JP3474618B2 - Elliptical polarizing plate and liquid crystal display device using the same - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a polarizing plate which can easily control the wavelength dispersion of birefringence, and an elliptically polarizing plate using the same.
In addition, the present invention relates to a liquid crystal display device having a good contrast.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Liquid crystal display devices have many features such as low voltage and low power consumption, which can be directly connected to an IC circuit, various display functions, and weight reduction. It is widely used as a display device for word processors and personal computers. Among them, a twisted nematic liquid crystal display device (hereinafter STN-LCD) having a twist angle of liquid crystal molecules of 160 ° or more has a larger capacity than a conventional twisted nematic liquid crystal display device (TN-LCD) having a twist angle of 90 °. Is possible and is currently the mainstream of liquid crystal display devices.

However, the STN-LCD has a problem that the displayed image is colored in blue or yellow (blue mode or yellow mode). For this reason, the contrast and visibility are low in black and white display, and colorization is extremely difficult. there were. So to compensate for this coloring,
A two-layer liquid crystal black-and-white or color display using a reverse twisted STN liquid crystal cell has been proposed. However, since a plurality of liquid crystal cells are used, the weight and volume of the display device increase, or the cost increases. There is another problem that the viewing angle characteristic is deteriorated such that the contrast sharply decreases with a slight change in the viewing angle or the background color changes.

In order to solve this problem, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 63-
No. 167303, No. 63-167304, No. 63-1
89804, 63-261302, 63-14.
9624, JP-A-1-201607 and 1-201.
608, 1-105217, JP-A-2-2853.
No. 03, No. 2-59702, No. 2-24406, No. 2-146002, No. 2-257103, JP-A-3.
-23404, 3-126012, 3-181.
As described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 905, No. 3-194503, etc., a method of using a retardation plate instead of the reverse twist STN liquid crystal has been proposed.

According to these methods, the coloring of the STN-LCD is significantly improved, the weight and volume of the display device itself is significantly reduced, and the cost is reduced, but the STN-LCD is reduced.
The viewing angle characteristics of were hardly improved.

Therefore, in order to improve this viewing angle characteristic,
JP-A-2-285303, JP-A-2-160204, EP-0482620A2, JP-A5-1579
The method of Japanese Patent No. 11 has been proposed.

Further, JP-A-2-256023, JP-A-3-141303, JP-A-3-14122, and JP-A-3-24.
In Japanese Patent No. 502, there has been proposed a method in which one film each having positive and negative intrinsic birefringence values or a laminated film is used as a retardation plate. By these methods, the change of the contrast depending on the viewing angle was reduced, and the viewing angle characteristics were improved.

Although these methods can greatly improve the viewing angle characteristics of conventional LCDs, they have a fast response LCD.
However, the front color and contrast could not be improved. As a method of compensating for the tint when this high-speed response LCD is viewed from the front and increasing the contrast, there is a method disclosed in JP-A-4-365002, Japanese Patent Application No. 4-28.
It is known to use a high wavelength dispersion type polymer film, specifically a polysulfone-based polymer, as described in Japanese Patent No. 1871. However, as described in JP-A-5-150116, since the polysulfone-based polymer film has a high Tg, it is costly, time-consuming, and difficult to newly develop a manufacturing method for performing heat deformation. . In addition, JP-A-2-120804
And JP-A-5-27119 describe a retardation plate in which wavelength dispersion is controlled by a laminate of birefringent films. According to the method, two birefringent films other than a polarizing plate are described. Is required, and the cost is high. Further, as in the example of JP-A-5-27119, in order to obtain a retardation plate having a high wavelength dispersion, a birefringent film having a high retardation value is required, and a retardation film in the film plane is required. -Difficulty in production, such as uniformity of section value or wrinkles during stretching.

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a large amount of elliptically polarizing plates which can easily improve the coloring and contrast of STN-LCD having a high-speed response at a low cost. Another object of the present invention is to provide a liquid crystal display device in which the background is colored and the contrast is improved by using the elliptically polarizing plate.

[0010]

Means for Solving the Problems The above-mentioned problems are (1) an elliptically polarizing plate in which a polarizing plate and a retardation film are laminated,
At least one protective film of the polarizing plate has a wavelength of 5
Retardation value measured with 90 nm light is 30 nm
An elliptically polarizing plate characterized by having a wavelength dispersion value of the retardation film of 1.00 or more, which is a plastic film made of triacetyl cellulose having a range of from 60 nm to 60 nm ; (2) the retardation film being uniaxial The elliptically polarizing plate according to (1), which is a stretched film; the elliptically polarizing plate according to (1), in which the uniaxially stretched film is a film made of a polycarbonate-based polymer; (3) the plastic film is stretched triacetyl A liquid crystal comprising a elliptically polarizing plate according to (1), which is a cellulose film; and the elliptically polarizing plate according to any one of (1) to (3), which is disposed on at least one side of a liquid crystal cell. Achieved by the display device.

