Backlight Unit Insulating Patterns Refraction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional backlight units for display devices often result in increased thickness due to the presence of optical sheets, leading to higher optical loss and reduced light emitting efficiency.
Innovation Solution
A thin backlight unit design featuring a light guide plate and an optical member with specific insulating patterns and layers, where the optical member includes first and second insulating patterns with higher refractive indices than the light guide plate, and insulating layers with lower refractive indices, arranged to refract light efficiently towards the display panel.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Length of stationary object
If conventional optical sheets are used in the backlight unit, then light guiding and condensing functions are achieved, but the thickness of the display device increases
Solution Approach 1:
The optical sheet is segmented into multiple functional layers: a light guide plate with light incident side surface and light emitting surface, and a separate optical member with light incident surface and light emitting surface. This segmentation allows each layer to be optimized independently, reducing overall thickness while maintaining light guiding functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from conventional planar optical sheets to a three-dimensional structured optical member with inclined light emitting surfaces. The light emitting surface includes multiple inclined surfaces that refract light at different angles, adding dimensional complexity to achieve better light control in a thinner profile.
2Loss of energy
If conventional optical sheets are used in the backlight unit, then light condensing is achieved, but optical loss increases and light emitting efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the refractive index parameters by using an optical member with higher refractive index than the light guide plate. This parameter change enables more effective light refraction and reduces optical loss at the interface between layers, improving light emitting efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The backlight unit employs composite material structure combining light guide plate material and optical member material with different refractive indices. This composite approach optimizes light interaction at each interface, reducing optical loss while maintaining effective light guiding and condensing functions.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The design enhances light emitting efficiency and reduces the overall thickness of the display device by minimizing optical loss, compared to conventional optical sheets.
Implementation Method 1
an optical member disposed on the upper surface of the light guide plate to be between the light guide plate and the display panel and to refract the guided light from the upper surface of the light guide plate toward the display panel
Data Source
AI summary
A backlight unit includes a light source; a light guide plate; and an optical member on the light guide plate. The optical member includes first insulating patterns into which light from the light guide plate is incident to the optical member; a first insulating layer which covers the first insulating patterns; second insulating patterns into which light from the first insulating layer is incident; and a second insulating layer which covers the second insulating patterns. The light guide plate includes a light incident side surface, pairs of insulating patterns each include one first insulating pattern and one second insulating pattern, and in a top plan view, for each pair of insulating patterns, the first insulating pattern is closer to the light incident side surface than the second insulating pattern.