JPH059762B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a display light guide using plastic optical fibers, and more specifically, to a display light guide using plastic optical fibers. The present invention relates to a display light guide having a characteristic large emission angle.

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.

In view of this situation, the present invention aims to provide a light guide for display that has a large emission angle and is easy to manufacture. That is, 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 output side surface, and the other surface of which is a light source side, and a large number of plastic pieces that are fitted into the through holes of the support material. The plastic optical fiber is inserted into the through hole of the support member from the light source side, is folded back into a loop shape at the light output side surface to form a loop-shaped bent portion, and is then inserted into the light output side surface again. The light guide is fitted into the through hole, and both ends of the optical fiber are disposed near the light source and serve as light incident ends.

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

In the figure, reference numeral 1 indicates a large number of plastic optical fibers, each of which has a bent portion 11 at a required portion.
This bent portion 11 serves as an output side surface. Both ends 12 of the plastic optical fiber 1 are bundled and fixed so that it can be easily installed near the light source 3. Note that 4 in the figure is a colored filter that is located between the light source 3 and the incident side 12 and is driven to rotate. 2 is a supporting material, which may be a plate-shaped body with through holes made of metal, plastic, wood, etc., fabric,
Nets, grid materials, etc. are used. The plastic optical fiber 1 used in the present invention is not particularly limited as long as it has appropriate flexibility, but for example, the core material is polymethyl methacrylate, polystyrene, or polycarbonate, and the sheath material is more It is generally made of a material selected from low refractive index fluorine-based polymers, silicone-based polymers, polymethylene methacrylate, and the like. The thickness of the plastic optical fiber 1 is approximately 0.1 to 3.
A diameter of about mm is used.

Although the display light guide of the present invention has the above-described structure, an example in which it is applied to the display devices shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 will be described below. FIG. 1 shows the most basic application example, in which an individual plastic optical fiber 1 is folded in half as shown in FIG. 1
It is fixed by fitting into two through holes. Conventionally, the plastic optical fiber was fixed to a support member by fitting it into a through hole drilled in the support member, but in the present invention, bent portions 11 are formed at the required locations where the light should be emitted. It is characterized in that the bent portion 11 is the exit side surface. When the plastic optical fiber 1 is bent in this manner, the light incident from both ends 12 is emitted from the bent portion 11 to become strong light, and a relatively wide area can be illuminated. . At this time, if the radius of curvature of the bent part 11 is made as small as possible, the amount of light emitted increases, and the amount of light emitted can be adjusted by adjusting the radius of curvature. 11 It is advisable to scratch the outside with sandpaper or the like to create a defective part of the sheath material and polarize the light from there. Note that, in addition to the method using sandpaper, a sandplast method can be used as a method for damaging the bent portion 11, and in some cases, a chemical method using an organic solvent may also be used.

FIG. 2 shows an example applied to a display device using two light sources, in which both ends 12 of a plastic optical fiber 1 fixed to a support member 2 to form a bent portion 11 are connected to each light source 3. It is located nearby. In this case, the method of fixing the plastic optical fiber 1 to the support member 2 is to fit and fix one plastic optical fiber 1 using two or more through holes, as shown in FIGS. 5B to D. is common. When light from different light sources 3 is inputted from both ends 12 of the plastic optical fiber 1 in this way, a strong light that is the sum of both can be emitted from the bent portion 11. Of course, by changing the colors of the two light sources 3, it is possible to emit light in a mixed color.
By turning each light source 3 ON and OFF, the color can be changed alternately. In addition, 6 in FIG. 5C is a splint fixed on the support material 2, and using such a splint 6 is advantageous because the radius of curvature and height of the bent portion 11 can be made constant. . Furthermore, if it is fixed as shown in FIG. 5D, the emission side surface can be separated.

FIG. 3 shows an example suitable for displaying images, in which the bent portions 11 are regularly arranged vertically and horizontally with respect to the support member 2. FIG. In the examples shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the bent parts 11 are arranged on the supporting material 2 to represent predetermined characters, but in this example, the bent parts 11 are arranged regularly, and both ends 12 of these parts are arranged coherently. The projector 5, which serves as a light source, is installed near the projector 5 so as to have a similar relationship. In this example, by sending the same image from the projector 5, the output image can be made brighter, and by installing a colored lamp or a colored filter on one side and turning it on and off, images of different colors can be alternately displayed. It can also be displayed.

FIG. 4 shows a display device constructed by combining the display light guide of the present invention into a unit type, in which a plastic optical fiber 1 is attached to a rod-shaped support 2 in the same manner as in FIG. 5A. A display light guide is used in which these are arranged and fixed.

Figures E and F show other configuration examples of the display light guide. Figure E shows a structure in which the bent portion 11 is a knot, and Figure F shows a structure in which several plastic lights are connected to one illumination point. The fibers 1 are arranged, and in any case, the same effects as those described above are exhibited, and there is also the advantage that a three-dimensional effect can be imparted to the display surface. Further, FIGS. 6A to 6D show other arrangements of the bent portions 11 serving as the emission side surfaces, and they may be arranged radially as shown in A and B, annularly as shown in C, or intersectingly as shown in D.

Since the present invention has the configuration as detailed above, it has a simple structure and can be manufactured easily, and since bent portions are provided at required locations to form the emission side, the emission angle can be adjusted. By making the display as large as possible, the viewing range of the display is expanded, and the brightness of the output part can be increased and the color can be changed, and the bending part can also give a three-dimensional effect to the display part. This has the advantage of greatly improving the display effect.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 to 4 are schematic perspective views of a display device using a display light guide according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG.
Figures A to F are sectional views for explaining the state of light emission from the display light guide, and Figures 6A to D are other front views of the arrangement of the light emission side surfaces. 1...Plastic optical fiber, 11...
Bent portion, 12... both ends, 2... support material.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A supporting 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, and a large number of plastic light beams that are fitted into the through holes of the supporting material. The plastic optical fiber is inserted into the through hole of the support material from the light source side, folded back into a loop shape at the light exit side surface to form a loop-shaped bent portion, and then inserted again from the light exit side surface. 1. A display light guide, which is fitted into a through hole, and wherein both ends of the optical fiber are arranged near the light source and serve as light incident ends.