JPH0816755B2 - Method and device for aligning liquid crystal element - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for aligning a liquid crystal element used for a liquid crystal optical element, a liquid crystal storage element, a liquid crystal acoustic element and the like.

[Conventional technology]

A method using an electric field is known as one of methods for aligning a liquid crystal material. For example, a method in which a polymer liquid crystal is sandwiched between two electrodes and a vertical alignment is performed by applying a 60 V, 2 kHz AC electric field at 150 ° C. for a long time (R. Simons, et al .: Polymer, 27 , 811
(1986)), by applying an electric field between electrodes with an insulating layer on at least one of polymer liquid crystals (main chain type, side chain type), a sufficient electric field for orientation is applied to liquid crystals with a small dielectric breakdown voltage. A method of orienting (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 63-144324),
A method in which a ferroelectric liquid crystal is heated to an isotropic phase and then gradually cooled, and an electric field is applied during the slow cooling to orient (Japanese Patent Laid-Open Nos. 63-121815 and 63-151927),
There is a method in which a low-molecular liquid crystal is mixed with a side chain type liquid crystal polymer and a direct current voltage is applied to align the liquid crystal (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 63-243165).

However, the method (2) requires a process of heating at a high temperature and applying an AC electric field for a long period of time, resulting in poor productivity. When the dielectric anisotropy Δε of the liquid crystal molecules is positive for the ferroelectric liquid crystal, the liquid crystal molecules are vertically aligned, and when the dielectric anisotropy Δε is negative, the liquid crystal molecules are horizontally aligned but the directions are random within the substrate surface. As a result, uniaxial horizontal alignment required for a ferroelectric liquid crystal element cannot be obtained.
Is also a method of vertically aligning a liquid crystal having a smectic A phase or a nematic phase. Even with this method, if the liquid crystal has a negative dielectric anisotropy Δε, the liquid crystal can be made horizontal with respect to the substrate, but its orientation becomes random in the plane of the substrate, and uniaxial horizontal alignment is impossible. Therefore, there is a problem that the ferroelectric liquid crystal cannot be uniaxially horizontally aligned even if it has a low molecular weight or a high molecular weight.
In the method (1), polymer coating and rubbing treatment or interfacial treatment such as oblique vapor deposition are indispensable on the substrate in advance for uniaxial orientation, and the electric field application plays an auxiliary role of reducing defects in the orientation state due to the interface. Nothing more than. Therefore, the process is complicated like the conventional rubbing treatment or the orientation method by oblique deposition, and the process of slow cooling from the isotropic phase is indispensable, so that there is a problem in productivity. In the method of (1), the liquid crystal state is preserved without causing phase separation of the mixed system below the liquid crystal phase-isotropic phase transition temperature, and the alignment of the side chain type liquid crystal polymer and the low molecular liquid crystal is not changed at room temperature. It is necessary to select a mixing ratio, and there is a problem that an arbitrary liquid crystal cannot be oriented.

In addition, a method is known in which a shearing force is used to align the liquid crystal material. For example, a method in which a ferroelectric liquid crystal is sandwiched between two substrates, and the substrates are slightly displaced from each other to apply shear and horizontally align (NAClark. Et al .: Appl. Phys. Lett., 3
6 , 899 (1980)). However, this method has problems that it is difficult to perform orientation treatment on a large area and that temperature control when applying shear must be precisely performed.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention]

The present invention does not require pretreatment such as providing an alignment control film on a substrate, and is capable of obtaining uniform alignment in a large area in a very short time without requiring precise temperature control. Is to provide. Further, the present invention is to provide an alignment treatment apparatus for a liquid crystal element, which can efficiently implement the above-mentioned alignment treatment method.

[Means for solving the problem]

As a result of intensive studies to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present inventors have aligned a liquid crystal element by applying shearing by bending deformation while applying an electric field to a liquid crystal material using a roller made of an alignment roll having conductivity. It was found that the object was achieved by the treatment, and the present invention was completed.

That is, the present invention uses a liquid crystal device in which a ferroelectric liquid crystal material is sandwiched between two flexible substrates with electrodes, using a roller made of at least one conductive orientation roll,
An alignment treatment method for a liquid crystal element, which comprises aligning a liquid crystal element on a roll surface of an alignment roll while applying an electric field to the liquid crystal material and applying shear to the liquid crystal material by bending deformation. is there.

The liquid crystal element aligned by the method of the present invention comprises a ferroelectric liquid crystal material sandwiched between two flexible substrates with electrodes.

