The present invention contains subject matter related to Japanese Patent Application JP 2008-034627 filed in the Japanese Patent Office on Feb. 15, 2008, the entire contents of which being incorporated herein by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a backlight apparatus used in, for example, a display apparatus, a lens used in the backlight apparatus, a light source unit, and a display apparatus equipped with the backlight apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
Currently, use of LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes) independent for each of R (red), G (green), and B (blue) has contributed to achieving an NTSC (National Television System Committee) ratio of 100% or more in backlights of a high color range used for liquid crystal panels. Therefore, commodification of the backlights in PCs (Personal Computers), amusement equipment, in-car equipment, and TVs is expected.
In a case of a middle- or large-sized backlight of 10 inches or more, for example, sufficient luminance and thinness are required to be compatible therein. Therefore, a new design of a direct LED backlight that has been employed in the middle- or large-sized backlights is required. The direct LED backlight refers to a backlight of a type in which a plurality of LEDs as a light source are arranged two-dimensionally and in parallel to a plane of the liquid crystal panel.
In the case of the direct LED backlight, the number of LEDs to be mounted varies depending on which of a power-type LED and a normal-type LED is used in relation to a light amount. When using the power-type LEDs, it is difficult to dispose the LED elements independent for each of R, G, and B close to each other due to the problem of the number, size, and heat of the LEDs. In other words, an increase in distances among the LED elements results in a disadvantage in mixing red light, green light, and blue light in a limited space. Also in this case, although not many problems are caused when a sufficient optical distance (thickness) can be secured, because it is currently difficult to bring the LED elements close to each other due to the move towards reductions in thickness, color variability is caused.
For reducing the thickness of the liquid crystal panel, side-emitting-type power LEDs of the related art are used in some cases. However, this case also has a limit in terms of color variability.
Meanwhile, when normal low-power LEDs are used, distances among RGB elements can be shortened. However, by merely using the LED elements as they are even when the distances are shortened, generation of color variability right above the LEDs cannot be avoided in a backlight assuming thickness reduction. Moreover, a large variation in RGB light distribution characteristics of the respective LED elements facilitates color variability, which is a large problem.
For solving the problem on such color variability, there is disclosed, for example, a device including a plurality of point light sources arranged one-dimensionally and a cylindrical lens disposed above the plurality of point light sources and elongated in the one dimensional direction (see, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2006-286608 (paragraphs [0007] and [0009],
In the cylindrical lens disclosed in Patent Document 1 above, light from the point light sources is diffused by the concave lens function (52). However, the cylindrical lens needs to be devised further for realizing a reduction in thickness of the display panel and suppressing luminance variability or color variability.
In view of the circumstances as described above, there is a need for a lens, a light source unit, a backlight apparatus, and a display apparatus that are capable of efficiently mixing light from a light source and suppressing luminance variability or color variability.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a lens diffusing light emitted from a light source, including a concave light-incident surface, a light guide portion, and a light-emitting surface. The concave light-incident surface includes a plane portion opposed to the light source and an optical function portion that is formed on the plane portion and one of scatters and diffuses the light. The light emitted from the light source enters the light-incident surface. The light that has entered the light-incident surface passes through the light guide portion. The light-emitting surface emits the light that has passed through the light guide portion.
When the lens according to the embodiment of the present invention is not provided, for example, luminance of light that enters a generally-used light guide plate or an optical sheet such as a diffusing sheet from the light source becomes partially high at a position right above the light source. In other words, luminance variability or color variability is caused. In the embodiment of the present invention, by the optical function portion formed on the plane portion on the light-incident surface, light that has entered the plane portion is scattered or diffused. Therefore, luminance variability or color variability can be suppressed. Moreover, provision of the optical function portion on the plane portion makes processing and process of the lens for the scattering and diffusion easier at a time of production of the lens.
