Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha Corporation

Shugo Yagi

Yoshinobu Hirayama

Takeshi Ishida

Ryuzo Yuki

Takao Imaoku

Yuuichi Kanbayashi

Satoshi Tsubooka

Takeshi Masuda

Ichiro Umekawa

Masaki Kageyama

Hirofumi Oosawa

Toru Inata

A lighting device includes light sources arranged in an arrangement direction, a first light guide plate, and a second light guide plate on the first light guide plate. The first light guide plate includes a first light entering surface, a first light exit surface, and a first light diffusion portion adding a diffusion action to light to be refracted and travel in a crossing direction crossing the arrangement direction. The second light guide plate includes a second light entering surface, a second light exit surface, and a second light diffusion portion adding a diffusion action to light to be refracted and travel in the arrangement direction seen from the normal direction of the second light exit surface. The second light diffusion portion includes first lenses that include ridgelines extending in the crossing direction and inclined portions inclined at an angle from 35&#xb0; to 55&#xb0; inclusive relative to the normal direction.

Lighting device and display device

A lighting device includes light sources and a light guide plate. The light guide plate includes a base portion and a light collecting portion. The base portion includes a light entering surface and a light exiting surface. The light collecting portion protrudes from the light exiting surface. The light collecting portion includes light collecting sections elongated in a first direction parallel to a normal direction to the light entering surface and arranged in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction. The light collecting sections perform linearity adjustment to rays of light so that the rays of light travel along the first direction. The light collecting sections include first light collecting regions and second light collecting regions. The second light collecting regions perform the linearity adjustment at a degree greater than a degree of the linearity adjustment by the first light collecting regions.

A lighting device includes light sources arranged in a row in an arrangement direction, alight guide plate disposed to cover the light sources and including a plate surface facing the light sources and an opposite plate surface opposite from the plate surface, and a light diffusion portion. A portion of the plate surface is a light entering surface and the opposite plate surface is a light exit surface. The light diffusion portion extends in the arrangement direction of the light sources and on the light exit surface such that a portion of the light diffusion portion overlaps the light sources. The light diffusion portion applies a diffusion effect to light that is within the light guide plate so as to travel in a direction crossing the arrangement direction and to be away from the light sources seen from a normal direction of the light exit surface.

Lighting device including light guide plate and display device including the lighting device

First and second prism sheets have pluralities of first and second unit prisms, respectively, arranged along a first direction and extending along a second direction, each of which has a base that is parallel to the first direction and a pair of oblique sides standing from both ends, respectively, of the base, and an angle that a second LED facing oblique side, which is one of the oblique sides that faces toward the LED, forms with respect to the base in the first direction in the second unit prism is smaller than an angle that a first LED facing oblique side that faces toward the LED forms with respect to the base in the first direction in the first unit prism.

A lighting device includes LEDs, and a light guide plateincluding an edge surface and a pair of plate surfaces, a part of the edge surface being a light entrance surfaceB through which light from the LEDsenters, and one of the plate surfaces being a light exit surfaceA through which the light exits and another one of the plate surfaces being an opposite plate surfaceC opposite from the light exit surfaceA. The light guide plateincludes prism portionson the opposite plate surfaceC, projecting from the opposite plate surfaceC and arranged in the X-axis direction and configured to collect light toward in a normal direction of the light exit surfaceA, and an exit light reflection portionprovided in a recessed portionthat is formed by two adjacent prism portionsand configured to reflect light travelling within the light guide plateand facilitate exiting of light from the light guide plate

Enhancing luminance in display devices using lighting guide plates

A backlight device is provided with: LEDs; a light guide plate having a light-receiving face, a light-exiting surface, and an opposite plate surface; a prism sheet that is disposed on the light-exiting side of the light guide plate and that includes a plurality of light-exiting side prisms aligned along a second direction; a light-exiting surface-side prism portion that is disposed in the light-exiting surface of the light guide plate and that includes a plurality of light-exiting surface-side prisms aligned along the second direction; a light emission reflection portion that is disposed in the opposite plate surface of the light guide plate and that includes a plurality of reflection units aligned along a first direction at an interval; and an opposite plate surface-side prism portion that is disposed in the opposite plate surface of the light guide plate and that includes a plurality of opposite plate surface-side prisms aligned along the second direction.

