JP2011123478A - Light guide fine structure plate, method of guiding light, and application to window structure - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a light guide fine structure plate which refracts and diverges part of solar light up to the ceiling of a room and permits wide-range emission accommodating incidence light of different angles to achieve a relatively good illumination light efficiency when, for example used to a window. <P>SOLUTION: The light guide fine structure plate includes a substrate 210 and a light guide fine structure layer 212. The substrate includes an incidence light surface 210a and an emission light surface 210b, the emission light surface including a reference vertical surface. The light guide fine structure layer is arranged on the incidence light surface. The light guide fine structure layer includes a plurality of projecting optical fine structures. Each optical fine structure includes a curved cylindrical surface structure 214 and an inclined cylindrical surface structure 216 and is crossed and connected at the apex. When entering the plurality of optical fine structures at one incidence angle in relation to the reference vertical surface, the incidence light beam is refracted and emitted from the emission light surface after that at least part of the incidence light beam enters the inclined cylindrical surface structure and then total internal reflection is generated in the inclined cylindrical surface structure. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a light guide technology and can provide a function of wide-angle emission light.

  Energy conservation is an issue that is becoming increasingly important. However, as the industry develops rapidly, various home appliances, 3C (Computer, Communication, Consumer Electronics) products and other electrical equipment are constantly increasing, of which lighting equipment is a light for living at night. As well as providing power, lighting power occupies an important position in daytime office activities and business activities. As is clear from the statistics of the power company, lighting power accounts for about 30-40% of the total energy consumption of the entire building. ing.

  Seen from another angle, sunlight is a natural light source that can be used up. If lighting is performed by effectively using this natural light source, the power used for lighting can be reduced. For ordinary windows, the efficiency of using the natural light source is still limited. FIG. 1 is an explanatory view showing the operation of a conventional window. In FIG. 1, windows 102 are generally provided on the outer wall of the house 100. Since the window 102 is generally made of glass or a light-transmitting material, the sunlight 104 passes through the window 102 to become room light 106 and provides an illumination function, but is generally only irradiated downward. The interior of the room cannot be illuminated, and the lighting effect is not excellent.

  In order to improve the utilization efficiency of sunlight 104, the prior art also provides an optical light guide technology that can be used for windows, and attempts to increase utilization by deflecting light rays. However, as the sun rises from the east and sinks to the west over time, the elevation angle changes. The operation of the conventional light guide structure is set only for a single elevation angle, and the light guide effect that can be exhibited is limited to a single emission angle. Therefore, even when used to provide indoor lighting, a phenomenon occurs in which the light and dark areas change with time. This phenomenon is now a very big obstacle to the use of sunlight. If this drawback can be solved effectively, the use of sunlight can be made marketable.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a light guide microstructure plate capable of being adapted to incident light at different angles and emitting in a wide angle range. For example, when it is used for a window, a portion of sunlight is refracted and diverged to the indoor ceiling to achieve a relatively good illumination light rate.

According to an embodiment, the present invention provides a light guide microstructure plate that includes a substrate and a light guide microstructure layer.
The substrate has an incident light surface and an exit light surface, and the exit light surface has a reference vertical surface. A light guide microstructure layer is disposed on the incident light surface. The light guide microstructure layer includes a plurality of optical microstructures protruding. Each optical microstructure includes a curved columnar structure and an oblique columnar structure that are cross-connected at the apex. When the incident light beam enters a plurality of optical microstructures at one incident angle with respect to the reference vertical plane, at least a part of the incident light beam enters the oblique column surface structure, and then internal total reflection occurs in the curved column surface structure. After being refracted and emitted from the exit light surface.

  According to an embodiment, the present invention also provides a light guide method, including providing a light guide microstructure plate and utilizing the light guide microstructure plate, receiving incident light at one elevation angle, and Incident light is emitted in a range of angles that are continuously distributed. The provided light guide microstructure plate includes a substrate and a light guide microstructure layer. The substrate has an incident light surface and an exit light surface, and the exit light surface has a reference vertical surface. A light guide microstructure layer is disposed on the incident light surface. The light guide microstructure layer includes a plurality of optical microstructures protruding, and each optical microstructure includes a curved column surface structure and an oblique column surface structure in which the optical microstructures are cross-connected at the top end. When the incident light beam enters the plurality of optical microstructures at a single incident angle on the reference vertical plane, after at least a part of the incident light beam enters the oblique column surface structure, it causes internal total reflection in the curved column surface structure. After being refracted and emitted from the exit light surface.