The ferroelectric liquid crystal material is not particularly limited as long as it is a material that exhibits a ferroelectric phase such as a chiral smectic C phase at the temperature at which the liquid crystal element is actually used. For example, a low-molecular ferroelectric liquid crystal, a high-molecular ferroelectric liquid crystal, or a liquid crystal material composed of these compositions, a low-molecular or high-molecular non-ferroelectric non-liquid crystal substance, or a low-molecular or high-molecular non-liquid crystal substance. A dielectric liquid crystal substance and a non-liquid crystal substance having a low molecular weight or a high molecular weight chiral property or a liquid crystal substance having a low molecular weight or a high molecular weight chiral property are shown to exhibit a ferroelectric liquid crystal phase such as a chiral smectic C phase. The liquid crystal material combined with Among these, those exhibiting a chiral smectic C phase are preferable. Further, these liquid crystal materials may be mixed with various additives such as adhesives, dyes, and viscosity reducers. By using a ferroelectric liquid crystal material, a high speed reaction to a change in an electric field becomes possible.

As the flexible substrate, various materials can be used, but normally, a substrate made of flexible plastic is preferably used in terms of productivity, versatility, processability, and the like.

Specific examples of this flexible plastic include:
Examples thereof include crystalline polymers such as uniaxially or biaxially oriented polyethylene terephthalate, amorphous polymers such as polysulfone and polyethersulfone, polyolefins such as polyethylene and polypropylene, polycarbonates such as nylon and polyamides such as nylon. Among these, uniaxially stretched polyethylene terephthalate, polyether sulfone and polycarbonate are particularly preferable.

In the present invention, the two substrates may be made of the same material as each other, or may be made of different materials. Usually, at least one of the two substrates described above is used. It is optically transparent and is used with a transparent electrode.

The shape of the substrate used in the present invention is not particularly limited, and various shapes can be used according to the purpose of use, etc., but usually a plate-like, sheet-like or film-like one. Can be suitably used,
In particular, a long film is preferably used because it is advantageous for a continuous production system.

The thickness of the substrate depends on the degree of transparency, flexibility, strength,
It can be appropriately selected depending on the material such as workability and the purpose of use of the element, and is usually set within the range of about 20 to 10000 μm.

As the electrode, a commonly used electrode, for example, a metal film, a conductive inorganic film such as a conductive oxide film, or a conductive organic film can be used.

In the present invention, it is usually desirable to use an optically transparent or semitransparent electrode as at least one of the two electrodes. At least one transparent or semitransparent electrode is a transparent substrate. It is desirable to install it on the side.

Specific examples of the transparent or semitransparent electrode include, for example, a participating tin film called NESA film, an indium oxide film mixed with tin oxide called ITO film, an indium oxide film,
Examples thereof include vapor-deposited films of gold and titanium or other thin film metals or alloys. These electrodes are
Provided on a predetermined surface such as a substrate or a liquid crystal layer by using various methods such as a known method, for example, a vapor deposition method, a printing method, a coating method, a plating method, an adhesion method, or a combination thereof. be able to.

The shape of these electrodes is not particularly limited, and may be an entire surface on a predetermined surface such as a substrate, a stripe shape, or any other desired shape. You may.

An alignment control film is not particularly required on the electrodes. If necessary, an insulating film for preventing conduction, a color filter, or the like may be provided.

The method for sandwiching the ferroelectric liquid crystal material between the flexible substrates with electrodes is not particularly limited, and since the liquid crystal material does not have to be oriented by the sandwiching, any conventional method can be used. For example, a method of arranging two flexible substrates with electrodes so that the electrode sides face each other and injecting a ferroelectric liquid crystal material between them, a method of forming a film of the ferroelectric liquid crystal material and laminating it with a flexible substrate with electrodes. And so on. A preferred method for high-speed production is a method in which a liquid crystal material is formed into a film and laminated on a flexible substrate with an electrode. At this time, as a film forming method of the liquid crystal material, any conventionally known method such as a method of applying the liquid crystal material onto the electrodes of the flexible substrate with electrodes can be used.

While applying an electric field to the liquid crystal material using the roller composed of at least one conductive alignment roll, the liquid crystal device is brought into close contact with the liquid crystal element on the roll surface of the alignment roll to prevent shearing due to bending deformation of the liquid crystal material. In addition, alignment treatment is performed to align the liquid crystal material.

