KR20070027084A - Charged particle for electronic paper using collision electrification and display device thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

Charged particles for an electronic paper using collision electrification and a display device using the charged particles are provided to improve reliability of electrification and increase the life span of the electronic paper by preventing a particle stabilizer from being easily separated from a polymer particle. A charged particle for an electronic paper using collision electrification includes an electrophoresis polymer particle and a particle stabilizer. A function group is formed on the surface of the electrophoresis polymer particle. The particle stabilizer is coated on the polymer particle to envelope the polymer particle and the function group is bonded to the end of the particle stabilizer. The electrophoresis polymer particle and the particle stabilizer are combined with each other through condensation.

Description

Charged Particles for Electronic Paper Using Collision Electrification and Display Device Thereof}

1 is a cross-sectional view showing a cell structure of a collision charge type electronic paper display device according to the prior art;

2 is a schematic diagram showing a state in which an inorganic external additive is coated on a polymer particle, which is used in a collision charge type electronic paper display device according to the prior art,

Figure 3 is a schematic diagram showing the polymer particles of the charged particles for collision charging type electronic paper according to the present invention,

Figure 4 is a schematic diagram showing a state in which a functional group is formed on the polymer particles of the charged particles for collision charging type electronic paper according to the present invention,

5 is a schematic diagram showing a state in which a functional group is formed in the particle stabilizer of the charged particle for collision charging type electronic paper according to the present invention,

6 is a schematic diagram showing a state in which a condensation reaction is formed between the polymer particles and the particle stabilizer of the collision-chargeable electronic paper charged particles according to the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a cell structure of a display device using a charged charging type collision-type electronic paper according to the present invention.

** Description of Symbols for Main Parts of Drawings **

1: external additive 2: high molecular polymer

3: pigment or dye 4: charge control agent

5: counter substrate 6: charged particles

7: bulkhead 8: transparent substrate

The present invention relates to a charged particle for collision-charged electronic paper and a device using the same, and more particularly, to an electrophoretic polymer particle having a functional group formed on its surface, and coated so as to surround the polymer particle in a spherical shape and a functional group at a terminal thereof. The present invention relates to a charged particle for collision-charged electronic paper coated with a particle stabilizer to which a particle stabilizer is conjugated, and relates to a charged particle bonded by a chemical method so that the particle stabilizer does not easily fall from the outermost portion of the polymer particle.

Display paper displays are being developed as next-generation display devices following liquid crystal displays, plasma display panels, and organic luminescence devices. Electronic paper, in particular, is a flexible substrate, such as a thin plastic with millions of beads sprinkled in an oil hole, and a display device that can display text or images, which can be reproduced and used millions of times.

Electronic paper display devices are the core of flexible (or paper) display implementations, and are based on electrophoretics that apply electromagnetic fields to conductive materials to make them moveable. After the fine particles are distributed, the data is represented by a change in the arrangement of the fine particles (or charged particles) due to the change in the polarity of the electromagnetic field. Electronic paper is much cheaper to produce than conventional flat panel display panels. Like liquid crystal display devices, electronic paper does not require backlighting or continuous recharging, so it can be driven with very little energy. In addition, the electronic paper is very sharp, has a wide viewing angle, and has a memory function that does not completely disappear even in the absence of power. These great advantages make it possible for electronic paper to be used in a wide range of applications, such as e-books with paper-like sides and moving illustrations, self-renewable newspapers, reusable paper displays for mobile phones, disposable TV screens and electronic wallpaper. It has a huge potential market.

Technical approaches to electronic paper implementation include liquid crystal method, organic EL, reflective film reflective display, electrophoresis, twist ball, and mechanical reflective light. It is an electronic paper display device using the electrophoresis phenomenon. Electrophoresis is a phenomenon in which when a particle is suspended in a medium (dispersion medium), the particles are electrically charged, and when an electric field is applied to the charged particles, they move through a dispersion medium to electrodes having opposite charges. A representative diagram of the electrophoretic display device using this phenomenon is shown in FIG. 1 and briefly described as follows.

