Illumination device, light guide plate, surface light source device and illumination unit

• US 7,703,936 B2
• Filed: 07/20/2006
• Issued: 04/27/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 07/20/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Enplas Corporation
• Original Assignee: Enplas Corporation
• Inventors: Ohkawa, Shingo
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee; Gunyoung T
• Application Number:
  US11/489,453
• Publication Number:
  US 20070041171A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,377 Days
• Field of Search: 362/330, 362/97, 362/29, 362/30, 362632-634, 349 61- 64, 349/65
• US Class Current: 362/97.1
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/133604 with lamps
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/133605 including specially adapted reflectors

Abstract

An illumination device, surface light source device, and an illumination unit are provided that provide increased and uniform emission brightness. The device includes parallel fluorescent lamps between a reflection sheet and light flux control member. A back face of the light flux control member includes recesses and curved surfaces connected to locations corresponding to those of the fluorescent lamps. Each recess and curved surface includes light entering surfaces. An entering surface causes light coming to areas corresponding to the fluorescent lamps, included in the light reaching a light diffusing member, to diverge smoothly. Another light entering surface and convex curved surface causes light coming to areas, which do not correspond to the fluorescent lamps, adjacent to areas corresponding to the fluorescent lamps to have light intensity increased to that of the light coming to the areas corresponding to the fluorescent lamps.

Claims

1. An illumination device comprising:

a reflection member;

a light flux control member disposed along and separated from said reflection member; and

a plurality of linear primary light sources disposed between said reflection member and said light flux control member parallel with each other at intervals,

said light flux control member comprising;

a back face directed to said reflection member in order to receive light from said primary light sources, and

an emission face directed oppositely to said back face in order to cause said light received to be transmitted, deflected and emitted, and

at least one of said back face and said emission face is provided with a plurality of curved recesses and curved surfaces,

each of said curved recesses having a location corresponding to one of said primary light sources and extending in a longitudinal direction of said one of said primary light source, and

said curved surfaces being located adjacent to said curved recesses and configured so as to cause said light flux control member to decrease in thickness away from said curved recesses, respectively, and

each of said primary light sources being disposed so as to supply light including both first rays refracted at a corresponding curved recess and second rays refracted at corresponding curved surfaces adjacent thereto either on entering into said light flux control member or on being emitted from said emission face, and

said second rays being more inclined with respect to a frontal direction as compared with said first rays.

2. An illumination unit comprising:

an illumination device as claimed in claim 1; and

a member positioned so as to be irradiated by an illumination light outputted from said illumination device.

3. The illumination device according to claim 1, further comprising a slope of the curved recesses decreasing away from a center of the curved recesses.

4. A surface light source device comprising:

a reflection member;

a light flux control member disposed along and separated from said reflection member;

a plurality of linear primary light sources disposed between said reflection member and said light flux control member parallel with each other at intervals; and

a light diffusion member,

wherein said light flux control member has a back face directed to said reflection member in order to receive light from said primary light sources and an emission face directed oppositely to said back face in order to cause said light received to be transmitted, deflected and emitted; and

at least one of said back face and said emission face is provided with a plurality of curved recesses and curved surfaces; and

said light diffusion member is disposed along said emission face in order to diffuse light emitted from said emission face,

each of said curved recesses having a location corresponding to one of said primary light sources and extending in a longitudinal direction of said one of said primary light source,

said curved surfaces being located adjacent to said curved recesses and configured as to cause said light flux control member to decrease in thickness away from said curved recesses, respectively, and

each of said primary light sources being disposed so as to supply light including both first rays refracted at a corresponding curved recess and second rays refracted at corresponding curved surfaces adjacent thereto either on entering into said light flux control member or on being emitted from said emission face, and

said second rays being more inclined with respect to a frontal direction as compared with said first rays.

5. An illumination unit comprising:

a surface light source device as claimed in claim 4; and

a member positioned so as to be irradiated by an illumination light outputted from said illumination device.