polarized lenses lcd displays factory

Polarized sunglasses may make it easier and more comfortable to see outdoors, but wearing them while trying to read an LCD (liquid-crystal display) screen can sometimes — literally — leave your eyes in the dark.

Most LCDs, such as your smartphone and tablet, use a polarizing filter to help you see the screen in bright sunlight. But so do polarized sunglasses, meaning the two essentially cancel each other out, causing your LCD screen to appear dark or completely black when you look at it.

Polarized sunglasses are designed to block glare — overly bright light reflected off shiny surfaces such as water and snow. Natural light consists of protons bouncing in many directions; polarized lenses filter that light, causing those protons to travel in a single, uniform direction (usually horizontal).

Polarized sunglass lenses are coated with a chemical compound composed of molecules that are parallel to one another. These molecules absorb any light waves traveling in the direction in which they’re aligned, preventing them from passing through the coating.

LCD screens and sunglasses typically contain a polarizing filter for the same reason: to make it easier for you to see clearly, especially in bright sunlight.

What tends to happen is your polarized sunglasses do their job by only allowing light to pass through vertically. Meanwhile, your phone screen emits horizontally vibrating light while blocking vertical light.

Your lenses and screen end up counteracting each other by working in opposite directions. As a result, you wind up seeing a dark or blacked-out image.

The solution is simple: Rotate your tablet or phone screen by 90 degrees. This trick usually works because it positions your screen’s polarizing filters so they block light waves traveling in the same direction as your polarized sunglasses, allowing light to pass through.

Newer smartphone and computer screens have found ways to compensate for this issue, but you may still notice a darker screen when wearing polarized sunglasses with an older model screen.

In some cases, you may need to view LCDs on an instrument panel that can’t be rotated. This can be true for boaters and pilots who must be able to read instrumentation quickly and accurately to ensure their safety. For this reason, you should avoid wearing polarized sunglasses in these circumstances.

Polarized lenses also can interfere with your ability to see and read the displays on gas pumps and ATMs. To see more clearly when filling your tank or withdrawing money, remove your sunglasses when performing these tasks.

Any reputable eyewear retailer (brick-and-mortar store or online shop) will provide accurate labeling on sunglasses they offer, so you should be able to tell at a glance whether those sunglasses you’re considering have polarized lenses.

Hold the sunglasses in a way that allows you to look through both pairs of lenses at the same time. Rotate one pair of sunglasses by 90 degrees. If all light is blocked when passing through both pairs, then your older sunglasses probably have polarized lenses.

You also can test your sunglasses by looking at an LCD screen while wearing them. Just remember to rotate the device 90 degrees to make sure you’re checking for a polarizing filter that blocks light traveling either horizontally or vertically.

ARE YOUR SUNGLASSES POLARIZED? If not, it might be time for a new pair. Shop for polarized sunglasses at an optical store near you or an online eyewear retailer

There’s a price for living in a state that has an average of 300 sunny days per year. If you live in Arizona, you don’t often have to deal with snow shovels and parkas, but you almost always think about how the sun will affect you. From staying hydrated to wearing sunscreen, there are steps every Arizonan needs to take to be healthy and comfortable in the sun—and wearing the right protective lenses is one of them.

Your choice in sunwear is particularly important. Although UV lenses help protect your eyes and the skin around your eyes from the damaging ultraviolet light, they don’t eliminate the distracting and blinding glare that causes visual discomfort in any sunny situation.

Polarized lenses eliminate glare, but they may not be the perfect solution for every situation. This article explores how polarized lenses work, their benefits, their potential drawbacks and where to buy them.

When a bundle of light hits a flat surface, it becomes polarized, or is reflected horizontally. The bundle becomes concentrated and is blinding anyone observing it. This is referred to as blinding glare.

Glare typically happens when waves of light bounce off reflective surfaces, such as a lake, snowy hillside, or shiny car bumper. Because the surface is horizontal, the light is reflected horizontally. When you are wearing polarized sunglasses, the surface blocks the glare by filtering out the horizontal light waves that don’t fit through the chemical laminate pattern.

Images may appear darker while wearing polarized lenses. However, when glare is eliminated, the image details are easier to see. and can reduce eye strain. Plus, polarized lenses also provide protection from harmful UV rays.

Inexpensive polarized sunglasses differ from more expensive lenses in significant ways. Cheaper sunglasses may only have a thin chemical laminate on one side of the lens. The thin layer may only provide minimal benefit and the thin layer can be rubbed or scratched off easily. You may also notice aberrations in your lenses, as these are usually mass produced stamped out lenses that are lower quality.

A note about lens color: darker lenses are not a sign of better protection. Ask your eyeglass retailer or optometrist how the polarized laminate is applied to the eyewear before you purchase it. As far as other options go, polarized glasses are available in a wide variety of colors, materials and lens designs.

In addition to reducing glare, polarized lenses ease eye strain from long hours in the sun. And if you experience headaches due to light sensitivity, polarized lenses may help you experience fewer occurrences and less intense headaches.

Polarized lenses can also increase visual clarity, contrast, and acuity, making your environment more enjoyable. And when you’re able to see better, you may be able to mentally determine what you’re seeing quicker, which can help improve reaction time.

Bonus advantage: If you are a recreational or commercial fisherman or boater, polarized glasses can allow you to see below the surface of the water, so you catch more fish and maneuver the water safely.

