Merck Patent Gesellschaft MIT Beschrankter Haftung

Merck Patent Gmbh

Merck Patent Gesellschaft

The Secretary of State for Defence in Her Britannic Majesty's Government

Merck Patent Gesellschaft MIT Beschraenkter Haftung

Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha Corporation

Simon Greenfield

David Coates

Mark John Goulding

Owain Llyr Parri

Ian Charles Sage

Volker Reiffenrath

Alison Linda May

Patrick Nolan

Martin David Tillin

Andreas Wachtler

Reinhard Hittich

Joachim Krause

Ulrich Finkenzeller

Richard Harding

Ian Victor Hassall

Eike Poetsch

Herbert Plach

Volker Meyer

Emma J Brown

Graham Smith

Robert William Clemitson

Ian Bonny

Georg Weber

George W Gray

Bernhard Rieger

Thomas Geelhaar

Hans A Kurmeier

Emma Jane Jolliffe

Kenneth J Toyne

Matthias Kuntz

Johan Lub

David Lacey

Michael Hird

John Patrick

Shirley Ann Marden

James Hanmer

Mark A Verrall

Ian Victor Edward Hassall

Klaus P Stahl

Ciska Doornkamp

Christopher John Dunn

David W Baxter

Dieter Dorsch

Matthias Bremer

Yuichi Inoue

Kazutaka Hanaoka

Yohei Nakanishi

Melanie Klasen-Memmer

Kazuaki Tarumi

Ekkehard Bartmann

Masakazu Shibasaki

Rene Theodorus Wegh

Mark Andrew Verrall

Lawrence Kam Chan

David I Bishop

Stephen J Lewis

Julian Frederick Samuel Vaughan-Spickers

Julian Vaughn-Spickers

Tony Jenkins

René Theodorus Wegh

David Sherrington

René Wegh

The invention relates to an alignment layer with improved adhesion to liquid crystal (LC) films, to a precursor material used for the preparation of such a layer, to a laminate comprising such a layer and at least one LC polymer film, and to the use of the alignment layer and the laminate for optical, electrooptical, decorative or security uses and devices, wherein the alignment layer and the precursor material comprise at least one reactive mesogen in monomeric, oligomeric or polymeric form.

Alignment layer with reactive mesogens for aligning liquid crystal molecules

The invention relates to an alignment layer for aligning liquid crystal molecules, with improved adhesion to liquid crystal (LC) films, to a composition containing a precursor material used for the preparation of such a layer, to a laminate comprising such a layer and at least one LC polymer film, and to the use of the alignment layer and the laminate for optical, electrooptical, decorative or security uses and devices, wherein the alignment layer and the precursor material comprise at least one reactive mesogen in monomeric, oligomeric or polymeric form.

A liquid crystal display device produced through the steps of injecting a polymerizable monomer-containing liquid crystal composition between two substrates and, while applying a voltage between opposing transparent electrodes of the substrates, polymerizing the monomer, wherein the polymerizable monomer contained in the liquid crystal composition has one or more ring or condensed ring structures and functional groups bonded directly to the ring or condensed ring structure. The monomer is preferably represented by the following general formula:P-A-(Z-A)-Pwherein Pand Pare acrylates or the like, Aand Aare 1,4-phenylenes or the like, Zis &#x2014;COO&#x2014; or the like, and n is 0 to 2.

Liquid crystal display device

The invention relates to chiral photoisomerizable compounds of formula (I) wherein X, X, X, X, Xand Xhave the meanings given in claim, to liquid crystalline mixtures and polymers containing them, and to the use of chiral photoisomerizable compounds, liquid crystalline mixtures and polymers containing them in optical and electrooptical devices like liquid crystal displays or projection systems, in optical elements like polarizers, retardation films, compensators, color filters or holographic elements, in liquid crystal pigments and colored films or coatings for decorative or security applications, cosmetic and pharmaceutical compositions, in nonlinear optics and optical information storage.

Chiral photoisomerizable compounds

The invention relates to a polymerizable liquid crystal material containing at least one polymerizable surface-active compound, its use for the preparation of anisotropic polymer films, and the use of the liquid crystal material and the polymer films in optical and electrooptical devices, and for decorative and security applications.

Polymerizable liquid crystal material

The invention relates to polymer beads comprising an anisotropic polymer material with helically twisted structure, to their use in reflective films, spraying or printing inks or as pigments, for optical or electrooptical, decorative or security applications, to a reflective film comprising one or more polymer beads in a transmissive binder, and to a security marking or security device comprising one or more polymer beads or comprising a reflective film.

Polymer beads

Chiral compounds

Electrooptical liquid crystal system

A liquid crystal display device containing a liquid crystal cell and at least one reflective polarizer or a polarizer combination having at least one reflective polarizer as a means to generate circular polarized light. The reflective polarizer includes an optically active layer of an anisotropic polymer material with a helically twisted planar molecular orientation. The material is oriented so that the axis of the molecular helix extends transversely to the layer, and the pitch of the molecular helix is varied in such a manner that the difference between the maximum pitch and the minimum pitch is at least 100 nm. The reflective polarizer is obtainable by copolymerization of a mixture of a chiral polymerizable mesogenic material including a) at least one achiral polymerizable mesogenic compound having at least one polymerizable functional group in the presence of b) at least one chiral polymerizable mesogenic compound having one polymerizable functional group and/or at least one non-polymerizable chiral mesogenic compound, c) an initiator, d) optionally a non-mesogenic compound having at least one polymerizable functional group, e) optionally a dye and, i) optionally a stabilizer. The invention also discloses methods of manufacturing such a reflective polarizer. The invention further discloses a mixture of a chiral polymerizable mesogenic material used for manufacturing such a reflective polarizer.

Direactive mesogenic compounds and intermediates

The invention relates to a process of preparing a multilayer cholesteric film comprising two or more layers of polymerized cholesteric liquid crystal (CLC) material with planar orientation, with the cholesteric helix axis oriented substantially perpendicular to the plane of the layer, wherein that the cholesteric helical pitch of adjacent layers is varied by controlled migration of a non-polymerized chiral material between the layers, to a multilayer cholesteric film obtainable by such a process, and to the use of the process and a multilayer cholesteric film thereby prepared in optical elements such as polarizers, compensators, alignment layers, color filters or holographic elements, in cosmetics and liquid crystal pigments, for decorative and security applications.

Process of preparing a multilayer cholesteric film II

The invention relates to a process of preparing a multilayer cholesteric film comprising two or more layers of polymerized cholesteric liquid crystal (CLC) material with planar orientation, with the cholesteric helix axis oriented substantially perpendicular to the plane of the layer, wherein during preparation of the single layers the migration of unpolymerized material between adjacent layers is minimized, to a multilayer cholesteric film obtainable by such a process, and to the use of the process and a multilayer cholesteric film thereby prepared in optical elements such as polarizers, compensators, alignment layers, color filters or holographic elements, in cosmetics and liquid crystal pigments, for decorative and security applications.

Process of preparing a multilayer cholesteric film I

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Dorset, United Kingdom

Simon Greenfield