Patent Application
20100142056
This application claims priority to and the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2008-0123925, filed on Dec. 8, 2008, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the entire content of which is incorporated herein by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
An aspect of the present invention relates to an optical filter including a hard coating layer and an electromagnetic shielding layer.
2. Description of Related Art
A plasma display device including a plasma display panel (PDP) is a flat panel display device which displays images utilizing a gas discharge phenomenon. In view of luminance, contrast, afterimage and viewing angle characteristics, the plasma display device is superior to a conventional cathode-ray tube (CRT).
Since high voltage and high frequency are used in a driving process of the aforementioned plasma display device, a large quantity of electromagnetic waves are radiated to the front of the PDP. Further, the plasma display device emits near infrared (NIR) radiation induced by an inert gas such as Ne or Xe. Such NIR radiation has a wavelength very close to that of a remote controller, thereby resulting in possible malfunctions of electric appliances. Furthermore, glass disposed in front of the PDP reflects external light, thereby resulting in glare, degradation of contrast or the like. Therefore, in most plasma display devices, a filter is provided in front of the PDP so as to compensate for these problems.
An optical filter used in a plasma display device may be a tempered glass filter or film-type filter having an electromagnetic shielding layer and a near infrared shielding layer. Recently, film-type filters utilizing a single material film have been used to decrease the price of plasma display devices.
A conventional film-type optical filter includes an anti-reflection layer, an electromagnetic shielding layer, a color correction layer and an adhesive layer. The anti-reflection layer is utilized to reduce (or prevent) external light from being reflected and to protect the filter and a panel from external environment. The electromagnetic shielding layer is made of a conductive substance having high electrical conductivity and formed beneath the anti-reflection layer. The electromagnetic shielding layer shields electromagnetic waves and reduces (or prevents) static charge.
An aspect of an embodiment of the present invention is directed toward an optical filter wherein a hard coating layer and an electromagnetic shielding layer are integrally formed, so that a process of manufacturing the optical filter can be simplified, thereby increasing the yield of products and decreasing their price.
An aspect of an embodiment of the present invention is directed toward a method of manufacturing the aforementioned optical filter.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided an optical filter including a base film; and a hard coating layer formed on one surface of the base film, the hard coating layer having conductive substances positioned (or concentrated) in a region adjacent to the base film.
The conductive substances may have a specific gravity greater than that of a hard coating raw material forming the hard coating layer. The hard coating raw material may include a fluorine-based polymer compound. The hard coating layer may be formed to have a thickness of ¼ of the wavelength (λ) of a light passing therethrough on the base film.
The conductive substances may include conductive polymers or metal-based nano particles. The conductive substances may have a chain structure. The conductive substances may include a material selected from the group consisting of polyanillines, polycarbonates, carbon nano tubes, carbon nano wires, and combinations thereof.
The optical filter may further include a color coating layer formed on the one surface of the base film or another surface of the base film opposite to the one surface of the base film.
The hard coating layer may be an anti-reflection layer, and/or the concentrated conductive substances may be positioned as an electromagnetic shielding layer integrated with the hard coating layer.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a method of manufacturing an optical filter, which includes preparing a light-transmissive base film; coating a liquid hard coating raw material on one surface of the base film, the hard coating raw material having conductive substances mixed therewith; and curing the hard coating raw material in the state that the conductive substances are concentrated in a region adjacent to the base film, and the hard coating raw material is formed between and on the conductive substances.
The conductive substances may have a specific gravity greater than that of the hard coating raw material.
The method may further include applying an electric field to move the conductive substances toward the region adjacent to the base film.
The hard coating raw material may include a fluorine-based polymer compound.
The hard coating layer may be formed to have a thickness of ¼ of the wavelength of a light passing therethrough.
The conductive substances may include conductive polymers or metal-based nano particles.
The conductive substances may include a material selected from the group consisting of polyanillines, polycarbonates, carbon nano tubes, carbon nano wires, and combinations thereof.
The method may further include forming a color coating layer on the one surface of the base film or another surface of the base film opposite to the one surface of the base film.
The forming of the hard coating layer may include forming the hard coating layer at the uppermost portion on the one surface of the base film.
