LIQUID CRYSTAL COMPOUNDS AND USE OF THE SAME IN LIQUID CRYSTAL MEDIUM AND DISPLAY DEVICE

Abstract

Disclosed herein are novel liquid crystal compounds of formula I:

##STR00001##

wherein each of the substituents is given the definition as set forth in the Specification and Claims. Also disclosed are liquid crystal media including the novel liquid crystal compounds of formula I, which are suitably applied in an active matrix display device.

Claims

1. A compound having the following formula I: ##STR00065## wherein: R.sub.1 is selected from the group consisting of a C1-C7 alkyl group, a C1-C6 alkoxyl group and a C2-C6 alkenyl group; ##STR00066## represents ##STR00067## m is an integer selected from 0, 1 and 2, and when m is 2, two of the ##STR00068## can be the same or different; Z.sub.1 represents a single bond, CC, CH.sub.2, CH.sub.2CH.sub.2, CH.sub.2O, COO, CF.sub.2O or OCH.sub.2; and represents a single or double bond.

2. The compound as claimed in claim 1, which is an indenyl group-containing compound having a formula I-1 of ##STR00069## and is selected from the group consisting of: ##STR00070## ##STR00071##

3. The compound as claimed in claim 1, which is an indanyl group-containing compound having a formula I-2 of ##STR00072## and is selected from the group consisting of: ##STR00073## ##STR00074##

4. A liquid crystal medium, comprising a compound as claimed in claim 1.

5. The liquid crystal medium as claimed in claim 4, wherein the compound is an indenyl group-containing compound having a formula I-1 of ##STR00075## and is selected from the group consisting of: ##STR00076## ##STR00077##

6. The liquid crystal medium as claimed in claim 4, wherein the compound is an indanyl group-containing compound having a formula I-2 of ##STR00078## and is selected from the group consisting of: ##STR00079## ##STR00080##

7. The liquid crystal medium as claimed in claim 4, further comprising a compound having the following formula II and a compound having the following formula III: ##STR00081## wherein: R.sub.2, R.sub.3, R.sub.4 and R.sub.5 are independently selected from the group consisting of a C1-C7 alkyl group, a C1-C6 alkoxyl group and a C2-C6 alkenyl group; ##STR00082## independently represent ##STR00083## ##STR00084## represents ##STR00085## independently represent ##STR00086## L.sub.1 and L.sub.2 independently represent H or F; n and o are independently an integer selected from 0, 1 and 2, and when n is 2, two of the ##STR00087## can be the same or different, and when o is 2, two of the ##STR00088## can be the same or different and two of the Z.sub.3 can be the same or different; and Z.sub.2 and Z.sub.3 independently represent a single bond, CC, CH.sub.2, CH.sub.2CH.sub.2, CH.sub.2O, COO, CF.sub.2O or OCH.sub.2; with the proviso that when Z.sub.2 is a single bond and only one of L.sub.1 and L.sub.2 is F, ##STR00089##

8. The liquid crystal medium as claimed in claim 7, wherein said compound of formula II is selected from the group consisting of: ##STR00090## ##STR00091##

9. The liquid crystal medium as claimed in claim 7, wherein said compound of formula III is selected from the group consisting of: ##STR00092## ##STR00093##

10. The liquid crystal medium as claimed in claim 7, wherein based on the total weight of said liquid crystal medium, said compound of formula I is present in an amount of from 1 wt % to 40 wt %, said compound of formula II is present in an amount of from 1 wt % to 70 wt %, and said compound of formula III is present in an amount of from 10 wt % to 70 wt %.

11. The liquid crystal medium as claimed in claim 10, wherein based on the total weight of said liquid crystal medium, said compound of formula I is present in an amount of from 1 wt % to 25 wt %, said compound of formula II is present in an amount of from 20 wt % to 70 wt %, and said compound of formula III is present in an amount of from 10 wt % to 60 wt %.

12. An active matrix display device, comprising a liquid crystal medium as claimed in claim 4.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0022] Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the meaning commonly understood by a person skilled in the art to which the present disclosure belongs.

[0023] One skilled in the art will recognize many methods and materials similar or equivalent to those described herein, which could be used in the practice of the present disclosure. Indeed, the present disclosure is in no way limited to the methods and materials described. For clarity, the following definitions are used herein.

