JP6070868B1 - Light control film and method of manufacturing light control film - Google Patents

Abstract

In a light control film using an IPS system or an FFS system, when a landscape is viewed through a light control film, a phenomenon in which a portion of intense light is separated and appears colored in rainbow is effectively avoided. The light control film includes a liquid crystal layer sandwiched between first and second laminates, and controls the alignment of liquid crystal molecules related to the liquid crystal layer to control transmitted light. The first laminated body 13 is provided with a linear electrode 22B, the orientation of the liquid crystal molecules 14A is controlled by a lateral electric field by the linear electrode 22B, and at least 2 mm arbitrarily selected in the repeating direction of the linear electrode In this range, the linear electrode 22B is provided so that the electrode width W changes randomly and / or the interval S between the electrodes changes randomly in the continuous linear electrode 22B. [Selection] Figure 5

Description

  The present invention relates to a light control film that is attached to a window or the like of a passenger car to control the transmission of extraneous light.

  Conventionally, for example, various devices relating to a light control film that is attached to a window to control the transmission of external light have been proposed (Patent Documents 1 and 2). One such light control film uses liquid crystal. The light control film using the liquid crystal is produced by sandwiching a liquid crystal material with a transparent film material on which a transparent electrode is produced, and producing the liquid crystal cell with a linear polarizing plate. As a result, in this light control film, the orientation of the liquid crystal is changed by changing the electric field applied to the liquid crystal, thereby blocking or transmitting the extraneous light, and further changing the amount of transmitted light. To control.

  Various driving methods proposed for the liquid crystal display panel can be applied to driving the liquid crystal cell. Specifically, for example, a TN (Twisted Nematic) system, an IPS (In-Place-Switching) system, A driving method such as a VA (Virtual Alignment) method can be applied. However, the light control film has a feature that it can be seen from various directions by being attached to a window glass, for example. Accordingly, it is considered preferable to drive by the IPS system with little viewing angle dependency.

  In this IPS system, a driving electrode is collectively formed on one of a pair of substrates sandwiching a liquid crystal layer, and a so-called lateral electric field which is an in-plane direction of the substrate surface is formed by the electrodes. This is a driving method in which an electric field is formed to control the alignment of the liquid crystal. In the IPS system, for example, a pair of electrodes having a comb shape is arranged by nesting to produce a lateral electric field. An FFS (fringe field switching) method, which is one of the IPS methods, can increase the transmittance. In this FFS method, a transparent electrode is produced on the entire surface of a substrate, and then a linear electrode is produced at a constant pitch with an insulating layer interposed therebetween, and is generated between the transparent electrode and the linear electrode on the entire surface. The orientation of the liquid crystal is controlled by a transverse electric field.

  With regard to such an IPS liquid crystal display device, Patent Document 3 discloses a moiré fringe caused by the period of the concave / convex pattern of the reflector and the electrode pattern in the transflective liquid crystal display device having a reflective portion. The idea which reduces iridescent light is proposed.

  By the way, as shown in FIG. 9, when sticking the light control film 1 to a window and controlling the transmission of extraneous light, the user 2 views the scenery etc. through the light control film. In the light control film using the IPS method and the light control film using the FFS method, when the scenery is viewed through the light control film in this way, if there is a strong light part in the scenery, the strong light part is separated. And there is a problem that it looks colored rainbow.

JP 03-47392 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 08-184243 JP 2009-8288 A

  The present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and in a light control film using the IPS method and the FFS method, when a landscape is visually observed through the light control film, a portion of strong light is separated into a rainbow color. The purpose is to effectively avoid the phenomenon of coloring.

  The present inventor has intensively studied to solve the above problems, and has come to the idea that the regularity of the linear electrodes according to the IPS method and the FFS method is relaxed, and the present invention has been completed.

  Specifically, the present invention provides the following.