  According to an embodiment, the present invention also provides a window structure for receiving sunlight and introducing it into the room. The window structure includes a smooth transmission region and a fine structure refraction region. The smooth transmission area allows sunlight to enter the room while maintaining the same direction of travel. At least one light guide microstructure plate is installed on the microstructure refraction region to allow sunlight to enter the room. The light guide microstructure plate includes a substrate and a light guide microstructure layer. The substrate has an incident light surface and an exit light surface, and the exit light surface has a reference vertical surface. A light guide microstructure layer is disposed on the incident light surface. The light guide microstructure layer includes a plurality of optical microstructures protruding. Each optical microstructure includes a curved columnar structure and an oblique columnar structure that are cross-connected at the apex. When the incident light beam enters a plurality of optical microstructures at one incident angle with respect to the reference vertical plane, at least a part of the incident light beam enters the oblique column surface structure, and then internal total reflection occurs in the curved column surface structure. After being refracted, it is refracted and emitted from the exit light surface. Moreover, the optical fine structure guides sunlight and emits it at one emission angle on the emission light surface, and the emission angles are continuously distributed in one angle range.

  The light guide microstructure plate, light guide method and window structure application of the present invention provide a light guide microstructure plate that can adapt to incident light of different angles and emit in a wide angle range, for example, it can be used for windows When done, part of the sunlight is refracted and radiated to the indoor ceiling to achieve a relatively good illumination rate.

It is explanatory drawing which shows the effect | action of the conventional window. It is explanatory drawing which shows the mechanism with respect to the indoor illumination of the window concerning embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the cross-sectional structure of the optical fine structure of the light guide fine structure plate concerning embodiment of this invention, and the mechanism with respect to incident light. It is explanatory drawing which carries out beam expansion of the emitted light with respect to the single elevation angle concerning embodiment of this invention through an optical fine structure. It is explanatory drawing which shows the emitted light angle distribution after the incident light of a different elevation angle concerning this Embodiment passes through the refraction | bending effect | action of an optical fine structure. It is explanatory drawing which carries out the beam expansion of the emitted light with respect to the different single elevation angle concerning embodiment of this invention through an optical fine structure. It is explanatory drawing which shows the cross section of the light guide fine structure plate concerning embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the cross section of the light guide fine structure plate concerning embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the cross section of the light guide fine structure plate concerning embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the cross section of the light guide fine structure plate concerning embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the cross section of the light guide fine structure plate concerning embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the geometric structure parameter of the optical microstructure concerning embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the geometric structure parameter of the optical microstructure concerning embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the angle definition used for the efficacy analysis concerning embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the effect analysis of the beam expansion which the some incident elevation angle concerning this embodiment figure produces | generates. It is explanatory drawing which shows the effect analysis of the beam expansion which the some incident elevation angle concerning this embodiment figure produces | generates. It is explanatory drawing which shows the effect analysis of the beam expansion which the some incident elevation angle concerning this embodiment figure produces | generates. It is explanatory drawing which shows the effect analysis of the beam expansion which the some incident elevation angle concerning this embodiment figure produces | generates.

  In order to more effectively use sunlight for indoor lighting effects, the present invention provides a light guiding microstructure plate that can be used for windows. Hereinafter, the present invention will be described with reference to many embodiments. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and the embodiments are appropriately combined with each other.

Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a mechanism for indoor lighting of a window according to the embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 2, regarding the room 200, it is installed at a place where the window 202 can receive the sunlight 104 and introduce it into the room 200. However, the window 202 includes, for example, a smooth transmission region and a fine structure refraction region. The smooth transmission region allows the smooth transmission region to transmit while maintaining the same traveling direction, and enters the room to become downward room light 106. At least one light guide microstructure plate 204 is installed on the microstructure refraction region, and the sunlight 104 is refracted to enter the room to become upward room light 108. The microstructure refraction region is generally installed at the upper part to avoid affecting the scenery of the window, but is not limited to the installation method of this embodiment.

