Patent Application
20150020745
The present invention relates to cover members for exhibits or display elements and exhibition cases, frames, and display devices including the cover members used therein.
When an exhibit, such as a thing worthwhile in a particular field, an academic material or a work of art, is exhibited in a gallery, a museum or the like, the exhibit may get soiled, may deteriorate or may be damaged or broken by a deliberate or accidental application of an external force.
To prevent the above events, the exhibit may be protected by a transparent cover member. However, a reflected image may appear on the surface of glass or resin constituting the cover member, which presents a problem of difficulty viewing the exhibit.
In mobile devices, such as smartphones, mobile personal computers, and handheld gaming devices, a display element is protected by a transparent glass sheet or the like. However, reflection of sunlight or fluorescent light may appear on the transparent sheet to make an image of the display element, such as liquid crystal, difficult to see.
A principal object of the present invention is to provide a cover member for an exhibit or display element which can protect an exhibit, such as a thing worthwhile in a particular field, an academic material or a work of art, a display element of a mobile device, such as a smartphone, a mobile personal computer or a handheld gaming device, or a display element of a car navigation system, a stationary gaming machine or the like, and concurrently make the exhibit or the display element visible as if nothing existed between the exhibit or the display element and the viewer; and a exhibition case, a frame, and a display device each including the cover member used therein.
A cover member for an exhibit or display element according to the present invention includes a transparent substrate and an antireflection film formed on at least one surface of the transparent substrate and has a luminous reflectance of 0.5% or less.
The cover member for an exhibit or display element according to the present invention preferably has an ultraviolet transmittance of 30% or less.
The antireflection film preferably has an ultraviolet transmittance of 30% or less.
The antireflection film is preferably a film in which low-refractive index layers and high-refractive index layers are alternately stacked. In this case, an outermost layer of the film is preferably formed of a SiO2 film. Furthermore, the SiO2 film preferably contains Al2O3 for the purpose of increasing the chemical durability. The Al2O3 content in the SiO2 film is preferably in a range of 1 to 20% by mass. If the Al2O3 content is too small, the effect of increasing the chemical durability is difficult to achieve sufficiently. On the other hand, if the Al2O3 content is too large, the refractive index of the film rises, which may impair the antireflection effect.
An exhibition case according to the present invention includes a base and a cover member secured to the base to contain and protect an exhibit set on the base, wherein the cover member is formed of a cover member which includes a transparent substrate and an antireflection film formed on at least one surface of the transparent substrate and has a luminous reflectance of 0.5% or less.
In the exhibition case according to the present invention, the cover member may have a curved surface.
A frame according to the present invention includes a frame member and a cover member secured to the frame member to avoid contact with an exhibit contained therein, wherein the cover member includes a transparent substrate and an antireflection film formed on at least one surface of the transparent substrate and has a luminous reflectance of 0.5% or less.
A display device according to the present invention includes a container which contains a display element and a cover member, wherein the cover member includes a transparent substrate and an antireflection film formed on at least one surface of the transparent substrate and has a luminous reflectance of 0.5% or less.
The display device according to the present invention may be formed so that the display element and the cover member are fixedly bonded together through a resin film.
In the display device according to the present invention, the display element may be provided in a region of the display device and the cover member may be provided in a partial region of the display device to cover the display element.
In an aquarium according to the present invention, the cover member according to claim 1 is provided on at least a portion of a sidewall of the aquarium. The cover member may be removably provided.
The present invention can provide a cover member which makes an exhibit or display element visible as if nothing existed between the object and the viewer and protect the exhibit or display element.
a) is a perspective view of an exhibition case including a cover member according to a first embodiment used therein and
a) is a vertical cross-sectional view of an exhibition case including a cover member according to a second embodiment used therein and
a) is a vertical cross-sectional view of a display device including a cover member according to a fourth embodiment used therein and
Hereinafter, a description will be given of examples of preferred embodiments for working of the present invention. However, the following embodiments are simply illustrative. The present invention is not at all limited to the following embodiments.
