JPH08101652A - Display device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide a display device capable of adjusting a transmitted light quantity and displaying scales of various kinds of measuring instruments by using an optical functional fluid compsn. based on an electric field arranging effect. CONSTITUTION: This display includes the electrosensitive type optical functional fluid compsn. 16 formed by including solid particles having the electric field arranging effect in an electrical insulating medium 19 and a hollow housing body 18 which houses this electrosensitive type optical functional fluid compsn. 16 and is formed transparent in at least a part facing each other of two faces facing each other and is constituted by forming >=1 transparent conductive layers 17 on one surface of the transparent part of this housing body 18 and forming >=1 optical conductive layers 17 facing these transparent conductive layers on the other surface. The optical conductive layers 17 have divided parts to be used as the scales by dividing the shape over the entire part of the scale of the measuring instrument into a plurality of parts and juxtaposing the divided parts.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a display device having a mechanism for controlling the amount of transmitted light using a fluid composition, and in particular, controlling the amount of transmitted light by applying an electric field to an automobile, an airplane or a train. The present invention relates to a device for displaying the scale of various measuring instruments such as.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, various meters (measuring instruments) mounted on automobiles or the like have digitally displayed numbers such as speed and temperature. As this digital display, for example, there is one in which a fluid composition capable of controlling optical characteristics by applying an electric field is applied, and as such a fluid composition, a liquid crystal composition, an electrochromic composition, or the like is used. Are known.

For example, when an electric field is applied between two transparent electrodes, they change the polarization property of transmitted light in the case of a liquid crystal mixture, and transmit a specific wavelength in the case of an electrochromic composition. It has an electro-sensitive optical functionality such as absorbing light, and is widely used as various display devices and the like by utilizing this characteristic.

[0004]

However, the conventional fluid composition, for example, in the case of a liquid crystal composition, requires an accessory such as a polarizing film at the time of manufacturing a display device, and the interval between the transparent electrodes is strictly controlled. For many reasons, the product becomes extremely expensive as the display area increases due to many factors, and the power consumption is large, which is uneconomical to use for a large glass plate. Further, in the case of the electrochromic composition, there are problems that the response is slow and the color is specified.

By the way, the inventors of the present invention are conducting research on a novel electrosensitive optical functional fluid composition having a novel electric field arrangement which has never been known. This composition is, for example, a fluid obtained by dispersing solid particles in an electrically insulating medium. When an electric field is applied to the composition, the solid particles cause dielectric polarization, and electrostatic attraction based on the dielectric polarization causes an electric field to be applied to each other. It has the property of forming a chain structure by being coordinately linked and aligned in the direction. In addition, some solid particles have electrophoretic properties, and thus electrophorese on the electrode portions when they are applied with an electric field to be aligned and oriented, thus showing an arrayed lump structure.

The orientational arrangement of particles under an electric field is called the electric field arrangement effect, and the solid particles having such properties are called electric field arrangement particles. Further, an electro-sensitive optical functional fluid composition is obtained by dispersing the electrically-alignable particles as a main constituent in an electrically insulating medium. Then, the inventors of the present invention arrived at the present invention by proceeding with the research on the electro-sensitive optical functional fluid composition having this novel structure. It is an object of the present invention to provide a display device capable of displaying the scale of various meters by adjusting the amount of transmitted light by using the composition having this novel structure.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The above-mentioned problem is a display device for displaying the scales of various measuring instruments such as automobiles, in which electro-sensitive light containing electric field array particles contained in an electrically insulating medium. A functional fluid composition and a hollow container for accommodating the electro-sensitive optical functional fluid composition and having at least a part of two opposing surfaces transparent to each other are transparent. One or more transparent conductive layers are formed on one surface of the portion, and one or more transparent conductive layers facing the transparent conductive layer are formed on the other surface of the transparent portion of the housing. Can be solved by a display device having a dividing portion in which the entire shape of the scale of the measuring instrument is divided into a plurality of pieces and arranged in parallel to form a scale.

On the two-dimensional plane including the scale of the measuring instrument, the transparent conductive layer is provided between a pair of strip-shaped vertical portions arranged in parallel along a substantially vertical direction and an end portion of each vertical portion. And may have three strip-shaped lateral portions juxtaposed substantially in the lateral direction.
The transparent conductive layer may have a substantially circular planar shape, and may have a plurality of divisions that extend radially from the center of the circle and divide the circle.

Another object of the present invention is a display device for displaying the scales of various measuring instruments such as automobiles, in which an electro-sensitive optical functional fluid composition containing electric field array particles in an electrically insulating medium. And a hollow container for accommodating the electro-sensitive optical functional fluid composition, and transparent at least a part of two facing surfaces facing each other, one of the transparent parts of the container. One or more transparent conductive layers are formed on the surface, and one or more transparent conductive layers facing the transparent conductive layer are formed on the other surface of the transparent portion of the container, and a plurality of the container are arranged in parallel. It can also be solved by a display device. Further, the electric field arranging particles are inorganic / organic composite particles formed by a core body made of an organic polymer compound and a surface layer containing an inorganic material having an electric field arranging effect (hereinafter, abbreviated as electric field arranging inorganic material). It is preferable. Furthermore, it is preferable that the electric field aligning inorganic material is an inorganic ion exchanger, silica gel, an electric semiconductor inorganic material, or a mixture thereof. Further, the surface layer may contain pigment particles together with the electric field aligning inorganic material, or the core may contain pigment.

Furthermore, the kinematic viscosity of the electrically insulating medium is 1
To 3000 cSt, the concentration of solid particles in the electrically insulating medium is 0.5 to 15% by weight,
The voltage applied from the transparent conductive layer to the solid particles in the electrosensitive optical functional fluid composition is preferably in the range of 0.1 to 5.0 kV / mm.

[0011]

In the present invention, the hollow container is filled with the electrosensitive optical functional fluid composition having a special structure, and
Since the transparent conductive layer has a dividing part that divides the shape of the entire scale of the measuring instrument into a plurality of pieces and is arranged side by side, the transparent conductive layer formed on the transparent part of this container is energized to generate an electric response. By applying an electric field to the electro-optical functional fluid composition, solid particles such as inorganic-organic composite particles in the electro-sensitive optical functional composition are oriented in a specific direction. As a result, in the state where no voltage is applied, the solid particles dispersed in the container diffusely reflect light and the transparent part looks opaque, but when voltage is applied, the solid particles form a chain. To form a chain, and the chains are arranged in parallel with the direction of the electric field, so that light passes through the gap and appears transparent. Therefore, the scale of the measuring instrument is displayed according to the position of the divided portion of the transparent conductive layer in the shape extending in the fixed direction. Therefore, the scale of the fuel meter, speedometer, tachometer, etc. of the automobile meter can be displayed depending on the position of the divided portion of the transparent conductive layer.

