Classifications

• • G—PHYSICS
  • G02—OPTICS
  • G02F—OPTICAL DEVICES OR ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE CONTROL OF LIGHT BY MODIFICATION OF THE OPTICAL PROPERTIES OF THE MEDIA OF THE ELEMENTS INVOLVED THEREIN; NON-LINEAR OPTICS; FREQUENCY-CHANGING OF LIGHT; OPTICAL LOGIC ELEMENTS; OPTICAL ANALOGUE/DIGITAL CONVERTERS
  • G02F1/00—Devices or arrangements for the control of the intensity, colour, phase, polarisation or direction of light arriving from an independent light source, e.g. switching, gating or modulating; Non-linear optics
  • G02F1/01—Devices or arrangements for the control of the intensity, colour, phase, polarisation or direction of light arriving from an independent light source, e.g. switching, gating or modulating; Non-linear optics for the control of the intensity, phase, polarisation or colour 
  • G02F1/15—Devices or arrangements for the control of the intensity, colour, phase, polarisation or direction of light arriving from an independent light source, e.g. switching, gating or modulating; Non-linear optics for the control of the intensity, phase, polarisation or colour  based on an electrochromic effect
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G02—OPTICS
  • G02F—OPTICAL DEVICES OR ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE CONTROL OF LIGHT BY MODIFICATION OF THE OPTICAL PROPERTIES OF THE MEDIA OF THE ELEMENTS INVOLVED THEREIN; NON-LINEAR OPTICS; FREQUENCY-CHANGING OF LIGHT; OPTICAL LOGIC ELEMENTS; OPTICAL ANALOGUE/DIGITAL CONVERTERS
  • G02F1/00—Devices or arrangements for the control of the intensity, colour, phase, polarisation or direction of light arriving from an independent light source, e.g. switching, gating or modulating; Non-linear optics
  • G02F1/01—Devices or arrangements for the control of the intensity, colour, phase, polarisation or direction of light arriving from an independent light source, e.g. switching, gating or modulating; Non-linear optics for the control of the intensity, phase, polarisation or colour 
  • G02F1/15—Devices or arrangements for the control of the intensity, colour, phase, polarisation or direction of light arriving from an independent light source, e.g. switching, gating or modulating; Non-linear optics for the control of the intensity, phase, polarisation or colour  based on an electrochromic effect
  • G02F1/153—Constructional details
  • G02F1/155—Electrodes

