Central Glass Company, Limited

Nissan Motor Company Limited

Yukitoshi Yanagida

Hiroshi Inaba

Kiyoshi Nakase

Hiroyuki Nishii

Chikara Hashimoto

Motoh Asakura

Masazumi Ishikawa

Yasuhiko Osawa

A device for controlling transmittance of light therethrough includes first and second transparent substrates which are spaced from each other. The first substrate has at an end portion thereof a notch. First and second transparent electrode layers are respectively coated on inner surfaces of the first and second substrates for defining a space therebetween. The first layer is partially cut off so as to conform to a periphery of said notch. An electro-optically responsive material substantially fills up the space. The material is made so as to allow transmittance of light therethrough to change in response to voltages applied between the first and second layers. A terminal is received in said notch and said space, and is sized so as to be biased against the first substrate and the second layer so as to ensure an electrical contact between the terminal and the second layer.

Variable light transmittance device

In an electrochromic (EC) display device having oppositely arranged two EC electrode layers, two kinds of EC materials each of which takes on a characteristic color by electrochemical oxidation, or by electrochemical reduction, are used in the two EC electrode layers, respectively, on condition that the characteristic color of one EC material differs from the color of the other EC material. For example, Prussian blue which colors in blue by oxidation and polytriphenylamine which colors in bronze by oxidation are used in combination. An alternative example is using a combination of WO.sub.3 which colors in blue by reduction and V.sub.2 O.sub.5 which colors in green by reduction. Since electrochemical oxidation of one EC electrode layer is usually accompanied by reduction of the opposite EC electrode layer, this EC device can be operated so as to selectively and alternately exhibit at least two different colors aside from colorless transparency.

Electrochromic display device capable of display in plural colors

The invention relates to an electrochromic (EC) device for controlling transmittance of light, such as a window pane or a filter for a display. The EC device has a double-decker structure produced by superposition of two identical EC cells each having two oppositely arranged EC electrodes one of which is formed of a first EC material that takes on color in oxidized state, such as Prussian blue, and the other of a second EC material that takes on color in reduced state such as WO.sub.3. The EC device has a transparent inner substrate with an EC electrode layer using one of the first and second EC materials on each side thereof and two transparent outer substrates each with an EC electrode layer using the other of the first and second EC materials. There is a peripheral seal between the inner substrate and each outer substrate, and the space defined between the inner substrate and each outer substrate is filled up with an electrolyte liquid. To minimize the number of leads for application of voltages to the four EC electrode layers, the EC electrode layers on the both sides of the inner substrate are connected with each other by an angled strip of a sheet metal fitted on the inner substrate, and the EC electrode layers on the outer substrates are connected with each other by another angled strip of a sheet metal fitted into a marginal region of the space between the two outer substrates.

Electrochromic device for controlling transmittance of light

The invention relates to an electrochromic (EC) display device which comprises a display electrode made up of a transparent conductive layer and a patterned EC layer, a counter electrode having an EC layer laid on a conductive layer and an electrolyte which occupies the space between the two electrodes, and in which the display electrode employs a first type EC material that takes on color in its electrochemically oxidized state, such as Prussian blue, and the counter electrode a second type EC material that takes on color in its reduced state, such as WO.sub.3, or vice versa. The EC layer of the counter electrode is not patterned, and the patterned EC layer of the display electrode is made smaller in surface area than the EC layer of the counter electrode and an upper limit of the surface area ratio of the former EC layer to the latter EC layer is specified. WHen this EC display device is driven in the usual manner coloration of the patterned EC layer takes place without perceptible coloration of the EC layer of the counter electrode.

Electrochromic display device

The invention relates to an electrodeposition method for forming a film of an electrochemically synthesizable and functional substance, e.g. Prussian blue useful as an electrochromic material, on an electrode plate having a conductive coating film relatively high in surface resistivity such as a tin dioxide or indium trioxide film. A desired film of uniform thickness can be formed even when the electrode plate is as large as 40 cm square or is still larger by providing the electrode plate with an elongate auxiliary electrode element formed of, for example, a metal wire or foil, which is attached to the outer surface of the conductive coating film so as to extend at least along the whole periphery of the electrode plate.

Electrodeposition of functional film on electrode plate relatively high

The invention relates to an electrochromic (EC) display device having a transparent electrode layer coated with a first EC material which takes on color in its electrochemically oxidized state, such as Prussian blue, and an opposite transparent electrode layer coated with a second EC material which takes on color in its reduced state, such as WO.sub.3. For use in initial bleaching or coloration of one of the two EC layers, an auxiliary electrode is disposed in a marginal region of the space between the two opposite electrodes, and an electrolyte occupies the remaining space. An insulating covering permeable to ions intervenes between the electrolyte and the body of the auxiliary electrode, and an insulating layer substantially impermeable to ions intervenes between the auxiliary electrode body and each transparent electrode layer or the overlying EC layer to prevent leakage current. This manner of insulation of the auxiliary electrode is effective in shortening the length of time required for the initial bleaching or coloration treatment and extending memory time of the display device in actual operation.

Electrochromic display device having auxiliary electrode

Injection of a functional liquid into a display device cell having an inlet opening and a relatively narrow space between front and back substrates. The liquid is a liquid crystal for a liquid crystal display device or an electrolyte solution for an electrochromic device. The cell is placed in a chamber such that the inlet opening is in an uppermost section of the cell. Also a vessel containing the liquid is placed in the chamber, and vacuum is created in the chamber. In that state the inlet opening of the cell is connected to the liquid in the vessel by a pipe. After that the lever of the liquid surface in the vessel is suitably varied with respect to the level of the inlet opening of the cell by vertically moving the vessel containing the liquid and/or the cell, while an inactive gas is gradually introduced into the chamber to produce a controlled pressure difference between the interior of the cell and the inactive gas atmosphere in the chamber. By this method the injection of the liquid is accomplished easily and efficiently without producing bubbles in the display device cell and without distorting the planar and parallel substrates of the cell.

Growing community of inventors

Matsusaka, Japan

Yukitoshi Yanagida