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of a display device according to the present invention. A display device A of this example comprises a pair of transparent substrates 1
5 and 15 are arranged in parallel at a predetermined interval, and a liquid electro-sensitive photo-functional fluid composition 16 is enclosed between them and formed on the inner surfaces of the transparent substrates 15 and 15 which face each other. It is configured by covering the transparent conductive layer 17. These transparent conductive layers 17 are formed in a graphic pattern of each meter such as an automobile shown in FIG. Transparent substrate 15, 15
A seal member 20 is attached to the outer peripheral edge of the transparent substrate 1
The electro-sensitive optical functional fluid composition 16 is enclosed in a plate-shaped hollow transparent container 18 formed by the seal members 20 and 5. In addition, the transparent substrates 15 and 15
Electrode portions 21 and 22 electrically connected to the transparent conductive layer 17 are formed on the outer peripheral edge of the electrode. As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, each electrode portion 21 and 22 is connected to a power source 23 and a switch 24.
Connected through.

Since the transparent substrates 15 and 15 are required to have the strength capable of accommodating the electro-sensitive photo-functional fluid composition 16 therein and to withstand transportation and installation, various transparent substrates such as glass substrates and acrylic resins can be used. It is preferable that the transparent resin substrate and the like are used. In addition, the transparent substrate 15,
15 does not need to be entirely transparent, and may have a structure in which only a portion that allows light to pass through is transparent. Therefore, only the peripheral portion may be composed of an opaque metal frame, a resin frame, or the like, and a transparent glass substrate or a resin substrate may be fitted inside the frame. The shape is not particularly limited, but a plate-shaped one is usually used.

The transparent conductive layer 17 is, for example, as shown in FIG. 2, a tachometer R graphic pattern representing the engine speed, a speedometer S graphic pattern, a fuel meter F graphic pattern, and a temperature meter. It is formed in a T pattern. First, the graphic pattern of the tachometer R and the graphic pattern of the speedometer S will be described. As shown in FIG. 3, the transparent conductive layer 17 of the tachometer R is formed in a position where the entire shape of the tachometer R is divided into a plurality of pieces and arranged side by side to form a scale. It is formed by arranging a plurality of strip-shaped divided portions (graduations) X1, X2, ... which are formed in a slantingly long diagonally upward direction, and the rightmost end portion is formed in a shape in which the divided portions having the maximum length are arranged. There is. That is, the transparent conductive layer 17 of the tachometer R is formed such that the entire shape of the tachometer R is formed into a substantially trapezoidal shape, and this trapezoidal shape is divided in parallel to the bottom side and the upper side.

Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the transparent conductive layer of the speedometer S has a pair of strip-shaped vertical portions arranged in parallel in a substantially vertical direction on a two-dimensional plane including the scale of the speedometer. , And a strip-shaped horizontal portion 17b, which is laid between three end portions of each vertical portion 17a, ... And arranged substantially in the horizontal direction, are partitioned and formed into a graphic pattern of the digital display portion. There is. In the figure, three graphic patterns of this digital display unit are arranged in parallel. These vertical parts 17
The end portions of a and the lateral portions 17b are formed in parallel in one direction in a comb shape. Electrodes 21 and 22 are arranged at positions corresponding to the comb-teeth-shaped end portions of these transparent conductive layers, respectively. An insulating member 40 made of rubber, synthetic resin, or the like is disposed between the comb-shaped electrodes 21 and 22. That is, each of these transparent conductive layers 17 is formed in the shape of a static type display, and an electric field is applied to each vertical portion 17a and each horizontal portion 17b of the transparent conductive layer 17, whereby the electro-sensitive optical functional fluid is formed. The composition 16 can be moved to any position on each vertical portion 17a and each horizontal portion 17b.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the fuel meter F and the temperature meter T are formed in a shape in which a plurality of the storage bodies 18 'are arranged side by side. That is, the storage body 18 '
In the same manner as described above, the electrosensitive optical functional fluid composition 16 is enclosed between the pair of transparent substrates 15 and 15, and the transparent conductive layers 17 are coated on the entire inner surfaces of the transparent substrates which face each other. It is configured. The transparent conductive layers of the tachometer R, the speedometer S, the fuel meter F, and the temperature meter T are formed in the same shape on the surfaces of the transparent substrates 15 that face each other.

The electro-sensitive optical functional fluid composition 16
Is basically an inorganic / organic composite particle 30 having a structure shown in FIG. 5 dispersed in an electrically insulating medium 19. The inorganic / organic composite particle 30 is a core made of an organic polymer compound. Surface layer 3 including a body 31 and an electric field arranging inorganic material 32 covering the surface of the core body 31 and having an electric field arranging effect.
3 and 3. Various kinds of such electric field arranging inorganic substances 32 are known, but preferred examples are hydroxides of polyvalent metals, hydrotalcites, acid salts of polyvalent metals, hydroxyapatite, and Nasicon type compounds. , Clay minerals, potassium titanates, heteropoly acid salts or inorganic ion exchangers composed of insoluble ferrocyanide, silica gel and electrically semiconducting inorganic materials. When the electric field arranging inorganic substance 32 forms the surface layer 33 on the core body 31 made of an organic polymer compound, the electric field arranging effect is provided to the electrosensitive optical functional fluid composition 16. Further, the above-mentioned inorganic / organic composite particles 30 are preferably manufactured by a method of forming the surface layer 33 simultaneously with the core body 31.

Examples of the organic polymer compound that can be used as the core 31 of the inorganic / organic composite particles 30 include poly (meth) acrylic acid ester, (meth) acrylic acid ester-styrene copolymer, polystyrene and polyethylene. , Polypropylene, nitrile rubber, butyl rubber, AB
S resin, nylon, polyvinyl butyrate, ionomer, ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer, vinyl acetate resin,
Examples thereof include one kind or a mixture or copolymer of two or more kinds such as a polycarbonate resin.

A preferred electric field aligning inorganic substance 32 which can be used as the surface layer 33 of the inorganic / organic composite particles 30 is an inorganic ion exchanger, an electric semiconductor inorganic substance or silica gel.
These exhibit excellent electric field alignment effects when the solid particles are dispersed in the electrically insulating medium 19. Examples of inorganic ion exchangers include (1) hydroxides of polyvalent metals, (2) hydrotalcites, (3) acid salts of polyvalent metals, (4) hydroxyapatite, (5) Nasicon-type compounds, Examples include (6) clay minerals, (7) potassium titanates, (8) heteropolyacid salts, and (9) insoluble ferrocyanide.

The respective inorganic ion exchangers will be described in detail below. (1) Hydroxide of polyvalent metal. These compounds are represented by the general formula MO _x (OH) _y (M is a polyvalent metal, x is a number of 0 or more, and y is a positive number), and examples thereof include titanium hydroxide and hydroxide. Zirconium, bismuth hydroxide, tin hydroxide, lead hydroxide, aluminum hydroxide, tantalum hydroxide,
Examples include niobium hydroxide, molybdenum hydroxide, magnesium hydroxide, manganese hydroxide, and iron hydroxide. here,
For example, titanium hydroxide is hydrous titanium oxide (also known as metatitanic acid or β-titanic acid, TiO (OH) ₂ ) and titanium hydroxide (also known as orthotitanic acid or α-titanic acid, Ti
(OH) ₄ ) is included, and the same applies to other compounds.

(2) Hydrotalcites. These compounds have the general formula M ₁₃ Al ₆ (OH) ₄₃ (CO) ₃ · 12H
It is represented by ₂ O (M is a divalent metal), and the divalent metal M is, for example, Mg, Ca or Ni. (3) Acid salt of polyvalent metal. These are, for example, titanium phosphate, zirconium phosphate, tin phosphate, cerium phosphate,
Chromium phosphate, zirconium arsenate, titanium arsenate, tin arsenate, cerium arsenate, titanium antimonate, tin antimonate, tantalum antimonate, niobium antimonate, zirconium tungstate, titanium vanadate, zirconium molybdate, selenate Examples include titanium and tin molybdate.

