Wedge shaped light guide providing enhanced polarized light to a backlight liquid crystal display

• US 6,124,906 A
• Filed: 09/11/1998
• Issued: 09/26/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 09/12/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation, Stanley Electric Company Limited
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation, Stanley Electric Company Limited
• Inventors: Watanabe, Yoshiteru, Suzuki, Masaru, Oki, Yoji, Kawada, Koji
• Primary Examiner(s): Dudek, James A.
• Application Number:
  US09/151,846
• Time in Patent Office: 746 Days
• Field of Search: 349/65, 349/64, 349/62, 362/31, 385/129, 385/130
• US Class Current: 349/65
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/00 Light guides; Structural details of arrangements comprising light guides and other optical elements, e.g. couplings
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/0001 specially adapted for lighting devices or systems lighting or signalling on vehicles using light guides B60Q1/00; lighting devices for vehicle dashboards B60Q3/10; lighting devices for vehicle interior using light guides B60Q3/62; lighting devices mounted on the vehicle rear part using light guides F21S43/235; measuring arrangements having light conducting pointers G01D13/265; illumination of liquid crystal displays G02F1/1336; illuminated signs G09F13/00
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/0038 Linear indentations or grooves, e.g. arc-shaped grooves or meandering grooves, extending over the full length or width of the light guide
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/0053 Prismatic sheet or layer; Brightness enhancement element, sheet or layer
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/0056 for producing polarisation effects, e.g. by a surface with polarizing properties or by an additional polarizing elements
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/0065 Manufacturing aspects; Material aspects
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/105 having optical polarisation effects
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/13362 providing polarized light, e.g. by converting a polarisation component into another one

Abstract

The invention is intended to reduce the weight of the entire unit, make it compact and prevent the emitted light from being in dark and bright stripes in a light guide unit for a back light of a liquid crystal display device. Further, this invention allows a prism sheet having a larger apex angle to be used. To this end, the light guide unit comprises a plurality of light guide films laminated on the light guide member. The sloped surface which is opposite to the incident surface of the light guide unit is formed with grooves each having an inclination of an angle related to Brewster angle. A prism sheet is further disposed with the side having apexes oriented to the light guide unit to deflect the light emitted from the light guide unit.

Claims

1. A light guide unit comprising:

a light guide member having an incident surface in one end surface and having the other end surface inclined with respect to the direction of thickness;

a reflecting plate disposed adjacent to said other end surface;

means disposed between said member and said reflecting plate for changing the direction of polarization of the light; and

a plurality of light guiding layers laminated on the surface of a larger area of said light guide member.

2. A light guide unit of claim 1 in which said light guide member comprises a plurality of laminated light guiding sheets, and each of said plurality of light guiding layers are thinner than each of said plurality of laminated light guiding sheets.

3. A light guide unit of claim 1 in which said light guide member comprises a single light guiding sheet, and each of said plurality of light guiding layers is thinner than said single light guiding sheet.

4. A light guide unit of claim 1 in which each of said plurality of light guiding layers is of a substantially same shape.

5. A light guide unit of claim 1 in which the area of the larger area surface of said light guide member is substantially same as the area of each of said plurality of light guiding layers.

6. A light guide unit of claim 1 in which a phase difference film for changing the direction of polarization of light is disposed on said plurality of light guiding layers.

7. A light guide unit of claim 6 in which said phase difference film is a polarimetric film.

8. A light guide unit of claim 6 in which said phase difference film is a TN liquid crystal cell.

9. A light guide unit comprising:

a light guide member having an incident surface in one end surface and having the other end surface inclined with respect to the direction of thickness of said light guide member;

a reflecting plate disposed adjacent to said other end surface of said light guide member;

means disposed between said other end surface of said light guide member and said reflecting plate for changing the direction of polarization of the light;

a prism sheet having apexes only in one side and disposed adjacent to the side of a larger area surface of said light guide member; and

a side of said prism sheet having said apexes formed therein confronting said side of a larger area surface of said light guide member.

10. A light guide unit of claim 9 in which a phase difference film for changing the direction of polarization of light is disposed on said prism sheet.

11. A light guide unit of claim 10 in which said phase difference film is a polarimetric film.

12. A light guide unit of claim 10 in which said phase difference film is a TN liquid crystal cell.

13. A liquid crystal display device comprising a liquid crystal cell and a light guide unit disposed in the back of said liquid crystal cell, said light guide unit comprising:

a light guide member having an incident surface in one end surface and having the other end surface inclined with respect to the direction of thickness of said light guide member;

reflecting plate disposed adjacent to said other end surface;

means disposed between said other end surface of said light guide member and said reflecting plate for changing the direction of polarization of the light; and

a prism sheet having apexes only in one side and disposed in the side of a larger area surface of said light guide member, the one side of said prism sheet having said apexes therein confronting said side of a larger area surface of said light guide member.

