This application claims the priority benefit of Taiwan application serial no. 99147318, filed on Dec. 31, 2010. This application also claims the priority benefit of a Taiwan application serial no. 99147319, filed on Dec. 31, 2010. The entirety of each of the above-mentioned patent applications is hereby incorporated by reference herein and made a part of this specification.
1. Field of the Application
The present invention relates to a light guide panel and a method of fabricating the same. In particular, the present invention relates to a light guide panel having an optical element array, and a fabricating method of the light guide panel by utilizing a cutting tool to form the optical element array on the light guide panel.
2. Description of Related Art
In the precision processing, cutting tools are commonly used to cut various light guide panels to form optical microstructures. Taking the surface treatment of the light guide panel as an example, when the optical microstructures are to be manufactured on the light guide panel, a single cutting tool can be used to form grooves on the light guide panel surface by means of forwardly and backwardly cutting. However, it would have the following drawbacks:
First, the tool life of the cutting tool may be shortened. In the grooves cutting process, since the cutting tool is continuously and directly rubbed against the light guide panel, the cutting tool is easy to be worn and broken, deform, and reduce in hardness due to high temperature. In addition, the precision of the groove processed by the worn cutting tool would reduce and it may lead to the process yield of the light guide panel cannot be increased.
Moreover, the cutting speed of the above mentioned method is rather slow. Since each groove is formed by means of the single cutting tool forwardly and backwardly cutting, if the number of grooves or the area to be cut is quite huge, the whole process time would be very long. In one aspect, the way of shortening the single cutting path of the cutting tool can be tried to increase the cutting speed. However, it may lead to the reducing of the tool life of the cutting tool due to the high temperature generated during a very short time by the high cutting speed.
In addition, the cutting tool mentioned above is not suitable to be used in processing the microstructures in special shapes and mass production. When the grooves in special shapes are required to be fabricated, it is necessary to use different kind of cutting tool. More specifically, a first kind of cutting tool is necessary to use in cutting a first kind of groove having a first kind of microstructures, while a second kind of cutting tool is necessary to use in cutting a second kind of groove having a second kind of microstructures. Accordingly, the cutting path of the cutting tool and the cutting tool changing sequence would become rather complicated, and it may lead to the difficulty in mass production of the light guide panels. In light of the above mentioned, in precision processing, it is necessary to develop the cutting tool capable to solve the present problem.
Especially, using the single cutting tool in processing the microstructures of the light guide panel may result the lower precision of the microstructures. In light of the above mentioned, in precision processing, it is necessary to develop the fabricating method of the light guide panel capable to solve the present problem.
Accordingly, the present invention provides a light guide panel having an optical element array and further has rubbing portions which can increase the optical effect of the light guide panel.
The present invention provides a fabricating method of a light guide panel by using a novel cutting tool and capable to fabricate the above mentioned light guide panel.
The present invention provides a cutting tool, capable of cutting process or surface treatment, and further capable of fabricating microstructures on the surface of the workpiece.
The present invention provides a cutting tool module having a plurality of above mentioned cutting tools.
The present invention provides a fabricating method of a cutting tool capable to fabricate above mentioned cutting tools.
The present invention provides a light guide panel having a surface which has a first direction and a second direction and an included angle is formed between the first direction and the second direction. The light guide panel includes an optical element array and a rubbing portion. The optical element array is disposed on the surface of the light guide panel and extended in the first direction. The rubbing portion is disposed on the surface of the light guide panel and extended in the second direction.
