JPH02219042A - Liquid crystal light shielding plate and device thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain the liquid crystal light shielding plate which has a memory effect and can be formed to larger areas by crimping a ferroelectric liquid crystal material by two sheets of substrates with transparent electrodes. CONSTITUTION:The ferroelectric liquid crystal material 6 is crimped by two sheets of the supporting substrates with the transparent electrodes 5. Glass substrates or plastic substrates of polyamide, such as nylon, etc., are used as the supporting substrates 4 in this case and NESA films deposited with tin oxide, ITO films consisting of tin oxide and indium oxide, etc., are used as the transparent electrodes 5. The ferroelectric liquid crystal material 6 includes a ferroelectric liquid crystal polymer, ferroelectric low-molecular liquid crystal compd. or the mixture composed thereof. The liquid crystal light shielding which has the large memory effect and can be formed to the larger areas is obtd. in this way.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a liquid crystal light-shielding plate using a ferroelectric liquid crystal material used in the fields of office equipment and photolithography.

The present invention also relates to a copying machine and a photolithographic masking device using the same.

[Conventional technology]

Conventional copying machines are provided with lids to shield users from light, but these machines are cumbersome to operate, are heavy, and are prone to malfunctions. Furthermore, in the case of thick originals, the cover does not close completely, resulting in insufficient light-shielding properties, resulting in drawbacks such as darkening of the periphery of the original.

In addition, although the application is different, a liquid crystal light shielding plate has been devised for masking in photolithography, etc. (Kokai No. 5921107)
Since this liquid crystal light shielding plate uses nematic liquid crystal, it is necessary to constantly apply a voltage during operation. Furthermore, since a plurality of liquid crystal panels are used, the structure is complicated and other drawbacks.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

The present invention aims to provide a liquid crystal light shielding plate that has a memory effect and can be made large in area by using a ferroelectric liquid crystal material. The present invention also attempts to obtain a lightweight liquid crystal light shielding plate using a plastic substrate with transparent electrodes patterned into various original sizes or patterned as a dot matrix. A further object of the present invention is to provide a copying machine and a photomechanical masking device that are small, lightweight, and easy to operate using this liquid crystal light shielding plate.

[Means to solve the problem]

As a result of extensive research in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present inventors discovered that the purpose could be achieved by a light-shielding plate using a ferroelectric liquid crystal material as the liquid crystal material, and thus completed the present invention. It's arrived.

That is, the present invention provides a liquid crystal light shielding plate in which a ferroelectric liquid crystal material is sandwiched between two transparent electrode-attached substrates.

FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view of the liquid crystal light shielding plate of the present invention. The ferroelectric liquid crystal material 6 is sandwiched between two support substrates 4 with transparent electrodes 5.

Here, as the support substrate 4, a glass substrate or
- Plastic substrates such as crystalline polymers such as axially or biaxially oriented polyethylene terephthalate, amorphous polymers such as polysulfone and polyethersulfone, polyolefins such as polyethylene and polypropylene, polycarbonates, and polyamides such as nylon are used. When a plastic substrate is used, the weight can be reduced compared to when a glass substrate is used. Further, the use of a film-like plastic substrate is advantageous for continuous production, and allows for a large area.

The transparent electrode 5 is a NESA film coated with tin oxide,
An IT0 film made of tin oxide and indium oxide or the like is used. These electrodes can be fabricated using various known methods such as sputtering, vapor deposition, printing, coating, plating,
It can be provided on the substrate using an adhesive method or a suitable combination of these methods.

Further, as the ferroelectric liquid crystal material 6, any material can be used as long as it takes a ferroelectric liquid crystal state, and includes a ferroelectric liquid crystal polymer, a ferroelectric low-molecular liquid crystal compound, or a mixture thereof. and so on.

Examples of ferroelectric liquid crystal polymers include acrylate main chain liquid crystal polymers, methacrylate main chain liquid crystal polymers,
These include chloroacrylate main chain liquid crystal polymers, oxirane main chain liquid crystal polymers, siloxane main chain liquid crystal polymers, ester main chain liquid crystal polymers, and the like.

Examples of repeating units of the acrylate main chain liquid crystal polymer include (A) and (B).

As the repeating unit of the methacrylate main chain liquid crystal polymer, for example, (C) CI.

(D) CIl:1 Examples include.

Examples of the repeating unit of the chloroacrylate main chain liquid crystal polymer include (E).

The repeating unit of the ester main chain liquid crystal polymer is as follows:
For example, (H)CH+ etc. are mentioned.

