Patent Grant
11391882
This application is the National Stage of PCT/CN2018/120342 filed on Dec. 11, 2018, which claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119 of Chinese Application No. 201810276475.1 filed on Mar. 30, 2018, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference.
Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to the field of display technology, especially an optical waveguide element and control method thereof, a backlight module and a display device.
A display device generally includes a backlight module, a display panel and other configurations, and in the display device, the backlight module serves for providing a required light source to the display panel, so as to realize normal display of the display device.
According to embodiments of the present disclosure, there are provided an optical waveguide element and control method thereof, a backlight module and a display device.
According to first aspect of the present disclosure, it is provided an optical waveguide element, comprising
a cavity;
a light incident surface and a light emergent surface, a light entering the cavity from the light incident surface is configured to propagate and be totally reflected in the cavity; and
a reflector array, located in the cavity and configured to be controllable to cause at least a part of the light incident on the reflector array to be reflected out of the light emergent surface or to continue being totally reflected at the light emergent surface.
In at least some embodiments, the reflector array comprises a plurality of reflecting assemblies arranged in an array, each of the reflecting assemblies comprises a reflector, the reflector is deflectable and configured to reflect at least a part of the light incident on the reflector out of the light emergent surface while the reflector is in a first state.
In at least some embodiments, the reflector is configured to reflect at least a part of the light incident on the reflector and has an incident angle smaller than a preset angle out of the light emergent surface.
In at least some embodiments, the reflector is further configured to cause at least a part of the light incident on the reflector to continue being totally reflected at the light emergent surface while the reflector in a second state.
In at least some embodiments, the reflector in each of the reflector assemblies is configured to be inclined relative to the light emergent surface in the first state, and to be parallel to the light emergent surface in the second state.
In at least some embodiments, each of the reflecting assemblies further comprises: a connecting member, connected to each reflector and configured to control a deflection angle of the reflector; and a control circuit, coupled to the connecting member and configured to input a reflector deflection signal to the connecting member.
In at least some embodiments, a minimum distance between the reflector array and the light incident surface is set in such a way that the light entering the cavity from the light incident surface are incident on the reflector array after the light undergoes multiple-time total reflection.
In at least some embodiments, the optical waveguide element further comprises: a bottom plate, disposed opposite to the light emergent surface; a medium, filled in the cavity; and a packaging surface, disposed opposite to the light incident surface and provided with a hole, the hole being configured for injection of the medium.
In at least some embodiments, the light incident surface is a slop surface, the slop surface is inclined relative to the bottom plate, and an angle between the light incident surface and the light emergent surface is an obtuse angle.
In at least some embodiments, the optical waveguide element further comprises: a first connecting surface, wherein the light incident surface extends beyond the light emergent surface, the first connecting surface is joined to the light emergent surface and one end of the light incident surface extending beyond the light emergent surface, respectively, and the cavity is enclosed by the light incident surface, the first connecting surface, the light emergent surface, the bottom plate, and the packaging surface to form a closed cavity.
In at least some embodiments, the light incident surface is directly connected to the light emergent surface and the bottom plate, respectively, and the cavity is enclosed by the light incident surface, the light emergent surface, the bottom plate, and the packaging surface to form a closed cavity.
In at least some embodiments, the medium is a liquid medium, the liquid medium is configured to allow the light entering the light incident surface to propagate in the liquid medium and allow at least a part of the light to be totally reflected, the reflector array is located in the liquid medium.
In at least some embodiments, a refractive index of a material of the light emergent surface is greater than a refractive index of the liquid medium, and a difference between the refractive index of the material of the light emergent surface and the refractive index of the liquid medium is less than 0.3.
In at least some embodiments, a refractive index of a material of the light emergent surface is equal to a refractive index of the liquid medium.
According to second aspect of the present disclosure, it is provided a backlight module, comprising
a light source; and
an optical waveguide element according to any one of claims 1 to 14, the light source and a light incident surface of the optical waveguide element being disposed opposite to each other.