Liquid crystal displays (LCDs)—which are common on cell phone screens, auto dashboards, clocks and other instrument displays—can be difficult to see clearly when wearing polarized lenses. They are especially troubling for pilots who may have trouble reading their instrument panel and also viewing objects in the sky, including other planes.

Polarized sunglasses are available at numerous retail locations, from your local drug store to high-end sunglass retailers. If you’re buying these glare-blocking sunglasses to reduce eye strain, make sure you’re getting your money’s worth. Consult with a professional to help ensure you receive accurate information about your eyewear. Also, depending on the level of strain and discomfort your experience with sunlight, there may be another issue that your eye doctor should know about.

Polarized light is used with LCD displays for them to work. So the polarity of the polarizer (Up to Down Vs Side to Side) you are wearing and what the screen was designed with can’t be at 90º with each other which will block the most light! It makes no difference who’s phone or tablet you are using as they all have this weakness!

So if you want to use sunglasses (with polarized lenses) when you are using your iPhone or iPad you’ll need to deal with both the orientation of your sunglasses and that of your device.

As an example wearing my el-cheap-o polarized glasses when looking at my factory fresh iPhone (or iPad) screen held with the narrow side to side offers a darker screen! My more expensive circular polarized glasses does not shift at all! But, it’s a bit darker than my cheaper glasses when they are twisted offering the most light. Keep in mind your glasses might be 90º to mine!

This bit of magical privacy is achieved through the way typical LCD (liquid crystal display) screens are constructed. Most light from the sun, light bulbs, or that twinkle in your eyes is actually a big messy wad of electromagnetic waves pointing this way and that. This is also the case with the source light for LCDs.

In any case you have to be careful, because not all screens are created equal so results may vary. And it probably goes without saying that this only works with LCD screens, so put the screwdriver down and slowly back away from that plasma screen.

I wear polarized sunglasses most of the time and have very little problem with seeing the display on any of my units. The standard polarization is vertical meaning the horizontal rays which cause the most glare is blocked. Perhaps it"s your sunglasses that aren"t polarized correctly.

My regular sunglasses are not polarized so it"s not an issue, but when I wear my prescription polarized sunglasses, I can"t see my 3597LMTHD very well at all. Never had this problem with earlier GPSrs.

I"m pretty sure that the glasses are right. In addition to the intent to cut reflected glare that would not work if the orientation were changed, I"ve compared them to multiple other brands in stores, and all are polarized the same way. They show light passing when oriented the same way as the other glasses, and light blocked when the glasses I"m comparing them to are rotated 90 degrees.

Also worth noting is that the monitor that I"m using at this moment has it"s filters oriented in the way that I would call "correctly", its screen only darkens if I rotate my lenses 90 degrees. Not that I would expect monitor makers to be as concerned with this as GPS manufacturers should be. It may well be just chance that the top layer of my monitor"s orientation matches sunglasses.

I have a 255 which is a later version of your 250 and I don"t have a problem viewing the screen with polarized glasses. I can understand the issue on those units that switch from horizontal to vertical orientation as the polarizing filter would be fixed so it would then rotate from vertical to horizontal effectively blocking the screen.

The radio display on 1 series BMWs cannot be seen through polarized sunglasses. The "solution" is to play with a piece of overhead presentation material until you get the orientation "right" and then cut out a piece to cover the display. The same thing might work on the nuvi.

I have the same problem with the car"s in-dash LCD display for the radio & climate controls and at gas pumps with LCD displays. I have to take off my sunglasses to read these displays, or look over the top.

The radio display on 1 series BMWs cannot be seen through polarized sunglasses. The "solution" is to play with a piece of overhead presentation material until you get the orientation "right" and then cut out a piece to cover the display. The same thing might work on the nuvi.

But it isn"t a matter of position. It is that normal polarized sunglasses are polarized vertically, and the front filter on my nuvi 250 seems to be polarized horizontally. That adds up to darkness no mater where I put it unless I rotate it so that it isn"t horizontal to my line of sight.

The radio display on 1 series BMWs cannot be seen through polarized sunglasses. The "solution" is to play with a piece of overhead presentation material..

If you see a darkening at the 90 degree point it could mean that Garmin is buying different displays from different suppliers and that (at least when our devices were made) that they don"t specify what orientation the filters in the displays should be. I consider that a serious mistake for a device made for use while driving. It could also mean that the supplier may cut some filters oriented differently than others, perhaps to maximize yield from the sheets of polarizing material. Or that they simply are not consistent about which filter they put in the rear and which they put in the front.

Assuming that your glasses are polarized and you see darkening at some point, then the implication is that, if you want to avoid this problem, no amount of research is going to help. You have to buy your GPSr from a brick and mortar retailer and see the actual one that you are buying in operation (not the demo unit). Comparing by model numbers may not be enough.

But it isn"t a matter of position. It is that normal polarized sunglasses are polarized vertically, and the front filter on my nuvi 250 seems to be polarized horizontally.

I"m confused about what the GPS 60 CSx is telling us, but since you mention that it has the option to turn off the backlight it is clearly a very special type of display. I have had the backlight fail in a LCD display and only with a very strong flashlight could I tell that the display itself was still trying to display and only the backlight had failed. Normally such a display just looks black.

This is very likely. Garmin likely has multiple suppliers, and I fear that they don"t spec the polarization of the front filter. This has bad implications for anyone trying to research a Garmin GPS. To avoid the polarized sunglasses issue you pretty much have to buy your nuvi through a brick and mortar store when you can see that actual nuvi that you are buying turned on. Not just the display model (if the display model has a real screen at all and not just a colored overlay).

