JPS59155834A - Production of electrochromic display device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent deterioration contamination of an electrolyte by sealing the the small hole for injecting the electrolyte into the cell of an electrochromic display (ECD) element with a flexible adhesive then inserting a pipe into the adhesive from the outside, injecting the electrolyte into the cell through the pipe, removing the pipe and sealing the small hole. CONSTITUTION:A small hole or dent 4 for injecting an electrolyte is provided on one substrate 3 of the cell 1 of an ECD element and an adhesive 13 having flexibility such as silicon rubber or the like is filled in the small hole or dent 4. After the adhesive 13 is cured, another substrate 2 is adhered and laminated on said substrate by means of an epoxy adhesive etc., thereby manufacturing the cell 1. A fine tube 11 for injecting an electrolyte 6 is then penetrated and inserted through and into the adhesive 13 and after the tube 11 is dipped into the electrolyte 6 in a vacuum device N2 is fed therein to inject the electrolyte into the cell 1. When the cell 1 is taken out and the tube 11 is removed, the agent 4 closes immediately the hole after the passage of the tube by its own elasticity. The injecting port part is thereafter sealed with a sealant 10. The deterioration of the electrolyte by contamination with the outdoor air and the sealant is thus prevented and the element having high reliability and durability is obtd.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing an electrochromic display device, and more particularly to a method for manufacturing an electrochromic display device in which the step of sealing an electrolyte in a cell is improved.

Conventional electrochromic display devices, as is well known, use two substrates, at least one of which is transparent, as starting materials, and provide necessary components such as transparent electrodes and electrochromic layers on their surfaces. The substrates are held facing each other in parallel with each other via a spacer and bonded together to form a cell with an internal gap.Then, electrolyte is injected into the cell from an electrolyte injection port provided in advance, and the injection port is sealed. It is manufactured by

11th W(a) to (d) show an example of filling an electrolyte into an electrochromic display cell by a conventional method. 1st
Figure (a) shows a portion of a cell 1 formed by bonding two substrates 2.8 having transparent electrodes and the like. As shown in the figure, the cell 1 has a small hole 4 for injecting an electrolyte on the side surface. cell 1
is placed in the vacuum container 5 shown in FIG. 1(b), and the pressure inside the vacuum container is reduced by operating the valve 7 with a vacuum pump (not shown) to remove the internal air of the cell 1. Arrange the injection hole so that it is immersed in the liquid 6 in the electrolyte container, operate the valve 7, and inject an inert gas such as nitrogen gas (N2) into the vacuum container 5 as shown. Supply and return to atmospheric pressure,
Electrolyte 6 is injected into cell 1. Next, as shown in FIG.
Then, a sealing member 9 such as a round bar made of stainless steel or the like is inserted into the small hole 4 through the injection port. After inserting the sealing member 9, as shown in FIG. 1(d), an adhesive 10 such as epoxy is applied to the outer surface of the injection port and its surrounding area to perform sealing.

Further, FIGS. 2(a') to 2(e) show other examples of the conventional method of filling the display cell with an electrolyte. In this method, Figure 2(a)
As shown in FIG. 2(b), after fixing the pipe 11 to the electrolyte injection recess 4 provided in one of the substrates 3 with a sealant 12 for bonding the substrate (hardening after the vibrator is attached), as shown in FIG. 2(b). Both substrates 28 are bonded together to form the cell 1, and at the same time, the void inside the cell is communicated with the outside through a pipe IO.Then, the cell 1 is placed in the vacuum container 5 in the same manner as in the above method, and the air inside the cell is eliminated. After that, as shown in Fig. 2(C), place the pipe so that at least the protruding part of the pipe enters the liquid 6 in the electrolyte container, and operate the valve 7 in the same way to supply an inert gas such as nitrogen gas. is supplied into the vacuum container 6, and an electrolytic solution is injected into the cell 1. Next, as shown in FIG. 2(d), the cell 1 is separated from the electrolyte container and moved into the glove box 8, and after cutting and crimping the pipe 11, the pipe is inserted into the recess as shown in FIG. 2(e). An adhesive 10 such as epoxy is applied to the filled sealant and the outer surface of the surrounding area for sealing. In this way, an electrochromic display device is formed.

However, in the electrolytic solution filling method used in the conventional electrochromic display manufacturing method, the shapes of the sealing member 9 and the small hole 4 do not completely match in the example shown in FIG. 1, so a gap is created. The epoxy resin (before being completely cured) may dissolve in the electrolyte and cause leakage, and in the air, air may enter through the gaps and the electrolyte may deteriorate due to oxygen in the air, so do not use group boxes, etc. I have to work inside. In the example shown in FIG. 2 below, it is difficult to completely seal the tip of the pipe by crimping, and a similar problem occurs.

