JPWO2014115897A1 - Manufacturing method of polarizing film - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention has a step of subjecting a polyvinyl alcohol-based resin film to a swelling treatment, a dyeing treatment, a crosslinking treatment and a washing treatment in this order, and two nip rolls are placed before or during any of these steps. In the method of producing a polarizing film that uses uniaxial stretching of the film, when the film subjected to any treatment is taken out of the treatment tank and transported to the next step, the liquid adheres to both sides of the film. In this method, the liquid on the surface in contact with the guide roll is removed by passing through the guide roll, and then the both ends in the width direction of the film are widened. According to this method, curling occurring at both end portions in the width direction of the film can be prevented, and folding or breaking of the film due to this can be prevented.

Description

  The present invention relates to a method for producing a polarizing film for use in a liquid crystal display device.

Conventionally, a polarizing film in which a dichroic dye is adsorbed and oriented on a polyvinyl alcohol-based resin film has been used. That is, an iodine polarizing film using iodine as a dichroic dye, a dye polarizing film using a dichroic dye as a dichroic dye, and the like are known. These polarizing films are usually used as polarizing plates by attaching a protective film such as triacetyl cellulose via an adhesive made of an aqueous solution of a polyvinyl alcohol-based resin on at least one side, preferably both sides thereof. Used in liquid crystal display devices such as monitors and mobile phones.
The polarizing film is produced by subjecting the polyvinyl alcohol-based resin film to swelling treatment, dyeing treatment, stretching treatment, crosslinking treatment (boric acid treatment) and washing treatment, and finally drying. At this time, the film is stretched with a difference in peripheral speed between nip rolls arranged before and after the treatment tank. Moreover, the conveyance direction of a film is changed with the guide roll arrange | positioned before and after a processing bath, or in a processing bath, and the film is introduce | transduced into and taken out from a processing bath.
In recent years, there is a tendency in the market for liquid crystal display devices to increase in size, thickness, weight, and cost of raw materials, and accordingly, a manufacturing method that can achieve widening and thinning of a polarizing film has been developed. Yes. For example, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-20633 (Patent Document 1), when a polarizing film is produced from a polyvinyl alcohol resin film having a thickness of 10 to 50 μm, the film is stretched while applying a tension of 1000 N / m or less. Thus, a method of manufacturing a polarizing film that achieves thin film weight reduction is disclosed.
However, when the thin polyvinyl alcohol resin film is subjected to swelling treatment, dyeing treatment, cross-linking treatment and washing treatment, after the film is taken out from each treatment tank and before draining both sides of the film with a nip roll, At both ends in the width direction, there is a problem that curling occurs due to the surface tension of the liquid adhering to the surface. For this reason, when draining with the subsequent nip roll, the film may be folded or broken at the curled portion when the film is sandwiched.

JP 2004-20633 A

Curling at both ends in the width direction of the film described above frequently occurs when the thickness of the polyvinyl alcohol-based resin film is reduced to 60 μm or less in order to meet the demand for a thinner and lighter polarizing film. It is a thing.
An object of the present invention is to prevent curling occurring at both end portions in the width direction of a polyvinyl alcohol-based resin film in a method for producing a polarizing film from a thin polyvinyl alcohol-based resin film, It is providing the manufacturing method of the polarizing film which can prevent a fracture | rupture.
When the present inventors produce a polarizing film from a thin polyvinyl alcohol-based resin film, when taking out the polyvinyl alcohol-based resin film from the treatment tank and transporting it to the next step, both ends in the width direction of the polyvinyl alcohol-based resin film The present inventors have found that a method for widening the portion is effective and have completed the present invention.
That is, the present invention has a step of subjecting a polyvinyl alcohol-based resin film having a thickness of 60 μm or less to a swelling treatment, a dyeing treatment, a crosslinking treatment and a washing treatment in this order, before or after any of these steps. Inside, a method for producing a polarizing film that performs uniaxial stretching of a film by utilizing a difference in peripheral speed between two nip rolls, wherein the film subjected to any of the above treatments is taken out of the treatment tank. When transported to the next step, the liquid on the surface in contact with the guide roll is removed by passing the guide roll in a state where the liquid has adhered to both surfaces of the film, and then the width of both ends of the film is widened. The manufacturing method of a polarizing film is provided.
As the guide roll used in the present invention, a roll having a function of widening a conveyed film can also be used. Specific examples of such a roll include an expander roll and a crown roll.
The process of widening both ends in the width direction of the film can be performed by a cross guider or a widening device such as a bar, a bend bar, an expander roll, and a crown roll.
