fourth embodiment, both are 300 [nm]. The constituent material of the transparent conductive pattern 280 is ITO, ZnO, IGZO, conductive nanowire, or the like. In the fourth embodiment, ITO is used.
In the narrow-field mode shown in FIG. 13A, the electrophoretic element 140 disposed in the gap between the light transmission regions 120 by setting the conductive pattern 250, the transparent conductive pattern 280, and the transparent conductive film 125 to the same potential. This is realized by dispersing the electrophoretic particles 141 in the dispersion material 142 (see FIG. 29A). On the other hand, in the wide-field mode of FIG. 13B, the transparent conductive pattern 280 and the transparent conductive film 125 have the same potential, and the conductive pattern 250 has a higher potential than the transparent conductive pattern 280 and the transparent conductive film 125. This is realized (see FIG. 29B / provided that the surface charge of the electrophoretic particle 141 is (−)). Further, when the surface charge of the electrophoretic particle 141 is (+), the potential relationship as shown in FIG. 29C, that is, by reversing the polarity of the electrodes, is shown in FIG. Wide viewing mode is realized. In short, in any case, the relative potential of the transparent conductive pattern 280 with respect to the conductive pattern 250 is set to the same polarity as the surface charge of the electrophoretic particles 141, and the relative potential of the transparent conductive film 125 with respect to the transparent conductive pattern 280 is electrophoresed. By collecting the electrophoretic particles 141 in the vicinity of the surface of the conductive pattern 250 by setting the same polarity as the surface charge of the particles 141, the electrophoretic particles are formed on the surface of the transparent substrate 110 where the conductive pattern 250 is not disposed. 141 no longer exists.
In this way, in addition to the electric field between the transparent conductive film 125 and the conductive pattern 250, an electric field is generated also between the conductive pattern 250 and the transparent conductive pattern 280, so that the conductive property as shown in FIG. The time required for collecting the electrophoretic particles 141 near the surface of the sex pattern 250 can be shortened, and the visible range can be controlled with good responsiveness.
As described above, the potentials of the conductive pattern 250, the transparent conductive pattern 280, and the transparent conductive film 125 are controlled by the voltage application control means 145 as shown in FIGS. 29 (a), (b), and (c). The display in the narrow field mode and the wide field mode can be realized. The voltage application control means 145 adjusts the voltage applied to the conductive pattern 250, the transparent conductive pattern 280 and the transparent conductive film 125 according to a signal from the outside, and the conductive pattern 250, the transparent conductive pattern 280 and the transparent conductive pattern are adjusted. It is a means for changing the polarity of each film 125.

  FIGS. 33A and 33B are examples in which the linear conductive pattern 250 and the transparent conductive pattern 280 are arranged in a direction rotated by 45 ° from the direction in which the light transmission regions 120 are linearly arranged. In FIG. 33A, the arrangement of the light transmission region 120, the conductive pattern 250, and the transparent conductive pattern 280 viewed from the normal direction of the upper surface 122 of the light transmission region 120 is shown in a plan view, and FIG. FIG. 3D shows a three-dimensional view of the light transmission region 120, the conductive pattern 250, and the transparent conductive pattern 280 viewed obliquely from above the upper surface 122 of the light transmission region 120. As shown in FIG. 33A, the arrangement of the light transmission regions 120 is a staggered arrangement as a whole. In the example shown in FIG. 33A, the conductive pattern 250 that attracts and aggregates the electrophoretic particles 141 is sandwiched between the portions indicated by hatching in FIG. 33A, that is, the adjacent light transmission regions 120. The portion of the conductive pattern 250 that is a portion and is sandwiched between the transparent substrate 110 and the light transmission region 120 simply electrically connects the conductive pattern 250 of the portion sandwiched between the adjacent light transmission regions 120. It only serves as a means for this. Therefore, even if the linear conductive pattern 250 and the transparent conductive pattern 280 are arranged in a direction rotated by 45 ° from the direction in which the light transmissive regions 120 are arranged in a straight line, the light transmissive regions 120 are sandwiched between the adjacent light transmissive regions 120. The technical idea of the present invention, in which the electrophoretic particles 141 are collected in the vicinity of the surface of the conductive pattern 250 arranged only in a part of the region, thereby eliminating the electrophoretic particles 141 from other regions, is followed. ing.

