JPH04116829U - EC anti-glare mirror for automobiles - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Purpose] To obtain a strong anti-glare effect with low voltage, without risk of damaging the durability of the EC element due to excessive voltage, and to switch the anti-glare state (colored state) in multiple stages by operating a switch. To provide an EC anti-glare mirror that can. [Structure] A back side EC element 21 and a front side EC element 31 are provided on both sides of a transparent glass substrate 20, respectively, and an electric circuit that can independently apply a driving voltage to each of the two EC elements is provided.

Description

[Detailed explanation of the idea]

0001

[Industrial application field]

The present invention relates to an anti-glare mirror for automobiles, and in particular to an EC type anti-glare mirror. It is.

0002

[Conventional technology]

Automotive mirrors (inside mirrors, outside mirrors, door mirrors) This is essential for checking the rear visibility and driving safely, but the When strong light such as light is reflected, it causes a problem of being dazzled.

0003 To reduce this dazzle, reduce the reflectance of the mirror at night. is valid.

0004 For this purpose, an anti-glare mirror whose reflectance can be changed in two stages is used. It will be done.

[0005] Conventionally, prism type anti-glare mirrors and liquid crystal type anti-glare mirrors have been put into practical use. In addition, there is an EC type defense that uses electrochromism (hereinafter abbreviated as EC). A glare mirror has been developed and is about to be put into practical use.

[0006] FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram depicting a cross section of a conventional EC type anti-glare mirror, for convenience of reading. The thickness dimension has been enlarged, and the upper part of the figure is the back surface of the mirror.

A transparent conductive layer 2 is provided on a glass substrate 1 as a first electrode. As the material, for example, ITO (indium tin oxide) or SnO ₂ is used.

Furthermore, a first EC layer 3 of EC (for example WO ₃ , M ₀ O ₃ ) which is colored by a reduction reaction, an electrolyte layer (for example Ta _{2 O 5 , ZrO 2 , SiO 2 ) 4 and a first EC layer 3 of EC (for example WO 3 , M 0 O 3 ) colored by a reduction reaction, an electrolyte layer (for example Ta 2} O ₅ , ZrO ₂ , SiO ₂ ) 4, A second EC layer 5 of colored EC (for example, Cr ₂ O ₃ , NiO, IrO ₂ ) and a second electrode-cum-reflection layer (made of Al, Ag, etc.) 6 are sequentially layered, and an electrically insulating adhesive is applied thereon. It is covered with a protective layer 7 and a protective substrate 8 made of glass. Note that the material of the first EC layer and the material of the second EC layer may be exchanged.

[0009] A DC voltage (approximately 0.5 to 2.0 V) is applied between the first electrode 2 and the second electrode 6. When the polarity is switched, electrochemical oxidation and reduction occur within the first and second EC layers. The reaction takes place and the first EC layer 3 and second EC layer 5 are colored or decolored. .

0010 The above coloring and decoloring reactions occur in the first EC layer 3, electrolyte layer 4, and second EC layer during the manufacturing process. The following electrochemistry takes place between the moisture confined in 5 and the first and second EC layers. This is a typical reaction.

WO ₃ +xH+xe→Hx・WO ₃ ...(1) Ir+xOH−xe→Ir(OH)x ...(2) WO ₃ on the left side of equation (1) above is transparent, and Hx・WO ₃ on the right side is blue. It is.

0012 Also, Ir on the left side of equation (2) is a trivalent ion and transparent, and Ir(OH)x on the right side is gray. Ru.

[0013] This coloring and decoloring change the absorption rate of passing light, and the function as a mirror changes. When you look at it, the reflectance changes.

[0014] In order to control the above-mentioned coloring and decoloring, the solder 9 is applied to the transparent conductive layers 2 and 2'. The wires 10a and 10b are connected to the DC power supply 12 via the changeover switch 11. Connected.

[0015] A film was formed on the glass substrate 1 in order to apply a voltage between the first electrode and the second electrode. The transparent conductive layer is etched to form an etching band (transparent conductive layer is formed by etching). A transparent conductive layer 2a that constitutes a band-shaped portion (from which the layer has been removed) 2c and serves as a first electrode; It is divided into a transparent electrode layer 2b for taking out the second electrode.

[0016] Operate the selector switch 11 to advance the reversible reaction of equations (1) and (2) above to the left. As shown in Figure 6(A), a (normal) mirror with high reflectivity is created. becomes.

