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Dainippon Ink and Chemicals Will Sell Research Frontiers' Smart Window Emulsions
7/7/99
Research Frontiers Inc. (Woodbury, NY) has licensed Japan's Dainippon Ink and Chemicals, Inc., to manufacture the active ingredients used make light-controlling films for smart windows, eyewear, and automotive products. The agreement covers emulsions used in Research Frontiers' proprietary smart suspended particle device (SPD) films, which use electricity to regulate the amount of light that passes through the film.
The deal moves SPD technology into the mainstream for large-volume uses. Only seven months ago, in December 1998, Research Frontiers announced that it had delivered a "multigallon" batch of emulsion capable of producing thousands of square feet of SPD film. By tapping into Dainippon's production capacity, it suddenly has capacity to deliver thousands of gallons.
Research Frontiers has licensed Dainippon to produce the active emulsion for it's electrically controlled smart windows. The deal, for the first time, provides commercial quantities for licensees interested in manufacturing smart windows. Here, a 3-ft by 6 ft window developed by licensee Hancock Glass Industries switches from low-light-passage...
Under the agreement, Dainippon, a $7.7-billion manufacturer of organic pigments, receives a worldwide nonexclusive license to manufacture the emulsion and sell it to Research Frontiers' licensed SPD film manufacturers. These include General Electric Co., Hankuk Glass Industries Inc.(one of Asia's largest flat glass makers outside Japan), and Material Sciences Corp. (a global producer of specialty window films).
...to high-light-passage. When used with low-E glass, which reflects heat, and other glass coatings, the smart windows will keep buildings cooler in summer, block ultraviolet light, save energy, and reduce fading of rugs, pictures, furniture and other materials exposed to sunlight.
"This is a significant step towards widespread commercial availability of products using SPD technology," says Research Frontiers president Robert Saxe. "Because Dainippon is one of the world's outstanding chemical companies with broad expertise in the synthesis of polymers, pigments and pigment dispersions, we believe that DIC is ideally qualified to manufacture SPD emulsions."
According to the company, having one or more reliable emulsion producers will simplify production for SPD film licensees and speed large-scale commercialization. Research Frontiers also hopes that collaboration with Dainippon, the world's largest producer of organic pigments, could broaden the palette of SPD films, which currently come only in dark blue.
An auto mirror treated with SPD film automatically adjusts to light, dimming when bright lights shine upon it.
Research Frontiers' SPD films could be used in architectural and automobile windows, sunroofs, sun visors, mirrors, eyewear, and flat panel displays. Systems permit manual dial control by individual users or truly smart products that adjust themselves using feedback from a photocell.
The technology is based on emulsions of liquid matrix polymers (LCPs) and suspensions of Research Frontiers' proprietary light absorbing particles. The liquids are usually mixed and cured by ultraviolet radiation. This crosslinks the LCPs, which form a solid film around a fine distribution of light-absorbing suspension droplets.
The film is then laminated between glass or plastic sheets coated with transparent, electrically conductive films on their inner surfaces. When no current flows through the glass, the large, light-absorbing particles in the droplets assume random positions, effectively blocking light transmission. Apply a voltage, however, and they align themselves and allow light to pass.
The higher the voltage, the better the alignment, and the more light that passes through. This gives users control over film clarity. Off- state color, the color of the film when no electricity passes through it, is an inherent property of the light-absorbing particles. It is currently dark blue. Research Frontiers hopes collaboration with Dainippon could lead to black, gray, and other colors.
Research Frontiers currently has agreements in effect covering smart windows, automotive mirrors and sun visors, eyewear, displays and other products. It holds or controls more than 350 worldwide patents and patent applications covering SPD technology.
For more information: Robert Saxe, President, Research Frontiers Inc., 240 Crossways Park Dr., Woodbury, NY 11797-2033. Phone: 516-364-1902. Fax: 516-364-3798.
By Alan S. Brown |
