JP6217406B2 - Manufacturing method of twist ball type electronic paper panel - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a twist ball type electronic paper panel capable of manufacturing a twist ball type electronic paper panel capable of suppressing the generation of bubbles in the twist ball member during use.

In recent years, an information medium called electronic paper has been attracting attention. This information medium has excellent characteristics such as low power consumption, bendable flexibility, thinness and lightness, and has outstanding features such that it can be rewritten.
Also, there are several types of configurations of electronic paper, including a configuration using, for example, two-color spherical particles (twist balls) (for example, Patent Document 1).

As a manufacturing method of a display panel (twisted ball type electronic paper panel) using twist ball type electronic paper, conventionally, for example, the following manufacturing method is preferably used.
12A to 12D are process diagrams showing an example of a conventional method for manufacturing a twist ball type electronic paper panel. In a conventional method for manufacturing a twist ball type electronic paper panel, normally, as shown in FIG. 12A, an opening 17 is provided in a part of the outer periphery of a pair of sealing films 11a and 11b to form a sealing portion 16. 12 (b), the twist ball layer 15 is disposed between the pair of sealing films 11a and 11b, and the pair of sealing films 11a and After discharging the gas g and the excess solvent l to the outside of 11b, as shown in FIG. 12 (c), a step of forming the twist ball member 1 is formed by forming a sealing portion 16 that closes the opening. Further, the step of forming the twist ball member described above is usually performed under atmospheric pressure.
Further, the method includes a step of disposing the transparent electrode and the back electrode on the surface of the twist ball layer before the step of forming the twist ball member or after the step of forming the twist ball member.
Note that the transparent electrode arrangement step and the back electrode arrangement step in FIGS. 12A to 12D are described in FIGS. 1A to 1G, FIGS. 2A to 2E, and FIG. Therefore, the description is omitted here.

JP 2012-27488 A

The twist ball type electronic paper panel has features such as low power consumption and light weight, and therefore, application to display devices for various uses is being studied.
However, in the above-described twisted ball type electronic paper panel, for example, when used in an environment where there is a temperature change such as outdoors or in a highly decompressed environment, or when the twisted ball type electronic paper panel itself is bent, etc. When the twist ball type electronic paper panel is placed in a reduced pressure state, there is a problem in that bubbles are generated inside the twist ball member and display quality may be deteriorated.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above situation, and a twist ball type capable of manufacturing a twist ball type electronic paper panel capable of suppressing the generation of bubbles in the twist ball member during use. The main object is to provide a method for manufacturing an electronic paper panel.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a pair of sealing films having heat-welding properties, a solvent, a swelling layer swollen by the solvent, and the swelling disposed between the pair of sealing films. A twist ball member having a twist ball dispersed in the layer, a twist ball member formed by heat-sealing the pair of sealing films and having a sealing portion for sealing the twist ball layer, and the twist ball A twisting ball type electronic paper panel comprising: a transparent electrode disposed on one surface of the layer; and a back electrode disposed on a surface opposite to the surface of the twisting ball layer on which the transparent electrode is disposed. A twist ball type electronic paper panel manufacturing method, wherein the pair of sealing films having the sealing portion formed by providing an opening in a part of the outer periphery; and The twist ball layer disposed between the pair of sealing films is prepared, and after the gas and excess solvent are discharged from the openings to the outside of the pair of sealing films, a temporary sealing portion is formed. Then, by closing the opening, the twist ball layer disposition area in which the twist ball layer is disposed, and the twist ball layer disposition area and the collection area provided adjacent to the temporary sealing portion A twist ball member intermediate forming step for forming a ball member intermediate, a pressure reducing step for disposing the twist ball member intermediate under reduced pressure, and a gas generated in the twist ball member intermediate after the pressure reducing step The sealing part is formed along the boundary between the collecting step for collecting in the collecting region and the twist ball layer arrangement region and the collecting region after the collecting step. , To provide a method of manufacturing a twist ball type electronic paper panel characterized by having a a removing step of removing the temporary sealing section and the collecting area.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to manufacture a twist ball type electronic paper panel that can suppress the generation of bubbles in the twist ball member during use by having the above-described steps.

  The method for producing a twisted ball type electronic paper panel according to the present invention has the effect of being able to produce a twisted ball type electronic paper panel capable of suppressing the generation of bubbles in the twisted ball member during use. Play.

It is process drawing which shows an example of the manufacturing method of the twist ball type electronic paper panel of this invention. It is process drawing which shows an example of the manufacturing method of the twist ball type electronic paper panel of this invention. It is a schematic sectional drawing which shows an example of the twist ball type | mold electronic paper panel manufactured by this invention. It is explanatory drawing explaining an example of the display method of the twist ball type electronic paper panel manufactured by this invention. It is explanatory drawing explaining the opening provided in the outer periphery of a pair of sealing film in the twist ball member intermediate body formation process in this invention. It is explanatory drawing explaining the opening provided in the outer periphery of a pair of sealing film in the twist ball member intermediate body formation process in this invention. It is the schematic plan view and schematic sectional drawing which show the other example of the twist ball member intermediate body in this invention. It is a schematic plan view which shows the other example of the twist ball member intermediate body in this invention. It is a schematic plan view which shows the other example of the twist ball member intermediate body in this invention. It is process drawing shown about the other example of the pressure reduction process in this invention, a collection process, and a removal process. It is a schematic sectional drawing which shows the other example of the twist ball member intermediate body in this invention. It is process drawing which shows an example of the manufacturing method of the conventional twist ball type electronic paper panel. It is the schematic sectional drawing and schematic plan view which show an example of the conventional twist ball type electronic paper panel.

Hereinafter, the details of the method for producing the twist ball type electronic paper panel of the present invention (hereinafter sometimes referred to as an electronic paper panel) will be described.
A method for producing a twisted ball type electronic paper panel of the present invention includes a pair of sealing films having heat-welding properties, a solvent disposed between the pair of sealing films, and a swelling layer swollen by the solvent, A twist ball member having a twist ball dispersed in the swelling layer, a twist ball member formed by heat-sealing the pair of sealing films and having a sealing portion for sealing the twist ball layer; and A twisting ball type electron having a transparent electrode disposed on one surface of the twisting ball layer and a back electrode disposed on a surface opposite to the surface of the twisting ball layer on which the transparent electrode is disposed. A manufacturing method for manufacturing a paper panel, wherein the pair of sealing films having the sealing portion formed by providing an opening in a part of the outer periphery, and the pair of sealing films. And the twist ball layer disposed between the films, and after discharging the gas and excess solvent from the openings to the outside of the pair of sealing films, a temporary sealing portion is formed to form the openings. By closing, a twist ball member intermediate body having a twist ball layer arrangement region in which the twist ball layer is arranged, and a collection region provided adjacent to the twist ball layer arrangement region and the temporary sealing portion is provided. A twist ball member intermediate forming step to be formed; a decompression step in which the twist ball member intermediate is disposed under reduced pressure; and a gas generated in the twist ball member intermediate after the decompression step is collected in the collection region. A collecting step, and after forming the sealing portion along the boundary between the twist ball layer arrangement region and the collecting region after the collecting step, the temporary sealing portion And a manufacturing method characterized by having a removal step of removing the collection area.