As shown in FIG. 35A, when the linear conductive pattern 250 and the transparent conductive pattern 280 are arranged in the same direction as the direction in which the light transmission regions 120 are arranged in a straight line, the position in FIG. A, that is, the electrophoretic particles 141 existing in a region defined along the direction in which the light transmissive regions 120 are linearly arranged between the adjacent light transmissive regions 120 attract the electrophoretic particles 141 and aggregate. When moving toward the conductive pattern 250 to be moved, the region close to its own position among the regions defined by the light transmissive regions 120 perpendicular to the linearly arranged direction between the adjacent light transmissive regions 120 The light transmitting region 120 moves along the direction in which the light transmitting region 120 is arranged in a straight line until the region where the region exists and the region where the region exists are merged. Further, the light transmission region 120 is defined as a region defined by crossing the light transmission region 120 between the adjacent light transmission regions 120 in a direction orthogonal to the direction in which the light transmission regions 120 are arranged in a straight line by changing the traveling direction by 90 ° at the above-described merge position. It is necessary to reach the nearest conductive pattern 250 by moving in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the lines are arranged in a straight line.
On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 35B, by arranging the linear conductive pattern 250 and the transparent conductive pattern 280 in a direction rotated by 45 ° from the direction in which the light transmission regions 120 are linearly arranged, When the electrophoretic element 141 existing at the position A in FIG. 35B moves toward the conductive pattern 250 that attracts and aggregates the electrophoretic particles 141, the light transmitting region 120 defines the region where the electrophoretic element 141 exists. It is only necessary to move in a straight line along the linearly arranged direction, the time required for collecting the electrophoretic particles 141 near the surface of the conductive pattern 250 can be shortened, and a visible range with good responsiveness. Control becomes possible.
FIG. 33 shows an example in which the linear conductive pattern 250 and the transparent conductive pattern 280 are arranged in a direction rotated by 45 ° from the direction in which the light transmissive regions 120 are arranged in a straight line. By setting the rotation angle of the linear conductive pattern 250 and the transparent conductive pattern 280 with respect to the direction in which the 120 is aligned in a straight line to a range of 0 ° to 90 °, the visible range control is performed for the same reason as described above. The improvement of the responsiveness in can be achieved. FIG. 33 shows an example in which the conductive pattern 250 and the transparent conductive pattern 280 are arranged in parallel to each other. However, if the conductive pattern 250 and the transparent conductive pattern 280 are separated from each other, they are parallel to each other. It is not necessary.

Other configurations, operations, and effects in the fourth embodiment are as described in the first embodiment.
Further, as shown in FIGS. 15A and 15B, an optical element 700 in which a protective cover film 130 is formed on the conductive pattern 250 and the transparent conductive pattern 280, as shown in FIGS. 16A and 16B. In addition, the function and effect of the optical element 800 in which the second protective cover film 135 is formed on the surface of the transparent conductive film 125 in addition to the protective cover film 130 are the same as those in the second and third embodiments. .
In the first embodiment, it has been described that the operation is possible even in a structure in which a part of the conductive pattern 250 overlaps with a part of the light transmission region 120 in a plan view. However, as illustrated in FIG. Similarly, in Embodiment 4, the conductive pattern 250 and the transparent conductive pattern 280 are exposed at least partially from the light transmission region 120, in other words, the conductive pattern 250 and the transparent conductive pattern are partially exposed in the light transmission region 120. Even if a part of the pattern 280 is arranged so as to overlap when viewed in a plan view, that is, from the normal direction of the display surface of the optical element, the operation is possible.

[Other Embodiments]
The optical element of the present invention described above is not only a liquid crystal display device but also other display devices having a display surface (display panel) for displaying images, such as an organic EL display, an inorganic EL display, an LED display, and a plasma display. , A field emission display (FED), a cathode ray tube, a display device having a display such as a fluorescent display tube can be applied.

  In addition, as usage forms of the optical element of the present invention, various usage forms such as a form in which the optical element is directly attached to the surface of the display panel and a form in which the optical element is mounted in a display device are conceivable. Below, the structural example in each usage form is demonstrated concretely. The optical element will be described by taking the optical element described in the first embodiment as an example.

  First, a display device in which the optical element of the present invention is mounted will be described.

  FIG. 21 shows a configuration example of a display device 1400 in which the optical element of the present invention is mounted. The display device 1400 includes an optical control element 1800, an illumination optical device 1700 that is a backlight arranged on the back side of the display device 1400 and illuminates the optical control element 1800, and the optical control element 1800 and the illumination optical device 1700. The optical element 1100 is provided.

As described in the first embodiment, the optical element 1100 is a micro louver that can realize a narrow-field mode and a wide-field mode, and has high luminance in the wide-field mode.
The illumination optical device 1700 includes a light source 1021, a reflection sheet 1022, a light guide plate 1023, a diffusion plate 1024, a prism sheet 1025a, and a prism sheet 1025b represented by a cold cathode tube shown in FIG. 21, and passes through the prism sheets 1025a and 1025b. The optical control element 1800 is illuminated through the optical element 1100.

  The light guide plate 1023 is made of acrylic resin or the like so that light from the light source 1021 enters one end face, and the incident light propagates through the light guide plate and is uniformly emitted from the surface (predetermined side face) side. It is configured. On the back surface side of the light guide plate 1023, a reflection sheet 1022 that reflects light emitted from the back surface in the front surface direction is provided. Although not shown in the drawing, a reflecting means is also provided on the other end face and side face of the light guide plate 1023.

