Edge-lit Light Guide Plate with Inverted Truncated Cone Microstructures
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Solution Overview
Problem
High-brightness street lamps cause glare due to significant differences in light intensity between emitted and ambient light, posing safety risks for pedestrians and drivers.
Innovation Solution
A light guide plate with periodically arranged microstructures, specifically inverted truncated cones indented from the surface, and a light source module incorporating a reflection layer to redistribute light angles, ensuring uniform illumination.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Illumination intensity
If high-brightness light sources are used to illuminate the road, then the illumination intensity is improved, but glare to human eyes increases
Solution Approach 1:
The light guide plate is divided into multiple regions with different microstructure configurations. The first region contains first microstructures with first pitch values, while the second region contains second microstructures with second pitch values. This segmentation allows different parts of the light to be distributed at different angles, reducing concentrated brightness in any single direction and thereby reducing glare while maintaining overall illumination intensity.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the light guide plate are assigned different microstructure pitch values. The first region has a first pitch value optimized for certain lighting conditions, while the second region has a second pitch value optimized for other conditions. This local differentiation allows the system to provide uniform light distribution in different areas, preventing hotspots and reducing glare without compromising illumination effectiveness.
2Illumination intensity
If light is emitted directly from the side surface, then the light angle distribution is improved, but the light transmission efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The light guide plate acts as an intermediary between the light source and the external environment. It receives light from the side surface and uses its microstructured surface to redirect and distribute the light uniformly before emission. This intermediary function allows the system to maintain good light angle distribution while improving light transmission efficiency by preventing light loss through the plate body.
Solution Approach 2:
The microstructures on the light guide plate are designed with specific pitch values and geometric configurations. By optimizing these parameters, the light guide plate can control the light transmission characteristics, allowing efficient light passage while achieving uniform angle distribution. The pitch values are specifically selected to balance transmission efficiency with directional control.
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 reduces glare by achieving more uniform light distribution, enhancing road safety by minimizing discomfort to human eyes from intense light sources.
Implementation Method 1
a transmission path is changed through the light-uniformity microstructures and the reflection layer
Implementation Method 2
The reflection layer is configured on the first surface of the plate body to reflect light
Data Source
AI summary
A light guide plate includes a plate body with a first surface, a second surface opposite to the first surface, and a side surface connecting the first surface and the second surface and defining a plate thickness; a light source arranged to project light into the side surface of the light guide plate; and a plurality of microstructures arranged periodically on the first surface and indented from the first surface towards the second surface to define an indentation depth of less than half the plate thickness. Each of the light-uniformity microstructures substantially has a shape of an inverted truncated cone.