JP2003233643A - Manufacturing method for reflector, reflector and display device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a reflector having high filling rate and reflection efficiency and good light utilization efficiency and a manufacturing method for it. <P>SOLUTION: This manufacturing method for a reflector is provided with a first step (step 51) for arranging the basic reflection shapes at random not to overlap each other in arranging a basic reflection shape and a reflection shape similar thereto on the reflection surface, and a second step (step 52) for calculating the coordinates and size of a similar reflection shape to come into contact with at least one existing basic or similar reflection shape and not to overlap each other and arranging the same. A new reflection shape is disposed to come into contact with the existing reflection shape, whereby overlap of reflection shape is little caused and simultaneously a reflection with high filling rate can be manufactured. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a structure of a reflector or a reflective layer used in a liquid crystal panel, a plasma display, etc., and a method of manufacturing the reflector.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a reflective display device, a reflective liquid crystal panel is known which displays a desired image by reflecting light transmitted through a liquid crystal layer in the direction of the liquid crystal layer by using a reflector such as an electrode. There is. In order to efficiently reflect the light from the surroundings in the direction in which an image is displayed, the surface of a reflector such as this reflective electrode (reflecting surface) has a fine point symmetry such as a plurality of bowl-shaped or ball-shaped. A spherical concave or convex pattern is arranged. Furthermore, these concave or convex patterns are arranged so as to be substantially random so that no streaks or moire are generated in the displayed image.

[0003]

Since such a reflective liquid crystal panel can display an image with low power consumption, it is mounted on a mobile phone, a PDA or the like. Then, with the progress of color display, brighter ones are required. Therefore, it is important to improve the reflection efficiency of a reflection type display panel and a reflector such as a reflection type electrode used for the reflection type display panel so as to improve the light utilization efficiency.

One way to improve the reflection efficiency is to increase the density of the reflection pattern. That is, when a plurality of reflection shapes 208 having a constant concave or convex shape are randomly arranged on the reflection surface 201 of the reflection body 200 when forming the reflection body, as shown in FIG. There is a plane, and the light incident on this plane is not distributed in the desired reflection direction. For this reason, if there are many flat surfaces, the light utilization efficiency decreases. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 16, the reflection shape 20 is formed so as to eliminate the gap S which becomes a plane as much as possible.
It is conceivable to allow 8 overlapping.

However, if the reflection shape 208 is arranged so as to allow the overlapping portion (overlapping portion), the manufacturing cost rises and, on the contrary, the utilization efficiency of light deteriorates.
That is, the reflection shape 208 is formed by three-dimensional processing such as photolithography, which is a general semiconductor manufacturing method, but the overlapping portion becomes the inclined portion 209 whose angle changes abruptly when viewed in cross section. Therefore, it is difficult to faithfully reproduce the shape, and the yield is reduced. Further, since the inclined portion 209 is not a shape designed as a reflection shape in advance, it affects the distribution of reflection angles.
For this reason, the reflection efficiency is lowered and the reflection angle distribution is distorted, and the desired light utilization efficiency cannot be obtained.

Accordingly, in the reflector 200 manufactured by allowing the overlapping of the reflection shapes 208, the inclined portion 2
Since the total sum of 09 increases, the gap S can be reduced and the filling rate can be improved, but it becomes difficult to obtain desired reflection characteristics,
Display quality is degraded, and it is difficult to provide a high-quality display panel (display device).

Therefore, in the present invention, increasing the filling rate, preventing the deterioration of the reflection efficiency, and increasing the filling rate directly leads to the improvement of the light utilization efficiency, and the light distributed in a desired direction is obtained. It is an object of the present invention to provide a reflector and a method for manufacturing the same that can increase Then, it is an object of the present invention to provide a reflector and a display device having a high yield and a high light utilization efficiency, and a manufacturing method thereof.

[0008]

Therefore, in the present invention,
When arranging the basic and similar reflection shapes set to the desired radiation angle, the first step is to randomly arrange the basic reflection shapes so that they do not overlap, and the next step is to compare the existing reflection shapes. By arranging similar reflection shapes while deciding the coordinates and size of the new reflection shape so that it touches at least one of them and does not overlap with other existing reflection shapes, overlapping of reflection shapes is prevented. On the other hand, a reflection-shaped reflector having a high filling rate is formed.

That is, the step of designing a concave or convex basic reflection shape and the basic reflection shape and a plurality of similar reflection shapes similar to the basic reflection shape are arranged substantially randomly. The method of the present invention comprises the steps of calculating the coordinates of the basic and similar reflection shapes and the size of the similar reflection shapes, and manufacturing a reflecting surface on which the basic and similar reflection shapes of the calculated coordinates and sizes are arranged. In the manufacturing method of the reflector, the calculation step is the same as the first step of arranging the basic reflection shapes at random so that they do not overlap each other, and the reflection shape is similar or already arranged. Measure the coordinates and size of the reflection shape that is similar to the basic reflection shape so that it touches at least one of the existing reflection shapes in the gap of the existing reflection shape and does not overlap with the existing reflection shape. It is characterized in that it comprises a second step of placing in.

