U.S. patent application number 14/046536 was filed with the patent office on 2014-04-17 for display apparatus and light-emitting module and light-guiding plate thereof.
This patent application is currently assigned to INNOLUX CORPORATION. The applicant listed for this patent is INNOCOM TECHNOLOGY (SHENZHEN) CO., LTD, INNOLUX CORPORATION. Invention is credited to Pu-Chun CHU, Ta-Chin HUANG, Chou-Yu KANG, Cheng-Cheng PAN, Jen-Chih YANG.
Application Number | 20140104881 14/046536 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 50475175 |
Filed Date | 2014-04-17 |
United States Patent
Application |
20140104881 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
YANG; Jen-Chih ; et
al. |
April 17, 2014 |
DISPLAY APPARATUS AND LIGHT-EMITTING MODULE AND LIGHT-GUIDING PLATE
THEREOF
Abstract
A light-emitting module includes a light-guiding plate, a
plurality of light-guiding elements and a light-emitting unit. The
light-guiding plate can guide the direction of light, and has at
least a light input surface and two opposite flat surfaces. The
light-guiding elements are disposed at one of the surfaces of the
light-guiding plate. By viewing along a direction perpendicular to
the surfaces, the shape of each of the light-guiding elements is
curve shape with at least one inflection point. The light-emitting
unit is disposed adjacent to the light input surface of the
light-guiding plate. The light emitted by the light-emitting unit
enters the light-guiding plate, is guided by the light-guiding
plate and the light-guiding elements, and is outputted through one
of the surfaces of the light-guiding plate in an alternating
arrangement of bright and dark zones. The invention also discloses
a display apparatus and the light-guiding plate.
Inventors: |
YANG; Jen-Chih; (Miao-Li
County, TW) ; PAN; Cheng-Cheng; (Miao-Li County,
TW) ; HUANG; Ta-Chin; (Miao-Li County, TW) ;
KANG; Chou-Yu; (Miao-Li County, TW) ; CHU;
Pu-Chun; (Miao-Li County, TW) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
INNOLUX CORPORATION
INNOCOM TECHNOLOGY (SHENZHEN) CO., LTD |
MIAO-LI COUNTY
SHENZHEN CITY |
|
TW
CN |
|
|
Assignee: |
INNOLUX CORPORATION
MIAO-LI COUNTY
TW
INNOCOM TECHNOLOGY (SHENZHEN) CO., LTD
SHENZHEN CITY
CN
|
Family ID: |
50475175 |
Appl. No.: |
14/046536 |
Filed: |
October 4, 2013 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
362/611 ;
385/31 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G02B 30/00 20200101;
G02B 6/0038 20130101; G02B 6/0058 20130101; G02B 6/0036 20130101;
G02B 6/0068 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
362/611 ;
385/31 |
International
Class: |
F21V 8/00 20060101
F21V008/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Oct 15, 2012 |
TW |
101137921 |
Claims
1. A light-emitting module, comprising: a light-guiding plate
guiding the direction of the light and having at least one light
input surface and two opposite flat surfaces; a plurality of
light-guiding elements disposed at one of the flat surfaces of the
light-guiding plate, and the light-guiding element having
curve-shape with at least one inflection point; and a
light-emitting unit disposed adjacent to the light input surface of
the light-guiding plate, wherein the light emitted from the
light-emitting unit enters the light-guiding plate, is guided by
the light-guiding plate and the light-guiding elements, and is
outputted through one of the flat surfaces of the light-guiding
plate in an alternating arrangement of bright zone and dark
zone.
2. The light-emitting module as recited in claim 1, wherein any two
of the adjacent light-guiding elements have an space between zero
and the width of the flat surface.
3. The light-emitting module as recited in claim 1, wherein an
included angle within 0 and 90 degrees is between the centerline of
the corresponding light-guiding element and the short-side of the
flat surface.
4. The light-emitting module as recited in claim 1, wherein the
shape of the light-guiding element is recess or protrusion by
viewing from the light input surface.
5. The light-emitting module as recited in claim 4, wherein the
light-guiding elements are configured with a reflective
material.
6. The light-emitting module as recited in claim 1, wherein the
short-side width of the light-guiding element is between 50 .mu.m
and 150 .mu.m by viewing from the flat surface.
