Display backlight for avoiding windshield reflections

Abstract

A system for backlighting a display to avoid reflection. The system may include a light source configured to generate light; a collimation light guide configured to collimate the light into collimated light; and a direction changing element configured to direct the collimated light to a vertical narrow light operable to avoid reflection.

Description

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63 / 482,452, filed January 31, 2023, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

[0003] introduction

[0004] The present disclosure relates to backlights and backlighting systems configured for backlighting displays, such as, but not necessarily limited to, systems for backlighting displays to avoid reflections in a vehicle's windshield.

[0005] Visual type displays can be electronically configured to present images, text, video and / or media to one or more viewers, such as in response to an electrical signal provided to the display from an electronic device configured to interact with the viewer or otherwise receive data, information and other materials desired for presentation. A variety of electronic devices may include such displays, wherein the displays are typically configured to have various shapes and sizes and have a brightness distribution that varies depending on the intended use environment. In the case of a vehicle such as, but not necessarily limited to, an automobile, one or more displays may be configured to exchange media with the operator and / or one or more passengers of the vehicle. Some vehicles may include a windshield, windshield, window, or other surface or structure near a display. The display may be included in an instrument panel, instrument panel, infotainment system, control panel, trim assembly, or other portion of a vehicle below the windshield or near another vehicle surface.

[0006] It may be undesirable for light emitted from a display to reflect off a windshield or other vehicle surface. To combat such reflections, some vehicles have historically included blocking elements, shutters, light-blocking structures, louvers, or other physical infrastructure near or as part of the display to prevent light emitted from the display from reflecting off the windshield, etc. Blocking features may be disadvantageous due to the cost of the blocking feature and / or because the light blocked, such as by the shutter, is wasted or otherwise unusable, which may result in the display having to be driven with greater power or with lower efficiency. Summary of the Invention

[0007] One aspect of the present disclosure relates to a system for backlighting a display to avoid reflections in a vehicle's windshield. The system may include a backlight configured to provide a vertical, narrow light operable with a display to interface media with one or more viewers in a manner that avoids reflections in the vehicle's windshield or other surfaces. The backlight may include a plurality of prisms configured to emit the vertical, narrow light toward the display in a manner that minimizes wasted and / or unusable light, minimizes power consumption, and maximizes power efficiency.

[0008] One aspect of the present disclosure relates to a backlight system for preventing a display from generating windshield reflections within a vehicle when the windshield reflections are caused by the display emitting a light signal at a vertical angle greater than a reflection angle. The backlight system may include: an edge light source configured to generate edge light; a collimating light guide configured to collimate the edge light into collimated light; and a redirecting element statically configured to direct the collimated light into a vertical narrow light having a vertical cutoff angle less than the reflection angle, such that the vertical narrow light can operate with the display to generate the light signal without the windshield reflection.

[0009] The direction changing element may include a plurality of prisms configured to direct the collimated light into the vertical narrow light.

[0010] The prism may be triangular in shape and include a receiving surface configured to receive the collimated light, a reflecting surface configured to reflect the collimated light received from the receiving surface, and an output surface configured to emit the vertical narrow light toward the display.

[0011] The direction-changing element may be composed of an optically transparent material.

[0012] The prism may be non-removably attached to the base of the direction-changing element or included as part of the base.

[0013] The receiving surface may be configured to refract the collimated light before the collimated light reaches the reflecting surface.

[0014] The receiving surface may be angled relative to an acceptance angle defined by a normal to the display, and the reflective surface may be angled at a reflection angle. The receiving surface may cooperate with the reflective surface to constrain the vertical narrow light to an output angle less than the reflection angle.

[0015] The collimating light guide may be configured to emit the collimated light at a collimated angle across substantially its entire output surface. The output surface of the collimating light guide may be parallel to the display and perpendicular to the normal. The surface area of ​​the output surface may be greater than the surface area of ​​the input of the collimating light guide that receives the edge light.

[0016] A diffuser may be provided between the direction-changing element and the display, optionally configured to diffuse the vertical narrow light into diffuse light to provide improved uniformity.

