OPTICAL SHEET AND LIQUID CRYSTAL DISPLAY EQUIPPED WITH THE SAME

• US 20110013118A1
• Filed: 02/27/2009
• Published: 01/20/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 02/29/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LMS Incorporated (Davey Tree Expert Company)
• Original Assignee: LMS Incorporated (Davey Tree Expert Company)
• Inventors: Park, Jeong-Ho, Kim, Young-Il, Shim, Yong-Shig
• Granted Patent: US 8,373,815 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 349/62
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 5/045 Prism arrays
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/133607 the light controlling member including light directing or refracting elements, e.g. prisms or lenses

Abstract

An optical sheet and a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) incorporating the same. The LCD includes a sheet-like transparent substrate made of a transparent material and a microscopic structure layer formed on one surface of the transparent substrate. The microscopic structure layer has an array of microscopic structures to emit light. A liquid crystal panel is formed above the microscopic structure layer, and has defined therein a plurality of pixels to display an image. When seen from above the transparent substrate, at least a portion of the microscopic structures has parallel and non-parallel arrangements repeated one or more times in a longitudinal direction thereof with respect to one side-edge of the pixels of the liquid crystal panel.

Claims

1. A liquid crystal display comprising:

a sheet-like transparent substrate made of a transparent material;

a microscopic structure layer formed on a surface of the transparent substrate, the microscopic structure layer having an array of microscopic structures to emit light; and

a liquid crystal panel formed above the microscopic structure layer, the liquid crystal panel having defined therein a plurality of pixels to display an image,

wherein at least a portion of the microscopic structures has parallel and non-parallel arrangements repeated one or more times in a longitudinal direction thereof with respect to one side-edge of the pixels of the liquid crystal panel.

2. The liquid crystal display according to claim 1, wherein the parallel and non-parallel arrangements are repeated in a period that is 50 times or less of that of the pixels of the liquid crystal panel.

3. The liquid crystal display according to claim 1, wherein the at least a portion of the microscopic structures has a section converting from the parallel arrangement to the non-parallel arrangement, the converting section having a curvature 600 times or less of a pitch of the microscopic structures.

4. The liquid crystal display according to claim 1, wherein the microscopic structure layer is formed integrally with the transparent substrate.

5. The liquid crystal display according to claim 1, wherein, the parallel and non-parallel arrangements of the at least a portion of the microscopic structures are repeated in a period such that a difference in the brightness of light between respective pixels of the liquid crystal panel is 20% or less.

6. The liquid crystal display according to claim 1, wherein the liquid crystal panel has a vertically-transmitting area and a horizontally-transmitting area, one of the vertical-transmitting and horizontally-transmitting areas having a value of 500 μ

m or less.

7. The liquid crystal display according to claim 1, wherein the transparent material is a transparent resin selected from the group consisting of acrylate, polycarbonate, polyester, and polyvinyl chloride.

8. The liquid crystal display according to claim 1, wherein the microscopic structures have a cross-sectional shape selected from the group consisting of a triangle, a polygon, a hemisphere, and a partial arc.

9. The liquid crystal display according to claim 1, wherein a surface of the transparent substrate opposite the microscopic structure layer is a smooth surface.

10. The liquid crystal display according to claim 1, wherein a surface of the transparent substrate opposite the microscopic structure layer is a concave-convex surface.

11. The liquid crystal display according to claim 1, wherein the array of microscopic structures has a pitch interval ranging from 5 μ

m to 100 μ

m.

12. The liquid crystal display according to claim 1, further comprising a reflecting polarizer substrate provided below the transparent substrate and/or above the microscopic structure layer.

13. An optical sheet comprising:

a sheet-like transparent substrate made of a transparent material; and

a microscopic structure layer formed on a surface of the transparent substrate, the microscopic structure layer having an array of microscopic structures to emit light,

wherein, when seen from above the transparent substrate, at least a portion of the microscopic structures has parallel and non-parallel arrangements repeated in a longitudinal direction thereof with respect to one side-edge of the transparent substrate.

14. The optical sheet according to claim 13, wherein the parallel and non-parallel arrangements are repeated one or more times.

15. The optical sheet according to claim 13, wherein the at least a portion of the microscopic structures has a section converting from the parallel arrangement to the non-parallel arrangement, the converting section having a curvature 600 times or less of a pitch of the microscopic structures.

16. The optical sheet according to claim 13, wherein the at least a portion of the microscopic structures has a section converting from the parallel arrangement to the non-parallel arrangement, the converting section being linear.

17. The optical sheet according to claim 13, wherein the microscopic structure layer is formed integrally with the transparent substrate.

18. The optical sheet according to claim 13, wherein a surface of the transparent substrate opposite the microscopic structure layer is a concave-convex surface.

19. The optical sheet according to claim 13, further comprising a reflecting polarizer substrate provided below the transparent substrate and/or above the microscopic structure layer.