7. A display apparatus, comprising: a display panel; and a
light-emitting module disposed opposite to the display panel,
including a light-guiding plate, a plurality of light-guiding
elements and a light-emitting unit, wherein the light-guiding plate
guides the direction of the light and has at least one light input
surface and two opposite flat surfaces, the light-guiding elements
are disposed at one of the flat surfaces of the light-guiding
plate, and the light-guiding element has a curve-shape with at
least one inflection point, and the light-emitting unit is disposed
adjacent to the light input surface of the light-guiding plate,
wherein the light emitted from the light-emitting unit enters the
light-guiding plate, is guided by the light-guiding plate and the
light-guiding elements, and is outputted through one of the flat
surfaces of the light-guiding plate in an alternating arrangement
of bright zone and dark zone.
8. The display apparatus as recited in claim 7, wherein any two of
the adjacent light-guiding elements have a space between zero and a
width of the flat surface.
9. The display apparatus as recited in claim 7, wherein an included
angle within 0 and 90 degrees between the centerline of the
light-guiding element and the short-side of the flat surface.
10. The display apparatus as recited in claim 7, wherein the shape
of the light-guiding element is recess or protrusion by viewing
from the light input surface.
11. The display apparatus as recited in claim 10, wherein the
light-guiding elements are configured with a reflective
material.
12. The display apparatus as recited in claim 7, wherein the
short-side width of the light-guiding element is between 50 .mu.m
and 150 .mu.m by viewing from the flat surface.
13. The display apparatus as recited in claim 7, wherein the
display panel includes a plurality of sub-pixels, the curve
amplitude of the light-guiding element is within 0 and 1.5 times of
the short-side width of the sub-pixel.
14. The display apparatus as recited in claim 7, wherein the
light-emitting module is a parallax barrier device of the display
apparatus.
15. The display apparatus as recited in claim 14, further
comprising: a backlight module, wherein the light-emitting module
is between the display panel and the backlight module, the
backlight module is turned off when the display apparatus displays
is in 3D mode, and the backlight module is turned on when the
display apparatus displays is in 2D mode.
16. A light-guiding plate, comprising: at least one light input
surface; two opposite flat surfaces; and a plurality of
light-guiding elements disposed on one of the flat surfaces of the
light-guiding plate, and the light-guiding element having
curve-shape with at least one inflection point.
17. The light-guiding plate as recited in claim 16, wherein the
short-side width of the light-guiding element is between 50 .mu.m
and 150 .mu.m by viewing from the flat surface.
18. The light-guiding plate as recited in claim 16, wherein an
included angle within 0 and 90 degrees between the centerline of
the light-guiding element and the short-side of the flat
surface.
19. The light-guiding plate as recited in claim 16, wherein the
shape of the light-guiding element is recess or protrusion by
viewing from the light input surface.
20. The light-guiding plate as recited in claim 19, wherein the
light-guiding elements are configured with a reflective material.
Description
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This Non-provisional application claims priority under 35
U.S.C. .sctn.119(a) on Patent Application No(s). 101137921 filed in
Taiwan, Republic of China on Oct. 15, 2012, the entire contents of
which are hereby incorporated by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of Invention
[0003] The invention relates to a display apparatus and a
light-emitting module and a light-guiding plate thereof.
[0004] 2. Related Art
[0005] Recently, because the manufacturing process and material of
light-emitting diode (LED) are improved unceasingly, the
light-emitting efficiency of LED is enhanced enormously. Different
from the fluorescent lamp or compact fluorescent lamp, LED has some
wonderful characteristics, such as less power consumption, long
lifespan, high safety, short response time and small size, thus
gradually applied to a lighting apparatus, a lighting case or a
lighting module. The lighting apparatus is such as an indoor or
outdoor lamp, a flashlight, a headlight or taillight of a vehicle,
or other kind of the lighting apparatus. The lighting module can be
applied as a backlight module of a display apparatus or
otherwise.
[0006] FIG. 1A is a schematic exploded diagram of a conventional
display apparatus 1, and FIG. 1B is a side view of the display
apparatus 1.
[0007] The display apparatus 1 includes a display panel 11 and a
light-emitting module 12. The light-emitting module 12 is a
backlight module of the display apparatus 1, emitting the light L
through the display panel 11 for displaying images.
