JP2014142650A - White reflection film - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a white reflection film that suppresses scratches on a light guide plate and suppresses particles from dropping.SOLUTION: The white reflection film includes a reflection layer (A) and a support layer (B) formed of a polyester resin composition containing inert particles having an average particle diameter (d) of 2 μm or more and 75 μm or less in a polyester resin. The support layer (B) constitutes at least one outermost layer of the white reflection film and has projections formed by the inert particles on a surface of the support layer (B) constituting the outermost surface layer, on the opposite side to the reflection layer (A). A frequency of projections having a height of 5 μm or more on the above surface is 10to 10particles/m. The projections have such a configuration that the surfaces of the inert particles are coated with the polyester resin constituting the support layer (B) with a coating film thickness of 50 nm or more and 10 μm or less.

Description

  The present invention relates to a white reflective film. In particular, it is related with the white reflective film used for a liquid crystal display device.

  A backlight unit of a liquid crystal display device (LCD) includes a direct type having a light source on the back of the liquid crystal display panel and a reflective film on the back, and a light guide plate having a reflector on the back of the liquid crystal display panel. There is an edge light type provided with a light source on the side surface of the light guide plate. Conventionally, as a backlight unit used for a large LCD, a direct type (mainly a direct type CCFL) is mainly used from the viewpoint of excellent screen brightness and uniformity of brightness within the screen, and an edge is used. The light type was often used for relatively small LCDs such as notebook PCs. However, due to the recent development of light sources and light guide plates, the brightness and uniformity of brightness within the screen have been improved even for edge-light type backlight units. As a result, edge-light type backlight units have been used not only for relatively small size but also for large LCDs. This also has the advantage that the LCD can be made thinner.

  In the edge light type backlight unit, the light guide plate and the reflective film are in direct contact with each other. Therefore, in such a structure, when the light guide plate and the reflective film are attached, there is a problem in that the luminance of the attached portion becomes abnormal and in-plane variation in luminance occurs. Therefore, it is necessary to have a gap between the light guide plate and the reflective film and keep this gap constant. For example, by having beads on the surface of the reflective film, the gap between the light guide plate and the reflective film can be kept constant, and sticking of these can be prevented.

However, at this time, when the light guide plate made of a relatively soft material comes into contact with the reflective film, there is a problem that the light guide plate is damaged by the reflective film or the beads on the surface. As a countermeasure, for example, as disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2, there is a report of a reflective sheet including a scratch-preventing layer using elastomeric beads.
Furthermore, if the beads on the surface of the reflective film fall off, there is a problem that a white spot defect occurs. As a countermeasure, there is a report of adjusting the average particle diameter and burying rate of beads to suppress the dropping of beads and suppress the occurrence of white spot defects (Patent Document 3).

JP 2003-92018 A Special table 2008-512719 gazette JP 2009-244509 A

However, if the beads used as in Patent Documents 1 and 2 are too soft, the formed protrusions do not have sufficient strength, and the recently required gap cannot be achieved, for example, a relatively large stress is applied. As a result, a uniform gap cannot be secured and sticking may not be suppressed. In addition, just adjusting the average particle diameter and burial rate of beads as in Patent Document 3 may be insufficient for the problem of bead drop required in recent years.
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a white reflective film that suppresses scratches on the light guide plate and suppresses particle dropout.

The present invention adopts the following configuration in order to achieve the above-described problems.
1. A white reflective film having a reflective layer A and a support layer B made of a polyester resin composition containing inert particles having an average particle diameter (d) of 2 μm or more and 75 μm or less in the polyester resin,
The support layer B has at least one outermost layer of the white reflective film, and has a protrusion formed by the above-described inert particles on the surface of the support layer B that forms the outermost layer on the side opposite to the reflective layer A. ,
The protrusion frequency of 5 μm or more in height on the surface is 10 ⁶ to 10 ¹⁰ / m ² ,
The protrusion is configured such that the surface of the inert particle is coated with the polyester resin constituting the support layer B with a coating thickness of 50 nm or more and 10 μm or less.
White reflective film.
2. 2. The white reflective film as described in 1 above, wherein the ten-point average roughness (Rz) on the surface of the support layer B opposite to the reflective layer A is less than 5 μm.
3. 3. The white reflective film as described in 1 or 2 above, wherein the content of inert particles in the support layer B is 0.1 to 20% by volume based on the volume of the support layer B.
4). The white reflective film according to any one of 1 to 3, wherein the average particle diameter (d) of the inert particles in the support layer B and the thickness (t) of the support layer B satisfy the following formula (1).
0.2 ≦ d (μm) / t (μm) ≦ 2.5 (1)
5. 5. The white reflective film as described in any one of 1 to 4 above, wherein the volatile organic solvent amount is 10 ppm or less.
6). The white reflective film according to any one of 1 to 5 above, which is used as a reflective plate for an edge light type backlight unit.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a white reflective film in which damage to the light guide plate is suppressed and particle dropout is suppressed.

It is a photograph which shows an example of the cross section of the protrusion in this invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows the structure used for the adhesion spot evaluation in this invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows the method of the damage evaluation of the light-guide plate in this invention, and the drop-off evaluation of particle | grains.

The white reflective film of the present invention has a reflective layer A and a support layer B.
Hereafter, each structural component which comprises this invention is demonstrated in detail.

[Reflection layer A]
The reflective layer A in the present invention is a layer that is composed of a thermoplastic resin and a void forming agent and contains a void forming agent so as to exhibit a white color. The void forming agent will be described in detail later. For example, inorganic particles and a resin that is incompatible with the thermoplastic resin that constitutes the reflective layer A (hereinafter may be referred to as an incompatible resin). Can be used. The reflectance of the reflective layer A at a wavelength of 550 nm is preferably 95% or higher, more preferably 96% or higher, and particularly preferably 97% or higher. Thereby, it becomes easy to make the reflectance of a white reflective film into a preferable range.