According to the method for producing a polarizing film of the present invention, the occurrence of curling at both ends in the width direction of the polyvinyl alcohol-based resin film can be suppressed. Therefore, when the film comes into contact with the nip roll, the film is bent due to the curling of the film. It is possible to suppress engraving and breakage.
[Production method of polarizing film]
Specifically, the polarizing film is one in which a dichroic dye is adsorbed and oriented on a polyvinyl alcohol resin film. The polyvinyl alcohol resin used as a raw material is usually obtained by saponifying a polyvinyl acetate resin. This degree of saponification is usually about 85 mol% or more, preferably about 90 mol% or more, more preferably about 99 mol% or more. Examples of the polyvinyl acetate resin include polyvinyl acetate, which is a homopolymer of vinyl acetate, and copolymers of vinyl acetate and other monomers copolymerizable therewith. Examples of other copolymerizable monomers include unsaturated carboxylic acids, olefins, vinyl ethers, and unsaturated sulfonic acids. The degree of polymerization of the polyvinyl alcohol-based resin is usually about 1000 to 10000, preferably about 1500 to 5000.
These polyvinyl alcohol resins may be modified. For example, polyvinyl formal modified with aldehydes, polyvinyl acetal, polyvinyl butyral, and the like may be used.
In the present invention, an unstretched polyvinyl alcohol resin film (raw film) having a thickness of 60 μm or less, preferably about 10 to 50 μm, is used as a starting material for producing a polarizing film. Industrially, a film having a width of about 1500 to 6000 mm is practical.
The polarizing film is subjected to swelling treatment, dyeing treatment, crosslinking treatment and washing treatment in this order on the raw film, and before or during any of the treatment steps, is uniaxially stretched in a wet or dry manner, It is manufactured by finally drying. Hereinafter, the manufacturing method of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIG.
FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a preferred arrangement example of a production apparatus used in the method for producing a polarizing film according to the present invention. In this manufacturing apparatus, a raw film 10 made of a polyvinyl alcohol resin is unwound from a feeding roll 11 and sequentially passes through a swelling tank 13, a dyeing tank 15, a crosslinking tank 17 and a washing tank 19, and finally a drying furnace 21. It is configured to pass through.
Moreover, although the example which provided the swelling tank 13, the dyeing tank 15, the bridge | crosslinking tank 17, and the washing tank 19 one each was shown in FIG. 1, several processing tanks with respect to a certain process are shown as needed. May be provided. The manufactured polarizing film 23 is conveyed to the process of sticking the next protective film as it is. Hereinafter, processing performed in the present invention will be described.
(Swelling treatment)
The swelling treatment is performed for the purpose of removing foreign substances on the film surface, removing plasticizer in the film, imparting easy dyeability, and plasticizing the film. The processing conditions are determined within a range in which these objects can be achieved and in a range in which defects such as extreme dissolution and devitrification of the film do not occur.
When the original film 10 is first subjected to the swelling treatment, for example, the film is immersed in an aqueous solution of about 10 to 50 ° C., preferably about 20 to 40 ° C. The immersion time of the film is preferably about 30 to 300 seconds, more preferably about 60 to 240 seconds. Moreover, when swelling the film previously extended | stretched in gas, it is carried out by immersing a film in about 20-70 degreeC, Preferably about 30-60 degreeC aqueous solution, for example. The immersion time of the film is preferably about 30 to 300 seconds, more preferably about 60 to 240 seconds.
In the swelling treatment, the polyvinyl alcohol-based resin film swells in the width direction and tends to cause problems such as wrinkling of the film, so that known widening such as an expander roll, a spiral roll, a crown roll, a cross guider, a bend bar, a tenter clip, etc. It is preferable to transport the film while removing wrinkles of the film using an apparatus. Also, for the purpose of stabilizing the film transport in the bath, the water flow in the swelling bath is controlled by an underwater shower, or the EPC device (Edge Position Control device: detects the edge of the film to prevent the film from meandering. It is also useful to use a device together.
In the swelling treatment, the film also swells and expands in the running direction of the film. Therefore, when the film is not actively stretched, for example, the conveyance placed before and after the treatment tank in order to eliminate the slackness of the film in the conveyance direction. It is preferable to take measures such as controlling the speed of the roll. In addition, you may uniaxially stretch in the wet process to the raw film 10, and as a draw ratio in that case, it is 1.2 to 3 times normally, Preferably it is 1.3 to 2.5 times.
The treatment bath used in the swelling treatment includes pure water, boric acid (JP-A-10-153709), chloride (JP-A-06-281816), inorganic acid, inorganic salt, water-soluble organic solvent, alcohol It is also possible to use an aqueous solution to which, for example, about 0.01 to 10% by weight is added.