1 is a cross-sectional view showing a cell structure of a conventional collision charging type electronic paper display device. As shown, the upper and lower substrates 40 and 30 formed of any one of plastic or glass, and the driving voltage of the device is applied on the upper and lower substrates 40 and 30, and the upper and lower substrates are formed of transparent electrodes. White electrodes (-) formed between the electrodes 10 and 20, the partition walls for maintaining the gap between the upper and lower substrates 40 and 30, and for separating the cells from the cells, and the two electrodes. It consists of the particle | grains 60 and the black positive (+) charged particle 50.

In the collision charging type electronic paper display device having such a configuration, when sufficient voltage is applied to the upper electrode 10 and the lower electrode 20, charged particles charged according to the applied electrode polarity are attracted to each electrode. For example, the white charged particles 60 have (-) and the black charged particles 50 have (+) properties, and a positive voltage is applied to the upper electrode 10 and a negative voltage to the lower electrode 20. In this case, the white charged particles move to the upper electrode, and the black charged particles 50 move to the lower electrode to become white. On the contrary, when a negative voltage is applied to the upper electrode 10, the black charged particles are moved to the upper electrode and become black.

However, in the conventional electrophoretic display device, since the electrophoretic charged particles have polarity, the particles contained in the dispersion medium adhere to the electrode plate or aggregate with each other, or due to the difference in specific gravity between the electrophoretic particles and the dispersion medium. With the passage of time, the electrophoretic particles gradually settled, or the electrophoretic particles were insufficiently charged, and there was a problem in that they could not sufficiently respond to the applied voltage. As a result, highly reliable electrophoretic display devices have not been implemented.

In order to solve this drawback, the method of making the specific gravity of electrophoretic particle and a dispersion medium substantially the same by coating electrophoretic particle with resin is known. In addition, a method has been proposed in which titanium dioxide fine particles are coated with silicone resin as electrophoretic particles to impart a large amount of naturally occurring charge to the electrophoretic particles. Furthermore, methods of treating electrophoretic particles with titanate-based coupling agents and sorbitan fatty acid esters are also known.

However, the electrophoretic particles coated with the resin have a specific gravity substantially the same as the dispersion medium to prevent sedimentation of the electrophoretic particles in the dispersion medium, but the resin covering the electrophoretic particles is likely to be contaminated by dyes or the like in the dispersion medium. There is a problem that the contrast between the electrophoretic particles and the dispersion medium is lowered. In addition, there is a problem that it is difficult to disperse the electrophoretic particles in the heated dissolved resin, and then to harden and finely pulverize them to a predetermined size suitable for the electrophoretic display device.

In addition, when the titanium dioxide fine particles coated with the silicone resin are used as electrophoretic particles, the electrophoretic display device can be manufactured easily due to low power consumption, but the silicone resin is contaminated by dyes or the like in the dispersion medium. There is a problem that the contrast between the electrophoretic particles and the dispersion medium decreases over time.

In addition, the electrophoretic particles treated with the titanate-based coupling agent and the sorbitan fatty acid ester have an organic monomolecular film formed on the surface thereof, thereby improving affinity with the organic dispersion medium, thereby adhering to the electrode plate or charged particles. Precipitation by aggregation with each other is prevented, but the specific gravity of the electrophoretic particles itself does not change. Therefore, when inorganic particles having a high specific gravity are used as electrophoretic particles, there is a problem that single settling of particles occurs unless a dispersion medium having high toxicity and a large specific gravity is used.

In this way, the electrophoretic particles are coated with a resin, the titanium dioxide fine particles are coated with a silicone resin, or the electrophoretic particles are treated with a titanate coupling agent and a sorbitan fatty acid ester. It is simply coated on electrophoretic particles, which is applied by mixing using a mixer or rotation. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a state in which an inorganic external additive is coated on electrophoretic polymer particles, which is used in a collision charge type electronic paper display device according to the prior art. As shown, the outermost part of the polymer 2 containing the charge control agent 4 and the pigment or dye 3 is simply physically coated with an external additive 1 such as a resin, silicone resin or coupling agent. . Particles coated by a physical method of adding an external additive to the dispersing solvent and simply mixing by a mixer or rotation may easily cause the external additive to fall off from the polymer particles. As such, when the external additive is easily dropped, the charged particles may not respond sufficiently by the same applied voltage, and since the charging characteristic is easily changed, a serious problem of deterioration in image quality occurs. In addition, as a whole, the unity of image quality is reduced, resulting in shortening of product life.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and by the charged particles bonded by a chemical method so that the particle stabilizer does not easily fall out of the outermost part of the polymer particles, the collision charge type electrons with improved reproducibility and long lifespan It is for providing charged particles of paper.

