18712326. BACKLIGHT WITH MULTIPLE MICROREPLICATED OPTICAL FILMS (3M INNOVATIVE PROPERTIES COMPANY)

BACKLIGHT WITH MULTIPLE MICROREPLICATED OPTICAL FILMS

Organization Name

3M INNOVATIVE PROPERTIES COMPANY

Inventor(s)

Hideaki Shirotori of Yokohama (JP)

Kazuhiko Toyooka of Yamagata-shi (JP)

Sayaka Kado of Yamato City (JP)

Gary T. Boyd of Woodbury MN (US)

BACKLIGHT WITH MULTIPLE MICROREPLICATED OPTICAL FILMS

This abstract first appeared for US patent application 18712326 titled 'BACKLIGHT WITH MULTIPLE MICROREPLICATED OPTICAL FILMS

Original Abstract Submitted

A backlight to a display includes an array of discrete light sources and a plurality of optical films disposed between the display and the light sources. Each film includes a regular array of intersecting ridges defining a plurality of through-holes. Each of the through-holes extends between first and second open ends of the through-hole. A cross-section of the optical film in a plane parallel to a thickness direction of the film includes two adjacent ridges in the array of ridges and a through-hole therebetween. The film has a maximum thickness hand the through-hole includes a side wall with a substantially vertical portion connected to the first open end of the through-hole and a substantially horizontal portion extending from the substantially vertical portion and connected to the second open end. The substantially horizontal portion has a minimum thickness hat a location between the two adjacent ridges, h/h≥2.