The manufacturing method of the electronic paper panel of this invention is demonstrated using figures.
1 (a) to 1 (g) and FIGS. 2 (a) to 2 (e) are process diagrams showing an example of a method for producing an electronic paper panel of the present invention. In the method for manufacturing an electronic paper panel of the present invention, first, as shown in FIG. 1A, a pair of sealing films 11a and 11b having heat-welding properties are prepared. Moreover, it arrange | positions by sticking together the transparent electrode base material 22 which has the transparent electrode 2 formed on the transparent base material 21 and the transparent base material 21 on one surface of the sealing film 11a using an adhesion layer etc. (Transparent electrode placement step).
Next, as shown in FIGS. 1B and 2A, a pair of sealing films 11a and 11b having a sealing portion 16 formed by providing an opening 17 in a part of the outer periphery, and a pair of The twist ball layer 15 disposed between the sealing films 11a and 11b is prepared, and the gas g and excess are discharged from the opening 17 to the outside of the pair of sealing films 11a and 11b using the kicking tool 4 such as the roller 41. After discharging the solvent l, the twist ball layer arrangement in which the twist ball layer 15 is arranged by forming the temporary sealing portion 18 and closing the opening as shown in FIGS. 1 (c) and 2 (b). A twist ball member intermediate 1 ′ having the region X, the twist ball layer arrangement region X, and the collection region Y provided adjacent to the temporary sealing portion 18 is formed (twist ball member intermediate forming step).
Next, as shown in FIG. 1 (d), the twist ball member intermediate 1 ′ is disposed under reduced pressure (under pressure P) using a vacuum pressure reducing device or the like (pressure reduction step).
Next, as shown in FIG. 1 (e) and FIG. 2 (c), the gas g generated in the twist ball member intermediate body 1 ′ after the decompression step and the excess solvent l are removed with a squeegee 42 or other eviction tool 4 To collect in the collection area Y (collection process).
Next, as shown in FIGS. 1 (f) and 2 (d), the sealing portion 16 is formed along the boundary between the twist ball layer arrangement region X and the collection region Y after the collection step. Next, as shown in FIGS. 1 (g) and 2 (e), the twist ball member intermediate is placed at an arbitrary position in the sealing portion 16 formed at the boundary between the twist ball layer arrangement region X and the collection region Y. The temporary sealing part 18 and the collection area | region Y are removed by cutting (removal process). By performing the removing step, the twist ball member 1 can be formed.
After the removing step, as shown in FIG. 3 to be described later, a back electrode base material 37 having the back electrode 3 is bonded to the surface of the sealing film 11b in the twist ball member 1 by using an adhesive layer or the like (back electrode). The electronic paper panel 10 can be manufactured by arranging step).
In FIGS. 1A to 1G, a transparent electrode placement step in which a transparent electrode is placed on the surface of the sealing film is performed before the twist ball member intermediate formation step, thereby forming the twist ball member. Although the back electrode placement process in which the back electrode is placed on the surface of the sealing film is performed, the transparent electrode placement process and the back electrode placement process are both twist ball member intermediate formation It may be performed before the step, or may be performed after the twist ball member intermediate forming step.
Further, in FIGS. 2A to 2E, the transparent electrode base material is omitted from illustration for easy explanation.
Further, the details of the twist ball layer 15 and the back electrode substrate 37 can be the same as those in FIG.

Next, the electronic paper panel manufactured by this invention is demonstrated using figures.
FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing an example of an electronic paper panel manufactured according to the present invention. The electronic paper panel 10 is disposed between a pair of sealing films 11a and 11b having heat-welding properties, a pair of sealing films 11a and 11b, a solvent 12, a swelling layer 13 in which the solvent 12 is swollen, and a swelling layer Twist ball layer 1 having twist ball 14 dispersed in 13 and twist ball member 1 having sealing portion 16 formed by thermally welding a pair of sealing films 11a and 11b and sealing twist ball layer 15 A transparent electrode 2 disposed on one surface of the twist ball layer 15, and a back electrode 3 disposed on the surface opposite to the surface of the twist ball layer 15 on which the transparent electrode 2 is disposed. It is what you have.
FIG. 3 shows an example in which a transparent electrode substrate 22 having a transparent substrate 21 and a transparent electrode 2 is disposed on the surface of one sealing film 11 a of the twist ball member 1. Further, an example is shown in which a back electrode substrate 37 having a back substrate 31 and a back electrode 3 is disposed on the surface of one sealing film 11 b of the twist ball member 1. In FIG. 3, the back electrode substrate 37 further includes a back electrode spacer layer 32 having via holes provided so as to overlap the back electrode 3 in plan view, a wiring electrode insulating layer 34, a wiring electrode 33, In addition, an example in which the wiring electrode spacer layer 35 is provided and the connection layer 36 is formed inside the via hole and connects the back electrode 3 and the wiring electrode 33 is shown.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view showing an example of a display method of an electronic paper panel manufactured according to the present invention. Further, for ease of explanation, the transparent electrode, the back electrode and the like are not shown.
In the electronic paper panel 10, the twist ball dispersed in the twist ball layer 15 of the twist ball member 1 can be rotated by changing the direction of the voltage applied between the transparent electrode and the back electrode. Can be switched. For example, FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B show an example in which “88” and “89” are displayed by switching the display of numbers by 7-segment display.

According to the present invention, it is possible to manufacture a twist ball type electronic paper panel that can suppress the generation of bubbles in the twist ball member during use by having the above-described steps.
More specifically, according to the present invention, by disposing the twist ball member intermediate body under reduced pressure in the decompression step, a pressure difference can be generated between the outside and the inside of the twist ball member intermediate body, A gas dissolved in a solvent in the twist ball layer, a gas existing in the swelling layer, or the like can be generated outside the twist ball layer. Further, according to the present invention, since the twist ball member intermediate is provided with the collection region, the gas generated after the decompression step can be collected by moving from the twist ball layer arrangement region to the collection region in the collection step. it can. Further, according to the present invention, the twisting ball member can be formed separately from the twisting ball layer arrangement region in the collecting region having the collected gas by having the removing step.

Here, in the conventional electronic paper panel, for example, when it is used in an environment where there is a temperature change such as outdoors or in a highly reduced pressure environment, or when the electronic paper panel itself is bent, FIG. ) And (b), when the electronic paper panel 100 is placed in a reduced pressure state, there is a problem in that bubbles (gas g) may be generated inside the twist ball member and display quality may deteriorate. .
The reason for this will be briefly described.
As described above, conventionally, the step of forming a twisting ball member is performed by sealing the twisting ball layer using a pair of sealing films under atmospheric pressure. For this reason, for example, when the obtained electronic paper panel is used by standing within a certain temperature range under atmospheric pressure, the gas dissolved in the solvent of the twist ball layer and the gas inherent in the swelling layer Since the occurrence of is less, good display can be performed. However, when the electronic paper panel is placed in a reduced pressure state, a gas dissolved in the solvent of the twist ball layer is generated by causing a difference between the pressure outside the twist ball member and the pressure inside the twist ball member. In addition, gas contained in the swelling layer is generated, and bubbles are generated in the twist ball member, which may deteriorate the display quality.
13A and 13B are a schematic cross-sectional view and a schematic plan view showing an example of a conventional electronic paper panel.

  On the other hand, the electronic paper panel manufactured according to the present invention can reduce the gas contained in the solvent and the swelling layer of the twist ball layer in the twist ball member by performing the above-described steps. Even when the external environment changes due to the change and the temperature change, it is possible to suppress the generation of bubbles in the twist ball member and perform a good display.

Here, in the electronic paper panel, the solvent only needs to be swollen in the swollen layer to such an extent that the twist ball dispersed in the swollen layer can be operated, and the solvent contained in the twisted ball layer. As the number increases, the distribution of the solvent in the twist ball layer tends to be biased, and there is a concern that the operation of the twist ball is hindered.
In the present invention, by performing each of the above-described steps, an excess solvent contained in the twist ball layer can be removed, and thus an electronic paper panel capable of performing good display can be manufactured. .

  Hereinafter, each process in the manufacturing method of the electronic paper panel of this invention is demonstrated.

I. Twisted ball member intermediate forming step The twisted ball member intermediate forming step in the present invention includes the pair of sealing films having the sealing portion formed by providing an opening in a part of the outer periphery, and the pair of sealings. The twist ball layer disposed between the films is prepared, and after the gas and excess solvent are discharged from the openings to the outside of the pair of sealing films, a temporary sealing portion is formed to open the openings. By closing, a twist ball member intermediate body having a twist ball layer arrangement region in which the twist ball layer is arranged, and a collection region provided adjacent to the twist ball layer arrangement region and the temporary sealing portion is provided. It is a process of forming.

1. Method for forming twist ball member intermediate The method for forming a twist ball member intermediate used in the present invention includes the pair of sealing films having the sealing portion formed by providing an opening in a part of the outer periphery, A step of preparing the twisted ball layer disposed between the pair of sealing films (hereinafter may be referred to as a preparation step), and a gas from the opening to the outside of the pair of sealing films. And a step of discharging the excess solvent (hereinafter may be referred to as a discharge step) and a step of forming a temporary sealing portion and closing the opening (hereinafter referred to as a sealing step). There is.)

(1) Preparatory process The preparatory process in this invention is the twist ball | bowl arrange | positioned between a pair of said sealing film which has the sealing part formed by providing opening in a part of outer periphery, and a pair of sealing film A step of preparing a layer. The position of the opening provided on the outer periphery of the pair of sealing films can be appropriately selected according to the discharging method for discharging the gas and excess solvent in the discharging step described later, and is not particularly limited. For example, as shown in FIG. 2A, an opening 17 may be provided on one side of the outer periphery of the pair of sealing films 11a and 11b, and as shown in FIG. 5, the pair of sealing films 11a and 11b You may provide the opening 17 in two sides which oppose in an outer periphery. Moreover, when providing the said opening in 1 side in the outer periphery of a sealing film, or 2 sides which oppose, as shown to Fig.2 (a) and FIG. 5, you may provide the opening 17 in the whole side, FIG. As shown, an opening 17 may be provided in a part of the side. In the present invention, it is preferable to provide an opening over the entire side. This is because it is easy to discharge excess solvent and gas from the openings to the outside of the pair of sealing films in the discharge step described later.
5 and 6 are explanatory views for explaining openings provided on the outer periphery of the pair of sealing films in the twisting ball member intermediate forming step in the present invention.