The polyvinyl alcohol-based resin film taken out from the swelling tank 13 is conveyed to the subsequent dyeing tank 15, but the liquid on the surface in contact with this is removed by passing through the guide roll 30. Moreover, after passing the guide roll 30, the nip roll 35 installed between the swelling tank 13 and the dyeing tank 15 is allowed to pass through, so that both sides of the film can be drained. Generally, curl is generated at the end of the film after it is taken out of the processing tank and before being passed through the nip roll 35. Therefore, the film is widened at both ends in the width direction of the film, which will be described later. It is effective to prevent this. The film draining process and the film widening process at both ends in the width direction can be appropriately performed after a dyeing process, a crosslinking process, and a washing process described later.
(Dyeing process)
The dyeing treatment is performed for the purpose of adsorbing and orienting the dichroic dye on the polyvinyl alcohol-based resin film. The processing conditions are determined within a range in which these objects can be achieved and in a range in which problems such as extreme dissolution and devitrification of the film do not occur.
When iodine is used as the dichroic dye, the treatment bath (dye bath) has, for example, a concentration of iodine / potassium iodide / water by weight ratio of about 0.003 to 0.3 / about 0.1 to 10 / An aqueous solution of 100 can be used. Instead of potassium iodide, other iodides such as zinc iodide may be used, or potassium iodide and other iodides may be used in combination. In addition, compounds other than iodide, for example, boric acid, zinc chloride, cobalt chloride and the like may coexist. When boric acid is added, it is distinguished from the crosslinking treatment described later in that it contains iodine. If the aqueous solution contains about 0.003 parts by weight or more of iodine with respect to 100 parts by weight of water, Can be considered. The temperature of the dyeing bath when dipping the film is about 10 to 45 ° C., preferably 20 to 35 ° C., and the dipping time of the film is about 30 to 600 seconds, preferably 60 to 300 seconds.
When a water-soluble dichroic dye is used as the dichroic dye, an aqueous solution having a concentration of dichroic dye / water = about 0.001 to 0.1 / 100 by weight can be used for the treatment bath. . In this treatment bath, a dyeing assistant or the like may coexist, and for example, an inorganic salt such as sodium sulfate or a surfactant may be contained. The dichroic dye may be used alone, or two or more dichroic dyes may be used in combination. The temperature of the dyeing bath when dipping the film is, for example, about 20 to 80 ° C., preferably 30 to 70 ° C., and the dipping time of the film is about 30 to 600 seconds, preferably about 60 to 300 seconds. .
When a polyvinyl alcohol resin film is subjected to swelling treatment, dyeing treatment, and crosslinking treatment in this order, the film is usually stretched in a dyeing tank 15. The film is stretched by a method such as providing a difference in peripheral speed between the nip rolls 35 disposed before and after the dyeing tank 15. The cumulative draw ratio up to the dyeing process (the draw ratio in the dyeing process when there is no drawing process before the dyeing process) is usually 1.6 to 4.5 times, preferably 1.8 to 4 times. If the draw ratio is less than 1.6, the frequency of film breakage increases, and the yield tends to deteriorate.
Also, in the dyeing process, in order to convey the polyvinyl alcohol resin film while removing the wrinkles of the film as in the swelling process, an expander roll, a spiral roll, a crown roll, a cross guider, a bend bar, etc. / Or can be installed at the doorway.
(Crosslinking treatment)
The cross-linking treatment is carried out in an aqueous solution containing about 1 to 10 parts by weight of boric acid with respect to 100 parts by weight of water for the purpose of water resistance and color adjustment (such as preventing the film from being bluish) by cross-linking. It is carried out by immersing a polyvinyl alcohol-based resin film dyed with a chromatic dye. When the dichroic dye used in the dyeing treatment is iodine, the treatment bath preferably contains iodide in addition to boric acid, and the amount thereof is 1 to 30 parts by weight with respect to 100 parts by weight of water. be able to. Examples of iodide include potassium iodide and zinc iodide. In addition, compounds other than iodide, for example, zinc chloride, cobalt chloride, zirconium chloride, sodium thiosulfate, potassium sulfite, sodium sulfate and the like may coexist.