The invention further provides a fabricating method of a light guide panel. First, at least a light guide panel is provided. The light guide panel has a surface which has a first direction and a second direction and an included angle is formed between the first direction and the second direction. Then, at least a cutting tool is provided, wherein each cutting tool includes a base, at least a cutting section and a plurality of microstructures. The base has a rotating axis. The cutting section is disposed on the base, and arranged along an extending direction of the rotating axis. The microstructures are disposed on the cutting section. After that, the cutting tool is rotated and the light guide panel is cut, wherein after being cut the light guide panel includes an optical element array and a rubbing portion. The optical element array is disposed on the surface of the light guide panel and extended in the first direction. The rubbing portion is disposed on the surface of the light guide panel and extended in the second direction.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the rubbing portion is distributed on a same horizontal/vertical base line of the surface, or on different horizontal/vertical base lines of the surface.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the included angle is 90±10 degrees.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the surface includes a light incident surface, a light emitting surface or a reflective surface of the light guide panel.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the optical element array includes a plurality of optical microlenses protruded from the surface of the light guide panel, and the shape of the optical microlenses is selected from a semicircular shape, a V shape, an R-shaped groove or a combination thereof.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the optical element array includes a plurality of optical microlenses recessed from the surface of the light guide panel, and the shape of the optical microlenses is selected from a semicircular shape, a V shape, an R-shaped groove or a combination thereof.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the optical element array includes a plurality of optical microlenses, and the optical microlenses are in the same size or in different sizes from each other.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the cutting section is coaxially arranged along the extending direction of the rotating axis.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the cutting section is spirally arranged along the extending direction of the rotating axis.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the base and the cutting section are integrally formed or configured to each other.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the microstructures are protruded from the cutting section. And the shape of the microstructures is selected from a semicircular shape, a V shape, an R-shaped groove or a combination thereof. The shape of the microstructures is complementary to the shape of the optical microlenses of the optical element array.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the microstructures are recessed from the cutting section. And the shape of the microstructures is selected from a semicircular shape, a V shape, an R-shaped groove or a combination thereof. The shape of the microstructures is complementary to the shape of the optical microlenses of the optical element array.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the microstructures are in the same size or in different sizes from each other.
The present invention provides a cutting tool including a base, at least a cutting section and a plurality of microstructures. The base has a rotating axis. The cutting section is disposed on the base, and arranged along an extending direction of the rotating axis. The microstructures are disposed on the cutting section.
The present invention further provides a cutting tool module having a plurality of above mentioned cutting tools and arranged along the extending direction of the rotating axis.
The present invention further provides a fabricating method of the cutting tool including the following steps: a base having a rotating axis is provided. At least a cutting section disposed on the base and arranged along an extending direction of the rotating axis is provided. A plurality of microstructures disposed on the cutting section is provided.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the cutting section is coaxially arranged along the extending direction of the rotating axis.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the cutting section is spirally arranged along the extending direction of the rotating axis.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the base and the cutting section are integrally formed.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the base and the cutting section are configured to each other.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the microstructures are protruded from the cutting section. And the shape of the microstructures is selected from a semicircular shape, a V shape, an R-shaped groove or a combination thereof.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the microstructures are recessed from the cutting section. And the shape of the microstructures is selected from a semicircular shape, a V shape, an R-shaped groove or a combination thereof.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the microstructures are in the same size or in different sizes from each other.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the cutting section is continuously or discontinuously disposed on the base.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the cutting section is discontinuously disposed on the base, and the cutting sections are coaxially assembled on the base.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the cutting section is discontinuously disposed on the base, and the cutting sections are assembled in different axially on the base.
In light of the above, the light guide panel of the present invention has an optical element array and rubbing portion, wherein the rubbing portion can provide an optical effect of atomizing the light beam. By utilizing the cutting tool of the present invention in processing the light guide panel or surface treatment, the optical element array and the rubbing portion can be easily formed on the surface of the light guide panel. Especially, the fabricating method of the light guide panel is adapted to form the optical element array and the rubbing portion on the very thin light guide panel. In addition, the cutting section of the cutting tool of the present invention is arranged along the extending direction of the rotating axis of the base, and the microstructures are formed on the cutting section. Accordingly, the processing efficiency of the cutting tool can be increased when the cutting tool is used in processing the workpiece or surface treatment. Furthermore, any required microstructures can be formed on the workpiece by forming various microstructures on the cutting section.
In order to make the aforementioned and other features and advantages of the invention more comprehensible, embodiments accompanying figures are described in detail below.
The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the invention, and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.