The reflection layer A has voids in the layer as described above, and the proportion of the void volume to the volume of the reflection layer A (void volume ratio) is 15% by volume or more and 70% by volume or less. Preferably there is. By setting it as such a range, the improvement effect of a reflectance can be made high and it becomes easy to obtain the above reflectances. Moreover, the improvement effect of film forming property can be made high. When the void volume ratio is too low, a preferable reflectance tends to be difficult to obtain. From such a viewpoint, the void volume ratio in the reflective layer A is more preferably 30% by volume or more, and particularly preferably 40% by volume or more. On the other hand, if it is too high, the effect of improving the film forming property tends to be low. From such a viewpoint, the void volume ratio in the reflective layer A is more preferably 65% by volume or less, and particularly preferably 60% by volume or less.
The void volume ratio can be achieved by adjusting the type, size, and amount of the void forming agent in the reflective layer A.

(Thermoplastic resin)
Examples of the thermoplastic resin constituting the reflective layer A include thermoplastic resins made of polyester, polyolefin, polystyrene, and acrylic. Among these, polyester is preferable from the viewpoint of obtaining a white reflective film excellent in mechanical properties and thermal stability.
As such a polyester, it is preferable to use a polyester comprising a dicarboxylic acid component and a diol component. Examples of the dicarboxylic acid component include components derived from terephthalic acid, isophthalic acid, 2,6-naphthalenedicarboxylic acid, 4,4′-diphenyldicarboxylic acid, adipic acid, sebacic acid, and the like. Examples of the diol component include components derived from ethylene glycol, 1,4-butanediol, 1,4-cyclohexanedimethanol, 1,6-hexanediol, and the like. Among these polyesters, aromatic polyesters are preferable, and polyethylene terephthalate is particularly preferable. Polyethylene terephthalate may be a homopolymer, but a copolymer is preferable from the viewpoint that crystallization is suppressed when the film is stretched uniaxially or biaxially and stretchability and film-forming property are improved. Examples of the copolymer component include the dicarboxylic acid component and the diol component described above, and isophthalic acid and 2,6-naphthalenedicarboxylic acid are preferable from the viewpoint of achieving both heat resistance and film forming properties. The proportion of the copolymerization component is, for example, 1 to 20 mol%, preferably 2 to 18 mol%, more preferably 3 to 15 mol%, particularly preferably 7 to 11 based on 100 mol% of the total dicarboxylic acid component of the polyester. Mol%. By making the ratio of a copolymerization component into this range, it is excellent in the improvement effect of film forming property. Moreover, it is excellent in thermal dimensional stability.

(Void forming agent)
In the reflective layer A, when inorganic particles are used as the void forming agent, the inorganic particles are preferably white inorganic particles. Examples of the white inorganic particles include barium sulfate, titanium dioxide, silicon dioxide, and calcium carbonate particles. These inorganic particles should just select an average particle diameter and content so that a white reflective film may have an appropriate reflectance, and these are not specifically limited. Preferably, the reflectance of the reflective layer A or the white reflective film may be within a preferable range in the present invention. Moreover, what is necessary is just to make it the void volume ratio in the reflection layer A become the preferable range in this invention. Taking these into consideration, the average particle size of the inorganic particles is, for example, 0.2 to 3.0 μm, preferably 0.3 to 2.5 μm, and more preferably 0.4 to 2.0 μm. The content thereof is preferably 20 to 60% by mass, more preferably 25 to 55% by mass, and most preferably 31 to 53% by mass based on the mass of the reflective layer A. Further, by adopting the particle mode as described above, it is possible to appropriately disperse in the polyester, it is difficult for the particles to aggregate, and a film without coarse protrusions can be obtained. Breaking during stretching starting from is also suppressed. The inorganic particles may have any particle shape, for example, a plate shape or a spherical shape. The inorganic particles may be subjected to a surface treatment for improving dispersibility.

  When an incompatible resin is used as the void forming agent, the incompatible resin is not particularly limited as long as it is incompatible with the thermoplastic resin constituting the layer. For example, when the thermoplastic resin is polyester, polyolefin, polystyrene, or the like is preferable. These may be in the form of particles. Moreover, the content should just select an average particle diameter and content so that a white reflective film may have a suitable reflectance similarly to the case of an inorganic particle, These are not specifically limited. Preferably, the reflectance of the reflective layer A or the white reflective film may be within a preferable range in the present invention. Moreover, what is necessary is just to make it the void volume ratio in the reflection layer A become the preferable range in this invention. Considering these facts, the content is preferably 10 to 50% by mass, more preferably 12 to 40% by mass, and most preferably 13 to 35% by mass based on the mass of the reflective layer A.

(Other ingredients)
As long as the purpose of the present invention is not hindered, the reflective layer A is made of other components such as UV absorbers, antioxidants, antistatic agents, fluorescent brighteners, waxes, particles and resins different from the void forming agents. Can be contained.

[Support layer B]
The support layer B in the present invention is made of a polyester resin composition containing inert particles in a polyester resin.

(Polyester resin)
Examples of the polyester used as the polyester resin of the support layer B include the same polyesters as the polyester in the reflective layer A described above. Among these polyesters, aromatic polyesters are preferable, and polyethylene terephthalate is particularly preferable from the viewpoint of obtaining a white reflective film excellent in mechanical properties and thermal stability. The polyethylene terephthalate may be a homopolymer, but a copolymer is preferable from the viewpoint that the effect of improving the suppression of scratches on the light guide plate can be enhanced. Examples of the copolymer component include the dicarboxylic acid component and the diol component described above, and isophthalic acid and 2,6-naphthalenedicarboxylic acid are also preferable from the viewpoint of suppressing scratches. The proportion of the copolymerization component is preferably 1 mol% or more, more preferably 1.5 mol% or more, still more preferably 2 mol% or more, particularly preferably 3 mol, based on 100 mol% of the total dicarboxylic acid component of the polyester. %. Further, it is preferably 20 mol% or less, more preferably 18 mol% or less, further preferably 15 mol% or less, and particularly preferably 12 mol% or less. By making the ratio of a copolymerization component more than a minimum, the improvement effect of the damage suppression of a light-guide plate can be heightened especially. On the other hand, by setting it to the upper limit or less, it becomes easy to have an appropriate hardness due to crystal orientation or the like, thereby enhancing the effect of suppressing sticking.

(Inert particles)
The inert particles in the support layer B may be organic inert particles, inorganic inert particles, or organic-inorganic composite inert particles.
Examples of the organic inert particles include polymer resin particles such as polystyrene resin particles, silicone resin particles, acrylic resin particles, styrene-acrylic resin particles, divinylbenzene-acrylic resin particles, polyester resin particles, polyimide resin particles, and melamine resin particles. Is mentioned. Among these, silicone resin particles and acrylic resin particles are particularly preferable from the viewpoint that it is easy to form protrusions having an appropriate hardness for securing a gap.

