JP5299238B2 - Electronic paper - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an electronic paper that can be reused and can display various images, and a method of manufacturing recycled electronic paper.

  In recent years, an information medium called electronic paper has been attracting attention (Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2). This medium has excellent characteristics such as low power consumption, bendable flexibility, thinness and lightness, and has the outstanding feature of being rewritable, and is entering the practical stage.

  Since the above-described electronic paper can hold an image once displayed without consuming energy, it is limited to a poster, an advertisement in a train, an indicator that indicates the remaining battery capacity, and a guide board that indicates a destination. The present invention can be applied to an application for displaying the image and pattern (hereinafter sometimes referred to as a segment application).

  Since the electronic paper used for the segment application described above uses display electrodes patterned in accordance with image display, an image that can be displayed on one electronic paper is fixed. For this reason, it is necessary to manufacture electronic papers tailored to individual image displays. For example, when electronic paper is used as an information medium in which the information posting period is short and the image display needs to be frequently replaced, Since it was necessary to manufacture paper, there existed a problem that cost became high.

  Moreover, since the electronic paper mentioned above has high manufacturing cost, reuse is desired.

JP 2009-128915 A JP 2009-86029 A

  An object of the present invention is to provide an electronic paper that can be reused and can display various images.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a common electrode side substrate having a first substrate made of a transparent film and a transparent common electrode formed on one surface of the first substrate. And a display medium layer having a display medium formed on the common electrode side base material and capable of performing display by an electric field driving method (excluding the twist ball method), and the display medium layer are held. A display member having a display layer made of a holding material, a second base material made of an insulating film, and a display electrode side base material having a display electrode formed on one surface of the second base material. The display electrode side substrate is detachably disposed on the surface of the display member opposite to the common electrode side substrate side so that the display electrode is opposite to the display member. Electricity characterized by To provide a paper.

According to the present invention, since the display electrode side base material is detachably arranged with the display member, when changing image display in electronic paper, only the display electrode side base material is formed. The display member can be used repeatedly. This makes it possible to provide electronic paper at a low cost. In addition, since the electronic paper of the present invention can display various images only by replacing the display electrode side base material, it is possible to provide the electronic paper on demand.
Moreover, since the display electrode side substrate is arranged so that the display electrode is on the side opposite to the display member, it is possible to easily take out the wiring from the display electrode.

  In the present invention, the electric field driving method is preferably an electrophoresis method. This is because the display layer displayed by the electrophoresis method is preferably used as a display layer of electronic paper.

  Moreover, in this invention, it is preferable that the said display electrode side base material and the said display member are arrange | positioned through the adhesive agent which can be peeled again. This is because the display electrode side substrate can be easily replaced by using a re-peelable adhesive.

  The present invention provides a first base material comprising a transparent film, a common electrode side base material having a transparent common electrode formed on one surface of the first base material, and the common electrode side base A display medium layer having a display medium formed on the material and capable of displaying by an electric field driving method (excluding the twist ball method), and a display layer made of a holding material for holding the display medium layer A display member, a second base material made of an insulating film, and a pre-replacement display electrode side base material having a display electrode formed on one surface of the second base material, and the pre-replacement display The electrode-side base material is arranged on the surface opposite to the common electrode side base material side of the display member so that the display electrode is detachably disposed on the surface opposite to the display member. Prepare paper and above After the display electrode side base material before replacement is removed from the display member, another new surface is formed on the surface of the display member opposite to the common electrode side base material side from which the display electrode side base material before replacement is removed. Provided is a method for producing recycled electronic paper, characterized in that a display electrode side base material is detachably arranged and attached so that the display electrode is opposite to the display member.

  According to the present invention, the display electrode side base material before replacement of the electronic paper before replacement is removed from the display member, and the common electrode side base material side of the display member from which the display electrode side base material before replacement is removed and Is simply mounted on the opposite surface with another display electrode side base material so that the display electrode is on the opposite side of the display member, with display quality equivalent to the electronic paper before replacement, and Thus, it is possible to form a recycled electronic paper that can display different images. Thereby, since the said display member can be used repeatedly, it becomes possible to manufacture recycled electronic paper at low cost.

  In the electronic paper of the present invention, since the display electrode side base material is detachably disposed on the outside of the display member, only the display electrode side base material is replaced. Has an effect that it can be easily reused.

It is a schematic sectional drawing which shows an example of the electronic paper of this invention. It is a schematic sectional drawing which shows another example of the electronic paper of this invention. It is a schematic sectional drawing which shows another example of the electronic paper of this invention. It is a schematic sectional drawing which shows another example of the electronic paper of this invention. It is a schematic sectional drawing which shows another example of the electronic paper of this invention. It is process drawing which shows an example of the manufacturing method of the reproduction | regeneration electronic paper of this invention.

  Hereinafter, the manufacturing method of the electronic paper and the recycled electronic paper of the present invention will be described.

A. Electronic Paper First, the electronic paper of the present invention will be described.
The electronic paper of the present invention includes a common electrode side substrate having a transparent common electrode formed on one surface of the first substrate made of a transparent film and the first substrate, and the common Display comprising a display medium layer having a display medium formed on an electrode-side substrate and capable of displaying by an electric field driving method (excluding a twist ball method) and a holding material for holding the display medium layer A display member having a layer, a second substrate made of an insulating film, and a display electrode side substrate having a display electrode formed on one surface of the second substrate, and the display electrode The side base material is detachably disposed on the surface of the display member opposite to the common electrode side base material side so that the display electrode is opposite to the display member. To do.