In an optical film according to an embodiment of the present invention, a hard coating layer and an electromagnetic shielding layer are integrally formed, thereby simplifying a manufacturing process and increasing the yield of products. Further, the price of optical filters and a PDP employing such optical filters can be decreased.
The accompanying drawings, together with the specification, illustrate exemplary embodiments of the present invention, and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the present invention.
In the following detailed description, only certain exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, simply by way of illustration. As those skilled in the art would realize, the described embodiments may be modified in various different ways, all without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention. Accordingly, the drawings and description are to be regarded as illustrative in nature and not restrictive. In addition, when an element is referred to as being “on” another element, it can be directly on the another element or be indirectly on the another element with one or more intervening elements interposed therebetween. Also, when an element is referred to as being “connected to” another element, it can be directly connected to the another element or be indirectly connected to the another element with one or more intervening elements interposed therebetween. Hereinafter, like reference numerals refer to like elements.
In the following description, a plasma display panel (hereinafter, may be referred to as a panel) or plasma display device which utilizes an electromagnetic shielding mechanism will be described as a flat panel display device to which an optical filter can be attached.
Referring to
In this embodiment, the hard coating layer 12 has a structure in which conductive substances 13a are positioned in a region adjacent to the base film 11, and a hard coating raw material is infiltrated between the conductive substances composed of a plurality of conductive molecules. In other words, the hard coating layer 12 is disposed on one surface of the base film 11 and has a structure in which conductive materials are gathered (or concentrated) together in a region adjacent to the base film 11 and mixed with a hard coating raw material.
The conductive substances 13a are formed in the shape of a porous conductive layer and therefore serve as an electromagnetic shielding mechanism 13. The conductive substances 13a include conductive polymers or nano particles. Particularly, the conductive substances 13a may have a chain structure.
The hard coating layer 12 is formed on the one surface of the base film 11 so as to reduce (or prevent) external light from being reflected to the front of the panel and to protect the filter and the panel from external environment. The hard coating layer 12 may be formed to serve as an anti-reflection layer. Here, the anti-reflection layer is utilized to reduce (or minimize) loss of light passing therethrough and to reduce (or prevent) the reflection of light and to diffuse reflection of external light. In this case, the hard coating layer 12 is formed to a thickness of ¼ of the wavelength of a light passing therethrough on the base film 11. A transparent fluorine-based polymer, a silicon-based resin or the like may be used as a raw material of the hard coating layer 12.
In one embodiment, the hard coating layer 12 is formed to a thickness of between 2 and 7 μm so as to obtain an expected effect while not being too thick. The optical filter including the hard coating layer 12 has certain optical characteristics. These optical characteristics include a low haze of between 1 and 3%, a visible light transmittance of between 30 and 90%, a low external light reflectance of between 1 and 20%, a thermal resistance at or above a glass transition temperature, and a pencil hardness of between 1 and 3H.
The base film 11 is a base member of the optical filter, and is made of a material having a transmittance of between 80 and 99%, a low reflectance, a suitable thermal resistance and a proper solidity. Particularly, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is a suitable material of the base film 11. However, the present invention is not thereby limited. For example, the material of the base film 11 may be or include polyethersulphone (PES), polyacrylate (PAR), polyetherimide (PEI), polyethylene napthalate (PEN), polyphenylene sulfide (PPS), polyallylate, polyimide, polycarbonate, triacetate cellulose (TAO), cellulose acetate propionate (CAP) and the like.
The optical filter may further include a color coating layer 14 and an adhesive layer 15, disposed on the other surface of the base film 11, e.g., the bottom surface of the base film 11 as viewed in
The color coating layer 14 includes a coloring matter for color correction, near infrared shielding or orange wavelength absorption. The coloring matter includes a dye or pigment. For example, the coloring matter includes a nickel complex-based, phthalocyanine-based, naphthalocyanine-based, cyanine-based, diimmonium-based, squarylium-based, axomethine-based, xanthene-based, oxonol-based and/or azo-based material, which can shield a wavelength of between about 800 and about 1200 nm or shields or absorbs a wavelength of between about 585 and about 620 nm. The kind and concentration of the coloring matter may be determined based on the absorption wavelength and coefficient of a coloring matter, the color tone of a transparent conductive layer, the transmittance characteristic and transmittance required in the filter, and the like.
