Prism sheet, illuminating device, surface emitting device, and liquid crystal display device

• US 20050122745A1
• Filed: 11/30/2004
• Published: 06/09/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 12/05/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: ALPS Electric Company Limited (Alps Alpine Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: ALPS Electric Company Limited (Alps Alpine Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Sugiura, Takuro
• Granted Patent: US 7,199,932 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 362/626
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/0038 Linear indentations or grooves, e.g. arc-shaped grooves or meandering grooves, extending over the full length or width of the light guide
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/0053 Prismatic sheet or layer; Brightness enhancement element, sheet or layer
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/0055 Reflecting element, sheet or layer
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/0063 for extracting light out both the major surfaces of the light guide

Abstract

A surface emitting device includes a light guiding plate, a light source, and a prism sheet. The light guiding plate is provided with prism portions each having a slight inclined plane and a steep inclined plane arranged closer to one edge than the slight inclined plane. A plurality of light refracting portions each having a refractive surface and a reflective surface are provided on an incident surface of the prism sheet. Light introduced into the light guiding plate from the light source is emitted from the slight inclined plane and is then incident on the light refracting portion. The light is introduced into the prism sheet by the refracting surface and is then reflected from the reflective surface to be emitted.

Claims

1. A prism sheet in which a plurality of rib-shaped light refracting portions each having a refractive surface and a reflective surface are consecutively provided on an incident surface of a transparent sheet, and an emission surface opposite to the incident surface is a flat surface,

wherein light obliquely incident on the transparent sheet is introduced into the transparent sheet by the refractive surface of each light refracting portion, and

wherein the incident light is reflected from the reflective surface inside the transparent sheet and is then emitted from the emission surface of the transparent sheet.

2. The prism sheet according to claim 1

wherein, when an incident angle of the incident light with respect to the normal direction of the emission surface is α

, an emission angle with respect to the emission surface is ψ

, an inclination angle of the refractive surface with respect to the emission surface is θ

₁, an inclination angle of the reflective surface with respect to the emission surface is θ

₂, and a refractive index of the transparent sheet is N, the inclination angles θ

₁ and θ

₂ satisfy the following Expression 1;

θ

₂=½

[180−

θ

₁−

sin<sup>−

1</sup>{sin(α

−

θ

₁)/N}−

sin<sup>−

1</sup>(sin ψ

/N)].  

 

[Expression 1]

3. The prism sheet according to claim 1

wherein, when an inclination angle of the refractive surface with respect to the emission surface is θ

₁, an inclination angle of the reflective surface with respect to the emission surface is θ

₂, an incident angle of the incident light with respect to the normal direction of the emission surface is α

, a refractive index of the transparent sheet is N, and the inclination angles θ

₁ and θ

₂ satisfy the following Expression 2;

θ

₂=½

[180−

θ

₁−

sin<sup>−

1</sup>{sin(α

−

θ

₁)/N}].  

 

[Expression 2]

4. The prism sheet according to claim 2,

wherein each light refracting portion has a top portion where the refractive surface meets the reflective surface, and a valley portion is formed between adjacent light refracting portions,

wherein, when a height from the top portion to the valley portion is a height h of the light refracting portion and a height from the top portion to a point on a normal line with respect to the valley portion of the transparent sheet where the incident light passes is H, H<

h is satisfied.

5. The prism sheet according to claim 1,

wherein a roughen finish is performed on the emission surface.

20. The prism sheet according to claim 3,

wherein each light refracting portion has a top portion where the refractive surface meets the reflective surface, and a valley portion is formed between adjacent light refracting portions,

wherein, when a height from the top portion to the valley portion is a height h of the light refracting portion and a height from the top portion to a point on a normal line with respect to the valley portion of the transparent sheet where the incident light passes is H, H<

h is satisfied.

6. An illuminating device comprising:

a light guiding plate; and

a light source arranged in the vicinity of one edge of the light guiding plate,

wherein a plurality of rib-shaped prism portions each having a slight inclined plane and a steep inclined plane arranged closer to the one edge than the slight inclined plane are consecutively provided on one surface of the light guiding plate orthogonal to the one edge, and

wherein light emitted from the light source is introduced into the light guiding plate through the one edge.

7. The illuminating device according to claim 6,

wherein the plurality of prism portions are also provided on an opposing surface opposite to the one surface of the light guiding plate.

8. The illuminating device according to claim 6,

wherein a reflective plate having a metallic glossy surface is provided on an opposing surface opposite to the one surface of the light guiding plate.

9. The illuminating device according to claim 6,

wherein a reflective plate having a metallic glossy surface is provided on the one surface of the light guiding plate.

10. The illuminating device according to claim 6,

wherein an inclination angle Γ

₁ of the steep inclined plane with respect to at least one of the one surface and an opposing surface is set in the range of 20°

to 90°

, and an inclination angle γ

₂ of the slight inclined plane with respect to at least one of the one surface and the opposing surface is set in the range of 0.5°

to 5°

.

21. The illuminating device according to claim 7,

wherein an inclination angle γ

₁ of the steep inclined plane with respect to at least one of the one surface and the opposing surface is set in the range of 20°

to 90°

, and an inclination angle γ

₂ of the slight inclined plane with respect to at least one of the one surface and the opposing surface is set in the range of 0.5°

to 5°

.

22. The illuminating device according to claim 8,

wherein an inclination angle γ

₁ of the steep inclined plane with respect to at least one of the one surface and the opposing surface is set in the range of 20°

to 90°

, and an inclination angle γ

₂ of the slight inclined plane with respect to at least one of the one surface and the opposing surface is set in the range of 0.5°

to 5°

.

