Backlight module and vehicle display thereof
Patent Information
- Application Number
- TW114105018
- Authority / Receiving Office
- TW · TW
- Patent Type
- Applications
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2025-02-11
- Publication Date
- 2026-08-16
- Estimated Expiration
- 2045-02-10
AI Technical Summary
Traditional automotive backlight modules experience noise and dark corners due to interference between buffer components and light guide plates, which can lead to collisions and structural breakage, especially under temperature changes and vibrations.
A backlight module design incorporating a light-transmitting buffer between the substrate and the light guide plate's support portion, with an opening structure and optical elements to absorb vibrations and expand illumination range, preventing collisions and dark corners.
The design effectively prevents noise and structural breakage while eliminating dark corners by using a light-transmitting buffer to absorb vibrations and enhance illumination, ensuring consistent light distribution.
Smart Images
Figure TWG2TA001072203_001 
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Figure TWG2TA001072203_003
Abstract
Description
[Technical Field]
[0001] This disclosure provides a backlight module and its automotive display, particularly a backlight module and its automotive display that can prevent noise and dark corners. [Previous Technology]
[0002] Traditional automotive backlight modules install buffer components at various corners inside the back panel, and then attach the light guide plate to the back panel. The compressibility of the buffer components creates interference to hold the light guide plate in place within the back panel. However, with prolonged use, the ambient temperature around the automotive backlight module rises, causing the buffer components and light guide plate to shrink due to material properties. If the total shrinkage of the buffer components and light guide plate exceeds the initially designed interference, gaps will form between them. In this case, when the automotive backlight module shakes or vibrates, the light guide plate's feet can easily collide with the back panel, causing noise. Furthermore, the light guide plate needs to be designed with sufficiently wide feet to prevent breakage from collisions with the back panel; however, larger feet compress the space available for the light-emitting units within the automotive backlight module. The corners where the light guide plate's feet are located will be far from the light-emitting units, resulting in vignetting at the corresponding positions in the image displayed by the automotive backlight module. Therefore, designing a backlight module and its automotive display that can prevent noise and dark corners is one of the development goals of the design industry. [Summary of the Invention]
[0003] This disclosure provides a backlight module and its automotive display that can prevent the generation of abnormal noise and dark corners, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems.
[0004] The scope of this patent application discloses a backlight module comprising a substrate, a light guide plate, and a light-transmitting buffer. The substrate has at least one light-emitting element. One corner of the light guide plate has a support portion. The light-transmitting buffer is disposed in a gap between the substrate and the support portion and covers the light-emitting element to prevent the support portion from directly impacting the substrate.
[0005] The scope of this patent application also discloses an automotive display comprising a housing and a backlight module. The housing has a rear frame and a front frame joined together. The backlight module is located between the rear frame and the front frame. The backlight module includes a substrate, a light guide plate, and a light-transmitting buffer. The substrate is disposed on a side wall of the rear frame and has at least one light-emitting element. A support portion is provided at one corner of the light guide plate. The light-transmitting buffer is disposed in a gap between the substrate and the support portion and covers the light-emitting element to prevent the support portion from directly impacting the substrate.
[0006] The backlight module and its automotive display disclosed herein attach a light-transmitting buffer to a specific light-emitting element of the light strip and is located next to the support portion at the corner of the light guide plate. If the vehicle in which the automotive display is located travels on a rough road, the buffering characteristics of the light-transmitting buffer can effectively absorb the vibration of the light guide plate to prevent it from colliding with the substrate and generating abnormal noise. If the backlight module is in a high-temperature environment and causes the material to shrink, the buffering characteristics of the light-transmitting buffer can also prevent or reduce the force of the light guide plate colliding with the substrate to eliminate abnormal noise, and correspondingly avoid the support portion of the light guide plate from breaking due to a strong impact.
[0007] In addition, the bottom of the opening structure of the light-transmitting buffer and the light guide plate is preferably reserved with a gap of at least 0.3 mm to prevent the light-transmitting buffer from directly contacting the light guide plate. Moreover, the air gap between the light-transmitting buffer and the light guide plate can also increase the refractive index difference to make the illumination light output by the light-emitting element more spread. Since the closer the light-transmitting buffer is to the light guide plate, the better the anti-dark corner effect of the backlight module can be achieved, this disclosure can also selectively use optical adhesive to bond the light-transmitting buffer and the light guide plate. Furthermore, the light-transmitting buffer and the optical element can be selected to combine two dissimilar materials using encapsulation injection technology, and the light-transmitting buffer and the optical element can each add concave or protruding structures on their adjacent surfaces to increase the contact area and improve the bonding strength.
