Light Control Member With Projection-Based Bead Spacer Adhesion
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional light control members using bead spacers face issues with adhesion and pressure resistance, particularly in environments with vibrations, leading to uneven liquid crystal thickness and rainbow unevenness, especially when attached to curved surfaces or in vehicles.
Innovation Solution
A light control member design that incorporates a bead spacer with a spherical shape and a projection-based alignment layer, where the bead spacer is integrated into the alignment layer, enhancing adhesion and pressure resistance by filling the projection with alignment layer material, and using a dichroic dye in the liquid crystal layer for improved control over light transmission.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If bead spacer is used with weak adhesive force to substrate, then liquid crystal can be injected easily, but bead spacer moves causing uneven liquid crystal thickness and rainbow unevenness
Solution Approach 1:
The alignment layer is formed on the substrate before bead spacer attachment, creating a preliminary adhesive interface. This preliminary action ensures that when bead spacers are later attached, they bond strongly to the alignment layer, preventing movement during liquid crystal injection and subsequent assembly processes.
Solution Approach 2:
The alignment layer serves as an intermediary between the substrate and bead spacer. Instead of directly bonding bead spacer to substrate, the alignment layer mediates the connection, providing enhanced adhesion through its material properties and interface characteristics, thereby preventing bead spacer displacement.
2Strength
If adhesion layer is made thick to improve adhesive force, then bead spacer adhesion improves, but adhesion layer is crushed during substrate bonding causing liquid crystal layer thickness to become sparse
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of increasing adhesion layer thickness, the invention changes the material parameters of the alignment layer to achieve high adhesion. The alignment layer is formulated with specific rheological properties and adhesive characteristics that provide strong bonding to bead spacers while maintaining sufficient thickness to prevent crushing during substrate assembly.
Solution Approach 2:
The alignment layer is formulated as a composite material combining adhesive polymers with alignment-functional molecules. This composite structure provides both strong adhesion to bead spacers and mechanical integrity during assembly, eliminating the need for thick adhesion layers that would be crushed.
3Weight of moving object
If transparent substrate is made as film shape to reduce weight, then light control member becomes lighter, but pressing force between substrates becomes weak allowing bead spacer to move easily
Solution Approach 1:
The invention uses composite material structures where the alignment layer acts as an adhesive interface between film-shaped substrates and bead spacers. This composite approach compensates for the weak pressing force of thin film substrates by providing strong interfacial bonding, preventing bead spacer movement despite reduced substrate weight.
4Adaptability or versatility
If light control member is attached to curved surface to meet vehicle window requirements, then adaptability improves, but bead spacer movement becomes stronger due to slackening of transparent substrate
Solution Approach 1:
The alignment layer is preliminarily formed on the substrate surface before bead spacer attachment and curvature application. This preliminary action creates a strong adhesive bond that maintains bead spacer position stability even when the substrate is later attached to curved surfaces, compensating for the slackening effect.
Solution Approach 2:
The alignment layer serves as a mediator that maintains the mechanical relationship between bead spacers and substrate during curvature attachment. Its adhesive properties ensure bead spacer position stability despite the geometric constraints and substrate slackening associated with curved surface mounting.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution provides strong adhesion between the alignment layer and bead spacer, improving pressure resistance and preventing unevenness in the liquid crystal layer, even under external forces or vibrations, thus maintaining uniform light transmission.
Implementation Method 1
The light control member that uses liquid crystal sandwiches the liquid crystal by two transparent substrates forming transparent electrodes and applies a voltage across the transparent electrodes so that the alignment of the liquid crystal molecules is changed and the transmittance of external light is controlled
Implementation Method 2
applies a voltage across the transparent electrodes so that the alignment of the liquid crystal molecules is changed and the transmittance of external light is controlled
Implementation Method 3
the adhesive force of the bead spacer with respect to the substrate is weak, the liquid crystal flows so that the bead spacer moves
Data Source
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AI summary
Provided are: a light control member which exhibits strong adhesion between an alignment layer and a bead spacer; and a method for producing a light control member. A light control member 1 according to the present invention is characterized by being provided with: a first laminate 12 which comprises a substrate 21A and an alignment layer 23A; a second laminate 13 which comprises a substrate 21B and an alignment layer 23B, and which is arranged so that the alignment layer thereof faces the alignment layer of the first laminate 12; a liquid crystal layer 14 which is arranged between the first laminate 12 and the second laminate 13, and the alignment of which is controlled by driving electrodes that are provided on at least one of the first laminate 12 and the second laminate 13; and a plurality of bead spacers 24 which are arranged within the liquid crystal layer. This light control member 1 is also characterized in that: at least one of the alignment layer 23A of the first laminate 12 and the alignment layer 23B of the second laminate 13 is provided with a plurality of projections 30 that protrude toward the liquid crystal layer 14; and at least some of the bead spacers 24 are held by the projections 30.