(1) In a light control film that sandwiches a liquid crystal layer between first and second laminates and controls transmitted light by controlling the orientation of liquid crystal molecules related to the liquid crystal layer,
The first laminate is provided with a linear electrode, and the alignment of the liquid crystal molecules is controlled by a lateral electric field generated by the linear electrode.
In the range of at least 2 mm arbitrarily selected in the repeating direction of the linear electrodes, in the linear electrodes that are continuous, so that the electrode width changes randomly and / or the interval between the electrodes changes randomly. A light control film provided with the linear electrode.

  According to (1), the regularity can be relaxed by a random change, the regularity of the linear electrode is reduced, and when viewing the scenery through the light control film, the strong light part is separated. This effectively avoids the phenomenon of rainbow colors.

(2) In (1),
The linear electrode is
A light control film having a standard deviation (σ) of an electrode width of 0.1 μm or more and 2.0 μm or less.

  According to (2), with a more specific configuration, regularity can be relaxed, and a phenomenon in which strong light portions are separated and appear colored in rainbow colors can be effectively avoided.

(3) In (1),
The linear electrode is
The light control film whose standard deviation ((sigma)) of the space | interval between electrodes is 0.2 micrometer or more and 1.0 micrometer or less.

  According to (3), regularity can be relaxed with a more specific configuration, and a phenomenon in which strong light portions are separated and appear colored in rainbow colors can be effectively avoided.

(4) In any one of (1), (2) and (3),
The light control film which forms the said horizontal electric field with the said linear electrode by FFS system.

(5) In any one of (1), (2) and (3),
The light control film which forms the said horizontal electric field with the said linear electrode by IPS system.

  According to (4) and (5), in the FFS method and the IPS method, when a landscape is visually observed through a light control film, a phenomenon in which a portion of intense light is separated and appears colored rainbow color is effectively avoided. be able to.

(6) In any of (1), (2), (3), (4), (5),
The linear electrode is formed to meander in a triangular wave shape to form a multi-domain,
The linear electrode is produced such that the length of a pair of continuous domains is randomly changed in the extending direction of the linear electrode within a range of at least 10 mm arbitrarily selected in the extending direction of the linear electrode. Light control film.

  According to (6), the regularity in the extension direction of the linear electrodes related to the multi-domain can be relaxed, so that when viewing the scenery through the light control film, the strong light part is separated and the rainbow It is possible to effectively avoid the phenomenon that looks colored.

(7) a first laminate production step of producing a first laminate by sequentially producing at least a linear electrode and an alignment layer on a substrate made of a transparent film material;
A second laminate production step of producing an alignment layer on a substrate made of a transparent film material to produce a second laminate;
A laminating step of laminating the first and second laminates with a liquid crystal layer interposed therebetween to produce a liquid crystal cell,
The first laminate manufacturing step includes
In the range of at least 2 mm arbitrarily selected in the repeating direction of the linear electrodes, in the linear electrodes that are continuous, so that the electrode width changes randomly and / or the interval between the electrodes changes randomly. The manufacturing method of the light control film which produces the said linear electrode.

  According to (7), the regularity can be relaxed by a random change, the interference due to the regularity of the linear electrodes is reduced, and when viewing the scenery through the light control film, a strong light part is present. It is possible to effectively avoid the phenomenon of separating and appearing rainbow colors.

  According to the present invention, in a light control film using the IPS method or the FFS method, when a landscape is visually observed through a light control film, a phenomenon in which a portion of intense light is separated and appears colored rainbow color is effectively avoided. Can do.

It is a group sectional view showing the light control film concerning a 1st embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows the lower side laminated body in the light control film of FIG. It is a top view with which it uses for description of a multi domain. It is a top view which shows the detail of the linear electrode of FIG. It is a top view which expands and shows the linear electrode of FIG. 3 further in detail. It is a flowchart which shows the manufacturing process of a light control film. It is a flowchart which shows the upper side laminated body preparation process in the manufacturing process of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the lower laminated body preparation process in the manufacturing process of FIG. It is a figure with which it uses for description of iridescent coloring.