The light source is provided either singly or plurally. As the light source, an element that emits light by an EL (Electro Luminescence) phenomenon, a cathode tube, or any other light-emitting element is used. The element that emits light by an EL phenomenon is an LED as a dispersion-type EL element or an LED as a genuine EL element.
A single light source includes one or a plurality of light-emitting elements. When a single light source includes one light-emitting element, the light emitted by that light-emitting element may be in any color. When a single light source includes a plurality of light-emitting elements, the light emitted from the light-emitting elements may be monochromatic or may be in a plurality of colors (combination of colors may be changed as appropriate). When the light-emitting element is an LED, for example, a plurality of LEDs are realized in a single package in some cases. In this case, a single light source may correspond to one or a plurality of packages.
In the embodiment of the present invention, when a single light source emits monochromatic light, luminance variability is suppressed, and when a single light source emits light of two colors or more, luminance variability and color variability are suppressed. Hereinafter, at least one of the luminance variability and color variability will be simply referred to as light variability.
Reflectance (or absorptance) of light increases as a degree of “scatter” of light by the optical function portion increases, that is, as light beams advancing in the vertical direction toward the plane portion become less due to the scatter.
For example, the light source is constituted of a plurality of light-emitting elements that are arranged in a predetermined direction and emit light by an EL phenomenon, and the lens is elongated in the predetermined direction. In this case, the lens may have light distribution characteristics that are substantially the same in a direction orthogonal to the predetermined direction within a plane on which the plurality of light-emitting elements are arranged.
The optical function portion is a part that has been subjected to print processing or roughening processing. Accordingly, light is scattered or diffused. Moreover, it becomes possible to adjust an amount of light that passes through the plane portion by the print processing.
The “roughening processing” includes processing of forming the plane portion into a prism-like surface, dot processing, blast processing, and the like.
The “print processing” operates to scatter the light at a micro level. Thus, a part that has been subjected to the “print processing” may be included in a concept of the part that has been subjected to the “roughening processing”.
The light-emitting surface includes a part opposed to the plane portion, that has been subjected to the print processing. Because the print processing is performed on both the plane portion and a surface opposed to the plane portion, an effect of scattering the light is promoted and light variability is suppressed. Alternatively, the light-emitting surface includes a part opposed to the plane portion, that has been subjected to the roughening processing.
The light-emitting surface is, for example, one of a cylindrical surface and a toroidal surface.
The lens may further include a bottom surface and one of a print processing portion and a roughening processing portion formed on the bottom surface. Alternatively, a reflective member, a reflective film, or the like only needs to be formed on the bottom surface of the lens. Accordingly, light beams can be increased at the light guide portion, to thus realize high luminance. The term “reflect” refers to not only the case where light is reflected 100%, but also a case where part of the light is transmitted through the bottom surface.
The light guide portion may contain a diffusing material. Accordingly, light from the light source can be efficiently diffused.
The lens further includes a heat flow path that is formed from the light-incident surface to the light-emitting surface and discharges heat radiated from the light source. Accordingly, heat radiated from the light source can be discharged to outside the lens.
The heat flow path may be provided from the plane portion to the light-emitting surface, or from a part other than the plane portion to the light-emitting surface.
The heat flow path may be a through-hole formed in the lens, or may be constituted of a material having higher heat conductivity than a principle material of the lens.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a light source unit including a light source and a lens to diffuse light emitted from the light source. It is only necessary that the lens described above be used for the lens.
The light source unit further includes an optical member that is mounted on the light source and one of scatters and diffuses the light. Accordingly, light variability is suppressed. When using the light-emitting element(s) that emits (emit) monochromatic light or light in a plurality of colors as the light source, light distribution characteristics of a specific color can be enhanced. In other words, it becomes possible to orient the light of a specific color from the light source in a desired direction, and cause the light to enter the light-incident surface of the lens.
The optical member includes, for example, a sheet member. A prism sheet, a diffusing sheet, or the like is used as the sheet member. Alternatively, a sheet member whose surface has been subjected to the dot processing or the blast processing may be used.