The inorganic inert particles include (1) silicon dioxide (including hydrate, silica sand, quartz, etc.); (2) alumina in various crystal forms; and (3) 30% by mass or more of SiO ₂ component. Silicates (eg amorphous or crystalline clay minerals, aluminosilicates (including calcined and hydrated), warm asbestos, zircon, fly ash, etc.); (4) oxidation of Mg, Zn, Zr and Ti (5) sulfates of Ca and Ba; (6) phosphates of Li, Ba and Ca (including monohydrogen and dihydrogen salts); (7) benzoates of Li, Na and K; 8) Ca, Ba, Zn and Mn terephthalate; (9) Mg, Ca, Ba, Zn, Cd, Pb, Sr, Mn, Fe, Co and Ni titanates; (10) Ba and Pb Chromate; (11) carbon (eg carbon bra (12) glass (for example, glass powder, glass beads, etc.); (13) carbonates of Ca and Mg; (14) fluorite; (15) spinel oxide. Among these, silica particles are preferable, and aggregated silica particles are particularly preferable from the viewpoint that it is easy to form protrusions having an appropriate hardness for securing a gap.

  In the present invention, organic / inorganic composite inert particles such as inorganic particles coated with an organic substance and organic particles coated with an inorganic substance can also be used as the inert particles. Specifically, the organic-inorganic composite particles include, for example, an organic-inorganic hybrid in which a polymer having an organometallic compound group such as a silylalkyl group at the side chain or terminal and an inorganic compound component such as silica are complexed by a covalent bond. Particles made of materials, particles obtained by fusion-coating organic polymer fine particles such as crosslinked polystyrene on the surface of inert inorganic particles, or inert inorganic fine particles such as alumina on the surface of inert organic polymer particles For example, particles that are fixedly coated may be used.

Inorganic particles are preferred as the inert particles from the viewpoint that the present invention is more likely to produce superior effects. In particular, when inorganic inert particles are used as the inert particles, since the inorganic inert particles are generally hard, it is easy to damage the light guide plate. Therefore, it is particularly useful to employ the present invention.
The average particle size and content of the inert particles in the support layer B may be selected within a range that satisfies the later-described ten-point average roughness Rz and protrusion frequency in order to suppress sticking.

  For example, the average particle diameter is preferably 2 μm or more and 100 μm from the viewpoint of keeping the distance between the light guide plate and the film constant and facilitating the sticking of these. If the average particle size is too small, Rz tends to be small, and the possibility that the white reflective film partially adheres to the light guide plate tends to increase. From such a viewpoint, the average particle diameter is preferably 5 μm or more, more preferably 10 μm or more, and particularly preferably 15 μm or more. On the other hand, if it is too large, the particles tend to drop off, and if the drop occurs, it becomes a white spot defect in the backlight unit. From such a viewpoint, the average particle size is preferably 80 μm or less, more preferably 75 μm or less, particularly preferably 70 μm or less, and most preferably 65 μm or less.

  The content is preferably 0.1% by volume or more and 20% by volume or less, for example, based on the volume of the support layer B. If the amount is too small, the effect of improving the gap tends to be low. Therefore, it is more preferably 0.2% by volume or more, and particularly preferably 0.3% by volume or more. On the other hand, if the amount is too large, the effect of improving the drop-off suppression tends to be low. Therefore, it is more preferably 15% by volume or less, particularly preferably 12% by volume or less.

(Other ingredients)
The support layer B may contain components other than the above-described constituent components as long as the object of the present invention is not impaired. Examples of such components include ultraviolet absorbers, antioxidants, antistatic agents, fluorescent brighteners, waxes, and particles and resins different from the above inert particles.
Moreover, the support layer B may contain the void formation agent quoted in the reflection layer A, and it can make the improvement effect of a reflectance high by setting it as such an aspect. On the other hand, if the content of the void forming agent in the support layer B is reduced or no void forming agent is contained, the effect of improving the film forming property can be increased. From these viewpoints, the void volume ratio in the support layer B (ratio of the void volume in the support layer B to the volume of the support layer B) is preferably 0% by volume or more and less than 15% by volume, and more preferably 5%. It is not more than volume%, particularly preferably not more than 3 volume%. In particular, in the present invention, since the effect of improving the reflection characteristics and stretchability can be achieved at the same time, the preferable void volume ratio in the reflection layer A and the preferable void volume ratio in the support layer B described above are simultaneously adopted. Is particularly preferred.

(Mode of support layer B)
In the present invention, the support layer B made of the polyester resin as described above and containing the inert particles as described above forms at least one outermost layer of the white reflective film. And the support layer B which forms this outermost layer has the protrusion formed of the above-mentioned inert particles on the surface opposite to the reflective layer A. Further, the protrusion has a configuration in which the inert particles are coated with a polyester resin constituting the support layer B.

  When the polyester resin coats the inert particles, the coating thickness is 50 nm or more and 10 μm or less. Here, the coating thickness refers to the thickness of the polyester resin at the apex of the protrusion. When the coating thickness is in the above range, the light guide plate can be prevented from being damaged. Further, the protrusion has an appropriate hardness, whereby a gap can be secured and sticking can be suppressed. If the coating thickness is too thin, scratches on the light guide plate cannot be suppressed, and particles may fall off due to rubbing. In addition, it is difficult to secure the gap. On the other hand, if the coating thickness is too thick, the particles forming the protrusions exist deep inside the support layer B, and therefore the protrusion shape may also be “loose” with a large curvature. It is difficult to prevent sticking. From these viewpoints, the coating thickness of the inert particles on the protrusions with the polyester resin is preferably 200 nm or more, more preferably 1 μm or more, and preferably 8 μm or less, more preferably 7.5 μm or less.

As described above, the white reflective film of the present invention was used in contact with the light guide plate by having a protrusion having a configuration in which inert particles were coated with a polyester resin with a specific coating thickness on the outermost layer of the white reflective film. In this case, the light guide plate can be prevented from being damaged by the protrusion. Moreover, particle | grain omission can be suppressed. In addition, a gap can be secured. At this time, the surface on the side provided with the protrusion is set to the light guide plate side.
Further, the above protrusion has an appropriate height on the surface opposite to the reflective layer A of the support layer B that forms the outermost layer from the viewpoint of securing a gap between the light guide plate and the reflective film, and has an appropriate level. It must be present at a frequency.