  Light emitted from the surface of the light guide plate 1023 enters the optical control element 1800 through the diffusion plate 1024 and the prism sheets 1025a and 1025b. The diffusion plate 1024 is for diffusing the light incident from the light guide plate 1023. At the left and right ends of the light guide plate 1023, the brightness of the emitted light is different due to its structure. For this reason, the light from the light guide plate 1023 is diffused by the diffusion plate 1024.

  The prism sheets 1025a and 1025b improve the luminance of light incident from the light guide plate 1023 via the diffusion plate 1024. The prism sheet 1025a is composed of a plurality of prisms arranged at a constant period in a constant direction. The prism sheet 1025b has the same configuration, but the regular arrangement direction of the prisms intersects the regular arrangement direction of the prisms of the prism sheet 1025a. The prism sheets 1025a and 1025b can enhance the directivity of the light diffused by the diffusion plate 1024.

  In the present embodiment, a cold cathode tube has been described as an example of the light source. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a white LED, a three-color LED, or the like may be used as the light source. In this embodiment, a side light type light source is described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a direct light source may be used.

  The optical control element 1800 has a structure in which a liquid crystal layer 1032 is held between two substrates 1030a and 1030b. The substrate 1030a has a color filter 1033 formed on one surface (the surface on the liquid crystal layer 1032 side) and a polarizing plate / retardation plate 1031a on the other surface. A polarizing plate / retardation plate 1031b is provided on the surface of the substrate 1030b opposite to the surface on the liquid crystal layer 1032 side. In the color filter 1033, R (red), G (green), and B (blue) color filters are arranged in a matrix in an area partitioned by a black matrix formed of a layer that absorbs light. Each color filter corresponds to a pixel, and its pitch is constant. The liquid crystal layer 1032 can be switched between a transparent state and a light-shielding state in units of pixels according to a control signal from a control device (not shown), and the incident light is spatially modulated by this state switching.

  In the display device shown in FIG. 21, light that has passed through the prism sheets 1025a and 1025b is incident on a polarizing plate / retardation plate 1031b. The light that has passed through the polarizing plate / retardation plate 1031b enters the liquid crystal layer 1032 through the substrate 1030b, and is spatially modulated on a pixel-by-pixel basis. The light (modulated light) that has passed through the liquid crystal layer 1032 sequentially passes through the color filter 1033 and the substrate 1030a and enters the polarizing plate / retardation plate 1031a. The light that has passed through the polarizing plate / retardation plate 1031 a is emitted through the optical element 1100. Here, in FIG. 21, polarizing plates / retardation plates 1031a and 1031b are used as optical control elements. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a configuration having only a polarizing plate may be used.

  According to the above-described display device, the illumination light of the optical control element 1800 can be converged in the screen front direction or not by the optical element 1100 to which the present invention is applied. Thus, the effect that the viewing angle can be appropriately selected between a narrow state and a wide state can be obtained. Note that the angle of the optical control element 1100 with respect to the optical control element 1800 is appropriately adjusted so that moire does not occur between the optical control element 1800 and the optical element 1100. Further, like the display device 1500 illustrated in FIG. 22, the optical element 1100 may be attached to the polarizing plate / retardation plate 1031 b of the optical control element 1800 using a transparent adhesive layer 1060. By sticking the optical element 1100 to the optical control element 1800, the generation of scattered light between them can be suppressed, so that a display device with higher transmittance and higher luminance can be realized.

  Next, an embodiment in which the optical element of the present invention is used by being placed on the surface of a display panel will be described.

FIG. 19 shows a configuration example of a display device 1200 in which the optical element of the present invention is provided on a display screen. Referring to FIG. 19, the display device 1200 includes an optical control element 1800, an illumination optical device 1700, and an optical element 1100.
As described in the first embodiment, the optical element 1100 is a micro louver capable of controlling the narrow field mode and the wide field mode.
The illumination optical device 1700 includes a light source 1021, a reflection sheet 1022, a light guide plate 1023, a diffusion plate 1024, and prism sheets 1025a and 1025b, and illuminates an optical control element with light that has passed through the prism sheets 1025a and 1025b. Here, a hard coat layer for preventing scratches or an antireflection layer for preventing reflection of external light may be formed on the surface of the optical element 1100.

  According to the display device 1200 described above, the light emitted from the optical control element 1800 may or may not be converged in the front direction of the screen by the optical element 1100 to which the present invention is applied on the forefront of the display device 1200. Therefore, the light that has passed through the optical element 1100 reaches the observer directly, so that the light emitted from the optical element is not scattered, refracted, reflected, or the like as compared with a display device in which the optical element is mounted. A clear image with high resolution can be realized. Also in this case, the angle of the optical control element 1100 with respect to the optical control element 1800 is appropriately adjusted so that moire does not occur between the optical control element 1800 and the optical element 1100.

  The optical element 1100 may be attached to the polarizing plate / retardation plate 1031a of the optical control element 1800 via a transparent adhesive layer 1060 as in the display device 1300 shown in FIG. With this configuration, the surface reflection loss at the interface between the optical element 1100 and the polarizing plate / retardation plate 1031a can be reduced, and a display device with higher luminance can be realized.