[0017] Also, operate the changeover switch 11 to shift the reversible reactions of equations (1) and (2) to the right. As the color progresses and the color disappears, it becomes an anti-glare state with low reflectance as shown in Figure 6(B). (The anti-glare state is indicated by adding spots to the reflective surface of the mirror in the figure.) ).

[0018]

[Problem that the idea aims to solve]

In the conventional EC anti-glare mirror described above, the first EC layer and the second EC layer In this process, coloring and decoloring reactions are carried out as shown in equations (1) and (2) above, but the If you want to make the color darker, you have to apply a high voltage. However, when a high voltage is applied, the durability of the EC element decreases. This invention was devised in view of the above-mentioned circumstances. Color (strong anti-glare) can be obtained, and multi-level color development (strong and dark) can be achieved by operating a switch. The purpose is to provide an EC anti-glare mirror for automobiles that provides low multi-stage anti-glare. do.

[0019]

[Means to solve the problem]

In order to achieve the above object, the EC anti-glare mirror according to the present invention has the following features: a first transparent conductive layer layered on both sides of a transparent substrate; a first EC layer laminated on each of the transparent conductive layers; An electrolyte layer layered on each of the above EC layers, a second EC layer layered on each of the electrolyte layers; a second conductive layer layered on each of the second EC layers, and each pair of a first transparent conductive layer and a second transparent conductive layer provided on both sides of the transparent substrate; A switch mechanism is provided that can independently apply a DC voltage to the conductive layer. It is characterized by

[0020] The pair of first transparent electrode layers in the above configuration are connected by clips made of conductive material. At the same time, when the clip is connected to the switch mechanism and conductive, the wiring It is convenient because the lines are easier to draw, and the unevenness of time for coloring and erasing is reduced or eliminated. Ru.

[0021]

[Effect]

According to the above configuration, a pair of electrodes are arranged symmetrically across a transparent substrate (for example, a glass plate). An electrolyte layer is arranged, and first and second EC layers are arranged on both sides of each electrolyte layer. It is set up. In short, two components (EC elements) of a conventional EC anti-glare mirror are superimposed. It is. For this reason, a relatively low voltage is applied to each of the two stacked EC elements to weaken them. Even if it is colored with a strong color, the overlapping of these colors results in a strong anti-glare effect (low reflectance). ) is obtained.

[0022]

【Example】

FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing one embodiment of an EC anti-glare mirror according to the present invention.

[0023] External light enters as shown by arrow e, is reflected and exits as shown by arrow f. Therefore, The upper side of the figure is the back side as a mirror, and the lower side of the figure is the front side. A back side EC element 21 and a front side EC element are arranged almost symmetrically with a transparent glass substrate 20 in between. 31 are arranged. When only the back side EC element 21 is extracted and observed, the conventional EC anti-glare shown in FIG. It has a structure similar to a mirror. That is, the first transparent conductive layer 22 and the first EC layer 2 are placed on the back side of the transparent glass substrate 20. 3, electrolyte layer 24, second electrode/reflection layer 26, protective layer 27 made of adhesive, and The protective substrates 28 are sequentially layered to constitute the back side EC element 21.

[0024] Then, on the front side of the transparent glass substrate 20, a first transparent conductive layer 32, a first EC Consists of layer 33, electrolyte layer 34, second EC layer 35, second transparent conductive layer 36, and adhesive. A protective layer 37 and a transparent protective substrate 38 are sequentially laminated to form the front EC element 31. has been completed. The front and back EC elements 31 and 21 have almost symmetrical configurations, but have the following differences. ing. The second electrode/reflection layer 26 is an optically reflective member, but the second transparent conductive layer 36 is a transparent member, and has the function of passing the incident light indicated by arrow e and the reflected light indicated by arrow f. have. The protective substrate 28 may be transparent or opaque, but the transparent protective substrate 3 Reference numeral 8 denotes a transparent member that allows the incident light indicated by arrow e and the reflected light indicated by arrow f to pass through. have the ability.