  Moreover, as a position of the above-mentioned opening, it is preferable that it is a position used as a temporary sealing part.

  As a formation method of a sealing part, a general method can be used as a heat welding method of the films which have heat welding property. More specifically, the sealing portion can be formed by thermally welding a pair of sealing films using a heat welding apparatus such as a known heat sealer.

  In this step, the twist ball layer is usually disposed between the pair of sealing films under atmospheric pressure. Moreover, in this process, the structure which has a pair of sealing film in which the sealing part which has an opening in the outer periphery mentioned above was formed, and the twist ball layer arrange | positioned between a pair of sealing films is prepared. The twisting ball layer may be disposed by a method of disposing the twisting ball layer simultaneously with the step of forming the sealing portion having the opening described above in a pair of sealing films. A method of disposing a twist ball layer after preparing a pair of sealing films in which a sealing portion having s is formed may be used.

In the case where the twisting ball layer is disposed at the same time as the step of forming the sealing portion having the above-described opening in the pair of sealing films, the following method can be specifically exemplified.
A swollen layer in which twist balls are dispersed and prepared before the solvent is swollen (hereinafter sometimes referred to as a precursor layer) is prepared, and the precursor is interposed between a pair of sealing films. Arrange the layers. At this time, for the pair of sealing films, the sealing part may be formed in a part other than the opening provided on the outer periphery, and the sealing part is not formed in a part other than the opening provided on the outer periphery. May be. After forming the precursor layer, after forming a sealing portion as necessary, the solvent is injected between the pair of sealing films to swell the solvent in the swelling layer in the precursor layer, thereby forming the twist ball layer. Form. With the above method, the twist ball layer can be disposed between the pair of sealing films.

On the other hand, when the arrangement method of the twist ball layer is a method of arranging the twist ball layer after preparing a pair of sealing films in which the sealing portion having the opening described above is previously formed, specifically, A method can be mentioned.
First, by performing the sealing part formation process mentioned above, an opening is provided in a part of outer periphery of a pair of sealing films, and a sealing part is formed. In addition, as a sealing step forming step, a twist ball layer is formed by swelling a solvent in the precursor layer described above. The obtained twist ball layer is inserted between the pair of sealing films described above through the openings of the pair of sealing films. With the above method, the twist ball layer can be disposed between the pair of sealing films.

(2) Discharge process The discharge process in the present invention is a process of discharging gas and excess solvent from the opening to the outside of the pair of sealing films.
This step is performed to suppress the uneven distribution of the solvent contained in the twist ball member and to discharge the gas mixed between the pair of sealing films by the twist ball layer arranging step to the outside of the pair of sealing films. .

  The method for discharging the gas and the excess solvent used in this step is not particularly limited as long as the gas and the excess solvent can be discharged from the opening to the outside of the pair of sealing films. A method of discharging excess solvent may be used, and for example, a method of discharging the gas and excess solvent using gravity may be used.

As a method for mechanically discharging the gas and the excess solvent, specifically, by applying pressure from the outside of the sealing film using a purge tool, the gas and the outside of the pair of sealing films are opened from the openings. The method of discharging | emitting excess solvent is mentioned. More specifically, as shown in FIGS. 1B and 2A, by applying pressure from the outer surface of the sealing film 11b using the eviction tool 4, the pair of films 11a and 11b is opened from the opening 17. The method of discharging | emitting gas g and the excess solvent l outside is mentioned. In this case, the opening is preferably provided on one side of the pair of sealing films, and as shown in FIG. 2A, the opening 17 is located at a position where the collection area is provided. Is more preferable. Because a gas and excess solvent can be scraped out in one direction on the surface of the twist ball layer by using a kick-out tool, gas and excess solvent can be discharged well from the opening to the outside of one sealing film. is there.
In this case, the surface direction of the twist ball layer and the ground may be horizontal, may have an inclination, may be vertical, but is more preferably horizontal.
As the eviction tool, for example, a general roller, squeegee or the like can be used.

  Specific examples of the method of discharging gas and excess solvent using gravity include the following methods. That is, as shown in FIG. 5, the pair of sealing films 11 a and 11 b on which the twist ball layer 15 is arranged are arranged so that the surface direction of the twist ball layer 15 and the ground are perpendicular to each other. Although not shown, the surface direction of the twist ball layer and the ground surface may be inclined. At this time, as the pair of sealing films 11a and 11b, those having openings 17 on two opposite sides are used, with one opening 17 being above the ground and the other opening 17 being below the ground. Arrange to face the side. The gas g can be discharged from the upper opening 17 by allowing the pair of sealing films 11a and 11b on which the twist ball layer 15 is disposed to stand for a predetermined time in the above-described state. Can drain excess solvent l. About the arrangement | positioning angle mentioned above, stationary time, etc., it can set suitably according to the magnitude | size of a manufactured electronic paper panel, a use, etc.

(3) Sealing step The sealing step in the present invention is a step of closing the opening by forming a temporary sealing portion.

The temporary sealing portion is formed by closing the above-described opening, and is usually formed at the end of the collection region opposite to the twist ball layer arrangement region side.
About the formation method of a temporary sealing part, since it can be the same as that of the method demonstrated by the term of the sealing part formation process mentioned above, description here is abbreviate | omitted.

2. Next, the twist ball member intermediate formed by this process will be described.
The twist ball member intermediate body has a pair of sealing films, a twist ball layer, a sealing portion, and a temporary sealing portion, and has a twist ball layer arrangement region and a collection region adjacent thereto. It is.

(1) Each region of twist ball member intermediate (a) Collection region The collection region is a region provided adjacent to the twist ball layer arrangement region and the temporary sealing portion. The collection area is an area where the twist ball layer is not disposed. The collection area is an area where gas and solvent can move between the twist ball layer arrangement area.
The collection area is used for collecting a gas remaining in the twist ball member intermediate and an excessive solvent in a collection step described later.

The position of the collection region in the twist ball member intermediate is not particularly limited as long as it is adjacent to the twist ball layer arrangement region and the temporary sealing portion. For example, according to the method of discharging gas or the like in the above-described discharge step. It can be selected appropriately.
The position of the collection area Y may be, for example, a position adjacent to one side of the twist ball layer arrangement area X as shown in FIGS. 1 (c) and 2 (b). And as shown in FIG.7 (b), the position adjacent to two sides which the twist ball layer arrangement | positioning area | region X opposes may be sufficient.
FIG. 7 is a schematic plan view and a schematic cross-sectional view showing another example of the twist ball member intermediate in the present invention.

The width of the collection area may be equal to the width of the twist ball layer arrangement area as shown in FIG. 2B, and is different from the width of the twist ball layer arrangement area as shown in FIG. It may be a width.
When the width of the collection region is equal to the width of the twist ball layer arrangement region, gas and excess solvent can be easily collected in the collection step described later.
On the other hand, when the width of the collection area is different from the width of the twist ball layer arrangement area, the width of the collection area is preferably smaller than the width of the twist ball layer arrangement area. This is because the collection area itself can be reduced, and waste of the pair of sealing films can be reduced.
The width of the collection area and the width of the twist ball layer arrangement area refer to the width of the collection area and the width of the twist ball layer arrangement area at the boundary between the collection area and the twist ball layer arrangement area, respectively. The width of the twist ball layer arrangement region refers to, for example, the distance indicated by x in FIGS. The width of the collection region refers to a distance indicated by y in FIGS. 2B and 8, for example.
FIG. 8 is a schematic plan view showing another example of the twist ball member intermediate in the present invention.

The ratio of the area of the collection region to the internal area of the twist ball member intermediate is not particularly limited as long as gas or excess solvent can be collected in the collection region described later. It can select suitably according to a use.
The ratio of the area of the collection region to the area inside the twist ball member intermediate is specifically in the range of 10% to 70%, in particular in the range of 20% to 50%, in particular 30% to 40%. It is preferable to be within the range.
This is because if the ratio is too small, the sealing film may be damaged by the pressure of the gas collected in the collection region or excessive solvent. In addition, it may be difficult to form a sealing portion between the collection region and the twist ball layer arrangement region. Moreover, when the said ratio is too large, it is because the sealing film removed in the removal process mentioned later increases and manufacturing cost may become high.
In addition, “the area inside the twist ball member intermediate” means the entire area surrounded by the sealing portion in the pair of sealing films, more specifically, the area and collection of the twist ball layer arrangement region. The area combined with the area of the region.