Anyone doing a test with polarized sunglasses and reporting that they don"t see a problem, please rotate your glasses and let us know if the screen darkens at some other rotation and if so at what angle (likely 45 degrees or 90 degrees). If you don"t see a darkening, please check your glasses against an LCD monitor and confirm that they are really polarized.

I mentioned this problem to an optometrist once, and he said some airline pilots specify one sun glass lens polarized and the other non-polarized--for viewing LCD instruments.

Anyone doing a test with polarized sunglasses and reporting that they don"t see a problem, please rotate your glasses and let us know if the screen darkens at some other rotation and if so at what angle (likely 45 degrees or 90 degrees). If you don"t see a darkening, please check your glasses against an LCD monitor and confirm that they are really polarized.

No problems with my 2460. I wear polarized sunglasses all the time (well, when I"m in the car and the sun is up). The Nuvi isn"t a problem; some other instruments and displays in the car are; one, I have to turn my head at an angle, or slide my sunglasses down to read certain parts of the display.

The radio display that is not visible through polarized lens is not a touch screen. But my iphone 4S is in an Otterbox which puts a piece of plastic over the touch screen display. Works fine.

I mentioned this problem to an optometrist once, and he said some airline pilots specify one sun glass lens polarized and the other non-polarized--for viewing LCD instruments.

First of all, cinema 3D type glasses offer no UV protection. Second, they are not polarized like that. There were cardboard 3D glasses back in the 60"s and early 70"s that used that design. But modern 3D glasses, such as "RealD" theater glasses or even the glasses made for use with LG 3D TVs, use "circularly polarized" lenses. One lens is clockwise polarized, the other counter clockwise polarized. Do a Google search on "circular polarized 3d" for more details.

The 3D glasses for the movie Avatar in 2009 were linear polarized. They also used a thin plastic film for the “lens”. I know because I used a pair to make a darkener for a seriously over bright display. Just rotate two pieces until you get the desired darkening and then glue them in place.

I had noticed a dark screen when using polarized glasses. Since most of mine are that way, I just have to take them off to see the GPS. I have a 255.

But it isn"t a matter of position. It is that normal polarized sunglasses are polarized vertically, and the front filter on my nuvi 250 seems to be polarized horizontally. That adds up to darkness no mater where I put it unless I rotate it so that it isn"t horizontal to my line of sight.

A few years back, I tested a car with a heads-up display (HUD). I could see it at all and the vendor riding with me was puzzled until we realized I was wearing polarized sunglasses. They would completely cut off the display reflecting on the windshield.

A few years back, I tested a car with a heads-up display (HUD). I could see it at all and the vendor riding with me was puzzled until we realized I was wearing polarized sunglasses. They would completely cut off the display reflecting on the windshield.

Reflection from the windshield should not have caused the problem. It seems likely that the real problem was that the HUD was LCD based and suffered the same problem as some Garmin GPS units, the polarization filter on the top surface was such that it caused the display to darken completely when viewed through polarized sunglasses. Another case of this same poor design.

In the normal "wide view" position, my new 3597 is somewhat darkened by my sunglasses. If I tip my head about 25 degrees in the correct direction (right), it lightens up. I tried putting the unit in the "narrow view" orientation, which of course also makes the map rotate 90 degrees, and it is better, with no real darkening unless I really tip my head, or the unit. I then put the unit in front of my computer screen, and with sunglasses on, found that the orientation or "rotation degrees" to darken, are almost the same for both screens. I can make both screens go dark with about a 30 degree tilt of the head - to the left, with a slight increase in brightness of both with a tilt to the right. So - does this mean Garmin is setting them this way, to be like a LCD screen? Sure would be nice if they turned it about 25 more degrees for the lightest view. I"m pretty sure my glasses are oriented correctly. I like the idea of one lens polarized, one not, but I"m not sure which eye I want the sun glaring on!

I dug out a pair of the Real3D glasses, and see what you mean. They give a blue effect in one direction and a yellow effect in the other, at least looking at this LCD display and the GPS unit. No darkening of the screen, but as you say, no UV protection and also wouldn"t necessarily stop glare from the windshield or road. Looks like we"re stuck looking over the top of polarized, or going non-polarized, or rotating the unit on it"s mount to avoid darkened screens.

Many people wear polarized sunglasses outdoors to reduce reflections from shiny surfaces, such as the surface of a lake. What is the implication of using polarized sunglasses to view a camera’s LCD screen or EVF (electronic viewfinder)?

Unpolarized light reflected from a transparent dielectric surface will become fully polarized at Brewster’s angle of incidence/reflection. At other angles of incidence/reflection, the reflected light will become partially polarized. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brewster%27s_angle for more information.

Properly designed polarized sunglasses have a polarizing film that blocks light polarized in the horizontal direction, and passes light polarized in the vertical direction. In the absence of any additional shading in the sunglasses, the sunglasses will block 50% of unpolarized light, which can be thought of in this case as a random mix of vertically and horizontally polarized light.

When light reflects off a pool of water at Brewster’s angle, the reflected light will be completely polarized in the horizontal direction, and the polarized sunglasses will completely block that reflected glare. At reflection angles different than Brewster’s angle, the effect will not be 100%, but the glare will be reduced. This effect also can work with reflections off of car hoods or even pavement, even though we don’t think of those surfaces as being transparent. The clear coat and wax on the car hood and the oils on pavement most likely provide the transparent surface necessary for the Brewster’s angle effect.

