Abstract: A liquid crystal panel according to the present invention includes a backlight portion emitting light having a brightness distribution in a horizontally oblong oval shape assuming that a longitudinal direction of a panel is a horizontal direction; a first polarizer; a liquid crystal cell; an optical compensation layer having a refractive index profile of nx>ny>nz; and a second polarizer, in this order from a backlight side. According to the present invention, a liquid crystal panel having remarkably excellent contrast in an oblique direction, small light leakage in a black display and a small color shift is provided.

Abstract: A liquid crystal panel of this invention has a first polarizer and a second polarizer disposed on both sides of a liquid crystal cell, and a first optical compensation layer disposed between the liquid crystal cell and the first polarizer, a second optical compensation layer disposed between the liquid crystal cell and the second polarizer, and a third optical compensation layer disposed between the first optical compensation layer and the second optical compensation layer, and wavelength dispersion of the liquid crystal cell satisfies Re40(450)>Re40(550)>Re40(650), wavelength dispersion of the first optical compensation layer and wavelength dispersion of the second optical compensation layer satisfy 0.7<Re40(450)/Re40(550)<1.05, and wavelength dispersion of the third optical compensation layer satisfies Re40(450)>Re40(550)>Re40(650).

Abstract: It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for manufacturing a birefringent film that can reduce the amount of a remaining solvent in the birefringent film without degrading appearance uniformity or an alignment in its thickness direction. The method of the present invention for manufacturing an optical film includes the steps of: coating a base with a polymer solution obtained by dissolving a polyimide-containing polymer in a solvent so as to form a coating film; and drying the coating film so as to form a birefringent film, in which the drying step includes at least two stages of drying processes. The drying step preferably include two stages of the drying processes, and a temperature in the former stage of the drying process is preferably lower than a temperature in the latter stage of the drying process. If adding a step of providing the birefringent film with an anisotropy of a refractive index in an in-plane direction, a birefringent film with an optical biaxiality can be manufactured.

Abstract: A method of manufacturing a birefringent film is provided, by which a birefringent film including a liquid crystal compound birefringent layer and another birefringent layer can be manufactured so as to have a reduced thickness in a reduced number of process steps. In the manufacturing method, a non-liquid crystal polymer birefringent layer that has been subjected to an aligning treatment is used as an alignment layer for a liquid crystal compound. According to the manufacturing method, the process step of separately preparing an alignment layer and the need for the additional alignment layer can be eliminated, thereby allowing the total thickness of the birefringent film to be reduced.

Abstract: The present invention relates to an optical film that is excellent in optical properties and can be produced at low cost. In the optical film formed by laminating a transparent polymer film layer and a birefringent layer of a non-liquid crystalline polymer, the birefringent layer satisfies a condition represented by nx?ny>nz and the in-plane retardation of the transparent polymer film layer is 50 nm or less. In the above formula, nx, ny and nz are the refraction indices in the X-, Y- and Z-axes directions of the birefringent layer, respectively. The X-axis direction is the axial direction in which the refraction index shows a maximum value in the in-plane direction of the birefringent layer, the Y-axis direction is the axial direction perpendicular to the X-axis direction in the plane, and the Z-axis direction is the thickness direction perpendicular to the X- and Y-axes directions.

Abstract: There are provided a liquid crystal panel and a liquid crystal display apparatus each having significantly improved color shift. The liquid crystal panel includes a backlight part emitting polarized light, an optical compensation layer, a first polarizer, a liquid crystal cell, and a second polarizer in the stated order from a backlight side.

Abstract: A liquid crystal panel of the present invention has a liquid crystal cell, a visible-side polarizer disposed on the visible surface side of the liquid crystal cell, and an antivisible-side polarizer disposed on the side opposite to the antivisible surface of the liquid crystal cell. The visible-side polarizer and the antivisible-side polarizer are disposed so that the absorption axis direction of the visible-side polarizer and the absorption axis direction of the antivisible-side polarizer will be approximately parallel to each other. A polarization rotating layer that rotates linearly polarized light by approximately 45 degrees is disposed between the visible-side polarizer and the antivisible-side polarizer. This liquid crystal panel hardly undergoes distortion and can restrain leakage of light in the peripheral part. Therefore, a liquid crystal display device incorporating the liquid crystal panel is excellent in image displaying characteristics.