Furthermore, the former method requires the insertion of the pipe, and the latter method requires the steps of fixing, cutting, and crimping the pipe, which poses a problem of poor work efficiency.

The present invention has been made in view of these conventional problems, and includes two substrates each having at least transparent electrodes held in parallel with each other via a spacer and bonded together to form an electrochromic display cell. Next, when manufacturing an electrochromic display device by filling an electrolyte into a void in the cell from an electrolyte injection port of the display cell, a small hole for electrolyte injection provided in the cell is sealed with a flexible adhesive. , an electrolyte inlet is provided in this adhesive by penetrating a pipe-shaped member from the outside to the cell cavity, and the electrolyte is injected into the cell cavity through the vibrator-shaped member, and after the electrolyte is injected, the pipe-shaped member is inserted. The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing an electrochromic display device, which is characterized in that it is removed and sealed.

The present invention will be explained below based on the drawings.

FIGS. 8(a) to 8(e) show an electrolyte filling step in an example of the method for manufacturing an electrochromic display device of the present invention.

In the illustrated method, as shown in FIG. 8(a), a recess 4 is provided on one substrate 8, and a silicon adhesive such as silicone rubber (for example, 5E-1700 manufactured by Toshi Silicone Co., Ltd.) is applied to the recess 4. ) or the like with a flexible adhesive 18. In this case, it is preferable to keep the adhesive 18 slightly inside. Next, as shown in FIG. 8(b), after the adhesive is cured, the pipe 11 is fixed by passing through the adhesive 18, and the two substrates are laminated and bonded using an adhesive such as epoxy. to prepare cell l. In this way, a small hole for injecting an electrolyte is provided on the side surface of the cell 1 and simultaneously sealed with a flexible adhesive. However, the small hole for electrolyte injection can be provided by penetrating the substrate from the bottom surface of the substrate, and in this case as well, it is preferable to fill the small hole with a flexible adhesive and seal it before bonding both substrates together.

Next, the method shown in FIG. 8 (
0), and after operating the valve 7 to evacuate the cell inside the vacuum container 5, connect the pipe 11 to the electrolytic solution 6.
immerse the inside of box b with inert gas, N in the example shown.
The pressure is returned to atmospheric pressure using two gases, and the electrolytic solution 6 is injected into the cell 1. The cell l injected with electrolyte is preferably taken out into the box or into the atmosphere as shown in Figure 8 ((1)), and the pipe is quickly pulled out.At this time, the flexible adhesive has its own elasticity. As a result, the hole through which the pipe passed is closed, and it is almost completely isolated from the atmosphere.Finally, as shown in Figure 8(e), an adhesive 10 such as epoxy is applied to the electrolyte injection port. The adhesive is cured and sealed to form a chromic display device. At this time, the uncured adhesive does not come into contact with the electrolyte.

In the illustrated example, silicone-based adhesive is used as the flexible adhesive, but the flexible adhesive is not limited to this. Any material can be used as long as it is a dripping material and does not dissolve into the electrolyte or leak the electrolyte. Stainless steel pipes, such as injection needles, are easy to use as pipe-like members, but aluminum,
Any material can be used, including plastic.

Furthermore, as the sealant, there is no possibility of it reacting with the electrolyte as in the conventional example, so any sealant can be used regardless of the electrolyte.

As explained above, according to the present invention, the display devices obtained have small variations in response speed, light transmittance, and memo IJ properties. Therefore, the method of the present invention can produce a large number of homogeneous display devices. This is an effective method for manufacturing. ★
There is no need for a bare state in a glove box or the like, and there are advantages such as high productivity and reduced man-hours.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1(a) to ((1) and Fig. 2(a) to (e) are respectively diagrams of the electrolyte filling process of the conventional electrogastric chromic display device, and Fig. 8(a) to (8) are 01...Cell 2.8...Substrate 4... which is an electrolyte solution filling process diagram of an example of the electrochromic display device of the present invention.
Small hole or depression for electrolyte injection 5...vacuum container
6... Electrolyte 7... Valve .
8... Glove box 9... Sealing member
10...Adhesive or sealant 11...Pipe
12... Sealant 18... "Flexible adhesive. Patent applicant: Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. Figure 1 Figure 3

Claims (1)

[Claims] L Two substrates each having at least a transparent electrode are held and adhered in parallel with each other via a spacer to form an electrochromic display cell, and then an electrolyte is filled into the gap in the cell from the electrolyte injection port of the display cell. When manufacturing an electrochromic display device, a small hole for injecting electrolyte provided in the cell is sealed with a flexible adhesive, and a pipe-shaped member is passed through the adhesive from the outside to the cavity inside the cell to perform electrolysis. 1. A method for manufacturing an electrochromic display device, which comprises providing a liquid injection port, injecting an electrolytic solution into a gap in a cell through the pipe-like member, and removing and sealing the pipe-like member after injecting the electrolyte.