Backlight assembly and display device having the same

• US 7,447,417 B2
• Filed: 05/09/2006
• Issued: 11/04/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 05/09/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Display Company Limited (Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Uemoto, Tsutomu
• Primary Examiner(s): WONG, TINA MEI SENG
• Application Number:
  US11/431,355
• Publication Number:
  US 20060251377A1
• Time in Patent Office: 910 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 385/146
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/0055 Reflecting element, sheet or layer

Abstract

A backlight assembly may include a light guide unit, a light source and a reflection module. The light source provides light onto an incident face of the light guide unit. The reflection module may include a first substrate having reflection regions, a lower electrode disposed in each reflection region, a switch element applying an on or off signal to the lower electrode, and an upper electrode. The upper electrode makes contact with or is spaced apart from a reflective face of the light guide unit in accordance with the on or off signal. Thus, light selectively exits the light guide unit through an exiting face of the light guide unit corresponding to each reflection region. A display device has a display module disposed on the exiting face of the light guide unit to display an image. Therefore, the display device has a simplified structure.

Claims

1. A backlight assembly comprising:

a light guide unit having a reflective face and a light exiting face opposite the reflective face;

a light source configured to provide light onto an incident face of the light guide unit; and

a reflection module disposed adjacent the reflective face of the light guide unit and configured to selectively reflect or scatter the light from the light guide unit in response to one or more control signals received by the reflection module including an on signal and an off signal, causing the reflected or scattered light to be emitted from the light guide unit through the light exiting face, the reflection module being disposed on the reflective face so that the reflective face is disposed between the light exiting face and the reflection module.

2. The backlight assembly of claim 1, wherein the reflection module comprises:

a first substrate having a surface facing the reflective face of the light guide unit and a plurality of reflection regions formed over the surface;

a plurality of lower electrodes each disposed in one of the reflection regions;

a plurality of associated switch elements disposed on the first substrate to apply an on signal or an off signal to an associated lower electrode; and

a plurality of upper electrodes positioned corresponding to the lower electrodes, the upper electrodes configured to contact the reflective face of the light guide unit in response to one of the on signal and the off signal received at the associated lower electrodes and to be separated from the reflective face of the light guide unit in response to the other of the on signal and the off signal received at the associated lower electrodes, wherein the backlight assembly is configured to emit the light that is incident onto the reflective face of the light guide unit through an exiting face of the light guide unit in one or more regions of the exiting face of the light guide unit associated with an on signal applied to an associated lower electrode.

3. The backlight assembly of claim 2, wherein the upper electrodes are separated from the reflective face of the light guide unit in response to the associated lower electrodes receiving the off signal so that light that is incident on the associated regions of the reflected face is totally internally reflected and the light that is incident on associated regions of the exiting face of the light guide unit is totally internally reflected.

4. The backlight assembly of claim 2, wherein the upper electrodes contact the reflective face of the light guide unit in response to the associated lower electrodes receiving the on signal so that light that is incident on associated regions of the reflective face is reflected and light that is incident on associated regions of the exiting face of the light guide unit is emitted.

5. The backlight assembly of claim 2, wherein each of the upper electrodes comprise a protrusion configured to scatter incident light.

6. The backlight assembly of claim 2, further comprising an optical member disposed between the light guide unit and the reflection module, the optical member having a refractive index greater than that of the light guide unit.

7. The backlight assembly of claim 6, wherein the optical member is positioned contacting the reflective face of the light guide unit.

8. The backlight assembly of claim 6, wherein the upper electrodes are configured to contact the reflective face of the light guide unit in response to the off signal received at the associated lower electrodes so as to reflect the light that is incident onto associated regions of the reflective face of the light guide unit and emit the reflected light through associated regions of the exiting face of the light guide unit.

9. The backlight assembly of claim 6, wherein the upper electrodes are separated from the reflective face of the light guide unit in response to the on signal received at the associated lower electrodes so as to totally reflect light that is incident on associated regions of the reflective face of the light guide unit and to totally reflect the reflected light on associated regions of the exiting face of the light guide unit.

10. The backlight assembly of claim 6, wherein the reflection module comprises:

a first insulation layer formed on the lower electrodes and configured to insulate the lower electrodes,

a second insulation layer positioned facing the first insulation layer, the upper electrodes being disposed on the second insulation layer; and

a plurality of spacers formed between the first and second insulation layers to support the second insulation layer, the spacers positioned corresponding to peripheral portions of the lower electrodes.

11. The backlight assembly of claim 10, wherein the second insulation layer comprises:

a plurality of fixing portions each fixed to an upper portion of an associated spacer; and

a plurality of free portions opposite to the fixing portions, and wherein assembly is configured so the upper electrodes are separated from the reflective face of the light guide unit when the associated free portions are bent toward a central portion of the associated lower electrode.

