Light Guide Member with Intersecting Grooves for Uniform Luminance
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional light guide members in backlight units fail to provide uniformly distributed light, leading to non-uniform luminance and image quality issues in display devices, and require additional optical sheets that increase cost, weight, and size.
Innovation Solution
A light guide member with intersecting V-shaped grooves on one side, combined with a prism sheet optical member, which redirects and diffuses light to achieve uniform luminance distribution and reduce bright lines/areas, eliminating the need for diffusion sheets.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Illumination intensity
If conventional light guide members are used to guide light from the light source, then light transmission is achieved, but non-uniform luminance distribution occurs with bright lines and dark areas
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by creating different groove structures at different locations on the light guide member. Specifically, the first grooves are formed on the first surface while the second grooves are formed on the second surface, with each set of grooves having specific pitch and depth characteristics tailored to their local position. This localized structural variation enables different regions of the light guide member to independently control light extraction, thereby achieving uniform luminance distribution across the entire surface.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the light guide member surface into multiple controlled regions by forming periodic groove patterns. The first grooves are periodically arranged on the first surface with a first pitch, while the second grooves are periodically arranged on the second surface with a second pitch. This segmentation divides the continuous light transmission path into discrete controlled zones, allowing independent optimization of light extraction at each segment to achieve overall uniformity.
2Illumination intensity
If additional optical sheets (diffusion sheet and prism sheet) are added to improve luminance uniformity, then light distribution uniformity improves, but the backlight unit becomes thicker, heavier, and more expensive
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple optical functions into a single integrated light guide member structure. By incorporating both the light transmission function and the light diffusion/uniformity control function into one component with integrated groove structures on both surfaces, the patent eliminates the need for separate diffusion sheets and prism sheets. This consolidation reduces the total number of optical sheets from three (light guide member + diffusion sheet + prism sheet) to just one (the integrated light guide member), thereby reducing thickness, weight, and manufacturing complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The light guide member in the patent performs multiple functions simultaneously: it guides light from the light source, controls light extraction through periodic groove structures, and achieves uniform luminance distribution. The first grooves on the first surface and the second grooves on the second surface work together to provide both light diffusion and directional control, making the light guide member a universal component that replaces multiple specialized optical sheets.
3Ease of manufacture
If the light guide member structure is simplified to reduce cost and weight, then manufacturing cost and weight decrease, but luminance uniformity deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent addresses luminance uniformity by transitioning from a two-dimensional surface problem to a three-dimensional structural solution. Instead of adding more optical sheets in the z-direction (which increases thickness), the patent creates periodic groove structures that extend into the thickness direction of the light guide member. The first grooves on the first surface and the second grooves on the second surface work together in three dimensions to control light extraction paths, achieving uniform luminance without increasing the overall number of layers or complexity of the system.
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 thinner, lighter, and more uniform light distribution, enhancing image quality and reducing the size and weight of backlight units by ensuring consistent luminance across the display panel.
Implementation Method 1
a first plurality of V-shaped grooves extending along a first direction from a first edge of the light guide member toward a second edge of the light guide member, and a second plurality of V-shaped grooves extending along a second direction from the first edge of the light guide member toward the second edge of the light guide member
Implementation Method 2
a light guide member with intersecting V-shaped grooves on one side, combined with a prism sheet optical member, which redirects and diffuses light to achieve uniform luminance distribution
Implementation Method 3
combined with a prism sheet optical member, which redirects and diffuses light to achieve uniform luminance distribution and reduce bright lines/areas
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2A~2B
Figure 2C~2D
AI summary
A light guide member for guiding light incident thereon from a light source, the light guide member including a plurality of the first grooves extending along a first direction on a first side of the light guide member, a plurality of second grooves extending along a second direction on the first side of the light guide member, the first direction may cross the second direction such that the first grooves and the second grooves may form a matrix pattern on the first side of the light guide member, wherein a polygonal shaped projection is formed between every two adjacent ones of the second grooves and a corresponding two adjacent ones of the first grooves.