14. A liquid crystal display device of claim 13 in which a phase difference film for changing the direction of polarization of light is disposed on said prism sheet.

15. A liquid crystal display device of claim 14 in which said phase difference film is a polarimetric film.

16. A liquid crystal display device of claim 14 in which said phase difference film is a TN liquid crystal cell.

17. A light guide unit comprising:

a light guide member having an incident surface in one end surface and having the other end surface inclined with respect to the direction of thickness;

a reflecting plate disposed at said other end surface;

means disposed between said member and said reflecting plate for changing the direction of polarization of the light; and

said other end surface having a plurality of grooves disposed in the direction perpendicular to the direction of the thickness of said light guide member;

said grooves comprising a combination of a slope of an angle of inclination less than the angle of inclination of the other end surface and another slope of a larger angle of inclination, and said larger angle of inclination having an angle of inclination related to the Brewster angle.

18. A light guide unit of claim 17 in which said groove comprises a combination of a slope of an angle of inclination less than the angle of inclination of the other end surface and another slope of a larger angle of inclination, and said larger angle of inclination fO is given by:

space="preserve" listing-type="equation">fO=cos-1{(n2/n1)[n12/(n12+n22)]1/2}/2

where n1 is an index of refraction of the light guide and n2 is an index of refraction of a material other than the light guide.

19. A light guide unit comprising:

a light guide member having an incident surface in one end surface and having the other end surface inclined with respect to the direction of thickness of said light guide member;

a plurality of grooves disposed in said other end surface, said plurality of grooves extending in a direction that is perpendicular to the direction of the thickness of the said light guide member;

a reflecting plate disposed adjacent to said plurality of grooves; and

means disposed between said plurality of grooves and said reflecting plate for changing the direction of polarization of the light.

20. A liquid crystal display device comprising a liquid crystal cell and a light guide unit disposed in the back of said liquid crystal cell, said light guide unit comprising:

a light guide member having an incident surface in one end surface and having the other end surface inclined with respect to the direction of thickness;

a reflecting plate disposed adjacent to said other end surface;

means disposed between said member and said reflecting plate for changing the direction of polarization of the light; and

a plurality of light guiding layers further laminated on the surface of the larger area of said light guide member.

21. A light guide unit comprising:

a light guide member having an incident surface in one end surface and having the other end surface inclined with respect to the direction of thickness;

a reflecting plate disposed at said other end surface;

means disposed between said member and said reflecting plate for changing the direction of polarization of the light;

said other end surface having a plurality of grooves disposed in the direction perpendicular to the direction of the thickness of said light guide member; and

a plurality of light-guiding layers laminated on said surface of a larger area of said light guide member.

22. A light guide unit comprising:

a light guide member having an incident surface in one end surface and having the other end surface inclined with respect to the direction of thickness;

a reflecting plate disposed at said other end surface;

means disposed between said member and said reflecting plate for changing the direction of polarization of the light;

a prism sheet having apexes only in one side and disposed in the side of a larger area surface of said light guide member;

the side of said prism sheet having said apexes formed therein being confronted said light guide member; and

the shape of said apexes formed in said prism sheet being symmetrical and the angle of said apexes satisfying the following expression;

space="preserve" listing-type="equation">sin-1-[(n0/n1)sin(A+fi-fI.sub.-- /2)]-3fi+fI.sub.-- /2=0

where fi is said angle of said apexes/2 (rad),

n0 is an index of refraction of a material surrounding said prism sheet,

n1 is an index of refraction of said prism sheet, and

A is an angle (rad) which the light incident to said prism sheet makes relative to a normal line from the surface opposite to the surface having the apexes of said prism sheet.

23. A light guide unit comprising:

a light guide member having an incident surface in one end surface and having the other end surface inclined with respect to the direction of thickness;

a reflecting plate disposed at said other end surface;

means disposed between said member and said reflecting plate for changing the direction of polarization of the light;

a prism sheet having apexes only in one side and disposed in the side of a larger area surface of said light guide member;

the side of said prism sheet having said apexes formed therein being confronted said light guide member; and

a plurality of light-guiding layers laminated between said side of said larger area surface of said light guide member and said prism sheet.

24. A liquid crystal display device comprising a liquid crystal cell and a light guide unit disposed in the back of said liquid crystal cell, said light guide unit comprising:

a light guide member having an incident surface in one end surface and having the other end surface inclined with respect to the direction of thickness;

a reflecting plate disposed at said other end surface;

means disposed between said member and said reflecting plate for changing the direction of polarization of the light;

a prism sheet having apexes only in one side and disposed in said side of a larger area surface of said light guide member, said one side of said prism sheet having said apexes therein confronting said light guide member; and

a plurality of light-guiding layers laminated between said side of a larger area surface of said light guide member and said prism sheet.