Backlight module and vehicle display thereof

Abstract

This invention discloses a backlight module and its automotive display, wherein the backlight module includes 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.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to a backlight module and its automotive display, and more particularly to a backlight module and its automotive display that can prevent noise and dark corners. Background Technology

[0002] Traditional automotive backlight modules consist of buffer components mounted on the inner corners of a backplate, with a light guide plate attached to the backplate. The compressibility of the buffer components creates interference, which clamps the light guide plate and secures it within the backplate. 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 exceeds the initial designed interference, gaps will form between them. In this case, when the backlight module shakes or vibrates, the light guide plate's feet can easily collide with the backplate, producing noise. Furthermore, the light guide plate needs sufficiently wide feet to prevent breakage from collisions with the backplate; however, larger feet compress the space available for the light-emitting units within the backlight module. The corners where the light guide plate's feet are located will be further away 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] The purpose of this invention is to provide a backlight module and its automotive display that can prevent noise and dark corners, thereby solving the above-mentioned problems.

[0004] This invention provides 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 present invention also provides 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 one side wall of the rear frame and 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.

[0006] The backlight module and its automotive display of the present invention have a light-transmitting buffer attached to a specific light-emitting element of a light strip and 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 the material shrinks, 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 should preferably have a gap of at least 0.3 mm to prevent the light-transmitting buffer from directly contacting the light guide plate. Furthermore, the air gap between the light-transmitting buffer and the light guide plate can increase the refractive index difference, allowing the illumination light output by the light-emitting element to be more diffused. Since the closer the light-transmitting buffer is to the light guide plate, the better the anti-dark corner effect of the backlight module, the present invention can also selectively use optical adhesive to bond the light-transmitting buffer and the light guide plate. Moreover, the light-transmitting buffer and the optical element can be combined using an encapsulation injection molding technique, and the light-transmitting buffer and the optical element can each have concave or protruding structures added to their adjacent surfaces to increase the contact area and improve the bonding strength.

[0008] The backlight module of this invention 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 causing 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, increasing the original illumination range of 60 degrees to 150 degrees. In this way, the backlight module of this invention and its automotive display can effectively prevent product noise, avoid partial structural breakage due to impact, and eliminate the dark corner phenomenon of the light guide plate. Attached Figure Description

[0009] Figure 1 This is an exploded view of the components of an automotive display according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0010] Figure 2 This is a partial structural cross-sectional view of a vehicle display according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0011] Figure 3 This is a top view of a portion of the structure of a vehicle display according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0012] Figure 4 and Figure 5 This is an assembly diagram of a portion of the structure of an automotive display according to an embodiment of the present invention, viewed from different angles.

[0013] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the appearance of the light-transmitting buffer component according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0014] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the appearance of an optical element according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0015] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of the optical path of the backlight module in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0016] Figure 9 This is a schematic diagram of the optical simulation results of the backlight module in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0017] Explanation of reference numerals in the attached drawings: 10-Automotive display; 12-Housing; 14-Backlight module; 16-Rear frame; 18-Front frame; 20-Substrate; 22-Light guide plate; 24-Light-transmitting buffer; 26-Reflective sheet; 28-Diffuser sheet; 30-Brightness enhancement sheet; 32-Polarizing brightness enhancement film; 34-Side wall; 35-Light strip; 36-Light-emitting element; 38-Optical element; 40-Corner; 42-Support part; 44-Opening structure; 46-Body; 48-Extension part; 50-Perforated structure; 52-Recessed part; 54-Bottom of elliptical conical hole; 56-Top of elliptical conical hole. Detailed Implementation

[0018] Please see Figure 1 and Figure 2 , Figure 1 This is an exploded view of the components of the vehicle display 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 This is a partial structural cross-sectional view of an automotive display 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. 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 invention, 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 example and depends on design requirements.

[0019] The assembly sequence of this invention 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 depending on the addition or removal of some optical films (e.g., 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.

[0020] Please see Figures 3 to 7 , Figure 3 This is a partial top view of the structure of the vehicle display 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 4 and Figure 5 These are assembly diagrams of a portion of the structure of the vehicle display 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention, viewed from different angles. Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the appearance of the light-transmitting buffer 24 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the appearance of the optical element 38 according to an embodiment of 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 greater than or equal to the size of the light-transmitting buffer 24.

[0021] 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 of the present invention 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 combined structural height 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, to stop the support 42 from directly impacting the substrate 20 or the light strip 35 disposed thereon.