The electronic paper of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view showing an example of the electronic paper of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, an electronic paper 10 of the present invention includes a first base material 11 made of a transparent film and a transparent common electrode 12 formed on one surface of the first base material 11. The common electrode side substrate 1 and the display medium layer 3A having the display medium formed on the common electrode side substrate 1 and capable of performing display by an electric field driving method (excluding the twist ball method). And the display member 300 having the display layer 30 made of the holding material 3B for holding the display medium layer 3A, the second base material 21 made of an insulating film, and the one surface of the second base material. Display electrode side base material 2 having display electrode 22, display electrode side base material 2 is on the surface opposite to common electrode side base material 1 side of display member 300, and display electrode 22 is a display member. On the opposite side of 300 And it is characterized in that it is removably disposed so that. Further, the display member 300 may have a partition wall 5.
In FIG. 1, as the display medium layer 3 </ b> A, a layer capable of performing display by an electrophoresis method is taken as an example. In FIG. 1, the display medium layer 3A is a layer having, as a display medium, two kinds of charged particles 31 of black particles 31b and white particles 31w having different charges and an insulating liquid 32 in which the charged particles 31 are dispersed. Further, the display medium layer 3A is sealed with the first base material 11 and the holding material 3B through the sealant 4.

According to the present invention, the display electrode side substrate can be attached and detached so that the display electrode is on the surface opposite to the common electrode side substrate side of the display member, and the display electrode is opposite to the display member. Therefore, when changing the image display in the electronic paper of the present invention, it is only necessary to remove the display electrode side base material from the display member and attach a newly formed display electrode side base material. Since the display member can be used repeatedly, the manufacturing cost can be greatly reduced.
Further, as described above, since it is possible to change the image display by electronic paper only by replacing the display electrode side base material, it is suitable for electronic paper used for an information medium that frequently requires information replacement. Can be used. Since the display electrode side base material is replaced in this manner, various image displays are possible, and electronic paper can be provided on demand.
Moreover, since the display electrode side base material is disposed so that the display electrode is on the side opposite to the display member, it is possible to easily take out the wiring from the display electrode.
Hereinafter, each structure of the electronic paper of this invention is demonstrated.

1. Display electrode side base material The display electrode side base material used for this invention has the 2nd base material which consists of a film which has insulation, and the display electrode formed in one surface of the said 2nd base material. . Such a display electrode side base material is used by being detachably arranged so that the display electrode is on the side opposite to a display member described later.
Hereinafter, the display electrode used for such a display electrode side base material and the second base material will be described.

(1) Display electrode The display electrode used for this invention is formed on the 2nd base material mentioned later.

  The display electrode is not particularly limited as long as it has a shape that matches the displayed pattern and is made of a conductive material. As such a display electrode, for example, it may be formed directly on the second base material, and for example, an adhesive layer or the like is interposed between the second base material and the display electrode. For example, the display electrode is formed on a film different from the second substrate, and the film on which the display electrode is formed is formed on the second substrate. It may be formed by arranging. In the present invention, it is more preferable to be formed directly on the second base material for simplification of the process.

Here, in the display layer to be described later, an image is displayed by moving the display medium in the display medium layer by applying an electric field through the display electrode and the common electrode.
Therefore, the shape of the display electrode used for this invention has a shape which can show a pattern by these. Specific examples include characters and designs.

The material used for such a display electrode is not particularly limited as long as it is a conductive material. For example, metals such as Au, Al, Ag, Ni, and Cu, ITO, SnO ₂ , and ZnO: Examples thereof include a transparent conductor such as Al, a mixture of a conductive agent in a solvent or a synthetic resin binder, and the like. Examples of the conductive agent include cationic polymer electrolytes such as polymethylbenzyltrimethyl chloride and polyallylpolymethylammonium chloride, anionic polymer electrolytes such as polystyrene sulfonate and polyacrylate, electron conductive zinc oxide, and oxidation. Tin, indium oxide, carbon fine powder, Ag fine powder or the like is used.
In the present invention, the material used for the display electrode is, among other things, a conductive material that is flexible and can withstand the expansion and contraction of the substrate in consideration of the conductivity and the formation on the film substrate. A conductive paste in which a metal such as Cu, Al, or Ag, carbon, Ag fine powder, or the like is mixed with a synthetic resin binder is preferable.

Further, the method for forming the display electrode is not particularly limited as long as the display electrode can be formed in a predetermined pattern according to a desired image display.
As the formation method capable of patterning, a method of depositing the metal and a transparent conductor or the like in a pattern on the second substrate by a sputtering method, a vacuum deposition method, a CVD method or the like using a metal mask or the like, the metal, A transparent conductor, or a pattern coating method in which the conductive agent is mixed with a solvent or a synthetic resin binder and applied in a pattern on the second substrate, the metal thin film or a metal, a transparent conductor, a thin film such as the conductive agent, etc. A method of cutting the formed film or the like into a predetermined shape using a cutting machine, and then attaching the film to the second substrate using an adhesive or the like, and a thin film made of the display electrode material on the entire surface of the second substrate After the resist is patterned on the coating film, etching is performed, and a metal foil coated with an adhesive is applied in a pattern on the second substrate. Mention may be made of the kicking method and the like. In addition, as a method for forming the display electrode, a method by vapor deposition, a pattern coating method, a method by etching, or the like may be directly formed on the second base material, or a film different from the second base material. A display electrode may be formed thereon, and the film on which the display electrode is formed may be disposed on the second base material.

  In the present invention, it is more preferable that the display electrode is formed by a method of forming the display electrode by a pattern coating method in which the display electrode is applied in a pattern. This is because a display electrode having a high-definition pattern can be easily formed.