The roller comprises at least one electrically conductive orienting roll. The conductive orientation roll may have at least part or all of the roll surface having conductivity. Examples of the material include materials having conductivity such as metal, plastic, and rubber. Roll surface resistance
It is preferably 10 ⁵ Ω / □ or less, particularly preferably 10 ⁴ Ω / □ or less. If the surface resistance is too large, a sufficient electric field may not be applied to the liquid crystal material, resulting in insufficient alignment of the liquid crystal material.
The roll diameter is preferably 10 to 1000 mm, particularly preferably 20 to 200 mm. If the roll diameter is too large, the shear applied to the liquid crystal material may be insufficient, and if it is too small, the liquid crystal element may peel off or the substrate of the liquid crystal element may be broken.

An electric field is applied to the liquid crystal material. The application of this electric field can be performed by applying a voltage between the orientation rolls when the roller is composed of at least two orientation rolls having conductivity. At this time, an electric field may be applied to the entire liquid crystal element, but the electrodes on both sides of the liquid crystal material of the liquid crystal element are brought into contact with two conductive alignment rolls, respectively. It is preferable that a voltage is applied. As a method of bringing the electrodes of the liquid crystal element into contact with the alignment roll having conductivity, two flexible substrates with electrodes having different widths are used, or two flexible substrates with electrodes are used. It is preferable that the electrode surface is partially exposed by arranging the electrodes so as to be displaced, and then contacting this portion with the roll.

The voltage applied between the orientation rolls or between the conductive parts of the orientation rolls may be alternating current or direct current. AC or DC voltage is applied continuously or intermittently. The maximum value of the preferable electric field strength is 0.1 to 150 MV / m, particularly preferably 5 to 100 MV / m. If the applied voltage is too low, the alignment of the liquid crystal material may be insufficient, and if too high, the liquid crystal material may cause dielectric breakdown.

The temperature for aligning the liquid crystal element is preferably lower than the temperature at which the liquid crystal material sandwiched between the substrates exhibits an isotropic phase or the temperature at which a mixed phase of the isotropic phase and the liquid crystal phase is exhibited. In particular, it is preferable to set the temperature at which the liquid crystal material exhibits some liquid crystal phase other than the isotropic phase. By simultaneously applying an electric field and shear to the liquid crystal material at such a temperature, the liquid crystal material can be uniaxially horizontally aligned.

Specifically, the temperature at which the liquid crystal material exhibits a nematic phase (N phase), a cholesteric (Ch phase), various smectic phases (Sm phase), or a mixed phase thereof is preferable. When the temperature is high and the liquid crystal material exhibits an isotropic phase (Iso phase), the liquidity of the liquid crystal material is too large to be aligned. On the contrary, when the temperature is low and the liquid crystal material exhibits a glass phase or a crystal phase, the liquid crystal material is not sheared sufficiently and is not aligned. In particular, it is preferable to orient the liquid crystal material at a temperature at which various smectic phases are exhibited. For a liquid crystal material that normally exhibits a chiral smectic C phase or the like at room temperature, alignment treatment may be performed at room temperature.

The present invention is also a transport roll for moving or unwinding a long or sheet-shaped liquid crystal element, an alignment roll for adhering the transported liquid crystal element to the roll surface to bend and deform the liquid crystal element, and at least on the roll surface. A roller having at least one aligning roll having a plurality of conductive parts insulated from each other, a voltage applying means for applying a voltage between the conductive parts of the aligning roll of the roller, and a take-up roll for taking up the liquid crystal element subjected to bending deformation. The present invention provides an alignment treatment device for a liquid crystal element.

The present invention further includes a transport roll for moving or unwinding a long or sheet-shaped liquid crystal device, an alignment roll for bringing the transported liquid crystal device into close contact with the roll surface and bending and deforming the liquid crystal device, and having conductivity. It is an object of the present invention to provide an alignment treatment device for a liquid crystal element, which comprises a roller having at least two rolls, a voltage applying means for applying a voltage between the alignment rolls of the roller, and a take-up roll for taking up the liquid crystal element subjected to bending deformation.

FIG. 1 shows an example of an alignment treatment apparatus for a long liquid crystal element of the present invention when two conductive rolls are used. However, a carrier roll for feeding out the liquid crystal element and a take-up roll for taking up the liquid phase element subjected to the bending deformation are omitted.