  As for the height of the protrusion, it is usually necessary that the 10-point average roughness (Rz) is 5 to 100 μm on the surface of the support layer B forming the outermost layer on the side opposite to the reflective layer A. With this and the projection frequency described later, a sufficient gap with the light guide plate can be secured, and the sticking suppression effect is excellent. If Rz is too small, the sticking suppression effect is poor. On the other hand, when Rz is too large, it is inferior in the particle drop-off suppressing effect. From these viewpoints, Rz is preferably 7 μm or more, more preferably 10 μm or more, and preferably 75 μm or less, more preferably 50 μm or less. Note that this aspect of Rz is obtained mainly by the protrusions. This is because if the main high protrusions are formed by the protrusions that do not have the above-described protrusion aspect, the effect of suppressing damage to the light guide plate cannot be obtained.

As for the frequency of protrusions, the number of protrusions having a height of 5 μm or more per unit area is 10 ⁶ to 10 ¹⁰ pieces / m ² on the surface of the support layer B that forms the outermost layer on the side opposite to the reflective layer A. Usually it is necessary. With this and the above-described Rz, a sufficient gap with the light guide plate can be secured, and the sticking suppression effect is excellent. If the projection frequency is too low, the sticking suppression effect is poor. On the other hand, if the protrusion frequency is too high, the probability of particle dropout tends to improve and the reflectance tends to decrease. From these viewpoints, the protrusion frequency is preferably 10 ⁷ pieces / m ² or more, more preferably 5 × 10 ⁷ pieces / m ² or more, and preferably 2 × 10 ⁹ pieces / m ² or less, more preferably 5 × 10 ⁸ pieces / m ² or less.

Furthermore, the protrusions described above further suppress the scratches on the light guide plate, making it easy to secure a sufficient gap even when the light guide plate and the reflective film are pressure-bonded, and particles fall off from the film surface to become foreign matter, resulting in a screen. In order to further prevent the display quality from being deteriorated due to a defect, the hardness is preferably 10 ⁰ to 10 ³ .
If the hardness is too hard, the light guide plate tends to be damaged. On the other hand, if it is too soft, the effect of securing the gap tends to be low, and the effect of suppressing particle dropout tends to be low. From this viewpoint, the more preferable value of the protrusion hardness is 5 or more, more preferably 10 or more, more preferably 500 or less, and still more preferably 200 or less.

The protrusion hardness can be represented by a value measured with a micro hardness meter (for example, ENT-1100a manufactured by Elionix, Inc.) based on JIS Z2244. From the value of the maximum indentation depth (h [μm]) measured using a Barkovich indenter (regular triangular pyramid tip with a ridge angle = 115 °), indentation load (P) of 500 mgf (about 4.9 mN), The hardness (H) can be calculated by the following formula.
H = 0.038 × P / h ²
Measurement is performed on a plurality of protrusions randomly extracted from a sample (selecting one having a height of 5 μm or more is one of the preferable measurement methods), for example, a large number such as 30 points or more, and an average value thereof. Is preferably the hardness of the protrusion. Further, the height of the protrusion can be confirmed with a laser microscope.

[Layer structure]
The thickness of the reflective layer A in the present invention is preferably 80 to 300 μm. Thereby, the improvement effect of a reflectance can be made high. If it is too thin, the effect of improving the reflectance is low, while if it is too thick, it is inefficient. From such a viewpoint, it is more preferably 150 to 250 μm.

  Moreover, it is preferable that the thickness (The thickness of 1 layer which forms the outermost layer used as the light-guide plate side when there are two or more) of the support layer B is 10-70 micrometers. Thereby, it becomes easy to set it as the preferable aspect of Rz and protrusion frequency with the aspect of the said preferable inert particle, and it becomes easy to ensure the gap with a light-guide plate. Moreover, the improvement effect of a reflectance and the improvement effect of stretchability can be made high. If it is too thin, it is difficult to achieve a preferable Rz, and the effect of suppressing particle dropout tends to be reduced. Further, the effect of improving stretchability tends to be low. On the other hand, if it is too thick, the effect of improving the reflectance tends to be low, and preferable Rz and protrusion frequency tend to be difficult to obtain. From this viewpoint, it is more preferably 20 μm or more, and further preferably 60 μm or less.

In the present invention, the average particle diameter (d) of the inert particles in the support layer B is set so that the coating thickness of the above-described inert particles and the height of the protrusions represented by Rz can be easily set in the range specified in the present invention. The thickness (t) of the support layer B preferably satisfies the following formula (1).
0.2 ≦ d (μm) / t (μm) ≦ 2.5 (1)
If this ratio is too small, it is difficult to produce protrusions of sufficient height, and the effect of improving the gap securing with the light guide plate tends to be low, whereas if it is too large, the coating thickness tends to be insufficient. , The effect of improving particle dropout tends to be low. From these viewpoints, the ratio is more preferably 0.5 or more, further preferably 0.6 or more, and preferably 2.0 or less, more preferably 1.8 or less.

  When the reflective layer A is represented as A and the support layer B is represented as B, the laminated structure of the white reflective film is a two-layer structure of B / A, a three-layer structure of B / A / B, and B / A / B / A. And a multi-layer structure of five or more layers in which B is disposed on at least one of the outermost layers. Particularly preferred are a two-layer structure of B / A and a three-layer structure of B / A / B. Most preferably, it has a three-layer structure of B / A / B, and problems such as curling hardly occur.

The reflective layer A and the support layer B have a thickness ratio of the reflective layer A of 50 to 90% and a thickness ratio of the support layer B of 5 to 50% when the thickness of the entire white reflective film is 100%. Furthermore, the aspect which is 5 to 25% is preferable, and the balance of each characteristic can be improved. Here, the thickness ratio of each layer refers to the ratio between the integrated thicknesses when there are a plurality of layers.
In the present invention, in addition to the reflective layer A and the support layer B, other layers may be provided as long as the object of the present invention is not impaired. For example, you may have the layer for providing functions, such as antistatic property, electroconductivity, and ultraviolet durability.