[First Embodiment]
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a light control film according to the first embodiment of the present invention. This light control film 10 is formed by a film shape. The light control film 10 is a light control film that controls transmitted light using liquid crystal, and a liquid crystal material is formed by a lower laminate 13 and an upper laminate 12 that are first and second laminates in the form of a film, respectively. The liquid crystal cell 15 is produced by sandwiching the liquid crystal cell 15, and the liquid crystal cell 15 is produced by sandwiching the liquid crystal cell 15 by the linearly polarizing plates 16 and 17. Here, the liquid crystal cell 15 is a transverse electric field type liquid crystal cell that drives the liquid crystal molecules 14A related to the liquid crystal layer 14 by the FFS method, and the linear polarizing plates 16 and 17 are arranged in a crossed Nicols arrangement. As a result, in the lower laminated body 13, the transparent electrode 22A according to the FFS method is formed on the entire surface of the base 21A, the transparent linear electrode 22B is formed with the insulating layer 23 interposed therebetween, and then the alignment layer 24A. Is provided. In the upper laminate 12, the alignment layer 24B is provided on the base material 21B. The linearly polarizing plates 16 and 17 may be arranged in parallel Nicol arrangement instead of crossed Nicol arrangement.

  In the light control film 10, a spacer 24 for keeping the thickness of the liquid crystal layer 14 constant is provided in the upper laminate 12 and / or the lower laminate 13. The linear polarizing plates 16 and 17 are respectively provided with retardation films 18 and 19 for optical compensation on the liquid crystal cell 15 side. The retardation films 18 and 19 may be omitted as necessary. Thus, the light control film 10 controls the transmission of incident light by changing the orientation direction of the liquid crystal molecules 14A related to the liquid crystal layer 14 by changing the applied voltage between the electrodes 22A and 22B. And is configured to switch states. The light control film 10 is provided with a protective layer such as a hard coat layer on the surface opposite to the liquid crystal cell 15 of the linear polarizing plates 16 and 17.

  As the base materials 21A and 21B, various transparent film materials having flexibility applicable to the liquid crystal cell 15 can be applied. In this embodiment, a film made of polycarbonate or the like in which hard coat layers are formed on both surfaces. The material is applied. The electrodes 22A and 22B can be widely applied in various configurations that are perceived as transparent. In this embodiment, a transparent conductive film made of ITO (Indium Tin Oxide), which is a transparent electrode material, is formed on the entire surface of the base 21A. Thus, the electrode 22A is produced. Similarly, a transparent conductive film made of ITO is formed on the entire surface of the substrate 21A, and then patterned to produce the linear electrode 22B.

  As the insulating layer 23, various transparent insulating materials applicable to this type of liquid crystal cell can be applied, and various inorganic materials and organic materials can be applied.

  For the alignment layers 24A and 24B, various material layers applicable to the alignment layer such as polyimide are applied, and the surface of the material layer is formed by forming a fine line-shaped uneven shape by rubbing using a rubbing roll. . Instead of the alignment layer formed by the rubbing process, the alignment layer may be formed by forming a fine line-shaped uneven shape formed by the rubbing process by the shaping process, or by using the photo-alignment layer. Good.

  Various liquid crystal materials applied to this type of light control film can be widely applied to the liquid crystal layer 14.

  The spacer 24 is made of a photoresist in this embodiment although various resin materials can be widely applied. In the liquid crystal cell 15, a sealing agent 25 is arranged in a frame shape surrounding the liquid crystal layer 14. The sealing agent 25 prevents leakage of liquid crystal related to the liquid crystal layer 14, and furthermore, the upper laminate 12 and the lower laminate 13. Are held together. Here, as the sealing agent 25, various materials capable of preventing the liquid crystal from leaking and holding the upper laminated body 12 and the lower laminated body 13 together can be applied. In this embodiment, for example, an epoxy resin is used. A thermosetting resin by an agent, an ultraviolet curable resin by an acrylic resin agent, a curable resin cured by heat and ultraviolet rays, or the like is applied.

  The linear polarizing plates 16 and 17 are so-called sheet polarizers, and after impregnating polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) with iodine or the like, an optical functional layer that performs an optical function as a polarizer is formed by stretching. The optical functional layer is sandwiched between base materials made of a transparent film material such as triacetyl cellulose).

