Anisotropic compounds and liquid crystal mixtures

Claim 1

A compound of the formula ##STR22## wherein the rings A, B and C are identical or different, ring A is a cycloaliphatic radical of the formula (1a) or (1b) ##STR23## and the remaining rings B and C are (1a), (1b), (1c), (1d) or (1e), (1c), (1d) and (1e) being the aromatic radicals of the formulae ##STR24## X is cyano or halogen, Z 1 and Z 2 are identical or different and each is a covalent bond, --COO--, or --OOC--, S is 0 or 1; and R is alkyl, alkoxy, alkoxycarbonyl, alkylcarbonyloxy or alkylamino, the alkyl part of which in each case contains 1 to 12C atoms, or is a radical of the formula (1f) ##STR25## wherein the ring D is one of the rings defined for B and C, Z 3 has one of the meanings given for Z 1 and Z 2 and R 1 has one of the meanings given for R with the exception of the radical of the formula (1f), or when the ring adjacent to R is of the formula 1c, 1d or 1e, R can also be H, cyano or halogen; with provisos that (a) when an oxygen atom is bonded directly to one of the cycloaliphatic radicals of the formula (1a) or (1b) present in the molecule, then no other oxygen atom and no nitrogen atom is bonded directly to that cycloaliphatic radical; and (b) the molecule contains a total of at most one carboxyl group --COO-- or --OOC--.