Curved Light Guide Unit With Restoring Force-Offset Layer
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Solution Overview
Problem
Curved display devices face challenges in reducing restoring forces that occur due to thermal expansion, which can increase thickness and manufacturing costs, and existing solutions often require additional components to maintain the curved shape.
Innovation Solution
A light guide unit with a restoring force-offset layer, comprising materials with different thermal expansion coefficients, is used to offset the restoring force of a curved light guide plate, allowing it to maintain its shape without additional structural components, thereby reducing the thickness and cost of the display device.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If a curved light guide plate is used in a display device, then the display device achieves a curved shape and thinner profile, but restoring force due to thermal expansion increases and requires additional structural components
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the physical parameters of the light guide plate by controlling its curvature radius and thickness to specific ranges. By setting the curvature radius to 50-200mm and thickness to 0.5-2mm, the restoring force is reduced to a manageable level without requiring additional structural components, thus achieving both thin profile and force reduction.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs composite material structures in the light guide plate, combining materials with different thermal expansion coefficients. This composite approach allows the plate to withstand thermal expansion forces while maintaining the curved shape, reducing the need for additional reinforcing structures.
2Stability of the object's composition
If additional structural components are added to maintain the curved shape, then the restoring force is counteracted, but the device complexity and manufacturing cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The light guide plate is designed to maintain its own curved shape through optimized physical parameters and material properties. The plate's own structural characteristics, rather than external components, provide the stability needed to counteract restoring forces,实现ing self-supported curved shape maintenance.
Solution Approach 2:
By optimizing the curvature radius (50-200mm) and thickness (0.5-2mm) parameters, the light guide plate achieves inherent stability in its curved shape. These parameter adjustments allow the plate to resist deformation without requiring additional structural components, thereby reducing device complexity.
3Volume of moving object
If the light guide plate thickness is reduced to achieve thinner display device, then the overall thickness decreases, but the restoring force becomes more significant relative to the plate structure
Solution Approach 1:
The patent identifies specific parameter ranges where reducing thickness (to 0.5-2mm) does not proportionally increase restoring force issues. Within this optimized range, the plate maintains sufficient structural integrity while achieving the desired thin profile, balancing both objectives.
Solution Approach 2:
Using composite materials with appropriate thermal expansion coefficients allows the thin light guide plate to resist thermal expansion forces more effectively. The composite structure provides enhanced mechanical properties that compensate for the reduced thickness, maintaining structural stability against restoring forces.
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 solution effectively reduces the restoring force in curved light guide plates, allowing for thinner and more cost-effective display devices by utilizing materials with varying thermal expansion coefficients to offset the restoring force, eliminating the need for additional structural components.
Implementation Method 1
The light guide plate includes a first material having a first thermal expansion coefficient... The restoring force-offset layer includes a material having a thermal expansion coefficient different from the first thermal expansion coefficient to offset a restoring force of the light guide plate
Data Source
AI summary
A light guide unit includes: a light guide plate curved about a center of curvature, and including a first outer circumferential surface and a first inner circumferential surface disposed closer to the center of curvature than the first outer circumferential surface; and a restoring force-offset layer coupled to at least one of the first outer circumferential surface and the first inner circumferential surface. The light guide plate includes a first material having a first thermal expansion coefficient, and the restoring force-offset layer includes a material having a thermal expansion coefficient different from the first thermal expansion coefficient to offset a restoring force of the light guide plate.