The light source includes a light-emitting element to emit light by an EL phenomenon, and the optical member includes a sealing member to seal up the light-emitting element. Because the sealing member also functions to scatter or diffuse the light from the light source, light variability can be suppressed, the structure of which also contributes to the reduction in thickness of the light source.
The sealing member may contain a diffusing material.
The light source unit further includes a common substrate, the light-emitting element of the light source is provided plurally, the plurality of light-emitting elements being arranged on the common substrate, and the sealing member seals up each of the plurality of light-emitting elements. In other words, the light source unit includes a so-called potting-type light source block.
A backlight apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a light source unit and a supporting member to support the light source unit.
A display apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention includes the backlight apparatus and a light transmission control panel that includes a plurality of pixels and controls transmission of the light emitted from the backlight apparatus for each of the plurality of pixels. A typical example of the light transmission control panel is a liquid crystal panel. However, the light transmission control panel may be any panel as long as it can control the light transmission of the backlight for each pixel.
As described above, according to the embodiments of the present invention, light from the light source can be efficiently mixed, and luminance variability or color variability can be suppressed.
These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent in light of the following detailed description of best mode embodiments thereof, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
A backlight apparatus 10 includes a plurality of light source units 5 and a supporting member 2 for supporting the light source units 5. The backlight apparatus 10 is applied to a display apparatus that uses a light transmission control panel (not shown). A typical example of the light transmission control panel is a liquid crystal panel, though any panel may be used as long as it can variably control light transmission of a backlight for each pixel.
When the backlight apparatus 10 is applied to the display apparatus, an optical sheet (not shown) such as a diffusing sheet and a prism sheet is interposed between the backlight apparatus 10 and the light transmission control panel in some cases.
The supporting member 2 may be of a substrate type or a frame type, or alternatively be an assembly as a combination of two or more members. The supporting member 2 is formed of a resin, metal, or the like, but is not limited thereto. A material having high heat conductivity such as copper, aluminum, and carbon may be used as the material for the supporting member 2, for diffusing heat radiated from the light source units 5.
The plurality of light source units 5 are arranged in one direction, that is, laterally (x-axis direction) in
As shown in
When a single LED block 3 includes one LED 7, light emitted from that LED 7 is monochromatic (white, red, green, blue, or any other color). The LEDs that respectively emit a plurality of colors are arranged sequentially.
The reflector 8 includes a concave portion 8a, and the LEDs 7 are disposed inside the concave portion 8a. The reflector 8 is formed of a material having high reflectance for specular reflection (i.e., 0-order diffraction), such as aluminum nitride. However, it is also possible for the reflector 8 to be formed of aluminum, copper, iron, or stainless steel, or other materials. Alternatively, a material having high heat conductivity such as a carbon resin or metal other than those described above may be used for the reflector 8. Accordingly, accumulation of heat in the LED blocks 3 can be reduced and a large current can therefore be applied to the LEDs 7.
The lens 1 is elongated in a predetermined direction, that is, the x-axis direction, for example, in accordance with the number of LED blocks 3 provided in the single light source unit 5. When the number of LED blocks 3 is one, it is also possible that the lens 1 is elongated in the y-axis direction. A length of the lens 1 in the x-axis direction is about several ten mm, but can be changed as appropriate without being limited thereto. A length of the lens 1 in the y-axis direction is about several mm to several ten mm, but can be changed as appropriate without being limited thereto.
The lens 1 is elongated in the x-axis direction and has light distribution characteristics that are substantially the same in the y-axis direction orthogonal to the x-axis direction within a plane on which the plurality of LEDs 7 are arranged.
