JP2020119971A - Flexible functional device and manufacturing method of the same - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a flexible functional device using a flexible substrate capable of following a three-dimensional shape and a method of manufacturing the same.SOLUTION: The flexible functional device has elements regularly arranged on a flexible substrate. The elements are accommodated in gaps formed by opening a plurality of regular cuts introduced into a flexible sheet body provided with electrodes.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to a functional device in which elements are regularly arranged on a flexible substrate, and more particularly to a flexible functional device using a flexible substrate having conformability to a three-dimensional shape and a manufacturing method thereof.

Flexible substrates in which electrodes are provided on a flexible polymer sheet such as polyimide are used in many electronic devices. Furthermore, functional devices that are deformable by providing elements or sensors on a flexible substrate have been proposed for applications such as wearable devices.

For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a lighting device in which a plurality of light emitting diodes are mounted on one surface of a flexible substrate and are provided along a mounting portion. The light output per light emitting diode is small and when used as a light source of a lighting device, a plurality of light emitting diodes are three-dimensionally arranged and integrated to obtain a high light output without increasing the size of the lighting device. To be On the other hand, the manufacturing process for this three-dimensional arrangement becomes complicated, but it is easy to provide the light emitting diode on the flexible board and the surface opposite to the mounting surface along the mounting part. It is said that a lighting device having a three-dimensional shape can be manufactured.

The flexible substrate, which is a sheet, enables three-dimensional deformation such as bending and twisting, but it is difficult to give it along a spherical surface having a relatively small curvature. Further, although the sheet body is divided into strips to enhance the flexibility of deformation and obtain a certain degree of conformability to a solid body, there may be a problem such as complicated production. Therefore, a functional device capable of three-dimensional deformation has been proposed.

For example, Patent Document 2 discloses an apparatus for measuring a temperature distribution on a three-dimensional sole of a human who has a plurality of resistive contact temperature elements provided on a flexible substrate. Here, a sensor segment having a resistive contact temperature element is formed by making a cut so as not to affect the circuit conductor on the flexible substrate. The plurality of sensor segments are allowed to move relative to each other by a cut, and even if the sole of a human foot is placed on a flexible substrate and pressed three-dimensionally, it is elastically deformed as a whole.

JP 2002-182209 A Japanese Patent Publication No. 2016-533831

In applications such as wearable equipment of flexible functional devices that use flexible substrates, most of the shape of the wearer's application part is three-dimensional, and it is not limited to mere three-dimensional shapes such as cylinders and corners. First, the ability to follow a three-dimensional shape is desired. In addition, industrial products such as lighting equipment can be easily applied to many surfaces by being able to follow and deform in accordance with recent three-dimensional designs.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a flexible functional device using a flexible substrate having conformability to a three-dimensional shape and a method for manufacturing the same. To provide.

A flexible functional device according to the present invention is a functional device in which elements are regularly arranged on a flexible substrate, and has a plurality of regular cuts introduced into a flexible sheet body provided with electrodes. The device is characterized in that the element is housed in a gap formed by opening.

According to such an invention, a flexible functional device is provided that has not only the ability to follow a three-dimensional shape such as a cylinder or a corner but also the ability to follow a three-dimensional shape.

In the above-mentioned invention, the sheet body may have a plurality of parallel lines having the same length and the same length along a straight line. Further, the cuts of the adjacent lines may be staggered in the vertical direction with respect to the lines. According to such an invention, a flexible functional device including uniformly arranged elements having followability to a three-dimensional shape is provided.

The above invention may be characterized in that a locally reduced thickness portion is provided. According to such an invention, the flexible functional device having a three-dimensional and more complicated shape-following property is provided by the deformation in the thickness reduced portion.

In the above invention, the element may be a light emitting element. Further, the element may be made of a liquid or a solid containing inorganic EL particles. According to such an invention, the light emitting device can be deformed without preparing the light emitting device according to a three-dimensional shape in advance, so that a light emitting device having versatility can be provided.

In the above-mentioned invention, the element may be a gas sensor made of ion gel. According to this invention, it is possible to provide a gas sensor having versatility in shape.