〔electrode〕
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the electrodes 22A and 22B in the lower laminate 13. In this embodiment, the electrode 22A on the base 21A side is formed on the entire surface of the base 21A, and driving power is supplied through a power supply line (not shown). Further, in the lower laminate 13, an insulating layer 23 is formed so as to cover the entire surface of the electrode 22A. The lower laminate 13 is provided with a power supply line 22BA to the linear electrode 22B at the end of the base 21A so as to extend along the long side of the base 21A, for example. Here, the power supply line 22BA is formed of a metal material film having a small resistance value. In the lower laminate 13, linear electrodes 22B are formed at regular intervals so as to extend from the power supply line 22BA in a direction orthogonal to the power supply line 22BA.

  Thereby, in the light control film 10, the transmitted light is controlled by controlling the orientation of the liquid crystal molecules 14A related to the liquid crystal layer 14 by the electric field formed between the electrode 22A and the linear electrode 22B on the entire surface. Note that, even in the electrode 22A on the base 21A side, a power supply line may be provided to supply driving power in the same manner as the linear electrode 22B. In addition to the power supply line 22BA, the power supply lines of the linear electrodes 22B may be arranged along the long side on the other side, and more than three may be arranged at a constant pitch. Of course, it may be produced so as to extend along the short side.

  Further, in this embodiment, the electrode 22B is formed so as to extend along the short side as described above, and is formed so as to meander in a triangular wave shape in the extending direction, whereby a multi-domain having two domains is formed. To drive the liquid crystal molecules.

  FIG. 3 is a plan view showing in detail a configuration relating to meandering of the linear electrode 22B by enlarging the linear electrode 22B. The linear electrode 22B is formed so as to be inclined obliquely with respect to the extending direction of the linear electrode 22B, and the obliquely inclined direction is alternately switched at a constant pitch, thereby meandering in a triangular wave shape. It is formed. Thereby, the light control film 10 rotates the liquid crystal molecules 14A counterclockwise as indicated by an arrow A by driving the linear electrode 22B, or rotates the liquid crystal molecules 14A clockwise as indicated by an arrow B. In other words, the direction of rotation of the liquid crystal molecules 14A in consecutive domains is made different. Thereby, in the light control film 10, the appearance in the two domains in which the rotation directions of the liquid crystal molecules 14A are different in this way is averaged, and the change in the amount of transmitted light due to the change in the viewing angle is reduced to improve the viewing angle characteristics.

  In this way, the direction of inclination is switched at a constant pitch, and as shown in FIG. 4, in the light control film 10, the pitches P 1, P 2, and P 3 related to one cycle of the inclination switching are 1 related to this pitch. It is formed to change randomly in a sequence of pairs of domains. Thereby, in the light control film 10, the x direction component with respect to the base material of the width | variety of a linear electrode and a space | interval and a y direction component (it is each length of the repetition direction of a linear electrode, and an extension direction) change for every domain. As a result, it is possible to prevent coloring related to the rainbow color.

  In the light control film 10, the linear electrode 22 </ b> B is manufactured so that the length of each domain is equal in a pair of domains related to one period of the pitches P <b> 1, P <b> 2, P <b> 3. As a result, in FIG. 4, the linear electrodes 22B are formed so that the pitches P1A and P1B, the pitches P2A and P2B, and the pitches P3A and P3B are equal. Thereby, in the light control film 10, the view angle characteristic is improved by surely averaging the appearance in two continuous domains forming a pair.

  In the light control film 10, the linear electrode 22B is produced with an average value of pitches P1, P2, and P3 of 100 μm or more and 300 μm or less, and more preferably an average value of 150 μm or more and 200 μm or less. Further, the linear electrode 22B can sufficiently avoid the phenomenon that the landscape is blurred by relaxing the regularity, and the pitches P1, P2, and P3 are changed randomly in the continuation of a pair of domains. The pitch P will vary. Here, this variation is produced when the standard deviation (σ) is 30 μm or more and 200 μm or less, more preferably 60 μm or more and 120 μm or less. In addition, by setting the variation in this way, the portions where the absolute value of the difference between adjacent pitches is 10 μm or less are continuous so that the regularity of the pitches by the same value is not continuously secured. So that it does not occur.