[0017] The vertical narrow light may be operable with the display to emit a light signal having a vertical brightness distribution that is smaller than a horizontal brightness distribution.

[0018] The direction-changing element may be composed of an optically transparent material having a textured or shaped surface configured to direct the collimated light in a fixed manner toward the display without physically blocking the collimated light from passing therethrough.

[0019] One aspect of the present disclosure relates to a backlight system for a display. The backlight system may include: an edge light source configured to generate edge light; a collimating light guide configured to collimate the edge light into collimated light; and a plurality of triangular prisms statically configured to guide the collimated light into vertical narrow light, wherein the prisms are configured to emit the vertical narrow light at a vertical cutoff angle defined relative to a normal to the display.

[0020] The prism may include a receiving surface configured to receive the collimated light, a reflecting surface configured to reflect the collimated light received from the receiving surface, and an output surface configured to emit the vertical narrow light toward the display.

[0021] The direction-changing element may be composed of an optically transparent material configured to direct the collimated light in a fixed manner toward the display without physically blocking the collimated light from passing therethrough.

[0022] One aspect of the present disclosure relates to a vehicle. The vehicle may include a windshield; a display disposed behind and below at least a portion of the windshield, the display generating windshield reflections when emitting a light signal at a vertical angle greater than a reflection angle; and a backlight system configured to prevent the display from generating the windshield reflections. The backlight system may include a collimating light guide configured to collimate input light into collimated light; and an optically transparent redirecting element configured to statically direct the collimated light into a vertical narrow light having a vertical cutoff angle less than the reflection angle, wherein the vertical narrow light is operable with the display to generate the light signal without windshield reflections.

[0023] The direction-changing element may include a textured or shaped surface configured to direct the collimated light in a fixed manner toward the display without physically blocking the collimated light from passing therethrough.

[0024] The direction-changing element may include a plurality of prisms configured to direct the collimated light in a fixed manner toward the display without physically blocking the collimated light from passing therethrough.

[0025] The above-mentioned features and advantages of the present teachings, together with other features and advantages, will be readily apparent from the detailed description of the modes for carrying out the present teachings in conjunction with the accompanying drawings below. It will be appreciated that, even though the following drawings and embodiments may be described separately, their individual features may be combined into additional embodiments. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0026] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate specific implementations of the disclosure and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the disclosure.

[0027] Figure 1 A partial perspective view of a vehicle illustrating a display having multiple backlights according to one non-limiting aspect of the present disclosure is illustrated.

[0028] Figure 2 A schematic diagram illustrating a display according to one non-limiting aspect of the present disclosure is illustrated.

[0029] Figure 3 A schematic diagram illustrating a direction changing element according to one non-limiting aspect of the present disclosure is illustrated.

[0030] Figure 4 A schematic diagram illustrating vertical brightness distribution of a display according to one non-limiting aspect of the present disclosure.

[0031] Figure 5 A schematic diagram illustrating horizontal brightness distribution of a display according to one non-limiting aspect of the present disclosure.

[0032] Figure 6 A schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary orientation of a display relative to a windshield according to one non-limiting aspect of the present disclosure.

[0033] Figure 7 A schematic diagram illustrating another display according to one non-limiting aspect of the present disclosure is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0034] As required, detailed embodiments of the present disclosure are disclosed herein; however, it should be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the disclosure that may be embodied in various alternative forms. The drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale; some features may be exaggerated or minimized to illustrate details of particular components. Therefore, the specific structural and functional details disclosed herein should not be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variously employ the present disclosure.

[0035] Figure 1 A partial perspective view of a vehicle 10 having a plurality of backlit displays 12 according to one non-limiting aspect of the present disclosure is illustrated. For non-limiting purposes, the vehicle 10 is shown as an automobile having the displays 12 disposed within the instrument panel 14 to demonstrate the advantageous ability of the present disclosure to backlight the displays 12 in a manner that avoids or minimizes reflections in the windshield 18 (which may be referred to as windshield reflections). For non-limiting purposes, the present disclosure is primarily described with respect to avoiding reflections in the windshield 18 because such reflections are generally undesirable for the driver, other vehicle occupants, and / or other vehicles. One of ordinary skill in the art will readily recognize that the backlighting capabilities of the present disclosure are advantageous for illuminating the displays 12 in a variety of applications, including backlighting the displays 12 to avoid reflections in the windshield, windows, or other surfaces or structures (not shown) of a vehicle.