Examples of such a pattern coating method include printing methods such as an inkjet method, a screen printing method, a gravure printing method, and a convex printing method. In the present invention, it is particularly preferable to use an ink jet method. In the formation method of the display electrode using the ink jet method, the display is performed in accordance with a desired image display without using a metal mask used for a sputtering method, a vacuum evaporation method, a CVD method, or a printing original plate used for a printing method. Since electrode patterning can be performed, a display electrode used for electronic paper as a small amount of various types of information media can be formed at low cost.
In addition, when using the said pattern application | coating method as a formation method of the said display electrode, the process of drying the display electrode after application | coating can be performed as needed.

  In the present invention, it is also preferable to form the display electrode using a method of forming a display electrode using a cutting machine. By using a cutting machine, a display electrode can be formed by cutting a metal foil into a predetermined shape in accordance with a desired image display. Therefore, the display electrode used in electronic paper as a small variety of various types of information media can be reduced. It can be formed at a low cost.

  As the film thickness of the display electrode, it can be formed with a uniform film thickness on the surface opposite to the display member side of the second base material to be described later, and an image can be displayed with the electronic paper of the present invention. The film thickness is not particularly limited as long as it has a thickness of 50 nm to 500 μm, specifically within the range of 100 nm to 100 μm, particularly within the range of 300 nm to 50 μm. It is preferable. This is because when the thickness of the display electrode is less than the above range, it becomes difficult to form a display electrode having a uniform thickness. When the thickness exceeds the above range, it takes time to form the display electrode. This is also because a large amount of material for the display electrode is required, which increases the manufacturing cost.

(2) 2nd base material The 2nd base material used for this invention consists of a film which has insulation, and the said display electrode is formed on one surface of a 2nd base material.

  As the second substrate used in the present invention, it is possible to form a display electrode on the second substrate, and on the surface opposite to the common electrode side substrate side of the display member, It does not specifically limit if the display electrode side base material can be arrange | positioned so that the said display electrode may be on the opposite side to the said display member, For example, as shown in FIG. 1, the whole surface of the display member 300 is covered. For example, a base material having a pattern matched to the display electrode 22 formed on the second base material 21 as shown in FIG. 2 may be used. Note that reference numerals not described in FIG. 2 can be the same as those in FIG.

The 2nd base material used for this invention will not be specifically limited if it has a self-supporting property of the grade which can form a display electrode on the said 2nd base material. Moreover, as said 2nd base material, although it may have transparency and does not need to have transparency, what does not have transparency is more preferable. In the electronic paper of the present invention, image display is observed from the common electrode side. Therefore, in the present invention, when the electronic paper is observed from the common electrode side, since the second base material is disposed on the lower layer side of the display layer that performs image display, the second base material has transparency. This is because problems such as light leakage are considered to occur.
Moreover, in this invention, you may color a 2nd base material with the same color as the display layer used for an image display as needed.

  The material for the second substrate is not particularly limited as long as it is a general plastic material, but polypropylene, polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride, polystyrene, polyvinyl alcohol, polyimide, polyethylene naphthalate, polyethylene terephthalate, polycarbonate, Examples include polyetherimide, polyetheretherketone, polyetherketone, polyphenylene sulfide, liquid crystal polymer, epoxy resin, silicone resin, and phenol resin.

  Further, the film thickness of the second base material is not particularly limited as long as the display electrode can be formed. However, the film thickness is within a range of 10 μm to 300 μm, and in particular, 15 μm to It is preferably in the range of 100 μm, particularly in the range of 25 μm to 50 μm. This is because when the film thickness of the second base material is less than the above range, it is difficult to form the display electrode on the second base material, and the film thickness of the second base material is within the above range. When exceeding, when displaying using the electronic paper of this invention, it is because a 2nd base material is thick, and there exists a possibility that an image display cannot be performed using the display layer mentioned later. Moreover, since the 2nd base material is thick, the flexibility of the electronic paper of this invention may fall.

(3) Display electrode side base material The display electrode side base material used for this invention has the display electrode and 2nd base material which were mentioned above, and is the opposite side to the common electrode side base material side of the display member mentioned later. The display electrode is detachably disposed on the surface so that the display electrode is opposite to the display member.

The display electrode side substrate used in the present invention is detachably disposed on the surface of the display member, which will be described later, opposite to the common electrode side substrate side so that the display electrode is opposite to the display member. If it is, the arrangement method is not particularly limited. For example, a fixing portion for fixing the display electrode-side base material is provided on the display member, and the fixing portion has the display electrode side. Examples thereof include a method of disposing the substrate by fixing the substrate, a method of installing the display electrode side substrate and the display member via an adhesive that can be removed again.
In the present invention, it is particularly preferable to use a method in which the display electrode side base material and the display member are installed via an adhesive that can be removed again. The electronic paper of the present invention enables the electronic paper to be reused by replacing the display electrode side base material, and the display electrode side base material and the display member are disposed via a releasable adhesive. This is because the display electrode side substrate can be easily replaced.
Here, “removable” means that the display member and the second substrate can be peeled off without being damaged when the display member and the second substrate are bonded and then peeled off. Point to. Examples of such adhesives include acrylic adhesives or adhesives, silicone adhesives or adhesives, natural rubber adhesives or adhesives, ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA) adhesives or adhesives. And urethane-based pressure-sensitive adhesives or adhesives. The re-peelable adhesive is preferably applied on the display electrode side substrate. This is because the removable adhesive does not remain on the surface of the display member, so that the display member can be easily reused.