In order to achieve this object, the charged particles for the collision-charged electronic paper according to the present invention are not only functional groups bonded to the external additives by graft polymerization, but also polymer functional groups are formed on the surface of the polymer particles. The particles are intended to stabilize the particles by the condensation reaction. According to the charged particles according to the present invention, graft polymerization by a polymer functional group is formed on the surface of the polymer particles and the particle stabilizer, and the charged particles are modified by a chemical method, thereby agglomeration, sedimentation or electrophoresis of the electrophoretic particles in the dispersion medium. It is an object of the present invention to obtain electrophoretic charged particles and a display device in which sticking and the like are solved.

In addition, an object of the present invention is to provide an electrophoretic display device having excellent memory performance and high reliability by providing electrophoretic charged particles that solve the above problems. In the electrophoretic display device according to the present invention, the charged particles or the dispersant are enclosed in an interspace formed by disposing at least one set of transparent electrode plates at predetermined intervals, and applying a control voltage between the electrode plates by control means. This is to obtain display operation.

The charged particles for collision-charged electronic paper according to the present invention for achieving the above object are coated with electrophoretic polymer particles having a functional group formed on a surface thereof, and are spherically enclosed around the polymer particles, and functional groups are bonded to terminals. It is characterized in that the particle stabilizer is bound by a condensation reaction.

Here, the functional group may be a carboxyl group (-COOH), a hydroxyl group (-OH), an amino group (-NH ₂ ) or a halogenated group (-X), and the functional group formed on the polymer particles and bonded to the particle stabilizer. It is preferable to remove water, ammonia or an acid by the said condensation reaction.

In addition, the charged particles for the collision-charged electronic paper according to the present invention is characterized in that the particle stabilizer is coated on the polymer particles to increase the inductance, the polymer particles can be charged or obtain a charge It may be in the form of at least one or more of the charge control agent for imparting electrophoresis by modifying the surface of the polymer, dye pigments or dyes, the particle stabilizer is to act as a charge control agent for improving the fluidity of the particles, It can be ceramic powder or natural or synthetic wax.

In addition, the particle stabilizer constituting the charged particles for collision-charge type electronic paper according to the present invention may be any charge control agent for improving fluidity. The serak Preferred as a dynamic powder of a particle stabilizing agent according to the present invention, barium titanate (BaTiO _3), strontium titanate (SrTiO _3), calcium titanate (CaTiO _3), lead titanate (PbTiO ₃ ), Titanium dioxide (TiO ₂ ), tin dioxide (SnO ₂ ), calcium oxide (CaO), magnesium oxide (MgO), aluminum oxide (Al ₂ O ₃ ), iron oxide (Fe ₂ O ₃ ), gamma iron oxide, magnesium Silicate (MgSiO ₃ ), Magnetite (Fe ₃ O ₄ ), Zirconia (ZrO ₂ ), Boron Oxide (B ₂ O ₃ ), Silicon Carbide (SiC), Silicon Nitride (Si ₃ N ₄ ), Nickel Ferrite, Zinc Ferrite , Nickel zinc ferrite and barium ferrite (BaFe ₂ O ₄ ) It may be at least one or more selected from the group consisting of, most preferably silica (SiO ₂ ) is suitable.

Preferred examples of the natural or synthetic wax as another particle stabilizer according to the present invention are S-wax, PE wax, ethylene-acrylic acid wax, ethylene-vinylacetate, and montan-based natural wax in which carboxylic acid is partially bonded to the terminal. At least one selected from the group consisting of polyethylene-based synthetic waxes, polypropylene-based synthetic waxes, polymer waxes, and synthetic waxes having basic functional groups partially bonded to amides or amines at ends.

In addition, the collision-charged electronic paper display device according to the present invention for achieving the above another object is a space between the charged particles of the collision-charged electronic paper display device at least one transparent electrode plate facing each other at predetermined intervals And a control means for changing a distribution state of charged particles by applying a control voltage to the electrode plate.