(4) Hydroxyapatite. These are, for example, calcium apatite, lead apatite, strontium apatite, cadmium apatite and the like. (5) Nasicon type compound. These include (H ₃ O)
Although Zr ₂ (PO ₄ ) _{3 and} the like are included, a Nasicon type compound in which H ₃ O is replaced with Na can also be used in the present invention. (6) Clay mineral. These are, for example, montmorillonite, sepiolite, bentonite and the like, and sepiolite is particularly preferable.

(7) Potassium titanates. These are general formulas aK ₂ O · bTiO ₂ · nH ₂ O (a is a positive number satisfying 0 <a ≦ 1, b is a positive number satisfying 1 ≦ b ≦ 6, and n is a positive number). , For example, K ₂ · TiO ₂ ·
2H ₂ O, K ₂ O ・ 2TiO ₂・ 2H ₂ O, 0.5K ₂ O ・
TiO ₂ · 2H ₂ O and K ₂ O · 2.5 TiO ₂ · 2H ₂
O etc. In addition, among the above compounds, a compound in which a or b is not an integer is easily synthesized by subjecting a compound in which a or b is an appropriate integer to an acid treatment and replacing K with H. (8) Heteropolyacid salt. These have the general formula H ₃ AE ₁₂ O ₄₀
Represented by nH ₂ O (A is phosphorus, arsenic, germanium, or silicon, E is molybdenum, tungsten, or vanadium, and n is a positive number), for example, ammonium molybdophosphate, and ammonium tungstophosphate. Is. (9) Insoluble ferrocyanide. These are compounds represented by the following general formula. M _b-pxa A [E (CN) ₆ ] (M
Is an alkali metal or hydrogen ion, A is zinc, copper, nickel, cobalt, manganese, cadmium, iron (III)
Or a heavy metal ion such as titanium, E is iron (II), iron (III), cobalt (II) or the like, and b is 4
Or 3, a is the valence of A, and p is 0 to b / a
Is a positive number. ). These include, for example, Cs ₂ Zn [F
e (CN) ₆ ] and K ₂ Co [Fe (CN) ₆ ] such as insoluble ferrocyanine compounds.

The inorganic ion exchangers (1) to (6) each have an OH group, and some or all of the ions present at the ion exchange sites of these inorganic ion exchangers are replaced with other ions. Those substituted with (hereinafter, referred to as a substitutional inorganic ion exchanger) are also included in the inorganic ion exchanger of the present invention. That, R-M ¹ inorganic ion exchanger described above (M ¹ represents an ion species of the ion exchange sites) is expressed as a part or all of M ¹ in the R-M ^1, the ion exchange reaction below A substituted inorganic ion exchanger in which an ionic species M ² different from M ¹ is substituted by
It is an inorganic ion exchanger in the present invention. xR−M ¹ + yM ² → Rx− (M ² ) y + xM ¹ (where x and y represent the valences of the ion species M ² and M ¹ , respectively). M ¹ varies depending on the type of the inorganic ion exchanger having an OH group, but when the inorganic ion exchanger exhibits a cation exchange property, M ¹ is generally H ⁺ , and in this case, M ² is an alkali metal or an alkali. Any metal ion other than H ⁺ , such as earth metals, polyvalent typical metals, transition metals or rare earth metals. When the inorganic ion exchanger having an OH group exhibits anion exchange property, M ¹ is generally OH ^−.
Where M ² is, for example, I, Cl, SCN, N
It is any of general anions other than OH ⁻ such as O ₂ , Br, F, CH ₃ COO, SO ₄ or CrO ₄ and complex ions.

In addition, although the OH group is once lost by the high temperature heat treatment, the inorganic ion exchanger which has the OH group again by the operation of immersing in water is the inorganic ion after the high temperature heat treatment. Exchangers and the like are also one kind of inorganic ion exchangers that can be used in the present invention, and specific examples thereof include a Nasicon-type compound such as (H ₃ O) Zr.
₂ (PO ₄₎ obtained by heating ₃ HZr ₂ (PO _{4) 3} and high-temperature heat treatment of hydrotalcite (500 to 700
Heat treated at ℃). These inorganic ion exchangers can be used not only in one kind but also in many kinds simultaneously as a surface layer. It is particularly preferable to use a hydroxide of a polyvalent metal and an acid salt of a polyvalent metal as the above-mentioned inorganic ion exchanger.

Other preferred electric field arranging inorganic material that can be used as the surface layer 33 of the inorganic / organic composite particles 30 is a metal oxide having an electric conductivity of 10 ³ to 10 ^-11 Ω ^-1 / cm at room temperature. A metal hydroxide, a metal oxide hydroxide, an inorganic ion exchanger, or at least one of these metal-doped, or with or without metal doping, other support for at least one of them. For example, those applied as an electric semiconductor layer on the body.

Other preferable electric field aligning inorganic substances will be described in more detail below. (A) Metal oxide: For example, SnO ₂ , amorphous titanium dioxide (manufactured by Idemitsu Petrochemical Co., Ltd.) and the like. (B) Metal hydroxide: Titanium hydroxide, niobium hydroxide or the like. Titanium hydroxide here means hydrous titanium oxide (manufactured by Ishihara Sangyo Co., Ltd.), metatitanic acid (also known as β-titanic acid, T
iO (OH) ₂ ) and orthotitanic acid (also known as α-titanic acid, Ti (OH) ₄ ). (C) Metal oxide hydroxide: For example, FeO
(OH) (goethite) and the like can be mentioned.

(D) Hydroxide of polyvalent metal: equivalent to those described in (1) above. (E) Hydrotalcites: equivalent to those described in (2) above. (F) Acid salt of polyvalent metal: equivalent to the one described in (3) above. (G) Hydroxyapatite: equivalent to the one described in (4) above. (H) Nashicon type compound: equivalent to the one described in (5) above. (I) Clay mineral: equivalent to the one described in (6) above. (J) Potassium titanates: equivalent to those described in (7) above. (K) Heteropolyacid salt: equivalent to the one described in (8) above. (L) Insoluble ferrocyanide: equivalent to those described in (9) above.

(M) Metal-doped electric field aligning inorganic substance:
This is obtained by doping the electric field aligning inorganic material with a metal such as antimony (Sb) in order to increase the electric conductivity of the electric field aligning inorganic materials (A) to (L). For example, antimony (Sb) is used. Doping tin oxide (SnO ₂ ) and the like can be mentioned. (N) An electric field arranging inorganic substance applied to another support as an electric semiconductor layer: for example, inorganic oxide particles such as titanium oxide, silica, alumina, and silica-alumina as the support, or organic polymers such as polyethylene and polypropylene Antimony (Sb) is used as an electric semiconductor layer using particles.
Examples thereof include doped tin oxide (SnO ₂ ). The particles to which the electric field aligning inorganic substance is applied as described above are the electric field aligning inorganic substance as a whole. These electric field aligning inorganic materials may be used not only in one kind but also in two kinds or more simultaneously as a surface layer.