LCD screens used on digital cameras can sometimes (often, but not in all cases) produce light that is partially to almost fully polarized in a specific direction, because of the design of the particular LCD screen. If, for example, the camera manufacturer places the LCD orientation so that the light emanating from the LCD is horizontally polarized when the camera is held in the normal landscape position, then someone wearing polarized sunglasses will see a very dark LCD image when using the camera in landscape format.

I use digital cameras for both photography and video. My guess is that far more of my photos are shot in landscape orientation than in portrait orientation, and when shooting video, I shoot 100% landscape orientation. I live in a sunny climate and I use polarized sunglasses for driving, hiking and many outdoor activities. I also do a lot of adventure travel, and find polarized sunglasses useful for such travel. I decided to do a test to see how the LCD screens and EVFs of some specific digital cameras (specifically Panasonic and Sony, which I own several of) interact with polarized sunglasses.

Some years ago, I had noticed that polarized sunglasses could interact with LCDs/EVFs, but it had not really been a problem. Then I bought a Panasonic DMC-LX100 and really ran into a problem. The LCD and the EVF on the LX100 are polarized in the horizontal direction (not 100% polarized, but still strongly polarized). One of the big features of the LX100 was that it could shoot 4K video (the primary reason that I bought it), which of course would always be done in the landscape orientation. Additionally, far more than half of my photos would be in the landscape orientation. What this means is that when I am outdoors and wearing my prescription polarized sunglasses (having far/medium/near correction, i.e., can’t see much without them), when I shoot video or shoot photos in the landscape orientation, the LCD of the LX100 is so dark as to be unusable and the EVF is somewhat dark with a vertical shaded broad line in it. When I switch to portrait orientation, the LCD and the EVF have no problem with my polarized sunglasses.

I wondered how could Panasonic get such a basic feature wrong - polarized sunglasses have been around far longer than have digital cameras, and polarized sunglasses are truly useful for reducing glare, not just lowering the overall amount of light passed. So I decided to test other Panasonic cameras (and Sony cameras, which are in this thread) to see how they interact with polarized sunglasses. Here are my findings for various Sony cameras and how they interact with polarized sunglasses (OK means no or little effect from the sunglasses):

It is possible to manufacture LCDs that have minimal polarization issues in either landscape or portrait orientation, but it appears that in the Sony models that I tested, that is not the case, except for the OLED EVFs.

If an LCD or EVF is manufactured or designed to produce somewhat or strongly polarized light, then the LCD or EVF should be mounted to produce vertical polarization, so that it won’t render the LCD/EVF unusable for shooting video and also for shooting landscape orientation photos, which my guess is far more than half of all photos. It looks like in all of the Sony cameras that I tested, Sony got this right.

It is entirely possible that in a manufacturing run of a specific camera model, the type of LCD/EVF or the orientation of the LCD/EVF is changed, so your results might be different than mine.

Quality polarized sunglasses are manufactured with a polarizing film that blocks horizontal polarization and passes vertical polarization as explained earlier. Every pair of polarized sunglasses I have ever owned work this way, in order to reduce glare. If you have a pair of polarized sunglasses that don’t work this way, you should return them and get your money back.

I would be interested to hear from others how their camera’s LCD/EVF interacts with polarized sunglasses when the camera is used in landscape orientation and in portrait orientation.

When buying new sunglasses, people commonly ask the same question: Do I really need polarized lenses? As they should. After all, polarization is far from a small investment. For example, a classic pair of Wayfarers with polarized lenses ($203) lists over 30 percent more than the non-polarized version ($153). “The lenses look the same when you see them, but there are physical layers, not just coating layers, in these lenses that take a lot more time to make,” said Dave Barton, the founder of premium eyewear brand David Kind.

Polarized lenses have an immediate effect on vision, reducing glare off of flat surfaces. The quality of material and method of manufacturing greatly affects both the price point and the optics. “A polarized lens in a $10 pair of glasses is going to have some of the properties of a polarized lens in a $500 pair of glasses,” Barton said. “But, you’re getting 30 percent more effectiveness and quality, and maybe 50 to 80 percent more durability when you start going up.”

There are many manufacturers making medium and low-end polarized lenses, but the highest quality glass comes from just a few factories across the world, including Barberini in Italy and Nakanishi in Japan. “When you’re sourcing your lenses, it makes a difference to a point what you’re picking,” Barton said.

To better understand how polarized lenses work, the range of available options and who benefits the most from polarization, we talked to few independent eyewear experts.

Behle: We consume a world of reflected light that is constantly moving and in flux. Polarized lenses channel this reflected light, reducing its movement. This channeled light provides more visual clarity and definition. Polarized lenses also address eye fatigue and strain from reflected light. Eye fatigue is caused as your pupils chase reflected light, which causes constant expansion and contraction of the eye as it adjusts to the changing angle and intensity of the light. This eye fatigue is a direct trigger for headaches and migraines.

Barton: Polarized lenses are almost like mini Venetian blinds — there are microscopic blinds that are in the film in the lens. That cuts out the glare that’s coming into your eyes at that angle. It’s very effective at this.

Daly and Vallot: Polarized lenses block reflected light so they offer a higher level of eye protection. People often forget sunglasses are a medical device. Unlike our skin, our eyes do not contain melanin. This means [that] each time we expose them to sunlight, they become more sensitive.

Behle:Polarized lenses have a polarized film that filters reflected light in a vertical plane (the reflected light is predominately vibrating in a horizontal plane). In channeling that light, polarized lenses remove the majority of electromagnetic vibration, also known as glare.