Throughout the drawings to which the embodiments and the like refer, elements having substantially the same functions will be referred to by the same reference signs. The drawings to which the embodiments and the like refer are schematically illustrated, and the dimensional ratios and the like of objects illustrated in the drawings may be different from those of the actual objects. Different drawings may have different dimensional ratios and the like of the objects. Dimensional ratios and the like of specific objects should be determined in consideration of the following descriptions.
A cover member for an exhibit or display element according to this embodiment includes a transparent substrate which can protect an exhibit or display element from soiling, deterioration, breakage, and so on.
The transparent substrate is formed of glass, resin or the like having a high visible light transmittance. The transparent substrate is preferably made of glass from the viewpoint of weather resistance, light resistance, adherence to an antireflection film, gas barrier properties, and so on. Examples of a material for the glass that can be used include soda-lime glasses, borosilicate glasses, aluminosilicate glasses, alkali-free glasses, thermally tempered glasses, chemically strengthened glasses, and low-expansion crystallized glasses. Examples of the shape of the transparent substrate that can be used include a sheet, a box, a curved sheet, and a cylinder.
The thicker the transparent substrate, the greater its strength. However, in making the transparent substrate from glass, greater thickness tends to give greater weight. Therefore, from the aspect of weight reduction, the transparent substrate is preferably as thin as possible. Particularly, when the transparent substrate (glass sheet) has a thickness of 10 μm to 0.3 mm, this is preferred because the substrate has flexibility, can form a curved surface, and can reduce incident light on the end surfaces and reflected light from the end surfaces. The more preferred thickness of the transparent substrate is 20 μm to 0.2 mm and the still more preferred is 50 μm to 0.1 mm. When the glass is in the shape of a sheet, a transparent resin sheet may be bonded to the surface of the glass sheet for the purpose of reinforcing it. Furthermore, when the surface roughness of the glass sheet is 50 nm or less in terms of Ra, this is preferred because light scattering can be reduced.
Examples of a usable method for forming the glass sheet constituting the transparent substrate include a well-known overflow downdraw process, slot downdraw process, float process, and roll-out process. Among others, the overflow downdraw process is suitable for providing a less warped, smooth (small surface roughness), small thickness glass sheet.
An antireflection film is formed on at least one surface of the transparent substrate and the cover member has a luminous reflectance of 0.5% or less by the effect of the antireflection film. Therefore, even when an exhibit or display element is protected by this cover member, the exhibit or display element becomes visible as if nothing existed between the exhibit or display element and the viewer.
In forming an antireflection film on one surface of the transparent substrate, the formation of the antireflection film on the opposite surface to the exhibit or display element (the surface close to the viewer) is preferred because the influence of reflection on the transparent substrate is smaller and therefore a desired luminous reflectance can be more easily achieved. When antireflection films are formed on both surfaces of the transparent substrate, the luminous reflectance can be more easily reduced. However, in this case, an antireflection film also lies on the surface of the cover member close to the exhibit or display element. If the exhibit or display element is in close contact with the antireflection film, it may be damaged or soiled. Therefore, a certain distance is preferably provided between them.
For the cover member for a display element, such as liquid crystal, when the display element and the cover member are fixedly bonded with a resin film or the like, the antireflection film is sufficient if it formed only on the opposite surface of the transparent substrate to the exhibit or display element (the surface thereof close to the viewer). However, when the display element and the cover member are spaced from each other without being bonded together, the antireflection films should preferably be formed on both surfaces of the transparent substrate. Furthermore, in this case, an antireflection film is preferably further formed on the surface of the display element close to the viewer.
The luminous reflectance is the chromaticity Y from the tristimulus values defined in JIS Z 8701 (1999) and the chromaticity Y can be determined by measuring the reflectance of the surface close to the viewer using a spectro-photometer U-4100 manufactured by Hitachi, Ltd. and calculating the chromaticity Y according to the above definition of JIS. Here, the field of view is 10°.