(B) Twist ball layer arrangement area The twist ball layer arrangement area is an area in which the twist ball layer is arranged. In addition, the size, shape, and the like of the twist ball layer arrangement region are appropriately determined according to the size, shape, and the like of the twist ball layer.

(2) Structure of twist ball member intermediate body The twist ball member intermediate body has a pair of sealing films, a twist ball layer, a sealing portion, and a temporary sealing portion.

(A) Sealing film A pair of sealing film used for this invention has heat-welding property.
“A pair of sealing films has heat-weldability” means that the pair of sealing films has a property of being bonded by melting the surfaces of the respective sealing films by heating. Say.

In the electronic paper panel manufactured according to the present invention, since a transparent electrode is disposed on one surface of the twist ball layer and used as a display surface, usually at least one of the pair of sealing films is sealed. The film has transparency.
Specifically, as the transparency of the sealing film, the transmittance in the visible light region is preferably 80% or more, and more preferably 90% or more.
Here, the transmittance | permeability of a sealing film can be measured by JISK7361-1 (the test method of the total light transmittance of a plastic-transparent material).

The sealing film is not particularly limited as long as it has heat-weldability, and specifically includes a laminated film in which a base film layer and a sealant film layer are laminated.
In the sealing film, the base film layer is a layer that imparts heat resistance to thermocompression bonding (laminating) by a heat welding apparatus such as a heat sealer. On the other hand, the sealant film layer is a layer that imparts heat weldability.
As the material of the base film layer, polyimide, polyethylene naphthalate, polyethylene terephthalate, polycarbonate, polyetherimide, polyetheretherketone, polyetherketone, polyphenylene sulfide, liquid crystal polymer, from the viewpoint of heat resistance by thermocompression bonding at the time of laminating, An epoxy resin, a silicone resin, a phenol resin, etc. are mentioned.
Moreover, as a material of a sealant film layer, an unstretched polypropylene film, a biaxially stretched polypropylene film, etc. are mentioned. In addition, as the sealant film layer, a coating film made of a heat-sealable material such as polyurethane, polyacryl, epoxy resin, or silicone can be used.
In addition, when making a pair of sealing films oppose, sealant film layers are made to oppose.

  Moreover, in a pair of sealing film, it is preferable that the material of the base film layer and sealant film layer in each sealing film is the same. It is because the adhesiveness of a pair of sealing film in the sealing part mentioned later can be made favorable.

  The thickness of the sealing film is not particularly limited as long as the twist ball layer can be sealed. The thickness of the sealing film is preferably, for example, in the range of 10 μm to 300 μm, in particular in the range of 15 μm to 100 μm, particularly in the range of 25 μm to 50 μm. This is because if the thickness of the sealing film is too thin, the twist ball member intermediate may be damaged in the decompression step, the collection step, and the like described later. Further, there is a possibility that the durability of the electronic paper panel itself produced by the production method of the present invention cannot be sufficiently ensured. Moreover, when the thickness of the sealing film is too thick, it may be difficult to sufficiently generate the gas contained in the twisting ball layer in the decompression step described later.

(B) Twist ball layer The twist ball layer used in the present invention has a solvent, a swollen layer in which the solvent is swollen, and a twist ball dispersed in the swollen layer.

(I) Twist ball The twist ball used in the present invention has two hues having different charging characteristics. The electronic paper panel manufactured according to the present invention serves as a display medium. More specifically, the display is performed by rotating the twist ball.

  The twist ball used in the present invention is spherical as long as it has a colored hue and a white hue or two colored hues having different colored hues and colored hues, and the two different hues have different charging characteristics. It is not particularly limited.

  As such a twist ball, for example, the twist ball manufactured by the microchannel manufacturing method proposed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-197083 can be used.

  Here, in the microchannel manufacturing method, the colored continuous phase and the spherical particleized phase are in an O / W type or W / O type relationship with each other, and from the first microchannel in which the colored continuous phase is transferred, Charging characteristics of two-color spherical polymer particles and having a positive (±) polarity by sequentially discharging two colored continuous phases into the spherical particle phase of the flowing medium flowing in the second microchannel A manufacturing method for manufacturing a twist ball which is a spherical particle.

  In the above microchannel production method, the polymerizability in a colored continuous phase in which an oily or aqueous fluid medium containing a polymerizable resin component is phase-separated into two colors containing a coloring dye or pigment insoluble in this medium. The resin component is formed with different positively and negatively charged polymerizable monomers, transferred to the first microchannel, and this colored continuous phase is then transferred into the aqueous or oily spherical particleized phase flowing in the second microchannel. In addition, the liquid is sequentially or intermittently discharged. Next, the discharged material discharged into the spherical particle phase is successively formed into spherical particles during the spherical particle phase while being converted into spherical particles during a series of discharge, dispersion, and transfer within the microchannel. A twist ball is appropriately prepared by polymerizing and curing the polymerizable resin component in the particulate phase under at least one of UV irradiation and heating.

  The colored continuous phase is a continuous hue divided into two hues, for example, black and white, red and white, yellow and white, blue and white, green and white, purple and white, etc. There can be mentioned two phase separation hues selected from “chromatic hue and white hue”, or two phase separation hues having different “color hue and color hue”. The colorant for forming such a hue is appropriately selected and used without particular limitation as long as it is insoluble or uniformly dispersed in a fluid dispersion medium containing a polymerizable resin component described later. As the colorant, dyes and pigments can be used.

  As such dyes and pigments, for example, those described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-197083 can be used, and description thereof is omitted here.

  The addition amount of the dyes and pigments as these colorants is not particularly limited, and the desired color tone varies depending on the use of the colored particles, and the dispersibility in the above-described colored continuous phase, etc. Therefore, in the present invention, it is within the range of 0.1 to 80 parts by weight, preferably 2 to 10 parts by weight, per 100 parts by weight of the total polymerizable resin component which is a polymerization and curing component in the colored continuous phase. It can be suitably suitably added within the range.

  As the polymerizable resin component or polymerizable monomer used in the twist ball, the chargeability of the twist ball depends on the type of the functional group or substituent of the polymerizable monomer used in the twist ball. Mention may be made of monomer species that tend to exhibit (+) chargeability. Therefore, in the case where at least two or more kinds of monomers are used as the polymerizable resin component in the present invention, the tendency to show the (+) and (−) chargeability is well known, A plurality of monomers having a tendency to property can be used in combination as appropriate.

  On the other hand, in the polymerizable resin component or polymerizable monomer having in the molecule at least one kind of functional group and substituent, examples of the functional group or substituent include carbonyl group, vinyl group, phenyl group, amino group. Groups, amide groups, imide groups, hydroxyl groups, halogen groups, sulfonic acid groups, epoxy groups and urethane bonds. In this invention, it can use suitably suitably combining the monomer type which has a functional group or a substituent in such a polymerizable monomer individually or in combination of 2 or more types.

  As the (−) chargeable monomer and the (+) chargeable polymerizable monomer, for example, those described in JP-A-2004-197083 can be used. The description in is omitted.

  In the present invention, when such a polymerizable monomer at the time of polymerization of the polymerizable resin component after being discharged as a colored continuous phase to the second microchannel already described above is used in combination with another copolymerizable monomer, Depending on the desired chargeability or electrophoretic properties entrusted to the colored resin fine particles, a monomer having a tendency to be charged on a weight basis is preferably in the range of 1% to 100% of the total monomers, Copolymer particles with a polymerizable monomer preferably within a range of 5% to 100%, particularly preferably within a range of 10% to 100%, are suitably used as appropriate to provide a desired twist ball. can do.

The twist ball is a spherical monodisperse particle having an average particle diameter in a range of 1.0 μm to 400 μm, preferably in a range of 20 μm to 200 μm, more preferably in a range of 50 μm to 50 μm. It can be suitably prepared within the range of 120 μm. In addition, uniform particles with extremely low variation in average particle diameter are appropriately prepared. In the present invention, the homogeneity is expressed as a Cv value, and is suitably used as a twist ball of monodisperse particles of 20% or less, preferably 5% or less, more preferably 3% or less.
Here, an average particle diameter is an average particle diameter by microscopic observation. The average particle diameter by microscopic observation is obtained, for example, by performing microscopic observation at 100 times, measuring 100 particle diameters of arbitrary particles with image processing software, and the like and averaging the number. The particle diameter refers to the average value of the major axis diameter and the minor axis diameter of the particles.