In at least some embodiments, the backlight module further comprises a collimating element disposed between the light source and the optical waveguide element, wherein the collimating element is configured to convert a light emitted by the light source into a collimated light, and the collimated light are incident on the light incident surface of the optical waveguide element.
According to third aspect of the present disclosure, it is provided a display device comprising the afore-mentioned backlight module
According to fourth aspect of the present disclosure, it is provided a control method of the afore-mentioned optical waveguide element, the method comprises:
controlling reflectors in the reflector array to cause at least a part of light incident on the reflector array to be reflected out of a light emergent surface or to continue being totally reflected at the light emergent surface.
At least in some embodiments, the controlling reflectors in the reflector array comprises: deflecting the reflectors, the reflectors being configured to be inclined relative to the light emergent surface and to reflect the lights totally reflected and being incident on the reflectors out of the light emergent surface.
At least in some embodiments, the controlling reflectors in the reflector array comprises: deflecting the reflectors, the reflectors being configured to be parallel to the light emergent surface and to cause the lights totally reflected and being incident on the reflectors to continue being totally reflected by the light emergent surface.
In order to clearly illustrate the technical solution of the embodiments of the disclosure, the drawings of the embodiments will be briefly described in the following; it is obvious that the described drawings are only related to some embodiments of the disclosure and thus are not limitative of the disclosure.
In order to make objects, technical details and advantages of the embodiments of the disclosure apparent, the technical solutions of the embodiments will be described in a clearly and fully understandable way in connection with the drawings related to the embodiments of the disclosure. Apparently, the described embodiments are just a part but not all of the embodiments of the disclosure. Based on the described embodiments herein, those skilled in the art can obtain other embodiment(s), without any inventive work, which should be within the scope of the disclosure.
Unless otherwise defined, all the technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meanings as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which the present disclosure belongs. The terms “first,” “second,” etc., which are used in the description and the claims of the present disclosure, are not intended to indicate any sequence, amount or importance, but distinguish various components. The terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “includes,” “including,” etc., are intended to specify that the elements or the objects stated before these terms encompass the elements or the objects and equivalents thereof listed after these terms, but do not preclude the other elements or objects. The phrases “connect”, “connected”, etc., are not intended to define a physical connection or mechanical connection, but may include an electrical connection, directly or indirectly. “On,” “under,” “right,” “left” and the like are only used to indicate relative position relationship, and when the position of the object which is described is changed, the relative position relationship may be changed accordingly.
In an HDR (High Dynamic Range) backlight module, a plurality of LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes) are densely arranged below a display panel. Due to the fact that the backlight brightness is dynamically adjustable, a larger brightness adjustment range is realized, and thus the contrast is promoted. However, because the emission range of lights emitted by a LED is approximately 120°, a problem of mutual crosstalk between outgoing lights occurs to LEDs of different sections in the HDR backlight module.
Referring to
According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, there is provided an optical waveguide element, including: a cavity 10; an light incident surface 11 and a light emergent surface 12, a light entering the cavity 10 from the light incident surface 11 propagates and is totally reflected in the cavity 10; and a reflector array 14, located in the cavity 10 and configured to be controllable to cause at least a part of the light incident on the reflector array 14 to be reflected out of the light emergent surface or to continue being totally reflected at the light emergent surface 12.
In the above embodiment, by arranging a reflector array in the optical waveguide element, a part of the totally reflected light incident on the reflector array is directed out of the light emergent surface; alternatively, a part of the totally reflected light incident on the reflector array can continue being totally reflected at the light emergent surface. In this way, collimation degree of lights emitted from the light emergent surface is increased, a mutual crosstalk problem between adjacent sections of the backlight module is effectively solved, and moreover, it is suitable for anti-peep, directional backlight modules or other products.
In at least some embodiments, the reflector array includes a plurality of reflecting assemblies arranged in an array, and each of the reflecting assemblies includes a reflector. The reflector is deflectable and configured to reflect at least a part of light incident on the reflector out of the light emergent surface while the reflector is in a first state.