The antireflection film is preferably made of an inorganic material and more preferably formed of, for example, alternating films of low-refractive index layers and high-refractive index layers. The alternating films of low-refractive index layers and high-refractive index layers are preferably constituted by 8 to 40 layers in total number on both surfaces. If the total number of layers is smaller than eight, a desired luminous reflectance cannot be achieved. If the total number of layers is greater than 40, this makes the layers easy to delaminate and is not economical. Particularly, when the alternating films of low-refractive index layers and high-refractive index layers are constituted by 10 layers or more in total number on both surfaces, a cover member with a luminous reflectance of 0.2% or less becomes likely to be obtained. Furthermore, when the alternating films are constituted by 14 layers or more in total number, this is more preferred because a cover member with a luminous reflectance of 0.16% or less becomes likely to be obtained. From the viewpoint of reducing the warpage of the transparent substrate, the antireflection films on both surfaces are preferably equal to each other in number of layers and more preferably equal to each other also in material and thickness of each layer.
In forming the alternating films on a single surface, the number of layers is preferably 4 to 20.
The material for the low-refractive index layer is preferably one selected from the group consisting of silicon oxide, aluminum oxide, and magnesium fluoride and the total physical thickness of the low-refractive index layers on each surface is preferably 100 nm to 700 nm. The material of the high-refractive index layer is preferably one selected from the group consisting of silicon nitride, aluminum nitride, zirconium oxide, niobium oxide, tantalum oxide, hafnium oxide, titanium oxide, tin oxide, and zinc oxide and the total physical thickness of the high-refractive index layers on each surface is preferably 50 nm to 250 nm.
Examples of a usable method for forming the antireflection film on the transparent substrate include sputtering, vacuum deposition, dipping, spin coating, ion plating, and CVD. Particularly, the use of sputtering is preferred because the antireflection film has a uniform thickness, strong adherence to the transparent substrate, and high film hardness.
The cover member of the present invention is suitable as a cover member for an exhibition case, a frame, and a display device. In using the cover member as that for an exhibition case, a plurality of cover members can be used or a combination of a curved cover member and a flat cover member can be used. In using the plurality of cover members, they may be fixedly bonded together with an adhesive or may be joined together by frames.
The cover member of the present invention may be marked in order to distinguish between the front and back surfaces. Furthermore, to ensure safety to avoid that the viewer unawarely bumps into the cover member, a region free of antireflection film may be formed on a portion of the cover member or the cover member may be marked (spotted).
The cover member of the present invention preferably has an ultraviolet transmittance of 30% or less and more preferably has an ultraviolet transmittance of 20% or less. In these cases, the reaching of ultraviolet rays to the exhibit or the like can be reduced by the cover member, so that the deterioration of the exhibit or the like due to ultraviolet rays can be reduced. The term “ultraviolet rays” used herein refers to light within a wavelength range of 280 nm to 380 nm.
To reduce the ultraviolet transmittance of the cover member, at least one of the transparent substrate and the antireflection film preferably blocks ultraviolet rays and both the transparent substrate and the antireflection film more preferably block ultraviolet rays. The transparent substrate preferably has an ultraviolet transmittance of 30% or less and more preferably 20% or less. The antireflection film preferably has an ultraviolet transmittance of 30% or less and more preferably 20% or less.
