Luminous display element

• US 6,898,018 B2
• Filed: 07/28/2004
• Issued: 05/24/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 10/18/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Ueki, Shun, Minoura, Kiyoshi, Tomikawa, Masahiko
• Primary Examiner(s): Ben, Loha
• Application Number:
  US10/900,213
• Publication Number:
  US 20050006999A1
• Time in Patent Office: 300 Days
• Field of Search: 359/627, 359/529, 359/530, 359/263, 359/625, 359/836, 385/18, 313/110, 313/113, 313/500, 313/504, 313/506, 349/63, 349/67, 349/65, 349/69, 349/113, 349/106, 428/690, 428/332, 257/72, 257/59, 204/192.15
• US Class Current: 359/627
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 1/70 with protective, conductive, or reflective layers
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 33/22 characterised by the chemical or physical composition or the arrangement of auxiliary dielectric or reflective layers
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 50/85 Arrangements for extracting light from the devices
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 50/856 comprising reflective means
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 50/86 Arrangements for improving contrast, e.g. preventing reflection of ambient light
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 59/878 comprising reflective means

Abstract

In a luminous display element, a retro-reflector is provided on the back side of an organic EL layer which includes an emission layer whose state changes between an emission state and a non-emission state. The retro-reflector includes a corner cube array, and reflects incident light in the same direction as an incident direction. A unit structure of the corner cube array is a form of a triangular pyramid which is made up of rectangular equilateral triangles having three faces, and a light shielding process is performed on the periphery of a base angle of the rectangular equilateral triangle. Thus, it is possible to prevent an image from being reflected, so that it is possible to provide the luminous display element whose contrast ratio and the utilization efficiency of emission are high.

Claims

1. A luminous display element comprising:

a retro-reflector;

an emission layer;

a metal electrode for applying a voltage to the emission layer; and

a transparent electrode for applying a voltage to the emission layer,

wherein the retro-reflector, the metal electrode, the emission layer and the transparent electrode are provided in this order.

2. The luminous display element set forth in claim 1, wherein the metal electrode has a same form as the retro-reflector.

3. The luminous display element set forth in claim 1, wherein the emission layer and the retro-reflector are combined with each other.

4. The luminous display element set forth in claim 1, wherein the metal electrode is an aluminum electrode.

5. The luminous display element set forth in claim 1, wherein the emission layer is an organic electroluminescence layer.

6. The luminous display element set forth in claim 1, wherein:

the retro-reflector is a corner cube array,

the metal electrode, the emission layer and the transparent electrode are provided in this order on a slope of a corner cube of the retro-reflector so that the metal electrode retro-reflects an incident light, and

said luminous display element further comprises a flattening film provided on the transparent electrode.