[0036] For non-limiting purposes, the present disclosure is described with respect to avoiding windshield reflections and emphasizes one contemplated use of the backlight, which may be particularly beneficial for vehicles having one or more displays 12 located near a windshield 18 (such as, as illustrated, behind and below a portion of the windshield 18). The vehicle 10 may optionally include multiple displays 12 arranged in a pillar-to-pillar or edge-to-edge configuration relative to the windshield 18, such that the displays 12 may extend from side to side across the instrument panel 14. The displays 12 may be configured to display images and other media associated with an instrument panel, an infotainment system, a control panel, or other aspects of the vehicle 10. For non-limiting purposes, the vehicle 10 is described as an automobile, as the present disclosure fully contemplates the use of the backlight with other types of displays 12 and display arrangements, including those found in trucks, motorcycles, boats, trains, and / or airplanes, and / or as part of fixed objects such as, but not limited to, billboards, kiosks, and / or canopy advertising.

[0037] Figure 2A schematic diagram illustrating a display 12 according to one non-limiting aspect of the present disclosure is shown. Display 12 may be electrically connected to controller circuitry 22 and may include a transmissive display screen or element 24 disposed relative to a backlight 26. A light signal 27 may be presented from a surface 28 of display 12 to convey visible images, data, information, text, numbers, pictures, graphic shapes, video, information, and other media such as video (e.g., rearview camera video, frontview camera video, an in-car DVD player, etc.). A display signal (e.g., D) may be generated by controller circuitry 22 and received by transmissive display element 24, which may be used, for example, to provide gauges (e.g., speed, tachometer, fuel, temperature, etc.) for presentation. Display signal D may carry information used by transmissive display element 24 to modulate light signal 27. Controller circuitry 22 may be configured to generate a brightness signal (e.g., B) for controlling backlight 26. Controller circuitry 22 may be configured to implement electronic control for generating display information in display signal D. Controller circuitry 22 may generate and present brightness, luminance, and other information in brightness signal B.

[0038] The controller circuit 22 may include one or more microcontrollers. Each microcontroller may optionally include one or more processors, each of which may be implemented as a separate processor, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), or a dedicated electronic control unit. A microcontroller may be an electronic processor (implemented in hardware, software executed on hardware, or a combination of the two) that may also include tangible non-transitory memory (e.g., read-only memory in the form of optical, magnetic, and / or flash memory). The microcontroller may include an appropriate amount of random access memory, read-only memory, flash memory, and other types of electrically erasable programmable read-only memory, as well as accompanying hardware in the form of high-speed clocks or timers, analog-to-digital and digital-to-analog circuits, and input / output circuits and devices, as well as appropriate signal conditioning and buffering circuits. Computer-readable and executable instructions embodying the present disclosure may be stored in a memory and executed as described herein. Executable instructions may be a series of non-transitory instructions for running an application on a microcontroller (in the foreground or background). The microcontroller may receive commands and information, such as in the form of one or more input signals from various controls or components, and control the transmissive element 24 according to one or more control signals communicated to the display 12 .

[0039] The transmissive display element 24 can be configured to implement a display panel that modulates the vertical narrow light 25 emitted from the backlight 26 as the vertical narrow light 25 passes from one side of the transmissive display element 24 to the other side. The transmissive display element 24 can be a color transmissive display element 24 or a black and white transmissive display element 24. The transmissive display element 24 can be mounted adjacent to (or adjacent to) the backlight 26. The transmissive display element 24 is generally operable to change the opacity, color, brightness, etc. in different areas and, in response to the display signal D, optionally generates a light signal 27 with changes in the usual modulation intensity and color. The modulated light 24=5 can form an image in the light signal 27. In various embodiments, the transmissive display element 24 can be implemented as a thin film transistor (TFT) liquid crystal display (LCD) or a passive liquid crystal display. Other transmissive display element 24 technologies can be implemented to meet the design criteria of a particular application.

