JP2015088302A - Process of manufacture of light guide plate and light guide plate - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a technique of manufacturing a light guide plate of emitting several colors of light under steps as less as possible.SOLUTION: A prescribed pattern of ink of several colors is printed on one surface of a flat plate-like member 34 permeating light to form several reflection dots 100, 102, 104 reflecting light in a process for manufacturing a light guide plate 12, and a light emitting surface 112 is illuminated with light in the several colors. That is, it becomes possible to manufacture the light guide plate emitting light in several colors without arranging a color filter at the plate-like member 34. With this arrangement, it becomes possible to save a step for arranging the color filter at the time of manufacturing the light guide plate, and further it becomes possible to improve a throughput at the time of manufacturing the light guide plate. In addition, it is not necessary to use the color filter and the like, and it becomes possible to reduce cost. Moreover, it is not necessary to arrange the color filter or the like at the plate-like member, and it becomes possible to make a thin light guide plate.

Description

  The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a light guide plate having a light emitting surface that emits light in a plurality of colors, and a light guide plate having a light emitting surface that emits light in a plurality of colors.

  The light guide plate has a flat base material that transmits light, and one surface of the base material emits light. In detail, the light source is provided in the side part of the flat base material, and the light from a light source injects into the side part of a base material. The surface opposite to the light emitting surface of the substrate (hereinafter sometimes referred to as the light emitting surface) is subjected to a treatment for reflecting the light incident from the side of the substrate. The light incident from the side portion is reflected inside the base material, and the light emitting surface emits light by the reflected light. As a process for reflecting light incident from the side of the substrate, for example, a method of forming hemispherical reflective dots with ink or the like on the surface opposite to the light emitting surface of the substrate is known. Further, a transmission dot for transmitting light incident from the side of the substrate is formed on the light emitting surface, and the light incident from the side of the substrate passes through the transmission dot, so that the light emitting surface is There is also a light guide plate that emits light.

  There are also light guide plates whose light emitting surfaces emit light in a plurality of colors. As will be described in detail later, in the light guide plate in which the light emitting surface emits light in multiple colors, a color filter is attached to the light emitting surface, and when the light passes through the color filter, the light emitting surface emits light in multiple colors. . Moreover, as described in the following patent document, it is possible to cause the light emitting surface to emit light in a plurality of colors by including phosphor particles of a plurality of colors in the base material. Specifically, the phosphor excites light and changes the wavelength range of the light, and the light reflected in the substrate is reflected by the plurality of phosphor particles contained in the substrate. The wavelength range is changed according to the phosphor particles. As a result, the light emitting surface emits light in a plurality of colors.

JP 2009-16289 A

  According to the light guide plate described in the above-mentioned patent document, the light emitting surface can emit light in a plurality of colors. However, when manufacturing the light guide plate described in the above-mentioned patent document, a process for reflecting the light incident from the side of the base material or a process for transmitting the light to the base material, for example, It is necessary to perform a step of forming hemispherical reflective dots or the like on one surface of the substrate with ink or the like and a step of incorporating phosphor particles of a plurality of colors inside the substrate. Moreover, when manufacturing a light guide plate that emits light in a plurality of colors using a color filter, it is necessary to perform a step of forming reflective dots and a step of attaching a color filter to the light emitting surface. As described above, when manufacturing a light guide plate that emits light in a plurality of colors, a step of forming a reflection dot and the like, and a member for separating light reflected by the reflection dot into a plurality of colors of light, for example, a color filter However, it is desirable to manufacture a light guide plate that emits light in a plurality of colors with as few steps as possible. This invention is made | formed in view of such a situation, and makes it a subject to provide the technique for manufacturing the light-guide plate which light-emits multiple colors by the fewest possible processes.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the manufacturing method according to claim 1 of the present application is a method of manufacturing a light guide plate having a light emitting surface that emits light in a plurality of colors, the light emitting surface or the opposite of the light emitting surface. A dot forming step of forming a plurality of transmissive dots that transmit light or a plurality of reflective dots that reflect light by printing a plurality of colors of ink in a predetermined pattern on the side surface; To do.

  Further, in the manufacturing method according to claim 2, in the manufacturing method according to claim 1, the dot forming step uses the discharge device capable of discharging the plurality of colors of ink, Alternatively, it is a step of printing the plurality of colors of ink on a surface opposite to the light emitting surface.

  The manufacturing method according to claim 3 is characterized in that, in the manufacturing method according to claim 1 or 2, the discharge device has a plurality of discharge holes arranged linearly.

