The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Apr. 26, 1994
Filed:
May. 21, 1993
J Michael Myers, Newport Beach, CA (US);
Roger F Halter, Santa Ana, CA (US);
Poly-Optical Products, Inc., Irvine, CA (US);
Abstract
An improved fiber optic backlighting panel provides uniform and increased background illumination in devices, such as rubber keypads, membrane switches, liquid crystal displays, rigid panels or the like. The fiber optic panel comprises a light source and a layer of optical fibers arranged adjacent each other, which transmit light to different locations throughout the device, thereby providing efficient background illumination relative to the amount of light beamed in. The optical fibers are selectively terminated at these locations by forming a series of angular cuts through the layer of optical fibers with a laser, according to a predetermined geometric zig-zag or sawtooth pattern stored in a computer memory. The zig-zag pattern extends across the entire length and width of the panel such that each optical fiber is cut only once to provide increased and consistent illumination throughout the device. In one specific embodiment, for application in liquid crystal displays, a layer of foam is used to diffuse the light to provide uniform illumination.