[0024] The present disclosure provides a compound of formula I, which is suitable for preparing a liquid medium:

##STR00006##

[0025] wherein: [0026] R.sub.1 is selected from the group consisting of a C1-C7 alkyl group, a C1-C6 alkoxyl group and a C2-C6 alkenyl group;

##STR00007##

represents

##STR00008## [0027] m is an integer selected from 0, 1 and 2, and when m is 2, two of the

##STR00009##

can be the same or different; [0028] Z.sub.1 represents a single bond, CC, CH.sub.2, CH.sub.2CH.sub.2, CH.sub.2O, COO, CF.sub.2O or OCH.sub.2; and [0029] represents a single or double bond.

[0030] As used herein, the term alkyl group means a saturated, linear or branched hydrocarbon group having a specified number of carbon atoms.

[0031] Exemplary linear alkyl groups include, but are not limited to, methyl, ethyl, propyl, butyl, pentyl, and hexyl and heptyl groups. Exemplary branched alkyl groups include, but are not limited to, isopropyl, isobutyl, sec-butyl, tert-butyl, iso-pentyl, tert-pentyl, isohexyl, neohexyl, isoheptyl, neoheptyl, 3-methylhexyl, 2,3-dimethylpentyl, 2,4-dimethylpentyl and 3-ethylpentyl.

[0032] As used herein, the term alkoxy group refers to an alkyl group as defined above that is linked via an oxygen (i.e., O-alkyl).

[0033] As used herein, the term alkenyl group means an unsaturated, linear or branched hydrocarbon group having at least one carbon-carbon double bond, having a specified number of carbon atoms, having a valence of at least one, and optionally substituted with one or more substituents where indicated, provided that the valence of the alkenyl group is not exceeded.

[0034] Non-limiting examples of the alkenyl group are vinyl, allyl, n-propenyl, isopropenyl, n-butenyl, 3-methylbutenyl, t-butenyl, n-pentenyl, and sec-pentenyl butenyl, isopropenyl, and isobutenyl pentenyl.

[0035] In certain embodiments, the compound of formula I is an indenyl group-containing compound having a formula of I-1 and/or an indanyl group-containing compound having a formula of I-2:

##STR00010##

[0036] According to the disclosure, the indenyl group-containing compound having a formula of I-1 may be one of the following compounds:

##STR00011## ##STR00012##

[0037] According to the disclosure, the indanyl group-containing compound having a formula of I-2 may be one of the following compounds:

##STR00013## ##STR00014##

[0038] In certain embodiments, in the formulae I-1 and I-2, R.sub.1 is a C1-C6 alkyl group or a C1-C5 alkoxyl group.

[0039] According to this disclosure, the compound of formula I-1 may be prepared by the method including the steps of:

[0040] (1) reacting

##STR00015##

with an organolithium reagent, following by reacting with a borate, so as to obtain

##STR00016##

and [0041] (2) subjecting

##STR00017##

to a Suzuki reaction in the presence of a palladium catalyst and a base.

[0042] The compound of formula I-2 may be prepared by the method similar to that for the compound of formula I-1, except for replacing

##STR00018##

used in the above step (2) with

##STR00019##

[0043] The above step (1) may be conducted at a temperature ranging from 60 C. to 100 C. The organolithium reagent may be at least one selected from the group consisting of n-butyllithium (n-BuLi), sec-butyllithium (s-BuLi), tert-butyllithium (t-BuLi), methyllithium and lithium diisopropylamide. The borate may be at least one selected from the group consisting of trimethyl borate, triisopropyl borate, tributyl borate and triisobutyl borate.

[0044] The above step (2) may be conducted at a temperature ranging from 60 C. to 100 C. The palladium catalyst may be at least one selected from the group consisting of Pd[P(C.sub.6H.sub.5).sub.3].sub.4, PdCl.sub.2, Pd(OAc).sub.2 and Bis(triphenylphosphine)palladium chloride. The base may be at least one selected from the group consisting of KOH, NaOH, K.sub.2CO.sub.3, Na.sub.2CO.sub.3, potassium tert-butoxide and sodium tert-butoxide.