[0008] The backlight module disclosed herein forms an opening structure next to the support portion of the light guide plate (instead of the traditional straight or flat design), increasing sufficient space for placing the light-transmitting buffer and optical elements. The optical elements are secondary lenses with directional light-guiding effects. The light-transmitting buffer not only prevents the support portion of the light guide plate from impacting the substrate and generating noise, but also serves to fix the optical elements to specific light-emitting elements of the light strip, further expanding the illumination range of the light emitted by the light-emitting elements. For example, the original illumination range of 60 degrees can be increased to 150 degrees. In this way, the backlight module disclosed herein and its automotive display can effectively prevent product noise, avoid partial structural breakage due to collision, and eliminate the dark corner phenomenon of the light guide plate.
Implementation Method
[0009] Please refer to Figures 1 and 2. Figure 1 is an exploded view of the components of the automotive display 10 according to the present disclosure embodiment, and Figure 2 is a partial structural cross-sectional view of the automotive display 10 according to the present disclosure embodiment. The automotive display 10 may include a housing 12 and a backlight module 14. The housing 12 has a rear frame 16 and a front frame 18 that are joined together. The backlight module 14 may be disposed between the rear frame 16 and the front frame 18, and selectively includes a substrate 20, a light guide plate 22, a light-transmitting buffer 24, a reflective sheet 26, a diffuser 28, a brightness enhancement film 30, a polarizing brightness enhancement film 32, and optical elements 38. In this disclosure, the substrate 20 is disposed on the side wall 34 of the rear frame 16, and then a light strip 35 is mounted on the substrate 20 to give it one or more light-emitting elements 36. The substrate 20 may be a circuit board used to provide power to the light-emitting elements 36 of the light strip 35. The number of light-transmitting buffers 24 and optical elements 38 is not limited to the illustrated configuration and depends on design requirements.
[0010] The assembly sequence disclosed herein is as follows: First, the light strip 35 is positioned on the side wall 34 of the rear frame 16 via the substrate 20, and then the light-transmitting buffer 24 and optical element 38 are installed; next, the reflector 26, light guide plate 22, diffuser 28, brightness enhancement film 30, polarizing brightness enhancement film 32 and front frame 18 are installed in sequence to complete the automotive display 10; however, its actual application is not limited to this, and may vary due to the addition or removal of some optical films (such as reflector 26, diffuser 28, brightness enhancement film 30 and / or polarizing brightness enhancement film 32). In addition, these optical films have common optical reflection, refraction, diffusion and polarization functions, which will not be described in detail here.
[0011] Please refer to Figures 3 to 7. Figure 3 is a top view of a portion of the structure of the vehicle display 10 according to the present invention. Figures 4 and 5 are assembly views of a portion of the structure of the vehicle display 10 according to the present invention from different perspectives. Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of the appearance of the light-transmitting buffer 24 according to the present invention. Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of the appearance of the optical element 38 according to the present invention. The corner 40 of the light guide plate 22 may have a support portion 42, and an opening structure 44 is formed next to the support portion 42. The opening structure 44 is aligned with the light-emitting element 36 at the outermost edge or any position of the light strip 35, and the size of the opening structure 44 is preferably larger than or equal to the size of the light-transmitting buffer 24.
[0012] The light-transmitting buffer 24 can be made of a material that is both light-transmitting and compressible. It is disposed in the gap between the substrate 20 and the support 42 and covers the light-emitting element 36. The optical element 38 disclosed herein is an optional accessory. If the backlight module 14 does not have the optical element 38 disposed on the light-transmitting buffer 24 (this embodiment is not shown in the drawings), the structural height of the light-transmitting buffer 24 can be greater than or equal to the distance between the bottom of the opening structure 44 and the light strip 35 or its light-emitting element 36, that is, the light-transmitting buffer 24 needs to support the light guide plate 22 so that the support 42 does not touch the light strip 35 on the substrate 20. If the backlight module 14 has the optical element 38 disposed on the light-transmitting buffer 24, the structural height of the combination of the light-transmitting buffer 24 and the optical element 38 can be greater than or equal to the distance between the bottom of the opening structure 44 and the light strip 35 or its light-emitting element 36, in order to stop the support 42 from directly impacting the substrate 20 or the light strip 35 disposed thereon.