In the crosslinking treatment, the concentration of boric acid and iodide and the temperature of the treatment bath can be appropriately changed according to the purpose. The crosslinking treatment for water resistance and the crosslinking treatment for adjusting the hue are not particularly distinguished, and are performed under the following conditions. The purpose of the cross-linking treatment is water resistance by cross-linking, and when the raw film made of polyvinyl alcohol resin is subjected to swelling treatment, dyeing treatment and cross-linking treatment in this order, the treatment bath has a concentration of boric acid / It can be an aqueous solution of iodide / water = 3 to 10/1 to 20/100. As needed, it may replace with boric acid and may use crosslinking agents, such as a glyoxal and glutaraldehyde, and may use boric acid and a crosslinking agent together. The temperature of the treatment bath is usually about 50 to 70 ° C., preferably 53 to 65 ° C., and the immersion time of the film is usually about 10 to 600 seconds, preferably 20 to 300 seconds, more preferably 20 to 200. Seconds. Moreover, when performing the dyeing | staining process and the crosslinking process in this order with respect to the polyvinyl alcohol-type resin film previously extended | stretched, the temperature of a crosslinking process bath is about 50-85 degreeC normally, Preferably it is 55-80 degreeC.
You may perform the crosslinking process for the purpose of hue adjustment after the crosslinking process for water resistance. The conditions for the crosslinking treatment for the purpose of adjusting the hue include, for example, when iodine is used as the dichroic dye, and the concentration is boric acid / iodide / water = 1-5 / 5-30 / 100 in terms of weight ratio. Can be used. The temperature of the treatment bath is usually about 10 to 45 ° C., and the immersion time of the film is usually about 1 to 300 seconds, preferably 2 to 100 seconds.
These crosslinking treatments may be performed a plurality of times, and are usually performed 2 to 5 times. In this case, the composition and temperature of each crosslinking treatment bath to be used may be the same or different as long as they are within the above range. The cross-linking treatment for water resistance by cross-linking and the cross-linking treatment for hue adjustment may be performed in a plurality of steps, respectively.
(Cleaning process)
The washing treatment is performed for the purpose of removing excess chemicals such as boric acid and iodine attached to the polyvinyl alcohol-based resin film after the crosslinking treatment. The washing treatment is performed, for example, by immersing a polyvinyl alcohol-based resin film subjected to crosslinking treatment for water resistance and / or color tone adjustment in water, or spraying water as a shower on the film, or using these in combination.
In FIG. 1, the example in the case of performing a washing | cleaning process by immersing a polyvinyl alcohol-type resin film in water was shown. The temperature of water in the washing treatment is usually about 2 to 40 ° C., and the immersion time is about 2 to 120 seconds. In the crosslinking treatment and the washing treatment, a widening roll can be used for the purpose of conveying the polyvinyl alcohol resin film while removing wrinkles.
(Process to widen both ends of the polyvinyl alcohol resin film in the width direction)
The process of widening both ends in the width direction of the polyvinyl alcohol-based resin film is a process for preventing curling and folding occurring at both ends in the width direction of the thin film. In the present invention, when the film is taken out from the treatment tank and conveyed to the next step after at least one of the swelling treatment, the dyeing treatment, the crosslinking treatment and the washing treatment, the liquid is applied to both surfaces of the film. By passing the guide roll in the attached state, the liquid on the surface in contact with the guide roll is removed, and a treatment for widening the both ends in the width direction of the polyvinyl alcohol-based resin film is performed. In the present specification, the treatment for widening both ends in the width direction of the polyvinyl alcohol-based resin film may be simply referred to as “widening treatment”.
Here, the curl which arises in the both ends of the width direction of a polyvinyl alcohol-type resin film is demonstrated first. As described in Japanese Patent No. 3429476 and Japanese Patent No. 3478534, the polyvinyl alcohol-based resin film is caused by the water absorption rate of the film in an environment such as high humidity or water when the film is stretched. The end may be curled, which may cause the film to bend or meander.
The curl at the edge of the film may occur after the film is taken out from the treatment tank in addition to the stretching under the above environment, and this is caused by the amount of liquid adhering to the film surface. Conceivable. For example, referring to FIG. 1, when the film taken out from the processing tank passes through the guide roll, the liquid adhering to one surface of the film by contact with the guide roll is removed. As a result, on the surface with a large amount of liquid adhering to the film (the surface that does not come into contact with the guide roll), the surface tension acting on the liquid is greater than that of the other surface. It is thought that.
Further, curling due to the amount of liquid adhering to the film surface may occur even when the film does not pass through the guide roll. In this case, for example, when the film is transported, the liquid adhering to the lower surface side (the surface facing the indoor floor direction) of the film naturally falls, and so on, on the upper surface side and the lower surface side of the film. This is thought to be due to the difference in the amount of liquid adhering to each other. As such an embodiment, for example, when the film is transported to the guide roll 30 after being taken out of the processing tank, it is transported at an angle that is not perpendicular to the liquid level of the processing bath. After taking out from a processing tank and passing the guide roll 30, the form etc. which spray the aqueous solution used for the last process or the aqueous solution used for the next process with respect to a film etc. are mentioned. Note that the aqueous solution used in the immediately preceding treatment may be the same as or different from the aqueous solution used in the immediately preceding treatment tank.