(Ii) Solvent The solvent used in the present invention is used for smooth rotation of the twist ball described above. Moreover, a solvent is normally used by swelling the swelling layer mentioned later.

  Such a solvent is not particularly limited as long as it can be smoothly rotated without hindering the rotation of the twist ball. Examples of such solvents include dimethyl silicone oil, isoparaffinic solvents, and linear paraffinic solvents, linear alkanes such as dodecane and tridecane.

(Iii) Swelling layer The swelling layer used for this invention consists of an elastomer material which can be swollen with the said solvent. The swelling layer is a sheet-like member in which the twist ball is dispersed, and is used by swelling the sheet with the solvent.

The material used for such a swelling layer is not particularly limited as long as the twist ball can be dispersed and can be swollen with the solvent.
Examples of the material for the swelling layer include a silicone resin, a slightly crosslinked acrylic resin, a slightly crosslinked styrene resin, and a polyolefin resin.

  Further, the thickness of the swelling layer is not particularly limited as long as it is possible to display information with a twist ball dispersed in the swelling layer in the electronic paper panel produced according to the present invention, It is preferably in the range of 50 μm to 1000 μm, in particular in the range of 100 μm to 700 μm, particularly in the range of 150 μm to 500 μm. If the thickness of the swelling layer is less than the above range, it is difficult to obtain a swelling layer in which the twist balls are uniformly dispersed. If the thickness of the swelling layer exceeds the above range, This is because the rotation of the ball may be hindered.

(Iv) Others The thickness of the twist ball layer used in the present invention is not particularly limited as long as it is possible to display information using a twist ball, but it is within the range of 50 μm to 1000 μm, especially 100 μm. It is preferable to be within a range of ˜700 μm, particularly within a range of 150 μm to 500 μm. If the thickness of the twist ball layer is less than the above range, it may be difficult to rotate the twist ball in the desired direction. If the thickness of the twist ball layer exceeds the above range, This is because even if a drive voltage is applied between the back electrode and the transparent electrode, the twist ball is less likely to react electrically and it may be difficult to display information.

  About the formation method of a twist ball layer, it can be made to be the same as that of a well-known method. For example, it can be formed by preparing a twist ball layer precursor that is a layer in which twist balls are dispersed in the material of the swelling layer, and immersing the twist ball layer precursor in a solvent to swell the solvent in the swelling layer. .

(C) Sealing part The sealing part used for this invention is formed by heat-welding a pair of sealing films, and seals a twist ball layer.

  The width of the sealing portion is not particularly limited as long as the twist ball layer can be sealed. Specifically, the width is 0.5 mm to 20 mm, particularly 3.0 mm to 10 mm, especially 5 It is preferable to be within a range of 0.0 mm to 10 mm. If the width of the sealing portion is too small, it may be difficult to stably seal the twist ball layer, and the twist ball member intermediate may be damaged in the decompression step and the collection step described later. Because there is. On the other hand, when the width of the sealing portion is too large, it may be difficult to reduce the size of the electronic paper panel obtained by the manufacturing method of the present invention.

(D) Temporary sealing part The temporary sealing part formed in this process is formed by heat-sealing a pair of sealing films. Moreover, a temporary sealing part refers to what is formed in the outer periphery of a pair of sealing film, and adjoins a collection area | region, and is a part removed with a collection area | region in the removal process mentioned later. The temporary sealing portion is normally formed at the end of the collection region opposite to the twist ball layer arrangement region side.

  About the width | variety of a temporary sealing part, it can be made equivalent to the width | variety of the sealing part mentioned above.

(E) Other Configurations The twist ball member intermediate formed by this step is not particularly limited as long as it has the pair of sealing films, the twist ball layer, and the sealing portion having the above-described heat-weldability. Other configurations can be appropriately selected and added as necessary.

(I) Flow path forming portion In the twist ball member intermediate body, as shown in FIGS. 9A and 9B, a part of the pair of sealing films 11a and 11b in the collection region Y is thermally welded. You may have the flow path formation part 19 formed. By having a flow path forming part, it is easy to move gas and excess solvent from the twist ball layer arrangement area to the collection area in the collection step described later, and the gas collected and excess solvent in the collection area are arranged in the twist ball layer arrangement. This is because it is possible to suppress backflow into the region.

As the form of the flow path forming portion, in the collecting step described later, the gas and excess solvent inside the twist ball member intermediate can be moved from the twist ball layer arrangement area to the collection area, and the twist ball layer can be moved from the collection area. It will not specifically limit if it is a form which can suppress that the above-mentioned gas and excessive solvent move to an arrangement | positioning area | region, For example, it can form in linear form. Further, in this case, for example, as shown in FIGS. 9A and 9B, the flow path forming portion 19 may be formed with a constant line width. As shown in FIG. The width may be changed.
Further, the flow path forming portion 19 may be formed continuously with the sealing portion 16 as shown in FIGS. 9A and 9C, and as shown in FIG. The part 16 may be formed without being continuous.
FIG. 9 is a schematic plan view showing another example of the twist ball member intermediate in the present invention.

  About the width | variety of a flow-path formation part, it can be made to be the same as the width | variety of the sealing part mentioned above. In addition, the length of the flow path forming portion can be appropriately selected according to the size of the twist ball member intermediate.

(Ii) Transparent electrode and back electrode In the twist ball member intermediate body, in the pair of sealing films, the transparent electrode may be disposed on one sealing film, and the back surface on the other sealing film. An electrode may be disposed.
The details of the transparent electrode and the back electrode will be described in the section “V. Other Steps” described later.

II. Depressurization Step The decompression step in the present invention is a step of placing the twist ball member intermediate under reduced pressure.
In this step, by disposing the twist ball member intermediate under reduced pressure, the solvent in the twist ball layer is obtained by utilizing the difference between the pressure outside the twist ball member intermediate and the pressure inside the twist ball member intermediate. A gas dissolved in can be generated. Further, by utilizing the above-described pressure difference, the gas and excess solvent inherent in the swelling layer can be discharged.

  Examples of the method for disposing the twist ball member intermediate under reduced pressure include a method using a vacuum pressure reducing device. As the vacuum decompression device, a known device can be used and is not particularly limited. For example, as a vacuum decompression apparatus, Furukawa Seisakusho's automatic vacuum packaging machine FVS-3SII etc. can be mentioned.

The depressurization condition and depressurization time in this step can be appropriately selected according to the size of the twist ball member intermediate, the material, etc., the use of the electronic paper panel produced by the production method of the present invention, etc. It is not limited.
The decompression condition may be smaller than the atmospheric pressure, for example, the difference from the atmospheric pressure is in the range of 0.01 MPa to 0.1 MPa, especially in the range of 0.07 MPa to 0.1 MPa, particularly 0.09 MPa to It is preferable to be within the range of 0.1 MPa.
This is because if the difference from the atmospheric pressure is too large under reduced pressure conditions, the twist ball member intermediate may be damaged. In addition, if the difference from the atmospheric pressure is too small under reduced pressure conditions, it may be difficult to sufficiently generate gas or excess solvent from the twist ball layer.
The decompression time can be appropriately selected according to the size and material of the twist ball member intermediate, the use of the electronic paper panel produced by the production method of the present invention, and the like, and is not particularly limited.
The decompression time is, for example, preferably within a range of 10 seconds to 10 minutes, more preferably within a range of 30 seconds to 5 minutes, and particularly preferably within a range of 1 minute to 3 minutes.
This is because if the decompression time is long, the manufacturing cost may increase and the load applied to the twist ball member intermediate body may increase, and the twist ball member may deteriorate. On the other hand, if the decompression time is short, it may be difficult to generate gas or an excessive solvent from the twist ball layer sufficiently.

III. Collection Step The collection step in the present invention is a step of collecting the gas generated in the twist ball member intermediate after the pressure reduction step in the collection region.
In this step, as described above, if an excess solvent is generated in the decompression step, it can be collected together with the gas in the collection region.

  A method for collecting the gas or the like in the collection region is not particularly limited as long as the gas or excess solvent existing in the twist ball layer arrangement region can be moved to the collection region and collected. For example, a method of mechanically moving gas or excess solvent from the twist ball layer arrangement region to the collection region can be mentioned. More specifically, a method of moving gas or the like from the twist ball layer arrangement region to the collection region by applying pressure from the outside of the twist ball member intermediate using a kicking tool can be mentioned. In addition, about the kick-out tool, it can be the same as that of the content demonstrated by the term of the above-mentioned "I. Twist ball member intermediate body formation process."

