3M Innovative Properties Company

Kazuhiko Toyooka

Hiroki Matsuda

Gary Timothy Boyd

Sanford Cobb, Jr

Keith Michael Kotchick

Hideaki Shirotori

Sayaka Kado

Masaki Yamamuro

John Allen Wheatley

Mark E Gardiner

Eric Wayne Nelson

Todd R Williams

Jayant Chakravarty

Wade D Kretman

Bettie C Fong

Richard A Miller

James A Thielen

William A Hibbard

A backlight to a display includes an array of discrete light sources and a plurality of optical films disposed between the display and the light sources. Each film includes a regular array of intersecting ridges defining a plurality of through-holes. Each of the through-holes extends between first and second open ends of the through-hole. A cross-section of the optical film in a plane parallel to a thickness direction of the film includes two adjacent ridges in the array of ridges and a through-hole therebetween. The film has a maximum thickness hand the through-hole includes a side wall with a substantially vertical portion connected to the first open end of the through-hole and a substantially horizontal portion extending from the substantially vertical portion and connected to the second open end. The substantially horizontal portion has a minimum thickness hat a location between the two adjacent ridges, h/h≥2.

Backlight with multiple microreplicated optical films

An imaging device is provided including an imaging unit configured to capture an image, and a louver film placed in a visual field of the imaging unit. The louver film includes a light transmissive unit and a non-transmissive unit which are alternately placed. The imaging unit and the louver film are placed so that the optical axis of the imaging unit intersects a principal plane of the louver film.

Imaging device

A backlight includes a plurality of discrete light sources configured to face a display, and an optical film disposed on the light sources and below and proximate a first plane. The optical film includes a plurality of through-holes extending between first and second major surfaces of the optical film. Each through-hole has a first opening at the first major surface, and a second opening at the second major surface with an open area A2. Each through-hole has length, H, such that H/A2 is greater than or equal to about 0.13. The light from the light sources has a first overall peak intensity in the first plane, and a first brightness uniformity across the first plane, and in the absence of the optical film, the light from the light sources has a second overall peak intensity in the first plane, and a second brightness uniformity across the first plane, such that the first and second overall peak intensities are different by less than about 20%, and the first brightness uniformity exhibits an improvement over the second brightness uniformity by at least 2.8%.

Microreplicated optical film

Mirrors including reflective backlit displays are described. In particular, mirrors including backlit displays with a backlight, a liquid crystal cell including a liquid crystal layer disposed between two opposing transparent substrate layers, a first reflective polarizer, and a second reflective polarizer are described. The first and second reflective polarizers are each directly laminated to one of the opposing transparent substrate layers. Mirrors described herein may be configured as vehicle rear-view mirrors.

Reflective backlit display with a liquid crystal cell

Methods for reducing road surface glare from an automotive headlight for an observer not viewing through a polarizing filter are described. The use of a reflective polarizer for reducing road surface glare from an automotive headlight for an observer not viewing through a polarizing filter are also described. A low-beam headlight including a light source, a housing, and a reflective polarizer is also described. The reflective polarizer has a pass axis and the pass axis forms an angle with a road surface between 45 degrees and 135 degrees.

Low-glare automotive headlight

The present disclosure describes a display system including a liquid crystal display panel and a light source emitting light capable of emitting light. A nonwoven diffuser element is disposed between the light source and the liquid crystal display panel. The polymeric nonwoven diffuser is non-orientated and has a fiber diameter of less than 50 micrometers, a fiber aspect ratio of length/diameter of greater than 5 and a basis weight in a range from 10 to 80 grams/meter.

Display with nonwoven diffuser

A surface light source device capable of obtaining uniform and high brightness emitted light is disclosed. The surface light source device can include a light source () that emits light; a light guiding plate () that guides light from the light source that is incident on a rear surface side thereof or a side surface side thereof and emits the light from a front surface side thereof; and a diffusion plate () disposed on the front surface side of the light guiding plate that diffuses the incident light from the light guiding plate to a front surface side thereof. The diffusion plate can be made from nonwoven fabric with an areal weight of not less than 0 g/mand not more than 40 g/m.

Surface illuminant device

Lighting devices are disclosed that include optical laminated bodies. An exemplary optical laminated body includes a polarizing layer, a first transparent film disposed closely to a front surface of the polarizing layer and a second transparent film disposed closely to a back surface of the polarizing layer. The polarizing layer includes a reflective polarizing film, and both of the first transparent film and the second transparent film are diffusive films. The lighting devices further include a light source supplying light to the optical laminated body through a light entry surface of the first transparent film of the optical laminated body, wherein the light source includes a plurality of diffusing points of a light diffusive substance disposed on a surface of the light source. The lighting device provides diffused-polarized light emitted from a light emitting surface of the second transparent film of the laminated body.

Optical laminated bodies, lighting equipment and area luminescence equipment

Lighting devices are disclosed that include optical laminated bodies. An exemplary optical laminated body includes a polarizing layer, a first transparent film disposed closely to a front surface of the polarizing layer and a second transparent film disposed closely to a back surface of the polarizing layer. The polarizing layer includes a reflective polarizing film, and both of the first transparent film and the second transparent film are diffusive films. The lighting devices further include a light source supplying light to the optical laminated body through a light entry surface of the first transparent film of the optical laminated body and a lens film disposed between the light source and the optical laminated body. The lighting device provides diffused-polarized light emitted from a light emitting surface of the second transparent film of the laminated body.

A light-conducting unit which can effectively balance the light-leaking effect and the light-propagation effect of the prismatic films forming the light-conducting space, and satisfy the requirements to reduce the weight of the unit is disclosed. A light-conducting unit comprising the first prismatic film and the second prismatic film, each having two major surfaces, one of which is a prismatic surface, and the other of which is a flat surface, said prismatic surface carrying prisms arranged substantially parallel to each other, wherein said two prismatic films are arranged so that the first edges of said prismatic films are positioned to form an opening, a light-conducting space is formed between said prismatic films, and the height of said light-conducting space does not substantially increase from said opening to the remote edges of the prismatic films opposing said opening, and the major surface of said first prismatic film which faces outside said light-conducting space is a light-emitting surface, and the arrangement of the both prismatic films and the directions of the prisms of the both prismatic films in relation to the incident direction of light are defined under the specific conditions.

Hollow surface illuminator

A brightness enhancement article that includes: (a) a transparent, flexible substrate; (b) a first major surface having an array of prisms with blunted or rounded peaks characterized by a chord width, cross-sectional pitch width, and radius of curvature in which the chord width is equal to about 20-40% of the cross-sectional pitch width and the radius of curvature is equal to about 20-50% of the cross-sectional pitch width; and (c) a second major surface characterized by a plurality of light scattering protrusions. The article has a haze value between about 20-60% and a transmission value no greater than about 94% when measured under conditions in which the first surface has a substantially planar topography.

Brightness enhancement article

The present invention includes a structured optical film with variable pitch peaks and/or grooves to reduce the visibility of moire interference patterns and optical displays incorporating one or more layers of the film. The pitch variations can be over groups of adjacent peaks and/or valleys or between adjacent pairs of peaks and/or valleys.

Growing community of inventors

Yamagata, Japan

Kazuhiko Toyooka