In addition, the phenomenon called the curl of the film edge part which arises after taking out this polyvinyl alcohol-type resin film from each processing tank becomes so remarkable that the thickness of a polarizing film is thin. When the raw film is thicker than 60 μm, curling hardly occurs due to the mechanical strength of the film.
Next, the process which widens the both ends of the width direction of the polyvinyl alcohol-type resin film prescribed | regulated by this invention is demonstrated. This treatment is performed before the polyvinyl alcohol-based resin film is taken out of the treatment tank and conveyed to the next step, before contacting the nip roll 35 installed immediately before the next step. FIG. 1 shows an example in which a treatment for widening both end portions in the width direction of the film is performed after the crosslinking treatment. This treatment is performed in a swelling tank 13, a dyeing tank 15, a crosslinking tank 17, and a washing tank 19. It can carry out after any of these processing tanks. Moreover, it can also carry out after a some processing tank as needed. As shown in FIG. 2, the widening treatment is particularly effective in widening both ends of the film in the width direction after passing through the guide roll 30 after the polyvinyl alcohol-based resin film is taken out of the treatment tank. is there. Thereby, it is possible to effectively prevent problems such as curling occurring at both ends in the width direction of the film and folding or breaking of the film due to curling at a location where the film contacts with the subsequent roll.
After the polyvinyl alcohol-based resin film is taken out from the processing tank, it passes through a guide roll 30 installed to support the film, is subjected to a widening process in the region L, and then passes through a nip roll 35 to be processed next. It is conveyed to the process (see FIG. 2).
The widening process performed in the region L is not particularly limited, and is performed, for example, by holding the end of the film with a cross guider. As another form, widening treatment is performed by correcting the curl at the film end using a widening device such as a bar, bend bar, expander roll, crown roll, etc. that can correct the curl at the film end in its shape. Is given.
Among the above widening devices, when using a bar, it is possible to widen the film end by placing one bar inclined at both ends of the film and pressing it against the film. it can. This bar may be arranged to push down the film from the upper surface of the film, or may be arranged to push up the film from the lower surface (back surface) of the film. The bar is preferably arranged so that the central part of the film to be conveyed is a horizontal plane, and the film is pushed down or pushed up from 0 to 50 mm from the horizontal plane, so that the end of the film is pushed down or pushed up from the horizontal plane by 5 to 50 mm. It is more preferable to arrange in the above. Moreover, it is preferable that this bar is disposed at an angle of 50 ° or less, preferably 5 to 30 °, from the film end portion toward the film center portion with respect to the traveling direction of the film. The length of contact between the bar and the film (length from the end of the film to the most advanced portion of the bar in contact with the film) is 10 to 500 mm, preferably 20 to 300 mm. If this distance is too long, it is difficult to adjust the film end to a position where the film can be widened, and there is a concern that the bar will be bent by weight. On the other hand, if it is too short, the effect of the widening process cannot be sufficiently obtained.
The bar may be selected from various materials such as stainless steel, rubber and sponge, and may be non-rotating or rotating. The shape of the bar is preferably cylindrical, but the surface in contact with the film only needs to be a curved surface. When a cylindrical bar is used, the diameter is about 5 to 100 mm, preferably 10 to 50 mm. It is preferable because it can be smoothly conveyed. Also, the tip of the bar is preferably curved. The length of a bar should just be a grade which can perform a widening process to a film edge part, and can be about 50-1000 mm, Preferably it can be set to 100-500 mm.
In the present invention, an embodiment using an expander roll as the guide roll 30 can also be suitably exemplified. In this case, for example, a combination of an expander roll and a cross guider, or a combination of an expander roll and an expander roll is used. Moreover, in this invention, two or more widening processes can also be used together. As an example, an embodiment in which the widening process is performed before the guide roll 30, and then the widening process is performed after the guide roll 30, and an embodiment in which two or more widening processes are performed after the guide roll 30 can be cited. .
(Drying process)
After the washing treatment or the above widening treatment, the polarizing film can be produced by drying the polyvinyl alcohol-based resin film. The film can be dried in the drying furnace 21 at a temperature of about 30 to 100 ° C. for about 30 to 600 seconds, for example.