[0045] In certain embodiments,

##STR00020##

used in the above step (2) is prepared by the steps of: [0046] (a) reacting

##STR00021##

with acrylic acid (i.e., Heck reaction) to obtain

##STR00022## [0047] (b) subjecting

##STR00023##

to a hydrogenation reaction in the presence of the palladium catalyst, so as to obtain

##STR00024## [0048] (c) reacting

##STR00025##

with thionyl chloride (as a chlorinating reagent) to obtain

##STR00026## [0049] (d) subjecting

##STR00027##

and AlCl.sub.3 to a cycloaddition reaction, so as to obtain

##STR00028## [0050] (e) subjecting

##STR00029##

to a bromination reaction using a brominating agent, so as to obtain

##STR00030## [0051] (f) subjecting

##STR00031##

to a reducing reaction using NaBH.sub.4, so as to obtain

##STR00032##

and [0052] (g) subjecting

##STR00033##

and p-toluenesulfonic acid to a dehydration reaction, so as to obtain

##STR00034##

[0053] The above step (a) may be conducted at a temperature ranging from 50 C. to 130 C. The step (b) may be conducted at a temperature ranging from 25 C. to 45 C. The steps (c) and (d) may be conducted at a temperature ranging from 4 C. to 45 C. The steps (e) and (f) may be conducted at a temperature ranging from 4 C. to 25 C. The brominating agent used in step (e) may be N-bromosuccinimide (NBS) or Br.sub.2. The step (g) may be conducted at a temperature ranging from 100 C. to 130 C.

[0054] In certain embodiments,

##STR00035##

used in the preparation of the compound of formula I-2 is obtained by subjecting

##STR00036##

to a hydrogenation reaction in the presence of hydrogen gas and a catalyst (such as the palladium catalyst).

[0055] With the indenyl or indanyl group, the compound of formula I may exhibit an excellent stability and have an improved clear point, thereby being suitably applied in the preparation of a liquid crystal medium (i.e., serving a component of a liquid crystal medium). Therefore, the present disclosure provides a liquid crystal medium including the compound of formula I as described above.

[0056] In certain embodiments, the liquid crystal medium further includes a compound having the following formula II and a compound having the following formula III:

##STR00037## [0057] wherein: [0058] R.sub.2, R.sub.3, R.sub.4 and R.sub.5 are independently selected from the group consisting of a C1-C7 alkyl group, a C1-C6 alkoxyl group and a C2-C6 alkenyl group;

##STR00038##

and independently represent

##STR00039##

represents

##STR00040##

independently represent

##STR00041## [0059] L.sub.1 and L.sub.2 independently represent H or F; [0060] n and o are independently an integer selected from 0, 1 and 2, and when n is 2, two of the

##STR00042##

can be
the same or different, and when o is 2, two of the

##STR00043##

can be the same or different and two of the Z.sub.3 can be the same or different; and [0061] Z.sub.2 and Z.sub.3 independently represent a single bond, CC, CH.sub.2, CH.sub.2CH.sub.2, CH.sub.2O, COO, CF.sub.2O or OCH.sub.2; [0062] with the proviso that [0063] when Z.sub.2 is a single bond and only one of L.sub.1 and L.sub.2 is F,

##STR00044##

[0064] In certain embodiments, the compound of formula II is selected from the group consisting of:

##STR00045## ##STR00046##

[0065] In other embodiments, the compound of formula III is selected from the group consisting of:

##STR00047## ##STR00048##

[0066] In certain embodiments, based on the total weight of the liquid crystal medium, the compound of formula I is present in an amount of from 1 wt % to 40 wt %, the compound of formula II is present in an amount of from 1 wt % to 70 wt %, and the compound of formula III is present in an amount of from 10 wt % to 70 wt %.

[0067] In certain embodiments, based on the total weight of the liquid crystal medium, the compound of formula I is present in an amount of from 1 wt-% to 25 wt %, the compound of formula II is present in an amount of from 20 wt % to 70 wt %, and the compound of formula III is present in an amount of from 10 wt % to 60 wt %.

[0068] In addition to the above liquid crystal compounds, the liquid crystal medium of this disclosure may further include one or more additives, such as UV stabilizers, light absorbers, antioxidants, chiral agents, and thermal stabilizers.

