PLANAR LIGHT SOURCE AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING PLANAR LIGHT SOURCE

• US 20090086477A1
• Filed: 09/24/2008
• Published: 04/02/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 09/28/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Citizen Electronics Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Citizen Electronics Company Limited
• Inventors: Watanabe, Takashi, NOBA, Koya
• Application Number:
  US12/236,633
• Publication Number:
  US 20090086477A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 362/231
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/133603 with LEDs
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/133606 including a specially adapted diffusing, scattering or light controlling members
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/133607 the light controlling member including light directing or refracting elements, e.g. prisms or lenses

Abstract

A planar light source directly mixes three colors of light from light-emitting diodes into white light. The planar light source has a plurality of red (2r), green (2g) and blue (2b) light-emitting diodes mounted on a mount surface of a substrate to define a plurality of light source sets, each having mutually adjacent red, green and blue light-emitting diodes, and further has first and second prism sheets (PS1 and PS2) stacked to face the mount surface. The stacked prism sheets receive and mix three colors of light from the light-emitting diodes constituting each light source set and emit lights from the red, green and blue light-emitting diodes of each of the light source sets as white light.

Claims

1. A planar light source comprising:

a substrate having a mount surface;

a plurality of red, green and blue light-emitting diodes mounted on the mount surface of the substrate, the light-emitting diodes being arranged to define a plurality of light source sets, each having mutually adjacent red, green and blue light-emitting diodes, the red, green and blue light-emitting diodes of each light source set being respectively disposed in corresponding quadrants of an X-Y coordinate system assumed over the each light source set; and

a first prism sheet and a second prism sheet stacked over the first prism sheet, the first prism sheet being set to face the mount surface at a predetermined distance from the plurality of red, green and blue light-emitting diodes, the first prism sheet and the second prism sheet each having mutually parallel elongated prisms on one surface thereof, an other surface thereof being a plane surface, the prisms of the first prism sheet and the prisms of the second prism sheet intersecting each other in plan view of the first and second prism sheets, the first and the second prism sheets being arranged so that the first prism sheet receives lights from the red, green and blue light-emitting diodes of the light source sets at a side of the first prism sheet, the side facing the light source sets, and the second prism sheet emits the lights from a side of the second prism sheet, the side opposite to a side facing the first prism sheet with the lights emitted from positions corresponding to origins of the X-Y coordinate systems being mixed each other.

2. The planar light source of claim 1, wherein the plurality of red, green and blue light-emitting diodes are arranged in a matrix, and mutually adjacent ones of the light source sets overlap each other to have mutually shared light-emitting diodes.

3. The planar light source of claim 1, wherein the each light source set has four light-emitting diodes that are one red light-emitting diode, one green light-emitting diode, one blue light-emitting diode, and an additional light-emitting diode selected from red, green and blue light-emitting diodes.

4. The planar light source of claim 2, wherein the each light source set has four light-emitting diodes that are one red light-emitting diode, one green light-emitting diode, one blue light-emitting diode, and an additional light-emitting diode selected from red, green and blue light-emitting diodes.

5. The planar light source of claim 3, wherein the plurality of red, green and blue light-emitting diodes are arranged in a matrix in which columns having alternately disposed red and blue light-emitting diodes and columns having only green light-emitting diodes are alternately disposed, the columns having alternately disposed red and blue light-emitting diodes being arranged to reverse a sequence of red and blue light-emitting diodes for each alternate column.

6. The planar light source of claim 4, wherein the plurality of red, green and blue light-emitting diodes are arranged in a matrix in which columns having alternately disposed red and blue light-emitting diodes and columns having only green light-emitting diodes are alternately disposed, the columns having alternately disposed red and blue light-emitting diodes being arranged to reverse a sequence of red and blue light-emitting diodes for each alternate column.

7. The planar light source of claim 3, wherein the plurality of red, green and blue light-emitting diodes are arranged in a matrix in which columns having alternately disposed green and red light-emitting diodes and columns having alternately disposed blue and green light-emitting diodes are alternately disposed.

8. The planar light source of claim 4, wherein the plurality of red, green and blue light-emitting diodes are arranged in a matrix in which columns having alternately disposed green and red light-emitting diodes and columns having alternately disposed blue and green light-emitting diodes are alternately disposed.

9. The planar light source of claim 3, wherein, of the four light-emitting diodes of the each light source set, the light-emitting diodes that are disposed in diagonally opposing quadrants are in point symmetry with respect to the origin of the X-Y coordinate system, and the light-emitting diodes that are disposed in mutually adjacent quadrants are in line symmetry with respect to either one of X and Y axes of the X-Y coordinate system.

10. The planar light source of claim 4, wherein, of the four light-emitting diodes of the each light source set, the light-emitting diodes that are disposed in diagonally opposing quadrants are in point symmetry with respect to the origin of the X-Y coordinate system, and the light-emitting diodes that are disposed in mutually adjacent quadrants are in line symmetry with respect to either one of X and Y axes of the X-Y coordinate system.

11. The planar light source of claim 3, wherein the first prism sheet and the second prism sheet have a prism apex angle of 90 degrees, the prisms of the first prism sheet and the prisms of the second prism sheet perpendicularly intersecting each other in plan view of the first prism sheet and the second prism sheet, and an angle between an X axis of the X-Y coordinate system and an imaginary line connecting each of the light-emitting diodes and the origin of the X-Y coordinate system is approximately in a range of from 42 degrees to 45 degrees as seen in an X-Y plane of the X-Y coordinate system.

12. The planar light source of claim 4, wherein the first prism sheet and the second prism sheet have a prism apex angle of 90 degrees, the prisms of the first prism sheet and the prisms of the second prism sheet perpendicularly intersecting each other in plan view of the first prism sheet and the second prism sheet, and an angle between an X axis of the X-Y coordinate system and an imaginary line connecting each of the light-emitting diodes and the origin of the X-Y coordinate system is approximately in a range of from 42 degrees to 45 degrees as seen in an X-Y plane of the X-Y coordinate system.

13. The planar light source of claim 1, wherein each of the light-emitting diodes is provided with a light-collecting member that maximizes an intensity of light from the each of the light-emitting diodes in predetermined directions.

14. The planar light source of claim 1, wherein each of the light-emitting diodes is provided at a light exit surface thereof with a lens that collects light from the each of the light-emitting diodes within predetermined divergent angles.

15. The planar light source of claim 1, wherein the red, green and blue light-emitting diodes constituting each of the light source sets are respectively mounted at corresponding positions on the mount surface of the substrate that are irradiated with lights which are made to enter the second prism sheet at the positions corresponding to the origins of the X-Y coordinate systems in a direction opposite to a direction in which the lights from the red, green and blue light-emitting diodes of the light source sets are emitted and exit from the first prism sheet.

16. The planar light source of claim 1, wherein the first prism sheet and the second prism sheet are disposed to direct the lights from the red, green and blue light-emitting diodes of each of the light source sets in a direction substantially perpendicular to the second prism sheet.

17. The planar light source of claim 15, wherein the first prism sheet and the second prism sheet are disposed to direct the lights from the red, green and blue light-emitting diodes of each of the light source sets in a direction substantially perpendicular to the second prism sheet.

18. The planar light source of claim 15, wherein the light made to enter the second prism sheet is made to enter the second prism sheet substantially perpendicular thereto.