According to this manufacturing method, there is provided a reflector having a concave or convex basic reflection shape and a reflection surface on which a plurality of similar reflection shapes similar to the basic reflection shape are arranged. The shapes are randomly arranged so that they do not overlap each other, and at least one of the existing reflection shapes is brought into contact with the existing reflection shape that is a basic or similar reflection shape and is already arranged. It is possible to manufacture a reflector in which the following similar reflection shapes are arranged so as not to overlap with the reflection shape of. Then, the display has a reflector on the back surface, and a reflector having a reflection surface that reflects incident light to the display, and the reflection surface has
A concave or convex basic reflection shape and a plurality of similar reflection shapes similar to this basic reflection shape are arranged,
Basic reflection shapes are randomly arranged so that they do not overlap each other, and at least one of the existing reflection shapes is in contact with a gap between the existing reflection shapes which are basic or similar reflection shapes and are already arranged, It is possible to provide a display device in which the following similar reflection shape is arranged so as not to overlap the existing reflection shape.

In the manufacturing method of the present invention, since the next reflection shape is arranged so as to be in contact with at least one of the existing reflection shapes, the reflection shapes do not overlap and are formed between the reflection shapes. The gap that can be closed can be kept to a minimum. Then, by allowing the size of the reflection shapes to be reduced by repeating the second step, the filling rate of the reflection shapes can be increased without limit without overlapping the reflection shapes. Therefore, it is possible to fill all or a large part of the reflecting surface of the reflector with a predesigned basic reflecting shape and a reflecting shape similar thereto without generating an unexpected shape. Therefore, by increasing the filling rate of the reflection shape, it is possible to effectively improve the reflection efficiency without lowering the reflection efficiency and to provide a reflector having high light utilization efficiency.

Further, since the reflecting surface is filled with only the reflecting shape designed in advance, a complicated shape does not occur when the reflecting surface is manufactured by photolithography or the like. Therefore, the yield of the reflector can be improved, and a high-quality reflector can be provided at low cost. Therefore, by adopting the reflector of the present invention and combining it with a display such as a liquid crystal layer, it is possible to provide a display device capable of displaying a bright and beautiful image and having high quality display.

In this manufacturing method, the program is a program for randomly arranging the basic shapes and similar shapes so as not to overlap each other, and a first step of randomly arranging the basic shapes so that they do not overlap each other. At least one of the existing shapes is in contact with at least one of the existing shapes that is a basic or similar shape and has already been arranged, and the coordinates and size of the similar shape are calculated and placed so that they do not overlap with the existing shape. The reflecting surface can be designed by arranging the reflecting shape by a program having an instruction capable of executing the second step.

In the second step, a step of specifying a plurality of n existing reflection shapes adjacent to each other and a coordinate and size of a new similar reflection shape so as to contact the n existing reflection shapes adjacent to each other. By adopting the step of calculating and arranging, the next reflection shape can be arranged so as to be in contact with the n basic reflection shapes. Further, the new arranged reflection shape is in contact with the existing n pieces of reflection shapes and therefore does not overlap. Further, since the existing n reflection shapes are in contact with each other, the gap between them can be minimized, and the size of the new reflection shape can be increased as much as possible while increasing the filling rate and further overlapping. Can be prevented. The larger the reflective shape, the easier it is to accurately process the angles and curvatures of the surfaces that make up the reflective shape so that the performance or characteristics of that shape are exhibited, and the reflective performance of the reflective surface is improved. To do. Therefore, it is possible to improve the reflection performance and increase the yield, and to manufacture at low cost, as compared with the case where a large number of minute reflection shapes are arranged. Further, there is an advantage that the execution time of the program for arranging the reflection shape on the reflection surface can be shortened and the reflection surface can be efficiently designed.

Therefore, the reflector and the display device manufactured by this manufacturing method, that is, the reflector in which the following similar reflection shapes are arranged so as to contact a plurality of n existing reflection shapes adjacent to each other, and A display device including this reflector has further improved reflection performance and can display a bright image.

In order to specify a plurality of n existing reflection shapes that are adjacent to each other, temporary coordinates located in a gap between the existing reflection shapes are obtained, and n existing reflection shapes closest to the temporary coordinates are calculated as n.
It can be specified as the existing reflection shapes adjacent to each other. It can be executed by a program that runs on a computer, and the reflecting surface can be designed efficiently.

As the basic reflection shape, various shapes can be selected according to the reflection characteristics to be obtained, and the cross-sectional shape (opening) on the reflection surface is not limited to a circle, but may be an ellipse or a polygon such as a square. Is also good. For example, if the basic reflection shape has a circular cross-sectional shape in the present invention, n can be 3 which is the closest number to be specified as an existing reflection shape in the process of obtaining the temporary coordinates. This is because it is possible to determine a circle so that it touches three points.

