JPH01198719A - electronic sunglasses - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Field of Application] The present invention relates to sunglasses that utilize the electro-optic effect of liquid crystals and have a variable transmittance function.

[Conventional technology]

Sunglasses that can change their transmittance depending on the amount of external light are available on the market using photochromic substances or the electro-optical effect of liquid crystals.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention] At present, in the case of sunglasses using photochromic substances, sunglasses with glass lenses that are quite practical are commercially available. However, glass lenses have the drawbacks of being less safe and heavier. Furthermore, since the decoloring mechanism uses the agglomeration and diffusion process of silver, the decoloring speed is not instantaneous, which is extremely dangerous if the car enters a tunnel while driving. It is.

In the case of plastic lenses, they are lighter than glass lenses, and various attempts have been made using organic photochromic materials, but there are problems with the durability of the material itself, and currently, only The only color available is blue, which is far from meeting consumer needs.

Recently, electronic sunglasses using liquid crystals have been put into practical use as sunglasses that can change transmittance instantaneously. However, because it uses a liquid crystal cell with a glass substrate, it is heavy and
There are problems such as low safety. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 2, the transmittance variable section used is a flat substrate,
Because the distance between the substrate and the eyeball is close, viewing angle dependence occurs due to the use of liquid crystal, and unevenness and shading can be seen with the naked eye. An object of the present invention is to provide electronic sunglasses that use liquid crystal and have a variable transmittance function that reduces viewing angle dependence.

[Means to solve the problem]

The present invention is characterized in that the variable transmittance section, which is made of a plastic panel filled with liquid crystal, has a curvature in sunglasses that are configured using liquid crystal and have a variable transmittance function.

In order to give the variable transmittance portion a curvature, a liquid crystal panel made of a plastic substrate can be used. These thin films have a thickness of 0.5 mm and 11 degrees and can have curvature. Plastic panels of the TN type film are currently used in calculators, wristwatches, etc., but there is a problem in terms of strength when using the film itself as a transmittance variable part. In order to give this panel curvature and strength, it is desirable to adhere it to a transparent substrate with a certain degree of strength and curvature. For the transparent substrate, diethylene glycol bisallyl carbonate resin, acrylic resin, polycarbonate resin, or the like having high transmittance can be used. These resins are formed in advance to have a curvature so as to reduce as much as possible the viewing angle dependence of the liquid crystal panel subjected to VCF.

To bond a transparent substrate to a plastic panel, an adhesive with high transmittance is used. The adhesive curing method is
Although various methods can be used, such as heat curing and ultraviolet curing, it is easier to handle panels and substrates by using the ultraviolet curing type, which allows easy alignment.

The direction in which the curvature is provided can be freely selected by considering the appearance of the lens, the direction in which viewing angle dependence occurs, and the like.

In the present invention, a transmittance variable section having a curvature as described above is used.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on Examples, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

As a film-like liquid crystal panel, a panel made of TNfi, the base material of which was made of PES, a cell thickness of 10 μm, and a twist angle of 70@ was used. The liquid crystal material is ZLI-184 manufactured by Merck & Co.
0 was used.

A film-like liquid crystal panel composed of these is formed into the shape of an eyeglass lens, and is sandwiched between 2 mm thick cylindrical plates with a radius of curvature of about 100 mm.
It was adhered using Loctite 350. Temporarily, diethylene glycol pisallyl capo-nate was used.

Transmittance variable section 1 thus completed. solar cell 2. Connect the drive circuit to the glasses frame 3,
The electronic sunglasses were set as shown in FIG. 1. By doing so, as shown in FIG. 3, the difference in the angle between the panel and the eye between the central portion θ and the outer peripheral portion θ4 becomes small.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As shown in Figure 2, the variable transmittance section made from a conventional flat panel has a difference of θΦ when comparing the central part θ and the outer peripheral part θ at the angle θ when viewing the variable transmittance part from the eyeball. big,
Therefore, the viewing angle dependence was also large. In the present invention, as shown in FIG. 3, the transmittance variable portion has a curvature with respect to the eyeball, so that the central portion θ.

The difference between the distance and the outer circumference θ has become smaller, and the viewing angle dependence has been significantly improved.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is an overall view of the transmittance variable section according to the present invention incorporated into a spectacle frame. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the positional relationship with the eyeball when a conventional flat panel is used. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the positional relationship with the eyeball when the panel according to the present invention is used. 1... Transmittance variable part 2... Solar cell 3... Glasses frame θ... Angle at which the eyeball looks at the transmittance variable part, θ,... In the conventional example, the eyeball is the center of the transmittance variable part Angle θ at which the eyeball looks at the outer circumference of the variable transmittance section in the conventional example, Angle θ4 at which the eyeball looks at the center of the variable transmittance section in the present invention... In the invention, the angle at which the eyeball sees the outer periphery of the transmittance variable section or more Applicant: Seiko Epson Corporation

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. Electronic sunglasses having a variable transmittance function configured using liquid crystal, characterized in that a variable transmittance section made of a plastic panel sealed with liquid crystal has a curvature.