Abstract: A liquid crystal panel of the present invention has a liquid crystal cell, a visible-side polarizer disposed on the visible-side surface of the liquid crystal cell, and an antivisible-side polarizer disposed on a side opposite to the visible surface of the liquid crystal cell. The visible-side polarizer and the antivisible-side polarizer are disposed so that the absorption axis direction of the visible-side polarizer and the absorption axis direction of the antivisible-side polarizer will be approximately parallel to each other. A polarization rotating layer that rotates linearly polarized light by 90±5 degrees is disposed between the visible-side polarizer and the antivisible-side polarizer. The liquid crystal panel of the present invention hardly generates warpage of the panel. Therefore, the liquid crystal panel of the present invention can restrain leakage of light in the peripheral part.

Abstract: To provide a liquid crystal panel suitable for a liquid crystal display apparatus and capable of providing colorless neutral displays in all directions, and a liquid crystal display apparatus using the liquid crystal panel, the liquid crystal panel of the present invention includes: a liquid crystal cell; a first polarizer arranged on one side of the liquid crystal cell; a first birefringent layer arranged between the liquid crystal cell and the first polarizer; a second polarizer arranged on another side of the liquid crystal cell; and a second birefringent layer arranged between the liquid crystal cell and the second polarizer; in which: the first birefringent layer has a relationship of 1<Nz?2 where an Nz coefficient is defined by Nz=(nx-nz)/(nx-ny); and the second birefringent layer has a refractive index profile of nx=ny>nz.

Abstract: An inclined optical compensation film formed from a non-liquid-crystal polymer, which is useful in a TN mode liquid crystal display. A substrate is coated with a non-liquid-crystal polymer to thereby form a coating film; the non-liquid-crystal polymer of the coating film is inclined and aligned; and the coating film is solidified, thereby forming an inclined optical compensation film. The non-liquid-crystal polymer can be inclined and aligned by, for example, applying external force, such as wind blowing, to the coating film. This inclined optical compensation film exhibits, for example, a birefringence (?n) ranging from 0.001 to 0.5 and thus is useful in a TN mode liquid crystal display, etc.

Abstract: An optical film of the invention comprises: a complex type scattering-dichroic absorbing polarizer including a film that has a structure having a minute domain dispersed in a matrix formed of an optically-transparent water-soluble resin including an iodine based light absorbing material and a birefringent film including a transparent film formed of a solid polymer that having the characteristic nx>ny>nz, where a direction in which a refractive index in a film plane gives maximum is defined as X-axis, a direction perpendicular to X-axis as Y-axis, a thickness direction of the film as Z-axis, and refractive indices in each axial direction are defined as nx1, ny1, and nz1, respectively. The optical film has a high transmittance and a high degree of polarization, can produce high contrast in a wide viewing angle range, and can suppress unevenness in transmittance during black viewing.

Abstract: An optical film, which includes a laminate of a base and a birefringent layer, and which is excellent in adhesiveness between the base and the birefringent layer, is provided. The birefringent layer is formed on the base by: coating a material of the birefringent layer on the base so as to form a coating film; stretching/shrinking the base so as to stretch/shrink the coating film; and solidifying the material of the coating film. The material is dispersed or dissolved previously in a solvent and coated in a form of solution, where the solvent used exhibits solubility with respect to the base, and in the coating step, the solvent is infiltrated into a part of the interior of the base, thereby obtaining an optical film with excellent adhesiveness between the base and the birefringent layer.

Abstract: A liquid crystal panel that has a high contrast ratio over a wide range and can suppress color shifting effectively is provided. In a liquid crystal panel including between two polarizing plates arranged in a crossed Nicols state a birefringent layer A with nx>ny?nz, a birefringent layer B with nx?ny>nz and a VA-mode liquid crystal cell C, it is set that a wavelength dispersion characteristic (?40(A)) of the birefringent layer A, a wavelength dispersion characteristic (?40(B)) of the birefringent layer B and a wavelength dispersion characteristic (?40(C)) of the liquid crystal cell C satisfy conditions ?40(B)>?40(C)>?40(A) and 1>?40(A). The wavelength dispersion characteristic ?40 represents a ratio of a retardation Re measured with incident light at 430 nm to that measured with incident light at 550 nm, the incident light being inclined by 40° with respect to a normal direction (0°) of a surface of the birefringent layer or a surface of the liquid crystal cell.