It is very unlikely that the new reflection shape generated by this method will overlap with the existing reflection shape. However, the possibilities are not zero. Therefore, in the second step, a step of identifying a first group consisting of a plurality of m existing reflection shapes adjacent to each other, and a second step consisting of n existing reflection shapes less than m from this first group The step of identifying the second group and calculating the coordinates and size of the new similar reflection shape so as to be in contact with the existing reflection shape of the second group. It is possible to provide a step of arranging the new similar reflection shape when it does not overlap with the remaining existing reflection shape which is not included in the second group of the first group. For example, if the basic reflection shape has a circular cross-sectional shape, m is 4 or more and n is 3. According to this method, the execution time of the program for arranging a new reflection shape becomes long, but it is possible to reliably prevent the reflection shapes from overlapping.

[0019]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a mobile phone as a terminal device equipped with a liquid crystal panel using the reflector of the present invention. The display device 10 of the mobile phone 1 of this example is
A liquid crystal display body is used as the display body 12 for displaying data, and a reflector 20 also serving as a liquid crystal electrode is arranged on the back surface of the display body 12. In a bright place, such a reflective liquid crystal display device 10 can display an image using natural light or illumination light 70 from above as a light source. Therefore, the backlight of the liquid crystal display device 10 can be omitted or the time required for the backlight can be reduced. Therefore, it is suitable for mobile terminals such as thin and power-saving type mobile phones.

As shown in FIG. 2, the reflector 20 of this example is
Light 7 from the outside, which is made of aluminum and has a reflecting surface 21 on which a plurality of fine irregularities are arranged, is transmitted through the liquid crystal cell 12.
1 is reflected by the reflecting surface 21, passes through the liquid crystal cell 12 again, and is output as outgoing light 72. As a result, in the display device 10 of the present example, the user 77 can see the desired image displayed on the liquid crystal cell 12 by the external light 71. Liquid crystal panels are always required to be bright and have good color reproducibility and high display performance, and most of them are provided with a backlight to secure the amount of light.
In the display device 10 of the present example, the light utilization efficiency is improved by appropriately controlling the reflection direction of the reflector 20, and the display performance is high without using a backlight, and the display performance is high and the liquid crystal panel is bright. Are available. Although a semi-transmissive display device provided with a backlight is also provided, in this case as well, it is possible to improve the light distribution of reflected light by adopting the present invention, and further, an energy-saving and bright display device. Can be provided.

In this example, a display device (display panel)
10 is described as a structure in which a liquid crystal layer (cell) 12 and a layer that also serves as an electrode that is a layer (reflector) 20 that serves as a reflective electrode are laminated, but a known color liquid crystal panel such as a transparent electrode and a color filter is used. Of course, other constituent layers are provided, and a description thereof will be omitted. However, a color liquid crystal panel having other layers constituting these color liquid crystal panels is also included in the present invention.

FIG. 3 shows an enlarged view of a part of the reflecting surface 21 of the reflector 20 of this embodiment as seen from the upper surface. The reflecting surface 21 of the reflector 20 of the present example has a basic reflecting shape 26 that is concave and has a substantially circular portion 23 (a cross-sectional shape of the reflecting shape or an opening) that intersects with the reflecting surface 21, and this basic reflecting shape 2
A plurality of similar reflection shapes 28 similar to 6 are arranged.

The basic reflecting shape 26 and the similar reflecting shape 28 are randomly arranged so as not to overlap each other. Furthermore, these reflective shapes 26
And 28 define a particular reflective shape 26 and 28,
When the existing reflection shape is already arranged, the reflection shape is arranged so as to contact at least one of the existing reflection shapes, so that the reflection shapes 26 and 28 do not overlap with each other, and the gap S does not occur as much as possible. Like this
The filling factor of the reflective features 26 and 28 is increased.

In particular, in the reflector 20 of this example, as will be described later, a new reflection shape is arranged so as to be in contact with a plurality of existing reflection shapes, and the number of gaps between the reflection shapes is as small as possible. That is, the filling rate is improved by filling the reflection shape with the largest possible size. Therefore, it is possible to manufacture while reproducing the angle of the surface of the basic shape and the curvature of the curved surface, the reproducibility of the reflective shape is high, and the characteristics or performance aimed at by the basic shape can be exhibited with high probability. Also, since the number of reflection shapes to be arranged is reduced, it is possible to shorten the execution time of the program for arranging the reflection shapes, and the design is efficient.

