3m Innovative Properties Company

Other

Keith Michael Kotchick

Philip Edwin Watson

Kenneth A Epstein

Mark B O'Neill

Gary Timothy Boyd

Mark E Gardiner

Leland Ray Whitney

David J Lamb

Patrick H Marushin

Anthony J Freking

Sanford Cobb, Jr

Hassan Sahouani

Richard C Allen

Richard A Miller

John F Van Derlofske, Iii

William A Hibbard

Andrew John Ouderkirk

Shandon Dee Hart

Adam D Haag

Rolf W Biernath

Matthew B Johnson

Sergey Lamansky

Tri Dinh Pham

Kim Marie Vogel

Robert S Moshrefzadeh

Vivian Wynne Jones

Donald J McClure

William F Edmonds

Wade D Kretman

Jennifer Rebecca Yi

Kazuhiko Toyooka

Patrick R Fleming

William J Kopecky

Satinder K Nayar

Eric Wayne Nelson

Todd R Williams

Charles David Hoyle

Rui Zhang

Kristin LaVelle Thunhorst

Paul Edward Humpal

John S Huizinga

Jie Zhou

Bettie C Fong

Byung-Soo Ko

Gregory Edward Gilligan

John T Cowher

Ikuko Ebihara

Yuji Saito

Michael L Ruegsegger

Yasuyuki Daigo

Xianneng Peng

Xingpeng Yang

Chideuk Kim

Youngsoo Park

Ji-young Choi

Stefan O Dietrich

Seo-Hern Lee

Kay-Uwe Schenke

Robert Bennett

Guido Hitschmarin

Robert Bennet

Min-Young Ji

Naoya Taniguchi

Yang Yu

A backlight includes a light source and one or more light recycling films. The light source generates light that exits the light source with an angular exit distribution. The light recycling films are oriented in relation to the light source so that the prism peaks of the recycling films are oriented away from the light source. The recycling films have a range of optimal incident angles that allow light to pass through the recycling films without recycling. The components of the light source, the characteristics of the recycling films, or both, are configured to control the overlap between the exit distribution of the light source and the optimal incident angle range of the recycling films.

Systems and methods for controlling backlight output characteristics

A backlight that includes an illumination device that has at least one light source, a circular-mode reflective polarizer, and a specular partial reflector is disclosed. The specular partial reflector is disposed between the illumination device and the circular-mode reflective polarizer. Furthermore, the specular partial reflector is in substantially direct polarization communication with the circular-mode reflective polarizer.

Backlighting system including a specular partial reflector and a circular-mode reflective polarizer

Light directing film is disclosed. The light directing film includes a first structured major surface and an opposing second major surface. The first structured major surface includes a plurality of unitary discrete structures. Each unitary discrete structure includes a light directing portion that is primarily for directing light and includes a plurality of first side facets. Each first side facet makes an angle with the plane of the light directing film in a range from about 35 degrees to about 55 degrees. Each light directing portion also includes a first base that is defined by the plurality of first side facets and has a first minimum dimension. Each light directing portion also has a first maximum height. Each unitary discrete structure also includes a bonding portion that is primarily for bonding the light directing film to a surface. The bonding portion is disposed on and between the plurality of first side facets and includes a plurality of second side facets. Each second side facet makes an angle with the plane of the light directing film greater than about 70 degrees. The bonding portion also includes a second base that is defined by the plurality of second side facets and has a second minimum dimension less than about 10% of the first minimum dimension. The bonding portion also has a second maximum height. The ratio of the second maximum height to the second minimum dimension is at least about 1.5.

Light directing film

A passive daylight-coupled display having an LCD panel, a diffuser, and a curved reflector behind the LCD panel. For passive backlighting, the diffuser transmits daylight to the reflector, which reflects the daylight to the LCD panel and provides for substantially uniform distribution of the daylight on the LCD panel for backlighting it. An N-stack daylight-coupled display includes a plurality of passive backlights cascaded in a stack for backlighting of LCD panels or static display panels. One N-stack display can include an active light source to provide light to the reflectors, and a secondary light source to provide light to at least one of the reflectors to provide backlighting of the display in low lighting conditions. A collapsible daylight-coupled display includes a daylight-coupled backlight that is collapsible when not in use for hand-held or portable display devices.