  The gap between the display member and the display electrode side base material when the display electrode side base material used in the present invention is arranged on the display member is a gap that allows a desired image display to be performed on the display layer described later. However, it is preferably 50 μm or less, more preferably 30 μm or less, and particularly preferably 20 μm or less. When the above range is exceeded, it is practically difficult to supply a voltage applied between the common electrode and the display electrode in order to obtain an electric field E necessary for rewriting the display layer described later.

2. Display member The display member used in the present invention includes a first base material made of a transparent film and a common electrode side base material having a transparent common electrode formed on one surface of the first base material, And a display medium layer having a display medium formed on the common electrode side base material and capable of displaying by an electric field driving method (excluding the twist ball method) and holding the display medium layer It has a display layer made of a material.
Hereinafter, the common electrode side base material and the display layer used for the display member will be described.

(1) Common electrode side base material The common electrode side base material used for this invention has the transparency formed in one surface of the 1st base material which consists of a film which has transparency, and the said 1st base material. It has a common electrode.
Hereinafter, the first base material and the common electrode used for the common electrode side base material will be described.

(A) 1st base material The 1st base material used for this invention consists of a film which has transparency, and the common electrode mentioned later is formed in one surface of a 1st base material.

The first substrate used in the present invention is not particularly limited as long as it is a film having transparency and can form a common electrode described later on the surface of the first substrate. It may have insulating properties or may not have insulating properties, but those having insulating properties are preferable.
Since the first base material has insulating properties, in the electronic paper of the present invention, it is possible to suitably perform image display on the display layer using the electric field driving method.

  The material of the first base material is not particularly limited as long as it is a plastic material having transparency. Specifically, the same material as the material of the second base material described above is used. The description here is omitted.

  The film thickness of the first base material is not particularly limited as long as it has a self-supporting property to the extent that a common electrode described later can be formed. The film thickness of such a first substrate is preferably in the range of 10 μm to 300 μm, more preferably in the range of 15 μm to 100 μm, and particularly preferably in the range of 25 μm to 50 μm. When the film thickness of the first base material is less than the above range, it becomes difficult to form a common electrode, which will be described later, on the surface of the first base material. If the range is exceeded, the first base material is thick, so that image display cannot be performed, and the flexibility of the electronic paper of the present invention may be reduced.

(B) Common electrode The common electrode used for this invention is formed on the said 1st base material. In the electronic paper of the present invention, since the image display is observed from the common electrode side, the common electrode needs to have transparency.

  Here, the transparency of the common electrode is not particularly limited as long as the image display can be observed in the electronic paper of the present invention. However, since the display quality is not deteriorated, JIS K7361-1: It is preferable that the total light transmittance is 80% or more, as measured by 1997.

  Such a common electrode is not particularly limited as long as it is formed on the first base material. For example, the common electrode may be directly formed on the first base material. The common electrode may be formed in a film shape having transparency, and the transparent film on which the common electrode is formed may be disposed on the first substrate.

The common electrode described above is not particularly limited as long as it is a transparent electrode. For example, an electrode formed in a thin film using a transparent conductor such as ITO, SnO ₂ , ZnO: Al, or conductive An electrode formed in a mesh shape using a conductive material can be given.
Moreover, when using the electrode formed in mesh shape as the said common electrode, you may use only with the electrode formed in the said mesh shape, and may be used with the thin film electrode which consists of the said transparent conductor.
The material used for the electrode formed in such a mesh shape is not particularly limited as long as it has conductivity. For example, metal materials such as Al, Cu, and Ag, Ag, Cu Examples thereof include pastes and colloidal solutions in which a material such as carbon is mixed with a solvent or a synthetic resin binder.

  Moreover, as the electrode formed in the mesh shape, those having a line width in the range of 10 μm to 30 μm and a mesh pitch in the range of 250 μm to 500 μm can be suitably used.

The method for forming the common electrode is not particularly limited as long as the common electrode can be formed on the first substrate with a desired film thickness.
As a method for forming such a common electrode, when the common electrode is directly formed on the first base material, a sputtering method, a vacuum evaporation method, a CVD method, a coating method, or the like using the transparent conductor described above is used. The method of forming a thin film on the said 1st base material can be mentioned.
When the common electrode is formed into a transparent film and the transparent film on which the common electrode is formed is disposed on the first base material, the common electrode is the first base material. A method of forming a common electrode on a transparent film in the same manner as in the case of directly forming the film on the first substrate using an adhesive or the like, and forming the common electrode. Examples thereof include a film having transparency and a method of laminating the first substrate. In addition, as a film which has the said transparency, what consists of a material similar to the 1st base material mentioned above can be used. Further, since the adhesive having transparency and the like can be the same as that used when pasting general resin substrates together, description thereof is omitted here. The electrode formed in the mesh shape can be formed by a method such as patterning by etching a conductive film formed on a substrate, screen printing, gravure printing, or the like. In addition, as said base material, the said 1st base material may be sufficient and the film which has the said transparency may be sufficient.

  The thickness of the common electrode used in the present invention is not particularly limited as long as it can be formed on the surface of the first base material. The film thickness of such a common electrode is preferably in the range of 50 nm to 10 μm, in particular in the range of 100 nm to 5 μm, particularly in the range of 200 nm to 1 μm. This is because when the film thickness of the common electrode is less than the above range, it is difficult to form the common electrode with a uniform film thickness on the surface of the first base material. In addition, when the film thickness of the common electrode exceeds the above range, the manufacturing cost increases because the time and material used to form the common electrode increase.