The above-mentioned electrosensitive optical functional fluid composition 16
As the electrically insulating medium 19 used in the above, all the conventionally known ones used for the electric field arranging fluid can be used. For example, diphenyl chloride, butyl sebacate,
Aromatic polycarboxylic acid higher alcohol ester, halophenyl alkyl ether, trans oil, chlorinated paraffin, fluorine oil, silicone oil, fluorosilicone oil, etc. Further, any fluid can be used as long as it can stably disperse the inorganic / organic composite particles, and a mixture thereof can also be used.

The electrically insulating medium 19 can be colored depending on the purpose. In the case of coloring, it is preferable to use a type and amount of an oil-soluble dye or a dispersible dye that is soluble in the selected electrically insulating medium 19 and does not impair its electrical characteristics. In addition to this, the electrically insulating medium 19 includes
A dispersant, a surfactant, a viscosity adjusting agent, an antioxidant, a stabilizer and the like may be contained.

Such inorganic / organic composite particles 30 can be manufactured by various methods. For example, there is a method in which a particle-shaped core body 31 made of an organic polymer compound and a particle-shaped electric field aligning inorganic material 32 are transported by a jet stream and collided with each other. In this case, the fine particles of the electric field arranging inorganic substance 32 collide with the surface of the particulate core body 31 at a high speed and adhere to form the surface layer 33. Also, as another manufacturing method example,
There is a method in which the particulate core 31 is suspended in a gas, and the solution of the electric field aligning inorganic material is atomized to be sprayed on the surface. In this case, the surface layer 33 is formed by adhering the solution to the surface of the core body 31 and drying it.

However, a preferred manufacturing method for manufacturing the inorganic-organic composite particles 30 is a method of forming the surface layer 33 at the same time as the core body 31. In this method, for example, when emulsion-polymerizing, suspension-polymerizing, or dispersion-polymerizing a monomer of an organic polymer compound that forms the core 31, a fine particle-shaped electric field aligning inorganic substance 32 in the monomer, or It is carried out by allowing it to exist in the polymerization medium. Water is preferred as the polymerization medium, but a mixture of water and a water-soluble organic solvent can be used, and an organic poor solvent can also be used. According to this method, the monomers are polymerized in the polymerization medium to form core particles, and at the same time, the fine particle-shaped electric field aligning inorganic substance 32 is layered on the surface of the core 31 so as to cover the surface, and the surface layer is formed. 33 is formed.

When the inorganic / organic composite particles are produced by emulsion polymerization or suspension polymerization, the hydrophobic property of the monomer and the hydrophilic property of the electric field aligning inorganic substance 32 are combined to form the electric field aligning inorganic substance 32. Most of the fine particles can be oriented on the surface of the core particles. According to the method for simultaneously forming the core body 31 and the surface layer 33, the electric field aligning inorganic particles 32 are densely and firmly adhered to the surface of the core particle 31 made of an organic polymer compound, and the inorganic / organic composite particles are robust. 30 is formed.

Inorganic / organic composite particles 30 used in the present invention
Does not necessarily have to be spherical, but when the particulate core 31 is manufactured by the controlled emulsion / suspension polymerization method, the resulting inorganic / organic composite particles 30 have a substantially spherical shape. Become. In addition, since the spherical shape allows light to be scattered in all directions when adjusting the amount of transmitted light, the spherical shape is more advantageous than the irregular shape. The particle size of the inorganic / organic composite particles 30 is not particularly limited, but it is preferably 0.1 to 500 μm, particularly preferably 5 to 200 μm. At this time, the particle size of the fine particle electric field aligning inorganic material 32 is not particularly limited, but is preferably 0.005 to 100 μm, and more preferably 0.01 to 10 μm.

In such an inorganic / organic composite particle 30, the electric field aligning inorganic material 32 forming the surface layer 33 and the core body 3 are formed.
The weight ratio of the organic polymer compound forming 1 is not particularly limited, but in the range of (electric field alignment inorganic substance) :( organic polymer compound) ratio (1-60) :( 99-40),
In particular, the range of (4 to 30) :( 96 to 70) is preferable. Here, the weight ratio of the electric field aligning inorganic substance 32 is 1
If it is less than 60%, the electric field alignment effect of the obtained electro-sensitive optical functional fluid composition is insufficient, and if it exceeds 60%, an excessive current flows in the obtained electro-sensitive optical functional fluid composition 16. . The specific gravity of these inorganic / organic composite particles 30 is relatively small as compared with the specific gravity of the electric field arranging inorganic substance 32 forming the surface layer 33 because the organic polymer compound having a relatively small specific gravity is used for the core body 31. Can be made smaller. Although the specific gravity of the inorganic-organic composite particles 30 can be freely adjusted by the type and ratio of the organic polymer compound and the electric field aligning inorganic material used, in general, the specific gravity is 1. It is adjusted to about 0 to 2.0. In this case, if the specific gravity difference from the electrically insulating medium is large, the electric field array particles may settle in the medium by gravity, and uniform dispersion may not be possible.

Surface layer 33 of the above-mentioned inorganic / organic composite particles 30
Alternatively, the core body 31 may include a pigment. The pigment that can be used for the surface layer 33 is a pigment. When the surface layer 33 made of the electric field aligning inorganic material 32 is formed on the core body 31 by the above method, the pigment is preferably mixed with the electric field aligning inorganic material 32 and used to be contained in the surface layer 33. When the core 31 contains a dye, any dye or pigment generally known for synthetic resins can be used. This dye can be contained in the core body 31 by mixing it in the monomer forming the core body 31 in advance and then polymerizing the monomer, or by kneading it into a synthetic resin to be the core body 31. The inorganic-organic composite particles 30 containing a pigment in the surface layer 33 or the core body 31, or both of them are used to prevent scattered light of the obtained electro-sensitive optical functional fluid composition 16 when no voltage is applied. It can be colored in any color.

For example, white color can be obtained by mixing titanium hydroxide or silica gel, and blue color can be obtained by mixing a blue pigment phthalocyanine blue (Cyanine Blue S-32 manufactured by Dainichi Seika Kogyo Co., Ltd.). Can be colored, yellow pigment First Yellow (Dainichi Seika Kogyo Co., Ltd., NL First Yellow 5G (S))
Can be colored yellow by mixing with. Furthermore, black iron (III) tetraoxide (Fe ₃
It can be colored black by mixing O ₄ ) and can be colored red by mixing red ferric trioxide (Fe ₂ O ₃ ) which is an electric semiconductor inorganic substance. Therefore, by using these, the scales of various measuring instruments can be displayed in color.

Inorganic / organic composite particles 30 produced by various methods as described above, in particular, a method of simultaneously forming the core body 31 and the surface layer 33, the surface layer 33 is generally made of an organic polymer substance or a part thereof. Covered with a thin film of dispersants, emulsifiers and other additives used in the manufacturing process,
The electric field arranging effect of the electric field arranging inorganic particles 32 may not be sufficiently exhibited. This thin film of inert material can be easily removed by polishing the surface of the particles.

