Liquid crystal display device with a light guide having random v-shaped dots

• US 6,717,635 B2
• Filed: 09/10/2002
• Issued: 04/06/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 06/29/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd., Nitto Denko Corporation
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd., Nitto Denko Corporation
• Inventors: Umemoto, Seiji, Taniguchi, Hitoshi, Ariyoshi, Toshihiko, Hira, Yasuo
• Primary Examiner(s): Chourdhury, Tarifur R.
• Assistant Examiner(s): AKKAPEDDI, PRASAD R
• Application Number:
  US10/237,727
• Publication Number:
  US 20030086031A1
• Time in Patent Office: 574 Days
• Field of Search: 349/61, 349/65, 359/49, 362/26, 362/31, 362/330
• US Class Current: 349/65
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/0036 2-D arrangement of prisms, protrusions, indentations or roughened surfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/0061 to provide homogeneous light output intensity
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/0065 Manufacturing aspects; Material aspects
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/0068 Arrangements of plural sources, e.g. multi-colour light sources
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 385/901 Illuminating or display apparatus

Abstract

A liquid crystal display device having a light guide plate and a light source disposed on one of side surfaces of the light guide plate so that external light is transmitted through the light guide plate and enters a liquid-crystal display portion. A plurality of dots each constituted by a small recess or protrusion portion reflecting light from the light source toward the liquid crystal display portion are formed in or on another surface of the light guide plate opposite to the liquid crystal display portion. Each of the dots have a substantially V-shape in section with an inclination angle of the section being in a range of 35° to 43°.

Claims

1. A liquid crystal display device comprising:

a light guide plate; and

a light source disposed on one of side surfaces of said light guide plate so that external light is transmitted through said light guide plate and enters a front surface of a liquid-crystal display portion;

wherein a plurality of dots are disposed at random and each of said dots is constituted by a small recess or protrusion portion reflecting light from said light source toward said liquid crystal display portion and is formed so that each of said dots is substantially rectangular in plan shape and has a short-side length in a range of 0.002 to 0.05 mm and a long-side length in a range of 0.002 to 0.2 mm and is provided in another surface of said light guide plate opposite to a further surface thereof and confronting said liquid crystal display portion, each of said dots having a substantially V-shape in section, and an inclination angle of said section is in a range of from 35°

to 43°

; and

wherein a vertex angle of each of said dots is about 70.6°

±

2.50°

.

2. A liquid crystal display device according to claim 1, wherein said another surface is an upper surface of said light guide plate and said further surface is a lower surface of said light guide plate.

3. A liquid crystal display device according to claim 1, wherein an area not smaller than 95% of a whole area of the surface where said dots are formed is sectioned into 0.25 to 1 mm² square areas, and said dots are disposed in each of said square areas so that a function G(R) which is obtained by taking a weighted average of a radial distribution function g(R) obtained for each of said dots in accordance with an arrangement relationship of said dots and which is obtained by approximating said weighted average by a least squares method satisfies a relation of 0<

S₁/S₂<

0.2 in a range of R/R₀=3 to 6;

provided that R designates a distance from a central position of one dot to a central position of another dot;

R₀, a value obtained by dividing a length of one side of said square area by a square root of the number of said dots existing in said square area;

S₁, a value obtained by integrating a difference between G(R) and an average value of G(R) with R/R₀ which is in a range of from 3 to 6; and

S₂, a value obtained by integrating said average value of G(R) with R/R₀ which is in a range of 3 to 6.

4. A liquid crystal display device according to claim 3, wherein each of said dots is disposed so that said function G(R) is substantially 0 in a range of R<

(short-side length of said dot)X2, at least two peaks exist in said function G(R), and said two peaks each of which said two peaks is at least twice as large as said average value of said function G(R) exist in a range of R/R₀=3 to 6.