For example, as illustrated in
In at least some embodiments, the reflector is further configured to cause at least a part of light incident on the reflector to be totally reflected at the light emergent surface while the reflector is in a second state. For example, as illustrated in
In at least some embodiments, the reflector in the first state reflects at least a part of light out of the light emergent surface, herein, the at least a part of light incident on the reflector has an incident angle smaller than a preset angle. In at least some embodiments, the reflector in the second state causes at least a part of light to continue being totally reflected at the light emergent surface, herein, the at least part of lights incident on the reflector has an incident angle greater than a preset angle.
Herein, the term “incident angle” refers to an incident angle at which a light entering a cavity 10 of the optical waveguide element is incident on a reflector 141. Term “preset angle” refers to a critical angle about whether or not the light totally reflected to a reflector 141 can be emitted from a light emergent surface 12 after the light is reflected by the reflector 141, so the preset angle has an effect on the collimation degree of lights emitted from the light emergent surface 12. In the case that the light totally reflected to a reflector 141 has an incident angle less than the preset angle, the light can exit the light emergent surface after being reflected by the reflector 141. In the case that the light totally reflected to a reflector 141 has an incident angle greater than the preset angle, the light cannot exit the light emergent surface after being reflected by the reflector 141, instead, the light continues being totally reflected in the cavity of the optical waveguide element.
In at least some embodiments, each of the reflecting assemblies further includes a connecting member, the connecting member is connected to each of the reflectors and is configured to control deflection angle of the reflector; each of the reflecting assemblies further includes a control circuit, the control circuit is coupled with the connecting member and is configured to input a reflector deflection signal to the connecting member.
In at least some embodiments, the optical waveguide element further includes a bottom plate, the bottom plate is disposed opposite to the light emergent surface; the optical waveguide element further includes a medium filled in the cavity; the optical waveguide element further includes an packaging surface, the packaging surface is disposed opposite to the light incident surface and is provided with a hole for injection of the medium.
As illustrated in
It is to be noted that, the connecting member 142 is not merely a vertical portion in
For example, as illustrated in
The reflector assembly may be switched on or switched off according to the actual demands in a corresponding place, each of the reflector assemblies corresponds to one pixel, and all of the reflector assemblies are switched on, a planar light source is formed.
For example, as illustrated in
For example, the bottom plate 13 and the light emergent surface 12 of the optical waveguide element are arranged in parallel with each other, and the angle γ between the light incident surface 11 and the light emergent surface 12 is an obtuse angle. As illustrated in
For example, in the optical waveguide element illustrated in
For example, the light incident surface 11 extends in a direction toward the light emergent surface 12, so that in the vertical direction (that is, the vertical direction is perpendicular to the bottom plate 13), height of the extended end of the light incident surface 11 is higher than height of the light emergent surface 12.
For example, by means of setting the angle α formed between the first connecting surface 16 and the light emergent surface 12 to be an obtuse angle, and setting the angle β formed between the first connecting surface 16 and the light incident surface 11 to be an obtuse angle, the area of the light incident surface 11 can be increased, that is, light incident area of a light source is increased. For example, the angle α and the angle β are located on different sides of the optical waveguide element. The angle α refers to an exterior included angle between the first connecting surface 16 and the light emergent surface 12 and is located outside the optical waveguide element; the angle β refers to an interior included angle between the first connecting surface 16 and the light incident surface 11, and is located inside the optical waveguide element.
For example, a side of the first connecting surface 16 facing the liquid medium 15 is coated with a light absorption material. By coating the light absorption material on the first connecting surface 16, incident lights that are incident on the first connecting surface 16 and have a large viewing angle can be absorbed, thereby avoiding such a case that incident lights with large viewing angle enter the optical waveguide element, and interfere with the actually demanded lights.
Referring to
In the optical waveguide element illustrated in
When lights emitted by a light source are incident on the light incident surface 11 and then enter the optical waveguide element, a part of the incident lights can be totally reflected within the optical waveguide element, this is because the light incident surface 11 is an oblique plane, the angle between the light incident surface 11 and the light emergent surface 12 is set to be an obtuse angle, and the angle between the light incident surface 11 and the bottom plate of the optical waveguide element is set to be an acute angle. For example, the angle γ refers to an interior included angle between the light incident surface 11 and the light emergent surface 12 and is located inside the optical waveguide element, and the angle refers to an interior included angle between the light incident surface 11 and the bottom plate 13 of the optical waveguide element and is also located inside the optical waveguide element.
