Flexible Flat Lighting Apparatus with Multi-Layered Reflector
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional backlight units for electronic displays are rigid, prone to breaking, and difficult to mold into 3D curved shapes due to their thickness and low flexibility, limiting their application in vehicles and other formable designs.
Innovation Solution
A flat lighting apparatus featuring a light guide plate with a multi-layered reflector structure, where the reflector has layers with different refractive indices, printed using techniques like imprinting, screen printing, or gravure coating, to enhance flexibility and optical properties such as brightness, allowing for various shape formations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Illumination intensity
If conventional backlight units with multi-layered structure are used, then optical efficiency is improved, but thickness exceeds 5 mm and flexibility is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces conventional rigid multi-layered backlight units with a flexible light guide plate having thickness of 5 mm or less. The light guide plate is formed from flexible materials such as polyethylene, polyethylene terephthalate, polypropylene, polycarbonate, polyvinyl chloride, polyurethane, polyimide, or thermoplastic polyurethane, enabling it to be molded into various shapes including curved surfaces while maintaining optical efficiency
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs composite material structures including the flexible light guide plate combined with print layers formed by imprinting, screen printing, slot-die, gravure coating, or T-die methods. This composite approach achieves both thinness and optical functionality without requiring conventional thick multi-layered rigid structures
2Illumination intensity
If conventional PMMA backlight units are used, then brightness is excellent, but they are easily breaking due to rigid properties and have difficulty in forming 3-dimensional curved surface
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the material parameters from rigid PMMA to flexible polymers with appropriate mechanical properties. The light guide plate is formed from materials selected from polyethylene, polyethylene terephthalate, polypropylene, polycarbonate, polyvinyl chloride, polyurethane, polyimide, and thermoplastic polyurethane, which provide both flexibility for forming curved surfaces and sufficient strength to prevent breaking
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces rigid PMMA backlight units with flexible light guide plates that can be molded into various shapes including curved surfaces. The flexible material allows the backlight unit to conform to 3-dimensional curved surfaces while maintaining structural integrity and brightness performance
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 provides a flexible and formable flat lighting apparatus with improved optical properties, enabling the creation of curved surfaces and reducing thickness, thus suitable for applications like vehicle lighting and other complex designs.
Implementation Method 1
a reflector formed on a lower portion of the light guide plate to reflect light dispersed by the light guide plate
Implementation Method 2
the second layer includes light scattering particles
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed herein is a flat lighting apparatus having excellent flexibility and formability to be molded in various shapes as well as excellent optical properties such as brightness. The flat lighting apparatus according to present invention comprises a light guide plate for dispersing light and a reflector formed on a lower portion of the light guide plate to reflect light dispersed by the light guide plate. The reflector has a multi-layered structure including a first layer and a second layer.