[Film Production Method]
Hereinafter, an example of the method for producing the white reflective film of the present invention will be described.
In producing the white reflective film of the present invention, the support layer B is formed on the reflective layer A obtained by the melt extrusion method or the like by the melt resin coating method (including the melt extrusion resin coating method), the co-extrusion method, the lamination method, or the like. It is preferable to form a laminated structure. Especially, it is especially preferable that the white reflective film of the present invention is produced by laminating the reflective layer A and the support layer B by a coextrusion method. Moreover, it is preferable that the reflective layer A and the support layer B are directly laminated by a coextrusion method. Thus, by laminating by the coextrusion method, the interfacial adhesion between the reflective layer A and the support layer B can be increased, and the support layer B is formed again after the films are laminated or formed. Therefore, mass production can be easily performed at low cost.

  The case where polyester is employed as the thermoplastic resin constituting the reflective layer A and the coextrusion method is employed as the laminating method will be described below. However, the present invention is not limited to such a production method, and other methods are described with reference to the following. It can manufacture similarly about this aspect. At that time, when the extrusion step is not included, the following “melt extrusion temperature” may be read as “melting temperature”. Here, the melting point of the polyester used is Tm (unit: ° C), and the glass transition temperature is Tg (unit: ° C).

First, a polyester composition for forming the reflective layer A is prepared by mixing polyester, a void forming agent, and other optional components. Moreover, what mixed polyester, an inert particle, and another arbitrary component as a polyester composition for forming the support layer B is prepared. These polyester compositions are used after drying to sufficiently remove moisture.
Next, the dried polyester composition is put into separate extruders and melt-extruded. The melt extrusion temperature needs to be Tm or higher, and may be about Tm + 40 ° C.

  At this time, the polyester composition used for the production of the film, particularly the polyester composition used for the reflective layer A, is filtered using a nonwoven fabric type filter having an average opening of 10 to 100 μm made of stainless steel fine wires having a wire diameter of 15 μm or less. It is preferable. By performing this filtration, it is possible to suppress aggregation of particles that normally tend to aggregate into coarse aggregated particles, and to obtain a film with few coarse foreign matters. In addition, the average opening of a nonwoven fabric becomes like this. Preferably it is 20-60 micrometers, More preferably, it is 15-50 micrometers. The filtered polyester composition is extruded in a multilayer state from a die by a simultaneous multilayer extrusion method (coextrusion method) using a feed block in a molten state to produce an unstretched laminated sheet. The unstretched laminated sheet extruded from the die is cooled and solidified with a casting drum to obtain an unstretched laminated film.

  Next, this unstretched laminated film is heated by roll heating, infrared heating or the like, and stretched in the film forming machine axial direction (hereinafter sometimes referred to as the longitudinal direction or the longitudinal direction or MD) to obtain a longitudinally stretched film. . This stretching is preferably performed by utilizing the difference in peripheral speed between two or more rolls. The film after the longitudinal stretching is then guided to a tenter and stretched in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction and the thickness direction (hereinafter sometimes referred to as a transverse direction or a width direction or TD) to be biaxially stretched. A film.

  As the stretching temperature, it is preferably performed at a temperature of Tg or more and Tg + 30 ° C. or less of the polyester, excellent in film forming properties, and voids are preferably formed. The stretching ratio is preferably 2.5 to 4.3 times, more preferably 2.7 to 4.2 times in both the vertical direction and the horizontal direction. If the draw ratio is too low, uneven thickness of the film tends to be worsened, and voids tend not to be formed. On the other hand, if it is too high, breakage tends to occur during film formation.

  Here, in the present invention, it is preferable to adopt highly oriented stretching conditions in order to obtain a suitable embodiment of inert particle coating. Highly oriented stretching conditions refer to stretching conditions in which high molecular orientation is likely to be formed, for example, stretching conditions that lower the stretching temperature, increase the stretching ratio, or a combination thereof. Therefore, it is preferable to use a low stretching temperature condition at a low stretching ratio, and conversely, at a high stretching temperature, a high stretching ratio.

It is also preferable to employ an appropriate stretching speed. This is because if the stretching speed is too slow, the resin tends to relax, so that protrusions tend not to be formed, the coating thickness tends to be thin, and if the stretching speed is too fast, the stretching stress is high. This is because the inert particles tend to be pushed into the support layer B, and the coating thickness tends to increase. Specifically, the stretching speed in the longitudinal direction is preferably 5 to 1000% / second, particularly preferably 200 to 500% / second. Further, the stretching speed in the transverse direction is preferably 0.2 to 100% / second, and more preferably 3 to 10% / second.
In the case of sequential biaxial stretching in which longitudinal stretching is performed and then lateral stretching is performed, the second stage (in this case, lateral stretching) should be about 10 to 50 ° C. higher than the first stage stretching temperature. Is preferred. This is due to the fact that the Tg as a uniaxial film is increased due to the orientation in the first stage of stretching.

Moreover, it is preferable to preheat a film before each extending | stretching. For example, the pre-heat treatment for transverse stretching may start from a temperature higher than Tg + 5 ° C. of the polyester and gradually increase the temperature. Lowering the preheating temperature is also preferable because high orientation stretching is achieved. For example, it is preferable that Tg + 5 ° C. is exceeded and Tg + 30 ° C. is set. Although the temperature rise in the transverse stretching process may be continuous or stepwise (sequential), the temperature is usually raised sequentially. For example, the transverse stretching zone of the tenter is divided into a plurality along the film running direction, and the temperature is raised by flowing a heating medium having a predetermined temperature for each zone.
The film after biaxial stretching is subsequently subjected to heat-fixing and heat-relaxing treatments in order to obtain a biaxially oriented film. However, following melt-extrusion to stretching, these processes can also be performed while the film is running. it can.
The film after biaxial stretching is heat-fixed by heat treatment under a constant width or a width reduction of 10% or less while holding both ends with a clip (Tm-20 ° C) to (Tm-100 ° C), It is better to reduce the shrinkage rate. When the heat treatment temperature is too high, the flatness of the film tends to deteriorate, and the thickness unevenness tends to increase. On the other hand, if it is too low, the thermal shrinkage tends to increase.