Barton: The cheapest way to produce it is to use an acrylic-based material or acetate material, and then laminate the polarized film between these thin sheets of acrylic or acetate. Then they use heat to form it into the spherical shape of a lens and then they cut the lens. Those are the cheapest, but they also have the most distortion of the lens. You can see these hot spots around the edge of the lens that cause distortion and reduce the polarize effectiveness. And they scratch really easily too.

The next level is polycarbonate injection molded [lenses]. You see a lot of this being used. It’s what Oakley uses primarily, and it’s what most of the other sports brands use. It’s an impact-resistant material, and it’s more scratch resistant than the [laminated lenses]. The film is put into a mold and they inject the polycarbonate material around it. That makes for a good strong lense, but it’s not a clear lens to look through. It can cause distortion in the polarized film.

Next, you start getting into CR39, where you have two wafers and you glue the polarized film in between the two wafers of the lens. Done with a high quality, this can be a much clearer lens than the polycarbonate one, but it’s not impact-resistant.

Then you have glass, which is primarily what we use at David Kind. It’s done in the same construction method as the CR39, but it’s going to be the clearest, most scratch-resistant material. It seems to affect the polarization film the least. If it’s manufactured in a high-quality facility, it doesn’t distort the polarized film, so you have nice polarized effectiveness all around the periphery of the lens.

There’s also cast NTX, which is kind of like a Trivex material. Instead of injection molded under pressure, it’s cast into a mold around the polarized film. That results in an impact resistant, relatively distortion-free lens material. So I would say, for sport, that is the best. And for optical clarity and scratch resistance, glass is the best.

Behle: Quality in a polarized lens starts with the quality of the lens material. The highest quality lenses are optical-grade and they’re predominately made out of CR39 or mineral glass. The second component is the quality of the polarized film and how the film is adhered to the lens and aligned. Quality polarized lenses use a higher quality polarized film, sandwiched between the two lenses so that the film is perfectly aligned in the worn position. They also use a backside anti-reflective coating on the inside of the lens that absorbs light that enters from the back of the lens and prevents this light from reflecting back into your eye. Further, high-quality lenses will use hydrophobic and oleophobic coatings that repel water and oils, to ensure that your lens is clean and clear.

Barton: One of the best values out there is a glass polarized Ray-Ban aviator. That’s a great quality lens and they’ve been doing it for years. As you move up-market, you start getting into better frames, and you start getting things for the lens like anti-reflective coating, which make a huge difference. You can get into photochromics, you can get into mirror coatings — all of that increase the price as well. When you go down-market, you start going into the polycarbonate materials. The cheapest of the cheap are the gas station polarized ones are the acrylic acetate ones that won’t last.

Daly and Vallot: There are different levels of protection available. Our mountain athletes also request IR (infrared rays) protection due to a closer proximity to the sun. IR causes our eyes to get warmer and inflamed so this additional protection is paramount. Mirrored lenses have also gained a certain notoriety in the sports industry but this is more cosmetic than anything else in our opinion.

Behle: Everyone. It is absurd to be wearing a sunglass, especially a premium sunglass, that does not have a polarized lens. Beyond UV protection and reducing the amount of light that penetrates the lens, which virtually all sunglasses have, the real point of having a sunglass is being able to see clearly and without eye strain in the constant barrage of reflected light. Most people equate polarized lenses with outdoor activities on the water, but they are conducive to virtually all settings. You are getting almost as much reflected light from urban surfaces, e.g. auto windows and concrete, as you are on the water. The mirror effect and movement of water, of course, amplifies this glare.

Barton: My experience is it’s definitely not for everyone; it’s for most people, but it’s not for everyone. Some people feel a little discombobulated because they’re disoriented by the effects that polarized can have, They’re not used to it. For example, car window screens that have window tint, you start seeing these purple blotches. It can change how you perceive the road surface. If you’re a skier and you want to see the reflection of ice on a sunny day, you don’t want polarized. If you’re a pilot, many of the windscreens are polarized themselves, and when you combine a polarized windscreen and polarized glasses, it can black out the screen, so they don’t wear polarized. It’s definitely not for everyone, but for most people, you’re going to have a better visual experience, especially when you’re in bright conditions, near water or outdoors.

Polarized sunglasses are designed to reduce glare, enhance clarity and contrast, and are generally the most popular choice. Polarization is achieved through the lens manufacturing process with horizontal lines that block light in a similar manner to window blinds. To test if your sunglasses are polarized, simply rotate your head 90 degrees to the side and look at a computer screen. If the screen darkens, the lenses are polarized.

Are polarized sunglasses better? Polarized sunglasses are more desired for normal daily use, but they aren"t always the right choice. For example, pilots should not wear polarized lenses as they can make LCD screens and gauges invisible.

Two types of lenses have become more popular and easily found. Although these add to the price of the lens, they can be worth it for certain people and activities. We are here to talk about:AR, or Anti-Reflective lenses, and

Anti-reflective lenses are just what they sound like; the lenses have special properties that keep light from reflecting off them. These properties are generally applied on both the front and the back of the lens, so they not only prevent glare off the front of your glasses, they also prevent light from being reflected from the back of the lens into your eye.

Some lenses come factory treated on both surfaces. Others, especially progressive and multifocal lenses are treated in the lab after customization (matched to your prescription). Anti-reflective options are especially good for high-index (strong prescription) lenses, which tend to reflect more light than low-index, or weaker, lenses.