That is, a retardation plate having a large wavelength dispersion of birefringence is most suitable for a fast response LCD.
It can be obtained by laminating birefringent films having different wavelength dispersion of birefringence. Regarding this laminated type, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Nos. 2-120804, 2-285304, 5-27118, 5-27119, and 5-45520 are available.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 1994-242242, polyvinyl alcohol and polycarbonate,
There is a description that wavelength dispersion is controlled by stacking polyvinyl alcohol and polymethyl methacrylate, polypropylene and polycarbonate and the like. However, when these are combined with a polarizer described below to form an elliptically polarizing plate, there is a direct phase difference to the polarizer due to a difference in thermal shrinkage between these two films, deterioration of polarizing ability of the polarizer due to humidity, and the like. There are many new problems to be developed in order to laminate plates into an elliptical polarizing plate, and at present, a protective film made of triacetyl cellulose (TAC) is attached to a polarizer for polarization. There is no method for producing an elliptically polarizing plate excellent in durability other than a plate and laminating a retardation plate on it to form an elliptically polarizing plate. When a polarizing plate having a three-layer structure in which TAC as a protective film is attached to both sides of a polarizer is combined with a retardation plate having a two-layer structure in which birefringent films having different wavelength dispersions of birefringence are laminated, As a result, at least five layers or more are formed, and it is difficult to stack five or more layers without defects such as bubbles, foreign matters, and scratches, and the cost becomes high.

When the TAC film is stretched, the wavelength dispersion characteristic represented by the following formula becomes 1.00 or less, and the wavelength dispersion value of polycarbonate, polystyrene, etc., which is currently known as a retardation film, is 1 or less. The desired high wavelength dispersion characteristics could be easily obtained simply by laminating the film with a film of 0.000 or more.

Chromatic dispersion characteristics: Re (450) / Re (590) Re (450): Retardation value measured with 450 nm light Re (590): Retardation value measured with 590 nm light

As described above, the TAC film of the present invention is characterized by having a low retardation, and can be obtained by uniaxial stretching. And TA
If the C film has a retardation value of 30 nm or more with respect to light of 590 nm, the wavelength dispersion characteristic equivalent to that of the polysulfone polymer film can be obtained by laminating it with a known polycarbonate retardation film. When the stretching ratio of TAC is increased as in the above-mentioned known examples, the uniformity of the retardation value in the film plane is lost, or the surface state is deteriorated due to wrinkles. Therefore, the upper limit of the retardation value is set to 60 nm or less. To do . Further, it is preferable that the thickness is 50 nm or less. The film made of triacetyl cellulose of the present invention may be a film of triacetyl cellulose alone, or may be an additive such as a plasticizer or a blend with another polymer. The polymer of the uniaxially stretched film used for the elliptically polarizing plate of the present invention is preferably a polymer having positive or negative intrinsic birefringence, and specific examples of the polymer having positive intrinsic birefringence include polycarbonate, polyarylate,
Polyethylene terephthalate, polyamide, polyimide, polysulfone, polyether sulfone and the like are preferable. As specific examples of the polymer having negative intrinsic birefringence, polystyrene, polystyrene copolymer, polymethylmethacrylate, etc. are preferable. A polymer having a large intrinsic birefringence and capable of easily forming a planar and uniform film by solution casting is preferable. Further, the above-mentioned polymer may be not only a homopolymer but also a copolymer, a derivative thereof, a blended product and the like.

The polarizer used in the present invention is not particularly limited, but generally, a film made of a hydrophilic polymer such as polyvinyl alcohol is treated with a dichroic dye such as iodine and stretched. Alternatively, it is preferably made by treating a plastic film such as vinyl chloride to orient the polyene. As shown in FIG. 1, the elliptically polarizing plate of the present invention is a laminate of the above-mentioned polarizing plate and a uniaxially stretched film, that is, a retardation film. The retardation film may be arranged so that various optical axes have appropriate angles. The lamination of these films is acrylic, SBR
It can be carried out using a transparent adhesive or pressure-sensitive adhesive such as a silicone-based or silicone rubber-based adhesive. The type of the adhesive or the like is not particularly limited. From the viewpoint of preventing changes in the optical properties of the constituent members, those that do not require a high temperature process at the time of curing or drying are preferred, and those that do not require a long curing treatment or drying time are preferred. By this method, triacetyl cellulose
By imparting a slight amount of retardation to the film made of glass, it becomes possible to color the high-speed responsive LCD and compensate for the contrast with the same configuration as the current elliptically polarizing plate.