The surface of the inorganic / organic composite particles 30 can be polished by various methods. For example, the inorganic / organic composite particles 30 may be dispersed in a dispersion medium such as water and the mixture may be stirred. On this occasion,
It is also possible to use a method in which an abrasive such as sand particles or balls is mixed in the dispersion medium and stirred with the inorganic / organic composite particles 30, or a method in which a grinding wheel is used for stirring. For example, it is also possible to perform the stirring by dry method using the inorganic / organic composite particles 30, the abrasive as described above, and a grinding wheel without using the dispersion medium.

A more preferable polishing method is a method of stirring the inorganic / organic composite particles 30 with a jet stream or the like. This is a method in which the particles themselves are violently collided with each other in a gas phase and polished, and a preferable method in that an inert substance exfoliated from the surface of the particles can be easily separated by classification without the need for another abrasive. Is. In the above jet stream agitation, the type of equipment used for it,
Although it is difficult to specify the polishing conditions depending on the stirring speed, the material of the inorganic / organic composite particles, etc., it is generally preferable to stir the jet stream at a stirring speed of 6000 rpm for about 0.5 to 15 minutes.

The electro-sensitive optical functional fluid composition 16 used in the present invention is prepared by uniformly stirring and mixing the above-mentioned inorganic / organic composite particles 30 in the electrically insulating medium 19 together with other components such as a dispersant. Can be manufactured. As the stirrer, any stirrer normally used for dispersing solid particles in a liquid dispersion medium can be used.

Next, the inorganic / organic composite particle concentration, the kinematic viscosity of the electrically insulating medium 19 and the applied voltage which are effective when used in the display device according to the present invention will be described. The particle concentration of the inorganic-organic composite particles 30 in the electrosensitive optical functional fluid composition 16 used in the present invention is not particularly limited, but is preferably 0.5 to 15% by weight.
If the particle concentration is less than 0.5% by weight, a sufficient transmitted light control effect cannot be obtained. If the particle concentration is 15% by weight or more, the particle concentration is too high and a large amount of inorganic / organic composite particles 30 are electro-sensitive optical functional fluid composition. Since it is dispersed in the whole of the substance 16, even if an electric field is applied to control the orientation of the inorganic / organic composite particles 30 ...

Next, the kinematic viscosity of the electrically insulating medium 19 used in the present invention is preferably in the range of 1 to 3000 cSt. When the kinematic viscosity is less than 1 cSt, a large amount of volatile components are mixed in the dispersion medium, which causes a shortage in the storage stability of the electrosensitive optical functional fluid, and the kinematic viscosity is 3000 cS.
If it is larger than t, bubbles are less likely to come off, which is not preferable, but if bubbles are left in the electrically insulating medium, a partial discharge may occur in a micro region in the foam when electricity is applied, spark may be caused, and insulation may be deteriorated. The range of the kinematic viscosity is more preferably 10 to 1000 cSt, 10
-100 cSt is a more preferable range.

Next, the electro-sensitive optical functional fluid composition 16
As a voltage applied to, for example, 0.1 to 5.0 kV /
An arbitrary electric field can be applied in the range of mm, but an electric field larger than this range may be applied. Further, in this applied voltage range, 0.25 to 1.5 k
The range of V / mm is more preferable.

Next, the principle of obtaining a desired display by controlling the amount of transmitted light using the display device A shown in FIG. 1 will be described. FIG. 6 shows the transparent conductive layer 1 with the switch 24 open.
7 and 17 show a state in which no electric current is applied. In this state, no electric field is applied to the inorganic / organic composite particles 30, so that the inorganic / organic composite particles 30 randomly float in the electrically insulating medium 19. When light enters the housing 18 in this state, the light is scattered in various directions due to the presence of the inorganic-organic composite particles 30, so that the housing 18 becomes opaque. For example, when a titanium hydroxide-based material is used as the electric field aligning inorganic material 32, the color tone becomes cloudy. When either or both of the surface layer 33 of the inorganic / organic composite particles and the core body 3 contain a pigment, the container 18 is colored with the pigment. Here, if the inorganic-organic composite particles 30 have a spherical shape, light is scattered in all directions, so there is little possibility that light will be converged in a specific direction.

Next, as shown in FIG. 7, when the switch 24 is closed to energize the transparent conductive layers 17 and 17, innumerable inorganic / organic composite particles 30 are transferred between the transparent conductive layers 17 and 17. To form a chain 3 by connecting in a direction perpendicular to
It is possible to have a 0 ′ structure, and at the same time, each chain 30 ′ can be oriented in parallel. That is, the ratio of the inorganic-organic composite particles 30 dispersed in the electrically insulating medium 19 is about 10% by weight or less as described above and is small as a whole. With the above structure, there is a space between the chain-like bodies 30 ′ that is considerably wider than the diameter of the inorganic-organic composite particles 30, and as a result, most of the light incident in the thickness direction of the housing body 18 is It passes through the storage body 18 without being attenuated. Therefore, the container 18 can be made transparent. By the above operation, the container 18 can be changed from the opaque state to the transparent state depending on whether or not the transparent conductive layers 17 and 17 are energized, whereby a desired display can be obtained.

Therefore, by using the display device A having the above-described structure for various meters R, S, F, T, it is possible to easily switch from the opaque state to the transparent state by switching on / off the power from the power source. The scale of each meter can be displayed. That is,
The tachometer R can display the number of revolutions of the engine by displaying the position of the divided portion of each transparent conductive layer 17. The speedometer S has a vertical portion 17a and a horizontal portion 1
The speed of the automobile can be displayed depending on the arrangement state with 7b. The fuel meter F and the temperature meter T are
By displaying the position of each housing 18 ', the amount of fuel in the vehicle and the temperature inside the vehicle can be displayed.

Moreover, in the display device A, 0.
It can be driven with an extremely small current of several mA / m ² at a voltage of 1 to 5.0 kV / mm, so that it can be sufficiently driven with an electric power of about 10 W / m ² , and a power saving structure can be obtained. it can. Furthermore, since the inorganic / organic composite particles 30 can be perfectly aligned at the same time when the transparent conductive layers 17 and 17 are energized, sufficient responsiveness can be obtained. Further, if the amount of transmitted light is controlled by the electro-sensitive optical functional fluid composition 16, the amount of transmitted light can be uniformly controlled in the entire wavelength range without absorbing light of a specific frequency. It is possible to obtain a display device that is free from energy and is free from heat generation.

Further, once the electric field is applied to orient the inorganic / organic composite particles 30 ..., The inorganic / organic composite particles 30.
··· maintains the state for a while even if the voltage is cut off, so the applied voltage becomes intermittently better, and energy-saving driving can be performed accordingly. In addition, the maintaining time of the alignment state of the inorganic / organic composite particles 30 in the absence of an electric field depends on
0 itself or an electrically insulating medium 19 in which it is dispersed
It can be appropriately adjusted according to the kinematic viscosity of. That is, if the kinematic viscosity of the electrically insulating medium 19 is lowered, the maintenance time can be shortened, and if the kinematic viscosity is increased, the maintenance time can be lengthened.

In the above-mentioned embodiment, the phenomenon in which the inorganic / organic composite particles 30 form a chain of one row and are arranged in parallel by the application of an electric field has been described. When the amount exceeds 1% by weight, the chain bodies 30 'are joined to each other in a plurality of rows instead of one row of the chain bodies 30', and a column C is formed and arranged as shown in FIG.

