JPH0433002B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a display light guide using plastic optical fibers. The present invention relates to a method for efficiently manufacturing a large display light guide.

Display devices that use optical fibers, especially plastic optical fibers, as light guide materials are resource-saving because they require only one or a limited number of light sources, and the light sources are easy to maintain and inspect, and colors and images change. It has advantages such as being rich in color and exhibiting excellent display effects, as well as being easy to manufacture due to its excellent processability, and is becoming popular as a variety of display devices. By the way, in these display devices, it is common to use a large number of plastic optical fibers, and the input ends are focused and placed near the light source, and the output ends are fixed to match the display on the display board. It is. However, although optical fibers have the function of guiding the light that enters from the input end to the output end, the angle at which the light is emitted is relatively narrow, approximately 60 degrees, and when viewing the display board from an oblique direction, the light The problem was that the amount of light reaching the screen was small and the display surface became dark.

For this reason, conventional display devices employ methods such as increasing the output angle by enlarging the output end or fixing glass beads or the like, or providing a diffusion sheet on the front surface. However, even these methods are not always sufficient, and these methods require a lot of time and effort to manufacture, and the fixing method is complicated, leading to an increase in manufacturing costs. . Furthermore, depending on the purpose, the amount of light transmitted through the optical fiber may be insufficient, and in such cases there is a problem in having to use a light source with a high output.

From this point of view, the present applicant has already proposed a light guide for display that has a large output angle and is easy to manufacture, in which a plastic optical fiber is provided with bent portions at required locations and these are used as output sides. (Special Application No. 58-2414).

The gist of the present invention is to provide a support material in which a large number of through holes are formed, one side of which is a light emitting side surface, and the other surface of which is a light source side; A method for manufacturing a display light guide comprising a plurality of plastic optical fibers each having a loop-shaped bent portion and having both ends as light incident ends, the method comprising: attaching the plastic optical fibers to predetermined locations of the support material. A through hole with a diameter approximately equal to the thickness of the insertion portion was drilled, and a plastic optical fiber was bent into the through hole and inserted with both ends aligned, and a bent portion was formed on the inserted side. A method of manufacturing a light guide for display is characterized by the following.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be explained in detail with reference to drawings of embodiments.

1 in the figure is a plastic optical fiber, for example, the core material is polymethyl methacrylate, polystyrene, or polycarbonate, and the sheath material is made of a material selected from fluorocarbon polymers, silicone polymers, polymethyl methacrylate, etc., which have a lower refractive index than the core material. is used. The thickness of the plastic optical fiber 1 is generally about 0.5 to 3 mm.

Reference numeral 2 denotes a support material, which is made of a plate-like material made of metal, plastic, wood, etc., cloth, net, lattice material, etc., and the support material 2 is provided with thick holes for insertion of the plastic optical fiber 1 at required locations. A through hole 21 is provided which is approximately equal to the width of the hole.

The present invention aims to manufacture a display light guide by efficiently inserting a plastic optical fiber 1 into the support material 2 as described above, and will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. First, one unit of plastic optical fiber 1 to be inserted is bent in half, and both ends 12 of the plastic optical fiber 1 are brought together. In this state, it is inserted into the through hole 21 of the support member 2 as shown in FIG. When both ends 12 are pulled together after insertion, a loop-shaped bent portion 11 with a small curvature is formed on the insertion side. In this way, the plastic optical fibers 1 are sequentially inserted into the through holes 21 provided in the support material 2.
By inserting it, for example, a display light guide as shown in FIG. 3 can be easily obtained. In other words, this display light guide represents the letter "K",
Since the bent portion 11 has a small loop shape,
Light incident from both end sides 12 will be emitted from this portion. Since the bent portion 11 has a loop shape, the output range and output angle are larger than that of the cut end surface of the plastic optical fiber 1, so that it can be used as a display light guide with a large viewing range. Moreover, since the plastic optical fiber 1 inserted at this time is held at the bent portion 11 by the through hole 21 as shown in FIG.
Stability is provided by the elasticity of the bent portion 11, but an adhesive may be used for supplementary fixation. In FIG. 3, 3 is a lamp, 4 is a color filter, and 5 is a drive motor for the color filter.

In order to increase the range of light emitted from the bent portion 11 of the present invention, it is more effective to perform a damage treatment to remove the sheath material on the outside. This bent part 1
1 is generally damaged by a method using sandpaper or a sandplast method, and in some cases, a chemical method using an organic solvent may also be used. If there is a concern that the strength of the plastic optical fiber 1 will decrease due to such damage treatment, an annealing treatment may be performed.

In the above explanation, the method of manufacturing a display light guide by inserting a single plastic optical fiber 1 into the through hole 21 was explained. It may be inserted into the through hole 21 and fixed in the same manner. Of course, the diameter of the through hole 21 of the support material 2 in this case is determined depending on the thickness of the insertion portion of the plastic optical fiber 1. Furthermore, the plastic optical fibers 1 may be arranged with respect to the support member 2 so as to represent specific characters or figures as shown in FIG. 3, or may be arranged regularly in the vertical and horizontal directions.

Since the present invention has the configuration as described in detail above, it has the advantage that a display light guide having a wide emission range, brightness, and a three-dimensional effect in the display area can be efficiently manufactured.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 and 2 are explanatory diagrams showing the manufacturing process of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a display device incorporating the display light guide obtained by the present invention. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Plastic optical fiber, 11... Bent part, 12... Both end sides, 2... Supporting material.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A supporting material in which a large number of through holes are formed, one side is a light emitting side surface, and the other side is a light source side; A method for producing a display light guide comprising a plurality of plastic optical fibers each having a shaped bent portion and having both ends as light incident ends, the method comprising: inserting a plastic optical fiber insertion portion at a predetermined location of the supporting member; A through hole with a diameter approximately equal to the thickness of the hole is drilled, and a plastic optical fiber is bent into the through hole and inserted with both ends aligned, and a bent part is formed on the inserted side. A method for producing a featured display light guide.