JPH0216334Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] The present invention relates to a display element in which colored layers of two or more colors are formed.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Conventionally, colored layers have been formed on liquid crystal display cells themselves or their laminates, such as polarizing plates and reflective plates, for the purpose of fixed display or color display.

FIG. 1 is an end view of an example of such a liquid crystal display element, in which substrates 3 and 4 made of glass, plastic, etc., provided with transparent electrodes 1 and 2 are sealed with a sealing material 5 with the electrodes facing each other. , a liquid crystal 6 is sealed inside to form a liquid crystal display cell 7, and polarizing plates 8,
9 and a reflective plate 10 are laminated to form a liquid crystal display element.

A colored layer 11 having a desired pattern is formed on the polarizing plate 8 on the front side.

In a liquid crystal display element with such a configuration, the appearance will be good if the electrode pattern and the colored layer pattern completely match, but if they are even slightly misaligned, the colors will change, especially if two or more colors are used. It is difficult to match colors exactly, and when colors overlap, different colors may be displayed in some areas, or there may be gaps between colors, resulting in an extremely poor display quality.
The appearance was poor and alignment was difficult.
In addition, such a normal colored layer is formed into a desired pattern shape, and the thickness of the printing layer must be delicately controlled in order to create shading and shading, so it is not suitable for mass production and is usually In many cases, all substances were displayed at a constant concentration.

The present invention aims to prevent such drawbacks and provide colored layers of two or more colors without degrading the display quality and with good productivity. Or, in a display element in which colored layers of two or more colors are partially provided on a plate-shaped body laminated to the display cell, the area of the colored layers gradually decreases toward the other side between adjacent colored layers. This is a display element characterized in that the color between the two colored layers changes gradually.

According to the present invention, it is possible to gradually change the color between the two colored layers, and even if the alignment is slightly misaligned, there will be areas with no color or a part will suddenly change to another color. Since the appearance does not easily deteriorate, productivity is extremely high.

To explain this using FIG. 2, when the electrode patterns 1A and 1B are adjacent to each other, the colored layer 11
A and 11B are designed to be slightly larger than the normal electrode patterns 1A and 1B in consideration of misalignment. However, in recent years, as patterns have become more complex, there has been a tendency to narrow the gap between electrode patterns, and with this trend, it has become almost impossible to maintain a gap between colored layers. Due to a slight misalignment, part of the edge of the adjacent colored layer is displayed as shown in FIG. 3, resulting in an extremely poor appearance. That is, the left end of the colored layer 11D is displayed by the electrode 1C. In contrast, in the present invention, the colors gradually change between the two colored layers, so even if the alignment is slightly shifted as in the example in Figure 3, Color changes due to misalignment are not so noticeable because the colors change gradually, and do not significantly degrade the appearance.

Display elements that perform display using electro-optical materials that can be used in the present invention include the typical twisted nematic (TN) type liquid crystal display element mentioned above, as well as guest-host type liquid crystal display elements mixed with dichroic dyes. element, dynamics scattering (DSM)
There are electro-optical display elements such as liquid crystal display elements of various known modes, electrochromic display elements, electrophoretic display elements, etc., including two-layer cells, semiconductor substrates, and reflective electrodes. If necessary, a plate-like body such as a polarizing plate, a color polarizing plate, a color filter, an ultraviolet cut filter, a transflective plate, a reflective plate, a light guide plate, etc. may be used.

In the present invention, colored layers of two or more colors are formed on the display cell itself or the laminated plate-like bodies, and the areas of the colored layers are gradually reduced between adjacent colored layers.

Representative examples of this are shown in FIGS. 4 to 7.

In Figure 4, the left side of the figure is the first color, and the right side of the figure is the second color (indicated by hatching), and the areas of the colored layers mutually decrease toward the other side in the area between them. It is like that. Specifically, a circular dot-shaped colored layer is provided, and its radius is gradually made smaller. Note that the radius of this circular dot is usually about 3 mm or less, and the maximum diameter is determined depending on its use, and it is preferably set to a size that is not visually recognizable as a circular figure. For this reason, for things that can be seen right next to the eyes, such as watches, calculators, and game devices, it is preferable that the dots be at most 2 mm or less, preferably 1 mm or less.