  The linear electrode 22B is manufactured so as to relax the regularity related to meandering in this way, and is manufactured so that the same pattern repeats at a repetition pitch of 2 mm or more in the extending direction of the linear electrode. It is configured so that it can be manufactured by patterning using a mask having a random arrangement repeatedly or by patterning using a mask having a large area that is manufactured by repeatedly using a local mask having a random arrangement.

  Here, if the repetition pitch of the same pattern in the extending direction of the linear electrode is small, blurring is observed because the regularity of the linear electrode cannot be sufficiently relaxed. However, if the repetition pitch of the same pattern is too large, the production of a mask for patterning the linear electrode becomes complicated. Thereby, the repetition pitch of this same pattern is set to 2 mm or more and 10 mm or less, More preferably, it is set to 3 mm or more and 5 mm or less.

  Thereby, in this embodiment, in the range of at least 2 mm arbitrarily selected in the extending direction of the linear electrode 22B, the pitch related to the length of the continuous pair of domains is set randomly in the continuous domains. become.

[Prevention of coloring]
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the linear electrode 22B in detail by further partially enlarging. The linear electrode 22B is manufactured so that the electrode width W changes randomly, and the interval S between the electrodes changes randomly, whereby the regularity related to the repetition of the linear electrode 22B is relaxed and strong. The phenomenon that the parts of light are separated and appear colored in rainbow is avoided.

  That is, ITO applied to the linear electrode has a large refractive index and a large difference in refractive index from the organic material layer in contact with the interface, whereby the periodic structure related to the linear electrode functions as a diffraction grating in the light control film. become. However, the linear electrode related to ITO is thin, so that the function of the diffraction grating due to the periodic structure of the linear electrode is inefficient, and only when there is a strong light part in the landscape. A portion of intense light is separated into 0th order light and 1st order light, and can be seen colored in rainbow colors. Thereby, by relaxing the regularity of the linear electrodes, interference by the linear electrodes can be reduced, and iridescent coloring can be prevented.

  Here, the linear electrode 22B is manufactured with an average value of the width W of 5 μm or more and 8 μm or less, preferably an average value of 5 μm or more and 7 μm or less, more preferably 5.5 μm or more and 6.5 μm or less. The linear electrode spacing S is an average value of 5 μm to 8 μm, preferably an average value of 5 μm to 8 μm, preferably an average value of 5 μm to 7 μm, more preferably 5.5 μm to 6.5 μm. It is produced by the following. In this embodiment, the average value of the width W of the linear electrode 22B and the average value of the interval S between the linear electrodes 22B are each set to 5 μm. The light control film 10 relaxes regularity by changing the width W and the interval S at random with the continuous linear electrodes 22B. The regularity may be relaxed by changing only one of the width W and the interval S.

  Here, if the width W and the interval S are changed at random, the width W and the interval S will vary. Here, in order to sufficiently relax regularity by this variation, the variation in the width W is produced by a standard deviation (σ) of 0.1 μm or more and 2.0 μm or less, more preferably 0.1 μm or more and 0.15 μm or less. Is done. Further, the variation in the spacing S is produced when the standard deviation (σ) is 0.1 μm or more and 2.0 μm or less, more preferably 0.2 μm or more and 1.0 μm or less.

  In addition, by setting the variation in this way, the linear electrode 22B having the same electrode width W is not continuously and locally regularized so that the regularity is not guaranteed. It is set so that three or more linear electrodes 22B (the absolute value is 0.1 μm or less) do not continue (does not occupy a region of 50 μm or more in the width direction). Similarly, the linear electrodes 22B with the same interval S are not continuously and regularly regularized so that the regularity SW is substantially the same (when the difference absolute value of the interval S is 0.1 μm or less). Are set so that three or more pairs of linear electrodes 22B do not continue (so as not to occupy an area of 50 μm or more in the width direction).