[0008] The light-emitting module 12 is disposed on a side of the
display panel 11, and can include two lateral light sources 121, a
light-guiding plate 122 and a plurality of light-guiding elements
123. The lateral light sources 121 are instanced as two LED light
bars. They are disposed on two opposite sides of the light-guiding
plate 122, respectively, and emit the light L entering the
light-guiding plate 122 through a light input surface I of the
light-guiding plate 122. Each of the light-guiding elements 123 is
white ink in a form of an oblique strip, and is disposed on a
bottom surface B1 of the light-guiding plate 122 by coating. The
light is guided to the center portion of the light-guiding plate
122 from the lateral sides of the light-guiding plate 122 by the
total reflection. The light-guiding elements 123 can interfere with
the total reflection of the light so that the light can be emitted
through a light output surface O of the light-guiding plate 122 and
towards the display panel 11 for displaying images.
[0009] However, when the light L is outputted through the light
output surface O of the light-guiding plate 122 and towards the
display panel 11, the light output on the light output surface O is
formed into an alternate form (alternating arrangement) of bright
and dark oblique strips. For example, the odd strips are bright and
the even strips are dark. By adding the influence of the
light-shielding layer (i.e. the opaque black matrix, not shown)
disposed in the display panel 11 in the form of strips, the light
outputted through the display panel 11 will generate interference
fringes (only one interference fringe is shown in the area A of
FIG. 1C while the rest are not shown) due to the diffraction, shown
by the area A in FIG. 1C (in which the straight strips M are caused
by the light L passing through the light-shielding layer, and the
oblique strips N are caused by the light on the light output
surface O in an alternate form (alternating arrangement) of bright
and dark oblique strips). The interference fringes are the
so-called Moire phenomenon, decreasing the display quality of the
display apparatus 1.
[0010] Therefore, it is an important subject to provide a
light-emitting module and a display apparatus that can change the
light output form and interfere with interference fringes to
improve the display quality.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0011] In view of the foregoing subject, an objective of the
invention is to provide a display apparatus, and a light-emitting
module and a light-guiding plate thereof that can change the light
output form and interfere with the interference fringes to improve
the display quality.
[0012] To achieve the above objective, a light-emitting module of
the invention includes a light-guiding plate, a plurality of
light-guiding elements and a light-emitting unit. The light-guiding
plate can guide the direction of light, and has at least a light
input surface and two opposite flat surfaces. The light-guiding
elements are disposed at one of the flat surfaces of the
light-guiding plate. By viewing along a direction perpendicular to
the flat surfaces, each of the light-guiding elements has a
curve-shape having at least an inflection point. The light-emitting
unit is disposed adjacent to the light input surface of the
light-guiding plate. The light emitted by the light-emitting unit
enters the light-guiding plate, and then, by the guiding of the
light-guiding plate and the light-guiding elements, is outputted
through one of the flat surfaces of the light-guiding plate in an
alternate arrangement of bright and dark zones.
[0013] In one embodiment, the any two adjacent light-guiding
elements have an space between zero and a width of the flat surface
where the light-guiding elements are disposed.
[0014] In one embodiment, an included angle within 0 and 90 degrees
is between the centerline of the corresponding light-guiding
element and the short-side of the flat surface.
[0015] In one embodiment, each of the light-guiding elements is
shaped like a recess or a protrusion by viewing from the light
input surface.
[0016] In one embodiment, the light-guiding elements are configured
with a reflective material.
[0017] In one embodiment, the short-side width of the light-guiding
element is between 50 .mu.m and 150 .mu.m by viewing from the flat
surface.
[0018] To achieve the above objective, a display apparatus of the
invention comprises a display panel and a light-emitting module.
The light-emitting module is disposed opposite to the display
panel, and includes a light-guiding plate, a plurality of
light-guiding elements and a light-emitting unit. The light-guiding
plate guides the light's direction and has at least a light input
surface and two opposite flat surfaces. The light-guiding elements
are disposed at one of the flat surfaces of the light-guiding
plate, and each of the light-guiding elements has a curve-shape
having at least an inflection point by viewing along a direction
perpendicular to the flat surfaces. The light-emitting unit is
disposed to the light input surface of the light-guiding plate. The
light emitted by the light-emitting unit enters the light-guiding
plate, and then, by the guiding of the light-guiding plate and the
light-guiding elements, is outputted through one of the flat
surfaces of the light-guiding plate in an alternate arrangement of
bright and dark zones.
[0019] In one embodiment, the display panel includes a plurality of
sub-pixels, the curve of each of the light-guiding elements, by
viewing along a direction perpendicular to the flat surfaces, has a
largest amplitude which is larger than zero and less than or equal
to 1.5 times the short-side width of the sub-pixel.