(Stretching process)
As described above, the uniaxial stretching of the film can be performed before or during any one of the swelling treatment, the dyeing treatment, the crosslinking treatment, and the washing treatment, and may be performed only in one stretching step. However, it may be performed in two or more steps. When performing by two or more processes, a well-known extending | stretching method is employable except having at least 1 extending process. Known stretching methods include inter-roll stretching in which stretching is performed with a difference in peripheral speed between two nip rolls that transport the film, hot roll stretching as described in Japanese Patent No. 2731813, tenter stretching, and the like. Of course, the stretching step may be performed a plurality of times. The order of the steps is basically as described above, but there is no restriction on the number of treatment baths or treatment conditions.
In the embodiment of the present invention, the final cumulative draw ratio of the polarizing film is usually about 4.5 to 7 times, preferably about 5 to 6.5 times.
(Other processes)
In addition, processes other than those described above can be added for other purposes. Examples of treatments that can be added include immersion treatment (complementary color treatment) in an aqueous iodide solution that does not contain boric acid, or immersion in an aqueous solution that does not contain boric acid and contains zinc chloride, etc. Treatment (zinc treatment).
Thus, the thickness of the polarizing film obtained is thinner than an original film, for example, is about 5-30 micrometers.
[Polarizer]
A polarizing plate can be obtained by pasting a protective film on at least one surface of the polarizing film thus produced via an adhesive. Examples of the protective film include a film made of an acetyl cellulose resin such as triacetyl cellulose and diacetyl cellulose, a film made of a polyester resin such as polyethylene terephthalate, polyethylene naphthalate and polybutylene terephthalate, and a film made of a polycarbonate resin. , A film made of a cycloolefin resin, an acrylic resin film, and a polypropylene resin film.
In order to improve the adhesiveness between the adhesive and the polarizing film and / or protective film, the bonding surface of the polarizing film and / or protective film is subjected to corona treatment, flame treatment, plasma treatment, ultraviolet irradiation, primer coating treatment, Surface treatment such as crystallization treatment may be performed.
Although the adhesive agent which bonds a polarizing film and a protective film will not be restricted especially if both can be adhere | attached, what satisfy | fills sufficient adhesive force and transparency is selected. From these points, an ultraviolet curable adhesive and a water-based adhesive are used for bonding the polarizing film and the protective film. Examples of the water-based adhesive include, for example, an aqueous solution of a polyvinyl alcohol resin, an aqueous solution in which a crosslinking agent is blended, and a urethane emulsion adhesive.
The ultraviolet curable adhesive may be a mixture of an acrylic compound and a photo radical polymerization initiator, a mixture of an epoxy compound and a photo cationic polymerization initiator, or the like. Alternatively, a cationic polymerizable epoxy compound and a radical polymerizable acrylic compound may be used in combination, and a photo cationic polymerization initiator and a photo radical polymerization initiator may be used in combination as an initiator.
When an ultraviolet curable adhesive is used, the film is laminated through the adhesive, and then the adhesive is cured by irradiating ultraviolet rays. The ultraviolet light source is not particularly limited, but preferably has a light emission distribution at a wavelength of 400 nm or less. Specifically, the low pressure mercury lamp, the medium pressure mercury lamp, the high pressure mercury lamp, the ultrahigh pressure mercury lamp, the chemical lamp, the black light lamp, and the microwave excitation Mercury lamps and metal halide lamps are preferably used.
The light irradiation intensity for curing the ultraviolet curable adhesive is appropriately determined depending on the composition of the adhesive and is not particularly limited. However, the irradiation intensity in the wavelength region effective for activating the polymerization initiator is 0.1 to 6000 mW / cm ² It is preferable that By appropriately selecting the irradiation intensity from this range, the reaction time does not become too long, and the yellowing of the adhesive and the deterioration of the polarizing film due to the heat radiated from the light source and the heat generated when the adhesive is cured are suppressed. Can do. The light irradiation time is also selected according to the adhesive to be cured and is not particularly limited, but the integrated light amount expressed as the product of the irradiation intensity and the irradiation time is 10 to 10,000 mJ / cm. ² It is preferable to set so that. By appropriately selecting the integrated light quantity from this range, a sufficient amount of active species derived from the polymerization initiator can be generated to surely advance the curing reaction, and the irradiation time does not become too long, and good productivity can be maintained. The thickness of the adhesive layer after curing is usually 0.1 to 10 μm, more preferably 0.2 to 4 μm.
When curing UV curable adhesives for polarizing films and films containing protective films by UV irradiation, the polarizing film functions such as polarization degree, transmittance and hue, and transparency of the protective film do not deteriorate. It is preferable to perform curing under conditions.