  The linear electrode 22B is manufactured so as to relax regularity in this way, and is manufactured so that the same pattern repeats at a constant repetition pitch in the repeating direction of the linear electrode 22B, thereby random arrangement. It can be manufactured by patterning using such a mask repeatedly or by patterning using a large-area mask manufactured by repeatedly using a local mask in a random arrangement.

  Here, in this repeated pitch of the same pattern, if the pitch is small, the regularity of the linear electrodes cannot be sufficiently relaxed, and hence rainbow coloration is observed. However, if the repetition pitch of the same pattern is too large, the production of a mask for patterning the linear electrode becomes complicated. Thereby, the repetition pitch of this same pattern is set to 2.0 mm or more and 10 mm or less, More preferably, it is set to 5 mm or more and 10 mm or less.

  In addition, by this, in this embodiment, the random setting of the electrode width and the interval of the linear electrodes is ensured at least in the range of 2.0 mm which is the repetition pitch of the same pattern. Therefore, the light control film 10 is a continuous linear electrode 22B in a range of at least 2.0 mm arbitrarily selected in the repeating direction of the linear electrodes so that the electrode width W changes randomly and / or between the electrodes. The interval S is produced so as to change randomly.

〔Manufacturing process〕
FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining the manufacturing process of the light control film. In the manufacturing process of the light control film, the upper laminated body 12 and the lower laminated body 13 are produced in the upper laminated body producing process SP2 and the lower laminated body producing process SP3, respectively. In the stacking step SP4, the upper stacked body 12 and the lower stacked body 13 are stacked with the liquid crystal layer 14 interposed therebetween, and then integrated with a sealant 25 to manufacture a liquid crystal cell. In the manufacturing process of the light control film, the liquid crystal cell thus prepared is laminated and integrated with the linear polarizing plate to prepare a light control film.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing in detail the upper laminate manufacturing process SP2. In the upper laminate manufacturing process SP2 (SP11), the alignment layer manufacturing process SP12 applies the coating liquid related to the alignment layer 24B to the base material 21B, and then dries and cures the material to form the alignment layer 24B. A layer is formed. In this manufacturing process, a fine line-shaped uneven shape is formed on the surface of the alignment layer material layer by a rubbing process using a rubbing roll, whereby the alignment layer 24B is manufactured, and thus the upper laminate 12 is manufactured.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing in detail the lower laminate manufacturing process SP3. In the lower laminate manufacturing process SP3 (SP21), in the electrode manufacturing process SP22, the transparent electrode 22A made of ITO is manufactured on the entire surface of the base 21A by sputtering. Subsequently, in this manufacturing process, the insulating layer 23 is manufactured in the insulating layer manufacturing process SP23. In this insulating layer manufacturing step, the insulating layer 23 is manufactured by, for example, coating, drying, and curing of a coating liquid according to the material applied to the insulating layer 23.

  Subsequently, in this manufacturing process, the linear electrode 22B is manufactured in the electrode manufacturing process SP24. More specifically, in this electrode manufacturing step SP24, a metal material related to the linear electrode 22B is deposited on the entire surface of the base material 21A by sputtering using a sputtering apparatus in the metal layer manufacturing step SP24-1. A layer is created. Further, the linear electrode 22B is produced by patterning in the subsequent patterning step SP24-2. In this embodiment, the regularity related to the linear electrode 22B is relaxed by patterning in the patterning step.

  When the linear electrode 22B is manufactured in this way, this manufacturing process is performed in the spacer manufacturing process SP25, after applying a photoresist on the entire surface and drying it, the spacer 24 is then exposed and developed using a mask. Make it.

  Then, in alignment layer preparation process SP26, the material liquid of alignment layer 24A is formed by applying the coating liquid which concerns on alignment layer 24A, and drying and hardening. In this manufacturing process, a fine line-shaped uneven shape is formed on the surface of the alignment layer material layer by a rubbing process using a rubbing roll, and the alignment layer 24A is manufactured, whereby the lower laminate 13 is manufactured. .

  According to the above configuration, by setting the electrode width and interval of the linear electrodes at random, the regularity of the linear electrodes is relaxed and the rainbow coloring due to the interference of the linear electrodes is effectively avoided. I can make a door.

