Patent Application
20170080690
Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a decorative film for a display device for adding decoration to a display surface of the display device, and a protective film using the same.
Background Information
A protective panel of a flat panel display of a liquid crystal display device in which a printing section is formed by printing on a transparent protective plate, and thereafter, a level difference of the printing section and the protective plate resulted from the printing is flattened with a photo-curing transparent resin is known (Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2010-176111, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2008-83263).
However, even with the conventional protective panel of Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2010-176111, involvement of air may occur at the display surface near the level difference of the printing section and the protective plate since the protective panel is formed by printing the photo-curing transparent resin on the protective plate. Even with the conventional protective panel of Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2008-83263 as well, the films 3, 6 that are not formed with an opening are arranged, and hence involvement of air may occur due to the level difference of the film and a metal vapor-deposited membrane 4, and a level difference of the film and a hiding layer 8 (decorative pattern layer of the invention of the present application).
It is an object of the present invention to provide a decorative film capable of suppressing the involvement of air at the display surface near the level difference of the printing section and the protective plate, and a protective panel using the same.
A decorative film for a display device and a protective panel using the same according to the present invention relates to a decorative film that is directly or indirectly arranged on a display surface of the display device. The decorative film includes a display region, which is a central part of the decorative film, having light transmittivity through which the display surface is visually recognized from outside, and a decorative region, which is an outer peripheral part around the display region, for decorating the display surface. The decorative film includes a base layer containing a film and arranged in the decorative region, a decorative pattern layer formed on the base layer, and a light transmissive layer arranged in at least a space surrounded by the base layer and the decorative pattern layer in the display region.
In the present invention, the light transmissive layer may be arranged in an extended manner on a main surface on a side of the decorative pattern layer opposite to the base layer, or may be arranged in an extended manner on a main surface of the base layer on a side opposite to the decorative pattern layer. In the present invention, the transmittivity of the light transmissive layer preferably has a transmissivity of greater than or equal to 80% to maintain and enhance the visibility of the display.
In the present invention, the base layer may be a colorless layer or a colored layer.
In the present invention, the decorative pattern layer may be formed with a single layer or may be formed with multiple layers. The light transmissive layer desirably has a transmissivity of greater than or equal to 80%, and is desirably made from an acrylic compound. Furthermore, the light transmissive layer may be divided into a plurality of layers in a thickness direction, the respective hardness of the plurality of layers may be differed.
In the present invention, the decorative pattern layer may be arranged only on one main surface of the base layer or may be arranged on both main surfaces. If the decorative pattern layer is arranged on both main surfaces of the base layer, the properties of the decorative pattern layers may be the same or may be different from each other.
In the present invention, the decorative film may have an attachment layer made of an adhesion material or a sticky material arranged on at least one main surface. The decorative film may have a peeling sheet arranged on at least one main surface.
In the present invention, boundary surfaces of the base layer and the light transmissive layer are formed flush, and boundary surfaces of the decorative pattern layer and the light transmissive layer are formed flush in the cross-sectional view of the decorative film.
A protective panel for a display device according to the present invention includes a decorative film and a protective plate, where the decorative film is arranged between the display surface and the protective plate, or faces the display surface with the protective plate sandwiched in between.
In the present invention, the decorative film and the protective plate can be directly attached to each other by an adhesion material, a sticky material, an adhesion tape, or a sticky tape.
In the present invention, a hard coat film may be arranged on a side of the decorative film opposite to the surface attached with the protective plate.
In the present invention, the light transmissive layer is arranged in the openings of the base layer and the decorative pattern layer, so that the involvement of air at the display surface can be suppressed since the light transmissive layer is primarily not formed on the base layer at the display surface.
One embodiment of a decorative film and a protective panel according to the present invention will be hereinafter described based on the drawings. As shown in
The display device 2 applied with the decorative film 1 of the present embodiment may be a liquid crystal display device, a plasma display device, an organic EL display, or the like. If a touch panel, which is an in-plane contact type input device, is arranged in the display device 2, the display device 2 is a device including the touch panel. The display surface 21 of the display device 2 is a surface of a member element positioned on the outermost surface of the display device 2. Such member element includes a glass, a polarization plate, or other optical films.
A plate-like member having a thin thickness is generally referred to as a “film” and a plate-like member having a thick thickness is generally referred to as a “sheet”, but in the present specification, the concept of the term “film” also includes the general “sheet”. An attached state peelable by a human hand is referred to as “stick”, an attached state not peelable by a human hand is referred to as “adhere”, and a pasted state regardless of the state is referred to as “attach”.