As an example in which the present invention is applied to a portable information processing terminal such as a mobile phone, a notebook personal computer, a feature phone, a smartphone, a tablet device or a PDA as another electronic device, for example, FIG. As shown in the electronic device 2000 shown in FIG. 27 and the electronic device 2010 shown in FIG. 27 (b), a device equipped with any one of the display devices 1200, 1300, 1400, 1500 described above as display means in the device main body of the electronic device. is there. Furthermore, the present invention may be applied to various plasma display devices.
In this case, on the information processing terminal side, the control device accepts input from an input device such as a mouse, a keyboard, or a touch panel, and performs control for displaying necessary information on a display device equipped as a display means. It is configured to do.

Next, FIG. 23 shows a configuration example of an illumination device 1600 equipped with the optical element of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 23, the illumination device 1600 includes a planar light source 1900 and an optical element 1100. The planar light source includes a light source 1021, a reflection sheet 1022, a light guide plate 1023, a diffusion plate 1024, a prism sheet 1025a, and a prism sheet 1025b typified by a cold cathode tube.
The optical element 1100 includes any one of the micro louvers according to the first to third embodiments.

  The light guide plate 1023 is made of acrylic resin or the like, and light from the light source 1021 enters one end face, and the incident light propagates through the light guide plate and is uniform from the surface (predetermined side face) side. It is comprised so that it may radiate | emit to. On the back surface side of the light guide plate 1023, a reflection sheet 1022 is provided that reflects light emitted from the back surface in the surface direction. Although not shown in the drawing, a reflecting means is also provided on the other end face and side face of the light guide plate 1023.

  Light emitted from the surface of the light guide plate 1023 enters the optical element 1100 via the diffusion plate 1024, the prism sheet 1025 a, and the prism sheet 1025 b. The diffusion plate 1024 is for diffusing the light incident from the light guide plate 1023. At the left and right ends of the light guide plate 1023, the brightness of the emitted light differs due to its structure. For this reason, the light from the light guide plate 1023 is diffused by the light guide plate 1023.

  The prism sheets 1025a and 1025b improve the luminance of light incident from the light guide plate 1023 via the diffusion plate 1024.

  In this illumination device 1600, the light emitted from the surface side of the light guide plate 1023 is diffused by the diffusion plate 1024 and then enters the optical element 1100 via the prism sheets 1025a and 1025b.

According to the illuminating device 1600 described above, the optical element 1100 to which the present invention is applied can cause the light from the planar light source 1900 to converge or not in the front direction of the screen. It is possible to select a state in which the emission angle of light that can illuminate a wide range is wide and a state in which the emission angle of light that can illuminate only the vicinity immediately below the illumination device 1600 is narrow.
In particular, in the illumination device 1600 that uses the optical element 200 of the first embodiment, the optical element 300 of the second embodiment, and the optical element 400 of the third embodiment as the optical element 1100, the gap between the conductive pattern 250 and the transparent conductive film 125 is between. By changing the dispersion state of the electrophoretic particles 141 according to the potential difference, the range of the emission direction of the light transmitted through the light transmission region 120 and the dispersion material 142 is changed, and the optical element 600 of Embodiment 4 is used as the optical element 1100. In the illuminating device 1600, the dispersion state of the electrophoretic particles 141 is changed by the potential difference between the conductive pattern 250 or the transparent conductive pattern 280 and the transparent conductive film 125, thereby transmitting the light transmission region 120 and the dispersion material 142. The range of the light emission direction is changed.

  In the present embodiment, the cold cathode tube has been described as an example of the light source. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a white LED, a three-color LED, or the like may be used as the light source. In this embodiment, a side light type light source is described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a direct light source may be used. Further, the planar light source 1900 is not limited to the contents described in this embodiment, and light sources that emit light such as LED lighting, organic EL lighting, inorganic EL lighting, fluorescent lamps, and light bulbs are arranged in a planar shape. It doesn't matter as long as it is done.

  A part or all of the embodiment disclosed above can be appropriately expressed by the description shown in the following supplementary notes, but the form for carrying out the invention and the technical idea of the invention are not limited to these. Absent.

[Appendix 1]
A first transparent substrate (110), a second transparent substrate (115) existing opposite the first transparent substrate (110),
A plurality of light transmissive regions (120) that are spaced apart from each other so as to reach the surface of the second transparent substrate (115) from the surface of the first transparent substrate (110);
A conductive pattern (250) disposed on a surface of the first transparent substrate (110) in a part of a region sandwiched between adjacent light transmission regions (120);
A transparent conductive film (125) disposed on a surface of the second transparent substrate (115) relative to the first transparent substrate (110);
An electrophoretic element (140), which is disposed between adjacent light-transmitting regions (120) and includes electrophoretic particles (141) having a specific charge and light-shielding properties and a transmissive dispersion material (142); An optical element (see FIG. 1).