Examples of the repeating unit of the oxirane main chain liquid crystal polymer include (F) and (J).

Examples of the repeating unit of the siloxane main chain liquid crystal polymer include (G)C)13.

The repeating unit of the above ferroelectric liquid crystal polymer is
The side chain skeleton may be replaced with a biphenyl skeleton, a phenylbenzoate skeleton, a biphenylbenzoate skeleton, a phenyl 4-phenylbenzoate skeleton, and the benzene ring in these skeletons is a pyrimidine ring, a pyridine ring, a pyridazine ring, a pyrazine ring, It may be substituted with tet, radine ring, cyclohexane ring, dioxane ring, dioxaborinane ring, it may be substituted with a halogen group such as fluorine or chlorine, or a cyano group, l-methylalkyl group,
2-fluoroalkyl group, 2-chloroalkyl group, 2-
Chloro-3-methylalkyl group, 2-trifluoromethylalkyl group, t-flukoxycarbonylethyl group, 2
- Optically active groups such as alkoxy-1-methylethyl group, 2-alkoxypropyl group, 2-chloro-1-methylalkyl group, 2-alkoxycarbonyl-1-1-lifluoromethylpropyl group, ester bond, ether bond may be replaced with these optically active groups via the spacer, and the length of the spacer may vary within the range of 1 to 30 methylene chain lengths.

Further, the above ferroelectric liquid crystal polymer has a number average molecular weight of 1,
000 to 200,000 can be used.

Examples of ferroelectric low-molecular liquid crystal compounds include Schiff base-based ferroelectric low-molecular liquid crystal compounds, azo and azoxy-based ferroelectric low-molecular liquid crystal compounds, biphenyl and aromatics ester-based ferroelectric low-molecular liquid crystal compounds, and halogen-based ferroelectric low-molecular liquid crystal compounds. , a ferroelectric low-molecular liquid crystal compound into which a ring substituent such as a cyano group has been introduced, a ferroelectric low-molecular liquid crystal compound having a heterocycle, and the like.

Examples of Schiff base-based ferroelectric low-molecular liquid crystal compounds include compounds (1) to (4) shown below.

n=5-10.12.14 n=7-10,11 C.I.

Examples of biphenyl and aromatics ester-based ferroelectric low-molecular liquid crystal compounds include the following compounds (7
) and (8).

L n = 4, 8.12 Examples of the Ab and azoxy-based ferroelectric low-molecular liquid crystal compounds include (5) and (6) shown below.

n=4.5 n=8 Examples of ferroelectric low-molecular liquid crystal compounds into which ring substituents such as halogen and cyano groups are introduced include the following compounds (9
) to (11).

n = 6, 8.10 n = 16 n = 8 (l 1) n = 4, 6 Examples of ferroelectric low-molecular liquid crystal compounds having a heterocycle include the following compounds (12) and (13). Can be mentioned.

Note that the above compounds are typical compounds of ferroelectric low-molecular liquid crystal compounds, and the ferroelectric low-molecular liquid crystal compound of the present invention is not limited to these structural formulas in any way.

These ferroelectric liquid crystal materials may be used alone,
Two or more types may be used. If necessary, other polymers such as thermoplastic resins such as halogenated vinyl polymers, unsaturated alcohol or ether polymers, unsaturated carboxylic acid polymers, and crosslinkable resins such as epoxy resins and unsaturated polyesters may also be used. Furthermore, epoxy adhesives, acrylic adhesives, etc. may be added as adhesives, and in addition, plasticizers, pigments, etc. may be added.

The method for manufacturing the liquid crystal light shielding plate is not particularly limited. For example, when the supporting substrate is a glass substrate, the liquid crystal material is formed into a film while being stretched and oriented using a uniaxial stretching method, a biaxial stretching method, a press stretching method, an inflation stretching method, etc., and two glass substrates with transparent electrodes are formed. It is best to sandwich it between the two to form a panel. In addition, when the support substrate is a plastic substrate, the liquid crystal material formed into a film while performing stretching and orientation by the above-mentioned stretching method may be sandwiched between two transparent electrode-attached plastic substrates, as in the case where a glass substrate is used. Alternatively, the liquid crystal material may be sandwiched between two plastic substrates with transparent electrodes and stretched and oriented using the above-mentioned stretching method to form a panel. Or, use the liquid crystal material as a plastic substrate with transparent electrodes! A film may be formed on the polar surface by a coating method using a bar coater, roll coater, microgravure coater, screen printing machine, etc. while performing stretching and orientation by coating, and the opposing substrate may be laminated to form a panel. A film formed and laminated with a counter substrate may be highly oriented by an orientation treatment such as bending deformation to form a panel. At this time, it is desirable to add a solvent or the like to the liquid crystal material and use it as a fluid or semi-fluid with a viscosity range that allows easy formation of a coating film. The solvent to be used is not particularly limited as long as it is suitable for the above-mentioned ferroelectric liquid crystal material, but it is preferable to use a volatile solvent that can be volatilized and removed by heating.