The difference between the optical waveguide element illustrated in
For example, as illustrated in
As illustrated in
Referring to
In the optical waveguide element illustrated in
For example, the light incident surface 11 has a first end and a second end, and in the vertical direction, the distance between the first end and the bottom plate 13 of the optical waveguide element is greater than the distance between the second end and the bottom plate 13 of the optical waveguide element, as illustrated in
Referring to
The principle of increasing the collimation degree of outgoing lights for the optical waveguide element in an embodiment of the present disclosure will be explained by using the optical waveguide element of
The refractive index of a medium outside the optical waveguide element is n1, and the refractive index of a liquid medium within the optical waveguide element is n2. As can be seen from the principle of total reflection, the critical angle C of total reflection within the optical waveguide element is: C=arcsin(n1/n2).
The center of a light source 21 is considered as a basic reference. The light N emitted downwardly from the light source 21 is incident on a light incident surface 11 of the light waveguide element at a first incident angle A, and according to the calculation formula of refractive index, a refraction angle B of the light N on the light incident surface 11 is: B=arcsin(n1 sin A/n2).
The angle between the bottom plate 13 and the light incident surface 11 of the optical waveguide element is 0, and then a second incident angle μ at which the light N is incident on the bottom plate 13 of the optical waveguide element is: μ=θ−B=θ−arcsin(n1 sin A/n2).
If μ<C, that is, θ−arcsin(n1 sin A/n2)<arcsin(n1/n2), total reflection will not take place, and part of the lights will be refracted and exit the optical waveguide element; if μ≥C, total reflection will take place within the optical waveguide element.
The larger the first incident angle A at which the light N is incident on the light incident surface 11 is, the smaller the second incident angle μ is. The smaller the first incident angle A is, the larger the second incident angle μ is. In this situation, lights with a larger first incident angle A may be filtered by setting the distance d between the reflector array 14 and the region where the light incident surface 11 is located, and lights with only a smaller first incident angle A are allowed to be totally reflected within the optical waveguide element. As a result, the collimation degree of lights entering the optical waveguide element can be increased.
If the light N can be totally reflected within the optical waveguide element and the deflection angle of a reflector array 14 is E, then an incident angle F of lights incident on the reflector array 14 is: F=μ−E. The reflector array 14 in the optical waveguide element may adjust the light output direction. When the light N is directed out of the light emergent surface 12 by the reflector array 14, the emergent angle G of lights is: G=F−E=μ−2E. Herein, the deflection angle E of the reflector array 14 is typically greater than 0° and less than 12°, and the light output direction is adjusted by the reflector array 14 within the optical waveguide element, thereby increasing the collimation degree of lights emitted by the optical waveguide element.
In addition, according to the actual demands, a preset distance d is adjustable, so that lights incident on the optical waveguide element undergo total reflection continually within the preset distance d. The lights propagate in a direction toward the reflector array 14 within the preset distance d, so that lights can be spread throughout the whole optical waveguide element. As a result, lights can be received by the entire reflector array 14.
For example, θ=45°, n1=1, n2=1.6, in the case that the first incident angle A>10.1°, total reflection of the light will not take place within the optical waveguide element, a part of light will leave the optical waveguide element by refraction. After going through a preset distance d, most of the light leaves the optical waveguide element by refraction, and then only the lights having a first incident angle A≤10.1° will be totally reflected to the reflector array 14 within the optical waveguide element. When the first incident angle A is 10.1°, the second incident angle μ is 38.68°, and when the first incident angle A is 0°, the second incident angle μ is 45°. Therefore, for the light N, the second incident angle μ ranges from 38.68° to 45°. If the deflection angle E of the reflector array 14 is 5°, then the incident angle F of the light incident on the reflector array 14 ranges from 33.68° to 40°, and the emergent angle G of the light ranges from 28.68° to 35°. The emergent angle of the light is smaller than the critical angle C, and is also smaller than the light emission range of 120° in the prior art, and thus the collimation degree of outgoing light can be increased.