Reference numeral 1 denotes a liquid crystal element in which a ferroelectric liquid crystal is sandwiched between two substrates with electrodes, which is an unaligned liquid crystal element that has not been subjected to an alignment treatment. In this liquid crystal element, two flexible substrates with electrodes are arranged in a staggered manner, and the electrode surfaces 5 and 6 are exposed at the end portions of the liquid crystal element where the two substrates do not overlap. The present alignment treatment device comprises two conductive alignment rolls 3 and 4 and a voltage source 7. The liquid crystal material of the non-oriented liquid crystal element 1 is sheared by bending deformation by allowing the non-oriented liquid crystal element 1 fed from the transport rolls to closely contact the roll surfaces of the orientation rolls 3 and 4 and alternately pass through the liquid crystal material of the non-oriented liquid crystal element 1. To be At this time, the unaligned liquid crystal element 1 is bent and deformed while the electrode surfaces 5 and 6 exposed on both sides of the liquid crystal element are in contact with the orientation rolls 4 and 3 having conductivity, respectively. Since a voltage source is connected between the orientation rolls 3 and 4 having conductivity and a voltage is applied, a voltage is also applied between the electrode surfaces 5 and 6 of the liquid crystal element, and the liquid crystal material is simultaneously subjected to electric field and shearing. Is being applied. At this time, the liquid crystal material is aligned at right angles to the shearing direction, that is, in the direction of arrow 8. Then, the liquid phase element 2 subjected to the orientation treatment is taken up by the take-up roll.

If necessary, an auxiliary roll may be provided at a position where the liquid crystal element is introduced into the alignment roll. A drive device (motor or the like) for moving the liquid crystal element at the line speed v may be provided.

In addition, the temperature of the liquid crystal material can be set to any temperature below the isotropic phase temperature by changing the temperature of each roll as necessary or by storing the entire alignment treatment device in a constant temperature bath. Preferably.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of an alignment roll used in the alignment treatment apparatus for a liquid crystal device of the present invention, in which the roller is one alignment roll.

The roller consists of one orientation roll 9. The surface of the orientation roll 9 is divided into three regions, the regions at both ends are a conductive part 10 made of a conductive material, and the middle region is an insulating part 11 made of an insulating material. The conductive portions 10 at both ends are insulated from each other by the insulating portion 11.

In the orientation processing apparatus using this roller, the voltage applying means is connected between the two conductive parts 10 of the orientation roll so that a voltage can be applied. By using such a roller, the liquid crystal material can be aligned with one alignment roll.

When the liquid crystal element is a single wafer, the device shown in FIG. 3 can be preferably used. FIG. 3 is an explanatory view of another example of the alignment treatment apparatus of the present invention, and FIGS. 4 (a) to 4 (c) are explanatory views showing the operation of each roll in the alignment treatment apparatus of FIG. However, in FIG. 3, a take-up roll for taking out the liquid crystal element to which the bending deformation is applied is omitted.

12 is a transport roll, 13 is a non-aligned liquid crystal element, 14 is an alignment part, 15 and 18 are rubber rolls, and 16 and 17 are conductive alignment rolls. The sheet-shaped unaligned liquid crystal element 13 supplied by the element moving roll group including the transport roll 12 is conveyed to the alignment section 14. Next, the rubber roll 15 and the alignment roll 17 are moved down by the air cylinder to the alignment roll 16 and the rubber roll 18, respectively, and press the liquid crystal element 13 (FIG. 4 (a)). Roll pairs 17, 18 then roll pairs 15, 16
It moves smoothly to the bottom (Fig. 4 (b)). After that, a voltage is applied between the orientation rolls 16 and 17 having conductivity by the voltage application means 7, and at the same time, the liquid crystal element 13 is moved at the orientation processing speed v by the roll 18 which is interlocked with the drive motor (see FIG. 4 ( c)). At this time, the electric field and the shear are applied to the liquid crystal material at the same time, and the liquid crystal material is aligned. Further, in this apparatus, it is preferable that the temperature at the time of the alignment treatment is variable by disposing the entire alignment section 14 in a constant temperature bath.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on Examples,
The present invention is not limited to this.