For example, the lens 1 includes a concave light-incident surface 1a, a light guide portion 1b through which light that has entered the light-incident surface 1a passes, and a light-emitting surface 1c for emitting the light. The light-incident surface 1a, the light guide portion 1b, and the light-emitting surface 1c each have a shape that is approximately constant in a longitudinal direction of the lens 1. The plurality of LED blocks 3 are arranged along the longitudinal direction of the lens 1 such that the LEDs 7 emit light toward a concave portion formed by the light-incident surface 1a. The light-emitting surface 1c of the lens 1 includes, for example, a cylindrical surface (i.e., partial sphere seen from an x-z plane in
The light-incident surface 1a includes a plane portion 1d opposed to the block of the LEDs 7. The plane portion 1d is provided with a part including an optical function of scattering or diffusing light from the LED blocks 3. As shown in
It should be noted that the reflectance (or absorptance) of light increases as a degree of “scatter” of light in the plane portion 1d increases, that is, as light beams advancing in the vertical direction toward the plane portion 1d become less due to the scatter.
Glass, polycarbonate, olefin, or other resins is used as the material for the lens 1.
An operation of the light source unit 5 structured as described above will be described.
Light emitted from the each of the LED blocks 3 enters the light-incident surface 1a. Due to the concaveness of the light-incident surface 1a, the light that has entered the light-incident surface 1a is diffused and passed through the light guide portion 1b as shown in
Further, in the lens 1 of this embodiment, the light that advances in the vertical direction (z-axis direction) or a near-vertical direction from the LED block 3 is scattered or diffused by the print processing portion 12 formed right above the LED block 3. Accordingly, the colors of light are mixed effectively at a center portion of the light guide portion 1b of the lens 1 (between the plane portion 1d and a part of the light-emitting surface 1c opposed thereto), thus resulting in suppression of luminance variability and color variability.
Moreover, although the lens 1 is of a small size, by providing a part having a plane surface, print processing to that plane portion 1d becomes easier.
In this embodiment, the LED blocks 3 are arranged linearly in the x-axis direction and the lens 1 is elongated in the x-axis direction. Thus, the number of lenses 1 to be mounted on a single backlight apparatus 10 can be reduced. Therefore, in production of the backlight apparatus 10, the number of processes for mounting the lenses 1 (processes for mounting light source units 5) can be reduced, thus leading to a reduction in costs.
In this embodiment, because there is no need to use an expensive optical member such as a dichroic mirror, it becomes possible to realize an inexpensive backlight apparatus 10 and display apparatus.
For suppressing luminance variability, a diffusing sheet or a sheet for suppressing luminance variability is generally used. In such a case, due to deterioration of a light use efficiency, a large number of LEDs 7 have been provided to thus maintain high luminance as a whole. In this embodiment, however, because there is no need to use such a sheet for suppressing luminance variability, desired luminance can be obtained even when the number of LEDs 7 is reduced.
As a modification of the lens 1, it is also possible to provide a print processing portion 12b that has been subjected to the print processing on a bottom surface 21e of a lens 21 as shown in
The print processing portion 12b only needs to include, mainly, a function of scattering or reflecting the light advancing toward the bottom surface 21e out of the light that has passed through the light guide portion 1b. Therefore, light transmission of the print processing portion 12b and that of a print processing portion 12a at a plane portion 21d may be different, or may be the same. It is also possible to set the light transmission of the print processing portion 12b on the bottom surface 21e to be smaller than that of the print processing portion 12a at the plane portion 21d.
Alternatively, a reflective member or a reflective film as a member other than the member subjected to the print processing may be formed on the bottom surfaces 1e and 21e of the lenses 1 and 21, respectively. For example, a reflective film formed of metal such as aluminum may be formed on the bottom surfaces 1e and 21e.
As in the case of
The diffusing material 32 does not necessarily have to be contained in the entire lens 31, but only needs to be contained in at least the center portion 31f of the lens 31.
The following materials can be exemplified as the diffusing material 32.
Examples include cross-linked acrylic powder, acrylic ultrafine powder, cross-linked polystyrene particles, methyl silicone powder, cross-linked styrene particles, monodispersed cross-linked acrylic particles, cross-linked siloxane series, silver powder, titanium oxide, calcium carbonate, barium sulfate, aluminum hydroxide, silica, glass, white carbon, talc, mica, magnesium oxide, and zinc oxide.