The light M emitted upwardly from the light source 21 is incident on a light incident surface 11 of the optical waveguide element at a first incident angle A, and the light M has a refraction angle B after refraction. Then, the second incident angle μ at which the light M is incident on a bottom plate 13 of the optical waveguide element is: μ=θ+B. In the condition that θ=45°, n1=1, and n2=1.6, total reflection can be achieved for all the lights entering the optical waveguide element, regardless of the first incident angle of the lights incident on the light incident surface 11. However, in view of the fact that the larger the angle of light emitted by the light source 21 is (that is, the larger the first incident angle of the light incident on the light incident surface 11 is), the larger the second incident angle of the light incident on the bottom plate 13 of the optical waveguide element is, and then the larger the incident angle of the light M that are totally reflected to the reflector array 14 is, even if the reflector array 14 is switched on and the light M is reflected by the reflector array 14 to a light emergent surface 12, the total reflection is still not destroyed, and the light M will continue being totally reflected within the optical waveguide element. Only when the angle of light emitted by the light source 21 is smaller, the light M totally reflected to the reflector array 14 can be directed out of the light emergent surface 12 in condition that the reflector array 14 is switched on. The emergent angle of the light M that can be directed out of the light emergent surface 12 is less than the critical angle C. If the deflection angle E of the reflector array 14 is 5°, because the emergent angle G of the light M is G=θ+B−2E, the emergent angle G of the light M ranges from 35° to 38.68°, which is smaller than the light emission range of 120° in the prior art. Thus, the collimation degree of lights emitted by optical waveguide elements can be increased.
For example, the angle θ in
When the collimation degree of lights emitted from the optical waveguide element is increased, for two adjacent regions, an overlapping phenomenon between outgoing lights on the left side and outgoing lights on the right side is greatly reduced, and the crosstalk between outgoing lights can be reduced.
In at least some embodiments, a top (light emergent surface 12) of an optical waveguide element and a bottom plate 13 of the optical waveguide element have the same refractive index. In at least some embodiments, refractive index of the top 12 of the optical waveguide element is greater than or equal to refractive index of a liquid medium 15, and the difference is less than 0.3. For example, the difference between refractive index of the top 12 of the optical waveguide element and refractive index of the liquid medium 15 is zero. While refractive index of the top 12 of the optical waveguide element is greater than that of the liquid medium 15, the difference between refractive index of the top 12 of the optical waveguide element and refractive index of the liquid medium 15 is less than 0.3. The smaller the difference between refractive index of the top 12 of the optical waveguide element and refractive index of the liquid medium 15 is, it is possible to effectively avoid any refraction taking place between the liquid medium and the top 12 of the optical waveguide element, and reduce the effect on the emergent angle of lights.
For example, refractive index of the liquid medium may be in the range of 1.45 to 1.7, and for another example, a liquid medium may have a refractive index greater than 1.7. For example, the refractive index of the liquid medium 15 is typically from 1.5 to 1.6.
When a reflector assembly is in a switch-on or switch-off state, a reflector 141 is deflected, and a medium within the optical waveguide element 10 allows the reflector assembly to deflect in the medium. Therefore, the medium is not a solid medium. Moreover, in view of the refractive index requirements for the medium, the refractive index of an ordinary gaseous medium cannot meet the requirements, and so the medium is a liquid medium.
For example, the reflector array 14 may also be called as a DMD (Digital Microreflector Device) array. DMD is an integrated microelectrical-mechanical upper-layer structure circuit unit that is made by using CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor), SRAM (Static Random Access Memory) memory cells. Manufacture of DMD upper-layer structure begins with a complete CMOS memory circuit, and then an upper-layer structure in which a metal layer of aluminum and a hardened photoresistance layer alternate is fabricated by using a mask layer, The metal layer of aluminum includes an address electrode, a hinge, a yoke and a reflector, and the hardened photoresistance layer functions as a sacrificial layer, which is useful for forming two air gaps. Aluminum metal is deposited by splash plating and subjected to a plasma etching treatment, and the sacrificial layer is subjected to a plasma ashing treatment, to create the air gaps between layers.