[Second Embodiment]
In this embodiment, liquid crystal molecules are driven by a lateral electric field by the IPS method. This embodiment has the same configuration as that of the first embodiment except that the configuration of the electrode relating to the method for producing the lateral electric field is different.

  Therefore, in this embodiment, after the transparent electrode material made of ITO is produced by sputtering on the entire surface of the base material made of the transparent film material according to the lower laminate, the linear electrodes are sequentially arranged by patterning the transparent electrode material. The first and second comb electrodes are arranged by nesting, and a horizontal electric field is produced by the electric field between the linear electrodes.

  In this embodiment, the linear electrodes related to the first and second comb-teeth electrodes are formed by setting random electrode widths and / or random electrodes in the same manner as the linear electrodes described above for the first embodiment. It is produced by setting the interval. Moreover, it is produced so as to meander in a triangular wave shape in the extending direction, is multi-domained, and the pitch related to a continuous pair of domains is set at random as in the first embodiment.

  Even when applied to driving by the IPS system as in this embodiment, the same effect as in the first embodiment can be obtained.

[Other Embodiments]
The specific configuration suitable for the implementation of the present invention has been described in detail above, but the present invention is combined with the above-described embodiments and further modified in various ways without departing from the spirit of the present invention. can do.

  That is, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the light control film is manufactured by the multi-domain is described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the case where the light-control film is manufactured by the single domain by stopping the meandering of the linear electrode. Can also be widely applied.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1, 10 Light control film 2 User 12 Upper side laminated body 13 Lower side laminated body 14 Liquid crystal layer 14A Liquid crystal molecule 15 Liquid crystal cell 16, 17 Linearly polarizing plate 18, 19 Phase difference film 21A, 21B Base material 22A Electrode 22B Linear electrode 22BA Power supply line 23 Insulating layer 24A, 24B Alignment layer 25 Sealing agent

Claims (7)

In the light control film that sandwiches the liquid crystal layer between the first and second laminates and controls the transmitted light by controlling the orientation of the liquid crystal molecules related to the liquid crystal layer,
The first laminate is provided with a linear electrode, and the alignment of the liquid crystal molecules is controlled by a lateral electric field generated by the linear electrode.
In the range of at least 2 mm arbitrarily selected in the repeating direction of the linear electrodes, in the linear electrodes that are continuous, so that the electrode width changes randomly and / or the interval between the electrodes changes randomly. A light control film provided with the linear electrode. The linear electrode is
The standard deviation (σ) of the electrode width is 0.1 μm or more and 2.0 μm or less.
The light control film of Claim 1 . The linear electrode is
The standard deviation (σ) between the electrodes is 0.2 μm or more and 1.0 μm or less.
The light control film of Claim 1 . The FFS mode, claim 1 to form the transverse electric field in the linear electrodes, the light control film according to claim 2, claim 3. The IPS method, according to claim 1 to form the transverse electric field in the linear electrodes, the light control film according to claim 2, claim 3. The linear electrode is formed by meandering in a triangular wave shape to form a multi-domain,
The linear electrode is produced such that the length of a pair of continuous domains is randomly changed in the extending direction of the linear electrode within a range of at least 10 mm arbitrarily selected in the extending direction of the linear electrode. The light control film in any one of Claim 1, Claim 2, Claim 3, Claim 4, and Claim 5 . A first laminate production step of producing a first laminate by sequentially producing at least a linear electrode and an alignment layer on a substrate made of a transparent film material;
A second laminate production step of producing an alignment layer on a substrate made of a transparent film material to produce a second laminate;
A laminating step of laminating the first and second laminates with a liquid crystal layer interposed therebetween to produce a liquid crystal cell,
The first laminate manufacturing step includes
In the range of at least 2 mm arbitrarily selected in the repeating direction of the linear electrodes, in the linear electrodes that are continuous, so that the electrode width changes randomly and / or the interval between the electrodes changes randomly. The manufacturing method of the light control film which produces the said linear electrode.

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