Definitions

• the present invention relates to an electrochromic sheet, a laminate, a lens for glasses, and glasses.
• Electrochromic sheets equipped with electrochromic elements are used, for example, as materials for eyewear such as sunglasses and wearable devices such as smart glasses.
• the above materials have a higher electrical resistance than metal materials.
• the above materials have a higher electrical resistance than metal materials.
• the present invention was made in consideration of these circumstances, and aims to provide an electrochromic sheet that can develop and erase colour without delay. It also aims to provide a laminate having such an electrochromic sheet, a lens for spectacles, and spectacles having the lens for spectacles.
• auxiliary electrodes are made of a metal material that has a lower electrical resistance than the material of the transparent electrode.
• one aspect of the present invention includes the following aspects.
• electrochromic sheet according to [1] or [2], wherein the electrochromic layer includes a first electrochromic layer laminated on the first transparent electrode, a second electrochromic layer laminated on the second transparent electrode, and an electrolyte layer filled between the first electrochromic layer and the second electrochromic layer, the first electrochromic layer including a material that exhibits coloring by an oxidation reaction, and the second electrochromic layer including a material that exhibits coloring by a reduction reaction.
• a laminate comprising an electrochromic sheet according to any one of [1] to [3] and a lens material on which the electrochromic sheet is laminated.
• a lens for glasses comprising an electrochromic section obtained by cutting the electrochromic sheet described in any one of [1] to [3] along the outer periphery of the first auxiliary electrode and the second auxiliary electrode, and a lens body on which the electrochromic section is laminated, the lens body having a protrusion having the same shape as the first extraction section and the second extraction section in a plan view.
• Eyeglasses comprising the eyeglass lens described in [5] and a frame that holds the eyeglass lens, the first and second ejection parts being electrically connected to the frame.
• the temple portion 123 has a switch 125 and a battery 126.
• the switch 125 is exposed on the outer surface of the temple portion 123.
• the switch 125 is electrically connected to the lens 110 via wiring.
• the switch 125 can switch between applying a positive voltage, applying a negative voltage, and not applying a voltage to the lens 110, for example.
• the battery 126 is built into the temple portion 123.
• the battery 126 is electrically connected to the lens 110 via wiring.
• the frame 120 may be made of, for example, a metal material, a resin material, or the like.
• the shape of the frame 120 is not limited to the illustrated example, as long as it can be worn on the user's head.
• Fig. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the electrochromic sheet 150 (EC sheet 150), and Fig. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view taken along line III-III in Fig. 2.
• the EC sheet 150 is used as a material for eyeglass lenses, which will be described later.
• the first substrate 11 and the second substrate 12 sandwich the EC element 30 and the sealing portion 40.
• the sealing portion 40 is disposed around the EC element 30 between the first substrate 11 and the second substrate 12, and partitions the space between the first substrate 11 and the second substrate 12.
• the area partitioned by the sealing portion 40 is a colored area AR that changes color when a voltage is applied.
• the first substrate 11 and the second substrate 12 are the outermost layers of the EC sheet 150.
• the first substrate 11 and the second substrate 12 are disposed opposite to each other, and function as protective layers that protect the EC element 30 and the like.
• the first substrate 11 and the second substrate 12 are transparent to visible light. In this specification, having visible light transparency is sometimes referred to as “transparency.” Visible light transparency is also sometimes referred to as “transparency.” If transparent, the first substrate 11 and the second substrate 12 may be colorless or colored.
• the first substrate 11 and the second substrate 12 contain a transparent thermoplastic resin as the main material.
• resins include acrylic resins, polystyrene resins, polyethylene resins, polypropylene resins, polyester resins (polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyethylene naphthalate (PEN), etc.), polycarbonate resins, polyamide resins, cycloolefin resins, vinyl chloride resins, polyacetal resins, triacetyl cellulose (TAC), etc.
• the first substrate 11 and the second substrate 12 may be made of one of the above resins, or a combination of two or more of them.
• the first substrate 11 and the second substrate 12 are preferably made of polycarbonate-based resin or polyamide-based resin.
• the material of the first substrate 11 and the second substrate 12 may contain a known filler or additive.
• the first substrate 11 and the second substrate 12 may be a single layer or a laminate.
• the refractive index of the first substrate 11 and the second substrate 12 at a wavelength of 589 nm is preferably 1.3 or more and 1.8 or less, and more preferably 1.4 or more and 1.65 or less. By setting the refractive index of the first substrate 11 and the second substrate 12 within this range, the function of the electrochromic element 30 can be improved.
• the average thickness of the first substrate 11 and the second substrate 12 is, for example, 0.05 mm or more and 10.0 mm or less, and preferably 0.3 mm or more and 5.0 mm or less.
• the EC element 30 changes color (coloring or decoloring) due to electrochromism caused by application of a voltage.
• the EC element 30 has a first transparent electrode 31, a second transparent electrode 32, a first auxiliary electrode 33, a second auxiliary electrode 34, and an electrochromic layer 35 (EC layer 35).