The manufacturing method according to the present invention is a method of manufacturing a functional device in which elements are regularly arranged on a flexible substrate, and a plurality of regular cuts are made in a flexible sheet body provided with electrodes, The device is characterized in that the element is housed in a gap formed by opening the device.

According to such an invention, it is possible to easily manufacture a flexible functional device having not only the ability to follow a three-dimensional shape such as a cylinder or a corner but also the ability to follow a three-dimensional shape. ..

In the above invention, the sheet body may be provided along the attachment target to fix the shape and open the cut. According to such an invention, it is possible to easily manufacture a flexible functional device having conformability to a three-dimensional shape.

The above invention may be characterized in that a liquid or a solid that gives a functional element is given to the gap. Alternatively, an ionic gel that provides a functional element may be applied to the gap. According to this invention, the element can be easily provided on a three-dimensional surface.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a method for manufacturing a flexible functional device according to the present invention. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a method for manufacturing a flexible functional device according to the present invention. 3 is a photograph of a light emitting device as a flexible functional device according to the present invention. 3 is a photograph of a light emitting device as a flexible functional device according to the present invention. 3 is a photograph of a light emitting device as a flexible functional device according to the present invention.

The flexible functional device according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

As shown in FIG. 1, a functional device 10 in which elements are regularly arranged on a flexible substrate is formed by introducing a plurality of regular cuts 4 into a flexible sheet body 2 provided with electrodes. It has a structure in which the element 6 is accommodated in a gap 4a formed by pulling the body 2 in a predetermined direction F to open the cut 4. That is, it is a device using a three-dimensional “cutting paper structure”. The element 6 is applied to the gap 4a as a liquid or solid that imparts functionality or as a gel, and is appropriately dried, heat-treated, etc. to form a functional element. For example, a light emitting device can be obtained by applying a liquid or solid containing inorganic EL particles to the gap 4a. Further, a gas sensor can be obtained by reacting with gas, changing the resistance value, or applying ionic gel exhibiting coloration to the gap 4a.

Here, by opening the plurality of cuts 4, the sheet body 2 is not limited to the ability to follow a simple three-dimensional shape such as a cylinder or a corner, and twist deformation and buckling occur around the cuts 4, It becomes possible to follow a three-dimensional complex shape. Since the element 6 is housed independently in the cut 4, it is possible to deform and bond the flexible functional device 10 to the surface of a complicated shape without affecting the element 6.

Next, a method for manufacturing the flexible functional device will be described with reference to FIG.

As shown in FIG. 2A, a plurality of cuts 4 are regularly formed in the sheet body 2. The sheet body 2 is made of a flexible and insulating material such as resin, rubber, or paper. In addition, by providing the groove 5 that is a locally reduced thickness portion, the resulting flexible functional device 10 becomes more three-dimensional and more complicated by deformation in the groove 5, as described later. It can be made to have conformability to a shape.

As shown in FIG. 2B, the electrode 8 is provided on one surface of the sheet body 2. The electrode 8 is appropriately provided to the sheet body 2 in accordance with the pattern of the cuts 4 and the supply of power to the element 6. In the figure, the electrode 8 is provided in layers on the main surface opposite to the groove 5.

As shown in FIG. 2C, when the sheet body 2 is pulled in a direction F perpendicular to the extending direction of the cut 4 so that the cut 4 is opened, the sheet body 2 forms a fold in the groove 5 and surrounds the cut 4. Causes torsional deformation and buckling, and the sheet body 2 is three-dimensionally deformed. Alternatively, when the object to be attached has a complicated shape, the sheet body 2 may be provided along the object to be attached to fix the shape, and the cut 4 may be opened. Here, a pair of electrodes 8a and 8b are formed with the cut 4 interposed therebetween.

Referring again to FIG. 1, the deformation of the sheet body 2 is due to the pattern of the cuts 4. Here, the cuts 4 are given at the same length in the same cycle along a plurality of parallel straight lines of the rows A and B which are alternately adjacent to each other, and each cut 4 of the lines of the rows A and B is a line. And are formed so as to be vertically offset from each other. At the opening of the cut 4, the sheet body 2 bends in a wavy manner, causing torsional deformation and buckling around the cut 4 to give a three-dimensional deformation. The break 4 may be given not only as a straight line but also as a curve, and at this time, the intermittently continuing line of the break 4 is also a curve.