The decorative region a2 does not need to be the entire region of the outer peripheral part of the display region a1, and may be a discrete separated regions. For example, the decorative film 1 of the present invention also includes a case where one of the sides among the upper side, the lower side, the left side, and the right side is absent with respect to the frame-shaped decorative region a2 shown in
The decorative region a2 is a region for decorating the display surface 21 of the display device 2 with various types of patterns through printing, and the like, and is a region corresponding to the peripheral edge region A2 of the display device 2 shown in
The base layer 11 is an insulating resin base material (film) having a thickness between 2 μm and 300 μm, preferably between 5 and 50 μm, and more preferably between 10 and 25 μm, and PET (polyethylene terephthalate), PC (polycarbonate), PMMA (polymethyl methacrylate/acryl resin), colored film, PET with metal film, and the like can be used. The colored film is a film obtained by mixing pigment or dye to PET, PC, PMMA, or the like. The PET with metal film is a film obtained by adding aluminum, silver, tin, or the like to the PET through vapor deposition method, and the like. PET is desirably used when trying to thin the decorative film 1. Since the base layer 11 essentially contains the insulating resin base material, its adhesiveness with the decorative pattern layer 12 increases. Furthermore, in the decorative film 1 of the present embodiment, the base material (aggregate) made of PET, and the like does not exist other than in the base layer 11 and does not have a configuration in which the base layer and the decorative pattern layer are formed on the base material of PET, and the like. In other words, the light transmissive layer 13 or an attachment layer 14 is directly formed on the surface on the side opposite to the decorative pattern layer 12 of the base layer 11, and the surface on the side opposite to the base layer 11 of the decorative pattern layer 12 without arranging another base material. Therefore, the decorative film 1 itself can be made thin, and hence the light transmissivity also increases. The base material (aggregate) referred to herein does not include any sticky material that is arranged on one surface or both surfaces of the base material as a sticky layer.
When forming the base layer 11 with the colored film, the decorative pattern layer 12 may be omitted, and the decorative pattern may be formed with the colored film itself. Still, when configuring the base layer 11 with the colored film, the decorative pattern layer 12 through printing, and the like may also be further formed on the colored film. Accordingly, various decorations can be realized.
The decorative pattern layer 12 may be formed with pigmented coloring, and the like, where its thickness is between 1 and 30 μm, and is configured by forming the decorative pattern by screen printing, gravure printing, other appropriate printing, sublimation (thermal) transfer, or foil laminating transfer (so-called hot stamp) on one surface (or both surfaces) of the base layer 11. The decorative pattern layer 12 can be formed to have an arbitrary color, such as black, white, pink, and the like, for example. A desired logo, such as a character, number, pattern, and the like can be formed by foil laminating transfer (so-called hot stamp) in an arbitrary region of the decorative pattern layer 12. The decorative pattern layer 12 may be a single layer (i.e., one layer) or a plurality of layers. If the decorative pattern layer 12 does not have a pattern or if the pattern is simple, the decorative pattern layer 12 is preferably assumed as a single layer. If the decorative pattern layer 12 has a plurality of colors or a complex pattern, the decorative pattern layer 12 is preferably assumed as a plurality of layers. The diversification of decoration can be realized by forming the decorative pattern layer 12 into multiple layers.
The decorative pattern layer 12 may be arranged only on one surface of the base layer 11 or may be arranged on both surfaces of the base layer 11. The decoration to add to the display surface of the display device can be diversified by forming the decorative pattern layer 12 on both surfaces of the base layer 11. In this case, the decorative pattern layer 12 arranged on both surfaces of the base layer 11 may have the same property or may have different properties from each other. Thus, diversification of the decoration to add to the display surface of the display device, for example, providing various colors and providing various patterns can be realized. Furthermore, the properties can be modified by changing the material, color, film thickness, and hardness.