[0040] Backlight 26 may include edge light sources 32 configured to generate edge light 38. Edge light sources 32 may be disposed on an edge of display 12, such as along a top edge 34 or a bottom edge 36 (see FIG. Figure 1 ). The backlight 26 is primarily described with respect to including edge light sources 32 due to the advantages that edge-backlit displays 12 tend to be lower cost and / or better performing, particularly when used with larger displays 12, such as edge-to-edge or pillar-to-pillar display types, instrument panel displays, and the like, at least with respect to more expensive full array local dimming (FALD) backlight 26 configurations. This is done for non-limiting purposes, as the present disclosure fully contemplates light sources for the backlight 26 that originate from arrays or other non-edge type light sources. The backlight 26 may include a collimating light guide 40 configured to collimate edge light 38 into collimated light 42. The collimating light guide 40 may be configured to receive the edge light 38 at an input 46 and direct corresponding collimated light 42 out an output 48, optionally with the collimated light 42 being equally or uniformly collimated across substantially the entire surface of the output 48. The surface area of ​​the output 48 may be greater than the surface area of ​​the input 46. The collimating light guide 40 may be composed of an optically transparent material or otherwise configured to collimate the edge light 38 in the contemplated manner.

[0041] The backlight 26 may optionally include a reflector film 50 disposed beneath the collimating light guide 40. The reflector film 50 may be configured to recycle the edge light 38, the collimated light 42, and any reflected light, such as by redirecting the corresponding light toward the collimating light guide 40. The collimated light 42 output from the collimating light guide 40 may be emitted toward a redirection element 54 that is configured to direct the collimated light 42 into a vertical narrow light 25, i.e., light as contemplated herein, so as to illuminate the transmissive display element 24 in a manner that avoids reflections within the windshield 18. Figure 3A schematic diagram of a redirecting element 54 is illustrated that includes a plurality of prisms 58 configured to provide a shaped or textured surface operable to direct the collimated light 42 into the vertical narrow light 25. The redirecting element 54 may be composed of or include prisms 58, which may be triangular prisms 58, arranged in a fixed configuration to statically direct the collimated light 42 into the vertical narrow light 25. The orientation and relationship of the prisms 58 may be design parameters that cannot be changed once applied to a base 59 of the redirecting element 54, which may be a layer or other supporting structure.

[0042] The direction-changing element 54 can be composed of an optically transparent material, such as a film or other structure having a prism 58 coated, ground, adhered, or otherwise formed thereon. A triangular prism 58 is presented for non-limiting purposes, as the present disclosure fully contemplates other geometric shapes suitable for similarly directing the collimated light 42 into the vertical narrow light 25. The geometry of the prism 58 can be shaped to have a receiving surface 62, a reflecting surface 64, and an output surface 66. The receiving surface 62 can be configured to refract or otherwise transmit the collimated light 42, the receiving surface 64 can be configured to reflect the collimated light 42 into the vertical narrow light 25, and the output surface 66 can be configured to emit the vertical narrow light 25 toward the transmissive display element 24. The receiving surface 64 can be configured to provide an incident angle for the collimated light 42 sufficient to constrain the vertical narrow light 25. The acceptance angle of the receiving surface 62 can be defined relative to the normal 68 of the display 12. and the reflection angle of the reflecting surface 64 For non-limiting purposes, the acceptance angle and reflection angle are shown to be equal.

