An object of the present invention is to provide an optical film which is excellent in the adhesiveness between a polymer support and a photo alignment film and in which a liquid crystal compound having reverse wavelength dispersibility is uniformly aligned. The optical film is obtained by laminating, in the following order: a polymer support containing an additive; a photo alignment film; and an optically anisotropic film, wherein the optically anisotropic film is formed of a polymerizable liquid crystal composition containing a polymerizable liquid crystal compound having reverse wavelength dispersibility, and an amount of a component derived from the additive of the polymer support, which is contained in a boundary region with the optically anisotropic film in the photo alignment film is 0.10 to 0.50 mass % with respect to a total mass of the photo alignment film.

One embodiment provides a hard coat laminated film, comprising, in order from a surface layer side, a first hard coat, a second hard coat, and a transparent resin film layer, where the first hard coat is formed of a coating material including: (A) 100 parts by mass of a polyfunctional (meth)acrylate; (B) 0.01 to 7 parts by mass of a water repellent; (C) 0.01 to 10 parts by mass of a silane coupling agent; and (D) 0.1 to 10 parts by mass of resin microparticles having an average particle diameter of 0.5 to 10 μm, and containing no inorganic particles, and where the second hard coat is formed of a coating material containing inorganic particles. Another embodiment provides a hard coat laminated film having, in order from a surface layer side, a first hard coat, a second hard coat, and a resin film layer. The first hard coat includes a coating material that does not include inorganic particles. The second hard coat includes a coating material including inorganic particles. The adhesive film fulfills the conditions: (i) a total light transmission rate of at least 85%; (ii) a pencil hardness for the first hard coat surface of at least 5H; and (iii) a Y value for an XYZ color system of 1.5%-4.2%.

Optical bodies are described. In particular, optical bodies having a birefringent multilayer optical film and a continuous adhesive layer with a thickness less than 20 micrometers are described. Optical bodies described herein exhibit reduced occurrence and severity of a non-uniformity defect known as “orange peel.”

Provided are a polarizing plate including a polarizing layer containing a lyotropic liquid crystal compound and capable of achieving uniform polarization properties over a large area, and a display device equipped with the polarizing plate. The polarizing plate includes: an alignment film; and a polarizing layer on the alignment film. The alignment film contains an alignment film polymer, has a static contact angle with water of 60° or smaller, and has a slow axis. The polarizing layer contains a lyotropic liquid crystal compound and has an absorption axis parallel to the above slow axis. The lyotropic liquid crystal compound is preferably dichroic.

A refrigerator includes a door with a transparent display assembly that includes a front panel defining at least a portion of a front surface of the door, a touch sensor disposed on a rear surface of the front panel to recognize touch manipulation, a rear panel defining at least a portion of a rear surface of the door, an insulation coating layer provided on a surface of the rear panel by a metal oxide to block heat from the outside, an outer spacer disposed between the front panel and the rear panel to provide a sealed space between the front panel and the rear panel, a display disposed in the sealed space, a light guide plate spaced apart from the display to brighten up the display, and a spacer supporting the light guide plate and maintaining a distance between the display and the light guide plate.

An object of the present invention is to provide an optical laminate in which an optically anisotropic layer provided as an upper layer has good liquid crystal alignment properties, and a polarizing plate and an image display device using the optical laminate. An optical laminate of the present invention is an optical laminate including: a first optically anisotropic layer; and a second optically anisotropic layer, in which the first and second optically anisotropic layers are directly laminated, each of the first and second optically anisotropic layers consists of a liquid crystal layer, and a photo-alignment polymer having a photo-alignment group and at least one type of polar group selected from the group consisting of a hydroxyl group and a ketone group is present in a surface of the second optically anisotropic layer on a side in contact with the first optically anisotropic layer.

A polymerizable liquid crystal composition having excellent solubility, used for formation of an optically anisotropic film having excellent durability. The polymerizable liquid crystal composition contains a polymerizable liquid crystal compound P1 represented by Formula (1): A-Ar-A, a polymerizable liquid crystal compound P2 represented by Formula (2): A-Ar-B, and a polymerizable liquid crystal compound P3 represented by Formula (3): B-Ar-B. In Formulae (1) and (2), A's represent predetermined side chains, all of which exhibit the same C log P value, and in Formulae (2) and (3), B's represent predetermined side chains, all of which exhibit the same C log P value. It should be noted that A and B represent side chains having C log P values different from each other, in which the C log P value of A is larger than the C log P value of B and the C log P value of at least one of A or B is 3.3 or more.

An all-around curved polarizer for an all-around curved display device comprises a polarizing layer, a first protective layer and a second protective layer. The first protective layer is arranged on a side of the polarizing layer adjacent to the all-around curved display device and has a first coefficient of thermal expansion. The second protective layer is disposed on the other side of the polarizing layer opposite to the all-around curved display device, and has a second coefficient of thermal expansion, and the second coefficient of thermal expansion is greater than the first coefficient of thermal expansion of the first protective layer.

A polarizing film including a polarizer that is a cured product of a polymerizable liquid crystal composition is provided. The polymerizable liquid crystal composition contains both a polymerizable liquid crystal compound having at least one polymerizable group and a dichroic coloring matter. The polarizer is laminated on a surface, having a pore size of 0.45 nm to 0.57 nm, of a base material. The pore size is obtained by converting, into a diameter, an average free volume radius calculated by a positron lifetime measurement method in which the positron lifetime is measured by irradiating the surface with positrons with an injection energy of 3 kV.

Provided is a low-cost image display apparatus that has asymmetry in the display characteristics in the right-to-left direction, displays a clear image to the driver, exhibits an appropriate viewing angle control function that reduces reflected glare on the window glass, and is thinly made While causing no moire, and there are also provided an information display system for a vehicle, and an optical film. The image display apparatus includes a viewing-side polarizing plate, a liquid crystal cell, a backlight-side polarizing plate, an optical film, and a backlight in this order, in which the optical film includes an optically anisotropic layer and a polarizer in this order from the liquid crystal cell side, the absorption axis of the backlight-side polarizing plate and the absorption axis of the polarizer are parallel or orthogonal to each other, the optically anisotropic layer is optically uniaxially anisotropic, while in a case where the optic axis of the optically anisotropic layer is projected onto the polarizer as viewed from the viewing-side of the image display apparatus, the azimuthal angle of the optic axis is +50° to +70° or −50° to −70° with respect to the horizontal direction, the average tilt angle of the optic axis with respect to the main surface of the optically anisotropic layer is 20° to 45°, and the in-plane phase difference Re (550) of the optically anisotropic layer is 70 nm to 240 nm.