a) shows an exhibition case 10 for use in containing and exhibiting an exhibit 1, such as a work of art. The exhibition case 10 includes a base 2 having a setting surface and a cover member 3 for use in containing and protecting an exhibit 1 set on the base 2. The cover member 3 has the shape of a box in which four side sheets 31 and a single top sheet 32 are bonded and fixed. Each of the four side sheets 31 is, as shown in
The antireflection film 31b is, as shown in Table 1, 16-layered alternating films of low-refractive index films made of SiO2 and high-refractive index films made of Nb2O5 (32 layers in total on both surfaces), wherein a high-refractive index film of Nb2O5 is formed directly over the glass sheet 31a and a low-refractive index film of SiO2 is formed as the outermost layer. The luminous reflectance of the side sheets 31 was 0.12%. Therefore, no reflected image appeared on the surfaces of the side sheets 31 of the cover member 3 and the exhibit 1 could be seen as if nothing had existed between the exhibit 1 and the viewer. The low-refractive index films and high-refractive index films are deposited by reactive sputtering.
a) shows a display device 50 in which a display element 41, such as liquid crystal display panel, is incorporated. The display device 50 is composed of a display element 41, a cover member 43 fixedly bonded to the display element 41 through a resin film 44, and a container 42 containing the display element 41 and the cover member 43. The cover member 43 is, as shown in
As shown in Table 2, the antireflection film is six-layered alternating films of low-refractive index films made of SiO2 and high-refractive index films made of Nb2O5, wherein a high-refractive index film of Nb2O5 is formed directly over the glass sheet 43a and a low-refractive index film of SiO2 is formed as the outermost layer. The luminous reflectance of the cover member 43 was 0.16%. Because the display device 50 has the structure as described above, no reflected image appeared on the surface of the cover member 43 and the display element 41 could be seen as if nothing had existed between the display element 41 and the viewer. Furthermore, no reflection of sunlight or the like appeared and therefore an image of the display element 41 could be clearly seen even outdoors.
In calculating the luminous reflectance, the reflectance was measured from the viewer side of the cover member 43 with the cover member 43 fixedly bonded to the display element 41 through the resin film 44. Furthermore, the low-refractive index films and high-refractive index films are deposited by reactive sputtering.
A display device 51 of this embodiment constitutes part of a gaming machine, for example, such as a pinball machine or a slot machine. The display device 51 includes a device body 52. A display element 52a is provided in a portion of the device body 52. The display element 52a is constituted by a liquid crystal display panel, a plasma display panel, an electroluminescent display panel or the like.
A protective sheet 53 formed of a glass sheet or the like is provided in front of the device body 52. A cover member 54 is provided over at least one surface of the protective sheet 53. The cover member 54, like the side sheets 31 and so on, includes a transparent substrate and an antireflection film provided over the transparent substrate. The antireflection film may be provided over one surface of the cover member 54 or over both surfaces thereof.
In the display device 51, the cover member 54 is provided in a partial region of the display device 51 to cover the display element 52a. This can reduce the deterioration of visibility of images displayed by the display element 52a due to reflection of the background or so on. Particularly when the display element 52a is blacked out, the amount of transmitted light decreases, so that the reflection of the background or so on becomes noticeable. Therefore, it is effective to provide the cover member 54. By the provision of the cover member 54, it can be prevented that the concentration of the gamer on the gaming machine is lost by the reflection or the like.
As shown in
A cover member 63 is provided on an outer wall surface 61a of the sidewall 61. The cover member 63, like the side sheets 31 in the first embodiment, the cover member 43 in the fourth embodiment, and so on, includes a transparent substrate and an antireflection film provided over the transparent substrate. The antireflection film may be provided over one surface of the cover member 63 or over both surfaces thereof. With the use of the cover member 63 having this structure, surface reflection can be reduced and the appearance of a reflected image of the background or so on can be reduced. Therefore, the visibility of the interior of the aquarium 60 can be increased.
From the viewpoint of increasing the visibility of the interior of the aquarium 60, it is conceivable to provide an antireflection film directly over the surface of the sidewall 61. However, partly for the reason that the sidewall 61 of the aquarium 60 is huge, it is difficult to provide an antireflection film directly over the surface of the sidewall 61. Furthermore, the sidewall 61 is often touched by the viewers. Therefore, the antireflection film may be damaged by the viewers' touch. If the antireflection film is provided over the sidewall 61, it is difficult to repair the antireflection film lying over the installed sidewall 61.