The light transmissive layer 13 has a thickness equal to or greater than the sum of the base layer 11 and the decorative pattern layer 12 and between 2 and 300 μm, and may be made of ionizing radiation curing compound that is cured by irradiating the ionizing radiation, specifically, ultraviolet curing compound, electron beam curing compound, and the like are preferred, and the ultraviolet curing compound is particularly preferred. The ionizing radiation curing compound is preferably an unsaturated monomer, oligomer, resin, composition containing the same and the like. As a specific example, a multifunctional ionizing radiation curing acrylic compound having two or more functional groups such as a multifunctional acrylate, urethane acrylate, polyester acrylate, and the like are more preferred, and urethane acrylate and polyester acrylate are particularly preferred. The ionizing radiation includes ultraviolet light, electron beam, α beam, β beam, and the like. When using the ultraviolet light, the curable composition preferably contains a photo-polymerization initiator. Such ionizing radiation curing compounds may have a pressure sensitive adhesiveness. With the pressure sensitive adhesiveness provided to the light transmissive layer 13, the attachment layer becomes unnecessary and further thinning can be realized. The material cost can also be reduced. The pressure sensitive adhesiveness is assumed to have a peeling strength greater than or equal to 5 N/25 mm in the 180 degrees peeling test with the anti-protective plate in JIS L-6854.
The hardness of the light transmissive layer 13 preferably is a Shore hardness between 5 and 90 HS, and contributes to the anti-scattering of the glass of the display device 2 if it is hard and excels in external impact absorption and level difference absorption effect achieved through the decorative pattern layer 12 if it is soft. If the hardness can be changed between the front surface side of the light transmissive layer 13 (surface not facing the display surface of the display device 2) and the back surface side (surface facing the display surface side of the display device 2), the front surface side is preferably set to be hard and the back surface side is preferably set to be soft.
The light transmissive layer 13 preferably has a transmissivity of greater than or equal to a transmissivity of 80%, and the index of refraction between 1.2 and 1.8. If the transmissivity and the index of refraction of the light transmissive layer 13 are within such range, the difference in the index of refraction with the protective plate, the glass material, which is the display base material, the optical plastic material, and the like, which serve as bodies adhered to the top and bottom, becomes small. Thus, the internal transmitting light becomes difficult to refract, and the adverse effect on the display portion of the display can be prevented.
The decorative film 1 of the present embodiment is an integrated film that includes the light transmissive layer 13 at the central part of the decorative film 1 as shown in the cross-sectional view of
In the embodiment shown in
For example, the decorative film 1 shown in
With the outer peripheral part of the main surface of the light transmissive layer 13 configured to be flat so as to cover the surface of the decorative pattern layer 12 and/or the base layer 11, an edge can be prevented from occurring at the boundary of the peripheral edge of the light transmissive layer 13 and the inner peripheral edge of the decorative pattern layer 12 or the inner peripheral edge of the base layer 11. Thus, a flatter decorative film can be provided. The adhesion strength increases by the amount of increase in the adhesion area of the light transmissive layer 13 and the base layer 11 or the decorative pattern layer 12. In particular, if the light transmissive layer 13 is made of ultraviolet curable resin and the base layer 11 is made of PET, the ultraviolet curable resin chemically reacts with the surface of the PET when curing, thus further enhancing the adhesion strength.
The decorative film 1 of the present embodiment described above can be attached to the display surface 21 of the display device 2 after being combined with the protective plate 31 and the hard coat film 32 thus obtaining a protective panel 3.
The protective panel 3 including the decorative film 1 has a planar shape corresponding to the display surface 21 of the display device 2 and has a thickness corresponding to the area of such planar shape to protect the display surface 21 of the display device 2. Generally, the planar shape of the protective panel 3 is often formed slightly larger than the display surface 21. The protective panel 3 shown in the cross-sectional view of
The protective plate 31 may be made of glass, PC, PMMA, PET, and the like, for example, and has a thickness of between 50 and 2000 μm, for example.
The attachment layer 33 may be configured with a one-sided sticky tape or a one-sided adhesion tape, and is formed by forming a transparent sticky layer or a transparent adhesive layer on a transparent film, which serves as a base material film. The transparent film may be made of PET, PC, PMMA, and the like, for example. Furthermore, the transparent sticky layer or the transparent adhesion layer is a coreless tape or a so-called OCA (Optical Clear Adhesive: optical transparent sticking agent) that is formed merely with a sticking agent or an adhesion agent and that does not contain a base material. As the sticking agent or the adhesion agent, for example, acryl series, urethane series, silicone series, rubber series, or polyether series sticking agent or adhesion agent may be used. In
The hard coat film 32 is formed by forming a hard coat layer 322 on a transparent film 321, which serves as a base material film, that is, by hard coat processing one main surface of the transparent film 32, and has a thickness of between 50 and 500 μm, for example. The transparent film 321 by itself that is not performed with the hard coat processing, that is, without the hard coat layer 322 may be used instead of having the hard coat film 32.