  Further, in the manufacturing method according to claim 4, in the manufacturing method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, at least one of the plurality of colors of ink is an ink containing a phosphor. It is characterized by.

  The light guide plate according to claim 5 is a plurality of colors printed in a predetermined pattern on a flat base material that transmits light, and a light emitting surface of the base material or a surface opposite to the light emitting surface. And a plurality of transmission dots that transmit light or a plurality of reflection dots that reflect light, and the light emitting surface emits light in a plurality of colors.

  In the light guide plate manufacturing method according to claim 1, a plurality of reflective dots or transmissive dots are formed by printing a plurality of colors of ink in a predetermined pattern on one surface of the substrate. In the light guide plate according to claim 5, a plurality of reflective dots or transmissive dots are formed of a plurality of colors of ink printed in a predetermined pattern on one surface of the substrate. That is, it is only necessary to form reflective dots of a plurality of colors on the substrate, and there is no need to provide a color filter, phosphor particles, or the like. Thus, according to the manufacturing method of the light guide plate according to claim 1 and the light guide plate according to claim 4, it is possible to omit the step of arranging the color filter, the phosphor particles, and the like. Time throughput can be improved. In addition, it is not necessary to use a color filter or the like, and cost can be reduced. Furthermore, it becomes unnecessary to dispose a color filter or the like on the base material, and the light guide plate can be made thinner.

  In the light guide plate manufacturing method according to the second aspect, the reflective dots and the like are formed by using an ejection device capable of ejecting a plurality of colors of ink. For this reason, if a drawing pattern such as reflective dots drawn by ink ejection is changed, a color image displayed by light emission of a plurality of colors can be changed. In other words, the light guide plate can be manufactured on demand by printing the reflective dots and the like on the substrate on demand.

  In the light guide plate manufacturing method according to the third aspect, the reflective dots and the like are formed by using a discharge device having a plurality of discharge holes arranged in a line, a so-called inkjet head. Thereby, it is possible to form a plurality of reflective dots and the like at high speed, and it is possible to improve the throughput when manufacturing the light guide plate.

  In the method of manufacturing the light guide plate according to the fourth aspect, the reflective dots and the like are formed by the ink containing the phosphor. Thereby, the light reflected by the reflective dots or the light transmitted through the transmissive dots can be changed to light of any color with reduced light loss.

It is a top view which shows the light-guide plate manufacturing apparatus which can implement | achieve the manufacturing method of the light-guide plate which is an Example of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the control apparatus with which the light-guide plate manufacturing apparatus of FIG. 1 is provided. It is the schematic which shows the light-guide plate manufactured by the manufacturing method which is an Example of this invention. It is the schematic which shows the light-guide plate manufactured by the conventional manufacturing method. It is the schematic which shows the light-guide plate manufactured with the manufacturing method of the modification.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings as modes for carrying out the present invention.

<Configuration of light guide plate manufacturing apparatus>
In FIG. 1, the light-guide plate manufacturing apparatus 10 of the Example of this invention is shown. The light guide plate manufacturing apparatus 10 is a device for manufacturing a light guide plate (see FIG. 3) 12 used in a so-called digital signage (digital signage) whose light emitting surface emits light in a plurality of colors. The light guide plate manufacturing apparatus 10 includes a transport device 20, a head moving device 22, and an inkjet head 24.

  The conveyance device 20 includes a pair of conveyor belts 30 extending in the X-axis direction, and an electromagnetic motor (see FIG. 2) 32 that rotates the conveyor belt 30. The pair of conveyor belts 30 supports a plate-like acrylic plate-like member 34 serving as a base material for the light guide plate 12, and the plate-like member 34 is conveyed in the X-axis direction by driving an electromagnetic motor 32. The Further, the transport device 20 includes a holding device (see FIG. 2) 36. The holding device 36 fixedly holds the plate member 34 supported by the conveyor belt 30 at a predetermined position (a position where the plate member 34 in FIG. 1 is illustrated).

  The head moving device 22 includes an X-axis direction slide mechanism 50 and a Y-axis direction slide mechanism 52. The X-axis direction slide mechanism 50 has an X-axis slider 56 provided on the base 54 so as to be movable in the X-axis direction. The X-axis slider 56 is moved to an arbitrary position in the X-axis direction by driving an electromagnetic motor (see FIG. 2) 58. The Y-axis direction slide mechanism 52 has a Y-axis slider 60 provided on the side surface of the X-axis slider 56 so as to be movable in the Y-axis direction. The Y-axis slider 60 is moved to an arbitrary position in the Y-axis direction by driving an electromagnetic motor (see FIG. 2) 62. An inkjet head 24 is attached to the Y-axis slider 60. With such a structure, the inkjet head 24 is moved to an arbitrary position on the base 54 by the head moving device 22.