Further, in order to adjust the heat shrinkage, both ends of the film being held can be cut off, the take-up speed in the film vertical direction can be adjusted, and the film can be relaxed in the vertical direction. As a means for relaxing, the speed of the roll group on the tenter exit side is adjusted. As the rate of relaxation, the speed of the roll group is reduced with respect to the film line speed of the tenter, preferably 0.1 to 2.5%, more preferably 0.2 to 2.3%, particularly preferably 0.3. The film is relaxed by performing a speed reduction of ˜2.0% (this value is referred to as “relaxation rate”), and the longitudinal heat shrinkage rate is adjusted by controlling the relaxation rate. Further, the width of the film in the horizontal direction can be reduced in the process until both ends are cut off, and a desired heat shrinkage rate can be obtained.
In the biaxial stretching, a lateral-longitudinal sequential biaxial stretching method may be used in addition to the longitudinal-lateral sequential biaxial stretching method as described above. Moreover, it can form into a film using a simultaneous biaxial stretching method. In the case of the simultaneous biaxial stretching method, the stretching ratio is, for example, 2.7 to 4.3 times, preferably 2.8 to 4.2 times in both the longitudinal direction and the transverse direction.
Thus, the white reflective film of the present invention can be obtained.

[Characteristics of reflective film]
(Reflectance, brightness)
The reflectance measured from the support layer B side of the white reflective film of the present invention is preferably 96% or more, more preferably 97% or more, and further preferably 97.5% or more. When the reflectance is 96% or more, high luminance can be obtained when used in a liquid crystal display device or illumination. Such a reflectance may be a preferable aspect such as increasing the void volume ratio of the reflective layer A, or a preferable aspect of each layer such as increasing the thickness of the reflective layer A or decreasing the thickness of the support layer B. Can be achieved.
The luminance measured from the support layer B side is determined by a measuring method described below is preferably 5400cd / ^{m 2} or more, more preferably 5450cd / ^{m 2} or more, 5500cd / ^{m 2} or more is particularly preferable.
The reflectance and brightness are values on the surface on the side of the light guide plate when used with the light guide plate in the white reflective film.

(Amount of volatile organic solvent)
In the white reflective film of the present invention, the amount of volatile organic solvent measured by the method described later is preferably 10 ppm or less. Thereby, for example, in an edge light liquid crystal display, the merit of improving the durability of the light guide plate in direct contact with the reflective film can be exemplified. From this viewpoint, it is more preferably 5 ppm or less, further preferably 3 ppm or less, and ideally 0 ppm. In the present invention, in order to reduce the amount of the volatile organic solvent, it is preferable to adopt the above-described method in forming the support layer B without adopting the solution coating method using the organic solvent.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail by way of examples. Each characteristic value was measured by the following method.
(1) Light reflectance The integrating sphere was attached to a spectrophotometer (Shimadzu Corporation UV-3101PC), the reflectance when the BaSO ₄ white plate was 100% was measured at a wavelength of 550 nm, and this value was defined as the reflectance. The measurement was performed on the surface on the support layer B side. In the case of having different support layers B on the front and back, the measurement was performed on the support layer surface on the light guide plate side.

(2) Average particle size of void forming agent (inorganic particles) The particle size distribution of the particles was obtained with a particle size distribution meter (LA-950, manufactured by Horiba, Ltd.), and the particle size at d50 was defined as the average particle size.

(3) Average particle diameter of inert particles (d)
The support layer B part physically isolated from the film sample is placed in tetraethylene glycol, heated and refluxed for 2 hours to dissolve the matrix polyester resin component, and the remaining particles in the liquid are collected by filtration, washed and dried. did. Using an S-4700 field emission scanning electron microscope manufactured by Hitachi, Ltd., 100 particles were arbitrarily measured at a magnification of 1000 times, and an average particle diameter was determined. In addition, in the case of other than spherical shape, it was determined by (major axis + minor axis) / 2.

(4) Film thickness and layer structure A white reflective film is sliced with a microtome to obtain a cross section, and this cross section is observed at a magnification of 500 times using a Hitachi S-4700 field emission scanning electron microscope. The thickness of the whole film, the reflective layer A, and the support layer B was determined. In addition, the thickness of the whole film and the support layer B was made into the thickness of the part except the part which the inert particle protruded from the support layer surface. After determining the thickness (μm) of each layer, the thickness ratio of each layer was calculated.

(5) Calculation of Void Volume Ratio Calculated density was determined from the density and blending ratio of the polymer, additive particles, and other components of the layer for which void volume ratio was determined. At the same time, it was isolated by peeling off the layer, and the mass and volume were measured. The actual density was calculated from these, and the following formula was obtained from the calculated density and the actual density.
Void volume fraction = 100 × (1− (actual density / calculated density))
An example of how to obtain the void volume ratio is shown below.
For example, the component constituting the reflective layer A is polyethylene terephthalate (biaxial), the density is 1.39 g / cm ³ , the content is 48% by mass, the additive particles are barium sulfate, and the density is 4. When the content is 5 g / cm ³ and the content ratio is 52 mass%, the calculated density is as follows.
1.39 × 0.48 + 4.5 × 0.52 = 3.01 g / cm ³ (calculated)
Moreover, only the reflective layer A was isolated, the mass per unit volume was calculated | required, and the real density was calculated | required.
Actual density = mass of isolated reflective layer / volume of isolated reflective layer The volume of the reflective layer was obtained by cutting a sample into an area of 3 cm ² and measuring the thickness at the size with an electric micrometer (K-402B manufactured by Anritsu). The average value measured at 10 points was taken as the thickness and calculated as area × thickness.
Moreover, the mass of the isolated reflective layer was weighed with an electronic balance.
If the actual density is 1.29 g / cm ³ Void volume fraction = 100 × (1− (1.29 (actual density) /3.01 (calculated))
= 57%

(6) Melting point, crow transition temperature Using a differential scanning calorimeter (TA Instruments 2100 DSC), the measurement was performed at a heating rate of 20 ° C./min.

(7) Coating thickness of inert particles Using a microtome, a section sample was cut out from the epoxy-embedded film. At this time, attention was paid to the direction of inserting the blade so that the protrusions were not crushed. The cut surface of the section sample was observed at a magnification of 3000 times using a Hitachi S-4700 field emission scanning electron microscope.
Photographs were taken of 100 particle cross sections, and as shown in FIG. 1, parallel to the level lines (a) and (a) on the film surface and parallel to the straight lines (b) and (a) passing through the projection vertices in the photograph. Then, draw a straight line (c) passing through the top of the particle in the protrusion, measure the thickness (d) of the resin-coated portion at the protrusion apex from the interval (b) and (c), and use the average value of the particle The coating thickness was used.

