Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd.

Yasuko Teragaki

Katsutoshi Hibino

Youichiro Goto

Kenji Torazawa

Masahiro Higuchi

Takanari Kusafuka

Michiaki Sato

A backlight apparatus has a light guide plate with a side surface through which the light from a light source enters The light source extends longitudinally in a specific direction. The light guide plate has a light emitting surface and a back surface opposed to the emitting surface. Horizontal grooves are formed on the back surface parallel to the longitudinal direction of the light source. A width of a flat portion defined between the grooves decreases as goes away form the light source.

Backlight apparatus and light guide plate

A light guide plate is provided including a first lens portion comprising a plurality of recessed or projected lenticular unit lenses formed of the same resin as that of the light guide plate on a light emission surface. The plurality of lenticular unit lenses in the first lens portion are triangular prism portions whose respective vertexes have an angle of 125.degree. to 165.degree. and are so arranged that their respective ridge lines are nearly parallel to each other. Such construction makes it possible to set the number of lenticular lens sheets used to one or to further eliminate the necessity of the lenticular lens sheets, so that the cost of parts and the fabrication cost of the light guide plate can be reduced. A second lens portion may be provided on a light reflective surface opposite to the light emission surface on which the first lens portion is disposed, the second lens portion including a plurality of recessed or projected lenticular unit lenses formed of the same resin as that of the light guide plate. Alternatively, a light guide plate is provided having a plurality of grooves with approximately equal groove widths formed on a surface opposite to a light emission surface, the grooves being arranged substantially parallel to each other and the spacing between the grooves narrowing as the distance from the light incident surface increases, with the spacing from the far end of one of the plurality of grooves proximate to the light incident surface to the near end of a groove adjacent thereto farther away from the light incident surface being 5 to 15 times the groove width.

Light guide plate and surface light source using the light guide plate

An optical pick-up comprising a laser source (laser diode), a plurality of optical elements, beam splitter, focusing means (microlens) and detecting means (photo diode) is disclosed. The plurality of optical elements focuses a laser beam which is emitted from the laser diode onto a magneto-optic disc, and focuses a laser beam which is reflected from the magneto-optic disc onto a photo detector. The beam splitter splits the laser beam, which is emitted from the laser diode, by reflecting a part of the laser beam at a first surface and by refracting the other part of the laser beam at the first surface. The reflected part is entered into the optical elements and the refracted part is passed through the beam splitter and then emerged from a second surface. The microlens is integrally formed on the second surface of the beam splitter by the ion exchanging method. And the microlens focuses the beam which is emerged from the second surface. The photo diode detects the beam which is focused by the microlens. The beam splitter, the beam splitter, the microlens and the photo diode are mounted on a common substrate.

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Gifu, Japan

Yasuko Teragaki