Anti-reflective lenses provide both cosmetic and eye-health benefits.AR treatments keep glare from the surface of your lenses, allowing people to see your eyes and, in fact, make your eyeglasses less visible.

With less light reflected off the front of the lens, more light goes through the lens to provide clearer vision, especially at night or with computer use. Did you know that the lenses that your doctor used to check your vision are all treated with anti-reflective? If you want to match the crisp, clear vision you saw in the exam room, then you definitely will want to say yes to anti-reflective on your lenses!

Premium AR lenses often also have oleophobic (repelling oil and fingerprints) and hydrophobic (repelling water and spots) properties that make them easier to keep clean.

Premium AR lenses also have scratch resistance added to their formula to aid in resisting fine scratches. To extend the life of your lenses, only clean lenses using the materials and techniques recommended by your eye doctor or optician. This includes any wetting or cleaning solutions as some may be damage your eyewear.

Anti-reflective lenses are often called anti-glare lenses, but this is misleading. The AR doesn’t eliminate glare from objects you see, it simply keeps your lenses from making glare themselves. Today’s anti-reflectives are very different from older versions that used to flake or peel with time. If you have had a bad experience in the past, be sure and check out the new, improved ARs on the market today!

Polarized lenses are made to reduce the glare of light from objects around you, particularly outdoors. This is why they are only found in sunglasses, either prescription or non-prescription.

Light is made up of waves that are oriented in all directions. A polarized lens has a laminated filter that only allows light from one angle to enter, usually vertically oriented light. With horizontal light waves blocked, the glare is diminished or completely gone.

Polarized lenses are made when organic dyes and metallic oxide pigments are mixed into the lens material, making them part of the lens rather than just a coating. Care is taken to keep color distortion at bay, making gray the most popular color of polarized lens. Brown and amber are other common colors but while many other tints are available they may cause too much color distortion.

Polarized lenses are highly recommended for people who spend an abundance of their time outside.Polarized lenses reduce glare, or bright light reflected from surrounding objects. This is particularly dangerous when driving or walking near vehicular traffic since light glaring into a driver’s eyes can cause an accident.

Polarized lenses provide protection from UV rays although the protection may not be significant depending on the construction and quality of the lens.

Polarized lenses tend to make LCD screens difficult to read, often causing the text to disappear completely. This has become more problematic in recent years due to the proliferation of LCD screens. For most it is a minor inconvenience but for machine operators who must be able to read those screens, it can be dangerous. However, BluTech outdoor lenses are polarized and still allow you to see those LCD screens!

Also, as noted above, while polarized lenses can protect your eyes from UV light, the amount of protection varies. Be sure to check labeling for specific UV protection claims.

While polarized lenses may seem to be a great tool for skiers, they can actually compromise the light contrast that alerts the skier to specific conditions such as being able to distinguish between ice and snow, or the presence and shape of moguls. However, polarized lenses are excellent for water sports where glare from the water can be a nuisance or a nightmare.

The next time you need replacement lenses, don’t be surprised if anti-reflective treatment is suggested by your eye care professional. And if you love or work in the outdoors, in bright sunshine or even hazy conditions, polarized lenses can help you see better and protect your eyes.

Every angler knows that fishing sunglasses are polarized sunglasses. Whether you’re slinging flies on a tiny brook trout stream or trolling a spread on the Gulf Stream, sunglasses are a must to protect your eyes, both from the sun’s harmful rays and errant hooks. Polarized glasses block the glare, which allows for increased visibility beneath the surface.

If you’ve ever tested the difference between polarized and non-polarized glasses while looking into the water, you’ve seen the difference. The benefits of polarized lenses to anglers are obvious. They allow you to see bait, structure and even fish you would never have seen without them. But how do they work? What is this magic technology that allows you to see beneath the waves?

Most of the time, you get what you pay for when you purchase polarized glasses. Inexpensive sunglasses might be polarized, but usually the layer of chemical laminate is thin and stamped onto the outside of the lens. Initially, these lenses might work just fine, but over time the laminate will rub off through normal use. If you’ve had a pair, you know it when they are no longer protecting your eyes or performing the way they should be.

Higher quality polarized lenses often protect this laminate layer between two layers of lens material, where it cannot be scratched or rubbed away. Also, a thicker polarized layer blocks horizontal light more effectively.

The one drawback to polarized glasses is with some LCD displays. Your phone, your GPS, your sonar and the display on the pump at the gas station, all of these necessary technologies feature LCD displays. Generally, they are also polarized, with light emitted in the same direction. Your polarized shades might block this light, depending on the orientation, which means you can’t see what’s on the screen. In the fishing industry, where all the customers wear polarized glasses, most electronics manufacturers have taken steps to solve this issue. If you’re at the gas pump and you are unable to see the display, try taking your glasses off.

A film of a plastic material fusible with a lens-forming material and having a high light transmissivity is bonded and laminated, with an adhesive, to a polarizing sheet having a polarization coefficient of 99.0% or higher and a light transmissivity of 40% or higher. The resultant laminate is hot-pressed into a shape similar to an aimed lens. The hot-pressed laminate is placed in a lens forming mold cavity, and a lens-forming resin which has been colored or of which light transmissivity has been adjusted to a desired transmissivity is injected into the cavity to thereby form a polarized lens.

