Abstract: An optical body including an optical layer having a belt-like or rectangular shape and having an incident surface on which light is incident, and a reflective layer formed in the optical layer and having a corner cube shape, wherein the reflective layer directionally reflects the light incident on the incident surface at an incident angle (?, ?), and a direction of a ridge of the corner cube shape is substantially parallel to a lengthwise direction of the belt-shaped or rectangular optical layer. ? is an angle formed by a perpendicular line with respect to the incident surface and the incident light incident on the incident surface or reflected light emerging from the incident surface, and ? is an angle formed by the ridge of the corner cube shape and a component resulting from projecting the incident light or the reflected light to the incident surface).

Abstract: An antiglare film includes a base member and an optical layer provided on the base member, and the optical layer has an irregular shape on a surface thereof. The irregular shape is obtained by applying a coating material containing fine particles and a resin onto the base member, distributing the fine particles densely in some portions and sparsely in other portions by convection that occurs in the coating material, and curing the coating material. The resin contains 3% by weight or more and 20% by weight or less of a polymer, the average particle diameter of the fine particles is 2 ?m or more and 8 ?m or less, and the average film thickness of the optical layer is 8 ?m or more and 18 ?m or less.

Abstract: An optical film includes a base member and an optical layer provided on the base member. The optical layer has an irregular shape on a surface thereof, and the irregular shape is obtained by applying a coating material containing fine particles and a resin onto the base member, distributing the fine particles densely in some regions and sparsely in other regions by convection that occurs in the coating material, and curing the coating material. The resin contains 3% by weight or more and 20% by weight or less of a polymer, the fine particles are organic fine particles having an average particle diameter of 2 ?m or more and 8 ?m or less, a ratio ((D/T)×100) of the average particle diameter D of the fine particles to an average film thickness T of the optical layer is 20% or more and 70% or less, and a transmitted image clarity value measured with an optical comb having a width of 0.125 mm is 45 or more.

Abstract: An optical body includes a first optical layer having a random concave-convex surface, a reflecting layer formed on the concave-convex surface, and a second optical layer formed on the reflecting layer to embed the concave-convex surface, wherein the reflecting layer is a wavelength-selective reflecting layer for diffusely reflecting, of incident light, light in a specific wavelength band and transmitting light other than the specific wavelength band therethrough.

Abstract: An optical body includes a substrate having a concave-convex surface, a reflecting layer formed on the concave-convex surface, and an optical layer formed on the reflecting layer to embed the concave-convex surface, wherein the reflecting layer directionally reflects light, the concave-convex surface is made up of a plurality of triangular pillars arrayed in a one-dimensional pattern, and the triangular pillar has an apex angle a and a slope angle ?, the apex angle ? and the slope angle ? satisfying a formula (1) or (2) given below: 30???4.5??285 (70???80)??(1) 30????1.

Abstract: An antiglare film includes a base material and an antiglare layer which is disposed on at least one surface of the base material and which contains fine particles and a resin, wherein the fine particles constitute aggregates mainly in in-plane directions, and gradual unevenness is disposed on the surface of the antiglare layer through aggregation of the fine particles.

Abstract: An optical body includes a first optical layer, a second optical layer having an incident surface on which light is incident, and a reflecting layer sandwiched between the first and second optical layers, wherein the first optical layer includes a plurality of convex or concave structures formed on or in a surface thereof on which the reflecting layer is disposed, ridges of the convex structures or ridges between the concave structures adjacent to each other have tip portions projecting toward the incident surface side, the tip portions are deformed from an ideal shape, the second optical layer is transparent and has a refractive index of 1.1 or more and 1.9 or less, and the optical body selectively directionally reflects part of light entering the incident surface, which part is in a specific wavelength band, in direction other than the specular reflection direction.