  Further, as a method of collecting the gas and the like in the collection region, the twist ball member intermediate is left in a direction perpendicular to the ground and the like, and the gas and the like are collected in the collection region by using gravity. May be.

  In the present invention, if necessary, the above-described decompression step and this step may be repeated. The gas and excess solvent contained in the twist ball layer can be reduced.

In this case, it is preferable to have a backflow prevention step for preventing the gas collected in the collection region and the excess solvent from flowing back to the twist ball layer arrangement region after this step and before the decompression step again.
As a backflow prevention method for preventing the gas collected in the collection area and the excess solvent from flowing back to the twist ball layer arrangement area, for example, collecting the gas and the excess solvent on the end side of the collection area, A method of forming a temporary sealing portion between the boundary with the layer arrangement region and the end of the collection region can be mentioned. In this case, a part of the collection region where the gas or excess solvent is collected may be removed.

A backflow prevention method for forming the temporary sealing portion will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 10 is a process diagram illustrating another example of the decompression process, the collection process, and the removal process in the electronic paper panel manufacturing method of the present invention.
In the present invention, as shown in FIG. 10 (a), the gas g generated in the twist ball member intermediate body 1 ′ after the decompression step and the excess solvent l are collected by using the expulsion tool 4 such as the squeegee 42. Collect in Y (collection process). Next, as shown in FIG. 10B, a temporary sealing portion 18 that seals a portion Y ′ of the collection region Y having the collected gas g and excess solvent 1 is formed. Next, as shown in FIG. 10C, a part Y ′ of the collection region Y is removed from the twist ball member intermediate 1 ′. Next, although not shown, after the twist ball member intermediate is again placed under reduced pressure, the gas generated in the twist ball member intermediate 1 ′ and the excess solvent as shown in FIG. Are collected in the collection area Y using the eviction tool 4 such as the squeegee 42. Next, as shown in FIGS. 10E to 10F, the twisting ball member 1 can be formed by performing the removing step. In addition, about FIG.10 (e)-(f), since it is the same as that of the content demonstrated in FIG.2 (d)-(e) mentioned above, description here is abbreviate | omitted.

Further, as a backflow prevention method, for example, a method of preventing backflow by collecting gas or excess solvent on the end side of the collection region and mechanically separating the twist ball layer arrangement region and the collection region. Can be mentioned. As a method of mechanically separating the twist ball layer arrangement region and the collection region, for example, as shown in FIG. 11, a part Y ′ of the collection region Y having a gas g or an excessive solvent l and other portions There may be mentioned a method of bending the pair of sealing films 11a and 11b so as to divide, and a method of using a fastener or the like although not shown.
FIG. 11 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing another example of the twist ball member intermediate in the present invention.

  In the present invention, among them, the method of forming the temporary sealing portion is preferable as the backflow prevention method. This is because the load applied to the twist ball member intermediate is small and the backflow of gas or the like from the collection region to the twist ball layer arrangement region can be suppressed by a simple method.

  The above-described backflow prevention method may be appropriately changed depending on the number of times the pressure reducing step and the collecting step are repeated. For example, when the decompression step and the collection step are repeated a plurality of times, the above-described backflow prevention method for forming the temporary sealing portion and the method for mechanically separating the twist ball layer arrangement region and the collection region may be combined.

IV. Removal Step The removal step in the present invention is a step of removing the temporary sealing portion and the collection region after forming the sealing portion along the boundary between the twist ball layer arrangement region and the collection region after the collection step. It is.

  In this step, the width of the sealing portion after removal of the collection region is adjusted to be the same width as the sealing portion formed in the above-mentioned “I. Twist ball member intermediate forming step”. A sealing portion is formed.

  As a method for removing the temporary sealing portion and the collection region from the twist ball member intermediate body after the sealing portion is formed, a twist ball is used at an arbitrary position of the sealing portion using a general cutting device or the like. A method of cutting the member intermediate and removing the temporary sealing portion and the collection region can be given.

  In this step, a twist ball member can be obtained by removing the collection region.

V. Other Steps The method for producing an electronic paper panel of the present invention is not particularly limited as long as it has a twist ball member intermediate formation step, a decompression step, a collection step, and a removal step. Can be added.

1. Transparent electrode arrangement | positioning process The transparent electrode arrangement | positioning process in this invention is a process of arrange | positioning a transparent electrode on one surface of a twist ball layer.
In the present invention, “disposing the transparent electrode on the surface of the twist ball layer” means not only the case where the transparent electrode is disposed so as to be in contact with the twist ball layer, but also other members on the surface of the twist ball layer. Including a case where a transparent electrode is disposed.

  In this step, as a method of arranging the transparent electrode on the surface of the twist ball layer, specifically, the transparent electrode substrate having the transparent substrate and the transparent electrode formed on the transparent substrate is used as the sealing film. The method of arrange | positioning on the surface (1st method) and the method (2nd method) of forming a transparent electrode directly on the surface of a sealing film are mentioned. Hereinafter, each method will be described.

(1) 1st method A 1st method is a method of arrange | positioning the transparent electrode base material which has the transparent electrode formed on the transparent base material and the transparent base material on the surface of a sealing film.

(A) Transparent electrode base material The transparent electrode base material used for this invention has a transparent base material and a transparent electrode. The transparent electrode substrate may be an off-the-shelf product or a formed one.

(I) Transparent electrode As a form of a transparent electrode, it can select suitably according to the use of an electronic paper panel. For example, when the electronic paper panel performs fixed information display, the transparent electrode is formed on the entire surface of the transparent substrate or the entire region corresponding to the twisted ball layer arrangement region in the sealing film.
On the other hand, when the electronic paper panel performs variable information display, for example, when variable information display is performed by passive driving, one of the transparent electrode and the back electrode described later is a scanning (row) electrode, and the other Are used as signal (column) electrodes. In this case, the shape of the transparent electrode can be the same as that used in a general passive-drive electronic paper panel, and thus description thereof is omitted here.
Further, when the electronic paper panel has a portion for displaying fixed information and a portion for displaying variable information, the transparent electrode corresponding to each portion has the above-described modes.
Note that the fixed information display refers to information display expressed in advance by setting the shape of the back electrode to a specific shape and the presence or absence of the specific shape on the display surface.
On the other hand, variable information display refers to information display that is changed and expressed by using a matrix-like transparent electrode and a back electrode.

  The material of the transparent electrode is not particularly limited as long as it is a conductive material capable of forming a transparent electrode. For example, indium tin oxide (ITO), indium zinc oxide (IZO), tin oxide, zinc oxide , Conductive oxides such as indium oxide and zinc aluminum oxide (AZO), metals such as Au, Ni, and Ag, conductive polymers such as polyaniline, polyacetylene, polyalkylthiophene derivatives, polysilane derivatives, carbon nanotubes, graphene, etc. Can be used.

  The thickness of the transparent electrode is not particularly limited as long as it can function as a transparent electrode, but is preferably in the range of 15 nm to 200 nm. When the thickness of the transparent electrode is less than the above range, it is difficult to form the transparent electrode with a uniform thickness. When the thickness of the transparent electrode exceeds the above range, it is used for forming the transparent electrode. This is because the manufacturing cost increases because more time and materials are required.

  A method for forming the transparent electrode is not particularly limited as long as the transparent electrode can be formed with a desired thickness. As a method for forming such a transparent electrode, a general electrode film forming method can be used. For example, a PVD method such as a vacuum deposition method, a sputtering method, or an ion plating method, a CVD method, or a conductive paste is used. The method of apply | coating etc. are mentioned.

(Ii) Transparent base material A transparent base material supports a transparent electrode.
As a transparent base material, a rigid transparent base material may be sufficient, or the transparent base material which has flexibility may be sufficient.

Examples of such a transparent substrate include an inorganic transparent substrate and a resin transparent substrate. As the inorganic transparent substrate, a glass substrate can be exemplified. Moreover, as glass, soda-lime glass, alkali-free glass, quartz glass, etc. can be used, and alkali-free glass is preferable among them. On the other hand, as resins used for resin-made transparent substrates, polypropylene, polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride, polystyrene, polyvinyl alcohol, polyimide, polyethylene naphthalate, polyethylene terephthalate, polycarbonate, polyether imide, polyether ether ketone, polyether ketone , Polyphenylene sulfide, liquid crystal polymer, epoxy resin, silicone resin, phenol resin and the like.
Moreover, as a transparent base material, the laminated film similar to the sealing film mentioned above can also be used.