The transparent film 321 may be made of PET, PC, PMMA, and other transparent resins, for example. The hard coat layer 322 is formed with urethane acrylate, epoxy acrylate, and silicon acrylate, for example. If the transparent film of the attachment layer 33 (one-sided sticky tape or one-sided adhesion tape) and the transparent film 321 of the hard coat film 32 are made from PET, such films can be thin. Generally, when the film is made from acrylic resin, polycarbonate, and the like, the thickness of such film often exceeds 0.3 mm. When the transparent film is made from PET, the thickness of such film can be set to be smaller than or equal to 0.3 mm, and preferably smaller than or equal to 0.2 mm. The thickness of the entire display device 2 including the protective panel 3 thus can be thinned as the thickness of the films can be thinned.
One example of the manufacturing method of the decorative film 1 for the display device and the protective panel 3 for the display device will now be described by way of example, using a case of manufacturing the protective panel 3 for the display device shown in
First, a base film 11A (indicated with reference numeral 11A as it is the original mode of the base layer 11 shown in
The base film 11A is then pulled from the winding portion, and the decorative pattern layer 12A (indicated with reference numeral 12A as it is an original mode of the decorative pattern layer 12 shown in
A region R of a predetermined area in the decorative pattern layer 12A is removed by punching work using an appropriate tool, for example, a punching blade, as shown in
Next, as shown in
In
As a result, a long film body is formed in which a plurality of protective panels 3A for the display device (indicated with a reference numeral 3A as it is an original mode not including the protective plate 31) is formed in a series, as shown in
Therefore, according to the manufacturing method of the present example, a great number of protective panels 3 for the display device having the configuration shown in
Conventionally, the decorative region a2, which is the peripheral edge region, is patterned by screen printing and the like on the base layer 11A. In the screen printing, a photosensitive film is arranged in a screen block of the portion corresponding to the display region a1 of the protective panel 3 in
However, in the manufacturing method of the present embodiment, the decorative pattern layer 12 is formed into a desired shape by cutting work such as the punching work, and the like, instead of screen printing using the screen block. Thus, the inner peripheral edge of the decorative pattern layer 12 is always a clear continuing line, and the boundary line of the display region a1 and the peripheral edge region a2, which is the non-display region, is clearly formed with such inner peripheral edge. If the manufacturing task of the plurality of protective panels 3 is repeatedly carried out for a long period of time by adopting the cutting work such as the punching work, and the like, there is no need to frequently replace components such as the screen block, and the like, and the decorative pattern layer 12 having a clear shape without print blur can be formed over a long period of time. The manufacturing cost thus can be suppressed, and hence a high quality decorative film 1 and protective panel 3 can be manufactured inexpensively.
<<Other Embodiments of Protective Panel>>
Hereinafter, other embodiments of the protective panel 3 including the decorative film 1 according to the present invention will be described with reference to
In the present embodiment as well, the decorative pattern layer 12 of the decorative film 1 is not formed directly on the respective surfaces of the hard coat film 32 and the protective plate 31 by printing, and the like, but is formed on the base layer 11 through printing and other appropriate methods to configure the decorative film 1. The decorative pattern layer 12 serving as the decorative pattern is arranged on the hard coat film 32, the protective plate 31, and the like in the form of the decorative film 1.
The present embodiment differs from the first embodiment shown in
That is, in the present embodiment, the protective plate 31 is arranged on the surface side of the protective panel 3, and the hard coat film 32 is arranged between the protective plate 31 and the display device 2. According to such configuration as well, effects similar to the first embodiment are obtained. In the present embodiment as well, the transparent film 321 by itself that is not subjected to hard coat processing (i.e., not including the hard coat layer) may be used in place of the hard coat film 32.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011-230361 | Oct 2011 | JP | national |
| PCT/JP2012/002248 | Mar 2012 | JP | national |
| 2012-166762 | Jul 2012 | JP | national |
This is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/352,311, filed on Apr. 16, 2014, which is a U.S. National stage application that claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(a) to Japanese Patent Application No. 2011-230361, filed in Japan on Oct. 20, 2011, to International Application No. PCT/JP2012/002248, filed on Mar. 30, 2012, and to Japanese Patent Application No. 2012-166762, filed in Japan on Jul. 27, 2012, the entire contents of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/352,311, Japanese Patent Application No. 2011-230361, International Application No. PCT/JP2012/002248 and Japanese Patent Application No. 2012-166762 are hereby incorporated herein by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 14352311 | Apr 2014 | US |
| Child | 15364928 | US |