Abstract: An optical element has a first optical layer; a reflective layer; and a second optical layer. The reflective layer includes at least five layers of high refractive-index layers and metal layers alternately laminated. When a thickness L of the entire reflective layer is 80 nm, a ratio ? of an optical thickness of the entire metal layers to that of the entire high refractive-index layers and a ratio ? of an optical thickness of a third high refractive-index layer to that of a first high refractive-index layer are included in a first region, when the thickness L is 90 nm, the ratios ? and ? are included in a second region, and when the thickness L is 80 to 90 nm, the ratios ? and ? are included in a space enclosed by the first region, the second region, and straight lines derived from these regions.

Abstract: An optical film is provided and includes a base member and an optical layer on the base member. The optical layer has a surface asperity formed by applying a coating material containing microparticles and resin on the base member, distributing the microparticles densely in some parts and sparsely in other parts by convections that occur in the coating material, and curing the coating material. The average diameter of the microparticles is 2.4 ?m or more and 8 ?m or less. The average thickness of the optical layer is 6.4 ?m or more and 18 ?m or less. The arithmetic mean roughness Ra of a roughness profile of the optical layer surface is 0.03 ?m or more and 0.15 ?m or less and the root-mean-square slope R?q is 0.01 or more and 0.03 or less. The difference in refractive index between the resin and the microparticles is 0 or more and 0.015 or less.

Abstract: An optical element includes: a first optical layer having a concavo-convex surface; a wavelength-selective reflective layer provided on the concavo-convex surface of the first optical layer; a second optical layer provided on the concavo-convex surface on which the wavelength-selective reflective layer is provided so as to fill the concavo-convex surface, and in the optical element described above, the wavelength-selective reflective layer includes a metal layer, a protective layer provided on the metal layer and containing a metal oxide as a primary component, and a high refractive index layer provided on the protective layer and containing a metal oxide other than zinc oxide as a primary component, and the wavelength-selective reflective layer selectively directionally reflects light in a specific wavelength band while transmitting light other than that in the specific wavelength band.

Abstract: A light-diffusing film and screen including same are provided. The light-diffusing film having anisotropy in the diffusion angle includes a translucent support, and a translucent resin layer having irregularities on the surface thereof and being provided on the translucent support. In the light-diffusing film, the maximal value of the loss tangent (tan ?) determined from a dynamic viscoelasticity of the light-diffusing film lies in a temperature range of 0° C. to 60° C.

Abstract: An anti-glare film has a plurality of diffuser elements, and has specified optical properties. The ratio of I(?+1)/I(?) is more than 0.1 to 0.6, where I(?) is an intensity of a light reflected toward an arbitrary angle ? of 10° or less from a specular reflection direction of an incident light upon the surface at an angle of 5° to 30° from the surface normal, and I(?+1) is an intensity of a reflected light deviated from the arbitrary angle ? by 1° in a wide-angle direction. The gain of a light reflected in the direction at 20° or more from the specular reflection direction of the incident light is 0.02 or less, in which the gain is obtained by normalizing a reflected light intensity using a specular reflection intensity of a standard diffuse plate as 1. The diffuser elements have an average space therebetween of 50 to 300 micrometers.

Abstract: A method for producing an anti-glare film includes applying a coating composition including at least a resin, a solvent, and fine particles to a substrate; drying the coating composition applied to the substrate so that a Benard cell structure is formed in the surface of the coating layer due to convection caused during volatilization of the solvent; and curing the resin contained in the coating composition having formed therein a Benard cell structure to form an anti-glare layer having fine irregularities with a moderate surface waviness. The anti-glare layer has a degree of white muddiness of 1.7 or less, as measured by quantitatively determining a diffuse reflection component of the diffused light incident upon the surface of the anti-glare layer.