(8) Ten-point average roughness (Rz) and protrusion frequency The protrusion profile on the film surface was cut with a three-dimensional roughness measuring device SE-3CKT (manufactured by Kosaka Laboratory Ltd.) with a cutoff of 0.25 mm and a measurement length of 1 mm. The projection profile was recorded at a scanning pitch of 2 μm, a scanning number of 100, and a height magnification of 1000 times and a scanning direction magnification of 200 times. In the obtained protrusion profile, 5 points from the highest peak (Hp) and 5 points from the lower valley (Hv) were taken, and the 10-point average roughness (Rz, unit: nm) was determined by the following formula. . For the analysis, a three-dimensional roughness analyzer SPA-11 (manufactured by Kosaka Laboratory Ltd.) was used.

Further, from the obtained projection profile (horizontal axis: projection height, vertical axis: projection profile of the number of projections), the number of projections having a height of 5 μm or more (pieces / m ² ) was obtained and used as the projection frequency.

(9) Evaluation of scratches on the light guide plate (scratchability evaluation) and particle dropout evaluation As shown in FIG. 3, an iron plate (length 200 mm × width 200 mm × thickness 3 mm) at the end of the handle portion (reference numeral 7 in FIG. 3) (FIG. 3). And a reflective film (reference numeral 9 in FIG. 3) with the evaluation surface facing upward is a portion of 25 mm from both ends in the width direction. Was attached so that it protruded from the iron plate (so that the central 200 mm × 200 mm portion overlapped the iron plate). At this time, the evaluation surface (support layer surface) of the reflective film was arranged outside. In addition, the 25 mm portion remaining at both ends in the width direction of the reflective film is folded back to the back side of the iron plate, and the end portion of the reflective film (the portion where the blade is inserted with a knife or the like at the time of sampling) has the effect of scraping the light guide plate. Eliminated.
Next, the light guide plate (with a size of at least 400 mm × 200 mm) with the dot surface up is fixed on a horizontal desk, and the evaluation film and the light guide plate are in contact with the reflection film fixed on the iron plate created above. As described above, the reflective film side is placed on the light guide plate with the surface facing downward, and a 500 g weight (reference numeral 10 in FIG. 3) is placed thereon, and fixed to the iron plate at a distance of 200 mm (400 mm × 200 mm region). The reciprocating film was moved 15 times at a speed of about 5 to 10 seconds. Then, on the surface of the light guide plate, the degree of shaving and the presence / absence of particles dropped off from the reflective film were observed using a 20-fold magnifier and evaluated according to the following criteria.
In the entire range of 400 mm × 200 mm rubbed on the light guide plate, if there are no scratches that can be observed with a loupe after 15 reciprocating movements, it is determined that “cannot be scraped” (scraping evaluation ○), and scratches that can be observed after 10 reciprocating movements. Although there were no scratches that could be observed after 15 reciprocating movements, “scratch was difficult” (shave evaluation Δ), and when there were scratches that could be observed after 10 reciprocations, “scraped” (scraping evaluation ×).
Moreover, after 15 reciprocating movements, if there was no white foreign matter that could be observed with a loupe in the entire range of 400 mm × 200 mm rubbed on the light guide plate, it was determined that “particles did not fall off” (dropout evaluation ○). In addition, when there is a white foreign matter that can be observed, the white foreign matter is observed with a microscope to confirm that it is an inert particle. If the number of dropped particles is 5 or less, “the particles are hardly dropped”. (Dropout evaluation Δ), and if 6 or more, “particles dropped out” (dropout evaluation ×).
In the evaluation, in order to suppress the influence of the dot size as much as possible, an area having a large dot size was selected as much as possible on the light guide plate, and the evaluation samples were aligned.

(10) Adhesion spot evaluation (adhesion evaluation)
Take out the chassis from the LED liquid crystal television (LG42LE5310AKR) manufactured by LG and place it on a horizontal desk so that the inside of the television is facing upward. On top of that, a reflective film of approximately the same size as the chassis is placed, with the support layer facing upward Further, a light guide plate and three optical sheets (two diffusion films and one prism) originally provided in the television were placed thereon. Next, an equilateral triangular base having three circular feet with a diameter of 5 mm as shown in FIG. 2 is placed in the area including the most severely uneven portion of the chassis within the plane, and a weight of 15 kg is further provided thereon. The area surrounded by these three legs was visually observed, and if there was no abnormally bright part, “no adhesion spots” (adhesion spots evaluation ○) was designated. If there is an abnormally bright part, place the DBEF sheet originally provided on the television on top of the three optical sheets and observe it in the same manner. When there was a spot (evaluation x), and when there was no abnormally bright part, it was set as "there was almost no adhesion spot" (evaluation (triangle | delta)). In addition, the area surrounded by the three legs was a substantially equilateral triangle having a side length of 10 cm.

(11) Amount of volatile organic solvent At room temperature (23 ° C.), 1 g of a film sample was placed in a 10 L fluororesin bag, and the inside was purged with pure nitrogen and sealed. Next, immediately from the nitrogen in the bag, 0.2 L and 1.0 L of nitrogen were collected in two analytical TENAX-TA collection tubes at a flow rate of 0.2 L / min. The mass of the organic solvent component contained in the collected nitrogen was quantified by HPLC, GCMS. The obtained value is converted into the amount in 10 L of nitrogen, and the mass of the organic solvent volatilized in 10 L of nitrogen is obtained from 1 g of the film sample, and the amount of volatile organic solvent (unit: ppm, based on the mass of the film sample) did. The aldehydes were quantified by HPLC by eluting the aldehyde derivatized product from the collection tube with acetonitrile. Moreover, when the value was different between HPLC and GCMS, the value of the more detected one was adopted.
Evaluation was made when the amount of the volatile organic solvent was 10 ppm or less.