• the first transparent electrode 31 is provided on the first substrate 11 side of the EC element 30, and is formed on the surface of the first substrate 11 facing the second substrate 12.
• the second transparent electrode 32 is provided on the second substrate 12 side of the EC element 30, and is formed on the surface of the second substrate 12 facing the first substrate 11.
• a through hole exposing the second extraction portion 342 is formed in the sealing portion 40 at a position overlapping with the second extraction portion 342 in plan view, and a conductive portion is formed within the through hole.
• the second extraction portion 342 is used as a connection point with the conductive portion.
• the conductive portion thus formed is electrically connected to the second extraction portion 342 (second auxiliary electrode 34).
• the average thickness of the first auxiliary electrode 33 and the average thickness of the second auxiliary electrode 34 are each preferably independently 1 nm or more and 300 nm or less.
• the average thickness of the first auxiliary electrode 33 and the second auxiliary electrode 34 are more preferably 150 nm or more and 250 nm or less.
• the upper and lower limit values of the average thickness of the first auxiliary electrode 33 and the upper and lower limit values of the average thickness of the second auxiliary electrode 34 can be combined in any desired manner.
• FIG. 4 is a plan view showing an example of an EC sheet 150.
• the first auxiliary electrode 33 and the second auxiliary electrode 34 do not overlap each other in a planar view, and are located on opposite sides of the colored area AR in a planar view.
• the first extraction portion 332 does not overlap the second transparent electrode 32
• the second extraction portion 342 does not overlap the first transparent electrode 31.
• the first extraction portion 332 provided at one end of the first frame 331 in the first auxiliary electrode 33 and the second extraction portion 342 provided at one end of the second frame 341 in the second auxiliary electrode 34 are positioned close to each other in a planar view.
• the first extraction portion 332 and the second extraction portion 342 are spaced apart by more than 0 mm and not more than 10 mm in a planar view.
• the distance between the first extraction portion 332 and the second extraction portion 342 in a planar view is indicated by the symbol W1. That is, in this embodiment, the distance W1 is more than 0 mm and not more than 10 mm.
• the other end 331x of the first frame 331 and the other end 341x of the second frame 341 are disposed in close proximity in a planar view.
• the other end 331x of the first frame 331 and the other end 341x of the second frame 341 are spaced apart by more than 0 mm and not more than 20 mm in a planar view.
• the distance between the other ends 331x and 341x in a planar view is indicated by the symbol W2. That is, in this embodiment, the distance W2 is more than 0 mm and not more than 20 mm.
• the difference between the total length of the first frame body 331 and the total length of the second frame body 341 is preferably small, and preferably does not differ by more than twice the total length of the first frame body 331.
• the total length of the first frame body 331 is preferably more than 50% and less than 200% of the total length of the second frame body 341, and more preferably 55% to 175%.
• the total length of the first frame body 331 is preferably 58% to 165% of the total length of the second frame body 341, more preferably 61% to 155%, and even more preferably 65% to 145%.
• the upper and lower limits can be combined in any manner.
• the first EC layer 351 is a layer whose color changes and contains, as a main material, a material that changes color through an oxidation reaction.
• a material that changes color through an oxidation reaction include known materials that exhibit electrochromism and are used in EC elements, such as a polymer of a radical polymerizable compound having a triarylamine structure, a bisacridan compound, triphenylamine, benzidine, a Prussian blue complex, and nickel oxide.
• Examples of polymers of radically polymerizable compounds having a triarylamine structure include those described in JP-A-2016-45464 and JP-A-2020-138925.
• one of these may be used, or two or more may be used in combination.
• the average thickness of the first EC layer 351 is preferably 0.1 ⁇ m or more and 30 ⁇ m or less.
• the average thickness of the first EC layer 351 is more preferably 0.4 ⁇ m or more and 10 ⁇ m or less.
• the upper and lower limit values of the average thickness of the first EC layer 351 can be arbitrarily combined.
• the second EC layer 352 is a layer whose color changes and contains, as a main material, a material that changes color through a reduction reaction.
• a material that changes color through a reduction reaction include known materials that exhibit electrochromism and are used in EC elements, such as inorganic electrochromic compounds such as tungsten oxide, molybdenum oxide, iridium oxide, and titanium oxide, and organic electrochromic compounds such as viologen-based compounds and dipyridine-based compounds.
• the color (color 1) that the first EC layer 351 produces by an oxidation reaction and the color (color 2) that the second EC layer 352 produces by a reduction reaction may be the same color tone or different colors.
• color 1 and color 2 have the same color tone, the maximum color density can be increased and the contrast can be improved.
• color 1 and color 2 have different color tones, the color produced by the EC element 30 will be a mixture of color 1 and color 2.
• the redox pigments of the first EC layer 351 and the second EC layer 352 can be colored simultaneously. This allows the coloring speed to be improved.
• the electrolyte layer 353 is filled between the first EC layer 351 and the second EC layer 352.
• the electrolyte layer 353 contains an electrolyte having ion conductivity.