[0069] The liquid crystal medium of this disclosure has been tested and exhibits a high clear point, a desired optical anisotropy, a high negative dielectric anisotropy, a low rotational viscosity and a fast response time, and thus is suitable for application in an active matrix display device with a low cell thickness and a high resolution.

[0070] Therefore, the present disclosure also provides an active matrix display device including the liquid crystal medium as described above.

[0071] Examples of the active matrix display device includes, but are not limited to, a liquid crystal display of in-plane switching (IPS) mode, fringe field switching (FFS) mode, vertical alignment (VA) mode, multi-domain vertical alignment (MVA) mode, patterned vertical alignment (PVA) mode, polymer stabilization vertical alignment (PSVA) and electrically controlled birefringence (ECB) mode.

[0072] The present disclosure will be further described in the following examples. However, it should be understood that the following examples are solely intended for the purpose of illustration and should not be construed as limiting the present disclosure in practice.

EXAMPLES

[0073] Unless otherwise noted, all percentages shown in the following examples are on a weight basis (i.e., weight percentage, wt %) and temperatures are in degrees Celsius.

[0074] The liquid crystal compounds of formulae I-1 and I-2 used in the following examples to prepare a crystal liquid medium are synthesized according to the methods as mentioned above. The liquid crystal compounds of formulae II and III used in the following examples are commercially available, or may be synthesized according to the methods known in the art. These synthetic methods are conventional and routine techniques, and the liquid crystal compounds thus prepared have been tested to meet the criteria for the electronic compounds.

[0075] For the convenience of expression, the unit structures of the liquid crystal compounds in the following examples are represented by the codes listed in Table 1.

TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 Code Unit structure Code Unit structure A [00049] I CH.sub.2O B [00050] M [00051] C [00052] O O D P [00053] E COO U [00054] G C.sub.2H.sub.4 W [00055] 1-5 C1-C5 alkyl group Y [00056] (2D) CHCH.sub.2 (41D) CH.sub.2CH.sub.2CHCH.sub.2 (32D) CHCHCH.sub.3

[0076] For example, the structures exemplified in Table 2 can be expressed as the corresponding codes shown in Table 1. The underlined code represents the functional group (s) on the left of the core structure, and the bold code represents the functional group(s) on the right of the core structure.

TABLE-US-00002 TABLE 2 Structure Corresponding code [00057] UIW-R.sub.1 [00058] UGY-R.sub.1 [00059] AUW-R.sub.1 [00060] BUY-R.sub.1 [00061] PPU-R.sub.2R.sub.3 [00062] CCIU-R.sub.2R.sub.3 [00063] CCEP-R.sub.4R.sub.5 [00064] CMPC-R.sub.4R.sub.5

[0077] Ten liquid crystal media of the following Examples 1 to 10 are prepared by mixing each of the liquid crystal compounds specified in the respective one of the following Tables 3 to 12 based on the conventional techniques. For instance, each liquid crystal compound was dissolved in a respective suitable solvent (such as acetone, chloroform, methanol, etc.), and then mixed under heating, followed by removal of the solvent(s) through vacuum distillation.

[0078] The liquid crystal media obtained in each of Examples 1 to 10 were subjected to the following test to determine properties thereof: [0079] 1. Cp ( C.), which represents clearing point of the liquid crystal medium, is the temperature at which a liquid crystal phase of the liquid crystal medium is converted to the isotropic liquid. The clearing point of the liquid crystal medium was measured under heating and observed using a microscope. [0080] 2. SN( C.) represents the temperature for the transition from the smectic phase (S) to the nematic phase (N) of the liquid crystal medium, and was determined as follows. The test liquid crystal medium was added into a liquid crystal box, and then placed in a freezer maintained at 30 C. or 40 C. to observe the crystallization of the test liquid crystal medium. [0081] 3. n, which represents optical anisotropy, was measured at 25 C. and 589 nm by an Abbe refractometer and calculated from the equation: n=n.sub.en.sub.o, in which n.sub.o is the refractive index of an ordinary light, and n.sub.e is the refractive index of an extraordinary light. The desired range of n for the liquid crystal medium of this disclosure is between 0.065 to 0.200. [0082] 4. which represents dielectric anisotropy, is calculated from the equation: =//1, in which .sub.// is a dielectric permittivity parallel t a molecular axis, and 1 is a dielectric permittivity perpendicular to the molecular axis. The test liquid crystal medium was placed in a 20 micron parallel cell without addition of a chiral agent and then measured at 25 C. using an instrument available from INSTEC (ALCT-IP1). The desired range of for the liquid crystal medium of this disclosure is between 2 to 11. [0083] 5. 1 (mPa.Math.s), which represents rotational viscosity, was determined by placing the test liquid crystal medium in the 20 micron parallel cell without addition of a chiral agent followed by measurement at 250.2 C. using the instrument available from INSTEC (ALCT-IR1). The lower the rotational viscosity of the test liquid crystal medium is, the faster the response is. The desired range of 1 for the liquid crystal medium of this disclosure is between 25 to 150.