[0020] In one embodiment, the light-emitting module is a parallax
barrier device of the display apparatus.
[0021] In one embodiment, the display apparatus further comprises a
backlight module, which is disposed between the display panel and
the light-emitting module, turned off when the display apparatus
displays in 3D mode, and turned on when the display apparatus
displays in 2D mode.
[0022] To achieve the above objective, a light-guiding plate of the
invention comprises at least a light input surface, two opposite
flat surfaces and a plurality of light-guiding elements. The
light-guiding elements are disposed at one of the flat surfaces of
the light-guiding plate, and each of them has a curve-shape having
at least an inflection point by viewing along a direction
perpendicular to the flat surfaces.
[0023] As mentioned above, the light-guiding plate of the invention
includes a plurality of light-guiding elements which are disposed
on one of the flat surfaces of the light-guiding plate. Each of the
light-guiding elements has a curve-shape having at least an
inflection point. Thereby, when emitted to the display panel
through the flat surface of the light-guiding plate, the light can
be formed on the flat surface as curviform in an alternate
arrangement of bright and dark zones, by the disposition of the
curviform light-guiding elements. Such light can decrease
interference fringes caused by diffraction so that the display
quality of the display apparatus can be enhanced.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0024] The invention will become more fully understood from the
detailed description and accompanying drawings, which are given for
illustration only, and thus are not limitative of the present
invention, and wherein:
[0025] FIG. 1A is a schematic exploded diagram of a conventional
display apparatus;
[0026] FIG. 1B is a side-view diagram of the display apparatus in
FIG. 1A;
[0027] FIG. 1C is a schematic diagram of interference fringes;
[0028] FIG. 2A is a schematic diagram of a light-emitting module of
a preferred embodiment of the invention;
[0029] FIG. 2B is a side view of the light-emitting module in FIG.
2A;
[0030] FIG. 2C is a schematic side view of a light-emitting module
of another preferred embodiment of the invention;
[0031] FIG. 3A is a schematic diagram of a display apparatus of a
preferred embodiment of the invention;
[0032] FIG. 3B is a side view of the display apparatus in FIG.
3A;
[0033] FIG. 3C is a schematic diagram showing a pixel array of the
display panel and the light-guiding elements of the light-guiding
plate in FIG. 3A;
[0034] FIG. 3D is a schematic diagram of the inclined curve of a
light-guiding element; and
[0035] FIGS. 4A and 4B are side views of display apparatuses of
other embodiments of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0036] The present invention will be apparent from the following
detailed description, which proceeds with reference to the
accompanying drawings, wherein the same references relate to the
same elements.
[0037] FIG. 2A is a schematic diagram of a light-emitting module 2
of a preferred embodiment of the invention, and FIG. 2B is a side
view of the light-emitting module 2. FIGS. 2A and 2B are just
schematic, but not for showing the real dimensions of the objects.
The light-emitting module 2 of the invention can be applied as a
lighting apparatus, a backlight module of a flat display apparatus,
a parallax barrier device, or a parallax prism device that can be
applied to a stereoscopic display apparatus to provide the effect
of the parallax barrier or the parallax prism so that the display
apparatus can display stereoscopic (3D) images. The invention
doesn't limit the application of the light-emitting module 2.
Besides, either each module or each apparatus of the invention is
configured with a driving device and driving signals, which are
omitted in the following descriptions.
[0038] The light-emitting module 2 includes a light-guiding plate
21, a plurality of light-guiding elements 211 and a light-emitting
unit 22.
[0039] The light-guiding plate 21 has at least a light input
surface I and two opposite flat surfaces. As shown in FIG. 2B, in
this embodiment, the light-guiding plate 21 has two opposite flat
surfaces S1 and S2. The light-guiding plate 21 is used for guiding
the traveling direction of the light, and it is made of transparent
material, such as acrylic resin, polycarbonate, polyethylene resin,
or glass. The said transparent materials are just for example, but
not for limiting the scope of the invention. The refractive index
of the transparent material is larger than that of the surrounding
substance (e.g. air, the refractive index, of which is about 1).
Accordingly, the light with a specific incident angle can be
provided the total reflection at the interface of the light-guiding
plate 21 and the surrounding substance, so that the light entering
through the light input surface can be guided to the central
portion of the light-guiding plate 21, thereby generating more
average light output form. A cross-section of the light-guiding
plate 21 can be plate-shaped or wedge-shaped, for example. A
plate-shaped light-guiding plate 21 is instanced here.