When using an aqueous adhesive, for example, apply the adhesive uniformly on the surface of the film, or pour it between two films, overlap the two films through the coating layer, and bond them with a roll or the like. Can be used. After drying, it may be further cured at room temperature or slightly higher temperature, for example, about 20 to 45 ° C. The thickness of the adhesive layer is appropriately selected from the range of about 0.001 to 5 μm depending on the type of adhesive and the combination of two films to be bonded. Preferably it is 0.01 micrometer or more, Preferably it is 2 micrometers or less.

本発明の製造方法により偏光フィルムを製造した実施例１、４及び５と、実施例１と同じポリビニルアルコールフィルム（原反フィルム）を用いて本発明の製造方法に該当しない方法で偏光フィルムを作成した比較例１の比較から、フィルムを処理槽から取り出した後、ガイドロール又はエキスパンダーロールを用いて液切りを行った後、フィルム幅方向に拡幅処理を施すことにより、フィルム端部に生じる折れ込みが抑制されていることがわかる。また、実施例１よりも膜厚の薄い原反フィルムを使用した実施例２、３及び６の結果から、本発明は、膜厚が薄く折れ込みが発生しやすい製造条件においても、外観や生産性に優れる偏光フィルムが製造できるという点で有効であることがわかる。Hereinafter, although the more concrete form of this invention is demonstrated below, this invention is not restrict | limited at all by these Examples.
[Example 1]
A 60 μm-thick polyvinyl alcohol film (trade name “Kuraray Vinylon VF-PE # 6000” manufactured by Kuraray Co., Ltd., polymerization degree 2400, saponification degree 99.9 mol% or more) with swelling at 30 ° C. in pure water The film was immersed in the bath for 100 seconds while maintaining a tension state so that the film did not loosen, and the film was sufficiently swollen. Next, uniaxial stretching is performed while immersing in an aqueous solution (dyeing tank) containing iodine and potassium iodide, and a crosslinking treatment for the purpose of water resistance is performed, so that boric acid / potassium iodide / water has a weight ratio of 4. 4/12/100 55 ° C. aqueous solution (first cross-linking bath), and then immersed in an aqueous solution (second cross-linking bath) of the same composition set at 59 ° C. Uniaxial stretching was performed until the magnification became 5.5 times. Thereafter, in order to perform a crosslinking treatment for adjusting the hue, boric acid / potassium iodide / water was immersed in a 40 ° C. aqueous solution (complementary color bath) having a weight ratio of 2.9 / 9/100, and then the 12 ° C. It was immersed in a cleaning tank containing pure water and dried at 70 ° C. for 3 minutes to produce a polarizing film. At this time, the film is transported on the outlet side of the complementary color tank as shown in FIG. 2, and the film taken out from the complementary color tank is passed through the guide rolls to the both ends in the film width direction by the cross guider. Widening processing is applied. As a result of producing a polarizing film by this method, during the operation for 24 hours, the film was not bent or cut due to this, and there was no film loss.
[Example 2]
Example 1 except that a polyvinyl alcohol film having a thickness of 50 μm (trade name “Kuraray Vinylon VF-PE # 5000” manufactured by Kuraray Co., Ltd., polymerization degree 2400, saponification degree 99.9 mol% or more) was used. Similarly, a polarizing film was produced. As a result of producing a polarizing film by this method, during the operation for 24 hours, the film was not bent or cut due to this, and there was no film loss.
Example 3
Using a 30 μm-thick polyvinyl alcohol film (trade name “Kuraray Vinylon VF-PE # 3000” manufactured by Kuraray Co., Ltd., polymerization degree 2400, saponification degree 99.9 mol% or more) after the complementary color tank of Example 1 In addition to the widening treatment to be applied, on the exit side of the swelling tank and the dyeing tank, the film taken out from the swelling tank and the dyeing tank passes through the expander roll instead of the guide roll, and then the both ends in the film width direction by the cross guider A polarizing film was produced in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the manufacturing apparatus was arranged so that the part was subjected to the widening process. As a result of producing a polarizing film by this method, during the operation for 24 hours, the film was not bent or cut due to this, and there was no film loss.
Example 4
Example 1 is the same as Example 1 except that the polyvinyl alcohol film taken out from the complementary color tank passes through the expander roll and is then subjected to a widening process at both ends in the film width direction by a cross guider. Thus, a polarizing film was produced. As a result of producing a polarizing film by this method, during the operation for 24 hours, the film was not bent or cut due to this, and there was no film loss.