[0025] The switch SW is a single-pole four-contact changeover switch, and has fixed contacts a, b, c, and d. The second electrode/reflection layer 26 is connected to the fixed contact d via the diode D ₁ in the opposite direction, and directly to the fixed contact c without passing through the diode D ₁ . The second transparent conductive layer 36 is connected to the fixed contact d via the diode D ₂ in the opposite direction, and directly to the fixed contact b without passing through the diode D ₂ . The second electrode/reflection layer 26 and the first transparent conductive layer 22 are connected through a fixed resistor R ₁ , and the second transparent conductive layer 36 and the first transparent conductive layer 32 are connected through a fixed resistor R _{2 .} ing.

[0026] The first transparent conductive layer 22 and the first transparent conductive layer 32 are connected to the cathode side of the DC power supply 41 The anode of the DC power supply 41 is connected to the movable contact piece of the switch SW.

[0027] In this embodiment, the same voltage is applied to the back side EC element 21 and the front side EC element 31. When added, the back side EC element 21 produces a stronger anti-glare effect than the front side EC element 31. It is configured so that the light transmittance decreases (low transmittance).

The operation of the EC anti-glare mirror of this example configured as described above will be described next. When the movable contact piece of the switch SW is in contact with the fixed terminal a as shown in FIG. 1, no voltage is applied between the second electrode/reflection layer 26 and the first transparent conductive layer 22, and the fixed resistance R ₁ Since the back side EC element 21 is connected at , the back side EC element 21 is in a decolored state (a state with high transmittance). Furthermore, since no voltage is applied between the second transparent conductive layer 36 and the first transparent conductive layer 32 and they are connected through a fixed resistance R ₂ , the front EC element 31 is also in a decolored state (high transmittance). It has become. In this way, in the state shown in Fig. 1, the EC anti-glare mirror of this example is in a decolorized state, and reflects the incident light (arrow e) with a large reflectance as shown by arrow f, creating a bright reflected image (rear visibility). can get.

Next, as shown in FIG. 2, when the movable contact piece of the switch SW is brought into contact with the fixed terminal b, the output voltage of the DC power supply 41 is changed between the first transparent conductive layer 32 and the second transparent conductive layer is applied, and the front side EC element 31 develops color. In this case, the anode of the DC power source 41 is applied from the fixed contact b to the second electrode/reflection layer 26 via the diode D ₂ , but the voltage is opposite to the conductivity of the diode D ₂ . The current is turned off by the diode _D2 , and the back side EC element 21 does not produce any color. In this way, the back side EC element 21 does not develop color, and the front side EC element 31 develops color. As mentioned above, since the back side EC element 21 is configured to have higher anti-glare performance than the front side EC element 31, only the front side EC element 31 with low anti-glare performance is colored (Fig. 2 ), the anti-glare mirror is in a weak anti-glare state (relatively high reflectance).

Next, as shown in FIG. 3, when the movable contact piece of the switch SW is brought into contact with the fixed terminal c, the output voltage of the DC power supply 41 is increased between the first transparent conductive layer 22 and the second electrode/reflection layer 26. The back side EC element 21 develops color. In this case, the anode of the DC power supply 41 is about to be applied from the fixed contact c to the second electrode/reflection layer 26 via the diodes D ₁ and D ₂ , but the voltage is reversed with respect to the conducting polarity of the diode D ₁ . Therefore, the current is turned off by the diode _D1 , and the front side EC element 31 does not develop color. In this way, the front side EC element 31 does not develop color, and the back side EC element 21 develops color. As mentioned above, since the back side EC element 21 is configured to have higher anti-glare performance than the front side EC element 31, only the back side EC element 21 which has high anti-glare performance is colored (Fig. 3 ), this anti-glare mirror has a moderate anti-glare state (relatively low reflectance).

Furthermore, when the switch SW is operated to the fixed contact _d as shown in FIG. A driving voltage is applied through the diode D ₂ in the forward direction, and both EC elements 21 and 31 develop color, resulting in a strong anti-glare state (minimum reflectance state).

[0032] As explained above, the EC anti-glare mirror of this embodiment uses only the DC power supply 41 as the driving source. In addition, the anti-glare state can be changed to decolorization or decolorization without using a special high voltage. You can switch to four levels: weak, medium, and strong.

[0033] FIG. 7 shows the connecting portion of the first transparent conductive layers 22 and 32 in the embodiment shown in FIG. It is drawn as a schematic physical wiring diagram.