Hereinafter, one preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The invention can be better understood by the following examples, which are intended for the purpose of illustration of the invention and are not intended to limit the scope of protection defined by the appended claims.

Figure 3 is a schematic diagram showing the polymer particles of the collision charging type electronic paper charged particles according to the present invention, Figure 4 is a schematic diagram showing a state in which the functional group is formed on the polymer particles, Figure 5 is a particle of the charged particles according to the present invention It is a schematic diagram which shows the state in which a functional group was formed in the stabilizer. Here, reference numeral 1 denotes an external additive, 2 denotes a polymer, 3 denotes a pigment or dye, 4 denotes a charge control agent, 5 denotes an opposing substrate, 6 denotes charged particles, 7 denotes a partition, and 8 denotes a transparent substrate.

The present invention relates to charged particles used in electronic paper, characterized in that the bonding by a chemical method so that the particle stabilizer does not easily fall from the outermost part of the polymer particles, the collision charge-type electron with improved reproducibility and long life It is for providing charged particles of paper. More specifically, an electrophoretic polymer particle having a functional group formed on its surface and a particle stabilizer coated with a spherical shape around the polymer particle and having a functional group bonded to the terminal are coated by a condensation reaction. It is a charged particle for type electronic paper.

First, the electrophoretic polymer particles having functional groups on the surface as the polymer particles used in the present invention are any component capable of being charged or acquiring charges (FIG. 3), and the functional groups on the surface of such polymer particles. It is characterized by being formed (FIG. 4). As shown in FIG. 4, the polymer particles according to the present invention are electrophoretic charged particles having a polymer graft chain formed on a surface thereof.

As the electrophoretic charged particles, the polymer particles may be titanium dioxide, zinc oxide, zinc emulsion, white lead, sulfur lead, cadmium sulfide, graphite, carbon black, or the like, and preferably PMMA (poly methyl methcrylate) or polyethylene terephthalate. (Polyethylene Terephthalate: PETE), Polystyrene (PS) or copolymers thereof are suitable. The size of such polymer particles is most preferably about 0.2 ~ 2.0μm. And the graft chain formed in the surface of such electrophoretic particle | grains is performed by introducing a functional group into the surface of a polymer particle, and graft-reacting a polymer to the said functional group. The functional group to be introduced can be determined in consideration of its suitability with a polymer which is later graft polymerized, and for example, a carboxyl group (-COOH), a hydroxyl group (-OH), an amino group (-NH ₂ ) or a halogenated group (-X) A functional group is mentioned, and in this invention, it is most preferable that hydroxyl group (-OH) is selected as shown in FIG. 4 for condensation reaction.

Next, the particle stabilizer used in the present invention is to improve the fluidity by preventing the particles from entangled, the functional group is bonded to the end is characterized in that the particle stabilizer is coated to surround the polymer particles in a spherical shape by graft polymerization. It is done. As shown in FIG. 5, the particle stabilizer according to the present invention is an externally attached particle having a polymer graft chain formed on its surface in order to condensate with the polymer particles.

The particle stabilizer constituting the charged particles of the collision-charged electronic paper according to the present invention is to increase the fluidity of the particles or to prevent them from adhering to the capsule wall, the typical high resistivity used as a suspension fluid in an electrophoretic display Non-aqueous surfactants can be used for the liquids. Although not limited thereto, glycol ethers, acetylene glycols, alkanolamides, sorbitol derivatives, alkyl amines, quaternary amines, imidazolines, dialkyl oxides and sulfosuccinates may be used, preferably nano size It is suitable to use silica. In addition, the graft chain formed on the surface of the particle stabilizer of the electrophoretic charged particles is also performed by graft reaction of a functional group. The functional group to be introduced can be determined in consideration of the suitability with the polymer to be later graft polymerized, and in the present invention, the hydroxyl group (-OH) is most preferably selected as shown in FIG. 6 for the condensation reaction.