12. The backlight assembly of claim 2, wherein the reflection module further comprises:

a plurality of first signal lines arranged on the first substrate in a first direction to apply a control signal to the switch elements, the control signal for each switch element configured to control the application of the on signal or the off signal to the associated lower electrode; and

a plurality of second signal lines arranged on the first substrate in a second direction crossing the first direction to apply the on signal or the off signal to the associated lower electrode.

13. The backlight assembly of claim 12, wherein each of the reflection regions is defined by consecutive first signal lines and consecutive second signal lines.

14. A display device comprising:

a light guide unit having a reflective face and a light exiting face opposite the reflective face;

a light source configured to provide light onto an incident face of the light guide unit;

a reflection module disposed adjacent to the reflective face of the light guide unit and configured to selectively reflect or scatter the light from the light guide unit in response to one or more control signals received by the reflection module, said one or more control signals including an on signal and an off signal, causing the reflected or scattered light to be emitted from the light guide unit through the light exiting face; and

a display module disposed adjacent the light guide unit light exiting face to display an image using light emitted from the light guide unit,

wherein the reflection module is disposed on the reflective face so that the reflective face is disposed between the light exiting face and the reflection module.

15. The display device of claim 14, wherein the display module comprises color pixels formed in a plurality of pixel regions.

16. The display device of claim 14, wherein the reflection module comprises:

a first substrate having a surface facing the reflective face of the light guide unit and a plurality of reflection regions formed over the surface;

a plurality of lower electrodes each disposed in one of the reflection regions;

a plurality of associated switch elements disposed on the first substrate to apply the on signal or the off signal to an associated lower electrode; and

a plurality of upper electrodes positioned corresponding to the lower electrodes, the upper electrodes configured to contact the reflective face of the light guide unit in accordance with the on signal or the off signal received at the associated lower electrodes to emit light that is incident onto associated regions of the reflective face of the light guide unit through associated regions of an exiting face of the light guide unit.

17. The display device of claim 16, wherein the reflection module comprises:

a first insulation layer formed on the lower electrodes and configured to insulate the lower electrodes;

a second insulation layer positioned facing the first insulation layer, the upper electrode being disposed on the second insulation layer; and

a plurality of spacers formed between the first and second insulation layers to support the second insulation layer, the spacers positioned corresponding to peripheral portions of the lower electrodes.

18. The display device of claim 17, wherein the second insulation layer comprises:

a plurality of fixing portions each fixed to an upper portion of an associated spacer; and

a plurality of free portions opposite to the fixing portions, and wherein assembly is configured so the upper electrodes are separated from the reflective face of the light guide unit when the associated free portions are bent toward a central portion of the associated lower electrode.

19. A display apparatus comprising:

a light guide including an optical interface surface and a light exit surface different than the optical interface surface;

a plurality of optical reflector elements configured to reflect incident light;

a first actuator configured to selectively position a first optical reflector element in a first position away from the optical interface surface or a second position proximate to the optical interface surface; and

wherein, in response to an “

on”

control signal, the first actuator is configured to selectively position the first optical reflector element in one of the first position or the second position to reflect light to be transmitted through a first associated region of the light exit surface of the light guide.

20. The display apparatus of claim 19, wherein the first actuator comprises a first electrode configured to generate an electric field in response to a first control voltage, and wherein the first optical reflector comprises a second electrode on a flexible material.

21. The display apparatus of claim 19, wherein the light guide includes an incident surface positioned to receive light from a light source.

22. The display apparatus of claim 19, wherein, in response to an “

off”

control signal, the first actuator is configured to selectively position the first optical reflector element in the other of the first position and the second position so that light is substantially not transmitted through the first associated region of the light exit surface of the light guide.

23. The display apparatus of claim 19, wherein the apparatus includes a plurality of actuators each configured to position an associated optical reflector elements in a first position away from the optical interface surface or a second position proximate to the optical interface surface in response to an associated “

on”

control signal, and configured to position the associated optical reflector in the other of the first position and the second position in response to an associated “

off”

control signal.

24. The display apparatus of claim 23, wherein each of the plurality of optical reflectors is associated with a region of the light exit surface of the light guide, and wherein the display apparatus is configured to totally internally reflect light from each region of the light exit surface of the light guide associated with an optical reflector positioned in the other of the first position and the second position in response to the associated “

off”

control signal.

25. The display apparatus of claim 19, wherein the light guide comprises a material with an index of refraction n1 greater than the index of refraction of air.

26. The display apparatus of claim 25, wherein, in response to the “

on”

control signal, the first actuator is configured to selectively position the first optical reflector element in the second position.

27. The display apparatus of claim 19, wherein the light guide includes a first material having an index of refraction n1 greater than the index of refraction of air, a second material having an index of refraction n2 greater than n1, and wherein the optical interface surface is a surface of the second material.

28. The display apparatus of claim 19, further comprising a display module including a plurality of pixels, each pixel positioned to receive light from at least one associated region of the light exit surface of the light guide.