[Production Example 1: Synthesis of isophthalic acid copolymerized polyethylene terephthalate 1]
136.5 parts by mass of dimethyl terephthalate, 13.5 parts by mass of dimethyl isophthalate (9 mol% with respect to 100 mol% of total acid components of the obtained polyester), 98 parts by mass of ethylene glycol, 1.0 part by mass of diethylene glycol , 0.05 parts by mass of manganese acetate and 0.012 parts by mass of lithium acetate were charged into a rectification column and a flask equipped with a distillation condenser, and heated to 150 to 240 ° C. with stirring to distill methanol to conduct a transesterification reaction. went. After methanol was distilled, 0.03 parts by mass of trimethyl phosphate and 0.04 parts by mass of germanium dioxide were added, and the reaction product was transferred to the reactor. Next, while stirring, the pressure in the reactor was gradually reduced to 0.3 mmHg and the temperature was raised to 292 ° C. to carry out a polycondensation reaction to obtain isophthalic acid copolymerized polyethylene terephthalate 1. The melting point of this polymer was 235 ° C.

[Production Example 2: Synthesis of isophthalic acid copolymerized polyethylene terephthalate 2]
Except for changing to 142.5 parts by mass of dimethyl terephthalate and 7.5 parts by mass of dimethyl isophthalate (5 mol% with respect to 100 mol% of the total acid component of the resulting polyester), the same as in Production Example 1 above. Thus, isophthalic acid copolymerized polyethylene terephthalate 2 was obtained. The melting point of this polymer was 245 ° C.

[Production Example 3: Preparation of particle master chip 1]
Using a part of the isophthalic acid copolymerized polyethylene terephthalate 1 obtained above and barium sulfate particles having an average particle diameter of 1.0 μm as a void forming agent, a NEX-T60 tandem extruder manufactured by Kobe Steel Co., Ltd. was used. The mixture was mixed so that the content of barium sulfate particles was 63% by mass with respect to the mass of the master chip, and extruded at a resin temperature of 260 ° C. to prepare inorganic particle master chip 1 containing barium sulfate particles.

[Production Examples 4 to 11: Creation of particle master chips 2 to 9]
Inert particles shown in Table 1 are added to the isophthalic acid copolymerized polyethylene terephthalate 2 obtained above, mixed so as to have the contents shown in Table 1, and extruded at a melting temperature of 235 ° C. 9 was created.

  In addition, Shin-Etsu Silicone KMP series was used as the silicone particles, and Sekisui Chemical Co., Ltd. MBX series was used as the acrylic particles.

[Example 1]
(Manufacture of white reflective film)
The isophthalic acid copolymerized polyethylene terephthalate 1 obtained above and the particle master chip 1 are used as a raw material for the reflective layer (A layer) so that the barium sulfate content is 45% by weight. Polymerized polyethylene terephthalate 2 and particle master chip 2 are mixed and used as raw materials for the support layer (B layer) so as to have the contents shown in Table 2, and are fed into an extruder, and B layer / A layer / B layer These layers were joined using a three-layer feed block device so as to have the layer structure, and formed into a sheet shape from a die while maintaining the laminated state. At this time, it adjusted with the discharge amount of each extruder so that the thickness ratio of B layer / A layer / B layer might become 10/80/10 after biaxial stretching. Further, this sheet was an unstretched film cooled and solidified with a cooling drum having a surface temperature of 25 ° C. This unstretched film is guided to an induction heating roll group, preheated to 73 ° C., and continuously irradiated with an infrared lamp from above and below the film so that the film surface temperature becomes 95 ° C. between two sets of nip rolls at 350% / second. The film was stretched 2.9 times in the longitudinal direction using the circumferential speed difference between the front and rear rolls at a stretching speed, and cooled with a roll group at 25 ° C. Next, while holding both ends of the film with clips, the film is led to a transverse stretching zone maintained at 110 ° C. through a preheating zone at 95 ° C., and the gap between the clips is widened to obtain a stretching speed of 5.8% / second in the transverse direction. The film was stretched 3.6 times. Then, heat setting is performed at 185 ° C. in the tenter, the width is set to 2%, the width is set in the horizontal direction at a temperature of 130 ° C., then both ends of the film are cut off, and the film is thermally relaxed at a longitudinal relaxation rate of 2%. After cooling, a biaxially stretched film having a thickness of 250 μm was obtained. The evaluation results of the obtained film are shown in Table 2.

[Examples 2-9, Comparative Examples 1-3, Reference Comparative Examples 1-3]
A film was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the form of the inert particles (particle master chip) added to the B layer, the layer structure of the film, and the stretching conditions were as shown in Tables 2 and 3. The evaluation results of the obtained film are shown in Tables 2 and 3.

  Since the white reflective film of the present invention suppresses scratching of the light guide plate and particle dropping is suppressed, the reflective film used in an edge light type backlight unit such as used in a liquid crystal display device or the like, for example. Can be suitably used.

4 Chassis 5 Reflective Film, Light Guide Plate, Optical Sheet Laminate 601 Equilateral Triangular Base 602 Weight 7 Handle Part 8 Iron Plate 9 Reflective Film 10 Weight 11 Light Guide Plate 1101 Dot

Claims (6)

A white reflective film having a reflective layer A and a support layer B made of a polyester resin composition containing inert particles having an average particle diameter (d) of 2 μm or more and 75 μm or less in the polyester resin,
The support layer B has at least one outermost layer of the white reflective film, and has a protrusion formed by the above-described inert particles on the surface of the support layer B that forms the outermost layer on the side opposite to the reflective layer A. ,
The protrusion frequency of 5 μm or more in height on the surface is 10 ⁶ to 10 ¹⁰ / m ² ,
The protrusion is configured such that the surface of the inert particle is coated with the polyester resin constituting the support layer B with a coating thickness of 50 nm or more and 10 μm or less.
White reflective film.   The white reflective film of Claim 1 whose ten-point average roughness (Rz) in the surface on the opposite side to the reflective layer A of the support layer B is less than 5 micrometers.   The white reflective film of Claim 1 or 2 whose content of the inert particle in the support layer B is 0.1-20 volume% on the basis of the volume of the support layer B. The white reflective film according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the average particle diameter (d) of the inert particles in the support layer B and the thickness (t) of the support layer B satisfy the following formula (1). .
0.2 ≦ d (μm) / t (μm) ≦ 2.5 (1)   The white reflective film of any one of Claims 1-4 whose amount of volatile organic solvents is 10 ppm or less.   The white reflective film of any one of Claims 1-5 used as a reflecting plate for edge light system backlight units.