  The inkjet head 24 ejects a plurality of colors of ink on the plate-like member 34. Specifically, a plurality of nozzle holes (not shown) arranged in a line are formed on the lower surface of the inkjet head 24. Then, according to the electric signal, a plurality of colors of ink are ejected from the plurality of nozzle holes of the inkjet head 24 using the piezoelectric element (see FIG. 2) 72 and vapor bubbles caused by heat as driving sources. As a result, a plurality of colors of ink are ejected onto the plate-like member 34.

  Moreover, the light-guide plate manufacturing apparatus 10 is provided with the control apparatus 80, as shown in FIG. The control device 80 includes a controller 82 and a plurality of drive circuits 84. The plurality of drive circuits 84 are connected to the electromagnetic motors 32, 58, 62, the holding device 36, and the piezoelectric element 72. The controller 82 includes a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, and the like, mainly a computer, and is connected to a plurality of drive circuits 84. Thereby, the operation of the transport device 20, the head moving device 22, and the ink jet head 24 is controlled by the controller 82.

<Formation of light guide plate>
In the light guide plate manufacturing apparatus 10, the light guide plate 12 is formed by ejecting a plurality of colors of ink onto the plate-like member 34 held by the transport device 20 by the inkjet head 24 with the above-described configuration. Specifically, the plate-like member 34 is transported to the work position according to a command from the controller 82, and the plate-like member 34 is fixedly held by the holding device 36 at that position. Then, the inkjet head 24 moves above the plate-like member 34 according to a command from the controller 82. Subsequently, the inkjet head 24 ejects a plurality of colors of ink in a predetermined pattern on the upper surface of the plate-like member 34 according to a command from the controller 82. Thereby, as shown in FIG. 3, hemispherical reflective dots 100, 102, and 104 are formed on one surface of the plate-like member.

  The inks of a plurality of colors ejected from the inkjet head 24 are red ink, blue ink, and green ink. Specifically, the red ink contains particles that reflect the wavelength range of red light, the blue ink contains particles that reflect the wavelength range of blue light, and the green ink contains green particles. Particles that reflect the wavelength range of the light. Then, red reflective dots 100 are formed with red ink, blue reflective dots 102 are formed with blue ink, and green reflective dots 104 are formed with green ink.

  When the reflective dots 100, 102, and 104 of a plurality of colors are formed on one surface of the plate member 34, the white LED 106 is disposed on the side of the plate member 34 as shown in FIG. Thereby, the light guide plate 12 is manufactured. The light guide plate 12 uses a white LED 106 as a light source and emits light in a plurality of colors. Specifically, the white light 108 emitted from the white LED 106 is reflected directly or within the plate member 34 and is incident on the red reflective dots 100 printed on the plate member 34. The light 108 incident on the red reflecting dots 100 is reflected in the reflecting dots 100 to become red light 110, and exits the light guide plate 12 from the light emitting surface 112. The light emitting surface 112 is a surface opposite to the surface on which the reflective dots 100, 102, 104 of the plate member 34 are formed.

  Further, the white light 108 emitted from the white LED 106 is reflected directly or within the plate member 34 and is incident on the blue reflective dots 102 printed on the plate member 34. The light 108 incident on the blue reflective dot 102 is reflected within the reflective dot 102 to become blue light 114, and goes out of the light guide plate 12 from the light emitting surface 112. Further, the white light 108 emitted from the white LED 106 is reflected directly or within the plate member 34 and is incident on the green reflective dots 104 printed on the plate member 34. The light 108 incident on the green reflective dot 104 is reflected within the reflective dot 104 to become green light 116, and goes out of the light guide plate 12 from the light emitting surface 112. As a result, the light emitting surface 112 emits light in three colors of RGB, and a color image corresponding to the pattern of ink ejected to the plate-like member 34 is displayed on the light emitting surface 112.