As a result, a circular opening 23 is formed on the reflecting surface 21.
The reflector 20 is formed in a concave shape (a shape that is recessed toward the display body 12 side) and has a fine size of a few microns to a few tens of microns arranged at random so that there is almost no gap S. Can be obtained. Therefore, in the display device 10 including the reflector 20 of the present example, most of the light reaching the reflecting surface 21 is reflected in the desired direction by the reflection shapes 26 and 28, and is distributed in the direction of the user 77. That is, almost no light is reflected by the flat portion of the gap S between the reflection shapes 26 and 28, and the light utilization efficiency can be improved. Further, since the reflection shapes 26 and 28 are randomly arranged, it is possible to provide the display device 10 capable of displaying the image clearly and brightly without generating moire or streaks in the displayed image.

The process of forming (designing) the reflector 20 (reflection surface 21) of this example will be described with reference to the flow charts shown in FIGS. FIG. 4 shows an outline of the manufacturing process of the reflector 20. First, in step 41, the concave basic reflection shape 26 is designed. In this example, the opening 23 has a substantially circular shape, and the depth direction (Z-axis direction) orthogonal to the opening 23.
Depth distribution Z = F (X,
Design Y).

Next, at step 42, a plurality of basic reflection shapes 26 and a plurality of similar reflection shapes 28 similar to the basic reflection shapes 26.
The coordinates of the basic reflection shape 26 and the similar reflection shape 28 and the size of the similar reflection shape 28 are calculated so that and are arranged almost randomly. Then, in step 43,
The reflector 20 is manufactured by disposing the calculated reflection shapes 26 and 28 on the reflection surface 21.

FIG. 5 illustrates the process of calculating the coordinates and size of the reflection shape shown in step 42 of FIG. First, in step 51 (first step), the reflecting surface 2
Basic reflection shapes 26 are randomly arranged in the entire area 1 so that the shapes do not overlap each other. Then step 52
In the (second step), the basic or similar reflection shapes 26 and 28, which are adjacent to the existing reflection shapes 2 adjacent to the gap S between the existing reflection shapes 26 and 28 that have already been arranged.
6 and 28 are contacted, and the coordinates and size of the similar reflection shapes 28 are calculated and arranged so as not to overlap with the existing reflection shapes 26 and 28.

As described above, by arranging the new reflection shape so as to be in contact with the existing reflection shape, in particular, in the present example, so as to be in contact with the plurality of existing reflection shapes, the gap S is filled and overlapped. By avoiding this, the reflection shapes 28 can be sequentially arranged to form the entire pattern. Therefore, a large number of independent reflection shapes 26 and 28 are formed as designed and are formed on the reflection surface without chipping or change in shape, so that a desired reflection angle distribution can be faithfully reproduced. Further, as described above, by efficiently disposing the reflection shape having a large size, a high filling rate can be maintained, and thus the reflection surface 21 (reflector 20) having high light utilization efficiency can be provided.

FIG. 6 shows details of step 51 of FIG. First, in step 61, the index m of the reflection shape 26 is initialized to zero. Then step 62
Then, the parameter (number of times) k for trying the arrangement of the reflection shape 26 with the index m is initialized to zero. And
In step 63, the coordinates (x, y) of the basic reflection shape 26
Randomly generated. In step 64, it is determined whether or not a circle centered on the coordinates (x, y) generated in step 63 and having a radius R0 (the opening 23 of the basic reflection shape 26) can be arranged.

At step 64, if it does not overlap with the previously placed circle (reflection shape 26), at step 67,
The coordinates (X, Y) and radius R of the reflection shape 26 to be arranged are stored as an array of index m. That is, x is stored in the coordinate X (m), y is stored in the coordinate Y (m), and R0 is stored in the radius R (m). Then, the index m is counted up in step 68, the parameter k is cleared to zero in step 69, and steps 63 and 6 described above as to whether or not the next next reflection shape 26 can be arranged.
Do in 4.

On the other hand, in step 64, the circle of the same size with the radius R0 arranged at the random coordinates is the existing reflection shape 2
If it overlaps with 6, the parameter k is incremented in step 65. Then, in step 66, if the number k of placement tries is less than or equal to the maximum value (Kmax), step 6
The process from 3 is repeated to find the coordinates where the circle of radius R0 is arranged without overlapping. On the other hand, when the parameter k reaches the maximum value (Kmax) in step 66, the arrangement of the basic reflection shape 26 is completed.

FIG. 7 shows details of step 64 of FIG. In step 81, the parameter i is cleared to zero, and in step 82, the distance of the coordinates p ′ newly arranged, that is, the coordinates P (i) of the i-th circle from the randomly generated coordinates is the circle to be arranged this time. , That is, the radius of the reflection shape (hereinafter referred to as a circle), that is, the radius R0,
It is determined whether the sum is smaller than the sum of the radius of the i-th circle and R (i). The coordinates p'to be newly placed and the coordinates P of the i-th circle
If the distance (i) is equal to or smaller than the sum of the radius of the circle to be placed this time and the radius R (i) of the i-th circle, a new circle centered on the newly placed coordinate p ′ is
Since it overlaps with the existing circle, the return value is "N" at step 86.
is set to "o", and the routine for determining duplication ends.