[0043] The collimating light guide 40 can be configured to direct the collimated light 42 toward the prism 58 at a collimation angle (θ1), which can optionally be consistent or uniform across the entire surface area of ​​the collimating light guide output 48. The collimation angle θ1 can be defined relative to the normal 68 such that, in an exemplary embodiment, the collimation angle θ1 can be greater than the output angle (θ2) of the vertical narrow light 25 defined relative to the normal 68 for output toward the transmissive display element 24. For illustrative purposes, the output angle θ2 of the vertical narrow light 25 is shown as being effectively zero or parallel to the normal 68 of the display 12. However, the vertical narrow light 25 can be effectively emitted from the prism 58 in a non-parallel manner relative to the normal 68, i.e., at an angle θ2 that is greater than zero. Return to Figure 1 , a normal 68 may be defined as a line or vector perpendicular to the surface 28 of the display 12 , a horizontal axis 70 may be defined as spanning the display 12 from side to side, and a vertical axis 72 may be defined as spanning the display 12 from top to bottom.

[0044] Figure 4A schematic diagram illustrating vertical brightness distribution 74 of display 12 according to one non-limiting aspect of the present disclosure is shown. Figure 5 A schematic diagram illustrating a horizontal brightness distribution 76 of display 12 according to one non-limiting aspect of the present disclosure is shown. Vertical brightness distribution 74 can be narrower than horizontal brightness distribution 76, optionally with vertical brightness distribution 74 having a vertical cutoff angle 78 of + / - 30 degrees and horizontal brightness distribution 76 having a horizontal cutoff angle 80 of approximately + / - 90 degrees. To facilitate widening the output of display 12 in some situations, it may be advantageous to have horizontal cutoff angle 80 as large as possible, while in other situations, it may be advantageous to have horizontal cutoff angle 80 narrower. Horizontal cutoff angle 80 may be less relevant to generating reflections off windshield 18 than vertical cutoff angle 78, and therefore, the present disclosure primarily describes a direction-changing element 54 configured to manage vertical cutoff angle 78 to avoid generating reflections off windshield 18.

[0045] A cutoff angle 78 of + / - 30 degrees is presented for non-limiting purposes, as the present disclosure fully contemplates configuring the prism 58 to facilitate other cutoff angles 78 and / or provide selectable cutoff angles 78. The cutoff angle 78 may be predicted or specified based on the spatial relationship between the display 12 and the windshield 18 or the display 12 and another object toward which reflections are to be avoided, such that the cutoff angle 78 may need to be more or less depending on the orientation of the display 12 relative to the windshield 18. The prism 58 may be shaped and configured accordingly to facilitate other cutoff angles 78. Figure 6 A schematic diagram illustrating exemplary orientations of the display 12 relative to the windshield 18 according to one non-limiting aspect of the present disclosure is shown. Vertical narrow light 25 emitted from different positions of the display 12 can be generated according to output angles θ2 to ensure that the vertical narrow light 25 is emitted within the safety viewing cone θ3.

[0046] The safety viewing cone θ3 may correspond to a vertical luminance distribution 74 that is not effectively reflected off the windshield 18, which in the illustrated configuration is shown as corresponding to + / - 30 degrees. The vertical cutoff angle 78 of the vertical narrow light 25 may be configured to be less than the reflection angle θ4. The reflection angle θ4 may correspond to an angle defined relative to the normal at which a windshield reflection 84 may be generated within the windshield 18. The optically transparent redirecting element 54 may be configured in the manner described herein to statically direct the collimated light 42 toward the vertical narrow light 25 such that its vertical cutoff angle 78 is less than the reflection angle θ4, thereby enabling the vertical narrow light 25 to operate with the display 12 to generate the light signal 27 without windshield reflection. Because the reflection angle θ4 may vary and depend on the relative angle of the normal 68 relative to the surface from which reflection is undesirable, the reflection angle θ4 is illustrated for non-limiting purposes with respect to generating a reflection off the windshield 18. Reflection angle θ4, and thus cutoff angle 78, may vary depending on the spatial relationship between display 12 and the surface from which no reflection is desired.