(C) Common Electrode Side Base Material The arrangement of the common electrode side base material used in the present invention is not particularly limited as long as desired display can be performed using the electronic paper of the present invention. For example, in the electronic paper of the present invention, the common electrode side base material may be arranged so that the common electrode is on the display layer side described later, or, for example, the common electrode is on the side opposite to the display layer. You may arrange | position the said common electrode side base material so that it may become.
In the electronic paper of the present invention, when the display layer described later has a liquid such as an insulating liquid, the common electrode side base material is disposed so that the common electrode is on the opposite side of the display layer. It is more preferable. By adopting such an arrangement, the common electrode does not come into direct contact with the display layer, so that the material of the common electrode does not elute into the liquid contained in the display layer, thereby preventing deterioration in display quality of the electronic paper of the present invention It becomes possible to do.
Further, when a material that does not easily dissolve into the liquid contained in the display layer is used as the material for the common electrode, the common electrode side base material may be arranged so that the common electrode is on the display layer side described later. Good.

(2) Display layer The display layer used in the present invention has a display medium that is formed on the common electrode side base material and that can display by an electric field driving method (excluding the twisting ball method). It consists of a display medium layer and a holding material for holding the display medium layer.
Hereinafter, the display medium layer and the holding material will be described.

(A) Display medium layer The display medium layer used in the present invention is a layer having a display medium that can be displayed by an electric field driving method (excluding the twist ball method).
As the electric field driving method, there is a display medium that can change an orientation, a position in a display medium layer, and the like by applying an electric field between the display electrode and the common electrode, thereby displaying an image. There is no particular limitation as long as it can be performed. Examples of the electric field driving method include an electrophoresis method, a liquid crystal method, and a liquid movement method. In the present invention, it is particularly preferable to use an electrophoresis method. This is because the electrophoretic method is an electric field driving method that is suitably used in electronic paper, and thus there is a great demand for reusing electronic paper.

Hereinafter, a method for displaying the electronic paper of the present invention using the electrophoresis method will be described.
FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing an example of the electronic paper of the present invention. In FIG. 3, the display medium has two colors of charged particles 31 of black particles 31b and white particles 31w and an insulating liquid 32, and the black particles 31b are charged positively and the white particles 31w are negatively charged. Is charged. As shown in FIG. 3, by applying an electric field E between the common electrode 12 and the display electrode 22, the charged particles 31 sandwiched between the common electrode 12 and the display electrode 22 are placed under the electric field. As described above, since the black particles 31b are charged with a positive charge and the white particles 31w are charged with a negative charge, the black particles 31b move toward the second substrate 21 in the applied state. Then, the display is performed by moving the white particles 31w to the first base material 11 side.
Note that reference numerals not described in FIG. 3 can be the same as those in FIG.

  The display medium layer has at least charged particles charged in one or more positive and negative colors and an insulating liquid for dispersing charged particles as a display medium for performing display by the electrophoresis method. Hereinafter, the charged particles and the insulating liquid will be described.

(I) Charged particles The charged particles used in the present invention are charged either positively or negatively and have a predetermined color.

  The charged particles used in the present invention are not particularly limited as long as they can perform a predetermined color display in accordance with the desired image display in the electronic paper of the present invention. As such charged particles, only one color (one type) may be used, or two colors (two types) or more may be used. In addition, when using charged particles of two or more colors, it is preferable that at least one color of charged particles is charged to a different charge from other charged particles.

  In addition, when the charged particle used in the present invention is only one color, it is used with an insulating liquid colored in a color different from the charged particle, or has an insulating property colored in a color different from the charged particle. By using it together with the particles, it is possible to display an image.

  Such charged particles can be the same as those described in JP-A-2001-33833, JP-A-2008-292651, JP-A-2009-128915, etc., and are described here. Is omitted.

(Ii) Insulating liquid The insulating liquid used in the present invention is used for dispersing the above-described charged particles.

  As such an insulating liquid, the charged particles can be dispersed in the display medium layer, and when the electric field is applied to the electronic paper, the movement of the charged particles in the display medium layer is inhibited. However, there is no particular limitation as long as the desired image display can be performed. Such an insulating liquid may be transparent or colored in a predetermined color.

  Such an insulating liquid can be the same as that described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-33833, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-292651, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2009-128915, etc. Description is omitted.

(Iii) Other Configurations The display medium layer used in the present invention is not particularly limited as long as it has the above-described charged particles and insulating liquid, and a necessary configuration can be appropriately added. . Examples of such a structure include insulating particles (hereinafter sometimes referred to as insulating particles), microcapsules, and the like.

  Here, the insulating particles are usually used together with one color of charged particles, and have a different color from the charged particles. Thereby, it is possible to display a plurality of colors of images.

  The microcapsule encloses the above-described charged particles and insulating liquid. As described above, by using the microcapsules in which the charged particles and the insulating liquid are sealed, it is possible to suppress liquid leakage from the display medium layer, uneven distribution of the charged particles, and the like.

  The insulating particles, microcapsules, and the like used for the display layer can be the same as those described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. 2008-3443, 2008-2922652, and the like. Is omitted.

(B) Holding material The holding material used for this invention is used in order to hold | maintain the said display medium layer.

  The holding material is not particularly limited as long as it can be a display layer that holds the above-described display medium layer and can perform image display. The form of such a holding material varies depending on the aspect of the display medium layer described above.

  For example, when the display medium layer is composed of an insulating liquid and charged particles as shown in FIG. 1 and needs to be sealed with a common electrode side base material and a holding material via a sealant or the like. As the form of the holding material, a film-like substrate is preferably used.