In this column C, the left and right chains 3
Inorganic / organic composite particles 30 of 0'and 30 'are staggered one by one and adjacently staggered. With respect to this, the present inventors arranged the inorganic-organic composite particles, which are dielectrically polarized in the + pole portion and the − pole portion, alternately adjacent to each other and arranged so that the + pole portion and the − pole portion attract each other as shown in FIG. It is estimated that this is because it is more stable in terms of energy.

Therefore, when the content of the inorganic / organic composite particles 30 is large, a large number of columns C are formed between the electrodes, and the mechanism for increasing the amount of transmitted light acts by the generation of the columns C. . In this case, since a large amount of the inorganic / organic composite particles 30, ... Are collected in the plurality of columns C, the intervals between the adjacent columns C are widened, and the function of increasing the amount of transmitted light becomes remarkable.

By the way, the particle size of the inorganic / organic composite particles 30 is set in the range of 0.1 to 500 μm, preferably 5 to 200 μm as described above, because the inorganic / organic composite particles 30 of the present invention are This is due to the fact that it is a light scattering type particle or a light reflection type particle in terms of function. As is well known, the wavelength of visible light is 380 to 780 nm, that is, 0.38 to
Since it is 0.78 μm, in order to control the transmitted light by scattering or reflecting the light of this wavelength, the particle size of the inorganic / organic composite particles 30 is at least 0.1 μm or more, preferably 5 μm. It is necessary to do the above.

On the other hand, a particle size smaller than the wavelength of visible light which causes Brownian motion, for example, 5 nm to several 1
When dielectric ultrafine particles of about 0 nm (= 0.005 to 0.02 μm) are dispersed in the electrically insulating medium 19, it is considered that the ultrafine particles can be oriented by an electric field. The transmission mechanism is completely different from the above-mentioned example of the present invention, in which the ultrafine particles are dispersed to completely transmit light when no electric field is applied, and when the electric field is applied, the ultrafine particles are oriented to scatter and attenuate light, It is not preferable because it behaves completely differently.

Next, it can be considered the ultrafine particles TiBaO ₄ as an indication of dielectric in the nanoparticle, such as, TiBaO ₄ is a substance in the range of specific gravity 4-6, heavier, Even if the TiBaO ₄ particles are made to have a large particle size for the purpose of becoming a light-reflecting type, they will be gravitationally sedimented in the electrically insulating medium 19 due to the difference in specific gravity between the particles and the particles cannot be uniformly dispersed. Also, the T
In order to uniformly disperse the iBaO ₄ particles in the electrically insulating medium 19, an electrically insulating medium 19 having a large specific gravity is required, but an electrically insulating medium having a specific gravity of about 4 to 6 does not exist. On the other hand, the inorganic-organic composite particles 30 of the present invention
Since the specific gravity can be easily adjusted to around 1.2 as described above, it is possible to use various kinds of generally known electrically insulating media.

Next, from the viewpoint of colorability, it is difficult to color the ultrafine particles, and even if they can be colored, the particle size is too small.
The color of the ultrafine particles dispersed in No. 9 cannot be perceptibly developed. Therefore, when the ultrafine particles are used, only the color of the electrically insulating medium 19 can be exhibited, and only one coloring pattern can be realized. For example, only changes between red transparent and red opaque are feasible.

On the other hand, according to the present invention, when the medium is red transparent and the inorganic / organic composite particles are white, discoloration from cloudy opaque to red transparent can be realized, and the medium is colorless and transparent.
When the inorganic / organic composite particles are blue, blue opacity
A colorless and transparent discoloration can be realized, and when the medium is red and the inorganic / organic composite particles are blue, a violet opaque to red transparent discoloration can be realized, and when the medium is light blue and the particles are yellow, greenish opaque. ~ Light blue transparency can be realized. Further, even when looking at the portion to be colored, all of the core body 31, the surface layer 33, and the electrically insulating medium 19 of the inorganic / organic composite particles 30 can be colored, and coloring variations can be easily added. The surface of the core body 31 of the inorganic / organic composite particles 30 is covered with an inorganic substance, but the color leaks from the gap between the inorganic substances. Therefore, the color when the core body 31 is colored is the color of the electro-sensitive optical functional fluid. Effectively reflected in.

Further, the surface layer 33 of the inorganic / organic composite particles 30.
In order to color the above, the required number of colored inorganic pigments are mixed into the inorganic / organic composite particles used when manufacturing the inorganic / organic composite particles 30, and the mixture is uniformly mixed. The inorganic / organic composite particles 30 may be manufactured.
In the inorganic / organic composite particles 30 produced in this manner, for example, as shown in FIG. 10, a part of the inorganic / organic composite particles attached to the periphery of the core 31 is a colored inorganic pigment 3.
5, the structure has been replaced by. Thereby, the inorganic / organic composite particles can be colored.

(Modification) Tachometer R of the above embodiment
, The transparent conductive layer 17 is divided into a plurality of divided portions X1, X2, ... And the transparent conductive layer of the speedometer S of the above-mentioned embodiment is formed in a digital display type graphic pattern. These are shown in FIG. It may be formed in the analog type graphic pattern shown. That is, as shown in FIG. 11, each transparent conductive layer has a substantially circular planar shape, and a plurality of dividing portions 50 that extend radially from the center of the circle and divide the circle.
It is divided into ... Here, in the figure, the dividing unit 5
0, 50, ... Are equally divided and formed into 60 equal parts. Although not shown in the drawing, the peripheral portions of the divided portions 50, 50, ... Are connected to electrodes, respectively. Such transparent conductive layers are arranged so as to face each other with the electro-sensitive optical functional fluid composition 16 interposed therebetween, and an electric field is applied to each of the divided portions 50 of the transparent conductive layer, whereby analog display of each meter is performed. The position of the needle can be displayed.

In the above embodiment, the static type digital display graphic pattern was used, but a matrix type graphic pattern may be formed to display digital numbers. Further, in the above-mentioned embodiment, a single layer structure having a pair of transparent conductive layers is used, but a multi-layer structure of two or more layers may be used. By using the transparent conductive layer having a multi-layer structure as described above, more complicated characters and figures can be displayed.

Such a display device is a display device for displaying the scales of various meters of an automobile or the like, and is an electro-sensitive optical functional fluid composition containing electric field array particles in an electrically insulating medium. And a hollow container for accommodating the electro-sensitive optical functional fluid composition, and transparent at least a part of two facing surfaces facing each other, one of the transparent parts of the container. One or more display transparent electrode layers are formed on the surface, and one or more transparent conductive layers facing the transparent conductive layer are formed on the other surface of the transparent portion of the container. Since the entire shape of the scale of the meter is divided into a plurality of pieces and arranged side by side to serve as the scale, the structure is simple and the manufacturing unit cost can be provided at a much lower cost than the conventional device using the liquid crystal. By the way, the electro-sensitive optical functional fluid composition described above is 1/10 or less in unit price and is extremely cheaper than the ordinary liquid crystal material. Further, in a device using liquid crystal, it is necessary to use various control circuits and LSIs for driving the liquid crystal, but the display device A according to the present invention has a simple configuration as described above. Well, the electric circuit around the power supply can be configured with only the minimum switch and wiring.