[0022] 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 selectively have 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, 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 recess 52 at one end relative to the light-transmitting buffer 24. The recess 52 is preferably designed as an elliptical conical hole, such as... Figure 7 The embodiment shown is optional, but it can also be designed as a conical aperture, a triangular conical aperture or a concave lens (these variations are not shown in the drawings); any optical structure that can expand the illumination range falls within the design scope of the recessed portion 52 of the optical element 38 of the present invention.

[0023] In this invention, 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 is preferably between 20 and 60 degrees; however, practical applications are not limited to these. Additionally, the bottom 54 of the elliptical conical aperture can be selectively designed as a planar structure (e.g., Figure 7 The bottom 54 can be made of a textured or conical structure (not shown in the figures); a textured or arbitrarily patterned microstructure can be formed on the bottom 54 to improve the uniformity of illumination light. Correspondingly, the top 56 of the elliptical conical hole can also be selectively made of a textured or arbitrarily patterned microstructure.

[0024] Please see Figure 8 and Figure 9 , Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of the optical path of the backlight module 14 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 9 This is a schematic diagram of the optical simulation results of the backlight module 14 according to an embodiment of the present invention. In this invention, the light-transmitting buffer 24 and optical element 38 are covered on the light-emitting element 36 at the outermost edge of the light strip 35. Through 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, such as... Figure 8 As shown; therefore, the corners 40 of the light guide plate 22 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 vignetting at the corners 40, as shown. Figure 9 As shown.

[0025] In summary, the backlight module 14 and its automotive display 10 of the present invention attach the light-transmitting buffer 24 to a specific light-emitting element 36 of the light strip 35, and are located next to the support portion 42 of the corner 40 of the light guide plate 22. If the vehicle carrying the automotive display 10 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 material shrinkage, 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 strong impact.

[0026] 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, the present invention 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 combine 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 (such as...). Figure 6 and Figure 7 (As shown) to increase the contact area between the two to improve the bonding strength.

[0027] The backlight module 14 of the present invention forms an opening structure 44 next to the support portion 42 of the light guide plate 22 (instead of a traditional straight or flat design), 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 hitting the substrate 20 and causing abnormal 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 60 degrees to 150 degrees. In this way, the backlight module 14 of the present invention and its automotive display 10 can effectively prevent the product from producing abnormal noise, avoid partial structural breakage due to collision, and eliminate the dark corner phenomenon of the light guide plate 22.

[0028] The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention. All equivalent changes and modifications made in accordance with the claims of the present invention should be included within the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A backlight module, characterized in that, Includes: A substrate having at least one light-emitting element; A light guide plate, wherein one corner of the light guide plate has a support portion; and A 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.

2. The backlight module of claim 1, wherein, The light-transmitting buffer includes a body, an extension, and a perforated structure. The extension is disposed on one side of the body to extend into the gap, and the perforated structure is disposed in the middle of the body and aligned with the light-emitting element.

3. The backlight module of claim 2, wherein, One of the outer surfaces of the body has a light scattering structure.

4. The backlight module of claim 1, wherein, The light guide plate also has an opening structure located adjacent to the support and aligned with the light-emitting element, and the size of the opening structure is greater than or equal to the size of the light-transmitting buffer.

5. The backlight module of claim 1, wherein, Also includes: An optical element is 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.

6. An automotive display, characterized by Includes: A shell component having a rear frame and a front frame that are joined together; and A backlight module is located between the rear frame and the front frame, the backlight module comprising: A substrate is disposed on one side wall of the rear frame, the substrate having at least one light-emitting element; A light guide plate, wherein one corner of the light guide plate has a support portion; and A 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.

7. The automotive display as described in claim 6, characterized in that, The light-transmitting buffer includes a body, an extension, and a perforated structure. The extension is disposed on one side of the body to extend into the gap, and the perforated structure is disposed in the middle of the body and aligned with the light-emitting element. An outer surface of the body has a light-scattering structure.

8. The automotive display as described in claim 6, characterized in that, The light guide plate also has an opening structure located adjacent to the support and aligned with the light-emitting element, and the size of the opening structure is greater than or equal to the size of the light-transmitting buffer.

9. The automotive display of claim 6, wherein, The backlight module also 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.

10. The automotive display of claim 6, wherein, The backlight module also includes: A reflective sheet is disposed between the light guide plate and the rear frame; A diffuser sheet is disposed between the light guide plate and the front frame; and A brightening filter is placed between the diffuser and the front frame.

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