The optical microstructures of the light guide panel LGP may includes an optical element array OPA and a rubbing portion CL. The optical element array OPA can be disposed on the surface S1, S2, S3 of the light guide panel LGP and extended in the first direction D1.
More specifically, the optical element array OPA may includes a plurality of optical microlenses LEN recessed from the surface S1 of the light guide panel LGP, and the shape of the optical microlenses LEN is selected from a semicircular shape, a V shape, an R-shaped groove or a combination thereof (being complementary to the microstructures 130 protruded from the cutting section 120 illustrated in
In addition, in another embodiment, the optical element array OPA may also include a plurality of optical microlenses LEN protruded from the surface S1 of the light guide panel LGP, and the shape of the optical microlenses LEN is selected from a semicircular shape, a V shape, an R-shaped groove or a combination thereof (being complementary to the microstructures 130 recessed from the cutting section 120 illustrated in
Referring to
Furthermore, the rubbing portion CL can be randomly distributed on the surface S1, S2, S3 of the light guide panel LGP, i.e., the rubbing portion CL is distributed on a same horizontal/vertical base line (not shown) of the surface S1, or on different horizontal/vertical base lines of the surface S1. In more detail, the surface S1 can have a plurality of horizontal base lines, and rotating the horizontal base lines into 90 degrees can form a plurality of vertical base lines. The rubbing portion CL can be located on the same horizontal base line (regularly disposed), or located on different horizontal base lines (randomly disposed) so as to form an optical effect of a mist surface through the arrangement of the rubbing portion CL.
A fabricating method of the light guide panel of the present invention is explained hereinafter.
First, in step S110, at least a light guide panel LGP as shown in
Then, in step S120, at least a cutting tool 100 as shown in
After that, in step S130, the cutting tool 100 is rotated and the light guide panel LGP is cut, wherein after being cut the light guide panel LGP as shown in
It has to be noted that the optical element array OPA and the rubbing portion CL can be formed on the at least one surface S1, S2 or S3 or all the surfaces S1, S2, S3 of the light guide panel LGP by using the cutting tool 100.
It should be noted that three cutting sections 120 are illustrated in
The microstructures 130 can be disposed on the cutting section 120 so that the microstructures 130 can rotate along the tangent of the rotating direction R of the cutting tool 100 in order to cut or rub the light guide panel LGP which is in contact with the microstructures 130 when the cutting tool 100 is rotating in high speed. As a result, the optical element array OPA and the rubbing portion CL can be naturally formed on the cutting surface of the light guide panel LGP, at the same time when the light guide panel LGP is cut. Besides, the shape of the optical microlenses LEN of the optical element array OPA and the shape of the microstructures 130 of the cutting tool 100 are complementary to each other.
Referring to
Referring to
However, in other embodiments, the base 110 and the cutting section 120 can be in different arrangements.
The microstructures 130a-130d can be in the same size or in different sizes from each other. For example, the R-shaped grooves microstructures 130c, 130d with different sizes or the semicircular shape microstructures 130a with the same size can be used. Based on actual design demands, people having ordinary skill in the art can modify the type and size of the microstructures 130a-130d. Hence, the various microstructures 130 can be combined directly on the cutting section 120. Therefore, the problem that the cutting path of the cutting tool is necessary to be changed and the cutting tool changing sequence would become rather complicated can be solved.
Accordingly, high speed cutting of the stacked light guide panels LGP can be done by using the cutting tool 100. It can not only reduce the cutting time of the light guide panel LGP, the optical element array OPA and the rubbing portion CL can also be formed on the surface S1 (light incident surface) of the light guide panel LGP. Especially, as for the very thin light guide panel LGP, the optical element array OPA can easily be formed on the surface S1 (light incident surface) of the light guide panel LGP by using the cutting tool 100.
As shown in
Additionally, the cutting tool module 200 corresponding to the light guide panel LGP with a particular size can be assembled for proceeding the cutting process or surface treatment to the light guide panel LGP with a particular size. Moreover, when any one cutting tool 100 of the cutting tool module 200 is broken, the broken cutting tool 100 can be directly replaced by a new one so as to increase the maintenance efficiency.