[Appendix 2]
A first transparent substrate (110) and a second transparent substrate (115) that is spaced apart from the first transparent substrate (110);
A transparent conductive film (125) disposed on the surface of the second transparent substrate (115) on the side facing the first transparent substrate (110);
In the gap between the first transparent substrate (110) and the transparent conductive film (125), the optical element (200) is parallel to the display surface of the optical element (200) and spaced apart from each other in two directions. A plurality of light transmission regions (120) arranged such that the lower surface (121) contacts the first transparent substrate (110) and the upper surface (122) reaches the second transparent substrate (115); ,
A conductive pattern (250) disposed on a surface of the first transparent substrate (110) in a part of a region sandwiched between adjacent light transmission regions (120);
Regardless of the presence or absence of the conductive pattern (250), a specific charge-carrying and light-shielding electrophoresis arranged so as to fill a gap between adjacent light transmission regions (120) arranged apart from each other An optical element (FIG. 9A, FIG. 10A, FIG. 9B) having an electrophoretic element (140) composed of particles (141) and a transmissive dispersion material (142). ) And FIG. 10 (b)).

[Appendix 3]
The plurality of light transmission regions (120) are staggered, and the conductive pattern (250) is arranged in the same direction as the direction in which the light transmission regions (120) are arranged in a straight line. The optical element according to Supplementary Note 2 (refer to FIG. 9A and FIG. 10A, FIG. 9B and FIG. 10B).

[Appendix 4]
The plurality of light transmission regions (120) are arranged in a staggered pattern, and the conductive pattern (250) is arranged in a direction rotated by 90 ° with respect to a direction in which the light transmission regions (120) are arranged in a straight line. The optical element according to Supplementary Note 2, which is characterized in that (see FIGS. 11A and 12A, FIG. 11B and FIG. 12B).

[Appendix 5]
The plurality of light transmission regions (120) are arranged vertically and horizontally on the first transparent substrate (110) so as to be linearly arranged along one of the row direction and the column direction, and the conductive layer The conductive pattern (250) has a linear shape, and the angle of the linear conductive pattern (250) with respect to the direction in which the light transmission region (120) is linearly arranged is greater than 0 ° and not more than 90 °. The optical element according to Supplementary Note 2, which is characterized in that (see FIGS. 31 (a) and 32 (a), FIG. 31 (b) and FIG. 32 (b)).

[Appendix 6]
A first transparent substrate (110) and a second transparent substrate (115) that is spaced apart from the first transparent substrate (110);
A transparent conductive film (125) disposed on the surface of the second transparent substrate (115) on the side facing the first transparent substrate (110);
The upper and lower surfaces (122, 121) which are in the gap between the first transparent substrate (110) and the transparent conductive film (125), are parallel to the display surface of the optical element (200) and form a long rectangle. Separated in the width direction, the lower surface (121) is disposed in contact with the first transparent substrate (110) and the upper surface (122) reaches the second transparent substrate (115). A plurality of light transmission regions (120),
A conductive pattern (250) disposed on a surface of the first transparent substrate (110) in a part of a region sandwiched between adjacent light transmission regions (120);
Regardless of the presence or absence of the conductive pattern (250), a specific charge-carrying and light-shielding electrophoresis arranged so as to fill a gap between adjacent light transmission regions (120) arranged apart from each other An optical element comprising an electrophoretic element (140) composed of particles (141) and a permeable dispersion material (142) (see FIGS. 11C and 12C).

[Appendix 7]
The optical element according to appendix 6, wherein the conductive pattern (250) is arranged in a direction rotated by 90 ° with respect to a direction in which the light transmission regions (120) are arranged (FIG. 11C). And FIG. 12 (c)).

[Appendix 8]
The plurality of light transmission regions (120) are arranged vertically and horizontally on the first transparent substrate (110) so as to be linearly arranged along one of the row direction and the column direction, and the conductive layer The conductive pattern (250) has a linear shape, and the angle of the linear conductive pattern (250) with respect to the direction in which the light transmission region (120) is linearly arranged is greater than 0 ° and not more than 90 °. The optical element according to supplementary note 6, which is characterized in that (see FIGS. 31A and 32A, FIG. 31B and FIG. 32B).

[Appendix 9]
Any one of Supplementary notes 1 to 8, wherein a part of the conductive pattern (250) is arranged so as to overlap a part of the light transmission region (120) in a plan view. (See FIGS. 28, 31 to 33, FIG. 34 (b), and FIG. 35 (b)).

[Appendix 10]
The optical element according to any one of appendix 1 to appendix 9, wherein a protective cover film (130) is formed so as to cover the conductive pattern (250) (see FIG. 6).

[Appendix 11]
The optical element according to any one of Supplementary notes 1 to 10, wherein a second protective cover film (135) is formed so as to cover the transparent conductive film (125) (see FIG. 7). .