Example 1 As a ferroelectric liquid crystal, CS-1026 manufactured by Chisso Corporation was used. A 4: 1 (weight ratio) mixture of the present liquid crystal and an epoxy resin (1: 1 volume ratio mixture of a main agent and a curing agent of High Super manufactured by Cemedine Co., Ltd.) was dissolved in dichloromethane to obtain a 15 weight% solution. This solution was added to a PES substrate with ITO electrodes (100 μm thick
A ITO film having a width of 150 mm and a length of 20 m) was applied and formed into a film by using a microgravure coater. The film thickness of the liquid crystal material after evaporation of the solvent was 2.2 μm. Next, the same type of PES substrate with an ITO electrode on which nothing was applied was laminated so that the ITO electrode was in contact with the liquid crystal material film, to prepare a liquid crystal element before alignment treatment. After that, a liquid crystal element having a length of 1 m was cut out and immediately subjected to an alignment treatment by an alignment treatment device as shown in FIG. Shin-Etsu SR roll manufactured by Shin-Etsu Polymer Co., Ltd. (length 200 mm, diameter 40 mm,
^Two silicone conductive rubbers having a surface resistance of 3 × 10 ² Ω / □ were used. The voltage source 7 was a direct current of 20 V, and the ambient temperature was room temperature (the temperature at which the liquid crystal material exhibits a chiral smectic C phase). After the alignment treatment, the liquid crystal element 2 was cut out into a few cm square pieces and placed between the crossed Nicols, and the ratio of the transmittance, that is, the contrast was measured when a voltage of ± 5 V was applied between the electrodes of the liquid crystal element. The same measurement was carried out on the liquid crystal element subjected to the alignment treatment by changing the line speed v of the alignment treatment device, and the results are shown in Table 1.

As described above, it is possible to obtain sufficient orientation in a wide line speed range, which means that the production can be continuously performed with the steps of forming a film of a liquid crystal material, laminating a substrate and the like. Also, the contrast at the time of bistability was very good, and it was found from observation with a polarization microscope that there were very few zigzag defects. It is considered that this is because the smectic layer structure has a bookshelf structure in which the smectic layer structure is not substantially perpendicular to the substrate due to the voltage application during the alignment treatment.

Example 2 A ferroelectric polymer liquid crystal having the following structure and characteristics was used as the liquid crystal.

Phase transition behavior This ferroelectric liquid crystal was applied as a 10 wt% dichloromethane solution by a direct gravure coater to form a film on a ITO electrode of a polycarbonate substrate with an ITO electrode (thickness 100 μm, width 200 mm, length 10 m). After the solvent was dried, a substrate of the same type with no coating was laminated so that the ITO electrode was in contact with the liquid crystal film. The liquid crystal film thickness was 1.9 μm. After that, the liquid crystal element was cut into pieces each having a length of 1 m, and the alignment treatment was performed using the same apparatus as in Example 1.

Here, the line speed v was fixed at v = 5 m / min, and the alignment rolls 3 and 4 were heated for alignment treatment. The contrast was measured in the same manner as in Example 1 with respect to the liquid crystal element subjected to the alignment treatment by changing the alignment roll temperature, and the results are shown in Table 2. The applied voltage between the orientation rolls is V
= ± 40V, 5Hz rectangular wave.

As described above, it was possible to obtain sufficient orientation in a very wide temperature range. Further, the zigzag defect was hardly seen and the alignment state was good.

Example 3 The alignment treatment apparatus shown in FIG. 3 was produced. Here, the entire orienting unit 14 was placed in a constant temperature bath, and the temperature during the orienting treatment was made variable.

In this example, an orientation roll having the same conductivity as in Example 1 was used. The unaligned liquid crystal element produced in Example 2 was used as a sheet having a length of 20 cm, and an orientation test was conducted by the above apparatus. The temperature in the constant temperature bath was fixed at 40 ° C., and the applied voltage between the orientation rolls 16 and 17 having conductivity was 30 V DC. When the contrast was measured in the same manner as in Example 1 with respect to the liquid crystal element in which the alignment treatment speed v was changed, the results shown in Table 3 were obtained.

As described above, it was confirmed that it is possible to obtain a good orientation even under a mild condition even for a relatively small single-wafer liquid crystal element.

Example 4 The same liquid crystal as in Example 2, the same coating method using a substrate,
A liquid crystal element 19 having a width of 200 mm and a length of 150 mm as shown in FIGS. 5 (a) and 5 (b) was obtained by the laminating method. As shown in FIG. 5B, the ITO electrode 22 on one substrate 20 of the liquid crystal element 19 is divided into an electrode A and an electrode B. The substrate 20 having the electrodes A and B is wider than the other substrate 21, and part of the electrode surfaces of the electrodes A and B is exposed from both ends of the liquid crystal element 19.

This liquid crystal element was subjected to alignment treatment by a roller composed of one alignment roll 9 shown in FIG. Here, the conductive portion 10 of the orientation roll 9 is made of conductive silicone rubber having a surface resistance of 10 ² Ω / □, and the insulating portion 11 is made of non-conductive silicone rubber. The roll diameter is 50 mm and the width is 300 m.
It was m.