  Such a film-like holding material can be used as a display member by sealing a later-described display medium layer together with the common electrode side base material, and the side opposite to the display medium layer of the holding material. If the said display electrode side base material can be arrange | positioned on the surface, it will not specifically limit, It may have transparency and does not need to have transparency.

  As such a film-like holding material, a material similar to the materials of the first base material and the second base material described above can be appropriately selected and used.

  As the film thickness of such a film-like holding material, the display medium layer can be sealed together with the first base material to form a display member, and the surface opposite to the display layer of the holding material Is not particularly limited as long as the display electrode side base material can be disposed on the substrate, specifically, within the range of 10 μm to 300 μm, in particular within the range of 15 μm to 100 μm, particularly 25 μm to 50 μm. It is preferable to be within the range. If the film thickness of the holding material is less than the above range, it is difficult to dispose the display electrode side substrate on the holding material, and the film thickness of the holding material exceeds the above range. This is because it becomes difficult to perform good image display in the electronic paper of the present invention.

  On the other hand, when the display medium layer has the above-described microcapsules enclosing the charged particles and the insulating liquid, the display medium layer does not contain liquid, so the common electrode side substrate and the holding member The display medium layer may not be sealed with the material. As a form of the holding material in this case, a material that can hold the above-described microcapsules in a sheet form in the display medium layer is preferably used.

  Specific examples of such a holding material include materials such as polyethylene, chlorinated polyethylene, ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer, and silicone resin.

(C) Display layer The display layer used in the present invention has at least the display medium layer and the holding material described above, and can display a desired image by using the display layer. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, there are a display medium layer 3A having a charged particle 31 charged with different charges of two or more colors, and an insulating liquid 32, and a film-like substrate. It may be a layer having the holding material 3B, and as shown in FIG. 4, it has one color charged particle 31 and an insulating liquid 32 having an insulating property colored in a color different from the charged particle 31. The display medium layer 3 </ b> A and a layer having a holding material 3 </ b> B that is a film-like substrate may be used, or as shown in FIG. 5, the my particles in which the charged particles 31 and the insulating liquid 32 having an insulating property are enclosed. The display medium layer 3 </ b> A having the black capsules 33 and the holding material 3 </ b> B for holding the microcapsules 33 in a sheet shape may be used. In FIG. 5, a case where the charged particles 31 of one color are dispersed in an insulating liquid 32 having an insulating property colored in a color different from the charged particles 31 is shown. A case where charged particles charged with different charges of two or more colors are dispersed in an insulating liquid can be considered. Note that reference numerals not described in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 can be the same as those in FIG.

  Further, in the display layer shown in FIG. 1, only one color may be used as charged particles, and the particles having other colors may have insulating properties that are different in color from the charged particles.

  In the display layer that does not use the above-described microcapsules, partition walls for partitioning pixels may be formed. As such a partition, if a display layer can be divided, it will not specifically limit, For example, what consists of a general resin member can be used.

3. Other Members The electronic paper of the present invention is not particularly limited as long as it has the display electrode side base material and the display member, and necessary members can be appropriately added. Examples of such a member include a sealing agent used for sealing the display member. About such a sealing agent, since it can be made to be the same as that of the sealing agent used when bonding together and sealing a general base material, description here is abbreviate | omitted.

4). Applications The electronic paper of the present invention is used for digital equipment displays, electronic books, digital signage (electronic signage), and the like.

5. Electronic Paper Manufacturing Method The electronic paper manufacturing method of the present invention is not particularly limited as long as the electronic paper having the above configuration can be manufactured.

  As an example of the manufacturing method of such electronic paper, the following manufacturing examples can be given. That is, first, a common electrode is formed on the first substrate to form a common electrode side substrate. Next, using the formed common electrode side substrate, holding material, and display medium, a display medium layer having the display medium and a display layer having the holding material are formed on the common electrode side substrate. Thus, a display member is obtained. Separately from the display member, the display electrode is formed on the second base material in a predetermined pattern using a method capable of patterning in accordance with a desired image display to form the display electrode side base material. Next, the display electrode side base material is arranged on the side opposite to the common electrode side base material side of the display member by using a detachable method so that the display electrode is opposite to the display member. To do. Through the above steps, the electronic paper of the present invention can be manufactured.

  Further, as another example of the electronic paper manufacturing method of the present invention, the following manufacturing examples can be given. That is, first, by using the first base material, the holding material, and the display medium layer material, forming the display medium layer having the display medium and the display layer having the holding material on the first base material, A display member forming member is formed. Separately from the display member forming member, a common electrode is formed on a film having transparency different from that of the first base material. Separately from the display member forming member, the display electrode is formed on the second base material in a predetermined pattern using a method capable of patterning in accordance with a desired image display, and the display electrode side base material is formed. Form. Next, a transparent film on which a common electrode is formed is disposed on the first base of the display member forming member via an adhesive or the like to form a common electrode side base, and the common electrode side base and A display member having a display layer is formed. Further, the display electrode side base material is attached to the display member forming member on the side opposite to the common electrode side base material side, and the display electrode is on the side opposite to the display member. Deploy. Through the above steps, the electronic paper of the present invention can be manufactured.

The method for forming the display electrode side base material and the method for arranging the display electrode side base material are the same as the method described in the above-mentioned section “1. Display electrode side base material”. Is omitted.
Further, in the method for forming the display member, the display layer is appropriately selected and formed in accordance with an aspect of the electric field driving method of the display layer. In addition, the method for forming the common electrode side base material can be the same as the method described in the section “2. Display member”, and thus the description thereof is omitted here.