In order to introduce such a functional group to the surface of the said polymer particle or particle stabilizer, it is also possible to process the said polymer particle or particle stabilizer with the terminal reaction type coupling agent equipped with the functional group at the terminal. In addition, the polymer for easily reacting with the functional groups introduced to the surface of the polymer particles or particle stabilizer to form the graft chain is preferably a modified polymer of terminal reaction type. In this case, the terminal reactive type coupling agent is preferably added at 0.5 to 10% by weight based on the electrophoretic particles. In addition, when a modified polymer is not used, it is preferable to add excessively with respect to the said polymer particle or particle stabilizer, For example, it can add in 500 to 1000 weight%.

As described above, the polymer particles and the particle stabilizer of the charged particle for collision-charged electronic paper are functional groups bonded to the surface thereof by graft polymerization, and according to the present invention, such functional groups are bonded by a chemical method such as a condensation reaction. do. In the present invention, graft polymerization refers to a hybrid polymerization or copolymerization of attaching a branch of an arbitrary polymer material to a polymer material serving as a skeleton, and a condensation reaction refers to two molecules of an organic compound. Or more molecules are reacted to a simple molecule is removed to create a new compound.

That is, the present invention is to coat the polymer particles with inorganic nano-sized particle stabilizer using a chemical method such as sol-gel. The polymer particles used in the conventional collision-charged electronic paper device are physically coated with an external additive using a mixer or a rotation to improve fluidity. In the particles coated using this method, silica could easily fall from the polymer particles, thereby changing the charging characteristics of the particles, degrading the image quality, reducing the uniformity, and thus reducing the lifetime. However, when the particle stabilizer is externally attached to the outermost portion of the polymer particles according to the present invention, the particle stabilizer does not easily fall off from the polymer particles, thereby increasing the fluidity of the particles, improving the reproducibility of charging, and extending the life. .

The present invention is characterized in that the chemically bonded by the condensation reaction as described above, the hydroxyl group of the polymer particles shown in Figure 5 and the hydroxyl group of the particle stabilizer shown in Figure 6 condensation reaction to bond as shown in Figure 7 Achieve. Accordingly, water molecules are removed by the binding, and water, ammonia, or acid may be removed by the condensation reaction according to the polymer functional group bonded by graft polymerization.

Hereinafter, the polymer particles and the particle stabilizer constituting the charged particles of the collision-charged electronic paper according to the present invention will be described in more detail.

First, the electrophoretic polymer particles having functional groups formed on the surface of the polymer particles used in the present invention will be described. As shown in FIG. 3, the polymer particles may include at least one or more of a polymer polymer capable of exhibiting a charge or obtaining a charge, a dyed pigment or dye, and a charge control agent for imparting electric mobility by modifying a particle surface. .

There is much flexibility in the selection of particles for use in electrophoretic electronic paper. The polymer particles used for the purposes of the present invention are preferably any component that is charged or capable of obtaining a charge (ie, having or obtaining electrophoretic mobility). The particles can be pure pigments, dyed (laked) pigments or pigment / polymer composites or any other component that can be charged or obtain a charge. Typical considerations for electrophoretic charged particles are their optical, electrical and surface chemistries, and the polymer particles according to the invention may be organic or inorganic compounds and may absorb or scatter light. have. Particles for use in the present invention may further comprise scattering pigments, absorbing pigments and luminescent particles. The particles may be retroreflective such as corner cubes, or may be electroluminescent, such as zinc sulfide particles that emit light when excited by an AC field, or may be photoluminescent.

Polymers useful for such polymeric particles include, but are not limited to, poly methyl methcrylate (PMMA), polyethylene terephthalate (PETE), polystyrene (PS), polyethylene, polypropylene, phenol resins, Du Pont Elvax Resin (ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer), polyester, polyacrylate, polymethacrylate, ethylene acrylic acid or methacrylic acid copolymer (Nucrel Resins-Dupont, Primacor Resins-Dow Chemical) acrylic acid copolymer and trimer (Elvacite Resins, DuPont). In addition, as these copolymers, materials useful for high shear melting homopolymers and / or pigment phase separation include, but are not limited to, polyethylene, polypropylene, polymethyl methacrylate, polyisobutyl methacrylate, Polystyrene, polybutadiene, polyisoprene, polyisobutylene, polylauryl methacrylate, polystearyl methacrylate, polyisobornyl methacrylate, poly-t-butyl methacrylate, polyethyl methacrylate, Polymethyl acrylate, polyethyl acrylate, polyacrylonitrile and copolymers of two or more such materials.