23. The illuminating device according to claim 9,

wherein an inclination angle γ

₁ of the steep inclined plane with respect to at least one of the one surface and an opposing surface is set in the range of 20°

to 90°

, and an inclination angle γ

₂ of the slight inclined plane with respect to at least one of the one surface and the opposing surface is set in the range of 0.5°

to 5°

.

11. A surface emitting device comprising:

a light guiding plate;

a light source arranged in the vicinity of one edge of the light guiding plate; and

a prism sheet composed of a transparent sheet and arranged on one surface of the light guiding plate orthogonal to the one edge,

wherein a plurality of rib-shaped prism portions each having a slight inclined plane and a steep inclined plane arranged closer to the one edge than the slight inclined plane are consecutively provided on at least one of the one surface and an opposing surface of the light guiding plate opposing the one surface,

wherein a plurality of rib-shaped light refracting portions each having a refractive surface and a reflecting surface are consecutively provided on an incident surface of the prism sheet facing the light guiding plate, an emission surface opposite to the incident surface is a flat surface, and the prism sheet is arranged on the light guiding plate with the refractive surfaces facing the light source, and

wherein light introduced into the light guiding plate from the light source through the one edge is emitted from the slight inclined plane and is then incident on the light refracting portion, and the light incident on the light refracting portion is introduced into the transparent sheet by the refractive surface and is then refracted from the reflective surface in the transparent sheet to be emitted from the emission surface.

12. The surface emitting device according to claim 11, wherein, when an incident angle of the incident light with respect to the normal direction of the emission surface of the prism sheet is α

, an emission angle with respect to the emission surface is ψ

, an inclination angle of the refractive surface with respect to the emission surface is θ

₁, an inclination angle of the reflective surface with respect to the emission surface is θ

₂, and a refractive index of the transparent sheet is N, the inclination angles θ

₁ and θ

₂ satisfy the following Expression 3;

θ

₂=½

[180−

θ

¹−

sin<sup>−

1</sup>{sin(α

−

θ

₁)/N}−

sin^{31 1}(sin ψ

/N)].  

 

[Expression 3]

13. The surface emitting device according to claim 11,

wherein, when an inclination angle of the refractive surface with respect to the emission surface of the prism sheet is θ

₁, an inclination angle of the reflective surface with respect to the emission surface thereof is θ

₂, an emission angle of light emitted from the light guiding plate with respect to the normal direction of the emission surface is α

, and a refractive index of the transparent sheet is N, the inclination angles θ

₁ and θ

₂ satisfy the following Expression 4;

θ

₂=½

[180−

θ

₁−

sin<sup>−

1</sup>{sin(α

−

θ

₁)/N}].  

 

[Expression 4]

14. The surface emitting device according to claim 12,

wherein each light refracting portion has a top portion where the refractive surface meets the reflective surface, and a valley portion is formed between adjacent light refracting portions, and

wherein, when a height from the top portion to the valley portion is a height h of the light refracting portion and a height from the top portion to a point on a normal line with respect to the valley portion of the transparent sheet where the incident light passes is H, H<

h is satisfied.

15. The surface emitting device according to claim 11,

wherein a reflective plate having a metallic glossy surface is provided on the opposing surface of the light guiding plate.

16. The surface emitting device according to claim 11,

wherein a reflective plate having a metallic glossy surface is provided on the one surface of the light guiding plate.

17. The surface emitting device according to my one of claims 11,

wherein an inclination angle γ

₁ of the steep inclined plane with respect to at least one of the one surface and the opposing surface is set in the range of 20°

to 90°

, and an inclination angle γ

₂ of the slight inclined plane with respect to at least one of one surface and the other surface is set in the range of 0.5°

to 5°

.

18. The surface emitting device according to claim 11,

wherein a roughen finish is performed on the emission surface.

19. A liquid crystal display device comprising:

a liquid crystal panel in which a liquid crystal layer is interposed between a pair of substrates; and

the surface emitting device according to claim 11,

wherein the liquid crystal display panel is arranged such that a rear surface thereof faces a prism sheet of the surface emitting device.

24. The surface emitting device according to claim 13,

wherein each light refracting portion has a top portion where the refractive surface meets the reflective surface, and a valley portion is formed between adjacent light refracting portions, and

wherein, when a height from the top portion to the valley portion is a height h of the light refracting portion and a height from the top portion to a point on a normal line with respect to the valley portion of the transparent sheet where the incident light passes is H, H<

h is satisfied.

25. The surface emitting device according to claim 12,

wherein an inclination angle γ

₁ of the steep inclined plane with respect to at least one of the one surface and the opposing surface is set in the range of 20°

to 90°

, and an inclination angle γ

₂ of the slight inclined plane with respect to at least one of one surface and the other surface is set in the range of 0.5°

to 5°

.

26. The surface emitting device according to claim 13,

wherein an inclination angle γ

₁ of the steep inclined plane with respect to at least one of the one surface and the opposing surface is set in the range of 20°

to 90°

, and an inclination angle γ

₂ of the slight inclined plane with respect to at least one of one surface and the other surface is set in the range of 0.5°

to 5°

.

27. The surface emitting device according to claim 15,

wherein an inclination angle γ

₁ of the steep inclined plane with respect to at least one of the one surface and the opposing surface is set in the range of 20°

to 90°

, and an inclination angle γ

₂ of the slight inclined plane with respect to at least one of one surface and the other surface is set in the range of 0.5°

to 5°

.

28. The surface emitting device according to claim 16,

wherein an inclination angle γ

₁ of the steep inclined plane with respect to at least one of the one surface and the opposing surface is set in the range of 20°

to 90°

, and an inclination angle γ

₂ of the slight inclined plane with respect to at least one of one surface and the other surface is set in the range of 0.5°

to 5°

.