When, as in this embodiment, the cover member 63 is provided on a portion of the outer wall surface 61a, the antireflection film can be easily formed and has excellent maintainability when damaged. From the viewpoint of achieving more excellent maintainability, the cover member 63 is preferably provided removably on the sidewall 61. Specifically, for example, the cover member 63 is preferably adhesively bonded to the sidewall 61. However, the cover member 63 may be otherwise bonded to the sidewall 61.
From the viewpoint of further increasing the visibility of the interior of the aquarium 60, the transparent substrate of the cover member 63 preferably has substantially the same refractive index as the sidewall 61. Specifically, the difference between the refractive index of the transparent substrate and the refractive index of the sidewall 61 is preferably 0.1 or less. Furthermore, when an adhesively or otherwise bonding layer is provided between the cover member 63 and the sidewall 61, each of the refractive index difference between the adhesively or otherwise bonding layer and the transparent substrate and the refractive index difference between the adhesively or otherwise bonding layer and the sidewall 61 is preferably 0.1 or less.
In addition, when the outer wall surface 61a of the sidewall 61 is in a curved shape, the transparent substrate is preferably formed of such as a flexible resin sheet or a glass sheet with a thickness of 300 μm or less.
In this embodiment, the antireflection film is a film in which low-refractive index layers and high-refractive index layers are alternately stacked and the outermost layer is formed of a SiO2 film containing Al2O3.
Alkali-free borosilicate glass (OA-10G manufactured by Nippon Electric Glass Co., Ltd.) with a thickness of 500 μm was used as a glass sheet and, as shown in Table 3 below, low-refractive index layers made of Al—SiO2 and high-refractive index layers made of Nb2O5 were alternately stacked in a total number of five layers on the glass sheet, resulting in a cover member of Example 1 according to the seventh embodiment.
For comparison, as shown in Table 4 below, an antireflection film was formed on a glass sheet in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the SiO2 film, which is the outermost layer designated by No. 5, was a SiO2 film containing no Al2O3, resulting in a cover member of Example 2.
In Tables 3 and 4, “Al—SiO2” represents a SiO2 film containing Al2O3. The Al2O3 content was 5.3% by mass.
The luminous reflectance of the cover member of Example 1 was 0.23% and the luminous reflectance of the cover member of Example 2 was 0.29%.
The resultant cover members of Examples 1 and 2 were subjected to a salt water boiling test in the following manner.
Each of the cover members was immersed into a salt water having a NaCl concentration of 4.8% by mass and a temperature of 90° C. for 30 minutes and then picked up, the surface thereof was rinsed in pure water, and the cover member was dried.
Before and after the salt water boiling test, the cover member was measured in terms of reflectance at an incident angle of 12° in a wavelength range of 380 to 780 nm.
As shown in
In the antireflection film of the cover member of Example 1, the SiO2 films other than the outermost layer also contain Al2O3. However, the SiO2 films other than the outermost layer do not necessarily have to contain Al2O3. In other words, so long as the SiO2 film as the outermost layer contains Al2O3, the above effect of increasing the chemical durability can be achieved. The above “Al—SiO2 films” and Nb2O5 films were all deposited by reactive sputtering and, in depositing the “Al—SiO2 films”, a Si target containing 6.0% by mass metal Al was used.
The cover member of the present invention can be used as a cover member for protecting an exhibit, such as a thing worthwhile in a particular field, an academic material, a work of art or aquatic organisms, a display element of a mobile device, such as a smartphone, a mobile personal computer or a handheld gaming device, or a display element of a car navigation system, a stationary gaming machine, a pinball machine, a slot machine or the like.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012-053800 | Mar 2012 | JP | national |
| 2012-249096 | Nov 2012 | JP | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/JP2013/053189 | 2/12/2013 | WO | 00 |