And, the electrophoretic particles comprising the dyed pigments or dyes may generally be pigments, polymers, laked pigments or some combination thereof. Pure pigments can be any pigment, and pigments such as rutile (titania), anatase (titania), barium sulfate, kaolin or zinc oxide are generally useful for pale particles. Some typical particles have high refractive index, high scattering coefficient and low absorption coefficient. Other particles are absorbent, such as carbon black or colored pigments used in paints and inks. In addition, the pigment should be insoluble in the suspension fluid. Yellow pigments such as diarylide yellow, Hansa yellow and benzidine yellow are also used in similar displays. Any other reflective material can be used for the pale particles, including non-pigment materials such as metallic particles.

In addition, the charge control agent included in the polymer particles according to the present invention is used to provide good electrophoretic mobility to the electrophoretic particles. In comparison, the particle stabilizer according to the present invention coated with a condensation plate on the surface of the polymer particles is used not only to prevent the aggregation of the electrophoretic particles but also to prevent the electrophoretic particles from being irreversibly deposited on the capsule wall. Will be. Each component can be constructed from materials that span a wide range of molecular weights (low molecular weight, oligomeric, or polymerizable), and can be pure or a mixture. Charge control agents used to modify and / or stabilize particle surface charges are applied as generally known in the art of liquid toners, electrophoretic displays, non-aqueous paint dispersions, and engine-oil additives. In all such industries, charged species may be added to non-aqueous media to increase electrophoretic mobility or increase electrostatic stabilization.

Next, as an external additive coated by the condensation reaction on the polymer particles according to the present invention, a particle stabilizer to be distinguished from the charge control agent will be described. The particle stabilizer according to the invention is used not only to prevent the aggregation of the electrophoretic particles but also to prevent the electrophoretic particles from being irreversibly deposited on the capsule wall. The particle stabilizer is to act as a charge control agent for improving the fluidity of the particles, it characterized in that the ceramic powder or natural or synthetic wax can be used.

Specifically, the serak mix powder is silica (SiO _2), barium titanate (BaTiO _3), strontium titanate (SrTiO _3), calcium titanate (CaTiO _3), lead titanate (PbTiO _3), Titanium dioxide (TiO ₂ ), tin dioxide (SnO ₂ ), calcium oxide (CaO), magnesium oxide (MgO), aluminum oxide (Al ₂ O ₃ ), iron oxide (Fe ₂ O ₃ ), gamma iron oxide, magnesium silicate ( MgSiO ₃ ), magnetite (Fe ₃ O ₄ ), zirconia (ZrO ₂ ), boron oxide (B ₂ O ₃ ), silicon carbide (SiC), silicon nitride (Si ₃ N ₄ ), nickel ferrite, zinc ferrite, nickel At least one selected from the group consisting of zinc ferrite and barium ferrite (BaFe ₂ O ₄ ), the natural or synthetic wax is S-wax, PE wax, ethylene-acrylic acid wax, ethylene-vinylacetate, at the end Of the montan family in which carboxylic acids are partially conjugated At least one may be selected from the group consisting of natural waxes, polyethylene-based synthetic waxes, polypropylene-based synthetic waxes, polymer waxes, and synthetic waxes having basic functional groups partially bonded to amides or amines at ends.

In addition, the surface of the polymer particles according to the present invention may be chemically modified to aid dispersion, improve surface charge, and improve stability of the dispersion. Surface modifiers include organosiloxanes, organohalogen silanes and other functional silane coupling agents, organotitanates and zirconates, hydrophobic agents, long chain (C12 to C50) alkyl and alkyl benzene sulfonic acids, fatty amines or diamines and salts thereof or Quaternary derivatives and amphoteric polymers which can be covalently bound to the particle surface can be used.