• Such an EC sheet 150 has the following effects, for example:
• first and second extraction portions 332 and 342 are located close to each other, when the lens 110 is formed, there is only one location that protrudes outward from the lens 110. This allows for greater freedom in design compared to when the first and second extraction portions 332 and 342 are located at separate locations and there are two locations that protrude outward from the lens 110.
• an EC sheet 150 was produced using 100 nm thick ITO as the transparent electrode material and 2000 nm thick, 0.3 mm wide silver as the auxiliary electrode material, with a distance W1 of 1.5 mm and a distance W2 of 20 mm, and the color change in the colored area AR was evaluated. As a result of the evaluation, visual evaluation confirmed that there was no unevenness in the color change in the colored area AR.
• the imaginary lines may cross the colored area AR.
• the curved EC sheet 150 is insert molded as an insert item, and a lens material 119 is formed on the concave surface of the EC sheet 150 to obtain a laminate 160.
• the laminate 160 corresponds to the "laminate" of the present invention.
• the lens material 119 becomes the lens body 115 by processing as described below.
• Lens material 119 is transparent to visible light.
• the material of lens material 119 may be a thermoplastic resin known as a material for optical components.
• the material of the lens material 119 is the same as or the same as the main material of the substrate (first substrate 11 or second substrate 12) that contacts the lens material 119 in the EC sheet 150, since this makes it easier to bring the EC sheet 150 and the lens material 119 into close contact with each other. Furthermore, if the material of the substrate and the material of the lens material 119 are the same as or the same, the refractive index difference between the substrate and the lens material 119 can be reduced, and light scattering and reflection at the interface between the EC sheet 150 and the lens material 119 can be suppressed.
• the refractive index difference between the substrate and the lens material 119 is preferably 0.2 or less, and more preferably 0.1 or less.
• the thickness of the lens material 119 is preferably, for example, 1.5 mm or more and 20 mm or less. By setting the thickness of the lens material 119 within this range, it is possible to achieve both high strength and lightweight of the resulting lens.
• the conductive portion 51 and the conductive portion 52 can be formed by a conductive paste filled inside the through-hole, or a conductive cylindrical member inserted inside the through-hole.
• any known material can be used as appropriate as long as it is formed inside the through-hole and can be electrically connected to the first auxiliary electrode 33 (first extraction portion 332) and the second auxiliary electrode 34 (second extraction portion 342).
• the laminate 160 is trimmed to a shape corresponding to the rim portion 121 of the above-mentioned sunglasses 100.
• trimming of the periphery of the first removal portion 332 and the second removal portion 342 is performed using, for example, a rotating cylindrical grindstone G.
• the lens material 119 of the laminate 160 is processed into the lens body 115 by trimming along the outer periphery of the first auxiliary electrode 33 and the second auxiliary electrode 34.
• the lens body 115 has a protrusion 115a having the same shape as the first extraction portion 332 and the second extraction portion 342 in a plan view.
• the first extraction portion 332 and the second extraction portion 342 are disposed on the protrusion 115a.
• the obtained lens 110 is combined with the frame 120 shown in Fig. 1.
• the first extraction portion 332 and the second extraction portion 342 of the EC unit 111 are electrically connected to the frame 120 via conductive portions provided thereon.
• the first extraction portion 332 and the second extraction portion 342 are electrically connected to external terminals (not shown) provided on the temple portion 123 or the bridge portion 122 of the frame 120, and are connected to the battery 126. This results in the sunglasses 100.
• the glasses (sunglasses 100) to which the lens 110 is applied have a framed design rather than a frameless design that does not have a frame surrounding the lens. Also, for the same reason, it is preferable that the glasses to which the lens 110 is applied have a framed design that surrounds the entire lens rather than a half-rim type design.
• the shape of the lens 110 is not particularly limited and can be appropriately adopted depending on the design.
• the lens shape can be a shape that matches well-known frame shapes such as Wellington, Thermont (brow), Boston, teardrop, Lexington, square, round, oval, fox, etc.
• the electrochromic sheet configured as described above has the first auxiliary electrode 33 and the second auxiliary electrode 34, making it possible to develop and fade color without delay.
• the laminate, eyeglass lens, and eyeglasses configured as described above have the electrochromic sheet, which allows color development and decolorization to occur without delay.
• the EC layer 35 has the first EC layer 351 and the second EC layer 352, but this is not limited to this. The effects of the present invention can be achieved even if the EC layer 35 has only one of the first EC layer 351 and the second EC layer 352.

Landscapes

• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Nonlinear Science (AREA)
• General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Optics & Photonics (AREA)
• Eyeglasses (AREA)

Priority Applications (1)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=96387094

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (2)

Citations (5)

• 2025
  • 2025-01-10 WO PCT/JP2025/000695 patent/WO2025150567A1/ja active Pending
  • 2025-01-10 JP JP2025569440A patent/JPWO2025150567A1/ja active Pending

Patent Citations (5)

Also Published As

Similar Documents

Legal Events