In an embodiment of the present disclosure, by filling a liquid medium into an optical waveguide element, a part of lights incident from a light incident surface undergo total reflection within the optical waveguide element, and by arranging a reflector array at the bottom plate of the optical waveguide element, and making the reflector array be far away from the region where the light incident surface is located, lights totally reflected to the reflector array and having an incident angle less than a preset angle are directed out of a light emergent surface. Due to the liquid medium between the reflector array and the light incident surface, a part of lights incident from the light incident surface will undergo total reflection within the optical waveguide element, and a part of lights emitted by a light source with a large viewing angle will leave the optical waveguide element by refraction. Lights totally reflected to the reflector array and having an incident angle less than a preset angle are directed out of a light emergent surface by the reflector array, while lights and having an incident angle greater than the preset angle continue being totally reflected within the optical waveguide element, thus increasing the collimation degree of lights emitted from the light emergent surface. Consequently, a crosstalk problem between adjacent sections of the backlight module is effectively solved, and moreover, it is suitable for anti-peep, directional backlight modules and other products.
According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, there is further provided a backlight module, including a light source 21 and the above optical waveguide element, and the light source 21 is disposed opposite to a light incident surface 11 of the optical waveguide element.
For example, the light source 21 and the light incident surface 11 are disposed parallel to each other and disposed face to face. Regarding descriptions of the optical waveguide element, reference may be made to descriptions of foregoing embodiment, and embodiments of the present disclosure will not elaborate this herein.
Referring to
For example, the light source 21 includes a plurality of LEDs, and lights emitted by each of the LEDs are white lights. When lights emitted by each LED enter an optical waveguide element, they undergo total reflection at a preset distance between the reflector array 14 and the region where a light incident surface is located, and are totally reflected to the reflector array 14. When the reflector array 14 is switched on, lights totally reflected to the reflector array 14 and have an incident angle less than a preset angle are directed out of the light emergent surface 12. When the reflector array 14 is switched off, lights totally reflected to the reflector array 14 and have an incident angle greater than or equal to the preset angle continues being totally reflected at the light emergent surface 12.
As illustrated in
Divergent lights emitted by the light source 31 enter the collimating element 33, and the collimating element 33 collimates the divergent lights emitted from the light source 31 by converting the divergent lights into parallel lights, and the collimated lights are then incident on a light incident surface of the optical waveguide element 32. The reflector array 35 includes a plurality of reflector assemblies 34. Regarding the concrete structure of reflector assemblies 34, reference may be made to descriptions in the foregoing embodiment, and details are omitted here.
For example, the collimating element is convex lens, and it may also be a concave lens or a concave reflector.
In the above embodiments, the backlight module includes a light source and an optical waveguide element. By filling a liquid medium into the optical waveguide element, a part of lights incident from a light incident surface undergo total reflection within the optical waveguide element. By arranging a reflector array at the bottom plate of the optical waveguide element, and making the reflector array be far away from the region where the light incident surface is located, lights totally reflected to the reflector array and having incident angle less than a preset angle are directed out of a light emergent surface. Due to the liquid medium between the reflector array and the light incident surface, a part of lights incident from the light incident surface will undergo total reflection within the optical waveguide element, and a part of lights emitted by the light source with a large viewing angle leave the optical waveguide element by refraction. Lights totally reflected to the reflector array and having incident angles less than a preset angle are directed out of a light emergent surface by the reflector array, while lights and having an incident angle greater than the preset angle continue being totally reflected within the optical waveguide element, thus increasing the collimation degree of lights emitted from the light emergent surface. Consequently, a crosstalk problem between adjacent sections of the backlight module is effectively solved, and moreover, it is suitable for anti-peep, directional backlight modules and other products.
According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, there is further provided a display device, including the above backlight module.
According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, there is further provided a control method of any one of aforesaid optical waveguide elements, the method includes:
controlling reflectors in the reflector array to reflect at least a part of light incident on the reflector array out of a light emergent surface or to cause the at least a part of light incident on the reflector array to continue being totally reflected at the light emergent surface.
