Illumination device and electronic apparatus

• US 8,708,520 B2
• Filed: 04/26/2011
• Issued: 04/29/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 04/30/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Element Capital Commercial Company Pte. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Inventors: Kubota, Takehiko
• Primary Examiner(s): Ton, Anabel
• Application Number:
  US13/094,193
• Publication Number:
  US 20110267813A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,099 Days
• Field of Search: 362/235, 362/237, 362/244, 362/335, 362/613, 349/69
• US Class Current: 362/235
• CPC Class Codes: F21S 2/005 of modular construction
• CPC Class Codes: F21V 5/002 using microoptical elements for redirecting or diffusing light
• CPC Class Codes: F21V 5/007 Array of lenses or refractors for a cluster of light sources, e.g. for arrangement of multiple light sources in one plane combination of two or more refractors F21V5/008
• CPC Class Codes: F21V 5/04 of lens shape
• CPC Class Codes: F21Y 2105/10 comprising a two-dimensional array of point-like light-generating elements
• CPC Class Codes: F21Y 2115/10 Light-emitting diodes [LED]
• CPC Class Codes: F21Y 2115/15 Organic light-emitting diodes [OLED]
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/133603 with LEDs
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/133606 including a specially adapted diffusing, scattering or light controlling members
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/133607 the light controlling member including light directing or refracting elements, e.g. prisms or lenses

Abstract

An illumination device includes a light emitting element chip and a plurality of lens array units. The light emitting element chip has a plurality of light emitting elements. Each light emitting element is a first light emitting portion provided in the light emitting element chip, or is a second light emitting portion provided at a position closer to the end portion of the light emitting element chip than the first light emitting portion. The lens array unit has a plurality of micro lenses each of which is opposed to each of the plurality of light emitting elements. Each micro lens is a first lens opposed to the first light emitting portion, or a second lens opposed to the second light emitting portion. The optical center of the first lens coincides with the geometric center thereof, and the optical center of the second lens is different from the geometric center thereof.

Claims

1. An illumination device comprising:

a light emitting substrate that has a plurality of light emitting portions arranged thereon; and

a lens array that has a plurality of lenses each of which is opposed to each of the plurality of light emitting portions and through which passes the light emitted from the opposed light emitting portions,

wherein the plurality of light emitting portions includes a first light emitting portion which is provided on the light emitting substrate and a second light emitting portion which is provided to be closer to an end portion of the light emitting substrate than the first light emitting portion,

wherein the plurality of lenses includes a first lens which is opposed to the first light emitting portion and a second lens which is opposed to the second light emitting portion,

wherein an optical center of the first lens coincides with a geometric center thereof, and

wherein an optical center of the second lens is different from a geometric center thereof.

2. The illumination device according to claim 1,

wherein in the first light emitting portion and the first lens opposed to each other, a light emitting center of the first light emitting portion coincides with an optical axis of the first lens, and

wherein the second lens has a degree of eccentricity which is set to refract light emitted from the opposed second light emitting portion in a direction from a center of an array of the plurality of light emitting portions to an end thereof.

9. An electronic apparatus comprising the illumination device according to claim 1.

10. An electronic apparatus comprising the illumination device according to claim 2.

3. An illumination device comprising:

a light emitting substrate that has a plurality of light emitting portions arranged thereon; and

a lens array that has a plurality of lenses each of which is opposed to each of the plurality of light emitting portions of the light emitting substrate and through which passes the light emitted from the opposed light emitting portions,

wherein the plurality of light emitting portions includes a first light emitting portion which is provided on the light emitting substrate and a second light emitting portion which is provided to be closer to an end portion of the light emitting substrate than the first light emitting portion,

wherein the plurality of lenses includes a first lens which is opposed to the first light emitting portion and a second lens which is opposed to the second light emitting portion,

wherein in the first light emitting portion and the first lens opposed to each other, a light emitting center of the first light emitting portion coincides with an optical axis of the first lens, and

wherein in the second light emitting portion and the second lens opposed to each other, a light emitting center of the second light emitting portion is deviated from an optical axis of the second lens.

4. The illumination device according to claim 3,

wherein an optical center of each of the plurality of lenses coincides with a geometric center thereof, and

wherein the second light emitting portion and the second lens opposed to each other are disposed in a state where the light emitting center of the second light emitting portion is deviated from the optical axis of the second lens such that light emitted from the second light emitting portion is refracted in a direction from a center of an array of the plurality of light emitting portions to an end thereof.

11. An electronic apparatus comprising the illumination device according to claim 3.

12. An electronic apparatus comprising the illumination device according to claim 4.

5. An illumination device comprising:

a light emitting substrate that has a plurality of light emitting portions arranged thereon; and

a lens array that has a plurality of lenses each of which is opposed to each of the plurality of light emitting portions and through which passes the light emitted from the opposed light emitting portions,

wherein in each lens opposed to each of the plurality of light emitting portions, as a position of each opposed light emitting portion gets closer to an end of an array of the plurality of light emitting portions from a reference position thereof, an angle, at which the lens refracts light emitted from the opposed light emitting portion in a direction from the reference position to the end, increases.

13. An electronic apparatus comprising the illumination device according to claim 5.

6. An illumination device comprising:

a light emitting substrate that has a plurality of light emitting portions arranged thereon; and

a lens array that has a plurality of lenses each of which is opposed to each of the plurality of light emitting portions and through which passes the light emitted from the opposed light emitting portions,

wherein each of the plurality of light emitting portions has a light emitting layer which produces light, a light reflective layer which reflects light produced from the light emitting layer, and a light emitting face from which the light reflected by the light reflective layer is emitted,

wherein the plurality of light emitting portions includes a first light emitting portion which is provided on the light emitting substrate and a second light emitting portion which is provided to be closer to an end portion of the light emitting substrate than the first light emitting portion,

wherein a direction of light emitted from the first light emitting portion coincides with a straight line which extends from the light emitting face of the first light emitting portion in a direction perpendicular to the light emitting face, and

wherein a direction of light emitted from the second light emitting portion is inclined with respect to a straight line which extends from the light emitting face of the second light emitting portion in a direction perpendicular to the light emitting face.

7. The illumination device according to claim 6, wherein in the second light emitting portion, an angle of the light reflective layer to the light emitting layer is set such that the direction of the emitted light is inclined in a direction from a center of an array of the plurality of light emitting portions to an end thereof with respect to the straight line which extends from the light emitting face of the second light emitting portion in the direction perpendicular to the light emitting face.

8. The illumination device according to claim 6,

wherein a plurality of the light emitting substrates is provided,

wherein the plurality of light emitting substrates are two-dimensionally arranged,

wherein the plurality of light emitting portions, which belongs to each of the plurality of light emitting substrates, includes a plurality of the second light emitting portions, and

wherein in each of the plurality of light emitting substrates, the plurality of second light emitting portions is disposed along at least an adjacent edge of the corresponding light emitting substrate close to the light emitting substrate among all edges thereof.

14. An electronic apparatus comprising the illumination device according to claim 6.

15. An electronic apparatus comprising the illumination device according to claim 7.

16. An electronic apparatus comprising the illumination device according to claim 8.