[Appendix 12]
The voltages applied to the conductive pattern (250) and the transparent conductive film (125) are adjusted according to an external signal, and the polarities of the conductive pattern (250) and the transparent conductive film (125) are adjusted. The optical element according to any one of appendices 1 to 11, further comprising voltage application control means (145) for changing (see FIG. 26).

[Appendix 13]
The relative electric potential of the transparent conductive film (125) with respect to the conductive pattern (250) is set to the same polarity as the surface charge of the electrophoretic particles (141), and the electrophoretic particles (141) are formed on the conductive pattern (250). By collecting near the surface,
Item 13. The appendix 12, wherein the electrophoretic particles (141) are not present in a region where the conductive pattern (250) is not disposed on the surface of the first transparent substrate (110). Optical element (see FIGS. 26B and 26C).

[Appendix 14]
A first transparent substrate (110), a second transparent substrate (115) existing opposite the first transparent substrate (110),
A plurality of light transmission regions (120) spaced apart from each other so as to reach the surface of the second transparent substrate (115) from the surface of the first transparent substrate (110);
A conductive pattern (250) disposed on a surface of the first transparent substrate (110) in a part of a region sandwiched between adjacent light transmission regions (120);
A transparent conductive pattern (280) further disposed on a portion of the surface of the first transparent substrate (110) where the conductive pattern (250) is not disposed;
A transparent conductive film (125) disposed on a surface of the second transparent substrate (115) relative to the first transparent substrate (110);
An electrophoretic element (140), which is disposed between adjacent light-transmitting regions (120) and includes electrophoretic particles (141) having a specific charge and light-shielding properties and a transmissive dispersion material (142); An optical element (see FIG. 13).

[Appendix 15]
A first transparent substrate (110) and a second transparent substrate (115) that is spaced apart from the first transparent substrate (110);
A transparent conductive film (125) disposed on the surface of the second transparent substrate (115) on the side facing the first transparent substrate (110);
In the gap between the first transparent substrate (110) and the transparent conductive film (125), the optical element (600) is parallel to the display surface of the optical element (600) and spaced apart from each other in two directions. A plurality of light transmission regions (120) arranged such that the lower surface (121) contacts the first transparent substrate (110) and the upper surface (122) reaches the second transparent substrate (115);
A conductive pattern (250) disposed on a surface of the first transparent substrate (110) in a part of a region sandwiched between adjacent light transmission regions (120);
Transparent disposed further on a part of the remaining region except for the region where the conductive pattern (250) is disposed from the region sandwiched between the adjacent light transmission regions (120) on the surface of the first transparent substrate (110). A conductive pattern (280);
A specific charge arranged so as to fill a gap between adjacent light transmission regions (120) spaced apart regardless of the presence of the conductive pattern (250) or the transparent conductive pattern (280) And an electrophoretic element (140) comprising light-shielding electrophoretic particles (141) and a transmissive dispersion material (142) (see FIG. 13).

[Appendix 16]
The plurality of light transmission regions (120) are staggered, and the conductive pattern (250) and the transparent conductive pattern (280) have the same direction as the direction in which the light transmission regions (120) are arranged in a straight line. The optical element according to supplementary note 15, wherein the optical elements are alternately arranged (see FIG. 14).

[Appendix 17]
The plurality of light transmission regions (120) are arranged vertically and horizontally on the first transparent substrate (110) so as to be linearly arranged along one of the row direction and the column direction, and the conductive layer The conductive pattern (250) and the transparent conductive pattern (280) have a linear shape, and the conductive pattern (250) and the transparent conductive material with respect to the direction in which the light transmission region (120) is linearly arranged. The optical element according to supplementary note 15, wherein the angle of the pattern (280) is greater than 0 ° and less than or equal to 90 ° (FIGS. 31A, 32A, 31B, and 32). (See (b)).

[Appendix 18]
Additional remarks 14 to 14 characterized in that a part of the conductive pattern (250) and a part of the transparent conductive pattern (280) overlap a part of the light transmission region (120) in a plan view. The optical element according to any one of appendix 17 (see FIG. 30).

[Appendix 19]
The optical according to any one of supplementary notes 14 to 18, wherein a protective cover film (130) is formed so as to cover the conductive pattern (250) and the transparent conductive pattern (280). Element (see FIG. 15).

[Appendix 20]
The optical element according to any one of supplementary notes 14 to 19, wherein a second protective cover film (135) is formed so as to cover the transparent conductive film (125) (see FIG. 16). .

[Appendix 21]
A voltage applied to the conductive pattern (250), the transparent conductive pattern (280), and the transparent conductive film (125) is adjusted according to an external signal, and the conductive pattern (250) and the transparent conductive pattern are adjusted. 21. The optical element according to any one of supplementary notes 14 to 20, further comprising voltage application control means (145) for changing the polarities of the conductive pattern (280) and the transparent conductive film (125). (See FIG. 29).