Polarizing lenses made of glass have been manufactured for a long time. A glass polarized lens is formed by placing a polarizing film and a bonding agent between two glass lenses and pressing them together. Recently, in order to light-weight spectacle lenses and to avoid damages to eyes by broken lenses, lenses have been made of plastic materials. [0001]

(3) A method as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. SHO 56-13139 A, according to which a polarized plastic lens is fabricated by the use of a polarizing sheet formed of a polarizer directly bonded to a fusible material. [0005]

(4) A method as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. SHO 64-22538, according to which a polarized polycarbonate lens is fabricated by stacking a polarizing film and polycarbonate films or sheets with the polarizing film disposed between the polycarbonate films to thereby provide a laminate having a thickness of 0.5-2.5 mm, and the laminate is hot-molded under pressure. [0006]

These methods, however, have disadvantages. For example, they require a long manufacturing time; the polarizing sheets are of special structure and, therefore, expensive; deformation may be introduced when sheets are subjected to thermal formation; and manufacturing lenses of different colors requires a corresponding number of colored polarizing sheets. Also, polarized lenses manufactured by the prior art methods are poor in impact resistance. [0007]

In order to overcome these problems, a method in which polyurethane resin is cast has been recently employed, but lenses manufactured by the casting method are expensive. [0008]

Many of optical lenses can hardly block selectively light In a wavelength region around 580 nanometers which makes human feel glare. Conventionally, in order to reduce glare, glass lenses have employed transition-metal compounds which are stable at a melting temperature of glass. Some types of plastic lens are formed of plastics, e.g. diethylene glycol biscarbonate, which can be injection-molded at a temperature of 100° C. or below. Transition-metal oxides compatible with such injection-moldable plastics have a thermal decomposition temperature lower than the molding temperature of the plastics and, therefore, cannot be used for the purpose of glare reduction of plastic lenses. [0009]

An object of the present invention is to provide a method of economically manufacturing polarized spectacle lenses having high impact resistance and good optical characteristics. The method according to the present invention makes it possible to manufacture polarized spectacle lenses of various colors and light transmissivity using a single type of polarizing film. [0010] SUMMARY OF THE INVEFNTION

The present invention can solve the above-described various problems by providing a new method for manufacturing polarized spectacle lenses. According to the invention, a polarizing film having a high light transmissivity and a polarization coefficient or degree of polarization extremely close to 100%, prepared by technologies used in making liquid display devices, which have made remarkable progress recently, is sandwiched between cellulose triacetate films to form a polarizing sheet. A plastic film, e.g. a polyurethane film, which is optically transparent and compatible and fusible with a plastic lens molding material, is placed on one surface of the polarizing sheet with an adhesive disposed between them. The resulting laminate is hot-pressed to have a surface contour conformable with the final shape of the lens, and the hot-pressed laminate is shaped, e.g. punched, into a shape conformable with the lens forming mold cavity. Then, the shaped laminate is placed in the cavity with the plastic film facing inward of the cavity. Thereafter, a plastic lens-molding material is injected into the cavity to complete the plastic polarized spectacle lens. [0011]

A polarizing sheet is formed by bonding, with an adhesive, a cellulose triacetate film on each of opposite surfaces of a polarizing film. The resulting polarizing sheet has a thickness of 0.2 mm or smaller, a light transmissivity of 40% or higher, and a polarization coefficient of 99.0% or higher. A plastic film having a thickness of from 0.1 mm to 0.5 mm and a light transmissivity of 80% or higher is stacked on and bonded to the polarizing sheet with an adhesive. The resulting stack or laminate is hot-pressed to have a surface contour similar to the surface contour of an ultimate lens. The hot-press shaped laminate is placed in a mold cavity with the cellulose triacetate film facing inward, and a lens forming resin which can be fused with the plastic film is injected to complete the aimed polarized spectacle lens. [0012]

The adhesive for bonding the polarization sheet and the plastic film must be highly transparent and, in addition, have extensibility against the hot-pressing treatment, thermal resistance against heat during the molding and other properties meeting various requirements for lenses which should be used in various conditions. Also, it must provide sufficient adhesion between the plastic film which can be formed of various plastic materials and the cellulose triacetate film of the polarizing sheet. [0021]

The lens forming resin useable in the present invention includes polycarbonate, polyacryl, polyamide, cellulose, polyester, polyallyl, polyester-urethane and polyether-urethane resins, which may be selected, depending on a desired purpose. The lens-forming resin may be colored with appropriate materials so as to provide polarized spectacle lenses of various colors. [0023]

When polyurethane resin is used as the lens-forming material, the molding temperature can be lower than that employed when polycarbonate resin and polyacrylic resin are used, by from 50° C. to 70° C., which usually is from about 150° C. to about 220° C. Accordingly, a transition-metal compound can be used together, which can selectively absorb glare-inducing light of wavelengths around 580 nanometers, and can provide vivid colors. Thus, high-quality lenses can be economically manufactured. [0024]

The resulting laminate had a thickness of about 0.34 mm. The laminate was placed between concave and convex hot-pressing plates having surface contours conformable with an aimed lens, with the polycarbonate film facing to the concave plate. The laminate was formed under heat and pressure at 135° C. for two minutes, and the lens-shaped laminate was punched from the formed laminate. The lens-shaped laminate was, then, placed in a cavity formed by lens forming molds. Then, a lens-forming polycarbonate resin was injected into the cavity, which provided the aimed polycarbonate polarized lens. [0027]