[0040] The flat surfaces S1 and S2 are disposed oppositely. Herein,
the flat surfaces S1 and S2 are the surfaces with larger area of
the light-guiding plate 21. For example, the flat surface S1 is a
bottom surface of the light-guiding plate 21, and the flat surface
S2 is a top surface of the light-guiding plate 21. The light input
surface I is perpendicular to the flat surfaces S1 and S2. The
number of the light input surface I is corresponding to the number
of the light-emitting unit 22, and is at least 1. A viewer is
generally located on the side of the flat surface S2 to overlook
the light-emitting module 2.
[0041] The light-guiding elements 211 are disposed at least one of
the flat surfaces S1 and S2 of the light-guiding plate 21, guiding
or changing the traveling direction of the light by scattering, or
reflecting, etc., for creating the desired light output. The
light-guiding elements 211 can be located anywhere in the
light-guiding plate 21 except the light input surface I. For
example, all the surfaces of the light-guiding plate 21 except the
light input surface I can be configured with the light-guiding
elements 211, and even the inside of the light-guiding plate 21 can
be configured with the light-guiding elements 211. Herein, as shown
in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the light-guiding elements 211 are disposed at
the flat surface S1 (bottom surface) of the light-guiding plate 21,
for example. The light-guiding element 211 is a microstructure of a
recess or a protrusion by viewing from the light input surface I
(e.g. along the lengthwise direction of the light-emitting unit),
and can be regarded as a curve substantially by viewing along a
direction perpendicular to the flat surface S2 (i.e. from the flat
surface S2, overlooking). Each of the curves includes at least one
inflection point (through which the curve goes to concave from
convex or goes to convex from concave, at which the second
derivative of the curve is zero or inexistent), two or more
curvature centers (the center of one of the osculating circles
formed by a segment between two inflection points), and one or more
curvature(s) (reciprocal of a radius of an osculating circle). By
viewing from the flat surface S2, each curve of the light-guiding
element 211 can have two closest parallel lines clipping the curve,
and the midline of the two parallel lines is called a centerline of
the curve of the light-guiding element 211.
[0042] As shown in FIG. 2A, in this embodiment, the centerline of
the light-guiding element 211 is substantially an oblique line
which is not parallel with both of a direction X and a direction Y
(herein, the direction Y is along the direction of a long side of
the light input surface I while the direction X is perpendicular to
the direction Y and along the direction of a long side of the flat
surface S1). The centerline of the light-guiding element 211 and
the direction X or the direction Y have an included angle (acute
angle), which can be between 0 and 90 degrees. In this embodiment,
the centerline of each of the light-guiding elements 211 inclines
to the left side. It can incline to the right side in other
embodiments. Besides, as shown in FIG. 2B, by viewing along the
direction perpendicular to the flat surface S1 (e.g. overlooking),
each curve of the light-guiding element 211 has a short-side width
P, which can be between 50 .mu.m and 150 .mu.m. Besides, the total
length of the curve of the light-guiding element 211 is between one
time and five times the length of a side (e.g. short side, the side
closer to the light-emitting unit 22 and along the direction Y) of
the flat surface S1, and preferably between one time and two times
the length of a side of the flat surface S1.
[0043] Any two light-guiding elements 211 don't intersect each
other, and that means they don't touch, connect and overlap each
other. In other words, an space of the any two light-guiding
elements 211 is larger than zero and less than the length of a side
(e.g. the long side) of the flat surface S1. The cross-section of
each of the light-guiding elements 211 as shown in FIG. 2B can be
curviform, or a polygon (including a triangle, a square, a
rectangle, a trapezoid, or a regular polygon) or an irregular form,
such that the light-guiding element 211 can provide scattering
effect, in addition to the total reflection effect provided by the
other portion of the light-guiding plate 21, for achieving the
light output form composed of zones of different light intensities
(e.g. bright and dark zones). Herein, the cross-section of each of
the light-guiding elements 211 is instanced as curviform, such as a
semicircle. To deserve to be mentioned, the cross-sections of the
light-guiding elements 211 can be the same or different. Besides,
the centerlines of the curves of the light-guiding elements can
have the same or different curvature. In this embodiment, all the
light-guiding elements 211 are instanced with the same
cross-section, space and curvature.