[Appendix 22]
Making the relative potential of the transparent conductive pattern (280) with respect to the conductive pattern (250) the same polarity as the surface charge of the electrophoretic particles (141);
By making the relative potential of the transparent conductive film (280) with respect to the transparent conductive pattern (250) the same polarity as the surface charge of the electrophoretic particles (141),
The optical element according to appendix 21, wherein the electrophoretic particles (141) are collected near the surface of the conductive pattern (250) (see FIGS. 29B and 29C).

[Appendix 23]
By making the conductive pattern (250), the transparent conductive pattern (280) and the transparent conductive film (125) have the same potential,
The optical element according to appendix 21 or appendix 22, wherein the electrophoretic particles (141) are disposed over the entire dispersion material (142) (see FIG. 29A).

[Appendix 24]
A display (1800) having a display surface for displaying images;
A display device (see FIG. 20), comprising: the optical element (1100) according to any one of supplementary notes 1 to 23 arranged on the display surface of the display (1800).

[Appendix 25]
The display device according to appendix 24 (see FIG. 20), wherein the display and the optical element are fixed by a transparent adhesive layer (1060).

[Appendix 26]
Item 24 or Item 25, wherein the display (1800) is any one of a liquid crystal display, a plasma display, an organic EL display, an inorganic EL display, an LED display, a field emission display, a cathode ray tube, and a fluorescent display tube. Display device (see paragraph 0055).

[Appendix 27]
A liquid crystal display (1800) having a display surface for displaying images;
A backlight (1700) disposed on the back side of the liquid crystal display (1800) for irradiating the liquid crystal display (1800) with light;
A display device comprising the optical element (1100) according to any one of supplementary notes 1 to 23 arranged between the liquid crystal display (1800) and the backlight (1700) (FIG. 21).

[Appendix 28]
The display device according to appendix 27, wherein the liquid crystal display (1800) and the optical element (1100) are fixed by a transparent adhesive layer (1060) (see FIG. 22).

[Appendix 29]
27. An electronic apparatus comprising the display device according to any one of appendices 24 to 28 as display means of the electronic apparatus body (see FIG. 27).

[Appendix 30]
The optical element (1100) according to any one of supplementary notes 1 to 23, and a light source (1700) provided on a back surface of the first transparent substrate (110) of the optical element (1100). A lighting device (see FIG. 23).

[Appendix 31]
The optical element (1100) changes a dispersion state of the electrophoretic particles (141) according to a potential difference between the conductive pattern (250) or the transparent conductive pattern (280) and the transparent conductive film (125). Thus, the illumination device according to appendix 30, wherein the range of the emission direction of the light transmitted through the light transmission region (120) and the dispersion material (142) is changed.

  The present invention can be applied to any optical element that controls the range of the emission direction of transmitted light. As an example of such an optical element, an optical element used in a liquid crystal display device, an EL display, a plasma display, an FED, an illumination device, and the like can be given.

110 Transparent substrate (first transparent substrate)
115 Another transparent substrate (second transparent substrate)
120 Light transmission region 121 Lower surface of light transmission region 122 Upper surface of light transmission region 123 Another transparent conductive film 125 Transparent conductive film 130 Protective cover film 135 Second protective cover film 140 Electrophoretic element 141 Electrophoretic particle 142 Dispersant 145 Voltage Application control means 150 Transparent photosensitive resin layer (photoresist film)
160 Photomask 161 Mask pattern 165 Exposure light 200 Optical element 250 Conductive pattern 280 Transparent conductive pattern 300 Optical element 400 Optical element 600 Optical element 601 Light transmission region 602 Electrophoretic element 650 Light 700, 800, 900, 950 Optical element 1021 Light source 1022 Reflective sheet 1023 Light guide plate 1024 Diffuser plate 1025a, 1025b Prism sheet 1030a Substrate 1030b Substrate 1031a, 1031b Deflector plate / retardation plate 1032 Liquid crystal layer 1033 Color filter 1060 Transparent adhesive layer 1100 Optical element 1200, 1300, 1400, 1500 Display device 1600 Illumination device 1700 Illumination optical device (backlight)
1800 Optical control element (display)
1900 Planar light source 2000, 2010 Electronic equipment

Claims (25)