  The light guide microstructure plate 204 submitted by the present invention is such that the sunlight 104 received by the light guide microstructure plate 204 when the sunlight 104 is incident from any elevation angle within a large angle range is refracted toward the ceiling, and Since the light is diverged into one wide-angle range, large-area illumination is performed and there is no significant change according to the change in elevation angle, so the wide-angle emission range is maintained.

  Hereinafter, the structure and operation mechanism of the light guide microstructure plate 204 in FIG. 2 will be described. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing the cross-sectional structure of the optical microstructure of the light guiding microstructure plate according to the embodiment of the present invention and the mechanism for incident light. In FIG. 3, the light guide microstructure plate includes a substrate 210 and a light guide microstructure layer 212. The substrate 210 has an incident light surface 210a and an exit light surface 210b, of which the exit light surface 210b has a virtual reference vertical surface. A light guide microstructure layer 212 is disposed on the incident light surface 210a. The light guide microstructure layer 212 includes a plurality of optical microstructures protruding. Each optical microstructure includes a curved columnar structure 214 and an oblique columnar structure 216, which are cross-connected at the apex. The oblique column surface structure 216 protrudes and meets with two inclined surfaces 216a and 216b, for example.

  Incident light beams a1 to a6 are incident on the optical microstructure of the light guide microstructure layer 212 at one incident angle with respect to the reference vertical plane. The incident angle is also called the elevation angle with respect to the reference vertical plane, that is, the direction in which sunlight is incident on the light guide microstructure plate.

  Here, the above-mentioned optical microstructure is a stripe pillar, and is arranged in a parallel manner to form the light guide microstructure layer 212.

  Incident light a1 to a6 that is incident on the elevation angle θ is emitted by changing the direction of light travel through the characteristics of refraction, reflection, or total reflection, depending on the structure of the incident region, as it enters the optical microstructure. Changes to light a1'-a6 '. For example, when the incident light a1 and a2 are in contact with the inclined surface 216b of the oblique columnar structure 216, refracted and transmitted through the incident light surface 210a of the substrate 210, then the total reflected light a1 It becomes 'and a2' and the light beam is guided in the incident direction, so it cannot enter the room. Incident light a3 to a5 comes into contact with the inclined surface 216b of the oblique column surface structure 216, undergoes first-order refraction, enters the optical microstructure of the light guiding microstructure plate 212, and again passes through the curved surface of the curved column surface structure 214 to the inside. The light is totally reflected, passes through the incident light surface 210a of the substrate 210, and finally comes into contact with the outgoing light surface 210b to be second-order refracted to become outgoing lights a3 ′ to a5 ′. The incident light a6 first comes into contact with the curved surface of the curved columnar structure 214 of the light guiding microstructure plate 212 and first-order refracts and enters the optical microstructure, and then second-order refracts and exits through the exit light surface 210b. It becomes light a6 '.

  Speaking of incident light with a single elevation angle θ, the beam expansion action is generated through the optical microstructure of the light guide microstructure plate 212, resulting in emitted light a3 ′ to a6 ′ distributed in a relatively large angle range. As a result, the ceilings with different depths in the room achieve the effect of uniform light dispersion, and the room illuminance is improved uniformly.

  FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of an emitted light simulation in which incident light with respect to a single elevation angle according to the embodiment of the present invention undergoes beam expansion through the optical fine structure. In FIG. 4, the single elevation angle incident light 230 passes through the inclined surface of the optical fine structure and then comes into contact with the curved surface. The curved surface causes total internal reflection to become the emitted light 232, and its intensity angle distribution is the emitted light. It is drawn by the intensity angle distribution line 234, and the incident light path 236 represents the light intensity obtained in the emission direction. In other words, the incident light 230 is incident at approximately one fixed angle, but the refracted and separated exit light 232 is continuously distributed in the upward angle range, and the analysis of its details is shown in FIG. This is described in FIG.

  FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing an outgoing light angle distribution after incident light of different elevation angles according to an embodiment of the present invention undergoes a refractive action of the optical microstructure. Incident light with different optical microstructures, such as high elevation angle α, medium elevation angle β, and low elevation angle γ, can be received, contact the slope or curved surface to generate first-order refraction, and part of the light beam is light It is totally reflected internally through the exit surface and guided in the incident direction. A part of the light beam directly contacts and refracts the light exit surface to leave the optical microstructure, and a plurality of light rays undergo internal total reflection on the curved surface and refract to leave the optical microstructure when contacting the exit surface.

  Incident light with elevation angles α, β, and γ are all expanded through an optical fine structure so as to have an angle larger than an angle perpendicular to the exit light surface, and are emitted in one angle range. Thus, the incident elevation angle of sunlight existing in the conventional design changes with time, so that the phenomenon that the light trace of the indoor ceiling also changes can be effectively solved. Therefore, the effect of the light guide microstructure plate can be greatly improved.

  FIG. 6 is a simulation explanatory diagram in which incident light with respect to different single elevation angles according to the embodiment of the present invention undergoes beam expansion of outgoing light through an optical fine structure. In FIG. 6, the display method is the same as in FIG. As can be seen from the analysis results, the incident light beams 300, 302, and 304 at three elevation angles corresponding to FIG. 5 have an effect of beam expansion. In other words, the optical microstructure of the embodiment of the present invention can receive incident light with different elevation angles, and can maintain the exit light distribution of beam expansion in a wide angle range.

  7-11 is explanatory drawing which shows the cross section of the light guide fine structure plate concerning embodiment of this invention. In FIG. 7, the base material 210 and the light guide microstructure layer 212 of the light guide microstructure plate 212 are an integral structure of the same material, and the curved column surface structure 214 is a curved surface having a curvature radius of, for example, a single curvature R1. Further, the inclined column surface structure 216 is, for example, two inclined surface structures.

  In FIG. 8, not only the structure of FIG. 7 but also the oblique column surface structure 216 can be a single inclined surface structure, but the curvature radius R2 of the curved column surface structure 214 needs to be adjusted accordingly. Generally speaking, the number of inclined surfaces of the oblique column surface structure 216 is not limited to one or two, but can be increased.

  FIG. 9 shows a design change of the curved column surface structure 214, which can also be, for example, a combination of different radii of curvature R3 and R4, but is not limited to the curved surfaces listed here, and more curved surfaces. It can be.

  In FIG. 10, the above-described structure has a base material 210 and a light guide microstructure layer 212 that are integrated. However, the light guiding microstructure layer 212 can also be fabricated directly on the substrate 210, respectively. The substrate 210 is, for example, glass or a light transmissive material.

  In FIG. 11, as a further further change, the light guide microstructure layer 212 is manufactured on the light-transmitting thin film 250. At this time, the substrate 210 is, for example, a window glass to be applied. Such a method can be used in various ways and is convenient, and it is only necessary to directly attach the light guide microstructure layer to an existing window.

  As a method of manufacturing the light guide microstructure plate, for example, injection or hot pressing can be used. The optical microstructure of the light guide microstructure layer can also be molded into a transparent substrate by, for example, press printing or roll printing to form a light guide microstructure plate. The optical microstructure can also be produced as a light guiding microstructure film, for example, by molding it into a transparent film material. The transparent material described above can be plastic, glass, quartz or other types of transparent material.

The optical microstructure design is described below. FIG. 12 is a diagram showing the geometric structure parameters of the optical microstructure according to the embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 12, the optical microstructure of the light guide microstructure layer 212 is a stripe columnar structure, and its cross-sectional structure has two surfaces, a curved column surface structure and an oblique column surface structure. Speaking of the embodiment with a single curved surface and two slopes, the radius of curvature R, the ratio of slope slope and area can determine the effect of the beam expansion, the vertex coordinates (H _x , H), the curvature Several design parameters need to be considered, including radius R, lower slope slope angle A1 and two slope slope angles A2. The height of the lower slope is represented by h, and the bottom width of the optical microstructure is represented by P.