[0084] The properties thus determined for the liquid crystal medium of each of Example 1 to 10 are shown in Tables 3 to 12.

Example 1

[0085]

TABLE-US-00003 TABLE 3 Code of the compound Formula Wt (%) Test properties CC-(2D)3 III 30 SN: 40 C. CC-(32D)3 III 7 Cp: 80 C. UIW-3 I-1 5 n: 0.095 AUY-3 I-2 5 : 4.1 CAU-21 II 8 1: 92 mPa .Math. s CCU-31 II 6 CCU-3O2 II 8 CCU-2O2 II 5 CPU-3O2 II 5 CPU-2O2 II 6 CUGU-3O2 II 6 CCIU-3O2 II 9

Example 2

[0086]

TABLE-US-00004 TABLE 4 Code of the compound Formula Mass (%) Test properties CC-(2D)3 III 20 SN: 40 C. CC-5O1 III 3 Cp: 87 C. CC-35 III 5 n: 0.101 CUIW-3 I-1 3 : 5.0 CUIY-2 I-2 2 1: 103.7 mPa .Math. s CU-3O2 II 20 CCU-2O2 II 8 CCU-3O2 II 8 CPU-3O2 II 6 CPU-4O2 II 9 PPU-5O2 II 5 CCIU-3O2 II 8 CUGU-3O2 II 3

Example 3

[0087]

TABLE-US-00005 TABLE 5 Code of the compound Formula Wt (%) Test properties CC-35 III 5 SN: 30 C. CC-32 III 25 Cp: 85 C. PP-15 III 7 n: 0.100 CPP-33 III 4 : 3.3 CMPC-32 III 4 1: 82 mPa .Math. s UIW-3O2 I-1 5 PUW-32 I-1 8 AUIW-2 I-1 6 CCU-3O2 II 8 CPU-2O2 II 10 CPU-4O2 II 8 PU-5O2 II 10

Example 4

[0088]

TABLE-US-00006 TABLE 6 Code of the compound Formula Wt (%) Test properties CC-(2D)3 III 12 SN: 30 C. PP-(41D)1 III 4 Cp: 90 C. CPP-33 III 4 n: 0.148 CUY-3 I-2 5 : 3.9 UIY-3 I-2 10 1: 142 mPa .Math. s PUW-2 I-1 5 PUP-24 II 10 PPU-2O2 II 5 PUP-23 II 10 PPU-24 II 10 PU-3O2 II 10 CIU-3O1 II 10 CCIU-4O2 II 5

Example 5

[0089]

TABLE-US-00007 TABLE 7 Code of the compound Formula Wt (%) Test properties CC-32 III 23 SN: 30 C. CC-35 III 10 Cp: 75 C. CP-3O2 III 5 n: 0.094 CPP-33 III 6 : 2.4 CC-(32D)3 III 10 1: 80 mPa .Math. s UW-3 I-1 6 UGW-2 I-1 5 AUIW-3 I-1 8 BUGY-3 I-2 4 PUP-33 II 12 PPU-23 II 6 CCIU-2O2 II 5

Example 6

[0090]

TABLE-US-00008 TABLE 8 Code of the compound Formula Wt (%) Test properties CC-(2D)3 III 29 SN: 40 C. CC-(32D)3 III 10 Cp: 90 C. CCP-(41D)1 III 10 n: 0.081 CUW-3 I-1 5 : 4.2 CUIY-3 I-2 6 1: 109 mPa .Math. s PUW-2 I-1 3 CUIY-3 I-2 5 CIU-3O2 II 13 CCGU-3O4 II 8 PUU-4O2 II 1 CU-3O2 II 10