On the other hand, in step 82, the distance between the coordinate p'which is newly arranged and the coordinate P (i) of the i-th circle is the radius of the circle currently arranged and the radius R (i) of the i-th circle. If it is larger than the sum, the new circle centered on the newly arranged coordinate p ′ does not overlap with the existing circle. Therefore, step 8
In step 3, the parameter i is incremented and step 84
Then, the routine from step 82 is repeated until the parameter i reaches the index m indicating the quantity of existing circles. Then, when it is determined that all the existing circles are not overlapped by repeating the process up to the index m, the return value is “Yes” in step 85, that is, the coordinate p ′ to be newly arranged.
A new circle centered at and having a radius R0 can be placed without overlapping the existing circle and the routine ends.

In this way, when the basic reflection shapes, that is, the circles of the basic size are randomly arranged, step 52 (second step) of FIG. 5 is started. The details are shown in FIG. As shown in step 91, in the routine shown in FIG. 8, the number of times Nmax of repeating the arrangement of circles, that is, similar reflection shapes, is designated in step 91. On the other hand, the arrangement of different circles may be terminated when the filling rate of the circles reaches a predetermined value.

First, in step 92, three adjacent existing reflecting shapes 26 or 28 are identified. In this example, the basic reflection shape is a circle, and the circles adjacent to the three points can be uniquely determined. Therefore, the existing reflection shapes that are in contact with a plurality of n adjacent reflection shapes described in the above means are specified. In the step of performing, n is set to 3.

Next, in step 93, a new circle, that is, the coordinate p of the similar reflection shape is contacted with the three circles specified in step 92, that is, the existing reflection shape.
(X, y) and the size radius R (r) are calculated.
In this example, since the basic reflection shape or the opening (shape) is a circle, if three adjacent existing circles are specified, the circle in contact with these circles can be uniquely determined.

That is, as shown in FIG. 12A, when the three specified circles 23a, 23b and 23c are determined, the coordinates p of the new circle 23 are contacted with them.
(X, y) and radius R (r) (size) are shown in FIG.
It can be determined by solving simultaneous equations (1) to (3). The circle, that is, the new reflection shape is shown in FIG.
As shown by a broken line in (a), it can be arranged so as to be in contact with an existing circle around it, that is, the existing reflection shape 28 and without overlapping, and a new reflection shape 28 is arranged in the gap S. This can improve the filling rate.

In step 94, the calculated coordinates (x, y) and radius r are stored in the array of index m. That is, x is stored in the coordinate X (m), y is stored in Y (m), and r is stored in the radius R (m) which is the size.

Then, in step 95, the index m
Is counted up, and the process of arranging a new circle in the gap S is repeated until Nmax times is reached in step 96.

FIG. 9 shows three adjacent reflecting shapes 26 and 28 in step 92 (identifying step) of FIG.
The process of identifying the circle 23 in FIG. In step 101, storage areas No0 to No2 for storing values of three adjacent circles 23 and distances L0 to L
Initially set 2. Next, in step 102, temporary coordinates p ′ (x ′,
y ') is randomly generated. In step 103, the generated temporary coordinate p ′ is the gap S of the existing circle 26 or 28.
Check whether it is the corresponding area. That is, as shown in FIG. 11, the provisional coordinates p ′ are set in the gap S. The routine for making this determination is the same as the routine shown in FIG. 7, and is shown in FIG. 10 just in case. That is, in step 121, the parameter i is cleared to zero, and step 1
At 22, it is determined whether the distance between the temporary coordinate p ′ and the center coordinate P (i) of the i-th circle is the same as or smaller than the radius of the i-th circle. If the distance between the temporary coordinate p ′ and the center coordinate P (i) of the i-th circle is the same as or smaller than the radius of the i-th circle, the temporary coordinate p ′ is inside the i-th circle. In step 126, the return value is set to "No" because it is not within the gap area S, and the routine is ended.

On the other hand, if the distance between the temporary coordinate p'and the center coordinate P (i) of the i-th circle is larger than the radius of the i-th circle, the temporary coordinate p'is outside the i-th circle. Therefore, in step 123, the parameter i is counted up, and in step 124, the determination is repeated until it becomes m indicating the number of existing circles. Then, when the parameter i reaches m and it is found that the existing coordinates do not include the provisional coordinate p ′,
In step 125, the return value is set to "Yes" so that the temporary coordinate p'indicates that it is the gap area S, and the routine ends.

As a result, as shown in FIG.
Since the temporary coordinate p ′ existing in
Existing three openings (circles) 23a closest to
Identify 23b and 23c.