そのうち、

しかし、上記した設計条件は、１つの採用できる方式であるが、唯一の方式ではない。 The conditions for designing optical microstructures are:

Of which

However, the above design condition is one method that can be adopted, but it is not the only method.

そのうち、

また、上記したパラメーター条件は、例えば、H/Pの比率が例えば０．２５〜３の範囲である。傾斜角Aと傾斜角A1（図１２参照）との範囲が例えば３０〜９０度の範囲である。 Also, if a single bevel structure is employed, the design is slightly different. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing the geometric structure parameters of the optical microstructure according to the embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 13, the optical microstructure of the light guiding microstructure layer 212 is an example of a curved surface with a single curvature and one inclined surface, and the inclined surface has an inclination angle A.
The optical microstructure requirements for designing FIG. 13 are, for example:

Of which

Moreover, the above-described parameter conditions are, for example, a range where the H / P ratio is, for example, 0.25-3. The range of the inclination angle A and the inclination angle A1 (see FIG. 12) is, for example, a range of 30 to 90 degrees.

  In the following, the improvement in efficacy generated by the present invention will be described. FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram showing angle definitions used for efficacy analysis according to the embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 14, it is a side view of the light guiding microstructure plate 204, which has a virtual reference vertical plane and is located at 90 degrees with a dotted line. One side of the light guide microstructure plate 204 relative to the reference vertical plane is 0 degree, and the other side is 180 degrees, increasing in the counterclockwise direction. The incident angle direction has an elevation angle θ with respect to the reference vertical plane. In other words, the incident light undergoes the action of the optical fine structure, and the emitted light is divided into an emitted light 3300 smaller than 90 degrees and an emitted light 3302 larger than 90 degrees. For example, when applied to a window, the emitted light 3302 travels toward the ceiling, and its increased effectiveness helps lighting applications.

  15-18 is explanatory drawing which shows the effect analysis of the beam expansion which the some incident elevation angle concerning embodiment drawing of this invention generate | occur | produces. In FIG. 15, taking incident light with an elevation angle of 40 degrees as an example, the solid line represents the emission light effect of a geometric structure in which the optical fine structure is constituted by a curved surface and a slope. The dotted line represents the emitted light effect in which the curved surface of the optical microstructure is replaced by a slope. Although the distribution of the dotted line is limited to a single emission direction, the distribution of the solid line covers a relatively large distribution range, for example, 65 to 165 degrees, and most of the emitted light amount is larger than 90 degrees. And the angular range of the distribution is much larger than the dotted distribution. That is, the definition of the angle based on FIG. 14 is that the exit light plane is one side of the reference vertical plane (dotted line), and the direction of the light guide microstructure plate 204 that is not the same side as the incident light is 0 degrees, Increase in the direction. Thus, another side of the light guide microstructure plate 204 on the reference vertical plane is 180 degrees.

  In FIG. 16, taking incident light with an elevation angle of 50 degrees as an example, the emission light distribution has the same characteristics as FIG.

  In FIG. 17, taking incident light with an elevation angle of 60 degrees as an example, the emission light distribution has the same characteristics as those in FIGS. 15 and 16, and most of them can be used because they are refracted. .

  In FIG. 18, taking incident light with an elevation angle of 70 degrees as an example, the emission light distribution has the same characteristics as in FIGS. 15 to 17, and as can be seen from the comparison between the solid line and the dotted line, Increase efficiency a lot.

  As can be demonstrated from the analysis of FIGS. 15-18, the design of the present invention can be adapted to incident light at different elevation angles, and therefore has a relatively large utility and is not limited to incident light at a particular elevation angle.

  As described above, the present invention has been disclosed by the embodiments. However, the present invention is not intended to limit the present invention, and within the scope of the technical idea of the present invention, as can be easily understood by those skilled in the art, Appropriate changes and modifications can be made, so that the scope of protection of the patent right must be determined on the basis of the scope of claims and the equivalent area.