Further, the present invention provides a liquid crystal display in which at least one electrode of two substrates with transparent electrodes is patterned in various document sizes, or two substrates with transparent electrodes are patterned as a dot matrix. It provides a light shielding plate.

FIG. 1 is an example of a liquid crystal light-shielding plate in which electrodes are patterned into various document sizes.

Here, among the two substrates with transparent electrodes sandwiching the ferroelectric liquid crystal material, at least one electrode is
5, A4, B4, etc. Each patterned pole is connected to a power source or the like via a switch linked to a document size selection switch.

In FIG. 1, switches 1, 2, and 3 are switches that are linked to the document size selection switch. For example, before selecting the original size, all switches are off and the entire surface of the liquid crystal light shielding plate is opaque, but when document size 85 is selected, switch l is turned on and a voltage is applied, and the LCD light shielding plate displays the original size. The portion corresponding to B5 becomes transparent. Further, when the original size A4 is selected, switches 1 and 2 are turned on and a voltage is applied, so that the portion of the liquid crystal light-shielding plate corresponding to the original size A4 becomes transparent. Similarly, when document size 84 is selected, switches 1, 2 and 3 are turned on and voltage is applied.
A portion of the liquid crystal light shielding plate corresponding to the document size B4 becomes transparent (FIG. 1). At this time, it is preferable to utilize the memory effect of the ferroelectric liquid crystal, since it is not necessary to constantly apply a voltage during use, and power consumption can be reduced.

FIG. 3 shows an example of a copying machine using the liquid crystal light shielding plate shown in FIG.

When a document size is designated using the selection key 8, the designated document size portion of the liquid crystal light-shielding plate becomes transparent.

The present invention also provides a copying machine characterized in that the liquid crystal light shielding plate is provided on a document contact surface or below the document contact surface.

In this copying machine, by using the above-mentioned liquid crystal light shielding plate, it is possible to handle various document sizes with only one liquid crystal light shielding plate, so that the structure of the copying machine can be simplified.

Furthermore, since a lid for blocking light from the user can be omitted, operation is simple, the copying machine can be made smaller and lighter, and office space can be used more effectively.

FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional view of the vicinity of the liquid crystal light shielding plate when a thick original such as a book is copied using the copying machine shown in FIG. Here, the liquid crystal light shielding plate 7 has a glass surface 9 that is a contact surface of the document.
However, when a glass substrate or the like is used, the liquid crystal light shielding plate 7 may be used as the document contacting surface.

Even when copying a thick original 10 as shown in Figure 4, the liquid crystal light shielding plate 7 sufficiently blocks light from areas other than the specified original size, so that high-quality copies can be made without darkening the periphery of the original. It will be done.

The present invention further provides a photolithographic masking device characterized in that the liquid crystal light shielding plate is provided above the original or the photosensitive material installation section.

In this photolithographic masking device, a liquid crystal light-shielding plate, in which at least one transparent electrode-attached substrate is patterned to the size of various originals or photosensitive materials, is provided above a portion where the originals or photosensitive materials are placed.

In this photomechanical masking device, as in the case of a copying machine, a high-quality mask that is easy to operate, consumes little power, is small and lightweight can be obtained by using two simply structured liquid crystal light shielding plates.

〔Example〕

Example 1 - A transparent polyether sulfone (PES) film with a thickness of about 1100 mm was used as a flexible substrate, and a transparent conductive film with a thickness of about 70 mm was coated as an electrode on one side of this film.
A flexible substrate with electrodes was prepared by providing an ITO film of 0 people, and after patterning the electrode surface of this substrate to the size of a manuscript, it was made up of a repeating unit expressed by the following formula and has the following characteristics. Ferroelectric polymer liquid crystal at 100°
The mixture was heated to C and coated in an iso-yoshi phase using a bar coater to a thickness of about 2.5 μm.