Example 7

[0091]

TABLE-US-00009 TABLE 9 Code of the compound Formula Wt (%) Test properties CC-35 III 10 SN: 40 C. CUGY-4 I-2 6 Cp: 78 C. CUIY-2 I-2 5 n: 0.100 AUIY-3 I-2 5 : 5.6 PUP-32 II 7 1: 97 mPa .Math. s CCU-(32D)O2 II 8 CPU-2O2 II 5 CPU-4O2 II 5 CCU-3O2 II 8 CU-3O2 II 18 CU-3O4 II 15 CU-5O2 II 8

Example 8

[0092]

TABLE-US-00010 TABLE 10 Code of the compound Formula Wt (%) Test properties CC-(2D)3 III 28 SN: 40 C. CCP-(2D)1 III 7 Cp: 80 C. CPP-33 III 3 n: 0.097 CP-3O2 III 8 : 3.1 CC-32 III 7 1: 90 mPa .Math. s CC-(32D)3 III 7 CUGW-3 I-1 5 CUY-2 I-2 5 UW-3 I-1 5 CCU-31 II 2 CPU-3O2 II 9 CPU-2O2 II 9 PUP-23 II 3 CU-3O4 II 2

Example 9

[0093]

TABLE-US-00011 TABLE 11 Code of the compound Formula Wt (%) Test properties CC-(2D)3 III 17 SN: 30 C. CCD-(41D)1 III 7 Cp: 97 C. CCP-32 III 4 n: 0.111 CCEP-33 III 3 : 3.7 CCEPC-33 III 5 1: 125 mPa .Math. s UIW-3 I-1 5 UW-2 I-1 5 AUIW-3 I-1 5 CCU-(32D)O2 II 10 CPU-3O2 II 8 CPU-2O2 II 5 PUP-23 II 7 PU-3O4 II 7 CU-3O2 II 12

Example 10

[0094]

TABLE-US-00012 TABLE 12 Code of the compound Formula Wt (%) Test properties CC-32 III 20 SN: 40 C. CC-35 III 10 Cp: 75 C. CCP-33 III 3 n: 0.112 PP-15 III 8 : 3.0 PP-(41D)1 III 5 1: 98 mPa .Math. s CUY-2 I-2 1 CCIU-3O2 II 3 CCGU-3O2 II 2 CCU-3O2 II 7 CPU-3O2 II 9 CPU-2O2 II 9 PPU-3O2 II 3 PU-3O2 II 15 PPU-5O2 II 5

[0095] As shown in Tables 3 to 12, the liquid crystal media of this disclosure, which includes the compound of formula I-1 and/or I/2 (negative dielectric anisotropy), the compounds of formula II (negative dielectric anisotropy) and the compound(s) of formula III (dielectric neutrality), have a high negative dielectric anisotropy, a high clear point, desired optical anisotropy and stability, and a low rotational viscosity so as to achieve a faster response time.

[0096] To sum up, by having an indenyl or indanyl group, the novel liquid crystal compound of formula I-1 or 1-2 of this disclosure can exhibit an excellent stability and has a high clear point. In addition, the liquid crystal medium containing such indenyl group or indanyl group-containing compound can also has a high clear point, a desired optical anisotropy, a high negative dielectric anisotropy, a low rotational viscosity and a fast response time, and therefore is particularly suitable for application in an active matrix (such as MVA and PVA) display device with a low cell thickness and a high resolution.

[0097] In the description above, for the purposes of explanation, numerous specific details have been set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiment(s). It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art, that one or more other embodiments may be practiced without some of these specific details. It should also be appreciated that reference throughout this specification to one embodiment, an embodiment, an embodiment with an indication of an ordinal number and so forth means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic may be included in the practice of the disclosure. It should be further appreciated that in the description, various features are sometimes grouped together in a single embodiment, figure, or description thereof for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure and aiding in the understanding of various inventive aspects, and that one or more features or specific details from one embodiment may be practiced together with one or more features or specific details from another embodiment, where appropriate, in the practice of the disclosure.

[0098] While the disclosure has been described in connection with what are considered the exemplary embodiments, it is understood that this disclosure is not limited to the disclosed embodiment(s) but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent arrangements.