  As described above, in the light guide plate manufacturing apparatus 10, a plurality of colors of ink are printed on one surface of the plate-shaped member 34, and a light source is disposed on the side of the plate-shaped member 34, so The light plate 12 is manufactured. On the other hand, the conventional light guide plate is manufactured by printing ink on one surface of the plate-like member 34 and sticking a color filter on the other surface. Specifically, white ink is ejected in a predetermined pattern onto one surface of a flat acrylic plate-like member (see FIG. 4) 120 in the same manner as described above. Thereby, as shown in FIG. 4, a plurality of white reflective dots 122 are formed on one surface of the plate-like member 120 with white ink.

  Further, the color filter 124 is attached to the light emitting surface 123 which is the surface opposite to the surface on which the reflective dots 122 of the plate-like member 120 are formed. The color filter 124 is a filter that passes a specific wavelength range of visible light, a red filter unit 126 that passes a wavelength range of red light, a blue filter unit 128 that passes a wavelength range of blue light, It is configured by a green filter unit 130 that allows a green light wavelength band to pass through. And while the reflective dot 122 is formed and the white LED 132 is arrange | positioned by the side part of the plate-shaped member 120 to which the color filter 124 was stuck, the light-guide plate 134 is manufactured.

  In the light guide plate 134 thus manufactured, the white light 136 emitted from the white LED 132 is reflected directly or within the plate member 120 and is incident on the reflective dots 122 printed on the plate member 120. To do. The light 136 incident on the reflective dot 122 is reflected within the reflective dot 122 and exits from the light emitting surface 123 to the outside of the light guide plate 134. At this time, light passing through the red filter unit 126 becomes red light 138, light passing through the blue filter unit 128 becomes blue light 140, and light passing through the green filter unit 130 becomes green light 142. Become. Thereby, also in the light guide plate 134 manufactured by the conventional method, the light emitting surface 123 emits light of three colors of RGB, and a color image corresponding to the pattern of the ink discharged to the plate-like member 120 is displayed on the light emitting surface 123. Is displayed.

  However, when the light guide plate is manufactured by the conventional method, it is necessary not only to form the reflective dots 122 on the plate member 120 but also to attach the color filter 124 to the plate member 120 as described above. . On the other hand, when the light guide plate is manufactured by the light guide plate manufacturing apparatus 10, it is only necessary to form the reflective dots 100, 102, and 104 of a plurality of colors on the plate-like member 34, and it is not necessary to attach a color filter. In this manner, by forming the reflective dots 100, 102, and 104 of a plurality of colors on the plate-like member 34, it is possible to omit the color filter attaching step. Thereby, it becomes possible to simplify the manufacturing method of a light-guide plate, and a throughput improves. In addition, it is not necessary to use a color filter, and the cost can be reduced. Furthermore, it is not necessary to attach a separate member such as a color filter to the plate-like member, and the light guide plate can be thinned.

  In the light guide plate manufacturing apparatus 10, the reflective dots 100, 102, and 104 are formed by ejecting ink from the inkjet head 24. Therefore, the color image displayed on the light emitting surface 112 can be changed by changing the drawing pattern of the reflective dots 100, 102, and 104 drawn by ink ejection. That is, the light guide plate can be manufactured on demand by printing the reflective dots 100, 102, and 104 on the plate-like member 34 on demand.

  Incidentally, in the said Example, the light-guide plate 12 is an example of a light-guide plate. The inkjet head 24 is an example of an ejection device. The nozzle holes of the inkjet head 24 are an example of ejection holes. The plate member 34 is an example of a base material. The reflective dots 100, 102, and 104 are examples of reflective dots. The light emitting surface 112 is an example of a light emitting surface. Moreover, the manufacturing method of the light-guide plate 12 is an example of the manufacturing method of a light-guide plate. The process of forming the reflective dots 100, 102, 104 on the plate member 34 is an example of a dot forming process.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to the said Example, It is possible to implement in the various aspect which gave various change and improvement based on the knowledge of those skilled in the art. Specifically, for example, in the above embodiment, as the ink used when forming the reflective dots 100, 102, and 104, ink containing particles that reflect a wavelength in a specific region is employed. Can be adopted. For example, a light guide plate that emits light in a plurality of colors can also be manufactured by forming reflective dots using a plurality of colors of ink containing phosphor particles.

  Specifically, a plurality of colors of ink containing phosphor particles are ejected in a predetermined pattern onto one surface of a flat acrylic plate-like member 150 (see FIG. 5). The phosphor excites light and converts it to a specific wavelength. The ink containing the phosphor particles includes a red ink containing phosphor particles that convert to the wavelength range of red light; Green ink containing phosphor particles that convert to the wavelength range of green light is employed. In addition, transparent ink that does not contain phosphor particles is also ejected onto one surface of the plate-like member 150. As a result, as shown in FIG. 5, red reflective dots 152 are formed on one surface of the plate-like member 150 by red ink containing phosphor particles, and green by green ink containing phosphor particles. Reflection dots 154 are formed, and transparent reflection dots 156 are formed with transparent ink.