In at least some embodiments, the controlling reflectors in the reflector array includes:
deflecting the reflectors, the reflectors being configured to be inclined relative to the light emergent surface and to reflect totally reflected lights incident on the reflectors out of the light emergent surface.
In at least some embodiments, the controlling reflectors in the reflector array includes:
deflecting the reflectors, the reflectors being configured to be parallel to the light emergent surface and to cause the lights totally reflected and being incident on the reflectors to continue being totally reflected by the light emergent surface.
Referring to
step 801, a first reflector assembly in the reflector array is controlled to be switched on, so that the light totally reflected to the first reflector assembly and having an incident angle smaller than a preset angle is directed out of a light emergent surface in the optical waveguide element.
step 802, a second reflector assembly in the reflector array is controlled to be switched off, so that the light totally reflected to the second reflector assembly continue being totally reflected within the optical waveguide element.
For example, the reflector array 14 includes a plurality of reflector assemblies arranged in array, and a reflector assembly includes a reflector 141, a connecting member 14 and a control circuit 143. According to actual demands, the reflector assemblies in the reflector array 14 can be classified into two kinds, including a first reflector assembly and a second reflector assembly.
For example, one pixel corresponds to one reflector assembly. For example, in the case that a corresponding pixel needs to be provided with lights, an external system inputs a corresponding control signal to a control circuit, and the control circuit turns on the first reflector assembly in the reflector array 14 based on the control signal. As illustrated in
For example, when a corresponding pixel does not need lights, the control circuit switches off a second reflector assembly in the reflector array 14 based on a control signal. As illustrated in
For example, the first reflector assembly and the second reflector assembly are determined by whether or not pixels in the corresponding place need light. When a pixel in a corresponding place needs light, the reflector assembly in this place is a first reflector assembly, and when a pixel in a corresponding place does not need light, the reflector assembly in this place is a second reflector assembly. It is to be noted that, there is no limit to the order of step 801 and step 802, and they can be executed simultaneously.
In an embodiment of the present disclosure, by controlling a first reflector assembly in the reflector array to be switched on, the light totally reflected to the first reflector assembly and having an incident angle less than a preset angle are directed out of a light emergent surface of the optical waveguide element. Moreover, by controlling a second reflector assembly in the reflector array to be switched off, the light totally reflected to the second reflector assembly continues being totally reflected within the optical waveguide element. Due to a liquid medium between the reflector array and the light incident surface, a part of the light incident from a light incident surface will undergo total reflection within the optical waveguide element, and a part of the light emitted by a light source with a large viewing angle leave the optical waveguide element by refraction. The light totally reflected to the reflector array and having an incident angle less than a preset angle is directed out of the light emergent surface by the reflector array, while the light having an incident angle greater than the preset angle continues being totally reflected within the optical waveguide element, thus increasing the collimation degree of lights emitted from the light emergent surface. Consequently, a crosstalk problem between adjacent sections of the backlight module is effectively solved, and moreover, it is suitable for anti-peep, directional backlight modules and other products.
In the disclosure, the following should be noted:
(1) The accompanying drawings involve only the structure(s) in connection with the embodiment(s) of the present disclosure, and other structure(s) can be referred to common design(s).
(2) For the purpose of clarity only, in accompanying drawings for illustrating the embodiment(s) of the present disclosure, the thickness and a size of a layer or area may be enlarged or narrowed, that is, the drawings are not drawn in a real scale.
(3) In case of no conflict, features in one embodiment or in different embodiments can be combined as a new embodiment.
What is described above is related to the illustrative embodiments of the disclosure only and not limitative to the scope of the disclosure; the scopes of the disclosure are defined by the accompanying claims.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 201810276475.1 | Mar 2018 | CN | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/CN2018/120342 | 12/11/2018 | WO | 00 |
| Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| WO2019/184446 | 10/3/2019 | WO | A |
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| 1530679 | Sep 2004 | CN |
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| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20210356646 A1 | Nov 2021 | US |