[0044] The light-emitting unit is disposed adjacent to the light
input surface I of the light-guiding plate 21. In this embodiment,
two light-emitting units 22 are respectively disposed adjacent to
the opposite light input surfaces I for example. The light emitted
by the light-emitting units 22 enters the light-guiding plate 21
through the light input surface I, and then is outputted through
the flat surface S1. The light-emitting unit 22 can include, for
example, at least a light-emitting diode (LED), at least an organic
light-emitting diode (OLED), at least a cold cathode fluorescent
lamp (CCFL), or at least a hot cathode fluorescent lamp (HCFL), as
a light source of the light-emitting unit 22. Herein, the
light-emitting unit 22 is instanced as an LED light bar which
includes a plurality of LEDs disposed on a circuit board. In other
embodiments, only a light-emitting unit can be disposed, emitting
the light into the light-emitting plate 21 through a side of the
light-emitting plate 21.
[0045] Reflective materials 24 are respectively disposed on the
light-guiding elements 211, and capable of reflecting the light
emitted by the light-emitting unit 22. The reflective material 24
can be disposed on an inner surface of the recess of the
light-guiding element 211 or on an outer surface of the protrusion
of the light-guiding element 211, or can be disposed in the recess
of the light-guiding element 211. Herein, the reflective materials
24 are instanced as disposed in the recesses of the light-guiding
elements 211. In this embodiment, the reflective material 24 in the
light-guiding element 211 can interfere with the total reflection
of the light L so that the light L can be emitted out through the
flat surface S2 of the light-guiding plate 21 (in the case of the
reflective material 24 disposed on the outer surface of the
protrusion, the reflective material 24 can block the travelling of
the light so that the light L is reflected to other locations). The
reflective material 24 can include oxide, such as white SiO2, TiO2,
or other substances of high reflectance. To deserve to be
mentioned, the light-guiding element 211 can be configured without
the reflective material 24, so the light L is guided only by
scattering to be outputted through one of the flat surfaces in an
alternate form (alternate arrangement) of bright and dark
zones.
[0046] Accordingly, the light L emitted by the light-emitting unit
22 enters the light-guiding plate 21 through the light input
surface I, then is guided and spread to the whole light-guiding
plate 21 by the total reflection effect in the light-guiding plate
21, and then is scattered by the curviform light-guiding elements
211 each including at least an inflection point and disposed on one
of the flat surfaces, so that the light can be emitted out through
one flat surface (which can be the flat surface S1 configured with
the light-guiding elements 211 or the flat surface S2) of the
light-guiding plate 21 in an alternate form (alternating
arrangement) of bright and dark zones. Herein, the bright zone
indicates the brightness thereof is higher than that of the dark
zone, and the dark zone's brightness is larger than zero.
[0047] FIG. 2C is a schematic side view of a light-emitting module
of another preferred embodiment of the invention.
[0048] Referring to FIG. 2C, in this embodiment, the light-guiding
elements 211a are disposed on the flat surface S2 (the top surface
of the light-guiding plate 21). By viewing along a direction
parallel with the flat surface S2 (as shown in FIG. 2C), the
light-guiding elements 211a are substantially microstructures of
protrusions. The reflective materials 24 are respectively disposed
on the outer surfaces of the protrusions of the light-guiding
elements 211a.
[0049] Besides, other technical features of the light-emitting
module as shown in FIG. 2C can be understood by referring to FIG.
2B, so the detailed descriptions are omitted here.
[0050] FIG. 3A is a schematic diagram of a display apparatus 3 of a
preferred embodiment of the invention, and FIG. 3B is a side view
of the display apparatus 3.
[0051] The light-emitting module 2 is disposed opposite to the
display panel 4, and includes a light-guiding plate 21 and at least
one light-emitting unit.
[0052] The light-guiding plate 21 includes a plurality of
light-guiding elements 211, which are disposed on one of the flat
surfaces of the light-guiding plate 21 and are instanced as
disposed at the flat surface S1 (bottom surface). Since the
light-guiding element 211 is microstructure of recess or protrusion
with really small width of the cross-section, the light-guiding
element 211 is substantially a curve when overlooked along the
direction perpendicular to the flat surface S2. Herein, as shown in
FIG. 3A, the centerline of the curviform light-guiding element 211
can be an oblique line not parallel with the directions X and Y. In
other words, the said centerline and the direction X or Y can have
an included angle between zero and 90 degrees. In other
embodiments, the centerline of the light-guiding element 211 can be
parallel with the direction X or Y, and that means, the centerline
and the direction X or Y can have an included angle of zero or 90
degrees. Besides, any two light-guiding elements don't intersect
each other, and any two adjacent light-guiding elements 211 have an
space between zero and a width of the flat surface S1 where the
light-guiding elements 211 are disposed. The cross-section of each
of the light-guiding elements 211 as shown in FIG. 3B can be
curviform, or a polygon (including a triangle, a square, a
rectangle, a trapezoid, or a regular polygon) or an irregular form.