100 houses
102 windows
103 sunlight
106 Indoor light
108 room light
200 rooms
202 windows
204 Light guiding microstructure plate
210 Base material
210a Incident light surface
210b Emission light surface
212 Light guiding microstructure layer
214 Curved column structure
216 Oblique columnar structure
216a, 216b slope
230 Incident light
232 Emission light
234 Emission light intensity distribution line
236 Incident light path
250 Translucent thin film
300, 302, 304 Incident light flux
3300, 3302 Emission light

Claims (13)

Providing a light guiding microstructure plate;
Using the light guide microstructure plate, receiving incident light at one elevation angle and emitting the incident light into a continuously distributed angular range,
Among them, the light guide microstructure plate to provide is:
A substrate having an incident light surface and an exit light surface, wherein the exit light surface has a reference vertical surface;
A light-guiding microstructure layer disposed on the incident light surface, including a plurality of protruding optical microstructures, each of which includes a curved column surface structure and an oblique column surface structure in which each optical microstructure is cross-connected at the apex. Including
Among them, when an incident light beam enters the plurality of optical microstructures at one incident angle on the reference vertical surface, after at least a part of the incident light beam enters the oblique column surface structure, A light guide method that is refracted after exiting the entire internal surface and exiting from the exit light surface.   The guide according to claim 1, wherein a part of the incident light beam further enters the curved column surface structure, generates refraction in the curved column surface structure, and further refracts and transmits on the exit light surface. Light way.   The incident light beam is further refracted at the exit light surface after a part of the incident light beam enters the curved column surface structure to cause refraction in the curved column surface structure or internal total reflection in the curved column surface structure. The light guiding method according to claim 1, wherein the light guiding method is transparent.   The light guide method according to claim 1, wherein the curved column surface structure of the optical microstructure provided includes at least one curved surface.   The light guide method according to claim 1, wherein the provided oblique surface structure of the optical microstructure includes at least one inclined surface. The light guide fine structure layer displays the bottom width of the base material as P, the height of the light guide fine structure layer as H, and the oblique angle between the oblique columnar structure and the base material is A. If so, the following conditions:
H / P is in the range of 0.25-3;
The light guiding method according to claim 5, wherein A is suitable for a range of 30 to 90 degrees. A light guiding microstructure plate,
A substrate having an incident light surface and an exit light surface, wherein the exit light surface has a reference vertical surface;
A light-guiding microstructure layer disposed on the incident light surface, including a plurality of protruding optical microstructures, each of which includes a curved column surface structure and an oblique column surface structure in which each optical microstructure is cross-connected at the apex. Prepared,
Among them, when an incident light beam enters the plurality of optical microstructures at one incident angle on the reference vertical surface, after at least a part of the incident light beam enters the oblique column surface structure, A light-guided microstructure plate that is refracted and emitted from the exit light surface after generating internal overall reflection.   8. The guide according to claim 7, wherein a part of the incident light beam further enters the curved column surface structure, causes refraction in the curved column surface structure, and further refracts and transmits on the exit light surface. Light microstructure plate.   A part of the incident light beam further enters the curved column surface structure, generates refraction in the curved column surface structure, or generates internal total reflection in the curved column surface structure, and then on the exit light surface. 8. The light guide microstructure plate according to claim 7, wherein the light guide microstructure plate is refracted and transmitted.   8. The optical microstructure according to claim 7, wherein the optical microstructure guides the incident light and is emitted at one exit angle on the exit light surface, and the exit angles are continuously distributed in one angular range. Light guiding microstructure plate.   The light guide microstructure plate according to claim 7, wherein the curved column surface structure of the optical microstructure includes at least one curved surface.   The light guide microstructure plate according to claim 7, wherein the oblique column surface structure of the optical microstructure includes at least one inclined surface. The light guide microstructure plate displays the base width of the substrate as P, the height of the light guide microstructure layer as H, and the oblique angle between the oblique column surface structure and the substrate as A. If so, the following conditions:
H / P is in the range of 0.25-3;
The light guide microstructure plate according to claim 7, wherein A is suitable for a range of 30 to 90 degrees.

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