7Mn=5000 JIL orbital [gniglass state, Sac'': Chiral smectic C phase, SlA: Smectic A phase, [so: Tokichi phase 1] Next, a PES film with a thickness of about 1100 μ was used as a counter substrate, and this was was laminated on the surface of the ferroelectric polymer liquid crystal coating film to obtain an A2 size liquid crystal optical element.After heating this to 80°C with a heating device, it was heated to 72°C.
An alignment process was performed by bending deformation using a group of rollers set as follows, and a desired liquid crystal light shielding plate having an orientation degree of 190 was obtained. By installing this light-shielding plate below the document contacting surface of the copying machine and operating it at a voltage of ±1O2, good copies could be obtained.

Examples 2 to 7 ■Low-molecular ferroelectric liquid crystal■ CH2 [Cry: crystal phase] ■Low-molecular ferroelectric liquid crystal■ Mixed liquid crystal of the above ■ and ■ (mixed molar ratio 1:3) and ferroelectric properties Mixing molar ratio of polymer liquid crystal ■ (■Mo■):■=9:l
(AI) and 4:6 (A2) were prepared, and the phase transition behavior was investigated, and the results were as follows.

AI 1N*: chiral nematic phase 1 ■Ferroelectric polymer liquid crystal Mn=3000 phase 111f rail [Sl: Glassy phase observed under a microscope, but unidentified.

No crystallization occurred up to at least -20°C. IAt
, At, the chiral smectin C phase near room temperature was stabilized by the mixture of ferroelectric polymer liquid crystal (2), and the orientation state was less likely to be destroyed by crystallization even at low temperatures.

Next, the following three thermoplastic resins were used.

B, polychlorostyrene Mw = 50000, Tg = 90°C1 B2 poly2-vinylpyridine Mw = 40000, Tg = 104°C, B3 polycarbonate Mw = 20000, Tg = 150'C1 (polyethersulfone) substrate (width 150mm, (thickness: 125 μm) was used on both sides. The electrodes on one side of the substrate were patterned into various document sizes in the same manner as in Example 1.

The process of applying the liquid crystal material to the substrate was carried out by continuously applying the solution to one side of the rolled substrate using a microgravure coater, and then laminating the solution together with the counter substrate between two pressure rollers. The thickness of the ferroelectric liquid crystal material at this time was approximately 5 μm. This was subjected to orientation treatment using a heating roller to obtain an orientation degree of 54 to 80.

Table 1 shows the composition and contrast ratio of the liquid crystal light shielding plates of Examples 2 to 7.

In order to investigate the effect of different polymers, the mixing ratio of the liquid crystal component and thermoplastic resin was all set to a weight ratio of 2:1. These compounds are dissolved in dichloromethane and all have 10
% solution by weight.

The flexible substrate is PE5 with ITO electrodes (blank below) Table 1 A masking device for copying machines and photolithography that is easy to operate, has low power consumption, is small and lightweight, with a liquid crystal light shielding plate using a plastic substrate with electrodes. is obtained. In particular, copying machines can produce high-quality copies regardless of the thickness of the original.

When these liquid crystal light-shielding plates were installed in a copying machine and copies were made in the same manner as in Example 1, good copies were obtained.

〔Effect of the invention〕

According to the present invention, it is possible to obtain a liquid crystal light shielding plate that has a memory effect and can be made large in area. Also, transparent type patterned into various document sizes or patterned as a dot matrix.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is an overall view of a liquid crystal light-shielding plate in which electrodes of the present invention are patterned into various document sizes. FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view of the liquid crystal light shielding plate of the present invention. Figure 3 shows
FIG. 2 is a partial perspective view of a copying machine using the liquid crystal light shielding plate of FIG. 1; FIG. 4 is a partial sectional view of an example of use of the copying machine of FIG. 3. Explanation of symbols ~ 3 Sinch transparent electrode liquid crystal light shielding plate glass surface 1 light source support substrate ferroelectric liquid crystal material manuscript size selection key thick manuscript processing auxiliary device Yu 2 Figure 1゜February 7, 1990

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A liquid crystal light shielding plate comprising a ferroelectric liquid crystal material sandwiched between two transparent electrode-attached substrates. 2. At least one electrode of the two transparent electrode-attached substrates is
Claim 1: The document is patterned into various document sizes.
The liquid crystal light shielding plate described. 3. The liquid crystal light shielding plate according to claim 1, wherein the electrodes of the two transparent electrode-attached substrates are patterned as a dot matrix. 4. A copying machine, characterized in that the liquid crystal light shielding plate according to claim 2 is provided on a document contacting surface or below the document contacting surface. 5. A photolithography masking device, characterized in that the liquid crystal light shielding plate according to claim 2 is provided above the document or the photosensitive material installation section.