Patent Application
20090186152
The present invention relates to an optical plate, especially to a light guide plate (LGP), a manufacturing method thereof and a backlight module using the LGP.
Usually, a liquid crystal display (LCD) panel does not emit light itself. A backlight module is used to provide a display light source to the LCD panel. The backlight module mainly includes a light source, an LGP and optical films. The LGP is used to convert the rays emitted from the light sources (e.g. point light source or linear light source) into area light sources.
A surface structure of the LGP or the optical films of the backlight module is usually produced by a molding process (such as rolling, extraction and extrusion, heat pressing, injection and other processes). In the molding process, the surface structure of the LGP or the optical films of the backlight module may be manufactured by a mold which has a corresponding surface structure. In addition, a method of forming micro structures on surfaces of the above optical elements (i.e. the LGP and the optical films) includes a printing method and a non-printing method (e.g., electroforming, injection) and so on.
Conventionally, the manufacturing methods of the LGP, the optical films and other optical elements employ different processes. The different processes are complicated and may not support to each other. When different micro-optical structures are needed to be manufactured, different manufacturing processes may be provided to perform the manufacturing of their corresponding micro-optical structures. Therefore, the flexibility of the manufacturing is poor. Referring to
A published US patent number US20060291065 discloses a method of forming micro lenses on a surface of a light diffusing plate or an optical sheet by ink jetting. The micro lenses are aligned in a single mode (i.e. the sizes of the micro lenses are the same, and the micro lenses are aligned in an invariable form). The shape and the size of the micro lenses are controlled by an effect of the gravity and a position angle of the optical sheet.
An issued Taiwan patent number TWI253769 discloses a technique of coating fluorescent powder on a surface of the LGP by ink jetting. The fluorescent powder is a wavelength conversion material. Further, the issued Taiwan patent number TWI253769 relates to a manner in coating the fluorescent powder on the surface of the LGP equally, and without relating to form a special pattern on the surface of the LGP, such as a pattern with different size or different position.
Other objectives, features and advantages of the present invention will be further understood from the further technological features disclosed by the embodiments of the present invention wherein there are shown and described preferred embodiments of this invention, simply by way of illustration of modes best suited to carry out the invention.
The present invention relates to a manufacturing method of light guide plate for improving production efficiency.
The present invention also relates to a light guide plate which has a lower manufacturing cost.
To achieve one of or all of the objectives above, a manufacture method of light guide plate includes the following steps is provided. First, a substrate with an embossing structure is provided. Then, a plurality of colloid dots with different sizes are formed on a surface of the substrate by jetting. Afterward, the colloid dots are solidified to convert the colloid dots into a plurality of dot like micro-optical structures.
The present invention also provides a light guide plate manufactured by the above manufacturing method.
The present manufacturing method of light guide plate is a manufacturing method with changeable flexibility. In other words, when a design prototype of a light guide plate needs to be amended, there is no need to manufacture a new stamper prototype, but to make or modify the design prototype directly, and directly manufacture a mold for mass production using other processes such as electrotyping according to the modified design prototype. Therefore, the manufacturing method of light guide plate of the present invention may improve the production efficiency, and reduce the production cost.
These and other features and advantages of the various embodiments disclosed herein will be better understood with respect to the following description and drawings, in which like numbers refer to like parts throughout, and in which:
In the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments, reference is made to the accompanying drawings which form a part hereof, and in which are shown by way of illustration specific embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. In this regard, directional terminology, such as “top,” “bottom,” “front,” “back,” etc., is used with reference to the orientation of the Figure(s) being described. The components of the present invention can be positioned in a number of different orientations. As such, the directional terminology is used for purposes of illustration and is in no way limiting. On the other hand, the drawings are only schematic and the sizes of components may be exaggerated for clarity. It is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and structural changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology used herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. The use of “including,” “comprising,” or “having” and variations thereof herein is meant to encompass the items listed thereafter and equivalents thereof as well as additional items. Unless limited otherwise, the terms “connected,” “coupled,” and “mounted” and variations thereof herein are used broadly and encompass direct and indirect connections, couplings, and mountings. Similarly, the terms “facing,” “faces” and variations thereof herein are used broadly and encompass direct and indirect facing, and “adjacent to” and variations thereof herein are used broadly and encompass directly and indirectly “adjacent to”. Therefore, the description of “A” component facing “B” component herein may contain the situations that “A” component directly faces “B” component or one or more additional components are between “A” component and “B” component. Also, the description of “A” component “adjacent to” “B” component herein may contain the situations that “A” component is directly “adjacent to” “B” component or one or more additional components are between “A” component and “B” component. Accordingly, the drawings and descriptions will be regarded as illustrative in nature and not as restrictive.
First, referring to
Then, referring also to
Afterward, referring to
Alternatively, the embossing structure 11 may be formed in other configuration. For example, the embossing structure 11 may be a structure with a plurality of pyramids (as shown in
In addition, an implement for jetting in the embodiment of the present invention is shown in
The ink jetting device may randomly jet the colloid optical materials (such as ultraviolet curing adhesives) on either surface of the substrate 10 (may be a single surface or more than two surfaces). In addition, the colloid dots 20 with different sizes which are predeterminedly designed may be formed on the surface of the substrate 10 by controlling a number of jetting times. As a result, a prototype or a product may be directly manufactured. The colloid dots 20 are distributed in random distribution, and the diameter of each colloid dot 20 is different from another.
Afterward, a mold for mass production is manufactured directly using other processes such as electrotyping according to the modified design prototype.
Compare the
The foregoing description of the preferred embodiments of the invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form or to exemplary embodiments disclosed. Accordingly, the foregoing description should be regarded as illustrative rather than restrictive. Obviously, many modifications and variations will be apparent to practitioners skilled in this art. The embodiments are chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and its best mode practical application, thereby to enable persons skilled in the art to understand the invention for various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use or implementation contemplated. It is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the claims appended hereto and their equivalents in which all terms are meant in their broadest reasonable sense unless otherwise indicated. Therefore, the term “the invention”, “the present invention” or the like does not necessarily limit the claim scope to a specific embodiment, and the reference to particularly preferred exemplary embodiments of the invention does not imply a limitation on the invention, and no such limitation is to be inferred. The invention is limited only by the spirit and scope of the appended claims. The abstract of the disclosure is provided to comply with the rules requiring an abstract, which will allow a searcher to quickly ascertain the subject matter of the technical disclosure of any patent issued from this disclosure. It is submitted with the understanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims. Any advantages and benefits described may not apply to all embodiments of the invention. It should be appreciated that variations may be made in the embodiments described by persons skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the present invention as defined by the following claims. Moreover, no element and component in the present disclosure is intended to be dedicated to the public regardless of whether the element or component is explicitly recited in the following claims.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 097101735 | Jan 2008 | TW | national |