[0047] Figure 7 A schematic diagram illustrating another display 90 according to one non-limiting aspect of the present disclosure is shown. The display 90 may be similar to the one described with respect to FIG. Figure 2 The display 12 is described above, except that a diffuser 92 is disposed between the transmissive display element 24 and the backlight 26. The diffuser 92 may be a passive diffuser configured to spatially diffuse the vertical narrow light 25 emitted from the backlight 26 into diffused light 94, whereby the diffused light 94 may be emitted toward the transmissive display element 24. The diffused light 94 may include a diffusion angle that matches the output angle θ2 from the backlight 26, so that the diffused light 94 may have the same diffusion angle as described above with respect to FIG. Figure 2 With the described matching vertical and / or horizontal brightness distributions 74 and 76, light 94 may optionally appear more spatially diffuse. Diffuser 92 may optionally be an active diffuser, such as, but not necessarily limited to, a diffuser capable of directing or controlling light passing therethrough based on the electric field of the liquid crystal arrangement. However, a passive diffuser may be preferred due to its lower cost and complexity.

[0048] As supported above, the backlight 26 contemplated by the present disclosure can be used with multiple display 12 configurations to generate vertical narrow light 25 for the purpose of avoiding reflections. The redirecting element 54 (i.e., the prism 58) can be a fixed, immovable, or unchangeable element that facilitates directing the collimated light 42 and generating the vertical narrow light 25 without excessively wasting or rendering the collimated light 42 unusable. The redirecting element 54 can be optically transparent so that a majority (if not substantially all) of the collimated light 42 received therein passes through to the transmissive display element 24. This relatively high transmittance of the vertical narrow light 25 to the transmissive display element 24 can minimize power consumption and maximize power efficiency, at least with respect to a louver, blind, or other blocking element or film configured to block light from passing through the transmissive display element 24 or outwardly from the transmissive display element 24. The backlight 26 of the present disclosure may also advantageously enable the display 12 to be positioned within the instrument panel 14 without requiring the instrument panel to include a protrusion or other covering over a portion of the display 12 or otherwise include features for hiding the display 12 from the windshield 18. That is, the backlight 26 may enable the display 12 to be coplanar with and / or unobstructed by the instrument panel 14 to provide an aesthetically pleasing appearance while also avoiding windshield reflections.

[0049] The terms "comprising," "including," and "having" are inclusive and therefore specify the presence of the features, steps, operations, elements, or components, but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, steps, operations, elements, or components. Where possible, the order of steps, processes, and operations may be changed, and additional or alternative steps may be employed. As used herein, the term "or" includes any and all combinations of the associated listed items. The term "any of..." should be understood to include any possible combination of the referenced items, including "any of" the referenced items. "A," "an," "the," "at least one," and "one or more" are used interchangeably to indicate at least one of the items. Unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, there may be multiple such items. Unless otherwise clearly or unambiguously indicated by the context (including the appended claims), all numerical values ​​of parameters (e.g., numerical values ​​of quantities or conditions) should be understood to be modified by the term "about" in all instances, regardless of whether "about" actually appears before the numerical value. A component "configured to" perform a specified function can perform the specified function without modification, rather than having the potential to perform the specified function only after further modification. In other words, when expressly configured to perform a specified function, the described hardware is selected, created, implemented, utilized, programmed, and / or designed specifically to perform the specified function.

[0050] Although various embodiments have been described, this description is intended to be illustrative rather than restrictive, and it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that many embodiments and implementations may be within the scope of this disclosure. Unless specifically limited, any feature of any embodiment may be used in combination with or replaced by any other feature or element in any other embodiment. Therefore, this embodiment is not limited except in accordance with the appended claims and their equivalents. In addition, various modifications and changes may be made within the scope of the appended claims. Although several modes for implementing many aspects of this teaching have been described in detail, those skilled in the art who are familiar with these teachings will recognize that various alternative aspects for practicing this teaching are within the scope of the appended claims. All content contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings should be interpreted as the full illustrative and exemplary scope of alternative embodiments, and those skilled in the art will recognize that these alternative embodiments are implicit in the included content, structurally and / or functionally equivalent to these contents, or otherwise become apparent based on these contents, and are not limited to those embodiments that are explicitly depicted and / or described.