Therefore, in the routine shown in FIG. 9, first, in step 104, the parameter i indicating the number of repetitions is cleared to zero, and in step 105, the following process is repeated for the number of existing circles, that is, m times. , The circles 23a of the three existing reflection shapes 28 closest to the temporary coordinate p '
23c are identified in order. First, step 10
6, the radius l (i) of the i-th circle is subtracted from the distance between the temporary coordinate p ′ and the center coordinate P (i) of the i-th circle to obtain the distance l from the temporary coordinate p ′ to the i-th circle. Ask for. Then, the distance is compared with the values of the parameters L0 to L2, and the distance l
Specify three circles in order from the smallest. That is, in step 107, the distance L0 to the circle identified as the circle closest to the tentative coordinate p ′ is compared with the distance 1 to the i-th circle. If the distance 1 is small, step 108 is performed.
Then, the index of the i-th circle is stored in No0, and the distance 1 is stored in L0. At the same time, the information of the circle closest to that time, that is, No0 and L0 is transferred to the information of the next closest circle, that is, No1 and L1, and the information of the next closest circle, that is, No1 and L1. Is moved to information No. 2 and L2 of the next closest circle.

Similarly, in step 109, the distance L1 to the circle identified as the second closest circle to the temporary coordinate p '.
And the distance 1 to the i-th circle are compared. If the distance 1 is small, the index of the i-th circle is stored in No1 and the distance 1 is stored in L1 in step 110. At the same time, the information of the circle that is the second closest distance until that time, that is, No1 and L1 is transferred to the information of the next closest circle, that is, No2 and L2.

In step 111, the distance L2 to the circle identified as the third closest circle to the temporary coordinate p '.
And the distance 1 to the i-th circle are compared. If the distance 1 is small, the index of the i-th circle is stored in No2 and the distance 1 is stored in L2 in step 112.

In step 113, the parameter i is counted up and repeated m times in step 114, so that the distances between all the existing circles and the temporary coordinate p'are examined, and the temporary coordinate p'has the largest value. Three circles 23a-23c that are close (the distance to the outer circumference is short) are specified.

Then, in step 93 shown in FIG. 8, a new circle is determined so as to be in contact with these three circles 23a to 23c, so that the gap S sandwiched by these three circles 23a to 23c is the most radius. It becomes possible to fill it with a large circle. Therefore, it becomes possible to efficiently arrange the circular reflection shapes 26 and 28 on the reflection surface 21 so that the circles do not overlap each other. Therefore, the distribution of light by the reflection shapes 26 and 28 can be concentrated in a desired direction, and the reflector 20 having high reflection efficiency can be manufactured.
In addition, since it is possible to prevent the occurrence of a complicated shape due to overlap and further increase the radius of the circle to be arranged, it is possible to manufacture the reflector 20 that is easy to manufacture, has a high yield, is low in cost, and has a high reflection performance. Can be provided.

The process described above is a reflection shape 26.
Although the openings 23 of 28 and 28 are circular, they are not limited to circles and can be applied to other suitable reflection shapes. Further, the reflection shape is not limited to the concave reflection shape, but may be a convex reflection shape.

Further, by arranging the new circles so as to be in contact with the three circles, the overlapping of the circles can be almost prevented. However, as shown in FIG. 13, the relation between the temporary coordinate p'and the existing circle is shown. In some cases, a new circle placed so as to contact the selected three circles is not zero in possibility of overlapping with other circles. Therefore, in order to prevent the overlapping portion 29 from occurring more reliably, four or more circles close to the temporary coordinate p ′ are specified, and a new circle that is in contact with three of these circles must not overlap with the remaining circles. It is desirable to place a new circle while checking.

FIG. 14 shows an example thereof. This process is an alternative to the process shown in FIG.
Circle, that is, the number of repetitions N of the arrangement of similar reflection shapes
max is specified in step 130. In contrast,
Similarly, the arrangement of different circles may be terminated when the filling rate of circles reaches a predetermined value.

Next, in step 131, four circles 23a are arranged in the order of being closer to the temporary coordinate p'from the circles 23 already arranged.
~ 23d are specified. These form the first group G1 of existing reflection shapes 26 and 28.

Then, in step 133, three circles, for example, circles 23a to 23c shown in FIG. 13 are selected from the selected four circles 23a to 23d. That is, the three existing reflection shapes 26, which are one less than the first group G1 specified earlier, are specified as the second group G2, and the circle (x, y, r) contacted in step 134 is against it. To calculate.

Then, in step 135, it is judged whether or not the calculated circle overlaps with the remaining circle, for example, the fourth circle 23d shown in FIG. That is, it is determined whether or not the remaining existing circle, which is obtained by subtracting the second group G2 from the first group G1 including the existing circle (reflection shape), and the new circle overlap. If they do not overlap, in step 137, this circle (x, y, r) is registered as a newly allocable circle, that is, the reflection shape 28 as its coordinates and size.

On the other hand, if the calculated circle overlaps any of the existing identified circles 28a-28d, then in step 133 a combination of the other circles among the four circles is selected and step 134 is selected. Repeat steps 135 and 135 to see if there are non-overlapping circles. In steps 132 to 136, this process is repeated by the number of combinations of three circles among the four identified circles, that is, four times, to obtain non-overlapping circles.