The liquid crystal display device of the present invention comprises the above-mentioned elliptically polarizing plate provided on one side or both sides of the liquid crystal cell. Hereinafter, the invention will be described in detail with reference to Examples.

[0017]

Example Preparation of triacetyl cellulose film (HF-1) Triacetyl cellulose was dissolved in methylene chloride / methanol (= 92/8 wt% ratio) at a concentration of 13 wt% to prepare a plasticizer TPP. / BDP = 2/1 (where TPP;
Triphenylphosphate, BDP; biphenyldiphenylphosphate) was added to the triacetylcellulose in an amount of 15% by weight, and a triacetylcellulose film (HF-0) was obtained by a solution casting method. It was made. The retardation value of this film was 5 nm. HF-
0 was stretched by 30% at 140 ° C. to prepare a triacetylcellulose film (HF-1) having a retardation value (measured with light of 590 nm) of 30 nm.

Preparation of Retardation Film (CO-1) A 17% methylene chloride solution of polycarbonate having a weight average molecular weight of 80,000 was cast on a stainless steel band to give a residual volatile content of 3%. The film was longitudinally uniaxially stretched by 15% at a temperature of 158 ° C. to obtain a polycarbonate birefringent film (CO-1) having a retardation value (measured with light of 590 nm) of 410 nm. . Preparation of Retardation Film (CO-2) A 17% methylene chloride solution of polycarbonate having a weight average molecular weight of 80,000 was cast on a stainless steel band, and the residual volatile content became 3%. Polycarbonate birefringent film (CO-2) having a retardation value (measured with light of 590 nm) of 1300 nm was obtained by longitudinal 30% uniaxial stretching under the temperature condition of 158 ° C.

Production of polypropylene film (PO-1)
A polypropylene birefringent film (PO-1) having a retardation value (measured with light of 590 nm) of 900 nm was obtained by longitudinally uniaxially stretching a polypropylene film having a thickness of 100 μm by 90% at 140 ° C.

Preparation of elliptical polarizing plates 1, 2, 3 and moisture resistance
Thermal Evaluation Using the films produced in the above examples, elliptical polarizing plates-1, 2, and 3 were produced with the configuration shown in FIG. 2 and with the combination of A and B in Table 1, and 80 ° C./dry, 60 ℃ / 90
A durability test was performed for 500 hours under a temperature and humidity condition of%.
The results are shown in Table 1.

[0021]

[Table 1]

Evaluation by liquid crystal panel A liquid crystal display having a high-speed response was disassembled, and the elliptical polarizing plates-1, 2 and 3 were incorporated instead of the polarizing plate of the STN liquid crystal cell and the retardation film to prepare a liquid crystal panel. . Table 2 shows the evaluation results of the contrast (the higher the numerical value, the better) and the presence or absence of coloring of the obtained liquid crystal panel.

[0023]

[Table 2]

As can be seen from these results, the present invention makes it possible to improve the display quality by improving the contrast and reducing the coloring of a fast-response LCD at a very low cost and without significantly changing the conventional structure. .

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the configuration of an elliptically polarizing plate.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a combination of elliptically polarizing plates of Examples.

Claims (5)

(57) [Claims] 1. An elliptically polarizing plate in which a polarizing plate and a retardation film are laminated, and at least one protective film of the polarizing plate has a retardation value measured with light having a wavelength of 590 nm in a range of 30 nm to 60 nm. A plastic film made of acetyl cellulose,
An elliptically polarizing plate, wherein the retardation film has a wavelength dispersion value of 1.00 or more. 2. The elliptically polarizing plate according to claim 1, wherein the retardation film is a uniaxially stretched film. 3. The elliptically polarizing plate according to claim 2, wherein the uniaxially stretched film is a film made of a polycarbonate polymer. 4. The elliptically polarizing plate according to claim 1, wherein the plastic film is a stretched triacetyl cellulose film. 5. A liquid crystal display device comprising the elliptically polarizing plate according to claim 1 arranged on at least one side of a liquid crystal cell.