Especially, any combination of cutting tools 100-104 with various microstructures 130 can be formed the cutting tool module 200. Accordingly, various types of optical element array OPA can be fabricated. For example, the cutting section 120 can be continuously or discontinuously disposed on the base 110.
Furthermore, the total length of the cutting sections 120a, 120b, 120c shown in
Certainly, the cutting section 120 of the cutting tool 102 shown in
As described above, the fabricating process of the cutting tool 106 can be more flexible by discontinuously disposing the cutting section and assembling the plurality of the cutting sections.
Then, in step S320, at least a cutting section 120 disposed on the base 110 and arranged along the extending direction L of the rotating axis 110a is provided. The cutting section 120 is processed on the base 110 by using electrical discharge machining (EDM) process or mechanical machining process. Or recess (not shown) can be formed on the base 110, and the cutting section 120 is separately fabricated and the cutting section 120 can be assembled to the recess of the base 110. The base 110 and the cutting section 120 can be integrally formed or be assembled with each other after separately fabricated. The cutting section 120 can be continuously or discontinuously disposed on the base 110. And when the cutting section 120 is continuously disposed on the base 110, and the number of cutting sections 120 can be plural, 120a, 120b, 120c and they are coaxially arranged or arranged in different axially on the base 110 (as shown in
After that, in step S330, a plurality of microstructures 130 disposed on the cutting section 120 is provided. The microstructures 130 can be previously formed on the cutting section 120, and the cutting section 120 formed with the microstructures 130 is then assembled to the base 110. Or, after integrally forming the base 110 and the cutting section 120, the microstructures 130 can be then fabricated by utilizing the electrical discharge machining process or mechanical machining process to the cutting section 120.
In the fabricating method 300 of the cutting tool, the various embodiments of the fabricated cutting tools 100-106 have been described above, and it is not repeated thereto. It has to be noted that the sequence of the steps S310-S330 can be changed in fabricating the cutting tools 100-106.
In light of the foregoing, the light guide panel of the present invention and the fabricating method thereof at least possess the following advantages:
By utilizing the cutting tool of the present invention in processing the light guide panel or surface treatment, the optical element array and the rubbing portion can be easily formed on the surface of the light guide panel, wherein the rubbing portion can provide the optical effect of misting the light beam. Furthermore, the fabricating method of the light guide panel is adapted to form the optical element array and the rubbing portion on the very thin light guide panel.
During the cutting process or the surface treatment, the microstructures disposed on the cutting section can proceed to the cutting process to the light guide panel, are capable to increase the cutting speed of the cutting tool and elongate the tool life of the cutting tool. Furthermore, any required optical element array can be formed on the light guide panel by forming various microstructures on the cutting section, and adapted to process the optical element array with particular shape.
In addition, the cutting tool, the cutting tool module and the fabricating method thereof disclosed in the present invention have at least the following advantages:
The cutting section of the cutting tool of the present invention is arranged along the extending direction of the rotating axis of the base, and the microstructures are formed on the cutting section. Accordingly, during the cutting process or the surface treatment, the microstructures disposed on the cutting section can proceed to the cutting process to the light guide panel, are capable to increase the cutting speed of the cutting tool and elongate the tool life of the cutting tool. Furthermore, any required microstructures can be formed on the workpiece by forming various microstructures on the cutting section. Additionally, the various cutting tools can be combined to form the cutting tool module and it is adapted to proceed to the cutting process or the surface treatment to the workpiece with a particular size, and easy to be replaced when the single cutting tool is broken. The fabricating method of the cutting tool is simple. At the same time during the cutting process or the surface treatment to the workpiece, the microstructures of the cutting tool can be formed on the surface of the workpiece.
Although the invention has been described with reference to the above embodiments, it will be apparent to one of the ordinary skill in the art that modifications to the described embodiment may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. Accordingly, the scope of the invention will be defined by the attached claims not by the above detailed descriptions.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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99147318 | Dec 2010 | TW | national |
99147319 | Dec 2010 | TW | national |