Another preferred embodiment for achieving another object of the present invention is a collision-charge type electronic paper display device using the charged particles for collision-charged electronic paper as described above. Such a collision charged electronic paper display device is included in a space between at least one of the collision charged electronic paper charged particles, in which at least one transparent electrode plate is disposed to face each other at a predetermined interval, and is charged by applying a control voltage to the electrode plate. The collision charged electronic paper display device, characterized in that the control means for changing the distribution state of the particles is provided.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a cell structure of a display device in which a charged particle for collision charging type electronic paper according to the present invention is used. That is, in the image display device according to the present invention, as shown in FIG. 7, the above-mentioned collision-chargeable electronic paper particles according to the present invention positioned between the opposing transparent substrate 8 and the opposing substrate 5 and these substrates are formed. It consists of positively or negatively charged particles 6 and partitions 7 which are installed as necessary.

In the image display apparatus of the present invention, the transparent substrate 5 is a transparent substrate capable of confirming the color of the charged particles 6 from the outside of the apparatus, and a material having high visible light transmittance and good heat resistance is suitable. The presence or absence of flexibility as an image display apparatus is suitably selected according to a use, For example, a flexible material is suitable for the use of the electronic paper which concerns on this invention. Examples of the substrate material include polymer sheets such as polyethylene terephthalate, polyether sulfone, polyethylene and polycarbonate, and inorganic sheets such as glass and quartz. The substrate thickness is preferably 2 to 5000 µm, preferably 5 to 1000 µm. If the thickness is too thin, it is difficult to maintain the strength and the uniformity of the spacing between the substrates. If the thickness is too thick, the sharpness and contrast of the display function are reduced. In particular, in the case of electronic paper applications, flexibility is lacking.

You may form an electrode in a board | substrate as needed. When the electrode is not formed on the substrate, an electrostatic latent image is formed on the outer surface of the substrate, and the colored fractionation body charged with a predetermined characteristic with an electric field generated by the electrostatic latent image is attracted to or repelled by the electrostatic latent image. A correspondingly arranged sorting body is viewed from the outside of the display device through the transparent substrate. In addition, the electrostatic latent image is formed by transferring an electrostatic latent image performed in a conventional electrophotographic system using an electrophotographic photosensitive member onto a substrate of the image display apparatus of the present invention or directly forming an electrostatic latent image on a substrate by ion flow. It can carry out by such a method. In the case of providing the electrode on the substrate, electrostatic latent image is applied by attracting or repulsing a color classification body charged with a predetermined characteristic by an electric field generated at each electrode position on the substrate by an external voltage input to the electrode portion. The sorted bodies are arranged on the outside of the display device through the transparent substrate. The electrode at this time is formed of a transparent and patternable conductive material. Examples thereof include metals such as indium oxide and aluminum, conductive polymers such as polyaniline, polypyrrole and polythiophene, and vacuum deposition and coating. The formation method of can be illustrated. Moreover, the electrode thickness can ensure electroconductivity, and it should just be a problem with light transmittance, and 3-1000 nm, Preferably 5-400 nm is preferable. In this case, the external voltage input may overlap DC or AC.

In the image display apparatus of the present invention, it is preferable to form a partition wall connecting the opposing substrates and to configure the display portion by a plurality of display cells in order to prevent extra movement in the substrate parallel direction of the charged particles. The shape of the partition wall is appropriately optimally set according to the size of the sorting body related to the display and is not limited in general, but the width of the partition wall is 10 to 1000 µm, preferably 10 to 500 µm, and the height of the partition is 10 to 5000 µm, Preferably it is adjusted to 10-500 micrometers. Moreover, when forming a partition, both the rib method which joins after forming a rib in each of the opposing board | substrates, and the convenient rib method which forms a rib only on the board | substrate of one side can be considered. In the image display apparatus of this invention, joining is considered. In order to prevent the shift | offset | difference at the time of a partition, formation of the partition by the convenient method is preferable.

As described above, the charged particles for the collision-charged electronic paper according to the present invention are polymer functional groups formed on the surface of the polymer particles and the particle stabilizer by graft polymerization, and the hydroxyl groups located on the functional groups and exposed on the surface of the particles The lipophilic properties of the charged particles are improved by being removed by the condensation reaction. This prevents aggregation of the charged particles in the dispersion medium or adhesion to the electrodes, and at the same time, the apparent specific gravity of the charged particles decreases, thereby preventing the settling of the particles in the dispersion medium. Furthermore, the electronic paper display device encapsulating such charged particles between the electrode plates may improve reproducibility of charging, excellent display, and long life.