In this way, which of the circles 28a-28
When a new reflection shape 28 (circle 23) that does not overlap with d is determined, the circle is registered as the mth circle in step 137, the index m is incremented in step 138, and Nmax times are reached in step 139. Up to the next m + 1st circle. In these routines, it is possible to select five or more in ascending order of the distance l from the temporary coordinate p ′ to the circumference of the surrounding existing reflection shape 28. The frequency can be reduced. However, the increase in the number of selected circles means that the execution time of the above-mentioned program becomes long.

As described above, according to the manufacturing method of the reflector 20 of the present example, in the gap S between the existing reflection shapes 26 and 28,
Do not overlap with the existing reflection shapes 26 and 28,
Since the new reflection shapes 28 are sequentially arranged, the reflection surface 2
The reflective features 26 and 28 can be arranged randomly at 1 and with a high fill factor. As a result, the reflector 20 having the desired reflection shapes 26 and 28 can be faithfully reproduced according to the design of the basic reflection shape 26, and the reflector 20 having high light utilization efficiency can be provided.

Although the display device 10 used in the mobile phone 1 has been described above as an example, the display device is not limited to this, and is a reflective or semi-transmissive display device (display panel) for other mobile devices or peripheral devices. The present invention can also be applied to. Furthermore, it can be used for other direct-viewing type display devices, and can be provided as a device with high display quality as described above.

[0059]

As described above, according to the present invention, the reflecting shape forming the reflecting surface is arranged so as to be in contact with the existing reflecting shape, thereby filling the gap between the existing reflecting shapes and at the same time. It is arranged so that it does not overlap the reflection shape of. Therefore, when processing those reflective shapes, in order to faithfully demonstrate the capabilities of the basic reflective shape,
Each reflection shape can form an independent reflection surface. Therefore, it is possible to provide a reflector and a display device that can realize a reflecting surface having a desired specification, distribute the reflected light efficiently, and distribute the reflected light in a desired direction, and achieve a bright display device with high light utilization efficiency. Can be provided.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an outline of a mobile phone equipped with a reflective liquid crystal display device using a reflector according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically showing an outline of a reflector and a display device according to the present invention shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically showing how the reflector shown in FIG. 2 is viewed from information.

4 is a flow chart showing a process of creating a pattern of the reflection shape of the reflector shown in FIG.

5 is a flowchart showing step 42 (calculation of reflection shape coordinates and size) shown in FIG. 4 in more detail.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing step 51 (first step) shown in FIG. 5 in more detail.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing step 64 shown in FIG. 6 in more detail.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing step 52 (second step) shown in FIG. 5 in more detail.

9 is a flowchart showing in more detail step 92 (a step of identifying three adjacent circles) shown in FIG.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing step 103 shown in FIG. 9 in more detail.

FIG. 11 is a diagram schematically showing how three circles (reflection shapes) are specified from existing reflection shapes in the process shown in FIG. 9.

12A is a diagram schematically showing a state in which three adjacent circles (reflection shapes) are identified in the process shown in FIG. 9, and FIG. Is the formula used for.

FIG. 13 is a diagram schematically showing a case of overlapping an existing circle (reflection shape) other than the three identified circles (reflection shape) in the process shown in FIG. 9;

FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing a process of arranging a reflection shape in a gap in consideration of the case shown in FIG.

FIG. 15 is a diagram schematically showing a state where a reflecting surface of a conventional reflector is viewed from above.

16 is an explanatory view showing a processed surface when the filling rate is improved by allowing the reflection shapes to overlap with each other in order to increase the filling rate with respect to the reflecting surface of FIG. 15;

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Mobile phone 10 Display device 20 Reflector 21 Reflective surface 23 Reflective shape opening 26 Basic reflective shape 28 Similar reflective shape 70 Light source, 71 Incident light (illumination light), 72 Emitted light (reflected light) 77 User

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Eiichi Fujii             Seiko, 3-3-3 Yamato, Suwa City, Nagano Prefecture             -In Epson Corporation F-term (reference) 2H042 DA10 DA21 DC01 DD01 DE04                 2H091 FA14Y FA16Y FD04 FD23                       LA17                 5B046 AA07 FA07 JA02

Claims (20)