B. Next, a method for producing recycled electronic paper according to the present invention will be described.
A method for producing recycled electronic paper according to the present invention includes: a first base material made of a transparent film; and a common electrode side base material having a transparent common electrode formed on one surface of the first base material. And a display medium layer formed on the common electrode side substrate and capable of displaying by an electric field driving method (excluding the twist ball method) and a display material comprising a holding material for holding the display medium layer A display member having a layer, a second base material made of an insulating film, and a pre-replacement display electrode side base material having a display electrode formed on one surface of the second base material, and The display electrode side base material before replacement is detachably disposed on the surface of the display member opposite to the common electrode side base material side so that the display electrode is opposite to the display member. Before replacing electronic paper And after removing the pre-replacement display electrode side base material from the display member, on the surface opposite to the common electrode side base material side of the display member from which the pre-replacement display electrode side base material has been removed The manufacturing method is characterized in that another new display electrode side base material is detachably arranged and attached so that the display electrode is opposite to the display member.

  A method for producing recycled electronic paper according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 6 is a process diagram showing an example of a method for producing recycled electronic paper according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 6, in the method for producing recycled electronic paper of the present invention, first, the transparency formed on one surface of the first substrate 11 and the first substrate 11 made of a film having transparency is used. A common electrode side substrate 1 having the common electrode 12 and a display medium formed on the common electrode side substrate 1 and capable of performing display by an electric field drive method (excluding the twist ball method). One of the display medium layer 3A and the display member 300 having the display layer 30 made of the holding material 3B for holding the display medium layer 3A, and the second base material 21 ′ and the second base material 21 ′ made of an insulating film Display electrode side substrate 2 ′ having a display electrode 22 ′ formed on the surface of the display member 300, and the display electrode side substrate 2 ′ before replacement is connected to the common electrode side substrate 1 side of the display member 300. On the opposite surface, Display electrode 22 to prepare a 'is the display member 300 removably disposed in and replaced before the electronic paper 10 so as to be opposite' (FIG. 6 (a)). Next, the display electrode side base material 2 ′ before replacement is removed from the display member 300 of the electronic paper 10 ′ before replacement (FIG. 6B), and then the display member from which the display electrode side base material 2 ′ before replacement is removed. On the surface opposite to the common electrode side substrate 1 side of 300, another new display electrode side substrate 2 ″ is displayed, and the display electrode 22 ″ of the new display electrode side substrate 2 ″ is opposite to the display member 300. The recycled electronic paper 10 ″ is manufactured by arranging and attaching so as to become (FIG. 6C). The new display electrode side base material 2 ″ has a second base material 21 ″ and a display electrode 22 ″. Reference numerals not described in FIG. 6 may be the same as those in FIG. Since it is possible, description here is abbreviate | omitted.

According to the invention, the display electrode side base material before replacement is removed from the display member of the electronic paper before replacement, and the display member from which the display electrode side base material before replacement is removed is replaced with another new display electrode side base material. It is possible to obtain recycled electronic paper that can display images different from the electronic paper before replacement with the same display quality as that of the electronic paper before replacement. Further, since the display member of the electronic paper before replacement can be used repeatedly, the manufacturing cost can be significantly reduced.
In addition, as described above, since it is possible to change the image display by the reproduction electronic paper only by replacing the display electrode side base material before replacement, an electronic used for an information medium that frequently requires information replacement. When manufacturing paper, it can use suitably. Since the display electrode side base material is replaced in this manner, various image displays are possible, and electronic paper can be provided on demand.

  Further, according to the present invention, the new display electrode side base material is placed on the surface of the display member opposite to the common electrode side base material side, and the display electrode of the new display electrode side base material is opposite to the display member. Since it is arranged and attached so as to be on the side, it is possible to manufacture recycled electronic paper from which wiring from the display electrode can be easily taken out.

  Hereinafter, the pre-replacement electronic paper and the new display electrode side substrate used in the method for producing recycled electronic paper of the present invention will be described.

1. Pre-exchange electronic paper The pre-exchange electronic paper used in the present invention is a common electrode having a first substrate made of a transparent film and a transparent common electrode formed on one surface of the first substrate. A side substrate, a display medium layer formed on the common electrode side substrate and capable of displaying by an electric field driving method (excluding the twist ball method) and a holding for holding the display medium layer A display member having a display layer made of a material, a second base material made of an insulating film, and a pre-replacement display electrode side base material having a display electrode formed on one surface of the second base material, The display electrode side base material before replacement is detachable on the surface of the display member opposite to the common electrode side base material side so that the display electrode is opposite to the display member. Arranged Is.

  About the display member used for the said electronic paper before replacement | exchange, and the display electrode side base material before replacement | exchange, since it can be made to be the same as that of what was described in the term of "A. electronic paper", description here is abbreviate | omitted.

  In the pre-replacement electronic paper, it is preferable that the pre-replacement display electrode side substrate and the display member are disposed via a releasable adhesive. Thereby, it becomes possible to easily remove the pre-replacement display electrode side base material from the display member. The re-peelable adhesive can be the same as that described in the section “A. Electronic paper”, and thus description thereof is omitted here.

2. New display electrode side base material The new display electrode side base material used in the present invention is prepared separately from the pre-replacement display electrode side base material of the pre-replacement electronic paper, and is a second base made of an insulating film. And a display electrode formed in a pattern on the second base material.
Further, the new display electrode side base material is disposed on the outer side of the display member from which the pre-replacement display electrode side base material is removed in the pre-replacement electronic paper, and the display electrode is opposite to the display member. It is arranged and attached like this.