± 40V, 20Hz between two conductive parts 10 of this orientation roll 9
Electrode A and electrode B of the liquid crystal element 19 while applying the rectangular wave of
While contacting the two conductive parts 10 of the orienting roll 9 with each other, the liquid crystal element 19 was brought into intimate contact with the roll surface of the orienting roll 9 as shown in FIG. Here, the alignment roll 9 is moved to move the liquid crystal element 19
An electric field and shear were applied throughout. After this alignment treatment, the contrast was measured under crossed Nicols, and a value of 70 was obtained by applying ± 5V. From this, it became clear that the required orientation can be sufficiently obtained even with a single roller.

〔The invention's effect〕

According to the liquid crystal element alignment treatment method of the present invention, it is possible to obtain uniform alignment in a large area in an extremely short time without requiring pretreatment such as providing an alignment control film on the substrate, and without requiring precise temperature control. You can Further, according to the alignment treatment apparatus for a liquid crystal element of the present invention, the above alignment treatment method can be efficiently realized.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory view showing an example of a liquid crystal element alignment treatment apparatus of the present invention. However, a carrier roll for feeding out the liquid crystal element and a take-up roll for taking out the liquid crystal element sheared by bending deformation are omitted. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of an alignment roll used in the alignment treatment apparatus for a liquid crystal element of the present invention. FIG. 3 is an explanatory view of another example of the alignment treatment apparatus of the present invention, and FIGS. 4 (a) to 4 (c) are explanatory views showing the operation of each roll in the alignment treatment apparatus of FIG. FIG. 5 (a) is a plan view of the liquid crystal element obtained in the example,
FIG. 5 (b) is a sectional view thereof. FIG. 6 is an explanatory view for explaining the bending deformation of the liquid crystal element of the example. Explanation of symbols 1 ... Unaligned liquid crystal element 2 ... Aligned liquid crystal element 3, 4 ... Conductive alignment roll 5, 6 ... Electrode surface, 7 ... Voltage source 8 ... Alignment direction Arrow indicating 9: Aligning roll, 10: Conducting part 11: Insulating part, 12: Conveying roll 13: Unaligned liquid crystal element 14 ... Aligning part 15, 18 ... Rubber roll 16, 17 ... Conductivity Alignment roll 19 ... Liquid crystal element 20 ... Substrate with electrodes A and B 21 ... Substrate, 22 ... ITO electrode 23 ... Liquid crystal material

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A liquid crystal element comprising a ferroelectric liquid crystal material sandwiched between two flexible substrates with electrodes, at least one roller made of an orientation roll having conductivity is used, and an electric field is applied to the liquid crystal material. A method for orienting a liquid crystal element, wherein the liquid crystal element is brought into close contact with the roll surface of the orienting roll while applying a voltage, and shearing due to bending deformation is applied to the liquid crystal material to perform the orientation process. 2. The alignment treatment method for a liquid crystal element according to claim 1, wherein the alignment treatment is performed at a temperature lower than a temperature at which the liquid crystal material exhibits an isotropic phase or a mixed phase of the isotropic phase and the liquid crystal phase. 3. A roller is composed of at least two conductive alignment rolls, and the application of an electric field to the liquid crystal material applies a voltage between the alignment rolls so that the alignment roll and the electrodes on both sides of the liquid crystal material of the liquid crystal element are connected to each other. The method for aligning a liquid crystal element according to claim 1, which is carried out by bringing them into contact with each other and applying a voltage between the electrodes. 4. A transport roll for moving or feeding out a long or sheet-shaped liquid crystal element, an alignment roll for bringing the transported liquid crystal element into close contact with the roll surface to bend and deform the liquid crystal element, and a plurality of rolls at least on the roll surface. A liquid crystal comprising a roller having at least one aligning roll having electrically conductive parts insulated from each other, a voltage applying means for applying a voltage between the conducting parts of the aligning roll of the roller, and a take-up roll for taking up the liquid crystal element to which the bending deformation has been applied. Device orientation processing device. 5. A transport roll for moving or unwinding a long or sheet-shaped liquid crystal element, an alignment roll for bringing the transported liquid crystal element into close contact with a roll surface and bending and deforming the liquid crystal element, and having orientation having conductivity. An alignment treatment device for a liquid crystal element, comprising a roller having at least two rolls, a voltage applying means for applying a voltage between the alignment rolls of the roller, and a take-up roll for taking up the liquid crystal element subjected to bending deformation.