Example 5
Example 1 is the same as Example 1 except that the polyvinyl alcohol film taken out from the complementary color tank passes through the guide roll and is then subjected to a widening process at both ends in the film width direction by the expander roll. Thus, a polarizing film was produced. As a result of producing a polarizing film by this method, during the operation for 24 hours, the film was not bent or cut due to this, and there was no film loss.
Example 6
The polyvinyl alcohol film taken out from the swelling tank and the dyeing tank passes through the expander roll, and then the manufacturing apparatus is arranged so that the widening process is performed on both ends in the film width direction by a stainless steel bar. A polarizing film was produced in the same manner as in Example 3. The stainless steel bar having a length of 200 mm and a diameter of 25 mm is used, and the film is pushed down by 20 mm so as to be at an angle of 20 ° from the end of the film to the center of the film in the film traveling direction. Arranged. As a result of producing a polarizing film by this method, during the operation for 24 hours, the film was not bent or cut due to this, and there was no film loss.
[Comparative Example 1]
A polarizing film was produced in the same manner as in Example 1 except that no cross guider was installed. At the end of the polyvinyl alcohol film, a fold of 7 mm on one side occurred, and the fold occurred at the time of drying. As a result of producing a polarizing film by this method, the film was cut three times during the operation for 24 hours, and the polarizing film was produced, but the film was folded, and the productivity and efficiency were low. .
[Comparative Example 2]
A polarizing film was produced in the same manner as in Example 3 except that no cross guider was installed. As a result of producing a polarizing film by this method, the end of the polyvinyl alcohol film is folded 7 mm on one side at the exit of the swelling tank and the dyeing tank where the film is stretched, and stretched in the second crosslinking tank. Since the film was frequently cut, a polarizing film could not be produced.
The above Examples and Comparative Examples are summarized in Table 1.

Using Examples 1, 4 and 5 in which a polarizing film was produced by the production method of the present invention and the same polyvinyl alcohol film (raw film) as in Example 1, a polarizing film was prepared by a method not corresponding to the production method of the present invention. From the comparison of Comparative Example 1, after taking out the film from the processing tank, after performing draining using a guide roll or an expander roll, folding is performed in the film width direction to cause folding at the end of the film. It can be seen that is suppressed. Further, from the results of Examples 2, 3 and 6 using a raw film having a film thickness thinner than that of Example 1, the present invention has an appearance and production even under manufacturing conditions where the film thickness is thin and folds are likely to occur. It turns out that it is effective at the point that the polarizing film excellent in property can be manufactured.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of curling at both ends in the width direction of the polyvinyl alcohol-based resin film. Therefore, when the film comes into contact with the nip roll, the folding or breaking caused by the curling of the film is suppressed. It becomes possible. Since the polarizing film obtained by the manufacturing method of this invention is used suitably for a liquid crystal display device, this invention is very useful industrially.

FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a preferred arrangement example of apparatuses in a method for producing a polarizing film.
FIG. 2 is an explanatory view showing a widening process applied to both ends of the film after the film is taken out from the processing tank.

10: Raw film of polyvinyl alcohol resin,
11 ... Feed roll,
13 ... swelling tank,
15 …… Dyeing tank,
17 …… Crosslinking tank
19 …… Cleaning tank,
21 …… Drying furnace,
23 …… Polarizing film,
30 …… Guide roll,
35 …… Nip roll,
L: A region where the film is widened at both ends in the width direction of the film.

Claims (5)

A polyvinyl alcohol resin film having a thickness of 60 μm or less has a step of performing a swelling treatment, a dyeing treatment, a crosslinking treatment and a washing treatment in this order, and before or during any of these steps, A method of manufacturing a polarizing film that performs uniaxial stretching of a film using a peripheral speed difference between nip rolls,
When the film subjected to any of the above treatments is taken out of the treatment tank and conveyed to the next step, the surface of the surface in contact with the guide roll by passing the guide roll in a state where the liquid is attached to both surfaces of the film. Remove the liquid,
Then, the manufacturing method of the polarizing film characterized by performing the process which expands the both ends of the width direction of a film.   The manufacturing method of the polarizing film of Claim 1 with which the process which expands the both ends of the width direction of a film is given using a cross guider.   The method for producing a polarizing film according to claim 1, wherein the treatment for widening both end portions in the width direction of the film is performed using a widening device selected from the group consisting of a bar, a bend bar, an expander roll, and a crown roll.   The process for widening both ends in the width direction of the film is performed after at least one process selected from the group consisting of a swelling process, a dyeing process, a crosslinking process and a washing process. A method for producing a polarizing film.   The manufacturing method of the polarizing film in any one of Claims 1-4 which uses an expander roll as a guide roll.

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