As shown in FIGS. 2D and 2E, a liquid or gel that imparts functionality is applied to the periphery of the gap 4a, and drying or heat treatment is appropriately performed to form a functional element around the cut 4. ..

As shown in FIG. 2(f), if the liquid or the like that imparts functionality has a light emitting property, the single element 6 emits light around the gap 4a by energizing the pair of electrodes 8a and 8b.

As described above, by introducing a plurality of cuts 4 into the sheet body 2, it becomes possible to give resistance to deformation such as bending and stretching, and to follow a simple three-dimensional shape such as a cylinder or a corner. Therefore, it is possible to easily manufacture a flexible functional device having a conformability to a three-dimensional shape in addition to the property.

Example 1 Light-Emitting Device As shown in FIG. 3, after forming a pattern of cuts and grooves as shown in FIG. 1 on a resin film having a thickness of 50 μm and depositing gold as an electrode and applying it, A flexible light emitting device having pixels of about 3 mm was prepared by arranging a droplet of silicone rubber mixed with inorganic EL particles at an open cut and curing the same by heating at 100° C. for 1 hour. By selectively applying an alternating voltage of 1.2 kV and 30 kHz to the electrodes, it was possible to selectively control the light emitting portion of the break 4 forming the light emitting element.

Such a flexible light emitting device could be attached to the outer surface of a cylinder having a diameter of 2 cm to emit light (see FIG. 4). In addition, it could be attached to the surface of a hemisphere having a diameter of 75 mm to emit light (see FIG. 5).

[Example 2] Gas sensor As in Example 1, droplets of a sol-like mixed liquid of an ionic liquid ([EMIM][BF4]), a polymer agent (PVDF-HFP), and a solvent (DMAC) were arranged at the open cut. Then, it was heated and gelled to obtain a flexible gas sensor. The gel is sensitive to H2O and CO2 and changes its resistance value. With the flexible gas sensor, when the surface was blown, the change in resistance between the electrodes could be measured.

Although the embodiment of the present invention and the modification based on the embodiment have been described above, the present invention is not necessarily limited to this, and a person skilled in the art deviates from the gist of the present invention or the scope of the appended claims. Without doing so, various alternatives and modifications could be found.

2 sheet 4 cut 4a gap 5 groove 6 element 10 functional device 8 electrode

Claims (11)

A functional device in which elements are regularly arranged on a flexible substrate,
A flexible functional device characterized in that an element is accommodated in a gap formed by opening a plurality of regular cuts introduced into a flexible sheet body provided with electrodes. 2. The flexible functional device according to claim 1, wherein the sheet body has a plurality of parallel lines having the same length and the same length along a straight line. The flexible functional device according to claim 2, wherein the cuts of the adjacent lines are staggered in the vertical direction with the lines. The flexible functional device according to claim 2, wherein the sheet body is provided with a locally reduced thickness portion. The flexible functional device according to claim 1, wherein the element is a light emitting element. The flexible functional device according to claim 5, wherein the element is made of a liquid or a solid containing inorganic EL particles. The flexible functional device according to claim 1, wherein the element is a gas sensor made of ion gel. A method of manufacturing a functional device in which elements are regularly arranged on a flexible substrate,
A method for manufacturing a flexible functional device, characterized in that a plurality of regular cuts are made in a flexible sheet body provided with electrodes, and an element is accommodated in a gap formed by opening the cuts. The method for manufacturing a flexible functional device according to claim 1, wherein the sheet body is provided along an attachment target to fix the shape and the cut is opened. 10. The method for manufacturing a flexible functional device according to claim 8, wherein a liquid or a solid that provides a functional element is applied to the gap. The method for manufacturing a flexible functional device according to claim 8 or 9, wherein an ionic gel that provides a functional element is provided in the gap.

Images