The optical member 26 may be used as, for example, a sealing member for sealing up the LEDs 7 (e.g., member for sealing the concave portion 8a of the reflector 8). Accordingly, because the sealing member also functions to scatter or diffuse the light from the LEDs 7, luminance variability and color variability can be suppressed while contributing to a reduction in thickness of the light source unit 25. By using the optical member 26 subjected to the prism processing, for example, it is possible to prevent light of a certain color out of RGB and/or other colors from advancing in the vertical or near-vertical direction. Thus, light distribution characteristics can be enhanced.
Examples of the material for the optical member 26 include a transparent silicone resin, an olefin-based resin, other resins, and glass. It is also possible for the optical member 26 to contain various diffusing materials described above.
In addition, a surface of the reflector 8 (e.g., surface of the concave portion 8a) of the LED blocks 3 may be subjected to the roughening processing.
It is also possible to realize a lens constituted by combining at least two feature parts of the lenses 1, 21, 31, 41, 51, and 61 and the light source unit 25 shown in
A part 71g of a light-emitting surface 71c of the lens 71 opposed to the plane portion 71d may be formed as a plane.
Typically, the heat flow path 81h is a through-hole penetrating the lens 81. However, it is also possible for the heat flow path 81h to be formed of a material having higher heat conductivity than a principle material of the lens 81, such as metal and carbon. The number, size, shape, location, and the like of the heat flow path 81h can be changed as appropriate.
It should be noted that the lens 81 shown in
An LED block 23 shown in
Of the three LEDs 7 in an LED block 33 shown in
In an LED block 43 shown in
An LED block 53 shown in
For the lenses of the light source units mounted with the LED blocks 23, 33, 43, and 53 shown in
An LED block 63 of a light source unit 45 is a potting-type LED block.
A sealing member 36 is constituted of a transparent resin, glass, or the like, and has a shape of, for example, a partial sphere, that is, the sealing member 36 has a function of a lens. The partial sphere is typically a hemisphere, but is not limited thereto. Further, instead of a sphere, a toroidal surface or a multi-order curved surface of a quadratic surface or more may also be employed. The sealing member 36 may be formed of the same material as the optical member 26, or may be formed of a different material. As the LEDs 7, typically, the LEDs 7G are disposed on both ends and the two LEDs 7R and 7B are disposed in the middle. The coloration, arrangement, number, and the like of the LEDs 7 can be changed as appropriate.
For the lens 100, it is only necessary to employ the lens 1, 21, 31, 41, 51, 61, 71, or 81 of the above embodiments, or a lens as a combination of at least two feature parts of those lenses.
Sizes a, b, and c shown in
By using such potting-type LED blocks 63, distributions of red (R) light, green (G) light, and blue (B) light become substantially the same as shown in
In particular, because the sealing member 36 of the LED block 63 is formed as a partial sphere, a multiple reflection caused by a total reflection is suppressed, whereby a high light extraction efficiency can be realized. Further, because the sealing member 36 is formed as the partial sphere, a single LED becomes close to a linear light source at a macro level, whereby it becomes possible to fully exhibit the function of a lens.
An LED block 73 includes a plurality of LEDs 7 arranged close to each other, a case 99 for packaging the LEDs 7, and a sealing member 47 for sealing up the LEDs 7. In
As shown in
It should be noted that
An embodiment of the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various other embodiments may also be employed.
The above descriptions have been given on the case where the light source unit or the backlight apparatus 10 of the above embodiments is applied to a display apparatus. However, the present invention is not limited to the display apparatus, and the light source unit and the backlight apparatus 10 can also be applied to billboards for commercial use and billboards for advertisements.
As shown in
In
It should be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications, combinations, sub-combinations and alterations may occur depending on design requirements and other factors insofar as they are within the scope of the appended claims or the equivalents thereof.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2008-034627 | Feb 2008 | JP | national |