Examples will be shown below to clarify the effects of the present invention. "Production Example" A transparent conductive layer made of an ITO (indium tin oxide) film was provided on the surface of glass, and a plurality of strip-shaped divisions X1, X2, ... The state was covered. Two 1.0 mm thick ITO glasses coated with this transparent conductive layer were prepared, and the two glass plates were made to face each other in parallel at an interval of 2 mm with the respective transparent conductive layers facing each other, and the peripheral portion was It was sealed with a resin sealing member. Next, an injection hole is formed in a part of the seal member, a liquid electro-sensitive optical functional fluid composition is injected from the injection hole, and the injection hole is closed after the injection, and the transmitted light amount control device having the configuration shown in FIG. Was completed.

The manufacturing process of the electrosensitive optical functional fluid composition used here will be described below. First, titanium hydroxide (generic name; hydrous titanium oxide, manufactured by Ishihara Sangyo Co., Ltd., C-
II), a mixture of butyl acrylate, 1,3-butylene glycol dimethacrylate and a polymerization initiator are dispersed in water containing tricalcium phosphate as a dispersion stabilizer, and suspension polymerization is carried out at 60 ° C. for 1 hour with stirring. I went. The obtained product was filtered, washed with acid, further washed with water, and then dried to obtain inorganic / organic composite particles. The inorganic / organic composite particles obtained above are stirred with a jet stream using a jet stream agitator (Hybridizer manufactured by Nara Machinery Co., Ltd.),
Inorganic / organic composite particles obtained by polishing the surface were obtained. This product had a specific gravity of 1.157 and an average particle size of 13.7 μm. The inorganic / organic composite particles are uniformly dispersed in silicone oils of various kinematic viscosities (TSF451 series, manufactured by Toshiba Silicone Co., Ltd.) so that the content is various weight%. A fluid composition having a constant particle concentration and various particle concentrations and an electro-sensitive optical functional fluid composition using a silicone oil having a constant particle concentration and various kinematic viscosities as an electrically insulating medium were obtained.

The results of transmitted light control experiments conducted using the various electro-sensitive photo-functional fluid compositions are shown in FIGS. 12 to 16.
Shown in The experiment detects the intensity of light incident on the transparent container and the intensity of light passing through the container with optical sensors,
The results of comparing the two were displayed as increased light in dBm. In this case, an increase in 3.2 dBm means an increase in optical power of 2.09 times, and an increase in 4.2 dBm means an increase in optical power of 2.63 times.

FIG. 12 shows the results of measuring the increased light when the kinematic viscosity of the silicone oil (base oil) was 10 cSt and the inorganic / organic composite particle concentration and the applied electric field were used as parameters. Similarly, FIG. 13 shows the same test result when the kinematic viscosity of silicone oil is 50 cSt, and FIG. 14 shows the same test result when the kinematic viscosity of silicone oil is 100 cSt. From the results shown in FIGS. 12 to 14, 0.5 to 1
At an inorganic / organic composite particle concentration of 5% by weight, 0.2
The dBm value of the increased light increases as the applied electric field is increased in the range of 5 to 1.5 kV / mm. Therefore, it was demonstrated that the amount of transmitted light can be controlled by implementing the present invention. Next, when the concentration of the inorganic / organic composite particles is 1.0% by weight, the ratio of the increased light is small even when the applied electric field is 3 kV / mm. Therefore, it was found that it is preferable to set the concentration of the inorganic / organic composite particles to 2.5% by weight or more.

Next, FIG. 15 and FIG. 16 show the results of the test in which the increased light was measured with the kinematic viscosity of the silicone oil and the applied electric field as parameters when the inorganic / organic composite particle concentration was fixed at 5.0% by weight. In the same test, the test results when the inorganic / organic composite particle concentration is 7.5% by weight are shown. From the results shown in FIG. 15 and FIG. 16, it was found that the increase in the applied electric field in the range of 0.5 to 3 kV / mm increased the dBm value of the increasing light in the silicone oil of any kinematic viscosity. . Therefore, it can be proved that the amount of transmitted light can be controlled by carrying out the present invention, and it was found that the larger the applied electric field within the range of 0.25 to 1.5 kV / mm, the larger the increased light. did.

FIG. 17 shows the case of using an electro-sensitive optical functional fluid composition in which 7% by weight of inorganic / organic composite particles are dispersed in silicone oil having a kinematic viscosity of 10 cSt.
It shows the relationship between the energization time to the electrodes and the change rate of the amount of transmitted light. The amount of transmitted light was measured by introducing light from a light source above a transparent glass container filled with the EA composition, installing an optical sensor below the container, and analyzing the optical power received by this optical sensor. is there. As you can see from this figure,
It is clear that the power supply is started almost at the same time as the start of the power supply or about 1 second after the start of the measurement, and at the same time, the amount of the transmitted light starts to increase and becomes stable at the maximum of the transmitted light in 3 to 4 seconds.

FIG. 18 shows a case where the amount of transmitted light was measured using an electro-sensitive photofunctional fluid composition in which 4% by weight of blue-colored inorganic / organic composite particles were added to silicone oil having a kinematic viscosity of 10 cSt. The frequency dependence of the amount of transmitted light of is shown. The coloring of the inorganic / organic composite particles was performed by substituting 20% by weight of the EA inorganic material constituting the surface layer of the inorganic / organic composite particles with a blue pigment. In the figure,
The curve indicated by E = 0 kV shows the amount of transmitted light when there is no electric field, and the curve indicated by E = 2 kV shows the amount of transmitted light when a potential of 2 kV is applied to the electrodes.

As is clear from the comparison of both curves in FIG. 18, a blue-based electro-sensitive optical functional fluid composition that transmits a large amount of blue light having a short wavelength when there is no electric field has a wide wavelength when an electric field is applied. It is changed so that light is transmitted widely in the region, and it is clear that the color is changed from blue to colorless and transparent.

FIG. 19 shows the measurement of the amount of transmitted light of only this electrically insulating medium (without inorganic / organic composite particles) using an electrically insulating medium of dimethyl silicone oil containing 0.1% by weight of a blue dye. This is for explaining the frequency dependence of the amount of transmitted light in the case of performing. The electrically insulating medium is a medium that looks pale blue to the naked eye. FIG.
In the above, as is clear by comparing the light source spectrum and the medium spectrum, it is clear that light is absorbed in the part other than the spectrum showing the short-wavelength blue color. It is clear that the electrically insulative medium is blue due to the high transmission.

FIG. 20 shows that dimethyl silicone oil containing 0.1% by weight of a blue dye was used as an electrically insulating medium, and 5% by weight of yellow-colored inorganic / organic composite particles was used.
This is for explaining the frequency dependence of the amount of transmitted light when the composition is dispersed to form an electro-sensitive optical functional fluid composition and the amount of transmitted light is measured using the composition. The means used for coloring the inorganic / organic composite particles is the same as in the above example, and a yellow pigment was used this time. FIG. 20 shows a light source spectrum and a transmitted light spectrum when E = 0 kV / mm and E =
The transmitted light spectra at 1 kV / mm are shown respectively. From this figure, it can be seen that what was opaque yellow-green, which is a mixed color of blue and yellow when there was no electric field, changed to a blue transparent state that was nearly colorless and transparent when an electric field was applied. From the above, according to the present invention, various variations of color can be applied to the electrosensitive optical functional fluid composition, and the color can be a transparent state of a different color or a transparent state of the same color or It became clear that it can be changed to a colorless and transparent state. "

Next, Tables 1 and 2 show the increased light obtained when a silicone oil (base oil) having a kinematic viscosity of 50 cSt was used and the concentration of the inorganic / organic composite particles was 5.0% by weight. The results of investigation for each wavelength are shown below.