[Claims] 1. A step of designing a concave or convex basic reflecting shape, and the basic reflecting shape and a plurality of similar reflecting shapes similar to the basic reflecting shape are arranged substantially randomly. Calculating coordinates of the basic and similar reflective shapes and sizes of the similar reflective shapes; and manufacturing a reflective surface on which the basic and similar reflective shapes of the calculated coordinates and sizes are arranged. A method of manufacturing a reflector having, wherein the calculating step includes a first step of randomly arranging the basic reflection shapes so as not to overlap each other, and the basic or similar reflection shapes already arranged. In the gap of the existing reflection shape, which is in contact with at least one of the existing reflection shapes, the coordinates and the size of the similar reflection shape are calculated so as not to overlap with the existing reflection shape. The second step in the method of manufacturing the reflector is provided with a placing. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the second step is
A step of specifying a plurality of n adjacent existing reflection shapes, and a step of calculating and arranging coordinates and sizes of the new similar reflection shapes so as to be in contact with the n adjacent existing reflection shapes. A method of manufacturing a reflector comprising: 3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the identifying step includes a step of obtaining a temporary coordinate located in a gap between the existing reflective shapes, and the n existing reflective shapes closest to the temporary coordinate being the n existing reflection shapes. And a step of specifying as adjacent existing reflection shapes. 4. The method of manufacturing a reflector according to claim 3, wherein the basic reflection shape has a circular cross-sectional shape on the reflection surface, and the n is 3. 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the second step is
A step of identifying a first group of a plurality of m adjacent existing reflection shapes, and a second group of n existing reflection shapes less than m specified from the first group; , Calculating the coordinates and size of the new similar reflection shape so as to be in contact with the existing reflection shape of the second group; and the new similar reflection shape of the first group, And a step of disposing a new similar reflection shape when it does not overlap with the remaining existing reflection shape not included in the second group. 6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the step of identifying the first group is a step of obtaining a temporary coordinate located in the gap of the existing reflection shape, and the m existing number closest to the temporary coordinate. And a step of specifying a reflection shape as the m existing reflection shapes adjacent to each other. 7. The method of manufacturing a reflector according to claim 6, wherein the basic reflection shape has a circular cross-sectional shape at the reflection surface, the m is 4 or more, and the n is 3. 8. A reflector having a concave or convex basic reflection shape and a reflection surface on which a plurality of similar reflection shapes similar to the basic reflection shape are arranged, wherein the basic reflection shapes are adjacent to each other. Are arranged at random so that they do not overlap, contact with at least one of the existing reflection shapes in the gap of the existing reflection shapes that are the basic or similar reflection shapes and are already arranged, A reflector in which the following similar reflection shapes are arranged so as not to overlap with existing reflection shapes. 9. The reflector according to claim 8, wherein the next similar reflection shape is arranged so as to be in contact with a plurality of n existing reflection shapes adjacent to each other. 10. The reflector according to claim 9, wherein the basic shape has a circular cross-sectional shape at the reflecting surface, and the n is 3. 11. A display body having a reflector on the back surface,
A reflective body having a reflective surface for reflecting incident light to the display body, wherein the reflective surface has a concave or convex basic reflection shape and a plurality of similarities similar to the basic reflection shape. Different reflection shapes are arranged, the basic reflection shapes are randomly arranged so that they do not overlap each other, in the gap of the existing reflection shape which is the basic or similar reflection shape and is already arranged. A display device in which the following similar reflection shape is arranged so as to be in contact with at least one of the existing reflection shapes and not overlap with the existing reflection shape. 12. The display device according to claim 11, wherein the next similar reflection shape is arranged so as to be in contact with a plurality n of the existing reflection shapes adjacent to each other. 13. The basic shape according to claim 12, wherein a cross-sectional shape of the reflecting surface is circular, and the n is 3
Is a display device. 14. A program for randomly arranging a basic shape and a shape similar to the basic shape so as not to overlap each other, the first step of randomly arranging the basic shapes so as not to overlap each other, and the basic or At least one of the existing shapes is in contact with at least one of the existing shapes which are similar shapes and have already been arranged, and the coordinates and size of the similar shapes are calculated and arranged so as not to overlap with the existing shape. And a program having instructions capable of executing the second step. 15. The method according to claim 14, wherein the second step includes a step of identifying a plurality of n existing shapes adjacent to each other, and the new similarity so as to contact the n existing shapes adjacent to each other. A program including the steps of calculating and arranging the coordinates and sizes of various shapes. 16. The method according to claim 15, wherein the identifying step includes a step of obtaining a temporary coordinate located in a gap of the existing shape, and the n existing shapes closest to the temporary coordinate being the n existing shapes. A program that includes a step of identifying adjacent existing shapes. 17. The program according to claim 16, wherein the basic shape is a circle, and the n is 3. 18. The method according to claim 14, wherein in the second step, a step of identifying a plurality of m first adjacent groups of the existing shapes, and from the first group, less than m identifying a second group of n existing shapes and calculating the coordinates and size of the new similar shape so as to contact the existing shape of the second group; and the new similarity A shape that does not overlap the existing shape remaining in the second group that is not included in the second group, a new similar shape is arranged. 19. The method according to claim 18, wherein the step of identifying the first group includes a step of obtaining a temporary coordinate located in a gap of the existing shape, and the m existing shapes closest to the temporary coordinate. Is specified as the above-mentioned m adjacent existing shapes. 20. The program according to claim 19, wherein the basic shape is a circle, the m is 4 or more, and the n is 3.