[0013] The light-transmitting buffer 24 may include at least a body 46, an extension 48, and a perforated structure 50. One or more outer surfaces of the body 46 may be selectively provided with light-scattering structures, depending on design requirements. The extension 48 is disposed on two opposite sides of the body 46 and extends into the gap between the substrate 20 and the support 42. The perforated structure 50 is disposed in the middle of the body 46 and aligned with the light-emitting element 36. The optical element 38 is a light-guiding lens or optical film with directional function, which is disposed between the light-transmitting buffer 24 and the light guide plate 22 to expand the illumination range of the illumination light output by the light-emitting element 36. The optical element 38 has a recessed portion 52 at one end relative to the light-transmitting buffer 24. The recess 52 is preferably designed as an elliptical conical aperture, as shown in Figure 7, but it can also be selectively designed as a conical aperture, a triangular conical aperture, or a concave lens style (these variations are not shown in the figures); any optical structure that can expand the illumination range falls within the design scope of the recess 52 of the optical element 38 disclosed herein.
[0014] In this disclosure, the recessed portion 52 of the optical element 38 can be designed as an elliptical conical aperture, and the minor axis tilt angle of the elliptical conical aperture is preferably between 15 and 30 degrees, and the major axis tilt angle of the elliptical conical aperture is preferably between 20 and 60 degrees, but practical applications are not limited to these. Furthermore, the bottom 54 of the elliptical conical aperture can be selectively designed as a planar structure (as shown in Figure 7) or a conical structure (not shown in the figures); a textured structure or any type of microstructure can be fabricated on the bottom 54 to improve the uniformity of illumination light transmission. Correspondingly, the top 56 of the elliptical conical aperture can also be selectively fabricated with a textured structure or any type of microstructure.
[0015] Please refer to Figures 8 and 9. Figure 8 is a schematic diagram of the optical path of the backlight module 14 according to the present disclosure embodiment, and Figure 9 is a schematic diagram of the optical simulation results of the backlight module 14 according to the present disclosure embodiment. In this disclosure, the light-transmitting buffer 24 and the optical element 38 are covered on the light-emitting element 36 at the outermost edge of the light strip 35. By utilizing the difference in refractive index between air and the light guide plate 22 and between the light-transmitting buffer 24 and the optical element 38, the illumination light output by the light-emitting element 36 can be more spread out, as shown in Figure 8. Therefore, the corners 40 of the light guide plate 22 can have sufficient brightness, with the checkerboard area having lower brightness and the diagonal stripe area having higher brightness. It can be seen that there is no dark corner phenomenon at the corners 40, as shown in Figure 9.
[0016] In summary, the backlight module 14 and its automotive display 10 disclosed herein attach the light-transmitting buffer 24 to a specific light-emitting element 36 of the light strip 35, and is located next to the support portion 42 of the corner 40 of the light guide plate 22. If the vehicle in which the automotive display 10 is located travels on a rough road, the buffering characteristics of the light-transmitting buffer 24 can effectively absorb the vibration of the light guide plate 22 to prevent it from colliding with the substrate 20 and generating abnormal noise. If the backlight module 14 is in a high-temperature environment and causes the material to shrink, the buffering characteristics of the light-transmitting buffer 24 can also prevent or reduce the force of the light guide plate 22 colliding with the substrate 20 to eliminate abnormal noise, and correspondingly avoid the support portion 42 of the light guide plate 22 from breaking due to a strong impact.
[0017] In addition, the bottom of the opening structure 44 of the light-transmitting buffer 24 and the light guide plate 22 is preferably reserved with a gap of at least 0.3 mm to prevent the light-transmitting buffer 24 from directly contacting the light guide plate 22. Moreover, the air gap between the light-transmitting buffer 24 and the light guide plate 22 can also increase the refractive index difference to make the illumination light output by the light-emitting element 36 more spread. Since the closer the light-transmitting buffer 24 is to the light guide plate 22, the better the anti-dark corner effect of the backlight module 14 can be achieved, this disclosure can also selectively use optical adhesive to bond the light-transmitting buffer 24 and the light guide plate 22. Furthermore, the light-transmitting buffer 24 and the optical element 38 can be selected to be combined with two dissimilar materials using over-molding technology, and the light-transmitting buffer 24 and the optical element 38 can each add concave or protruding structures on their adjacent surfaces (as shown in Figures 6 and 7) to increase the contact area between the two and improve the bonding strength.