Claims

1. A backlight system for preventing a display from generating windshield reflections in a vehicle, the windshield reflections being generated by the display emitting a light signal at a vertical angle greater than a reflection angle, the backlight system comprising: an edge light source configured to generate edge light; a collimating light guide configured to collimate the edge light into collimated light; as well as A redirecting element is statically configured to direct the collimated light into a vertically narrow light having a vertical cutoff angle less than the reflection angle, the vertically narrow light operable with the display to generate the light signal without reflection from the windshield.

2. The backlight system according to claim 1, wherein: The direction-changing element includes a plurality of prisms configured to direct the collimated light into the vertical narrow light.

3. The backlight system according to claim 2, wherein: The prism is triangular in shape and includes a receiving surface configured to receive the collimated light, a reflecting surface configured to reflect the collimated light received from the receiving surface, and an output surface configured to emit the vertical narrow light toward the display.

4. The backlight system according to claim 3, wherein: The direction-changing element is composed of an optically transparent material.

5. The backlight system according to claim 4, wherein: The prism is non-removably attached to a base of the direction-changing element or is included as part of the base.

6. The backlight system according to claim 5, wherein: The receiving surface is configured to refract the collimated light before the collimated light reaches the reflecting surface.

7. The backlight system according to claim 5, wherein: the receiving surface is angled at an acceptance angle defined relative to a normal to the display; and The reflective surface is angled at a reflection angle.

8. The backlight system according to claim 7, wherein: The receiving surface cooperates with the reflecting surface to confine the vertical narrow light to an output angle smaller than the reflection angle.

9. The backlight system according to claim 8, wherein: The collimating light guide is configured to emit the collimated light at a collimated angle across substantially an entire output surface thereof.

10. The backlight system according to claim 9, wherein: The output surface of the collimating light guide is parallel to the display and perpendicular to the normal.

11. The backlight system according to claim 10, wherein: The output surface has a surface area that is larger than a surface area of ​​an input of the collimating light guide that receives the edge light.

12. The backlight system according to claim 5, further comprising: A diffuser is disposed between the direction-changing element and the display, the diffuser being configured to diffuse the vertical narrow light into diffused light to provide uniformity improvement.

13. The backlight system according to claim 1, wherein: The vertical narrow light is operable with the display to emit a light signal having a vertical brightness distribution that is smaller than a horizontal brightness distribution.

14. The backlight system according to claim 1, wherein: The direction-changing element is comprised of an optically transparent material having a textured or shaped surface configured to direct the collimated light in a fixed manner toward the display without physically blocking the collimated light from passing therethrough.

15. A backlight system for a display, the backlight system comprising: an edge light source configured to generate edge light; a collimating light guide configured to collimate the edge light into collimated light; as well as A plurality of triangular-shaped prisms are statically configured to direct the collimated light into vertical narrow light, the prisms being configured to emit the vertical narrow light at a vertical cutoff angle defined relative to a normal to the display.

16. The backlight system according to claim 15, wherein: The prism includes a receiving surface configured to receive the collimated light, a reflecting surface configured to reflect the collimated light received from the receiving surface, and an output surface configured to emit the vertical narrow light toward the display.

17. The backlight system according to claim 16, wherein: The direction-changing element is comprised of an optically transparent material configured to direct the collimated light in a fixed manner toward the display without physically blocking the collimated light from passing therethrough.

18. A vehicle, comprising: windshield; a display disposed behind and below at least a portion of the windshield, the display generating a windshield reflection when emitting a light signal at a vertical angle greater than a reflection angle; as well as A backlight system configured to prevent the display from generating reflections from the windshield, the backlight system comprising: a collimating light guide configured to collimate input light into collimated light; as well as An optically transparent redirecting element configured to statically direct the collimated light into a vertically narrow light having a vertical cutoff angle less than the reflection angle, the vertically narrow light operable with the display to produce the light signal without reflection from the windshield.

19. The vehicle of claim 18, wherein: The direction-changing element includes a textured or shaped surface configured to direct the collimated light in a fixed manner toward the display without physically blocking the collimated light from passing therethrough.

20. The vehicle of claim 18, wherein: The direction-changing element includes a plurality of prisms configured to direct the collimated light in a fixed manner toward the display without physically blocking the collimated light from passing therethrough.

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