Surface light source device with half-ellipse reflecting plate

• US 7,441,916 B2
• Filed: 02/14/2006
• Issued: 10/28/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 11/07/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Future Vision, Inc. (Mattel Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Future Vision, Inc. (Mattel Incorporated)
• Inventors: Tsumura, Makoto, Masuyama, Koichi, Sone, Naoya, Yamada, Yuichiro
• Primary Examiner(s): O'Shea; Sandra
• Assistant Examiner(s): CRANSON JR, JAMES W
• Application Number:
  US11/353,171
• Publication Number:
  US 20070103935A1
• Time in Patent Office: 987 Days
• Field of Search: 362/97, 362/241, 362/245, 362/623
• US Class Current: 362/97.1
• CPC Class Codes: F21V 7/04 Optical design
• CPC Class Codes: F21V 7/08 with elliptical curvature
• CPC Class Codes: F21V 7/24 characterised by the material
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/133604 with lamps
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/133605 including specially adapted reflectors

Abstract

A reflecting plate in form of dual half-ellipses comprises a first ellipse having a first focal point and a second focal point, and a second ellipse having a first focal point and a second focal point. The first ellipse and the second ellipse commonly share the first focal point. A cross-section of the reflecting plate is designed in such a form that the dual half-ellipses are aligned with each other, and that contours of the first ellipse and the second ellipse are divided by a straight line, which includes the commonly shared first focal point and the other focal points. The reflecting plate encloses the line light source by the dual half-ellipses and reflects a light from the line light source toward the diffusion plate arranged above by specular reflection and by diffused reflection. As a result, uneven brightness is eliminated at the boundary of the reflecting plate designed in form of dual half-ellipses.

Claims

1. A surface light source device, comprising a plurality of line light sources positioned immediately under a diffusion plate, and a reflecting plate for reflecting a light from each of said line light sources, wherein:

a cross-section perpendicular to the line light source of said reflecting plate is arranged to form at least two elliptical sections of two intersecting ellipses where the two ellipses commonly share a focal point and are divided by a straight line, the straight line includes the focal point commonly shared and two other focal points; and

said reflecting plate at least partially encloses the line light source and reflects light from the light source toward the diffusion plate by specular reflection and by diffuse reflection.

2. A surface light source device according to claim 1, wherein the axis of said line light source is positioned to cross and form a right angle with a straight line which connects the intersection points of the ellipses with the commonly shared focal point.

3. A surface light source device according to claim 2, wherein the phase of a light amount distribution curve of the direct light from the line light source projected toward the diffusion plate is reverse to the phase of a light amount distribution curve of the specularly reflected light from the reflecting plate, and the amplitude of the light amount distribution of the direct light is approximately equal to the amplitude of the light amount distribution of the specularly reflected light.

4. A surface light source device according to claim 3, wherein specular reflectivity of said reflecting plate is set to a range of greater than 2% to about 10%.

5. A surface light source device according to claim 3, wherein interval between the subsequent line light sources is greater than depth of the reflecting plate.

6. A surface light source device according to claim 1, wherein said reflecting plate is a molded member comprising a resin material containing a thermoplastic resin and a visible light diffused reflection agent forming methods.

7. A surface light source device according to claim 1, wherein said reflecting plate is a foam molded member.

8. A surface light source device according to claim 1, wherein said reflecting plate comprises a metal plate, techniques, having diffuse reflection film attached to a surface of the metal plate surface.

9. A surface light source device according to claim 8, wherein the diffuse reflecting film contains a white coating material with high reflectivity coated on surface of the metal plate.

10. A surface light source device according to claim 1, wherein segments of the elliptical sections proximal to the intersection between the elliptical sections of two ellipses are shaped to form rounded transitions.

11. A surface light source device, comprising a plurality of line light sources positioned immediately under a diffusion plate, and a reflecting plate for reflecting a light from each of said line light sources, wherein:

a cross-section perpendicular to the line light sources of said reflecting plate is arranged to form at least two elliptical sections of two intersecting ellipses where the two ellipses commonly share a focal point and are divided by a straight line parallel to the diffusion plate, the straight line intersects the major axis of the two ellipses sharing the focal point between the commonly shared focal point positioned closer to the reflecting plate and a focal point positioned closer to the diffusion plate; and

said reflecting plate at least partially encloses the line light source located at the commonly shared focal point and reflects a light from the line light source toward the diffusion plate by specular reflection and by diffuse reflection.

12. A surface light source device according to claim 11, wherein said reflecting plate has a cross-section perpendicular to the line light sources in form of at least two elliptical sections of two intersecting ellipses the dividing straight line parallel to the diffusion plate is shifted toward the diffusion plate.

13. A surface light source device according to claim 11, wherein said reflecting plate is provided with a projection to cover an intersection of the two elliptical sections.

14. A surface light source device, comprising a plurality of line light sources positioned immediately under a diffusion plate, and a reflecting plate for reflecting a light from each of said line light sources, wherein:

a cross-section of said reflecting plate perpendicular to the line light source is arranged to form at least two elliptical sections of two intersecting ellipses where the major axis of the ellipses are positioned to intersect in a proximity of the reflecting plate and the elliptical sections are divided by a straight line parallel to the diffusion plate and including a focal point of each ellipse positioned closer to the reflecting plate;

and said reflecting plate at least partially encloses the line light source located at the axis of symmetry of the focal points of each intersecting ellipses, and the reflecting plate reflects a light from the line light source toward the diffusion plate by specular reflection and by diffuse reflection.

15. A surface light source device according to claim 14, wherein said reflecting plate at last partially encloses the line light source located at the intersection of the major axis of the intersecting ellipses.