The adhesive layer 15 is formed on the other surface of the base film 11 so as to attach the optical filter onto the front of the panel. A material of the adhesive layer 15 may include an acryl-based, silicon-based, urethane-based and/or polyvinyl-based thermoplastic resin and/or a transparent adhesive and/or gluing agent such as a UV curing resin. For example, a silicon adhesive such as an acrylate-based resin and/or pressure sensitive adhesive (PSA) may be used as the material of the adhesive layer 15.
In addition, the adhesive layer 15 may include a coloring matter for color correction, near infrared shielding or orange wavelength absorption. In this case, the color coating layer 14 may be omitted.
In this embodiment, it is assumed that the base film 11 and the hard coating layer 12 are sequentially disposed when viewed from a direction in which gravity or a set (or predetermined) attraction force is applied.
Referring to
A fluoride-based polymer compound solution is utilized as the hard coating raw material 12a, and polyanilines are utilized as the conductive substances 13a. Since the polyanilines are conductive polymers having high electrical conductivity, they are suitable for conductive substances for electromagnetic shielding.
Referring to
The fluoride-based polymer compound solution utilized as the hard coating raw material 12a typically has a molecular weight of between about 5000 and about 10000, and the polyanilines utilized as the conductive substances 13a are polymerized with an oxidizer, e.g., (NH4)2S2O8 in the fluorine-based polymer compound solution to have a molecular weight of between 53000 and 60000. Therefore, the polyanilines mixed in the fluorine-based polymer compound solution are drawn (or sunk) toward a lower portion of the hard coating raw material 12a adjacent to the base film 11 by gravity.
Referring to
When the polyanilines used as the conductive substances 13a are drawn (or sunk) toward the lower portion of the hard coating layer 12, the polyanilines having a chain structure are mixed with one another, thereby forming an electromagnetic shielding layer 13 having the shape of a porous conductive layer. Here, the shape of the porous conductive layer may be similar to a mesh shape. The hard coating raw material 12a exists between the conductive substances 13a constituting the electromagnetic shielding layer 13.
As described above, the hard coating layer 12 and the electromagnetic shielding layer 13 are concurrently (or simultaneously) formed, thereby simplifying a manufacturing process, increasing the yield of products and decreasing their price.
Referring to
In the method of this embodiment, an electric field applying mechanism 17 is separately used for applying the electric field. The electric field applying mechanism 17 includes a pair of electrodes 18a and 18b respectively disposed above and below the optical filter in a stacked direction, and a power supply 19 applying a voltage to the electrodes 18a and 18b.
Accordingly, when the conductive substances 13a are selected, it is not necessary to select only conductive polymers having a specific gravity greater than that of the hard coating raw material 12a as the conductive substances 13a, and various suitable conductive polymers may be used as the conductive substances 13a. Therefore, the selection range of the conductive substances 13a can be extended. Further, it is possible to reduce a time taken for the conductive substances 13a having a specific gravity greater than that of the hard coating raw material 12a to move to a lower portion of the hard coating raw material 12a.
Referring to
In this embodiment, there is provided an optical film in which a hard coating layer 12 and an electromagnetic shielding layer 13 are concurrently (or simultaneously) formed through the same process as that of the optical filter of the aforementioned embodiment utilizing conductive polymers as the conductive substances. Briefly, carbon nano tubes and/or carbon nano wires are mixed in a fluorine-based polymer compound solution and then coated on a base film 11. Thereafter, if the carbon nano tubes and/or carbon nano wires are sunk to a lower portion of a hard coating raw material 12a after a set (or predetermined) time elapses, the hard coating raw material 12a is cured utilizing a curing mechanism, thereby forming a hard coating layer 12 and an electromagnetic shielding layer 13 formed beneath the hard coating layer 12.
Also, in the aforementioned embodiment of
Although it has been described in the aforementioned embodiments that conductive polymers or conductive nano particles are selectively utilized as the conductive substances, the present invention is not limited thereto. That is, in one embodiment, conductive polymers and/or metal-based nano particles are used together as the conductive substances.
While the present invention has been described in connection with certain exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but, on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims, and equivalents thereof.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-2008-0123925 | Dec 2008 | KR | national |