Abstract: A liquid crystal panel that has a high contrast ratio over a wide range and can suppress color shifting effectively is provided. In a liquid crystal panel including between two polarizing plates arranged in a crossed Nicols state a birefringent layer A with nx>ny?nz, a birefringent layer B with nx?ny>nz and a VA-mode liquid crystal cell C, it is set that a wavelength dispersion characteristic (?40(A)) of the birefringent layer A, the birefringent layer B (?40(B)) and (?40(C)) of the liquid crystal cell C satisfy conditions ?40(B)>?40(C)>?40(A) and 1>?40(A). The wavelength dispersion characteristic ?40 represents a ratio of a retardation Re measured with incident light at 430 nm to that measured with incident light at 550 nm, the incident light being inclined by 40° with respect to a normal direction (0°) of a surface of the birefringent layer or a surface of the liquid crystal cell.

Abstract: The present invention provides a birefringent optical film having a high orientation for easily obtaining a desired retardation value and also a small photoelastic coefficient. The birefringent optical film includes at least two kinds of polymer materials. A total of products of Cn and Wn satisfies a numerical formula (1): ?(Cn×Wn)?30×10?8 cm2/N??(1) where Cn and Wn denote respectively a photoelastic coefficient and a volume fraction of each polymer material, and at least one of the polymer materials of the film has a photoelastic coefficient value of at least 60×10?8 cm2/N.

Abstract: A birefringent film with excellent uniformity in in-plane retardation, retardation in the thickness direction, and alignment axis is provided. The birefringent film is produced in such a manner that, in the step of stretching a polymer film, the polymer film is stretched in a width direction while being shrunk in a longitudinal direction, and assuming that lengths in the width direction and the longitudinal direction of the polymer film before being stretched are 1, a change ratio (STD) of the length in the width direction of the polymer film resulting from the stretching and a change ratio (SMD) of the length in the longitudinal direction of the polymer film resulting from the shrinking satisfy the following formula (1).

Abstract: The present invention can provide an optical film suitable for a liquid crystal display apparatus providing colorless neutral display in all azimuth angle directions, a liquid crystal panel employing the optical film, and a liquid crystal display apparatus employing the liquid crystal panel. The optical film of the present invention includes a first transparent protective film, a polarizer, a second transparent protective film, and a birefringent layer having a relationship of nx>ny=nz and positive uniaxial property in the stated order, in which the second transparent protective film has a thickness direction retardation (Rth) represented by the formula (1) of 10 nm or less.

Abstract: An optical film including a transparent polymer film (b) and a birefringent layer (a) formed of a polymer and laminated above the transparent polymer film (b) is provided. The birefringent layer (a) and the transparent polymer film (b) satisfy the following formula (1), the birefringent layer (a) satisfies the following formulae (2) and (3), and the polymer forming the birefringent layer (a) has a weight-average molecular weight in the range between 10,000 and 400,000 inclusive. ?n(a)>?n(b)×10??(1) 1<(nx?nz)/(nx?ny)??(2) 0.0005??n(a)?0.5??(3) This optical film can prevent the occurrence of iridescence, the occurrence of cracks, and the occurrence of variation in retardation.

Abstract: There is provided: an optical film suitable for a liquid crystal display apparatus providing a colorless neutral display in all azimuth angle directions; a liquid crystal panel employing the optical film; and a liquid crystal display apparatus employing the liquid crystal panel. An optical film includes a transparent protective film, a polarizer, and a birefringent layer having a relationship of nx>ny=nz and positive uniaxial property, in the stated order, in which the polarizer and the birefringent layer are laminated directly through one of a pressure-sensitive adhesive and an adhesive.

Abstract: There is provided a liquid crystal panel and a liquid crystal display apparatus each allowing excellent viewing angle compensation and having excellent contrast and small color shift in an oblique direction. The liquid crystal panel of the present invention includes: a first polarizer; a first cellulose-based film; an optical compensation layer having an Nz coefficient represented by an equation (1) of 2?Nz?20; a liquid crystal cell; a second cellulose-based film; and a second polarizer in the order given from a backlight side to a viewer side, in which: the first cellulose-based film has a thickness direction retardation (Rth) represented by an equation (2) of 10 nm or less; and the second cellulose-based film has a thickness direction retardation (Rth) represented by the equation (2) of 10 nm or less.