Since the injected molten lens-forming polycarbonate resin fused with the polycarbonate film of the polarizing sheet into a solid unitary molding, the resulting polarized lens exhibited optically superior properties. The lens exhibited a polarization coefficient of higher than 99.0% and a light transmissivity of 40.0%. [0028] EXAMPLE 2

The same laminate as Example 1 was prepared. A polycarbonate resin colored with a pigment to thereby exhibit a light transmissivity of 60.0% was injected as the lens-forming resin in the same manner as in Example 1. A color polarized lens having a light transmissivity of 25.0% and a polarization coefficient of 99.0% was obtained. [0029] EXAMPLE 3

A polyester film having a thickness of 0.18 mm and a light transmissivity of 85% was laminated and bonded to the same polarizing sheet (SUMIKALAN® SQ-1852AP) as used in Example 1 with a two-part polyester-polyurethane adhesive. The laminate was placed between concave and convex hot-pressing plates having surface contours conformable with an aimed lens. The laminate was formed under heat and pressure at 130° C. for two minutes, and the lens-shaped laminate was punched from the formed laminate. The lens-shaped laminate was, then, placed in a lens molding cavity, as in Example 1. Then, a polyester resin for optical use was injected into the cavity, which provided the aimed polyester polarized lens. The obtained polyester polarized lens exhibited a polarization coefficient of 99.2% and a light transmissivity of 39.5%. [0030] EXAMPLE 4

A polyether-polyurethane film having a thickness of 0.15 mm and a light transmissivity of 85% was laminated and bonded to the polarizing sheet (SUMIKALAN® SQ-1852AP) same as the one used in Example 1, with a two-part polyether-polyurethane adhesive. The resulting laminate had a thickness of about 0.34 mm. The laminate was placed between concave and convex hot-pressing plates having surface contours conformable with an aimed lens, with the polyether-polyurethane film facing to the concave plate. The laminate was formed under heat and pressure at 160° C. for two minutes, and the lens-shaped laminate was punched from the formed laminate. The lens-shaped laminate was, then, placed in a lens forming mold cavity. Then, a polyether-polyurethane resin having a glass transition temperature of −10° C. was injected into the cavity, to thereby provide a polarized lens. Since the injected molten lens-forming polyurethane resin fused with the polyurethane film of the polarizing sheet into a solid unitary molding, the resulting polarized lens exhibited optically superior properties. The lens exhibited a polarization coefficient of higher than 99.0% and a light transmissivity of 38.0%, and had no distortion. Also, it was not broken at all in an Izod impact test carried out at −30° C. and, thus, exhibited a good impact resistance. [0031] EXAMPLE 5

Polyether-polyurethane resin same as used in Example 4 was colored with a pigment to have a light transmissivity of 60.0%. A color polarized lens was prepared in the same manner as Example 4, with the pigmented polyether-polyurethane resin used as the lens-forming resin. The resulting polarized lens exhibited a light transmissivity of 25.0% and a polarization coefficient of 99.0%. [0032] EXAMPLE 6

One hundred (100) parts by weight of the polyether-polyurethane resin used in Example 4 was kneaded with 15 parts by weight of neodymium tris(acetylacetonato). A polarized lens was prepared in the same manner as Example 4 with the polyether-polyurethane resin with neodymium tris(acetylacetonato) used as the lens-forming resin. The light absorption of the resultant polarized lens was tested. Light at wavelengths about 580 nanometers was found to have been reduced by 60% relative to the polarized lens formed without neodymium tris(acetylacetonato). [0033] EXAMPLE 7

A polyester-polyurethane film having a thickness of 0.20 mm and a light transmissivity of 85% was laminated and bonded to the same polarizing sheet (SUMIKALAN® SQ-1852AP) as used in Example 4 with a two-part polyester-polyurethane adhesive. The laminate was placed between concave and convex hot-pressing plates having surface contours conformable with an aimed lens. The laminate was formed under heat and pressure at 150° C. for two minutes, and the lens-shaped laminate was punched from the formed laminate. As in Example 4, the lens-shaped laminate was placed in a lens forming mold cavity. Then, a polyester-polyurethane resin having a glass transition temperature of 15° C. was injected into the cavity, to thereby form a polarized lens. The lens exhibited a polarization coefficient of 99.2% and a light transmissivity of 39.5%. Also, it was not broken at all in an Izod impact test carried out at −30° C. [0034]

1. A method of manufacturing a polarized spectacle lens, comprising: bonding, with an adhesive, a plastic film having a thickness in a range of from 0.1 mm to 0.5 mm to a polarizing sheet to thereby form a laminate, said polarizing sheet comprising a polarizing film with a cellulose triacetate film bonded to each of opposing surfaces of said polarizing film, and having a thickness of not greater than 0.2 mm, a light transmissivity of 40% or higher and a polarization coefficient of 99.0% or higher; hot-pressing said laminate into a shape of which surface contours are similar to those of said spectacle lens; placing the hot-pressed laminate in a lens forming mold cavity with said cellulose triacetate film of said polarizing sheet facing inward of said cavity; and injecting a lens-forming resin fusible with said plastic film into said cavity.

Can anyone tell me how their onepluse 6 reacts to polarized sunglasses when the factory-applied screen protector is removed. I"m thinking about removing mine but I want to verify this first so I don"t make things worse in a particular situation. The problem/situation I"m having is when I use my phone as a navigator in the car (with the protector in place), polarized sunglasses dims the screen by approximately 50% making it very difficult to see/read the display when the phone is in portrait orientation. In landscape it"s fine, but I can"t use it in landscape. My oneplus 2 was (kind of) the opposite