As described above, the present invention has a problem in that the inorganic silica easily falls off and the charging property of the particles changes when the inorganic silica is physically coated by simply mixing the inorganic silica with the conventional electrophoretic particles. When the electrophoretic polymer particles having functional groups formed thereon and the particle stabilizer coated with a spherical circumference surrounding the polymer particles and having a functional group bonded to the ends thereof are charged particles for collision-charged electronic paper coated by graft polymerization. By coating the particle stabilizer on the polymer particles by a chemical method by the condensation reaction, the reproducibility of charging is improved and the life is long.

The charged particles for collision-charged electronic paper according to the present invention not only have a functional group for graft polymerization coupled to the external additive, but also have a polymer functional group formed on the surface of the polymer particles, and thus the particles are formed by the condensation reaction between the external additive and the polymer particles. Stabilization of was achieved. According to the charged particles according to the present invention, since graft polymerization by a polymer functional group is also formed on the particle surface, and thus the charged particles are modified by a chemical method, problems such as agglomeration of electrophoretic charged particles in a dispersion medium, sedimentation or adhesion to electrode plates, etc. Will be solved.

In addition, the electrophoretic display device according to the present invention includes at least one transparent electrophoretic particle or dispersion system encapsulated in the interspace formed by opposing one set of transparent electrode plates at predetermined intervals, and electrophoretic particles in the dispersion medium. By including control means for changing the distribution state of, it is possible to provide an electrophoretic display device having excellent memory performance and high reliability.

Claims (8)

Electrophoretic polymer particles having functional groups formed on their surfaces, The charged particles for collision-charged electronic paper, wherein the particle stabilizer is coated to surround the polymer particles in a spherical shape, and a particle stabilizer having a functional group bonded to the terminal is bonded by a condensation reaction. According to claim 1, wherein the functional group is charged particles for collision charge-type electronic paper, characterized in that the carboxyl group (-COOH), hydroxyl group (-OH), amino group (-NH ₂ ) or halogenated group (-X). The charged particle for collision-type electronic paper according to claim 1, wherein water, ammonia or acid is removed by the condensation reaction. The method of claim 1, wherein the polymer particles have at least one or more selected from the group consisting of a polymer polymer capable of showing or obtaining a charge, a dyed pigment or dye, and a charge control agent for modifying the surface of the particle to impart electric mobility. The charged particles for the collision-charged electronic paper, characterized in that it is included. The method of claim 1, wherein the particle stabilizer acts as a charge control agent for improving the fluidity of the particles, the collision charge type electronic paper charged particles, characterized in that the ceramic powder or natural or synthetic wax. The method of claim 5, wherein the ceramic powder is silica (SiO _2), barium titanate (BaTiO _3), strontium titanate (SrTiO _3), calcium titanate (CaTiO _3), lead titanate (PbTiO ₃ ), Titanium dioxide (TiO ₂ ), tin dioxide (SnO ₂ ), calcium oxide (CaO), magnesium oxide (MgO), aluminum oxide (Al ₂ O ₃ ), iron oxide (Fe ₂ O ₃ ), gamma iron oxide, magnesium silicate (MgSiO ₃ ), magnetite (Fe ₃ O ₄ ), zirconia (ZrO ₂ ), boron oxide (B ₂ O ₃ ), silicon carbide (SiC), silicon nitride (Si ₃ N ₄ ), nickel ferrite, zinc ferrite, Nickel zinc ferrite and barium ferrite (BaFe ₂ O ?? ₄ ) At least one selected from the group consisting of electrified collision-type electronic paper charged particles. The synthetic or synthetic wax of claim 5, wherein the natural or synthetic wax is S-wax, PE wax, ethylene-acrylic acid wax, ethylene-vinylacetate, montan-based natural wax in which carboxylic acid is partially bonded to the terminal At least one selected from the group consisting of waxes, polypropylene-based synthetic waxes, polymer waxes and synthetic waxes having basic functional groups partially bonded to amides or amines at the terminals thereof. Claims 1 to 7, wherein the collision charged type electric paper charged particles according to any one of the at least one is included in the interspace between the transparent electrode plate arranged at a predetermined interval, the control voltage is applied to the electrode plate And a charging means for changing the distribution state of charged particles by applying.

Images