Herein, the cross-section of each of the light-guiding elements 211
is instanced as curviform, such as a semicircle. To deserve to be
mentioned, the cross-sections of the light-guiding elements 211 can
be the same or different. Besides, the centerlines of the
light-guiding elements 211 can have the same or different
curvature. In this embodiment, all the light-guiding elements 211
are instanced with the same cross-section, space and curvature.
Besides, by a side view as shown in FIG. 3B, each of the
light-guiding elements 211 has a short-side width P, which can be
between 50 .mu.m and 150 .mu.m.
[0053] The light-emitting unit is disposed adjacent to the light
input surface I of the light-guiding plate 21, and emits the light
L entering the light-guiding plate 21 through the light input
surface I. Then, by the guiding of the light-guiding plate 21 and
the light-guiding elements 211, the light L can be guided out
through one of the surfaces (such as the flat surface S2) in an
alternate form (alternating arrangement) of bright and dark zones.
Herein, two light-emitting units 22 are disposed adjacent to the
opposite light input surfaces I of the light-guiding plate 21,
respectively, for example. The light emitted by the light-emitting
units 22 enters the light-guiding plate 21 through the light input
surface I, and goes out through the flat surface S2. The
light-emitting unit 22 of this embodiment is instanced as an LED
light bar. Besides, the reflective materials 24 are disposed in the
light-guiding elements 211, respectively. Herein, the reflective
material 24 is fully disposed in the light-guiding element 211 for
example. Besides, other technical features of the light-emitting
module 2 as shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B can be understood by referring
to the above embodiments, so the detailed descriptions are omitted
here.
[0054] FIG. 3C is a schematic diagram showing a pixel array of the
display panel 4 and the light-guiding elements 211 of the
light-guiding plate 21 in FIG. 3A. Herein, only partial sub-pixels
of the display panel 4 and light-guiding elements 211 are shown in
FIG. 3C.
[0055] The display panel 4 includes a plurality of pixels which are
formed into an array in a direction X and a direction Y. The
directions X and Y are perpendicular to each other (the same as the
directions X and Y of the above embodiment). Besides, each of the
pixels includes a plurality of sub-pixels which are also formed
into an array. Herein, each pixel includes three sub-pixels R, G,
B, for example. To be noted, the relative positions of the
light-guiding elements 211 and the sub-pixels R, G, B are just for
example in this embodiment, and they can be varied in other
embodiments by, for example, changing the inclined level or
curvature of the curve. For example, the centerline of the
light-guiding element 211 inclines more to the direction X or
Y.
[0056] Besides, by viewing in a direction perpendicular to the flat
surface S2 (i.e. overlooking), each of the light-guiding elements
211 is substantially shaped like a curve. The curve has a largest
amplitude (i.e. largest swinging distance equal to the space of the
closest parallel lines clipping the curve), which is less than or
equal to one and a half times the short-side width of a sub-pixel,
and larger than zero. In other words, as shown in FIG. 3D, the
inclined curve of each of the light-guiding elements 211 is
represented by the curve C including an inflection point R. The
curve C has the closest parallel lines L1 and L2 clipping itself,
and a centerline equally apart from the parallel lines L1 and L2 is
called the centerline L3 of the curve C of the light-guiding
element 211. The largest swinging amplitude of the curve C (i.e.
the distance D in FIG. 3D) is less than or equal to one and a half
times the short-side width W of a sub-pixel, and larger than zero.
Herein, the largest amplitude is the largest distance for which the
curve C swings, i.e. the distance between the tangent lines (L1 and
L2) at the highest and lowest points of the curve C. The long-side
width of the sub-pixel is generally three times the short-side
width, but this is not for limiting the scope of the invention. The
centerline line L3 of the light-guiding element 211 and the
direction X or Y have an included angle (acute angle) between zero
and 90 degrees.