[0074]

[Table 1]

[0075]

[Table 2]

From the results shown in Table 1 and Table 2, when the amount of transmitted light is controlled using the display device according to the present invention,
Uniform increased light was obtained in a wide wavelength range of 1100 nm, and it became clear that the present invention enables uniform adjustment of the amount of transmitted light in a wide wavelength range. Since the wavelength range of visible light is usually set to 480 to 780 nm, the device of the present invention has uniform transmitted light control performance in almost the entire wavelength range of visible light and in the infrared range having a longer wavelength than that. It became clear to have.

[0077]

As described above, according to the present invention, solid particles can be oriented by applying an electric field to the electro-sensitive optical functional fluid composition housed in the container, whereby the container can be oriented. Since it is possible to control the amount of light that passes through the transparent portion, it is possible to obtain a desired display only by controlling the energization. That is, since the transparent conductive layer has a dividing portion that divides the shape of the entire scale of various measuring instruments such as automobiles into a plurality of parallel arrangements, the position of the dividing portion with respect to the shape of the entire measuring instrument scale is divided. By displaying, the scales of various measuring instruments can be displayed.

Further, by arranging a plurality of housings enclosing the electro-sensitive optical functional fluid composition in parallel, the position of each housing can be displayed and the scale of various measuring instruments can be displayed.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing an embodiment of a display device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a graphic pattern of a transparent conductive layer.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a display of a tachometer.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a digital display of a speedometer.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of the inorganic / organic composite particles used in the present invention.

6 is an explanatory diagram showing a dispersed state of inorganic / organic composite particles in a non-energized state with respect to the transparent conductive layer of the display device shown in FIG.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing an alignment state of inorganic / organic composite particles in a state where electricity is applied to the transparent conductive layer of the transmitted light amount control device shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which the chain forms a column.

9 is an explanatory diagram showing the dielectric polarization of the inorganic-organic composite particles shown in FIG.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a colored state of inorganic / organic composite particles.

FIG. 11 is a plan view showing a modified example of FIG. 3 or FIG.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing the light transmittance in the case of using an electrically insulating medium having a kinematic viscosity of 10 cSt in the apparatus of the example, using the particle concentration and the applied voltage as parameters.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing the light transmittance when an electrically insulating medium having a kinematic viscosity of 50 cSt is used in the apparatus of the example, with the particle concentration and the applied voltage as parameters.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing the light transmittance in the case of using an electrically insulating medium having a kinematic viscosity of 100 cSt in the apparatus of the example, using the particle concentration and the applied voltage as parameters.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing the light transmittance when inorganic / organic composite particles having a particle concentration of 5.0% by weight are used in the apparatus of the embodiment, with applied voltage and kinematic viscosity of the electrically insulating medium as parameters. .

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing the light transmittance when inorganic / organic composite particles having a particle concentration of 7.5% by weight are used in the apparatus of the example, with applied voltage and kinematic viscosity of the electrically insulating medium as parameters. .

FIG. 17 shows a kinematic viscosity of 10 cSt in the apparatus of the example.
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the relationship between the energization time to an electrode and the rate of change in the amount of transmitted light using the electro-sensitive optical functional fluid composition in which 7% by weight of inorganic / organic composite particles are dispersed in the silicone oil of FIG.

FIG. 18 shows a kinematic viscosity of 10 cSt in the apparatus of the example.
FIG. 7 is a graph showing frequency dependence of the amount of transmitted light when the amount of transmitted light is measured using the electro-sensitive photofunctional fluid composition in which 4% by weight of blue-colored inorganic / organic composite particles is added to the silicone oil of Is.

FIG. 19 shows a blue dye of 0.
It is an explanatory view explaining the frequency dependence of the amount of transmitted light when the amount of transmitted light of only this is used, using the electrically insulating medium of the dimethyl silicon oil which added 1 weight%.

FIG. 20: In the device of the example, a blue dye is added to
Dimethyl silicone oil added with 1% by weight was used as an electrically insulating medium, and 5% by weight of yellow-colored inorganic / organic composite particles were dispersed therein to form an electro-sensitive optical functional fluid composition. It is a figure explaining the frequency dependence of the transmitted light quantity at the time of measuring transmitted light quantity using it.

[Explanation of symbols]

15 ... Transparent substrate, 16 ... Electrosensitive optical functional fluid composition, 17 ... Transparent conductive layer, 18 ... Housing, 19 ... Electrical insulating medium, 20 ... Seal Member, 21 ... electrode part, 30
・ ・ ・ Inorganic / organic composite particles, 31 ・ ・ ・ Core body, 32 ・ ・ ・ Inorganic ・
Organic composite particles, 33 ... Surface layer, X1 ... Dividing portion.

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Kazuya Edamura 2-6-15 Shiba Park, Minato-ku, Tokyo Inside Fujikura Kasei Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Yasufumi Otsubo 9-chome Konakadai, Inage-ku, Chiba-shi, Chiba 21-1 206

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A display device for displaying the scales of various measuring instruments such as automobiles, which comprises an electro-sensitive optical functional fluid composition containing electric field array particles in an electrically insulating medium,
A hollow container for accommodating the electrosensitive optical functional fluid composition, wherein at least a part of two facing surfaces which are opposed to each other is transparent, and one surface of the transparent part of the container is One or more transparent conductive layers are formed, and one or more transparent conductive layers facing the transparent conductive layer are formed on the other surface of the transparent portion of the container, and these transparent conductive layers are scales of the measuring instrument. A display device, characterized in that it has a dividing portion that divides the entire shape into a plurality and is arranged in parallel to form a scale. 2. The transparent conductive layer, between a pair of strip-shaped vertical portions arranged in parallel along a substantially vertical direction on a two-dimensional plane including a scale of a measuring instrument, and an end portion of each vertical portion. Passed over,
The display device according to claim 1, further comprising three strip-shaped lateral portions arranged side by side in a substantially lateral direction. 3. The transparent conductive layer has a planar shape that is substantially circular, and has a plurality of dividing portions that extend radially from the center of the circular shape and divide the circular shape. Display device described. 4. A display device for displaying the scales of various measuring instruments such as automobiles, which comprises an electro-sensitive optical functional fluid composition containing electric field array particles in an electrically insulating medium.
A hollow container for accommodating the electrosensitive optical functional fluid composition, wherein at least a part of two facing surfaces which are opposed to each other is transparent, and one surface of the transparent part of the container is One or more transparent conductive layers are formed, one or more transparent conductive layers facing the transparent conductive layer are formed on the other surface of the transparent portion of the housing, and the plurality of housings are arranged side by side. A display device characterized by. 5. The electric field arranging particles are inorganic / organic composite particles formed by a core body made of an organic polymer compound and a surface layer containing an inorganic material having an electric field arranging effect. The display device according to any one of 1 to 4. 6. The display device according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the surface layer, the core body, and the electrically insulating medium contains a dye.