In Figure 5, the circular colored layer dots in Figure 3 are replaced with rectangular colored layer dots, and by gradually decreasing the area of the colored layer per unit area, the colors are gradually changed. is caused to change.

FIG. 6 is an example in which the colored area changes mutually in a triangular shape.

Figure 7 shows an example in which the radius of the circular dot is constant but the density gradually changes and the area of the colored layer per unit area changes. Immediately to the right of the colored layer are two rows of dense first
Dot rows 12 and 13 of colors are formed, and the third row 1
4, the density is half, and in the fourth column 15, 3 dots and 1 dot are the second color, and in the central 5th column 16, the dots of the first color and the second color are 1:1, In the sixth column 17, 3 dots and 2 dots are of the second color, and in the seventh column 18, all dots are of the second color.
The eighth column 19 and the ninth column 20 are dots of a second color having double density, that is, the same density as the first and second columns. Further, in this example, color removal dots 21 are formed in the first colored layer, and color removal dots 22 are formed in the second colored layer, so that the color change becomes smoother.

These various patterns are possible, but the fourth
It is preferable that the dots be separated as in the examples shown in FIGS. In the example shown in Figure 6, if the design is not done well, a triangle may be recognized and the desired gradually changing color display may not be visible, so it is preferable to use a dot shape, especially when viewed from the viewing angle. It is preferable to use a pattern in which the dots are arranged diagonally, since it is less likely to cause color misalignment and looks more beautiful.

This dot-shaped colored layer is preferably circular in shape because it is easy to print, but the pattern is not limited to the above example, and various shapes such as triangular, hexagonal, and elliptical shapes can be used. Conversely, uncolored portions may be formed in the shape of dots in portions close to the continuous portion, as long as the dots are provided in a size that is not noticeable as dots.

This colored layer is formed on the display cell substrate, polarizing plate, filter, reflective plate (background plate), cover glass, etc., and is usually done by printing methods such as offset printing or screen printing. This is preferable because of its high productivity, but a colored metal film may be deposited or sputtered, or a colored material may be applied and then patterned into a desired shape by etching or the like.

The colored layer referred to in the present invention is not limited to chromatic colors such as red, blue, and green, but also includes black, gold, silver, etc., and is a transparent colored layer that can be formed into a desired electrode pattern. By providing them so that they match, the display of the desired color can be blurred, and even if the pattern of the colored layer and the electrode pattern are slightly misaligned, the color shift is hard to see and the appearance will hardly deteriorate. Positioning is easy and productivity is good.

Furthermore, the method of the present invention can be similarly applied to a colored layer for fixed display on a display element, which can display shading, and in this case, it is an opaque colored layer.

Example 1 Transparent color inks of blue and red were offset printed on a polarizing plate as in the pattern shown in FIG. 4, so that the color change area was 4 mm wide. The liquid crystal display element manufactured in this way gradually changes from red to blue within its width, and the alignment of the polarizing plate and the liquid crystal display cell is easy, even if the position is slightly shifted. It did not appear that any color shift occurred.

Example 2 On the polarizing film of Example 1, opaque red and blue color inks were printed in the pattern shown in Figure 2 using offset printing in a different place from the place printed in Example 1, and the color changed. The display area was made to be 4mm wide. The liquid crystal display element manufactured in this manner had a fixed display portion with blurred red and blue colors and a two-color display portion in which color shift was less likely to occur.

In this way, the present invention can easily display gradual color changes, is less prone to color shift due to misalignment, and is easy to align. It is possible to apply the following.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is an end view of an example of a liquid crystal display element. FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 are explanatory diagrams showing the relationship between colored layers and electrodes. FIG. 4 to FIG. 7 are explanatory diagrams for explaining the pattern of the colored layer of the present invention. 3, 4... Substrate, 8, 9... Polarizing plate, 11...
Colored layer.

Claims (1)

[Claims for Utility Model Registration] (1) Displays in which colored layers of two or more colors are partially provided on a display cell itself that uses an electro-optical material to display a display, or on a plate-shaped body laminated on the display cell. In the device, the area of the colored layers gradually decreases toward the other between adjacent colored layers, so that the color between the two colored layers gradually changes. A display element. (2) Utility model registration claim 1, characterized in that the colored layers between adjacent colored layers are shaped like circular dots, and the diameter of the dots decreases toward the other side. The display element described.