Light reflector for use in a reflective-type liquid-crystal display

• US 6,091,469 A
• Filed: 05/18/1999
• Issued: 07/18/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 05/19/1998
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Dai Nippon Printing Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Dai Nippon Printing Company Limited
• Inventors: Naito, Nobuo
• Primary Examiner(s): Dudek, James A.
• Application Number:
  US09/313,345
• Time in Patent Office: 427 Days
• Field of Search: 349/113, 359/831, 359/833, 359/834
• US Class Current: 349/113
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/133504 Diffusing, scattering, diffracting elements associated to illuminating devices G02F1/133606
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/133553 Reflecting elements associated to illuminating devices G02F1/133605
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 2203/023 total internal reflection

Abstract

A light reflector for use in a reflective-type liquid-crystal display has a prism sheet, which is made from a transparent base material, the front surface of which has formed on it a light-diffusing layer that diffuses incident light and the reverse side of which has a plurality of unit prisms that are arranged in a striped arrangement and made of an optically transparent resin, these prisms extending in a vertical direction, and having a cross-section that is the shape of a scalene triangle, and also has a light-reflecting sheet that is in opposition to the group of prisms on the rear surface of the prism sheet, the opposing surface of this light-reflecting sheet reflecting transmitted light and being disposed in parallel to the prism sheet, so that incident light and exiting light are not mutually parallel, thereby achieving both a wide viewing angle and a bright display.

Claims

1. A light reflector for use in a reflective-type liquid-crystal display that comprises a prism sheet, which is made from a transparent base material, the reverse side of said prism sheet having a plurality of unit prisms that are arranged with a fixed pitch in either one or two dimensions, external light that is incident at the surface of said transparent sheet being internally reflected by oblique surfaces of said unit prisms, so that it passes through said transparent base sheet and exits therefrom, wherein said unit prisms of the prism sheet have the shape of a triangle that has a base that is parallel to the reverse side of said prism sheet and a vertex that protrudes toward the side opposite said reverse side, and wherein if the angle that one of said oblique sides of said triangle makes with respect to a normal direction is θ

1 and the angle that the other oblique side of said triangle makes with respect to said normal direction is θ

2, the refractive index of said prism sheet material is n, and the angle of incidence of external light with respect to a light-diffusing layer on said transparent base material is θ

0, under the condition that θ

1>

θ

2, said light reflector for a reflective-type liquid-crystal display that satisfies the conditions

space="preserve" listing-type="equation">θ

2<

90°

-sin.sup.-1 (1/n)

and

space="preserve" listing-type="equation">θ

1=90°

-θ

2+sin.sup.-1 (sin θ

0/n)/2.

2.

2. A light reflector according to claim 1, wherein said angle θ

2 is such that the condition θ

2>

sin^-1 (sin θ

0/n)/2 is satisfied.

3. A light reflector according to claim 1, wherein said angles θ

1 and θ

2 satisfy the condition θ

1+θ

2≧

180°

-2{90°

-sin^-1 (1/n)}.

4. A light reflector according to claim 1, wherein the sum θ

1+θ

2 is approximately 90°

.

5. A light reflector according to claim 1, further comprising a light-diffusing layer that diffusing light, said light-diffusing layer being formed on the surface of the transparent base material sheet.

6. A light reflector according to claim 1, further comprising a light-reflecting sheet that is disposed in opposition to and parallel to said unit prisms of said prism sheet, the surface of said light-reflecting sheet that opposes said unit prisms reflecting transmitted light.

7. A light reflector according to claim 2, further comprising a light-reflecting sheet that is disposed in opposition to and parallel to said unit prisms of said prism sheet, the surface of said light-reflecting sheet that opposes said unit prisms reflecting transmitted light.

8. A light reflector according to claim 1, wherein the material that forms said prism sheet is selected from a group consisting of a UV-cured resin and an EB-cured resin.