OPTICAL FILM FOR BACKLIGHT UNIT AND BACKLIGHT UNIT USING THE SAME
Technical Field The present invention relates to an optical film for a backlight unit.
Background Art As shown in FIG. 8, a backlight unit 101 for use in a general display device is provided with a lamp 121, a light guide plate 120 and a reflection film 110 at a lower portion in a support frame 170, and also configured in such a manner that a diffusion film 130, a prism film 140 and a protection film 150 are sequentially disposed on the light guide plate 120. In such a backlight unit 101 for use in the display device, light emitted from the lamp travels along surfaces of the light guide plate 120 and is then reflected and scattered to move to the diffusion film 130 which is placed above the light guide plate 120. At this time, although a portion of the light moves to a bottom side of the light guide plate 120, it is also reflected again to the diffusion film 130 which is placed above the light guide plate 120. After the light moved into the diffusion film 130 is scattered and diffused by light diffusing particles distributed in the diffusion film 130, it is collected or condensed and refracted in a direction perpendicular to the surface of the light guide plate 120 by a refraction pattern 141 formed on a surface of the prism film 140. The light, which has been collected and refracted by the prism film 140, passes through the protection film 150 and then enters into a panel 160 to display an image on the panel 160. However, in such a related art backlight unit, there is a problem in that a portion of light may be lost between the diffusion and prism films because both the diffusion and prism films are used to diffuse and collected the light from the light guide plate. Further, there is another problem in that the adsorption of foreign substance in and scratches due to the contact of foreign substances with the diffusion and prism films are highly likely to occur during the subsequent assembly process of the respective
films. Furthermore, there is still another problem in that the decrease of productivity due to the increase of assembly process and the increase of manufacturing cost due to the increase of the number of films can be brought about, because the assembly processes of the diffusion and prism films are separately carried out when assembling the backlight unit.
Disclosure of the Invention Accordingly, the present invention is conceived to solve the problems in the related art. An object of the present invention is to provide an optical film for a backlight unit and a backlight unit using the same, wherein a loss of light can be reduced, adsorption of foreign substance and resultant scratch generation can be prevented, and productivity improvement and manufacturing cost reduction can be achieved. According to an aspect of the present invention for achieving the objects, there is provided an optical film for a backlight unit, comprising a film sheet with light diffusing particles for scattering light distributed therein and a refraction pattern for refracting the light integrally fonned on a surface thereof. Preferably, the light diffusing particles are either transparent particles made of a material selected from the group consisting of acryl, styrene, silicone, synthetic silica, glass beads and diamond, or white particles made of a material selected from the group consisting of titanium oxide, zinc oxide, barium sulfate, calcium carbonate, magnesium carbonate, aluminum hydroxide and clay. Further, it is preferred that the refraction pattern have a shape selected from the group of a triangular cross section, a circular-arc cross section, a polygonal cone, a circular cone and a hemisphere. Furthermore, it is preferred that the film sheet be made from a flexible light- transmitting material that can transmit the light in the visible range. At this time, the film sheet is preferably made from a material selected from the group consisting of polycarbonate, PNC, PP, PE and PET. According to another aspect of the present invention for achieving the objects,
there is provided a backlight unit including a light source and a light guide plate, wherein an optical film is installed on the light guide plate and comprises a film sheet with light diffusing particles for scattering light from light guide plate distributed therein and a refraction pattern for refracting the light integrally formed on a surface thereof.
Brief Description of the Drawings FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an optical film for a backlight unit according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a partial sectional view of the optical film shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a schematic sectional view of a backlight unit in which the optical film of FIGS. 1 and 2 is installed according to the present invention. FIGS. 4 to 7 are perspective views of an optical film for a backlight unit according to other embodiments of the present invention. FIG. 8 is a sectional view of a backlight unit in which a related art optical film is installed.
Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention Hereinafter, the present invention will be explained in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an optical film for a backlight unit according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a partial sectional view of the optical film shown in
FIG. 1. As shown in these figures, the optical film 1 for the backlight unit according to the present invention comprises a film sheet 10 with light diffusing particles 11 distributed therein a refraction pattern 13 integrally formed on a top surface thereof. The light diffusing particles 11 scatter and diffuse light from a light source in various angles and are distributed throughout the film sheet 10 in the form of a plurality of particles. These light diffusing particles 11 can be either transparent particles made of a material selected from the group consisting of acryl, styrene, silicone, synthetic silica and glass beads, diamond, or white particles made of a material selected from the group consisting of titanium oxide, zinc oxide, barium sulfate, calcium carbonate,
magnesium carbonate, aluminum hydroxide and clay. Moreover, the refraction pattern 13 has a triangular cross section and protrudes from the top surface of the film sheet 10 along a longitudinal or width direction of the film at a regular pitch so as to collect and refract light, which has been scattered and diffused by the light diffusing particles 11, in a direction substantially perpendicular to the surface of the film 10. The refraction pattern 13 is formed on the top surface of the film sheet 10, upon manufacture of the film sheet 10, using a mold in the form of a roller or a stamp having a pattern corresponding to the refraction pattern 13. Here, the film is made from a flexible light-transmitting material that can transmit the light in a visible range. Preferably, the material is any one of polycarbonate, PVC, PP, PE, and PET. Further, as shown in FIGS, 4 to 7, the refraction pattern 13 formed on the optical film 1 of the present invention may be formed on a top surface of an optical film la, lb, lc, or Id to have a circular-arc section, a polygonal cone, a circular cone or a hemisphere. As shown in FIG. 3, in the optical film 1 of the present invention so constructed, when light is transmitted to a light guide plate 120 of a backlight unit 101 in a state where it is placed above the light guide plate 120, the light is scattered and diffused by the light diffusing particles 11 and simultaneously refracted and collected by the refraction pattern 13 in a substantially vertical direction with respect to the surface of the film 10. That is, the light transmitted from the light guide plate 120 is diffused by the light diffusing particles 11 to maintain its high brightness and is collected within a range of a viewable angle so that the light can enter into a panel 160. As described above, since the light diffusing particles and the refraction pattern are formed on a sheet of optical film so that both the light-diffusing and light-collecting functions can be achieved, a loss of light occurring between the diffusion and prism films in a related art backlight unit can be prevented. Further, the adsorption of foreign substances in and the scratch generation due to the contact thereof with the diffusion and prism films, which occurred during the
separate assembly of the two films in a related art backlight unit, can be prevented. Furthermore, as the number of the assembly processes of the backlight unit is reduced, the productivity improvement and manufacturing cost reduction can be achieved.
Industrial Applicability According to the present invention, the loss of light can be prevented, the adsorption of foreign substances and the resultant scratch generation in the films can be avoided during the assembly process of the unit and the productivity improvement and manufacturing cost reduction can be achieved. Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed for illustrative purpose, it is apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made thereto without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention as defined by the claims.