[0034] A clip 50 made of a conductive material (for example, phosphor bronze) is configured to attach the transparent glass substrate 2 Conductivity is established by sandwiching a pair of first transparent conductive layers 22 and 32 layered on both sides of 0. let

[0035] The clip 50 is connected to the cathode of the DC power source 41, a fixed resistor R ₁ is connected between the clip 50 and the second electrode/reflection layer 26, and a fixed resistor R 1 is connected between the clip 50 and the second transparent conductive layer 26. A fixed resistor R ₂ is connected between the layer 36 and the layer 36 .

[0036] The electrical connection and conduction relationship between FIG. 1 and this FIG. 7 is the same, but the first pair of The same transparent conductive layer 22, 32 can be connected to the same cable without connecting electric wires to each of them individually. If they are clamped together with a clip 50 and wired through this clip 50, the pair of The contact conduction conditions at the outlets of the first transparent conductive layers 22 and 32 are the same, so that light is emitted and extinguished. Stable and well-balanced color development and erasure without the risk of color unevenness or time unevenness. business is carried out.

[0037] Furthermore, compared to the wiring state in FIG. 1, the wiring state in FIG. 7 has fewer wires, and the structure is simple and wiring work is easy. As a result, only assembly costs are reduced. This reduces the probability of wiring errors occurring.

[0038]

[Effect of the idea]

As in the above-mentioned embodiments, the EC anti-glare mirror for automobiles according to the present invention is as follows: a first transparent conductive layer layered on both sides of a transparent substrate; a first EC layer laminated on each of the transparent conductive layers; An electrolyte layer layered on each of the above EC layers, a second EC layer layered on each of the electrolyte layers; a second conductive layer layered on each of the second EC layers, and each pair of a first transparent conductive layer and a second transparent conductive layer provided on both sides of the transparent substrate; A switch mechanism is provided that can independently apply a DC voltage to the conductive layer. Because Deep color development (strong anti-glare) can be obtained without applying high voltage, and The coloring state (anti-glare state) can be switched in multiple stages by operation.

[0039] Since there is no need to drive at a high voltage, the service life of the EC element is long.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 shows a schematic cross-sectional view and a drive power supply circuit in one embodiment of an EC anti-glare mirror according to the present invention, and depicts a decolorized state.

FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the above embodiment,
It depicts a weakly dimmed state.

FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the above embodiment,
It depicts a medium-dull state.

FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the above embodiment,
It depicts a strongly dimmed state.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing the basic configuration of a conventional EC anti-glare mirror.

FIG. 6 is a schematic front view for explaining the operation of the conventional example.

FIG. 7 is a schematic actual wiring diagram depicting the embodiment shown in FIG. 1;

[Explanation of symbols]

1...Glass substrate, 2a...Transparent conductive layer as a first electrode,
2b...Transparent conductive layer for taking out the second electrode, 2c, 2d, 2e,
2f... Etching zone, 3... First EC layer, 4... Electrolyte layer,
5... Second EC layer, 6... Second electrode/reflection layer, 7... Electrically insulating protective layer, 11... Changeover switch, 12... DC power supply, 20
...Transparent glass substrate, 21...Back side EC element, 22...First transparent conductive layer, 23...First EC layer, 24...Electrolyte layer, 25...
Second EC layer, 26... Second electrode/reflection layer, 27... Protective layer made of adhesive, 28... Protective substrate, 31... Front side EC element,
32...first transparent conductive layer, 33...first EC layer, 34...electrolyte layer, 35...second EC layer, 36...second transparent conductive layer, 37
...protective layer made of adhesive, 38...protective substrate, 41...DC power supply, 50...clip, _D1 ...diode, _D2 ...diode, _R1 ...fixed resistor, _R2 ...fixed resistor, SW...switch, e... Incident light, f...Reflected light

Claims (2)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A first transparent conductive layer laminated on both sides of a transparent substrate, a first EC layer laminated on each of the transparent conductive layers, and each of the EC layers. An electrolyte layer is formed on each of the electrolyte layers, a second EC layer is formed on each of the electrolyte layers, and a second conductive layer is formed on each of the second EC layers. and a switch mechanism capable of independently applying a DC voltage to each pair of the first transparent conductive layer and the second conductive layer provided on both sides of the transparent substrate. An EC anti-glare mirror for automobiles that is characterized by: 2. A pair of first transparent conductive layers layered on both sides of the transparent substrate are sandwiched by clips made of a conductive material, and the clips are connected to the switch mechanism. characterized by being electrically conductive,
The EC anti-glare mirror for automobiles according to claim 1.