  As such a new display electrode side base material, by attaching it to the display member described above, the image display of the regenerated electronic paper manufactured according to the present invention is performed with the display quality equivalent to the image display of the electronic paper before replacement. However, it is preferable to have display electrodes having a pattern shape different from the display electrodes of the display electrode side base material before replacement in the electronic paper before replacement. This is because different image display can be performed between the electronic paper before replacement and the recycled electronic paper.

About the material of the new display electrode side base material used for this invention, the film thickness, and the formation method of a display electrode, since it can be made to be the same as that of the term of "A. electronic paper", it is here. Description is omitted.
In the present invention, as a method for forming a display electrode used for the new display electrode side substrate, a method of forming a display electrode using a cutting machine or a method of forming a display electrode by an inkjet method is particularly preferable. This is because these methods can easily form display electrodes.

  Since the arrangement method of the new display electrode side substrate used in the present invention can be the same as that described in the section “A. Electronic Paper”, description thereof is omitted here. Moreover, in this invention, it is preferable that the said display electrode is arrange | positioned through the adhesive agent which can peel the said new display electrode side base material on the opposite side to the said display member. This is because the recycled electronic paper manufactured according to the present invention can be easily reused.

3. Others The method for producing recycled electronic paper according to the present invention is preferably used for the production of electronic paper as a small amount of various types of information media. Electronic paper as an information medium of a small amount and a variety of products is required to change image display frequently because the display period of displayed information is short. Therefore, by using the method for producing recycled electronic paper according to the present invention, it is possible to obtain electronic paper as a low-cost, high-variety information medium efficiently at a low cost.

  The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. The above-described embodiment is an exemplification, and the present invention has substantially the same configuration as the technical idea described in the claims of the present invention, and any device that exhibits the same function and effect is the present invention. It is included in the technical scope of the invention.

[Example 1]
About 10 μm diameter fine particles charged positively with black and about 10 μm diameter charged negatively with white color were prepared and dispersed in an insulating solvent to prepare a dispersion solution.

  A common electrode side base material in which an ITO thin film was formed as a common electrode on a PET film (first base material) was prepared. Further, a grid-like partition wall having a height of 50 μm and a width of 10 μm was formed on a PET film (holding material) by a photolithography method at a pitch of 300 μm. Next, the above-mentioned dispersion solution was injected by an ink jet method onto the holding material on which the partition walls were formed. Next, a UV curable adhesive was applied to the entire surface of the common electrode side substrate. This was pressed onto the partition wall holding material into which the dispersion was injected, and simultaneously irradiated with UV to obtain a display member.

Next, an ink in which silver nanoparticles (approximately 50 μm in diameter) are dispersed in a solvent is prepared, and this is used for patterning on a PET film (second substrate) according to a display pattern by an ink jet method. The electrode was formed and the display electrode side base material was prepared.
Next, a silicon-based re-peeling adhesive was applied to the second base material opposite to the display electrode of the display electrode side base material, and was stuck on the holding material of the display member.
Thereafter, wiring was performed using a conductive tape and lead wires in accordance with the display pattern.
When the display was performed with the obtained electronic paper, a desired image display could be performed.

Next, a new display electrode side substrate for displaying a new pattern by the inkjet method was prepared, and a silicon-based re-peeling adhesive was applied on the substrate opposite to the display electrode. Next, the display electrode side substrate already fixed with the re-peeling adhesive was peeled off, and the new display electrode side base material was pasted on the holding material from which the display electrode side base material was peeled off.
Thereafter, wiring was performed using a conductive tape and lead wires in accordance with the display pattern.
When the display was performed using the obtained recycled electronic paper, the desired image display could be performed.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Common electrode side base material 2 ... Display electrode side base material 4 ... Sealing agent 5 ... Partition 10 ... Electronic paper 11 ... First base material 12 ... Common electrode 21 ... Second base material 22 ... Display electrode 3A ... Display medium layer 3B ... Holding material 30 ... Display layer 300 ... Display member 31 ... Charged particle 32 ... Insulating liquid

Claims (4)

Formed on a common electrode side base material having a first base material made of a transparent film, a common electrode having transparency formed on one surface of the first base material, and the common electrode side base material A display medium layer having a display medium capable of performing display by an electric field driving method (however, excluding a twist ball method), and a display member having a display layer made of a holding material for holding the display medium layer;
A second substrate made of an insulating film and a display electrode side substrate having a display electrode formed on one surface of the second substrate;
The display electrode side base material is detachably disposed on the surface of the display member opposite to the common electrode side base material side so that the display electrode is opposite to the display member. Electronic paper characterized by.   The electronic paper according to claim 1, wherein the electric field driving method is an electrophoresis method.   The electronic paper according to claim 1, wherein the display electrode side base material and the display member are disposed via a removable adhesive. Formed on a common electrode side base material having a first base material made of a transparent film, a common electrode having transparency formed on one surface of the first base material, and the common electrode side base material A display medium layer having a display medium capable of performing display by an electric field driving method (however, excluding a twist ball method), and a display member having a display layer made of a holding material for holding the display medium layer;
A pre-replacement display electrode side base material having a second base material made of an insulating film and a display electrode formed on one surface of the second base material,
The display electrode side substrate before replacement is detachably disposed on the surface of the display member opposite to the common electrode side substrate side so that the display electrode is opposite to the display member. Prepare e-paper before replacement,
After removing the display electrode side base material before replacement from the display member,
On the surface opposite to the common electrode side base material side of the display member from which the display electrode side base material before replacement is removed, another display electrode side base material is opposite to the display member. A method for producing recycled electronic paper, wherein the electronic paper is detachably disposed so as to be attached to the side.

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