LIGHT CONTROL DEVICE, LIGHT CONTROL WINDOW, AND OPTICAL LAMINATED BODY FOR LIGHT CONTROL DEVICE

• US 20160334633A1
• Filed: 01/07/2015
• Published: 11/17/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 01/10/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nitto Denko Corporation
• Original Assignee: Nitto Denko Corporation
• Inventors: Asanoi, Yoshiaki, Matsuda, Shoichi, Takemoto, Hiroyuki, Kameyama, Tadayuki
• Granted Patent: US 10,228,572 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: E06B 2009/2405 Areas of differing opacity for light transmission control
• CPC Class Codes: E06B 9/24 Screens or other constructions affording protection against light, especially against sunshine; Similar screens for privacy or appearance; Slat blindsoperating, guiding or securing devices or arrangements for roll-type closures E06B9/56; free-hanging flexible screens A47H23/00
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/281 used for attenuating light intensity, e.g. comprising rotatable polarising elements
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 5/3016 involving passive liquid crystal elements optical properties of liquid crystals G02F1/0063; polarising elements associated with active liquid crystal devices G02F1/133528
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 5/3083 Birefringent or phase retarding elements G02B5/3008, G02B5/3016 take precedence; systems for polarisation control G02B27/286; manufacturing phase modulating patterns by lithographic processes G03F7/001

Abstract

A light control device of the present invention includes a first patterning polarizing plate 21 containing a plurality of polarization regions having different absorption axis directions, a second patterning polarizing plate 22 containing the same polarization regions as those of the first patterning polarizing plate 21, and a retardation plate 3, wherein at least any one of the first and the second patterning polarizing plates 21, 22 is disposed slidably in a plane direction. Such a light control device hardly causes color irregularities and hardly causes a pattern.

Claims

1. A light control device comprising:

a first patterning polarizing plate containing at least two polarization regions having different absorption axis directions;

a second patterning polarizing plate containing the same polarization regions as those of the first patterning polarizing plate; and

a retardation plate,

wherein at least any one of the first and the second patterning polarizing plates is disposed slidably in a plane direction.

2. The light control device according to claim 1,

wherein each of the first patterning polarizing plate and the second patterning polarizing plate contains at least a first polarization region and a second polarization region, and an absorption axis direction of the first polarization region is orthogonal to an absorption axis direction of the second polarization region.

3. The light control device according to claim 1, wherein the retardation plate is disposed on the outside of the first and the second patterning polarizing plates.

4. The light control device according to, claim 1 wherein the retardation plate is a quarter-wave plate or a three quarter-wave plate, and its in-plane retardation value (Re[590]) is 100 nm or more.

5. The light control device according to, claim 1 wherein an in-plane retardation value (Re[590]) of the retardation plate is 4000 nm or more.

6. The light control device according to, claim 1 wherein a slow axis direction of the retardation plate is non-parallel to all absorption axis directions of polarization regions contained in the first and the second patterning polarizing plates.

7. The light control device according to claim 6, wherein an angle between the slow axis direction of the retardation plate and each of the absorption axis directions of the polarization regions is in the range of 10°

to 80°

.

8. A light control window comprising the light control device according to claim 1 and a light-transmitting plate serving as an objective of light control by the light control device.

9. The light control window according to claim 8, wherein the light-transmitting plate has an optically isotropic property.

10. The light control window according to claim 8, wherein the light-transmitting plate is a window glass.

11. The light control window according to claim 8, wherein the light-transmitting plate is disposed on the outside of the light control device.

12. An optical laminated body for a light control device comprising:

a patterning polarizing plate containing at least two polarization regions having different absorption axis directions, and

a retardation plate.