[0057] Verified by the experiments, for the display apparatus 3 of
the invention, when the light L is emitted to the display panel 4
through the flat surface S2 of the light-guiding plate 21 of the
light-emitting module 2, it can be formed as curviform in an
alternate form (alternating arrangement) of bright and dark zones.
When passing through the display panel 4, such light can less
interfere with the light-shielding layer (i.e. black matrix) of the
display panel 4 so that the interference fringes are decreased a
lot. Accordingly, the display quality of the display apparatus 3 is
enhanced.
[0058] Furthermore, in another embodiment, the light-emitting
module 2 of the display apparatus can further include a reflective
plate and/or at least an optical film (not shown). The reflective
plate can be disposed to one of the flat surfaces (e.g. the surface
away from the display panel 4) for reflecting the light that has
been emitted out through the surface back into the light-guiding
plate 21. The optical film can be a diffusion sheet, and can be
disposed between the light-emitting module 2 and the display panel
4 so that the light can be formed into an average surface light
source through the diffusion sheet. A space can exist between the
light-guiding plate 21 and each of the reflective plate or the
optical film.
[0059] In another embodiment, the light-emitting module 2 can
function as a parallax control device of a stereoscopic display
apparatus to become a parallax barrier device. By such
light-emitting module 2 as a parallax barrier device, when the
light in an alternate form (alternating arrangement) of bright and
dark zones passes through the display panel 4, the left image
outputted by the pixels of the display panel 4 can be transmitted
to the left eye of the user while the right image outputted by the
pixels of the display panel 4 can be transmitted to the right eye
of the user, so that the eyes of the user can respectively receive
different images with binocular parallax for forming stereoscopic
images to the user without wearing shutter or retarder glasses. To
be noted, when the light-emitting module 2 functions as a parallax
barrier device of a stereoscopic display apparatus, all the
light-guiding elements 211 need to have the same curvature, and any
two adjacent light-guiding elements 211 need to have the same
space.
[0060] FIG. 4A is a side view of a display apparatus 3a of another
embodiment of the invention.
[0061] Different from the display apparatus 3, when the
light-emitting module 2a functions as the parallax barrier device
of the display apparatus 3a to help the display apparatus 3a
display 3D images, the light-emitting module 2a can further include
a light attenuator 25 disposed to a side of the flat surface S1 of
the light-guiding plate 21. When the light passes through the flat
surface S1 of the light-guiding plate 21 and then enters the light
attenuator 25, the light attenuator 25 can decrease (e.g. by
absorbing) the light's energy to prevent the light out of the flat
surface S1 from entering the light-guiding plate 21 again by the
reflection. Therefore, the light output of the light-emitting
module 2a will not be interfered, and the stereoscopic display
efficiency of the display apparatus 3 can be enhanced.
[0062] FIG. 4B is a side view of a display apparatus 3b of another
embodiment of the invention.
[0063] When the light-emitting module 2a functions as the parallax
barrier device of the display apparatus 3b, the display apparatus
3b can further include a backlight module BL disposed on a side of
the light-emitting module 2a (which is between the display panel 4
and the backlight module BL) for providing the light to the display
panel 4. If the display apparatus 3b displays 3D images (3D mode),
the backlight module BL can be turned off, but the light-emitting
module 2a is turned on for emitting light. If the display apparatus
3b displays 2D images (2D mode), the light-emitting module 2a and
the backlight module BL can both be turned on for emitting light.
Thereby, the display apparatus 3b can be switched to display 2D or
3D images.
[0064] Besides, other technical features of the light-emitting
apparatuses 3a and 3b can be understood by referring to the display
apparatus 3, so the detailed descriptions are omitted here.
[0065] In summary, the light-guiding plate of the invention
includes a plurality of light-guiding elements which are disposed
on one of the flat surfaces of the light-guiding plate and each are
shaped like a curve-shape having at least an inflection point.
Thereby, when emitted to the display panel through the surface of
the light-guiding plate, the light can be formed on the surface as
curviform in an alternate form (alternating arrangement) of bright
and dark zones, by the disposition of the curviform light-guiding
elements. Such light can decrease interference fringes caused by
diffraction so that the display quality of the display apparatus
can be enhanced.
[0066] Although the invention has been described with reference to
specific embodiments, this description is not meant to be construed
in a limiting sense. Various modifications of the disclosed
embodiments, as well as alternative embodiments, will be apparent
to persons skilled in the art. It is, therefore, contemplated that
the appended claims will cover all modifications that fall within
the true scope of the invention.
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