  About transparency and thickness of a transparent base material, since it can be made to be the same as that of the transparency and thickness of the sealing film mentioned above, description here is abbreviate | omitted.

(B) Arrangement method In the first method, as a method of arranging the transparent electrode substrate on the surface of the sealing film, for example, a method of bonding them together using an adhesive layer can be mentioned.
A well-known thing can be used about the adhesive used for an adhesion layer.

  In the first method, the transparent electrode substrate may be disposed so that the transparent electrode side faces the sealing film, or the transparent substrate side may be disposed so as to face the sealing film.

  Moreover, the sealing film in which the transparent electrode base material is disposed may be used so that the transparent electrode base material side faces the twist ball layer, and the side opposite to the transparent electrode base material side faces the twist ball layer. May be used. Usually, as shown in FIG. 3 etc., it uses so that the opposite side to the transparent electrode base material 22 side of the sealing film 11a may oppose the twist ball | bowl layer 15. FIG.

(2) Second Method The second method is a method of forming a transparent electrode directly on the surface of the sealing film. The second method includes a case where an off-the-shelf product in which a transparent electrode layer is previously formed on the surface of the sealing film is used.

  The transparent electrode and the method for forming the transparent electrode can be the same as those described in the above-mentioned section “(1) First method”, and thus the description thereof is omitted here.

  Moreover, the sealing film in which the transparent electrode is formed may be used so that the transparent electrode side faces the twist ball layer, and may be used so that the side opposite to the transparent electrode faces the twist ball layer.

(3) Others This step may be performed before the twist ball member intermediate forming step or after the twist ball member intermediate forming step. In the present invention, the transparent electrode placement step is preferably performed before the twisting ball member intermediate forming step. It is because a transparent electrode can be arrange | positioned favorably on the surface of a sealing film.

2. Back Electrode Placement Step The back electrode placement step in the present invention is a step of placing a back electrode on one surface of the twist ball layer.
In the present invention, “disposing the back electrode on the surface of the twist ball layer” means not only the case where the back electrode is disposed in contact with the twist ball layer, but also other members on the surface of the twist ball layer. Including a case where a back electrode is disposed.

  In this step, as a method of disposing the back electrode on the surface of the twist ball layer, specifically, the back electrode base material having the back electrode formed on the back base material and the back base material is used for the sealing film. There are a method of arranging on the surface (first method) and a method of forming the back electrode directly on the surface of the sealing film (second method). Hereinafter, each method will be described.

(1) First Method The first method is a method in which a back electrode substrate having a back substrate and a back electrode formed on the back substrate is disposed on the surface of the sealing film.

(A) Back electrode base material The back electrode base material used for this process has a back surface base material and a back electrode.

(I) Back electrode The form of the back electrode can be appropriately selected according to the use of the electronic paper panel. For example, when the electronic paper panel performs fixed information display, the back electrode is used as a display electrode and has a pattern shape corresponding to information displayed on the electronic paper panel.

  Here, the “pattern shape according to information displayed on the electronic paper panel” includes not only the same shape as the individual information displayed on the display surface of the electronic paper panel but also the shape corresponding to the background. Say.

  Further, the pattern shape of the back electrode may be a pattern shape that allows one information to be displayed using one back electrode, and one information is obtained using a plurality of back electrodes. It may be a pattern shape that can be displayed.

  The pattern shape of such a back electrode is not particularly limited, and is appropriately selected according to the use of the electronic paper panel manufactured according to the present invention. Specifically, geometric shapes, letters, numbers, codes, marks, designs, etc., and shapes corresponding to the background can be mentioned. Moreover, as a shape of a back electrode, the shape which comprises 7 segments used for digital display can be mentioned.

  On the other hand, when the electronic paper panel performs variable information display, for example, when variable information display is performed by passive driving, one of the transparent electrode and the back electrode described above is a scanning (row) electrode, and the other Are used as signal (column) electrodes. In this case, the shape of the back electrode can be the same as that used for a general passively driven electronic paper panel, and thus the description thereof is omitted here.

  In addition, when the electronic paper panel has a portion for displaying fixed information and a portion for displaying variable information, the back electrode corresponding to each portion has the above-described modes.

  The back electrode is not particularly limited as long as it is made of a conductive material and can display information using a twist ball layer described later by applying a voltage to the back electrode. . Such a back electrode may consist only of the back electrode, or may have a back electrode and a back electrode insulating layer.

The material used for such a back electrode is not particularly limited as long as it is a conductive material. For example, metals such as Au, Al, Ag, Ni, and Cu, ITO, SnO ₂ , and ZnO: Examples thereof include a transparent conductor such as Al, and a conductive paste in which a conductive agent is mixed with a solvent or a synthetic resin binder. Examples of the conductive agent include cationic polymer electrolytes such as polymethylbenzyltrimethylammonium chloride and polyallylpolymethylammonium chloride, anionic polymer electrolytes such as polystyrene sulfonate and polyacrylate, and electronically conductive zinc oxide. Tin oxide, indium oxide, carbon fine powder, carbon nanotube, Ag fine powder and the like are used.

When the back electrode has a back electrode insulating layer, a resin layer, an adhesive layer, or the like can be used as the back electrode insulating layer. Since the resin material used for the resin layer can be the same as the resin material used for the transparent substrate described above, the description thereof is omitted here.
On the other hand, a well-known thing can be used about the adhesive agent used for an adhesive bond layer.

In addition, as a method for forming the back electrode, when the back electrode is directly formed on the back substrate, the above-described metal, transparent conductor, and the like using a metal mask or the like, a sputtering method, a vacuum evaporation method, a CVD method Examples thereof include a method of forming a thin film on the back substrate by a coating method and the like, a method of applying the pattern on the back substrate by using the conductive paste, and the like.
On the other hand, when forming a back electrode having an insulating layer for a back electrode on a back substrate, for example, a method of cutting a metal foil into a desired pattern and bonding it onto the back substrate using an adhesive or a resin Prepare a resin base material as a layer, and after forming a metal film as a back electrode on the resin base material, cut it into a desired pattern and attach it on the back base material using an adhesive, etc. Can do.

  The thickness of the back electrode is not particularly limited as long as it allows the image display by the electronic paper panel. Specifically, the thickness is within the range of 50 nm to 500 μm, particularly 100 nm. It is preferable to be within a range of ˜100 μm, particularly within a range of 300 nm to 50 μm. If the thickness of the back electrode is less than the above range, it is difficult to form a back electrode having a uniform thickness.If the thickness exceeds the above range, it takes time to form the back electrode, In addition, since a large amount of material for the back electrode is required, the manufacturing cost increases.

(Ii) Back Base Material The back base material supports the back electrode.
In addition, the back substrate in the present invention usually has insulating properties.

The back substrate is not particularly limited as long as the back electrode can be formed on the back substrate. In addition, the back substrate may have transparency or may not have transparency.
Moreover, in this invention, you may color a back base material in the same color as one color of the twist ball of the twist ball layer mentioned above as needed.

  Such a back substrate may be a flexible substrate or a rigid substrate.

  Such a back substrate may be an inorganic substrate or a resin substrate. Specific examples of the material for the inorganic base material and the resin base material include the inorganic materials and resin materials described in the section of the transparent base material described above. Moreover, as a back surface base material, the laminated | multilayer film used for the above-mentioned sealing film can be used.

  In addition to those described above, the back substrate is composed of glass epoxy resin, paper phenol, paper epoxy, glass composite, Teflon (registered trademark), alumina, low-temperature co-fired ceramics, composite, halogen-free substrate, etc. Can be mentioned.

(Iii) Others The back electrode substrate in the present invention is not particularly limited as long as it has the above-described back electrode and back substrate, and a necessary configuration can be appropriately selected and added.
An example of such a configuration is a wiring electrode.
The back electrode wiring may be formed on the back substrate, or may be formed on the wiring electrode insulating layer and disposed on the back substrate. The material of the wiring insulating layer can be the same as the material used for the above-described back electrode insulating layer.
Moreover, the wiring electrode may be directly disposed on the back electrode, or may be disposed through the back electrode spacer layer. Further, a wiring electrode spacer layer may be further provided on the wiring electrode layer. As the back electrode spacer layer and the wiring electrode spacer layer, for example, a resin film can be used. Further, via holes for connecting the back electrode and the wiring electrode are usually formed in the back electrode spacer layer and the wiring electrode spacer layer.
In addition, the via hole has a connection layer for connecting a back electrode and a wiring electrode formed using, for example, a conductive paste.

  Moreover, as a back electrode base material, the back electrode base material for electronic paper shown by Unexamined-Japanese-Patent No. 2012-242808 and Unexamined-Japanese-Patent No. 2012-226053 can be used.