[0018] The backlight module 14 disclosed herein forms an opening structure 44 (instead of a traditional straight or flat design) next to the support portion 42 of the light guide plate 22, increasing sufficient space for placing the light-transmitting buffer 24 and the optical element 38. The optical element 38 is a secondary lens with directional light-guiding effect. The light-transmitting buffer 24 not only prevents the support portion 42 of the light guide plate 22 from impacting the substrate 20 and causing noise, but also fixes the optical element 38 to a specific light-emitting element 36 of the light strip 35, further expanding the illumination range of the illumination light output by the light-emitting element 36, for example, increasing the original illumination range of sixty degrees to one hundred and fifty degrees. In this way, the backlight module 14 disclosed herein and its automotive display 10 can effectively prevent product noise, avoid partial structural breakage due to collision, and eliminate the dark corner phenomenon of the light guide plate 22. The above description is only a preferred embodiment of this disclosure. All equivalent changes and modifications made within the scope of the claims of this disclosure shall be covered by this disclosure. [Simplified Explanation of the Diagram]
[0019] Figure 1 is an exploded view of the components of the automotive display according to an embodiment of this disclosure. Figure 2 is a partial structural cross-sectional view of the automotive display according to an embodiment of this disclosure. Figure 3 is a top view of a partial structural component of the automotive display according to an embodiment of this disclosure. Figures 4 and 5 are assembly views of a partial structural component of the automotive display according to an embodiment of this disclosure from different perspectives. Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of the appearance of the light-transmitting buffer according to an embodiment of this disclosure. Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of the appearance of the optical element according to an embodiment of this disclosure. Figure 8 is a schematic diagram of the optical path of the backlight module according to an embodiment of this disclosure. Figure 9 is a schematic diagram of the optical simulation results of the backlight module according to an embodiment of this disclosure.
Claims
1. A backlight module comprising: a substrate having at least one light-emitting element; a light guide plate having a support portion and an opening structure at one corner of the light guide plate, one of the opening structures being located adjacent to the support portion and aligned with the light-emitting element; and a light-transmitting buffer member disposed in a gap between the substrate and the support portion and covering the light-emitting element, for blocking the support portion from directly impacting the substrate; wherein one dimension of the opening structure is greater than or equal to one dimension of the light-transmitting buffer member.
2. The backlight module as claimed in claim 1, wherein the light-transmitting buffer includes a body, an extension and a perforated structure, the extension being disposed on one side of the body to extend into the gap, and the perforated structure being disposed in the middle of the body and aligned with the light-emitting element.
3. The backlight module as described in claim 2, wherein one of the outer surfaces of the body has a light scattering structure.
4. The backlight module as described in claim 1 further includes: an optical element disposed between the light-transmitting buffer and the light guide plate, for expanding the illumination range of the illumination light output by the light-emitting element.
5. An automotive display comprising: a housing having a rear frame and a front frame joined together; and a backlight module located between the rear frame and the front frame, the backlight module comprising: a substrate disposed on a side wall of the rear frame, the substrate having at least one light-emitting element; a light guide plate having a support portion and an opening structure at one corner of the light guide plate, one of the opening structures being located adjacent to the support portion and aligned with the light-emitting element; and a light-transmitting buffer disposed in a gap between the substrate and the support portion and covering the light-emitting element, for blocking the support portion from directly impacting the substrate; wherein one dimension of the opening structure is greater than or equal to one dimension of the light-transmitting buffer.
6. The automotive display as claimed in claim 5, wherein the light-transmitting buffer comprises a body, an extension and a perforated structure, the extension being disposed on one side of the body to extend into the gap, the perforated structure being disposed in the middle of the body and aligned with the light-emitting element, and one outer surface of the body having a light-scattering structure.
7. The automotive display as claimed in claim 5, wherein the backlight module further includes an optical element disposed between the light-transmitting buffer and the light guide plate to expand the illumination range of the illumination light output by the light-emitting element.
8. The automotive display as claimed in claim 5, wherein the backlight module further comprises: a reflective sheet disposed between the light guide plate and the rear frame; a diffuser disposed between the light guide plate and the front frame; and a brightness enhancement sheet disposed between the diffuser and the front frame.