Illumination device and display device

A lighting device includes a light guide plate, a plurality of LEDs positioned to project light into a first side surface of the light guide plate, a reflection sheet facing a bottom surface of the light guide plate, a plurality of reflective elements on a light exit surface of the light guide plate opposite the bottom surface and extending in a direction parallel to the first side surface, and a plurality of convex elements on the bottom surface of the light guide plate. The density of the convex elements increases with increasing distance from the light source.

Display backlight having lightguide with variable density light extraction elements

A backlight unit includes a light emission reflecting portion, first reflecting protrusions, and second reflecting protrusions. The light emission reflecting portion includes unit reflecting portions that include main reflecting surfaces and light reentering surfaces arranged opposite to the main reflecting surfaces, respectively. The first reflecting protrusions include extended main reflecting surfaces that continue to the main reflecting surfaces, respectively, and first auxiliary reflecting surfaces that reflect rays of light traveling toward an opposite plate surface and direct the rays of light toward the main reflecting surfaces and the extended main reflecting surfaces. The second reflecting protrusions include extended light reentering surfaces that continue to the light reentering surfaces, respectively, and second auxiliary reflecting surfaces that reflect rays of light entering through at least one of the light reentering surfaces and the extended light reentering surfaces and direct the rays of light toward the light exiting surface.

A backlight unit includes LEDs, a light guide plate, a prism sheet, exiting light reflecting portions, prisms, concave lenticular lenses, and flat portions. The concave lenticular lenses are configured such that an occupancy rate of concave cylindrical lenses with respect to the second direction is higher in an area closer to a light entering surface with respect to the first direction and the occupancy rate is lower in an area farther from the light entering surface. The flat portions are formed adjacent to the concave cylindrical lenses with respect to the second direction such that an occupancy rate of flat portions with respect to the second direction is lower in an area closer to a light entering surface with respect to the first direction and the occupancy rate of the flat portions with respect to the second direction is higher in an area farther from the light entering surface.

A backlight device is provided with: LEDs; a light guide plate having a light-receiving face, a light-exiting surface, and an opposite plate surface; a prism sheet including a plurality of light-exiting side unit prisms aligned along a second direction; a light-exiting surface-side prism portion including a plurality of light-exiting surface-side prism units aligned along the second direction; a light emission reflection portion including a plurality of reflection units aligned along a first direction at an interval; an opposite plate surface-side prism portion including a plurality of opposite plate surface-side unit prisms aligned along the second direction; and bow-shaped portions disposed into such a form as to be adjacent to the light-exiting surface-side prism units in the second direction while extending along the first direction, the bow-shaped portions having a bow-shaped cross-section.

A backlight unit includes LEDs, a light guide plate, a prism sheet, exiting light reflecting portions, prisms, concave lenticular lens lenses, and flat portions. The concave lenticular lenses are configured such that an occupancy rate of concave cylindrical lenses with respect to the second direction is higher in an area closer to a light entering surface with respect to the first direction and the occupancy rate is lower in an area farther from the light entering surface. The flat portions are formed adjacent to the concave cylindrical lenses with respect to the second direction such that an occupancy rate of flat portions with respect to the second direction is lower in an area closer to a light entering surface with respect to the first direction and the occupancy rate of the flat portions with respect to the second direction is higher in an area farther from the light entering surface.

An illumination device () is provided with the following: light sources (); a light-guide member (()) that includes a light entry region (Is) and a light exit region (Os) which emits planar light; light entry portions () that are formed in the light entry region (Is) and that oppose the light sources (); and bright line suppression portions () that are formed in the areas between the light entry portions () at the front side of the light entry region (Is), and that include bright line suppression prisms () which have a shape that changes the angle of the light emitted in a direction spreading out from the light sources () to a direction closer to the optical axes.

Provided are an illumination device capable of improving the uniformity in brightness of the illumination light, and a display device using the same. An illumination device is provided with: a plurality of light sources arranged in a row in one direction; and a light guide plate which has, along a side edge face, a light receiving face facing the light source, guides light entering through the light receiving face, and outputs illumination light from a light emitting surface disposed on the front surface; the light guide plate having a plurality of prisms and a plurality of prisms provided in an indented manner on the front or rear surface and arranged in a row along the longitudinal direction of the light receiving face; the prisms being formed spanning between the light receiving face and the opposing face opposite the light receiving face; and the prisms being formed, between adjacent prisms, deeper than the prisms within a predetermined range in the vicinity of the light receiving face.

Growing community of inventors

Yonago, Japan

Shugo Yagi