A first transparent substrate; a second transparent substrate that faces the first transparent substrate; and
A plurality of light-transmitting regions arranged separately from each other so as to reach the surface of the second transparent substrate from the surface of the first transparent substrate;
A conductive pattern disposed on a surface of the first transparent substrate in a part of a region sandwiched between adjacent light transmission regions;
A transparent conductive film disposed on a surface of the second transparent substrate with respect to the first transparent substrate;
An optical element comprising: an electrophoretic element that is disposed between the adjacent light transmission regions and includes a specific charge-carrying light-shielding electrophoretic particle and a transmissive dispersion material.   The optical element according to claim 1, wherein a part of the conductive pattern overlaps with a part of the light transmission region in a plan view.   The light transmission regions are arranged vertically and horizontally on the first transparent substrate so as to be linearly arranged along one of the row direction and the column direction, and the conductive pattern is linear. The angle of the linear conductive pattern with respect to the direction in which the light transmission region is linearly arranged is in a range of greater than 0 ° and less than or equal to 90 °. An optical element according to 1.   The optical element according to claim 1, wherein a protective cover film is formed so as to cover the conductive pattern.   The optical element according to claim 1, wherein a second protective cover film is formed so as to cover the transparent conductive film.   It has voltage application control means that adjusts the voltage applied to the conductive pattern and the transparent conductive film in accordance with an external signal, and changes the polarities of the conductive pattern and the transparent conductive film. The optical element according to any one of claims 1 to 5. By making the relative potential of the transparent conductive film with respect to the conductive pattern the same polarity as the surface charge of the electrophoretic particles, collecting the electrophoretic particles in the vicinity of the surface of the conductive pattern,
The optical element according to claim 6, wherein the electrophoretic particles are not present in a region where the conductive pattern is not disposed on the surface of the first transparent substrate. By making the conductive pattern and the transparent conductive film the same potential,
The optical element according to claim 6, wherein the electrophoretic particles are arranged on the entire dispersion material. A first transparent substrate; a second transparent substrate that faces the first transparent substrate; and
A plurality of light transmission regions arranged separately from each other so as to reach the surface of the second transparent substrate from the surface of the first transparent substrate;
A conductive pattern disposed on a surface of the first transparent substrate in a part of a region sandwiched between adjacent light transmission regions;
A transparent conductive pattern further disposed on a portion of the surface of the first transparent substrate where the conductive pattern is not disposed;
A transparent conductive film disposed on a surface of the second transparent substrate with respect to the first transparent substrate;
An optical element comprising: an electrophoretic element that is disposed between the adjacent light transmission regions and includes a specific charge-carrying light-shielding electrophoretic particle and a transmissive dispersion material.   The optical element according to claim 9, wherein the conductive pattern and a part of the transparent conductive pattern are arranged so as to overlap a part of the light transmission region in a plan view.   The light transmissive regions are arranged vertically and horizontally on the first transparent substrate so as to be arranged in a straight line along either one of the row direction and the column direction, and the conductive pattern and the transparent conductive layer are arranged on the first transparent substrate. The conductive pattern has a linear shape, and the angle of the conductive pattern and the transparent conductive pattern with respect to the direction in which the light transmission region is linearly arranged is in a range of greater than 0 ° and not greater than 90 °. The optical element according to claim 9 or 10.   The optical element according to claim 11, wherein the conductive pattern and the transparent conductive pattern are arranged in parallel to each other.   The optical element according to claim 9, wherein a protective cover film is formed so as to cover the conductive pattern and the transparent conductive pattern.   The optical element according to claim 9, wherein a second protective cover film is formed so as to cover the transparent conductive film.   The voltage applied to the conductive pattern, the transparent conductive pattern, and the transparent conductive film is adjusted according to an external signal, and the polarities of the conductive pattern, the transparent conductive pattern, and the transparent conductive film are adjusted. The optical element according to any one of claims 9 to 14, further comprising a voltage application control means for changing. The relative potential of the transparent conductive pattern with respect to the conductive pattern is set to the same polarity as the surface charge of the electrophoretic particles,
By making the relative potential of the transparent conductive film with respect to the transparent conductive pattern the same polarity as the surface charge of the electrophoretic particles,
The optical element according to claim 15, wherein the electrophoretic particles are collected near the surface of the conductive pattern. By making the conductive pattern, the transparent conductive pattern and the transparent conductive film have the same potential,
The optical element according to claim 15, wherein the electrophoretic particles are disposed on the entire dispersion material. A display with a display surface for displaying images;
18. A display device comprising: the optical element according to claim 1 disposed on the display surface of the display.   The display device according to claim 18, wherein the display and the optical element are fixed by a transparent adhesive layer.   20. The display according to claim 18, wherein the display is any one of a liquid crystal display, a plasma display, an organic EL display, an inorganic EL display, an LED display, a field emission display, a cathode ray tube, and a fluorescent display tube. Display device. A liquid crystal display with a display surface for displaying images;
A backlight that is disposed on the back side of the liquid crystal display and irradiates the liquid crystal display with light;
18. A display device comprising: the optical element according to claim 1 disposed between the liquid crystal display and the backlight.   The display device according to claim 21, wherein the liquid crystal display and the optical element are fixed by a transparent adhesive layer.   An electronic apparatus comprising the display device according to any one of claims 18 to 22 as a display unit of an electronic apparatus main body.   An illumination device comprising: the optical element according to any one of claims 1 to 17; and a light source provided on a back surface of the first transparent substrate of the optical element.   The optical element changes the dispersion state of the electrophoretic particles according to a potential difference between the conductive pattern or the transparent conductive pattern and the transparent conductive film, thereby transmitting light that passes through the light transmission region and the dispersion material. The illuminating device according to claim 24, wherein a range of the emission direction of the light is changed.

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