Rounded-Peak Brightness Enhancing Films for Impact-Resistant Displays
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional prism or turning film surface features in display backlight units are susceptible to damage during impact events, leading to undesirable dark and white spots on the display due to crushed layers, which compromises backlight efficiency and visibility.
Innovation Solution
The use of brightness enhancing films with a patterned polymer layer featuring parallel ridges with triangular cross-sectional shapes and rounded peaks, formed using a roller-based manufacturing process, which are integrated into the display backlight structure to enhance mechanical robustness and collimate light effectively.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Illumination intensity
If conventional prism or turning film surface features are used to enhance backlight efficiency, then light collimation and brightness are improved, but the films become susceptible to damage during impact events causing dark and white spots on display
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies spheroidality by rounding the peak features of the brightness enhancing film's surface structures. Instead of sharp peaks, the film has rounded peaks with a specified radius of curvature (e.g., 0.5 microns to 5 microns). This curvature distributes impact forces more evenly across the film surface, preventing the crushing and damage that occurs with sharp features, thereby maintaining both backlight efficiency and impact resistance
2Use of energy by moving object
If sharp-featured brightness enhancing films are used to maximize light collimation, then backlight efficiency is enhanced, but mechanical robustness during impact events deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The invention modifies the geometric shape of the brightness enhancing features by rounding their peaks. This curvature allows the film to maintain effective light collimation while distributing mechanical stress during impact events, preventing structural failure and maintaining both optical performance and mechanical strength
3Ease of operation
If conventional turning films with sharp surface features are used to direct light efficiently, then light directionality is improved, but susceptibility to crushing and damage increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements rounded peak features on the brightness enhancing film that maintain the desired light directionality and collimation while being resistant to crushing during impact events. The rounded geometry prevents stress concentration that would occur with sharp features, thereby protecting the film from damage while preserving optical functionality
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 significantly reduces the susceptibility of the brightness enhancing films to damage during impact events, maintaining backlight efficiency and preventing uneven illumination, thereby ensuring consistent display quality and robustness.
Implementation Method 1
collimate light scattered from the light guide plate
Implementation Method 2
brightness enhancing film layers may be used to collimate light scattered from the light guide plate
Implementation Method 3
The rounded peaks may help reduce the susceptibility of the brightness enhancing films to damage during an impact event
Data Source
AI summary
An electronic device may be provided with a display having backlight structures. The backlight structures may include a light source. Light from the light source may be coupled into an edge of a light guide plate. The backlight structures may include layers such as a diffuser layer and one or more layers of brightness enhancing film. The brightness enhancing film layers may be used to collimate light scattered from the light guide plate and thereby enhance backlight efficiency. Brightness enhancing films may be formed from transparent substrates such as layers of polyester. A patterned polymer layer such as a layer of patterned cured resin may be formed on the transparent substrate of a backlight enhancing film. A roller-based manufacturing process may be used to form the patterned polymer layer on the substrate. The patterned polymer layer may include a series of parallel ridges with rounded peaks.