(B) Arrangement method In the first method, as a method of arranging the back electrode substrate on the surface of the sealing film, for example, a method of bonding them together using an adhesive layer can be mentioned.
A well-known thing can be used about the adhesive used for an adhesion layer.

  Moreover, in a 1st method, a back electrode base material may be arrange | positioned so that a back electrode side may oppose a sealing film, and a back base material side may be arrange | positioned so that a sealing film may be opposed.

  Moreover, the sealing film in which the back electrode base material is disposed may be used so that the back electrode base material side faces the twist ball layer, and the side opposite to the back electrode base material side faces the twist ball layer. May be used. Usually, as shown in FIG. 3 etc., it uses so that the opposite side to the back electrode base material 22 side of the sealing film 11b may oppose the twist ball | bowl layer 15. FIG.

(2) Second Method The second method is a method of forming a back electrode directly on the surface of the sealing film.

  The back electrode and the method for forming the back electrode can be the same as those described in the above-mentioned section “(1) First method”, and thus the description thereof is omitted here.

  Further, the sealing film on which the back electrode is formed may be used so that the back electrode side faces the twist ball layer, or may be used so that the side opposite to the back electrode faces the twist ball layer.

(3) Others This step may be performed before the twist ball member intermediate forming step or after the twist ball member intermediate forming step. In the present invention, it is more preferable to perform the back electrode placement step after the removal step. This is because, in the collecting step, by not arranging the back electrode, it may be easy to visually observe the gas or solvent generated in the twist ball member intermediate.

VI. Electronic Paper Panel An electronic paper panel manufactured according to the present invention includes a pair of sealing films having heat-welding properties, a solvent, a swelling layer in which the solvent is swollen, and the above-described pair of sealing films, and the above A twist ball member having a twist ball dispersed in the swelling layer, a twist ball member formed by heat-sealing the pair of sealing films and having a sealing portion for sealing the twist ball layer, and the twist ball A transparent electrode disposed on one surface of the layer, and a back electrode disposed on a surface opposite to the surface of the twist ball layer on which the transparent electrode is disposed.

  The electronic paper panel manufactured by the present invention is used for, for example, a display of a digital device, an electronic book, a digital signage (electronic signage), a price tag, a guide sign, a clock, an indicator, a message board, and the like.

  The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. The above-described embodiment is an exemplification, and the present invention has substantially the same configuration as the technical idea described in the claims of the present invention, and any device that exhibits the same function and effect is the present invention. It is included in the technical scope of the invention.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described with reference to examples.

[Example]
I. Back electrode base material formation process The laminated | multilayer film laminated | stacked in order of the PET film with vapor deposition aluminum, the adhesion layer, and a peeling film were prepared. Using a cutting machine (CE-5000 manufactured by Graphtec), the laminated film was cut from the deposited aluminum surface to the adhesive layer into a pattern capable of displaying a predetermined pattern. At this time, the gap between the electrodes was cut at 0.5 mm, and then unnecessary portions were removed. The back electrode base material was obtained by the above procedure.
Next, a 50 μm thick PET film with an adhesive layer was cut into a back electrode via hole shape using a cutting machine. The cut via was peeled off to form a back electrode via hole. The back electrode spacer layer was obtained by the above procedure.
Similar to the back electrode substrate, a laminated film was prepared in which a deposited film with deposited aluminum, an adhesive layer, and a release film were laminated in this order. The upper evaporated aluminum surface to the adhesive layer were cut with a cutting machine (CE-5000 manufactured by Graphtec) to form a wiring electrode layer. The wiring electrode layer was formed so as to surround the back electrode via hole of the back electrode spacer layer, and unnecessary portions were removed. A wiring electrode layer was obtained by the above procedure.
Using a cutting machine, a wiring electrode via hole was formed on the adhesive PET film having a thickness of 50 μm so that the wiring extraction portion could be seen, thereby forming a wiring electrode spacer layer.
The back substrate, the back electrode, the back electrode spacer layer, the wiring electrode insulating layer, the wiring electrode, and the wiring electrode spacer layer were laminated in this order, and each component was bonded using an adhesive layer.
The back electrode base material with a wiring electrode was produced by the above process.

II. Transparent electrode placement process Remove the release paper of the 125μm thick PET film with transparent electrode CNT (transparent electrode base material), attach it to a 2mm thick acrylic plate, peel off the release paper on the opposite side, and seal the 55μm thick The film (laminated film of PET and CPP) was bonded to the PET surface.

III. Twist ball member intermediate formation process The CPP surfaces of the sealing film on which the transparent electrode substrate is disposed and the 55 μm-thick sealing film (laminated film of PET and CPP) are superposed on each other, and three sides are heat-welded ( A bag having an opening on one side was prepared.
Next, a twist ball sheet (manufactured by Soken Chemical Co., Ltd.) having a thickness of 330 μm and swollen with silicone oil was inserted into the bag as a display medium layer.
After inserting the twist ball sheet, it is present between a pair of sealing films using a kick-out tool (rubber hand roller 30 cm (30 degrees) manufactured by Nakajima Roller Mfg. Co., Ltd., rubber spatula EA579DA-125 manufactured by Otsuka Brush Manufacturing Co., Ltd.). Bubbles (gas) and excess solvent were drained from the opening of the bag.
Next, a pair of sealing films were cut and heat sealed on one side of the bag in which the opening was formed, leaving a length of about 20 mm from the transparent electrode base acrylic plate. Through the above procedure, a twist ball member intermediate body having a twist ball layer arrangement region and a collection region was obtained.

IV. Decompression step, collection step and removal step Next, the twist ball member intermediate is held for 2 minutes in a state of being depressurized (depressurization condition: -0.1 MPa) with a vacuum depressurization device (automatic vacuum packaging machine FVS-3SII manufactured by Furukawa Seisakusho). After that, the generated bubbles were collected and sealed by forming a sealing portion in a part of the collection region. Repeat the process of removing bubbles by applying the above-mentioned vacuum decompression device several times to confirm that no conspicuous bubbles are generated, expel excess silicone oil, and along the boundary between the twist ball layer arrangement area and the collection area After forming the sealing part, the collecting region was removed. A twist ball member was obtained by the above procedure.

V. Back electrode arrangement | positioning process The peeling film was peeled off from the back electrode base material with a wiring electrode mentioned above, and it bonded together using the laminator on the PET surface of the twist ball member. Next, a conductive paste was applied to the via hole of the back electrode substrate with the wiring electrode, and the back electrode and the wiring electrode were connected. An electronic paper panel was obtained by the above procedure.

[Evaluation]
The back electrode and the transparent electrode were wired with a lead wire, and a voltage of ± 100 V was applied to the back electrode through the lead wire to display a picture.
There was no generation of bubbles and no display unevenness.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Twist ball member 1 '... Twist ball member intermediate body 11a, 11b ... Sealing film 12 ... Solvent 13 ... Swelling layer 14 ... Twist ball 15 ... Twist ball layer 16 ... Sealing part 2 ... Transparent electrode 3 ... Back electrode 10 , 100 ... Twisted ball type electronic paper panel (electronic paper panel)

Claims (1)

A pair of sealing films having heat-welding properties, a twisting film disposed between the pair of sealing films, having a solvent, a swelling layer swollen by the solvent, and a twist ball dispersed in the swelling layer A twisted ball member having a ball layer and a sealing portion formed by thermally welding the pair of sealing films and sealing the twisted ball layer;
A transparent electrode disposed on one surface of the twist ball layer;
A back electrode disposed on the surface of the twist ball layer opposite to the surface on which the transparent electrode is disposed;
A twist ball type electronic paper panel manufacturing method for manufacturing a twist ball type electronic paper panel comprising:
Preparing the pair of sealing films having the sealing portion formed by providing an opening in a part of the outer periphery, and the twisting ball layer disposed between the pair of sealing films; After exhausting gas and excess solvent outside the pair of sealing films, by forming a temporary sealing portion and closing the opening, a twist ball layer arrangement region in which the twist ball layer is arranged, A twisting ball member intermediate forming step for forming a twisting ball member intermediate having the twisting ball layer arrangement region and a collection region provided adjacent to the temporary sealing portion;
A decompression step of placing the twist ball member intermediate under reduced pressure;
A collecting step of collecting the gas generated in the twist ball member intermediate after the depressurizing step in the collecting region;
A removal step of removing the temporary sealing portion and the collection region after forming the sealing portion along the boundary between the twist ball layer arrangement region and the collection region after the collection step;
A method for producing a twisted ball type electronic paper panel, comprising:

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