  When the reflective dots 152, 154 and 156 are formed on one surface of the plate-like member 150, the blue LED 158 is disposed on the side of the plate-like member 150. Thereby, the light guide plate 160 is manufactured. In the light guide plate 160, the blue light 162 emitted from the blue LED 158 is reflected directly or within the plate member 150 and is incident on the red reflective dots 152 printed on the plate member 150. The light 162 incident on the red reflecting dot 152 is converted into a red wavelength region by the phosphor particles and reflected within the reflecting dot 152. Then, the light 164 reflected in the reflection dot 152 becomes red light, and goes out of the light guide plate 160 from the light emitting surface 166.

  Further, the blue light 162 emitted from the blue LED 158 is reflected directly or within the plate member 150 and is incident on the green reflective dots 154 printed on the plate member 150. The light 162 incident on the green reflective dot 154 is converted into a green wavelength region by the phosphor particles and reflected within the reflective dot 154. Then, the light 168 reflected in the reflection dot 154 becomes green light and goes out of the light guide plate 160 from the light emitting surface 166. Further, the blue light 162 emitted from the blue LED 158 is reflected directly or within the plate member 150 and enters the transparent reflective dots 156 printed on the plate member 150. The blue light 162 incident on the transparent reflection dot 156 is reflected in the reflection dot 156 without being converted in wavelength range. For this reason, the light 170 reflected in the reflection dot 156 is the original blue light, and goes out of the light guide plate 160 from the light emitting surface 166. As a result, the light emitting surface 166 emits light in three colors of RGB, and a color image corresponding to the pattern of ink ejected to the plate-like member 150 is displayed on the light emitting surface 166. As described above, a light guide plate that emits light in a plurality of colors can also be manufactured by forming reflective dots using a plurality of colors of ink containing phosphor particles.

  In the above-described embodiment, the ink jet head 24 is employed as a device for ejecting ink. However, various ejection devices such as a dispenser head can be employed.

  Moreover, in the said Example, although the surface on the opposite side to the surface in which the reflective dot 100 grade | etc., Of the plate-shaped member 34 was formed becomes the light emission surface 112, the reflective dot 100 grade | etc., Of the plate-shaped member 34 was formed. The surface can also be a light emitting surface. That is, the light incident on the reflective dots 100 etc. passes through the reflective dots 100 etc. without being reflected by the reflective dots 100 etc., and goes out of the light guide plate 12. The surface on which the reflective dots 100 and the like are formed can be a light emitting surface. In this case, since the light incident on the reflective dots 100 and the like passes through the reflective dots 100 and the like, the reflective dots 100 and the like function as transmissive dots.

  12: Light guide plate 24: Inkjet head (discharge device) 34: Plate-shaped member (base material) 100: Reflective dot 102: Reflective dot 104: Reflective dot 112: Light emitting surface 150: Plate-shaped member (base material) 152: Reflective dot 154: Reflective dots 156: Reflective dots 160: Light guide plate 166: Light emitting surface

Claims (5)

In the method of manufacturing a light guide plate having a light emitting surface that emits light in a plurality of colors,
By printing a plurality of colors of ink in a predetermined pattern on the light emitting surface or the surface opposite to the light emitting surface, a plurality of transmission dots that transmit light or a plurality of reflection dots that reflect light A method for manufacturing a light guide plate, comprising a step of forming dots to be formed. The dot forming step
The step of printing the ink of the plurality of colors on the light emitting surface or a surface opposite to the light emitting surface using an ejection device capable of ejecting the ink of the plurality of colors. Item 2. A method for manufacturing a light guide plate according to Item 1. The discharge device is
The method for manufacturing a light guide plate according to claim 1, further comprising a plurality of discharge holes arranged in a line. At least one of the plurality of colors of ink is
The method of manufacturing a light guide plate according to claim 1, wherein the light guide plate is an ink containing a phosphor. A flat substrate that transmits light;
A plurality of transmissive dots that transmit light formed by a plurality of colors of ink printed in a predetermined pattern on the light emitting surface of the base material, or a surface opposite to the light emitting surface, or a plurality of light reflecting surfaces A light guide plate comprising: a reflective dot; and the light emitting surface emits light in a plurality of colors.

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