Passive and hybrid daylight-coupled N-stack and collapsible backlights for sunlight viewable displays

A passive daylight-coupled display having an LCD panel, a diffuser, and a curved reflector behind the LCD panel. For passive backlighting, the diffuser transmits daylight to the reflector, which reflects the daylight to the LCD panel and provides for substantially uniform distribution of the daylight on the LCD panel for backlighting it. A hybrid display includes both a passive backlight and an active backlight for providing backlighting from an active light source.

Passive and hybrid daylight-coupled backlights for sunlight viewable displays

In a new packaging method for light management films in displays, such as liquid crystal displays, a stack of two or more optical films is held together before insertion into the display frame. The stack includes at least two of the films that are adhered together using adhesive positioned outside the viewing area of the films. In some embodiments, the adhesive is provided at one or more tabs provided around the periphery of the film stack.

Adhesive stacking for multiple optical films

An optical element having a front side and a back side operates in an ambient lit mode and a backlit mode. The optical element includes a diffusely reflecting layer facing the front side for reflecting ambient light. A light absorbing layer faces the back side and is positioned to prevent back light from illuminating the diffusely reflecting layer. A plurality of light transmitting regions extend through the light absorbing layer and the diffusely reflecting layer for permitting back light to pass through in a restricted angular range without illuminating the diffusely reflecting layer.

Day and night film

Color transmissive displays have historically used only backlight for forming the color image, and have not used ambient light. Usually, such a display is not used in bright sunlight, since the color image becomes washed out. Transflective color displays form an image by reflecting ambient light or by transmitting backlight, and can be used in bright sunlight. The transflector in such displays reflects the ambient light while also transmitting the backlight. The requirements on the transflector, however, are different from those used in monochromatic displays. According to the invention, a color transflective display device uses comprises a transmissive display unit having a viewing side and a back side and defining picture elements. A structured transflector is disposed to the back side of the color display unit. The structured transflector includes a structured surface and a layered dielectric reflector disposed over the structured surface.

Structured transflectors for enhanced ambient and backlight operation of transmissive liquid crystal displays

Pre-aligned optical layers are stacked and arranged such that an adhesive layer, which is stacked onto the optical layers, contacts at least the uppermost layer and lowermost layer. The resulting subassemblies can be assembled into an optical display without individual handling of the layers, which reduces installation time and manufacturing costs.

Pre-stacked optical films with adhesive layer

A spiral wound fiber that includes birefringent interfaces is useful in different optical devices. One type of wound fiber includes at least first and second material layers. At least one of the layers is polymeric and at least one of the layers is birefringent. The spiral wound fiber may be used alone, or in an optical device. Such an optical device can include the fiber embedded within a matrix or attached to a substrate. The spiral wound fiber can be made by rolling a stack of at least two layers, by coextruding the two layers or by coating a rotating form.

Spiral multilayer fibers

The present disclosure is directed to backlighting systems, which include first and second lightguides, at least one light source optically connected to an edge of the first lightguide and at least one light source optically connected to an edge of the second lightguide for supplying light into their respective interiors. In the appropriate exemplary embodiments, the backlighting systems of the present disclosure include an extractor disposed at a surface of the second lightguide for diffuse extraction of light from the interior of the second lightguide. In such exemplary embodiments, at least a portion of the light supplied into the interior of the second lightguide and then diffusely extracted therefrom enters the interior of the first lightguide through a substantially optically clear surface. In some exemplary embodiments, the backlighting systems of the present disclosure include recycling enhancement structures, which may be attached to the first lightguide.

Multiple lightguide backlight

A backlight assembly for use in a transmissive display system is described. The backlight assembly includes a light source that illuminates a light chamber. A transmissive display is positioned adjacent the light chamber so that light that exits the chamber illuminates the transmissive display. The backlight assembly may include one or more specular reflectors and one or more other optical elements to ensure that the light that exits the light chamber has the desired spatial uniformity, polarization, color, and/or angular distribution.

Backlighting transmissive displays

Growing community of inventors

Saint Paul, MN, United States of America

Keith Michael Kotchick