Abstract: An anti-glare film has a plurality of diffuser elements, and has specified optical properties. The ratio of I(?+1)/I(?) is more than 0.1 to 0.6, where I(?) is an intensity of a light reflected toward an arbitrary angle ? of 10° or less from a specular reflection direction of an incident light upon the surface at an angle of 5° to 30° from the surface normal, and I(?+1) is an intensity of a reflected light deviated from the arbitrary angle ? by 1° in a wide-angle direction. The gain of a light reflected in the direction at 20° or more from the specular reflection direction of the incident light is 0.02 or less, in which the gain is obtained by normalizing a reflected light intensity using a specular reflection intensity of a standard diffuse plate as 1. The diffuser elements have an average space therebetween of 50 to 300 micrometers.

Abstract: A method for producing an anti-glare film includes applying a coating composition including at least a resin, a solvent, and fine particles to a substrate; drying the coating composition applied to the substrate so that a Benard cell structure is formed in the surface of the coating layer due to convection caused during volatilization of the solvent; and curing the resin contained in the coating composition having formed therein a Benard cell structure to form an anti-glare layer having fine irregularities with a moderate surface waviness. The anti-glare layer has a degree of white muddiness of 1.7 or less, as measured by quantitatively determining a diffuse reflection component of the diffused light incident upon the surface of the anti-glare layer.

Abstract: An optical element is provided includes an optical layer having a flat incident surface on which light is incident and a wavelength-selective reflective layer disposed in the optical layer. Of light incident on the incident surface at an incident angle (?, ?), the optical element selectively directionally reflects light in at least one specific wavelength range in at least one direction other than a specular reflection direction (??, ?+180°) while transmitting light in at least one wavelength range other than the specific wavelength range, and is transparent to light in at least one wavelength range other than the specific wavelength range.

Abstract: An anti-glare film has a plurality of diffuser elements, and has specified optical properties. The ratio of I(?+1)/I(?) is more than 0.1 to 0.6, where I(?) is an intensity of a light reflected toward an arbitrary angle ? of 10° or less from a specular reflection direction of an incident light upon the surface at an angle of 5° to 30° from the surface normal, and I(?+1) is an intensity of a reflected light deviated from the arbitrary angle ? by 1° in a wide-angle direction. The gain of a light reflected in the direction at 20° or more from the specular reflection direction of the incident light is 0.02 or less, in which the gain is obtained by normalizing a reflected light intensity using a specular reflection intensity of a standard diffuse plate as 1. The diffuser elements have an average space therebetween of 50 to 300 micrometers.

Abstract: A method of producing a mold for use in duplicating a light diffusion sheet is provided. The method includes a step of conducting sand blasting for blasting abrasive material from a blast gun to a surface of a mold base material to form unevenness in the surface of the mold base material, wherein the abrasive material is blasted to the surface of the mold base material at a blast angle of less than 90°.

Abstract: An optical film is provided and includes a base member and an optical layer on the base member. The optical layer has a surface asperity formed by applying a coating material containing microparticles and resin on the base member, distributing the microparticles densely in some parts and sparsely in other parts by convections that occur in the coating material, and curing the coating material. The average diameter of the microparticles is 2.4 ?m or more and 8 ?m or less. The average thickness of the optical layer is 6.4 ?m or more and 18 ?m or less. The arithmetic mean roughness Ra of a roughness profile of the optical layer surface is 0.03 ?m or more and 0.15 ?m or less and the root-mean-square slope R?q is 0.01 or more and 0.03 or less. The difference in refractive index between the resin and the microparticles is 0 or more and 0.015 or less.

Abstract: An anti-glare film is provided and includes a substrate and an anti-glare layer which is formed on the substrate and contains fine particles. The anti-glare layer has micro concave/convex shapes on the surface. The micro concave/convex shapes of the anti-glare layer are formed by coating the substrate with a coating material containing the fine particles and aggregating the fine particles by a convection of the coating material. A thickness of the anti-glare layer is equal to or larger than a mean diameter of the fine particles and is equal to or less than three times as large as the mean diameter of the fine particles. The fine particles are constructed substantially by fine particles having particle sizes less than twice as large as the thickness of the anti-glare layer.